Lowly Ascent

Running through the swamp, Cain looked to the sky and stared at the large black hole in the sky. As he dodged obstacles he would laugh and giggle as he peered into the dark sky. It was the first time in a while that he was alone, It made him feel free.

He continued to run for what seemed like years, running to his target in the day and running to catch a rabbit or other such animal at night.

It went on like this for almost a month, Cain would get lost or wrap his way around which caused him to take more time getting to the Royal Palace.

Coming out of some bushes, a dirty and messy man came out into the open. The man was Cain, his hair drooping down to his waist and his silk clothes riddled with holes.

If someone was looking at such an odd man, they would notice he was entranced by the large structure before him.

Before him was the Royal Palace. Saying it was big would be an understatement, It was almost the size of the Capital itself!

It was massive beyond proportions, how could no one notice it was here, how could Cain not notice its presence on his way here!

There must've been some form of runes engraved into the walls for it to not be noticed, however Cain wasn't skilled in this department so he was only guessing. He inched closer to the walls and compared his height to them.

'They really outdone themselves, I would need at least 10 of myself stacked on top of one another to reach its height. How am I going to get over this?'

Cain spent some time pacing back and forth, contemplating his options. Eventually, he settled on circling the wall, hoping to discover any vulnerabilities he could exploit.

Around the South West side, there was a gate but it was heavily guarded and would take some effort on Cain's part, which he wasn't keen on doing.

However excitement rushed through his veins as on the north side there was a river entering the compound through a small grated sewer drain.

Using his masterful resourcefulness, he went into the swamp and found a large rock. With a punch, the rock broke into fragments and he took the best-looking one to fashion as a file.

He took another rock and made groves in his other rock, after creating his tool and making a handle to hold it, he took his tool and placed it in an open space between the close-knitted bars. He filed down the metal a bit and went back into the forest.

Returning with a sturdy piece of wood, he carefully inserted it into the grate, now having a perfect fit for the wood's diameter.

He then used his strength to leverage the wood and slowly tore the grate apart. It took a few tries and lots of wood but he eventually created a hole that was big enough to fit him through.

Wading through waist-deep water, he took small steps until he reached the end of the short tunnel. There, he discovered a large pond teeming with exotic fish. Unbeknownst to the servant who was feeding them, Cain remained unnoticed

Sneaking along the wall and into some brush that acted as foliage for the pond, he got into a hidden spot and began to feel his skin blister and his skin popped as yellow and red oozed out of him and his flesh became a wicked red mist.

Unaware of the impending danger, the servant girl continued to sprinkle food onto the water's surface as a red mist crept up and surrounded her.

Before she knew it, the red mist was entering her every pore as she felt unbearable pain, but she couldn't scream as the mist mainly entered through her mouth, pushing its way into the depths of her body.

She convulsed for a while and fell to the floor unconscious. It was a few more seconds before she stood up and looked at herself.

'Haha, experiment success! Not only can I take over the opposite gender but I can also hold off on the takeover and just block their consciousness and send it into a deep sleep! Hahaha this is amazing, there are so many new applications!'

Cain had housed himself in this servant's body and to keep himself from having to overwrite the body, he put her consciousness into a deep slumber by taking advantage of her subconscious and process of sleep.

Memories of previous experiments flooded Cain's mind, the images of his male slaves locked up in the confines of his laboratory. They had been subjects of his twisted attempts to seize control of their bodies without fully assimilating with them.

He was only able to succeed after thousands died but he did find that he could take over the body and control it without overwriting it for a time. However depending on the consciousness, they could wake up and vie for control and cause problems so this body was temporary.

Another problem was that without overwriting the person, his augmentations were gone until he did overwrite them. This meant Cain had to totally rely on Animum until he decided to take over the body.

As of now, he was mortal once more.

'Alright, time to get myself and the tracker and then find this so-called Emperor and find my answers.'

Returning to the bushes, he meticulously sifted through the dense foliage until his fingers brushed against the cold, familiar touch of his old skeleton. With quick precision, he reclaimed his weapons, the black box his, and the vial of his Zimo virus.

Finally, he made a deep wound in his side and took the skeleton made of roots that Numineer was using to keep track of him.

As he inspected the roots, he was taken aback by their growth. They had expanded in size, now intertwining and encroaching upon the majority of his ribcage, their gnarled forms digging into the bone marrow.

Grimacing in pain, he shattered the wooden bones and carefully affixed them to his skeleton, securing them through the wound he had inflicted. With his preparations complete, Cain felt a surge of excitement to find his target and bring this arduous journey to its conclusion.

'I forgot,' Cain murmured, a mixture of curiosity and uncertainty flickering in his eyes. 'I am a woman now, but this feels peculiarly subtle. I don't appear to be any different.'

His hand hesitated over his shirt, and a fleeting sense of disappointment washed over him as he released the fabric. Pushing aside his introspection, he began his infiltration into the Royal Palace.

Aware of the ticking clock, Cain felt a sense of urgency. Each passing second heightened the woman's impending awakening, amplifying the potential havoc she could cause by her consciousness rampaging in his mind.