That sprawling research institute had not been newly established.

  In truth, it had always existed.

  The real story was this: a powerful financial dynasty had taken the initiative to approach Vale, who at the time was still scouring the empire for a suitable base of operations.

  They came bearing a bold proposal, to donate the entire research facility, complete with its elite biotech division and an arsenal of state-of-the-art biochemical and medical instruments, directly to Seraphine.

  That family was none other than the Bellamy Group.

  Their motive was simple: a formal apology, and a bid to align themselves with her.

  Naturally, the Bellamy family lacked clearance to know the full truth behind the Battle of Ashara.

  But even so, as one of the top financial clans in the empire, they had a finely honed instinct for political wind shifts.

  Their think tank ran an urgent analysis of recent events.

  It didn’t take long to reach a conclusion: Seraphine, after her formal recognition as heir, had already secured the personal favor of the Emperor of Emberlight.

  More than that, many of the hidden hands within the imperial court, the quiet architects of power, had begun to lean discreetly in her favor. Their support lent weight to Seraphine’s expanding authority, which now grew almost daily.

  Thus, the Bellamy family acted swiftly, ceding the institute with no hesitation.

  Of course, it was entirely possible that these so-called “conclusions” were no accident. They may well have been deliberately fed to the Bellamy family, nudging them toward this offering.

  At the same time, Seraphine discovered something else.

  A trust fund, 【Sky Capital】, had been quietly registered in her name. Its liquid assets were in the hundred-billion range, and she had full discretionary access to all of it.

  Alongside it came 100,000 high-grade land: lush pastures, developed ranches, modern farms, even scenic tourist villages.

  In addition, more than twenty prime real estate holdings were scattered across Emberlight’s major cities: luxury villas, penthouse suites, corporate towers, and entire commercial complexes.

  The total combined valuation?

  North of five hundred billion.

  And then there was the media.

  Television channels, streaming platforms, digital outlets, even social media ecosystems: under the silent influence of certain upper-echelon forces, they began to praise Seraphine incessantly, crafting her image, curating her aura.

  They were building her into something bigger than a person.

  A symbol.

  The second spiritual figurehead of the Emberlight Empire.

  Second only to the Emperor himself.

  Naturally, with Seraphine’s level of insight, she immediately grasped the intention behind this grand gesture.

  These men didn’t come to her with contracts or negotiations.

  They came with actions.

  They were using wealth and power to placate her, stabilize her, and, more importantly, to bind her.

  They weren’t just backing her.

  They were elevating her.

  Polishing her into an icon, placing her on a pedestal: a goddess, untouchable by the dust of the mortal world.

  Seraphine understood all of this instantly.

  She recognized it for what it was: an open-faced strategy by the real powers of the empire, who, after realizing they couldn’t yet suppress her with brute force, had pivoted to containment through reverence.

  After all, from the beginning of civilization, humanity has always longed for the idea of the “Saint.”

  Societies pour endless effort into constructing moral paragons.

  Saints. Heroes. Ideal figures of virtue.

  As for the chaotic, contradictory nature of humanity?

  It is scorned, publicly denounced, and held to impossible standards.

  As if all people are destined to walk the path of righteousness.

  You are either a sage, or not yet, but expected to act as if you are forever striving toward that sainthood.

  If not?

  Then you are wrong.

  You are guilty.

  You deserve to be erased.

  And so, most people, whether consciously or not, surrender themselves to that comfort: that illusion of glory.

  They strive. They sacrifice. They reshape themselves to fit the ideal.

  But Seraphine?

  Her path was something else entirely.

  “You may place your bet on Heaven’s will, but do not presume to know my heart.”

  To her, all of those gifts, those beautiful illusions, they meant little.

  After all, she had long since regarded the Earth itself as her personal domain.

  To try and flatter her with what already belongs to her?

  How utterly absurd.

  ...

  Near the eastern coast of Emberlight, on the outskirts of Jing City, lay a sprawling scientific-industrial complex.

  It was now known as the 【Sapphire】 Research Institute, Seraphine’s personal property.

  “Not bad,” she said softly.

  Clad in a traditional royal mantle, Seraphine strolled leisurely down a silver-gray metallic corridor. Her hands were clasped behind her back, her steps measured.

  Trailing behind her were Vale and Kael, a dozen elite guards, and several attendants from the Heir's estate.

  As she walked, pristine white laboratories came into view one after another. Researchers in white coats passed back and forth, holding clipboards and data tablets, immersed in their routines.

  Seraphine glanced around.

  “Yes... this facility should suffice,” she murmured.

  At that moment, a woman approached: young, refined, wearing a white lab coat and black-rimmed glasses. She moved quickly but respectfully.

  It was Serena, someone Seraphine had met once before.

  Flushed and visibly excited, Serena bowed slightly, her voice soft but eager:

  “Your Highness the Heir... I, I'm the director of the Sapphire Research Institute. From today forward, I will be responsible for overseeing all scientific research under Your Highness’s command.”

  Her words trembled with fervor.

  Seraphine looked at her, gaze cool and distant.

  In an instant, her consciousness brushed across Serena’s psyche, reading it like a book.

  It wasn’t pure admiration, not entirely.

  Roughly half of Serena’s emotions stemmed from intellectual awe and scientific devotion. The other half? A fervent curiosity toward perfect lifeforms, and a deeply rooted submission to Seraphine’s superior existence as a higher-tier entity.

  But none of that mattered.

  Although Seraphine had already absorbed the full extent of Serena’s knowledge, the woman’s scientific talent remained exceptionally valuable.

  And in science, talent often outweighs both experience and book-learning.

  “Excellent,” Seraphine said, smiling with composed warmth. “With Director Serena in charge, I’m reassured.”

  She gestured.

  A eunuch stepped forward, opening a black, velvet-lined briefcase.

  Inside lay a gleaming, partial skull: its structure incomplete but unmistakably alien in form.

  Serena’s eyes widened. “This is...?”

  “This will be your next research project,” Seraphine replied calmly. “I need the institute to extract a complete genome from this prehistoric specimen.”

  Although Serena was of Bellamy blood and a prodigy in life sciences, she lacked clearance to know the truth behind the Battle of Ashara, let alone the identity of Vuron.

  But even in her ignorance, she could sense something extraordinary.

  Her instincts screamed it: this skull held secrets.

  In a heartbeat, the flames of scientific obsession surged through her.

  All thoughts of lingering near her idol vanished. She immediately called over several researchers, taking the skull with the reverence of sacred relics, and personally oversaw its transfer into the central laboratory.

  Some time later, she returned, this time with a test report in hand.

  She looked at Seraphine, stunned.

  “This species has no precedent on Earth. The material structure of the skull is incredibly dense and durable. If Your Highness hadn’t told me it was prehistoric, I would have assumed it was... extraterrestrial.”

  Seraphine nodded, calm as ever. “Do you believe you can dissect it?”

  Serena hesitated, then answered carefully:

  “Conventional methods likely won’t work. I’ll need to convene with the institute’s senior experts and rework the approach.”

  Seraphine gave a slight nod. “Very well. Proceed.”

  With that, Serena bowed deeply and turned to leave, her mind already racing through theories and procedures.

  ...

  The moment Vuron experienced the immense surge of Ether, something within him shifted—utterly and irreversibly.

  On the microscopic level, his body was no longer what it once was.

  Naturally, the old procedures from the Snow Mountain Lab were now completely obsolete.

  After more than an hour of intense discussion and technical analysis, Serena finally reached a decision.

  The dissection would proceed using a high-energy laser array as the primary tool, supported by a high-speed tungsten-alloy circular saw, and assisted by a super-high-pressure water jet system.

  Inside the expansive, brightly lit surgical lab, a towering ten-meter-long robotic arm, bristling with wires, actuators, and precision instruments, extended slowly toward the skull of Vuron, resting motionless on an elevated platform like a relic of some fallen god.

  Affixed to the arm was a massive saw disc the size of a chariot wheel. Its crescent-edged blades shimmered with cold, surgical precision. Clusters of nozzles and emitters surrounded the blade’s perimeter, pulsing faintly.

  “Laser generator power calibrated.”

  “Water pressure stabilized.”

  “Cutting fluid composition within optimal parameters.”

  From the observation room overlooking the sterile lab, Serena’s father spoke calmly into the mic:

  “Initiating the procedure.”

  Beside him stood Seraphine, composed and motionless, watching with a placid gaze.

  All around them were scientists in long white coats and thick glasses, silent, breath held, awaiting the operation's outcome.

  Bzzzzz~

  The saw disc began to rotate.

  “Torque reading normal.”

  “RPM rising steadily.”

  “System power at nominal.”

  The blade picked up speed, its edges blurring into a crimson-tinted ring. Around the spinning metal, faint pulses of red light flickered like a heartbeat.

  “Commence dissection.”

  Serena's voice was firm.

  The robotic arm descended, carrying the blazing wheel of metal and light straight down toward the skull.

  And then—

  SPARKS EXPLODED.

  The high-pressure water jet burst into motion, carving a mist of scalding steam as the blade made contact.

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  SSSSSZZZZZZHH... KRRRRCH!!!

  The saw bit in, but not cleanly.

  The entire robotic arm began to shudder. An unbearable, screeching, metal-on-god sound shrieked through the chamber. It pierced even the lab’s thick soundproof glass.

  Outside, scientists instinctively clutched their ears, wincing in discomfort.

  Only Seraphine remained still, watching with quiet scrutiny.

  Seconds passed. She narrowed her eyes.

  “...It’s not working.”

  Serena, half-deaf from the noise, turned and shouted:

  “Huh?! Your Highness, what did you say?”

  CRACK!!

  BOOM!!

  K-K-KRANGG!!!

  The robotic arm bucked violently.

  And then: catastrophic failure.

  Smoke and flame erupted at its joints.

  The saw blade, once gleaming with mechanical promise, exploded into hundreds of searing metal shards, tearing through the lab like a shrapnel storm. Dozens of gashes and holes peppered the steel walls and reinforced ceiling.

  The machine collapsed in a groaning heap, hissing and sparking as its systems went dark.

  The room fell into stunned silence.

  Serena stood frozen, eyes wide. The scientists exchanged horrified glances.

  This... had failed?

  But this was the most advanced cutting rig they had. Every resource, every ounce of ingenuity had gone into this design.

  If even this couldn’t break through...

  Then what could?

  “No matter,” Seraphine said softly.

  She stepped forward, unbothered. “I’ll handle it myself.”

  As her words fell, the wreckage around her lit up.

  A radiant mass of golden phantom light burst into the room, followed by a searing Great Sun divine aura. Invisible but overwhelming, a vast telekinetic force surged forward, condensing and sharpening like a blade.

  The divine energy and psychic force converged:

  And descended.

  There was no sound.

  The dense, super-reinforced skull simply... disintegrated.

  Cracked apart into glimmering motes of dust, each fragment floating lazily into the air like ash from a sacred fire.

  Thus, the pale-gray bone marrow inside Vuron’s skull, now shattered and lying exposed on the alloy examination table, was laid bare before the eyes of the scientific team.

  Seraphine turned slightly and instructed Serena:

  “Send a team to collect it.”

  “Uh... right.”

  Serena froze momentarily, then gave a sharp nod.

  Within minutes, several researchers in heavy protective suits entered the chamber. They began carefully scooping up the fine bone dust and performing micro-extractions from what remained of Vuron’s neural tissue.

  “Your Highness the Heir...”

  Serena turned back, her expression one of disbelief. “How... how did you do that? That was... incredible.”

  Around her, the other scientists were equally stunned. Their gazes fixated on Seraphine, filled with awe, bordering on reverence.

  They, more than anyone, understood how absurdly tough Vuron’s skull had been. That thing was a nightmare to even scratch.

  And yet Seraphine had reduced it to powder. Just like that.

  With the dense outer shell destroyed, the comparatively delicate marrow and residual blood matter no longer posed any barrier. The true study could now begin.

  The scientific dissection of Aurora Clan genetics had officially commenced.

  ...

  That night.

  In the northern district of Ashara, inside a lavish high-rise bathed in cool blue light:

  Cedric sat alone at the bar counter of his suite, silently downing glass after glass of wine.

  Across from him, a tall, mixed-race Black man lounged lazily on a plush sofa. He swirled his wine with slow, deliberate circles, smiling faintly.

  “Cedric... regarding Vuron’s skull...”

  Cedric looked up from his drink with a bitter smile. “Abram... do you really think I still get a say in any of this?”

  Abram chuckled.

  “Don’t talk like that, Cedric. You’re far too important to play the victim.”

  “Remember, when the Ascension project fell apart, it was you who introduced us to that old council. Without you, there’d be no Immortal Pill today.”

  Cedric slammed his glass down.

  “My father is dying because of that so-called Immortal Pill! And you dare thank me for it?”

  Abram held up both hands, placating.

  “Now now, Your Highness. You can’t pin that on us. You know it was the Ether resurgence that caused the side effects. No one could’ve predicted...”

  “Enough!”

  Cedric’s voice cracked. His eyes, rimmed red, blazed with grief and rage.

  He turned away, shaking his head as if trying to rid himself of it all.

  “I’m heading back to the mansion. If you want to talk about research on Vuron’s skull, go find Her Highness the Heir. As for me... forget it.”

  He turned and staggered toward the exit, unsteady and defeated.

  Abram watched him go, his smile fading.

  Then he quietly took out a sleek black phone.

  In a low voice, he spoke:

  “Cedric’s usefulness has run its course. I suggest we cut contact.”

  A cold, heavy voice responded from the other end.

  “So what now? Planning to arrange a face-to-face with that ‘humanoid nuclear bomb’ yourself?”

  Abram gave a theatrical gasp.

  “God no. What if that lovely war goddess gets annoyed and slaps me? There won’t even be enough left of me to bury.”

  “...Then what’s your play?”

  Abram paused, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

  A sly glint lit up his eyes.

  “What if...” he said, grinning, “I sneak into the Research Institute instead?”

  “...Huh?”

  There was a beat of stunned silence. Then:

  “Are you crazy? Aren’t you afraid?”

  Abram gave a sly grin.

  “A little fear? Sure. I mean, yeah—those angelic remains are worth a lot. But let’s be real: nothing’s worth more than my own little life.”

  He leaned back lazily, fingers toying with a data chip.

  “I might not be great at head-on combat, but when it comes to stealing things, I’m fairly confident.”

  He tapped his temple with a smirk.

  “After all, they don’t call me the Star of Darkness for nothing.”

  “Even if she’s scarier than a hydrogen bomb, there’s no way she’s gonna notice a tiny insect crawling in the shadow of a nuclear missile silo, right?”

  A pause on the other end of the line.

  Then came the reply, cold and cautious: “You can try. But be careful.”

  “Relax, bro.” Abram chuckled. “That’s the plan.”

  CLICK~

  The line went dead.

  ...

  Three days later.

  Time drifted by like breath on glass, barely noticed.

  In those three days, Seraphine never once let up on her training. She pushed forward in silence, absorbing the raw solar essence radiating from the cosmos into every fiber of her being.

  But even with her tireless effort, progress was excruciatingly slow.

  Perhaps her foundation wasn’t yet solid enough. Or perhaps the ambient Ether concentration around Earth was still too weak.

  Either way, her advancement in martial cultivation was like wading through a fog of unknowns: no path, no guideposts, just a blank, chaotic frontier.

  But that was the price of being first.

  As the unrivaled martial sovereign of Earth—since the very beginning—there was simply no one before her. No footsteps to follow.

  Every technique, every theory, every insight had to be forged by her hands alone.

  “My intellect is already unmatched on this planet...

  But inspiration doesn’t come from memory alone.

  Even with the Eye of True Revelation, I still need new information for breakthroughs.”

  She opened her interface and studied her attributes.

  Her expression darkened slightly, but not from frustration, just deep thought.

  “Maybe... I should pass down some of my techniques. If more people begin cultivating, they’ll generate new ideas—sparks of insight I can harvest.”

  “It feels promising. Though the cycle’s slow... kind of like squeezing juice from dry pulp.”

  As for whether someone might someday surpass her through this method?

  Completely impossible.

  The person with the highest martial potential in the entire Earth realm was Kael, and even he had only just brushed the edge of Mystic Aperture: Stage 3.

  Vale hadn’t even crossed the threshold of Phantom Armament.

  The rest? Mere mortals, not even worth comparing.

  【Host: Seraphine】

  【Physical Strength: 36.119 billion】

  【Soul: 36.943 billion】

  In just three days, her stats had doubled eight times again.

  These numbers...

  They were beginning to push into a realm so far beyond human comprehension, they might as well have belonged to another reality.

  And that was just the physical.

  Her Soul alone was something else entirely.

  The moment it crossed the 1 billion threshold, Seraphine’s perception underwent a dramatic evolution.

  She no longer needed to concentrate or scan deliberately. Her awareness radiated effortlessly, blanketing the entire Ashara Megadomain.

  Every detail.

  Every movement.

  Every shift in energy or matter across 10,000 square kilometers was instantly registered and interpreted by her mind.

  And with each exponential leap in her soul stats, this sensory field only expanded: wider, deeper, sharper.

  Relentlessly.

  It was precisely because of this unique ability...

  That Seraphine had been able to clearly “hear” the conversation between Cedric and a strange shadow figure on that night, three days ago.

  And not just that.

  She even heard what that shadow whispered to someone over the phone.

  “Dark Star...”

  Her eyes narrowed, thoughtful and sharp.

  “I recall someone by that codename among the core members of the 【Sacred Zone Research Society】.”

  “How curious. Could that organization truly exist in this world?”

  The divine light shimmered faintly within her pupils, like stars flickering across the void.

  “If so, then I can simply use him to uncover the location of their headquarters.”

  She called back the plotlines from 《Superpower Struggle》.

  That shadowy, high-tech organization known as the Sacred Zone Research Society:

  They held more than a few interesting things.

  ...

  Sapphire Research Institute

  The facility was a storm of activity.

  Batch after batch of cutting-edge equipment arrived, immediately installed and activated.

  Wave after wave of researchers filed in, slipping into white coats and taking over the labs.

  Outside, sleek black vehicles parked in rows, escorting dozens of shackled prisoners. All were high-risk criminals sentenced to death, funneled one by one into the building’s bowels.

  Inside, the scientists worked like men possessed.

  Sleep-deprived eyes. Shaky hands. Frenzied energy.

  Every lab was filled with frantic motion and urgent shouts.

  “Subject Thirteen’s physical strength is increasing rapidly! Don’t let him wake up, he’ll break straight through the containment wall! Increase the sedative, now!”

  “Subject Sixty-Two suddenly exhaled high-temperature flames, he’s torched the lab! Get the fire suppression team in there! The research logs are still inside!”

  “Subject Nineteen’s body temperature is plummeting, down to minus 130°C. He’s flash-freezing the entire lab! Inject the anesthetic, quickly!”

  “Subject Five’s eyes mutated, he fired a laser that burned out the ceiling fan! Get a replacement up there, stat!”

  “Subject Twenty-Three also has laser vision, but... wait, his eyes are reversed? He cooked his own head?! Sigh. Haul him off for disposal.”

  “Subject Forty-Five: tests reveal he can generate powerful illusions, but his personality has split into exactly forty-five identities. Well, that’s fitting.”

  “Subject Seventeen grew organs like an electric eel, but he has no natural insulation. Fried himself crispy. Sedate him anyway. Let him rest in peace.”

  The chaos was deafening.

  And right in the middle of this controlled insanity, she arrived.

  “Director, Your Highness has arrived.”

  A young scientist approached Serena, speaking in a respectful but urgent tone.

  Serena blinked, dazed, looking up at Seraphine, who was slowly approaching in her usual, composed manner.

  Rubbing her disheveled hair and wearing an expression of both exhaustion and relief, Serena gave a sheepish smile.

  “Your Highness, seeing me like this must be quite the sight.”

  Seraphine smiled faintly. “No matter. So? Have you made any progress?”

  Serena let out a breath of relief and nodded. “Yes, significant progress, actually.”

  She stood up and motioned for Seraphine and her entourage to follow her into a secure room nearby.

  Once the door was closed, Serena pulled a thick stack of documents from a metal cabinet behind her desk and handed them to Seraphine.

  “This creature is remarkable,” she said. “Its genetic makeup differs entirely from the standard double-helix structure found in most Earth species. Instead, it exhibits a kind of interwoven, multilayered gene architecture.”

  Seraphine began skimming through the reports. Thanks to her absorption of the scientist’s knowledge, she could easily interpret the complex technical details packed within the dense pages.

  To summarize the findings:

  The Aurora Clan genome is composed of two distinct layers.

  The first layer shares a basic resemblance to Earth species: a double-helix structure. However, it is far more intricate, encoding a vastly greater amount of information.

  More importantly, its structure is extraordinarily stable, so stable, in fact, that it appears to be protected by some kind of anti-decryption mechanism. Any attempt to forcefully decode it triggers an automatic collapse of the entire chain.

  This first layer is essentially the foundational genome, the structural core of the being.

  But the second layer is something entirely different: a formation of circular gene loops of varying sizes, orbiting the primary genome like moons around a planet. These open-format gene segments are not embedded within the core helix but float around it independently.

  That’s why the researchers here were able to easily extract genetic material from Vuron’s cells. These superpower components, as they came to be known, reside in this second outer layer.

  This is also how the team developed the superpower serums that granted various test subjects unique abilities.

  As Seraphine scanned further, her eyes narrowed.

  She suspected that this second layer of Vuron’s genome only unfolded and activated in response to the resurgence of Ether.

  She had scoured the minds of several high-ranking imperial officials, yet found no record or awareness of this circular outer gene structure. It was likely dormant, hidden, until now.

  Based on three days of observation, the researchers had drawn a conclusion:

  Most of Vuron’s supernatural abilities stemmed from this second, modular layer.

  These superpower components functioned like gene plugins: semi-autonomous, specialized units.

  The foundational genome, on the other hand, provided the baseline for everything: physical capability, regeneration, strength, durability, speed.

  The core engine.

  The outer components: a warehouse of over a hundred discrete superpower modules.

  These components could move, shifting positions, latching onto different parts of the foundational chain. And they could interact, linking or amplifying one another through unknown mechanisms.

  Related or synergistic superpowers could stack, exponentially amplifying their effects.

  The so-called Aurora Art was likely the result of multiple superpower components working in concert, linked together through these mysterious gene dynamics.

  Of course, Vuron couldn’t wield all of them simultaneously. The energy cost would be overwhelming, burning him out instantly.

  In truth, the data suggested he could only activate perhaps 20–30% of the components at any given time. The majority remained dormant.

  Seraphine’s lips curved slightly.

  “A treasure trove...” she murmured.

  Serena, however, spoke with some frustration:

  “But right now, we have no way of properly grafting these superpower components onto our subjects. We lack the technology.”

  She shook her head.

  “We’re still relying on traditional serum injections, brute-forcing the components into the subjects’ main genomes.”

  “This method often results in severe rejection symptoms. After all, these superpower components weren’t meant to be embedded directly: they’re designed to orbit the genome, not merge with it.”

  Seraphine fell silent, deep in thought.

  That made sense.

  The superpowers of humans were fundamentally different.

  When humans awakened abilities, the gene segment responsible usually sat embedded within the front section of the genome, a built-in trait.

  But for the Aurora Clan, superpowers behaved more like external modules orbiting around the foundational genome, functioning via complex electrochemical interactions.

  "On a microscopic scale," Seraphine mused, “it’s hard to imagine how such components maintain stable influence while floating outside the chain.”

  “There must be another force involved.”

  She tapped her chin, then asked Serena, “Do you have any ideas?”

  Serena shook her head. “Microphysics and classical genetics can’t account for it.”

  “I might,” Seraphine said, clasping her hands behind her back.

  “Vuron returned to life after the resurgence of Ether. What if the electrochemical interplay between his genome layers, the entire stability of the second-layer components, is only possible in the presence of high-density Ether?”

  Serena’s eyes widened slightly.

  “That... that actually makes sense.”

  Seraphine nodded.

  “From this moment forward, assign dedicated labs to study Ether’s influence on matter, especially at the molecular and subatomic level.”

  “This line of research could prove incredibly valuable.”

  “Yes, Your Highness the Heir,” Serena replied.

  She turned to leave.

  Seraphine remained still, watching the woman’s retreating figure, and then her mind drifted.

  She recalled something far more important.

  The true reason for the Sacred Zone Research Society’s meteoric rise in 《Superpower Struggle》 wasn’t their access to Aurora Clan remnants...

  ...it was something else entirely.

  A mysterious artifact, codenamed 【Abraham Machine】.

  The game never revealed it in full. Only hints.

  It was said that the Abraham Machine wasn’t built by the Sacred Zone themselves, but discovered, obtained by their enigmatic leader.

  Its capabilities were beyond comprehension.

  It could accurately pinpoint which gene segment within a being's extended genome was the source of its superpowers.

  It could then identify the function of that segment.

  And finally, it could dismantle it, cleanly and completely.

  Aurora Clan components.

  Human awakening genes.

  Mutant beasts.

  Even alien species.

  The Abraham Machine could extract their powers with surgical precision.

  Its greater function?

  To integrate those extracted genes, seamlessly, into any new host genome, without side effects.

  It could either weave the new gene into orbit as a superpower component, or graft it directly into the main chain, making it a permanent part of the organism’s genetic makeup.

  The Abraham Machine could do both.

  Seraphine’s eyes gleamed with ambition.

  “Good things always belong to the strong,” she whispered.

  “That machine... should belong to me.”

  “I must find a way to wrest it from the Sacred Zone Research Society.”