I Refused To Be Reincarnated

Howls of agony engulfed Julius' soul sea as tears rolled down the mysterious man's face. For each channel he disconnected, he felt a blinding pain assault his soul, as if someone had tried to skin him.

Ethereal tears rolled down his cheeks as he collapsed to the ground, cradling his head in a pitiful spectacle. Far was his usually arrogant demeanor.

"ARGH! I give up! I give up!"

His face contorted into a grimace of despair. Just remembering the sufferings made his soul shake with reluctance, begging his mind to stop this folly. And he wanted to listen. However, the fissures running across his face expanded, prompting him to stand up.

"Urgh. I don't want to! Why Am I being forced?!"

More tears gushed from his eyes as he complained, venting his dissatisfaction. Yet, his hands moved to continue.

Cries of misery filled Theodor's old shop once again. They lasted several hours as curses accompanied them until he finally extracted his circuit's last channel.

"Huff... Huff. N-Never again," he said, sprawled on the ground. He didn't doubt that he would look deader than alive to any onlooker. Yet, a soft smile stretched his lips the next moment. "I passed the most painful part."

After allowing his soul to rest, he rose to his feet, grumbling about how unfair his situation was. He gazed at the intricate circuits shimmering with energy, the ones he had used to overwhelm Ossian and Selene with a smirk. "Sorry, pal. But I need you to return to your original form. Trust me, it's not what I want for you either, but you won't regret the result!"

Then, he retrieved a crude prototype and spent a minute grafting it onto his soul before busying himself.

It was a dull and gradual process, but somehow, he enjoyed it. After all, studying magic circuits had been one of his only two pass times during the last thirteen years.

As his mana-enveloped hands moved with surgical precision, removing channel after channel, the potent light enveloping the patterns dimmed significantly. Worse, their intricacies and quantity were gone, replaced by a rough and graceless version.

Upon seeing his original circuits after such a long time, a wry smile graced his lips. "They are so bad..." He said, wondering how anyone dared to call themselves a mage with tier-two circuits.

He lingered for a moment, remembering the idiot's struggle with circuits even worse than his. Then he approached his masterpiece. His plan was simple, really. Since he didn't possess anything and his soul was already crumbling, he would merge his original circuits with the new ones.

Since his soul was familiar with them, he hoped that by integrating the two seamlessly, the rejection wouldn't occur again. It was a bold and painful experiment. Yet, he shrugged.

"If I don't succeed, I won't call myself the best ever again!"n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

With these words, he narrowed his eyes in focus, scanning the incredible circuits he had created from scratch to find similar channels to his originals.

Hours passed, then days as he worked, never losing his focus for a single minute or taking breaks. His circuits shrunk steadily until he moved his hand to grab the last one.

"Took me twelve days..." He muttered, raw emotions swirling in his heart. Joy, satisfaction, doubts, fear. It was the moment of truth.

Moving with incredible precision, he fished a shifting channel from his masterpiece, replacing it with his original in a flash.

With a mix of excitation and anxiety, he scanned the end product, ensuring he didn't compromise its stability during the process. Once done, his fingers shook as he tentatively tried to implant a small part onto his palm.

He closed his eyes during the process, praying not to feel the disheartening rejection.

Seconds passed, then minutes. Yet, he sensed nothing.

"Hahaha! I did it! Who will doubt I'm the best now?" He said, raising his clenched fists above his head in triumph and revealing the deep cracks almost reaching his skull. But his state couldn't distract him from his joy. Anyway, he expected it to worsen after breaking the rules and what he did five years ago.

Thus, his heart hammered in his chest with immense pride, his smile reached his ears, and his thoughts wandered to the imminent faithful day.

However, a deep frown creased his brows the next second as he felt a strong pull tug at his soul.

"What is this idiot doing?"

With this question, he pulled back on the link and peered through the shop's door, his eyes following the invisible chain binding him to Adam.

****

"Finally done! Who will doubt I'm the best crafter now?" Adam exclaimed, raising his clenched fists above his head in triumph. His soul quivered as he observed his masterpiece, a deep sense of satisfaction washing over him.

The rough block of Runebark entirely disappeared from his table, replaced by a perfect human reproduction. Over the last twelve days, he had polished the wood before carving the muscles, facial features, and veins with rigorous precision, unwilling to compromise on the appearance. All for the style points, of course.

Then his gaze turned serious as he inspected the limbs' joints, moving them in every direction to ensure their smoothness before nodding in satisfaction as a bright smile crept over his face. They were perfect.

The engravings responsible for the soul binding were also admirably drawn in intricate yet elegant symbol patterns. Well, they weren't engravings in the standard sense. With the whisper's help, he carved the puppet's insides instead of the outside, making the enchantments more stable and resilient without compromising the material's integrity.

After all, no one could damage them without destroying his puppet's sturdy frame first, making it a bastion for his soul.

Finally, he had cut the drake's broad bone into smaller pieces before fixing them over the wood, boosting its defenses to unparalleled levels. He wasn't sure to what tier the puppet strength would correspond since the materials had been transformed, losing a part of their potency. But he was sure the end product couldn't be below the fourth tier.

Upon reaching this thought, a broad smile stretched his lips before he conjured a mana hand. "Now, for the details," he said, excitement filling his voice as he grabbed the blue and green gems, followed by the Follicora's hair.

With a thought, the hand came to life, encasing the shining round spheres in the eye sockets before grafting the hair on the puppet's scalp. Soon, an odd-eyed, lifelike youth sat at his table, almost indistinguishable from an actual human.

Its frame exuded class and manliness, while the delicate features exuded an almost feminine charm.

"Time to enter it!" He exclaimed, jumping in elation on his bed before darting to the puppet, expecting to enter its frame or at least phase through it.

"Argh!"

However, a painful scream escaped his lips, followed by a loud collision noise.

"No! Not again!" He roared, massaging his nose as he gazed at the puppet disbelief, and despair crashing against his heart like a tidal wave.

Despite his dedication and skilful work, the same mysterious power forbidding him from moving freely acted again, refusing him to possess his creation.