(Planet Morod, The Central Jail-House, Second Basement Floor)
*BZZZTTT*
The needle bit into him again and again, its buzzing a constant vibration against his skin, yet the pain he felt no longer seemed like just physical pain.
With every line Mikanos carved, Leo could feel something foreign threading itself through his body, not into muscle or bone, but into the very pathways where his mana flowed.
It was as if the man was drawing a new mana conduit over his flesh, one that ran parallel to the network he was born with.
The sensation was both strange and suffocating.
Unbearable heat flowed along each fresh line before sinking inward, where it tugged against his core as if trying to fuse with it.
"This is not mere ink," Mikanos eventually explained, his voice steady despite the intricate work.
"What I'm using to paint your body is called the essence of death. It's a liquid that forms when the bones of over 100 rare beasts are smelted together in a furnace."
