It had been nothing more than a corpse in the pitch-black, foaming tank.

But then, blue lines began to spread from the creature’s forehead as snapping sounds rang out.

Both men watched as the tentacles that dangled out of its body all began to untangle from its skin, fading into ashes before they could even reach the bottom of the tank.

Flesh began to peel off, and the muscles followed next, revealing the skeletal layer, which began cracking apart.

A minute of silence, and there was close to nothing left in the tank.

Nothing but a dark heart, which remained quiet for a while before,

BAADUUMP!

BAADUUMP!

The sound of a beating heart began to echo through the room as the dark color of the heart started to gain a blue halo.

Runes began to multiply on its surface, and quietly they began to grow.

Veins came out like roots, piecing together till they formed a solid mass that also began to piece together, forming a larger mass.

The transformation continued for exactly three hours, and when it was all over, the tank had completely changed.

The pitch-black liquid had turned blue, and what was within wasn’t a monster.

It was a man.

Dark-complexioned, with a physique that shouldn’t belong to a mortal creature.

It was neither lean nor bulky, but something like a perfect balance between the two.

He was tall for a human, standing at about 2.5 meters in height.

His head hung low, and from the upper sides of his forehead rose a pair of horns, faintly concealed beneath curls of white hair where traces of blue flashed through the strands.

Runes of blue covered his body at first, sending pulses through him, but then they began to recede.

...a second of silence.

...five seconds of silence.

ten?

FLICKER!

Blue light flickered through the chamber, sending both men, even with their level of power, wincing their eyes to avoid being blinded.

When they opened their eyes, they found him standing there on the ground, already out of the tank.

"How... how did he get out? The tank isn’t open?"

That was the question that lurked in both minds as they looked at White, who dropped his hand before turning to them.

"It’s not that bad, is it?"

He asked, a grin curving up his lips as High Scientist Lucas stared at him in blank shock, muttering

"It was a success..."

For six days, he had stood in here trying to find out what was the cause of the loss and what exactly had happened.

He had not laid his hands on any concrete information as to why the fusion was a failure, yet here it was standing before him.

A true fusion of Humanity with a five-hundred-year-old alien monstrosity.

Except even now, the monstrosity was gone, replaced with something human.

This was the representation of an unprecedented level of fusion success.

But still, one question kept raging in his mind.

"How?"

He unconsciously said out loud.

"How?"

White asked.

"You told me all that this would be to me would be a sleep, and I slept and woke up."

"Shouldn’t you be the one telling me the how?"

White said as High Scientist Lucas scratched his nose.

"That was just me thinking out loud. As for the explanation, I’ve got everything in the records."

He said confidently, stepping forward towards White before moving around him for a proper observation.

"Do you feel weird in any way? Any pain anywhere?"

He asked White, who shook his head.

"A bit tired. And the upper part of my face feels heavy for some reason..."

He said, resting his face in his hands, and that was when he noticed it.

"Wait... is that a..."

"Yes. You grew horns. It’s an integral part of the body, as important as limbs are to humans."

"Couldn’t be avoided, though I reckon you’ll get used to it in time..."

He said as White grabbed at the horns.

For some weird reason, it felt ticklish, like a trace of electricity being sent through him with every touch.

"I hope..."

White was saying when all of a sudden, he tilted to the side, heading for the ground.

Commander Zoltan was quick to move, managing to catch him before he fell.

So... heavy!?

The man thought in shock as he gently brought the body to the ground.

"White... are you okay?"

High Scientist Lucas’ words echoed out to White, who felt the world blurring.

"I feel... exhausted. Like I’ve been spinning in one place for three days without stopping."

He mused, and those were his last words before his blue eyes shut closed and he fell unconscious in the hands of Commander Zoltan, who turned back to look at High Scientist Lucas wordlessly.

"First, we get him to the rejuvenating area."

"Got it."

________

[Congratulations on Successful Existence Fusion]

[Body Attunement Percent: ...76%]

The golden system panel was the first thing that greeted White as he regained consciousness.

His eyes remained closed, yet even so, he could strangely still see.

He lay on a beach chair, the kind usually found along the shore, and a couple of meters away, another figure sat in a separate seat.

Their features couldn’t be seen. They were simply a green existence in the shape of a human.

The figure was holding onto something in the shape of a book, legs crossed over the other.

His senses spread more, and he realized he was on the upper part of a building, a seventeen-storey building, to be exact, and this place was an open top.

It was the reason for the crazy amount of air blowing around.

With everything around him recognized and sensing no immediate danger, White stirred from his seat, opening his eyes and quietly sitting up.

The action drew the attention of the other figure as his words reached him.

"You’re awake."

He said, and White turned to him.

Now with his eyes open, he could make out the features, and it was a familiar face.

"Commander Zoltan."