Supreme Magus

3020 Price of Power (Part 2)

Orion sighed, taking a moment to collect himself before taking off his clothes.

"I'll keep us all connected with a mind link. I'll use it only in case of emergency and I expect everyone to do the same. Avoid screaming and begging in my head, please. I need to focus." Vastor stripped as well, followed by Abthot, Nandi, and Zoreth.

They only kept the Maw on.

"What are you doing?" Orion didn't know where to look.

"Five pods for five people, genius." Vastor replied. "Enchanted armor would get in the way of the neural interface. I can't risk the slightest delay in the system."

'Damn, the rumors about Vastor's staff were true.' Orion nodded and walked inside the open gene tank.

When the glass door closed, a violet liquid flowed inside and kept pouring even after reaching Orion's neck. At that point, what looked like an oxygen mask came down from the ceiling and attached itself to his face.

'Don't worry and breathe normally.' Vastor said via the mind link. 'This will take a long while so get yourself comfortable. Give me a sign when you've gotten used to the pod.'

Floating in the nutrient potion was indeed a weird experience just like seeing Mogar in shades of violet. Yet the warm liquid relaxed Orion and being able to see Vastor and the members of his team eased Orion's worries.

As he gave Vastor a thumbs up, Nandi cranked the density of world energy inside Orion's tank to eleven.

'Stop fighting your core and Awaken.' Vastor said.

Orion nodded and followed the breathing technique Vastor had taught him. The tank seemed to turn from a life support system into a torture device. His blood burned through his veins like magma while the impurities became a swarm of angry razors that tore his body apart from the inside in the attempt to escape.

Abthot's vines moved from her pod to Orion's, seeping under his skin and spreading throughout his flesh, blood, and bones. The sensation of his body being invaded would have been terrifying under normal circumstances but the pain was too intense for Orion to care.

Zoreth provided the abundant vitality of her troll side, Abthot infused nutrients and life force on a cellular level better than Quylla's Injection spell, while Nandi adjusted the pressure of the world energy based on Vastor's instructions.

As for the Professor, he used his breathing technique, Beyonder's Eye, and his Decay eye, to study the changes in Orion's body and life force in real time. He spotted the mana flow's breaking points and moved the impurities there.

All the vital organs were constantly protected. The impurities adjusted their shape and density to fight the destructive waves of violet mana like well-trained soldiers under the orders of a veteran general.

Orion's body bloated and exploded, but only in non-vital areas that Zoreth healed and Abthot replenished with nutrients.

None of that would have been enough if not for Nandi generating a world energy pressure above that of a mana geyser and Cyare imbuing Orion with Mana Body. The earth element-based bloodline ability made flesh and bones sturdier and resistant to their own mana.

It turned Orion's entire body into a quasi-impurity that hindered the Awakening process, allowing him to survive. Nelia infused her allies with Life Maelstrom, giving the lion's share to Abthot.

The ogre-Eldritch hybrid kept half of it to herself and infused the rest along with the nutrients inside Orion's cells when they regenerated. This way she empowered his body without affecting his core, increasing his physical resistance beyond human limits.

Bytra followed the events from the control panel of the Madness, making sure that the energy flow didn't overload any of the pods and that everyone received the nourishment they needed.

The procedure was going to last hours, if not days, and they needed their strength.

Orion's Awakening was unique and Vastor had no mage tower. Orion knew that somehow Lith had helped Quylla to Awaken, but he couldn't ask her anything without exposing his intentions.

Vastor had planned for the impurities to slowly drip out of Orion's body as it rebuilt itself stronger and its mana conductivity improved. The problem was that he had no experience with violet cores and played it safe.

He followed the transformation of Orion's body with Beyonder's Eye, nudging the changes in the life force here and there while letting the impurities out only when their presence made further advancement impossible.

The tar-like substance seeped instead of flooding out of Orion's orifices and pores, making the process as painful as a normal Awakening but making it last much longer than a few minutes.

'Whatever happens, don't lose consciousness.' Vastor warned him. 'Whenever you feel too weak, just tell me and I'll restore your vitality. Just remember that the more I do it, the less effective it will become.'

Orion screamed, nodded, and kept screaming.

His bones broke, his skin fell off, and his blood seemed to be on fire.

The slow Awakening process hindered his breathing technique and sapped his strength. Invigoration didn't work due to all the barriers stopping the mana flow while the constant opening and healing of his wounds took a toll on his mind.

Awakening was supposed to be empowering but for Orion, it was a slow and excruciating torture.

Seconds seemed to last minutes, minutes days, and hours years. The process couldn't be stopped and soon Orion found himself wishing that someone, anyone messed up.

'At least, this would be over. At least, the pain would stop.' His tears were lost in the violet liquid.

No god answered his prayers and the Eldritches made no mistake.

Cyare and Hushar took turns with the arrays and the Mana Body while Eycos and Nelia alternated using Life Maelstrom so that their mana organs were never full.

'Circulate your mana!' Vastor incited his friend from time to time. 'The more auxiliary cores you form, the lesser the strain on your body will become.'

It was easy to say but hard to do in the searing ocean of agony that drowned Orion. He needed sheer willpower just to stay conscious, he clenched his teeth so hard and for so long that they kept chipping and regenerating.

Every piece of his body down to his hair hurt all the time. Circulating mana under those conditions wasn't hard, it was impossible. Normal Awakened would not experience pain, their bodies free of impurities upon reaching the bright blue.

The point of the violet was to reach the expertise and focus to form auxiliary cores, not to battle death. It was only hours later, when Orion's body refinement had reached the equivalent of the blue, that he could start forming the auxiliary cores.

By that point, he had almost got numb to the pain and with most of the impurities gone, it was bearable. At least for him. Without the Master's careful planning and the prolonged suffering, what Orion now considered acceptable suffering would have driven a normal man insane.

Nandi slowly decreased the pressure of world energy as Orion's body improved and so did Cyare and Hushar with Mana Body.

Abthot tendrils stitched Orion's flesh together, Zoreth enhanced his metabolism to regeneration levels, and Vastor moved the impurities to force the mana flow to follow path of the least resistance.

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