I never thought it would be this bad... Ash thought, a heavy grimness settling over him.
But then he realized something almost absurd. He did not even have a face anymore to show that grim expression.
After his consciousness returned to his body, horror seized him the moment he perceived its state.
His body had melted.
Not because of heat. No, it was because his body had exceeded the amount of power it could possibly sustain.
His potential had been exhausted completely. The Rune of Wish had fulfilled his desire indirectly by increasing his rank, which in turn raised the rank of the Codex of Creation.
That increase granted him the opportunity to reconstruct his body and elevate his potential further, but his foundation had not been ready for it.
His trait possessed the ability to analyze and provide exactly what Ash needed the most according to the situation. And so, instead of raw power or direct enhancement, it had given him the chance to reform himself.
The cost was brutal.
His body collapsed into a puddle of blood, goo, and scattered bones.
He had died once again.
What remained of him was barely being held together by the Rune of Life and the Rune of Death, the two forces forcibly maintaining a fragile balance that prevented him from completely disappearing.
Its very weird and sickening feeling.....
Although his body had collapsed because he exceeded its limits, he was still able to control the blood and viscous substance that had once formed him, as if his will alone was binding them together.
Even my brain has melted. What the hell did Rune of Wish did to my body?
He genuinely had no clear answer.
As for why he could still think so clearly, and why he felt no pain despite his state, the reason was simple.
The mind and the soul shared a deep connection. Human consciousness resided within the soul, while the brain was merely the vessel that housed it.
Lifespan was nothing more than rent. When it was exhausted, the soul left the body, consciousness departed from the brain, and death followed naturally.
Eternal life was nothing but owning the house without paying rent, though one could still be killed if the house itself was destroyed.
Now, Ash was nothing more than a large pool of blood mixed with a black, goo-like substance, bones scattered within it without order. He resembled a grotesque slime monster born in the void itself.
If anyone were to see him in this state, they would instinctively stay far away, because monsters born in the void were known to be terrifyingly powerful.
Rune of Wish is quite dangerous. Although my wish was fulfilled, it brought me to this state. If it was any other person than me, he would have died long ago.
Even so, Ash was not overly disappointed.
His body was far from perfect, but now he had been given the chance to create a new one from scratch, free from his previous limitations.
To gain something you have to lose something...
That was the harsh reality of the world, and most people were protected from this truth, because knowing it too early would shatter their fragile comfort.
Society taught effort, patience, and honesty, but it rarely taught the price that was quietly paid behind the scenes, because that price was ugly and difficult to accept.
People believed effort decided everything, but effort only determined how much one bled before the result arrived.
Talent without background was wasted, honesty without power was punished, and kindness without strength became an invitation. Those who became successful were not the most hardworking, but the ones who learned early what had to be abandoned, and abandoned it without hesitation.
In real life, many gains are built on quiet cruelty. Promotions are earned by staying silent when someone else is ruined, wealth is built by pushing costs onto those who cannot fight back, and reputations are preserved by burying truths deep enough that no one dares to dig them up.
Politics is not about right and wrong. It is about acceptable loss. One side gains safety because another loses freedom, one country grows because another is drained dry, and all of it is neatly wrapped and explained as necessity.
People die, suffer, and disappear into statistics, while leaders speak of stability and progress with clean hands and carefully chosen words that carry no weight.
Some truths remain buried because uncovering them would cost too much. Justice is delayed not because it is difficult, but because it is expensive.
Even if you plan ten steps ahead, the world can still deceive you, because there is always someone willing to lose more than you are.
The world does not reward careful planning alone. It rewards those who understand the price of gain and accept loss without hesitation.
In the end, the world does not ask whether the cost is fair. It only asks whether you are ready to pay it.
And Ash was ready to pay any price to reach his goals now. He had even pushed away the only person he held dearly in his heart for the sake of his growth, for the sake of his path.
If such small setbacks could stop him, then what was the point of walking this road in the first place.
But what should I do about this...?
Inside Ash bloody body were two rings. One was the artifact that monitored Elysia’s mana levels. The other was a space ring that contained the Spirit Devouring Crystal and Orien’s cut off wrist.
When he encountered Lilith, he had swallowed the space ring into his stomach. His body possessed the passive effect of concealing anything within it due to the Rune of Concealment.
Even Orien had been unable to peer deeper into his body and discover his primordial cores, let alone her.
He had planned to take the ring out afterward, but he had forgotten. Now his body had ended up in this state, and only then did the thought return to him.
I can’t store it for now, so let it stay in my body. I will think about what I can do.....but for now...
Although he had no eyes, he could still perceive his surroundings and observe up to a certain distance. His perception functioned the same way whether he possessed eyes or not.
He opened his status window, then opened his trait. He read its description once again and initiated the ability.
Instantly, a new screen appeared in front of him.
**
[Select any one of the Race as the foundation:]
‣ Human
‣ Elf
‣ Demon
‣ Dwarf
‣ Orc
‣ ....
‣ ....
**
Ash looked at the choices in front of him and fell into deep thought. There were many races listed, some of which even he had no knowledge about. Their names alone carried a strange weight, hinting at paths he could not fully comprehend.
But he did not venture into the unknown. Every race had its own specialty, whether it was demons with their innate affinity for power, angels with their divine traits, elves with their natural harmony, dwarves with their resilience, or orcs with their brutal vitality.
Still, he chose human.
It was the only truly neutral race, one with no fixed attributes, capable of following any path if given the chance.
There might be races far better than humans when it comes to neutrality and adaptability, but I do not know what they are.....
After his selection, the screen changed again, and a transparent hologram of a human body appeared in front of him.
The hologram was empty, nothing but a clear outline of a human form, waiting to be filled.
**
[Specify which material is to be used to construct each corresponding body part.]
[The more complex the end result, the greater the price that must be paid.]
[This is a one time opportunity and will not appear again. Think carefully and act carefully.]
**
Ash once again fell into thought.
Instead of making a choice immediately, he returned to his Soul Vault and brought out the Records to see exactly what kind of items he possessed.
He went through everything slowly and methodically, deciding to note down what could be used and what should be avoided.
But as he was scanning through the list, he noticed something peculiar.
**
- Unicorn King Body (SSS+) x 1
**
Solareth’s body? When did I even get this...?
Ash was confused, until he decided to check on Eric. After all, it was entirely possible that Lumielle had passed it to him. And sure enough, he found a storage artifact hidden within Eric’s small horns.
Inside it lay the body of Solareth.
Ash expression turned grim as he looked at it. He felt no strong emotion at the sight of the corpse, because he had already accepted the truth long ago and made his heart and mind clear.
In fact, a part of him was already considering using the body to recreate his own.
Sigh.....looks like I will be called heartless and ruthless by many. Not that it matters. I will do anything to gain more power.
Steeling his resolve, Ash left Eric alone and decided to form a foolproof plan for how he was going to proceed.
He even tested many thing with the Body reformation window, testing its limits.
Inside his Soul Space, Ash planned for an entire week before he finally appeared outside again and opened the Body Reformation window.
"Lets start."
**
A/N: Readers, I would really appreciate it if you could share your ideas regarding this body reformation. I’ve already covered everything that was mentioned in the novel so far, so if you have any new or creative ideas, feel free to suggest them.
I’ll be releasing only one Chapter today, as I want to see what kind of ideas you all come up with. Looking forward to your thoughts!