--"So... How is this going to work? I mean is this technology even tested? No disrespect to anyone! ...Just concerned over the success and effects of Experiment"--
Aavesh asked with a bit of unease in his voice.
Athena replied a bit wryly in an apologetic tone, " Um- it mostly works, uh I mean we managed to find the solution to make it work 100% after you arrived- We analyzed your substructure and found the answer! So don't worry too much about the success rate- Rather I think you should be worried about something else..."
Aavesh then stared at her curiously and asked,
--"What- something else?"--
"Yes... Aavesh you are aware of the Attochip?"
--"I am"--
"The Meridians will work just like the attochip and have the same level of security! Meaning it will be exclusive to you! But the twist is a bit... different"
Aavesh had a bad feeling in his heart as he stared at the Reluctant Athena,
--"How different?"--
Athena sighed as she explained,
"Well, you see... The Meridians will be crafted with an extremely expensive Higher Dimensional Material- Possibly ultra Rare! My father found them in one of the Five Forbidden Beyonder Realms..."
Aavesh Eyes literally widened as he stared at her in shock! His voice trembled for a bit as he asked,
--"Tho- Those Realms Beyond the Known Universe? IS HE CRAZZY ?!"--
"NO! Atleast I don't think so..."
His eyes narrowed as he stared at her Guilty expression,
--"You Know So"--
"Well Maybe a little bit..."
--" Elder Sister Athena, a little bit of crazy is not enough to create World Rending Wormholes to enter into the Beyonder Regions- You know those Places are practically a death sentence for New Gods! Yet your Dad... Well who am I kidding- why should I call the Pot black when my kettle isn't any lighter..."--
Athena inquired curiously, " What's that supposed to mean?"
--"Just a Phrase- Dont think too much about it, I meant I would probably do the same if I had a chance-"--
"So you would do-"
--"-but with Prudence and a lot of Preparation!"--
"..."
--"..."--
Both of them became silent for a moment and then Athena spoke up again with a hint of Melancholy, " He did it to find resurrection Flowers for My Mom..."
--"I am sorry I-"--
She cut him off with a sad smile,
"No, its ok, its been decades... I'll tell you about it- its not a big deal, Mom was not exactly religious enough for any New God to siphon her soul for the Resurrection Process- she was an Atheist, to resurrect Atheists- New Gods would need to spend a lot of Divine Powers or Something, and very few would be willing to do that..."
--"That's... harsh"--
"Would you like to hear how we ended up here? How everything came to this? Its a long complicated story-"
--"Yeah tell me about it. I only have time left"--
Athena stared at him for a bit strangely and then spoke,
"My Father Beseeched the New Gods who were capable of resurrecting Atheists and only two heard his pleas due to some alignment restrictions, anyways they were Morosi and Metronis, They agreed to resurrect My Mom in exchange for certain conditions- Morosi wanted my father to bring the head of Kardophynina- An eldritch Beast with surprising Healing Qualities but it was incredibly Powerful - and it dwelled in Narakha Dimension... Atleast of New God Level but My father- You know- is only a demigod- and his progress stopped after Mom's death... It was a hopeless endeavor so he painfully gave up on that"
Tears fell down her cheeks as she spoke but she wiped them and continued,
"Metronis on the other hand demanded Eternal Service from My Father- Which was fair actually as he would use their quintessence to establish a deal with the cosmic laws in exchange for resurrecting a Mortal like my Mom, Haaah... My Dad would have easily accepted the offer but my Mom or rather her spirit would always stop him from being so reckless... Eventually, he stopped considering that offer as well..."
"He then researched on Non-necromantic arts to bring back the dead because My Mom would kill him if he dared to step on the Undead Path, anyways he decided to seek the Ways of the Archaic Gods! He began to follow the Old Ways- the Yajnas and even conducted them."
"Then suddenly one Time, he heard a whisper during his Meditative Rituals- it showed him the answer he sought- The Resurrection Flower!"
At the mention of a whisper, Aavesh's ears perked up- there was a similar element here from his dream. He listened as Athena spoke more,
"The whisper simply told it was beyond the Known Universe and then vanished! I never really believed this, but I remember my father's face when he came- It was incredibly Pale and his eyes were filled with fear- It freaked me out- Imagine something that scared a Demigod! I did not dismiss anything despite having my own reservations..."
Aavesh's injured heart could not help but beat a bit faster as he heard this- so he was not the only one who heard "them". This was getting a bit Mysterious here...
"My father on the other Hand decided to build a Device that could Temporarily Pierce the Veil that protects all the Dimensions to create a World Rending Wormhole and Enter the Forbidden Beyonder Realms- Those Realms-You know them don't you- the Grand Ocean of Law-Chaos, Unknown Void, Soul Rending Realm, Space-Time Junction and the Realm of Fractured Fabric..."
"For this Purpose - He joined the Pinnacle Council and began his research on Beyonder Realms- For this he created the Omega Orbitron!", she spoke with a Proud expression while Aavesh's Jaw dropped! This was the reason the space station was built- Damn! He could not help but interject,
--"WHAT THE!YOU MEAN THIS STATION CAN CREATE-"--
She smiled as she explained further, not at all surprised at his reaction," You understand that such research is banned across the entire Galaxy? My father did it in secrecy- Well we are going to die now so it doesn't matter if you know about it- so anyways, we managed to create a Device but we were only able to use it once- so we did"
"In that try, My father entered a Portal to the Realm of the Unknown Void and searched for the flower- He never found one... No matter how hard he tried to search or get any clues in that Dangerous Place, there was nothing... Ultimately Time was running out and That Realm was a Hive Ground for Eldritch Demigods making it that he might lose his life at any moment if he was ever caught- So my father returned to the Portal and shut it down before anything followed back"
"He never got over the fact that he failed to get it and has always been hard on himself... He's been searching for the fuel components ever since, to try and Go Back- *Haish I don't think we'll ever be able to recreate the fuel itself as during the first time he synthesized it with a stroke of luck... But now I don't think its possible at all- *Haaah Life can be so unpredictable..."
She sighed forlornly as she reminisced about their hard work and how excited he used to be before at every success... Now everything was apparently coming to an end.
Everything.
"In that single trip- My Father found several curious materials made of unknown elements, ores, scriptures belonging to unknown eras and a Golden Lotus that is producing the core ingredients of the amrith you are ingesting currently-"
"The Meridians will be crafted synthetically with a Material we call Divorarium and your Blood cells-Technically we are cloning your Core Identity Meridian Cells and Patterns with your blood sample to ensure your body does not reject the Artificial Meridians- Also We will also use a device to link your consciousness to the Artificial Meridian Interface- so no one can activate or touch it apart from you! No security loopholes will be present!- You will then be able to Manipulate Your Meridians however you want!-"
--"But there's a catch isn't there- Tell me about the catch..."--, Aavesh asked before being carried away by such wondrous explanations- there was no way such a powerful Meridian System would not have a critical loophole!
Athena's face turned a bit red with embarrassment as she sheepishly spoke, " Mortal level Cosmic Cultivation requires you to train your Meridians and open them up- Usually Normal Cultivators just need to keep circulating their Energy Techniques which would automatically strengthen their fragile meridians but um you- would have to basically ingest Metals or alloys to keep upgrading your Meridians- See your Meridians will be crafted with Divorarium- an interesting Beyonder metal which keeps devouring Metal or Alloys and assumes their characteristics while retaining its devouring Properties..."
"In simple words - you need to devour better Metals for your Meridians or find a way to strengthen them to support your Cultivation Technique- or you will stop your Cosmic Cultivation- I'm Sorry but there is no way to fully clone a complete functioning Organic Meridian System or restore your existing set of Meridians- Unfortunately, its because they are made from Cosmic force during pregancy- it is a process we are unable to fully understand- so we tried to mimic the properties instead and came up with this"
She again looked at Aavesh and spoke with wonder, " To be honest we were only able to finish the project because of you"
--"Me?"-- Aavesh was a bit surprised at this.
Athena explained carefully, " It is because we lacked the ability to make a soul Interface- Regular meridians have a interface with the soul and the core aspect of Cultivation- The Mythic Power present in the Mental mantle part of the soul! The Growth of the Meridians in the energy Path is closely linked with the soul as well"
"We managed to observe your Soul's Substructure which did not have any adulterations or changes because of which we were able to immediately complete the final piece of the puzzle- In a way you are meant for this- strangely"
Aavesh could not help but feel a bit strange as well, things seemed to be smooth so far but deep down he believed a storm was soon coming and he had to pay a price for getting this- There was never a free lunch in this Cosmos. He sighed but quickly asked another important question,
--"How will I fare in combat against other cultivators- will I be weak or something?"--
Athena frowned a bit at this but replied back thoughtfully," You will not be weak necessarily- rather you will have a chance to enter an extreme state with your Meridians- you will have to temper them at every level and if you do keep going at it - You might just be able to have a better set of Meridians then almost everyone So cheer up!"
"But you should remember one thing, We are going implant the Meridians into a seed-like format to mimic organic Meridians as much as possible - so they will form across your body as if they were unopened natural Meridians! But you need to open and strengthen them- You will have a Digital Soul Interface which will help you keep track of unopened Meridians and to open them is completely upto you- Just don't force open them! There's a lot of functions which we have set in- I'm sure you will love them! I will keep it as a surprise and won't spoil it for you now!"
She smiled mysteriously as she spoke this.
Aavesh however spoke up again,
--" Thanks for doing this for me- and sharing the story... I can't say that you might be able to see eachother again in this lifetime- But I hope that you all will be family in your Next life!"--
"Thank you for your kind wishes Aavesh! I hope so too- But now I must begin the preparatory Processes while we Craft your Meridian seed set-"
Meanwhile, Perseus stood before the Military council with a difficult expression- He had to make the hard decisions or the upcoming War might destroy everything they had built- There could be no do-overs!