I stare down at the notes on my workbench and let out a quiet breath.
This might be the single stupidest idea I have ever had. Several new arrays now cover the floor beneath my chair. Observation circles, containment layers, and an emergency collapse field all stacked together like overlapping safety nets.
If the Dark Matter spreads beyond a defined boundary, the kill switch activates automatically. Or at least that is the theory.
I roll up the sleeve of my puppet arm and check the readings one more time. The artificial limb responds perfectly to my nerves, but this experiment needs to interact with my actual biology. That means the injection point has to be somewhere the marrow is active.
My gaze drifts toward my leg.
The femur contains one of the largest concentrations of bone marrow in the human body. It is also deep enough that if something goes wrong, the containment arrays might buy me a few seconds before the spread reaches my organs.
I pick up the prepared syringe from the table. The liquid inside is faintly white, swirling slowly like mist trapped in glass.
Every paticle carries the same origin signature that turned the rat into Dark Matter. If my theory is correct, my body should recognize that pattern as its own.
And if it doesn't I'm dead without question.
I sit down on the reinforced chair positioned in the center of the workshop and activate the monitoring field. Thin lines of light spread across my body as the array maps every major system.
I press the needle against my thigh and slowly guide it toward the bone. A small pulse of reinforcement magecraft dulls the pain just enough to keep my hand steady.
Then I inject the solution.
The moment the liquid enters the marrow, my entire leg locks up. A burning sensation spreads through the bone like molten metal being poured directly into my skeleton. My teeth grind together as I activate Structural Analysis.
The foreign material has reached the marrow chamber. The marrow tries to process the material the same way it processes nutrients and minerals. But the Origin pattern embedded in the suspension does not behave like normal matter.
The cells begin replicating the structure. Microscopic fragments form inside the marrow cavity. They are barely detectable, smaller than a blood cell. This means the first condition is held. The containment field activates automatically, forcing the fragments into a stable lattice so they cannot expand uncontrollably.
My heart rate spikes as the first altered cells enter my bloodstream. Tiny particles drift through my veins like pale dust carried by a current. The marrow has started producing Dark Matter in microscopic quantities while still maintaining normal blood cell production.
The two systems are running simultaneously. I close my eyes and focus on the sensation inside my body. The Dark Matter particles respond instantly. Even at this microscopic scale they move according to my will.
That alone confirms it. I integrated it into my biology and my skeleton is now producing it subconsciously.
I open my eyes and pick up a scalpel from the table. Without hesitation, I press the blade against my palm and drag it across the skin. A thin line of blood appears instantly, but then something strange happens.
Dark Matter particles gather around the cut like microscopic workers, reinforcing the damaged tissue before it can even properly bleed. I stare at my hand as the skin seals itself. The action takes no prana whatsoever. I can't help but smile at this.
The Dark Matter circulating through my bloodstream is not something I am actively constructing. I am not forcing it into existence with magecraft or pushing it through my circuits the way a normal spell works.
I flex my fingers slowly, watching the faint traces of Dark Matter drift through the vessels beneath the skin. Structural Analysis confirms what I am already feeling. The particles are responding automatically to damage, reinforcing weak points in the surrounding tissue before the body even begins its normal healing process.
The production method has no cost, The only thing that will cause my circuits to burn is if I reconstruct it.
I take off my shirt and let it drop to the floor. There is no point in being subtle inside my own workshop.
I focus for a moment and immediately let six white wings emerge from my back. Dark Matter erupts outward from my spine, expanding into six massive structures that spread across the room like pale blades of light. The workshop lights reflect off their smooth surfaces as they stabilize in the air behind me.
For a moment my circuits flare with heat, but that is the only cost. Once the wings fully form, the strain disappears almost immediately. I slowly flex the structures behind me. The wings respond like additional limbs, shifting slightly as they adjust their balance in the air.
I hover a few inches above the floor, the six wings adjusting slightly behind me to maintain balance. I barely feel any strain on my circuits, but the calculations are certainly slower.
Back in Academy City, most of the processing load never actually came from my brain. My Personal Reality handled a massive portion of the calculations automatically. My mind only had to define the outcome.
Now that support is gone, which means every structure I create has to be calculated manually. I slowly lower myself back onto the ground, folding the wings behind me as the thought settles in.
I close my eyes and shift my focus inward, toward the faint particles drifting through my bloodstream. Millions of microscopic fragments moving through my veins, each one responding to my will.
The Dark Matter inside my bloodstream begins to shift slightly as I experiment with the concept. Tiny particles cluster together, forming microscopic processing structures that mimic the logical pathways my brain normally uses. The moment the structure stabilizes, I run a simple test calculation.
The result returns almost instantly. It's at least 4 times quicker than usual, and that's me without using my magic circuits to reinforce them.
The only thing limiting me is my lack of prana, it's an annoyance for now but later on I'll find a way to bypass it entirely.
.
.
.
The following are events that took place up until the year 2003:
January 2000
My grandfather came back on January 3rd to celebrate my birthday. This isn't him coming and going, he'll be here to stay so he can teach Kakine english. The reason is so that I can attend the clock tower without any issue. He needs to be able to speak English at the bare minimum to understand what they're saying.
Apparently Touko had already told him about my progress. I still don't know how those two know each other, but judging by the way they talk about each other it's not exactly a friendly relationship.
She also got her sealing designation removed, so the mages association won't be on her ass anymore.
February 2000
Touko started giving me actual lessons.
Not the basic things like circuit activation or reinforcement. Grandpa already handled that years ago. She teaches me more practical things instead
Puppetry, Runes and Spiritual Evocation. Her teaching style is simple. She gives me a problem and lets me fail. Then she explains why I failed and I try again.
April 2000
Dark Matter production inside my marrow has stabilized.
The output is still microscopic, but the production rate has increased slightly.
The particles circulating through my bloodstream have begun forming passive defensive reactions on their own. Small cuts now close almost instantly.
Touko noticed this once when I sliced my hand open while carving runes. She didn't question it obviously, magi are really scarce about their secrets. But I could tell she was at least intrigued.
July 2000
Even with my dark matter, Shiki scares the hell out of me. I've seen her fight three times now.
Each time she killed something that should not have been able to die. The way she moves makes no sense. I'm glad we're on the same side.
I wonder if she can cut through my dark matter that easily?
December 2000
My Dark Matter network has grown large enough that I can now use it to assist with calculations constantly. The processing speed improvement is noticeable. Simple constructs that once took several seconds now form almost instantly. More complex structures are still limited by prana output, but the mental load is practically gone. If this continues, my body will eventually function as its own Personal Reality processor.
March 2001
Touko started teaching me rune magecraft in full. Not the real ones from the Age of Gods. Those are long gone.
What survives today are modern interpretations, simplified formulas based on ancient Norse symbols. Most magi dismiss them because they won't help them reach the root.
Runes are essentially instructions engraved onto the world. Small pieces of logic that alter reality within strict parameters. For someone like me, who already thinks in structural rules and conditions, they're surprisingly compatible.
I also started learning about puppet making from her.
September 2001
Dark Matter production in my marrow has stabilized.
The particles circulating through my bloodstream now maintain a permanent computation network. The result is simple. I think faster. Not in the sense of intelligence, but in raw processing speed. Complex structural calculations that once took seconds now resolve almost instantly.
I'm not sure if Touko noticed, but she started giving me more complex tasks.
June 2002
I ran an experiment with Shiki today. I gave her a fragment of my Dark Matter and told her to try cutting it.
I adjusted the structure several times beforehand. Increased density. Altered the information layer. Even changed the internal rules governing its stability.
But that didn't matter because she was able to cut through it like butter. No matter how I modified the rules, she ignored them completely. My matter is something that doesn't exist in the world, so I've been trying to apply different rules to counter her mystic eyes. But no matter what I tried, it didn't work.
December 2002
Touko started letting me assist with real work. She lets me tamper with some of her minor mystic codes and go out to deal with any work inside the city. Not something like fairies anymore, but more major things.
But she keeps an eye on me constantly like a hawk. I can understand that though, magi don't trust anybody with their craft. Regardless of who they are.
March 2003
I finished my training with Touko. She gave me a whole puppet as a memento of sorts. Like how my grandfather gave me the azoth dagger, this is the equivalent to that.
I have her number on my phone, so we can get in contact whenever we need to.
June 2003
I'm moving to London. The reason is because I'll start my general fundamentals during the summer vacation.
The El-Melloi faction are pretty much in a shit ton of debt, and my family is part of that debt they owe. This is a way for them to relieve them of such debt though. Honestly I'd really rather have just stayed back at my house doing my own research.
According to him, every magus should learn the fundamentals at the Clock Tower at least once. He calls it a privilege. Still, arguing with him is pointless. The arrangements are already finalized so I can't do shit about it.
Apparently I'll be staying in an apartment complex maintained by the El-Melloi faction. It sits inside their territory, which means the entire area is layered with boundary fields and defensive formulas.
The real reason I'm curious about the place has nothing to do with their lectures.
The Clock Tower holds centuries worth of magecraft research. Libraries full of records most magi would kill to access. If even a fraction of that information is available to students, then the trip won't be a complete waste of time.
But another thing of note is that the Clock Tower is filled with arrogant nobles. Basically magi who have a political dick measuring contest at every turn they can. I have about 700 years worth of lineage backing me up, so I won't have to worry about much attending. But this type of place isn't somewhere I'd like to go.