Chapter 32: True Archon Body Part 2

"Yes, that is one of the reasons. My main reason for bringing you here is that you have given me a pleasant surprise by inhabiting Lu Shu's body. By all means, he was supposed to die a horrible death. Yet, you now inhabit his body and have given it a future incomparable to its former soul host. I had long lost interest and seldom let anyone learn from me," the ancient man laughed. "I could consume this planet with a single gulp if I needed to. The other two Planetary Overseers are my juniors and have long since left to find a new planet to interest them. You have amused me. Well done."

"Thank you?" Agemo frowned, unsure of what else to say.

"Please, sit," the man said as two white chairs and a table appeared before him with various drinks and cuisines. "Tell me, what elements will you be able to use in the future?"

"Water, lightning, and darkness," Agemo answered as the dragon happily began eating the food before it. "Were you the one controlling the puppet that I met near the lake?"

"It is one of the many benefits of controlling a puppet. Much more unique than golems, but people prefer something that is as powerful as it looks," the man nodded. "You will first cultivate and reach the third stage. Then, you will train under me. When you leave, you will return to being Shu of the Lu Clan. There is no longer a need for an alias as Agemo. Two lives experienced with one soul. It is time to accept your new life and let go of the past. Now, follow one of my puppets to the cultivation chamber I have prepared. My other puppets will train your dragon and upgrade the puppet wraith. Good luck. It will be very difficult and very painful. Worry not; there is concentrated life force of the planet in the chamber. Maintain control of your mind, and you will be fine."

Agemo followed the puppet to a large chamber. The puppets had him sit in the center of the chamber, surrounded by eight large pools full of a strange, glowing liquid, arranged around him like the corners of an octagon. Three smaller pools were set in a triangular position closer to him. These pools contained spirit energy of lightning, water, and darkness affinity, while the larger, more powerful pools were filled with planetary life force.

Agemo didn’t know how the Overseer acquired the pools of water, but the puppets had filled them in the chamber. He suspected he was not the first to enter the chamber, as the holes were made prematurely before he arrived. He took out the manual and began remembering the hand signs he needed to make before cultivating the technique. He performed the hand signs and laid his palms facing the ceiling, placing them on his knees afterward. The pools trembled, and the spirit energy of the elemental essence flowed into his body while the larger eight pools began forming a cocoon around him.

As the mysterious membrane soon enclosed him, his spirit reactor began to shake and emerge from his lake. The wings spread open as the spirit reactor began to symbolize the moon in his soul. Instead of heat, the spirit reactor began chilling the air. A tiger roared as the White Ocean Tiger finally revealed itself, as large as a horse but with eyes the color of the ocean. The mask also revealed itself and looked just like the carving on the bottom of the Sentinel Bow. The two spirits began to levitate above the soul lake and appeared as small moons as they glowed. The tiger spirit glowed with demonic red spirit energy, while the mask spirit glowed with vermilion energy.

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Agemo roared with pain as a black, tribal tattoo of a scorpion began to form on his back. The pools soon emptied, and the membrane shattered as Agemo levitated above the air, the tattoo forming and vermilion wings spreading from his back. He became taller by two inches, and a black liquid burst from his pores as he gave a final yell. Two small horns, white as snow, appeared on the top left side of his head. One was about three centimeters, while the other was five. These were his demonic horns and contained vast amounts of the planet's life force as the cocoon remnants were absorbed into the horns.

He didn’t know it, but he had been in the cocoon for three months. He landed on the floor and looked at his back in shock. His back felt odd as the wings seemed a part of him. He willed them away, and they changed into vermilion energy before disappearing into his body. The horns stayed put and would not disappear or reappear at will.

The purple energy that appeared when he used his innate demonic ability to steal spirit energy flared up on both hands. It soon became flames that spread all over his body. The flames converged over the center of his forehead and turned into a demonic stone. He gasped as the pain ended and fainted on the ground. He was unconscious for two weeks and awoke with a start. He was on a white bed made of the softest materials he had ever touched. He leaned up and saw that he was in the throne room. To his left were the Overseer and his dragon and puppet.

"Welcome back. Your demonic genes have finally taken root, and the vermilion energy has truly influenced you. I expected horns or draconic wings, not angelic wings. The demonic stone must have formed. It is ovular and very large. If your blood were purer, there would be smaller stones on both sides. Don’t worry; you won’t even feel it," the Overseer laughed. "You should be glad it’s not a third eye. Those are creepier to humans and harder to hide."

"People will know I’m a demon now," Agemo said.

"No, the stone will sink beneath your skin and embed in your skull and brain. Now, all you need to absorb spirit energy is to cut someone with your katana and watch their spirit energy enter your body. Take a look at your katana; it will have changed as it is also connected with your soul," the Overseer said as Agemo noticed Rain Slayer had black energy swirling within the blade. "You should recognize that black energy as that of death. I imagine the baleful aura will be stronger. You might be influenced a little when wielding the katana. It looks more like a ceremonial blade now. Even the blade’s outer appearance has changed. It seems like it was made out of ice. It will serve well to kill the Hyperion blight. Your pain from the demon stone should subside once it enters your skin."

"Are you alright, master?" the puppet asked, and Agemo stared at it in surprise.

"Whoa! You can talk now?" Agemo asked.

"Yes, master. I learned under the other puppets. I thank you for allowing this wraith to no longer have an incorporeal body. I have various weapons at my disposal. Some of them resemble the modern guns from your world but shoot bullets of death energy," the puppet said. "The Overseer said my mission is to be your shadow and protect you from other shadows that try to devour your light, your life. I will always hide in your shadow until you call for me. As you kill or walk among the dead, I become stronger."

The puppet bowed as it stood like a human and went into his shadow. Agemo could sense it there, as if it were in hibernation while waiting for his summons. He stared at the dragon and noticed that it was the same size but was also at the third stage, like him. The dragon licked his hand playfully. He suspected that it would be able to communicate with him when it got older, first through a mental link, like telepathy, and then through speech. It sat on his lap as a tray of food and drinks appeared before him. He decided to call the dragon Bahamut, after a famous dragon from Earth legends that destroyed the World Tree it protected.

"The puppet has been taught well. Don’t worry about any espionage against you. It will detect it all and protect you like your dragon. Its name is the name of its former race: Wraith. As for the dragon, the Emerald Steel Dragon has very tough scales, even harder than tempered steel. It’s not very fast but can still breathe dragon fire, albeit with green flames," the Overseer nodded. "Your first spirit will have a major impact, as most beast spirits do. Your diet might change significantly, and an image of the White Ocean Tiger will appear when you use your spirit force. Beast spirits also grant abilities over time. People will identify you by your beast spirit over time. White Ocean Tiger spirits are rare after all. Congratulations, you are a true Archon. I will now personally train you in how to manipulate the elements."

"I can finally use my Black Cloud Desolation technique, my thunder spirit technique," Agemo grinned as the dragon puffed a small flame, burning the sheets.

He only had about nine months left before returning to the real world. Three months had passed in the real world while he was in the cocoon, but it was a little over a year and a half within the pocket dimension, although nothing aged within. Agemo learned about the time difference and assumed his aging was based on how he aged out of the pocket dimension. He cut his hair and began learning from the Overseer. He had the chance to learn from the famous Bone Demon, a dragon with bone scales that gave birth to the bone demon race. He had a lot to learn and five years, nine months of real time before he had to return for the clan competition when he turned thirteen. He devoted himself to training and would

endure the cruel training regimens devised by the Overseer.