Chapter 10: [Infinity Castle] Progress
August 8th, 1999
Earth - ?????????
Jacks [Infinity Dimension].
Jack was seen sitting on a small hill in the middle of his dimension a day after receiving the dire news he'll have to go through high school again.
He was currently overlooking the progress made over the last 8 years; surrounded by at least 3 dozen Dijiangs lazing about around him while Stella was at his side like always.
As it turns out, Dijiangs are perfect beings for dimensional expansion. They consume the chaotic energy on the fringes of his dimension, and they subconsciously release it back out when they chirp melodies or sleep, thus making his dimension grow at all times. They're basically dimensional batteries.
From the initial square mile from 8 years ago, Jacks dimension has grown nearly 10 times its initial size. Jack and Stella couldn't help but be proud of what they have created over the years.
Looking upon the Dijiang Caverns still on the fringes of the dimension; they have undergone tremendous changes. Originally, just a regular small mountain with glowing trees and hundreds of exit tunnels, it now had a beautiful and grand ornate castle sitting on its peak.
The original hundred plus Dijiang tunnel exits were sealed off, and there were now 4 grandly adorned main entrances in each major cardinal direction; Dijiangs could also be seen flying in and out of the entrances periodically. The castle and entrances appeared to be made of various shades of ice and grey stone brick.
Two giant ice blue sculptures of Shishi's were seen guarding each of the 4 entrances; coming out to a total of 8 Ice Blue Shishi's. The castle and entrances are definitely works of art; if humans from Jacks last life saw this castle, they would 100% name it as the 9th wonder of the world.
Jack found that through energy consumption, he was able to manifest building materials in any conceivable direction in the confines of his dimension. With the help of the [A.I. Chip] and his growing control over ice, Jack was also able to design the castle and entrances to structural perfection, even adding in details Picasso would be proud of.
While he could build upside down or sideways, he wanted to keep everything simple for now. He doesn't need endless corridors and mazes of castle hallways as he isn't planning on trapping anyone in here yet as this is his personal safe space.
What he needs is a large enough base to construct more infrastructure whenever it's needed.
After about 6 years, the base of the castle and Dijiang Caverns had been set. Jack then had the [A.I. Chip] map out the best places for wiring, electricity, lighting, hot water, plumbing, and A/C.
Taking another year and a half, even with the help of the [A.I. Chip], Stella, Wenwu, Shang-Chi, and Mattias, the castle was finally completed.
Thinking he won't need to build anything else for the forseeable future, Jack was relieved. Standing up from the ground that overlooked his castle, he said to Stella, "Let's see how [Project: Hulk Buster] is going."
With a gust of wind, Jack and Stella were sent flying towards their new home and one of the four Dijiang Cavern entrances; the two Shishi's guarding this entrance bowed their heads towards Stella and Jack as they made their way in. Although most of the caverns remained untouched as of yet, Stella had a full remodel of her stone throne hibernation chamber that was located in the heart of the mountain.
Now decked out with an entire entertainment system for her viewing pleasure and very comfortable super-sized furniture; it looked completely different than its previous bleak state.
While Jack wanted to make rooms like this for every Dijiang, he just didn't have the time currently to set up so many electrical devices. He did have furniture and other appliances shipped in to be stocked in every Dijiang cave home though. Stella and Jack were basically worshipped as Gods by the Dijiang for getting them "comfy sleepy stuff".
Another addition to the caverns was the experimental grounds. Located behind Stella's stone throne lay an ice door with untold thickness. Behind that door is where Jack and Stella do their experiments.
Coming up to this large ice door after passing the place where he first met Stella, Jack and Stella both entered their [Organic Ice-Forms] to phase through. This method stops any curious Dijiangs from wandering into this place.
After a brisk 3 minute walk, they came to an open room about the size of a baseball field. Two large armored giants could be seen standing at around 13 feet tall in the middle of the room. Jack figured his first big debut would be against the Hulk and the Abomination. He needed something that would hold them down while he freezes from a distance, and that's when he remembered Iron-Mans Hulk Buster armor.
Deciding he wanted to do something similar, he first made 8 Shishi ice sculptures around 7 years ago when he was 8 years old. He then experimented with his [Sub-Ability: Imbue Life] for the first time. He didn't want them to be too smart, and he didn't want them to have too much self-awareness. He also needed to regulate his emotions while creating them, he thought.
After remembering how the Iron Gang attacked his mother, he used [Imbue Life] on the eight Shishi while reminicing on how much he wanted to protect her at the time.
The result was surprising. The 8 Shishi's started to glimmer. Jack inserted about 10 units of energy into each Shishi, draining his energy by about 80 points. After he was done inserting energy, the 8 Shishi looked around curiously before going into a sitting position, losing all signs of life.
Jack became curious and had the [A.I. Chip] scan them, "A.I. Chip, please scan the Shishi's," he thought.
[Ding! Command Received! Scanning...]
Waiting for around 20 seconds, the data appeared before him.
[Name: Ice Shishi]
[Attributes:
Strength: 0.1
Physique: 0.1
Vitality: 0.1
Soul: 0.01
Energy: 0.1/0.1]
[Innate Talents:
Guardian: Detect hostile intent and react accordingly. They're perfect guards for your home.
Size Manipulation: Consume energy to gather the moisture in the air to increase your size.
Ice Regeneration: Consume energy to condense the moisture in the air to heal all wounds.]
Looking at the simple Ice Shishi, Jack was stunned. "I can create innate talents?," he thought.
Looking at the 8 Shishi's, he imbued 10 more energy into the one he inspected. Looking at the new attributes, he was satisfied.
[Name: Ice Shishi]
[Attributes:
Strength: 0.2
Physique: 0.2
Vitality: 0.2
Soul: 0.02
Energy: 0.2/0.2]
Seeing the soul attribute raise did have him quite worried, though, so he asked his [A.I. Chip]: "A.I. Chip, are you able to deactivate or kill these constructs? I don't want them to betray me in the future."
[Ding! Analyzing....]
[Ding! A small connection between the contruct and the user has been found! Cutting this connection will automatically destroy the contruct you built.] The chip explained after about 30 seconds.
Being relieved by this answer, he returns his attention back to the Shishi's.
Deciding that their innate talents were better suited to guard their dimension, Jack and Stella moved the 8 Shishi's to the 4 grand entrances of the Dijiang Mountain Caverns; over the next seven years, Stella and Jack would imbue energy into them whenever they got the chance.
Satisfied with his experiment, he returned his attention back onto the Hulk Buster Project after his energy refilled. Deciding on a form, he went for what he usually looks like in [Organic Ice-Form], but more than 2 times his size and way bulkier.
"They look like me, if I ate a sandwich in Castle Crashers," Jack couldn't help but think of the game he played with his son while sadly looking at the two new additions to his power.
Snapping out of his thoughts, he wondered what emotion he should use to create these powerhouses. Thinking of the Hulk and Abomination, he decided on hate and rage.
Remembering Mephisto ramming his hand through his new mother, remembering the hate and rage he felt when the Iron Gang attacked Ying Li, and finally remembering the determination to kill and maim them; he imbued the two giant ice contructs with [Imbue Life], consuming about 135 energy on them each.
The ice blue constructs started to turn a blackish-blue. From 12'6, they rose to a whole 13 feet tall. They moved their limbs, and the excess ice started to crack and fall off them. Standing tall, they looked like Spartan Gods. Stunned by the sight in front of him, he scanned them immediately.
[Ding! Command Received! Scanning...]
[Name: Ice Colossus]
[Attributes:
Strength: 13.5
Physique: 13.5
Vitality: 13.5
Soul: 0.13
Energy: 13.5/13.5]
[Innate Talents:
Rage Absorption: The construct is able to consume the ephemeral concept of Rage, making it stronger the longer it absorbs it.
Hate Absorption: The construct is able to consume the ephemeral concept of Hate, making it stronger the longer it absorbs it.
Ice Regeneration: Consume energy to condense the moisture in the air to heal all wounds.]
Extremely satisfied with his two creations, Jack named the two Ice Colossus' [Rook] and [Warden].
Back to the present day, the 15 year old Jack told his [A.I. Chip] to scan their progress over the last 7 years.
[Ding! Command Received! Scanning...]
5 seconds later, a window popped up in front of Jack.
[Name: Rook]
[Race: Ice Colussus]
[Attributes:
Strength: 1300.5
Physique: 1300.5
Vitality: 1300.5
Soul: 50.0
Energy: 1300.5/1300.5]
[Innate Talents:
Rage Absorption: The construct is able to consume the ephemeral concept of Rage, making it stronger the longer it absorbs it.
Hate Absorption: The construct is able to consume the ephemeral concept of Hate, making it stronger the longer it absorbs it.
Cryokinesis: Able to generate ice and snow from the humidity found in the air. With the use of energy, enlarge and shape these constructs through the use of your soul.
Ice Regeneration: Consume energy to condense the moisture in the air to heal all wounds.]
Rook's and Warden's stats were currently identical. Around 3 years ago, he hit a bottleneck on their soul attribute, and he couldn't figure out how to raise it anymore. Their other attributes didn't seem to have a limit so far as long as you keep giving them energy. The biggest advantage they've had so far is learning how to use [Cryokinesis]. With that, Jack was able to start training them in basic weapon forms, although they were extremely slow learners.
While Jack was admiring the two Ice Colossus', they took a knee when they saw him and Stella.
"Rook, ready for service."
"Warden, ready for service."
They both responded in unison in an ice-cold tone. Satisfied, Jack told them to stand up. He was currently thinking about how he could show these two to his family without freaking them out. He's been keeping his Frankenstein projects to himself and Stella; as creating life could be seen as something a 7 year old shouldn't be doing in his parents' eyes.
Deciding it was a problem for later, Jack and Stella both sat down in front of the Ice Colussus' and started imbuing them with energy from their [Sub-Zero Avatar] dimension. While Jack has been putting a lot of energy into the constructs, Stella has been the one to truly bring them to the next level. She usually had Rook and Warden follow her around while she constantly imbued energy into them while leaving her children to expand the [Infinity Castle] dimension.
They were now basically her personal bodyguards, and they see her as their mother; just as the other Dijiangs do. Stella also took a liking to them as they were extremely simple and followed commands to a T.
After a few hours of energy transferring, Jack decided he needed to go shopping before school started. Leaving Stella to keep strengthening Rook and Warden, Jack flew to his bedroom door before having his mom drive him to go shopping.