Arthur felt the connection forming. His soul reached out toward the martial spirit. The martial spirit reached back toward him.
They were two halves of the same whole, separated for over one hundred thousand years, now finally coming back together.
'This sensation,' Arthur thought. 'I remember it. This is what I lost back then.'
The fusion began. The martial spirit's form started to dissolve, breaking down into pure spiritual essence.
That essence flowed toward Arthur like a golden river, entering his body through every pore. He felt it integrating with his soul, merging with his very existence.
Pain shot through Arthur's entire body. Not the pain of injury, but the pain of transformation.
His soul was adjusting, accommodating something it had been missing. The sensation was intense and overwhelming.
Arthur gritted his teeth and endured. He had expected this. The process was supposed to hurt.
