Chapter 36 – The Autonomous Spark, and The Prison of the Origin.
The Metallic Bamboo Forest: The Wall of Thought
The group moves to the border of the Star Dou Great Forest. The Myriad-Edge Mantis King, a 100,000-year beast with scythes like liquid diamond, emerges from the silver bamboo.
Lakan engages first. He activates the Eyes of the Origin God.
The Mantis will strike low-left. Lakan moves to parry.
The Mantis will transition to a 45-degree decapitation.
Lakan evades, but a thin line of blood appears on his cheek. He frowns. He saw the move 3 seconds ago. His brain processed it. His nerves sent the signal. But the Mantis's raw instinct was faster than Lakan's "Process-then-Act" cycle.
"Even with the God-Eyes, I am too slow," Lakan realizes, dodging another supersonic blur. "The brain is a bottleneck. To truly be a Sovereign, the body must 'know' before the mind 'thinks.'"
He feels a spark—a foreboding of a state where every cell in his Batong-Pilak body possesses its own consciousness. A state of Divine Reflex.
Lakan steps back, his silver eyes glowing. "Vanguards! Elders! Keep it busy. I need to anchor the world."
Ling Yue and Yue Guan erupt into action, their Titled Douluo pressure clashing with the Mantis. Shui Bing'er unleashes her Absolute Zero frost to slow the beast's vibration.
Lakan assumes the Center-Point Stillness. His 36 Star Points lock into the earth's magnetic field. He draws upon the Feather of Fate. In his hands, a Sibat (Spear)and blades of solid, hardened sunlight manifests, inscribed with glowing Baybayin characters.
"Everyone... out," Lakan's voice is a low vibration.
The Phase I & II is when Lakan detonates. The ground beneath him doesn't just crack; it turns to powder. He breaks the sound barrier instantly.
The Phase III is when The Octagon forms. To Other's eyes, Lakan has disappeared, replaced by Eight Sonic Echoes.
North: The Echoing Strike: A punch that sounds like a collapsing building.
West: The Sibat's Gravity (Spear Thrust): A Sibat thrust that pierces the very air.
South: A Gunting snip that shears the Mantis's armor.
East: The Earth-Shaker's Reach (Low Kick).
Southeast: The Weighted Sea (Grapple).
Southwest: The Blade's Pulse (Bolo Strike).
Northwest: The Pitik-Awit (Sonic Snap).
Northeast: The Serpent's Path (Low-Crouch).
Lakan is a "Mechanical Blitz." He is moving so fast that he creates a Low-Pressure Vacuum inside the Octagon. The Mantis, a creature of speed, finds itself suffocating, its wings unable to find air to vibrate.
Phase IV: The Solid Collapse. Lakan stands in the center of the Low-Pressure Vacuum he created. The Myriad-Edge Mantis King is paralyzed, not by fear, but by the sheer absence of air and the crushing convergence of eight sonic shockwaves.
"Finish it," Lakan commands himself.
He lunges. The sunlight-Sibat, manifested from the Feather of Fate, strikes the Mantis's core. At that exact micro-second, the eight "Echoes" of his previous strikes—the physical ghosts of his speed—slam into the beast simultaneously.
THUD.
The Mantis doesn't explode. Its internal organs and exoskeleton are simply pressurized into a singular mass of crushed matter. The 100,000-year beast falls, its diamond-like scythes finally going limp.
Lakan doesn't hesitate. He sits cross-legged, calling forth his Sibat martial soul—the weapon side of his dual nature.
"Enter," Lakan whispers.
The soul of the Mantis King, a flickering emerald shadow of absolute severance, is drawn into the spear. The bonding process is violent; Lakan's Batong-Pilak skin ripples as the Mantis's "Severing Intent" tries to cut his meridians from the inside. But Lakan's 36 Heavenly Stars flare up, acting as anchors that hold his spirit together.
The result is a transformation. The light-Sibat gains a permanent, serrated edge made of translucent emerald energy. It no longer just hits; it Severes. It ignores the physical laws of toughness.
Weapon Skill: "Tapyas-Langit" (The Sky Sliver). Every thrust of the Sibat now creates a micro-tear in space, allowing Lakan to bypass any physical armor or shield.
As Lakan stands and tests the weight of his newly evolved Sibat, a massive spiritual ripple washes over the Metallic Bamboo Forest. It's a frequency unlike anything Lakan has ever felt—vast, ancient, and surprisingly... cowardly.
The Eyes of the Origin God twitch.
From the thickest part of the forest, a white blur comes tumbling out. It's a massive, chubby White Worm, nearly seven meters long, with ten glowing golden rings circling its body. It's moving with frantic speed, its tiny eyes bulging in terror.
This is an Ice Worm(?)
The worm stops dead in its tracks as it senses Lakan. It looks at the Ten-Headed Phoenix aura and the Sarimanok's radiance emanating from the boy. Its spiritual ripples vibrate with a desperate, high-pitched plea:
"A human?! No, a monster in a human skin! But that spiritual sea... it's as wide as the ocean! Hey! Hey, you! Save me, and I'll give you the greatest gift in the history of this world!"
Behind the worm, the forest itself seems to groan. The bamboo is flattened as if by an invisible steamroller.
Three massive shadows emerge from the mist. These are 100,000-year subordinates of the Great Star Dou Forest lords—beasts sent to retrieve the "Million-Year Vitamin" that had escaped their masters' grasp. A Shadow-Devouring Panther and two Metallic Armored Bears.
The Panther sneers, its voice a telepathic growl. "Step aside, human. That worm is the property of the Great Forest. Hand it over, and we might let you leave with your limbs intact."
Lakan looks at the worm, then at the beasts, a slow, narcissistic smirk spreading across his face. He spins his new Mantis-Sibat, the emerald edge humming with the power to sever the world.
"You're in my "Octagon" now, pets," Lakan says, his silver sun-eyes glowing with a predatory light. "And in my prison, the only property that exists... is the one I decide to keep."