"So, did you have a particular type of model that you were hoping to buy or were you just looking for one of the standards Ushabti?"

The young Egyptian girl, who had introduced herself as Rania, hurried through the front of the store as she quickly displayed to Seth a variety of different premade clay figurines, before presenting him with a decently well made pamphlet detailing different pricing standards for different materials.

It was clear that she had thoroughly rehearsed this sales pitch, although she was still filled with the nervous energy of a new business owner. Her wavy hair was constantly bouncing like springs with every slight movement she made. It was ever so slightly distracting.

Dragging himself away from the lure of bouncing hair, Seth forced himself to interrupt her sales pitch. A pitch that seemed to rely on blasting him with an overwhelming amount of information all at once, perfect for leaving him dazed and ready to sign anything put in front of him.

Whether it was an intentional, sly tactic or simply accidental from overwhelming energy, Seth had no idea, but he did have a feeling it leaned towards the latter. Whatever it was though, it was dangerous. He felt like he would sign away his soul by accident if she kept this up any longer.

"Miss...Miss! MISS! Ahem... Before we go any further, I think you need to understand that my interest doesn't come from wanting to buy one, but from how they are created."

Seth placed down the fifth piece of pricing material he had been handed and took a breath as he finally got this motor mouth to stop for a moment. Honestly, if it wasn't for the dolls, he would have thought her mutation was being able to talk without breathing.

"Wait... You don't want to buy one?"

"No, I'm here to find out your technique. You see my... uh, my master believes it is the solution to a problem he has been facing recently."

Seth cleared his throat, tripping over the words in which he had to refer to his alternate self as his own master. For some reason, saying such things brought with it an extra level of embarrassment.

He directed her attention over his shoulder, where she could see the illustrious Lord standing outside of her shop. By sheer coincidence, that same moment he just so happened to turn towards the shop and catch the shopkeeper's eye, before giving her a slight nod.

Rania blushed at the nod from the Lord, becoming flustered for a moment before focusing her attention on the pricing sheets in front of her. She gnawed at her lips, contemplating deeply for a moment before looking up at Seth with a hint of worry in her eyes.

"You're sure that just watching me make one will help you, and will help the Lord?"

"I am certain of it, and if it doesn't... well then it will be my failing, not yours. Nothing bad will come of this, I promise."

"Alright fine... I'll make one for you as a demonstration. But... But you have to pay for it. Before you say anything, I'm only saying this because of the toll it takes. It's not just something I can pop out and be done with.

If I do this for you, then it means I can't make one for a proper customer for at least a few days. That's a few days of possible business I am missing for this, that's why I charge what I do for my services."

"Hmm... I understand. If that is the price of learning, so be it."

"What? Really? I thought for sure you were going to storm out or use your status or something. Don't worry though, since its only a demonstration, I'll only charge you my cheapest rate."

"The Lord appreciates your generosity. Shall we begin?"

It wasn't long until Seth was led into the backroom, as Rania set up a freshly made clay doll for the demonstration. The lifeless Ushabti lay on a table before her as she rested her hands on its torso, one hand placed on top of the other like she was about to give it CPR.

As she closed her eyes and let out a long, trembling breath, Seth activated his soul sight in eager anticipation of what he might see. He was immediately able to see the flickering flame of her soul, a raging ball of fire burning brightly within her chest.

He watched with rapt attention as a trail of fire was plucked from the blazing ball, like a single thread from a yarn, and wove itself outwards and travelled up her arms. Rania's own soul fire physically shrunk as the trail grew larger, her very essence being fed into this tiny doll until a tiny flame flickered to life.

As soon as that flame appeared, one that was no bigger than a candlelight, Rania removed her hands from the Ushabti doll and began to breathe heavily. Sweat droplets formed on her face, rapidly dripping down her mocha skin as she caught her breath.

It was not just simple exhaustion, in Seth's eyes he could see that the reduction in the size of her soul flame had not yet been undone. It wasn't the same as simply giving soul based mana, like how he empowered his puppets through the threads.

She was literally sacrificing part of her soul, feeding her life essence, into the Ushabti in order to bring it to life.

Just as that thought idly passed through Seth's mind, and just as it was about to leave to make room for another, it slingshotted itself back to the forefront of his mind.

Like a lightningbolt striking his brain, he was overcome with a sudden wave of revelation as the final puzzle piece finally slotted itself into place.

A puzzle piece that he had had in his possession the entire time. He just didn't know it until now.

His mind swirled with new ideas, new understandings of the concept and how he could make his very own living puppets. How he could give siblings to Bob.

Because of course, the answer had been infront of him the entire time. Bob. Bob was a miracle he wanted to recreate, but he never knew how it came about, until now.

The sight of this process reawakened a dormant memory, one that was half faded from the trauma he had been experiencing at the time and the state his poor body had been left in.

He remembered laying on the floor in that department store, on the very verge of death, as he used his threads to contain the fragmented shards of his soul.

He had collected all but one, one that he rightfully assumed turned into the Spirit Animal as a secondary mutation to keep him alive.

But as he was revisiting that hazy memory, he remembered a tiny fragment breaking off. A fragment of his being, that ended up in the body of a mannequin.

His soul was still fragmented by that event, held together by a weave of spiritual threads inside him, but fragmented none the less.

The fact it was like this didn't seem to harm him, not after his secondary mutation stabilised him. So what if he took one of those fragments still within him and combined it with one of his proto-puppets.

This *had* to be what the dragon was referring to when she sent him here. He had no idea how she knew about it, but this had to be the answer.

Seth's body was practically vibrating with excitement concerning this new revelation, he was like a kid of Christmas eager to discover his new toys and play with them.

All he had to do now was go back to his lair and test out his new theory. Refine it into something truly perfect and see how far he could take it.

Turning his attention back to the exhausted Rania, a wide smile was plastered across Seth's face. She let out a weak chuckle at that sight

"I take it my demonstration was helpful for you?"

"More than you can imagine. I have a feeling that the discovery from this could be revolutionary. I know that you are already getting paid for this, but please. Take this as well, as an extra thank you."

Reaching into the pockets of his outfit, Seth took out a small vial of cerulean liquid and placed it into her hand, which he quickly curled her fingers around.

"This is refined from the feathers of a so-called 'Divine Duck'. It won't increase your spiritual points, but it should help with your recovery time.

Just take a few drops of it with some tea, and you will be able to make more every day. It should help you- GET DOWN!"

Panic erupted across Seth's face mid sentence as he immediately shouted and lunged forward, startling Rania in the process.

Before she could react, Seth had leapt across the room and wrapped his arms around her, tackling her to the ground as black blood surged from his thundering heart.

It burst from his skin, engulfing his entire body as the wall beside the exploded into fragments to make way for the person sided boulder smashing through the store.