At first, all Vegis could see through the new clone were strange clouds of light, fog, and things he couldn’t understand. The things he was seeing were through the sight of the gem in its head since the eyes hadn’t fully grown and developed just yet. Vegis turned the clone’s head to look at DD and all it could see was a vague human shape made of a mist of crystals. As the clone looked around, its vision started to see the physical world more and more. After 30 minutes of being conscious, it could gain the ability to see the material world and it can swap between that and seeing souls and mana. Vegis was out of the tube and was talking to DD about what Vegis could sense in the clone’s body. Vegis could feel strength comparable to his but it was waning. Vegis made it climb out of the tube since it was done and won’t just die randomly.
It was rather unsteady on its feet for a bit but gradually got better over the course of the hour DD used to check on Vegis and the clone. They shoved the clone which Vegis named V4 into a small obstacle course that would help the newborn clone in gaining coordination since it couldn’t rely on information Vegis was transmitting to it. The radically different body plan it had made most of the muscle memory it received being incompatible with it. It first struggled with walking, then moving around poles, tables, boxes, etc., and finally, the clone was taught how to move through doors and run around the entire path again.
This was done 3 times for it to fully acclimate to itself and then Vegis and the new clone walked out of the infirmary and headed to the south east dorm. When they arrived, it was already late into the afternoon and the lobby was empty when the two of them entered. They climb the stairs past the second floor that stores most of the clones and to the third floor which has the room that was supposed to be Vegis’s room. In the room, Vegis saw the three older clones sitting in a circle assembling a new pod for the new clone. It was 2 times the size of the other pods and the walls of it were thicker too. Vegis helped the clones finish the pod and started to fill it with the required liquids which were made of water with nanites and nutrients mixed in to keep them fed and fix them up when needed.
By the time Vegis and the clones were done setting everything up with the water, plugging it in, registering the clone to the pod, and other smaller setting related things, it was already sunset and Vegis had to rush back to the temporary housing. Vegis didn’t want to be out at night since there were now active patrols and they would stop anyone they saw which Vegis didn’t want to deal with. Vegis returned to their little cargo box that was the temporary housing and saw that Mitra was standing at the door and about to walk out. Seeing Vegis, Mitra shot him an angry look and said, “What took you so long? We haven’t seen you all day”. Vegis gave a wry smile and scratched the back of his neck before apologizing to Mitra.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Vegis walked inside and sat down near Boreal who was playing with the plants, accelerating their growth and making random shapes like squares and check marks. Vegis clapped his hands at this and praised Boreal. This made the small plant-like child to release a subtle glow and cause all plants around him to grow faster. Vegis immediately went, “Woah there buddy, lets stop that before it kills the plants.” and Boreal stopped glowing. Vegis walked to a chair and sat down before letting out a small chuck as he thought over all that had happened to lead to him being a guardian over something that could only be described as a child demigod and another that while mentally adult, had the educational level of a middle school dropout.Vegis spent the next few hours just watching videos and hanging out with the other two until midnight. Vegis freshens up before going to bed and starts to have a dream.
Vegis was in the middle of a forest. He couldn’t recognize the trees immediately and he was on an old style road. The asphalt burned under the bright light of the sun and this heated the air above it. Vegis could feel his skin blistering as he walked on the road but he couldn't walk to the shade under the trees because an invisible wall blocked him. He continued to follow the road for miles as hours passed but the sun never moved. It was as though the sun only existed to burn him and the road. The air slowly grew hotter as he walked along the road which after a certain point just burned his skin. What felt like days passed but the sun never moved and the only thing he could see on the horizon was more road. After a month, Vegis could see what looked like the tip of a skyscraper in the distance.
A year passed and Vegis was at the edge of a city. Vegis looked around and saw buildings that looked like they came from an early 21st century history book. Concrete walls with bricks, chairs for cafes knocked over, cars strung about the streets, and so much more. The further he walked into the city, the newer the buildings became. Vegis spent another year to reach the heart of the city that held the skyscraper he first saw and it came from the middle of the 22nd century. Magic elements were just starting to be added to the architecture and they didn’t blend well just yet. He slowly climbed the stairs and for every step, more pressure tried to crush him. This did not stop Vegis from climbing and when he reached the top of the stairs, on the 1000th floor, the door opened by itself and a red carpet led him to a large door. And on it were three familiar figures.
