Vescrutia: Legacy

A month had passed since Jao mastered his latest technique, his physical form restored to tip-top shape. He had spent this time preparing for the mission that Yang and Yin chose to postpone in lieu of Eridin's recent endeavors. With this new alliance, Eridin had done what once seemed to be impossible. He had healed the ailing Sunless and restored their sight.

This jump in Shi technology mirrored nothing short of a miracle in many of the clans' eyes. Jao saw it as a precedent. To say these acts had emboldened his resolve was a grotesque understatement. Within his gut, a simmering ember stoked, churning ambition that was almost too great to keep down stirred.

Everything up until this point felt like a preamble, a prelude to the very transformation of the SHinobi world as they knew it. He had been reading up on the details shared by Hyperia about the B'halian empire and their fearsome overlords, the Mazokou—warriors of virtually unparalleled might with the ability to vanish entire kinds with a single scream with extreme prejudice for humankind.

This campaign of theirs was more than a mere declaration of war; it was a conquest, and though Edo was no stranger to the pursuit of warlords, this one was genocide wrapped in a pseudo-purpose. Yet, unlike the indigenous faction that spread across Edo, the Empire possessed the power along with the gall to make their dreams a reality.

Still, in terms of what Jao saw for the future of his family, his end goal remained the same. To ensure that Shi derived these myriad threats, his path to domination and reform had not shifted. The Shi needed to ascend during those days from being street rats and test subjects to the nationwide power they once were, eventually becoming a world power in their own right. With the restoration of the Sunless, their ranks were reinforced and affirmed. With these new developments Eridin was introducing, they would become more than a mere militia—a respected military power.

And Jao planned to be at its helm.

It was the entire reason he had come here, to the Heart of the Gamallow clans' tech facilities, the Antlion. Right before Jao began training with his father, Eiridan had spoken to him regarding Exo suits. Combat armaments that would augment the Shi with the capability of these "AIONS" concoctions, Hyperia came up with. His father, Yang, had been outfitted with one of his own. Said they were called SLAYER suits. Though excited to get a suit of his own, a chance at greater power and proficiency, he was told by Eridin that his current power level exceeded the standard parameters for the suits and that he, Eridin, had to prepare something specifically tailored to his parameters.

He was a bundle of nerves and excitement, though, on the outside, he kept a calm demeanor as always. Kuro, his pet snake, slithered around his neck.

"Well, this is it, Kuro... guess we'll get to see what that mad scientist has in store for us."

He said as he waited for entry into the Antlion, the humidity from the swamplands clinging to his face as he adjusted his glasses. Kuro was slung around his arms like a tree branch hanging slightly off it.

He wouldn't be waiting long, under the veil of the encroaching darkness, a shadow skittered down the tree. Kuro raised his head, hissing, prompting Jao to look over. When he did, he would see the darkness dissolve around the skulking enemy's form, revealing a mechanical iguana. Jao dissuaded his serpent friend from needlessly striking, recognizing it as one of the Gamallow gadgets. The construct's mouth opened, revealing a speaker.

"Mad scientist? I resent that Shadow Bite, though, not a lie."

It was Eridin's voice coming through. Jao cracked a partial smirk, guessing the Gamallow truly did have eyes and ears throughout the swamp.

"Well, are you gonna welcome me in or let the bugs continue to make a meal out of me?"

He said, waving his hand dismissively. The Iguana's head did a series of odd movements and clicks before responding.

"Someone's got a sense of humor recently, very well. Get in here, day lig-er moonlights wasting!"

A subtle, nearly imperceptible shift occurred in the air pressure. A faint, almost melodic chime echoed around him as the very air vibrated. A section of swamplands, previously indistinguishable from its surroundings, began to glow with a faint, intricate blue light. The light traced complex lines and glyphs before receding, revealing a circular "portal" that hummed with contained energy. It seemed less a door and more a gateway into another existence.

“Hold still,” a synthetic, calm voice resonated from the archway itself, devoid of gender or emotion. “Biometric scan initiated. Identity confirmed: Jao-Den, of the Ri'ore Clan.”

A faint green laser, no thicker than a thread, swept over Jao’s body, from head to toe, lingering briefly on his eyes behind his glasses, then on Kuro.

“Welcome, Jao.”

The portal widened, revealing a sterile, brightly lit corridor. The air inside hit him like a cool, dry wall – a stark, refreshing contrast to the humid swamp. It smelled faintly metallic, like polished steel and advanced circuitry. It felt less like a building and more like the inside of a massive, living machine.

Jao stepped through, Kuro sliding smoothly back up to drape across his shoulders, its cool scales a familiar comfort. The portal sealed behind him with the same silent efficiency it had opened, leaving no trace. He glanced back, a flicker of appreciation in his eyes for the sheer technological prowess on display. This was what the Shi needed to become. Not just formidable warriors, but architects of their own, unassailable future.

The corridor stretched forward, leading to a nexus of other passages. There were no guards, no receptionists. The facility itself seemed to be the gatekeeper, operating with its silent intelligence.

As Jao traversed the sprawling, illuminated corridors of the Gamallow complex, a familiar symphony of industry hummed around him. Swarms of Gamallow moved with a systematic order that never failed to impress. From the rhythmic clang of forging equipment in a distant bay to the precise flickers of data observation rooms and the rigorous checks of quality control protocols, each of them was a cog in a perfectly oiled machine.

"Guess they live up to their namesake of being the Ant clan after all…" Jao murmured, a faint smirk playing on his lips.

He was no stranger to the inductive endeavors of the clan. He and the Gamallow had always shared an unusual, close relationship. For a long time, Jao was the only one capable of wielding Ophidian directly as a combat tool. This unique bond often placed him at the forefront of their more kinetic operations. That was until Eridin, the clan's brilliant, erratic leader, dropped a bombshell for development that shifted everything.

Jao continued his walk, passing holographic schematics and bustling research bays, until he finally came across a room that was unlike the others. Where the rest of the complex was a gleaming mix of polished white and reflective chrome, this particular section was stark black, its surfaces seeming to drink in the surrounding light, creating an almost oppressive void. Before the entrance, her arms crossed and a data pad held loosely in one hand, stood a woman. Jao recognized her instantly; it was Anna, Eridin's cousin and ever-capable right-hand.

"Hmph, well, if it isn't Jao. I would ask if you'd been staying out of trouble, but I'd be wasting my breath." She said, her voice a dry rasp, as she lowered the data pad, placing her hand soundly on her hip.

Jao adjusted his glasses, his casually malevolent gaze shifting slightly, a hint of amusement in his dark eyes. "You call it trouble, I call it just doing my part."

"Potato, tomato." She retorted casually, waving him off.

"You mean potato, potatoe." Jao corrected, a slight, unrepentant grin on his face.

Anna rolled her eyes. "What are you, the police? Anyway, Eridin is in the room behind me. Did you bring the sword like he asked?"

Jao nodded, adjusting the ebony sheath that rested against his back, the hilt of Kuroi Ryu peeking just above his shoulder. Anna peered at the black katana with the inquisitive glare that could only belong to a seasoned blacksmith. Yet, even from this distance, she could feel an instantaneous, potent aura pervading from it, a silent hum of ancient power.

"Any idea why Eridin is asking all these specifics?" Jao asked, a wary note in his voice. "First, he tells me to come just before the full moon, then to bring Kuroi Ryu."

Anna shrugged, a knowing smirk playing on her lips. "He'd reaaaally hate if I spoiled it for him. But you know Eridin, there's always a method to his madness. Gotta trust the process."

"Right…" Jao said, clearly unconvinced.

"Look, just trust me, it's worth it. Go on in, I'm sure he's biting his nails down to the nubs waiting for you." Anna stated, lifting the data pad back into her hands, already tapping away.

"Got it. Thanks, Anna…" Jao said, moving past her towards the dark entrance.

Anna watched him go, her expression softening into something unreadable. "Save you're thanks, kid…before it's over, you'll be wishing you were dead...." she thought, her fingers flying across the data pad. With a few swift code sequences, the stark black doors hissed open, swallowing Jao whole.

As Jao's body faded into the shadows of the corridor beyond, Anna looked over her shoulder, a glimmer of genuine worry clouding her features. "I sure hope you know what you're doing, Eridin. That sword…it's pure evil..." she murmured under her breath. Her contemplation was cut short as a group of other Gamallow accosted her, each vying for her attention with urgent technical concerns. With a sigh, she attended to their needs, and the dark doors sealed shut once more, leaving the corridor quiet save for the distant hum of the Gamallow's ceaseless work.

As Jao entered the expanse, his eyes widened just a bit. It was like stepping into the mind of a twisted scientist and a powerful sorcerer all wrapped into one. Machines of varying kinds etched with myriads of arcane markings. In its epicenter, a single bed was slightly raised with a litany of what looked to be restraints. Five cylinder pillars are in a pentagon-like fashion, hovering in the air. High above them, a large crystal and the vision of the full moon.

"Ah Jao, you've come."

The solemn hiss of a hover pad he stood upon cut the air as Eridin descended a few feet away from Jao.

"Why have I come? Eridin, what is all this?"

At first glance, Eridin could see the trepidation on the young Shi's face. Rightfully so, for what he had to discuss with him was no small matter, in fact, it concerned pushing the very boundaries of morality...

"This...is the catalyst for ascension."

Jao's face furrowed, it was a vague, mystic-riden response, and yet he could tell Eridin meant every word.

"I've brought Kuroi Ryu, as you've asked...."

Eridin's eyes scoured the legendary blade. A pure ebony Katan forged from the fang fo the mythical black dragon that nearly laid waste to Edo long ago. The center of tales that once painted their founder, Ains, as a hero of legend who slayed the beast. To see it here, to feel its palpable presence...made him all the more sure of his proposal.

"Fantastic...come...sit. I shall let you mind wander no longer."

He ushered Jao over to a quaint rest area. He motioned for him to sit as he hopped off the hover pad. Jao, ever the skeptic, hesitated at first but continued his attempt to quell his nerves.

"I'll get straight to the point, Jao...I have asked you here to bestow upon you the gift I promised a short while ago."

Eridin said as he took a seat. Crossing his legs somberly.

"My suit is ready, then?"

Jao inquired with a note of readiness and skepticism.

"Err...not quite. If you recall, I mentioned I would need to create a more... personalized suit, one that would be capable of housing you rather enormous potential."

Eridin stated his eyes shifting from Jao to the myriad consoles behind him, as if anxiety was getting the better of him.

"I'm aware, my father told me you said it was done."

Jao pressed, Why was he wasting time recapping what he already knew?

"Yes, well...in theory it is complete...but..."

Eridin hesitated, as if knowing what he would eventually suggest was mad.

"But what? I thought you were getting to the chase."

Jao said in an annoyed tone.

"....The SLAYER suit I made for your father and the other Shi Ten members is embedded in their core. While the nanites over their bodies integrate with their cellular structure and muscles, augmenting them, they remain a separate entity from the host. Their ANNI implants let them control them mentally. This was done because while the suit provides extraordinary abilities, they are still only human, and the overuse and exposure could place their lives at risk. "

Eridin elaborated. Taking a bit of time to create the bridge leading to the purpose of this conversation, bit by bit.

"I'm assuming also if this core is destroyed...the suit becomes useless."

Said Jao, while he couldn't discern Eridin's intentions, he observed the few facilities within the current structure of the suits. However, he still didn't understand why Eridin felt he had exceeded their current functionality.

"You're a sharp one...so I devised a possible, potential, more permanent solution."

Eridin said

"I'm listening..."

Jao said, folding his hands and leaning back in his seat.

"Ophidian is the literal lifeblood of the A.I.O.N.S. nanites. Its unique composition allows it to bond naten to inorganic material. Whatever means that the Black Dragon Fang sword uses a similar mechanic.... the soul of a dragon bonded to steel and fang, a sort of arcane alloy."

Eridin said as he sat up from his slightly relaxed position, the air around him becoming more tense.

"..."

Jao listened, typing this piece together, wondering where this explanation was leading.

"My proposal...I wish to take the sword, and using a type of transmutation magic, smelt it down and bond it to the A.I.O.N.S., creating an arcane bionic alloy...a living metal I call Black Ichor."

Eridin said with a sharp look.

"And what," Jao asked, his voice low, "do you propose be done with this… 'Black Ichor'?"

Jao said warily. Starting to understand more of why he was here, but trying not to jump to conclusions.

"It will be coated over your skeleton, Jao," Eridin stated, the words dropping like stones. "Every bone, every joint, every marrow cavity. It will fuse with your very being, transforming your body itself into a core. A perfect blend of old world magic and cutting-edge sentience. Something beyond human. Arcanically Bionic."

Eridin said, trying to hide the pride in his tone. He understood the gravity of what he was asking, but the fact remained it wasn't an impossibility. And that alone caused him to suggest it.

Jao felt a cold shiver trace down his spine. This was madness. "Are you proposing to turn me into some kind of machine, Eridin?!"

"No, Jao. A new kind of being. An evolution. I'll be honest.." Eridin’s expression grew grim. "The process… it will be irreparably painful. Agony that would shatter lesser souls. And your body will be a crucible for two opposing forces – the ancient magic and the nascent technology – tearing at you from within."

He paused, letting the words sink in. "Your survival rate, Jao, based on our most optimistic projections, is less than five percent."

Jao felt the blood drain from his face. Less than five percent. All of this, and he might not even survive to fret about the aftermath. "And even if I survive this... ordeal?"

"The Black Dragon’s Soul," Eridin warned, his gaze intense, "will seek to overtake you. The pain, the transformation, the merging of its essence with the nanites… it will be a maelstrom. Its ancient, untamed fury will seek to claim your mind, your very will, once the merge is complete. It will not hesitate to subdue you.

The silence stretched, broken only by the facility's low hum. The proposal was horrifying, a desecration of his heritage, a suicidal gamble. Yet, Eridin had not finished.

"However," Eridin continued, his voice gaining a hypnotic quality, " should you survive, should you resist, should you dominate the Black Dragon and integrate its power, the rewards are immeasurable. You will be able to summon the combined might of both the Dragon’s void pyre as well as the full armada of the A.I.O.N.S tech. Imagine Jao commanding a nearly endless swarm of A.I.O.N.S. nanites capable of forming defensive shields, offensive constructs, or even interfacing directly with any network. You would be a force unlike anything the world has ever seen."

Eridin stepped closer, his voice dropping to a near whisper, tapping on the holographic image of Jao’s spectral form, bathed in swirling black ichor. "I developed this idea specifically for you, Jao. There isn't a single being alive aside from you capable of this. You mastered your dojutsu against impossible odds. You resisted being taken over by the Nether Serpent within you, a feat thought inconceivable. Because of this, I believe, unequivocally, that you possess the unparalleled will to not only survive this process, but to dominate the Black Dragon and take its immense power as your own."

The weight of Eridin's words, the audacity of the proposal, pressed down on Jao. It was a path fraught with unimaginable peril. Yet, the vision Eridin painted —a perfect hybrid, a new pinnacle of existence —resonated with a deep, unspoken yearning within him. The Denkou-Shi faced threats that transcended simple blades and ancient arts. Perhaps, this unholy fusion was the only answer.

Jao sat transfixed, the laboratory’s cool air, usually a sterile comfort, suddenly feeling heavy and suffocating. Eridin’s words echoed in the silence, each one a hammer blow against his sanity, reverberating through the reinforced walls and into the very marrow of his bones.

"Less than five percent." Jao’s voice was a strained whisper, barely audible over the frantic thrum of his pulse. He locked eyes with Eridin, searching for a flicker of doubt, a hint of a jest, anything to pull him back from the precipice of this monstrous proposition.

Eridin met his gaze, his own eyes, usually sharp with scientific zeal, now clouded with a grim weariness that bespoke sleepless nights and desperate calculations. "On a good day," he replied, no longer mincing words, the proposition now an unyielding, terrifying reality laid bare between them.

"Excruciating pain"

Jao whispered the words, tasting ash, a premonition of suffering that made his skin crawl.

"Mind-shatteringly so,"

Eridin affirmed, his voice flat, devoid of euphemism.

Jao felt a nauseous lurch in his stomach, a primal instinct screaming for him to flee, to reject this obscenity outright. Turn him into a crucible, a living weapon forged from pain and ancient fury. It was a violation—an obscenity.

Yet, as he stared at the holographic projection of his form, shimmering with the imagined Black Ichor, something else stirred within him—a dark, nearly insidious curiosity. Eridin hadn't just presented a horrific experiment; he had offered a lifeline, albeit one woven from razor wire and lightning.

Echoes of Eridin’s voice resonated in the quiet lab, imbued with an undeniable conviction that bordered on fanaticism. He truly believes it. He believes I can do it. The weight of that belief, that terrifying faith, pressed down on Jao.

His eyes closed, shutting out the sterile glow of the lab, plunging him into the deeper darkness of his own mind. Jao’s mind reeled back, not from the present horror, but to the ghosts of his past. All he had managed to survive up until now.

The countless nights he had battled the relentless advance of the Nether Serpent, its tendrils of despair attempting to coil around his spirit, to extinguish his light, to whisper promises of oblivion. He remembered the blinding agony of pushing his dojutsu beyond its limits, twisting his very vision into a weapon, a feat the others had deemed impossible, suicidal. Each time, he had stood on the precipice of annihilation, his body tearing itself apart, only to pull himself back, stronger, more resolute.

Eridin was right. He had survived the impossible before. He had defied destiny.

But this… this was different. This was a deliberate shattering and re-forging of his very existence, a gamble with stakes that encompassed not just his life, but his soul—the Black Dragon. An ancient force of pure destruction merged with the cold, calculating intelligence of the A.I.O.N.S. nanites. It was a symphony of chaos and order, designed to tear him apart, to remake him in a form that might not even be human anymore.

He thought of the state of the world, the reason he and Eridin were even having this conversation. The encroaching shadows, not just of wars and political strife, but of entities from beyond the veil, things that mocked their most potent spells and shattered their finest blades. Traditional warfare, even arcane combat, was becoming obsolete in the face of the rising tide of the unknown, of threats that consumed light and hope. They needed something more, something extraordinary.

Was this the answer? Was he, Jao, meant to be that answer, the monstrous shield against the encroaching night?

"You possess an unparalleled will…" Eridin's words resonated in his mind, not as flattery, but as a challenge, a truth that Jao, in his darkest moments, had whispered to himself.

He opened his eyes, picturing the endless swarm of A.I.O.N.S. nanites — the evolution of his "Dark Matter" technique, swirling and reforming at his command, with the utility of blending them with his shadow manipulation. And the void pyre of the Black Dragon, a searing, soul-consuming flame that could obliterate anything in its path. Two opposing forces, yes, but if truly mastered, if he could somehow bend their raw, primal antagonism to his will, they would create something unparalleled. Not just a weapon, but a table-turning presence, a beacon of terror for their enemies.

The cold shiver that had traveled down his spine was replaced by a strange heat, a burning resolve that started deep in his gut and spread outward. The fear remained, a tight, painful knot, but it was overshadowed by a stark, terrifying clarity. If he refused, what then? Would the Denkou-Shi fall? Would the world succumb to the very threats his existence was meant to fight? His past victories, his very survival, felt like a prelude to this moment—a test designed to prepare him for it.

He opened his eyes fully, meeting Eridin's intense gaze. The scientist looked utterly exhausted, but his eyes burned with a desperate hope, a fragile, terrifying optimism.

Jao took a deep, shuddering breath, affirmation building within him, resolve stacking like impenetrable plating. It was madness, suicidal, a desecration of the natural order. But he had walked into impossible odds before.

This time, he would not just walk; he would stride. For within him did his late grandmother's words stir, a whisper of ancient wisdom cutting through the cold logic and the fear: “It is not the form of the thing that counts, it is its nature.”

He spoke aloud, his voice gaining strength with each word, each syllable a hammer blow against doubt. "No matter the state, shape, or form I take, however monstrous the entity I become, I will forever remain, at my core, a shinobi of the Denkou-Shi. I will always be Jao."

"Let's do it," Jao commanded, his voice now a low, resonant growl. "Let the crucible be prepared. I will not merely survive, Eridin. I will dominate. I will break the Black Dragon, and I will become Shadowfang."

A faint, almost imperceptible smile touched Eridin's lips, a complex dance of relief, horror, and profound, practically reverent satisfaction. "As I knew you would, Jao."

The low hum of the facility seemed to deepen, the air crackling with an unseen energy, charged with the weight of the decision. The path forward was clear, terrifying, and irreversible. However, his mind was now made up.

"Let's begin, the full moon's light is needed for the magic."

It was time to transcend.

Or die trying...

Eridin moved with a renewed urgency, a scientist finally unleashed. He gestured towards the colossal crystal hovering above the pentagon of cylinders. "Lay Kuroi Ryu at the base of the central pillar. Its essence must be drawn directly into the transmutation matrix."

Jao walked to the designated spot, his feet heavy with each step. He knelt, placing the legendary blade down with a reverence he hadn't known he possessed until this moment. The black steel seemed to hum faintly, a final song, as if sensing its imminent transformation.

"Now," Eridin commanded, his voice already tinged with the focus of his impending work, "onto the bed. The restraints are for your good, Jao. When the process begins, your body will fight. It will try to reject the Black Ichor. We cannot allow that."

Jao climbed onto the slightly raised bed. The cold metal pressed against his back, a stark contrast to the warmth of his blood. As Eridin secured the thick, padded restraints around his wrists, ankles, and chest, Jao felt a sudden, profound vulnerability. He felt like a sacrifice, laid bare, for a power he couldn't yet comprehend.

Eridin stepped back, moving swiftly to a console filled with flickering screens and arcane diagrams. His fingers flew across holographic interfaces, a symphony of clicks and hums filling the air. The five cylinder pillars began to glow, a faint, oddly celestial light pulsing within them. The significant crystal overhead flared with an intense, icy blue light, casting stark shadows across the chamber.

A low thrum vibrated through the bed, resonating deep within Jao’s bones. He watched, mesmerized and terrified, as the energy from the central pillar, where Kuroi Ryu lay, intensified. The air around the sword shimmered, distorting. A faint wail, like metal tearing and a spirit crying out, pierced the rising hum of the machinery. Kuroi Ryu began to "crumble", dissolving into tendrils of pure, inky blackness that swirled and coalesced, drawn upward into the crystal like millions of tiny fragments.

"Kuroi Ryu form has been redefined, introducing nanites."

Eridin commented. It was then that rods containing the A.I.O.N.S. nanites were to be disseminated into the mix.

"The Ophidian within the nanites," Eridin murmured, half to himself, half to Jao, " is bonding with the remnants of the Kuroi Ryu blade. The unique properties are beginning to... fuse. Prepare yourself, Jao. The Black Ichor is forming."

From the crystal, now glowing with an ominous black-blue light, a viscous, shimmering liquid began to drip. It wasn't falling; it was being drawn down by invisible conduits, feeding into the five hovering cylinders, which now glowed a deeper, more profound black.

Then, from the tips of the cylinders, thin strands of the living black metal, the Black Ichor, stretched out like grasping tendrils. They converged on Jao, not touching him directly at first, but forming a shimmering, fluid shroud above his body.

"It will begin now," Eridin’s voice was strained, his eyes glued to the monitors. "Initiating Ichor integration."

The first tendril descended, a chilling touch on his forehead. It seeped into his skin, dissolving into nothingness, yet Jao felt it. A cold, creeping sensation, like liquid ice flowing into his veins. Then another tendril, and another, and soon, the Black Ichor was no longer descending in strands but seemed to permeate the very air around him, a black mist that coalesced and flowed.

It poured into his nostrils, filled his mouth, and saturated his skin. Jao gagged, but the restraints held him fast. The cold seeped deeper, into his muscles, his organs. He felt his bones, his very skeleton, begin to hum with an alien vibration. It was not just coating; it was intertwining.

Then, the cold turned to fire. Not the searing heat of an inferno, but an infernal, agonizing burn that radiated from his core, spreading through his bones like molten lead. It was a pain that bypassed nerve endings, targeting the very essence of his being. He thrashed, his muscles screaming against the restraints, his throat raw with a silent cry.

The pain intensified as thousands of microscopic needles pierced his marrow, twisting, reshaping. The agony of being conscious during such a procedure was virtually mind-numbing, and yet through the scathing horror of this pain, the seething fury of the Black Dragon began to stir.

This was only the beginning.

The molten lead in Jao’s bones solidified into a lattice of pure torment, then began expanding and contracting as if his very skeleton was being re-forged. Every muscle fiber seized and spasmed, pulling against the thick restraints with impossible force, the padded cuffs groaning under the strain. His teeth gnashed, a primal roar tearing from his lungs, but it was swallowed by the overwhelming drone of the machinery, a terrible symphony of power.

The Black Ichor wasn't just permeating; it was overwriting. It burrowed into his marrow, replacing cellular structure and reweaving his very DNA. He felt his blood thicken, becoming a cold, heavy current coursing through new, reinforced channels. His skin grew taut, a strange, metallic sheen appearing beneath the sweat and grime, reflecting the ominous black-blue light of the crystal.

Eridin’s fingers flew across the holographic console, his face illuminated by the cascade of data streaming past his eyes.

“Vitals are spiking! Off the charts! Core temperature is… impossible,” Eridin muttered, sweat beading on his temple. “Containment field stress at ninety-four percent!”

“Eridin, the containment pillars are overloading!” Xetta stated in a tone that noted concern. “The Ichor is bleeding through the micro-fractures. We can’t seal it.”

“Reinforce the energy matrix! Reroute auxiliary power to the restraints,” Eridin snapped, never taking his eyes off the main display where Jao’s bio-signs flickered like a frantic heartbeat. “Do not let it breach!”

Inside Jao’s skull, the shouts were a distant echo, drowned out by the inferno of a far older voice.

” What have you done, little moth?!” The Dragon’s psychic roar was a physical force, a storm of jagged edges tearing at the fabric of Jao’s consciousness.

Jao gritted his teeth, the muscles in his jaw screaming in protest. Through the agony, he projected his own will, a sharp, defiant spear of thought. ”I have done what I deemed needed. We will become one.”

Eridin’s voice cut through the chamber’s drone, tense but steady. “Spinal column integration at eighty percent. Neural network adaptation… critical. The subject’s limbic system is experiencing extreme overload. Maintain containment!”

The Dragon’s fury intensified, contempt dripping from its mental words like venom. "Ains might have been an ideal cur, but at least he held some twisted form of honor; you are nothing more than a letch trying to usurp forces you cannot comprehend!"

Its will struck Jao’s mental shield, sending shimmering cracks across its surface.

Jao’s mind reeled, but he scoffed, his cynicism a potent weapon. ”Tuh… honor? Thousands of years in a Denkou-Shi temple, wielded by one of our most infamous fathers, and you’ve learned nothing about Shinobi?”

He pushed back, reinforcing the cracks with raw determination. ”There is no honor. The code we follow is a self-imposed hoax, a fable created to give the shinobi of old some semblance of direction, a vague attempt to persuade themselves from the truth of what they once were.”

Under the crushing weight of the Dragon’s essence, Jao pressed his point, his voice a venomous whisper in their shared mindscape. ”Bloodthirsty cutthroats vying for power, murderers for hire, bringing nothing but desolation to Edo.”

“He’s fighting it!” Xetta shouted. “The biofeedback loop is becoming unstable! The crystal is… flaring!”

“Increase the Ichor infusion rate by five percent,” Eridin commanded, his knuckles white on the edge of the console. “Force the symbiosis. We lose him if we hesitate!”

"That could kill him outright; his body is already pushing the nanite healing factor to its limits."

Xetta exclaimed.

"HIs body can handle a longer drawn process, it's now or nothing, Xetta!" Eridin stated.

The Dragon sensed the shift, the new surge of its power being forced into the mortal vessel. Its rage subsided into a cold, looming pressure. "And what is it you seek to create then, using my power? The Void Pyre is death given form, the stagnation of flow, it cannot heal, it does not offer salvation, it can only hinder...cinder...harm..."

Jao’s body arched against the restraints, a guttural scream finally escaping his lips, a sound of pure, unadulterated pain that was almost lost in the machinery’s howl. Yet his will held firm. ” Destruction is the preamble to life, and restoration is its sequel! When a forest burns down, though the scars seem irreparable, in time, a stronger, more lush greenery is born. I will raze the current power structure of Edo to the ground, and from its ashes, the dawn of a new order shall arise!”

The declaration was met with a final, volcanic eruption of bestial fury. The Dragons will hammer against his mental barriers, no longer seeking to persuade, only to obliterate.

” Grrr, you moths are all the same, groveling for power, fumbling over your petty ideals, forcing your logic on the world. Thus, why I, the flame, exist, I cannot...will not be devoured!"

“BRACE!” Eridin roared, as every alarm on the console blared at once. “FULL SYSTEM OVERLOAD IMMINENT!”

“The crystal is going dark!”

“We’re losing the primary power source!”

The thrumming of the chamber died down to an ominous, deep hum. The black-blue light of the crystal sputtered, casting long, dancing shadows across the cracked floor.

The central pillar, where Kuroi Ryu had been, now pulsed with a deep, internal hum, feeding a relentless stream of energy into the crystal, which in turn poured the living Black Ichor into Jao. The air thickened around him, crackling with static. His eyes, wide and bloodshot, began to glow with a faint, nearly sinister luminescence, matching the cold blue of the crystal but with an underlying flicker of ominous black.

A searing, excruciating wave of the ritual's energy slammed into him. It felt as if his very soul was being ripped from his body and then forcefully stitched back together with the cold, alien fabric of the Ichor and the ancient fury of the Dragon. His spine arched, muscles coiling like springs, tendons stretched to their breaking point. A guttural scream, no longer fully human, tore from his throat, a sound of agony and raw power mixing with the mechanical shriek of the overloaded system.

Then, pure, all-consuming darkness. Jao's body went slack against the restraints, his glowing eyes dimming, his chest heaving, fighting for air that suddenly felt too thin, like trying to grasp onto a wisp.

Yet, try as he might, his efforts failed...

"The subject's heart rate is dropping rapidly, oxygen levels decreasing."

Shit, Eridan thought they were losing him fast."

"Increase healing arts concentration; he must be stabilized."

It was a vain effort to keep him bound to the land of the living, but ultimately for naught, for the stark, piercing sound of the heart monitor flatlining foretold the result.

Despite it all,

Jao's heart stopped

And all fell deathly silent...

The long, piercing drone of the flatline was a shriek of failure in the sudden silence. The thrumming machinery whined down, its terrible symphony ending on a final, damning note. Cracks in the floor ceased their ominous glow, and the colossal crystal above dulled, its black-blue light contracting into a cold, inert core.

"No," Eridin whispered, his steady demeanor shattering like glass. He slammed a fist on the console. "No, no, no! Vital signs are gone. Complete systemic collapse." He stared at the slack, lifeless form of Jao, a monument to his hubris, bound and broken on the central slab. The experiment had worked too well. The reforging had been too violent. The host had been incinerated by the very power it was meant to contain.

But for Jao, it was not the end.

There was no tunnel of light, no choir of ancestors. There was only the void. The absolute, silent, and profound darkness he had touched in the final moments of agony became his entire reality. The molten lead, the spasming muscles, the re-forged bones—all gone. He was pure consciousness, a drifting remnant in an infinite, cold sea. He was free from pain, but he was also terrifyingly alone.

"Not alone... though but an ember of you remains and is fading."

The thought was not his own. It was a pressure, a gravity that warped the void around him. The Black Dragon’s essence, no longer a voice in his psyche but a universe of obsidian scales and cold fire, manifested before him. It was no longer bound by the crystal, no longer filtered through the ichor. Here, in the space between life and death, it was whole. Kuroi Ryu stood like a planet of obsidian.

"You have failed, little moth," the Dragon’s thought boomed, not with sound but with the crushing weight of reality itself. "Your vessel shattered. Your ambition turned to ash. You sought to cage a star and were burned by its corona."

Jao’s mental shield was gone, his conviction a memory. He had nothing left to defend himself with. He was a ghost facing a god.

"I have learned nothing about Shinobi?" The Dragon pressed its form coiling in the dark, a constellation of smoldering malice. "I have learned that your kind are brittle. Your flesh is weak. Your will, for all its posturing, is tethered to a heart that can be stopped. Even Ains, the only being who managed to best me, fell to ruin..."

The pressure intensified. Jao felt his ethereal form beginning to fray, to dissipate into the void under the Dragon’s contempt. This was the true annihilation.

Destruction is the preamble to life…

His own words echoed back to him, a lifeline in the abyss. He had been wrong. He couldn't conquer this force. He couldn't devour it. The ebb he'd felt was a tidal wave against his sandcastle of a soul.

"You are right," Jao projected, not a shield of defiance, but a whisper of acceptance. The Dragon paused, its immense fury momentarily stalled by the unexpected surrender.

"My flesh was weak," Jao continued, his consciousness coalescing around this new, desperate truth. "My will was arrogant. I sought to make you a tool. A means to an end."

The Dragon loomed closer, the cold fire in its being casting Jao in a spectral light. "And what are you now? A regretful spirit? A final, fleeting whisper?"

"I am the only one. The only who..." Jao replied, his thought gaining a strange clarity. " Edo is a place where the soul of the dead screams out in agony, their memories constantly calling for vengeance, to continue this cycle of death. Its power structure is a disease."
He gathered the last vestiges of his identity, not to fight but to offer. "You will not be devoured. You will not be a tool. We will be a vessel. Together. Your flame... will become my passion."

The Dragon’s essence flared, a nova of infernal energy. "You offer me nothing, what could a Moth offer the flame?"

"I offer you purpose!" Jao's thought roared back, fueled by the last of his dying essence. "Ains wielded you as a trophy. The Fathers of Denkou-Shi kept you as a symbol. I offer you release! Not to be wielded, but to be! "

He pushed his entire being, his memories, his ambition, and his pain into the Dragon's consciousness. An offering. Total and complete.

For an eternal second, the Dragon’s fury and Jao’s will collided in the void. Millennia of cold, reptilian existence crashed against decades of burning human ambition.

"Why do you even parlay with me? You possess the power of Subjation; with the ring's power, you could force me to yield...."

The Dragon asked, having not forgotten his numerous threats to do so before.

"I...know what it is like to be shackled, to be forced under the will of another. What I offer, the change I wish to see in Edo, to become...slavery has no place there. Together, Kuroi Ryu, we can become something more, something that defies what fate had decreed."

Then, something shifted. The two forces did not recoil. They began to intertwine, to weave together like threads of shadow and fire.

"We… will raze the old world…" the Dragon’s thought whispered, now threaded with Jao’s voice. "...and from its ashes," Jao’s consciousness finished, his voice now deep with a draconic resonance, "I will not ask you to shift your nature, merely your form."

"Grrr… I… will not be… devoured…"

A final defiant note of the dragon's individuality.

"No," the new, unified consciousness thought as one.

"We will be reborn."

The stillness of Jao’s soul realm was a recent, hard-won peace. It was a place of coalescing will, a shimmering macrocosm where his consciousness had finally begun to harmonize with the vengeful spirit of Ains’ accursed blade.

"What is this? Bargaining with food?"

The voice was not his, nor was it the blade's. It was a sound that did not belong, a tectonic grinding in the serene landscape of his inner world. Just as their consciousness reached a level of cohesion, the macrocosm of their united essence was tainted by a presence that, compared to both, was all-pervasive. The very seams of reality seemed to buckle under the weight of its existence as if its very nature was destruction itself.

"Vision has made you soft, Jao, lowered your guard."

The spectral realm began to twist as a pair of crimson eyes emerged from the void, each a burning star of malice. The hissing of a serpent rang loud, not the whisper of a reptile, but the crashing of meteors upon a planet's surface, the sound of heat escaping the surface of a falling sun.

"No..." Jao's voice, a mere echo in his mind, spoke out in disbelief. He knew this presence; he knew this voice.

Aphosis, the Nether Serpent, had come. Manifested as a creature whose form was incredible, its body becoming the endless stretch of the universe itself. The stars were not above it; they were in it. Nebulae swirled across its obsidian scales, and the dark matter between galaxies was the shadow of its underbelly.

"You are proving to be a most fruitful investment, letting you roam free," the cosmic serpent hissed, its voice a symphony of doom.

"You devious snake," Jao’s consciousness flared with defiance. " I knew it was odd, your fake complacency all along, a mask."

"Naturally," Aphosis responded, a low rumble of amusement shaking the foundations of Jao's soul. "I am a god. My will once shaped the course of Edo for over a thousand years. Did you think I would let a mere teenager, a mayfly, determine my course?" The serpent’s colossal head lowered, its crimson eyes fixing on the trembling light that was Jao. "No...yet despite it all, I knew we were kindred, you and I. You are an insatiable serpent, Jao. Try as you might to distinguish yourself from your ancestors, from the other Warlords of Edo; you are no different from them. NO different than me."

"Silence!" Jao shouted, the command feeling hollow and weak against the serpent's cosmic scale.

"You are willing to do whatever, become whatever, if it means seeing your goal realized," Aphosis continued, its vast body beginning to coil around the shimmering space that held Jao's essence. "You hide behind the veil of altruism; your brave speeches land with the superficial claims of desires for peace...a clever rouse."

"You're wrong," Jao stated, the words a struggle as the serpent's coils tightened, squeezing the very thoughts from his mind.

"Am I?" the god-serpent mused. "You are a consumer, a gluttonous beast with but one desire, to amass power, to force your ideal and will on others. And why shouldn't you? I have witnessed the cradle of life spawn over Vescrutia when the first of mortal kind first trekked upon her face. I have watched the dawn and dusk of civilizations time and time again and have found only one true universal constant."

The pressure was immense, Jao’s spiritual form flickering like a candle in a hurricane.

"Power determines the course of existence," Aphosis declared, the words an irrefutable law. "Power determines the law, and only in the crucible of chaos does true order reign. The weak are to be of use to those with power, and you...boy...have proven to me, through your sympathetic displays, that you are incapable of truly wielding power."

The serpent’s judgment was absolute. "I have gazed over your progress, taken a back seat and observed, for I had but a fleeting curiosity that you might prove to be what both Tero and Ains failed to be. A being willing to become darkness itself to ascend....but now...after this display, this...negotiation. I have found your will... lacking, your motives... wanting. I will claim the rings of Despair and Hatred myself....for you have crafted a fine vessel for my rebirth."

Aphosis reared its head back, its voice reaching a crescendo that cracked the very concept of Jao’s reality. "You are fodder...and now it is high time that I be reborn unto Edo and deliver unto them the reign of a true god!"

The serpent's maw opened wide, and it was not a mouth of flesh and fang but an infinite spiral of countless galaxies, a vortex that promised not annihilation or oblivion.

But Subjugation. It was the same Authority he had used on others, magnified by fathoms.

"I won't let you, Aphosis! You can't control me!" Jao’s consciousness screamed, a final, desperate act of resistance against the inevitable.

"Foolish boy," the final words echoed in the collapsing void of his mind. "Your mind and body are far too weak to resist me now. There is no more you....only I."

It was then that the snake swallowed him whole.