NOVEL NEXT Ch36.2: Dilinur: Crane & Tiger (Scene 2)
23:01, February 23, 2295
Zhongshan S Rd, Taipei, Taiwan, Imperium of Dragons territory
As they walked, the night air was chilly despite the approaching spring. Joon-Seok walked beside Dilinur along the hotel's garden pathway, their footsteps creating a rhythm against the stone. Below them, Taipei's cityscape glowed with fusion-powered lights.
"The meal was quite revealing," Joon-Seok said quietly. "Food speaks truths that words often conceal."
Dilinur watched him from the corner of her eye, his features highlighted by a nearby red lantern. "And what truths did you discover about me, Your Highness?"
He turned slightly, his profile outlined against the city lights. "That beneath the Imperial Prefect lies a woman who remembers the warmth of her homeland's hearth, even as she serves in palaces of jade and gold."
Something stirred in Dilinur's chest—a feeling she'd long suppressed. Her fingers instinctively touched the jade hairpin at the nape of her neck, an old habit she'd never quite broken.
They walked in silence until they reached the government complex next to the hotel. The doors opened automatically, recognizing Dilinur. The corridor walls displayed holographic murals of Imperial conquests—Taiwan's annexation, the Mars Campaign, the Lunar Incursion—each victory shown in gold and red.
"My study is at the end of this passage," Dilinur said. "The specimen is housed there, under my direct supervision as Governor Qin ordered."
Joon-Seok nodded, looking at a hologram of Eclipse mages defeating Taiwanese fighters, labeled 'February 28, 2277'. "A wise precaution. Biological assets require constant oversight."
They reached a mahogany door with jade panels. Dilinur pressed her palm against it, and the door opened silently to reveal her study.
The room was lit by amber panels in the carved ceiling. Traditional wooden beams crossed overhead, reflecting the warm light. The walls held scrolls and leather-bound books, along with data terminals and holographic displays. A large obsidian desk dominated the center of the room.
"Please," Dilinur gestured for him to enter.
Joon-Seok stepped inside, immediately noticing the Genome Sequencer on the eastern wall. Its circular interface glowed with Reikan script scrolling across its surface. The room smelled of sandalwood and ozone.
"Your collection of texts is remarkable," Joon-Seok observed, noting "The Art of War" beside data crystals. "Sun Tzu alongside quantum theories... and is that the forbidden 'Necromicon of Chang'?"
"Different perspectives on power," Dilinur replied, pleased by his recognition. "I find wisdom in understanding how various minds approach the same questions."
She moved toward the Sequencer and activated it. The interface expanded into a holographic display as panels shifted on the wall, revealing a large cylindrical chamber.
"Genome Sequencer, display Flesh Pot current status," Dilinur commanded.
"Displaying Tissue Culture Container contents. Development progress: 93% complete," the machine responded in a neutral female voice.
The chamber lit up, showing Flesh Pot suspended in amber fluid. Nearly three meters tall, it had raw red skin covered in overlapping plates like armor. Its massive head hung forward with eyes closed, but its mouth—rings of teeth—was partly open. Its multiple limbs ended in sharp claws that occasionally twitched. Tubes connected to its back, feeding it nutrients and genetic material.
Joon-Seok stepped closer, looking fascinated rather than disgusted. "Extraordinary," he said, studying the creature. "The integration of the donor materials is seamless. Your design?"
"Yes," Dilinur admitted, unable to hide her pride. "The basic template was mine, though the Sequencer handled the genetic recombination."
"And the human contributors?"
"Traitors. Rebels." She answered automatically, then added, "Their genetic structures were compatible with the mutations we wanted to develop."
"I see," he said neutrally.
Dilinur pointed to a control panel beside the container. "Once awakened, Flesh Pot responds primarily to my commands through a psionic link established during its formation. The neural pathways—"
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A sharp alert from her desk interrupted her. She quickly moved to check the holographic message. "Forgive me, Your Highness. A security alert from the lower levels requiring immediate attention."
While she dealt with the notification, Joon-Seok explored her study. He walked beyond the Sequencer to a partially hidden alcove behind a folding screen with dragons and phoenixes. There, a smaller but equally sophisticated device hummed, its cylinder also filled with amber fluid.
Dilinur felt her heart race when she turned and saw him standing before Skarn's tentacle. The severed limb—black and thick like a muscular worm, nearly arm-length—floated in suspension. New cells were visibly forming at its cut end, reaching outward.
"Fascinating," Joon-Seok said carefully. "This appears to be Draug tissue. Alpha-class, if I'm not mistaken." His finger hovered near the glass, tracing the tentacle without touching it. "The regenerative capabilities are... remarkable."
Dilinur crossed the room quickly, thinking of possible explanations.
"Subject S," Joon-Seok continued, "The Primarch who escaped from Amber Moon Spire."
"Your Highness—" Dilinur began tensely.
"The cellular structure is unique," he continued as if he hadn't heard her, studying the tissue analytically. "Unlike any Radi-Mon specimen I've examined. The chromosomal configuration suggests advanced adaptive capabilities." He looked up at her directly. "You're attempting to grow your own, aren't you?"
The accusation hung between them, but he sounded more curious than condemning. Dilinur made a split-second decision based on instinct rather than calculation.
"Yes," she admitted, stepping closer to the container. The tentacle pulsed, as if responding to her. "A controlled replication. If successful, it would create a being with Skarn's capabilities but without his connection to the Hivemind."
"Controlled by you," Joon-Seok stated.
"If we claim the Moondust Crystal, yes." She held his gaze.
"And does Governor Qin know?" he asked gently, almost sympathetically.
Dilinur's silence answered for her.
To her surprise, Joon-Seok turned back to the container with renewed interest. "The cellular division is extraordinarily stable," he observed professionally. "You've solved the degradation issues that plagued similar experiments in Choson's labs for years."
Dilinur found herself trembling. "You're not... disturbed by this unauthorized project?"
"Disturbed?" A small smile appeared on his lips. "The Imperium has always advanced through the bold actions of those willing to venture where others dare not tread." His gaze followed the developing mass in the container. "History remembers the visionaries, not the rule-followers."
He stepped away from the container and faced her directly. In the amber light, his features seemed warmer. "Your secret is safe, Dinu. May I call you Dinu when we're alone?"
The informal address—and its intimacy—surprised her. "Yes, of course, Your—"
"Joon-Seok," he corrected gently. "If we're to share confidences."
Dilinur nodded, feeling strangely light. "Why would you protect my secret? You could gain considerable favor with the Emperor with this knowledge."
Joon-Seok held her gaze before reaching into his robe. He pulled out a small object that caught the light—a crystal vial containing what looked like quicksilver, but which moved with unnatural awareness. Tiny characters were etched into the crystal's surface, shifting as the contents pulsed.
"The Blood Rain Aria," he said quietly. "The first half of an Ordovox incantation forbidden since the Svalbard Concordat. It amplifies Eclipse spells beyond natural limits, but costs the caster."
"The Emperor ordered all copies destroyed," Dilinur said, amazed.
"Yes, he did. Yet here we are." Joon-Seok put the vial back in his robe. "Luckily, few know the chant. Even fewer would recognize if I cast it."
The implication was clear—they both had secrets, creating an unexpected bond.
"It seems we understand each other better than either might have expected," Dilinur said softly.
"Indeed." Joon-Seok moved closer, making her highly aware of his presence. "I recognize in you a kindred spirit, Dilinur. Someone who sees beyond the constraints of the present to what might be possible."
Behind them, Flesh Pot shifted slightly in its amber prison. The tentacle in the smaller chamber pulsed in response, as if acknowledging a distant sibling.
"I can help you with this project," Joon-Seok offered, gesturing toward the specimen. "Choson maintains certain research facilities that operate... outside standard Imperial oversight."
"And what would you ask in return?" Dilinur asked, knowing from years in Imperial politics that all offers had conditions.
"Nothing immediately," he replied honestly. "But perhaps, when the time comes, you'll remember who stood beside you when others would have condemned your vision."
The proposition was clear in its ambiguity—an alliance that might matter in a future neither could fully predict.
"I would welcome your assistance," Dilinur said carefully. "And your discretion."
Joon-Seok nodded thoughtfully. "Have you chosen a name for it yet? Your creation?"
The question surprised her. "I hadn't considered..."
"Names have power," he said, moving toward the door.
As he reached the doorway, he turned back. The amber light caught his profile, half in shadow, half illuminated. "Until tomorrow, Dilinur. I look forward to our journey to Osram."
"Until tomorrow," she echoed.
The door closed behind him, leaving Dilinur standing between her creations—the monstrous Flesh Pot and the developing tentacle. For the first time in years, she felt something beyond careful survival calculations.
In their amber chambers, Flesh Pot's mouth appeared to twitch in a grotesque smile, while the tentacle curled slightly, as if sensing the shift in its creator's fortunes.