It was time to craft Ascylla’s body now. Ascylla had been fiercely loyal from his memories.
No matter which one it had been, there were always two people present: Syllena and Ascylla. No matter her Hierarch’s goal, she had stayed by his side, knowing the Cygilites would never fall while her Hierarch guided them.
And he had failed her. She had given her life on the Final Battlefield. Guiding their people at the most dangerous parts of the battle, their legions of silver crushing all opposition with brutal lethality.
And yet even she had fallen, fallen not because she failed but because she launched herself at one of the opposite universe’s Aspects. Taking the blow to save her Hierarch.
Her body had varied throughout his memories, from a giant supercomputer the size of a planet with the ability to shoot death lasers that could wipe out planets (something she claimed was fully original and she had thought by herself) to a more humble and androgynous typical Cygilite body.
“So, Ascylla. What do you wish for?”
[What you believe to be -]
“That was not my question, Ascylla. What do YOU wish to be?”
[...]
[That it is under the sea, high into the sky, or on land… I wish to be able to explore everything alongside you. I wish for a shape that will allow me to follow you everywhere and help our people no matter where they are.]
“Very well, Ascylla.”
As expected of her. Akhenamen deeply admired Ascylla. She was, in a way, far more sturdy of mind than even he, an Aspect. Yet never had she faltered like he or Syllena. Never had she shown any hint of remorse or self-pity throughout the numerous wars that would follow.
So he was going to reward her. Reward her with the greatest gift he could give her. Once again, he went to work, creating her a body of a similar quality to Syllena. Even if far more battle-ready and oriented toward war and power.
However, her shape would be different from any she had taken. He had always refrained from giving Ascylla too much power in his memories. Fearing the AI would betray him. Now he saw his future self had been really different from the him of the past.
But not this time. This time, he would show his full trust in her abilities and loyalty.
Her Refined Living Silver body was being shaped into a rather peculiar shape, long, thick and scaly. Her body became similar to a naga. A snake-person, they had the lower body of a snake and the upper body of a human. They could slither on land and swim in the sea.
And he did not end there; soon, great silvery wings appeared on her back, those that only a dragon would have. Once the general shape was achieved, he looked at Ascylla’s floating spherical body.
“That is my gift to you, Syllena. To have a Living Silver frame as refined and advanced as mine. To always be my equal. An advisor and friend who will never have to fear telling me what she truly believes. Someone who can stand at my side.”
Ascylla did not answer, her spherical body suddenly lowering itself, floating silently above the floor, no more green core shining inside. The newly made body’s eyes opened softly. Using her hand, she lifted her upper body off the crystal anvil and looked around, staring at her own hands.
She was deeply glad she couldn’t blush; Akhenamen would have seen the massive blush on her face. She felt both incredibly happy, proud, and overjoyed in her Hierarch’s belief in her abilities and loyalty.
Her tail gently moved around. Her wings stretched wide. She closed her eyes, letting her AI mind get familiar with this brand-new body. Lucky for her, as an artificial being, she was able to very quickly adapt to her new body.
The nanites in her body started to give her a bald scalp, long wavy “hairs” going down to her waist; they were closer to very thin silver tendrils, but unlike Syllena, who had the experience of David’s life as a human to imitate and even know the “feel” of hairs, Ascylla was a beginner.
Her bright green eyes stared into his eyes.
Manipulating her body one last time to allow almost identical green horns to his on her head. It gave her a truly regal look. The flying naga cygilite was definitely impressive, her body having stats similar to a powerful Transcendent, a Beyonder.
Syllena was different as she was free-made from a specific blueprint that the future Akhenamen had designed specifically for her and her alone. For Ascylla, he had built her a body that could actually change and evolve by “digesting” / absorbing rare and powerful materials.
She rose to her full height, the added height from her snake-like lower body, making her slightly taller than Akhenamen. She lowered herself, bowing down, a strange sight for a naga-like body.
“I swear eternal loyalty to you, my hierarch. To you. To your heir. To your dynasty. To your very legacy. If you wish to become a blacksmith, I shall become your anvil. If you wish to become a shield, I shall become skilled enough that none would touch the shield.”
Akhenamen smiled. Syllena started to wake up, finally raising herself back up as she rushed to her father before looking between him and Ascylla. Not recognising her at all.
“Dad, who is that? She looks so mature, is she like my mom?”
Akhenamen already could guess how this conversation was gonna go, Ascylla’s face going from a proud and happy smile to a shit-eating grin, one that showed she had just gotten rocket-level ammunition for hers and Syllena’s future argument.
“Sorry, shrimp. Not interested in being your mommy, but I’ll surely remember what you called me.”
Syllena went from a curious smile to an absolutely horrified face. Realising the grave mistake she had just made.
“No… no… NOOOOOO!”
***
Akhenamen looked behind him, silently watching Syllena walking a few feet behind him. Ascylla just behind her. The same smile on her face. And from Syllena’s face, even if he hadn’t been able to hear their conversation until now, he would have been able to guess it was a walk full of “You called me Mommy” jokes.
Akhenamen had to admit the mistake had been pretty adorable, and it did make him think of a seemingly almost discarded thing. Well, not discarded, more like put aside until he could afford to properly realise what it meant.
That his family was alive. Jacob. Rose. Lan. They were alive. His memories showed it. Or at least they would be brought back to life at one point. The closest hint he had to their survival or the ability to resurrect them was his personal quest.
If Akhenamen had never stopped striving to achieve this quest, on the off chance it wasn’t lying to him. He was now even more sure he HAD to complete it. But that also brought a rather awkward conversation.
Not that Lan would ever be rude or mean to Syllena. But she would have definitely torn his body apart if she learned he had, at one point, neglected their new daughter. As for believing he could cheat on her?
That thought alone made him laugh. He and Lan loved each other so much that even if both were granted a new life, they would most likely still end up together.
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“Dad… “
“Don’t wanna talk to Mommy about it?”
“Fuck off!”
Syllena coughed awkwardly, ignoring the smirking naga behind her.
“What’s interesting in Cygislax other than the Silver Forge? And what about… Miss Lan… do you think she will… uh… accept me?”
“Do not be worried, Syllena. Lan would love you like her own daughter. As for Cygislax. There’s a certain place I’ll have to visit alone. And we must go to the factory’s mainframe to take control of it. Two thrones are guarding it and a dozen Beyonders.”
Sofya had once told him about the Massacre of Cygislax, where the gnomes had lost so many of their people. He was not surprised. As powerful as the Gnomes' force had been… to fight a dozen Beyonders and two thrones? Even the Pyrax Empire would lose without relying on its Authority.
Yes, they had an Authority. Pretty much every big player had one. Now someone could ask just how difficult would the extensions would be if the Cygilites could just create dozens of Transcendent in a few days.
Well… they weren't that hard, at least the first few had been beaten without any direct Cygilites interventions. What the Cygilites would have to fight to protect Zenthia while the Players were busy fighting them was, however, far more dangerous.
Most of the System’s extensions had been started inside the Great Desert of Oleron. The Abyssal Remnants of the Deep Sea. The Calling. The Giga-Fauna’s Awakening. Just three expansions most players wouldn’t see before reaching the Transcendent level would start right at the start of Project Rebirth’s launch for Akhenamen and his people.
That had destroyed almost every single advancement Akhenamen and Ascylla had made in preparation for the player's arrival. Not having believed such dangerous enemies would have appeared so soon. Now, Akhenamen would be ready. The Cygilites would be ready.
He looked up, staring at the massive door before him. Behind he could already feel the Cygilites guardian ready to welcome one of their Cygitek.