Man on the ark, forced to become king

Chapter 161 Theresa Originium Core

"Since she's already like this, unless we keep her frozen and wait until later... there's no other way now, so why not try and see if it works? Don't you feel that her condition is a bit like a Magician's Ball?"

Lin Lu brandished the Source Stone Blade in her hand, her gaze sweeping over Theresa's crystallized body, seemingly searching for a suitable spot to strike.

According to current research, the Originium from Terra and the Glowstone from the border region do indeed have many similarities, and theoretically it is possible to fuse the soul with the Originium using a Glowstone sword.

The success rate is just...

Even at the border, few Origin School mages who pursued the essence of magic in this way succeeded. Most died on the spot, and the slightly better ones turned into 'magic ball' forms, falling into a dazed state and losing their ability to think.

He wanted to try this method because he was desperate and had nothing to lose. Since the person was almost dead, he figured he might as well try to save him and see if it would work.

Moreover, the Sarkaz race is naturally endowed with a very good affinity for Originium, so maybe a try will work.

"Wait, what do you want to do?!"

Kal'tsit sensed something was amiss. Judging from Lani's reaction and Lin Lu's words, this unknown method seemed to have rather serious side effects, and she felt she could no longer remain silent.

As Theresa's best friend, she could not ignore anything that might endanger Theresa!

"Well, I have a solution..."

Lin Lu thought for a moment and then briefly explained to her the specific usage process of the Source Stone Knife and the possible consequences. There was no need to hide anything. If Theresa and Kal'tsit really objected, then he would respect their opinion.

At worst, we can just freeze it; he has plenty of time anyway.

"Integrate your soul into the Originium..."

After hearing the explanation, Kal'tsit's pupils contracted, as if she had thought of something. She fell silent for a long time before continuing, "I think it's worth a try. I've seen similar examples of life forms that coexist with Originium. The Yan Kingdom has magic with similar principles, and their celestial masters have used it to gain superhuman power and long lifespans."

And...myself.

Kal'tsit didn't say these words aloud; she just thought them to herself.

Strictly speaking, she is currently in a symbiotic state with Originium, and Mon3tr, which resides in her spine, is a type of Originium life form.

Without some special means, the Felins are not a long-lived race.

Of course, her case is an isolated one and is basically impossible to replicate, but in the course of her long life, Kal'tsit had come into contact with other technologies that allowed living beings to coexist with Originium.

It was possible for Letania, Yan Kingdom, and even Kazdel from long ago.

However, none of the technologies she knew could be used on Theresa now—symbiosis with Originium required a host's body to have abundant vitality; the undead were absolutely out of the question.

but……

Her pale green pupils reflected the deep blue blade. Kal'tsit lowered her eyes, her hands unconsciously clenching tighter.

The mystery and power of the Golden Tree amazed her. The more she came into contact with it, the more she could feel the infinite secrets hidden within. It was a completely new field that she had never been exposed to before, a system that was completely different from Terra's existing technology.

If it were them, they might actually be able to fuse their soul with the Originium.

She also agreed with Lin Lu's statement—since things have come to this, it's better to try in a hopeful direction than to give up directly.

"To merge the soul with Originium?"

Theresa pondered the idea, and after hearing Kal'tsit's words, her eyes flickered slightly, and she agreed.

Since Kal'tsit also thought it was feasible, she was willing to try... just to fulfill her friend's wish.

In fact, she didn't think this method could succeed.

"Since you all agree, I'm going to begin."

Since neither party has any objections, what else is there to say?

Lin Lu was about to make her move.

"Wait, don't you need to prepare any rituals or spells?"

Kal'tsit was stunned to see that he was really about to find a place to strike.

In her understanding, shouldn't such a soul-involving operation require complex magic to succeed? To say it's about stabbing the heart with that knife—did it really just involve directly stabbing it in?!

"High-level spells often only require the simplest way of using them."

Lin Lu glanced at her, then raised her hand, and a dagger fell from the wall and flew into her palm.

"You were there when Lani changed bodies. Did you see her use any magic?"

As he said this, the dagger with the azure crystal blade landed on Theresa, slicing through the hard Originium crystal.

Crystallizing Knife – Made from hard crystals, it is a tool used by pyroxene miners to mine pyroxene. With the enhancement of pyroxene magic, it can easily cut pyroxene crystals, and its effect is similar when used on Originium.

"But……"

Kal'tsit opened her mouth, but seeing the knife had already cut in, she swallowed the rest of her words.

She wanted to say, how can that be compared?

Even though Theresa was the revered Demon Lord of the Sarkaz, possessing power that was beyond the reach of ordinary people, she did not think Theresa could be compared to Lani.

She had seen that person's soul before; it was vast and magnificent, as profound as facing the boundless starry sky. It far surpassed the limits of humanity, and perhaps even some deities could not compare to it.

She even suspected that Miss Lani's soul was capable of existing independently of her body in the world, and that changing bodies was as simple as eating and drinking for a soul that had already materialized.

What about Theresa?

Even though she possesses the terrifying power of a demon king, she is still human at heart. How can her weak soul compare to a great being who transcends even gods?

"Just watch and don't bother me. You know nothing about magic."

The crystal-made blade slowly pierced through the crystals on the body's exterior, penetrating deep inside. The internal organs and flesh, which were fused with the Originium, could already be seen. Thanks to the life force of the Golden Tree, the body tissues, which should have lost their vitality, still maintained a certain degree of activity and were not completely dead—including the heart, which was mostly covered by black crystals and still maintained a weak beating.

At this moment, Theresa reminded Lin Lu of an opponent he had once defeated—Radagan, or rather, Marika.

In the end, the beast of Elden, who guarded the Golden Tree, was slain, leaving only a dilapidated wreckage on the battlefield. The goddess Marika, who once reigned over the borderlands, was reduced to a severely damaged and broken body, like a broken statue.

If the rock material that makes up Marika's body were replaced with Originium crystals, then she would be in a similar state to Theresa.

The difference is that Marika's body is tattered, while Theresa's body still has flesh and blood where there is no crystal covering.

Fortunately, his body was petrified, so his pain receptors had long since stopped working. Otherwise, a normal person would probably have had a hard time surviving such a severe disembowelment.

Since Theresa had no feeling for her body, Lin Lu was ruthless in her actions. If it were all flesh, she would be careful not to damage anything. But since it was all stone, what was there to be careful about?

Under Kal'tsit's tense gaze, the azure Originium Blade plunged into the heart, which still contained half of its flesh and blood, and a dazzling blue light quietly bloomed.

The moment the blade touched the heart, it was as if some kind of magic engraved inside the Source Stone Blade was activated, and the blue blade was stained with black and yellow at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Boom!

With a muffled thud, Theresa's head drooped and hit the surface of the round table. Her eyes instantly lost their luster. Seeing this, Kal'tsit's body tensed up abruptly, and she almost lost control of herself.

"Don't panic, I can feel her soul contracting towards her heart."

A translucent blue shadow appeared beside Lani's cheek. She separated half of her soul from her body, similar to her state during the borderlands. In this way, she could directly see the existence of souls.

The words of the strong always carry greater credibility.

Hearing her say that, the agitated Kal'tsit managed to calm down, staring intently at the motionless body without blinking.

Lin Lu was also very nervous. Although he came up with the idea, he had no idea how likely it was to succeed. Origin School magicians who dared to do this either turned into balls or died. He had only seen Teacher Serian change his body core, and he had never seen any other successful cases.

If Theresa's transformation fails, her soul will have to be temporarily stored away until the Golden Tree enters the Life Furnace stage before it can be resurrected.

Boom!Boom!Boom!

A faint heartbeat emanated from the crystal heart with the blade embedded in it. Dense energy was drawn from the Originium crystal and gathered around the heart, forming a small, clearly visible vortex.

Through the vortex, one can see the shape of the heart changing little by little. The crystals growing on it melt and flow like liquid, constructing a completely new form. The Source Stone knife that was stuck on it also fell down, its blade stained with a touch of black, its luster dimmed.

"Is this... a success?"

No one knows exactly what the process of fusing the soul with the brilliance stone is like; even Lani has never witnessed it firsthand. Therefore, the current situation can only be guessed.

As Lin Lu moved a little closer, she carefully observed the situation inside the vortex and found that the heart, which had originally been half-retained as flesh and blood, had now been reshaped into a jet-black rhomboid crystal, somewhat like the one that Theresa summoned when she used magic, only the color was deeper, and although it was black, it had a sense of purity.

Boom!Boom!Boom!

A clearer heartbeat emanated from inside the crystal. The rhomboid crystal floated inside the vortex, slowly rotating. A point of bright yellow emerged from the surface, gradually spreading and twisting into patterns of incomprehensible meaning, like some kind of magical rune or an unknown pattern.

Faintly, through the surface, one can see the core of the crystal, where a blurry human figure is gradually taking shape.

As time passed, the runes engraved on the crystal surface began to shine under the infusion of energy, extending into the air and spreading outwards like blood vessels.

"Success!"

Upon seeing this, Lin Lu was overjoyed and her spirits lifted.

He could roughly guess what would happen next, and without hesitation, he picked up the crystal knife in his hand and separated the remaining flesh and bones from the Originium crystal on his crystallized body. Dazzling golden light poured down from the dome, completely submerging the remaining body tissue, which even showed a tendency to liquefy.

Crystals engraved with bright yellow patterns float inside the flesh and blood, with branches protruding like blood vessels and connecting to the flesh and blood.

In that instant, Lin Lu clearly saw the eyelids on the topmost head twitch slightly!

A powerful life force poured into the mangled body, causing the broken flesh to grow wildly, with granulation tissue intertwining and bones reconstructing. In no time, a complete body emerged in golden light.

'You have such a great figure, I really couldn't tell normally...'

Lin Lu had an inappropriate thought, but she quickly composed herself, pretended not to see it, and continued to channel the power of the Golden Tree until she felt resistance in the newborn body.

hum~

Her eyelids trembled, and her pink eyes quietly opened, revealing a hint of confusion.