Dimensional Descent

Leonel raised an eyebrow. This was the first time he had ever heard shock in Wise Star Order’s voice. Even when he had been taken off guard by the fact Leonel’s Innate Node had regrown itself, it had been marred by so much pain that it didn’t shine through the way that it should have. And, quite frankly, if Wise Star Order had to decide what he was more shocked by, it was definitely this realization.

”What’s wrong with you?”

”Wh… What’s wrong with me?”

Wise Star Order didn’t even have a witty comeback ready this time. He was caught between wanting to strangle Leonel to death, bashing his head against a wall, and praying to a non-existent god to explain to him if he had already died and entered the Gates of Hell.

Wise Star Order took deep breaths. His murderous thoughts would only end up harming himself. He had become used to controlling his impulses enough that he calmed eventually, shaking his head furiously.

”Say what you said one more time.”

”I’m hungry.” Leonel murmured.

He sat up, ready to ignore Wise Star Order to go and deal with that. But, he suddenly found a familiar table once again spread with food. However, this time, he hadn’t been able to smell anything because it was all so perfectly packaged and ready.

Leonel blinked and walked over, opening the first container. When the aroma hit him, he felt his legs go weak. This food, it was Heaven sent. He had never felt such a strong need to stuff his face until his body imploded.

This time, he didn’t control his impulses, immediately diving in. Just the first bite made his blood lap around his body, surging around at ungodly speeds and making his heart sing.

’This is so good…’

”You little bastard! Answer my question!”

”You didn’t ask a question.” Leonel spoke between muffled bites. ”You stupidly asked me to repeat something you already heard the first time more than clearly enough. What’s wrong with you, old man? Have you gone senile already?”

Wise Star Order’s deep breaths got louder. Leonel thought about making a lewd joke, but he eventually refrained. This old man really seemed like he might explode any time now.

”Alright. Fine. Where are these supposed ’10 Nodes’ of yours.”

”The first is in my brainstem, two down my spine, one for each of my lungs, one in my stomach, one for the outflow of blood through my heart, and one for the inflow. Finally, there’s one in my left kidney, and my Scarlet Star Force Innate Node is in my right kidney.”

Wise Star Order fell into silence for a very long time almost as though he had to go and confirm this for himself. Unfortunately, his perception was limited while stuck within the necklace so he could only vaguely make out that Leonel was, indeed, telling the truth. But, that only floored him all the more.

”… Why…”

Wise Star Order was a Savant so he had never had to form Nodes of his own. Or, more accurately, he couldn’t. This was the trade off that came with being granted among the most powerful talent potentials in all of the universe. But, that didn’t mean he didn’t have a strong fundamental understanding.

Unlike other Savants, Wise Star Order could take over bodies. As such, he had certain methods to circumvent his limitations as a Savant. No body he had ever taken over had been in the Third Dimension, so he had never experienced it personally, but he knew exactly how important the foundation of Nodes in the Third Dimension could become in the future.

”Why? Don’t you think that’s the perfect set up for Nodes? Basically my entire respiratory system is boost by Force… Unfortunately, after my Innate Node regrew, I abandoned much of my initial goals for my Nodes. Most of my strength comes from either my raw body strength or external Force now.”

”What?”

”Yeah.” Leonel said absentmindedly, still devouring container after container of food. ”Because all of my Nodes are connected and work in a feedback loop of sorts I have to be careful because of my Scarlet Star Force Innate Node.

”For example, when I take a breath, oxygen floods my lungs. That process is immediately amplified by my Nodes, and it facilitated the diffusion of oxygen into my blood stream. That blood will make it to my heart and be rushed out by yet another Node. Then there’s the matter of my kidneys and stomach. My blood is constantly being passively purified, but not as much as it technically could…

”Together, the system is efficient. But, because of the bottleneck of the weakness of my body, I can’t make full use of it. If I let it all go and work like it was meant to, I feel like I would burn up from the inside out. If I wasn’t limited like this, I would have probably reached the peak of the Snowy Star Owl Lineage Factor a long time ago.”

”…”

Wise Star Order found himself taking long breaths again. If he still had a heart and lungs, it would probably be leaping out of his throat right this moment. He really couldn’t control himself any longer. If he heard one more nonsensical thing, he might completely explode.

”… Let me get this straight. You formed 10 Nodes capable of perfectly supplementing your body’s strength in every way. But, because you were afraid of a Node you were born with as a baby, you put it under lock and key and continued like nothing was wrong?”

Leonel blinked, pondering for a moment as he swallowed a mouthful of rich soup. He wanted to describe it as liquid gold, but he was certain that gold wasn’t anywhere near as appetizing. For a moment, he almost forgot to answer the question.

”… Well, it’s not exactly like that. It wasn’t the Innate Node I was born with as a baby. It’s like a hundred times bigger than it was then and I hadn’t had it all my life. That thing’s dangerous.”

”… I’m gonna kill him. I’m really gonna kill him.”