Nausea attacked Eztli as the spatial crevice close. The throne room spun wildly as he fought the urge to vomit.

"Master, are you okay?" Rhett asked with a tremble in his voice.

"Yes, Rhett. It's not your fault I just forgot to close my eyes during the jump." He lied. He knew the truth was much worse. This particular spatial jump had taken a heavy toll on his weakened body. His internal organs had shifted—damaging them severely. He could feel the blood oozing out of them, but that didn't matter. Wes had returned. He would finally discard this deteriorated shell.

He looked towards the entrance doors, the Clae bark shone with a dark purple luster. Two of his Blood Guards stood at each side, eyes lifeless. Of course, they would be. They were just puppets. The epitome of Blood Arts. Blood Binding. Once you had enough control over your own blood, you could infuse drops of it into another being—altering their minds, making them completely loyal. There was a danger, however. The more complex the organism was or lack of control could kill the subject.

The guards opened the heavy doors, their armors clattering. A well-built man entered with a proud stride. His wild, fiery-red hair moved in sync with his black robe.

Eztli made eye contact with the man, determination, power and arrogance filled his eyes. A man who had seen as he rose to the top. One of his proudest achievements, his disciple Wes.

He raised him as a son, passing down his Blood Legacy and teaching him everything he knew on Blood Arts. He wasn't disappointed, Wes was a genius. He had mastered the Blood Arts twenty years faster than he had. Even now, Eztli was not sure what level he had achieved; he might be at an even higher level than him, but that only made him prouder.

Soon...I will be at my prime again, he thought. Then we could travel the realm together.

Wes approached Eztli, kneeled and gave a respectful salute. "I have returned victorious, master." His voice resounded across the large hall.

"Boy," Eztli said with a laugh. "It must have been hard on you."

"Not at all, master. Your orders are my command." He waved his hand making a box appeared in his hands.

Eztli's eyes shined. The box held what he needed. "Rhett, bring it to me." He commanded.

Rhett did as he was ordered. Using his spatial flutter, he vanished appearing in front of Wes taking the box from him, without asking. He then walked back to Eztli, box in his hands.

Wes grumbled at the swift, cold action.

It seems they still don't get along well... Eztli sighed, I have to change that. He made a mental note to take care of his disciples' relationship as soon as he transferred.

His mind returned to the box.

He touched its surface tracing the sealing formation that shined with a slight golden light. I must not open it here, or the properties of the Spire Seed might be destroyed. He thought, removing his hand from the box. Fighting the urge to open it.

Motioning Rhett and Wes to follow he turned his wheelchair and rolled behind the throne. His hand pressed against the throne firmly over a large circular pattern. He willed a bit of his energy.

The pattern lit up in a particular sequence. The password for his secret lab. Only he could open it. The ground shook as the throne rose from its place, revealing a hidden passage.

Wes walked forward but was stopped by an angry Rhett.

Before they could begin to argue, Eztli ordered. "Stop! Now is not the time." His tone held a remnant of his greatness.

Wes was a bit surprised, but it quickly faded from his face. Rhett just smiled.

Eztli closed his eyes and communicated with the Blood Guards. Ordering them to assemble.

In an instant, twenty-four guards kneeled before him. They were the strongest men he had among his thousand-strong army. That was the only reason he could maintain his throne even in his weakened state. No one would be sane enough to fight against his rule. Not after he decreed that anyone reaching the Transcendent Stage, would have to join his guard or die. It had been one thousand years since.

"Guard this place with your life." He said, heading straight for the secret passage. He motioned at his disciples to follow.

The passage turned dark as the entrance close, but soon stones illuminated the passage with an eerie white tone.

This passage was the only way to his secret lab. The stone used to build it prevented any sort of spatial distortion. Meaning no one could teleport in or out. His blood imprint—sent in a set pattern—was needed to open the passageway. Furthermore, the second door could only be accessed by him, unless he let people in, no one could get inside. Making it the safest place in the whole palace.

Reaching the second door, Eztli once again used a bit of his blood energy to open the door.

"Come, I've given you both permission to enter. You will witness the creation of the perfect body and rebirth of your master." He said with a smile plastered on his face.

"Thank you for this honor, master." They responded in unison.

Eztli nodded, moved into the room and stared at the large blue crystal in the center of the room.

"This is the body master?" Wes asked.

"Yes, the culmination of my work is here. The cold crystal maintains the body, preventing it from rotting before it is completed." He then pointed at the nearby device. The massive structure—filled with wires—took up more than half the room.

"That is the soul extracting machine. It will extract my soul, memories and essence," he took a breath. "It will place it inside a specially made container. Then Rhett will use his Spatial Flutter skill to form a tunnel, guiding my soul into the new body."

"Is there any other way of infusing the soul into the body master?"

"Unfortunately, there isn't," Eztli said, sighing. "I wish it could be automated, but the infusing process is too complicated for a machine to take care of it. There are minute changes that can only be sensed if you have enough control in the Spatial Flutter." He looked at Rhett. "And Rhett happens to be capable enough for this."

Rhett blushed at the praise, box on his hands.

"So, everything is up to Rhett then," Wes said, narrowing his eyes.

"Yes, but Rhett will not fail."

"I will take your word, master." Wes said, his vision lingering on Rhett for a moment.

"Great," he wheeled towards the blue crystal. "now it's time to finish the body." He said, eagerly placing his hand on the surface of the crystal, frost instantly forming on his hand. The cold kept spreading up his arm until he finally burned his blood qi.

The crystal casing clicked and moved horizontally. Its surface split into four sections—opening like a budding flower—revealing a body.

The body lay still, eyes closed, but you could feel the immense life force it contained. Its red hair moved lightly against its milky white skin.

"Master...it looks just like me." Wes couldn't help but comment.

"Yes, it does. Remember I've always mentioned that you look just how I did in my prime." He said. "We would even be mistaken for brothers."

They laughed at the comment. Eztli then looked at Rhett extending his hand to the box.

"Master, is it safe to open it now?"

"Don't worry about it. This lab has a formation set up. It covers the entirety of the lab so it will not allow any form of treasure to lose its properties. If not, the body would have withered long ago."

Rhett gave an understanding nod and opened the box revealing a fist size lump—the Spire Seed. Spire trees were very rare. They had the unique property of stealing life force from creatures and their own kind—seeds in particular. They would use the stolen Life Force as nourishment for their growth. This made it difficult to find a seed as they would most likely be sucked dry by other trees. It was amazing Wes had found one in only two years of travel.

With it serving as the heart, he thought. It will allow me to continually steal Life Force. I will be immortal.

He looked towards Wes but did not say anything only thinking to himself. Thank you, Wes. If not for your hard work I would have died and never gotten a chance at rising to again. I hope we can spar and have adventures once the transfer is complete. His gaze shifted. Rhett, you have always taken care of me in these dire times. Even putting my health before yours. I hope I can repay everything you have done for me. These were his deepest thoughts. He felt grateful for having such good disciples.

 Eztli took a deep breath clearing his mind and removed the seed from the box. His hands trembled, feeling the seed pull at his Life Force. It gave a slight green shine as it hungrily ate at his wavering life. Moving quickly, Eztli set the seed on the body's heart.

The seed reacted, it sprouted roots and slowly they sunk into the body.

"Beautiful." A mutter escaped Eztli as he watched.

A flower bloomed, its red-orange petals grew wide enough to cover the entire body. Once it fully covered it, it quickly withered, leaving no trace of damage. The seed had fully merged with the body. It was a success. The body was complete.

Finally, Immortality is within my grasp. Eztli thought. Exhaustion overtook him. The pent-up stress and tension he held—coupled with his damaged organs and the slight removal of Life Force—finally caused his body to give in.

"Rhett..." he whispered. "Everything...is up to you now..." then Eztli fainted.