Chapter 123 The Rebirth

In a cavern deep underground rested a blackened, empty shell floating in a glowing lake. If one were to examine the body, they would declare it both physically and magically dead, but for some unknown reason, the soul of the owner of the body clung on by a thread, refusing to move on.

Seasons passed with little to no change aside from the soul gradually strengthening its hold on its body. Despite the passage of time, the body did not decompose, remaining frozen at the moment of its submersion in the glowing underground lake.

After another season passed, the outside of the lifeless charred husk remained the same, but inwardly, it was another story. The body’s organs remained destroyed, but under the fried heart, a small, grape-sized orb formed.

Nourished by the abundant pure mana, this orb grew steadily over the next several cycles until it reached the size of a large grapefruit before stalling.

Tempered by the pure mana filling it to the brim, the orb’s walls strengthened. Each time the orb filled, more space seemed to appear despite remaining the same physical size. This fill, expand sequence repeated itself hundreds of times before slowing to a halt.

The orb pulsated with glowing blue mana, eager to take the next step. However, based on the instructions imparted on it by the clinging soul, the orb held back for a full season, consolidating itself into a glowing blue mana core appearing ready to burst forth at any moment.

Still unsatisfied, the mana core absorbed a little more mana before finally bursting into action. The mana core released its first wave of mana, laying out the beginnings of a mana vein network through the burned tissue. The mana used the previous fried and collapsed network as a guide, pushing itself throughout the body, clearing blockages and restoring tissue as it went.

After laying the groundwork for the main mana veins, the mana core released another wave focused on establishing the mana system’s mana nodes. The mana followed the path of the first wave, creating nine major mana nodes at the forehead centered between the eyes and horns, throat, each shoulder, each hip, pubic mound, heart, and abs. Eight more minor nodes form at each wrist, ankle, elbow, and knee.

The third and fourth waves laid out the smaller mana veins in charge of supplying mana to every part of the body down to the cellular level, including several dozen small mana veins reconnecting her soul bound former slave band, which somehow survived unharmed. While the fifth and sixth cycled mana seemingly at random, solidifying the mana vein network. The seventh wave filled the major and minor mana nodes, turning them into mini glowing mana cores. Each following wave released stronger and stronger mana, prepping the mana system for activation.

Finally, after a full season and hundreds of waves, the mana core sent a burst jumpstarting the entire mana system. Fangs descended from the blackened lips of the body as it took its first breath, sucking in mana from the lake through its fangs.

Despite the increased complexity of its mana system, the body automatically knew the best method, unlike the previous rebuild. With each breath, the body rapidly rebuilt its body at a cellular level. The destroyed organs regenerated themselves more efficiently. The lungs shrink as their use for taking in oxygen was useless, only remaining relevant to allow the body to use its blowing and sucking effect and speech. The heart enlarged to accommodate its new function of improving mana circulation. Finally, the digestive system remained the same size physically, but the mana changed the organs internally, allowing vastly more capacity.

Fully repaired, the heart restarted, pumping mana through the body’s bloodstream, creating a secondary mana system with the sole purpose of nourishing and maintaining the body.

After a week spent repairing the internal damage, excess mana focused on restoring the body’s beauty. Within a few hours, the dead burned skin fell away, revealing flawless, ashen skin. After the restoration of the skin, the body shape revealed itself. The rail-thin body filled out to a petite athletic curve with a small butt, slim but defined legs and arms. Lastly, perky B cup breasts spouted from the body’s chest, giving the body a cute athletic shape, leaving little doubt to its gender.

With its muscles restored, the body instinctively curled itself into a fetal position, floating deep under the surface of the lake.

Depleted of mana from the restoration, the body took deep breaths through its fangs, nourishing its body while refilling and strengthening its mana.

A week later, the body clenched as mana burst from its core, signifying the awakening of her magic classes. The first burst targeted her brain, increasing the mana activity by several times as the mana reinforced the mana veins and brain itself to handle the strain of psionic magic. After reinforcement of the brain, the remaining mana focused on the forehead mana node, expanding its capacity.

Several days later, the second burst of mana awakened another magic class, this time focused internally on the mana core, improving its ability to inject and control its mana in other objects or beings awakening enchantress.

After the awakening, its magic classes, mana activity quieted down, leaving only the mana taken in through the body’s fangs working to improve the body with each breath.

Several seasons passed with the body quietly taking breaths through its fangs while curled up, floating deep under the surface near the center of the brightly glowing lake. The only difference was escalating brain activity as the soul solidified its connection with its body, reintegrating its consciousness and memories into the new and improved brain.

The otherwise deathly still body jerked seemingly randomly as control passed from instinct to subconscious control when the last pieces of the integration slid into place, turning the once empty shell into an unconscious sentient being.

Again, activity quieted down as the final phase of the girl’s rebirth completed, allowing her consciousness to settle herself into her rebuild body over the next season.

Satisfied with the rebirth of its new body, the soul, now solidly connected to its body, sent a pulse causing its body to clench and spasm before its slitted sapphire eyes sprung open. Momentarily, the eyes flash inky black with blue scale flowers before returning to normal as consciousness awakened in the body.

Scrambled by the rebirth process, the girl stared at nothing before succumbing to the comforting warmth of the lake. Her eyes fluttered closed as she purred in contentment, consciousness fading away once again.

Unfortunately for the sleeping girl, her liquid mana home became impatient with its intruding mana leach. The lake sent a potent pulse of mana into the floating girl, forcing consciousness once more. Unfocused sapphire eyes sprung open. However, against the lake’s wishes, she shifted her position now, floating sideways before falling back asleep.

Amused, the lake allowed its occupant to sleep a while longer, feeling a little motherly from supporting the little Draecath’s recovery.

Several weeks of incubating in the mana rich lake later, the girl’s eyes fluttered open once more. With a refreshed expression, she uncurled herself, stretching to her full length with her hands extended above her head, and her toes pointed as a giant yawn escaped her mouth.

Still half-awake and a bit mentally scrambled, the girl lazily swam under the surface of the lake for several hours, purring in contentment. Satisfied with her exercise, the girl returned to the center of the lake, curling up as she fell back to sleep.

Another week passed before she again awoke with a little clearer but still unfocused eyes. After spending a few hours doing laps, she yet again returned to the center of the lake, but this time as she drifted off, something in her mind clicked, causing tears to form in her closing eyes.

After yet another week of sleep, Evernya’s eyes sprang open with full clarity, awoken by the violent current swirling around her body, constricting her body in waves as if the lake was going into labor.

In a panic, Evernya tried to swim deeper into the lake, but the current easily held her in place, far exceeding the strength of her magically rebuilt body.

“Calm down, little one. It is time for you to return to the outside world. As much as I’ve enjoyed your company, staying here any longer will hurt your growth.” An ancient-sounding feminine voice boomed, causing Evernya to stiffen, overwhelmed by the massive mana pressure dwarfing anything she had ever felt, including her father’s mana core.

Without giving its occupant any more time to struggle, the lake increased the speed of the whirlpool surrounding the small girl before shooting her upward. Like a rocket, Evernya exploded upward toward the ceiling of the underground cavern. Unable to move because of the whirlpool trapping her body, Evernya clenched her eyes as she approached the solid stone ceiling.

Fortunately for her, a narrow passageway opened up just barely wide enough for her slim body to fit. Lubricated by the liquid mana propelling her upward, Evernya’s body squeezed through the narrowing passageway. After several minutes, the passageway narrowed to the point that she felt her bones compress as her upward progress slowed.

Unable to take the pain of her body compressing ever-narrower, Evernya screamed, but the pressure on her body, coupled with the surrounding liquid, weakened her scream to a barely audible squeak. She blacked out soon after, unable to take the strain of her body squeezing through passageway half as wide as her body.

Now unconscious, her body relaxed, allowing it to squeeze further up the passageway at a slow walking pace.

Fortunately for Evernya’s body, the passageway evened out just under shoulder-width, squeezing her body to painful levels but causing no injuries. The gradual ascent continued for kilometers as Evernya mercifully remained unconscious.

The passageway widened abruptly to just over shoulder-width, allowing the pressure built up under her body to shoot her upward at breakneck speeds. As if shot out of a cannon, Evernya’s unconscious body rocketed upward at speeds capable of killing a human from Earth.

Luckily for Evernya, her body was several magnitudes more durable than a human, but without actively reinforcing her body with mana, the ascent took its toll on her newly reconstructed body. Her bones creaked against the skin rippling speeds only kept safe by the lack of exposed surface area with Evernya’s body confined into a missile position. Unfortunately, her ears weren’t so lucky, having ruptured nearly instantly.

A few minutes later, Evernya’s deaf body finally reached the end of the passageway, shooting out of the geyser smashing into the ceiling of another much smaller cavern before splashing down into a shallow pond.

After depositing its passenger, the passageway sealed up as if it never existed, leaving no way for Evernya to return.

Evernya floated in the hundred square meter pond just under the surface as her body healed her numerous injuries, including several cracked bones from the collision with the ceiling. While healing, Evernya instinctively curled up once more, somehow aligning herself with the center of the pond as her body took deep mana rich breaths, though at a fraction of the lake far below.

She spent several weeks unconscious, even after her body fully healed. Her previous healthy body thinned as if it was starving for mana despite floating in a pool of mana several times more potent than the tank she spent her evolution into a Draecath.

Her body continued to become thinner and thinner as the surrounding mana tried and failed to sustain her gluttonous body. Within a few hours, the once mana rich glowing pond dimmed until it was nothing more than water. At this point, Evernya’s body was nothing but skin and bones.

Evernya’s eyes sprung open, but something was wrong as they lacked any conscious thought. As if the zombie, she struggled out of the pond, climbing to her feet on unsteady legs. She stumbled toward the only tunnel leading out of the cavern, as if running on instincts.

A few minutes of stumbling later, her senses picked something up, causing her zombielike stumbling to turn into a full-on zombie run single-mindedly pursuing the mana source.

Another minute later, she came upon a rock blocking her targets. An inhuman growl escaped her fanged mouth as she released an explosion of force, easily blasting the rock apart, revealing another cavern.

At the center of the cavern, a dark blue crystal the size of a house floated in the air.