Building Interstellar Empire With Universal Synthesis

The cold shock of the ocean water vanished the instant they submerged.

Zestia braced herself to pull Neo back to the surface the moment he ran out of air, but to her absolute astonishment, he did not struggle at all. On thr contrary, he exhaled a small stream of bubbles, his chest rising and falling in a steady, calm rhythm as he breathed the seawater seamlessly.

​Distracted by her wide-eyed shock, Zestia did not notice the sudden movement in the water pressure.

​Without warning, a powerful undercurrent, a hidden thermal rip, swept through the trench, slamming into them with immense force.

The violent rush of water instantly tore their gripped hands apart.

Zestia, caught off guard in her lightweight swimwear, was tossed backward into a spinning vortex, losing her orientation in the blue abyss.

​Neo reacted on pure instinct. Activating his power, he lunged through the churning current, his arm cutting through the water to catch her before she could be swept into the sharp coral below.

He caught her by the waist, pulling her close against his chest to steady them both.

​The momentum spun them into a quiet, protected pocket of the deep trench, where the water suddenly became dead silent.

​Because of the sudden impact, Neo was holding her incredibly close, far closer than he had ever intended. The soft, bouncy curves of her boobs pressed firmly against his chest, sending an unexpected jolt of electricity through his veins.

Zestia gasped from the shock of the current, and a flurry of silver bubbles escaping her lips as her hands instinctively locked around his neck for stability.

​Suspended in absolute weightlessness, the atmosphere between them changed instantly.

The accidental proximity turned suffocatingly intimate.

Under the filtering rays of the sun, Zestia’s long goldem hair floated around her face like golden silk, and her racing heartbeat thudded directly against Neo’s chest.

Neo, who had entered the water with nothing but cold, analytical intentions, found his gaze locked onto her parted lips.

​Zestia looked up into his dark eyes, her breath turning hurried. The sheer intensity of his sudden, protective grip melted her defenses entirely.

​Before either of them could rationally process what was happening, the gravitational pull between them became undeniable.

Neo leaned in, closing the final inch, and their lips met.

Smooch! 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

It was a deep, urgent kiss born entirely from the adrenaline of the moment.

Zestia, feeling greatly happy, pulled him closer, her fingers tangling in his hair as the water around them seemed to warm.

Neo’s hand slid down the curve of her spine, binding her to him in the silent abyss.

Both of them completely consumed by a spark neither had anticipated.

Only when Zestia was gasping for breath did Neo realize his mistake.

​Even though she was a Beyonder, she couldn’t stay underwater for long.

He felt like an asshole for kissing her in such a critical moment. To make matters worse, the water’s surface was at least 200 meters up.

As such, he needed to do something immediately to save her.

​Without delay, he pulled a remaining strand of mermaid hair from his pocket.

He noticed her eyes were still closed, so he proceeded with the synthesis process immediately, targeting her body to grant her the same trait.

​Buzz!

​A radiant white glow instantly covered Zestia’s body like a divine blessing.

Her body stiffened instantly from the sudden rush of foreign energy.

Still, she didn’t break away from the kiss. She didn’t want to. Even if she died right here, she wouldn’t have any regrets.

​How things had developed to this point was something even she couldn’t understand.

Their first meeting had started with a misunderstanding, then developed into hostility, and now she had completely fallen in love with this heartless man.

As for why she did? Perhaps it was his deep eyes, perhaps it was his absolute calmness even in the face of mortal danger, or perhaps he was simply too handsome.

Regardless, she had hopelessly fallen.

​From the time she realized this, she had always yearned to find him, stay close to him, touch him, and maybe even hear his harsh words.

But his constant rejection of her existence always used to hurt her deeply.

Thus, she cherished the rare chance she got today. To her, death itself was worth it for this single moment.

​However, a sudden rush of oxygen was forced into her mouth.

​Her eyes opened wide, staring at the man who was holding her firmly, giving her his own breath through the kiss to keep her alive while the synthesis did its work.

Feeling the care and consideration he was giving her, a single tear escaped into the saltwater.

​"Stupid... and here I thought you were a heartless man who never cared about anything."

--

When Neo received the notification of successful synthesis, he let go.

​The moment she realized the loss of warmth on her mouth, she felt a lingering ache. She was unsatisfied. But he was already diving deeper, leaving her alone in the silent abyss.

​Only then did she realize she could now breathe openly in the water, just like those mermaids.

Her eyes widened in shock.

From what she could remember, she had never possessed this kind of power to breathe in water. So where did this ability come from?

​There was only one explanation: Neo must have done something to her. But how? There is absolutely no way one can grant Beyonder powers like that.

​Meanwhile, Neo reached the site where the mermen were extracting the mana stones. In this depth, it was completely dark. However, those mana stones glittered like literal jewels against the black sand.

​He used the system appraisal on them:

​[Mana Stone (F)]

​> Expands cosmic force by 10 ~ 20.

​[Mana Stone (E)]

​> Expands cosmic force by 30 ~ 40.

​It was unfortunate that most of them were either grade F or E. They haven’t found a higher grade than this yet.

Neo wasn’t satisfied. He needed a much higher grade.

​With that thought, Neo activated his own Spirit Eyes.

​Instantly, his vision changed.