Hello, Friend

"Fly farther away." Minamoto Sōjun said to the fly head.

"Buzz~ Buzz~ Buzz~~"

The mutt twisted its head slightly, circling Minamoto Sōjun once. On the smooth, mirror-like surface devoid of features, a trace of its current confusion—and… barely restrained joy—could be seen.

How far should I fly?

It circled once more.

Minamoto Sōjun smiled: "I'll give you another week. If you don't learn to speak, then you'll never speak again."

When he personally took control of the fly head, it was perfectly capable of speaking. This meant that the fly head itself could do the same. This mutt possessed an innate laziness. It only moved forward after Minamoto Sōjun had to kick it a few times.

The fly head flapped its wings silently.

This was one of the benefits brought about by structural adjustments—perfectly aerodynamic, with two pairs of wings working together effortlessly, saving energy.

"Fly… buzz… farther?" Its mirror-like surface trembled slightly as it spoke.

A simple phrase consisting of only three words had the effect of creating a swarm of buzzing flies around Minamoto Sōjun's ears. At this moment, he only felt that every creature had its purpose, except for flies.

Truly despicable.

Meeting Minamoto Sōjun's gaze, the mutt trembled and hurriedly flew away.

Minamoto Sōjun's eyes darkened as he watched it fly farther and farther until it reached the horizon but never left his sight. He shifted his attention to the fly head. On the other side of the sky, reflections of the world appeared in the mirror surface.

The mutt's speed was incredible, flying forward without reaching its maximum distance. Only when its form suddenly stopped did it instinctively start warning: keep going, and you'll die. This warning also reached Minamoto Sōjun, and he understood that they had reached the limit of his mental perception.

Therefore, Minamoto Sōjun personally took control.

The fly head hovered in high air, surrounded by a gentle breeze that playfully circled him, as if wrapping around him in a dance. In this moment, he was the ruler of the sky. A sense of boundless freedom filled his heart, a fish entering the sea, a bird soaring into the sky, unbound by nets.

His mind and chest expanded, dispelling any lingering resentment.

High-ups were insignificant; he shouldn't let them affect his mood.

Minamoto Sōjun no longer held these people or events in his thoughts.

The fly head began to gaze into the distance. In the mirror-like reflection, a thin line of sky and sea filled his view, a vast shimmer of light dazzling his eyes. After a moment, it turned back, unable to see his own form anymore, but he knew his own gaze remained locked here.

Far off, in the dimly lit side of the high school's empty lounge, Minamoto Sōjun sat alone on the sofa, suddenly laughing softly. The fly head flickered several times, its form appearing next to him.

Minamoto Sōjun's smile widened at the corners as he said to the mutt:

"Go, go, and consume your kin."

"Buzz buzz buzz~~"

The mutt used all four limbs, its movements frantic. Don't lump me together with the fly head!

But Minamoto Sōjun ignored it, simply raising a finger to indicate "1."

The mutt became arrogant. It knew that there were still six days left; today was only the first day.

"No, I've changed my mind. Now you only have one day left."

"Buzz..."

"Hmm?"

Communication between the two parties didn't require language. A flicker of thought could transmit information instantly. But Minamoto Sōjun required the mutt to learn, to get into the habit of speaking. Its intelligence wasn't particularly high, but speaking was an excellent method to rapidly develop its mental capacity.

The fly head had completely let go of self-restraint.

Its hair was both its source of life and its chains. Swallowing the Golden Core marked the true beginning of its destiny.

Because Minamoto Sōjun didn't often control it.

At this moment, he simply let it do what it wanted, like consuming kin, strengthening itself. Seeking power was a fundamental instinct for any creature, and it didn't conflict with the fly head's own desires.

Minamoto Sōjun was also testing the limits of mental connection. The results satisfied him greatly. Adding flesh armor would make him even more satisfied.

As for safety concerns, as long as he personally took control, the fly head would be capable of combat—escaping would not be a problem.

Minamoto Sōjun no longer concerned himself with the fly head, allowing it to act freely.

Next, he returned to the forge room. He would go into seclusion to forge the Golden Core. He needed the heads of the locust, the skeleton, the paper-wrapped head, the five-eyed water bucket head, and the spoon handle. He required five in total.

Minamoto Sōjun first prepared to let the spoon handle consume the Golden Core.

Like the fly head, it hadn't been stripped of consciousness. As an entity born as a spirit, it was more special, and the application test for the Golden Core would be more rigorous. He didn't need a flawed Golden Core; he needed a universal elixir. He would gradually refine the conditions for the Golden Core's creation.

The forge room's temperature rose again, especially near the orange-red flames where the air began to twist.

Minamoto Sōjun picked up an eyeball as the primary material. The other materials were ground into golden powder and mixed in.

The entire process was casual, as if he were an experienced craftsman. He only focused on the match of the curse—known as the temperature of the flame—which he effortlessly mastered under perfect control.

Soon, a Golden Core appeared in the flames, falling straight into the gourd's mouth, all the way down.

Part of Minamoto Sōjun's consciousness entered the heart image domain. After a brief wait, a crimson gourd appeared. He waved his hand, and the gourd flew into his palm. In his thoughts, its color changed from red to blue-white.

In the real world, the gourd in the forge room also transformed from crimson to blue.

The Golden Core was perfectly suited for spirits.

Minamoto Sōjun repeated the process to forge four more Golden Cores, feeding them to the locust head, the skeleton head, and the paper-wrapped head.

These curses retained only their head shape as a vessel for the spell. After consuming the Golden Core, their forms didn't appear in the heart domain but rather created corresponding abstract patterns among the stars above.

This matched Minamoto Sōjun's expectations.

When it came to the five-eyed water bucket head, a part of the Tian Yuan body, problems arose.

Lacking a soul, its curse energy was incomplete. Most importantly, its spell only remained half-formed, clashing with Minamoto Sōjun's innate spell. The Golden Core almost exploded within its body.

Assimilation had only been possible during the Tian Yuan's completeness, and due to a rare five-century evolutionary condition and boundary adjustments, a fragile balance formed by chance with Minamoto Sōjun's innate spell.

Now, applying even a little external force would shatter this balance, leading to conflict.

Minamoto Sōjun attempted to adjust the Golden Core's composition, but none of the attempts were successful.

It seemed he would need to find another solution.

He transformed the Tian Yuan body into a line-pattern form and stored it away.

Minamoto Sōjun walked out of the forge room. The spoon handle floated on his left shoulder, and three figures followed him. These figures were perfectly shaped, their auras flawless, but each had a different head: a locust, a skeleton, a square paper box.

Minamoto Sōjun patted his hands together, a smile forming on his face, and gestured:

"Hello, my kin."

The figures moved in eerie synchrony, each laughing uniquely, but their expressions were impossible to discern.

Minamoto Sōjun felt some dissatisfaction. The figures began clapping together. The spoon handle on his shoulder trembled slightly, as if in support.

Minamoto Sōjun gently patted the gourd. Aside from it and the external fly head, everything else functioned in a three-in-one multitasking effect—

He was entertaining himself.

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