Enchanted Everwood Farm.
Array Formation Design facility.
A few hours after Nomel was asked to leave the Wild Devil Lands by Elika.
Aksai leaned back in his chair, breathing heavily, his body drenched in sweat.
The process had taken far longer than he anticipated, and every ounce of his spirit energy had been poured into ensuring its success.
His pale face showed clear signs of exhaustion, his usually sharp eyes dull and unfocused. He popped a couple of alchemical pills into his mouth, chewing them lazily, waiting for their effects to kick in. The pills helped, giving his drained body a bit of nourishment, but what he really needed was rest.
Across from him, Lini lay on the cold floor, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she struggled to process what had just happened. Her body was drenched in sweat too, her clothes sticking to her skin, and her hair clinging to her face in damp strands.
She slowly opened her eyes, blinking as if the world around her had changed somehow—and it had.
Her body felt… wrong. Everything was still there—her hands, her legs, her breathing—but it was as if her consciousness wasn’t fully connected to her body anymore.
For a moment, she almost felt like she was floating above herself, observing her physical form from a distance. A bizarre sensation of disconnection washed over her, sending shivers down her spine. It was unsettling, to say the least.
“Alive,” Lini whispered, her voice barely audible as she lay on the floor, her breath still shaky. She had survived. Somehow. Despite all the moments during the process when she was sure she would die, she had made it through.
She gingerly lifted one hand, staring at it as if it belonged to someone else. Everything felt… alien. Her body, her thoughts, her emotions—they were all there, but they didn’t feel like they were hers anymore. It was a weird feeling.
Aksai, watching her from his seat, gave a weak smile. “You’re tougher than I thought,” he said, his voice raspy. He leaned forward slightly, resting his elbows on his knees, still catching his breath.
Aksai was glad that he had spent time conversing with Lini previously. It was the lengthy discussion they had that made her understand his perspective a bit. This, in turn, helped her keep her survival instincts intact, enabling her to go through with the process.
Aksai felt the connection between them now, a tether that linked her soul to his. It was faint but unmistakable. With just a thought, he knew he could command her, bend her will entirely to his.
She was his Live Puppet, body and soul. Plus, there was no Soul Fragment involved in controlling Lini’s vessel. Instead, it was her own soul that did the job as if nothing had changed about her. However, her soul carried an unmistakable brand of Aksai, something he could use to control her.
Lini sat up slowly, her body aching from the strain. “What… did you do to me?” she asked, her voice trembling slightly as she tried to make sense of the strange sensations flooding her mind. The out-of-body feeling hadn’t fully faded, and she couldn’t tell if it was permanent or just the aftereffects of whatever Aksai had done.
Aksai chuckled softly, though it lacked his usual sharpness. “Does it matter?” he asked, wiping some sweat from his brow. “You’re still alive. That’s enough.”
Lini’s eyes widened, her heartbeat quickening. “You… you can control me?” she asked, horrified, the implications of his words settling in like a heavy weight on her chest.
Aksai nodded, the exhaustion in his expression deepening as he glanced at her.
“Yes,” He smiled, though it didn’t reach his eyes.
Lini shuddered. Her mind raced with possibilities, but she quickly realized there was no escape. The connection between them was real, and even though she could still move and think on her own, she could feel the invisible strings tied to Aksai’s will.
It wasn’t just control over her body—it was control over her soul. Her very essence was bound to him. The third edition of the Puppet Creation was indeed based on soul subjugation. One could say that Aksai had fused the concepts of puppet creation and soul-searching techniques to come up with a new way of creating puppets.
“What… happens now?” Lini asked, swallowing her fear as she glanced at the pale-faced man before her.
Aksai leaned back again, sighing deeply as the pills began to work their magic, restoring some of his lost energy. “Now?” He glanced at her, eyes narrowing thoughtfully.
“Now, you rest. And so do I. Controlling you—keeping you tethered to my will—it’s… well, let’s just say it’s like running a very resource-heavy app in the background of my mind. I had to give up controlling ten of my regular puppets just to make space for you.”
Lini blinked, confused by the analogy. “App?”
Aksai waved a hand dismissively. “Never mind. Just think of it this way: controlling you takes a lot out of me. With my current abilities, I can’t make another puppet like you while you’re still connected to me. You’re the only one.” He smirked faintly. “Lucky you.”
Lini felt like a prisoner in her own body. She looked at Aksai, who was clearly drained from the effort it had taken to turn her into his puppet. He didn’t seem eager to give her any more commands, at least for the moment.
“Will I still be able to progress in my cultivation as a puppet?” Lini asked, her voice quieter now, resigned to her fate.
Aksai stood up slowly, his body still stiff from the long hours of exertion. “I don’t see why not,” he said, taking a deep breath.
“A puppet that can grow with me… Heh, I like that idea. I’ve got plenty of plans for you, Lini, and I think you’ll find being my puppet… has its advantages.”
Lini didn’t respond, her heart sinking as she realized that her fate was no longer her own. She was alive, but only because Aksai willed it. From now on, every step, every breath, would be dictated by his commands. Of course, she wasn’t happy.
She had once been a proud Foundation Building expert with immense potential. Her status as a core disciple of the Green Glory Lord had been special. But all of that didn’t matter anymore.
As Aksai turned to leave, he paused at the door, glancing over his shoulder. “Get some rest. You’ll need it. You’re my first live puppet with Foundation Building powers. Physically, you should be fine, but I think your Spirit-spell-casting abilities might have been affected. We’ll need to check on that once we’ve both rested.”
With that, Aksai left Lini alone in the newly created Array Formation Design facility. He went inside his farmhouse and took a much-needed rest.
After waking up, he had a brief discussion with Yelia before finally leaving the Enchanted Everwood Farm.
At this point, almost a week had passed since he had killed the bald elder and his ally. Aksai felt ready to go to the location of the mysterious opportunity.