Molting the Mortal Coil

A tiny electrical spark flickered between clouds of charged particles. Like a tiny snake, it flashed back and forth between the easiest routes in a neon cloud world. All around it, other sparks flickered around. The little electrical snake was little more than a collection of a dozen little sparks in a line, a tiny bolt of lightning. That tiny bolt crashed into another one of the sparks flashing through the cloud and consumed it, growing larger. What appeared to be a random flickering of energy from the outside was actually an intricate world of lightning creatures.

The battlefield of that ionic cloud was eventually conquered by that bolt of lightning and it moved on to greater pastures. That bolt moved on to larger and larger battles, gaining size until it took on a much more distinct form. The shape of an eel formed by lightning, it hid itself within the denser clouds and darted out to ambush passing lightning creatures in the shape of birds, fish, rays, and even a few large cats.

More time passed and the eel grew larger and larger, then it flew out from among the smaller clouds and it found the place where the clouds stopped. It got harder and harder for it to move among these clouds, and the eel gazed out at a field of black scattered with small points of light. It yearned to find out what those points of light were and it became even more vicious and domineering in its hunt for more power.

A thousand years later it finally achieved its goal, its powerful body no longer needing to use the clouds as a medium for its movement. It smashed them aside and flew out into that unending darkness. Flying forward it turned back and examined the huge sphere of swirling mass behind it. It was the first of many trips it made into the emptiness of space, the huge mass of lightning arced across the empty space, exploring for a few days or weeks a time before returning to its home to replenish the energy it expended. Decades later, it finally found another huge sphere and it flew in tentatively, exploring this new environment and finding a completely different place than its old home. In this place, there were comfortable clouds that felt familiar to it, but everything else was foreign.

It learned about ‘solid’ objects, water, wind, even air. This is also where it first communicated with someone. A cultivator flew up to the storm cloud it was resting in and a voice entered its head. Being alone its whole life, the giant lightning creature was confused and took some time to realize what was happening. Somehow it understood the voice and the beast made its first friend. They flew off together and experienced many adventures.

Sage experienced all of these things from the perspective of the Cloud Swallowing Thunder Eel. He saw the beast growing from a little spark up till the time it grew powerful enough to pull away from what he recognized as a gas giant. The planet churned with electrical storms, bolts of lightning flashing constantly here and there. It battled and consumed many other lightning type beasts until it could break away and dash through the emptiness of space. Then a cultivator befriended it, the naive eel was easily manipulated and the two of them became friends. That great ancestor was named Yun Leidian. ‘Thunder and Lightning’ of the Cloud Clan.

It didn’t take a genius to put together the rest of the story. That man’s descendants eventually split into the Lei and Dian Clan that ran the Thundercloud Sect and the Cloud Swallowing Thunder Eel became their Sect Guardian. After thousands of years around cultivators, it had lost its naivete. It had only sworn to protect their Sect out of lingering affection for the deceased Yun Leidian. If they wished for its help otherwise, they had to pay for it, just like this trip to the Hidden Domain.

Sage learned all of this because of the ‘Soul Resonance’ Spirit Technique. While he was experiencing all the memories of the Cloud Swallowing Thunder Eel, it was experiencing all of his. Less than a minute passed by in the real world, even though he’d seen many thousands from the eyes of the eel. He was filled with trepidation, but at that point, he locked eyes with the eel. The mass of eel shaped lightning looked at him and the two of them instantly knew.

“Brother Thunder?”

“Very good, Little Mantis. Let’s go back!”

Sage smiled and activated the ‘Entrance Pass’ in his hand. The thrumming feel of a building static charge layered over him and he leapt into the Cloud Swallowing Thunder Eel’s mouth.

That moment of tension was the downside of the Soul Resonance Technique. It was extremely invasive, as the technique revealed all secrets. Two beings would share their memories, nothing would be hidden. After such an extreme experience, it only ever ended in two ways. Closeness or distance to the extreme. Knowing someone so deeply and so immediately would build such care and rapport that they would instantly become like the closest family member or loved one. Or, that same knowledge would create an aversion that could only grow greater and greater by the time it completed. Seeing so deeply into other’s hearts and minds would make them your closest friend or your greatest enemy. It was a truly risky technique that left no room for reconciliation. You would be forced to trust them with your every secret, or the desire to kill to keep them a secret.

Thankfully, Sage was successful. The Cloud Swallowing Thunder Eel may have started naive, but over thousands of years of interacting with humans it had become jaded. Sage’s own pragmatic views were not enough to dissuade it. At least, that’s what Sage guessed, he had no idea what the Eel thought of him, but when the two looked at each other after performing Soul Resonance, they immediately felt their bond. At that point, trusting his life to the Eel, and vice versa, was nothing at all. The problem of the Eel not wishing to carry an existence that could threaten it, within its own mouth, was instantly solved.

Sage chose to study the Soul Resonance technique for two reasons. For one, he wasn’t sure he would be strong enough to use the forceful control or submission techniques to subdue the Cloud Swallowing Thunder Eel. He had just broken through to the sixth rank, and there was no telling how powerful the eel was. He wasn’t confident in controlling it. Second, it was very similar to something he already had some experience with. Merge. The technique of the Insect Immortal Index. He’d already completely fused his mind with a bunch of bugs in the past, and the Silver Liberator Butterfly gave him the ability to maintain his sanity and become the dominant mind in the fusion. The Soul Resonance technique was dangerous, but he already had a solution for an even more invasive version of it.

The second reason was also something he hoped to use in the future. The Merge technique wasn’t only possible with weak minded Spirit Insects. It was merely limited by that dreadful fusion of minds. A Spirit Insect was a thing of instinct, like a tiny robot that had little thoughts other than survival and reproduction. Combining minds with one was an alien experience, but it was quite simple. As long as there was enough time to adjust, there wouldn’t be any side effects. On the other hand, if he tried to Merge with a more powerful or complex mind he could be driven mad. Two personalities living in the same mind in constant conflict. They might fight for dominance and take turns, or they might just destroy each other completely. Sage wanted to use Soul Resonance to bond with a creature in advance. If they were compatible, then the Merge would have a much better chance of success. If they were incompatible he would know before putting his life at risk!

Haha, maybe now I can become a real dragon! Now, I just have to find one.