CHAPTER 376: MERELY A TOOL! I

The White Smith Star held his gaze for what felt like an eternity, her augmented consciousness processing calculations rapidly.

Achilles could see the war between caution and ambition playing out behind her eyes...the careful paranoia that had kept her alive for centuries warring against the intoxicating possibility of power beyond her current reach.

When she finally nodded, her voice carried the weight of glorious finality.

"Okay," she said.

She said!

"I will take this offer."

...!

Achilles inclined his head with the calm satisfaction of someone whose predictions had unfolded exactly as anticipated.

He had read her correctly...in beings who had achieved the heights of Stellar Genesis Embodiment, ambition rarely died. It merely grew more sophisticated, more carefully calculated, but no less hungry.

The White Smith Star turned away from him, her augmented voice carrying easily across the vacuum to the watching guards who still maintained their protective formation around the mining operation.

"Continue your watch," she commanded, her words carrying no argument. "Maintain standard perimeter protocols and report any anomalies!"

Then, with a gesture that bent space around them both, she began moving back toward the massive metallic asteroid that served as the centerpiece of their industrial operation.

Achilles followed with the unhurried pace of someone who had all the time, his transformed appearance still radiating the scholarly authority he had crafted for this encounter!

The asteroid’s surface was a landscape pulled from the dreams.

Obsidian mountains rose in jagged mountains that caught and refracted the light of distant stars, their crystalline facets creating patterns of illumination that shifted and flowed like living things.

The ground beneath their feet was composed of materials so pure and concentrated that Achilles could feel his existence practically vibrating with hunger.

He wanted to assimilate this entire metallic asteroid that was being mined!

But...

Not yet...

He reminded himself, even as his enhanced senses catalogued the incredible wealth of rare elements that surrounded them.

The White Smith Star came to a halt on a perfectly flat section of the asteroid’s surface, the metallic ground reflecting her silver uniform like a mirror made of starlight.

When she turned to face him, her expression had shifted from cautious interest to something approaching genuine engagement.

"You have my complete attention," she said, "Where exactly is King Edmond? What is this other being you mentioned? Because if we’re talking about confronting two Stellar Genesis Embodiment experts..."

The hesitation that crept into her voice was telling.

Even with her augmented capabilities, the prospect of facing multiple opponents at her level gave her pause. It was a reminder that for all the power they wielded, beings at their level of evolution remained acutely aware of their own mortality.

They knew that even stars died!

Achilles smiled coldly with the patient understanding of he who had anticipated every possible objection.

"Nothing worthwhile is without risk," he said.

"But I have made extensive plans to minimize those risks for all parties involved. King Edmond travels with a group called the Crimson Shroud Vortexes, and their leader has indeed achieved Stellar Genesis Embodiment. However, with the proper preparation and advantages, you will be more than capable of handling both targets."

WAA!

Before she could voice the protests he could see forming behind her eyes, Achilles raised his hand in a gesture that carried its own subtle authority. Space around them shimmered, and nine objects materialized in a perfect circle between them.

Primordium Evolutius Fruits.

Each one was the size of a human head, their surfaces gleaming with veins of obsidian and gold that pulsed with their own wonders.

The scent they released into the surrounding vacuum was indescribable- a combination of stellar fire and primordial essence that spoke directly to the deepest hunger of any evolved being!

They were perfect examples of their kind, enhanced through careful cultivation by his own hands and filled with concentrated particles of Space-Time and Destiny.

And beneath those beneficial enhancements, dormant but ready, were the spores that would eventually allow him to influence their consumer in ways they would never detect!

The White Smith Star’s reaction was immediate and visceral.

Her augmented stellar physiology responded to the fruits’ presence with an almost gravitational pull, her enhanced senses immediately recognizing the incredible potential they represented to her power!

Achilles regarded the floating treasures with an expression of profound melancholy, as if parting with them caused him genuine pain.

"These are nine Primordium Evolutius Fruits," he said, his voice heavy with apparent reluctance. "I could do anything for the death of King Edmond, even surrender my lifetime’s worth of accumulated treasures. With these, your power should gain enough of an edge to overwhelm one average and one weak Stellar Genesis Embodiment entity."

"..."

He spouted utterly bullshit and lies easily!

Lifetime treasures? He had thousands of these already made!

He paused, allowing her hunger to build like pressure in a stellar core approaching critical mass.

"I discovered eighteen of these in the core of a budding Plane of Existence," he continued.

"Consuming them grants abilities related to the fundamental manipulation of Space itself. More importantly, the cache included a Living Script detailing the proper absorption methodology...knowledge that can increase their effectiveness by five hundred percent."

The White Smith Star’s eyes had taken on the focused intensity of a predator that wanted to eat everything before her.

But even through her obvious desire, caution remained.

"The absorption process requires direct contact," Achilles continued smoothly. "I would need to maintain physical contact with you while cycling the Living Script methodology through my own energy. If you are comfortable with such an arrangement, I am prepared to share all this."

HUUM!

For several heartbeats, they stood in perfect silence while she weighed the risks against the potential rewards.

Finally, her voice cut through the quiet calmly.

"What is your name?"

"You may call me...Adras," Achilles replied without hesitation, the false identity rolling off his tongue with practiced ease.

She nodded slowly, her augmented consciousness processing layers of calculation.

"My power as a Stellar Genesis Embodiment expert is unique," she said, her voice carrying undertones that suggested barely contained forces. "I can erupt with the gravitational force of a collapsing pulsar in an instant. If I sense anything that suggests treachery or deception, I will bring that force down upon you and end this cooperation before it truly begins."

...!