The familiar shift occurred. The sterile lab dissolved around him, the solid ground beneath his feet giving way to an ethereal, boundless expanse. He was back in that space, the one that existed only within his consciousness, a nexus point for System operations. And there she was.
The red-haired girl stood before him, her crimson hair a vibrant splash against the infinite grey. Her eyes, the color of molten gold but then they changed to crimson and they kept on changing, regarded him with an unsettling blend of childlike innocence and ancient wisdom.
She wore a simple, flowing white gown that seemed to ripple even in the still, airless void. Her presence was always a jolt, a reminder of the System's true, unfathomable nature.
As she looked at him, a shimmering, translucent keyboard materialized in the air between them, its keys glowing with an inner light. It pulsed faintly, awaiting his input.
"Input your password here," her voice, clear and melodic, echoed in the vast emptiness. It wasn't a command, but a simple statement of fact, an immutable step in the process.
Lucian mentally reached out, his consciousness interacting with the ethereal interface. He thought of the password he and his group had made back in the earth.
He felt the familiar click, click, click as each part of the password registered, a silent, internal confirmation. The keyboard shimmered, then dissolved back into the void.
The red-haired girl's crimson eyes seemed to deepen, focusing intently on him. Then, the space around him solidified, the ethereal grey giving way to the familiar, albeit slightly distorted, reality of his current surroundings.
A prompt, not a voice, but a block of pure information, materialized directly in his mind, overlaying his vision like a translucent screen.
[ Initiating microtears in body. Host permission confirmed. Taking control of Immune System and directing it to consume host's own body at a micro-cellular level.
Would you like to commence the process?]
Lucian's jaw tightened. He took a deep, steadying breath, the air in his lungs feeling heavy, thick with anticipation.
He knew what this meant. He'd read the System's explanations, understood the theory. Controlled destruction, followed by accelerated regeneration, leading to a stronger, more resilient physique.
But knowing and experiencing were two vastly different things. He braced himself, mentally preparing for the onslaught.
"Yes," he articulated, the single word a quiet exhalation, a commitment to the pain he knew was coming.
He steeled himself, every nerve ending taut, anticipating the all-encompassing agony he had been warned about. He waited. A second passed. Two. Three. Nothing. A strange, almost disorienting calm settled over him.
He frowned. Had it failed? Was the System malfunctioning? A flicker of confusion, then a nascent sense of relief began to unfurl within him. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad after all. Perhaps the System had exaggerated.
He shifted his weight, intending to test his limbs, to see if the process had begun subtly. He lifted his left arm, a simple, innocuous movement.
PAIN! PAIN!
It hit him like a physical blow, a sudden, explosive agony that flared from every single cell in his body simultaneously. It wasn't a dull ache, or a throbbing throb.
It was a million tiny, searing needles, each one piercing his flesh, tearing at his muscles, scraping against his bones. It felt like his very being was being shredded from the inside out, a meticulous, microscopic vivisection.
He gasped; his voice caught in his throat. His vision blurred, spots dancing before his eyes. Sweat, cold and clammy, immediately erupted on his skin, plastering his hair to his forehead.
His muscles spasmed uncontrollably, his hands clenching into white-knuckled fists. He stumbled, his legs threatening to give out, but he gritted his teeth, digging his nails into his palms, anchoring himself to the excruciating reality.
This was different from the full body scan. That had been a deep, pervasive ache, a pressure that felt like his very atoms were being rearranged.
This was sharper, more immediate, a thousand tiny fires burning beneath his skin. It was intensely painful, yes, but he could handle it. He had to handle it.
He focused on his breathing, shallow, ragged gasps, trying to find a rhythm, trying to ride the waves of torment. He wouldn't scream. He wouldn't break.
The pain continued, relentless, for what felt like an eternity. Minutes stretched into an agonizing half-hour. Each second was a battle, a test of his resolve.
He felt his body tremble, his jaw aching from the sheer force of his gritted teeth. Just when he thought he couldn't endure another moment, just as the edges of his consciousness began to fray, the intensity began to recede.
The searing needles dulled, becoming mere pricks. The tearing sensation softened into a deep, pervasive ache. The fires dimmed, leaving behind a lingering warmth.
Slowly, painstakingly, the pain subsided, leaving him utterly drained, his body trembling with residual shock.
[ Process complete. Please consume the created medicine. Do not swallow it. Simply hold it in your mouth.]
Lucian stood, swaying slightly, his entire body drenched in sweat. His clothes clung to him, heavy and damp, and a pungent, metallic odor, a mix of sweat, fear, and something else he couldn't quite place, emanated from him.
He felt filthy, exhausted, but alive. He took a long, shuddering breath, trying to regain control of his racing heart and trembling limbs.
"What do you mean," he rasped, his voice hoarse, "by 'do not swallow the medicine'?" He wiped a bead of sweat from his brow, his mind still reeling from the recent ordeal.
The instruction seemed counter-intuitive. Medicines were meant to be swallowed.
"Host," the System patiently explained, its voice a calm counterpoint to Lucian's internal turmoil,
"When you swallow a liquid medicine, it embarks on a lengthy journey through your digestive system. It first passes through your food pipe, then enters your stomach where it is subjected to digestive acids."
"Subsequently, it passes through your small and large intestines, and is then metabolized and filtered by your liver and kidneys."
"This extensive process not only takes a significant amount of time for the active compounds to enter your bloodstream, but it also leads to a substantial dilution and degradation of the medicine's potency due to enzymatic action and filtration."
The System paused, allowing its words to sink in. "Conversely, beneath your tongue, there exists a very large and highly permeable network of capillaries. These tiny blood vessels provide a direct, rapid pathway into your systemic circulation."
"If you hold the liquid medicine under your tongue, it will be absorbed directly into your bloodstream, bypassing the digestive system entirely. This method ensures the medicine is not diluted, its full potency is maintained, and it will spread throughout your body far more rapidly, initiating its effects much faster."
Lucian listened, his eyes widening slightly as the logic clicked into place. Sublingual absorption. It made perfect, terrifying sense.
No wonder the System was so insistent. He imagined the dark pink solution, the culmination of hours of meticulous alchemy, dissolving under his tongue, its potent essence surging directly into his veins, ready to rebuild what had just been so brutally torn apart.
The thought was both repulsive and exhilarating…