Rick slowly drew his legs across each other, closing his eyes to center himself in the faintly silent room. The deep state of meditation sank him deeper into himself than he'd ever felt before when he heard the familiar tone of the voice of the system spirit—though mild and wise-sounding now than ever he'd heard it.
"Never thought I'd ever see this," she said, her words laced with gentle awe. You, a man once carried by unchecked rage and ambition, now approaching restraint and introspection. This transformation within you has stirred up something ancient—something bound to the bloodline of your past selves, the core of your being. You carry within you the aftereffects of power from billions of lifetimes. Every life's essence has woven a vast network of bloodlines within you, all intertwined yet dormant. To unlock them would take more than just skill - it would take wisdom and, above all, control.
A ripple of awe mixed with tension ran down Rick's body. He knew of the potential that lay inside those ancient bloodlines and knew that awakening those may just break him in two unless he prepared for it first.
The spirit's voice went on, measured now. "You must focus upon the foundations which will allow you to access these energies without losing your self. First, return to your gene arts. In those arts lie the keys to the strength you are seeking and the balance you require. Only by mastering the structure of your genetic essence can you hope to command the overwhelming power locked within."
And every word stirred that deep, dormant potential, like many rivers bubbling just below the surface, waiting to break through. His mind strayed back to the teachings he had buried over lifetimes, memories of the intricate gene arts he had once practiced and honed but had long abandoned.
Closing his eyes tighter still, he channeled the focus onto those primordial and archaic arts, feeling every part of his genetic structure coming to life. He calmed down his breathing so that he was in line with pulsing bloodlines. The past incarnations came on like ghostly presences whispering him bits and pieces of their power.
The system spirit continued softly: "One step at a time, Rick. Gene arts aren't merely just about raw power; that's what the forces in you are. Reweave each art step by step, as weaving tapestries of existence. And you'll see how it was for your former lives to be controlled by each decision you made while with this lifetime, you shall transcend.
Rick stood there unmoving, drinking in the teaching of the spirit. Closing his eyes, he took in, one after another, the layers of his gene arts: the bedrock he was his dragon blood, the darkness he had lived for so long, and the emotional arts he only just started to understand-they all merged together into a complex web of power that was exhilarating and treacherous both at once.
In the silence, he heard the last words of the system spirit. "Remember, true mastery isn't the absence of power-it's power guided by understanding. As you awaken these bloodlines, let this life be a testament not to the past mistakes, but to the future you alone will create.".
With renewed determination, Rick plunged deeper into his meditation, allowing himself to be drenched in the journey of reconnecting with his ancient bloodlines. Each layer of power surged, testing his will and his control, but he held his ground. This time it was different-this time he was ready.
Gene Arts Levels
1. Primordial Awakening
Description: This is the bottom level, where Rick wakes up the first of his primal bloodlines and unlocks the power of his earliest lives. The Dragon and Dark bloodlines still carry the traces of powers from the ancient lives. Early links at this stage will enable Rick to start learning and using fundamental traits about his bloodlines.
Abilities:
Dragon Physique: Increased strength and resistance with partial control over fire or earth.
Shadow Manipulation: Initial dark energy-based ability that allows him to work in shadows and perform the most minor illusions.
Limits: Limited time span with unbalanced control; long-term misuse exhausts both his brain and body
2. Ancestral Synthesis
At this point, Rick starts sychronizing his lines of cores, fusing their abilities to form combined powers. This stage of his evolution also improves the gene memory, which empowers him to feel chunks of his past lives' experiences along with their specific traits.
Powers:
Elemental Harmony: The dragon energy combined with dark energy infuses fire with shadows, which allows him to produce extreme attacks.
Recall of Memories: He must use memories from previous lives that increase his combat and strategic skills.
Limitations: The mixture is very demanding, tiring, and mentally exhausting. He can't hold complex abilities for long.
End
Description: This stage connects Rick's soul energy to his bloodlines to advance his essence. Soul-Bound Integration heightens his capacity for mastery over Emotion Arts as his emotions turn into the physical and start influencing the energy surrounding him. In this stage, he is able to connect the physical and spiritual hence his foundation becomes stronger.
Abilities:
Emotion Arts Amplification: Wrath gives him unmatched power while Calm enhances his mental clarity and precision.
Soul Shield: Protective aura that protects him from psychic or soul-based attacks.
Restrictions: Precise control of emotions is necessary. If imbalances are too prevalent (for example, overabundance of anger), his energy flow becomes destabilized and unintended effects can happen.
4. Omnigenic Convergence
Description: The most profound final stage, the body, mind, and soul of Rick merge with all bloodlines into a single cohesive energy. On this level, the Celestial Bloodline is finally unlocked, allowing him to tap into his full multi-dimensional potential. He assumes the latent powers of every bloodline, blending them to create new forms that shatter the normal limits.
Abilities:
Celestial Form: Transformation that renders him resilient and powerful and allows him to manipulate a variety of elements without flaws.
Time-Awareness: A clearer sense of time and space that enables Rick to pre-foretell motions, precognize risks and briefly reverse the flow of time.
Full Emotion Understanding: Ultimate understanding of complex emotions. He is aware of love. Completes mastery over Emotion Arts, including that he understands in depth unmatched by any others.
Limits: So far, Rick has not reached this level. A balance in all of his lines and his supremacy over the previous steps for him to be able against such an overflow of immensity energy.
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Energy Levels:
1. Dark Energy:
Present Level: Level 7 (out of 10). Rick has mastery over darkness with high energy but hasn't reached the pinnacle where he could command pure shadow dimensions.
2. Dragon Energy:
Present Level: Level 8 (out of 10). His dragon power boosts his physical strength, regeneration, and elemental affinities. Almost at the top, he can use skills like Dragon's Wrath or Celestial Flame.
3. Emotion Energy:
Current Level: Tier 5 (of 8). He's growing toward emotional mastery so he has the power to manipulate based on emotions. Power/Strength comes through Wrath while Calm is what focuses clarity and sight. For him, love is such a battle field so even that power he has control with is only over the fullest spectrum of energy it puts out.
Current Level: Supreme Tier. Soul energy is Rick's core strength in that he has a previous life or lives that supply this energy. This allows him to have an amplified Soul-Bound Integration and resistance to external influence; therefore, he can withstand the impact of psychic or spiritual attacks better.
5. Bloodline Energy:
Current Level: Unstable. Rick's bloodline energy is unstable. This composite energy can vary especially when he draws more advanced powers. Gene Arts have to advance to a stage that stabilizes fully to achieve Omnigenic Convergence.
As Rick trains and unlocks further mastery of his Gene Arts, he'll slowly build toward the very highest ranks in each energy type, gaining all of the powers of his myriad past selves.
Rick had practiced the gene arts for two months and his concentration was on increase day by day. Sudden movement in the room caused him to lose focus. He opened his eyes and saw the princess coming to slowly. Her eyes were moving towards him and she could see a tear run from her eye to trickle down her cheek.
Confusion filled Rick's face as she looked at him sideways. A soft whispered "thank you" emerged from her mouth, and he had no idea why she was saying it was okay. Perhaps that expression was on his face as she went on, "I wanted to be stronger."
Rick's brows furrowed. Strength for what? She knows his confusion and continues her request, whispering even as she says it, her voice just above the gentlest whisper. "I feel that our destinies are tied. I would want to be strong-to follow you. That's why I sought my mother.".
It was the lightning bolt of her words that hit him; emotions swirled inside him. Tears brimmed up in his eyes while he tried to understand her resolve, "Why are you being so kind to me? You want to join me?"
She nodded gently and smiled faintly, the way to answer his silent question. And in that moment, something was bonded between them, stronger than he could have ever thought, and he knew they would face whatever came ahead together.
Rick sat silent, still thinking through what she said, an odd, unstable feeling opening within his chest. As he gazed at the princess—her fragile features mollified by the lingering tear—he could feel the heat of her honesty sear through the walls he'd constructed around himself over countless lifetimes. She wanted to go with him, to join him on his path, not for the power of it all, but because she somehow seemed to believe in him, even given the broken bits of his past.
His nod, silent as it was, was like a promise; the vulnerability of a very rare moment in Rick's heart. He could hardly get the words out: heaviness in his chest, which he hadn't felt in centuries. At last, with a barely audible voice, he spoke: "I… I don't know if you realize what you're asking, the danger, the darkness…
There was a hint of sadness in the princess's smile, but it never wavered. "I know enough. I see bits and pieces of what you used to be, but in all that, I see what you are. I'm not afraid of you, Rick. I believe in this moment, in us." Her hand extended; she touched him lightly with her fingers. The softness, the bare touch-this was something Rick hadn't known he needed until now.
They sat there for the longest time, not saying a word. He finally muttered, "Thanks." She didn't know if he said that because of her compassion, her bravery, or her acceptance, but all she did was squeeze his hand back.
Sitting in silence, Rick felt a new resolve settle within him. Reaching for countless powers through past lives, mastering untold arts and forces, he now, for the first time, felt a deeper, truer purpose.
The door groaned, and the mother of the princess, full of splendor and majesty, entered the room. She halted, then her sight rested on what she had entered to witness. And there was Rick, who, mere existence could change the landscape of realms and made frighten across worlds, and now just sat there in silence as he held onto her daughter's hand. This moment lightened the tension; her face changed to reflect a soft, warm smile even though much turmoil welled inside of her.
For a moment, she wrestled pride with worry. Here was her daughter standing with a man whose legacy stretched over centuries of power and also ruin. And it was in that still moment that what she was seeing stirred other things inside of her. He'd let his daughter find the shadows of Rick's past and to believe the path he wishes to take now, perhaps now is less lonely, less isolated with her there to stand with him.
Rick looked up, and she caught his eye. There was a nod in acknowledgment of her presence and of the unspoken, albeit now shared, understanding which lay between them. With a nod of her own, the princess's mother acknowledged him, and this time, her gaze also lingered on him-a silent, complex mixture of warning and acceptance.
"The mother," the princess interrupted softly, her voice broke the quiet as she gently squeezed Rick's hand "I… I made up my mind."
The princess's mother looked at her steadily, then with a small sigh. "You both carry such weight," she said softly yet firmly. "But if this is the path you both choose… then I trust you will walk it together wisely.".
She turned to Rick, her eyes scanning his face for just a moment before she opened her mouth once more to speak. "Take care of her, Rick. Your power may move realms, but remember, it's your choices that truly define you." With that, she smiled at her daughter for one last time, smiling her approval before stepping away from them.
Rick watched her go, but her words rang in his head. For the first time in ages, choices carried a new gravity for him. He looked back at the princess with a strange mix of gratitude and determination—this was his chance to make them count.