Chapitre 40: [40] : King of spirits
Dimensional Gap.
Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
Monument of the King.
[***]
After a while of waiting, Aiden felt the life force in the cocoons, where the girls' physical bodies were being constructed through the [Spirit Pieces], beginning to stir.
He could perceive how the vital energy (ki) was increasing to impressive levels, and he thought that, if they wished, the girls could practice [Touki].
—Flash!
"It really worked! Aiden, you're a genius! But… it feels strange… there's also a new type of energy in my body," Tohka exclaimed, looking at her figure and touching her cheeks, surprised by the warmth emanating from her now-living body, while smiling.
"…" Aiden smiled, but his eyes couldn't help but focus on Tohka's naked figure, as she and the others had emerged from the cocoons completely nude.
'Ah… what a sight, thank you Kami-sama…' Aiden thought to himself.
But he quickly closed his eyes for a moment, focusing on the connection he now felt with the girls.
Now, the tree in his soul had 11 branches, similar to threads of energy connecting Aiden in a spiritual way to the girls.
He realized that this connection couldn't be severed by anyone, neither by himself nor by the girls.
Moreover, the 10 Sephira crystals, located on the branches of the Tree of the Kabbalah—or as Aiden referred to it in his [Falna], the [Tree of Life/Death Sephira/Qlipha]—were also connected to each of the girls.
The first Sephira crystal was linked to Origami, manifesting the first Sefirot, [Keter], The Crown.
The second Sephira crystal was linked to Nia, manifesting the second Sefirot, [Chokhmah], Wisdom.
The third Sephira crystal was linked to Kurumi, manifesting the third Sefirot, [Binah], Ever-Active Intelligence.
The fourth Sephira crystal was linked to Yoshino and Yoshinon, manifesting the fourth Sefirot, [Chesed], Mercy, Greatness.
The fifth Sephira crystal was linked to Kotori, manifesting the fifth Sefirot, [Gevurah], Justice, Strength.
The sixth Sephira crystal was linked to Mukuro, manifesting the sixth Sefirot, [Tiferet], Beauty, Cornerstone of Stability or Harmony.
The seventh Sephira crystal was linked to Natsumi, manifesting the seventh Sefirot, [Netzach], The Victory of Life over Death.
The eighth Sephira crystal was linked to Kaguya, Yuzuru, and Kazamachi, manifesting the eighth Sefirot, [Hod], The Eternity of Being, Glory.
The ninth Sephira crystal was linked to Miku, manifesting the ninth Sefirot, [Yesod], The Foundation, The Generation.
And finally, the tenth Sephira crystal was linked to Tohka, manifesting the tenth Sefirot, [Malkuth], The Kingdom, The Principle of Forms.
Of course, all these crystals were connected to Aiden, as they resided in his soul, but the girls could still use their [Angels] and [Demon Kings] without issue, as long as Aiden wasn't using them.
Aiden, observing the Tree of Life within his soul, could feel how the [Spirit Pieces] interacted with it.
I am the 'trunk' (the [King]) of the tree... and they (the [Queens]) are the 'branches'.... the [Bishops] are the 'flowers' of the tree, the [Knights] are the 'fruits', the [Towers] were the 'roots' of the tree, and the [Pawns] are like the 'leaves'... .... This is interesting. I'm like the Spirit King or something...', Aiden thought, reflecting on the strange but fascinating bond he shared with them. 'It's a pity there's no great increase in power for me for now, but I can feel that my reserve of spirit power has grown quite a bit...'
He was pulled out of his thoughts as he observed the girls and instantly noticed that Kotori was crying with joy.
He was left speechless as he saw her sobbing, overwhelmed, because her 'Loli' body had grown, and she now looked like a young woman of about 17-18 years.
Her figure was filled with curves in all the right places.
"Aiden is a genius... my breasts that before, without changing shape, were the size of a mosquito bite, are now huge... although, still, it's quite heavy... how the hell can you guys go through life with this without back pains?" Kotori spoke with a mixture of happiness at leaving her childish form behind, but also complaining about how uncomfortable her new attributes were.
—Flash!
Kotori's body glowed, and Aiden and the others pursed their lips as they watched her return to her 'Loli' form.
She was now wearing a black blouse and a black skirt, with her red hair styled into twin tails.
—Flash!
—Flash!
The same happened with Natsumi and Yoshino.
Both mentioned they were already used to that form, so they used their magic to alter their appearance.
Additionally, they created clothing for themselves using Reiryoku.
"You guys... you didn't even last a few minutes, you're unbelievable. Didn't you always want those dumplings naturally? Now you throw them away...how envious...my chest didn't grow at all..." Nia let out a sob, hurt by the injustice of life.
"It's annoying… and put some clothes on, don't be such perverts," Kotori said to them, and the others nodded dumbly, still examining their bodies with happy smiles.
—Flash!
In a few seconds, they were all clothed.
…
After that, they began running tests on their new bodies.
Aiden took them to the laboratory, and they spent the entire day conducting all sorts of verifications.
They checked if their organs were functioning correctly, from the heart to the brain, cells, and more.
They also verified if their uteruses had been created properly, as Aiden, using all the knowledge from [Rasiel], had designed them in detail.
He didn't think there would be any issues, and he was right: everything was in perfect order.
They were so happy that Origami almost dragged Aiden into a room to "check" everything, as she also wanted to give him her virginity as soon as possible.
Aiden was speechless but didn't refuse.
However, the other girls interrupted Origami, as there were still more physical tests to carry out, and thus the rest of the day passed.
When they left the laboratory, they headed to the training fields, where they summoned their astral dresses without any issues, along with their [Angels] and [Demon Kings].
Aiden had to seal their inverse forms with [Michael], and when Mukuro was next to transform, he had to put the [Demon King] to sleep with [Gabriel].
It wasn't that they caused harm when transforming, but their inverse forms needed to be sealed somehow, as they couldn't do it themselves.
The same applied to Aiden.
Perhaps in the future, they might learn how to do it now that they have physical bodies and produce their own Reiryoku (spiritual power) and Maryoku (dark spiritual power).
Anyway, after training for a while with their [Angels], Natsumi and Nia tested their spells created through the [Kabbalistic Formula], pushing their brains even further.
There were no issues, and they even said that everything was easier now.
Then, they tested the benefits of the [Queen] piece, which granted increased strength, speed, and magical abilities.
The boost wasn't significant, but at least it was something.
For beings of such power, at the level of gods, a small increase wasn't very meaningful, but any benefit was always welcome.
Additionally, they no longer depended on Aiden's spiritual energy and magical power to fight; they generated their own power, which was a great advantage.
With physical bodies, they also unlocked a new power system: life energy (ki), which turned out to be another significant benefit.
Thus, the day passed until night fell in the human world, and they concluded their activities.
Before leaving their base, Aiden left some chess pieces on the [King's Monument] to turn them into [Spirit Pieces].
That night, Mukuro, Nia, Kurumi, Miku, Tohka, Yuzuru, Kaguya, Origami, Kotori, Natsumi, Yoshino, and Yoshinon snuck into Aiden's room, but they didn't do anything mischievous.
They were feeling sentimental; they just wanted to sleep with him.
[*]
Dimensional Gap.
Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
Laboratory.
[*]
A day later, Aiden was back in the laboratory, fully immersed in studying and researching the construction of [Sacred Gears].
He had made significant progress; in fact, he had already created the first ones.
He used the 5 [Twice Criticals] and reverse-engineered them, then repeated the process with [Twilight Healing].
Now he had enough data to create his own [Sacred Gears].
How had he achieved it so quickly?
Literally, he had hundreds of clones helping him, along with [Thought Acceleration] + [Independent Parallel Thinking] + the accelerated laboratory, which made time inside the room flow much faster.
In the normal world, only about 12 hours had passed since Aiden entered, but in the laboratory, 12 days had gone by.
Although it wasn't much compared to the hundreds of years it took Azazel, Aiden couldn't help but feel proud of his progress.
The magic [Analyze] was a cheat, and the spells assisting Aiden were also cheats.
Development skills like [Blacksmith (S)] and [Mystery (S)] were another type of cheat.
It was as if everything around him was designed to make things easier.
"It's been 12 days since I've seen my girls… I miss them. Should I go out now? Anyway, I've already finished the research and the three [Sacred Gears] I wanted. I just need to travel to my previous world, Elicia, and steal… I mean, ask those three spirits to come with me…" Aiden murmured as he looked at the three cores on the table in front of him.
He picked up the first one, a red core resembling a heart, about the size of a hand.
"A core made for Salamander with Ddraig's flesh extracted from 5 [Twice Criticals]. This core also absorbed a lot of spiritual power from [Camael] for over 1,000 years in a separate space where time was accelerated…" he murmured while playing with the core.
He thought it would be perfect for Salamander.
As for what to do with this independent avatar-type [Sacred Gear], his idea was to give it to Ravel, as she had shown interest and Aiden liked her too, though he didn't love her yet.
But, well, romantic love often started with liking, right?
He knew Ravel's father probably wouldn't agree with his daughter, a pureblood devil, being with a 'human,' but Aiden planned to have a serious conversation with him.
He would offer this [Sacred Gear] with the potential to become a [Longinus] as proof that marrying his daughter to him wasn't a bad idea, even if he was a 'human.'
Aiden looked at the other two cores.
These he had made especially for himself, as the abilities of the two spirits he planned to bring were quite powerful and cool, with the potential to easily become [Longinus].
The first of these cores was made from materials derived from beasts with lightning or thunder attributes.
Aiden fused them with [Condense], creating a high-quality core and then placed it in an accelerated chamber for 1,000 years, absorbing the spiritual energy of [Raphael].
"Leo Pemptos: Regulus-Aerum (The Golden Lion) will be a force to be reckoned with," Aiden said with a smile.
Controlling electromagnetic energy would be a formidable skill.
And since it was going to be an independent [Sacred Gear] avatar, it would be like having a very powerful ally that he wouldn't even need to manage directly.
Aiden stored the Salamander core and the Regulus-Aerum core, then looked at the last one.
This one had been the hardest to build, not just because it was extremely expensive, but because the Sheep's ability was too good to leave out, despite the cost.
"Thousands of materials, thousands of mithril ingots, thousands of adamantite ingots, and countless other super-durable materials to create this core… But well, the Adamantine Divine Sheep, Mesarthim-Adamas, is powerful enough to justify all of this. Besides… it's cool and part of the spirits of the zodiac constellations. I'm not looking for the others; I don't know if they've already reincarnated…" Aiden murmured thoughtfully.
Mesarthim-Adamas, or Aries Prote, was a sheep with the ability to manipulate diamonds.
In Aiden's opinion, its ability to reflect attacks was absolutely overwhelming.
With the technology he had developed while researching these [Sacred Gears], he had also managed to create his own version of the [Balance Breaker], something entirely independent of the celestial system, along with a transformation beyond the [Balance Breaker], which he called [Spiritual Assimilation].
With it, the terrifying Adamantine Divine Sheep would become even more powerful, capable of withstanding continent-level attacks.
And the best part was that most attacks could be blocked and reflected.
Of course, there were some overpowered abilities that could harm it, but against 99% of beings, it would be more than enough.
Moreover, being an independent avatar [Sacred Gear], it would be like having a super ally guarding his back.
While Aiden was lost in thought, planning his short trip to the spirit world to bring back these three spirits, something interrupted his concentration.
A long strand of blonde hair appeared before his eyes, and Aiden looked up to find Mukuro staring at him intently.
"…How long have you been there…?" Aiden asked, feeling slightly uncomfortable.
Mukuro brought her hand to her lips, tilting her head with a thoughtful gesture.
After a few seconds, a mischievous smile appeared on her face as she solemnly said:
"Umu… according to Nushi-sama's words: 'Thousands of materials, thousands of mithril ingots, thousands of adamantite ingots, along with countless other super-durable materials to create this core…'"
Her voice was a deliberate attempt to mimic him perfectly, though the playful sparkle in her eyes betrayed how much she was enjoying herself.
"All right, it seems you've been here for a long time… This is a bit embarrassing," Aiden muttered as he stored the cores in the [Gate of Babylon] and approached Mukuro, walking around the tables full of strange tools.
Mukuro frowned slightly, her eyes shining with a mix of concern and reproach.
She let out a small sigh before speaking softly but firmly:
"Muku was worried… Nushi-sama has been locked in here for twelve hours. Even though I now realize that time is accelerated in this place, that doesn't justify it. This isn't right. You shouldn't push yourself so hard with these artifacts."
Her words flowed like a gentle scolding, prolonging the lecture with an almost maternal tone.
When she finished, she let out another sigh and gently handed him a plate of food she had prepared.
"It's already dinner time in the outside world, Nushi-sama. So… eat, please."
Aiden sat at a table and began eating, while Mukuro took a seat beside him.
After a while, Aiden shared his plans to take a short trip to Elicia and, at the same time, to the spirit world to bring the three spirits.
Mukuro nodded and thought for a moment.
"Do you want to come with me…? Either way, I'm going to the spirit world and will return quickly, but if you want, we can have a date there, like in the old days," Aiden proposed, smiling slightly.
Mukuro responded with an equally bright smile.
"Umu… Muku will accompany Nushi-sama. She's also curious to see how that child performs against the Phrases," Mukuro replied, as Aiden pondered for a moment.
"It should be fine… We literally wiped out most of the powerful humanoids, the high- and mid-ranked ones. The lower-class ones, which are the ones in large numbers, shouldn't be a problem. With all the knowledge I left to Mochizuki Touya, there's nothing to worry about," Aiden said, while continuing to eat, convinced that everything was under control.
After finishing his meal, Mukuro wiped Aiden's mouth with a handkerchief, and they began talking, enjoying the moment's tranquility.
"Nushi-sama… now that Muku thinks about it, she can feel that our spiritual energy has improved. There's more of it, and it's much more refined… Moreover, we're more connected than when we were 'one.' Could it be because of the Tree of Life that merged with the [King's Monument] system?"
Mukuro asked, as she could sense a strange closeness to Aiden, besides noticing that his spiritual power had become more refined, much better than when she was a 'ghost.'
Aiden thought for a moment and tried to explain it as best as he could.
"Hmm, you're right. Something strange happened. The tree of life in my soul fused with the system of the [King's Monument], and the [Spirit Pieces]… Now that you all have physical bodies, you've become stronger. As a result, my spiritual energy has increased both in quantity and quality. And the same happens in reverse, since, by improving myself, you all improve as well. It's as if I used to be a 100, and now I'm a 110. Although it's not an explosive increase in power, it's still a significant advancement," Aiden explained, with a somewhat strange tone.
Then, Aiden began to talk about how he, the [King], acted as the 'trunk' of the tree, while they, the [Queens], were the 'branches.'
The [Bishops] would be the "flowers", the [Knights] the "fruits", the [Towers] were the "roots" and the [Pawns] the "leaves" of the tree.
The stronger his pieces became, the more powerful the tree would grow.
In short, everyone benefited from each other.
However, there were ranks: the [Pawns] benefited the least, as they didn't become strong immediately but had great potential.
Higher-ranked pieces, such as the [Queens], benefited the most, depending also on the base power of the person.
The girls were already strong before receiving the [Spirit Pieces], which made their growth much more remarkable.
"That's amazing… Nushi-sama is like the [King] of spirits," she murmured, letting her imagination guide her.
In her mind, a vivid image took shape:
Aiden, majestic, seated on a throne, while she rested peacefully on his lap, as if that were the most natural scene in the world.
However, her fantasy took an unexpected turn when a mini Aiden, with the same hair color as hers, appeared sitting on Mukuro's lap.
Her smile turned more mischievous as she averted her gaze, hiding the slight blush that began to tint her cheeks.
"So, my Mukuro is my [Queen], right?" Aiden said, lifting her chin with a gentle smile.
"N-Nushi-sama…" Mukuro felt her face heat up but couldn't help smiling and nodded, the blush still evident on her cheeks.
Aiden, sensing that the atmosphere was charged with a special energy, led Mukuro to a room.
Since time was accelerated there, they could enjoy moments together without worrying about the passage of time.
Moreover, Mukuro was a virgin in this body, which made Aiden want to give her a unique and special moment alone.
Aiden gently laid Mukuro on the bed, stroking her head tenderly.
"Please… be gentle with Muku…" she whispered, as she felt Aiden's warmth close by.
Aiden, feeling the emotion and affection, was incredibly gentle.
The words, though many, could never accurately describe what happened in that room, where time seemed to dissolve, accelerated and transformed into a unique memory for both.
…
…
…
[***]
End of the chapter.
(•_•)
A/N:
The next chapter will be a trip to Elicia, where we'll return to kidnap three spirits.
After that, I might take a stroll through Touya's kingdom with Mukuro.
By the way, what do you think about Aiden being a King of spirits and also the 'trunk' of the tree?
I want to highlight that the idea of Aiden being the 'trunk' and the girls the 'branches' came from a reader's comment, @TurnkeyFish.
Although I developed the idea according to my plans, it might not be exactly what he envisioned, but I think it didn't turn out too bad.
Here's an image I found of Mukuro that I really liked:
[Image]
Really, thank you for your suggestions and for continuing to read my story.
Your comments, even just a simple 'Thanks for the chapter,' fill me with motivation to keep writing.
Peace out.
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