Book 6 Chapter 5.3 - Awakening
The black-haired young lady walked towards Scorpion Nest's underground secret core. The doors along the way, after losing access to power, could also be opened through mechanical means, only, it required ten tons of strength. This didn't pose an issue at all towards Pandora. She easily pushed open the doors, and then closed them again. She had already done this several dozen times.
The secret core of Scorpion Nest was brightly lit, the sound of all types of instruments operating converged into a tremendous rumbling sound, the golden wall surfaces from time to time releasing fine electrical sparks. Pandora could feel the warmth of the walls, the electrical cables buried underneath the separation boards surging with electrical currents exceeding their limits until they gathered further down in the underground depths. That place was like a bottomless abyss, greedily devouring all of the energy.
Pandora entered a ring-shaped room at the center. This room wasn't large, at the center arranged an extremely advanced breeding tank. There were two breeding tanks to its side that already hadn't been opened for a long time. Within the breeding tanks were a middle-aged male and a beautiful woman. The male's body was robust, and even though he was floating in the breeding tank, one could still sense the power contained within those muscles. The female's body was delicate and beautiful, the lines extremely soft. She looked a bit older in age, but there was no way to know what she really looked like. It was because this was a headless body.
The breeding tanks were all in an activated state, the nutrient fluid maintaining their function. However, these two individuals didn't reveal any vitality, completely merely two specimen.
After giving the male and female a look, a cloudiness appeared in Pandora's eyes, something that hadn't happened for many years already. She immediately returned to normal, removed her clothes, and then walked towards the central breeding tank. That was her place of rest.
The breeding tank's cover closed, and then culture fluid began to pour inside. More than ten long metal needles entered the designated positions, nailing themselves into her bone marrow. Pandora slowly closed her eyes, her consciousness gradually entering darkness.
Soon after, Pandora's will woke up in the endless nothingness.
The first thing she saw, was the distant pillar of light that connected heaven and earth. However, this place was already no longer completely surrounded by darkness. High above suspended a new source of light that shone like a gorgeous celestial body. Meanwhile, opposite of it, another light was currently shining, only, it was extremely weak, only barely visible. Pandora raised her head. From her angle, it looked like the two sources of light came from the same plane, but from a relative perspective, there should be another three positions above them. In that place, Pandora felt a bit strange, as if there were enormous celestial bodies hiding, vastly different from the nothingness all around them. The distance between the five celestial bodies was the exact same, currently slowly moving in a circular trajectory.
Pandora returned to her ten year old young girl appearance. There was an expanse of light below her feet that supported her body. Right now, her space of activity was only this few square meter space above the light. At this time, unless the apostle had some instructions, she couldn't see anything, nor could she hear things. Her line of sight was extremely limited, only the distant incomparably massive pillar of light visible. This space didn't have time, nor did it have space. Only when she operated the Black Flame Seal would she know what day it was in the outside world.
This space was an enormous prison, one that was impossible to break out of.
After being in solitude for a long time, Pandora learned to close herself off, learning to keep her consciousness at an absolute static state. She could just sit there blankly, all the way until she received the next summon. During this period of time, her consciousness was completely blank, not thinking a thing. If not for this, in this type of environment, she would have gone mad long ago. However, she knew that she definitely wouldn't go crazy, because the apostle would definitely preserve her consciousness, allow her to clearly sense every bit of suffering. No, the apostle would let her go mad first, and then after she experienced the leisureness of going completely mad, then wake her up again. From then on, her sense of loneliness would become even clearer, her will collapse even sooner.
Even after learning how to make her mind go blank, Pandora had forgotten just how many times she approached the border of collapse, yet all the way until now, she was still complete. The miracle of perseverance was something even she herself felt great amazement towards.
The dim celestial body in the void suddenly released a beam of light, and then a male figure appeared before Pandora's eyes. His body was bare, the most striking part the large pieces of dark blue crystals. The crystals seemed to occupy a third of his body. His eyes lacked pupils, only a bottomless blue. Stretching from the space between his brows to his tailbone were several hundred flesh feelers of varying sizes. From the distance, he looked like a fluttering war banner.
"Pandora!" The apostle's call awakened her frozen consciousness, bringing life back to her eyes.
"You completed the mission this time quite well, especially the data of the seventh sheep, an unexpected gain. The genetic completion degree is already enough to meet the lowest requirement for my awakening, so I will start constructing the body, moreover completely awaken after seven days. Serendela suddenly woke up due to some unknown reason, and she, who has the eyes of knowing, will likely discover my existence. That is why I do not have much time left, must awaken and find the Heart of Eternity. I can already sense that it is currently moving about, the scope of authority even opened to its third level. This isn't a good thing, but it will allow me to find its whereabouts easier and use it to fully complete myself. Meanwhile, now, Pandora, is the time for you to make your decision. Are you willing to serve under me eternally? If you are willing, you will obtain the Dark Flame Seal again, and then I will construct for you a nucleus, make you my general, moreover obtaining eternal life! When I retrieve the Heart of Eternity, you will also follow me into the everlasting. In addition, I will bestow your father and mother back to you, granting you a complete family. So? You should make your decision now!"
Pandora raised her head to look at the apostle, and as if she was talking in her sleep, said, "I will obey your orders, just like before."
"Only obey?!" Anger made the energy crystals on the apostle's body continuously release lightning, his roar even making Pandora's figure become indistinct! He raised his hand, looking like he was going to deliver a vicious slap to her face. However, this hand didn't descend, because he knew that no persecution of her flesh or will would have any effects.
"I hope you can properly consider things, you have until I retrieve the Heart of Eternity. At that time, you must give me an answer. I know you don't fear death, but you have to consider your father and mother's feelings." After saying this coldly, he tossed something over to Pandora. "I'll return this to you first. However, there is no need to go stupid, you'll have to move out again soon. Just spend a bit more time on it."
After speaking, that figure turned into the light pillar again, returning to the gradually brightening celestial body. In the void, a vague grumbling could be heard: "The human race really is troublesome!"
Only when the apostle completely left did Pandora lower her head to look at what the apostle threw over. It was a wool teddy bear, this item extremely, extremely ordinary. What was different was that there was a large bloodstain on this teddy bear's body that had already turned black.
Pandora slowly reached out her small hand towards the teddy bear. Then, she truly became like a ten year old little girl, tightly holding it in her embrace. Only, her body was trembling intensely. Meanwhile, in this silent world, she could even hear her own weeping.
In Scorpion Nest's underground depths laid an unprecedentedly massive special breeding tank. This twenty meter tall, ten meter wide, five meter deep enormous breeding tank could completely be used as a swimming pool. Meanwhile now, this area not even Pandora had the authority to enter became brightly lit, the sound of machinery already loud to the point where ordinary people's ears would go deaf.
On the breeding tank, the high energy light beam activation devices were already in place. More than ten high energy beams fired into the culture fluid. At the ends of the light beam, the special matter contained within the culture fluid continuously gathered, forming tangible substance. As more than ten beams of light moved about, slowly, a skeleton started to take shape. As the light beam's energy intensity and properties changed, the thing inside the culture fluid also changed. After the skeleton was formed, various energy crystals were inserted inside the body. What followed were the membranes, as well as placing various tissues and fibers on top of these membranes.
Seven days later, Apostle Fitzdurk would awaken here.
Undercurrents were surging in the great continent, the ocean floor not calm either.