21 Celestial (1/2)

Ivan and Mazur watched over the Vulpes in the evolution pods during the following six months. They had a massive amount of four-dimensional skins, scales and large beast teeth, which they used to fashion clothing, armor, and weapons out of. One set of each was left in subspace just below each partition for when the individual woke up.

Not everyone succeeded in the transformation; three miners, two builders, one horticulturist, and a land prospector didn't make it through the process. Their bodies disintegrated into molecular sand and turned the evolutionary compound in the pod into a murky brown color like dirty water.

Ivan was slightly disappointed that these people failed the transformation, but he had done all he could to encourage them to persist through the process. The leftover broken genetic compounds within the pod could only be disposed of deep in subspace.

The first Vulpes to complete the transformation was a hunter called Eoth. Eoth was one of the top combatants in the training, and held an unwavering determination no matter what he was doing.

Just like dominos, the rest began to wake up one after another over the period of about a week.

Iris was one of the earlier ones to wake up, standing up and brushing off all the sediment that had filled and overflowed from the pod during the process of evolution. Ivan had seen her stirring and knew she was about to wake up, so he personal waited in her personal cubicle with a smile.

Iris stood up in front of Ivan who had trouble taking his eyes off her body. She was a world-class beauty before, but now she seemed to have exceeded even that and become transcendent. Her sensory organs had altered to adapt to the higher senses as well just like Ivan and Mazur's had.

Iris' pupils had developed into the unique '+' shape unique to four-dimensional beings. Her ears had also grown larger, between two and three times in size from the former short fox ears to form fluffy, long pointed ears atop her head.

”If you stare that much, even I'll be embarrassed,” Iris softly giggled and stroked Ivan's chest with her hand before silently grabbing the beast pelt clothing prepared for her, dressing while Ivan was still taken in by her charm.

'Damn, she's gotten much better at guiding others,' Ivan thought to himself secretly, feeling defeat that even he was led into her pace and was left with a loss of words.

”How do you feel?” Ivan asked subtly as she nestled in his arms once she got dressed. ”Nobody will ever be able to force you to do anything ever again.”

”Very happy. Although if was you who tells me to do something, I will listen and do my best.”

Valeria was also another person who completed the transformation earlier than most. She however had the greatest transformation as the cellular replication had a rapid aging side effect, which didn't matter now that their lifespans had increased by at least a hundred fold, but she was in the beginning of her pubescent growth spurt.

Valeria was 14 years old at the beginning of the transformation, but her body grew and aged three years. Even she was at a loss toward her body which had suddenly grown up and looked like a 17 year old young girl. Her breasts had also developed further, but they were still smaller than the average didn't bulge out much.

Once everyone had finished their evolutions, Ivan gathered them all together and made an announcement. They stood as a massive crowd dressed in animal leathers, or armor made of scales. Looking through subspace at their entire bodies and not just what was visible in normal space though, each could also be seen to be holding a long spear using the sharpest of beast teeth.

”Everyone, I would like to congratulate you all on successfully becoming four-dimensional beings. I would like to express my condolences for the seven people who didn't survive the process. Their families have been sent notifications of their deaths, along with a pension from the empire to aid their daily lives. I wish there was more I could do for them to ease their pain, but there is only so much I can do.”

Ivan held a moment of silence in condolence toward those who died. He had expected a few to die, but he had to hold this formality to control the empathy of the people and continue to hold their faith.

”While the deaths are a sadness, we must carry on. You all have the booklets left for you, so you should know that subspace is a dangerous place, especially as we are still building a foundation. My company is not any ordinary one. It will also become a nation, a home for families, children and entertainment.”

”You are no longer three-dimensional people, you are a higher form of life. We are all human, but at the same time something greater. We are Celestials, people unbound by this world, and you are the people who will become the progenitors of this race.”

Ivan gripped onto the peoples' hearts and united them under his leadership, inspiring their confidence in him. He gave them a grandiose purpose of being the forefathers of a new race.