The Beneficiary (1)
[Cloning successful.]
[Conditions met. Do you wish to establish a contract as a beneficiary?]
The Doctor was, as before, sitting still with the orb in his hands. Everything had been successful so far and all that was left was the final phase. He could feel the exhaustion setting in. He had used up more than 60% of his energy. That much energy expenditure for a being such as himself was unprecedented.
It was at this point that he finally understood why he was required to have reached a certain threshold in his energy quantity and quality. Anyone with a lower cultivation would have already been drained. Besides, he knew he had to maintain the orb and its functions starting from that moment, so he wouldn't fill his energy reserves to the brim in quite a long time.
Nevertheless, all of it was worth it. He would give up the entire multiverse for a chance to advance his cultivation, let alone some energy.
"Yes."
His voice was firm but if you knew him, you could feel a tinge of excitement and impatience. He had been waiting for this for a long time after all.
[Consent confirmed]
An image was projected into his mind, followed by the orb levitating in front of his face. Shortly after that, it flew into his glabella.
Beings with cultivation as high as The Doctor know better than to leave their souls and soul sea unprotected. That's why they go to great lengths to craft defensive or offensive soul treasures. The Doctor had two of such treasures resting in his soul sea – A flute for offense and a pagoda for defense. Actually, both treasures were well suited for both offense and defense, but they each had their strengths. The pagoda's strength lay in defense, while the flute's lay in offense.
The action taken by the orb was unprecedented so he instinctively put up his defenses to guard his soul sea. A milky sphere of light expanded from the pagoda and covered the borders of his soul sea, while the flute gave off a high-pitched melody.
It was only a moment but the deed was done. The Doctor went pale with fright, imagining all his work going up in smoke. He knew the quality of his soul treasures and even he knew that if he had to go up against both his only end would be annihilation. However, what happened next made his face paler for an entirely different reason.
The orb passed through the barrier erected by the pagoda and ignored the melody from the flute as though they were inexistent. He had always assumed that he could destroy the orb at a moment's notice. There's no way an orb that looked so ethereal, almost as though it would phase out of existence the next moment, could be sturdy, right?
He had spent hundreds of years crafting the Jadeite Melancholy flute and Intrepid Six-face pagoda and millennia nurturing both with high-class treasures. From experience, anyone within his cultivation realm, even those at the very peak would be instantaneously devoured by his treasures. Yet this orb just marched into his soul sea as though it owned the place. For the first time in millennia, he felt the fear of death. He didn't quite like the feeling of not being in control. He knew for certain that he couldn't do anything to the orb. Not before it destroyed him.
[Contract established.]
The Doctor was woken to reality by an image projection. The next moment, he found his soul in a pure white space.
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However, unlike before, it was smoother and livelier. The only problem was you couldn't tell whether it was male or female.
Being a high-level, The Doctor quickly analyzed the situation and forcefully calmed down his anxiety. Emotions at this point were no more than chemical reactions that he could consciously control. In fact, it was ages since he last lost control of his emotions. Not wanting to make any guesses, he decided to find out more about the situation before he could react.
"I assume you are the spirit of the orb? Do you have a name? What is a Beneficiary and why is my name important enough to be recorded first before anything else?"