Chapter 47: 046 Alteration

The Great Csillacra was setting out to make a pair of ideal humans, one for matters of violence and another for matters of peace. At the moment, Donovan was already well suited to handle matters of war, at least he would be if Split was not something that needed to be considered.

He had a fairly complete understanding of tactics on every level, and possessed the necessary charisma and confidence to act on that knowledge.

Physically, he wasn't too far off from its ideal either. Sure he might be a little shorter than what the Great Csillacra would have liked, and he wouldn't grow to be as strong, but he was capable of withstanding great amounts of damage and enduring strenuous conditions for extended periods of time.

Split could make up for deficiencies in power and speed, it could not compensate for the body's ability to resist damage or break down.

Now was the time to make the adjustments that would improve this natural ruggedness. Bone density was slightly increased, making him heavier but less likely to break. Ligaments and other vulnerable 'soft tissues' were similarly strengthened, making them harder to tear and break apart.

His skin was remade, better able to resist cutting edges and tearing as well and made better at cushioning blows.

His brain was also remodeled, something he had noticed but not realized. He would find he could now 'think' faster and recall information at a greater speed. Memorization would come easier as well. His senses more tuned to be more acute, better able to pick up on minute details and potential threats.

These were all very important enhancements, crucial in fact, but they were alterations that would also be performed on Diana. These affected their survivability, and it would do everything in its power to guarantee that they remained alive. Where the largest differences would manifest themselves would be how their bodies interacted with split. Both would be pushing the limits of efficiency, if not reaching them, but they would operate very differently.

Donovan, in the middle of being altered, could feel 'something' being made 'bigger'. It wasn't a feeling he was used to, nor should it have been, as it was the enlarging of his capacity to hold split. There was no volumetric change that would show inflammation in his body.

At the same time, he could feel the phantom pressure inside of his stomach, that caused by the fruit, fading.

The effects of the fruit were not waning, they had barely diminished even five percent since his consumption of it, it was that his body was slowly being adjusted to maximize the passage of split throughout.

At the moment, he would be able to force as much split out of his body in a mere five minutes as a regular person could in three hours. Powerful, useful, but a double edged sword. An increase in consumption meant a decrease in the lifetime of his reserves, so a soft limiter would have to be implanted so that he may actually learn to use it without hurting himself.

That could wait until the end of the procedure.

The next step in the process was enabling him to generate split. True, everything did that to some degree, but to actually generate split of a quantity and quality high enough to use was crucial for someone who would have to be using split in the thick of battle. Absorbing what surrounded him would be too dangerous in such a scenario.

This was something that couldn't be given, not for their kind at least.

Like a muscle, this ability would need to be cultivated over a long period of time. But the Great Csillacra could make some tweaks to speed up the process and increase the upper limit to which this regeneration rate could grow before slowing.

Specifically, the Great Csillacra wanted to remove this limit altogether.

Dangerous, but the Great Csillacra was 100% confident that this could be done without any risks. The only reason for this was that Donovan did not have the ability to create split in the first place. Thus, utilizing the seed that Donovan had eaten, one of its own scarce, delicate, and precious offspring, it fashioned the 'perfect' core.

With this core finished and successfully implanted in the space behind his sternum, it began to jumpstart the self-sustaining reaction.

Slowly, gently, it began to concentrate all of the split leftover from the fruit in this core, taking precautions to not drain so much that split decay would become an issue. Compressing, twisting, swirling the split to remove what miniscule impurities remained in this little ball of life.

Once it reached a satisfactory level, that being a completely pure blob, it began to compress in earnest.

Donovan could tell from this experience that, unlike the atomic structures he was used to, Split occupied volume completely. There was no distance between particles because there were no particles.

Perhaps instead of viewing split as something like a gas or liquid, it would be better to think of it as a separate three dimensional field with varying values in coordinates that would indicate how much was there. A height graph overlaid on a three dimensional field, an energy working in four physical dimensions.

Don was back to normal now, but he was no longer asking as many questions. Instead he was focusing intently on the spectacle near his heart.

Remember this feeling. If you wish to grow stronger you will have to do this frequently.

Splitting off a small chunk of the now highly concentrated split, the Great Csillacra reintroduced the impurities before setting it aside. In just a few seconds, the core would be complete. There would be no shock of power rippling through his veins, the split orb focused around the seed would just suddenly shrink to an impossibly small size.

Taking that little which remained, it repeated the process of purification over and over for Donovan. Once finished, it would again reintroduce the impurities.

It understood that he was completely new to this, and lacked the understanding of how to move split around. It took the liberty of using his 'organs', that part of his biology capable of moving around the concentration of split, in order to show him how to do it.

It was very much like helping a baby move its legs to teach it how to walk.

Don would sometimes be given a small amount of control over it, usually the squeezing or stirring, to give him practice. An even smaller chunk was torn off, barely even a fraction of what was there before, so that he may practice on that.

Upon purifying this incredibly small amount of split completely, that is to the same level required to form the core, he expressed excitement and triumph.

Taking control once more, the Great Csillacra demonstrated how to use that to strengthen the tiny core. It squeezed that external split against this core, slowly shaking and shifting it around until it disappeared. It repeated this process again and again, explaining to him why he needed to to this and how.

Finally, it did nothing for a period of time, letting Donovan purify a quantity of split. When finally a cell of split concentrated enough for him to detect formed, it forcibly directed his attention towards it so that he may analyze it.

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This split, the first born from his very own core, was very pure.

But it was not perfect. Inside of it he could very vaguely detect some contamination.

I should warn you to avoid mixing impurities into your core. They will naturally be removed in time, yes, but they pose a danger to your health. You may think of it as the split equivalent of consuming your own refuse.

Donovan was disgusted by that thought. Did that mean that the rest of it was like poop too?

Only the contaminants. So long as you remove them you will have no issues. I will do you a favor and remove all such impurities that remain in your body so that you may focus on strengthening the core with what remains. Do not feel the need to rush this. Injury is still very much a possibility.

Donovan wondered how an injury related to split might possibly hurt when all of the sudden an earth shattering bolt of pain traveled throughout his body.

It would feel something like that. I will seal off your internals from the outside so that you will not have to concern yourself with external impurities infiltrating you. It will last about a week, so I implore you to not perform these activities on the last day. You will need to build up a sufficient concentration of split inside of your body so that you do not fall victim to split decay should you enter an area with an abnormally high concentration.

Donovan acknowledged those instructions. He was subjected to it once, and he would like to avoid going through that pain again.

In that case your procedure is over. It will take time for the numbing agent to wear off, but you will still find yourself in pain from the changes in your senses. Remain calm, and keep your eyes closed. Let your body acclimate. I will meet with you again.

Don could feel the presence in his head leave.

- - - - - - - -

"It would appear that it is your turn, Diana." The Arboreal Maiden watched on as the vines slowly retracted from Donovan's skin. It had been a few hours since it began, and Diana was teetering on the verge of sleep.

She wasn't tired, there just hadn't been anything to stimulate herself with.

"Shouldn't we start with the dog?"

"You will go at the same time." Diana stripped, thankful that Donovan wasn't awake. "Could you hold the dog?"

Diana called Mercedes over and had her lay down alongside her. In a spooning position, she made sure that the energetic German Shepherd was adequately restrained.

"The Great Csillacra will force feed the fruit into her mouth, so once she goes limp you can let go of her."

As one of the vines injected itself into Mercedes' stomach region, Diana noticed her stiffen and begin to panic. Her fears of the dog hurting herself were proven to be unfounded, as she very rapidly lost her ability to move. Whatever anaesthetic agent the Great Csillacra was using to knock them out seemed to follow their understanding of medicine. Smaller bodies were affected faster.

Soon enough an orange fruit, similar in shape to the one Donovan ate but far smaller in size, emerged from the ground and was moved down Mercedes' throat by a series of vines. If this had happened at any other point in her life, Diana would have been absolutely terrified.

Diana distanced herself from their furry companion, once again relaxing herself. She turned away from where he injection site would no doubt be, only to find she couldn't feel it when it entered her skin.

And then she couldn't feel anything.

Similar to Donovan, it felt like an eternity had passed when she regained her senses. Groggily sitting up, trying to shake the influence of whatever was left in her system, she began to smell that same scent that was so pungent before.

Unlike Donovan's fruit, Diana's was blue. It was also attacking her nose slightly less. She didn't even need instructions before she started chowing down, more than anything she just wanted to get this whole ordeal done with so she didn't have to worry about it anymore.

Once again on her back, she hoped she would wake up faster than Donovan. She was only in her underwear after all.

- - - - - - -

As the Arboreal Maiden watched the vines puncture into Diana's skin, she made to leave. It wasn't that she didn't like their presence, quite the opposite in fact, it was simply that she had very important work to do.

For once in her incredibly long, boring, and uneventful life, she had purpose to move with haste.

Tapping the ground with her staff, the Great Csillacra moved one of it's many great branches to her location. Once firmly standing on it, she put her shoes on and began to hurry. She could once again hear the annoying clicking and clacking of her wooden shoes that she had spent ages on learning how to remove when she was younger.

It simply didn't bother her at the moment. There was a much greater annoyance that completely drowned out any irritation borne from her shoes.

Rushing along back to her quarters, a feat which didn't take nearly as long as their travel to the heart, she began to ponder what she should wear. Common robes, what she was wearing right now, were completely out of the question, so there was no doubt she would have to change. The question is to what degree of formality and which regalia she should outfit herself in that would fit the occasion.

She had to give an air of authority and seriousness while not come off as overbearing and tyrannical. She needed the staff, more to move around than anything else, but she felt that a pair of bracelets and her tiara would probably suffice.

As for her clothes? She could probably keep it on the simpler side. A set of clothes adorned in flowering patterns should do it. Maybe in darker colors to emphasize she knew the severity of the offense.

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