CHAPTER 101: BOND

The moment the flesh touched his tongue, Six gagged. The taste was an unholy mix of rot, metal, and something that burned like acid but froze his insides at the same time. His stomach lurched, and for a split second, he considered spitting it out.

But then—

His mind exploded.

Images, concepts, and knowledge beyond mortal comprehension flooded his consciousness. Entire galaxies formed and collapsed in an instant.

He saw creatures that defied logic, beings of endless hunger and madness lurking beyond the veil of reality.

He saw himself—no, not just himself, but his true form—a being that should never exist in the physical world, something that could break the minds of lesser beings just by being perceived.

His body convulsed as raw power surged through his veins, his very cells screaming as they restructured.

Six staggered, gripping his head. His vision blurred, then sharpened with terrifying clarity. He knew things now. Instincts he never had before became second nature. He could feel the threads of existence itself.

A slow grin spread across his face as he took a deep breath.

Rebecca, still slumped against a rock, chuckled weakly.

"Well? Feeling special, big guy?"

Six exhaled, his breath distorting the air. His lips moved on their own, speaking words he had never learned yet always known.

"Void Trigger."

The air around him shattered like glass, forming a swirling black sphere that enveloped his entire body. A force unlike anything he had ever felt tore through him, and when the sphere cracked apart—

He was no longer the same.

His once-tan skin had turned ghostly pale. His hair, now pure white, crackled with latent energy. A crown of jagged, obsidian-black horns protruded from his forehead, their tips glowing faintly, with the largest two on the edges of his forehead.

His Elite Riot Gear had transformed into a bleach-white ensemble, adorned with black and gray etchings that pulsed like a heartbeat. A belt loaded with sleek, otherworldly ammunition wrapped around his waist, his trusted Desert Eagles holstered but different, as if infused with an unspeakable force.

Rebecca let out a low whistle, grinning despite her exhaustion.

"Damn, babe~ You look wicked. You look like the final boss of a horror game."

Six flexed his fingers, feeling the immense raw power coiling and coursing through his new form. His body felt weightless yet brimming with boundless energy, as if he had shed all unnecessary constraints.

It was intoxicating.

Terrifying.

And limitless.

"This is... insane."

He muttered, his voice carrying an eerie resonance. He clenched his fist, and the air around it distorted slightly, as if reality itself struggled to contain him.

Rebecca smirked.

"Told ya. Now, stop checking yourself out and fix me, ya’ ass."

Six exhaled, then reached out toward her. He didn’t even need to think—his instincts took over.

Without warning, he pulled out his handgun and aimed at his shouting gremlin of a bunny wife.

"Wait, wait... I didn’t mean to snap at you-"

Bang!

Six fired at his panicking lover.

As the bullet struck, a swirling, black-and-white energy enveloped Rebecca’s severed limbs, tendrils of unknown matter weaving together. Bone, muscle, and skin were reconstructed at an alarming rate, like watching time rewind itself. Within seconds, her legs and hand were restored, flawless as if nothing had happened.

Rebecca blinked, then stretched her fingers and wiggled her toes. A slow grin spread across her face.

"Holy shit."

Six took a step back, breathing heavily. His new powers were exhilarating, but also terrifying. He knew, deep in his core, that this was just the beginning.

Rebecca hopped up, testing her balance before throwing her arms around him.

"Babe, I knew you’d pull through! This is awesome!"

Six chuckled, though his mind was already racing. If this was what just one Umbilical Cord did... what would happen if he ate the second one?

Pfft!

He barely had time to process their supposed victory before the unbearable pain struck—no, this was worse. This wasn’t just pain. This was their very beings rejecting the transformation.

He collapsed to his knees, coughing violently as thick, dark blood splattered onto the ground. His vision blurred, his body convulsing uncontrollably. His skin cracked like shattered porcelain, flickering between his human form and something incomprehensible.

Beside him, Rebecca writhed in agony, her own transformation forcing its way through her body. Her moonlit aura pulsed erratically, fighting against the overwhelming force radiating from Six. The bond between them—more than just love, more than marriage—was pulling them into something beyond mortality, and their vessel bodies were breaking under the weight.

"Cough... cough... Crap."

Rebecca gasped, gripping her chest as blood dribbled from her lips.

"I forgot about our bond before you consumed the Third Umbilical Cord."

Six tried to respond, but his throat burned as if liquid fire had been poured down it. His mind, once flooded with knowledge, now reeled with the consequences of their reckless ascension. His hands clawed at the ground, barely able to steady himself as his own blood pooled beneath him.

Rebecca wheezed out a bitter chuckle.

"You and me... we’re bound by more than just marriage, choom. You’re a Sun God, and I’m your Moon Goddess... so now we both hit phase two of our transformation... like Pilar..."

Her words barely registered through the pain. Their bodies weren’t just evolving—they were unraveling and reforming at the same time.

Six clenched his fists, his fingernails digging into his palms as he forced himself to think. If they didn’t stabilize soon, they would cease to exist as they were. The power of an outer being wasn’t something to be claimed so easily. It demanded time and sacrifice. It demanded order.

He gritted his teeth, forcing his golden eyes to meet Rebecca’s. Despite the agony, despite the blood pouring from her, she was still holding herself together, letting out a weak chuckle and grinned at him.

"Heh... maybe should’ve paced ourselves, huh?"

"So, big guy... you got a plan, or are we just gonna bleed out and reincarnate into something even weirder?"

Six exhaled sharply, steadying himself. His body screamed, but he pushed through the pain. He had done the impossible before. He had conquered worlds.

Six forced himself up, staggering.

"No kidding... this is worse than when Pilar tore my arm off."

He wasn’t about to let some cosmic backlash take him and his wife down.

Their bond was more than just a romantic connection—it was a metaphysical tether, binding their very souls. And now, with his evolution forcefully dragging Rebecca along, their bodies were rejecting the abrupt shift.

Six’s vision blurred again, flashing between layers of reality. He saw the truth—Rebecca’s form flickering between her physical self and something far greater, something celestial.

His mind raced.

They needed stabilization. Now.

"...Hold on tight, Becca."

Gritting his teeth, Six reached deep into the abyss of his newfound power. He didn’t fully understand it yet, but instinct took over. He placed his trembling hands on Rebecca’s shoulders, and with a deep, shuddering breath, he willed the chaotic energy to bend.

"Regrowth."

The word was not just spoken—it was commanded.

[Regrowth can restore the structural information of any object to its past state. With Regrowth, Six can restore anything—organic or inorganic—to any point in a time frame. This means that he can restore maimed or fatally injured people, including himself, to a state before they were injured. Note: This ability is passive, essentially making Six immortal]

The air warped around them, a pulse of unseen force spreading outward. Rebecca gasped as her body seized, her form caught between tearing apart and being forced back together.

Six roared as his power surged, funneling everything into reinforcing their vessel bodies. His horns pulsed, his veins burned with cosmic fire, and his very soul felt like it was on the verge of unraveling.

Then—silence.

The pain stopped.

Rebecca collapsed against him, panting.

"Fuck, that sucked."

She groaned. Then, after a moment, she smirked up at him.

"But damn, babe... that was kinda hot."

Six rolled his eyes, exhaling slowly. The world around them settled, the oppressive weight of their transformation easing.

He glanced down at his hands. Even after stabilizing, he could feel the vastness of what lay ahead.

This was just the beginning.

And there was still one more Umbilical Cord left.

Six let out a sigh of relief, slinging his rifle back over his shoulder.

"That was way too close."

He said, walking over to Rebecca.

"But damn, you look amazing."

Rebecca shot him a grin in her bunny girl form, her red eyes still burning with intensity.

"Just another day on the job. You know how it is."

The battlefield was silent, save for the echoes of their triumph. The fight was over, but the scars it left would remain in the very air around them, a reminder of the battle they had faced together.