Chapter 54: What Doesn't Kill You

After a few days, Ein finally opened his eyes inside the capsule. "Ugh, I really don't get paid enough for this shit." He grumbled.

Starting with his body, he noticed that he have overused honkai energy too much. His damaged organs were now fine, but his missing limbs are still not regenerating.

He started to try and siphon the lingering honkai energy from the 6th to his skeleton completely. It worked partially, as the right arm started to slowly come back.

I really need to get Vishnu's gene. Natural regeneration from genes of normal animals is not enough. He slowly siphoned out the honkai energy and regenerated his limbs one by one.

"Hey, everyone! Dr. Ein is finally awake, and he's starting to regenerate." Nuwa saw him as she informed everyone.

"I'll call Dr. Mobius Nuwa, inform everyone else. Klein can keep watch over Dr. Ein." Fuxi said to her as she ran to get Mobius.

Klein was now alone with him as she started to ask. "Dr. Ein... Isn't it scary? To fight against herrschers? The huge honkai beasts?" She asked with slight nervousness.

"Hmm? Did you see my fight with them Klein? Well, not really. It's just tiring in my opinion, they're damned strong." He clenched his right hand, checking for abnormalities.

"I see, it's just. Every time there's an eruption, I fear for my life. Like my time here would inevitably end." She said with a frown.

Klein felt an invisible hand on her head. "It's fine Klein, you're only human after all. Of course you'd get anxious when those guys appear from nowhere."

Mobius then appeared as she stared at him from head to toe. "How are you doing!? Can you heal yourself up? Any residual damages that we couldn't detect?" She pelted him with questions.

He shook his head as he smiled. "I'm still nice and dandy, handy too." He raised his right arm that was now healed up.

Mobius frowned and glared at him as she looked at the ground. "I see, then heal up. I'm busy, Mei and I have a project going on." She silently left with a shine on her eyes.

He sighed inside his mind. I guess they're pretty worries huh? I just hope they won't need too much coddling to calm down.

Himeko, Eden, and Elysia entered the lab as they saw that he was healing up. "Yo. I've worried you guys huh? How you guys doing?" He greeted them as they started to tear up.

"You'll probably keep on doing it anyway... At least, promise us that you'll get back in one piece, please." Eden asked him with a shaky voice.

"Please Ein. I know that we'll weigh you down in the battlefield, but don't be too reckless for our sake." Elysia scolded him.

Himeko has her hands on her mouth as she sobbed. Like a loved one that has seen their family recover from a fatal incident.

He nodded and patted their shoulders with his powers. "Hah, I can't promise that I'll come back in one piece. But I sure will be alive."

They all nodded. Typical, "That's enough. And welcome back." Eden said as she cracked a small smile.

"Yeah, thanks for worrying girls. Don't worry though, it seems Mobius and Mei has something special in store." I hope it would be ready before the 7th comes.

"Yeah, actually. They have been starting to screen soldiers for their project. Kevin has volunteered and is the first to undergo the procedure once it's completed and if he has a compatible honkai beast." Himeko remembered that DNA samples from healthy soldiers were taken.

"But isn't it incredibly dangerous? Ein, do you know how low is the rate of survival?" Elysia asked, hearing rumors about how dangerous it is.

"Basically 0." They gasped from his words. "Even my augments would kill any person, well it's a bit special though. And in my opinion, honkai genes are hundreds of times worse. But we will try to make it compatible to humans." He said the facts about the new project.

"If I'm compatible... Then take care of me." Elysia bowed. With complete trust in him. Do or die, or I'll be mediocre forever.

"Me too. Your burden would be lower with us fighting toe to toe with you." Himeko narrowed her eyes.

"Hah, you guys. I can't stop you, so please take care of him okay? I'll help with anything that I can." Eden thought about charities and any help that she could give to Moth.

"You guys know that you might die right?" He raised a brow.

"We know. And if we die, then that's that." The 2 spoke with solid conviction. He sighed heavily as he started to think of ways to make the procedure safer.

"Okay then, but if you're not compatible. Then you give up on it, okay?" He squinted his eyes at them.

They saluted. "Yes sir!" He nodded in satisfaction. "Good, now wait outside a bit. I'll be in tip top shape in a few." He focused again on his limbs.

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After an hour of intense focus, he finally has all his limbs back. But they're incredibly weak right now. Hah, I need to imbue soulium in them again, what a pain in the ass. And his center of mass was terribly out of balance.

"Okay girls, let's rest for now. Look at you guys, with bags in your eyes." He flicked their foreheads as they went to his room.

He sent Mobius a message. *Mobius, I need Vishnu's regeneration. I'll go and find you later, and I'll help in project soldier too.* When the girls lied down, their fatigue immediately let them sleep in comfort with him by their side.

After they entered a deep sleep, he carefully escaped and went to find Mobius.

He found her working, completely glued to her computer with tons of paper scattered around. "Hah, Mobius. Have you even slept enough? And look at all these cup noodles and chips that you ate." He cleaned up with a snap of his fingers.

"Shut up, I can't be bothered with things like food when we're pressed for time." She said without losing focus on her work.

He tapped her on the shoulder. "Look, you need to take care of yourself as well. And I'm going to undergo a simple procedure, but if you're tired, you might make mistakes. Vishnu's regeneration is sequenced already right? Let's proceed."

She slowly turned to him and looked at his eyes. "You make it sound like you're going for groceries. Do you know how bad your condition was? You'll live, but you were crippled at the time we saw you!" She hit him on his chest.

He smiled wryly as he caressed her long green hair. "I know, that's why we do this. So come on Dr. Mobius, you know what to do. You're my buddy in experiments and projects right? Let's truly start project Odin."

She started to tear up, but held it in. "Yes, I'll just have to make you unkillable. We are not holding back, you need to control the procedure and with Vishnu's regeneration. Turn your body into an indestructible fortress."

He nodded. With endless regeneration, I could increase my muscle mass and turn to a walking fortress. "And don't give me normal building blocks like amino acids and proteins. Give me honkai beasts to assimilate."

She grinned. "With Vishnu's remains? We should wait until we could sequence every gene Vishnu has. I believe that it has genes dedicated to its strength as well. I could still remember the decimation it unleashed with its body."

"Okay, then regeneration for now. And my once missing limbs are missing soulium, muscles and all. So just add it in alright?"

They immediately prepared for giving him a dry run of Vishnu's genes. "You'll have god like regeneration after this. At least you won't be helpless like last time."

He entered a capsule again and waited for Mobius to insert the gene into him. The tank filled with water as he floated. And mechanical arms started to inject him with the genes.

He immediately frowned as he felt like he was melting. The raw and unrefined DNA of Vishnu wreaking havoc inside his body. His cells were melting like butter, and the basic composition of his body started to change.

"Keep it up! Don't mind the consequences." As Mobius saw his body start to mutate. This was a sight that will be cemented in history, an organic being with silicon based genes.

It was being rejected heavily by his body at first. But slowly, it started to integrate. As his cells started to calm down, making the genes his very own.

He started to feel a big boost on his honkai energy. His body felt like a natural conductor for it, even better than soulium. But he opted to keep it in, as more honkai energy seeped into it. The stronger it becomes.

In limit testing divine keys. He found out that they are basically indestructible. With a herrscher core integrated, its durability skyrockets as its atoms and composition were held tight by the immense honkai energy, binding it like glue.

After a few hours of mind boggling pain that would kill a normal human immediately. The procedure was now complete.

He stepped out of the tank and took out his weapon, he made a cut on his arm. Imbued with the energy of the 3rd herrscher as it atomized the wound.

He didn't even bleed as the wound closed up in a heartbeat. He took out the 6th's core as he absorbed the energy inside it. He then focused as thin black smoke escaped from his hands.

He tried to disintegrate a part of his arm. The smoke started to disintegrate him on an atomic level, but slowly.

His regeneration kicked in instantly as they battled. His body regenerating, and the black smoke trying to turn his body into nothing but atoms.

He frowned. It's a success, but the 6th is much scarier than I thought. Her power works in the atomic level, so that's why I wasn't recovering. He then tried it on a piece of metal, willing the smoke to destroy it at an atomic level.

The metal slowly disappeared as sweat started to flow on his brow. She can control matter? He then tried to rearrange it again, as the metal appeared again but in scant amounts.

Damn. I would've been in deep shit if she knew how to use this... He then tried to control quantum foam to warp reality to his will. But of course that's not possible.

It isn't meta matter manipulation like owen reece. But this power is hella scary. He then released energy by fusing 1 picogram of hydrogen.

It released a very small amount of heat, but with his senses he could feel it. "Mobius, I just did a nuclear fusion."

Mobius' eyes went wide. "What!? But there were no bursts of heat or energy." She was confused.

"I used a miniscule amount of hydrogen of course, dummy. I sensed the heat, it was a fraction of a celsius but it released heat."

Mobius then started to sweat. "You won't test that here right? RIGHT!?" she shouted at him.

He grinned as he made an exaggerated pose. "I am... Atomic" He snapped his fingers and raised the mass so it would release exactly one degree celsius of energy.

Mobius covered her face and crouched. But she noticed that nothing happened. "You fucking asshole! I thought you'll pump me with gamma rays!" She glared daggers at him.

"I can manipulate matter Mobius, but it's very limited. I can't create matter with nothing, and I can't manipulate it to the quantum level as well. If I summarize, I can regenerate much quicker. Restore matter, and manipulate it at a basic level."

"It takes a lot out of me as well, the most intensive in fact. And I tried using it on heavier mass, but it doesn't work. So I could probably only use it on small amounts." He tried to make 1 kg of iron to cobalt.

Mobius wrote it down as she was intrigued by that. "Then you can probably heal almost anyone who isn't dead yet?"

He nodded. "Though honkai corruption is probably off the table. We still don't know how it affects organisms. We need further research on it. I can't change matter which I don't understand or it's out of my reach like if it changes you to the quantum level."

Mobius then rubbed her hands together. "Herrschers are simply amazing. And you don't even have the core, imagine if you were a herrscher. I wonder what can you do?" She licked her lips.

He sighed and shook his head. "I'll probably make the planet implode instantly." He deadpanned at her."

"Enough about this. We should start working, there's a lot we should work on. Come on!" She then started to try simulations on how to make honkai genes compatible to humans.

He smiled wryly. "You sure do love your work huh? I'll help you then."

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Thanks for reading guys. I'll develop the 5th and 6th divine key. Make further developments to relationships, etc. MANTISes will appear soon. Which are kind of different to him. Because he integrates raw and pure genes, not modified. Anyways, ciao.