— Saint Anubis City, Magus District, House Trillwolf
A few years passed since little Josiah Trillwolf started refining his source artifacts. Currently, Jody was still unconscious inside a two-meter tall capsule full of milky white liquid mana essence. This machine is called the medical chamber. The middle of the medicinal chamber is made of origin stone and red meteorite. The tank was full of a magical mana elixir liquid continually absorbed into Jody's body.
If Jody could see this, he would be reminded of a popular anime from his old world about powerful super monkey aliens.
However, he remained oblivious to this as he floated silently in place. Sitting at a nearby dining table that was markedly out of place in a laboratory was a woman with nation-toppling beauty. She sat in a stunning sky-blue dress that securely hugged the beautiful curves of her body. Her posture was immaculate.
This woman was none other than the ever-elegant First Lady of House Trillwolf, Isis Trillwolf.
Her sapphire blue eyes looked divine as they reflected the light from the dress. The golden lights within her eyes caused them to release a hypnotic glow. During this time, Isis would very rarely leave the House Lord's manor, as she was very concerned with the advancement of her son. In the beginning, it was as if a demon had possessed the boy, screaming and carrying on chaotically. Thankfully, Jody had now stabilized completely. It had been so long since Jody's mother had heard his little voice that she felt empty inside.
"Who knew that it was possible to love a creature this much... it seems that, ultimately, there is a difference between a child born of love and a child born of schemes and hatred. Yet, they are both my own flesh, just like Niagara is..." Lady Isis let out a heavy sigh. She sat in front of the medicinal chamber, drinking a cup of tea. She stood from her seat and slowly sashayed over to her son, placing her hand on the tank glass. "Little Joe, you must become strong, okay? Both your mother and older sister Iara may need you one day...but you must first survive this cruel and merciless world...ugh."
"My Lady," There was a soft bell chime as Ke Si appeared out of the shadows, standing directly left of Lady Isis as if he had been there from the beginning of time.
Although she was startled at first, she had long since grown accustomed to the butler's random appearances. Isis was well aware that Ke Si could travel through the shadows of others under certain conditions.
"What is it, Ke Si?" Lady Isis still had her eyes trained on Josiah and her hand on the glass as if she was trying to memorize every bit of the boy's profile.
"The House Lord has returned. He has asked me to inform you that he requires your presence, post haste." Ke turned around and slowly walked away, the little silver bells at the end of his long, silvery white dreadlocks would chime with every step he took.
"You are both mistaken. For the time being, I will not be leaving this room. If he wishes to see me, you may summon your master, Osiris, here," Lady Isis' beautiful face was indifferent, her usual bell-chime-like voice instead sounding detached and cold like an ice sculpture.
This was a striking contrast to her typical temperament. However, today's Isis somehow felt far more natural.
"This..." Ke was taken aback by this unexpected change in the First Lady's demeanor, but he quickly recovered. After all, this was much more like the famous Radiant Master from the rumors. The Lady of the Mist was always said to be cold and merciless to the max, so Ke Si took a step back as he responded carefully, "If you are worried for the third young lord, I can make this room go dark, as well as remain by his side."
Lady Isis merely glanced at Ke Si from the side before returning her gaze to her son's body. She didn't move an inch, nor did she look up again. Ke Si let out a sigh and disappeared into the shadows. Several moments later, Osiris appeared from within the Lady's shadow. The Lord approached the Lady from behind, sliding his arm around her waist. Lady Isis shot him a cold glare but did not resist his embrace.
Rather, her body slightly softened.
"Icy..." said Lord Osiris, pleased that even without being mesmerized, this woman barely accepted him.
Osiris felt in this moment that she at least viewed herself as his wife.
"This room is isolated by my serene magic barrier, Breeze. There is no need for this play," Lady Isis turned her head back to Jody after she spoke, her face still indifferent. "I am only interested in watching my son today. Quickly, what is it you want?"
Osiris' eyes widened in surprise. Isis was definitely not under the influence of her self-imposed glamour, as she had not called him Breeze since before they wed.
"What play, Icy? Regardless of anything else, what I feel for you has always been genuine. You know that. I love you, woman, and I will always love you. I did this only to protect the mission," said Lord Osiris softly as he rubbed the ice-cold back of this frozen beauty. He couldn't help but be completely infatuated when faced with her cold attitude. It felt like the days when he had first met her, "This mission is just as crucial for you as it is for me, perhaps even more so. How could I let you suffer through such pain through the years? I only wanted to help."
"With your special innate ability, who could know the difference between the truth and a lie when it comes to you?" scoffed Lady Isis, gently removing the strong arm from around her waist. She suddenly changed her voice to one that displayed faux affection, "Less of that. What is it that you want, my darling husband? I will, of course, assist 'my Lord' in any way I can."
Lord Osiris scratched his nose in embarrassment, a hint of guilt flashing through his eyes. It had been a tough few years, with the Dark Elves and Sinner's guilds constantly lurking around the capital. The medjay were all extremely busy, and even Isis had to take her role as the Dynasty's Frozen Night Master more seriously.
Her sarcasm was understandable.
Whenever his wife was mesmerized, getting her to perform that sort of assistance was surprisingly easy. She even offered it excitedly. Osiris cleared his thoughts with his throat, "I have word from Gold Wolf Redoubt. If little Joe does not awaken within a year, they will come to fetch him. Our plan should be unaffected."
"The plan..." Isis' eyes flashed with deep despair...after a moment, she looked Osiris in his eyes and said, "Oh Breeze, couldn't we just…just…run away? We can leave once he wakes up, just the three of us! Once he matures, it won't be too late too..."
"If I were to do that, what would have been the point of coming this far? What do I tell the souls of those who have fallen to achieve our aims? How do I face my nephew in the future if Basalt takes over the empire? What do we say to Iara, who never asked to be born into this mess? Furthermore, what will you have suffered much for? No, Icy, this is something I absolutely cannot escape. We placed ourselves back in this web years ago for the sake of revenge. Now that we are so wrapped up in it, we cannot escape. The White Demon must be exorcized," The House Lord's eyes were resolute, his tone grave and leaving no room for new debate.
"Okay," replied Isis dryly. At the mention of the word White Demon, the cold energy released from her body caused the room's temperature to plummet below zero. When she spoke again, she acted as if the previous conversation hadn't happened at all, "and if he does awaken before the end of phase two? What will happen then?"
"Look at how much he's grown, ah..." Lord Osiris beamed as he moved closer to the tank. "He will turn eight soon. If he awakens within the month, measures have been taken to ensure he is not swept up in the swarm. As long as he is conscious, next month he'll be assigned a sha...dow...eh?"
Before Lord Osiris Trillwolf could finish his words, he felt some force momentum rising from within the tank, startling him as he focused on the boy within.
He could actually sense a power level far stronger than what should exist in the tank. The other two noticed simultaneously, and all three looked back towards the tank, only to see the mana elixir's fluid rapidly depleting, being absorbed into Josiah's body. In fact, even the energy within the origin stones, true stones, and other materials that made up the medicinal chamber were all absorbed into the kid's body as if he were a dry sponge thrown in a shallow puddle.
Jody's eyes suddenly snapped open, a small electric current briefly flashing through them. His sapphire eyes had an almost imperceptible gold light flowing within. The medicinal chamber crumbled into pieces of rock and dust, a tiny puddle of mana elixir appearing beneath the rubble before receding into the dust cloud and vanishing forever. The void shook slightly as a dragonic roar was heard. The vibrations of the dragon roar were so powerful that they shattered Isis' serene magic barrier and spread over 1,000 miles in every direction, with Jody as the center.
Of the three adults in the room, there wasn't one of them who wasn't stunned. Lady Isis' eyes were like full blue saucers. As her body started to shake slightly, her excitement and anxiety were barely hidden. That shock wave was so powerful that it still made a commotion despite being obstructed by her barrier! That was crazy, as she was much stronger than this little boy and possibly even stronger than the two men in the room with her.
Then again, she was well aware that this husband of hers was an enigma. No one knew his true depths. Lord Osiris' face, on the other hand, was deathly grave. Trepidation and doubt were written on his face as he glanced at Isis standing by his side. This woman's body bore two children, and both of them ended up with a powerful dragon soul. Not only that, but Basalt was hunting her, convinced that she could repeat the feat. This could no longer be a mere coincidence.
Most terrifying, Basalt may not be so crazy after all.
'Could her bloodline really be so potent?'
Was this, perhaps, the reason that fellow is so determined to have her?
'Could he really complete that dastardly art with her bloodline?'
Osiris started to question his own methods for the first time since this all started. He never imagined dragon souls were so powerful, and Basalt already had two. Now, Lord Trillwolf couldn't help but grow anxious. Would this plan really work, or were they breeding a disaster?
Meanwhile, Ke Si stood in a daze with his mouth hanging open.
He never expected to witness such a display of power from one of his Lord's children. His lips slowly mouthed the words, "Dragon...force..."
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Ten hours earlier...
"A total of 30 Twilight Stars remaining. Use five twilight stars to awaken earlier?"
"Hard pass. I already did that months ago. How much could it have really helped? Hmm? What's this?"
[Cosmos Revolving Grimoire]
'Twilight Force baptism in progress: 225% (dual)'
'Serenity Force baptism in progress: 50% (Perfect)'
'Calamity Force baptism in progress: 70% (Perfect)'
'Perfect Synchronization with Host in progress: 41%...42%...43%.'
'Guardian 1: Cosmos Devouring Sky Wolf, Compatibility rating: 63% (Perfect)'
'Guardian 2: Mighty God Sky Jackal, Compatibility rating: 12%.'
"It seems my consciousness is still being restricted to the host space. I wonder why my second guardian's rating keeps decreasing instead of increasing?" pondered Jody Trill to himself.
He was in host form, seated on an all-white throne that seemed to be made out of dragon bones.
Jody and his throne were floating through a dark void as he mused, "It's been only god knows how long...sheesh. I stopped counting halfway through the second year...my mother was correct. This was truly a waste of my childhood. Let's check the other one."
With a thought, Jody retrieved information from his second source artifact.
[Pharaoh's Law]
'Twilight Force baptism in progress: 225% (Dual)'
'Thunderbolt Force baptism in progress: 207% (Legacy).'
'Dragon Force baptism in progress: 250% (Legacy).'
'Legacy Fusion with Host in progress: 97%...98%...99%.'
'Legacy Soul: Vajra Volos, compatibility rating: 3% (Legacy).'
"Well, this is much more impressive. At least, for the most part," thought Jody, wondering why the compatibility rating with the dragon soul would be so low.
Then again, the dragon had twice tried to eat him. Remembering this, Jody no longer felt confused.
"I wonder what happens when the source artifact fusion is completed at 100%. Does this value continue to increase, as well? If so, will I ever wake up?"
Jody was startled to find a mechanical-sounding voice speaking back to him, answering the question in his thoughts.
"Responding to host query: Negative. Once the source artifact in Legacy Fusion reaches 100%, the Host will awaken. This is true unless the host's second artifact still structures the host space. However, once the source artifact in Perfect Synchronization reaches 50%, the Host will immediately awaken." Said the metallic voice.
Without asking, Jody was somehow aware that this voice came from [Pharaoh's Law]. He apparently had a telepathic connection with the source spirit. It was the source spirit that had spoken to him.
"Great, more voices in my head," marveled Jody. "Hm? I wonder, what does this 'Legacy, Dual, and Perfect' mean exactly?"
In this space, all his thoughts were shouted out loud in the void around him, like there was a secret sound system hiding in the dark. It was far quieter just to speak out loud.
"Responding to the host query:" came the metallic voice, "the Combat Soul: Vajra Volos has given the host the legacy of its soul flame. As a result, the entire essence of the consciousness that was Janair Mazi now belongs to the host. By giving away the legacy, the hollowed soul flame of Janair Mazi has evolved into this source spirit."
Jody felt enlightened. The once mighty dragon was now his fate artifact's source spirit. Jody felt a bit awkward about this. Then again, it was kind of cool. They may have fused, but he wasn't entirely gone, right?
"Trippy. So, how do I use this so-called 'legacy'? What are the benefits, and are there any potential dangers?" asked Jody.
"Responding to host query: once the host has its main consciousness restored, the host must raise the compatibility rating with Combat Soul: Vajra Volos to remove seals on the legacy. This legacy has a total of eight normal seals, two special seals, and three divine seals. Special seals are only removed under particular conditions. Conditions required unknown. Conditions required to remove divine seals unknown."
"Very cool. That's all trippy," thought Jody out loud.
"Registration of artifact spirit name [Trippy] acknowledged. Just call the name [Trippy], and I will answer your query."
Jody was speechless.
What was this now?
Wasn't he just using slang?
Jody didn't even know he could name his source spirit, and now he wouldn't have the chance.
Ten hours later…
"Legacy Fusion with Host complete," said the robotic voice of Trippy.
"Great, more waiting, woohoo," complained Jody.
One day later, he was still waiting impatiently. He tapped the armrest of his throne in irritation. He was almost about to scream when he heard the voice of Trippy.
"Synchronization of [Cosmos Revolving Grimoire] has reached the required threshold. The main consciousness, 'Josiah,' is waking up."