"I guess I owe him a thank you. Might go find him back in the Otherworld after this..."

White mused before turning to the system.

"Can you explain to me what exactly this Orb is? What is this energy coursing through me?"

"I know lightning... I’ve fought Gustav and know what it means to be hit by lightning, but this... this doesn’t give the same feeling as lightning at all."

[That’s because it isn’t.]

The system panel flashed.

[This is Aether Pulse.]

"Aether Pulse?"

[Think of neurons.]

[In ordinary lifeforms, which I’ll call mortals, neurons are biological messengers.]

It said, continuing,

[There are these tiny pathways carrying thought, sensation, reaction, memory, and control through weak electrical impulses.]

[They determine how fast you perceive, how quickly you react, how sharply you process, and how precisely you command the body.]

[This is the Neuron Principle.]

It completed, and White nodded in understanding.

"Neurons. I understand that."

[Now, what you have in you currently, this blue lightning coursing through your existence, is the perfected origin of the Neuron Principle.]

[Aether Pulse is not lightning.]

[It is the divine predecessor of all neural currents.]

[Where mortal neurons transmit signals through flesh, Aether Pulse transmits command through existence itself.]

[It does not merely travel through nerves.]

[It moves through soul, matter, energy, and intent.]

White stared at the screen.

"So... these blue currents inside me are neurons?"

[Incorrect.]

[They are what neurons were created in imitation of.]

[Neurons move in this pathway: Brain → nerves → muscles → action.]

[But Aether Pulse?]

[Aether Pulse moves this way: Will → Aether Pulse → action.]

[The nervous systems of lesser beings are diluted reflections of Aether Pulse pathways.]

[Your former body possessed nerves.]

[Your current form possesses conduits of absolute transmission.]

"What does that mean for me?"

[Perception beyond sight.]

[Reaction before movement.]

[Thought faster than time allowed.]

[Command over your vessel without delay.]

[And if mastered...]

[The ability to force your will into the world as instantly as thought itself.]

"Like telekinesis?"

White mused.

[An even more raw version of it.]

[This isn’t a power that humans were supposed to lay their hands on.]

[That’s why I said the Commanders have no idea what they’re playing with at all.]

White did not doubt the system’s words, not when he knew that by simply willing it, he was already miles away from where he was standing, arriving precisely at where he wanted to be.

This was precision on an unbelievable level.

"Can I exist in the outside world solely in this form?"

[No. Your current state is incomplete.]

The system answered without pause.

[Aether Pulse is a sovereign medium of command, not a naturally stable lifeform vessel.]

[Without a compatible body, prolonged manifestation in the material world will result in rapid dissipation, structural instability, and eventual consciousness collapse.]

White’s expression darkened.

"So I need a body."

[Correct.]

[And not an ordinary human one.]

[Your former body, even if fully intact, would have been incapable of housing Aether Pulse.]

"What?"

[Human flesh is built for biological neurons, chemical impulses, and mortal limitations.]

[Attempting to channel Aether Pulse through a standard human vessel would result in immediate neural burnout, organ liquefaction, skeletal rupture, and total biological failure.]

White went silent.

Even his old self... the one he was still regretting having lost... would still have been useless?

[To contain your current existence, a vessel must possess extreme durability, adaptive cellular architecture, and pathways capable of surviving transcendent signal pressure.]

[In simple terms: You require a body far beyond humanity.]

The sight of that made White’s brows crease, only to watch one of the panels fall by the side of his face.

He turned to it, reaching out as it landed on his palms.

On it was still that same grotesque-looking alien body.

"You mean a body like this?"

White probed.

[High probability confirmed.]

[The biological vessel discovered beside the Orb was not random.]

[It was placed there as its designated host.]

[Orb and vessel were meant to function as one.]

A long silence followed, before,

CRUSH!

White clenched his fist, destroying the panel image into nothing.

"Tch, this is an obvious trap!"

He deduced,

An abnormal Orb that wouldn’t fuse with a mortal being, along with a body that just happened to be compatible, placed right by the side of it.

Wasn’t it clear enough that whoever was the owner of those two things wanted them to be fused side by side?

Even if the Orb fusing with him had been a mistake that only happened because of Viktor’s help, it would be foolish for him to go ahead and fuse with the body, as that would make him fall into the trap the person who owned this wanted.

The best thing to have done was to find a different vessel that could house this.

Then he could truly be free.

But how would he find a different vessel?

If he told the Commanders he didn’t want to fuse with that abomination, then how long would it take for him to get a new vessel?

Imagine it taking months for them to find a new vessel, only to discover that it wasn’t compatible with him.

He had been here already for six months.

For how long could he really afford to wait?

"Tell me there’s another choice, system. Tell me there’s a second way."

He said, but the panel didn’t blink at all, and that was more than enough of an answer.

There was no other choice.

White fell silent, taking a seat as he remained there at the bottom of the Orb, until he heard a reverberation, and a figure soon appeared.

"Have you made your choice?"

It was the lead Commander, as he quietly sat down on the seat.

"How many hours have passed since then?"

White asked.

"Approximately sixteen hours and fifty minutes now. Why?"

He asked.

"Time moves more slowly in here. I could swear it’s not up to thirty minutes."

White mused, and the Commander sighed.

"The world won’t stop moving, White, and it offers no choice in that aspect."

"Either move with it..."

"Or be left behind," White completed.

"So... what would it be?"

"I’ll fuse with it."