Shen: ...Did you have to pick those?

As Shen got up on his new legs by pushing himself with his new arms, he couldn't help but curse at Junk. The guy had picked different legs and arms which meant their lengths and circumferences were different. But even worse than that is the fact that all of them were already in a state of decomposition quite advanced.

They were rotting.

Junk: Most of the usable parts here are in such state, what did you expect anyways? It's a garbage bin for organic parts.

Shen: ...Still...

Junk: You can just go search for better things if you want to. Now, though, help me regain Magic.

Shen: Wait a bit more. I need to link my Magic through those parts...At least make them stop decompose...

Junk: *sigh* fine.

Every being is born with a circuitry inside itself that enables it to use Magic. However both Shen and Junk are no longer 'beings' but 'puppets' as in the fact that their bodies are 'made' and not 'birthed'. From birth, all beings can find the ability to use Magic though if you are unaware of its existence, it doesn't matter. For a puppet however, it needs to be crafted.

Crafting a circuitry is done by using Magic too. It requires Magic to birth Magic. Which is why Junk was unable to use it and unable to make himself one. As the Divens, linked to the Magic, were extracted forcefully, the circuitry was taken alongside it.

That being the case, Shen's circuitry was inexistant as well and required to be rebuilt. What differs is that thanks to the vampire lord's teeths, he could attract Magic and manipulate it. So, while he couldn't keep it inside himself and could only use a very tiny amount, he could still use it.

And as such, he first had to rebuild his own circuitry so that he could begin accumulating Magic once again and mostly use it to stop the decomposition of his new limbs and maybe even regenrate them if he doesn't find better alternatives in the pile of trash he was in.

The circuitry was going to take time to be built but it was a must.

...

It took more than two weeks for Shen to build his own circuitry and two days after that to stabilize his body state. Next, he used three days to build Junk's who was more than happy about it.

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...

After three weeks in the garbage bin.

Shen and Junk were sitting on organic body parts of all kinds and chatting about the way to escape.

Shen: Are there no ways to go up?

Junk: Let's put aside the fact that you would need to expand some Magic to get up there. There is a 'lid' on this bin, you see~ It's a Magic Barrier. Of the very simplest kind i'll admit but it still packs some resistance and receives a continuous stream of power from generators outside it. With the state we're in, it's impossible to break through.

Shen: What if we could?

Junk: But we can't~

Shen: But what if?

Junk: You would trigger an alarm and puppets like the knight who brought you here would show up. They would easily dispatch you. So, it is pointless. It's better to wait for the right time~

Shen: And when would that be?

Junk: The next shuffle~

Shen: What is this shuffle?

Junk: Hm~ How to explain it~ Let's say that it's a battle royal to determine the next rulers of the planet cluster.

Shen: ...

Junk: ...

Shen: Go on?

Junk: Uh...*sigh*... There are fourteen planets fused to make this one, ok? Seven rulers in total, ok? Out of them, there is the puppeteer you've seen. One of them is called 'Player One' and he's got an ability related to 'games'... Every X eons, the seven leaders decide to play a little survival game. Because they hate each other and they want the whole place to themselves.

Shen: And? So what?

Junk: You might have felt it but they're incredibly powerful. Impossible to defeat by those like us. And if they fought as they are between themselves...the whole cluster might be destroyed. They can't risk that.

Shen: Why?

Junk: Ascenscion. They fear it.

Shen: What is that?

Junk: Ah, right, you're one of the 'losers'... Well, ascension is something that happens when someone becomes too strong for the world he's in. You've probably been in worlds with around 100 Divens right? Well, they can't support someone who has more than 10 000 Divens in him. Consider it an inability to support the power oft he being? I'm not sure. Anyways, the world creates a singularity to forcefully eject that being outside itself. That guy is sent to a world that can support his power. This cluster is created, maintained and nourished by the seven leaders to keep supporting them as they grow.

Shen: So that they aren't forced to ascend?

Junk: Pin~ Poin~ Exactly~ Because they fear higher level beings who could enslave them just like what they do here~

Shen: So, why the battle?

Junk: They want more and without risks. So, Player One creates a game. A shuffle. All the beings in the cluster are reduced or upped to a single Divens and they fight. If you kill someone, you get their Divens. The last Seven gets to share the remaining pot and become the leaders. Though they have never changed since the establishment of the game.

Shen: Why is that if everyone is equal at one Divens?

Junk: Because they have their own forces and even if there Divens are reduced, their abilities and spells are beyond your understanding. They have seen truths far greater than what we did. They know that they will remain safe but they still keep on hoping that a rival will die throughout it. And even if it doesn't, their total Divens is being equalized between themselves.

Shen: ...So, there are inhabitants in this world?

Junk: ...Fuck. Just how lacking are you in knowledge?...