Hong Kong, Kowloon City
Incense smoke curled through a modest antique shop, redwood shelves lined with relics. The wiry shopkeeper eyed his customer—a young man in a tailored black suit, exuding calm authority, his gold eyes sharp.
"Sir, anything catch your eye?" the shopkeeper asked, rubbing his hands with a practiced smile.
James Holden's gaze locked onto a bronze tiger statue in the corner, its eyes embedded with a black-and-white Tiger Talisman. "That one. How much?" he asked, pointing.
The shopkeeper's eyes gleamed, feigning hesitation. "Oh, that's a Tang Dynasty treasure, our shop's pride…"
"Name your price," James cut in, uninterested in haggling.
"Three million! Hong Kong dollars!" The shopkeeper raised three fingers, watching James closely.
James didn't blink, pulling out a card. "Five million. Now."
The shopkeeper's jaw dropped, then lit up with greed. "Deal!"
Ten minutes later, James walked out with the packaged statue. Behind him, the shopkeeper's suppressed laughter echoed. "Haha, what a score! Got that junk for 100,000 at a stall…"
James shook his head, unfazed. Turing hacked that card in seconds. Not my money.
Outskirts, Rocky Plateau
James stood under the open sky, the Tiger Talisman in his palm. Black-and-white energy swirled on its surface, like yin-yang fish in harmony. "System, what's this talisman's rule?"
[Ding! Tiger Talisman's Balance Law detected. It harmonizes conflicting energies and grants the power to divide or destabilize!]
James didn't hesitate, activating his magic extraction technique. Hum! Black-and-white energy surged into him, a cool force coursing through his body. The talismans' energies—Dragon's ferocity, Chicken's levity, Bull's raw power, Rabbit's speed, Pig's destruction—merged like rivers into a sea, perfectly tamed.
His cells achieved a dynamic equilibrium, powers aligned. "I see," James mused. "The Tiger Talisman doesn't amplify—it regulates."
He aimed at a distant ancient tree, firing a black-white beam. Whoosh! The tree trembled, splitting in two—one half vibrant with life, the other withering to dust. "Division," James noted, eyes flashing.
He targeted a boulder next. Under the beam, cracks spread, its internal structure clashing until it exploded into powder. "Destabilization."
[Ding! Tiger Talisman fusion complete!]
[Host gains Absolute Energy Balance, immune to energy-conflict-induced instability!]
[New abilities: Good-Evil Division (split targets into pure good or evil forms); Yin-Yang Collapse (cause targets' energies to self-destruct).]
James clenched his fist, feeling unprecedented harmony. If prior talismans were like adding explosives to a barrel, the Tiger Talisman was the perfect fuse. He could now stack powers without fear of backlash.
"Next, the Dog Talisman," he said, his super vision piercing to a European castle.
Scandinavian Mountains, Northern Europe
A gothic castle perched on a cliff, its spires jagged, vines clinging to stone. James stood before a rusted iron gate, his super vision locking onto a hound statue in the great hall, the Dog Talisman glowing between its fangs.
"Well hidden," he remarked, pushing the gate. It creaked loudly. Inside, dim moonlight filtered through stained glass. As he stepped into the hall—
Whoosh! A shadow dove from the ceiling, claws aiming for his throat. James caught the attacker's neck mid-air, lifting a pale man with red pupils and sharp fangs. "Vampire? Interesting." His super vision scanned: mutated cells, blood-based energy, weak to silver and sunlight. "Classic."
The vampire thrashed, claws scratching James's arm but not breaking skin. "No human's this strong!" he hissed.
James didn't bother responding, a spark of dragon flame flaring at his fingertip. Sizzle! The vampire turned to ash. "Just you in this castle?" His super hearing caught faint breaths from the cellar—over a dozen vampires.
He sighed, firing a heat vision beam through the floor. The cellar collapsed in flames, ending them. At the hound statue, he plucked the Dog Talisman, its emerald glow pulsing with immortality's rule.
"Fusion time." A magic array formed, green energy flowing into him, ancient runes surfacing on his DNA. [Ding! Dog Talisman (Immortality) fusion complete!]
[Host gains conceptual immortality. Immune to instant-death attacks unless facing multiversal entities with absolute-kill abilities. Max curse resistance, immune to death summons. Enhanced magic resistance, capable of withstanding dimensional magic.]
"Not absolute immortality, but close," James mused. He stabbed his chest with his fingers—Clang! Green runes blocked them. "Unless every cell is obliterated instantly, I regenerate."
The Dog and Tiger Talismans resonated, optimizing his immortality. "Five left." His vision scanned, locking onto a Mayan pyramid in Mexico's Yucatán.
Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico
In a dense rainforest, a vine-covered Mayan pyramid stood. James hovered above, his vision piercing stone to a feathered serpent statue, the Snake Talisman glowing green in its third eye. "A snake guardian? Really?"
Hiss! A thirty-meter jade-scaled serpent erupted from the shadows, its golden eyes blazing, venom corroding stone. "System, explain," James said calmly.
[Ding! Due to host's interference, this world's mystical activity has increased, spawning guardian beasts.]
"So my presence upgrades these threats?" James sighed, eyeing the coiled serpent. "Move, or I make snake soup."
The serpent hissed, unmoved. James's eyes glowed gold, telekinesis slamming its head into the ground, cracking the altar. It thrashed, shattering pillars, but couldn't break free. "Should've listened." He plucked the Snake Talisman, the serpent stilling as he threatened, "Keep it up, and I toss you into the sun."
The green talisman glowed in his palm. Fusing it, his presence faded—not optical invisibility but existential erasure. [Ding! Snake Talisman (Existence Erasure) fusion complete!]
[Host gains Absolute Concealment. Invisible to physical detection (infrared, ultrasound, etc.). Existence nullified, unnoticed unless by high-dimensional beings (Death, Eternity, cosmic gods) or strong magical perception.]
James vanished, reappearing before the serpent, which recoiled in shock. "Perfect for stealth," he said, syncing with other talismans—Chicken's telekinesis for unseen movement, Rabbit's speed for silent dashes, Tiger's balance for flawless energy control.
"Four left." His vision locked onto a Tokyo antique shop.
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