Prologue: Take Over
In the intricate workings of the world, one finds that delegation, while efficient in theory, often introduces variables beyond one's immediate comprehension. If one desires a task executed with precision it is prudent to undertake it personally.
The act of doing it oneself not only ensures fidelity to one's original intent but also cultivates a deeper understanding of the process and its subtle nuances. One learns, through careful observation and action, the limitations inherent in others' methods, and through that knowledge, attains mastery over both the task and oneself.
Thus, the adage "If you want something done right, do it yourself" is less a counsel of impatience and more a principle of conscientious diligence: if the outcome is of value to you, the surest path to its realization lies in your own hands.
However, like all things in life, this proverb is not without its own loopholes and flaws.
After all, the notion of doing everything oneself is, by nature, limited. No matter how skilled or meticulous, one's time and attention remain finite resources as long as they're mortal.
To pursue mastery in every field is admirable, but inevitably unsustainable. Even the most disciplined of minds cannot divide itself infinitely.
Yet, where human limitation exists, alchemy offers an answer. Through creation, one might transcend the boundaries of individuality.
This is where the idea of breaching the domain of God, the action of creating Life came about.
Flip!
"An alternate version of Father?" Azoth Rebis Paracelsus Van Hohenheim—formerly Subject Two—idly wondered as he skimmed through the book titled [Idiot's Guide to Father's Philosophy], effortlessly digesting the contents with the help of [Sage].
Or perhaps it was written before he became 'Father'.
Snap!
He snapped the book shut.
From the outside, it might have seemed as though it had been open for only a few dozen seconds. Yet within his mind, the span of understanding had stretched far beyond that. [Sage] had augmented his thought processes—speed, comprehension, and reasoning—pushed to a level surpassing even the most sophisticated computers.
Every alchemical concept within the book was now clear and internalised. From the design and execution of transmutation circles, to the creation homunculi, and most importantly, the principles behind the creation of a Philosopher's Stone.
"I didn't give it much thought when I first watched the show years ago, but considering how souls are required to create the stone, it's no wonder those seven were utterly unhinged, haunted by the endless screams of the trapped souls…"
"How crude," Azoth lips curled down in displeasure at the major flaw of the Philosopher's Stone. This feeling didn't come from a strong sense of ethics but from practicality.
Embedding something that screams endlessly within yourself or homunculi was the height of foolishness.
An alchemist would be setting themselves up for failure rather than achieving the perfection they sought. Creating a life form just to make it suffer, even with his own rather loose morals, Rebis knew, was a recipe for disaster.
"Speaking of perfection," the Albedo lookalike murmured, slipping the alchemy book to his side as his gaze shifted between the silver ticket marked Fairy Tail and the pulsing, blood-red heart embedded in the earth before him.
"Do I loathe it?"
Not even the faintest stir of emotion.
"Do I seek perfection?"
Oh?
"This feeling," Azoth's hand grasping the ticket moved to his heart, "Rhinedottir."
A surge of familiar emotion—one he's experienced several times in his past life—stirred within him at the mere thought of this body's creator.
"Resentment."
Intrigued, the Artificial Human muttered, "I love Rhinedottir."
Disgust and confusion followed in equal measure.
"Indeed," Rebis mused, eyes narrowing slightly, "that interest was not my own. How curious. Is this Durin's influence, perhaps? After all, his abyssal blood—or was it his poison?—tormented Dvalin for centuries."
Azoth's gaze fell back upon his elder brother's beating heart, and after a few moments, the faint sound of paper tearing filled the air.
The [Magic Ticket] dissolved into a cascade of shimmering particles, and from the empty air. a book materialized. Without hesitation, he reached out and caught it before it could fall to the ground.
[Idiot's Guide to Take Over Magic]
|Elite Item|
Fairy Tail — A straightforward grimoire detailing the fundamentals of Take Over Magic, an advanced Caster-Type Transformation Art that allows a Mage to "become" the creature, spirit, or entity they have conquered. By studying this guide, one can learn to assume partial or complete forms of absorbed beings, gaining their strength, speed, and unique abilities.
The blonde-haired young man blinked at the familiar screen, and for a brief moment, he wondered if he truly had the complete Chaos Gacha at his disposal.
But then he recalled the sign beside the gargantuan wheel in the void, which explicitly stated that he would receive whatever he rolled, with no do-overs, save for rolling curses to gain additional spins.
At the time—and even now again—it made him question whether people demanding the complete Gacha were a common occurrence. Did they have no awareness of their circumstances? They had died, and yet they were being granted the privilege of rebirth with their memories intact, along with a handful of "cheats", even if those cheats relied entirely on luck, and even if some of them were utterly useless.
There was a reason the saying "don't bite the hand that feeds you" existed.
Shaking his head to rid himself of the thought of the waste of the gene—or was it soul?—pool, Azoth curiously called out.
"Status?"
A simple, barebones screen appeared before his eyes.
Name: Azoth Paracelsus Van Hohenheim
Abilities: Tinker - Alchemy (IV) | Sage
Traits: Constant | Immortal Soul | Brand of Tzeenntch
Items: Idiot's Guide to Father's Philosophy | Idiot's Guide to Take Over Magic
Curses: Nightwalker (18) | Brand of Sacrifice (19) | Loner (2)
After a brief glance at the panel, Azoth's eyes inevitably drifted to his curses. "It could have been worse."
And, indeed, it could. The only curse that might have caused him any real inconvenience was Nightwalker, and even that was a non-issue given Dragonspine's perpetually cloudy, snow-laden climate.
Rebis' gaze shifted back to the book on Take Over Magic. He estimated that, with [Sage] and [Brand of Tzeentch], the learning process would take no more than an hour, perhaps even less than half.
He lowered himself to the cavern floor beside Durin's heart, placing the two books at his side. From the ground, he picked up a jagged tooth, unmistakably belonging to his brother. Removing his left glove, he inhaled deeply and pressed the tooth against his palm, dragging it horizontally to make a shallow cut.
Despite its centuries-old age, the tooth pierced his skin with ease, and soon a thin stream of lifeblood began to seep out.
After a brief wince at the sting, Azoth dabbed his right index finger into the blood, then held the bloodied digit above the palm of his gloves.
Given my current environment, fire would be useful, but without a Spark Source to trigger combustion, that approach is futile. Better to exploit the surroundings.
With that reasoning, Azoth took his first steps into the art of Alchemy.
++++
A/N: I can't say I'm surprised anymore at how wilful the muse could be. For the past week I got back into Genshin Impact after a year, and naturally I had ideas. Ideas that wouldn't leave me yet wouldn't write themselves, but finally I managed at least one of those ideas.
[Brand of Tzeentch]
|Epic Trait|
Warhammer 40k - You wear the brand of Tzeentch, the Changer of Ways. Greatly speeding up your comprehension and learning abilities. Allowing you to improve in skill and magic far faster. In addition, you are capable of spells that you otherwise wouldn't be able to learn due to restrictions like racial differences. Note: Brands do not connect you to the Chaos Gods or Warp.
[Idiot's Guide to Father's Philosophy]
|Epic Item|
Fullmetal Alchemist - A simple guide written by Father, otherwise known as the Dwarf in the Flask, to performing specialised Alchemy to create Philosopher Stones and advanced Homunculi. By studying this book, you can create Human Transmutation circles to convert living Human or Humanoid souls to Philosophers Stones, very potent energy stones that serve as excellent fuel by draining the souls inside. You can also create advanced superhuman homunculi with special abilities by using Philosopher's Stones as a base. You can grant a homunculus you made a copy of any ONE ability in your possession, Elite rank or below. While creating them, they will draw on the power of the Philosopher's Stone to use said ability, and if the stone runs out of energy, it will need to be replaced. The more powerful an ability, the more energy they will need to use it.
[Constant]
|Epic Trait|
You are a constant, your body cannot be changed by outside influences without your consent(as in stuff like soul manipulation or biomancy, not regular attacks), in addition, you are immune to paradoxes and only one of you exists as you cannot be cloned or be replicated either.
[Immortal Soul]
|Elite Trait|
Your soul is immortal, it can be wounded and shattered but never annihilated as long as you possess energy.
[Tinker - Alchemy(IV)]
|Legendary Ability|
Allows you to design, modify and build technology and technological constructs related to alchemical reagents, potions and production of those items. You can craft incredibly potent potions such as healing potions that restore limbs perfectly, mana boosting potions, ultra steroids, and permanent buff potions that grant physical traits up to Epic Tier and many more alchemical reagents.
[Sage]
|Elite Ability|
Slime Tensei - Allows the user to massively boost their thought speed, comprehension, and reasoning skills to a level beyond that of a computer.
Curses
[Loner]
|Severity 2|
You have the aura of a loner around you, making you often left out. It is more difficult to get people to pay attention to you, and it is harder for you to get recognised for your actions. Your parents probably forgot you at the store too often.
|Resolve: Perform a feat that gets a large range of attention on you, such as publicly defeating a well-known enemy.|
[Brand of Sacrifice]
|Severity 19|
You are marked with the Brand of Sacrifice on your neck, which constantly draws the attention of the Demons and Evil Spirits towards you like a magnet. If the world you are in does not have evil spirits, they will start emerging to specifically to target you. Whenever you are near an Evil Spirit or a Demon the Brand of Sacrifice will throb to warn you.
|Resolve: Get yourself cleansed with an Epic Rank or higher purification or exorcism effect, roll a rare rank or higher demon affinity trait, change race to Demonic or get 3 rare rank or above stranger effects|
[Nightwalker]
|Severity 18|
All of the problems of vampirism without any of the upsides, the moment you touch natural sunlight or something analogous, whatever part that was exposed disintegrates and turns to ash very painfully.
|Resolve: Acquire a trait that increases your light affinity above rare rank or acquire the pardon of a sun god or change your race|