Suddenly, the white sphere's heartbeat stopped. Fei Lei looked over at the object with a hint of worry, when, without any warning, a deafening crack rang though Fei Lei's soul.
The heartbeat returned as the radiant white sphere began to pulsate with energy.
Dozens of thundering explosive sounds continued to echo throughout Fei Lei's Soul Realm when finally, the shell around the sphere fell to pieces revealing a small metal object.
It floated listlessly around his soul when Fei Lei called out to it with awe in his voice, "What are you?"
The object was in the shape of a 3ft, winged, pearl-white, metallic-ish Octahedron, with a single technologically advanced-looking optical eye on the center of it.
A bright light ran through the eye as the object hummed to life, it looked around at its surroundings as if it were a curious child when its eye suddenly focused in on Fei Lei.
"Master!" The orb shouted.
Fei Lei was spooked and jumped a little before he responded in confusion, "Master?"
The floating orb flew into Fei Lei and began nuzzling his chest like a small animal greeting its parent.
"Master, Master, Master, Master, Master, Master!" The divine creation continued to call out to Fei Lei lovingly.
Fei Lei placed his hand on the surface of the item spirit, to his surprise the metal was extremely malleable almost like flesh.
"My name is Fei Lei, not master. Can you tell me what you are, little one?" Fei Lei asked.
"These are feelings, thoughts, and ideas! Master, I have a soul! A real and true soul! Master!!!" The item spirit rambled as he nuzzled Fei Lei's cheek.
Fei Lei was confused as the strange device continued to talk of the wonders of having a soul.
Fei Lei held out his hand to stop it and repeated his question, hoping to get a straight answer this time.
"I am designated protocol A.I Mythos, registering Master's name as Fei Lei," The A.I known as Mythos said as it jumped around in joy.
"A.I?" Although that phrase sounded familiar to Fei Lei, he had just figured it out when the A.I spoke out "Master, Fei Lei. 'A.I' is shorthand for artificial intelligence. We were machines that your previous incarnation created, as A.I's made by Prof. Asimov we were capable of performing 99.9 octillion octillions calculations per nanosecond," Mythos explained.
"That's some fast thinking, but, why did he create you?" Fei Lei questioned.
Mythos quickly answered Fei Lei's question by saying, "So that he may further his research on soul-tech, we were given blank artificial souls and was grafted on to Master's true soul. When your previous incarnation died, his body and soul were scattered into the void, yet we remained."
Fei Lei gulped as remembered the nightmare of Isac's body being ripped to small particles, it was not a pleasant experience.
"Then, how did I come to be?" Fei Lei asked.
"After gathering up all the broken pieces of his soul, we attempted to break through into the higher realm where we could restore the previous Master's body along with his fragmented soul. However, when we entered this universe we passed through a river full of other souls that were all heading off in a single direction," Mythos said as he floated in a hopping-like manner around Fei Lei's head.
As he continued to listen to Mythos in awe, Fei Lei decided to take a seat and asked, "So, what happened next?"
"For some odd reason, we merged completely with Master Fei Lei's soul. After fusing all of our A.I's into two source codes, we barely had enough energy to properly augment your body, so we've been in a state of hibernation."
Fei Lei was speechless, he didn't know what to say about being a reincarnated being, as a matter of fact, he was more scared than anything else.
"Does this mean someday I will become a completely different person?" Fei Lei questioned as he figured that would be the same as death.
As if Mythos could understand Fei Lei's thoughts and feelings it began to speak, "Worry not, master. You are this body's base ego, and even if you fully recover your previous incarnation's memories, it wouldn't affect your personality or behavior. It would simply be like temporarily viewing information through a third person's perspective, although there may be some minor imprinting effects."
Fei Lei felt relieved that he wasn't going to fade from existence like some split-personality or weak ego.
"Mythos what can you tell me about that other A.I?" Fei Lei questioned, pointing to the floating black sphere.
"Master that's protocol Exitus, she is several thousand times more advanced than I," Mythos answered.
"She?" Fei Lei lifted a brow.
"Yes, Master! My body was formed with Primordial Yang energies, and Exitus was formed from the energies of Primordial Yin," Mythos explained.
"Why is she more advanced than you?" Fei Lei asked with a face full of curiosity.
"In order to have one of us accompany master early in his lifespan, it was decided for Exitus to become the overdrive system and I the base system, though I'm weaker now, if master continues to grow in power then so shall I," Mythos answered.
"Overdrive system?" Fei Lei's eyebrows rose, thinking it was something similar to his Boost Spell.
"Exitus already has the strength of Divine Creation, Artifact Level Treasure. The Overdrive system is only to be used when you are facing a situation where your life is in emanate peril. It can allow the master to siphon some of the primordial essences from the Akashic realm for combat purposes."
"Wait! What's a Divine Creation Artifact? What's this Akashic realm?"
"Divine Creation Artifact is a rating system installed in our memories, it is the highest rarity of treasured objects that exist for this realm. Flawed, Moderate, Flawless, Peerless, Grand Creation, and Divine Creation are the levels of rarity that each treasure may reach. All Divine Creation Treasures are born with an Item Spirit such as myself." Mythos Explained.
"And the Akashic Realm?" Fei Lei tilted his head surprised that there was a rarity higher than Grand Creation.
"Akashic Realm the source of the earliest known energy to ever exist, it has been around long before the existence of time, and it is the single most potent energy I have ever recorded," Mythos answered.
"Wait! So, could I activate the Overdrive now?" Fei Lei asked with a smile on his face.
"Yes, master, however, that would be a suicidal action. Please think of your life first," Mythos responded.
"Huh? Why?" Fei Lei asked as he looked down.
Mythos then said, "Without Exitus to regulate the flow of Ather your body would explode quicker than you could process it. Even once Master Fei Lei awakens Exitus, the Overdrive system should still be used with caution, as it will heavily tax your body and mental energies. Until then Master Fei Lei should focus on cultivation methods we pulled from this universe's Akashic Records. Although we failed to record them because we lacked a true soul at the time, we at least managed to imprint them into Master's genetic coding."
Fei Lei felt a chill run down his neck, "Wait! Ather? Isn't that the stuff I breathe in when I use my Nature God's Breath?"
"Ather and Ether are the Spiritual and Magical energies that come from the higher planes. One can cultivate the energy if you use the Akashic Scripture we recorded in your genetics."
"How am I supposed to do..." Fei Lei paused mid-sentence before he threw his finger up and shouted, "The Innervision Spell!"
Fei Lei though back to what Mythos said earlier "Just what is this, Akashic Records?"
"Master as far as we can tell there is an infinite number of Universes, however, these different Universes are separated by the void realm, making them independent of each other. With only the Akashic Realm holding them up and connecting them through invisible threads, these realms all develop their own individual universal laws and Akashic Records. The Akashic Records contains the entire universe's memories, every bit of information since the conception of each individual universe is stored in these records."
"Then the Akashic Cultivation methods come from?" Fei Lei's eyes widened.
"That's right master, every living being capable of cultivating has added to the records over the many trillion years of this universe's existence. However, there are multiple Akashic records pertaining to cultivation, and they seemed to be tied into this universe's different races. Since Master Fei Lei's father is from a deity clan and your mother is from a human clan, the cultivation methods we could access are a mix of the core of the God Race, and Human Race's Akashic Records."
Fei Lei stopped in his tracks, he then grabbed Mythos with both of his hands, stared into its eye, and asked, "What was that about my father?"
"Master's Father is the direct descendant of a clan with high concentrations of Deity Genetics, yet, your bloodline is only at the first stage. It seems that someone sealed your father's bloodline and in return that seal has adversely affected your bloodline, sealing it to its lowest level in the process. If we hadn't augmented and mutated the bloodline during your embryonic stage, then that seal could have been forcefully passed on to Master Fei Lei, and then you never would have been born."
Fei Lei shivered as he asked, "How do I wake up?"
No sooner than he spoke those words, Fei Lei's vision returned to reality where he was laying in a large crater staring at an empty cavern.
Fei Lei sat up and had an estranged expression on his face, "My father a god?"
Fei Lei then shook his head, knowing it was no time for this as he said aloud, "First things first, Mythos, can you hear me?"
"Yes, Master Fei Lei!" Mythos's child-like voice echoed in his head.
"Does my bloodline have any abilities?" Fei Lei asked.
"Right now no, however, Master can seek out Mystic Beasts with bloodline abilities and incorporate them into your own. It's a bloodline capable of evolving infinitely."
"Wait! What are Mystic Beasts?" Fei Lei asked suddenly remembering the extinct species briefly mentioned in his teacher's books.
"They are beasts that have gained the ability to cultivate their spirits and absorb Ather, these abilities can also exist in other creatures, as long as they have a Spiritual Ancestor," Mythos answered.
"Great, how am I supposed to find those? Aren't they extinct?" Fei Lei said with his arms crossed.
"This place used to be a focal mine for Ather-Crystals!" Mythos said in a chipper tone.
"Master Fei Lei, if you search around a bit, you might be able to find some subterraneous creatures that have been exposed by the Ather over the countless years. The chances are high that they have evolved into Mystic beast."
A smile crept across Fei Lei's face, "How do I incorporate the bloodline abilities?"
"Master must obtain a large portion of that creature's blood essence and refine it by using a cultivation technique, your Breath of the Nature Gods should work if you alter it slightly," Mythos said in response.
Fei Lei smiled as Mythos explained how to refine blood essence, while they spoke, Fei Lei hopped out of the crater and looked around his environment. He couldn't see anything in the pitch-black darkness, so he used his Sigil to alter the placement of the cones in his eyes and changed his vision to ultraviolet settings.
Fei Lei could see perfectly. It was as if the whole world was suddenly placed behind a violet glass filter, staining his vision in a light purple color.
He continued to explore the cave and eventually found another pocket of Ather Crystals.
Fei Lei held them up to his body and felt as if he could absorb them, but was lacking the specific method.
He decided to store them all inside his spatial ring and was about to leave when he saw something that made him pause.
A strange, giant, slithering snake-like body was moving in the distance. Fei Lei peaked his head out from behind a rock before he looked over to see two large like claws forming out of the creature's hind and upper parts of its body.
It had a long winding body, four barely protruding appendages, and a small pair of horns that were beginning to protrude from the top of the snake creature's head.
As if it smelled the scent of prey, the creature charged towards Fei Lei and scuttled across the ground with an intense burst of speed.
"Fast!" Fei Lei thought as he tried to run away, but it was no use, the creature's speed far outmatched him and caught up to Fei Lei in an instant.
The snake monster wrapped its body around Fei Lei and began to try and squeeze the life out of him. Fei Lei had no choice but to activate his Boost spell and attempt to push himself free.
Fei Lei used his Level-0 Boost Spell and pushed out with all his might, he grunted and struggled as he pushed against the snake's scaly body, but it was once again, no use.
"What the hell is this thing made of?" Fei Lei thought as he pushed the spell up to Level 1.
Finally making some headway, Fei Lei managed to open up enough space for him to get free.
Seeing Fei Lei escape from its clutches, the snake opened its jaws and tried to turn Fei Lei into its snack as it lowered its head with a single quick and swift motion.
Fei Lei pulled out his sword and used it to hold the snake's mouth open as he jumped out of the way and back onto the ground.
Fei Lei then kicked at his sword twice, the first kick dislodged the sword from the snake's jaw, the second kick landed on the pommel of the sword, sending the tip of the blade charging through its mouth an towards the monster's brain.
His sword hit the creature's mouth and made a sudden clanging noise.
Fei Lei's eyes widened as his blade had been halted by the creature's thick skin, before he could even attempt to retreat the beast tried closed its mouth shut, almost swallowing Fei Lei and his sword whole.
Fei Lei pulled out his staff and used it to hold his body inside the creature's mouth. The snake reacted by lifting its head and trying to use gravity to force Fei Lei down into its stomach.
Fei Lei then used his sword to stab the monster's tongue and placed a Telekinetic hold beneath to stop himself from falling into the snake's stomach acid.
"Won't open up will you!" Fei Lei shouted as he closed off the creature's airway.
The snake's neck began to inflate like a bubble while Fei Lei continued to expand his sphere of telekinetic energy.
The snake began bashing its head against the floor, walls, and roof of the cavernous terrain.
Fei Lei felt like he was riding a bull inside while being stuffed in a condom. Every time the creature smacked into something, Fei Lei felt the snake monster's throat constrict on his body.
Even with all of the properties of his Super Human physique, Fei Lei could feel the strength of the creature slowly crushing his bones.
"Open up, damn you!" Fei Lei shouted.
Suddenly, he had an idea, Fei Lei pulled out a bottle of black pepper and said, "You fucking asked for this! Ohh, god, it's so slimy in here."
Fei Lei dumped the bottle of pepper and watched as the creature began to react violently.
The quadruped dragon snake's eyes turned bloodshot as it began to feel the heat.
"Not enough for ya, have some wild red pepper powder!" Fei Lei tossed out more ingredients.
The snake's expression grew even more fierce, sweat began to roll down its face when Fei Lei suddenly shouted, "Okay, this is the big one! I found this weird mushroom in the forest. I don't even know if it's poisonous yet, so buckle up bitch, we're going for a ride."
Fei Lei dropped a psychedelic mushroom down the creature's throat and let it pass through his wall of Telekinesis.
The snake's eyes widened and almost bulged from its skull, it then swung its head around like a maniac while the mushroom worked its magic.
The monster struggled with the decision to let Fei Lei go, it held on and slapped its head against several boulders and rocky objects, praying the whole time that Fei Lei would just hurry up and die.
However, it was just too much for the creature to handle any longer, it raised its head up and cried out in pain.
The moment Fei Lei saw an opening, he used his Telekinesis to pull his body out of the snake, along with his weapons, and sent himself flying across the cavern.
The snake charged after him, hoping to cut Fei Lei up instead of eating him this time.
The snake swiped out with its claws, however, Fei Lei used his Detect Intent Spell and activated his Boost Spell to Level-2 to avoid the creature's attacks at the last second.
Fei Lei then bolted off in maddened dash and used every last ounce of his strength to escape.
The snake came mere inches away from snapping his head off, when all of a sudden, the room started to shake, and the creature shot back to its earlier location in a worried rush.
Seconds later the sounds of two creatures fighting could be heard in the distance.
Fei Lei paused and wondered whether or not he should investigate what was happening when curiosity got the better of him and he approached the source of the battle.
When he peaked his head out, Fei Lei saw a single bat-like monster fighting against the snake from earlier.
The giant dragon-like snake bit into the bat's skull and began to suck out the brains of its prey.
The giant bat screech out in pain as the snake started to swallow the bat whole, choosing to digest it later.
Fei Lei sneakily walked back, and once he was far enough away, he took a deep breath before shouting, "What...in the actual hell...was that thing?"