"AHHHHHHH!"

Another scream echoed out above the drowning noise of the ocean squall. This time, it did belong to Noah. There were immense currents of electricity flowing through his body, leaving bloody zigzagging trails through his skin. It would have been enough to kill an ordinary man but Noah had advanced to grade two. He was utterly unable to even think right now as his body was overcome with pain, unlike anything he'd ever felt before.

As Ronan enjoyed the torture he was putting Noah through, a sharp pain came from his calf, interrupting his [Electric Touch] ability. Allowing Noah to slump unconscious, held by his restraints as smoke came from his open wounds. They appeared in fractal patterns similar to lightning bolts in his skin. They spanned across his back and down his arms, originating from where the electricity entered his body.

Ronan looked down to find the corpse he used as a sheath for his sword had undergone mutation into a soulless. It now stared up at him with obsidian black eyes that were no longer human. Its face was twisted into a nightmarish rendition of humanity with sickly-white features. There was no trace of hair anywhere on its pale skin. It also had sharp elongated claws and viciously sharp teeth, currently buried deep into Ronan's leg. Blood was mixing with its sickening saliva and rainwater as it flowed from the open wound.

Ronan cursed as he unsuccessfully attempted to shake his leg free from the demonic monster's hungry bite. He seemed to have some inspiration as a moment later, he activated his newly acquired chest plate's [Spirit Armor] ability. Forcing the soulless's teeth out from his flesh as the transparent glowing blue ethereal armour appeared to protect his body.

"Ugh! Coming back to bite me in the ass! I got too carried away that I forgot about these bastards! All of you, what are you standing around for? Cut the crystals out of their necks before the rest turn!" Ronan ordered as he grabbed the sword's hilt that had conveniently bumped against his hand as the creature lost its bite.

Ronan pulled the sword free before placing his huge boot on the creature's back to pin it to the ground. He brought the sword chopping down at the soulless's neck, completely severing its head while embedding itself into the deck.

Ronan left the sword stuck in place as he turned his attention back to Noah, who let out a groan as he groggily woke up.

"Rise and shine, princess. I've waited patiently for my revenge, and now it's time. Craig told me what it feels like when you gain an ability that can be combined. They feel like they resonate together, then an extra ability appears in your System Interface that you can use," Ronan lifted Noah's chin as he gloated.

"Can you guess what? I had that feeling the moment I held those crystals in my hand. I knew that I was going to gain a new ability without a doubt. I'm not trash, like these blanks scattered across the deck who can't even awaken when it's literally handed to them," Ronan continued to speak as Noah feebly attempted to twist his head from his grip while groaning weakly.

"I shouldn't have wasted that playboy's crystal by giving it to Chloe. I should've used it myself. But oh well, we live, and we learn, don't we mate? I'm about to teach you about my new combination ability, so you'd better pay real close attention. Are you ready?" Ronan released Noah's chin to tightly grip his throat as he was held suspended by the metal railing, entrapping his body.

"Isn't this nostalgic? I like that word 'nostalgic', I only just learned it the other day."

Yellow-lifeforce once again gathered at Ronan's hand, now clamped hard on Noah's throat. But this time, there were no sparks of electricity or signs of turning to stone. Noah's abilities failed to activate as he let out a wheezing breath, struggling to breathe past the vice grip on his throat. His body was wracked with the pain of his fresh fractal-pattern wounds as they continued to smoulder.

"Time for us to see what a stone touch and electric touch combination ability can do. This next part is just for you." Ronan leaned in close to whisper intimately into Noah's ear.

"After my [Withering Touch] has finished slowly killing you. I'm going to start killing your friends, and all those useless blanks you love so much if they refuse to submit to me. Here's the secret to my power, even though I have two piss-weak tier-one abilities. I can still beat you without your toys. You're a dog without any bite. I'm an alpha, even the fucking aliens recognized me on day one and gave me the respect I deserve. Goodbye Noah, it's time for you to fuck off!" Ronan tightened his grip on Noah's throat.

The rain continued to pelt them both as the ocean squall reached its crescendo. Originating from where Ronan's yellow luminous hands gripped his throat. Noah's skin began to wither at a rate visible to the naked eye. Noah's hair started to fall in clumps as his clothes corroded into rags, years worth of decay happened in a matter of moments as the mundane items had no lifeforce to combat the ability.

Rain streamed down on the pair locked together through more than just their hands as rust began to quickly form on the once pristine metal holding Noah captive. Noah instinctively started struggling to free himself, making the newly rusted metal groan from his efforts. His resistance was short-lived as his lifeforce disappeared from beneath his skin. Noah lost the strength to even support his own body weight, slumping down into Ronan's grasp as his knees gave way.

Noah continued to take short, shallow, gasping breaths when Ronan released his grip. Noah's outside appearance was no longer heroic or handsome. He had become old and withered. His once vibrant hair was mostly gone. What remained was patchy and held no lustre. Noah's muscles no longer contained the subtle purple glow of the lifeforce, enhancing his physique beneath the skin indicative of a grade two User.

Noah no longer radiated restrained power. His skin now hung loosely as his muscles shrivelled to a fraction of their former glory. He was also covered in a latticework of smouldering wounds caused by the electricity that had coursed through him.

***

"I must say that I'm impressed by my handiwork. Your face is a work of art. That's not even mentioning the rest of your body. I have to tell you, you really should put some clothes on, Noah!" Ronan let out a deep belly laugh as he mocked Noah.

Noah was stripped naked with not even rags left to protect his modesty. The damage wrought to his body by Ronan's [Withering Touch] combination ability was on full display for the captive audience. Who watched with sombre expressions as they were too cowed to even object. The only person watching with satisfaction as Ronan tortured Noah was Craig. Who held a deep-seated hatred from the moment he met him for the admiration Sophie and survivors gave him.

Sophie and Craig had finished collecting the crystals from the more than a dozen corpses of Ronan's casual wind blade. A few had transformed into soulless. But their bodies were broken to the point that they couldn't even put up a token resistance as the pair harvested their crystals with practised efficiency.

While Ronan gloated, nobody noticed the Amber butterfly formed of light land on top of the corroded-metal railing imprisoning Noah. It faded into the rail with a flare of orange-lifeforce, causing the barrier to cease making any noise.

Ronan was currently facing away, grinning in the direction of the assembled ability-users. He was putting on a display of dominance, utterly unaware of what was happening behind him.

The railing that had restrained Noah crumbled in a cloud of dust, it was now too rusted to be considered a solid object. His body began to fall towards the ocean as a massive wave buffeted the cruise ship. There was a flicker of purple-light from the depths of Noah's lifeless eyes. It quickly died out as his body disappeared under a rolling wave.

"Fuck!" Ronan cursed aloud.

Ronan lunged in an attempt to retrieve Noah's corpse so that he could harvest his abilities. But it was too late, his body had already disappeared under the waves.