[System warning: Host's reactor core has been fully saturated.

Host's body's ready for a qualitative change, further analysis is being stopped by host's privacy policy.

System prying is being forcefully suppressed...]

'I feel full, as if I've eaten too much and my body can't handle the surplus. It's getting stronger, this repulsive feeling of rejection, I hate it.'

Feeling his body's bizarre behavior, Makhar couldn't wait for the soon-to-come 'qualitative changes'. At least though, the majority of his wounds had healed up, as this was a recurring occurrence after he had eaten a hearty meal, only the elf's silver sword had remained encased inside his shell, making the area around it all itchy.

Pressed by his weird suffering, Makhar chose to let the system get a hold of his situation. Hoping he would tell him a bit more.

Truth be told to a certain degree he knew what was happening to his body, and approximately how to proceed thanks to his egg data bank, which had briefed him of the matters of this reality before his official birth.

Yet, on such an important topic, he could not be entirely reliant on some vague memories.

As many had experienced before him, this feeling of fullness indicated that his body was getting ready to experience a metamorphosis. From what he knew, he now needed to consume and store inside his body a great quantity of metallic material, be them either ores, pure refined metals, or more complex alloys. The more he endured the feeling of fullness while absorbing materials, the stronger he would become once finished his transformation.

"I consent to the system's prying."

The heavy, metallic voice of the system, strangely, changed its intonation, seeming happy, less robotic, and more clear but for a split second, before coming back to normal.

[Permission has been granted. Initiating a profound analysis of Host's material body.]

...

"Stop! Stop it you little mongrel! I dare you to continue, stop it NOW!"

An angry little elk came out of his hiding, looking with a profound grimace at the remains of one of his tents. What a disaster! Ol' Mitch would not let the wretched creature continue on his rampage, he had to survive on this planet for another 2 years after all!

Looking at young Makhar, he had t admit that he had indeed proved his worth during the past two weeks, just by looking at his battle-scarred appearance he knew the alien had killed more than one worthy foe. Especially the blade stuck on his shell, it was of elven craftsmanship, even if not of elven nobility because of its unsophisticated patterns and lack of inscriptions, beating even a scout was no small feat for a youngling like him.

Either way, the old greenie knew why the pest was annoying him like so. It had come to reclaim the antenna, but this was not their accord, Makhr was overdue by a whole week, and his core was simply saturated, it had not yet transitioned to the first tier. How to accomplish the transition changed for each individual, and he couldn't certainly know how an 'Ancient' would do so. These freaks of nature, he wanted them as far as possible from him.

'Damn Mark, making me do this kind of work. He did because he knew I wouldn't let him down, but still, it's so unfair. I could already be relaxing with my family on Terron, yet here I am, waiting for this monster to either blow up this planet or die trying.'

"Ol' Mitch, stop being so grumpy, your tents' metallic supports are of fine quality, I can vouch for them, that's good stuff."

The soft, high pitced voice that Makhar just impersonated dangerously appeared as a red flag at the eyes of ol' MItch. He might as well have been a rough mercenar, but even he, had his limits, a fundamental code he did not dare to cross.

"Shut up! You're creeping me out, you've taken a little girl now? Nah! I don't bargain with monsters, I kill them."

Saying so, ol'Mitch's expression suddenly darkened, as a pair of twin, jet-black, axes appeared on his hands vibrating with dangerous energy. As well as a pristine silver armor, sporting a crimson plume on top of his helmet. A manacing oppressive aura encompassed the old elk, making him appear much more dangerous than what Makhar initially thought.

The little elk was definitely no joke, yet again it wasn't much of a surprise, as the small greenskin was an official member of Dominus Mark's crew, as one of the most dangerous criminals known throughout the universe, he was none other than the perpetrator of 'that' particular incident, every human dreaded to talk about.

The mad explorer, humanity's worse calamity, a murderous rage that everyone tried to avoid to the best of their capabilities, that man, he was utterly mad.

"Enough with this, Mitch, my friend. You have guided him well for now, but it is time for you to let go of the bone and give Makhar the antenna I made for him."

Suddenly a crack in space appeared in front of the small greenskin. A direct rupture through space wasn't something one would normally witness, a rare phenomenon of almost impossible reproducibility.

Through the dark passage, a medium-sized man came out of the portal,

grasping a dark, claw-shaped scepter with his right hand, while a closed golden book on the other. A big pair of crimson goggles rested on his nose, while a plethora of grey metallic cables come out of his back, some attached to his strange backpack, while others came out of his deep hood, hanging down his face like dreadlocks.

As he hopped down the rift and his boots touched ground, loud tremors shook the earth, and deep prints of the man's passage were left as marks of his terrible power.

"Now give it to me Mitch, then you can go back to your little antics and funny dramas."

Indicating for the elk to pass him the artifact with his hand, the mad explorer did not have to wait much to receive what he wanted. Although, seeing his friend's floppy ears all down, all mortified didn't sit well with his old aching heart.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"I know my friend, you greenskins follow your instincts more than anything else, and it is fine. After I'm done with Makhar I will let you back on Terron for a month-long vacation, the little one will be busy elsewhere for a while anyway."

Seeing a smile creeping back on the elk's face, Mark felt more at peace.

"I didn't kill her though, you got all fired up for nothing. Dementia is taking the best of you Ol' MItch."

Speaking with Ken's voice, Makhar managed to pique Mark's curiosity.

"Then what happened to her in the end, seeing no little girl around you, I imagine you went your separate ways. But this forest is not the safest place for children to wander around."

"We became allies! We... killed her uncle together! He was one of the best meals I've gotten so far, even uncooked!"

"You Bastard! Devious devil, of course, she's not with you! Else she would have become your next meal! I'm going to find the girl."

Without second thoughts, Mitch darted away, as every second counted to find the girl still breathing and not dismembered inside the belly of a beast.

Yet he was flapping his legs for naught, as suspended mid-air, he was slowly drifting inside Mark's wormhole.

"I told you, his dementia must have gotten worse, I would run a check on him if I was you. The little girl is strong and will manage on her own, you have my word."

"If you say so, I believe you. Anyway, don't worry about Mitch, I'll talk to him, or either way I'll make Olga come in his stead.

I see you've done good progress on your core, but it won't be enough. I've managed to examine a few intact bodies from your species and to complete even your first metamorphosis, it won't be easy. I mean, you could try it even now but with poor results, definitely not worthy of your royal lineage.

Biologically speaking, your simple existence is a miracle, and not only because your egg managed to remain well preserved all these years, but even now, you shouldn't be capable of complex thoughts. Maybe you know what you're missing the most right now but I'm not sure about the amount of information your egg's data bank provided you."

"I'm fairly surprised about how much you know about us, but maybe, at this point, I shouldn't be. Yes, I know about the thing my body needs the most right now, I'm missing my heart, which is not to be confused with my normal heart, which is nothing more than a pump for my blood to flow properly.

What I need is a 'Black heart', an improved version of my normal heart. Sadly in the data bank, there was not any information regarding the method to acquire such a thing."

"Your ancestor certainly wished for you to struggle, but is not like can't understand them, as considering your kin's history, it might have been best dying through more natural means in case you would have not been up or the task.

But still, they could not have foreseen neither my help nor the existence of the Sys-"

"Do not belittle my conviction human, this is my lifelong mission a burden I embrace with pride, and won't cower from."

"Young Arch'Sazar, sadly I know the macabre heritage your people left for you, to a deeper level than yours. I have spent hundreds of years, searching and unraveling your kin's secrets, and even I have to admit my knowledge is still quite limited.

Son of Morne, trust me that I am not considering you weak by any means."

Hearing his father's name, Makhar couldn't but tear up, as a small solidified cristal popped out of the face encased in his shell, stopping by the sword before falling on the ground with a thud.

How could it be that a stranger knew more about his kin than himself, how pitiful.

"Mark the human, I know you mean me no harm, on the contrary, you've been of great help till this point, but I know you have a hidden agenda, and I'm simply one of the gears you need to be put in motion. How can I trust you, how can I be sure that by following your advice I won't end up as one of your puppets?"

"I indeed have plans for you. No, it's more accurate to say I have one, big yet simple plan regarding you and the rise of your people. However is definitely not for what you are thinking, you don't know me yet well enough.

Even so, you should know I have no interest in keeping a group of dumb pawns under my reins, you saw Ol' Mitch, he might be a little foolish, but by no means has he lost his spirit. He's still a kind-hearted, jolly free spirit, as he was many years ago.

Sadly, he does not agree with my vision for the future, well who would?"

As the madman kept going with his monologue the sky suddenly darkened, as the explorer's aura grew thicker.

"Makhar, I want to see this universe burn, I wish to see 'them' eternally suffer, blinded by pure agony. My only purpose and reason to live is to witness 'their' death and rebirth so that I can kill them again, again, and forever.

But I alone am not enough and need you, and your boundless potential to break the ice for me. For a fact I know you will seek revenge as I do, now go.

The observer system brought me enough time already, here is the antenna, take it to the dark maw. The dungeon is tailor-made for you, still very dangerous though, it might cost you your life if you're not careful.

But seeing you up close like this, I'm sure it hasn't been a walk so far either. Fare well, young Makhar, the last Arch'Sazar."

[Host is being forced inside a spacial rift. Host is entering the dark maw.]

...

Outer space, the sideral void above planet Gaia. Mark stood motionless in a sitting position, his body stood still, static, absent of any kind of movement or kinetic energy of sorts.

Suddenly a huge battleship, the size of a continent materialized in front of him. It had probably just performed an intergalactic jump. It had to be them, they had followed his trail till here, but it was fine, he knew they were coming and was prepared for it.

It was not the first time, for Mark, to witness a forger in the flesh. Not many humans could boast such an achievement, and yet seeing their magnificent figure, all he could feel was disgust.

The alien stood firm, three meters in height, with its bare, pale blue skin exposed to the darkness of space, which seemed to not irritate the strange being the least as if it was its natural habitat.

A pair of blue pointed tails wriggled out of their body, wildly dancing in the void, as well as a pair of transparent, long horns spiked out of their shoulders. Otherwise, their general shape was that of a human female.

"I am here to greet you human, show some courtesy at the very least."

"You... You are the being I hate the most throughout this whole universe, the last thing I would like to do is have this very conversation. But very well, I might as well let you flap your mouth for a little bit, since you can do it even in space I might as well pry your secrets open."

"What an insolent specimen you are. But since the higher-ups want me to at least try, I will do what is necessary, or what they want me to.

Mark the human, stop both your little experiment and your senseless revenge, and both we, the Star Forgers, and the IHU will stop our attempts to take the lives of both you and your crew. Eventually, if you'll keep good conduct for the next few years, we'll even release your daughter. What do you say?"

"I say, you must be even more mad than I am! This is ridiculous as if that 'thing' you'd give me back would even be my daughter anymore. To hell with you and IHU, you do not regret the least what you've done to me, all you care about is to save your assets from my wrath!"

"Very well human, you've chosen violence in the end, as if we didn't have enough problems already. You ungrateful lots, if not for our legions the Abyss would have swallowed this universe whole already!

For what, because I killed your little mate you are putting at risk countless lives!"

"Malori, you wouldn't understand what it feels like to lose your other half and remain the only one to keep their memory alive in this wretched world. You forgers, you don't keep your mates for life, the bonds you have are not as strong, you cannot experience true love!

But even if you could not understand you shouldn't have taken her away from me!"

His rage exploding in a wave of raw psychic power, obliged the tall alien to a hasty retreat, even if she could escape unscathed from his power, the precious ship the IHU lent them would certainly not.

'And damn this accursed System, how could it take their side? Does it consider ours to be weaker?! Shouldn't it be the most advanced life form in this entire universe?'

"Wait, human... Not good!"

...