I got to work, using the ability to store information in the System that my friendly neighborhood Celestial had been kind enough to gift me with way back during my reincarnation. In fact, none of what I was doing would have been possible without the System… I was able to use it like a computer of sorts, and it allowed me to re-arrange and optimize rune combinations with a thought – all while also giving me feedback on whether my current build was legal according to my Cultivation Technique.

I relaxed my mind while flexing my imagination, forcing out any thoughts that my plan might fail: If it was legal according to my Cultivation rules – and the System would tell me if it was – then I should be able to do anything, dammit!

Alright, what would Wulfric want, if he could choose… probably something big and strong, as relying on his reach and power was often his favored tactic in battle. I had just under forty minutes left, so I went straight to the easiest possibility: An Alternate Form. It was kind of like shape-changing, but only into one specific different shape… like a werewolf, maybe. But what Wulfric needed was an Alternate Form that didn’t have organs…

And that was actually easier than it might seem. I had a bunch of pre-designed templates that I had put together in my spare time; Body of Ice, which allowed a transformation like the superhero in the comics, whatever his name is; Body of Fire, same deal, but with the flame guy… except that he didn’t really turn INTO flame, he was just covered in them, whereas my template was a literal transformation into an elemental being of fire. Then there was Body of Water… an interesting power, but mostly useful in an aquatic setting; Body of Sand, Body of Metal, and Body of Air, each pretty self-explanatory.

I was fairly sure that the only ones Wulfric would be interested in were Metal, or Sand. Both had different advantages or drawbacks… Sand might let blades pass through his body without harming him much… but Metal would make them simply bounce off, unable to harm him in the first place. I’d probably go with Sand myself, as it would still be useful against opponents strong enough to cut through metal, but I had a feeling Wulfric would hate it. He’d want to be solid, heavy, unmoving. Kind of the opposite of me, really – I love being invulnerable to harm, and I’d take an unbeatable defense over offense any day. Long term strategy, defense, crushing the enemy when they are exhausted and powerless to stop you… ahhhh, that’s the ticket.

But regardless, Body of Metal it is. I checked the time, and decided I could tweak the template a bit, customizing it to what Wulfric might like. Stronger, faster, harder… wait… oh right, the song… okay, anyway… weapons… he loves weapons. How about the ability to create weapons out of his body! Alright, done… and… slow regeneration while in metal form… ok… next… oh crap, time was getting short! I wanted at least twenty minutes to perform the application of the ability, just in case something went wrong.

I put a bunch of other options, such as the ability to create and manipulate metal, off to the side for now. If the first application went well, I could always try to add that on later, just like I did with my own powers. Taking things away was hard – because I’d have to remove one or more runes from an already completed formation – but adding things was as simple as putting a new set of runes on the next line (so to speak).

Next I ported the template I had just finished into my Allies power (which would allow me to apply the template on someone else… hopefully), and then I double checked the costs… it came in at 10 CP. It would take more than half my remaining CP, but it would be worth it... Wulfric was a good friend, and I’d happily sacrifice a bit of my personal power to save his life. I noticed that the option to turn him into a Minion was present, but I didn’t even consider it. I instinctively hated the idea of enslaving the innocent, my innate sense of justice simply unable to reconcile something so abhorrent.

Then came the hard part. I used the pronunciation guide I had built into the System as I went over the rune-paragraph a few dozen times. Now I had to write it out back in the real-world. Coming back into my body, I realized right away how silent things were, but I didn’t have time to check what was going on.

Gathering my personal Qi energy, or my CP as I liked to call it, I pictured the runes and subvocalized the incantation that went with them. I had a small pop-up screen in front of me that made sure I got everything exactly right, as well as an error-checker that would highlight any parts I was making a mistake on.

…Which I nearly did as soon as I saw what was happening. As I drew the runes over Wulfric I could see them sink into him, vanishing into his personal Qi barrier that I couldn’t see beyond… and with them went a lot more of the ambient Qi energy surrounding us that I would have expected! Way more than I had ever seen go into runes I applied to myself.

I carried on, adding the Ally power both to myself and to Wulfric, though nearly all the points went to him. Then came the Alternate Form power, which would be the real test… and I almost cheered in relief as I saw the runes sinking down into his still form! Next came the part that made the transformation instant, the whole process occurring in under a second, followed by the most important line in the whole process: The ability for the power to activate ITSELF, automatically, when Wulfric was under extreme duress!

Without that line, this whole exercise would be pointless. He’d pass away, never having woken or been given the time to learn how to use his ability. And now that the Ally power was nearly complete I could sense that there was a bit more that I could add before I went over capacity, so I added a few more boosts to strength while in metal form.

And then it was done. I still had ten minutes on the timer… I sat back, taking a deep breath, and pushed the last few CP through the runes, watching a swirling vortex of ambient Qi join the final runes as they sunk down below his skin. I didn’t know where they actually went, even on myself. My spine? There wasn’t really any way to check, so I supposed it didn’t matter. I closed my eyes, almost equally nervous and excited. I had enjoyed the experiment… but I hated the reason for it.

My own TR had run out a few minutes ago, and I was starting to feel the accumulated fatigue of the last hour come down on me like a ton of bricks. Finally letting out the breath I had been holding, I opened one of my eyes before gasping as I saw the blankets covering him abruptly shift. By the spirits, it worked! His skin was replaced with a gleaming coppery-chrome, his new metallic features exactly as I had envisioned them…

… But he still wasn’t waking up… I reached out, laying my hand on him to try and sense his condition… and… nothing. There was nothing there… My heart sped up again, and I rocked back in revulsion. My TR power had left him! That wasn’t supposed to happen! Not now, not ever!

No movement, no life, no breathing, and something had undone his Temporary regeneration… Wulfric was as still and dead as a statue. Even empty flesh would tell me more than that.

I felt bile rising up in the back of my throat. What had I done? Some part of me kept trying to insist that everything was fine, that he would wake up any moment. After all, none of my powers worked exactly as I expected. But… there should be SOME kind of sign, even the subtlest of breaths…

I heard movement behind me and I turned my head to see Tetra, her shirt stained in fresh blood. I didn’t even have the heart to ask as she knelt next to me, her eyes wide as they took in the still form of what used to be our friend.

“Is he going to be okay?” She asked me softly, not commenting on his transformation.

I wasn’t sure what to say. I certainly hadn’t given up all hope yet, but the fact that my Temporary regeneration power wasn’t working on him anymore was… unexpected. It wouldn’t work on something that wasn’t alive, and he had been incredibly close to death when I examined him earlier. And now I couldn’t sense anything… so was he dead? Or was that just a side effect of the power?

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I… I did what I could. He was very nearly d… I mean… he was… he was in bad shape when we got here, Tetra. I…”

She reached over and embraced me in a hug, which is when I realized that there were a few rogue tears trailing down my cheek. Not some kind of dramatic wracking sob – I wasn’t the type – but still, I considered it a fair expression of how I felt for Wulfric; the boy was honest, open, loyal, and much more intelligent than people usually gave him credit for…

I didn’t want to give Tetra false hope, so I just didn’t say anything.

----------------------------

It was a long time before we managed to pull ourselves together.

“Why are you covered in blood?” I asked Tetra quietly, finally looking over at the members of the squad. Most of them were watching us, and all of them looked either scared or uncomfortable. I wondered if they could make out what had happened from the far corner of the room…

Tetra let out a low chuckle, pulling back and breaking our extended hug. “It doesn’t matter… I just gave them a demonstration so they would leave you alone.”

I nodded, leaving it at that; I wasn’t really feeling curious at the moment anyway. I blinked my eyes, realizing again exactly how exhausted I was. I still had one more application of TR saved up for the day, but using it just to keep myself awake would be a huge waste of resources. Who knew what might happen in the next twenty or so hours?

“We should try and get some sleep, while we can.” I said. Sleep was a great way to deal with grief, and there was nothing more I could do right now anyway. I’d have to use my ice powers, probably Iggy, to take Wulfric’s statue with us when we left. No way was I going to give up on him.

The soldiers seemed content to leave us alone, for which I was incredibly grateful. Tetra had done a heck of a job.