Chapter 32 - Chapter 32: The Alchemy of Souls and The Price of Magic

The Multiverse Jump was less a travel and more an axiom breach. The Prometheus emerged not into the familiar black void of space, but into a sky perpetually choked by a sickly, green twilight.David felt the immediate disharmony through the Matter Manipulation Core. His Nanobots, tuned to the elegant physics of his home universe (Universe-4599), screamed in confusion."Prometheus, initial atmospheric analysis," David ordered, his voice echoing in the small, integrated cockpit."Host, models are failing," the AI reported. "The air is breathable, but chemically inert. Yet, the atmosphere contains a high concentration of Conceptual Entropy. Gravitational pull fluctuates by $18\%$. The sky is rendered opaque by a self-sustaining Necrotic Energy Field. Standard physics are approximations here."The Prometheus was hovering over a vast, blighted continent. The ground was composed of razor-sharp black crystals, and the only inhabitants were marching columns of skeletal warriors—the enslaved armies of the rogue Host."The laws of this universe are warped by high-tier magic," David observed, watching a skeletal dragon made of shadow fly past the viewport. "Magic isn't a force here; it's a foundational law. My science is blind."David realized the scale of the challenge. His Tier 9 Matter Manipulation relied on precise atomic identification. But the Necromancer Host had bought the capacity to create objects and forces that defied atomic structure—shadows that cut, and life forged from pure spite. David could turn iron into gold, but he couldn't transmute a ghost.The Cost of IgnoranceHe opened the Omni-Store interface, the golden digital screen glowing in the dark cockpit."Prometheus, search for modules that translate magic into quantifiable energy."A list populated instantly. The price tags made the cost of a starship look like pocket change.Aetheric Axiom Decoder (Tier 10): Price: 50,000 CSTNarrative Stabilization Field Generator (Tier 11): Price: 1 Million CSTBasic Magic Adaptation Module (Tier 9): Price: 10 CST"Ten Cosmic Sovereign Tokens," David muttered. That was $200 Trillion in his old currency. A minuscule amount for the power, but a painful $20\%$ of his entire starting capital."Kaelthas failed to mention I'd have to buy the manual for the universe before I could hunt the target," David noted dryly.The rogue Host, Lord Malakai, sensed the foreign intrusion. A vast column of purple-black lightning erupted from the crystal ground kilometers away, forming an immense vortex of pure, directed death energy—a magical defense system designed to obliterate intruders."Host, the Necrotic Vortex is registering as a non-material threat. Conventional defenses will fail. The Basic Magic Adaptation Module is mandatory for survival," Prometheus urged.David sighed, the familiar rush of the spending addiction hitting him—that unique combination of pain and potential. He was buying knowledge he knew should be free, but the Multiverse economy dictated its price."Purchase the Basic Magic Adaptation Module," David commanded. "Expenditure: 10 CST."[TRANSACTION INITIATED: 10 CST EXPENDED.][BALANCE: 40 CST.][MODULE INSTALLATION: COMPLETE.]Conceptual TransmutationThe Module integrated instantly into the Matter Manipulation Core. The moment it synced, David's vision changed.The purple-black vortex of death energy was no longer an indecipherable magical phenomenon. It was a structured flow of Dark Energy (Conceptual Type), governed by rules—rules that could be quantified, calculated, and manipulated."It's just physics with extra steps," David realized, a wave of profound relief and renewed arrogance washing over him. "The Tier 9 Core was incomplete. It lacked the capacity to process non-physical axioms."The vortex reached The Prometheus, its energy enough to instantly vaporize a fleet of his old Dreadnoughts.David didn't raise a shield. He projected his will through the newly acquired knowledge."Prometheus, utilize the Matter Manipulation Core. Target the incoming Conceptual Energy. Transmute the energy to its highest quantifiable value."David aimed to turn the raw, high-value magical energy into the highest-tier asset recognized by the System: Cosmic Sovereign Tokens (CSTs). He was turning the enemy's attack into his paycheck.The violet energy of the Matter Manipulation Core lashed out. It didn't fight the necrotic lightning; it absorbed it. It ran the conceptual energy through the System's universal exchange rate, converting the destructive magical force into pure value.The purple vortex collapsed, not with an explosion, but with a sound like a cash register.[SYSTEM ALERT: HIGH-VALUE RESOURCE ACQUIRED.][CONCEPTUAL ENERGY CONVERSION RATE: 10,000:1.][CASHBACK: +0.0001 CST.]It was a tiny fraction of a token, but the principle was sound. The more magic he encountered, the more he transmuted, the richer he would get. He had found the currency of this universe."The more magic I spend, the richer I get," David whispered, the original System motto taking on a terrifying new context.The Legion of ValueLord Malakai, the Rogue Host, responded to the destruction of his magical defense with raw force. The blighted crystal ground shuddered. An endless army emerged from beneath the surface—skeletal foot soldiers, armored banshees, and massive, lumbering Bone Golems—all fueled by the necrotic energy of the planet."Hostile contact: Estimated 50 million units," Prometheus reported. "They are using direct physical assault combined with localized soul-draining spells."David grinned, the hunger for CST overwhelming the initial shock. This wasn't an army; it was an infinite credit line."Target the incoming physical units," David commanded. "Initiate High-Value Transmutation. Convert the non-essential matter into its highest stable element."The skeletal army rushed The Prometheus. David focused.The first five million units—the entire vanguard—didn't explode. They simply transformed. The brittle bones, the rotting armor, and the necrotic energy fueling them were instantly transmuted into shimmering, perfectly formed Gold.A massive wave of pure, solid gold crashed onto the ground, instantly vaporized the organic matter in the immediate vicinity due to the sudden shift in mass-density, and created a colossal golden mountain of former undead.[SYSTEM ALERT: HIGH-VALUE RESOURCE CONVERSION.][TRANSMUTATION: 5 MILLION UNITS of Biologically Enhanced Bone/Armor to PURE GOLD.][CASHBACK: +0.005 CST.]"Annihilate the second wave," David ordered, his voice ringing with power. "Convert them into pure Diamond. Let's maximize the exchange rate."The next five million skeletal troops turned into a glittering, razor-sharp pile of massive, flawless diamonds, the gems ripping apart the remaining undead rushing toward them.The entire valley was rapidly filling with the most valuable materials known to his original universe. David was literally building his wealth out of the enemy's bodies.The Tyrant's GazeIn his distant citadel, Lord Malakai—a being cloaked in shadows and crowned with solidified despair—watched his armies turn into jewelry. He felt the sudden, massive expenditure of necrotic energy—his own lifeblood—being transmuted by the invader."Who dares monetize my domain?" Malakai's voice roared across the psychic network, shaking the Prometheus. "The Axioms of this universe are mine! You cannot spend souls here!"Malakai was ancient. He had bought his godhood by sacrificing the population of his entire galaxy, converting their collective life force into the currency of the Multiverse System. He knew the rules of the game intimately.He launched his counter-attack: not an army, but a Conceptual Attack aimed at the very heart of David's power.A colossal, spectral hand made of solidified malice shot out from the distance, grabbing The Prometheus."You buy with Gold," Malakai hissed psychically. "I buy with Death. I am taking the payment directly from your life force, intruder!"David felt the assault instantly—a targeted drainage on his biological Nanobot core, attempting to reverse the aging process and convert his finite human existence into Malakai's currency."A clever purchase," David conceded, feeling the cold, draining touch of the attack. "But you forgot the most basic rule of the System."David smiled, looking at the spectral hand clamped around his ship. He focused his Matter Manipulation Core on the energy lines of the spectral hand itself—the pure, concentrated malice that powered the attack."The more I spend, the richer I get," David thought, seizing the immense power of the spectral hand.[SYSTEM ALERT: TARGET ACQUISITION. ROGUE HOST POWER SOURCE DETECTED.][TRANSMUTING CONCEPTUAL MALICE TO COSMIC SOVEREIGN TOKENS.][CASHBACK INITIATED: +5 CST.]The spectral hand didn't shatter; it turned into five perfect, glowing Cosmic Sovereign Tokens that harmlessly shimmered away into the Multiverse Exchange.Malakai shrieked in outrage. David had just made a profit off of his strongest attack."I am taking your contract, Necromancer," David announced, firing the Prometheus engines toward Malakai's citadel, leaving a trail of pure gold and diamond debris in his wake. "And I'm keeping the change."