Prologue 7 (Part 1) Belthion Ijima and Dismemberment.

When they stepped in, the darkness parted like a curtain but not into entirely bright light, just one that was enough to light up the operation chair she would be on, a table for similar purposes, another where countless tools were arranged in painfully neat order and a lamp that was revealed as if the atmosphere itself oppressed its pouring light to not go beyond a range of spotlight.

This room had the highest ceiling they had seen thus far and the entire space could pass for a hall. They had to cross pillars that circled the center where both the four-legged creature and the instruments stood. On both ends of the hall were tall windows that almost touched the ceiling but the drapes were torn.

"Welcome," his voice reverberated like a bass drum struck with full force as the only light in the room illuminated his gray scales that had a plethora of chips and scars. "It is nice to finally see somebody around here."

"I heard you were good at what you do." The light allowed most of what to be seen to be the square of descending steps that led to different sets of curious looking apparatus and the creature with a sweater tied to his waist, shorts that stopped at his shins and a sleeveless jacket which revealed bulge of muscle. "I am here to test your words before many."

His horns and reptilian eyes tilted to the side in askance until he saw Jinja Kaliope approaching him with the camera of his Telewatch faced his way. His tail swept the air behind him lazily and he had not dropped his talons folded behind himself.

"And we are here with Belthion Ijima to make an exchange of goods and services. Good business."

"Yes, sincerely," Zlai Dfon, Kazu Nini and Jinja Kaliope had descended the stairs, leaving the Slime still behind were he stood. "Can you tell us more of what you do? They would not mind a bit of introduction, truly." Kazu Nini stripped her clothes in the meantime.

"Good for occupational promotion, I guess." He considered all that was happening around him, then he turned with unnatural grace to stand behind his wares as he flourished his arms, so easily it was as if he had created mobility itself. "I go by the name of Belthion Ijima as you have probably already heard and I have quite the curious…workshop if you will." He raised some tools and brought them to the camera screen, his mix of serpentine and human creatures both so seamlessly graceful that the live recording was going bunkers with female admirers.

"My business is simple but some think it to be terrifying." The room lit up as if light was finally permitted to exist in this space. "As you can see, the stains on blood and manacles show that my ventures are quite macabre and that this place is not for the faint of heart." True to his word, light fell unto the farthest reaches of the walls which illuminated rows of manacles hanging and a series of tables still propped with some of them washed of their bloodstains and others, not. "So, what is it exactly? Here we made trades of the gory kind. I will explain with actions what I mean and not too far away from now." The range of the spotlight was now back around and about them again.

"You heard him, and at his point there is no longer the need to speak too much at this point let us begin." The young Pixie stopped when she was in her undergarments of elastic bum shots and a sports bra. The live reactions were going wild.

Belthion Ijima brought out a paper from a pouch to his side that had 'Letter of Agreement' before another that said 'Letter of Consent' and the last that was a Death Warrant. Giving her a pen, she signed all of them after careful scrutiny which made him laugh.

"Let's begin." His voice sounded as if he greatly enjoyed what he was about to do.

"Let us."

"Wait, wait, wait." Everyone stopped to look at the Dark Elf, "They want to see your wings! They want to see your wings."

Belthion Ijima shook his head in amusement and let his flight limbs unfurl from his spine as if his scales had held the flying limbs beneath them. And at full stretch, they touched both ends of the room before slurping back like a turtle to its shell. The comments went even more crazy, with some asking to see his Dragon breath but Jinja Kaliope thought he did not need to distract them anymore and Kazu Nini was already stepping up to begin the process she had just signed for.

The young Pixie sat on the metallic, reclined chair and he twisted a few knobs to make sure she was alright. The stretch of a hand rest platform connected both arm extensions that projected from its body and he tied her hands to them. Belting up her legs too, the lights dimmed until it was just those of them about her that were on its influence.

He grabbed a saw on the table and he took a breath in, swallowing at the prospect of what he was about to do until he sawed off three fingers in quick succession like he was dicing vegetables. Her expression did not shift and he was curious before smiling till his lips almost reached his ears. Sawing away much faster now, he had cleared all her fingers and toes.

Belthion Ijima cocked his head to the side and she studied him, then Kazu Nini allowed some blood flow out until there was a small pool beneath her.

Jinja Kaliope and Zlai Dfon held their stances, sometimes glancing at the Telewatches in shock as if they could not believe what was happening. The comments were pouring in like raindrops in a storm.

'WHAT IS SHE DOING?'

'ARE THOSE HER FINGERS!!!'

'I HOPE SHE IS ALRIGHT?'

'IS SHE JUST TRYING TO PROVE A POINT?

'THIS IS TOO EXTREME.'

'SHUT UP, THOSE TRYING TO REACH EXTREME HEIGHTS HAVE TO BE EXTREME. WE LOVE YOU BABY!'

'WE CAN'T WATCH ANYMORE, PLEASE STOP!!!'

'THE SPRITES CANNOT HANDLE THIS.'

'I CANNOT WAIT UNTIL THE DAY OF THE BET.'

'I LIKE HER, SHE IS CRAZY XD.'

'YOU GO, GIRL'

"Continue." Kazu Nini said it so calmly that Belthion Ijima was beginning to doubt if he had just mutilated her body parts or not and when he wanted to shrug and proceed, the Dragon on two feet shivered before going on.

Next, he took from her wrists and then her ankles, which left her looking like some character from a horror movie before he carried what was left of the young Pixie unto one of the tables and strapped her once more.

Behind them, Jinja Kaliope asked the viewers on the live recording if she even needed straps anymore and the breathtaking Zlai Dfon chuckled, agreeing that she probably did not.

The Dragon proceeded to the stumps where her disconnected wrists were and began peeling back the skin. His proficiency was so good that when he had chipped several cuts into her flesh, he had avoided all the tendrils attaching themselves to her skin. He then connected the cuts to each other and held her skin like a carpet. Belthion Ijima paused to consider the Young Pixie before him and he did not know if he was trembling from excitement and awe at her willpower or if he was disappointed in himself that he had failed to make her even squeal.

Disregarding his thoughts, he proceeded to peel back her skin till it reached her elbows, blood streaming down like drops of rain rivulets along a window until they reached the floor. He could not lie that he was not impressed with her control of Ko-jin as barely any blood was wasted in the entire process and he continued to raise her skin till it reached her shoulder of that hand. Having to unbuckle the straps as he went was inconvenient but considering that she had not reacted at all so far, if she did end up panicking at this very moment, the mess would be terrible.

Kazu Nini was staring straight ahead, the pain becoming like a distant echo in her.

She allowed herself immerse into her thoughts up to when she had first broken through and the tendrils from her core reached out to her organs after she had begun cultivating.

She remembered how she had officially started when they had finally connected to her organs.

When the Ko-jin passing through the tendrils had been kneaded into her core repeatedly until they became semi-liquid and began lightly pressing at the walls when she was at Divine Early 2.

When the tendrils were solid and had formed a resemblance to pipes, connecting themselves to her organs and now stretched through the mounds on her organs, sticking through and through them like nerve endings, was at Level 3.

At Level 4, withdrawing them back and kneading them repeatedly until they became gas again but the new ones targeting her muscle structure as the quality had improved as well as quantity.

Level 5, around the time of her kidnapping, she remembered training with her mental energy until it had helped her learn how to stretch it along with glass, also stretching the molecules of the transparent substance to give it a likeness to liquid. And when she had finally been able to use her Ko-ijn freely again, adding it to her new theory, it now properly mixed the glass into a liquid state. Kneading the Ko-jin that were transferred to and fro her organs, as well as her muscles now, had been her objective to break through.

Success in hitting Level 6, her tendrils becoming solid at her muscles as the mounds were the formerly liquid Ko-jin would now extend branches like nerve endings into her muscles, had made her begin creating their 'tunnel' structure so that delivery of Ko-jin there was easier.

Now at this stage, with addition to her mental energy, it was easy to keep the blood flowing to her muscles having also added the teachings from the Universal Fundamentals Of Cultivation. The chapter under 'What you need to know about cultivation', put a note that said some words. It had read;

Note that this cultivation method is primarily condensing Ko-jin several times and changing its state which helps the user to easily hide their presence.

So, when reading the pages on enhancement methods, remember these;

Quick strength

….can be simply done by sending Ko-jin to organs which produce happy emotions and blood flow or for an easier one, the adrenal ones….

Quick Speed

…same principle as Explosive strength in which the user simply has to locate the organs necessary for speed and direct Ko-jin that way…

Quick Pace

…the first 3 Levels of cultivation involve connecting tendrils to organs and usually have to do with directing the Ko-jin in that direction. However, you may have noticed that whenever you start enhancing organs with Ko-jin, their output usually has a 'high' where enzymes or hormones that would be generally released and afterwards would be a cool down or a stressed state of organ, and sometimes even body included, but with this Explosive step, the practitioner must direct the coming enzymes or hormones to the feet or the body part required and use that body part as long as the required juice is in that area.

Inner Healing

…as you have already noticed, the principle is the same in this one, with simply redirecting Ko-jin to the organ and the body will lead majority of enzymes to the needed affected areas. This version of Healing however starts mostly from within and has a focus that is primarily there.

Instant Strength.

…now that tendrils are directly concerned with muscle, the focus here is simply easier and with muscle being directly supplemented, this makes Silent Strength and Silent Speed pretty much the same.

Instant Speed.

…when muscles are enhanced with an influx of Ko-jin, they react as fast as your mind intended. It would feel like reflex to the practitioner…

Instant Pace

…organ and muscle are involved in this and when they have both been stimulated, you have to merge the needed enzyme or hormone into the muscle so that there is a direct supplement.

Complete Healing.

…when muscle and organ can directly receive Ko-jin – the same Ko-jin that has been connected to organ and muscles, having a bit of each hormone and enzyme in the body – is concentrated at an area, at healing is rapidly accelerated at this point. However, do not make too much damage to bone at this point or give resting time of months before bone injuries can happen.

Kazu Nini, with all that mental energy had seen a pattern to it, and she knew what she had to do. If hormones and Enzymes can be held back. Then what about blood and what about…nerves?