Chapter 2: S.Y.S.T.E.M.

On the cold hard floor of the underground chamber, a large circle of Sulfur, Salt and Mercury laid bare. Complex symbols and materials filled the circle, creating a one of a kind Alchemical Seal.

In the middle of the circle was a man with grey hair, his skin wrinkled like a ragged piece of paper.

He was Sir Siderius Satterblade, a skillful witch hunter and a renounced alchemist. His name spread across the land and everyone knew of his accomplishments.

But. Even for him, Siderius was never able to conquer that one thing that came for us all, death.

Human life seemed to be locked at a certain age. Two hundred years. And no matter what he did, Siderius could not break free of this shackle.

This was his 200th year, the final year of his life.

Siderius couldn't accept the fact he had failed to ascend, to exceed the limitation of human kind.

So he had conducted a Forbidden Alchemical Seal. A Seal that could transfer his soul to another world. 

Siderius needed to find a universe that could help him achieve his Magnum Opus, eternal life.

And he needed a new identity. A strong human male that had no attachments left to let him do as he pleased.

With the Forbidden Seal, he reached his hand out to other worlds, looking for a suitable candidate. There were many.

But he found his chosen one. A circus boy with a sad fate that was coming to an end. His world was full of magic and miracles. Maybe in this world, Siderius would be able to find what he was looking for.

The gate of his fortress was slammed and the Knights in his Holy Order had come to stop him.

"Sir Satterblade! Please! Stop this heretic!"

"Ah…" Siderius let out a long breath. His allies were just, truthful and brave. But they could never understand his obsession. For them, being a human and dying as a human was enough.

But it wasn't enough for Siderius.

He connected the Seal to that world and spoke to that boy.

In the end, they made a deal. Siderius could gain everything the boy had in exchange for his revenge.

Everything was set up properly. The Seal accepted the boy's offer and the Rule of Exchange was respected.

Siderius raised his hands to conduct the Signs of Soul Fusion.

Transferring one soul to another world risked many things. The most dangerous threat was the denial of that very world. It wouldn't be so kind to an intruder.

To combat this, Siderius must fuse his soul with the soul of the boy.

As the Signs were completed. The soul of Sir Siderius Satterblade was pulled into that universe. Sulfur climbed up to his old body and burned it to ash, paying the price for his traveling.

His soul and the boy's soul fused together. Snow writhed on the floor, experiencing the most excruciating pain as his soul was crushed into bits and mixed with another.

Siderius felt the same but he remained calm. Pain was his lover, he knew her more than anything. This was simply an intimate act between them.

The hair of Snow slowly turned white as they fused together. When his hair became the color of his name, the fusion was completed.

When Siderius opened his eyes again, he was no longer himself.

He was Sir Siderius 'Snow' Satterblade. Two souls fused into one. Two people combined into a person.

He learned everything about the boy. His memory, his thoughts and even his rage.

Siderius pulled a strand of hair down and saw its pure white color. A side effect of the Soul Fusion process. Purely aesthetic and no actual harm.

The work wasn't finished yet. Back in his old world, a steel wrist watch was floating inside the Forbidden Seal. It was what he planned to bring over to this world. The trump card that would help him grow more powerful and find his eternal life.

Siderius sat up and raised his left hand.

"I summon you. My weapon. My faithful ally. My greatest creation."

He stretched all the fingers and tendons to prepare for what would be coming. And then he relaxed.

A shockwave swept throughout the prison cell. The steel wristwatch appeared inside a flaming sphere with sharp, pointy teeth running along its band.

It, too, had traveled to this universe.

The watch flipped over and latched itself onto Siderius's left wrist.

A voice with no soul spoke up:

"Assimilation is complete! 

S.Y.S.T.E.M. is connected with the user!

Starting integration... 5%... 10%... 30%..."

The steel wristwatch sank deep into Siderius's skin and slowly disappeared under it. It was fusing with Siderius's new body to become his most dangerous weapon.

Siderius closed his eyes, letting the device finish its work.

"Integration completes! Starting Extraction…

Adding Visual Modification! Deciphering Codex! Collecting Data from Host! Measuring Host! Implementing New Data! 

Extraction Complete! 

Welcome, Sir Siderius Satterblade!"

When he opened his eyes, a familiar floating window was now visible in front of him. Something that only he could see. A gift and weapon from the old world.

[Synaptic Yielding Synthesize Transceiver Embedded Module INSTALLED]

[S.Y.S.T.E.M. ONLINE]

[USER: Siderius 'Snow' Satterblade]

[ ATTRIBUTES ]

|Strength: 3|

|Agility: 4|

|Perception: 2|

|Stamina: 5|

|Endurance: 6|

[WITCH HUNTER RANK: NONE]

[ALCHEMIST RANK: NONE]

[SIGILS SLOT: 1/1]

[SIGIL: ]

[MERCURY EXTRACT: 100/100]

[PSYCHOSIS LEVEL: 0/100]

Siderius grinned deviously. Everything had happened according to the plan.

He flexed his left arm, a steel bracer emerged from under his skin. It was the previous wristwatch, now with its true appearance.

This was the greatest invention of Siderius. Inside it held all the knowledge of the previous world and it also acted as a special conduit for alchemical processes.

It held one hundred points of Mercury Extract, a much needed material to create mutations for a witch hunter and many more alchemy formulas.

It came with one pre-installed Sigil, a miniature Alchemical Seal, that could be used in combat.

As for the Psychosis, it was an aspect that would be relevant once Siderius acquired his first mutation. But now, it was not of his concern yet.

Siderius kneeled on the ground with his back straight. This was the meditative position for a witch hunter. The best position to collect your mind and arrange your thoughts.

Before rescuing Snow, or more precise, himself, out of this prison. Siderius needed to understand this world thoroughly through the memory of the circus boy.

"Show me, Snow! What does this world look like? Who rules it? What threatens it? And most importantly, the enemies that you wish to destroy."

As Siderius mumbled, he dived deep into the unfamiliar part of his soul, and consumed it, completely absorbing Snow into him.