"Reef, can you handle the subsouls that have escaped into the sea?" Rhachis Ancestor Light paused at a certain spot over the ocean, gazing below at the waves. A small ripple appeared, pulling the waves into a circular pattern and created a hurricane.
A voice travelled out, "Then, give me that Tier 5 Relic. I don't have any methods to locate her subsouls."
"Sure," Rhachis Ancestor Light said, throwing the crystal lens in his hands into the spiralling waters below. "But, this Relic only works in tandem with my light. You would have to find a suitable method to use it."
"I got it covered," The voice replied, dissipating the hurricane, "One of my enslaved beasts has a similar ability, tough vastly inferior to your own. But, I can manage."
"If a problem arises, make sure you contact me. I can arrive anywhere in this world in a matter of seconds." Rhachis Ancestor Light said, turning into a flash of light, disappearing from the scene.
Standing atop a mountain range, he fished out another crystal lens, its edges shaped into a square, looking inferior to the one from before. "I'll make do with this Tier 4 Relic."
A blast of light appeared, spreading towards each nook and cranny of the topography, creating a bizarre phenomenon where projections appeared overhead each Frenzy Beast that roamed the land. Failing to find any signs of Gajara Rahi in the projections, he sighed, proceeding towards another area.
After making a sweep across the entire subcontinent, Rhachis Ancestor Light appeared near Marble City once again, planning to observe the battle situation for a couple of seconds.
The dark sphere was still resisting against the miniature sun, trying all sorts of methods to break free. Numerous flames appeared from the dark sphere, resisting the flames, serving to counterattack. A yellow psychic arm emerged, slowly turning the flames yellow, making it solid. A flash of light appeared, traversing through the heat and impacting its centre.
Seeing many familiar Unranked Skills displayed one after the other, Rhachis Ancestor Light sighed, "It seems you have fused with quite a few Unranked Skills of humanity and Frenzy Beasts. Even though they are all of Tier 5 level, the sheer quantity of them can still pose a bit of trouble."
A voice travelled from within the miniature sun, its tone showing signs of impatience, "Light, can you sever her connections with the subsouls that have fused with her main self? It is taking longer than I expected. She has even managed to get a hold of my Unranked Skill and other power skills from my city."
"Sure," Rhachis Ancestor Light replied, condensing formless energy atop his palms, making them spin, forming into a triangular-shaped blade. He further infused the formless energy into it, enlarging it until it became as big as his palm. Finally, he coated a layer of light at its centre, sending it into the dark sphere.
Like a sharp needle piercing through a balloon, the triangular blade punctured the dark sphere, entering the body of a grotesque figure hidden within it. It first flashed past a grotesque looking spine of a Frenzy Beast, dicing its soul into millions of pieces in a matter of seconds, dissipating it into the surroundings as pure energy.
Constrained by the miniature sun pressing against it from all sides, Rhachis Ancestor Space could not retaliate against the triangular blade, helplessly watching it destroy one subsoul after another. A beam of light fell on her body, lighting up a massive projection behind her.
In the corporeal projection, there were ten heads in total, the original 10 spines having reduced to 8. Another triangular blade appeared, dicing the outermost head, affecting only the projection. Her fused body remained the same, covered with a multitude of black mist, forming the sphere that tried to mend the gaps formed each time the triangular blades flashed.
"Dawn…Light…my existence is the hope of humanity," A shrill scream resounded, layered under eight different voices, becoming seven midway, "Despite your strength, you two can never hope to defeat Parasite."
"That is our issue to worry about. We would have never initiated this if you had chosen to fuse with only humans. At your present state, are you even human?" Dawn shouted, his voice booming, creating gusts of flames that vaporised the outer surface of the dark sphere.
"Are you confident that my successor will turn out different," Rhachis Ancestor Space laughed, showing no signs of fear despite the dark mist surrounding her thinning out. "We have only one path, the very same that I have embarked upon. That is the only way to defeat Parasite."
"…" The attacks on her further increased in intensity, destroying the projections of her heads and spines one after the other.
"So you chose to remain silent," Only a single voice boomed out from Rhachis Ancestor Space now, her sole figure existing in the projection behind her. Like a chain reaction, the extra spines and heads that had fused into her body seeped out, revealing a humanoid body from within, leaking out a malevolent aura.
The dark sphere had completely dissipated at this point as she looked at the flames converging around her, "I ran out of energy." She then shouted, using the last vestiges of her strength, "Know this, I have never betrayed Humanity!"
The flames drowned her, burning her body. Despite the high temperatures, her body burned at a slow pace, displaying the terrifying extent the strength her body had accumulated. The miniature sun burned in silence for a good two hours, finally destroying every last bit of Rhachis Ancestor Space's body.
Only when her body had been completely vaporised did Rhachis Ancestor Dawn retract the miniature sun, hovering in the air as his body emitted rising steam through the bruises filling his body.
Rhachis Ancestor Light appeared beside him, his expression solemn, gazing at a pale blue light before him, "You have become strong enough to injure Dawn."
"In the end, I could only give him light injuries," The pale blue light formed the face of a teenage girl, flashing a bright smile. "At the very least, I am my true self during my last moments. Thank you, Light. Also, even though Parasite managed to capture two of my subsouls, I have already detonated them. The two wisdom parasites in his possession now only contain fabricated information. This will be my final act for humanity."
Seeing her appearance, a nostalgic expression flashed across the two old men, making their bodies tremble. A single droplet emerged out of Rhachis Ancestor Light's eye, quickly transported away by a minute flash of light. One of the pillars of humanity who had fought alongside them for more than a century had been killed under their own hands. It was a frustrating feeling.
"Can you answer one last question?" The girl sported a wry smile, her tear-filled eyes looking sad, "Was it Jyorta Bone? Or was it George Eagle?"
Rhachis Ancestor Light sighed, his choking voice suppressed under his willpower, "It was George all along. I thought you, of all people, would have discovered it first."
"I see, so it was George. To think I assumed it was Jyorta," She sighed, gazing at the face of Rhachis Ancestor Light, "I never had any methods to discover one of my own. Maybe the tubed freak made me as such to prevent possible problems from cropping up? Among all the Unranked Skills I had obtained, Deific Inference wasn't one of them. Despite my subsouls having prominent positions in your city, I hadn't known of its existence till date. I am awed at your ability to block information."
The pale blue face was dissipating, turning transparent with each passing second, "Even after fusing with thousands of souls, my soul could still not affect reality. Man, this is depressing." She then looked at the two before her, her gaze turning serious for a second, "Despite me changing after fusing with humans and beasts alike, I have never once deviated from my goal, not even for an instant. If you don't find a better method, my successor will have to take a similar path."
The pale blue face completely dissipated, accompanied by a minor gust of wind. Rhachis Ancestor Dawn stared at the evening sun in silence, his expression lost. He then sighed, "I should probably head back for now. Parasite has been alerted, start preparing for war."
"I will," Rhachis Ancestor Light said, creating a light eagle twice his size. With a nod, Rhachis Ancestor Dawn held its neck, sitting on its back as Rhachis Ancestor Light sent it away with a streak of light, heading towards the stronghold of Rhachis Ancestor Dawn, Dawn City.
A second later, the light eagle returned, the top half of its body melted, looking on the verge of dissipating. Rhachis Ancestor Light waved his hands, dispersing the light eagle, and gazing towards the southeast, his expression solemn.
"By the time you finish your preparations to wage war against humanity, Strongest would have completed his Tier 6 Skill. He will lead humanity to greater heights," Rhachis Ancestor Light murmured, flying at slow speeds towards Marble City. After passing through the barrier, he arrived at Central Command in a streak of light, planning to rest in his home.
"Right, I still have to remove the rest of her subsouls." With a groan, he flashed from his residence, a crystal lens in his hand, heading further north.
…
Thousands of kilometres east to their city, swimming within the shallow waters adjacent to a tiny island, a half-human half-fish Frenzy Beast paused for an instant, its expression changing. After a good hour had passed, the Frenzy Beast opened its eyes, its gaze relaxed.
"Thanks to Rhachis Ancestor Light severing my connection with all my subsouls and destroying my main soul, I am back to square one. But, this is for the better. I remember everything; the knowledge pertaining to both Humans and Frenzy beasts but, my soul is my own. Gajara Rahi is dead, her personality annihilated in the battle but, I am different. Of all the personalities I had possessed before, my current personality is…quite different and has never been fused with others. I should give myself a good name, to start my new life."
The Frenzy Beast raised its hands, placing it below its chin, a look of thought flashing across its face, "Hmm, how about… Jyavreh Sahi?"
…
Marble City, Sector 4, 5th Ring; seated within a cafe were two teenagers. The boy looked quite excited at the prospect of going on a date as he kept talking nonstop, trying his best to act elegant and mask his excitement with no avail.
Seated opposite to him was a girl with a cheerful face, sporting a petite body frame, looking younger than her actual age. Suddenly, her expression changed minutely, unnoticed by the boy. Her brows scrunched up, her eyes closed as she digested the information pouring into her head.
She closed her eyes for a good two minutes, the boy finally noticing her disinterest. He looked disappointed, turning silent when the girl opened her eyes, her lips curling up into a smile, "I remember everything, George."