Chapter 382: Infusion Started

Liam smiled slightly at that. A cosmic administrator had just given him its personal protection. The absurdity of his situation wasn’t lost on him—a human barely four months removed from working in a restaurant, now about to undergo a transformation that would let him bypass universal laws, guarded by a being that had existed for millions of years.He settled into a lotus position, floating in the void with the Blade of Tiamat resting across his lap. The weapon’s presence was a constant warmth against the cold of space, a shield against forces that would otherwise obliterate him.

Liam took one final breath, steadying himself for what was coming. Then he spoke clearly, his voice carrying through the void with unexpected weight:

"Infuse."

Reality responded immediately.

Space behind him tore open—not the simple spatial tear the Voidling had created, but something more violent, more fundamental. This was the Dimensional Space itself being ripped wide, the world was now connecting directly with the Grand Universe and becoming one of its worlds.

Through the tear emerged the Abyssal Dragon Spine.

It was magnificent and terrifying in equal measure. A vertebrae of deep void black material connected by tissue that pulsed with very faint purple light. But this was no natural bone structure. Runes covered every surface, glowing with power that made Liam’s eyes water even to glance at directly. The Spine radiated an aura of ancient, terrible strength.

It moved toward him with predatory purpose, shrinking as it approached until it matched his proportions. Then it pressed against his back, and Liam felt the first tendrils of what was coming.

He groaned as an explosive wave of deep, invasive pain rippled through his body. The Spine was beginning to penetrate his skin, working its way toward his actual spine.

The pain didn’t subside. It intensified, building with each passing second as the Abyssal Dragon Spine continued its inexorable progress. Liam gritted his teeth so hard he tasted blood, forcing himself to endure rather than thrash or scream.

The molecular enhancement nanites that had restructured his body months ago suddenly activated in defensive response. They recognized the Spine as a foreign intrusion, something attempting to corrupt their carefully maintained biological structure. The nanites swarmed toward the entry point, trying to repel the artifact, to maintain the integrity of the body they’d been designed to enhance and protect.

It was futile. The Abyssal Dragon Spine was operating on principles that transcended mere molecular engineering. It pushed through the nanite defenses like they weren’t there, continuing its steady advance toward Liam’s actual spine.

The process felt agonizingly slow. Every millimeter of progress brought fresh waves of pain as the artifact worked deeper into his body. Liam’s consciousness began fragmenting at the edges, his mind struggling to process the sensory overload.

Then the Abyssal Dragon Spine made contact with his actual spine, and everything exploded.

Liam’s consciousness shattered. The pain transcended anything he’d experienced, anything his enhanced nervous system could process. For one eternal instant, he existed as pure agony, awareness reduced to a single point of overwhelming sensation.

Then nothing.

His body detonated. Not metaphorically—literally. Flesh, muscle, organs, blood vessels—everything erupted outward in a grotesque explosion. Only two structures remained intact: his skull and his spine, floating in the void surrounded by the dispersed matter that had once formed the rest of him.

The molecular enhancement nanites, suddenly freed from the body they’d been maintaining, faced a choice. They could attempt to rebuild what had been destroyed, or they could engage the true threat.

They chose engagement.

Every nanite in Liam’s system—millions of microscopic machines—swarmed the Abyssal Dragon Spine. They attacked with coordinated precision, trying to dismantle the artifact, to neutralize the corruption spreading through what remained of Liam’s body.

The moment the nanites fully committed to their assault, the last natural structure they’d been defending—Liam’s original spine—dried up. Without the nanites’ constant maintenance, without the life force that had animated it, the bone simply desiccated, crumbling into dust that was blown away by some imperceptible stellar wind.

The Abyssal Dragon Spine immediately claimed the abandoned position. It attached directly to Liam’s skull with a sensation like thunder rolling through bone. Runes along its surface blazed to life—bright purple and flowing darkness intermixed, pulsing with power that made reality itself ripple.

Then it began to grow.

New bones emerged from the Spine’s structure, but these weren’t replicas of what had been lost. These were something other, something more. Ribs formed, each one covered in glowing runes that pulsed in rhythm with the Spine itself. These weren’t organic bones subject to fracture and decay. These were Dao Bones.

As Liam’s skeletal structure continued its impossible reconstruction, the space behind his reforming body tore open again. Through this new breach emerged the Heart of 18 Magic Circles.

It looked deceptively normal at first glance—a heart roughly the size of a human fist. But closer inspection revealed the truth. Eighteen perfect magic circles encircled it, each one rotating at different speeds, at different angles, intersecting in ways that should have been impossible. The circles pulsed with energy that shifted between colors creating a chromatic display that hurt to perceive directly.

The Heart drifted forward with deliberate purpose, positioning itself in the exact center of Liam’s partially reformed rib cage. Then it began its own transformation.

Ventricles grew from its surface—not the standard four chambers of a human heart, but eighteen separate chambers, each one corresponding to one of the magic circles. Veins emerged, spreading outward with systematic precision, preparing to thread through whatever body eventually formed around this impossible cardiovascular system.

The Voidling watched this transformation with complete stillness, its massive form frozen in what might have been awe or horror. This wasn’t standard biological reconstruction. This was ontological rewriting—the creation of something that existed in violation of multiple universal laws simultaneously.

The Abyssal Dragon Spine and the Heart of 18 Magic Circles continued their work, growing structures that defied conventional anatomy. Each new bone that formed carried runes that pulsed with dark light. Each new vessel that grew from the Heart shimmered with magical energy.

Liam’s new body was forming, but it was taking time. This wasn’t rapid regeneration or accelerated healing. This was construction of a new form from fundamental principles, and such things could not be rushed.