All My Summons Become Divine Girls

Chapter 192: Fusion

"You have not officially met," the Goddess said, her hand gesturing toward the silent girl, "but Hajin, this is your partner, or to put it in terms you are familiar with, the system."

’The system,’ he thought, his eyes tracking the flicker of blue light running across the girl’s skin as she hovered in the void.

Aria blinked her glowing blue eyes as she looked down at him, her expression remaining entirely blank.

"Greeting host Hajin," she said, her voice flat and robotic, "dimensional sync currently sitting at eighty-four percent."

"So you’re the one who keeps flashing those annoying screens in my face," he said, scratching the back of his neck as he looked between them.

"She is the core interface of my remaining power," the Goddess explained, her eyes softening as she looked at Aria, "designed to help you navigate this world and manage the recovery of my soul."

"I based her visual appearance on concepts I pulled from Earth," the Goddess added, a soft laugh escaping her lips, "humans there have such creative minds despite having no magic to work with."

’Earth, huh,’ he thought, looking back at the glowing child as he recalled the strange messages and comments he constantly received from the magicless world.

The purple tide crept closer to the crystal in the center of the void, causing the space to grow colder as the corruption pulsed.

"But as you can see, the corruption you absorbed has breached this space," the Goddess continued, pointing at the dark fog, "threatening to destroy both of us if we do not act immediately."

"And what exactly is this makeover you mentioned," he asked, crossing his arms, "because I don’t really fancy dying in a ditch."

"We are going to merge the corrupted mana with your divine core," she said, her expression turning serious, "reconstructing your pathway to accommodate both powers."

’Merge them,’ he thought, his jaw tightening as he recalled the terrifying loss of control he had experienced during the fight.

"Last time I used that power, I nearly killed my friend," he said, his eyes locking onto the Goddess, "so how do I know I won’t just turn into a mindless monster."

"Because Aria will act as the stabilizer," she smiled, placing a hand on the little girl’s head, "filtering the corruption so it cannot overwrite your mind."

"System sub-routine ’Aegis’ ready for deployment," Aria stated, her eyes flashing, "success rate of fusion sits at ninety-eight percent."

The Goddess stepped back toward the crystal, her body starting to dissolve into particles of gold light that drifted toward Hajin. Aria floated down until her feet touched the dark floor, her hand reaching out to touch his chest as her blue light flared.

"Initiating core reconstruction," she said, her flat voice ringing in his head.

A searing heat erupted from the center of his chest, forcing him to his knees as the golden and purple energies collided. The corruption creeping across the void rushed toward his body, entering his skin in jagged lines that burned like fire.

He gritted his teeth to keep from screaming, the force of the reconstruction threatening to tear his pathways apart.

Aria’s hand remained pressed against his chest, her light forming a protective barrier that kept the corruption from reaching his brain.

"Reconstruction progress fifty percent," she announced, her calm tone a bizarre contrast to the agony ripping through his body.

The two rings orbiting his arm materialized, spinning rapidly as the purple veins on his skin began to turn gold. The golden light solidified into a third ring, the surge of power expanding his core as the remaining energy pushed the boundary further.

"Reconstruction complete," Aria said, her hand dropping from his chest as the blue light faded back into her skin.

He collapsed forward, panting as he stared at the dark ground beneath his hands. The purple veins on his skin had completely changed, leaving faint golden lines running along his forearms and palms.

He clenched his fist, the strength returning to his body along with a strange sense of clarity he had not felt before.

"That went significantly better than I expected," the Goddess said, her projection manifesting out of the gold dust nearby.

"How does it feel?" she asked, her eyes scanning his newly reconstructed pathways.

"Different," he said, focusing on his core, "I can feel both the divine light and the dark force running through my veins."

The two energies flowed in a balanced cycle, no longer fighting for dominance over his pathways.

"You are lucky you had so many experience points," she explained, offering a warm smile, "expanding your core with the third ring made this fusion much easier to stabilize."

"But that is not all," she continued, her eyes shifting to his face, "the true makeover is your appearance."

"My appearance?" He asked, his brow furrowing as he looked down at himself.

"You will see when you wake up," she said, her voice carrying a playful tone.

She turned to look at Aria, who was still floating silently beside them. "Since you have officially met and reached a new level, the system received a makeover courtesy of your viewers," she added.

He didn’t really get what she was talking about, his eyes staying on the glowing child. Aria suddenly approached him, her eyes locking onto his face as she stopped just inches away.

She just looked at him silently, her tiny hands folded behind her back.

"Uhhhh..." he muttered, leaning back slightly under her intense gaze.

The Goddess laughed, the gold particles around her dancing to the sound, "she wants you to pat her head," she added, her smile widening.

"Oh," he muttered, scratching the back of his neck as he looked down at the silent child.

He hesitated for a second, then reached out and placed his hand on her soft blue hair, gently scratching the top of her head. Aria’s eyes flickered, a tiny smile appearing on her face before she dissolved into a warm blue light that wrapped around his wrist.

"Take care of each other," the Goddess said, her projection starting to fade as the gold light softened, "and please, let’s try to stop meeting like this."

The void shattered around him, throwing his awareness back into his physical body with a sudden jolt.

He snapped his eyes open, the sight of the forest canopy slowly coming into focus above him. Vella and Loccy were hovering over him, their expressions shifting from panic to relief the moment he sat up.

"Master, you’re alive!" Loccy cried, throwing her arms around his neck.

"Careful," Vella warned, pulling Loccy back, "he just survived a core collapse, so let him breathe."

He stood up, running a hand through his hair only to freeze as he felt the long locks falling past his shoulders. The messy dark silver hair had turned snow white, accented with vibrant blue and gold streaks that shimmered under the canopy.

He pulled out his short sword, using the polished flat of the blade to check his reflection. His left eye now glowed with a pure gold ring, while his right eye held a deep blue circle of demonic energy.

"The demonic energy is completely quiet now," Vella murmured, her fingers gently brushing the ends of his long white hair, "but your hair... it changed, master."

"Master looks super cool!" Loccy cheered, her ears twitching in excitement.

Cassie walked over, her jaw practically dropping as she stared at his dramatic transformation.

"What the hell happened to you?" She stammered, looking from his long hair to his mismatched gold and blue eyes.

"Just a side effect of surviving," he said, raising his left arm to summon the status screen before a sudden gasp from Loccy cut him off.

"Wait, what is that on your wrist, master?" she asked, pointing her finger at his forearm as she leaned closer.

He looked down at his left wrist, finding a thin band of glowing blue data wrapped tightly around his skin.

Before he could even try to shake it off, the blue band flared with a sudden flash of light. The data lines detached themselves from his skin, weaving together above his shoulder before solidifying into a tiny, translucent figure.

Aria sat comfortably on his shoulder, her tiny legs dangling over his collarbone as she looked at him with her glowing blue eyes.

"Synchronizing with host environment," she announced, her tiny voice sounding right next to his ear as she spoke, "system mascot mode is now active."