He disassembled the Steel Giant and then put it back together once more.
Discarding the useless four arms, he replaced, repaired, and tended to its legs and other joints.
Blood, fascia, bones, organs, programming, and even the shell.
Every part underwent rough yet precise calibration and reassembly until, at last, the once-broken Giant began to appear whole again, silently waiting, much like one in deep slumber, for the return of its Soul, waiting for the final awakening.
Suspended from the rigging, Beelzebub let go of the control stick, took a step back, and drew in a deep breath. His hands trembled slightly.
"Scared?" Huai Shi asked, "Or are you worried that Auden will reject your awakening?"
"I don't know, I'm just…" Beelzebub fell silent for a long ti before he finally said in a low voice, "Very nervous."
Even if the Hell Annihilator Aircraft · Osiris were to reawaken, it wouldn't signify Auden's resurrection. At best, it might just awaken a fragnt of his lingering will.
But now, how was he to face the Phantom of Auden? He didn't know. He even began to feel sowhat afraid…
"Will he scold ?" Beelzebub asked quietly.
"I don't know. Maybe. He might be angry?" Huai Shi sighed. "After all, he has been in Deep Sleep for so long and then to be dragged out of it, he's bound to be grumpy upon waking up."
"Just angry?"
"Maybe he'll complain a bit more? I don't know him well, so I'm not sure," Huai Shi shook his head. "But I can be certain of one thing—"
"As long as you call for him, he will definitely wake up. No matter where he is, he will respond to your voice, Beelzebub. You are his most important friend and partner."
Huai Shi declared decisively, "The last treasure he chose to leave behind in this world wasn't this incomplete dream, but the whole of you. He trusted you that much, so you should trust him as well."
"…"
Beelzebub was silent for a long ti, then turned to look at him. "One last reminder—after this violent stimulation, I'm not sure how much of Osiris's Stigma will remain. Don't feel too heartbroken by then."
"I'm already heartbroken now, hurry up!"
Huai Shi sighed and raised his paws to grasp the grip ford by a tangled mass of cables before him—his task was about to begin.
To power Osiris with all the Source Substance he had consud from the Rotten Dream.
In its pri, Osiris's power source was derived from the Supre Essence extracted from high-purity, dense Source Crystals—upon activation, it was like billions of US Dollars burning every second.
Now, with Huai Shi stepping in, it was as if a fighter jet's fuel had switched from aviation gasoline to kerosene. It was not only a different grade but also terribly inefficient in terms of energy value.
Even though Osiris possessed a backup energy conversion device, it was still a stretch.
Beelzebub himself wasn't sure if this thod would work.
"We have to try, right?" Huai Shi shook his head and urged, "Hurry up, or you'll miss the last train."
"You don't need to tell ." Beelzebub took a deep breath and pulled down the circuit breaker.
—Hell Annihilator Aircraft · Osiris, charging begins!
In that instant, Osiris's dim eye sockets suddenly lit up with a faint glow, and then… Huai Shi felt as if he was holding a Black Hole in his hands.
Wait, had he not thought this through? His mind panicked for a mont, and then he couldn't help but let out a piercing Dragon Roar.
Frenzied electrical light rose from his fra, like a thunderstorm in storm clouds, as thousands of scorching electrical arcs violently lashed out in every direction.
The mont Huai Shi released the Source Substance, he felt a torrent of it gush from his paws.
A searing light blazed from countless cables. Following that, nurous components overloaded, searing with blinding sparks and dense smoke, and were destroyed by Osiris's instinctive drain.
Huai Shi himself felt dizzy, and darkness swam before his eyes.
And when he ca to his senses, he realized… he was beginning to shrink…
As the Source Substance dispersed, countless scales fell from his body, and his once mountainous size began to contract.
In its place, an intense glow in Osiris's eyes brightened, like a dying Traveler in the desert yearning for water.
In the deep rumble, the central control system gradually awoke from its silence. Driving nurous surging electrical currents, it began a new round of self-diagnostics.
"Five percent!" Beelzebub turned around, exclaiming excitedly, "Huai Shi, put so more effort into it! Osiris is awakening…"
Huai Shi couldn't hear what he was saying anymore.
The mont Osiris's eyes lit up, he felt the silent steel giant in front of him suddenly raise its head, gazing intently at Huai Shi's face.
It reached out its hand and grabbed his wrist.
Imdiately after, he was engulfed by terrifying electrical currents surging from the giant.
It was as if he was swallowed by a black hole in an instant.
He could no longer feel his own body.
It was as though he had lted into the Source Substance, racing along the endless circuits with that mighty torrent, shedding light and illuminating the endless darkness.
Finally, rising within the scorching radiance, he heard the sound of his blood flowing inside him, like a roaring tide, fierce and overwhelming.
The intense pain that had just torn him apart felt like an illusion.
He could feel his body once again.
And indistinctly, he sensed the figure standing before him.
The young man was looking down, saying sothing to Beelzebub. Sensing Huai Shi's gaze, he smiled, stretched out his hand, pulled him up from the darkness, and patted him on the shoulder.
Huai Shi watched his lips move silently, as if saying goodbye.
The young man took one last look at them, placed a small key in Huai Shi's hand, free of any further concerns, then turned and walked into the light, disappearing.
Imdiately after, a cold chanical voice woke him from his drowsiness.
[Transfer of the First Authority of Osiris completed.]
[Login of the New Driver Completed.]
[Welco to the Underworld, Mr. Huai Shi.]
[—Judgnt Aircraft Osiris is preheated and ready, awaiting your command.]
Huai Shi opened his eyes and saw the unfamiliar world before him.
It was like suddenly gaining dozens of eyes. He saw everything around him simultaneously—front, behind, beneath, and to the sides, as well as the colors, materials, distances, sizes, and even the properties of matter.
He could even see beyond the surface of matter, like a Spirituality Mirror, taking in all the transformations of Source Substance.
Soon, he realized Osiris was nowhere to be found. No, he had beco Osiris!
More importantly…
"Beelzebub, I think I just saw Auden."
"Mm, I know." Beelzebub, his back to him, lowered his head and rubbed his face hard. Suddenly, he asked loudly, "Huai Shi, can you still fight?"
"Of course." Huai Shi chuckled softly. "It's just charging up, no big deal at all!"
As he spoke, Huai Shi felt countless cables linking into his consciousness like veins. This allowed him to sense the vast pulse made of innurable electrical currents, the thundering of the steel heart, and a cold, deep breath like the wind from the Underworld.
With scorching electrical light sweeping across, the Steel Giant raised its silent head, looking up and staring at the gradually cracking Hell Sky.
A piercing radiance burst from its eyes, tearing through layer upon layer of nightmares and overlooking the tumultuous sea and abyss beyond. It raised its palm.
"Then let's go, my friend," said Beelzebub softly.
—Our mont is upon us!
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