A terrifying amount of mana surged into Fluffy's metallic dome—so thick it became visible, like a fog of stars. A nebula of shining lights formed around Bianca at the center. Elian didn't know if each light was a soul, but it was dazzling all the same.
While Bianca focused on anchoring Bastion's soul, Elian worked in tandem. Ashen and black liquids—Living Metal and Dominator—flooded the corpse, devouring flesh and hollowing bone.
The metal infiltrated every orifice, every pore. This was no surgery. It was rebirth by annihilation.
Like with Fluffy, the process tore Bastion's body apart piece by piece. Bianca screamed as the pain surged into her soulgem—but Bastion made no sound.
A golden thread linked his soul to hers. And then, without warning, it snapped.
Bianca gasped—and collapsed to her knees. Her eyes grew wide with horror, "N-No! Father! Father! What are you doing?!"
