The Skeleton's Abilities
The ancient parchment book detailed the essential secrets of corpse enslavement.
Luke flipped through the pages several times, growing more confused with each read.
The book stated that an enslaved corpse should only possess the most basic biological instincts, able to perform simple actions like attacking and defending at the command of its master. It made no mention of an enslaved corpse having the ability to think.
Was it because my soul is too strong? Or was it the Green Flame?
Luke couldn't figure it out, so he simply tossed the book aside and walked over to the freshly cleaned skeleton, looking it up and down.
The skeleton looked completely different now. Its bones glowed with an ethereal light, possessing a jade-white luster, like a piece of art.
Luke reached out and knocked on its hand bones twice.
A hollow thump-thump sound came back, leaving him somewhat disappointed.
Despite the surrounding white mist, the essence of the bone hadn't changed; it was still a mixture of calcium phosphate and various organic materials.
"A pity!"
Luke shook his head. He had hoped the skeleton might evolve into the legendary Golden Skeleton King. Now, it seemed he had to abandon that idea.
"Tell me, what are your abilities?"
The flame in the skeleton's eye sockets flickered rapidly, seemingly pondering the meaning of the sentence. After a few seconds, it lifted both hands, plucked its own head off and placed it on the table. It then detached its arms and leg bones, collapsing into a pile of bones on the floor.
Luke sighed.
"Besides falling apart, what else can you do?"
The skeleton reassembled its limbs and head. Its eyes scanned the surroundings, settling on the Kryptonian girl nearby. The green flames in its eye sockets began to pulse, then contracted inward, becoming two rapidly spinning green whirlpools.
An invisible soul wave spread out. Under the gaze of the green whirlpools, Linda suddenly clutched her forehead. An indescribable sense of exhaustion radiated from the depths of her soul. Her head felt dizzy, and she desperately wanted to sleep. She then actually collapsed onto the floor, falling into a deep slumber.
This entire process took only three seconds.
Luke's eyes lit up immediately. He could also make people faint, but it required physical contact, nowhere near as convenient as the skeleton's method.
"Any other abilities?"
The skeleton lowered its head, looking at its toes. The next second, a large burst of white mist erupted from its body. The mist coalesced in the air, forming a humanoid mist shadow with only a rough outline. Through the thick misty wall, a constantly burning green flame could vaguely be seen.
The figure circled in mid-air, then transformed into a streak of white light and dove toward Linda.
Luke was about to stop it, but the white mist had already merged into the girl's body. Seeing this, he could only halt, his brow tightly furrowed, his expression grim but holding a flicker of expectation.
As the white mist took residence, the girl's body began to tremble, as if resisting something. Moments later, the trembling stopped, and a strange sensation radiated from her.
Her eyelids slowly opened. Her pale blue irises had been replaced by a spectral green hue. Upon closer inspection, a faintly burning ghostly fire could be seen within.
"Linda" walked over to Luke and spoke in an eerie, unnatural cadence.
"M... Master!"
Luke froze for a moment, then burst into hearty laughter, filled with self-satisfaction and triumph. You little wretch, aren't you usually so arrogant? Now you're kneeling down and singing surrender.
"Come on, call me 'Daddy'!"
"D... Daddy!"
"Aww! That's better!"
Luke stroked his chin, looking her up and down. He thought for a moment, then pointed.
"Ava, delete the video of what just happened."
"Understood, Young Master."
"And you."
Luke looked at the Kryptonian girl in front of him, a hint of wickedness in his raised lip. "Remember, from now on, call me Young Master."
"I... I understand, Young... Young Master!"
"Before you change the title, call me Daddy three more times!"
"D... Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!"
"Daddy" is a basic syllable, and Linda pronounced it with increasing fluency. Luke, however, felt a strange repulsion. The title "Daddy" sounds natural when a child says it; when an adult says it, it feels odd.
I don't want to be a step-dad!
Luke shook his head, dropping the playful smile, and continued the tests.
"Does possession affect the host?"
"Sh-short term, no... No. Long... Longer, will con... consume."
"How long is the specific time?"
"Don't... don't know!"
"Can you access the host's memory?"
"N... No!"
Luke felt a little regretful, but this was already sufficient. "To what extent can you control the host's body?"
"Linda" tilted her head, pondering for a few seconds. Then, her body blurred, and she dashed through the underground base at an unidentifiable speed, finally stopping at a wall. She clenched her right fist.
BAM!
A circular hole exploded in the wall. The cracks spread, and finally, the entire wall collapsed.
"Linda" instantly reappeared in front of Luke, picked up a strand of hair from the floor, and gently blew on it. The hair floated on the current, then slowly drifted to the ground.
"Impressive. Truly impressive."
Luke clapped his hands. He had expected the skeleton's inhabiting of another body to create a sense of disconnect, but the actual effect was far better than expected.
"How long can you remain in a host?"
"Linda" shook her head. "Don't know."
"What does 'don't know' mean?"
"Linda" thought for a few seconds, then shook her head again.
Luke mused for a moment, then tentatively suggested, "Does 'don't know' mean you can't sense your own exhaustion?"
"Yes."
I knew it!
Luke nodded secretly. He pointed at the skeleton frame next to them.
"Do you still need this thing?"
"It is home!"
"Home?"
"Yes, home. Very comfortable. Like to stay inside."
Luke understood now. He roughly grasped the skeleton's characteristics: its appearance was a corpse, but its essence was a wraith born from the corpse. It possessed the ability to think and learn, and it had mastered specialized soul-related abilities: Confusion (or Mind-Control) and Possession (or Inhabitation). Other abilities would require further exploration.
As of now, the skeleton's performance was astonishing.
It could not only occupy a host's body but also fully control their strength. If I could get Darkseid's body...
Of course, that was just a fleeting thought. Darkseid was a true god, and his soul strength was beyond comparison to an ordinary person's.
"Now, exit her body and return to your home."
As he spoke, a large area of white mist emerged from the girl. The mist took a humanoid form and merged back into the skeleton frame. As for the girl, she slumped unsteadily to the floor, still unconscious.
Luke checked her breathing. After confirming she was merely unconscious and not in danger, he lifted the girl and placed her on the sofa. He then addressed the skeleton.
"How many memories from your former life do you have?"
The skeleton thought for a moment, then slowly replied, "Many. Very messy. Men's, women's, old people, and children. Very blurry. Cannot remember."
"Do you have a name?"
"No!"
"Very good. I will give you a name. Adam!"
"Adam. I am Adam?"
"Yes. From now on, your name is Adam. Do you understand?"
"Understood, Young Master."
"Right, one more thing. I need a driver. Do you prefer to be a male driver or a female driver?"
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