Chapter Fifty-One: Resonance of Flesh and Blood

The gentle rays of the setting sun cast their glow upon the river’s surface, as if the water, unchanged for a thousand years, still flowed endlessly onward.

Along the riverbank, though the evening scenery was exceptionally beautiful, the place lay far from the city. There was no one around, save for a single girl strolling along the riverside path.

It was Miki Ito.

After leaving that house, she had come here to the river, seemingly to gaze at the sunset and the waters. She had taken almost nothing with her from that home—except for one thing: the memorial portrait.

But now, the portrait was already enshrouded in blood, sent into her own body, becoming part of her flesh and blood—it was the safest place for it, far more secure than even the most secret vaults of Swiss banks.

“Just now, I almost thought you would kill her.”

As Miki Ito left the house and walked along the desolate, empty riverbank, a calm voice suddenly echoed in her mind.

“‘Kill’? That’s not quite right, Revered God Suen Onamezun—at least, not from my point of view. I’ve never killed anyone. I simply merge them with myself, so that they become part of a blissful whole,” she replied, narrowing her eyes at the voice within.

A faint, distant voice responded, “Ah… You still concern yourself with ‘killing’ or ‘not killing’? That means you’re still attached to notions of life and death, and have yet to reach the realm of extinction.”

“Is that so? Complete indifference to life and death is something only a god like you can attain. As for me, all I desire is ‘life’—to let everyone survive eternally and happily within me.”

Standing at the river’s edge, Miki Ito gazed at the glittering water and replied gently.

“However… I never intended to merge with my mother. From the very beginning, my world existed independently of hers. By now, there’s no place for her in it.”

Fixing her gaze on the river, Miki Ito suddenly questioned the distant god within her heart:

“Revered One, what should I do next?”

Though she asked, there was little doubt or unease in her heart. It was not confusion, but rather the confirmation of a chosen will.

Then, just as she expected, the voice replied with the answer she desired:

“Have you not already made your choice, set your path?”

At this, the girl’s brows relaxed and a radiant smile played on her lips.

“If this is the guidance of the Revered God—then let me create the world I desire.”

The girl gazed into the distance.

A breeze arose from nowhere; the October cherry branches behind her shivered, and petals drifted down like snow.

It was as if the autumn garden was blanketed in endless white blossoms.

And as the snow-like petals settled, forming a white carpet, the girl’s figure had already vanished completely from the riverbank.

…

Mount Arana.

In the shade of clustered trees, beneath a towering tree several dozen meters high, Shiguya sat cross-legged with his eyes shut, several fallen leaves resting on his shoulders.

Behind him was his avatar.

Before him was his true form.

But whether avatar or true body, at this moment their minds were fused as one, perfectly united. The roots of the sacred tree beneath him extended deep into the earth for kilometers, as nimble as arms, and Shiguya’s back was pressed tightly against the bark of that holy tree.

No, not merely pressed against—it was a true fusion!

Though this was only his avatar, the sacred tree seemed to grow from his back; on the microscopic level of cells, or even deeper, on the molecular and atomic scale, they were intertwined—indivisible!

The next moment, Shiguya exhaled softly and smiled.

“No wonder she was my chosen candidate—she had only just received my blood of evolution, and already her spiritual power has flourished into her own unique ability. This power… should it be called ‘Resonance of Flesh and Blood’? How fascinating.”

He raised his right hand, acutely sensing the strange fluctuations emanating from Miki Ito. This wave of power shared the same foundation as the “Fury Flame” that had arisen within Yang Luo, but it had evolved along a different path.

After this gift of evolutionary blood had opened a new gateway for extraordinary evolution, the newly born superhuman—Miki Ito—had not disappointed him. The power born of her obsession and desire had, after hours of simulation and manipulation, been perfectly absorbed and replicated within Shiguya himself.

“Resonance of Flesh and Blood…”

Gazing at his right hand, Shiguya saw the flesh begin to dissolve, blood seeping from the skin, muscle protruding bit by bit. It looked like some twisted monster, transforming into various shapes—claws, spikes, blades, whips, hammers, axes, chainsaws…

And as his hand morphed, a profound understanding surged within him: this was not merely a change in form, but a transformation in essence—a power of true assimilation.

If he wished, he would not need to play the minor games that Miki Ito did, only spreading a blood pool across a few hundred meters. With a single thought, Shiguya’s flesh and blood could unfurl, enveloping the entire earth, fusing every living being on this planet into one with himself.

“This power is reminiscent of a certain game I played before—something like the Blacklight Virus. Only, its range and potential are far greater, and more attuned to the will…”

He pondered, studying the properties of this ability in his mind.

“This ability, which Miki Ito has developed and which I’ll call ‘Resonance of Flesh and Blood,’ currently has the following characteristics:

“1. Life Fusion: It allows the user to merge with other living beings, so their consciousness and souls coexist within oneself. In the process, the energy contained in their cells is released within one’s own body, so transformation can be achieved without the need for large amounts of food.

“However, this trait is currently limited to humans; in other words, it can only merge with humans. My reasoning: ‘Resonance of Flesh and Blood’ is intimately connected with the soul, and can only assimilate beings with a similar conscious will. In my own experiments, I found I could only merge with my sacred tree avatar, not with non-human life. Whether altered supernatural creatures like Gray Shadow or Black Moon can be merged remains to be tested.

“2. Flesh and Blood Derivation: The ability to transform one’s flesh and blood into different forms, controlling one’s blood and body at will. For example, the initial blood pool and the blood-made robes used by Miki Ito belong to this category.

“Moreover, the higher the evolution level, the greater the freedom of blood and flesh transformation. At first, Miki Ito could only create a mirrored blood pool and a blood cloak, but later she could unleash her blood as freely moving tentacles. After my own experiments, I discovered I could shape my flesh into any form I could imagine. This shows that the degree of freedom in flesh transformation is closely tied to the level of evolution.

“3. Fusion Evolution: When merging with other life (currently only humans), one’s evolution level increases through the fusion process.

“From my observations, Miki Ito’s evolution level was about 56 after receiving the blood of evolution. After merging with more than a dozen humans in the abandoned factory, her level rose to 58. After unleashing her power in Mokamachi, her overall evolution level soared to eighty… But for me, this trait is meaningless. The higher the evolution level, the more beings needed for each new level. My own evolution level is already above 385; to advance a single level, even merging with a trillion people would be pointless. Still, I increase my physical strength by one percent each day, so I don’t mind. If I continue to grow, one day the force of my fist will surpass all the energy in this universe.

“…That is the full intelligence on this ability.”

Shiguya clenched his right fist.

In an instant, the ever-shifting hand returned to the ordinary form of human flesh.

At the same time, the fusion between his back and the sacred tree avatar silently unraveled, as if they had never been joined.

“…Another new spiritual ability—a curious addition to my collection. I wonder, what surprises will you bring me next, girl?”

Under the towering canopy, Shiguya stood quietly, gazing into the distance, the image of the girl running hurriedly toward the bookstore etched vividly in his mind.