Abyssal Awakening

"See? What did I tell you? Didn’t I control my power perfectly this time?" The girl skipped over with a grin as Nyer nodded with a small smile.

Indeed, the control she demonstrated had been far more impressive than he had originally expected.

While she certainly wasn’t the first prototype he’d made with this method, she was by far the most impressive at this moment.

The gap between her and the previous prototype was large enough that he might even consider the foundational values he had used with her to be set as the baseline for future experiments.

Of course, there was another issue. That being what exactly he should call her. So far, he had been dubbing her with an experimental number.

With the girl now showing interest in establishing her own individuality, a name must be given.

"Alright, you’ve proved your point. Shall we take a note of your values, then prepare to go out? I should also give you another present outside of just a few pieces of clothing." He offered, surprising the girl.

Her eyes shimmered as she tossed the deceased Lord’s head away without hesitation.

Returning to their shared home, Nyer had her sit down on a large chair before injecting her with some chemicals.

Her eyelids became heavy as she tried to hold on for as long as possible.

Even though she was excited, a part of her was scared.

She knew those who weren’t beneficial to Nyer were discarded. She wasn’t naïve enough not to know.

So she tried her best. She made herself unique, tried to make herself irreplaceable. And so far, it had worked.

But...

A small part of her mind was still worried.

What if this was the moment he’d discard her?

As if sensing her worries, Nyer gently cupped her face and smiled.

"Don’t worry, you’ll wake up in a few hours. I’m just going to perform a few tests. I promise." He reassured her and gently placed a kiss on her forehead.

Feeling her worries disappear, the girl nodded and closed her eyes.

With the girl now unconscious, Nyer lost his smile and stood up.

Circling to the back, he parted her hair and made a cut above the back of her neck.

With the spine exposed, he grabbed a few cables and stabbed them through the gap.

Stepping away, he started to write down his next notes.

"Experiment... No, let’s give it a new designation this time. She’ll be the foundation for a new batch." Nyer mumbled.

Crossing out a few things, he started speaking again.

"Experiment... Let’s call her Rine. Rine has shown a great deal of resilience when it comes to usurping Authorities. Previous experiments have shown that overwriting and stealing an Authority would often lead to the breakdown of the Ego placed within the body.

"One that would keep Velouria hidden for now. The current theorised cause would be the fact that each Title and Authority are linked to the individual acknowledged by the Will and the Realm. But by stealing it, an issue appears within the rules of this realm.

"Something foreign has now stolen what should’ve belonged to a native individual while they’re still alive.

"And since the process isn’t one of inheritance but rather something akin to banditry, like the situation with Velouria, the world attempts to correct itself.

"Rine has... found a workaround for that herself. I have given her the tools, and it seems like the method she chose was to not only steal the Authority but also pieces of their soul. A verification key of sorts that deceives the world into thinking that this Authority indeed belongs to her.

"Of course, with the death of the original host, there is a certain limit to what she can do without running into the issue of the world questioning what had happened.

"It seems that further modification must be done to ensure that the key works even after the original host dies. Perhaps one where, rather than being treated the same as the original, it is deceived into thinking that it was a successful hunt instead?

"But doing this would require a fundamental change that Rine simply isn’t capable of. I will continue with the current experiment to see what else can be achieved."

With his thoughts written down for now, Nyer stored the document away before pulling out a different journal.

What he wrote down just now was simply preliminary observations and his own theories. Now it was time for data.

Rine was hooked up to a large machine that was constantly recording the values inside her body.

The level of energy, blood flow, Spiritual Heart, her soul, and even the current state of her vessel. There were a few questions that could be asked based on the last value, but the main one being how close Velouria’s ego was to being awakened.

"Vessel is holding steady. Velouria’s ego shows no sign of movement yet, which is good. The... consumed Authority is raising her energy levels beyond what’s expected. Though perhaps it’s a different verification process.

"Perhaps the power wants to make sure the host was indeed a Lord-level being? But such energy flowing through her body could eventually lead to a point where she reaches her limit." Nyer mumbled while noting down the data values.

These questions he didn’t need to add to his other journal since they were just idle thoughts that wouldn’t affect the parameters of the next test.

Of course, if idle thoughts transformed into new experiment ideas, then he’d write everything down again.

"Her physical durability dropped slightly. Not by much, but it could be a cause for concern."

Pausing at this point, Nyer tapped his finger before shaking his head.

A... limit test shouldn’t happen just yet. Rushing things could make him lose out on the data he could be getting from Rine.

Instead, he should be making sure she lasted as long as possible.

Finishing the recording of the data, he compared it with the previous results and made an estimation.

"The... Authority she usurped should last around three months if she fights a couple of times per week. More if she fights less. But if she fights more than a couple of times per week, the drain will increase exponentially. In less than two weeks, she’ll completely lose use of the Authority, and it’ll return to the library that the Will holds." Nyer leaned back in his chair.

"Is there a way to keep it contained? A second library perhaps. But with it being linked to the soul... a different kind of container is needed. Perhaps a prison."

Shaking his head, he let out a slight exhale.

This power wasn’t perfect yet. It’s not something that anyone could just use, as accepting another soul into your body was dangerous on multiple occasions.

But the worst part of all would be what it does to the human body.

Accepting Authorities without being a Lord was akin to consuming the most condensed Abyss Blood.

The vessel simply wasn’t suitable.

Thus, a change must be made. A premature mutation of the body to ensure that the Authority could be used.

Unless one was similar to Velouria.

Someone who could hold mutations inside her own body despite looking normal.

Such things weren’t... impossible for him to achieve. Especially since he had one half of Cayla.

The issue came with the consequences of doing so.

Once they accepted the Authority, the Hunter’s blood immediately became poisonous to them. It was like having the most potent corrupted Abyss Blood replace their blood.

Obviously, they’d die immediately and have their bodies transformed in gruesome ways.

Rine’s... older sisters died just like that in the past experiments.

There was also the issue of soul corruption as the blood passed through the Spiritual Heart.

He needed an adaptable vessel that could filter out what was needed from the Authority while retaining its current capabilities.

"One step at a time." Nyer stood up and unhooked Rine from the machine.

He shouldn’t rush this moment. Not when an experiment was finally showing such promise.

Healing the wound on her back, Nyer waited for Rine to slowly wake up.

She let out a slight yawn and stretched her body. Reaching for the back of her neck, she gave it a light scratch before jumping out of the chair.

"Did everything go well?" She asked hesitantly.

She wanted to hear nothing but good news. A confirmation that her existence was allowed to continue.

Nyer curved the corner of his lips into a small smile.

"Indeed. The method you’ve devised has been rather... eye-opening. I think the potential you’ve shown far surpasses that of the previous attempts. Thus, the present I have prepared for you is a name."

"!!!"

Her eyes widened. She opened her mouth as her lips trembled, countless emotions flashing through her eyes before she sprinted forward and gave Nyer a hug.

She couldn’t say words of gratitude. Not yet, at least.

The most dominant emotion she was feeling in this moment was not joy but rather the relief that she wouldn’t die.

She wasn’t discarded. She was needed by him. She was still of use.

No matter what, no matter the challenges ahead, she’d keep improving. She’d keep adapting no matter what.

She’d show that she was a miracle like no other. That she was irreplaceable.

She was smarter than the other puppets that he had created.

"From today, I will call you Rine. Do you like the name?" Nyer asked as Rine nodded her head.

"Yes! Yes, I like it a lot." She smiled, tears still flowing from her eyes.

Seeing this, he smiled helplessly and gave her a hug.

"Come now. I can’t possibly take you out shopping if you cry like this. The guards might even mistake me for a kidnapper."

Rine quickly wiped her tears away as the two made their preparations for the city.

###

Experiment log #27. Rine was discarded...