Far above the mountains, in the spires and columns of water vapor known as clouds, two groups face off. One group consists of a patrol of Cloud People, riding their winged mounts. The clouds squish beneath the claws, paws, hooves, and talons of the mounts, but supports their weight nonetheless. The athor group is less of a group and more of a pair. Two fire elementals, one black and one red, use their wings to fly above the ground-like clouds.

Lightning surges in and around the body of the patrol’s squad leader as he, along with the rest of his squad, face down the two intruders. The two fire elementals are like nothing he has ever seen or heard of. The one made of black flame has the form of one of his clan’s many giant hawks, which is uncanny but reasonable. The dark red one, however, looks like a slime with hawk wings. A fire elemental taking such a form is unheard of. In fact, these two fire elementals having wings is strange in and of itself.

Shaheen’s clan makes their homes out of clouds, far above the ground. It makes sense for their creatures to possess wings. It is a methodical task to insure such a thing, but a task that Shaheen’s people enjoy. Just as they were born from the union of water and air elementals, the Cloud People like to combine two separates to make a new whole.

A fine example of this is Shaheen’s mount, a mix between a giant hawk and a unicorn. The front half is that of a giant hawk, while the rear is that of a unicorn. Not one of those evolved goats running around, but an evolved horse, one with a Magic Core instead of a Monster Core. This creature, Shaheen’s mount, is known as a Hippogriff and is one of many such experiments created by his people. Its fierce nature makes it an ideal war mount.

Perhaps if the Cloud People didn’t live among the clouds, a creature such as the Hippogriff wouldn’t be necessary. But they do, and it is, which comes full circle to Shaheen’s confusion. Fire elementals riding flying mounts would be one thing, because it adds to their battle potential. But taking the form of flying creatures? There is no point. By their very nature they can use flames to propel themselves through the skies. In Shaheen’s mind it is all very confusing.

Unfortunately for Shaheen, Wisp and Legion are quick to capitalize on opportunities, a by-product of their passionate natures. Heedless of injury Legion, possessing the giant hawk covered in black flame, barrels into the diamond formation of the five Cloud People and their mounts. The flames covering its body scatter among them, sticking to every available surface. Wisp hangs back, watching and waiting.

The Cloud People and their mounts rend Legion limb from limb on instinct, not even sparing a moment to shout commands. Lightning crackles, punching holes into the air. The echoing roars of thunder follow close behind the flashes of light. Spells, skills, blades, and claws tear Legion apart. The flame covered hawk lashes out, but causes no real damage. In Shaheen’s eyes, it seems more like a mad flailing than a vicious attack. Before too long, the giant hawk drops lifelessly to the clouds, its body still burning despite the massive holes and tears that riddle the corpse.

Absentmindly trying to put out the strange heatless flame burning where the black fire elemental touched him, Shaheen turns his attention to where the red fire elemental hovers. He expected it to seek revenge or run away in fear, but it just hovers there nonplussed.

“Shaheen!” One of the People call out. “Something is wrong! This flame isn’t going out. I- we shouldn’t burn. We’re born of the wind and rain-”

“Water won’t put it out!” Another interrupts, using their racial abilities to summon a rainstorm on the squad.

“My mount is acting strange…” Shaheen hears a whisper, heavy with emotion. “I… feel strange…”

An ominous feeling settles in the pit of Shaheen’s core. He dares not turn his eyes from the foe waiting for them to view his comrades ailments, but the sickening feeling filling him instill within him a growing fear.

‘It was a trap. A trick.’ He thinks.

Everything clicks into place for Shaheen, but it is far too late. Shame and rage fill him. Shame for not seeing the warning signs. The strange elementals in their realm of the Dungeon should have been enough of a warning for him to flee and warn the elders. But he had been arrogant. The rage, however, is not directed at himself but at these invaders. Rage that they dare break the thousand-year truce among the elements.

A blue screen passes before his eyes and Shaheen reads it instinctually. Reading a screen could mean the difference between life and death, or so the elders say.

Status Effect: Possession

You have been possessed! Your body is no longer in your control. Your spirit and mind are at risk of being consumed. It is recommended that you heal this status effect as soon as possible.

Abilities, stats, and skills are limited to the minimum level of the possessor and maximum level of the host body.

Shaheen’s mouth, or what passes for a mouth, drops open in disbelief. He blinks, slow and purposeful, to make sure he isn’t seeing things. When he opens his eyes, Shaheen is no longer. Instead, Legion peers at the notification.

Possession Successful!

Host body reduced to level 34.

To see available Skills, Abilities, and Spells please open host’s status menu.

Legion waves away the notification, uninterested. Opening the host status screens is a mess it has no interest in dealing with. It is a small price to pay for having dozens of host bodies and [Seeds of Possession] strewn about, but it is a price nonetheless.

Legion stretches Shaheen’s limbs, experimentally playing with his body. Finding the way the body is accustom to speaking, Legion turns to its brethren.

“Wisp,” it says. “The ones with wings have bones, but the others do not. Come eat your fill.”

“Many thanks brother,” Wisp’s voice sounds odd to Legion. Ever since the transition, Wisp no longer speaks in the echoing voice Legion came to know and love.

“Be quick brother, our master calls us to battle,” Legion gently reminds its younger sibling.

Over the past few days, the trio had slaughtered creatures with the sleepless persistence only those who are not truly alive know. The ceaseless cycle of corruption and devouring helped Legion identify the small worming thing in its heart. For the first time in its short life, the bundle of negative emotion that named itself Legion feels happy.

Its creator accepts it and it has a family, of sorts, in the form of Wisp and Fear. Although Fear is off on its own adventure, Legion knows it’s safe. How? Well, everywhere Snowflake goes, Legion follows. Where ever Legion is, it uses all available opportunities to plant seeds of itself on unsuspe1cting victims. Those seeds lay dormant, for the most part, spreading their roots and waiting for the moment Legion commands them to consume their hosts. Fear is no exception to this rule. A small seed of dark flame burrows in the necklace made of crystalized blood that forms Fear’s core. That seed relays information to Legion. Hive-mind isn’t a completely accurate term for this situation, but it is close.

Legion is rather proud of its achievements and has to resist the urge to brag to Snowflake. It resists because it is made from Snowflake’s emotions and is therefore attuned to them. Being so in tune with its creator’s emotions, is both a blessing and a curse. It is a curse because Legion knows that Snowflake is not ready to accept what Legion has done for him. Snowflake would surely have an emotional breakdown if he knew the extent of Legion’s plots and plans. However, it is a blessing because Legion can feel that mass of dark, uncontrollable emotion pulsing beneath Snowflake’s thin veneer of morality. Someday, that veneer will break and an army of black flame will sweep this world.

Legion idly plays with the lightning in its host body, twirling it in Shaheen’s hands, as it watches its brother eat. Wisp’s form of slime, fire, and bone twists and distorts, turning its flapping wings into a crude amalgamation of flaming jaws made of wings. The jaws slowly devour the helpless creatures, who are held in thrall by Legion’s power. Legion watches, but its mind is elsewhere. It is busy envisioning the happiness it will feel when the day comes that it can fully unleash its power.

Someday soon, Legion hopes, willing its flames to start the process of corrupting the clouds around them. Before its dark flames, everything will fall.

***

I blindly follow Quinn into the darkness. Everything is dark and unfamiliar, but I trust her. I trust her so much that I’m not paying much attention to where I’m going. I have other things on my mind.

The rumbling abyss between moving mountains is a dark and dangerous place. Normally, I’d be on guard for monster attacks right about now, regardless of Quinn’s ability to hide us. Thankfully, I recently unlocked a racial ability that puts my mind to ease, [Iron Fist of the Tyrant].

When I was hunting the giant hawks, I made a few connections. The first, is that the maximum range of my racial ability [Iron Fist of the Tyrant] is directly impacted by my intelligence stat. The second, is that my wisdom stat can help me sense emotions from things not directly in my line of sight. I can’t tell exactly what the emotions are, because I can’t see the colors. However, I can determine a vague idea of what they’re feeling and the direction the emotion is coming from.

It costs a fair chunk of Source, but after a few tries I realized that I can project an aura of fear around me. The intensity isn’t enough to kill anything, but that isn’t what is important. What is important is nothing dares to approach us as we climb down these cliffs to hunt our prey.

Every once in a while, I’ll feel a set of emotion enter the range of my aura and linger, but never for too long. I’ve caught a few glimpses of the creatures dwelling in this darkness, and frankly I’m glad we don’t have to fight them. Large, insect-like creatures with heavy armor, strong jaws, and hundreds of sharp claw-tipped legs, haunt these depths.

But, like I said, I have other things on my mind. Namely, how the fuck am I going to kill the creature moving this mountain?

How am I going to stand face to face with a creature so large that I am like an ant to it, and scare it to death? Is it even possible?

The lower we climb, the more I hear the rumbling beneath us. The sound has become deafening over time, but it still isn’t loud enough to drown out my anxiety. If this test run doesn’t go well then… Well, I can either sacrifice my Source usage for greater power, or try to convince Quinn to spend a lifetime running away.

I’ve considered that maybe there is another option. I’m sure Charles would…

I take a long look at Quinn as she leads me forward. My eyes travel up her shapely legs, past her perky butt and lithe waist, before gently resting on the nape of her neck. Saliva builds in my mouth as I imagine biting into her jugular and letting her blood spray into my gaping jaws. She would try to fight me at first, but then her fighting would drain away to feeble struggles as the life drains from her body. It would be so easy. My body aches with desire as I think about it. The hot, gushing blood. The feeling of dominance and control…

I push the thoughts from my mind. This isn’t me. That isn’t what I want.

I shake my head to snap myself out of it. I can’t seek sanctuary from Charles. I can’t embrace the Vampire in me. Well, I could. I just don’t fucking want to. All of this evolution shit was supposed to be about me becoming a better version of myself, not completely changing who I am.

First, I’ll conquer the Tyrant in me, then the Vampire. It will be hard, but it well help me grow stronger and gain more control over myself.

I mean, assuming I survive my current predicament.

In front of me, Quinn comes to a sudden stop and turns around, causing me to stumble, almost running into her.

“We’re close,” she whispers, her eyes scanning my face. Maybe she is searching for answers or assurances? I hope she finds them.

“I need a couple minutes to prepare…” my voice trails off.

“Yeah, of course,” she glances around the ledge we’re standing on, her eyes scanning the moving cliffs surrounding us. No matter how close they seem as they shift and sway, the giant mountains don’t brush into each other as far as I can tell. It is a good thing too because we’d be ground into paste. After a few moments, her voice echoes weakly off the walls of this abyss. “Here should be safe enough…”

I nod my assent and clear a work space for myself, pulling out a few cores and a stone bowl I am borrowing from Quinn. I currently have three energy sources available to me. Those energies are Source, Core, and Blood. Unless I’m vastly underestimating my opponent, I need all three in their entirety for this plan to work. If my spear creation is anything to go on, imagery and symbolism have a strong presence in spells.

Soooo, I’m gonna make a magic circuit. Boom. Problem solved. Maybe.

Under my command, moisture gathers around my outstretched hands. I use Source to wordlessly enforce my will on the water, making it as dense as I can. I call forth more and more, only freezing it when it reaches maximum density. What I end up with is a 12 inch by 12 inch, four inch thick slab of ice as dense as steel.

I flex a bit of Source to grow the claw on my forefinger for the task at hand. With a deep breath, I prepare myself by taking hold of the mental image I have of this spell. With deft hand movements, I begin to engrave the middle rune. My main image, the one I NEED to achieve is the singular rune—

“Snowflake.” Quinn’s voice cuts through my mental monologue, breaking my focus just as the tip of my claw plunges into the ice. I look at her, her feathers aflutter denoting what I’ve come to understand as her nervous tick. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Um,” I look at my claw in the slab of ice and back to her. “Do you mean the test run? Or the portal? Or…?”

“Any of it,” she reaches out to touch me, but pulls back before her hand reaches my face. Her face crinkles into an expression I would describe as… complicated. Anger, shame, fear, and sadness swirl in her aura. I want to know why she is feeling what she is feeling, but my powers aren’t strong enough. Her voice breaking, she continues. “You could run away… I could go back to him and say you died. It’s-It’s common knowledge you’re not the strongest Awakened around, he would have to believe me. He wouldn’t kill me, I’m his prize. I’m the only one who understands who he is and what he has been through. You could live to fight another day…”

Tears are welling in her eyes. I can feel her frustration thick in the air, as much as I can see it swirling around her. Her posture is… Well its not fucking good. Her head hangs low, her blonde hair cascading over her face; her hands are clenched at her side, the muscles in her arms taunt; her shoulders are hunched forward, like she is about to collapse into a ball at any given moment.

“Quinn,” I draw her name out, trying to buy myself time to process what she is saying. Why give up now? Could it work? Would I be able to forgive myself?

“You could rescue me,” the words that tumble from her lips are soft, but they strike my heart with heavy blows.

“I don’t need to run away to rescue you,” my heart wishy-washy heart solidifies. I’ve made my choice. I made my choice, for better or for worse, when I slept with Quinn and allowed myself to become attached to her. Whether my reasons are born from love or responsibility doesn’t matter. What matters is I do what I decided to do, no holds barred. “We will run away together, or I’ll die trying.”

“You didn’t even consider it,” her voice halts and breaks as she talks, presumably to keep from crying, but it doesn’t hide the accusation in her voice. “You need to think about it and make the best choice. Its hard to even suggest this, so don’t dismiss it so lightly!”

“I’m not,” I assure her. “I’ve thought long and hard about it and I’ve made my decision. I may not be the strongest Awakened around, but that is no excuse to be weak willed. This decision is mine to make and I’ve considered the costs. Believe me, I’ve considered everything. I will fight.”

The words that spill form my mouth are strong, and I can see her easing up a bit. I… Well, I wish I could feel as strongly about all of this as I say I do. But at the end of the day, it isn’t about how you feel. It is about what you decide to do and how you do it. I’ve made my decision and now I will do what I promised or die trying.

Maybe just severely injured trying.

Oh, fuck it. I’ve got a mountain to kill. I don’t have time for this shit.