"Everyone. Can you hear me?"

A sudden voice echoed within the mind of everyone there. A mental headcount let us know that out of the 30 people who had come there were only 13 survivors left including him and the practically comatose Slujj. Most of them weren't expected to live past the next few minutes even without the beast finishing them off.

"There's no other way. We have to assimilate"

"What?! Are you mad? You want us all to give up the Promised Land?"

"He's right, I'd rather die fighting!"

"You wish to abandon the Hall of Heroes?"

Almost everyone argued against such a suggestion. Assimilation was considered the ultimate sacrifice in Namekian culture, to do so was to give up not only your life but any hopes of an afterlife. Your soul would not be able to pass on and would be trapped within the fused body as a small echo of consciousness before you slowly faded away. It was the final stop to their very existence.

"You would have us all perish here and abandon our people to their demise? We are half of the fighting force of the village! Who would defend our family from wild beasts such as this one? Who would protect them from rivaling villages?! You shame the Ancestors with your selfishness. Even if we all die I would be too ashamed to meet them knowing I had failed so utterly."

He did not yell like the others, instead, he was surprisingly soft-spoken, and everyone quieted down instead once he had started. There was a moment of absolute silence. Emotions, flashes of images, and thoughts rapidly shared through their mental hub. They had all come to a decision within a moment. The Lion was still tearing them apart and there was no time for a drawn-out debate.

"May the Ancestor watch over us." A single powerful thought resonated within all their souls. Suddenly they all acted as one. Three of the strongest Namekian which included Shell rushed towards the beast with reckless abandon, they held on with all their might and self-destructed. The sheer force of the explosion shook the earth and sent the beast flying far into the sky. It would only buy them a short amount of time before it came back, but that short reprieve was all that was needed. All the surviving Namekian crawled and flew towards Lians. They were all barely alive as it was so they had to hurry.

Lians was the youngest of them all here, and they decided to entrust the future of the village to the next generation.

One by one they landed next to Lians and placed their arm upon him, even the half-dead Slujj crawled through he dirt and dragged his torso over. A blinding white light consumed everyone as their body slowly dissipated into light particles and was absorbed into Lians' body.

"Do us, proud kid"

"We'll be watching over you"

"Do your best and take care of everybody in our place, will you buddy?"

"I understand, sayonara... Everyone."

And soon the light faded leaving only Lians was left lying on the ground and wearing a new outfit. He had the white turban of his people but now also had on a deep blue martial arts outfit and two red wrist bands. All his wounds were healed and there wasn't a hint of dirt or blood on him. He had been reborn.

A dozen lifetime of knowledge was slowly trickling along with a dozen thoughts, emotions, and memories. They slowly faded, hidden, but not gone. He'd have to rummage through them when he had time. Although slightly saddened at the demise of his teacher and the only person he was remotely close too in the village, he couldn't deny the sheer euphoria at the immense power flowing through his veins. He went incredible, amazing,

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

"Invincible..."

A crooked grin was on his face as he patiently awaited the return of the beast. He might as well test out his newfound power and avenge his friend. He closed his eyes and hovered a foot off the ground in meditation as he skimmed through his new memories. 

Soon a crash was heard and the displacement of wind cued him on the rushing beast. It was enraged beyond reason and stealth was long out the window. A snap of its jaw sought to crush his skull into a bloody pulp, but he merely tilted his neck and they closed only on empty air.

It didn't stop its efforts, but on the contrary, it had increased it 5 folds. A swipe of the paw, a flick of its tail, a toss of a tree. All futile. Growing frustrated it decided to charge with all its considerable might. Even if there was a mountain in the way it would've been able to easily pulverize it and bulldoze a path through. Unfortunately what it was facing was far strong than any mere mountain. As soon as the beast was in front of him his eyes snapped open and with his hand in a claw, he swiped sharply downwards. The feline couldn't even perceive the motion with its amazing sight before a sudden crushing pressure slammed onto it.

The force produced was so strong than a shockwave formed and turned the fearsome beast into minced meat. Thus was the end of a feared king of the jungle.

Lians used his telekinesis to gather all the remains of his fellow villagers before flying back home. They deserved a burial. It had been a long day and although his wounds were healed he had suffered great mental fatigue. The Elder had decided to hold a mass funeral and a ceremony for the dead. The new fusion of their comrades had taken up the mantle of Captain of the Guard Squad. Not only was he by far the most powerful of them all now, but he also had the wisdom and knowledge of their collective. No one else was fit for the position. 

Thus his sway over the village and access to the more advanced techniques was greatly increased.

As he was in his home meditating the day after the funeral he had been called to meet with the Grand Elder Oister. Entering the large dome-shaped building he sat in front of the taller alien.

"Welcome, Lians. How are you adjusting to your new-found station?"

"Thank you, elder, it has been going well enough. May I cut the chatter and ask why you have summoned me?"

He was normally extremely polite, but now that he had his mental shield and was in such a position that the village fundamentally needed him to survive he wasn't worried about being exiled anymore. Maybe it was because of how tired he felt, maybe it was the power trip, or maybe it was because of the shift in his mentality from the fusion, but he couldn't bother to keep up such an act any longer and even if he was exiled he was more than confident of surviving or joining a new village. Perhaps make his own? There were only two reasons why he hadn't before, and one of them was currently dead.

"Very well, I have called you here because as the Captain of the guards you have a heavy burden upon your small shoulders. However, I must ask that the village trouble you a bit more in the coming days."

"Of course, what do you need of me?"

"Our numbers have drastically decreased, even with your considerable might you cannot be everywhere at once. The other Elders and I have discussed and we have agreed on two things. First, we must give rise to a new batch of warriors, the other was to increase our defenses during this trying time. Nobody is to leave the parameter. You are to be taught Fission to watch over our territory. Do you accept?"

Fission was a unique skill to the green alien species, as it allows one to split their body, mind, and soul. A highly advanced move that few are allowed to learn as the consequences for messing up were deadly, to say the least. By splitting yourself you could be in more places at once, but it decreases your strength by more than a factor of 2. Nobody has ever gone past 3, not because they couldn't but the risk was too immense and the pros were negligible. Not only did you suffer from weakening immensely, but if even one of your bodies died, you would follow as your life was linked. It was also how the Nameless Namekian fucked up and created Kami and Demon King Piccolo, which was why offering it to a 4 or 5-year-old brat was an incredibly stupid and sketchy offer. Especially after he had just finished fusing with a dozen other minds just recently. 

Was the Grand Elder on to him...? Trying to get rid of him somehow? This was clearly a trap but for now, he wouldn't mind taking the bait.

"It'd be my honor."

After all, he was so many times stronger than he once was even if he only had a fraction of his powers he could fend off any of the common surrounding beasts. And as they were going to only be within the parameter of the village he could always refuse if he was in any true danger. Besides with two bodies wouldn't be able to learn twice fast? And with nobody even remotely being around his level in this place, sparring with himself would be a most interesting match.

He'd just need to make sure they both of his halves were still him and to slowly absorb all the skills and memories deep within.