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Nolan stared down at the sample of divine tissue resting on his forearm. His muscles twitched slightly, reacting to the contact—but the reaction faded quickly.
No integration. No adaptive resonance.
That meant his [Autonomous Evolution] module, developed through advanced symbiote research and Mystique's shape-shifting genome, wasn't absorbing Bast's genetic material.
No genetic superiority.
Interesting.
Despite her status as a god, Bast's biology offered no substantial advancement over his own. The difference, it seemed, wasn't in the genetic coding it was in the metaphysical transformation. Not physical evolution, but dimensional alteration.
Curiously, Bast's brain tissue, when dissected, didn't show any structural uniqueness. But once submerged in divine energy, it morphed, converting into a stable, radiant state of pure energetic matter. Divine power fused with flesh to create something... more.
Nolan removed the tissue and placed it into another chamber one filled not with divine force, but with demonic energy.
Though Nolan had long outgrown demonic power, it was crude and inefficient compared to his current arsenal; it remained valuable for mass production of enhanced soldiers. Osborne Industries still maintained demon-forged soldiers, armored brutes, undead shock troops, and synthetic hybrids. The demon force acted like an external battery universally compatible, though varying in amplification.
In other words: Demon energy was the baseline. The floor.
Now, Nolan began placing various pieces of Bast's divine flesh into demonic energy chambers and monitored the results.
"Hmm?"
One sample violently reacted. Like tossing napalm into a furnace, it combusted.
He summoned a mirror dimension to contain the blast and observed it in silence.
BOOM.
A ripple of raw power surged through the chamber. Nolan remained calm.
He ran the test again this time reducing the amount of demon energy. The explosion repeated, but weaker.
Again and again he tried, gradually fine-tuning the resonance.
Eventually, one sample turned black as void, then cracked and detonated. Over and over. No matter what adjustments he made, the result was the same.
"There's a reactive threshold," Nolan murmured. "Partial fusion—still incompatible."
The rejection point. That violent reaction held the key.
If he could identify and overcome it, he might finally ascend. Skyfather-class. No longer merely a practitioner of both mystic and scientific disciplines but a fusion of both realms.
He turned to another source: Psionic energy.
Unlike demon power, which was tainted, psionics were clean rooted in mental discipline. His arsenal now included:
Dragonforce (from Shou-Lao)
Demonic power
Psionics
Vishanti energy
Dragonforce unpredictable. He still didn't fully understand its origins. Not worth using.
Demonic energy is powerful but taboo. Using it to ascend would mark him as infernal, and the Vishanti would expel him instantly.
Vishanti's power was borrowed, not his own. He wouldn't become a god using someone else's crutch.
That left Psionics.
His mind raced, but something felt… off. He was missing something. A variable. It tugged at the edges of his consciousness.
Psionics...
He exhaled sharply and opened a portal—to a familiar, incense-scented chamber.
The Ancient One awaited him, serene as ever, seated with tea already poured.
"Sit," she said, smiling. "You've finally reached that point."
Nolan nodded, gesturing for Connors to continue handling Bast's remains before stepping through the portal and taking his seat. The faint aroma of the tea helped calm his building frustration.
"Master," he said with respect.
"You're troubled," she noted. "Speak freely."
Nolan did just that. He laid out his theory of transcendence: achieving Skyfather status not by favoring the soul or the body, but by fusing them melding physical evolution with dimensional sovereignty. Becoming a living nexus of metaphysical force.
"A fascinating idea," she said. "If it works, it would indeed place you on a path unlike any other. Most Skyfathers evolve only one half of themselves. Odin mastered the body. I mastered the soul. But each path has its decay."
"Odin's soul couldn't sustain his growth," Nolan added. "Hence Odin Sleep."
"And I will eventually crumble into dust, even as my spirit persists."
She sipped her tea. "But your concept of melding both could circumvent both flaws."
She leaned forward slightly. "Psionics may not be your answer. Yes, it's powerful. Yes, it bridges mysticism and physics. But it evolves from chaos into order. That process skews toward the soul."
Nolan frowned. She was right.
"Which means," she continued, "if you ascend using that power, your foundation will forever tilt toward the immaterial. There won't be balance. And balance… is key."
He inhaled slowly, eyes narrowing in realization.
Psionics… were mental energy converted into structured force.
A bridge, yes. But biased.
Then it hit him.
"The Particle Dimension…"
His eyes widened.
The Particle Dimension was an anomalous layer of existence compressing physical matter into pure dimensional data. A reverse path. Physics entering the mystic.
"Exactly," the Ancient One said. "A rare convergence. If you can master both Psionics and Particle Dimensionality you'll possess the full spectrum."
"From order to chaos… and back again," Nolan whispered.
"If you succeed," she said, "your strength will rival even Odin's."
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