This is odd.

Quonnan couldn’t help but feel distinctly uncomfortable as she grabbed the Outsider’s consciousness and pushed it down, gaining an upper hand over the body’s facilities. It was good. Strong. With a healthy amount of lifeforce flooding from the Essence. She could sense the Outsider’s stubbornness and put up a resistance, but she hadn’t reached where she was by playing nice. Grabbing the metaphorical reins of the physical body, Quonnan gathered power from the surroundings to morph it into—

Wait. There was power already? How? Physical creatures had lifeforce rushing through them. The oni were capable of performing both—often at the expense of mutilating their physical forms. But having raw, World Energy within the body? No, this was wrong. This couldn’t be. Or—or perhaps it had something to do with it being an Outsider’s body?

No matter. It only made things too easy for her.

She absorbed the World Energy and rushed it through her mana forge to produce flames, and sent the flame-mana rushing through the body. Once it was out, she coalesced them into spherical balls of congealed flame, pulsating, burning, ready to incinerate anything that fell into its grasp.

Quonnan smirked. It would be so exhilarating to see the Outsider’s consciousness scream as his insides boiled.

So color her surprised when a piece of random information from the Outsider’s schema distracted her from her enjoyment.

You have used Mana for the first time!

Adding Mana Attributes to Soulscape

Modifying Host Stats to enable configuration by Mana Skills

Body Alteration delayed until Level Up

New SKILL Added!

SKILL

LEVEL

SOUL CAPACITY CONSUMED

Fire Creation

1

50

DESCRIPTION

Direct creation of flames through forging fire-mana from the World’s Energy

New SKILL Added!

SKILL

LEVEL

SOUL CAPACITY CONSUMED

Fire Manipulation

1

50

DESCRIPTION

Allows for modulating the external shape and size of flames.

Quonnan blinked. Mana skills? And two of them? Impossible.

She blinked again.

Yes. Definitely impossible. She moved her hands. The body moved accordingly.

She still had complete control over the body. But this was a physical form. This did not have a mana forge. As such, the fire-mana should have burned it. Charred it. Something like this could NEVER register a Mana skill, and yet—

Activating Prophylaxis

Initiate Intense-repair.

Initiate Self-Scan Self-Analyze

Reporting for flawed functional development

Canceling existing processes!

And the flames in her hands were put out.

Just like that.

…What was going on?

More information came in.

SOUL PROTOTYPE ANALYZED

RACE

Kasha

TYPE

Spiritual Parasite

ENERGY CORE

Mana (89% inclination to FIRE and 37% inclination to ETHER)

Match with HOST BODY

3%

Quonnan lost her temper. She had lost her host body to this Outsider. She’d not be kept away from claiming this one as her own.

Not by this stupid Screen.

She poured in more Fire-mana.

As much as she could.

Enormous, shining orbs of pure white heat appeared in the body’s hands. She’d show this—this—

New SKILL Added!

SKILL

LEVEL

SOUL CAPACITY CONSUMED

Temperature Modulation

1

50

DESCRIPTION

Allows for altering flame temperature.

And it didn’t just end there.

Adequate Mana Skill identified

Initiating LEY LINE NETWORK

Ley Line Network Accessed

Initiate Addition to LEGACY PROTOCOL

Quonnan was beginning to think that something fishy was going on.

New OMPHALOS FUNCTION Added!

FUNCTION

LEVEL

ENERGY COST

Evocation

1

Variable

DESCRIPTION

Allows BASE HOST access to Ley Line Network for Mana Synthesis and Manipulation. Mana Synthesis to be done from Anomalous Energy Reserves.

Compatibility with Host Body—3%

Foreign Soul Prototype REJECTED for BASE HOST MIND consideration

Initiating SOUL SIPHON

But it was too late. For her.

An alien, burning sensation began to form within her. It was terribly uncomfortable, as Quonnan felt as if she was being…churned from the inside, from the outside, from—from inside to outside. Like she was being inverted, twisted, turned inward, and flattened out at the same time. For an ethereal creature to feel such physical sensations was utterly, utterly confusing.

And absolutely terrifying.

I have to leave! I have to escape! I have to—

Quonnan rose out to get out of this strange, alien form—

Only for something like tendrils to grab her back.

Pull her.

Drain her.

Make her less.

NO! Quonnan thought. This wouldn’t end like this. This couldn’t end like this. For she was—

She was—

The body was gone. Away from her. And she—

Who was she?

She—

She was—

Was—

Gone.

SOUL SIPHON Success!

Absorbed Monster Prototype KASHA

...

...

...

One moment, Lukas was being possessed by the kasha with flames rising out of him. The next, he was down on his knees, and his entire body felt like someone had replaced his bones with thick weights of lead. His vision was limited to barely a foot above the ground, with the smoking, charred remains of the kasha strewn on the ground before him.

Forcing more and more lifeforce into his body, he allowed himself to be carried away by the rush, letting it dull his sense of pain. It was an incredibly bad idea, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

Especially when he was surrounded by a group of aliens that were eyeing him like a piece of steak.

“I—I won,” he replied almost drunkenly. It hurt to speak, but by now, Lukas was the master of pain. He ignored the jolts of agony spreading through his chest every time he said a word, and instead pushed himself up on his left hand.

“I won!”

The right hand came to support him next. Breathing felt a little easier now. More bearable.

He bared his teeth at Solana.

“I WON!”

“Congratulations,” the black-haired beauty said dispassionately. “Guards, restrain him.”

“What?” Lukas spluttered. “We had a deal!”

Solana stared at him, her expression as bleak and remote as a far mountain. “Did we now?”

“You gave me your word!”

Her lips twisted into a cruel smile. “A predator does not bargain with her prey. You have served your purpose, so I shall keep you around until I have a need for you again. That, or I will simply kill you.”

“I told you this duel will solve nothing,” he heard Inanna whisper conspiratorially in his head. “However, you still have a chance. Take my offer and burn these heathens to ash.”

Lukas’s mouth worked up and down, but no words came out. How could they? Words couldn’t possibly contain the frustration, the rage, the fear that consumed him. It cut through his weariness, sharp as thorns and barbed wire. It wasn’t fair. He had done everything he could. He had risked everything. And he had lost.

Around him were more than a hundred creatures, all of which might look human, but were hideous beings that wore that skin like a mask. Even with Kinetomancy, he couldn’t fight them alone. And if they put those manacles back on him, he’d lose his ability to wield lifeforce as well.

He was hurt. He was alone. And if he didn’t do something soon, it would all be over.

Desperation like that could do things to a person. The fear, the rage, the self-loathing arising out of that powerlessness could drive a person to do things. Some would probably snap out of anger and go into a suicidal rage. Others would probably try to run away and try to escape, despite knowing the futility of their attempt. And some would break from inside like glass.

But for Lukas, desperation set him on fire.

Fire in his thoughts. Fire in his heart. Fire in his eyes. He burned, burned, and burned so deep in his gut that even the kasha’s strongest flames were but a flickering spark to his inferno.

Lukas didn’t know how he did it. He remembered reaching for it, consumed with the idea that even if he’d go down, he would take them with him. He wouldn’t be captured. He would burn these backstabbing, soulless, body-possessing parasites down. He would show them the powers that Lukas Aguilar—no, that [LOSTBELT EARTH] had at its command.

The next thing he knew, he was standing up and all the aches vanished from his body.

His mouth moved once more, but this time, a single word was snarled out.

“BURN!”

Fire answered.

The entire periphery of the barrier circle exploded into blazes of crimson light, with angry, vengeful flames climbing up its invisible walls to tear apart its resistance and swallow the world outside. Fire leaped up into the air—ten feet, twenty feet, thirty feet—until it touched the very ceiling.

Lukas stood amidst his dome of fiery power, his dark emotions brilliantly lit by the flames. He could feel the power rise within him, but unlike how the kasha had done it, this belonged to him. It wasn’t being drawn from the world but synthesized inside. It didn’t burn his tissues as it struggled for an escape. Instead, it utilized the Ley Line Network that brilliantly allowed it as many outlets as it desired.

He could see the creatures slither away, the white heat from the flames hurting their frail flesh masks. Lukas reveled in that sight, gleefully watching as they whimpered and kept pushing back as the barrier began to glow like a spotlight—probably reaching its limit. And in the middle of all of that stood Solana, unmoving, her dark eyes watching him with something like…satisfaction?

“Mortal, calm yourself.”

The fury in him grew. It swelled and swelled as the flames reached higher. He’d shatter this shield, and he’d burn them all alive. He’d—

“Mortal.” Inanna’s voice rumbled like thunder. “You are wasting precious power. You have made your move. Had your victory. Proved your worth. Now allow her to make hers.”

You’re asking me to trust her? After she’s already betrayed our agreement?

“Do not be a fool!” Each of her words slammed into him. “I am not asking you to trust her. I am asking you to put faith in my judgment.”

That brought him to a pause.

Lukas felt his heart clench, felt his knees sway, felt the roaring wave of power slow down to a trickle. The barrage of flames began to die down, replaced by smoke and the smoldering remains of molten rock on the floor. He saw Solana whip her hand sidewards as the barrier around him cracked and vanished, leaving him at the mercy of those that surrounded him.

If I die here, Lukas thought, I’m blaming you.

He didn’t have to. Because no one was attacking him. Instead, they were down on their knees. Their eyes stared up at him—not with fear, anger, or a misplaced sense of vengeance.

But with wonder. With awe. With hope.

“Everyone! Laugh! Make merry! Rejoice! Our unending wait has finally borne fruit! The Key has arrived!”

Lukas felt his knees give away. But before he hit the floor, he felt hands underneath him, supporting him as he slowly descended into a restful pose. His vision blurred with every passing second, but he could make out the blurry figure of Solana walking toward him.

“Rest for now, Outsider. You have faced your challenge and come out victorious. When you wake, there is a lot we need to discuss.”

“Can’t…wait…” he slurred.

And then, everything became a merciful black.