Chapter 19: Ascending to Godhood

Soon, Ivan rummaged through a corner and pulled out a long box.

The box was carved from white bone and adorned with intricate patterns. Ivan carried it over to Lu Xiao.

"My friend! This is a piece I have collected for many years!"

As he spoke, he opened the box. Inside lay a bone spike about thirty centimeters long. Elaborate and complex carvings covered the entire length of the spike, and a smooth, azure gemstone was embedded at the end of the handle.

Ivan picked up the bone spike, his voice echoing through the room.

"I accidentally came across this leg bone and an eyeball once!"

"I do not know which entity they belonged to!"

"I have poured my lifelong understanding of alchemical arrays into this bone spike!"

"It is the greatest work of my life!"

Lu Xiao’s gaze was riveted to the bone spike. He did not look away for even a second. After staring for a long time, Lu Xiao declined with a hint of regret.

"Mr. Ivan, this is too precious!"

Ivan pushed the box into Lu Xiao’s arms.

"My friend! Now it is yours!"

"A good piece of work deserves to be owned by someone who knows how to appreciate it!"

"Clearly, you are someone who truly understands art!"

The Prison Doctor chimed in from the side.

"Ivan is right, my friend. Only you are worthy of owning it!"

Lu Xiao paused, his lifeless, fish-like eyes undermining the emotion on his face.

"Thank you for your recognition!"

He put away the bone spike and then said solemnly, "Forgive me! We have known each other for so long, and I haven't told you my name yet!"

"My name is Lu Xiao, 'Xiao' as in 'smiley face'."

The Prison Doctor replied, "Lu! 'Prison Doctor' is my name."

Ivan’s voice also came at this moment. "Lu! We will surely become very close friends!"

Lu Xiao nodded, a smile blooming on his face.

On the surveillance monitors, the Doctor watched everything. Monitoring of the contained objects was constant. This was done to prevent any anomalies and to continuously collect data for research and analysis.

"Hmm! The containment conditions for S081 can be updated," he murmured. Then, his gaze lingered on the bone spike.

Elsewhere, Ivan’s voice came again.

"Lu! Your curse will continue to trouble you in the near future!"

"I have carved suppressing alchemical arrays onto your bones, but that is only a temporary fix, not a cure!"

Hearing this, Lu Xiao listened intently. When it came to his own body, he dared not be careless.

Ivan continued, "That curse is rooted in your bone marrow; there is no possibility of eradicating it!"

"However, that curse also grants you powerful strength."

Lu Xiao nodded and asked, "Then what should I do next? How much time do I have?"

Ivan pondered for a moment and looked at the Prison Doctor.

The Prison Doctor explained, "I once told you that the end result of this curse is to turn into a puddle of mindless, instinctual rotting flesh!"

"But that theory may not necessarily apply, because the last time I saw it was on a pig."

"The fate of that pig, while it did become a puddle of rotting flesh, simultaneously transformed into a higher-dimensional form!"

"That form—even seeing it almost resulted in my own contamination!"

There was a hint of lingering fear in the Prison Doctor's voice. He looked back at Lu Xiao.

"Your situation is similar to that cursed pig. Based on the components of the curse in your blood, you should have become that puddle of rotting flesh by next month!"

"But thanks to the surgery performed by Ivan and me, we have delayed that time by a year."

"So, within this year, you need to find a solution!"

Lu Xiao nodded, his voice deep. "Where should I look? Should I return to the Dark Prison?"

The Prison Doctor replied, "If you return to the Dark Prison, your curse will deepen, so my advice is to search in the human world!"

Lu Xiao nodded and looked at Ivan. Ivan offered no advice, so Lu Xiao memorized these words.

After some casual conversation, Lu Xiao bid the two farewell.

Once Lu Xiao had left, Ivan looked at the Prison Doctor.

"Why did you lie to Lu?"

"It is clear that returning to the Dark Prison is the only way to potentially find a solution!"

The Prison Doctor shook his head.

"I did not lie to him! Returning to the Dark Prison is indeed more likely to solve the curse!"

"But it would also accelerate the rate of the curse's erosion."

He paused. Ivan understood his meaning instantly. His bones emitted a strange vibration, and at the same time, every carving in the room began to vibrate as well. On the monitor side, the Doctor pushed up his monocle as he observed the darkened screen and the chaotic noise.

The Prison Doctor then continued.

"This curse is called 'God-Ascension'."

"And as a human, the human world is more suitable for Lu!"

Hearing this, the soul-fire in Ivan’s eye sockets flickered continuously.

"How could a human be afflicted with such a curse?"

The Prison Doctor shrugged. "I am curious about that as well!"

Ivan’s voice was filled with concern. "But the consequences of a failed God-Ascension..."

He did not finish his sentence. The Prison Doctor let out a harsh, unpleasant laugh, like the cawing of a crow.

"But I believe in Lu!"

...

Lu Xiao returned to his containment cell and immediately addressed the air.

"Mr. Doctor! Are you there?"

Soon, the Doctor arrived at Lu Xiao’s containment cell. Lu Xiao asked him, "Mr. Doctor! I want to go to the human world!"

Since Lu Xiao was unsure if this human world was the one he originally came from, he had to use the term "human world" as a substitute. Based on what he had seen in the containment facility so far, apart from the firearms, which looked familiar, almost everything else was something he had never seen before.

The Doctor pondered for a moment.

"However, there is no precedent for the containment facility taking a living contained object into the real world!"

The Doctor was not actually lying. Lu Xiao was a sentient, active life form, whereas the contained objects usually deployed to assist in containment were inanimate. The difference was that Lu Xiao was much harder to control.

Hearing the Doctor's words, Lu Xiao paused and asked, "Is there any other way?"

The Doctor wore a troubled expression. "There is a way!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Xiao breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the Doctor with anticipation.

The Doctor said solemnly, "I can allow you to help the Jailers complete the task of containing anomalies!"

"But this will undoubtedly bring me great risk!"

He looked at Lu Xiao, his reflection visible in his monocle.

"If you harm any humans while you are outside, the organization will classify you as D-class and put me on trial!"

Lu Xiao understood the Doctor's meaning instantly. He patted his chest and promised, "Don't worry, Mr. Doctor! I am very friendly toward humans!"

The Doctor nodded. "At least for now, that is indeed as you say! This is the premise upon which I trust you!"

"But I have one more condition!"