"Fuck!" Chris cursed as he revived. Ever since the second day of training, the squad had been taking full advantage of his Immortal World to strengthen themselves. Any training that could be completed in the Immortal World was, the recruits killing themselves once they were done. During their combat training, they'd regularly fight to the death, which is what they were currently doing. Chris could mostly hold his own when they didn't use any abilities, but once abilities were on the table, he was screwed. Even Sergeant Callista had given up on his ability training. His ability was too consistent. It didn't change no matter how he worked at it.

The squad still valued him of course. Without his ability, their training wouldn't be anywhere near as effective as it had been. It was just… Chris felt so helpless. Abilities weren't fair, so it wasn't uncommon for those with weaker abilities to be unable to defeat someone stronger, but Chris was so much weaker than the other recruits. He just kept losing over and over and over, barely even able to put up a fight. It made all the training he was doing feel pointless. If he was just going to sit in the back, heal people, provide storage, a good training area, that was fine, but why did he have to keep working at this combat training that would never help?

Chris sighed, shaking his head. "I wish I was stronger." Suddenly his vision went dark.

"Chris!" Beth suddenly exclaimed, eyes widening in shock as Chris was cocooned in the same substance that made up the floor.

"Private Vincent!" Sergeant Callista exclaimed as well, sending a spike of ice at the cocoon, trying to break it open, but it didn't even leave a mark. She turned to Beth. "What's going on? What happened?"

"I-I don't know! He was just sitting there and then suddenly- this happened!" Beth replied, before knocking on the cocoon. "Chris! Chris, can you hear me?" Nothing happened for a moment, before the word 'No' appeared on the surface of the cocoon. Beth rolled her eyes. "Well, he's fine. Cheeky bastard."

More words appeared on the cocoon. [Actually, I'm not being cheeky. All my senses are gone except my awareness of the world. Weird feeling.]

"Oh. Can you get out?" Beth asked.

Chris paused, testing. [No.]

"Can we get out?" Sergeant Callista asked urgently.

A portal opened up nearby. [Yes.]

"Good." Sergeant Callista nodded. "Are you in pain?"

[No. I don't feel anything, really.] Chris explained.

"Is there anything we can do to help? I can't destroy this material, and I'm not even sure if doing so would help or hurt you." Sergeant Callista asked.

[I honestly have no idea… this seems to be a world thing, so I don't think it's a bad thing. Maybe we should let it run its course for the moment.] Chris suggested.

"You mean you want to stay like this?" Beth asked incredulously.

[Well, I'm not sure I have a choice in the first place, but let's be honest, when has the world done something bad to me? I kinda want to see how this goes.] Chris explained.

Beth frowned. "Chris, you're literally stuck in a cocoon! We should do something!"

[Like what? We've already tested this stuff before, and we know it's practically indestructible.] Chris pointed out.

Beth sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Chris- ugh, forget it. Do what you want."

The rest of the squad returned to their training while Chris focused on the strange feeling he was having. Without his senses, he only had his awareness of the Immortal World to focus on, and it was a… strange sensation. He wasn't sure he'd ever really focused on it before. All he really used it for before was to find things when he needed them.

As Chris focused, he didn't feel his awareness spread, so much as deepen. It wasn't like he could see more, but what he could see became clearer, as if he was more connected with the world. At first, he could observe what was happening in the Immortal World, watching the recruits train, or seeing Dyrdek playing himself in chess, and getting weirdly good. Then, he could see all of it at once, as if an infinite number of himself were watching each and every inch of the Immortal World with complete focus. Then he slowly became aware of everything that came before, going backwards in time as the history of the Immortal World opened up before him.

*Well, that was boring.* Chris thought to himself. Up until he died that first time, there was nothing in the world, and even after that, he didn't really do much in the Immortal World. He was completely aware of a little over eighteen years of nothingness. *Well, I don't need that anymore.* He grumbled, trying to disengage from the awareness, but… he couldn't. *Uhhh…* Chris frowned, or at least attempted to since he couldn't feel his body at the moment. It was currently dissolving in the cocoon for some reason, which he really wished he wasn't aware of at the moment, leading back to his problem of not being able to get rid of this absolute awareness of the world. *Shit… is- is this permanent?*

Chris hesitated, wondering what to do. There was just so much… emptiness in the Immortal World. Even with the recruits training, it didn't fill the void of the rest of the infinite, empty world, and he was explicitly aware of all of it! *I have made a mistake.* Chris groaned.

Chris paused, before mentally shrugging. *Well, in for an inch, in for a mile.* He focused on his awareness of the Immortal World again, delving deeper, seeing how far he could go. Slowly, a new awareness spread. And awareness of himself. His past slowly unfolded before him, starting with his birth. He watched himself grow from a baby, to a young boy, and finally into the man he was today, each event of his life etching itself into his mind with stark clarity.

He thought it was over, and then suddenly, a new memory came! A strange memory of a dark, painful experience. He felt himself pushed out of a cramped space, crying as he fell to a hard floor. He spent hours like that, until he felt food get shoved into his mouth. He ate voraciously, the food quickly disappearing down his throat. This process repeated for a few days, long periods of emptiness punctuated by a forced feeding, until finally his eyes opened and he could look around. He saw little green creatures mewling pitifully as they huddled on the ground. Occasionally a goblin would appear and shove a piece of food into one of the little one's mouths.

*Is- is this Dyrdek's childhood?!?* Chris wondered in shock. He watched as the little goblin grew up in the horrible, dank environment of the Maze. He watched as he was rejected by his tribe for being weak, driven to the lower levels of the Maze until he finally reached the first level. He watched him struggle for survival with a small band of other exiles, losing friends and gaining new ones in a vicious cycle. Finally, he saw his first meeting with Chris, their conflicts, the time spent wandering alone in the Immortal World, his eventual submission and release, his short period struggling alone in the Maze after, before dying again, and finally his time spent waiting in the Immortal World, exploring the strange new thing called 'games' that his Chief had given him.

*Well… that was interesting.* Chris thought appreciatively. It finally seemed to be the end of his awareness of the Immortal World. The only other thing he could sense was a vague sort of… hunger? As if the Immortal World wanted all the emptiness inside to be filled. Or maybe it was him? He wasn't sure. He wasn't even sure if there was a difference. *Still, how am I supposed to fill this place? Even if I shoved the entire City in here somehow, it wouldn't amount to much.* Chris thought to himself skeptically.

Chris went over his awareness, focusing on something he'd been wondering about for a bit now. Everything in his Immortal World, with the exception of his body and Dyrdek, felt foreign somehow, as if it didn't really belong in the world. He got that for the people. Since he could connect them to the Immortal World, it made sense that being disconnected would feel weird. However, why would it be that way for objects? Could he connect them to the Immortal World?

Chris turned his attention to the knife he kept around in case he needed to kill himself. He only had the one, so he always worried about getting into a situation where he couldn't get it back. If he could connect it to the Immortal World, would he need to worry about that? He focused on it, concentrating on the idea that he wanted the knife to be connected to the Immortal World, and suddenly something clicked. Immediately, the knife no longer felt foreign! It became another part of the Immortal World, just like him and Dyrdek!

*It's still a knife though.* Chris thought to himself. The only advantage of being connected to the Immortal World was, well, immortality. What would that do for a knife? Chris just figured he might be able to open portals to the knife's location even if he wasn't there, since he figured he could sense it's location like he'd been able to sense Dyrdek's, but he wasn't sure. Maybe what he'd just done was completely pointless. Unfortunately, until he got out of this cocoon, he couldn't do any tests, so he had to wait. Still, since he had the time, he decided to connect the rest of his stuff to the Immortal World as well. Not that it took much time. The process was very simple for objects, just a simple decision and done.

After all that, Chris had only killed about an hour, and by the look of his body, he still had a lot of time to go before he was done with whatever this cocoon was doing. The recruits had finished sparring and headed to dinner, so he didn't even have that to entertain him anymore. There were a few books in his Immortal World, but since he'd already read them, his new perfect memory made rereading them completely redundant. All he could focus on was Dyrdek and his game of chess.

He watched for a moment, studying the board, until Dyrdek went to make a move. *Oh, I wouldn't do that.* Chris thought, shaking his nonexistent head, and Dyrdek froze.

[Chief? Where are you?] The goblin frowned, looking around.

*You heard me?* Chris asked in surprise.

[Yes? Chief, I'm confused.] Dyrdek scratched his head, wondering where his Chief was, and why it sounded like he was in his head.

*Because I am in your head. Kind of.* Chris explained, answering the question Dyrdek hadn't even asked yet. *I'm currently in this cocoon thing, doing… something, and I've been exploring my connection with the Immortal World, since… Well, I'm bored. And yes, I can read your thoughts. No, I couldn't before. Because my connection with the Immortal World wasn't deep enough. I don't know why it needed to be deeper. Yes, it is a very strange ability. I actually don't know.*

Chris attempted to stop reading Dyrdek's mind, and he found that while he couldn't exactly stop, he could sort of… partition it, moving it out of his immediate awareness. If he thought about it, he'd know what the goblin was thinking and what he'd been thinking, but he could put that knowledge aside for a moment. He found he could do the same for a lot of his awareness, something he knew he couldn't do earlier. He quickly partitioned off all the empty areas of the Immortal World, letting out a sigh of relief. The constant awareness of emptiness had not been a fun experience. It was like all but a minute portion of his brain was staring at a wall.

*Well, apparently, yes, I can stop reading your mind. Kind of.* Chris assured Dyrdek. He paused for a few moments. *So… Do you want to play some chess?* Chris and Dyrdek started playing chess. After Dyrdek set up the board, Chris was about to tell Dyrdek his move, when suddenly the piece moved on its own, disappearing from its starting position and reappearing in the position Chris wanted it to be placed. *Huh… that's useful.* Chris thought, surprised. He did a few tests with the other items in the Immortal World, and found that he could move anything with just a thought. *I am learning so much today.*

"Chris? Are you okay in there?" Beth asked, knocking on the cocoon.

Words began to appear on the cocoon. [I am currently a goopy mass of sludge. I'm not sure if okay is even an option at this point.]

"Does- does it hurt?" Beth asked with concern.

[Oh, no, I can't feel anything. It's just gross to look at. Kinda wondering how I'm even thinking at this point… I don't think I have a brain at the moment.] Chris replied.

"That… doesn't sound good." Beth pointed out with a frown.

[I wouldn't say it's great, but it doesn't seem to be bad. I mean, clearly I am thinking. Just, you know, as soup.] Chris responded.

"Okay, sure, but is there any indication of you not being soup in the near future?" Beth asked, rolling her eyes.

Chris studied his body. [Well, I seem to have completely dissolved by this point, so we can only go up from here. I think my cells are being restructured or something.]

"Your cells?" Beth asked curiously.

[Yeah, they're breaking down and reforming over and over in different ways. It's like they're looking for the best form they could take. I'm starting to get a little excited for what the end result will be.] Chris explained.

"That- if your cells are changing, what does that mean for you? Will you still be… you know, you?" Beth asked nervously.

[Well, again, I am currently soup, and I still feel pretty me like… I can't imagine anything that would be worse than that, so I should still be me even after, right?] Chris pointed out.

"That's… a fair point." Beth muttered. "But… if your cells are changing… will you still be… human?" She asked nervously. "I just- what if- could we still… procreate?"

Chris paused. [That… didn't occur to me. Shit, this could be a problem…] The two fell silent, both caught up in their own thoughts.

"Do- do you want to have kids?" Beth asked hesitantly.

[I do. I mean, I wouldn't mind adopting- actually, I sort of plan on adopting, but… I want kids that come from me too. Maybe it's some sort of instinct to pass on my genetic line, but… I don't know.] Chris replied, not entirely sure how to put his thoughts into words. [Do you want kids?]

Beth nodded. "Not- not for at least a few years, but… yeah, I do."

Chris paused. [So… if- if this does- you know. What- what are we going to do?]

Beth hesitated. "If- if we can't… I don't know. I don't want to lose you, but- I don't know. It- it isn't a decision I can just make."

[Yeah, I get it. Besides, we don't even know if there's a problem yet.] Chris sent back.

"Yeah…" Beth sighed, before smirking lightly. "You know, it's kinda funny. Your writing almost has more emotion than you do."

[Well, I can give it more thought when I write it out. Plus, punctuation is fun!] Chris wrote.

Beth giggled. "You're a dork sometimes."

The two continued to chat until Beth had to return to the barracks for lights out, leaving Chris alone in the Immortal World again. Chris thought about their conversation, wondering what he'd do if it turned out he had changed too much. Could he go back? He wasn't sure. The Immortal World was such a mystery to him, and everything that happened seemed to come out of nowhere. Usually it was just a new feature he wasn't aware of, but now the Immortal World was actually changing him! What else would it do in the future? How much would it change? For the first time, Chris was worried about what this strange ability was and where it would take him.

Chris wasn't able to sleep that night. With his mind merged with the Immortal World, he just didn't feel the need to. Since he couldn't sleep, and he didn't have anything else to do since Dyrdek went to sleep, he focused on whatever was happening in the cocoon. His cells had already stopped adjusting, and now they were slowly forming back into a body, undergoing a similar process as before, each body part being formed and reformed, trying to find the most optimal structure.

*Well, that looks like a claw… that is not a good sign.* Chris thought bitterly as he watched his body slowly reform. *Internal organs look… fine? I guess? I need to study what those are supposed to look like more… I have a skull! That's good. Pretty basic though. My teeth do look awfully sharp though… aaand I grew horns… huh. Why are there seven of them? Why would I need horns on the side of my head? Or the back?!?* Chris wondered incredulously. *Okay, let's move on to the skeleton… my knees are backwards. Why?!? Are- those aren't even feet! They're like… talons? Is that a tail?!? I'm screwed.*

The transformation continued on and on, with Chris getting more and more concerned by the changes. By this point, it was clear his new body was nowhere even close to human. Finally, just before morning, the process finished and the cocoon dissolved, revealing a new monstrous creature. Long arms tipped with viscous claws. His legs were divided into three sections instead of two, with one forward and one backwards set of knees, ending in a clawed foot with two forward and two backward facing toes. His mouth had gotten larger, lined with thick, sharp teeth, and a complete lack of lips. His head was crowned with seven horns, and a long tail extended from his spine, tipped with a long, sharp spike.

"Ish ish ot ood." Chris muttered. "O ack! O back! Go back!" Chris cried, as suddenly, his body shifted back to his original appearance. He froze, examining his body. "Huh… I'm back! That's… well, that's outstanding." Chris exclaimed excitedly. He then thought about changing back to the other form, then back again, and again, and again. "So, I have two forms now, like Penny… neat." Chris changed back into his new form, doing a few tests, seeing exactly what had changed for him. "Holy shit… I'm a mid-tier!" He exclaimed finally, laughing out loud. His new form was about three times more powerful than his original, putting him at the low end of mid-tier. He no longer needed to feel like he was completely useless in combat! With this form, he'd actually have a competitive chance against the other recruits. He returned to the bartacks with a grin on his face, waiting for the rest of the recruits to wake up. He couldn't wait until it was time to spar, so he could really test his new form out.

"Chris! You're okay!" Beth rushed over to him excitedly when she came out, giving him a tight hug, before pulling back, studying him closely. "Did anything change? You don't look different."

"Oh, things changed, but apparently I can change back, so… no harm done. I'll show you the new form later." Chris explained with a smirk, giving her a wink.

The rest of the squad emerged, and the daily training began. A few of the other recruits gave Chris a weird look, but the training was too intense for them to give him much thought at the moment. Since the beginning of boot camp, the training had only gotten more and more intense as they'd progressed. Not only did they have more physical exercises, they'd added in classes as well, focusing on how to survive in the Maze, how to maintain and use all their equipment, and everything else they needed to know to be effective soldiers. Even their evening break time had shortened to only an hour each night.

Once it was time for ability training, Sergeant Callista approached him. "Private Vincent, care to fill me in on what happened yesterday? You don't seem to be any different than earlier."

"I-" Chris began, before pausing. "Actually, it'd probably be best to just show you." Chris continued, beginning his transformation as he shifted his clothes away. "Ee, ew orm." Chris growled, flexing his claws and whipping his tail.

"Holy shit!" Beth exclaimed. "This is what you turned into?!?"

"Esh." Chris nodded. "Ugh, I ant alk in ish orm." He groaned, before pausing. *Could I?* He thought, trying to turn just his head back to normal. "Ha, yes! I have lips!" Chris exclaimed.

"Okay, now that is disturbing." Sergeant Callista pointed out, shuddering slightly.

"I'm going to have some weird nightmares." Beth groaned.

Sergeant Callista shook her head. "Okay, moving on, what does this new form do for you?"

"Well, I have the additional claws and tail and what not, which adds combat flexibility. Additionally, my overall physique has increased by about three times, so I should be in the mid-tier range by now." Chris explained.

"That's a significant boost." Sergeant Callista nodded in satisfaction. "From now on, you'll need to focus on learning how to fight effectively in that form. Get to work!"

Chris nodded, turning to his usual training partner, the next weakest member of the squad, a guy with a mid-tier ability that let him shoot out wind blades named Zack. "Ready?" Chris asked.

Zack nodded with a grin. "Let's see how good this new form of yours is. Maybe I'll actually get a good workout in."

Chris chuckled, changing his head back, rushing at Zack. Zack quickly shot out two wind blades, aiming for his head and torso. Chris ducked under the high blade, swiping at the other with his claws, dispersing it before it hit him. Zack cursed, backing off as he shot out more wind blades, Chris continuing to disperse them with his claws as he rapidly closed the distance between them. As soon as he got close, his tail lashed out, piercing into Zack's chest, stunning him, before his claws pierced into his head, ending his life.

"Well… that was different." Chris muttered as his head turned back to normal.

Zack sat up with a groan. "Ugh, that was not a good workout."

"Sorry. I didn't realize I'd gotten that much better." Chris apologized, turning his hand back to normal and holding it out for Zack.

"Well, you have to remember, you didn't just get stronger, you got faster, and you have built in weapons now. Even a dagger makes someone significantly more lethal. Overall, you're probably more like six times as lethal now." Zack explained, taking Chris's hand and pulling himself up. "That's why physical type creatures are usually more dangerous than ability type creatures."

"True." Chris nodded. "So… you want to go again?"

Zack frowned at him. "This is payback, isn't it?"