Okani watched as the grass before him swayed outward from the body laying in the center of the patch, pushing away from it in all directions as if trying to escape its pull, its orbit. He sat down in criss-cross position, closing his eyes and meditating. [i]'Through strength of mind, body, and soul, we conquer the weak. The weak will achieve a coalescence within my iron will. Let my power spread, let my power spread. Through strength of mind, body, and soul, we are strong. The strong will absorb the weak and defiant still.Those beneath are dead, those beneath are dead.'[/i] Okani repeated this mantra in his mind as the trees within the small grove Okani had found himself in bent inward towards the body that the grass attempted to flee from. A thick, liquid-like, clear substance slowly made its way from Okani's body to the deceased one. The corpse seemed to have been that of a girl around 19 years of age, of petite but not underdeveloped figure; no better scout for Okani to weed out and distinguish the weak. This was the first step to him setting his plans in motion for Aeros to become a great arena of battle once again. 

As time passed, Okani felt his spirit gradually diminish and shift, as the first signs of a stirring life became apparent within the corpse after an extended period of time. [i]'Yes...the ritual is yielding results once more.'[/i] Okani shuddered inwardly as his greater field of sense expanded, and he felt a rush of life, a new set of veins, new blood, new tendons, new muscles, new organs, new limbs; a new body. 

Okani kept his eyes shut, and for a brief moment, there was a void of nothingness that rivaled the cosmos themselves enveloping Okani's consciousness. 

[b]Darkness.[/b]

Then, Okani opened his eyes. He sighed in relief and satisfaction, looking to the body that lay before him. The body's blank expression slowly turned to a smirk as the paleness was diluted by the new, warm life that coarsed through the corpse's veins.

Then, Okani opened his eyes.