Metamorphosis and Past
Want more feeling while reading the chapter then listen to Frozen Epica by Song jin seok
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"I..." Yuanen began, her voice trailing off as she gazed into Nero's eyes, the unspoken words hanging in the air between them. They were both caught in a timeless moment, lost in each other's gaze as their heartbeats resonated in a resounding melody.
Suddenly, Aria's teasing voice shattered the enchanting spell, "[Are you two gonna kiss?]" Her playful comment snapped Nero and Yuanen Yehui back to reality. They simultaneously released each other and took a step back, but their gaze remained locked on each other.
Nero, eager to divert the topic, asked Yuanen Yehui, "Are you okay?". "Yeah," she replied with a slight smile, her composure regained. "You came a little early today."
"Well, today they chose the class president and other positions, so we got dismissed early," Nero explained. Yuanen Yehui nodded in response, understanding the reason for his early return.
"Did you eat?" Yuanen Yehui inquired of Nero. He was about to reply with a "yes" when he noticed two food boxes on Yehui's bed. "No," Nero replied, and a smile spread across Yehui's face. "You're in luck; I brought two meal boxes," she said, taking Nero's hand and leading him inside the room.
After they finished their meals together, Nero broached the topic of Aria's solution. "Yehui, Aria has nearly completed the procedures required to resolve your martial soul constraints," he informed her. Curious, Yuanen Yehui asked, "Tell me about it."
Nero meticulously explained the process of Yuanen Yehui's martial soul metamorphosis, laying out the steps and the potential consequences. As he finished speaking, he noticed a complex array of emotions on her face. " I know it would be hard to suddenly change your family's.." before Nero could continue any further Yuanen Yehui interjected, " Nero, I am not worried about that in fact I am happy to change my martial soul. "
She then rose from her seated position, standing before Nero and locking her gaze onto his. Her eyes held a mix of earnestness and vulnerability as she continued, "It's just, Nero, are you truly willing to go through all this just because I am your friend and ally?". After a brief moment of silence, Nero maintained his unwavering gaze and responded, "I don't know. It would be a lie if I said that I only regard you as a friend. But at the same time, I can't definitely say what we truly are. After all, currently, we are connected through each other's vulnerabilities."
Nero extended his hand, gesturing for Yuanen Yehui to do the same. As their fingers gently touched, he continued, "We are currently like these fingers, connected," he paused just before their hands could interlock, "but still unable to secure our connection." Nero shifted his gaze from their hands to her eyes once more and added, "Perhaps it's my selfishness, but I want to cross that line only when we are sure that our fates will always be connected."
Yuanen Yehui shook her head gently and replied, "It's not your selfishness, Nero; it's your kindness and loyalty." She hugged him tightly and began rubbing his back affectionately. "We can just stay as we are. As for determining what we really are, we have plenty of time, don't we?" she added with a warm smile.
Nero rested his head on Yuanen Yehui's shoulder, and in a soft voice, he whispered, "Can we stay like this for a few minutes?" Yuanen Yehui simply nodded, understanding his need for the quiet and comforting connection between them. They both closed their eyes, savoring the serene moment, and embraced the unspoken bond that tied them together.
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{ I again read the legend of the dragon king novel and there is just too much so Now I am gonna not focus on somethings from original timeline like tower attack, 1st semester class competition, etc. from this point timeline may not match with the original. }
The next day in class, Wu Zhangkong reiterated the assignment to the students, detailing the importance and the high stakes involved in creating their own mechas. Nero, feeling the need to clarify his situation, raised his hand.
"Teacher Wu, I haven't been assigned a group," Nero voiced his confusion. Wu Zhangkong's gaze shifted towards Nero, and he responded, "Because your mental and physical power is far beyond a Soul King, Elder Cai has assigned you the same assignment as the 2nd-grade students, which is to build your own one-word Battle Armor. You may seek anyone's help in doing so."
The unique situation regarding Nero's assignment sparked discussions and curiosity throughout the class. Some students exchanged whispers and speculative glances, wondering how Nero would approach his assignment. Nero himself wasn't too worried as he was gonna create the prototype divine outfit.
The next couple of days passed by as usual, with students diligently working on their mecha projects and preparing for the challenging assignment. Nero focused on designing the prototype divine outfit, dedicating his time and efforts to the task. Finally, at the end of the weekend, it was time for Yuanen Yehui's martial soul metamorphosis.
" What are you doing?" Yuanen Yehui, dressed in a white long-piece nightgown, curiously asked Nero who was transcribing something on the walls of the room. Nero turned around from his work and explained, "I am depicting the formation that Aria created to isolate the dormitory space so that no one can sense what is happening." As he completed the last formation, a light blue space energy film enveloped the entire room, effectively isolating the space from external detection.
Nero approached Yuanen Yehui, placing his hands gently on her shoulders. He spoke reassuringly, "Don't worry, I'll be right here with you. Everything will be alright." His presence and comforting words aimed to provide her with the support she needed during this crucial moment of her martial soul metamorphosis.
As Nero and Yuanen Yehui prepared for the momentous event of her martial soul metamorphosis, a drone with mechanical limbs announced, "Everything is ready; we can begin." This mechanical body was crafted by Aria to assist in all aspects of the process, ensuring that everything proceeded smoothly and efficiently. Yuanen Yehui nodded to Nero, her determination shining through as she took a seat, sitting cross-legged on the formation that Aria had depicted on the ground.
Aria carefully placed the rock core and two other unknown substances at specific points along the formation. After some calibration and preparations, she approached Nero, her expression serious.
"Nero," she began, "I will be focused on guiding the rock core energy inside Yehui. Although I have calculated everything meticulously, there's a slight chance that her Fallen Angel martial soul might interfere. If that happens, my clone will instruct you on what to do. But be prepared."
Nero met her warning with determination as he gazed at Yuanen Yehui. In a resolute tone, he replied, "If that happens, I'll do whatever it takes to get her through this." His unwavering commitment to supporting Yuanen Yehui was evident in his words. Aria nodded and went back.
As the formation activated, a pale golden energy enveloped Yuanen Yehui, and her martial soul manifested behind her. Moments later, a golden flame engulfed the Titan Giant Ape, causing it to scream in agony. Yuanen Yehui's face contorted in pain, and Nero instinctively moved to approach her, but he was halted by Aria's clone. Slowly Titan giant ape's body started melting and eventually became a golden-brown liquid.
" This is the essence of Titan Giant Ape martial soul now the real me will use the rock core to morph it into a weapon martial soul " Aria's clone provided Nero with an explanation as the transformation process continued. As Aria's clone had predicted, spots of light from the rock core began merging with the essence of the Titan Giant Ape martial soul. Gradually, the liquid essence transformed, taking on the appearance of a brown and pale gold double-blade spear{ photo in comments}. It emitted a rich energy, combining earth, rock, and gravity attributes, creating a unique and formidable weapon martial soul.
As the martial soul transformation reached its culmination, a translucent earth dragon materialized from the last object placed there. This was a 1000-year-old elemental spirit soul, meticulously prepared for Yuanen Yehui's new martial soul. While it bore the appearance of a dragon, it was, in fact, a pure elemental soul, signifying its immense power and potential.
As the elemental soul merged into Yuanen Yehui's new martial soul three purple soul rings materialized beneath her symbolizing the completion of metamorphosis. However, just as the process was nearing its conclusion, a sudden surge of purple energy enveloped Yuanen Yehui, causing her to scream out in pain.
"Aria, what happened?" Nero's voice was filled with anxiety as he turned to Aria for an explanation. Aria's clone responded swiftly, "Sensing the formation, her fallen angel martial soul instinctively started a metamorphosis for itself ". "What should I do?" he asked urgently. "We have to do the same thing, but this time your blood will be used as resource," Aria's clone explained. Nero didn't hesitate for a moment and immediately moved toward the formation, ready to take the necessary action to assist Yuanen Yehui.
Aria's voice echoed from behind, calling out to Nero. She explained, "Nero, you will need to continuously bleed for the next couple of hours, and you will experience ten times the pain she does." Despite the immense sacrifice and pain he would endure, Nero didn't hesitate and entered the golden and purple energy barrier.
As Nero entered the barrier, he found Yuanen Yehui surrounded by a golden-purple energy, her face contorted in pain. Gently stroking her cheek, he whispered, "Don't worry, Yehui, it will be over soon." Nero held her close in a comforting embrace and, without hesitation, cut a deep gash on his hand, allowing his blood to flow into the formation.
As soon as the formation absorbed Nero's blood, he was overwhelmed by excruciating pain, yet he endured it without uttering a single word. The mental and physical agony that enveloped him brought forth memories of the short time he had spent with Yuanen Yehui. Despite knowing her for only a week, their connection was something that many couldn't forge even in years.
Eventually, Nero succumbed to the overwhelming pain and lost consciousness. Despite his unconscious state, he didn't release his grip on Yuanen Yehui. Unseen by the naked eye, the red thread which connected their fingers started binding their wrist together.
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Yuanen Yehui opened her eyes to find herself in a dark space, surrounded only by an infinitely long red thread. Confusion filled her as she muttered to herself, "Where am I?" Suddenly, the scene shifted, and she was transported to what appeared to be a children's room. There, she saw a black-haired four-year-old boy happily drawing a lion on a piece of paper. A voice called out, "Nero, it's dinner time." Yuanen Yehui turned to see a black-haired woman, presumably the boy's mother, calling him. The young boy, seemingly named Nero, responded with a cheerful, "Yes, Mom," and ran toward the woman. Intrigued, Yuanen Yehui attempted to touch the child, but surprisingly her hand passed right through him.
Yuanen Yehui realized that the boy she was witnessing wasn't from the world of Douluo Dalu, as there were no concepts of martial souls, soul rings, or any such elements in this world. Tears welled up in her eyes as she watched the boy lost his parents, brother and then at last sacrificed himself to make amends for his regrets. The emotional weight of the scene overwhelmed Yuanen Yehui as she bore witness to his heartbreaking tale.
What happened next left Yuanen Yehui utterly shocked to her core. She realized that the boy from the previous scene had reincarnated in her world, and that boy was none other than Nero. This revelation brought forth a torrent of emotions and questions. Yuanen Yehui couldn't fathom how Nero had dealt with his loss and fears. The complexity of Nero's past and the depths of his experiences left her astonished.
" Nero..."
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