[Inside the Granian Mothership.] Ace, Cherry, and Jim were directed to one of the many laboratory facilities on the ship to have their symbiotes genetically modified, per Lord Grim’s orders. With only one week left until an alleged war broke out, the Granian warrior decided it would be best to subject their walking weapons to a complete procedure designed to make them stronger, quicker, and faster. Once in the facility, the three Mutants were strapped down and had their backs exposed. The procedure began with robotic arms slowly cutting their flesh open without the use of prosthetics. The Mutants gritted their teeth and bore through the pain, but that was only the beginning. As the symbiotes sensed a change in their hosts and their bodies, they started to dig deeper into the three humans’ backs, causing them immense levels of pain. Blood flowed from the wounds on their backs, pain turned to the only thing they felt, and their bodies slowly became anemic. To make things worse, the Granians in charge of the modification were equipped with Blood Mutant Blockers, meaning that the humans would be incapable of healing as the process went on. "The symbiotes have been exposed." With smaller robotic arms holding open the human flesh, slightly larger ones approached the symbiotes, held them in place, and began to work on them. The humans gritted and groaned, their skins turning red with blood spilling out. The symbiotes began struggling to set themselves free while also inflicting more pain on the humans, making them scream even louder. During the whole process, the symbiotes increased in size, with their ’tentacles’ rapidly spreading deeper into the humans. After an hour of open surgery, the process was complete, and the Blood Mutant blockers were turned off, allowing the humans to heal quickly. [Symbiote Evolution in Progress.] Just when the humans thought the process was over, their bodies were overcome with an immense amount of pain shooting through every cell tissue. To the naked eye, all that could be seen was a faint red glow inside tunnel-like extensions in their skins. It almost looked as if a rodent was burrowing through their skin, but in reality, the ’tunnels’ were simply the tentacles of the symbiotes slowly advancing deeper into their bodies. "DAMN IT, IT HURTS!!" Cherry, being the first to scream, slammed her freshly cut back on the wall in hopes of quieting her symbiote, which, at this point, was squeaking and squawking at her. Jim fell to the ground, his hand supporting his body while he shivered in pain. His joints grew sore, his muscles itched from the inside, and tiny thread-like extensions grew all over his skin, with his back pulsating like a heartbeat. Those who watched this happening found it hard to contain the contents of their stomachs, almost forcing them to look away. The others that were strong enough watched in horror at the strange occurrence taking place. An even smaller number, consisting of Lord Grania and his team, felt nothing towards the entire occurrence since he went through the same thing a few years ago. "I’m impressed," he spoke to his mate, Helda, who was also watching. "The others are showing somewhat negative reactions to the symbiotes, yet Ace isn’t reacting." "I agree," Helda responded. "It is almost as if he feels no pain." In their speech, the Granians had no idea what Ace was going through. The Blood Mutant was enduring immense amounts of pain, the only difference being that he had no strength left to scream. The reason for this was simple: his symbiote had extended its tentacles throughout the tubules in his internal organs. Even his vocal cords were currently clogged with his symbiote’s tentacles, disabling him from uttering something as simple as a groan in pain. [Your body is rejecting the symbiote evolution.] [A manual override is going to take place.] "AAHHHHH!!" At last, the Blood Mutant was able to scream, but it wasn’t something worth celebrating. His scream, so loud and blood-curdling, echoed across the room they were in, making the screams of the others sound like mere whispers. His throat enlarged, his eyes rolled back, and his tongue looked as if something from the inside was pulling it back in a way to clog his throat. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭·𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮·𝙣𝙚𝙩 "We spoke too soon," Lord Grim jumped in, hoping to help the Blood Mutant. However, as he got closer to Ace, his back shot out two blood tentacles aimed at the Granian’s eyes. Of course, Grim was much quicker than the tentacles, which missed him by inches. As for Ace, he angrily glared at Grim and groaned the words "Stay Back," despite his screaming. As much as he wanted to, Grim stood back, not wanting to risk his life by trying to ’help’ a being who possessed the power to drain blood from any victim. [Evolution Complete.] [Your symbiote has successfully fused with your body.] [No stats will be increased. However, your body will now adapt and grow much faster.] [!!Reminder!!] A new system panel popped up, this one being sort of friendlier in comparison to the others. [You still possess 5 Blood Points and can voluntarily turn any other Blood Mutant of your choice.] While processing the pain he was once in, Ace looked over at his sister, who was knee-deep in her sweat and blood. The female Blood Mutant had it the worst, for her body was slightly more complex compared to her male counterparts. Looking at her, Ace deduced that if he were to help any of them, it would be his sister. It would be of no use for him to ’save’ the points because the next Rank required him to turn whoever he wanted into a Blood Mutant first. "Cherry..." he gasped for air while stumbling back on his feet. His head spun, and the room around him seemed to be growing larger and smaller while his eyes struggled to regain stability. "...I can...make you a..." Before he could finish his words, Ace unfortunately fell to the ground in unconsciousness. He was far too tired and exhausted to speak. Following shortly was his sister and then Jim, who both became unconscious. ’A result of a successful evolution.’ "Place them in their containers and set course for Planet Grania. War will be upon us soon."