Chapter 7: A new body? A new me?

“After creating your threading-myr, attach it to your form by infusing it with your mana. Then, knot the other end through the engraved letters on the Mesh Heart. Once connected, lay the body on the ground, and rest beside it. As you relax, send small amounts of your Mana to the Mesh heart, eventually it will slowly absorb your consciousness. Do not resist the absorption to avoid any complications,” The Voice… Pheleppeides explained. 

All the while, I was creating another threading-myr using my own Mana, a pale blue streak glow materialized in front of me, slowly forming into a thread. Afterwards, I drew it closer to me with telekinesis.

Pheleppeides continued, “Although, I recommend attaching several threading-myrs to you and the Mesh Heart, infusing them across your body. This way, if one snaps, others will still keep your form attached.”

I had already read that in the instruction book, so I knew where I had to go from this.

With the threading-myr touching the center of my translucent form, I tapped into my Mana once again and had it seeped through my form – towards the threading-myr. Surprisingly, the threading-myr attached almost immediately, I could feel a tingling sensation around it; not as difficult as I had imagined.

Curiously pulling on the threading-myr, I felt my form shrinking and contorting, accompanied by a strange tingling sensation.

With that attached, I continued forth. Using my telekinesis to bring the other end of the thread closer to me while observing the humanoid body seated on the floor. It was a pre-built body retrieved from the Dorning room, which I transferred here to the people’s hall.

The body frame resembled an Aegir humanoid. It had long, yellow hair and red eyes, quite tall yet thin. While it didn’t look similar to Stephany Trinity, I chose it because I found a ‘liking’ to this figure. Additionally, the body already had worn a very cool-looking uniform. 

I can’t quite put it into words, but there’s something about the uniform that captivates me. It’s simple, yet it exudes an inexplicable charm that I find appealing.

With Telekinesis, I proceeded to the next step by floating both the body and pulling the skin membrane of the torso. Subsequently, I phased through the interior of the torso to discover a black-box resting at the center.

A big black box… A black box? No, actually, looking closely, there was a box frame with the center filled in darkness. Familiar letters etched into the frames, seemingly glowing in pale blue as the threading-myr came closer.

So that’s the Mesh Heart that the book described. It was quite difficult to see because of how dark it is, but fortunately, the letters seemed to be reacting to the threading-myr, I could see the frames.

Looking at the other components, it seems most of them were already tied with threading-myr, with only the letters engraved on the black box remaining vacant. That’s great; I don’t need to worry about making a mistake by entering the wrong letter.

As usual, I proceeded to tie the threading-myr onto the letters of the black box, securing it tightly to prevent easy detachment. After a few minutes of tying, I quietly finished it without encountering any problems.

Afterwards, I placed the body on the chair and sat next to it. What was the next step again? I paused for a few minutes, trying to recall for a few minutes before finally asking Pheleppeides. 

“What is next after ky… Tah-enin… tying and kres… resting?” Saying so, I felt the hint of frustration creeping in as I stumbled over my words.

Despite this, Pheleppeides answered, “Send bits of your mana into the threading-myr. Your consciousness will slowly be absorbed into it, so if you feel the need to sleep, do so.”

Sleeping… I had heard about it many times in stories. It's something that most fleshed races do in order to gain energy. I wasn’t entirely sure what that meant; I never really experienced it myself, but I am quite excited to do so.

Channeling my Mana through the threading-myr, a streak of pale blue light traced along the thread. Sending another bit of Mana, I watched the same pale blue traveling to the body. That’s quite interesting.

Continuing for several minutes, I noticed that the beam of pale blue light was slowly increasing in size, even though the Mana I sent remained the same. Not only that, it became a much longer line compared to the initial length.

That’s odd, what is this weird feeling? My head felt like it was floating, and my body seemed unusually lightweight. My thoughts scattered, and I felt disconnected. The longer I gaze at the pale blue streaks of light, the blurrier my surroundings become.

loose….

…

…

…

.

“...ody… Bridging successfully… Calibration completed… Form secured… Form syncing completeled.”

That Voice… 

That distant voice was so unfamiliar; I don’t think that was Pheleppeides speaking, but someone else. It felt fleeting, like it was moving away from me. It seemed like that voice would never return.

Who was that voice? That voice, other than Pheleppeides - that’s right, the Core. The Core spoke. I remember it speaking to me, always talking about my writing.

Suddenly, the voice disappeared. That’s quite weird, why can’t I hear any more voices? No, that can't be. It felt strange as I slowly grew more aware of my surroundings, but it was dark. My body, my form felt heavier than usual, I don’t understand. I don’t like it.

I have to do something, or else that voice will disappear. I don’t want it to disappear on me again, forever. That must not happen, I don’t want it to. 

As if my wishes were heard, my vision and control over my body returned to me. However, as they did, I saw a large wall in front of me.

I don’t remember the wall?

Without warning, I slammed into the wall. A deafening noise echoed through my body, sending tingling sensations through my skin. What is this? I couldn’t help but writhe unconsciously. It was a sensation unlike anything I had ever felt before… No, there were too many sensations that it was hard to describe them. 

Something felt off. My body weighed heavily, my mind clouded with a strange sensation.

“Nameless Ghost, Please calm down.”

That Voice… The familiar voice… Perhaps hearing its words, I unconsciously stopped to search for the voice, but as I did, pieces of memories slowly came.

“I never knew ghost could have nightmares…” Pheleppeides said. “Please make yourself calm, and assess your situation in a mannered way.”

What happened? 

Recalling memories, I remember channeling Mana into my body, then suddenly finding myself getting hit by the wall… Wait no, that’s not it. I fell to the ground. As I recognized my disoriented state, the world appeared to spin around me, a feeling I found uncomfortable and unsettling.

My head felt moving by the motions of my eyes, a completely new sensation I had never experienced before. Trying to move my body felt heavy and awkward. As I extended my hands and feet, I could feel them brushing against the wall.

I turned my head and felt the touch of cold and hard against my skin, causing an unusual feeling of discomfort. The tangled yellow hair obscured my vision, obstructing the sights ahead of me. I never knew controlling this body felt challenging; it didn’t respond the way I intended it to.

“It seems you have calmed down,” Pheleppeides said. “You appear to be struggling with moving your body. Can you communicate through it?”

“Yes.”

“You are currently not speaking through the body. However, that will suffice for now until you get used to it. Can you walk to the specified location?”

Suddenly, oddly shaped figures similar to the Trispera appeared. No, they resembled an arrow symbol that I had seen on signboards before. 

Walking… That’s something that humanoids do with their bodies…

Using telekinesis, I raised my  body to a relaxed position and used my hands to smooth down my hair. My own hair felt a bit strange. As I rolled up pieces of my hair to clear my vision, a peculiar sensation tingled my fingertips. Additionally, I noticed that whenever I moved, my clothes seemed to sway with me.

How odd. 

It was easier to use my hands compared to my legs for some inexplicable reason. My legs felt odd and heavier in comparison. I hadn’t used my legs even when I didn’t have a body before. For some unknown reason, my legs felt wobbly and unstable. Without the telekinesis supporting me, I would have likely fallen.

However, there was one thing that I didn't quite understand. 

“How do peepoole walk?”

“Aegirs and Guardians typically walk by lifting one foot, moving it forward, and planting it. Would you like to temporarily grant me control of the body so I can demonstrate it to you?”

“You can do da… that?”

“Certainly.”

Is that so… Before responding to Pheleppeides, I let my mana overflow into the surroundings and shifted my vision to an outside perspective of my own body. Compared to viewing from within my body, there were no strange sensations, and I could see clearer with a wider field of view.

“Do it.” I said