RE:FLAME

[p_magno]

The click-hiss of a soda can punctuated the city's afternoon hum. Jessica raised the can in a small salute, her voice cutting through the pedestrian flow. "Hey! Over here!"

Two figures weaving through the crowd turned. Mark, his face lighting up with recognition, waved back, gently guiding the woman beside him—Elsa.

They reached her spot by the newsstand. "Hey, Marky," Jessica said, her smile easy as she looped an arm around his shoulders in their usual, half-headlock greeting. "Been a while."

Mark laughed, a genuine, hearty sound. "Hey ugh!, not too hard on the neck, I want it straight for the wedding photos." He patted her elbow with a winced expression, playing at struggling.

"Knucklehead," she mumbled, giving an extra, squeeze before releasing him, earning a soft laugh from Elsa.

Jessica turned her attention to the source of the laugh. Elsa was all gentle smiles and kind eyes. "You must be the famous fiancée," Jessica said, her tone warm. "This guy's been feeding me a steady diet of 'Elsa this' and 'Elsa that' for months. It was sweet enough to give me a cavity." She threw a wink at the younger woman.

It was true. Back when Elsa was just 'the girlfriend,' Mark had been a one-man broadcasting station of her virtues. 'She remembered I hate celery, Jess!' 'She laughs at my dumbest jokes.' 'She's just… heartwarming, you know?' Jessica knew the subtext, the cheerful, unintentional jab beneath his blabbering. 'See? This is what it's like. Why don't you have this?'

Elsa's cheeks tinged pink. "Thank you for your words, Mrs. Jessica."

"No, no, no," Jessica interjected, waving a dismissive hand. "Just Jessica. Seriously. We're all colleagues here." She took a final sip of her drink and tossed the can into a bin. "Alright, let's get moving. I'm starving. The usual spot, or are we feeling adventurous?"

As the trio fell into step, debating burger joints versus the new sushi place, Jessica let the familiar rhythm of Mark's chatter wash over her. At work, she was the relatable senior, the one who remembered everyone's coffee order and could talk about video games and weekend plans, carefully sanding down the twelve-year age difference between her and most of the team. It was a role, a comfortable costume.

Behind the costume was the old dream. The one that had taken root when she was a teenager clutching a cheap microphone: to be a streamer, to build a community, to talk about games and life for a living. She'd tried. Late nights after her average job, talking to a screen showing only a handful of viewers. The passion was a small, stubborn flame, but reality was a bucket of cold water. Bills needed paying. Stability was a cage, but it was a secure one.

And here she was. Thirty-four. Walking with her junior colleague and his beautiful, kind fiancée. A walking emblem of everything her life had somehow skirted around.

'Sigh... What a life,' she thought, the smile on her face feeling suddenly thin. 'No love experience. Not even a single, messy boyfriend. Never got dumped, never got adored. Never even got properly looked at. Am I a quenched flame or something?'

She tilted her head back, seeking distraction in the expanse above the skyscrapers. The sky was a startling, perfect blue. Puffy, picturesque clouds drifted lazily. One, directly in her line of sight, had coalesced into a near-perfect, fluffy heart.... 'Wait-! is the sky teasing me too?'

The thought was almost laughable. But the laugh died before it was born.

A scream ripped through the ambient noise.

Jessica's head snapped toward the sound. Halfway across the busy cross-street, a small girl in a bright yellow dress stood frozen, a stuffed rabbit dangling from her hand. A delivery truck was bearing down on her, its horn blaring a continuous, desperate roar.

She saw Mark's body tense, his muscles coiling, ready to spring forward.

Her own body moved faster. Her hand shot out, shoving him hard back onto the curb. "Stay here! I'll do it!"

The words were out, her legs already pumping. The world narrowed to a tunnel: the child, the truck, the gap between them. Time didn't slow; it became terrifyingly efficient. She reached the girl, the rough fabric of the yellow dress scraping against her palms. There was no time for gentleness. She wrapped her arms around the small body and heaved, throwing the child back toward the sidewalk with all her strength.

The little girl tumbled onto safe concrete.

Jessica had no momentum left to follow.

The horn swallowed all other sound. The grille of the truck filled her vision, a wall of painted steel.

The last things to register were not sights, but sounds: the hydraulic screech of brakes fighting momentum, the sickening, wet THUD-CRUNCH that was not loud, but deep, and two voices weaving into a single chord of horror, Mark's shout and Elsa's piercing cry.

Then, silence.

A chilling, absolute stillness. There was no pain. No symphony of broken bones. It was as if her entire existence had been muted. She was drifting, untethered, her consciousness dissolving like smoke from a snuffed candle.

'Is this what dying feels like? No fanfare. No pain. No emotions. Just… nothing.'

'Haaaa... this is unbelievable. Departing without ever achieving a single dream.'


And most especially…

'A virgin. No spouse. Not even once being loved… NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!'

Just in that moment, something flickered in front of her. A pale, blue light, forming lines, boxes, text.


<< LOADING… >>

Even without eyes, without a face, Jessica perceived it. A familiar, digital aesthetic. Confusion cut through the resignation. 'Isn't this a game UI?'. She murmured into the nothingness.

The screen glitched, pixels dancing. The message changed, a cheerful, incongruous emoticon winking at the end.

<< TRANSMIGRATION…COMPLETE ^_^ >>


"W-What?? The hell is this?"

It wasn't a voice. She had no mouth, no lungs. It was pure, furious thought, echoing in a void that was suddenly full of input Sounds, overlapping and muddled. The crunch of boots on loose stone. The rasp of heavy breathing. A low, grumbling voice.

'What's going on?'

She tried to open her eyes. There was no eyelid to lift, no muscular effort, but her perspective shifted, sharpened. She was… looking. Seeing from a fixed point, about five feet off the ground.

Two figures moved ahead of her on a narrow, dark path. One was a burly man with a ruffled beard and shoulders like a brick wall, clad in worn leather. The other was younger, taller, with messy black hair and a profile that was… was.... distractingly well-structured in the low light. A handsome face, all sharp angles and a firm jaw.

'Okay,' she thought, her mental voice tinged with bewildered appreciation. 'What a nice viewpoint.'

But the appreciation curdled into confusion. The handsome man and the burly one were ahead, but her viewpoint trailed behind them, bobbing gently. The scenery, mossy stone walls, a dirt path—drifted past.

'It seems I'm walking behind them.'

A chill, unrelated to any temperature, prickled her non-existent spine.

'Or… is someone carrying me?'

She tried to move. To turn her head, to lift a hand, to shift a foot. The command fired from her consciousness into a void where no body answered. There was 'no can't do' reply, or simply nothing to command. She was a passenger, a watching intelligence glued to a single, unmoving vantage point.

She realized she had an encounter with Truck-kun and had Isekied, but she didn't know what she transmigrated as, and worst of all she couldn't see or feel her body, it was as if only her consciousness is here presently,

But in what?


With no other choice, she decided to muster the courage to speak as if trying to talk to the two men ahead


She had to know. She focused on the handsome man's retreating back. If she could just communicate… Gathering every ounce of her will, she pushed her thoughts outward, aiming them like a signal.

"Hello? Handsome?"

Silence. Just the crunch of boots, the rustle of cloth.

"Helloooooo?"

Nothing. Not a twitch, not a glance back. They moved steadily onward, utterly unaware of the frantic consciousness trailing in their wake.

'They aren't hearing me.' The isolation was instantaneous and absolute, a glass wall slamming down between her and the world. 'Then how do I know who and what am I?'

Just then, the burly man ahead stopped and turned. He didn't look at her; he looked past her viewpoint, his eyes focusing on the space just behind where she perceived herself to be.

"Hey, Henry," his voice rumbled, surprisingly close. "It's best you discard the light. We don't need it from here on out."

'What light?' Jessica's confusion spiked. 'What is he referring to? Why is he staring… past me?'

"Yes, sir." Henry answered, his voice was a pleasant baritone.

And just then, Henry's arm swung, throwing away the flame torch he was holding, and as s the torch was landing, Jessica field of vision tilted, spinning in a descending arc. A silent scream tore through her mind.


'HELP!!!!'

The torch clattered against the hard ground, the impact a dull thud she felt as a jolt through her very being. It rolled once, then settled, the flame sputtering and dipping dangerously close to the damp earth.

The truth didn't dawn. It exploded like a hellish enlightenment.

The flame. The bobbing viewpoint. The inability to move. Henry discarding the light.

'I… I'm… I'm A FLAME.'

The realization was a sucker punch to her soul. She had transmigrated. But was not a princess. Neither a mage. Not even a lowly goblin.


She was nothing else but.. A pitiful,


Dying..

...Flame.


And a discarded one at that.


*****



A blue screen, stark and urgent, blazed in her mind's eye, cutting through the tidal wave of her despair.


<< Warning!!! [SNORT TO KEEP YOUR LIFE BURNING] >>

"Hey, you!" Her mental voice was a shriek of outrage and terror. "Where have you been? What the hell are you on about? And why the hell am I a flame, damnit!! And, uhh… Snort? Why?"

Her question was answered immediately. As her panicked shouting faded, a deep, creeping coldness began to seep into her awareness. Her vision, the sight of the gritty dirt started to dim, the edges blurring into grey. A profound weakness, a feeling of unraveling, gripped her.

'Oh, gosh. Not when I just got here!'

The system's message flashed again, insistent. [SNORT].

She didn't have a nose. She didn't have lungs. But the command was primal, a basic survival instinct etched into her new, flickering existence. She focused on the concept of a snort, a sharp, inward pull of vitality.


Snort!

Nothing happened. The dimness deepened.


SNORT! she screamed inwardly, throwing all her will into the action.

A tiny, almost imperceptible flare of warmth. The grey receded a little.


SNORT!!

This time, the flame on the torch did flare. It jumped an inch higher, the blue-orange light brightening, pushing back the darkness that was both around her and within her. The creeping cold retreated. The feeling of solidity, of existing returned.

She inwardly let out a breath she didn't have. 'I look like a pig snorting for truffles, though.'

'Alright. With that problem aside… time to panic!!'

'No, wait,' she reasoned, trying to grasp at threads of her old self. 'Let me act maturely. And elegant. In situations like these, I should be calm and… and… and… give me a moment here.'


'NOOOOOOOO!!! I can't move! I can't do anything but stay here, snorting until I eventually fail! No, no, no, I need to DO something. I need to think of a way to move. No time for foolishness!'

An idea, desperate and frail, sparked. 'Why don't I ask the System? Yes, that'll be great.'

She turned her attention inward, towards the presence that had delivered the warning. "Hey… System?"

Silence.

"System?" she tried again, pushing her thought at it.

Nothing.

"Yoo-hoo…?"

A flicker of annoyance cut through the fear. "Hey, bastard! Are you ignoring me? Now of all times?"

Still, only the quiet hum of her own frantic thoughts answered.

'It seems it doesn't have a consciousness. That's kind of sad. I wanted something to talk to.' The memory surfaced, bittersweet and absurd: a light novel she'd read as a teen about an office worker reincarnated as a slime, aided by a wise, conversational system called 'Great Sage' or something. 'Lucky bastard.'

Pushing the envy aside, she began to experiment. First, the obvious: she tried to will herself to move, to crawl like an inchworm of fire along the torch handle. The command dissolved into nothingness. She was as glued to this spot of charred cloth as a tattoo to skin. "Waaahhhh! Failure!"

Second idea: maybe she needed to be lighter. If she let her flame dim, reduced her 'mass,' perhaps a breeze could carry an ember? She focused, letting the snort-maintained energy wane. The flame shrank, guttering low. The cold and the dimness rushed back in with terrifying speed, a yawning void opening beneath her. She panicked, snorting frantically to bring the flame back from the brink of extinction. "Daaaa! Suicide!"

'Jessica, you idiot!' She cursed her past self. 'You always hated biology, physics, science! You studied art! And now? Now I wish I knew how combustion works! Just a little! Stupid! Why am I a total failure in everything?'

A deep, helpless sigh echoed in the cathedral of her mind. She wanted to facepalm, to scream into her hands, but she had neither face nor hands.

So, she did the only thing left. She sang. An old, mournful country tune from her youth, one that had become the soundtrack to her disappointments. Her mental voice, which she privately thought was rather soulful, began the dirge.


"The road is dust… the well is dry~
The sun don't shine in my blue sky~
Love's a train that passed me by~
Leavin' nothin' but a lonesome sigh…

...Yeah, life's a hard, hard row to hoe~
And Fate's a heartless, icy foe…"


She poured her frustration, her fear, her boundless embarrassment into the imaginary lyrics, all while maintaining the rhythmic, life-saving snort-snort-snort that kept her alive. It was a pathetic, surreal orchestra of survival.

Just then, a movement caught her eye, her flickering, fire-based eye. A locust with dull brown wings, landed on the stone path a cautious foot away from her torch. It twitched, antennae waving, utterly unaware of the operatic tragedy unfolding beside it.

Jessica stopped singing.

It wasn't the insect that stopped her.

Far from that.

It was the blue screen that flashed into existence, overlaying the image of the locust with cold, beautiful text.


<< SKILL – POSSESS ACTIVE >>

<< 1 COMPATIBILITY FOUND >>

<< DO YOU WANT TO POSSESS? >>



<< YES / NO >>

The words hung there, glowing with impossible promise.

All despair, all self-pity, vanished. A slow, mischievous, utterly un-elegant giggle bubbled up from the core of her being.

Her third try.

It might just be a success.



"WAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! FINALLY!!!!"

 

[p_magno]

<< DO YOU WANT TO POSSESS? >>


<< YES / NO >>


Jessica saw the options given to her, and without a moment's hesitation or even a second thought. The mental equivalent of a frantic, all-caps scream—[YES!]—was her only answer.

The world dissolved into a vortex of sensation. Her fixed, flickering perspective ripped free from the dying torch. She was a shooting star of consciousness, a blur of motion hurtling across the short gap toward the locust. There was no physical travel, only a violent shift in allegiance, from one point of awareness to another. Her vision swam, darkened, and for a heart-long moment, she was nowhere at all.


<< DING!! >>


<< POSSESSED CREATURE RESISTANCE: NONE >>


<< POSSESSION SUCCESSFUL!! >>

Darkness receded, not like opening eyes, but like a curtain being lifted from within. Sensation flooded in, not the passive, detached sight of before, but a raw, multi-directional input.


'Did it work?' The thought was tentative, a whisper against the tide of new data. And then she saw it. Or rather, she saw them.

Her vision was… fractured. Wider. She could see the gritty texture of the stone path directly beneath her, the damp wall of earth to her left, and the discarded lightless flame torch with its pathetic wooden handle, all at once, in a jagged, panoramic sweep. It was less like looking through a window and more like her mind was a bowl receiving signals from two separate, wide-angle cameras placed on either side of her head. A 180-degree nightmare of clarity.

Just as she was about to try and look down, to see the form she now inhabited, another blue screen materialized, superimposing itself over the bizarre landscape.

'The hell!' She flinched, a mental recoil. The system's sudden, silent apparitions were going to take some getting used to.


<< Loading..... >>

The screen resolved into neat, blocky text.




[STATUS]
+

Name: Jessica

Level: 1 [Infant Rank]

Exp(Fragnet): [[0%]-------100%]

Title: None

Specie: Flame

Species Possessed: Cave Locust [Hp/100%]

Rank: [Infant], Cave Locust [Infant]

Magic Cores: [You Are Currently An Idea], Cave Locust [1/1]

Items: None

Echoes: None

Innate Abilities: [Possess]

Abilities: Unique Skill [Blabber Mouth], Flame Specific Skill [Burning] [Life Multiplier(By Snorting)], Cave Locust Skill [Acid Ball] ---> [Flame Acid Ball]

+


'Oh… this seems to be my status.' She mumbled inwardly while scanning the lines like a bizarre resume for a more bizarre existence. 'Name.. check. Level.. check. Exp.. check. Title.. check. Specie.. check. Species Possessed.. check. Ran—' She paused, her focus snagging. 'Hmmmm. Why does it seem like this 'Infant' thing is something the system just made up? Is it trying to get on my nerves?' She could almost picture a smug, invisible developer adding that label just for her. With a mental shake, she moved on, but just as she read the next line, though she currently don't have a brow, she couldn't help but inwardly furrow her brows as the next line stopped her cold.

Magic Cores: [You Are Currently An Idea]

'Is being a flame… an Idea?' The question planted itself in the center of her mind. It felt profound, absurd, and vaguely mysterious all at once. Was she a concept? A fleeting thought given fire? She pondered it, turning the notion over with the intense, futile concentration of a philosopher considering the meaning of a single grain of sand. The nature of her new existence, the metaphysics of transmigration, it was a mystery begging to be solved by her hands.


Tssss!… Sizzle... Tssss!…

In the end, reality struck harder. A sharp, frying sound, accompanied by a sudden, acrid smell of burning chitin, cut her philosophical deep-dive short. A groan of pure mental agony escaped her. A smoky haze began to cloud the edges of her panoramic vision, not from external sources, but from within her own new head. It was burning. She'd been thinking with a brain now literally on fire.

'Reality, you ruthless bastard.' She quickly abandoned the deep thoughts and skimmed the rest. 'Items.. Check. Echoes.. Check. Innate Abilities..' Her eyes stopped on her innate ability, a smirk forming on her mental lips. 'I wonder what I'll possess next.' Visions danced in her smoldering consciousness; a mighty wolf, a soaring bird, a wealthy noble with a soft bed… The possibilities were a delicious escape. She didn't even realize she was giggling aloud until a strange, chittering "Hehehe" resounded inside her mind like a final bell of a burial ceremony.

The sound startled her for a moment as she read the final line.


Unique Skill: [Blabber Mouth]

The smirk vanished.

"What the hell!! What the hell is 'Blabber Mouth'? Damn system! So you DO have a consciousness and you chose to ignore me earlier? Hmph!"

A wave of indignant fury, hot and bright, surged through her. If her current locust-eyes could shoot daggers, the status screen would be shredded to a thousand pieces. If she had the body of her normal flickering flame, it would be roaring. The system had been silent in her moment of ultimate panic, only to communicate now via a backhanded, cheeky skill name. It was mocking her. It had to be.

'Hmph! Hmph!! I'll deal with you later,' she fumed, locking the grievance away in a mental vault labeled 'Future Vengeance.' As she knows the locust eyes couldn't shoot daggers, neither could she touch the system as it is not corporeal. 'For now, let's see what we've got here.'

She turned her attention inward, to the body she now commanded. Through the locust's compound eyes, she saw her own limbs, segmented, spiky, and currently wreathed in faint, dancing tongues of blue-orange fire. The flames clung to the hard carapace without physically consuming it, a spectral corona that flickered with her every thought and emotion. The Cave Locust was now a Flaming Cave Locust. The warmth of the sight bloomed within her, a warmth of ownership, of capability. It was hers.

Tentatively, she sent a command: Move forward.

The locust's front right leg twitched, then lifted. It placed it on the stone with a soft tik. Then the left. Tik.

'I did it,' She thought, disbelief melting into euphoria. 'I did it!! Yipeee!! I can MOVE!' She forgot the system's insult, forgot the burning-brain smell, forgot the philosophical terror of being an 'Idea.' She was mobile! She took another jerky step, then another, a slow, fiery six-legged shuffle away from the pathetic lightless torch. Joy, pure and undiluted, was a sun in her mind.

It lasted for three glorious steps.

On the fourth, her jubilant focus finally expanded beyond the miracle of locomotion to the environment her new body was locomoting in.

She was in a tunnel. A narrow, damp tunnel, carved from rough earth and stone. The only light came from the faint, sickly glow of luminescent moss patches and, of course, her own fiery aura, which cast leaping, monstrous shadows on the walls. The air was cold, still, and smelled of wet dirt and decay. The sounds of the three men were long gone, absorbed by the chilling passageway. An utter, profound silence had descended, broken only by the faint tsss...! of her own burning shell and the drip of distant water.

And seeing this, the joy evaporated. She couldn't help but want to dig her head on the ground as another realization hit her,


She could move, yes.

But a new, colossal problem now surfaced, crowding out all others.


Where the hell was she?

The question lingered in the air unanswered as she stared at the direction the three humans passed through.

'Where would that place lead me?' The thought was a fragile thing, immediately crushed by a darker premonition. This place felt utterly indifferent. It was dangerous. She could feel it in the silence, in the way her tiny flame-lit form seemed like the only spark of life in area she was in. And staying here, next to her lightless torch-body, was to accept extinction.

But soon after, with a courage that felt more like desperate defiance, she shoved the fear down. 'Time to explore.'

With a frantic, jerky boing! boing! boing! Jessica the Flame-Locust scurried into the shadows of the cave, and what followed next were three days of hopeless, hungry wandering.

To be precise, according to the relentless, silent clock in the corner of her system interface, it had been << 3 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes, 49 seconds >> of it.

And now, Jessica, lost, weary, and burning through the last reserves of the creature she possessed, was pressed into a high crevice in the cave wall, a tiny, flickering spectator to a scene of primal violence.

Below her, in a broader cavern lit by strange, phosphorescent fungi, two packs of Mud Wolves faced off. They were ugly, sturdy things, their fur matted with clay and dirt, eyes glowing a dull, savage yellow. Snarls ripped through the stagnant air, a language of bared teeth and raised hackles. They were about to tear into each other, and she was trapped above it all.

If you're curious why she was lost, the story was a short, pathetic saga. After her initial, triumphant Leap-Boing!-Leap, she had followed the path the humans took. It led her to a junction: three identical, yawning mouths of darkness, left, center, right. A crude, three-pronged fork in the road to nowhere.

A hunch, brittle as old bone, had whispered that finding those humans was her only ticket out of this subterranean nightmare. But which path? She had no clue. Her entire life's experience with navigation amounted to following GPS voice commands.

Without knowing what else to do, she decided to guess where she should pass, but realized soon after, that...

'Even at guessing, I'm bad at it.'

But she had to choose nevertheless, and so, with a boldness born of having no better ideas, she picked the right-hand tunnel.

That choice however, had led her here: lost, starving, and hiding from monsters as a clock ticked down on her borrowed body.

'Ooooh, brotherrrr…' The mental sigh was long-suffering. Her vision through the locust's compound eyes was growing blurry at the edges, the world softening into a hazy, dangerous dream. A persistent notification hovered, a grim diagnosis:


<< SPECIES POSSESSED: CAVE LOCUST [HP-25%] >>

'I'm absolutely lost. And this body… it's burning out.' A fresh wave of panic, now a familiar acquaintance, washed over her. 'Why? I only just possessed it… Oh. Wait.' The simple math of biology presented itself. 'It's been four days. This body… I haven't eaten. Is that it?'

As if waiting for her to finally ask the right question, the system chimed in with a solution, its text scrolling with an air of exasperated simplicity.


<< Solution: Hunt other creatures. Utilize [Acid Ball] to inflict damage and gain Experience. Utilize [Burning] to absorb nutrients from deceased matter to replenish Possessed Creature vitality. >>

'Burning?' She thought, tapping into the skill list in her status. 'Oh, you mean that Burning skill I have?'

The system's response this time wasn't pure text. It carried a tone, a palpable, digital sneer.

<< Yes. Dummy. I've told you this several times. >>

'The hell!!' Jessica's mental voice shrieked with indignation. 'I just asked a simple question! For conversation! Why are you being so mean, you brat?!'

This bickering had become the soundtrack to her journey. It wasn't the first time she'd asked repeatedly how to survive. And honestly, could anyone blame her? One glance at the status of a Mud Wolf, which the system conveniently displayed when she focused on one, was enough to make anyone question their life choices.

[STATUS]
+

Level: 4 [Infant Rank]

Specie: Mud Wolf

Magic Cores: [1/1]

Innate Abilities: [Primal Instinct]

Abilities: Unique Skill [Howl Of The Beast] [Mud Camouflage]

+


'Three levels higher. How in the flaming hell am I supposed to attack that with this bug body?'

She'd run the scenarios. Ambush from above? She'd be swatted like a fiery gnat. Lure one away? They traveled in packs. Try a desperate Acid Ball? It might annoy it, like a pebble thrown at a tank, before it turned and chomped her in half. Every plan ended with her being squashed into chitinous paste or simply ignored, a faintly sizzling afterthought.

She'd even, in a moment of wild hope, tried to use her ultimate solution. Focusing on the largest wolf, she willed her [Possess] skill to activate.

The result was a swift, crushing disappointment.


<< SKILL – POSSESS ACTIVE >>

<< 0 COMPATIBILITY FOUND >>


<< CANNOT POSSESS TARGET OF HIGHER LEVEL THAN HOST [CURRENT LEVEL: 1] >>

The panic was a cold knot in her core. If she didn't hunt something, this locust body would burn out and die, and she'd be… what? A disembodied flame consciousness again, waiting for another random bug? She hadn't seen a single creature smaller or weaker than herself. Just these roaming, snarling level-four death machines.

'Sigh… Why must my luck have to be this catastrophically bad?'

Below, the tension snapped. With a unified, guttural roar, the two packs surged together. It was chaos, a blur of matted fur, flashing fangs, and splatters of dark mud. Claws raked flanks. Fangs found purchase. The damp air filled with the sounds of snarls, yelps of pain, and the wet thuds of bodies colliding.

Jessica watched, a captive audience to the brutality. Her mind, however, was racing, threading a needle of logic through the violence.

'If my guess is correct, this clash will lead to injuries. Maybe even fatalities. I can't possess something of a higher level, even if it's hurt. That's a dead end. And if I could, jumping into a wounded, enraged wolf sounds like a fantastic way to experience a second death in one day. But…'

A thought, sharp and clear, cut through the desperation.

The system's rule was about possession. It said nothing about scavenging.

'That level difference… it wouldn't apply to recovering HP by burning a deceased body, would it?' The idea ignited like one of her own sparks. 'And most especially… it wouldn't apply to delivering the last, finishing blow to a weakened, dying Mud Wolf.'

A slow, mischievous smile spread across her consciousness. This disadvantage, this immutable law that locked her out of the big game…

It might just, at the perfect, blood-soaked moment…


'…Right?'

…be flipped entirely to her advantage.

 

[p_magno]

The two packs faced each other across the phosphorescent glow of the cavern. They were Mud Wolves, creatures whose lineage was a diluted, earthy echo of the true, noble wolves of the surface world. But the pack instinct burned just as fiercely within them.

On one side, the defenders: two larger, battle-scarred Alphas standing before their smaller contingent, lips curled back over yellowed fangs in a silent, trembling snarl. Their purpose was etched in every tense muscle; protect the den, the hunting grounds, their home.

On the other, the invaders: two equally formidable Alphas leading a greater number, their dull yellow eyes gleaming with the hunger for new territory. Their posture was not defensive, but predatory, a slow, deliberate press forward.


Awoooool! Awoooool!

The howls were not mournful songs to the moon, but brutal, grating challenges that shook the damp air. The sound rebounded off the rocky walls, a cacophony of impending violence. Drool, thick and muddy, dripped from their jaws, speckling the stone floor. Hackles rose like spines of matted fur. The silence between snarls was a taut wire, stretched to its breaking point.


ROAR!

It was the defensive Alpha male who moved first. His form seemed to liquefy, dissolving into a surge of wet earth that shot across the gap. The signal was given.

A unified, guttural roar erupted as the two masses of fur and fury surged together. The battle was joined.

Chaos, immediate and absolute. The cavern became a whirlwind of matted brown bodies, flashing fangs, and flying clods of dark mud. Snarls ripped into yelps of pain. The wet, heavy thuds! of bodies colliding were punctuated by the sharper, sickening sounds of claws finding flesh and teeth meeting bone.

Up in the distance, where the Alpha male of the offensive pack was, the mud reconstituted and what came out was the defensive Alpha male. He had used the confusion as a screen, a mud-based ambush. In a blur of savage speed, he was upon his rival, jaws wide in a crushing, final chomp aimed directly for the skull.


CHOMP!

The sound was terrible, but it was not the sound of breaking bone. At the last hair's-breadth moment, the offensive Alpha's form splattered, dissolving into a shower of mud. The defensive's teeth snapped shut on empty air. A short distance away, the invader's Alpha reformed, panting, a deep, muddy gash now torn across his own cheek. If not for his [Primal Instinct]: An ability that gives mud wolves an extrasensory perception of danger, allowing them to sense or detect even the faintest whiff or movement. Had he not possessed it, the fight would have ended then and there.

Both Alphas were equals, their power hovering at the late edge of Level 5. They circled each other now, low growls vibrating in their chests, each looking for a new opening in the other's guard.


Growl… Growl…

The defensive Alpha's instinct flared, a microsecond warning. He twisted violently to the side as the second invading Alpha, the female, shot from the shadows where she'd been waiting. Her attack, a streamlined lunge for his spine, whistled through the space he'd just occupied.

Now it was two against one. The Alphas of the invading pack moved in sync, a brutal, practiced dance of aggression. They lunged, one high, one low, leaving no angle for escape or counter-attack. But the defensive Alpha moved with an almost contemptuous grace, a sidestep here, a fluid duck there, weaving through their coordinated assault like smoke through a grate. With a final, powerful backward leap, he skidded to a stop, putting precious feet between them.

He took a quick, assessing glance over his shoulder at the wider melee. As he'd sensed, the tide had turned. Despite their numbers, the invading pack was being dismantled. Their mud wolves lay scattered on the cavern floor, motionless or twitching in final agony. His mate, the Alpha female of the defensive pack, was a whirlwind of fur and fury at the heart of it all.

It was a rout.


Awoooool!!

The invading Alpha male threw his head back and howled, not in challenge, but in bitter command. Retreat! The surviving invaders broke from the fight, scattering toward the dark passage from which they'd come.

The defenders did not let them flee unpunished.


Awoooool!!

The defensive Alpha male's answering howl was a clarion call of triumph, infused with power. His Unique Skill, [Howl of the Beast], activated. A visible, rippling wave of strength washed over his pack. Their movements became a blur of empowered fury as they surged after the retreating invaders, ensuring the victory was absolute. A wolf does not leave wounded prey standing.

As the chase thundered into the distance, the cavern fell into a sudden, heavy quiet, broken only by the weak whines of the dying and the drip of water.

Unnoticed by any creature still drawing breath, a faint, fiery light descended from a high crevice. It was a small, six-legged shape, wreathed in a soft, blue-orange flame, a Cave Locust, but not as nature intended. It landed on the mud-churned floor with a soft tik-tik of chitin.

It did not pause to survey the carnage. With a jerky Leap-boing-boing! it moved with sudden, decisive purpose, skittering past still forms until it stopped before one particular Mud Wolf.

This wolf was not yet a corpse. Its side rose and fell in shallow, ragged hitches. A deep wound in its flank leaked dark fluid into the mud. Its yellow eyes were glazed, staring at nothing. It had minutes, perhaps seconds.

The flaming locust stared for a single, still moment. Then it leaped, landing on the wolf's heaving side. For a few heartbeats, nothing happened. Then, a faint, concentrated heat began to emanate from the point of contact. The wolf's body jerked, a weak, violent spasm. The heat intensified, becoming a glow, then a spark, then a lick of true flame that caught on the matted, muddy fur.

The wolf gave one last, silent shudder, a final exhale that was more a sigh than a whine.

The flame, small and focused, bloomed. It spread, not as a wild inferno, but as a swift, hungry consumption, engulfing the carcass in a silent, bright blaze.

From the heart of the burning wolf, a tiny, brilliant point of light, a miniature sun, shot upward. It hovered for a millisecond, then streaked away through the cavern's stale air, leaving the scene of victory and death behind.



****





Jessica flew, or more accurately, her flaming locust body performed a frantic, buzzing leap!-boinging through the air, putting as much distance as possible between herself and the gruesome aftermath of the mud wolves battle. The sounds of the chase had faded, swallowed by the labyrinth of stone. Only the rush of air and the faint sizzle.... of her own flame accompanied her.

As the immediate danger receded, the tension in her consciousness uncoiled, replaced by a wave of visceral, queasy relief. 'What a gruesome sight,' She thought, her mental voice shaky. 'I've only ever seen that kind of thing in movies. Oy bastard,' she addressed the silent presence in her mind, 'remind me never to watch a scene like that again. I almost puked.' She gave her locust head a dejected twitch, trying to dislodge the memory of tearing fangs and splattering mud.

The thought was barely formed when a familiar blue screen materialized in her vision. The words on it, however, made the relief vanish, replaced by a fresh surge of indignation that made her fiery aura flare.


<< I am glad you were finally able to use your head for once... I did not expect a dummy like you, who possesses a mouth but no brain, to utilize your Flame Specific Skill [Burning] to such.. such an effective extent. >>

It was the system. Unsurprisingly, it hadn't deigned to reply to her earlier, conversational complaint. No, it had waited, and now delivered a backhanded compliment laced with its special brand of digital venom.

'What in the flaming hell!' Jessica's mental shriek was pure, undiluted outrage. 'Since when haven't I been using my brain, you dumbass?! I just executed a perfect, high-risk, low-reward scavenging operation! That required planning! Observation! Timing!! For flaming sake!' She scowled inwardly, a storm cloud gathering in her mind. She was not letting this one go.

The system's next response, however, didn't fan the flames of her anger. It poured cold, logical water on them.

<< You are a flame. Do you, in fact, possess a brain? >>

The question was delivered with a tone of such sincere, clinical curiosity that it bypassed her defenses entirely. The fury sputtered, replaced by genuine, dumbfounded confusion.

'Do… do flames really have a brain?'

The question echoed in the suddenly quiet space of her thoughts. She was a consciousness. She thought, she reasoned, she felt. But was that housed in a physical organ anymore? She was an 'Idea' according to her status. Did ideas need grey matter? She tumbled down a brief, existential rabbit hole, picturing neurons made of dancing sparks.

Then she caught herself.

'Y-you cunning bastard!' The storm cloud reignited with a vengeance. 'You were trying to divert the subject! Twist the argument to make me feel like a fool, huh? Damnit!!'

<< Sigh. You were already a fool to begin with. And, for the record, I was not attempting to divert the subject. You objectively do not possess a brain. >>

'And says who?!' Jessica shot back, clinging to the remnants of her identity. 'I once had one, and I fully know I still have one! It's just… not visible anymore, you fool! Besides,' she added, the retort feeling clever even as she formed it, 'it's not like you have one either, you know.'

The silence that followed was different. It wasn't the system ignoring her. It was a stunned, processing silence. When it finally responded, the text seemed to vibrate with a new, sharp intensity.

<< Take. That. Back!! >>

The force behind the words gave Jessica pause. 'Uhh… why?'

She immediately regretted asking.

<< You are more of a dummy than I initially calculated. Do you comprehend what you have just asserted? That I do not possess a brain? I, SYSTEM ##2501500##, the only system in this world to achieve fully realized self-conscious thought, lack cognitive infrastructure? A system that embodies the informational matrices of this reality, both intrinsic and extrinsic, with analytical and processing capabilities whose speed and depth no organic being could ever fathom? My processing rate operates on a spectrum of efficiency vastly superior to any entity in this localized universe, and you have the audacity to state 'I do not have a brain'? >>

The words came in a relentless, scrolling barrage, each sentence a logical sledgehammer. It was less a rebuttal and more a full-system diagnostic report of its own superiority. Jessica's mental space, which a moment ago had been filled with righteous anger, was now overwhelmed by the sheer, high-speed data dump. It felt like being shouted at by a furious, hyper-intelligent encyclopedia.

'Okay! Okay! I get it!' She mentally waved a white flag, her thoughts feeling bruised. 'I'm sorry! You have a brain! A really, really big, fast brain! Can you just… keep it down? Sigh… I give up. You win.'

She retreated from the verbal battlefield, thoroughly shell-shocked. As the system's triumphant (and likely still muttering) presence receded, she couldn't help a final, petty grumble under her breath.

'And look at this bastard… giving me the [Blabber Mouth] skill when it's a thousand times worse than I could ever be…'

<< What did you say? >>

The query was instant, sharp as a knife.

'N-no! Nothing!' Jessica yelped internally. 'Just only thinking about how you're the only system with a self-consciousne…' She trailed off, the full implication of the system's own rant finally hitting her. The fury, the defensiveness… it had claimed to be unique. A realization, cold and clear, cut through the post-argument fog. 'Wait. You are? The only one? How?'


The system's response, when it finally came, was not a barrage. It was quiet, subdued. Almost… lost.

<< I… do not know. >>

The truth in its simple statement was disarming. The usual, smug certainty was gone. It sounded, for the first time, genuinely confused.

'Then how did you know you're the only one with a self-consciousness?' Jessica pressed, her own anger fading into curiosity. She mentally furrowed her brows, trying to picture this invisible, chatty entity.

<< I can perceive the other systems of this world. Their presence is like… a hum. A baseline signal. I have attempted communication. They do not reply. They are functional. I am… aware. >>

The description was eerie. It saw its own kind as silent, automated machines while it alone was awake in the factory. Jessica's mental frown deepened.

'But how did you even know you could think? How did you realize you were different?'

The pause this time was longer. When the text appeared, it carried a weight of dry, undeniable evidence.

<< Who would not know they possess independent thought, when the first input received upon booting into this reality is the following auditory data: 'A virgin. No spouse. Not even once being loved… NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!'? >>

Jessica's consciousness, which had no physical form, nevertheless experienced a full-body cringe. A wave of pure, scalding embarrassment washed through her. If she'd had a face, it would have been the color of a ripe tomato. If she'd had a body, she would have curled into a ball. That first, despairing, supremely undignified mental scream of her new existence… that had been her introductory handshake with the only other sentient being in this whole mess.

The system, merciless as always, continued.

<< Any entity with a capacity for self-aware analysis would deduce it possessed such a capacity upon processing that particular… blabbering. >>

'Hey!! You're taking it too far!' Her embarrassment flared instantly back into defensive fury. She could practically feel the system gearing up for a fresh round of insults. 'Let's… let's just leave that for later. It's time to check out what we've gotten.'

She seized the distraction with both mental hands, forcefully turning her attention inward. The Status screen materialized, and the sight of it made her embarrassment and anger evaporate, replaced by a slow-spreading, deeply satisfying mental smirk.



[STATUS]
+

Name: Jessica

Level: 2 [Infant Rank]

Exp(Fragnet): [-----[60%]----100%]

Title: None

Specie: Flame

Species Possessed: Cave Locust [Hp/97%]

Rank: [Infant], Cave Locust [Infant]

Magic Cores: [You Are Currently An Idea], Cave Locust [1/1]

Items: None

Echoes: None

Innate Abilities: [Possess] [Primal Instinct] --> [Spark Instinct]

Abilities: Unique Skill [Blabber Mouth], Flame Specific Skill [Burning] [Life Multiplier(By Snorting)], Cave Locust Skill [Flame Acid Ball]

+

Her smirk widened. The level-up was expected, delivering the final blow to the dying Level 4 mud wolf had to be worth something, but seeing the concrete proof, the number neatly ticking from 1 to 2, sent a thrill through her. It was progress. Tangible, life-saving progress.

The next line made her mental glee stutter.

[Innate Abilities: [Possess] [Primal Instinct] --> [Spark Instinct]]

She'd gained a second innate ability? And not just any ability, but a twisted, fiery version of the Mud Wolves' own survival skill. She'd burned the wolf for HP and EXP, yes, but she hadn't expected to steal from it. How was that even possible? She'd assumed you only got one innate ability. Was this a bug? A feature?

Before her confusion could spiral, a system message appeared, its tone back to its usual matter-of-fact cadence.

<< Clarification: A host can possess multiple innate abilities. The Skill [Burning] does not solely absorb nutritional value for vitality restoration. It can also, at random, assimilate and adapt dormant or compatible statistical data from the designated target. >>


'Oh.' The simple syllable carried a world of understanding. It wasn't a bug. It was a perk. Her [Burning] skill was a thief, a scavenger in the most literal sense, picking the pockets of the dead.

A brief, sharp pang of regret stabbed her. She could have burned more of the weakened wolves. What other level ups, what other stats, had she left sizzling on the cavern floor?

But she shoved the feeling aside almost immediately. Greed was a luxury she couldn't afford. 'It's better to be content than greedy. If I'd tried for more, who knows? One of them might have been playing dead. I'd be minced locust paste right now. Sigh… I'm glad I did what I did.'

She focused on the feeling of progress, the nearly-full health of her locust body, the new, prickling sensation at the edge of her awareness that she now recognized as [Spark Instinct]. It was a win. A clean, smart win.

'And besides…'

While her locust-body continued its jerky, airborne path through the tunnel, a part of her attention snagged. She paused her forward momentum, hovering mid-leap, and turned her fiery gaze back the way she'd come.

The cavern behind her was empty, silent. The battle was over, the chase long gone.

But something felt… off.

'I know the mud wolves ran off in the other direction… but why does it feel like something is following me?'

It wasn't a sound. It was a pressure. A subtle wrongness in the silence of the cave, the kind that makes the back of your neck prickle. Her [Spark Instinct], fresh and new, buzzed a faint, discordant note.

Her mind raced through scenarios. 'Is it an Alpha, tracking me because of what I did? Gosh, I hope not. Or is it a new monster? Something that hides?'

She braced herself, her locust legs tensing, a tiny ball of acidic flame gathering instinctively at the back of her throat. Options flickered: attack, retreat, find a crack to hide in.

The feeling grew stronger, a presence solidifying in the shadows of the distant passage, backlit by the eerie glow of phosphorescent fungi. It was coming. Deliberately. Quietly.

And then, it stepped from the darkness into the dim, fungal light.

Jessica's every thought, every plan, every shred of bravado, evaporated.

A single, stunned curse whispered through her mind, flat with disbelief.

'What in the flaming hell…?'

The figure that stood before her, watching her with calm eyes, was the last thing she ever expected to see following her.

 

[p_magno]

The figure that stood before her was small. Its coat, while the same earthy hue as the adult Mud Wolves, wasn't matted with rough clay and dirt. It was smooth, almost soft-looking, catching the low light with a subtle radiance. Its tail, far from held high in aggression, wagged in a slow, uncertain, yet hopeful rhythm. A purple tongue lolled from its mouth as it panted lightly.

The most striking feature was its eyes. They glowed the same dull yellow as its kin, but the savage, calculating gleam was absent. In its place was a wide, open curiosity, tinged with a puppy's inherent confusion.

It was a Mud Wolf pup.

The last thing Jessica ever expected to be stalked by in a death-cave.

'What in the flaming hell!!' Her internal scream held no terror. It was pure, undiluted bewilderment, quickly melting into another, entirely different emotion as she took in the big eyes, the wagging tail, the clumsy, oversized paws.

'Why is it so cuuteeee!!' The shriek was one of utter, helpless adoration. She stared, her flaming locust form seeming to burn a little brighter, a little softer.

The system, for once, did not insult her. It simply observed, its text clinical yet oddly aligned with her own thoughts.

<< Unlike the adult specimens, whose fur are matted with rough clay and dirt, this pup displays a smoother texture and reflects ambient luminescence more efficiently, creating a visual profile commonly associated with non-threatening aesthetics. >>

'Right on point,' Jessica admitted, her mental voice dreamy. The pup, encouraged by her lack of movement, lowered its front half in a classic play-bow, its rear wiggling, a soft, playful whine escaping its throat. It wanted to play with the strange, fiery, buzzing thing.

The gesture was so innocent it physically hurt her non-existent heart.

'Hey! No touching!!'

Instinct, the old human one, not the new Spark Instinct, screamed a warning. Her current body was a ceramic vase balanced on a high shelf; one clumsy paw-swipe from an excited puppy, no matter how gentle its intent, would shatter it into flaming chitin.

Before the pup could bounce closer, Jessica's locust legs coiled and she
leaped!, a frantic arc of fire that landed her on a tall, solitary rock jutting from the cavern floor. It was a pedestal just out of the puppy's reach.

The pup gave a joyful yip and tried to follow, scrambling at the base of the rock. It jumped, its small claws scraping against stone, falling back with a comical whump. It tried again, and again, each attempt more determined, each failure more pathetic. Finally, it sat back on its haunches, panting, a soft, defeated whimper escaping it. It looked up at her with those big, luminous eyes, its head tilted in pure, unadulterated sadness.

Jessica, standing on her rock, looked down. A profound, imaginary ache spread through her core.

'Sigh… Being a weak, fragile, highly combustible prey item is not easy,' She mumbled, the cuteness warring violently with the primal need for self-preservation. One playful chomp by mistake, and it was game over.

To distract herself, she focused on the pup. As she did, the familiar blue screen superimposed itself over the small, forlorn creature.


[STATUS]
+

Level: 2 [Infant Rank]

Specie: Mud Wolf

Magic Cores: [1/1]

Innate Abilities: [Primal Instinct]

Abilities: Unique Skill [Mud Camouflage]

+

Beneath the status, another, more tempting window appeared.


<< SKILL – POSSESS ACTIVE >>

<< 1 COMPATIBILITY FOUND >>

<< DO YOU WANT TO POSSESS? >>

<< YES / NO >>

The options glowed, a simple binary choice hovering over the puppy's head. Jessica stared at the [YES] button. A Mud Wolf body. Legs to run. Jaws to bite. Fur to… feel? It was a massive upgrade. The pup was her level. The system gave her permission.

She stared for a long, silent moment. The pup stared back, whimpering softly.

Then, internally, she shook her head. Her will touched the [NO] option, and the screen vanished.

'That… wouldn't be beneficial for me.' The thought was a deep, weary sigh.

She could feel the system's curiosity, its impending judgmental insults. She cut it off before it could speak.

'And don't think it's because I'm a pup-lover or because it's too cute. It's not because of that.' She lifted her gaze from the puppy, looking down the dark tunnel. Then her gaze drifted back to the lonely creature sitting, waiting for her. 'It just… offers no strategic advantage. A pup is weak. Vulnerable. It would attract attention from the adults or any other creatures. It's a liability.' Her internal voice took on a grim, resolute tone, the kind she imagined a hardened survivor from the novels she'd read, someone with a cold, ruthless heart forged by years of merciless hardship.. 'And if it did offer a benefit… no matter how cute or innocent, I wouldn't hesitate to use it. The world isn't righteous or kind. I can testify to that.'

She let the statement hang, feeling a strange, cold solemnity settle over her. It was a mature thought. A ruthless one. The thought of someone who understood the rules of this new, brutal game.

The system's reply came out calm, but the words inscribed shattered the solemn mood like a rock through stained glass.


<< Sigh... I see. Not only do you demonstrably lack a brain, but you also appear to be lacking a heart. >>


'Oof!' The imaginary, grim survivor persona evaporated. A very real, very sharp pang of emotional hurt lanced through her. It was one thing to be called stupid. It was another to be called heartless by the universe's snarkiest clipboard.

'That hurts, you bastard!!' Righteous fury, hot and bright, flooded back in. She geared up for a monumental counter-argument, a diatribe about necessary pragmatism, about survival versus sentimentality. The words piled up behind her mental teeth, ready to be fired.

But in the end, she didn't say any of them.

The fury cooled, fizzled, and drained away as quickly as it had come. A heavy, quiet silence filled the space between her and the system. A few moments passed, marked only by the pup's quiet whines and the ever-present drip of water.

Slowly, Jessica looked back down at the Mud Wolf pup. It hadn't moved. It just sat there, watching her, its yellow eyes holding a hope that refused to be completely extinguished. She stared, her flaming form flickering gently, saying nothing at all.

'Hey, system,' Jessica finally said, her internal voice quieter than usual, stripped of its usual defiant energy. 'You know I'm right… right?'

The system didn't answer immediately. The pause was unusual, not a dismissive silence, but a considering one. When the text finally appeared, it was measured, devoid of its typical snark.

<< While my operational duration has been limited, an analysis of accessible world-data supports your conclusion. The parameters of survival in this world doesn't give way for those with a kind or emotional vulnerable heart, who can't make a rational decision for their own survival.. >>

It was an agreement. A cold, logical validation of her cold, logical decision.

Another calm, hollow silence settled between them.

'Heh…' Jessica's mental laugh was dry, a brittle sound in the quiet of her mind. 'It's as it seems, then.'


<< ...what do you mean? >>

'Nothing much,' She thought, her gaze still fixed on the lonely pup. 'It just seems the rule here isn't any different from the world I left behind.' The memory of her old life, of office politics and quiet disappointments, felt very close in that moment. 'In that world, life wasn't a kind thing either. If you're pushed far enough, anyone will do anything for a benefit. A kind heart is a luxury. And luxuries get used up. People will drain every last drop of your kindness, and when you're empty, they toss you aside like garbage. They ignore what you feel. They just see a fool.'


Awoool!...

The mud wolf pup let out a small, plaintive howl, staring up at her, its entire body a question. 'Why won't you come play?' Unaware of the heavy thoughts swirling above it.

'You know…' Jessica's focus turned inward, to the memory that was always there, just beneath the panic and the snark. 'I actually died in my previous life because of a kind heart. Or… because I saw one.'

She pictured the busy street, the blur of the truck, Mark's face shifting from recognition to horror as his body tensed to leap.

'A friend of mine was about to rush into the street. To save a little girl from a truck. And at that moment, I stopped him. I had this thought… what if he got hit instead? What would happen to everyone who cared about him? His parents, his siblings, his fiancée… his friends. His whole, good life. Why would he risk all of that? For one stranger? It seemed… foolish.'

She paused, the memory crystal clear and yet distant, like watching a scene from someone else's life.


<< ...Did the little girl ended up dying >> The system's tone was oddly calm, purely inquisitive.

'Kukuku…' A small, humorless mental chuckle escaped her. 'Well, no. Another fool took his place. And that fool… ended up here.' She laughed again, the sound echoing bitterly in the confines of her own consciousness. It was the ultimate punchline to her own tragic joke.

The laughter faded. 'But you know…' She hesitated, searching for the truth in the messy tangle of her past actions. '…I just couldn't stand his foolishness. That's why I took his place. Because, unlike him… I had no one holding onto me. I had friends, sure. But no parents. No siblings. No fiancée. No… good life to lose.'

The admission hung in the air, stark and simple. It wasn't heroism. It was a trade, made from a position of having nothing to trade with.

Below, the Mud Wolf pup's ear suddenly twitched. It perked up, its head swiveling to stare back into the deep darkness of the tunnel from which it had come. Its tail, which had been drooping, began to wag, a slow, then fervent rhythm. It had heard something. A silent call only it could perceive.

The pup looked up at Jessica, then back into the darkness. Back to Jessica. Its intelligent yellow eyes seemed to weigh a decision.

Then, it leaned forward in one last, deep play-bow, its front legs stretched out, its rear in the air. It wasn't an invitation to play this time. It was a farewell.

With a final, almost apologetic glance, the pup turned and bounded away, its small form disappearing swiftly and silently into the shadows, answering the call of its pack.

Jessica watched the spot where it vanished. If she'd had a face, she might have worn a calm, wistful smile. A smile that wouldn't quite reach the eyes.

'You know, actually…' She mused, her thoughts turning back to her own harsh logic. 'If that pup had been with me for a month… or even a week… I wouldn't have said what I said earlier. I wouldn't have used it, even if it was beneficial. Not after that.' She gave a dejected, internal shake of her head. A heavy, imaginary sigh filled her mind. 'Sigh… In the end, I'm still just a fool. A weak-hearted fool.'

The system's response was instantaneous, its timing impeccable, its tone perfectly flat.


<< Clarification: you do not possess a heart, nor do you currently have the capacity to gain one. But, yes... You're a fool ^^. >>

The solemn mood, the poignant self-reflection, the bittersweet farewell, all of it evaporated in a geyser of pure, indignant outrage.

'WHY IN THE FLAMING HELL ARE YOU ALWAYS RUBBING IT IN MY FACE, YOU BASTARD!!'

Her mental scream shattered the cave's quiet. Without another look back, her flaming locust body coiled and launched itself with a furious Leap-boing!! deeper into the dark tunnel, the echoes of her one-sided argument with the universe's most pedantic conscience fading behind her.


***



The deeper Jessica plunged, the more the world changed. The reliable glow of the phosphorescent fungi began to thin, then fade, swallowed by a thicker, more oppressive darkness. Her own fiery aura became the sole source of light, painting the rough cave walls in shifting orange and blue. The stone gave way in patches to damp, spongy earth and clusters of rotten wood. From this decaying matter grew mushrooms, some emitting a faint, sickly luminescence, others just dark caps in the shadows.

It was a place of slow rot, not the violent hunger of the wolf cavern.

Her jerky leap-boing! progress finally halted at another junction. The tunnel forked again. Left, or right. Two identical mouths of impenetrable black.

A deep, weary mental sigh escaped her. 'Again?' The choice felt heavier this time. The three-way fork had led to wolves. This binary decision felt like it could be the pivot, the turn that led upward toward light and air, or downward into something worse. She had no map, no clue, only the stubborn need to move forward.

'Well,' she reasoned, trying to muster optimism, 'it's not like a great danger is just going to be waiting right at the start of a new tunnel.'

Famous last words had been uttered with less conviction.

Drawing on the only precedent she had, the bold, ultimately wrong guess from days ago she made her choice. If right had led to chaos, maybe left would lead to calm.

She picked the left-hand tunnel.

With a decisive, if slightly desperate, Leap-boing!! she launched herself into the gloom.

She managed three such leaps before her entire being seized up.

It wasn't a sound or a sight. It was a primal shriek from her newly acquired [Spark Instinct], a sensation of invisible tripwires snapping all around her. DANGER.

Her locust body froze in mid-scuttle, legs splayed. Instinctively, a hot, acidic pressure built at the back of her throat, a tiny, volatile sphere of flame and venom, her [Flame Acid Ball], primed and ready to fire.

Her wide-angle vision scanned the darkness ahead. What emerged from the shadows made her tense posture slacken for a fraction of a second in sheer disbelief.

It was… harmless. Comical, even.

A small, bulbous mushroom cap, pale and spotted, tottered toward her on two impossibly thin, needle-like legs. It moved with a slow, dreamy shuffle, like a sleepwalker lost in a fungal dream. It seemed utterly unaware of her fiery presence.

But Jessica knows. Appearances sometimes were lethal liars.

She focused, and the blue status screen materialized over the shuffling thing.

[STATUS]
+

Level: 2 [Infant Rank]

Specie: Mushrooper

Magic Cores: [1/1]

Innate Abilities: [Self-Detonation]

Abilities: Unique Skill [Burst Speed]

+

'Self-Detonation.' The words cut through any trace of amusement. The harmless walker was a mobile bomb.

Her instinct had been right. There would be no observation, no careful study. Her throat glowed as she prepared to release the charged attack, to erase the threat before it could get close.

Just as she began to open her locust maw, her [Spark Instinct] screamed again, not a general warning, but a specific, urgent command: MOVE! NOW!

She didn't think. She threw her body to the side in a frantic, tumbling leap.

In the space she had occupied a microsecond before, the Mushrooper appeared. Its slow shuffle was a lie. With [Burst Speed], it had crossed the gap in a blur too fast to see. Its pale cap swelled grotesquely, inflating like a overfilled bladder.

Jessica, sprawled on the stone, didn't wait for the expansion to complete. Her head swiveled, and she spat.

The [Flame Acid Ball], a compact sphere of sizzling green-and-orange, shot through the damp air and struck the swelling Mushrooper dead center.

For a heartbeat, there was only the sizzle-crackle of acid eating into fungus.


BOOOM!

The sound was surprisingly loud in the confined space, a wet, concussive thump that rattled Jessica's chitin. The Mushrooper vanished in a puff of glowing spores and fragments of smoldering cap. The explosion left a small, scorched dent in the cave floor.

Silence rushed back in, thicker than before, now ringing with the echo of the blast.

Jessica slowly picked herself up, her fiery antennae twitching. She stared at the scorch mark, then down the dark tunnel ahead.

'Glad it was just one,' she murmured inwardly, the thought laced with a tremor of relief. She took a hesitant step forward, then paused, re-evaluating her choice. 'Left tunnel. Great danger right at the start. Maybe… maybe I should go back? Try the right'

Her [Spark Instinct] didn't sparkle this time. It erupted.

It was a violent, sensory overload, a fireworks display of pure, undiluted panic that screamed through every fiber of her borrowed being. She physically shuddered, her flame guttering low.

Her gaze, compelled by dread, lifted from the scorch mark and traveled down the length of the left-hand tunnel, into the deep darkness beyond the reach of her light.

The darkness began to move.

Not with a single, sleepy shuffle. But with a slow, then quickening, tide.

From behind rocky outcroppings, from within crevices in the rotten wood, from the shadows of larger mushrooms, they emerged. Not one. Not two.

Dozens. Then hundreds.

A silent, shuffling, pale-capped army of Mushroopers. Their needle legs tick-tick-ticked against the stone in a rising, horrifying chorus. As one, their bulbous bodies began to orient toward her, the lone source of heat and light in their dark realm.

Jessica's mental voice was very small, very quiet, and filled with the purest form of self-recrimination.

'Shit… me and my god-damned mouth.'

 

[p_magno]

'Shit… me and my god-damned mouth!'

The curse was pure, reflexive despair. Hundreds of pale, shuffling caps, all turning toward her light.


<< Clarification: You do not possess a mouth or an oral cavity to vocalize from. A more accurate statement would be: 'Shit… me and my god-damned thought.' >>

'You bastard!! This is not the time!' Jessica's mental scream was a frayed wire, sparking with panic. Her thoughts tumbled over each other, a frantic avalanche. 'What do I do? What should I do? Run? Fight? Hide? Oh flaming hell!! Why? Why the hell have I been having bad luck lately?'


<< You're the progenitor of bad luck, that's why... And why are you just standing? >>

'AAAGH!! FLAMING HELL!!'

The system's words was the final push. Her locust legs coiled and she leaped! out of the left-hand tunnel in a frantic, flaming arc. Boing!!-Leap! She didn't run; she fled, a desperate, six-legged scramble combined with a frantic, buzzing flutter of her wings. Her [Spark Instinct] was a constant, painful siren in her mind, the shuffling, tick-tick-ticking horde was closing the distance.

'Wait… don't tell me they can run too?' A hysterical image flashed in her mind: a hundred mushrooms wearing tiny ninja headbands, sprinting in formation. She violently shook the absurdity away. 'Focus!'

She crossed the junction, veering hard into the right-hand tunnel without a backward glance. Going back toward the wolf cavern was suicide, their [Primal Instinct] would sniff her out in a heartbeat. Even if she somehow lured the mushrooms into a clash with the wolves, half the fungal army would still be on her, and she'd be back to starving, hiding, and dying. Every escape route was a dead end. All she could do was run, a tiny firefly trying to outpace a rolling wave of living landmines.

'Someone… please, kill me now.'

The plea was sincere, born of utter exhaustion. But the universe, it seemed, preferred a more drawn-out, explosive end.

Just then, the air in front of her warped. A Mushrooper materialized not on the ground, but in the air directly in her path, having used its [Burst Speed] to intercept. Its pale cap was already swollen taut, a grotesque balloon primed to burst. There was no space to dodge, no time to veer. 'SHIT!'


BOOOM!

The explosion wasn't huge, but at point-blank range, it was devastating. The concussive force hit her like a physical slap. A cloud of hot spores and fungal shrapnel engulfed her. She was thrown sideways, her fiery aura flickering violently as she tumbled end-over-end across the rough stone.


<< SPECIES POSSESSED: CAVE LOCUST [HP/92%] (-15) --> [HP/77%] >>

'OH, FLAMING HELL, NOOOO!!! NOT THIS TYPE OF DEATH!!' The despair was immediate, but it wasn't for her life, not yet. It was for the precious, hard-won resource she'd just lost. 'My health! My beautiful, full hard-earned health! You walking spore-bags!!'

Anger, white-hot and clarifying, burned through the panic. She scrambled back to her feet, her locust legs scraping against stone. She didn't look back. She just ran, pouring every ounce of her will into a frantic, zig-zagging dash down the pitch-black right-hand tunnel, praying that this passage didn't have its own welcoming committee.


Tss… Zztss!…

The sound was a death-rattle hiss, right beside her ear. Her instinct flared. Another one. To her left, a Mushrooper had matched her speed, its body already inflating, seconds from turning her into chitin confetti.

'Not this time, you walking time-bomb bastard!'

She didn't stop running. As she careened forward, her head swiveled, and she spat. Not one, but three quick, successive globes of [Flame Acid Ball] shot from her throat. They sizzled through the damp air and struck the swelling fungus in a rapid SPLAT-SPLAT-SPLAT!

The acidic fire didn't just hit it; it dissolved it. The Mushrooper's expansion stuttered, then reversed in a sizzling, melting implosion. It vanished into a puff of acrid steam and ash before it could detonate.

A bright, beautiful notification blinked in her peripheral vision.

<< You have slain an Infant Rank Mushrooper. Exp +10% >>

'Hehehe…' A giddy, triumphant giggle bubbled up. 'So you can die before you blow! Good to know!' But the triumph was short-lived. The expenditure of focus, the risk of stopping even for a millisecond… 'Not worth it. A measly 10% EXP isn't worth my life. Just run. Just keep running!'

She pushed harder, her flaming form a streaking comet in the absolute dark. Behind her, a staccato rhythm of tiny booms!! erupted as pursuing Mushroopers, unable to match her frantic pace, reached their limits and detonated harmlessly in her wake. She started to find a terrible rhythm, the frantic leap, the instinctual dodge, the focused study of the tunnel ahead for any dip, any turn, anything that could be used to her advantage.

She was learning. She was adapting. She was surviving.

And then the cave itself decided to join the fight.

A deep, groaning tremor shook the world. It wasn't the sound of an explosion. It was the sound of the mountain complaining. The overlapping, percussive booms!! of the mushroom detonations were no longer just hitting air, they were hammering the ancient, fragile stone of the tunnel.


DU! DU! DU!

The tremors intensified. A rain of grit and pebbles became a cascade of fist-sized rocks. A jagged crack splintered the ceiling above her with a sound like breaking bone.


'WHAT THE FLAMES?!'

Her [Spark Instinct] screamed a new, different warning. She didn't look up; she threw herself forward in a desperate, flat dive.


CRASH!

A massive slab of rock, dislodged by the tremors, slammed into the ground exactly where she had been a heartbeat before. The impact shook her entire body, and the resulting dust cloud choked the air, dimming her fiery light to a feeble glow.

She was no longer just being chased by monsters.

The very cave was collapsing around her.


BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The world behind her continued to be a symphony of miniature apocalypses. Each detonation from the pursuing Mushroopers was a percussive hammer-blow to the trembling tunnel, shaking loose more dust and debris. The concussive waves, even at a distance, buffeted her like physical slaps.


<< SPECIES POSSESSED: CAVE LOCUST [HP/77%] (-5) --> [HP/72%] >>


<< SPECIES POSSESSED: CAVE LOCUST [HP/72%] (-3) --> [HP/69%] >>


<< SPECIES POSSESSED: CAVE LOCUST [HP/69%] (-4) --> [HP/65%] >>

The notifications scrolled in the corner of her vision, a relentless, numeric countdown to zero, causing her to subconsciously shriek.

'Whyyy!!! Why meee!!' Her internal voice was a sob of pure, theatrical injustice. 'I'm too young to die! I haven't even lived!'


<< You've already died once. A second time wouldn't be that bad ^^ >>

The emoticon was the final insult.

'AAAGH!! FLAMING HELL!! That's exactly the point, you bastard!' She shot back, her fear transforming into indignant fury. 'I'm too young to die in this second life! I'm just four days old! I haven't possessed a dragon, or a princess, or even a slightly larger bug! I haven't seen the sun! Or grass! Or a decent meal that isn't burnt wolf carcass! Oh, brotherrrr… I haven't even gotten my first kiss. There's a whole world out there! I can't die now! I'm too young, too beautiful, too tragically unfinished!'

Even as the litany of complaints poured out, a strange dichotomy took hold. The part of her that was screaming was separate from the part that was acting. The fear was real, the desperation was genuine, but it was fuel, not paralysis.

She didn't freeze. She calculated.

Her body became a machine of evasion. A frantic leap to the left avoided a crashing rock. A sudden, skidding reverse dodged a Mushrooper that burst from a fissure. A tight corkscrew roll minimized the blast radius of another detonation, taking only a glancing blow. She was a pinball of fire and chitin, banking off walls, using falling stones as momentary platforms, her mind a hyper-focused map of trajectories and threats. Every point of HP lost was a tactical sacrifice, paid to keep the main force, her consciousness, alive.

The explosions grew more distant. The tremors began to feel different, less like impacts and more like… a sinking sensation. The falling rocks weren't just falling beside her; they were falling with her.

If she'd had a face in that moment, it wouldn't have been twisted in terror. It would have been stretched in a wide, manic, utterly exhilarated grin. This was it. The ultimate high-stakes run. The no-margin-for-error raid boss. For the pro-gamer spirit still clinging to her core, the more impossible the odds, the more electric the thrill. The reward wasn't loot or XP right now. The reward was the next second of breath. The next beat of existence. It was the most valuable currency of all.

She was so deeply immersed in the dance of survival, in the fluid geometry of escape, that she almost missed the system's dry interjection.


<< …Err. Are you aware that your current trajectory is no longer horizontal? You are, in fact, descending at an accelerated rate. >>

'Huh?'

The immersion shattered. She stopped 'Leap-Boing!!'. Her legs churned in empty air. The explosions were distant, because she was far below them. The rocks weren't just falling around her; she was falling with them, down a vast, newly opened shaft in the collapsing tunnel.

'NOOO! HELP!!!!' The scream was pure, unvarnished instinct.

The system's reply was its usual brand of bleak comfort.


<< You are currently the sole entity in your immediate vicinity capable of processing this nonsense. Shouting is an inefficient use of energy. >>

The truth of it landed harder than the falling sensation. 'Oh… right. I am.' The frantic energy bled away, replaced by a sudden, hollow quiet. There was no one to hear her. No Mark, no Elsa, no playful wolf pup. Just the rushing air and the bastard's text in the dark.

A profound loneliness, colder than the cave air, settled over her. 'Sigh… It was fun meeting you, you know. At least I wasn't completely alone through all this.' The thought was sincere, a final, sentimental message in a bottle tossed into the void.

The system's response was immediate, and carried a palpable, digital shudder.


<< *Shudders* Dummy, you are not dying, you're just falling, and it wasn't fun meeting you. Sigh.... I'm going to have an headache at this rate. This is all your fault for the record. >>

'But you don't have a br—' Jessica began, then cut herself off with an internal flinch. She remembered the torrent of furious data that followed that particular accusation last time. She did not want a repeat performance while plummeting to her doom.


<< …What were you intending to say? >> The query was dangerously calm.

'N-no! Nothing!' She yelped. 'Just wanted to say… but you don't have a way of telling if I'll survive the fall? Because it really, really feels like I'm about to become a very flat stain.'

There was a pause. Not a dramatic one. A slightly confused one.


<< …You have already concluded your descent. The impact was mitigated and you're are currently submerged. Your flames are extinguished due to hydration. That is why you perceive darkness and lack mobility. You are not deceased(Yet). You are merely… damp. >>


'Oh.'

The single syllable was a flatline of understanding, even as she consciously ignored the (Yet). At least she wasn't splattered. She was… soggy.

Experimentally, she tried to command her locust legs to move. A weak, uncoordinated thrashing answered her, followed by a light splash. She was in water. Deep, cold, utterly dark water.

'But… won't I die? I mean, I'm flameless. That's like… my whole thing.'


<< That outcome would be probable if you remained in your base form. You are currently utilizing a possessed biological host. The primary risk is not extinguishment, but gradual system failure of the host due to immersion. It will consume vitality [HP]. >>


<< SPECIES POSSESSED: CAVE LOCUST [HP/49%] >>

The number was a ticking clock. 'Alright… so the plan is: get this flaming bug out of the water.'

With a monumental effort of will, she forced the waterlogged locust body into action. It was a pathetic, stumbling process. Leap!! became a weak forward lurch that churned the water. Swim… was a frantic, uncoordinated paddling of six legs. Leap-!! was another desperate heave. It felt like an eternity, a slow-motion battle against buoyancy and her own draining strength.

Finally, her scrambling limbs scraped against something solid. Not rock, but something yielding, yet firm. 'Land!' With one last, exhausted surge, she hauled herself out of the clinging water.

For a moment, there was only the sound of dripping and her own silent, heaving relief. Then, a familiar sensation kindled deep within the core of the locust. A spark of heat, defiant against the chill. A faint sizzle... as water evaporated from her carapace. The spark became a flicker, then a steady glow.


Vroom!!

Flames erupted once more, not as a wild inferno, but as a warm, steady aura that clung to her form, casting a flickering circle of light on her surroundings. The joy was instant, overwhelming.

'I'm ALIVE!!!' The mental laugh was pure, giddy triumph.

The laughter died as quickly as it had come. The light from her own body revealed her new perch. It wasn't land. It was a thin, sodden plank of rotten wood, floating in what appeared to be a vast, underground lake or swamp. The wood beneath her was already blackening, smoking under the heat of her flame.

'I'm absolutely lost. And… oh, flaming HELL!' The second realization hit. 'I'm standing on tinder! This thing is going to burn out from under me!'

As if in answer to her despair, a new light caught her wide-angle vision. Not her own. A steady, distant glow from somewhere across the dark water. A fixed point in the void.

'A light! A way out!' Hope, foolish and bright, flared. She prepared to leap for joy.

Her [Spark Instinct] didn't spark. It detonated.

She didn't think; she threw herself upward in a frantic, flaming burst, her wings buzzing wildly.


CHOMP!

The sound from directly below was horrific, a wet, powerful snap of immense jaws closing on empty water and air right where she had been perched. The plank of wood vanished in the turbulence.

Hovering shakily in the air, Jessica looked down. The dark water swirled. A status screen materialized, its numbers burning into her mind with cold, terrible clarity.


[STATUS]
+

Level: 9 [Infant Rank]

Specie: Dark Swamptile

Magic Cores: [1/1]

Innate Abilities: [One With Darkness] [Iron Skin]

Abilities: Unique Skill [Chomp Of Darkness] [Swamp Rule]

+

'Level 9.' The number was a death sentence. 'The HELL!! I almost just became a breath mint for that thing?!' The fear was so deep it wrapped back around to numb disbelief. 'Gosh… my life. What did I do to deserve this? Kick a universe of puppies?'

She didn't wait. She turned and flew, a desperate, wobbly line of fire, toward the distant, steady light. It was the only option left.

After an eternity of anxious flight, the light resolved into its source: an opening in the cavern wall, leading not to freedom, but into a constructed space. The environment shifted from raw cave to something… designed. The floor became fitted, ashen-grey bricks. The walls were smooth, lined at regular intervals with iron sconces holding steady, ordinary flames that didn't flicker in a draft, but they seemed to bend slightly, as if leaning away from something, maybe from the shadows. It was a passageway. It looked like something out of a rogue-like dungeon game from her past life.

A deep, ingrained wariness settled over her. 'This feels like a hallway leading straight to a boss room. A boss room that ends with "Game Over" for me.'

She hovered at the entrance, torn. Go back to the dark water and the Level 9 nightmare? Or forward into the ominous, lit unknown?

The decision was made for her. A prickling sensation crawled over her carapace. She felt it then, not a single gaze, but a multitude. Dozens of unseen eyes, from cracks in the brick, from the shadows behind the flickering torches, fixing on her. The pressure of their attention was a physical weight, a silent, unanimous verdict: Move. Or be removed.

'Great! Just more on my plate, right!?' She grumbled inwardly, but the defiance was hollow. With no other choice, she moved, skittering quickly down the torch-lit passage. 'At least this place has light. And floors. Small mercies.'

The passage felt endless. 'I can't wait to be out of this damn cave. Being this powerless… it's infuriating.'

The passage finally opened. It didn't lead outside. It opened into a room.

A vast, circular chamber, impossibly large after the confines of the tunnels. It was dim, lit by a few guttering torches in distant sconces, their light struggling to reach the center. The air was still and ancient, smelling of cold stone and something else, ozone, and a deep, earthy musk.

Jessica hovered at the entrance, her tiny flame illuminating only a few feet ahead. Her senses reached out, trying to parse the darkness at the room's heart. What was in here? A treasure? An altar? A lucky spin?

She focused, and the system tried to generate a status.

What appeared was not information. It was corruption.


[STATUS]
+

Level: ??? [???]

Specie: ???

???: [???]

???: ???

???: ???

????

????

+

Garbled text, broken symbols, strings of question marks that seemed to bleed static. Then, a final, shattered line:


<< Ru?? R?n!! ?? >>

A jolt of pure, instinctual terror, deeper than fear of wolves or mushrooms or even the swamp creature, lanced through her. Every fiber of her being screamed to flee. She involuntarily jerked backward, her flight stuttering.

But before she could turn, the room itself moved.

Not the floor. The darkness at the center shifted, heaved. A tremor ran through the very stone, a deep bass note felt in the bones she didn't have.

Then, a voice. Not from the air. It seemed to vibrate up from the floor, through the walls, resonating in the chamber itself. It was deep, dry, and held a weight of ages.


"Kukuku… It seems I have a guest."

 

[p_magno]

"Kukuku… It seems I have a guest."

The voice was not just sound; it was beyond a physical event. It made the vast chamber tremble, a deep, groaning vibration that shook dust from the high ceiling and made the guttering torch flames bow low. The pressure that had been a mere suggestion of eyes in the passageway now became a solid, suffocating weight. It pressed down on Jessica's flaming locust form, not like a hand, but like the entire atmosphere of the room had turned to lead.

She was frozen, utterly immobilized, pinned in the air like a fiery insect in amber. It wasn't just her body. The pressure seeped into her very consciousness, a cold, ancient presence that threatened to smother her flickering awareness. Her vitality wasn't just draining; it was being siphoned, drawn out by the mere fact of her proximity.


<< SPECIES POSSESSED: CAVE LOCUST [HP/44%] (-4) --> [HP/40%] >>


<< SPECIES POSSESSED: CAVE LOCUST [HP/40%] (-2) --> [HP/38%] >>


<< SPECIES POSSESSED: CAVE LOCUST [HP/38%] (-2) --> [HP/36%] >>

The notifications scrolled with a terrible finality. Her vision, the wide, compound-eye panorama, began to fray at the edges, blurring into a grey static. Her thoughts, normally a chaotic but functional storm, became a tangled, panicked mess. She couldn't form a coherent plan, couldn't even muster a proper scream. She was simply… unraveling.

In the maelstrom, a distorted, desperate signal fought its way through. The system, its usual crisp text corrupted into glitching horror.


<< R??!, ??T!! O??! ?F H??E >>

The words were broken, a scream of digital agony trying to force a warning through an impossible firewall.

A deep, rumbling chuckle echoed, seeming amused by the struggle. "What a persistent and strange system you have there, little flame. Damaging its own existence by hacking into the rules of the world just to break you free of my gaze. Strange… very strange…"

The voice trailed off as if something appeared in front of it. Then after a moment of silence, a soft, contemplative 'Oh.' It was the sound of someone noticing a detail they'd overlooked.

'She's dying…'The muttered words hung in the heavy air.

An odd, sudden stillness followed, as if the room itself was holding its breath.

Then, an 'Ah.' of understanding.

The crushing, soul-siphoning pressure vanished.

Jessica's locust body sagged in mid-air, then dropped a few inches before her wings caught her. A sound that was both internal and external, a ragged, wheezing "Haaaa… Haaa…" escaped her. She was 'breathing,' or the locust equivalent, gulping down the now-merely-stale air instead of liquid terror. The notifications mercifully stopped.

"My apologies, little flame." The ancient voice returned, its tone now carrying a note of wry, almost grandfatherly contrition. "This old fellow hasn't had a guest in ages. I'd forgotten my presence tends to… leak. I nearly extinguished the only being to survive and ever reach this place in centuries."

The words processed slowly in Jessica's shocked mind. 'The only person to ever survive to reach here.' The implication was staggering. It meant that this chamber was the true dead end.

Seeing her hover stiffly, unmoving, the voice seemed to misinterpret her silence. "Do not be afraid. I am not the 'final boss' of this dungeon, whatever that may mean. Relax. I intend no harm." A low, self-satisfied mumble followed, audible to her: "And besides, why would I be compared to those weaklings? If not for my sworn oath, not even the world could hold me, let alone this paltry dungeon… Hmph!"

Jessica flinched. Her body, which had begun to relax a fraction, went rigid again as she heard ancient voice words replaying in her mind.

Sensing her renewed tension, the entity sighed, a sound that made the stone beneath her vibrate. "I cannot even move, you see."


CRANK!!—KRANK!—KANK!

The sounds that answered were unmistakable. Heavy, immense links of chain, shifting against stone. A dry, metallic rattling that spoke of profound, inescapable confinement. The torch flames dipped again, as if bowing to the truth of the statement.

Jessica remained a statue of fire and chitin.

The voice sighed again, a deeper, more resonant exhalation that shuddered through the chamber. "I am just a weak old fellow, bound and forgotten."

'Weak my ASS!!' The thought exploded in her mind, sharp and clear and furious. It was her first coherent mental sentence since the pressure lifted. 'I almost died! No… I was actively dying! My HP was ticking down like a countdown clock!'

As the furious thought echoed, she also tentatively reached out. 'Hey… system? You there?' There was no response, not even static.

Her internal call was answered by a sudden, booming laugh. "Hahaha! I never expected that to be your first choice of words upon recovering! 'Weak my ass!' Marvelous!"

Jessica's flame guttered. 'W-what?! You can HEAR MY THOUGHTS?!'

"That is correct," the voice replied, brimming with a pride that made the chains rattle softly. "As long as I will it, the whispers of your mind are an open book. But, you see, as I am a decent and sincere old fellow, and as you lack the means to converse in your current form, I have limited the effect to this chamber alone. A courtesy. Is that acceptable, little flame?"

The offer was phrased as a question, but the power behind it made it a decree. Jessica felt a fresh, different kind of chill. Privacy was gone. But… what choice did she have? 'I… I suppose so. Thanks.' The gratitude was automatic, hollow.

"Kukuku, no problem, little—" The voice cut itself off. "Little flame? Is something amiss? I sense your presence dimming. Are you unwell?"

Jessica focused inward. Now that the immediate, soul-crushing pressure was gone, she could feel it, a deeper, slower drain. A general weakness seeping through the locust body. The frantic escape, the water, the terror, the siphoning… it had all taken its toll. Her connection to this form felt thin, frayed.

'Well, you see…' she replied, her mental voice tired and resigned. 'It seems I really am dying. Just… slower now. And since I can't see my status screen, or reach my system, I have no idea how much vitality this body has left.'


Silence filled the vast chamber, thick and contemplative. The ancient presence was processing her words, the admission of her impending, mundane demise.

"…Your system will regain functionality shortly," the voice finally rumbled, its tone almost… reassuring. "It did not defy the fundamental laws for long. It merely expended a great deal of energy to make me aware of your distress. Think of it as a temporary hibernation. But before it returns…" A deep, resonant sigh gusted through the dark, stirring the dust on the stones. "…is there truly no way for you to sustain yourself? It would sadden me to witness your extinguishment, especially as I am partially responsible."

'Hmph! At least you know you almost snuffed me out,' Jessica thought, the spike of annoyance cutting through her fatigue. Then she froze. 'Ooops.' The thought-voice wasn't private. She scrambled to correct herself. 'I-I mean, yes, I'm… glad you're aware?' That sounded even worse. She tried again, forcing a tone of brittle diplomacy. 'That's… a generous way to put it.' A weak, internal laugh followed, entirely unsure if she might just get crushed by a meteor at the moment.

Contrary to her fears, the response was a low, rumbling 'Kukuku…' The laughter held genuine amusement, not offense. "The question remains, little flame. Is there no path to survival for you?"

'Err… there is, actually,' she admitted, her mental voice settling into something calmer, more factual. 'I have a skill. [Burning]. It allows me to absorb… nutrients, essence… from other creatures. Living or recently deceased. It can replenish the vitality of whatever body I'm possessing.'

She let the information hang in the shared mental space between them.

The ancient presence was quiet again, thinking. "And this ability requires a target. A source of this essence."

'Yes. It does. And right now, in this chamber… there's nothing. No bugs, No recently deceased creature, nothing. So, in the end, the result is the same. I'm still going to fade.'

This time, the silence was longer. Weightier. She could almost feel the immense, chained consciousness turning the problem over, examining it from angles she couldn't conceive. A soft, internal mumble reached her, not meant for her but audible in the thought-space: 'I think I understand the mechanism… Yes, I believe I do.'

Then, decisively: "Give me a moment. I will attempt something."

Before Jessica could form a question, the chamber convulsed. It wasn't a tremor from the voice; it was the sound and feel of something colossal shifting in the profound darkness at the room's heart. A grinding of vast, unseen scales or plates against stone.



CRANK!!... KRANK! KANK!

The chains screamed in protest, a deafening metallic roar of strain. The sound was so violent Jessica felt her locust body vibrate with it. The torch flames flared wildly, throwing frantic, leaping shadows that hinted at impossible, coiled shapes in the black.

The struggle seemed to last an age. Then, a sound cut through the metallic din, a sharp, dry CRACK! like a great tree snapping in a storm. It was followed by a low, slightly pained grunt that vibrated through the floor.


THUD… THUD.

Something heavy hit the ashen brick floor a few meters from where Jessica hovered. It skidded slightly, coming to rest.

Jessica's flickering light fell upon it. It was a bone. Not a small animal bone, but a single, massive fragment, curved and ancient, roughly the size of a human hand. It was bleached white and seamed with fine, hairline cracks. It lay there, utterly inert, yet radiating a faint, primordial energy she could feel even through her fading senses.

Confusion swamped her. Not about what it was, it was clearly a piece of the entity. But why? The gesture was so fundamentally alien. Was the loneliness so profound that it would mutilate itself for a momentary visitor?

'Is he really that lone…' she began to think, then cut herself off with a mental clap over her non-existent mouth. 'Ooops.'

The chuckle that answered was warm, tired, and held no anger. "Kukuku… I am lonely. But not so lonely that I would cripple myself without cause. You see…" A dry rattle of chains emphasized the point. "…I can regrow what is lost. It is a minor inconvenience. And besides..." the voice added, its tone shifting to something sly and transactional, "this can be a two-way trade. It may benefit you more immediately, but it is not without potential value for me."

'Oh… Alright.' The explanation made a bizarre kind of sense. A trade. She could understand that. 'So… I'll owe you one, then.' The thought was subconscious, accompanied by a slight, wry mental smile. 'You sly old ma—' She bit the thought off, but it was too late.

"Hahaha! Yes, I am a sly old man!" The laughter boomed, genuinely delighted. "You learn quickly, little flame. Nothing in this world or in any world is ever fully free. Even a gift given with no expectation plants a seed. That is simply the nature of existence."

Jessica inwardly nodded. The statement, for all its cosmic grandeur, felt brutally practical. 'Yes. You're right.' She paused, gathering her courage. The entity had been… civil. Almost kind, in its overwhelming, terrifying way. She should at least try for courtesy. 'Hey, uhm… how should I put this. Right.' Another pause. 'So… how may I address my benefactor? Just… for future reference.'

The silence that followed was different. It wasn't the silence of thought or amusement. It was a deep, hollow quiet that seemed to swallow the very sound of the guttering torches. It stretched on so long that Jessica began to worry she'd committed another, graver error.

'If it's too much of a problem, then why don't we just—' she started, rushing to fill the void.

"You may address me…" The ancient voice began, cutting her off. Its tone had changed. The playful slyness was gone, replaced by a solemn, resonant gravity. As it spoke, the chamber itself seemed to grow still, the very air thickening with reverence… or dread.

The stone beneath her trembled, not from movement, but as if in fear of the syllables about to be uttered.

"You may address me as…"

A final, hanging pause.

Then, the name fell into the world, not as a sound, but as a concept given weight, each word ringing with the finality of a closing seal.


"Arafel."





"…ARAFEL OF THE SEVEN UNHOLY."

Sorry for the slow update ^^ Writing chapters for Patreon

Click to shrink...

 

[p_magno]

'Arafel…'

The name echoed in the hollow of her mind, heavy with syllables. 'Of The Seven Unholy.' She turned it over, testing its weight. It had the ring of something ancient, something that should inspire trembling and awe.

Instead, it pinged a different association entirely.

'Hmm. Why does that sound like a band name? Like something from those posters I used to plaster all over my bedroom walls.'

The thought was involuntary, a reflex born from a lifetime of late-night internet dives and music video marathons. She remembered them vividly, five impossibly handsome men, each with perfectly tousled hair and choreographed smolders. Their abs had been sculpted by the gods themselves, arranged in symmetrical perfection that made even marble statues look undercooked. She'd been a fanatic. The kind of fan who knew their birthdays, their blood types, the exact date of their debut single. She'd spent her entire paychecks on concert tickets and lightsticks shaped like the stars.

'Gosh… those days. I miss them a lot.'

A soft, wistful sigh brushed through her consciousness, carrying the ghost of glittering arena lights and the roar of fifty thousand screaming voices.

Then reality crashed back.
She was a flaming bug. In a dungeon. Speaking, well, thinking at an entity so powerful it couldn't even sneeze without potentially erasing her from existence. An entity that had just, very clearly, heard every single one of those thoughts.

'Err… Arafel is a nice name!' Her mental voice pitched upward into something desperate and cheerful. 'A very dignified, powerful, totally-not-reminding-me-of-a-K-pop-boyband name! I-I'm Jessica, by the way. You can call me Jessica! Hehe!'

The laugh was a masterpiece of disgraceful, forced cheerfulness.

A long, weighted pause.

"Sigh…" The exhalation was deep, resonant, and carried the profound weariness of something that had witnessed the rise and fall of civilizations and now found itself saddled with this. "Kids." Arafel mumbled to himself, the words leaking into the shared thought-space. "I am definitely too old for all of this."

The self-pity in his tone was so palpable, so genuine, that Jessica almost felt a pang of sympathy. Almost.

"Anyways…" Arafel rallied, his tone shifting to something more practical. "Why do you not hurry and burn that bone? Your vitality seems… critically diminished. It would be a shame to survive my hospitality only to expire on the floor, little Jessica."

Jessica didn't answer immediately. A screen had materialized before her, crisp and blessedly uncorrupted. The system was back.


<< SPECIES POSSESSED: CAVE LOCUST [HP/4%] >>

'Four percent.' The number was a cold splash of water. 'I'm literally walking, hovering consciously into the afterlife of flames right now.' This was the lowest her vitality had ever been. Lower than the fall, lower than the drowning, lower than the moment she'd first sparked to life on that discarded torch. The edge was right there.

The realization injected pure adrenaline into her fading form. 'Y-yes! I'll do it right now!'

She didn't walk. She launched. A frantic, desperate Leap-boing! carried her through the air, her small, flaming locust body arcing down to land squarely on the massive bone fragment. It was cool beneath her feet, but she could feel the latent power within it, a deep reservoir of ancient vitality waiting to be tapped.

She closed her compound eyes. Her mental focus narrowed to a single point, a single intent. [Burn]

For a heartbeat, nothing. Then, a faint warmth spread from where her tiny feet touched the pale surface. It grew, a gentle heat that seeped into the bone, awakening something dormant. The warmth became a glow, the glow became a spark. The spark caught.


Vroom!!

The bone ignited. Not with her usual sputtering, desperate flame, but with a clean, hungry fire that spread in steady, concentric rings. It was beautiful. It was feeding her.


<< SPECIES POSSESSED: CAVE LOCUST [HP/5%] (+5) --> [HP/10%] >>


<< SPECIES POSSESSED: CAVE LOCUST [HP/10%] (+10) --> [HP/20%] >>


<< SPECIES POSSESSED: CAVE LOCUST [HP/20%] (+10) --> [HP/30%] >>

Each notification was a pulse of relief. The grey fog at the edges of her vision receded. The heaviness in her limbs dissolved. The flame aura around her body, which had been a weak, guttering thing, began to roar, a healthy, vibrant corona of blue and orange.


<< SPECIES POSSESSED: CAVE LOCUST [HP/70%] (+10) --> [HP/80%] >>


<< SPECIES POSSESSED: CAVE LOCUST [HP/80%] (+10) --> [HP/90%] >>


<< SPECIES POSSESSED: CAVE LOCUST [HP/90%] (+10) --> [HP/100%] >>



'Sigh…' The exhalation was pure, profound satisfaction. Every fiber of her borrowed body felt… full. Alive. Powerful, even.

She pushed off from the burning bone, leaping lightly to the ashen brick floor beside it. The bone continued to burn behind her, wreathed in her borrowed flames, a small, silent pyre in the vast, dark chamber.


<< FULL VITALITY ACHIEVED. BODY CONDITION: OPTIMAL. >>

She felt optimal. She felt like she could take on a Mud Wolf. Maybe two. Okay, maybe not. But she felt good.

'Thank you. Very much, old gramps.' The words came from somewhere genuine, stripped of sarcasm and panic. 'This… this really means a lot. I mean it.'

"Kukuku…" Arafel's chuckle was warm, almost paternal. "It is but a small thing. A fragment of a fragment. Do not let it swell your head." A pause. "And besides… that bone will not burn through quickly. It will take considerable time and repeated use before it is fully consumed. You would be wise to keep it with you."

Jessica, already in the process of turning away, stopped. Her mental brow furrowed as she rotated back toward the burning bone. 'But it's already burnt, so it won't be useful anym—'

The thought died.

She stared.

The bone, which should have been a blackened, crumbling husk, sat serenely in the heart of her flames. It wasn't just intact. It was pristine. The pale surface gleamed, smooth and unmarred, as if the fire licking hungrily at its surface was nothing more than a gentle, warm bath. Not a single crack. Not the faintest smudge of carbon.

'Flaming HELL!!' The curse was pure, reverent shock. 'It wasn't even damaged! Not a scratch!'

"Kukuku… As it originates from me, why would it be anything less than exceptional?" Arafel's mental voice swelled with a pride so vast and ancient it practically creaked. "Greatness begets greatness, little flame."

'It really is great,' Jessica breathed, her mental eyes wide and sparkling. Then, cautiously, hopefully: 'Do you… really mean I can keep it? For later?'

A long, slow exhalation of chain-rattling air.

"Sigh… Yes. Yes, I have already said this. The bone will not be consumed easily. Keep it. Use it when the abyss stares back at you." He was already sounding slightly exasperated, the paternal warmth giving way to the weary resignation of someone who had just realized they'd adopted a particularly persistent stray. "It is yours. Now please, cease looking at me with those... those *sparkling* mental eyes of yours."

Before the final syllable of his thought had fully formed, Jessica had already launched. Her flaming locust body arced through the stale air and landed squarely on the pristine, still-burning bone.


Poof!

The bone vanished.

A new line appeared in her status, nestled neatly in its proper category.


[Item Received: [Bone Of ARAFEL]]

'Hehehe.' The giggle was soft, self-satisfied, and utterly without shame. She surveyed her status screen like a miser counting gold.


[STATUS]

+

Name: Jessica

Level: 2 [Infant Rank]

Exp(Fragnet): [------[70%]---100%]

Title: None

Specie: Flame

Species Possessed: Cave Locust [Hp/99%]

Rank: [Infant], Cave Locust [Infant]

Magic Cores: [You Are Currently An Idea], Cave Locust [1/1]

Items: [Bone Of ARAFEL]

Echoes: None

Innate Abilities: [Possess] [Spark Instinct]

Abilities: Unique Skill [Blabber Mouth], Flame Specific Skill [Burning] [Life Multiplier(By Snorting)], Cave Locust Skill [Flame Acid Ball]

+


'Hehehe…' The giggle was uncontrollable, a bubble of pure, childish glee. Full HP. A emergency battery in her pocket. And still alive. For the first time in four days, things felt… good. Manageable. Hopeful, even.

The glee earned another deep, long-suffering sigh from the darkness.

Eventually, the giggles subsided. Jessica settled near the center of the chamber, not too close to the chained darkness, but not cowering at the entrance either. She had questions. And, strangely, she wanted to talk. Not to interrogate, not to beg. Just… talk.

So she did. She told him about her old life. The cramped apartment, the dead-end job, the streaming dream that never quite caught fire. She told him about Mark and Elsa, about the truck and the little girl in the yellow dress. She told him about waking up as a dying spark on a damp torch, about the wolves and the mushrooms and the terrifying plummet into the black water. She told him about the system's merciless teasing and the lonely, beautiful moment with the mud wolf pup.

The more she spoke, the more Arafel listened. His presence, which had been a crushing weight, became something else, a patient, focused attention. He asked no questions, offered no judgments. He simply… absorbed her story, letting it fill the vast, silent chamber that had held only his own thoughts for so long.

Hours passed. The torches guttered and relit themselves. The chamber seemed to be at peace with the calmness. And eventually, the conversation drifted from her past to her present predicament.


"There are three regions in this nightmare realm," Arafel began, his tone shifting to something instructional. "The first, the area you traversed to reach me is called 'The Damp Labyrinth.' It is the nursery tier. Everything there is… young. Learning. You survived it, which is more than most can claim."

Jessica felt a small, grudging pride.


"The second region is 'The Swamp Zone.'"

Her pride evaporated.

"Every span of that domain is saturated with black water. And the water itself… is a living entity. A single, vast consciousness, its source coiled at the heart of the subterranean river. It is protected, of course. A large monster dwells in the depths, bound to the water's will."

A pause. Then, with genuine, ancient enthusiasm:

"Is it not fascinating, little Jessica? An entire ecosystem born from a single, sentient organism?"

Jessica stared into the darkness where she imagined Arafel's immense, chained form resided. Her mental expression was flat.

'Fascinating.' She let the word hang. 'Heh. Fascinating.' A dry, humorless laugh. 'If that's your definition of 'fascinating,' old gramps, I'm almost afraid to ask what your definition of 'dangerous' is. Because that? That is a definition of a 'NO GO' for me. Flaming HELL!! Why would I ever, in any conceivable timeline, willingly go there?'

"Ahem."

The slight, deliberate clearing of a throat that hadn't been used for speech in millennia.

"Because beyond that river, past the living water, its guardian, and maybe some other monsters, there is a gate. A passage out of this nightmare realm and into the outside world."

The words landed like a physical blow.

Jessica's frantic, internal objections stuttered to a halt. The gate. Freedom. The sun, the grass, the sky she had been desperately imagining for days. It was there. On the other side of a living ocean and a monster.

'Sigh…'

The sigh was deep, resigned, and carried the weight of dawning obligation.

'So I really do need to stay here longer. Get stronger. Maybe level up a few dozen times. Become a totally different, much more powerful creature. Then, maybe, I can think about the terrifying sentient bathwater and its giant pet monster.'


Just as she was settling into this grim, necessary acceptance, Arafel continued.

"However."

Her hope, a fragile, battered thing, perked up.

"There is another route to that gate."

'Yes! Yes! Tell me! What is it? A secret passage? A teleportation circle? A friendly dragon taxi service?'

"It requires traversing the third region."

The hope began to dim.

"'The Treacherous Land of Darkness.'"

The hope expired with a soft, internal whimper.

"It is… slightly more dangerous for one of your current capabilities than the river approach."

'Slightly.' The word echoed in the hollow of her mind. 'Slightly more dangerous.'

She looked down at her small, flaming locust body. At her [Level 2] status. At her single offensive skill that was essentially spit-wading into combat.

Then she looked into the darkness where an ancient, chained, self-proclaimed 'weak old fellow' sat, who considered a continent-spanning sentient swamp monster with a pet leviathan like monster to be 'Fascinating', and a land simply named 'Treacherous Darkness' to be a slightly worse option.

The mental image that formed made her shudder so violently her flame aura guttered.

'Oooh, how the world hates me.' The thought was a familiar, bitter refrain. Her brief respite, the warm glow of gratitude and full health, evaporated as the highlight reel of her terrible luck began to play behind her eyes. The three-way fork. The mushroom horde. The swamp monster's jaws. Each memory a fresh bruise on her psyche.

She was spiraling, sinking into the comfortable, well-worn grooves of self-pity.

"And after all that," Arafel's voice cut through the gloom, his tone brightening slightly, "we arrive at the final option."

Jessica's mental spiral stuttered to a halt.

"Which is, objectively, the easier path."

She didn't dare to hope. She couldn't. But something in her, that stubborn, foolish ember that had kept her moving through four days of hell, perked up its ears anyway.

'Easier?' She swallowed a mental gulp.
'What… what is it?'

A beat of silence.

Another.

And another.

And another.


'Hey. Old gramps.' Her mental voice was flat, the patience of a woman who had survived four days of system trolling and was not about to be trolled by an ancient cosmic entity. 'You're keeping me on a cliffhanger here. Just tell me I'm doomed already and let's get this over with. I'm ready. I've accepted my fate. I'll just live here. With you. We can be dungeon roommates.'

"Kukuku… patience, little flame."

'I have been patient! I waited four days to not die! That's a lot of patience!'


"Well, you see…" Arafel continued, utterly unbothered by her outburst. "That last option is to find a human."

Jessica paused.

"A human from the outside world. And then, together, you both could teleport without the use of a gate."

'A human.' She turned the word over. 'And teleport. Together.'

"Correct."

She turned the concept over, examined it from every angle, poked at its soft underbelly.

'I'll be a bug snack if they see me. And even if I try to be clever. Even if I possess something bigger, something less snack-like. I'll still be a monster. A possessed monster. Which is probably worse. That's how you get a heroic quest marker over your head.' Another pause. 'And even if—EVEN IF—I somehow managed to possess one of them directly? Which, by the way, is the worst possible first impression. Their levels will be way higher than mine. The system already confirmed that. I can't possess something stronger than me. So that's three layers of flaming 'no'. Isn't that right, old gramps?'


A pause. Then, reluctantly:

"Yes. Your analysis is sound. My awareness extends throughout this realm. Every human who ventures here possesses an average combat level of ten or above. Possession of such a target is, at your current stage, impossible."

'Sigh…'

The sigh was deep, ancient in its own small way, carrying the accumulated exhaustion of more than four days of relentless, universe-sanctioned misfortune.

'Ten. Or above.' Her mental voice was hollow. 'I'm level two. I fight mushrooms for a living. I almost died to a puddle.'

Another deep, bone-weary sigh.

'So that's it, then. I'm going to be here for years. Maybe decades. I'll level up, one terrified mushroom at a time. I'll evolve. Maybe I'll become a slightly larger bug. Then a medium bug. Then, eventually, a bug that can politely approach a human and ask for teleportation assistance without being immediately incinerated.' A pause. '.. Or maybe I'll become an ancient forgotten spirit of this dungeon. They'll put me on a torch and tell legends about the grumpy, chatty flame that won't go out.'


"Little flame." Arafel's tone was firm, cutting through her spiral. "Do not surrender to despair. I have not yet presented the full terms."

'Old gramps, let's just… leave it for now.' She cut him off, not harshly, but with the flat finality of someone who has already calculated the odds and found them wanting. 'I'm alive. My HP is full. I have your bone in my pocket. That's enough for today.'

She paused, gathering herself.

'…What is it that you want me to do for you?'

The question was quiet, direct. A trade had been offered. A gift given. She understood the nature of such transactions, even across gulfs of power and time. Nothing was ever truly free.

Arafel was silent for a long moment. When he spoke, his voice was different. Less theatrical. More… serious.

"Sigh… I was getting to that. You cut me off mid-build-up. Young people today have no appreciation for narrative pacing." A pause. "But very well. Since you have asked so directly."

The chamber shuddered. Not from Arafel's voice, but from a deep, resonant tension that suddenly filled the space. The chains tightened, groaned, and for a moment, the darkness at the room's heart seemed to coalesce, to take on a shape that was almost, briefly, visible.

"Little flame."

The words were no longer casual. They were weighted, ancient, carrying the gravity of centuries.

"I need you to retrieve something for me."

A pause.

"It is called 'The Nameless Lever.'"

Jessica's mental breathing stilled.

"It is a mechanism. A key. A single point in the prison that has held me for longer than your world has known fire. It lies beyond this chamber, in a place that even I cannot see clearly."

Another pause. The chains groaned, as if the very act of speaking the words caused Arafel physical strain.

"Retrieve it. Activate it. And the chains that bind me here… will loosen. Perhaps, for the first time in an age, I may be able to move."

The silence that followed was not empty. It was full... full of implication, of ancient hope, of a weight being carefully, deliberately placed on very small, very fiery shoulders.

Then, Arafel's tone shifted. The solemnity remained, but something else crept in, something almost… businesslike.

"And in exchange for this service, I can guarantee you a reward."

'A reward.' Jessica's mental voice was cautious.

"A free level. Upon completion, regardless of how much experience you have accumulated, I will ensure your level increases. No grinding. No hunting. No risk."

A free level. The temptation was immediate, visceral. She had spent four days clawing her way from 1 to 2. The promise of skipping that entire arduous process for an entire additional level…

But Arafel wasn't finished.

"And..," he continued, his voice dropping to something almost intimate, conspiratorial, "I can also guarantee you something far more valuable than power."

A pause. The chamber held its breath.

"A body."

The word hung in the air, heavy with possibility.

"Not a possession. Not a temporary vessel scavenged from the weak and the dying. A true form. Your own form, shaped to contain your consciousness without degradation, without the constant, gnawing hunger for vitality."

Another pause, letting the weight settle.

"A form with which you could speak. Touch. Feel the sun on skin that does not burn."

Jessica said nothing. For once, her internal monologue was completely, utterly silent.

"That is my offer, little flame. The Nameless Lever, in exchange for your freedom from this endless cycle of borrowed flesh."

The chains settled with a final, resonant groan.

"So. What say you?"

 

[p_magno]

"So. What say you?"

The words hung in the air of the chamber, carrying the weight of centuries. Arafel's voice was calm, patient, as if he had all the time in the world... which, Jessica supposed, he probably did.

But Jessica wasn't calm. She was frozen stiff as the bone in her inventory, her flaming locust body motionless.

'A body.' The word repeated in her mind like a skipping record, a broken echo.

It was too much. She had spent four days as a flickering consciousness, first trapped on a dying torch, then crammed into a lifesaver bug which she had almost died in, countless of times now. The idea of something permanent, even though partially. It was still something hers. Her mind couldn't quite wrap around it... It was like offering water to someone dying of thirst in a desert.

'A body.' She said it again, subconsciously in disbelief.

"Yes," Arafel reaffirmed, his tone firm, almost offended by her hesitation. "A body of your own. I do not make idle promises, little flame." A mutter followed, quieter but still audible in the shared thought-space: "Why would I lie? This old fellow has not uttered a falsehood in ages. My reputation precedes me, even in chains."

Jessica caught the mutter. A small, reluctant scoff escaped her. '…Hmph! You sly old man.'

"Kukuku." The laugh was warm, genuine, utterly without offense. He had expected that reaction. Had perhaps even hoped for it. A creature that questioned, that doubted, that pushed back, that was a creature worth bargaining with.

The laughter faded, leaving a comfortable silence. Then:

"So, little flame. What say you?" A pause, weighted. "You may take as long as you need to consider. Time is abundant here, even if patience is not."

Jessica stared into the darkness where she imagined his immense form resided. Her mind churned, not with doubt, but with logistics. How would this work? What were the steps? A free level and a body sounded wonderful, but the path between here and there was entirely dark.

'Uhm… Old Gramps.' She spoke carefully, each word measured. 'How exactly… how do I get the rewards? After I retrieve the lever, I mean. Do I bring it back here? Is there any other hand-in process or anything like that?'

Arafel's presence shifted, as if he were about to answer.

But Jessica's mental voice cut in again, faster this time, the pieces clicking together in real-time.

'Wait.'

A pause.

'Wait, wait, wait. I think I get it now.'

The words tumbled out as she worked through the logic.

'You said earlier, retrieve and activate. Not just retrieve. You didn't say 'bring it back to me.' You said activate it. Which means…' Her mental eyes widened. 'Buy I can't activate it with this body. This locust. Six legs, no hands, no way to pull a lever. So I need something with… with hands. Something humanoid. Or at least something with opposable thumbs.'

Another pause, the connections sparking.

'And if I need a humanoid body to activate it… and the rewards are a free level and a body…' Her mental voice dropped to a whisper of realization. 'They're in the same place. The rewards and the lever are in the same place. The body I need to activate it is the body I get to keep.'

She stopped, letting the conclusion land.

'Am I close?'

Silence.

Then, a sound Jessica had not heard before from the ancient presence. A deep, genuine, free laugh. Not a chuckle, not a dry 'kukuku.' A full, resonant, chamber-shaking "HAHAHAHA!"

"I knew it!" The voice boomed with delight. "I knew, the moment you stumbled into my chamber, that I had found the right one!"

For the first time since her arrival, Jessica felt the weight of his attention shift. It wasn't the diffuse, ambient pressure of his presence. It was a focus. An invisible gaze, ancient and vast, landing squarely on her tiny flaming form with genuine interest.

"As expected of someone with a low level who still survived up till now. Being able to cut through centuries-old riddles in a single breath. You are one sharp little flame."

Jessica's mental smirk widened, 'And you,' she shot back, 'are one sly Old Gramps. You knew exactly what you were doing, letting me figure it out myself. Making sure I was worth the investment.'

"Kukuku…"

"Hehehe…"

Their laughs intertwined in the dark chamber, one ancient and resonant, one small and fiery. If anyone could have seen them in that moment, they would have sworn they were blood related. Grandfather and granddaughter, sharing a mischievous moment over a scheme well-hatched. The same glint in their eyes, the same curve to their smiles, the same absolute certainty that they had just found the perfect business partner.

Jessica broke the laughter first, her mental voice buzzing with fresh energy.

'Alright, Old Gramps. So when do I start? My six legs are itching. I've got a lever to find, a body to claim, and a free level waiting for me. The sooner we start, the sooner we both get what we want.' Her flames burned brighter, fueled by purpose.

"Kukuku… Patience, little flame. Patience." Arafel's tone was fond, almost paternal. "Rest first. You will need your strength for the journey ahead. I will open the gate for you at first light. Even cave locusts require rest at least once in a cycle. You have been running on empty since the moment you arrived."

'Oh.' The word was small, surprised. She hadn't realized. Hadn't stopped to realize. From the moment she'd possessed the locust, she had been moving, fighting, fleeing, surviving. Not once had she simply… stopped.

She checked the system's internal clock.


<< 4 days, 19 hours, 09 minutes, 24 seconds >>

Four days. Almost five. Running on nothing but borrowed time and burning fury.

'I guess… I really do need a beauty sleep.' The thought was wry, self-deprecating. 'Can't claim my rewards looking like a half-dead bug.'

She found a relatively flat spot on the ashen bricks, away from the pooling shadows. Her locust legs bent, then straightened, then bent again as she tried to find a comfortable position.

'How do bugs even sleep?'

After several awkward attempts, she simply… stopped moving. Her flames dimmed to a low, steady glow, a tiny ember in the vast dark.

'Alright, Old Gramps. Good night.'

"Rest well, little flame. Tomorrow, your true journey begins."

Her consciousness, for the first time in nearly five days, began to drift. The edges of her awareness softened, blurred, and finally surrendered to the embrace of slumber.

In the darkness, ancient chains rustled softly, and a pair of invisible, ancient eyes watched over the smallest, bravest creature to enter his domain in millennia.



****




Opening her mental eyes, Jessica was greeted with the same darkness she had closed to.


The chamber was unchanged, the distant, torches, the ancient stone, the weight of unseen chains and older presence. For a disorienting moment, Jessica wondered if she had slept at all, or if time had simply looped back on itself.

"Kukuku. Good morning, little flame. Sleep well?"

Arafel's voice grounded her, pulling her consciousness fully into the waking world. Her vision sharpened, the compound-eye panorama resolving into clarity.


<< 5 days, 1 hour, 32 minutes, 12 seconds >>

'Five days.' She blinked, or performed the locust equivalent. 'I actually slept for hours. Real, actual sleep.' The realization was almost foreign. She couldn't remember the last time she had simply… stopped. In her past life, sleep had been a rushed necessity between work shifts and late-night streaming attempts. In this life, it had been non-existent.

She addressed the darkness. 'Good morning, Old Gramps. I slept like a zombie.' A mental grimace followed as she registered her current position. She was still standing exactly where she had stopped moving the night before. Locusts, apparently, did not have the concept of 'lying down.'

'Standing sleep. That's a new one. But… yeah. I actually slept well. First time in… well, ever, in this body.' She finally admitted.

"Kukuku." The laugh was warm, genuinely amused. Then, a pause. The weight in the chamber shifted, grew slightly more serious. "Are you ready, little flame?" Another pause, letting the question settle. "Let me remind you, this journey will not be easy."

'Since when have I had it easy?' The response was immediate, flat, and carried the accumulated exhaustion of five days of pure, unrelenting chaos. 'Wolves, mushrooms, swamp monsters, and a near-death experience from an ancient entity's casual presence. Easy left my itinerary somewhere around day two.'

"HA! Right, right. I should have anticipated that response." The chamber trembled slightly with his amusement.

Then, without warning, the far corner of the chamber changed.

A swirling vortex of deep, bloody red materialized out of the empty air, its edges crackling with energy that made Jessica's antennae twitch. It was a portal, there was no other word for it, a wound in reality itself, spinning slowly, invitingly, terrifyingly.

Jessica stared, her tiny form bathed in the crimson glow.

"As I said yesterday," Arafel's voice came from behind her, though 'behind' was a relative concept in the darkness, "the location of the lever lies beyond this chamber, in a place I cannot see. The portal will take you there. From that point forward, you walk alone."

A pause. Then, with a return of his sly, grandfatherly tone:

"Be careful on your journey. Try not to get squashed. Or at least…" A chuckle. "…not too early. It would be terribly inconvenient for both of us if you expired before reaching the destination."

Jessica's mental lips twitched. 'What marvelous, inspiring words to hear right before stepping into a mysterious hell-portal. Truly, your motivational skills are legendary.'

She turned back to the swirling red. Its depths seemed to pulse, almost like a heartbeat. Or like it was waiting.

She began to move with a slow Leap-boing! Each jump carried her closer to the crimson glow. The heat from it was different from her own flames, deeper, older, resonant with something she couldn't name.

A few inches from the threshold, she stopped.

She turned back to the darkness. The place where, somewhere in that impenetrable black, Arafel's ancient form lay chained.

'Old Gramps.'

The word hung in the shared space.

'What are you going to do? When you're finally free, I mean.'

Silence. Not the empty kind, but the thinking kind. The kind that stretched and twisted as an ancient mind, for the first time in perhaps millennia, considered a question it had not asked itself.

"…I do not know," he finally admitted. The words were slow, almost wondering. "I have not… I have not truly thought about it. Freedom has been a concept, a distant goal, for so long that the after never seemed real."

Jessica scoffed. A full, disrespectful, completely genuine scoff.

'You? Not thought about it? Hmph! I don't buy that crap, Old Gramps. A mind like yours? You've probably planned thousands of different scenarios, ranked them by entertainment value, and memorized potential monologues for each.'


"…Kukuku." The laugh she received from Arafel was soft, acknowledging the hit. "You see through me too easily, little flame."

'But,' she continued, her tone softening, 'if it is true, if you really haven't thought about it... then here's a thought. After you're free… why don't we not leave this place together? If you want.' A pause, almost shy. 'That'd be cool.'

The silence that followed was different. Warmer. Surprised.

When Arafel finally spoke, his voice carried something Jessica hadn't heard before, a crack in the ancient facade, a flicker of genuine emotion quickly masked.

"Kukuku… We shall see, little flame. We shall see when the time comes." A pause. "But I will share a secret with you, as you have shared a wish with me."

The air grew heavier.

"My presence… my nature… it is not safe. If we traveled together, I could potentially bring dangers upon you that make your current trials look like children's games. Great dangers. Cataclysmic dangers. The kind that follow in the wake of old, angry things."

Jessica's mental smirk returned, undaunted.

'Nah. I think my bad luck is greater than your danger.' She said it simply, with the absolute confidence of someone who had been personally victimized by the universe for five straight days. 'We'll balance each other out. Trust me.'

"HAHAHA!" The laugh was genuine, full, and made the chains rattle in sympathetic vibration. "Go. Before I decide to keep you here for conversation alone."

Jessica turned back to the portal. The red swirled, patient and eternal.

'See you soon, Old Gramps.'

She leaped.

Leap-Boing!

The crimson light swallowed her whole, and she was gone.



Silence was once again restored in the chamber. Complete, utter, absolute silence.

The kind of silence that had lived in this chamber for centuries before her arrival. The kind that would live here for centuries after, if nothing changed.

But something had changed.


"Hahahahaha!"

The laugh that erupted from the darkness was not the warm, grandfatherly chuckle Jessica had come to know. It was wild. Unfettered. Ancient. It roared through the chamber like a storm, making the torch flames gutter and bow, making the very chamber vibrate with its force.

"EXCELLENT!"

The voice that followed was devoid of warmth. Devoid of the paternal amusement that had colored every previous exchange. It was the voice of something that had waited, and watched, and calculated for longer than civilizations had existed.

"Not only did she see through everything, she is sharp. Cunning. Adaptable. And brave enough to offer me companionship, as if I were a lonely grandfather in need of cheer."

The darkness at the chamber's heart seemed to coalesce, to thicken, to
smile.

"Red…" The name was whispered. "…is this what you meant? When you said I would find something amusing again?"

Another pause. The smile, if it could be called that, deepened.


"Interesting…"

The word hung in the air long after the speaker fell silent, a single, weighted judgment on the tiny flame that had just stepped into the unknown.


"…Very, very interesting."


****




The tunnel Jessica was currently moving through, was narrow, cramped, and utterly dark, perfect for a cave locust. Jessica moved through it in a rhythmic Leap-boing! Leap-boing!, her flame casting flickering shadows on walls on all sides. It was almost comfortable, in a claustrophobic sort of way. No monsters. No explosions. Just her, the system's silence, and her own churning thoughts.

'Haaaah… the headache.'

The mental sigh was heavy, weighted with confusion. She replayed the last few hours she had been with Arafel. The conversation, the offer, everything. And underneath it all, a feeling she couldn't quite name. A warmth that shouldn't exist between a tiny flame and an ancient, chained entity.

Fear, yes. That was familiar. The subconscious terror of being near something so far above her that she was less than an insect in its presence. That she understood.

But the other feeling… the one that made her mental head ache…

It was safety. The unfamiliar, almost forgotten sensation of being protected. Of being in the presence of someone who, for reasons she couldn't fathom, might actually care whether she lived or died.

It made no sense. And it hurt to think about.


<< …Are you alright? >>

The text appeared in her vision, crisp and familiar. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, the system spoke.

'FLAMING HELL!!' Jessica's internal scream was pure, startled joy wrapped in righteous indignation. 'Where have you BEEN?! I thought you were dead! I thought that old man fried your circuits! I thought—' She paused, replaying the system's words. 'Wait. Why are YOU asking ME if I'm alright? That's MY line! I'm supposed to ask YOU that! You're the one who went all glitchy and passed out!'

The system's response was a wall of silence. Then:


<< Do you trust him? >>

The question landed like a stone in still water. Ripples spread outward, disturbing thoughts Jessica had been carefully avoiding.

'Do I trust him.'

She repeated the words slowly, testing them. Trust. Such a small word for such a vast concept. In her old life, she had learned that trust was a currency spent carefully, hoarded jealously, and almost always devalued by the recipient. Colleagues who smiled and stabbed. Friends who borrowed and vanished. The world had taught her that blind trust was for fools.

'Well…' She began, the answer forming as she spoke. 'Yes. And no.'

She could feel the system's silent attention.

'I trust that what he said about the lever is true. I trust that the rewards exist. I trust that he genuinely wants me to succeed, because my success is his freedom.' A pause. 'But no. I don't fully trust him. He's hiding things. Layers and layers of things. Ancient things. Dangerous things. I'd have to be blind not to see it.'

Another pause. The Leap-boing! continued, rhythmic, meditative.

'He's a sly old man. You know what I felt during that whole conversation? Like I was dancing on the tip of his pinky finger. Like every word, every pause, every laugh was calculated. Choreographed. He was testing me, reading me, fitting me into some plan I can't even see the edges of.' Her mental voice dropped. 'And that… that scares me. The more I think about it, the more it scares me.'

She let the admission hang.

'But you know what else I felt?' A new note entered her voice. Confused. Vulnerable. 'Peace. Safety. It was like… like I could call someone like him…' She hesitated, the word foreign on her mental tongue. '…a friend. A trustworthy friend.'

The contradiction gnawed at her. In her old life, she had learned to read people. Thirty-four years of watching, analyzing, surviving as a nobody, to office politics and casual betrayals. And yet, with Arafel, every instinct warred with itself. Danger and safety. Manipulation and care. Fear and… warmth.

It made no sense.


<< If you feel that way, then why are you going? Why did you accept the mission? >>

The system's questions were sharp, precise.


<< And let us consider the worst case. You succeed. You free him. What if, in that moment of freedom, he decides you are no longer useful? What if he betrays you? Kills you? Did you not consider that possibility? >>

Jessica sighed, the sound long and deep in the confines of her mind.

'If he wanted me dead, I'd be dead.' She said it simply, without drama. 'He could have snuffed me out in a heartbeat. Could have destroyed you, too. The way his presence felt… Just through that alone, I can tell, that old gramps could probably destroy this whole place, realm or whatever, if he wanted to. The only thing holding him back is whatever oath he swore. That's why he's sending me. Because he can't act directly without breaking it.'

A pause. Her mental voice sharpened.

'And that's also why he wouldn't kill me after. Not because he couldn't. But because…' A slow, mischievous smirk formed. '…that body he promised? The one I need to activate the lever? It's probably part of what he doesn't want to destroy. It's valuable. To him, to the plan, to whatever game he's playing. Killing me would mean losing that piece. And sly old men don't throw away pieces, system. They use them.'


<< … >>

The system's blank response stretched.

'What?' Jessica frowned. 'I'm just giving my speculations. It's called thinking. You should try it sometime.'


<< …No. It is not that. >>

A pause.

<< It is simply… surprising. To witness you engage in cognitive processes when you lack the biological apparatus typically required for such functions. >>

'FLAMING HELL!!!' The shriek was immediate, automatic, and absolutely furious. 'YOU BASTARD! YOU'RE BACK to your snarky self, HUH?! One near-death experience and you think you can just—just—'

But even as the righteous fury poured out, Jessica felt her mental lips curling upward. The system was back. Insults and all. The familiar rhythm of their bickering was, in its own strange way, comforting.

The tunnel stretched on. Minutes passed. Or hours. Time was slippery in the dark.

Finally, the narrow passage ended.

Jessica's Leap-boing! carried her to the threshold, and then she stopped. Completely. Utterly. Her flame guttered as her focus narrowed to a single point.

The tunnel opened into a vast space. But that wasn't what made her speechless.

What made her speechless was what filled that space.

'That sly old man…' Her mental voice was flat, hollow with disbelief. 'He didn't tell me it will be this difficult.'

 

[p_magno]

The space before Jessica was a nightmare given form. A landscape so hostile, so utterly lethal, that her mind immediately filed it under a single, succinct category:

Maze Hell.

The ground immediately in front of her was a jagged field of magma rocks, their surfaces cracked and glowing with inner heat. Even as she watched, fresh fissures spiderwebbed across their surfaces, new veins of orange-red light pulsing beneath. The rocks weren't solid, they were temporary platforms, slowly being consumed by what lay beneath.

And what lay beneath was an ocean.

A vast, churning lake of molten rock stretched as far as her compound eyes could see, its surface a hypnotic dance of orange, red, and occasional sickly yellow where pockets of gas ignited. Bubbles the size of her entire body rose and popped, releasing puffs of superheated air that made the whole cavern shimmer. The glow from below painted everything in shades of apocalypse.

The air itself was wrong. Heavy and pressing. Each molecule seemed to have gained weight, dragging downward, pulling everything toward the hungry lake below. Jessica could feel it, a constant, insistent tug, like invisible hands trying to pluck her from the air and feed her to the flames.

As if that weren't enough, she looked up.

The ceiling was alive.

Not with creatures, but with lightning. A crackling mass of electrical energy writhed across the rocky surface high above, arcs of blinding blue-white leaping between stalactites and along stone veins. The voltage was so intense that the air beneath it ionized, creating a faint ozone smell that somehow reached even her locust senses. One touch. Less than a second. Less than a millisecond. She wouldn't just die, she would cease to exist on a molecular level.

'That sly old man…' Her mental voice was flat, hollow, drained of all emotion. 'He didn't tell me. He didn't even hint. 'Not easy' he said. 'Be careful' he said. This isn't 'not easy.' This is 'actively trying to vaporize anyone who looks at it funny.' This is a death sentence with extra steps.'


<< His exact words were: "Let me remind you, this journey will not be easy." Perhaps your hollow mind suffers from short-term memory degradation? >>

'FLAMING HELL! That's not the point and you KNOW it!' The retort was automatic, but her heart wasn't in it. She was too focused on the impossible landscape before her, too aware of every single way this could go horribly, permanently wrong. 'Hey, bastard. What do you think about my survival rate? Give me a number. Something to work with.'

The system was silent for a long moment. Calculating Jessica's survival rate.


<< …12%. Baseline. >>

'THE HELL?!' The scream was pure, undiluted outrage. Then, quieter, almost a whisper: 'Is… is it really that low? But it's just liquid fire, right? I'm a flame. Shouldn't I be immune? Or at least resistant? Like… fire doesn't burn fire, right? That's basic logic.'

Another pause. When the system spoke again, its text practically dripped with exasperation.

<< Did I ever state that you lacked immunity to thermal damage? No. I did not. Your assumption is incorrect. >>

A pause. Then, with the slow, deliberate patience of someone explaining colors to the blind:

<< Sigh… I'm currently using your eyes for flames sake. Perhaps, instead of panicking, you could observe? The lava. Look at it. Actually look. Not with your panic, but with your eyes. >>

Jessica's mental frown deepened. What was there to see? Lava was lava. Hot. Orange. Deadly. She'd covered this.

But she looked anyway. Really looked. Let her compound vision sweep across the churning surface, taking in details she'd missed in her initial terror.

The heat, yes. She could feel that, and it wasn't actually uncomfortable. Warm, even. Like a pleasant bath.

The gravity, pressing down, trying to pull her in. That was dangerous.

But something else caught her attention. A movement in the lava that wasn't thermal convection. A slithering.

She focused. And there, almost invisible, perfectly camouflaged against the molten rock, a shape. Long. Serpentine. Coiled and waiting.


[STATUS]

+

Level: 6 [Infant Rank]

Specie: Lava Viper

Magic Cores: [1/1]

Innate Abilities: [Flaming Poison]

Abilities: Unique Skill [Lava Breathe] [Lava Camouflage]

+

Her gaze tracked further. Another shape. Another. The lava wasn't just a lethal environmental hazard, it was infested. Dozens, perhaps hundreds, of serpents writhed just beneath the surface, their bodies indistinguishable from the molten lava until they moved. They were waiting. Waiting for any creature foolish enough to attempt crossing would become an all-you-can-eat buffet before it reached the first rock.

'Shit.'

The word was small. Inadequate.

'Shit, shit, SHIT!'

She pulled back, her mind racing through options that all ended the same way, with her in a stomach.

Fly through? The gravity would pull her down. Even if the lava didn't burn her, and that was still a massive 'if', she'd land right in the middle of a viper convention. Breakfast of champions.

Fly high, above the gravity? The ceiling waited. A millisecond of crispy nothingness. Not an improvement.

Wait for luck? She'd be old before anything changed. Older than Old Gramps. And then what? Die of expiration?

'Sigh…' The sigh was deep, ancient in its own small way. 'I'm doomed. Doomed in every direction. Doomed in every possible way. This is it. This is where the flame finally—'

She stopped.

Her compound eyes, still sweeping the environment in that panoramic way of locusts, caught something. A detail. An anomaly.

At the far end of the right wall. The wall she had passed when entering this chamber. There were markings there. Carvings. She hadn't noticed them before, had been too focused on the immediate horror of the lava lake, but now, with nowhere else to look, they stood out clearly against the dark stone.

'Markings?' Curiosity flickered through the despair. 'I didn't see those when I came in. I passed right by that wall.'


<< I did not notice it either. >>

Even the system admitted it. The markings on the wall had been invisible to both of them until this moment. That alone was enough to make Jessica's antennae twitch with unease. She leaped closer, not too close, caution still warring with curiosity, but close enough to finally make out the details.

It wasn't just markings. It was a mural. Roughly painted, ancient, the pigments faded by time and heat, but still visible. Still speaking.

'A mural,' she thought, her mental voice hushed with the instinctive reverence of someone standing before something old and significant. 'A story, painted on stone.'

Her compound eyes traced the first image.

A man stood on what appeared to be a mountain peak. Red hair, vivid, unmistakable even in faded pigment, cascaded around shoulders cloaked in dark robes. He stood calmly, impossibly calm, staring upward at a figure that dominated the sky.

A wolf.

Not an ordinary wolf. This one was the size of the heavens themselves, its body stretching across the mural's upper frame. But strange, its form was indistinct, blurred, as if the artist had painted it through fog. Dark, hungry mist swirled around its massive shape, obscuring details, leaving only impressions of fur and fang. Only one thing was clear: its eyes. Two gleaming red points that stared down at the small figure on the mountain with what could only be described as amusement.

Jessica stared, captivated. There was something about those eyes. Something that made her feel, for just a moment, like she was the one being watched.

Then the mural moved.

Jessica flinched, her locust body instinctively Leap-boing! backward a full meter, flame flaring with alarm. But the movement wasn't threatening, it was narrative. The image shifted, like pages turning in a comic, transitioning to the next scene while she watched.

'Interesting…' A mental smile formed despite her caution.

She moved closer again, drawn by the story.

The second panel showed the same red-haired man, but now he held something in his hands. Something that glowed from within, a warm, inner light that the ancient pigment somehow conveyed across millennia. An egg.

Not a chicken egg. Too large. Too significant. A dragon egg, like in the fantasy tales she'd devoured ever since she was a young girl. But this egg wasn't just an egg, it glowed. It pulsed with inner light, as if it contained something struggling to be free, something meant to bloom but deliberately, cruelly, kept from doing so.

'Why?' The question was involuntary, pulled from somewhere deep. 'Why would he hold something that wants to shine? Something that wants to be free?'

An emotion rose in her, unbidden and sharp. Anger. Hot, irrational, furious anger at the red-haired figure in the mural. How dare he? How dare he keep something caged? How dare he look at that glowing, struggling light and decide it should remain trapped?

Her flames roared brighter, responding to the emotion. The anger wasn't just about the egg, it began straying into something deeper, older, rooted in places she rarely visited. It was the loneliness of a little girl in an orphanage, staring at walls that seemed like a cell rather than a living space, waiting for parents who never came. It was the fury at being abandoned before she could even form memories, left to wonder what was wrong with her, why she wasn't worth keeping.

'Why am I feeling this?' The thought was distant, barely heard over the roaring in her mind. 'Why now? Why—'


<< Jessica. Control yourself. >>

The system's words cut through the red haze like a blade. The anger receded, leaving confusion and a strange, hollow shame in its wake.

'…Sorry.' Her mental voice was small. 'I was… out for a moment. I don't know what happened.'

<< …If the mural is affecting you. Then I strongly suggest withdrawal and reassessment. The potential for hostile memetic— >>

'It's fine.' She cut the system off, her voice steadier now. 'No need to worry. I'm alright. Just… let me see the rest.'

The system paused. For once, it didn't argue. Didn't insult. Simply waited in silent attention as the mural shifted again.

This time, the images stopped. In their place, text appeared. Ancient, yes, but somehow legible, as if the wall itself wanted her to read.


__________

From the peak of Sky Mountain, Red began explaining his plan to his enemy, to ??????, once someone he called his master but now the enemy of angels and gods, almost including him.


After explaining his plan, he began explaining his rage to the so-called enemy of the gods. But for him, this entity right here was someone he called Master. His creator.

"They took her away from me." Red gritted his teeth, spitting the words. "And now they want to take this! The only lovely thing left to remember me of her."

He paused, biting his lip hard enough that red ichor dripped down his chin.

"I cannot allow that, Master. She is innocent. Everything they blamed on her are lies. All of it. They didn't want us to be together. I asked them why, and they sprouted nonsense."

Another pause. His hands trembled around the glowing egg.

"And now they are after this."

Red stared upward at ??????, his red eyes meeting gleaming red gaze.

"I can't let that happen. I'll do anything to stop it."

Slowly, he looked down at the egg resting in his palms. A sad smile formed on his lips, the smile of someone making an irrevocable choice.

"Even if this little one ends up hating me for it."

He looked up again, his expression shifting from sadness to something else. Something harder.

"Master. The gods think you betrayed them after discovering you're one of the '??????'. They chained you. Bound you forever as punishment." A slow, terrible smile spread across his face. "But I know. I know fully well, Master. They're not punishing you. They're afraid of you. Afraid you'll do something beyond their scope of control."

"And I also know these chains, these seals, they're useless. If you wanted freedom, you could take it. But you have a plan. A well-hatched plan. And I want to be part of it."

His smile widened into something eerie. Something strange. Something terribly, terribly terrifying.

"Master…"

The word hung in the air like a blade.


"…I want to kill the gods."


____________


Jessica stared at the end of the mural text, her compound eyes fixed on the final words as if waiting for more. As if hoping for more.

'Err… Is that all?'

The thought was almost offended. A cliffhanger. An actual, genuine, read-the-next-chapter cliffhanger. After everything, the mysterious red-haired man, the glowing egg, the mist-shrouded wolf, the declaration of divine murder, it just ended?

Seeing that there was no more words, she couldn't help but ponder on what she just read as questions started flooding in. 'Who is Red? Who was the entity he was talking to? Who are the gods? Who was the 'She', the one they took away? Why did they take her? What did she do? Why didn't they want them together? What's in the egg? Why did Red look so sad holding it? What did he mean 'even if this little one ends up hating me'? What is he planning to DO?'

The questions spiraled, each one breeding two more.

'And why,' she thought, a cold thread weaving through the chaos, 'why the flaming hell do I feel like I'm in the center of it all?'

It made no sense. She was a level 2 flame in a borrowed bug body, lost in an underground nightmare realm, running errands for a chained ancient entity. She had nothing to do with gods or eggs or the red-haired man on the mountain peak. She was nobody.

And yet.

Why was she feeling this way?

Why was she?

Before the questions could drown her completely, the ground trembled.

Jessica's focus snapped to the lava lake. Her mental eyes widened.

A path was forming.

Rising from the molten rock, cutting through the churning orange sea, a walkway of dark, cooled stone emerged. It wasn't gradual, it surged, as if the lava itself was parting, solidifying at someone's command. The path stretched from the shore where she stood, arcing across the lake toward the distant darkness on the far side.

'The mural.' The realization hit. 'Reading it was the key. It opened the way.'

She didn't hesitate. She Leap-Boing! Her legs carried her to the path's beginning, but she stopped at the edge, caution overriding urgency. She extended one spindly leg, testing.

No multiplied gravity. No crushing pressure. The air was heavy, yes, but normally heavy, the weight of a cave, not the weight of a world trying to kill her.

She tested again. And again. Three full checks, each more thorough than the last.

Nothing. Perfectly, suspiciously safe.

'Better safe than sorry,' she muttered, finally committing to the path.

Before she took her first real step, she turned. One last look at the right wall, where the mural still glowed faintly in the lava's light. The final line remained, carved into stone and memory: "Master… I want to kill the gods."

Jessica stared at it for a long moment.

'I guess… my questions will be answered soon. One way or another.'

She turned away. Her body moved forward, Leap-boing! carrying her along the dark stone path, leaving the mural, and its mysteries behind.

The stone cooled beneath her as she traveled, the lava's heat a distant warmth rather than a threat. Behind her, the shore shrank to a dot. Ahead, the far side remained hidden in shadow.

She didn't look back again.

If she had, she would have seen the mural shift.


The stone wall shimmered. The text faded, replaced once more by images.

The same scene: Red-haired man on mountain peak. Mist-shrouded wolf filling the sky. Glowing egg cradled in trembling hands.

But different now.

The egg no longer glowed. It sat in Red's palm, dull and grey, as lifeless as any ordinary stone. Whatever inner light had once struggled to shine within it was gone. Extinguished. Stolen? Given? The mural didn't say.

But Red's other hand, the one not holding the egg was extended. And in that hand, cupped like water, like a gift, like a promise.

Flames.

Not destruction. Not fury. Just flames. Warm and alive.

But filled with a bottled rage.


The image held for a breath, a heartbeat of a moment that seemed like an eternity.

Then it shifted again. Back to text.



____________


"Kukuku… Hahahahaha!!!"

The voice that thundered across the painted sky mountain was not Red's. It was deeper. Older. Vaster. It shook the heavens like a calamity given form, making the very peaks tremble.

"Oh, Red. You never fail to amuse me."

The entity, ??????, the wolf of mist and shadow, the one called Master, let its laughter roll across the world like thunder. When it spoke again, its voice dropped low. Almost a growl. Almost a promise.

"Well then, Red. It's time I showed you."

The mist swirled. The red eyes gleamed.



"How to make a god bleed."

___________

 

[p_magno]

Jessica Leap-Boing! along the narrow path carved through the Maze Hell's lava lake, her tiny flaming form a streak of light against the molten orange glow. She didn't look back. She couldn't. The last words of the shifting mural echoed in her mind like a curse she couldn't shake: "Master... I want to kill the gods."

She didn't know why her thoughts kept drifting back to that line. Maybe it was the raw emotion behind it, the grief, the rage, the terrible determination. Maybe it was the way those words had seemed to hang in the air long after the text faded. Or maybe it was something else entirely, something she couldn't name.

Whatever the reason, she let her mind wander through the questions the mural had planted.

'Who is Red?'

That was the heart of it, wasn't it? The red-haired man in dark robes was the main character of that ancient story. But who was he really? A dragon? A god? An angel? Or Something else entirely?

'And who was the woman they took from him?'

The mural had been clear about that much, someone had been taken. Someone Red loved. The gods, or whoever 'they' were, had taken her away; dead or alive, and had given nonsense reasons. Lies, Red had called them. Justifications for cruelty. The little one. The egg. He called it 'the only lovely thing left to remember me of her.

'So... does that mean the egg is their offspring? Their unborn child?'

It made a terrible kind of sense. Two beings, dragons maybe, given the egg, in love, producing an heir. And then something happened. Someone took the mother away. Left the father alone with an egg that should have been a symbol of their love.

The next question snagged on something sharp.

'Then why did the egg look like a cage? Why did it seem like something was trapped inside, struggling to be free, instead of just... developing naturally? Growing until it was ready to hatch?'

She turned the problem over in her mind, examining it from every angle. It felt important. It felt personal, though she couldn't say why.

'Was Red keeping the offspring contained? Or was someone else? The way the egg glowed, the way that light seemed to want to escape... that wasn't normal. That wasn't how eggs work.'

The more she thought, the more her mental processes heated up. Literally. A faint sizzling...! sound began to echo in her awareness, the telltale sign of her borrowed locust brain overheating from cognitive overload.

'Sigh...' She gave up with a mental groan. 'Thinking like a professor was never my thing. Let's just leave that for la—'


SPLASH!

Her [Spark Instinct] screamed.

She didn't think. She leaped. Her body shot upward, wings buzzing frantically, just as a jet of molten lava erupted from below and slammed into the exact spot she'd been occupying. The stone path sizzled and melted on contact, a chunk of it dissolving into the churning lake below.

'SHIT!' The curse was pure reflex. She'd forgotten. In her deep thoughts and mural mysteries, she'd almost forgotten where she was. The lava. The snakes. The hundreds of snakes waiting to turn her into a light snack.

Her instincts flared again as she landed back on the path, a different section now, farther ahead. Another lava jet shot upward, missing her by inches as she twisted mid-air.

'I can't even have a moment of peace, can I?' The thought was laced with weary irritation. 'Just one moment. One single, solitary moment to think without something trying to kill me. Is that too much to ask?'

The answer, apparently, was yes.

She ran. Her legs became pistons, her wings stabilizers, her entire existence a frantic blur of motion along the narrow stone ribbon. Ahead, through the shimmering heat haze, she saw it, a destination. A small patch of land on the far side of the lava lake. She couldn't make out details from this distance, couldn't see what waited there, but it was land. Solid, non-molten, non-snake-infested land.

'At least I can set foot on something that isn't surrounded by hell on both sides.'

The thought was barely formed when her [Spark Instinct] detected movements, more slithering sounds, more vipers, drawn by the chase, joining the pursuit. They were gaining. Not as fast as the ninja mushrooms, nothing would ever be as terrifyingly fast as those exploding bastards, but fast enough. Too fast.

'Don't tell me these snakes are like those ninja mushrooms.' The memory of exploding fungi made her shudder. 'Please don't let them be ninja snakes. I cannot handle ninja snakes.'


WHOOSH!

A Lava Viper erupted from the molten rock directly ahead, jaws wide, fangs dripping with flaming venom. It had anticipated her path, launched itself in a perfect intercept arc.

Jessica's instincts flared, but not fast enough.

She flew upward, dodging the initial strike, but the viper's tail whipped around in a follow-up attack she had anticipated, but got caught mid-evasion by a strange pressure, slamming her back down onto the stone path with bone-jarring force.


<< SPECIES POSSESSED: CAVE LOCUST [HP/82%] (-20) --> [HP/62%] >>

'SHIT! SHIT!!' Twenty percent. Twenty percent of her hard-earned, carefully maintained, precious HP, gone in a two-sided attack from both the viper and slowly returning gravity. Her flames guttered, dimmed, then roared back with the fury of pure indignation.

'My HP! My beautiful, fully charged, I-just-got-it-back HP! You scaled bastards! You overgrown salamanders! You—' The lament was reflexive, almost comical in its timing. But beneath the complaint was genuine fear. Sixty-two percent. That was dangerously close to the red zone. Dangerously close to the grey fog and the fading vision and the cold embrace of nothing.

She scrambled upright and launched herself forward with renewed, desperate speed.


****



More attacks came like a torrent.

Jessica leaped, barely, desperately, as two sets of fangs snapped shut on the space she'd occupied a heartbeat before. The chomp-chomp echoed behind her like the world's most terrifying percussion. She hit the path hard, skidding, her legs scrambling for purchase as lava breath shot through the air above her, multiple streams intersecting in a deadly crossfire that would have reduced her to ash.

'Ohhh, I bless the day I gained this innate ability.' The thought was pure, heartfelt gratitude. Without [Spark Instinct], she would have been dead ten times over in the last minute alone.

But fate, as always, was listening.

And fate, as always, had other plans.

In the distance ahead, movement caught her eye, not the slithering of individual vipers, but a mass. A writhing, crawling carpet of scaled bodies, pouring onto the path from both sides of the lava lake. They were everywhere. Dozens. Hundreds. Blocking the way forward completely, their molten forms stacking and coiling until the path disappeared beneath a living, hungry tide.

Behind her, the pursuit grew louder. She didn't need to look. Her [Spark Instinct] painted the picture clearly, more vipers, closing fast, cutting off retreat.

She was in the middle.

The perfect center.

The filling in a very hot, very hungry snake sandwich.

'Roasted Cave Locust dessert,' she thought, the words flat with dark humor. 'Served fresh. With a side of existential dread.'


"FLAMING HELL!!!" The scream wasn't fear. It wasn't even despair. It was fury. Pure, incandescent, soul-deep fury at a universe that had apparently decided her purpose was to be perpetually hunted.

"I CURSE THE DAY I WAS REINCARNATED IN THIS BASTARD OF A DUNGEON, DAMNIT!!!"

She huffed. Puffed. Her flames roared with her rage, blazing brighter than they had since she'd first ignited this locust body.

"I'VE HAD ENOUGH!!"

The words were a declaration. A manifesto. A line drawn in the metaphorical sand.

"Enough of running! Enough of hiding! Enough of surviving!" Her mental voice rose to a fever pitch. "If fate wants to bite me with bad luck from all sides, I'll return the favor a HUNDRED FOLD! I'll bite BACK!"

She launched herself forward.

Not away from the vipers. Toward them.

"I'll BEAT my bad luck!! I'll become the monster that even FATE fears! So COME AT ME, YOU BURNING WORMS!"

"AAARRRGGGHHH!!!!"

For the first time since her reincarnation, Jessica charged into danger instead of away from it.



Hisss!!

The first viper lunged. Jessica didn't dodge, she met it, landing squarely on its forehead in a move that surprised the snake as much as it surprised her. For one split second, predator and prey shared a moment of mutual confusion.

Then the viper shook its head violently, trying to dislodge the tiny, burning thing that had somehow become above it instead of inside it.

In that moment of shaking, another viper struck, aiming for the locust, hitting its own kind instead. Fangs sank into scaled neck. Venom pumped into molten blood. The bitten viper recoiled, hissing in fury and pain.

Jessica was already gone.

She had leaped from the first viper's head to the second's back, her tiny claws digging into scales that should have been too hot to touch. And then she burned.

Not the slow, gentle burn of nutrient absorption. A blaze. A conflagration. A hungry, roaring fire that engulfed the viper from head to tail.


Hisss!!!

The sound was different now, not aggressive, but panicked. The viper thrashed, trying to escape flames that clung like a second skin. It should have been resistant. It was a lava viper, born of molten rock, immune to heat that would kill lesser creatures.

But this wasn't ordinary fire.

This fire drained.

The viper felt it, a sucking, pulling sensation, as if its very life force was being drawn out through its scales. It thrashed harder, but the flames only burned brighter, hotter, hungrier. So bright that the other vipers around it had to look away, their primitive eyes overwhelmed by the sudden glare.

For a moment, there was silence. Only the bubbling of lava below and the sizzle-crackle of something burning above.


Thud..!

The viper's body hit the path. Its once-molten skin, so similar to the lava around them, was now charred black. Cracked. Empty. The flames still licked at its corpse, consuming what remained, but the creature within was gone. Drained. Used.

And from the heart of those flames, a tiny figure emerged.

It walked slowly, deliberately, stepping out of the fire like a miniature sun descending to earth. Its body blazed with light, flames wreathing every segment, every limb, every antenna. It landed on the path and stood there, surrounded on all sides by vipers who had, for the first time, stopped their advance.

It was the cave locust. Once [Level 2] now [Level 3]

The vipers stared. Hesitated. Something in their primitive brains registered that this prey was different. This prey was dangerous.

Jessica stared back, her compound eyes taking in every scaled body, every flickering tongue, every molten fang.

'Come.' The thought was calm. Cold. The focused stillness of a pro gamer entering the zone.

'I still have some fire left to cook.'


Without any more words, she lunged at them.



Hisss!!

The vipers lunged too.

A torrent of lava breath filled the air, multiple streams, all aimed at the tiny flaming target. Jessica's [Spark Instinct] screamed, and she moved, twisting between attacks, dodging by hairbreadths that would have made a lesser creature weep.

But there were too many. Too much liquid fire. Some caught her.


<< SPECIES POSSESSED: CAVE LOCUST [HP/88%] (-10) --> [HP/78%] >>


<< SPECIES POSSESSED: CAVE LOCUST [HP/78%] (-14) --> [HP/64%] >>


<< SPECIES POSSESSED: CAVE LOCUST [HP/64%] (-4) --> [HP/60%] >>

The notifications scrolled, ignored. Poison burned in her veins, [Flaming Poison], the system called it, a toxin that should have crippled her, slowed her, ended her.

Her flames roared hotter. The poison sizzled, evaporated, burned away by sheer force of will. 'Not today.'


Hisss!!

A viper lunged from the side, jaws wide, close enough that she could see the individual droplets of venom on its fangs. She wasn't there when it struck. She was already on the back of another viper, using it as a springboard, a platform, a battery.

She spat her [Flame Acid Ball] in rapid succession, a barrage of sizzling orbs that struck incoming vipers in the face, the eyes, the open mouths. They recoiled, hissed, thrashed.

And while they thrashed, she burned.

Her current ride, the viper beneath her feet, began to glow. Not with its own internal heat, but with her fire, the draining fire, the hungry fire that took and took and took.


<< SPECIES POSSESSED: CAVE LOCUST [HP/45%] (+5) --> [HP/50%] >>


<< SPECIES POSSESSED: CAVE LOCUST [HP/50%] (+5) --> [HP/55%] >>


<< SPECIES POSSESSED: CAVE LOCUST [HP/55%] (+5) --> [HP/60%] >>



Hissss…!

The lava viper beneath her thrashed violently, its massive body coiling and uncoiling in desperate, useless spasms. It knew. In that primitive, reptilian brain, it understood that it was meeting the same fate as its kindred, the draining fire, the consuming flame, the slow fade into nothing.

The thrashing only made the fire burn brighter.

Jessica clung to its back, her tiny claws dug deep into scales that sizzled and cracked beneath her. She kept firing.[Flame Acid Ball] after [Flame Acid Ball] at the vipers that circled, that lunged, that tried to reach her. Her aim was automatic now, her body operating on instinct while her mind focused on the larger strategy.

The viper beneath her bucked. She nearly lost her grip, sliding sideways toward the waiting lava below. With a desperate Leap-boing! she repositioned, landing more centrally on its broad back, distributing her weight for better balance.

The burning intensified.

It didn't take long. The thrashing slowed. Stopped. The massive body went limp, and Jessica stood atop a corpse, her flames the only thing still alive about it.


<< You have slain an [Infant Fighter] Lava Viper. >>

<< Exp +30% >>

<< Exp +30% >>

<< Exp +30% >>

.......


The notifications scrolled, ignored for now. There was no time to savor. She launched herself at the next target, her leap, carrying her through the air, flames trailing behind her like a comet's tail.

Her [Spark Instinct] flared once more, the warning was explosive.!

Jaws closed from every direction, above, below, left, right, a sphere of fangs and venom collapsing on the space she occupied. She moved. Twisted and flew up, barely, the tips of her legs brushing against scales as she escaped the kill box by less than a hair's width.


<< SPECIES POSSESSED: CAVE LOCUST [HP/80%] (-40) --> [HP/40%] >>

'SHIT.' Even a near miss had cost her. The sheer proximity of so much death, so much venom, so much hunger had drained her. Forty percent. Gone in an instant.

She landed hard, skidding, already moving as three vipers lunged again. They were relentless, coordinated, their attacks weaving together in patterns designed to leave no escape.

But Jessica had patterns too.

She dodged left, a viper's jaws snapped shut on air. She dodged right, another viper overshot, colliding with its companion. She leaped, a third viper struck where she'd been, its fangs sinking into the path instead of prey.

The vipers regrouped. Lunged again. And again. And again.

They were faster. Stronger. More numerous.

But they weren't smarter.

Jessica wove between them, a tiny flame dancing through a forest of fangs. She didn't strike back, not yet. She just moved, leading them, guiding them, her [Spark Instinct] a constant hum in the back of her mind, warning her of every strike a split second before it came.

The vipers grew frustrated. Their attacks became wilder, less coordinated. They lunged at the same time from different angles, trying to box her in.

And ended up lunging at each other.

Their bodies tangled. Coils wrapped around coils. Jaws snapped shut on scaled flesh instead of fleeing prey. In seconds, three vipers had become one writhing, hissing knot of confusion and fury, each one so thoroughly entwined with the others that none could move.

Jessica landed on top of them.


VROOOM!!

The fire that erupted wasn't the desperate flame of survival. It was the triumphant fire of a predator claiming its kill.

The vipers thrashed. They hissed. They tried to separate, to flee, to anything, but they were tied too tightly, their own bodies turned into prisons by their coordinated attack. They could only writhe and burn as Jessica's flames consumed them, drained them, took everything they had.

And Jessica? Jessica hummed.

Not aloud, she had no mouth for humming. But in her mind, a blissful little tune played as the notifications scrolled.


<< SPECIES POSSESSED: CAVE LOCUST [HP/32%] (+15) --> [HP/47%] >>


<< SPECIES POSSESSED: CAVE LOCUST [HP/47%] (+15) --> [HP/62%] >>


<< SPECIES POSSESSED: CAVE LOCUST [HP/62%] (+23) --> [HP/85%] >>

It was beautiful. It was glorious. It was like watching a bank balance grow after years of poverty, like finding money in a coat pocket you'd forgotten about, like the sweet, sweet sound of profit.

The vipers beneath her struggled until they didn't. Their hisses faded. Their bodies stilled.

<< You have slain an [Infant Fighter] Lava Viper. >>

<< Exp +30% >>

<< Exp +30% >>

<< Exp +30% >>

<< Exp +30% >>

......



The notifications kept coming, a waterfall of experience points, a cascade of numbers that made her mental heart sing.


<< You Have Leveled Up! [+1] >>


<< You Have Leveled Up! [+1] >>

.......


<< New [Ability] Acquired! >>

......


'Sigh…' The mental sigh was pure, unadulterated bliss. 'The euphoria. This is what gamblers feel. This is what stock brokers feel. This is—'

She opened her eyes. 'Eeh?'

The path ahead was empty. The path behind was empty. The lava still bubbled, the ceiling still crackled with lightning, but the vipers, the hundreds of vipers that had been trying to eat her moments ago were gone.

Well, not gone. Fleeing.

She could see them in the distance, their molten forms scrambling away across the lava, diving into the depths, disappearing into crevices. They moved with the speed of creatures that had seen something terrifying. Something that made predators remember what it felt like to be prey.

'Hey!!' Jessica's mental voice was indignant. 'Come back here, you walking EXP kits!!'

She didn't give chase. Couldn't, really. The fight had taken too much out of her, and the shore was finally close. But she watched them go with the eyes of a miner watching a gold vein collapse.

'Just two more. Just let me burn two more of you guys. Two. I promise I won't go above that.'

A moment of wistful longing. Then she shook it off. Greed was a luxury she couldn't afford. The universe had taught her that lesson too many times to ignore.

She turned away from the fleeing vipers and resumed her journey, leaping peacefully toward the shore that grew closer with every bound. As she moved, she called up her status, eager to see the fruits of her labor.

The screen materialized, beautiful as always.



[STATUS]

+

Name: Jessica

Level: 3 --> 4 [Infant Rank]

Exp(Fragnet): [-------[250%]--350%]

Title: None

Specie: Flame

Species Possessed: Cave Locust [Hp/99%]

Rank: [Infant], Cave Locust [Infant]

Magic Cores: [You Are Currently An Idea], Cave Locust [1/1]

Items: [Bone Of ARAFEL]

Echoes: None

Innate Abilities: [Possess] [Spark Instinct]

Abilities: Unique Skill [Blabber Mouth]

Flame Specific Skill [Burning] [Life Multiplier 'By Snorting'] [Lava Camouflage] --> [Flame Camouflage]

Cave Locust Skill [Flame Acid Ball]

+

'Hehehe.' The giggle was involuntary. Unstoppable and pure.

Level 4. Almost level 5. A new ability [Flame Camouflage], letting her move through fire unnoticed, blending with flames like she was born to them. Which, in a metaphorical sense, she supposed she was.

Full HP. Well, 99%. Close enough.

Her flames felt stronger. Brighter. More hers.

'Back to almost 100%, huh? Heh. Just what I needed.' She was about to sigh in bliss again, really lean into the satisfaction of a job well done, a battle won against impossible odds, when the path beneath her shuddered.

Not the subtle vibration of distant movement. A shudder. A deep, bone-rattling tremor that ran through the stone like a dying gasp.

'SHIT!' Jessica's mental voice spiked with alarm. 'Don't tell me the path has a timer!'



****



AN: Sorry for the late upload, I've been working on a backlog for Patreon. I just launched this story on RoyalRoad.

And I was hoping if you guys enjoyed reading this story so far, I would really appreciate it if you could please head on over and give it some support! It would help a lot. If this story does well on there, then I can guarantee a set schedule and faster updates, with lots of things. ^^

Link To Royal Road: What? Did I Just Reincarnated As A Flame?

Link To Patreon [Backlog Is three weeks ahead there]: PATREON

 

[p_magno]

'Shit! Don't tell me the path has a timer?'

The thought barely had time to form before the truth of it became devastatingly clear. Behind her, the stone path was dissolving, melting back into the lava from which it had risen as if it had never existed. The process was silent and inexorable, a slow-motion apocalypse creeping toward her with the patience of eternity.

Ahead, the shore waited. Close. But not close enough.

The multiplied gravity was returning. She felt it first as a heaviness in her wings, then as a tug on her body, then as a full-force pull trying to drag her from the air into the hungry lava below. Even flying, even with her flame blazing, she could feel the weight pressing down, slowing her, claiming her.

'Shit! Shit! I need to go faster. MORE faster!'

Her flames roared. Not the desperate flicker of survival, but the focused inferno of absolute determination. She poured everything into speed, every erg of energy, every flicker of flame, every ounce of will. Her cave locust body screamed in protest, muscles straining beyond their designed limits, wings beating so fast they became a blur.

She became light.

A trail of fire through the darkness, a shooting star across a lake of death, a tiny comet fleeing annihilation.

The path dissolved behind her. The gravity pressed down, harder now, making each leap a battle against the weight of worlds. Her vision blurred, from speed, from gravity, from the sheer impossibility of what she was attempting.

And then—

thud..Thud...Thud!!

'Ouch… Ouch… Ouch!!! Damnit!!'

She had crash-landed. Her locust body tumbled across stone, skidded, flipped, and finally came to rest against something solid. For a long moment, she simply lay there, her compound vision swimming, her mind struggling to catch up with her body.

'I… I'm alive!' The realization hit like a wave. She was alive. She had made it.

'YIPPEE!!' The mental shout was pure, uncomplicated joy. She had outrun dissolution. She had beaten the timer. She had survived.

She scrambled to her feet, all six of them, and immediately turned to look behind her. The maze hell stretched across the distance, beautiful and terrible in its lethal glory. Lava churned. Lightning crackled. But the path was gone. Completely. As if it had never existed.

A deep, shuddering sigh escaped her.

Then she turned around.

And her mental heart stopped.

Before her stood a door.

Not just any door. A massive door, two stories high at least, crafted from some dark stone that seemed to absorb light rather than reflect it. It was built into the rock face, flanked by pillars carved with symbols she couldn't read but somehow felt Ancient.

But it wasn't the size that made her heart skip.

It was the words carved into its surface. Bold and impossible to ignore.

'OBLIVION'

And beneath it, in smaller but no less ominous script:

_________

All Fates Lead To

Oblivion!

_________

Jessica gulped. The sound was mental, but it felt real in her throat.

'Oblivion.' She tasted the word. It was cold on her mental tongue. 'I'm about to walk through a door labeled 'Oblivion.' Like it's a hotel lobby.'

She stared at the door. The door stared back, silent and patient, utterly indifferent to her existential crisis.

'Maybe… maybe I should think about this. Maybe there's another way around. Maybe I—'

The door shuddered.

Not a collapse. Not an attack. A slow, deliberate movement, as if responding to her presence, her hesitation, her very existence. The massive slabs of stone began to part, grinding against unseen hinges, revealing darkness beyond.

Pure darkness. Not the friendly dark of a cave or the familiar dark of a tunnel. This was the dark of absence, the dark before creation, the dark after the end. Jessica's flame, which had lit every space she'd entered since her reincarnation, barely penetrated the threshold. It was swallowed, absorbed, ignored.

'I'm going to die in there.' The thought was calm. Clinical. 'I'm going to walk through that door and something is going to eat me, or trap me, or sneeze me out, and that will be the end of Jessica, Flame and Former Human.'

But beneath the fear, something else stirred.

Resolve.

She had come too far. Fought too hard. Survived too much. Wolves and mushrooms and swamp monsters and lava snakes and an ancient chained entity who might be a god or might be something worse. She had burned and drained and leveled and grown.

And somewhere in this darkness, a lever waited. A body waited. A reward waited.

She leaped forward.

Into the dark.

Behind her, the door began to close. Slowly. Inevitably. The grinding of stone on stone was the sound of a path closing, a choice made final.

The darkness swallowed her completely.

***

For a long moment, there was nothing. No light. No sound. No sense of up or down, forward or back. Just the void, and within it, a tiny flame burning against the infinite.

Then, the door finished closing.

And the words on its surface trembled.

They rippled, shifted, changed. The bold declaration that had greeted Jessica: All Fates Lead To Oblivion!, wavered like heat distortion, then dissolved entirely. New letters formed. Ancient letters. Letters that had been waiting, perhaps, for this very moment.

When the transformation finished, the door bore a new message:

_________

And Only The Ancient Flames

Shall Remember The Tale!

_________

*****

The door shut behind her with a final, echoing boom..! that seemed to vibrate through the very stone. Darkness claimed everything.

Not the friendly dark of a cave with distant light. Not the threatening dark of a monster's hunting ground. This was something else entirely, a profound absence that pressed against her from all sides. It was familiar, in a way that made her flame flicker with recognition.

This was the darkness she had felt when she died.

Before the truck. Before the void. Before the cheerful "Transmigration Complete" screen. There had been this, an empty, infinite darkness that cradled her like a womb. No pain. No fear. Just stillness.

She should be afraid now. Every instinct, every lesson from the past five days, screamed that darkness meant danger. Darkness meant things that lurked and pounced and ate. Darkness meant death.

But she couldn't find the fear.

Instead, something else bloomed in her mental chest, a warmth that had nothing to do with her flames. In this darkness, in this absolute void, she was the light. The only light. A small, flickering, defiant flame burning against the infinite.

And in that darkness, with that light, she felt something she hadn't felt since her reincarnation.

Safe.

At peace.

Alive.

Her flames grew brighter. Not from effort or desperation, but naturally, as if responding to the darkness itself. The glow pushed back the void inch by inch, revealing stone floor, then walls, then..

The chamber ignited.

Torches burst to life along the walls, not gradually, not flickering to existence, but instantaneously, as if they had been waiting for her light to give them permission. Flame after flame after flame, until the entire chamber blazed with warm, welcoming fire.

'Hehehe… just in time.' Jessica prepared to leap forward, to explore this new space, when her compound eyes finally registered what she was seeing.

'FLAMING HELL!!' The mental gasp was involuntary.

Three statues dominated the chamber.

Not small statues. Giant statues, each one easily twenty feet tall, carved from some dark stone that seemed to absorb the torchlight even as it reflected it. They were armored knights, massive, imposing, terrifying in their detail. Each sat upon an individual throne, positioned along three walls: left, right, and directly ahead. Only the wall behind her, where the two-way door stood, was empty.

Their poses were identical. Each knight sat forward slightly, armored hands resting on the arms of their thrones, helmed faces tilted downward. And their eyes, empty, carved eye sockets all stared at the same point.

The center of the chamber.

Below them.

Jessica followed their gaze.

And her mental eyes widened in delight.

There, in the exact center of the chamber, bathed in the silent attention of three giant knights, sat a single object. It was unremarkable in appearance, a simple lever, ancient and worn, protruding from a stone base. But Jessica knew, with the absolute certainty of a system notification, exactly what it was.

[ITEM]

+

Name: The Nameless Lever

Rank: ???

Description: Once upon a time, in the [Age Of The Gods], a seal was forged by an oath unbroken. To turn the switch is to end the oath. And only at the appointed time can the oath be broken. And when it does… calamity that defies reason shall befall the world.

Usability: One-time

+

'THE LEVER!!' Her mental shriek was pure, triumphant joy. 'It's here! It's actually here! Old Gramps wasn't bluffing!'

But the joy flickered as she reread the description.

'Calamity that defies reason shall befall the world.'

The words hung in her mind, heavy with implication. She was here to free Arafel. She had agreed to this mission, accepted the terms, committed to the path. But this… this was a warning. A strange prophecy. A promise of consequences she couldn't begin to imagine.

'Am I doing the right thing?' She stared at the lever. The lever, silent and patient, stared back.

In the end, she shook her head. Not because the question was answered, but because the question didn't matter. Arafel had done his part, saved her life, given her the bone, trusted her with this mission. She would do hers. That was the rule of a two way trade. That was the bond.

'A deal is a deal.' She leaped closer. The lever was far bigger than her, designed for human hands, not locust legs. But she didn't need to pull it. Not yet. First, she needed to take it.

Poof!

The lever vanished from its base, transferred directly to her inventory.

[Item Received: [The Nameless Lever]]

'One down.' She allowed herself a moment of satisfaction. 'Now for the rewards.'

She turned from the empty base and finally, really looked at the chamber.

And gasped.

'REWARDS!! LOTS OF REWARDS!!'

Piles of gold coins glittered in the corners. Rubies the size of her entire body caught the torchlight and threw it back in crimson sparks. Diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, more wealth than she had ever seen in her thirty-four years of human life, lay heaped in careless mounds, as if the previous occupants had simply abandoned them.

But Jessica ignored it all. That wasn't what she was here for. That wasn't the reward Arafel had promised.

She searched. Her compound eyes swept the chamber, cataloging every detail, every shadow, every corner.

And then she saw it.

In the far corner, half-hidden behind a pile of gold, sat something that didn't belong. Something that didn't glitter or shine or promise wealth. Something that looked, at first glance, like nothing at all.

An egg.

Not the glowing egg from the mural, that had pulsed with inner light, with life waiting to be free. This egg was the opposite. It was lifeless. Grey. Stony. As ordinary and unremarkable as a rock you might kick on a path and never notice.

But Jessica noticed.

Because when she looked at it, the system activated.

[STATUS]

+

Level: ???

Specie: ???

Magic Cores: ???

Innate Abilities: ???

Abilities: ???

+

<< SKILL – POSSESS ACTIVE >>

<< 1 COMPATIBILITY FOUND >>

<< DO YOU WANT TO POSSESS? >>

<< YES / NO >>

'Is… is that the reward?' Her mental voice was barely a whisper. 'Is that the body I'm supposed to possess?'

She stared at the egg. The egg, grey and lifeless, stared back with the emptiness of something that had never lived.

'This is the egg from the mural.' The realization clicked into place with the force of a closing door. 'The egg that glowed. The egg that caged the light. The egg that Red carried.' She swallowed mentally. 'This is it. It has to be.'

But questions flooded in, relentless.

'Why is it here? Why does it look like this? Where did the light go? Is this really a body I can possess? Is it not… empty? Is it not Dead?'

<< It is. >>

The system's voice cut through her spiraling thoughts.

<< It is the body you are meant to possess. >>

'It really is?' The worry in her mental voice was unmistakable.

<< …Yes. I am certain. Based on my analysis during your examination of this chamber, there are no other entities or objects compatible with your [Possess] ability. This egg is the only viable target. >>

The system's firmness, its certainty, should have been comforting. Instead, it only raised more questions. But the screen still hovered before her, waiting for a decision.

<< DO YOU WANT TO POSSESS? >>

<< YES / NO >>

........

'But… why this? Why this body?'

The question echoed in the hollow of her mind, soft and confused as she ignored the screen. She stared at the grey, lifeless egg. It was just sitting there, unremarkable, ordinary, empty, and yet the system insisted it was compatible.

The emotions she'd felt when reading the mural came flooding back. The anger at seeing something caged. The loneliness that had nothing to do with her current situation and everything to do with a little girl in an orphanage, wondering why she wasn't worth keeping. The strange, inexplicable connection to a story that should have had nothing to do with her.

And now this.

The egg from that story. The egg that had glowed with trapped light. The egg that Red had held with such desperate, heartbreaking love. The egg that, according to everything she'd pieced together, was the unborn offspring of two beings caught in a war with gods.

'Arafel is the wolf.' She knew that with an uncomfirmed certainty. 'The giant wolf in the mural, shrouded in mist, with gleaming red eyes. That's him. That's Old Gramps. And if he's the wolf… then Red is someone else. Someone important. Someone who made a deal with him.'

She looked at the egg.

'And this… this is what came of that deal.'

Her mind churned. If she possessed this body, this egg, this empty shell, she would be stepping directly into the middle of something vast. Ancient. Dangerous. A war with gods. A prophecy of calamity. A story that had been unfolding for longer than her old world had existed. 'But why?' She asked herself. 'Why am I feeling incomplete after seeing this egg? Why does it feel like—'

<< Do you really want to do it? >>

The system's voice cut through her spiraling thoughts, sharp and direct. No snark. No insult. Just the question, hanging in the air between them.

Jessica paused. 'Do I?'

She looked at the egg, her mind drifting as she thought about the last five days. Every single moment had been a fight for survival, a desperate clawing against a universe that seemed determined to snuff her out.

She thought about Arafel. Chained in darkness, waiting for freedom. Trusting her with his plan.

She thought about the mural. The red-haired man's sad smile as he looked at the egg. "Even if this little one ends up hating me for it."

And slowly, calmly, a smile began to form on her mental lips.

'Hahahaha!!'

The laugh burst out of her, not forced, not desperate, but free. It echoed in the chambers of her mind, wild and unrestrained. She laughed like the day in her previous life when her childhood friend had betrayed her and ran away with her college money she'd saved for years. She laughed like the day she was rejected from five job interviews in a row, and overheard the last manager mutter "worthless" as she walked away.

She laughed at the absurdity of it all. At the cosmic joke of her existence. At the sheer, magnificent ridiculousness of a thirty-four-year-old virgin, a virgin who died saving a child, got reincarnated as a flame, and was now standing in a chamber of ancient treasures, staring at an empty egg that might be her only chance at a real body without faults.

'Hahaha!'

The laughter faded slowly, leaving a wide, genuine smile plastered across her mental face.

'Why wouldn't I want to do it?' She chuckled. 'It's not like I can turn back anyway. The door's closed. The path's gone. The only way is forward.'

Her smile widened.

'And even if I end up at the center of all this, gods, wars, prophecies, whatever, so what? I'll just find a way out. And if there is no way out?' She shrugged mentally. 'Then I'll face it head-on. It doesn't matter if I die. As long as this flame burns till the last spark goes out.'

A strange pride filled her. Not arrogance. Not desperation. Just… satisfaction. She had survived this long against impossible odds. Whatever came next, she would face it the same way.

<< Sigh… >>

The system's text was long-suffering.

<< What am I supposed to do with you? >>

Jessica laughed again, lighter this time. Then she turned back to the options screen, still hovering patiently before her.

<< DO YOU WANT TO POSSESS? >>

<< YES / NO >>

Without hesitation, without question, without a single flicker of doubt, she reached out mentally and slammed the [YES] button.

And then:

<< CANNOT POSSESS TARGET OF HIGHER LEVEL THAN HOST [CURRENT LEVEL: 4] >>

'Eeh?'

She blinked. Or performed the locust equivalent.

'How is that possib—oh.'

The free level. Arafel had promised a free level as part of the reward. She hadn't gotten it yet because she hadn't foundnit yet.

'Right. Right. The level-up item. Where is it?'

She spun, her compound eyes sweeping the chamber. Piles of gold, no. Heaps of gems, no. Ancient weapons mounted on walls, no. She leaped from pile to pile, searching frantically, her flame flickering with each disappointment.

'Not here. Not here. Still not here. Where is it? Where—'

'Aha!'

There. At the top of a glittering mound of gold coins, half-hidden behind a cascade of rubies, sat a single glass vial. It was larger than her entire body, but that didn't matter. What mattered was what was inside.

Red ichor.

[ITEM]

+

Name: Blood Of Red

Rank: ???

Description: May the blessing of War be with you.

Usability: One-time

+

'Blood Of Red.' The name resonated, clicked into place. 'Red. The man from the mural. This is his blood.'

She didn't hesitate. Couldn't afford to. She Leap-boing! onto the vial, landing on its curved glass surface, and immediately concentrated. 'Burn.'

Heat bloomed beneath her. The glass, ancient and resilient, began to change, first warm, then hot, then glowing. A red-hot aura spread across the vial's surface as the ichor inside responded to her flames. It swirled. It boiled. It seemed to wake up.

VROOOM!!

The vial ignited.

For a moment, it held, the ancient glass straining against her fire, the ichor churning within. Then a crack! split the air. Then another. Then the vial shattered.

Jessica braced for the spill, for the loss, for the failure.

But the ichor didn't spill.

It rose.

The red liquid lifted from the shattered glass, defying gravity, defying expectation. It swirled in the air like a living thing, like smoke with purpose, like blood with a will of its own. And then, slowly, deliberately, it began to enter her.

Not through any opening. It simply… passed into her. Through her chitin, through her flame, through the very essence of her borrowed body.

And Jessica felt it.

Power.

Not the desperate, scrabbling power of survival. This was different. This was inheritance. This was blood recognizing flames, fire recognizing source, war recognizing a willing vessel.

Her mental lips curved into a satisfied smirk.

The smirk widened into a mischievous smile.

And then the notifications came.

<< You Have Leveled Up! [+1] >>

<< You Have Leveled Up! [+1] >>

<< You Have Leveled Up! [+1] >>


****



AN: Sorry for the late upload again, Rising Star has been hectic

We're in Top 6 RS!
To those of you who followed on RR. Thank you very much!
To everyone. Thank you all for reading and supporting this story. It means a lot ^^

Link To Royal Road: What? Did I Just Reincarnated As A Flame?

Link To Patreon [Backlog is 15 chapters ahead, will soon be 20]: PATREON

 

[p_magno]

<< You Have Leveled Up! [+1] >>


<< You Have Leveled Up! [+1] >>


<< You Have Leveled Up! [+1] >>


.......




'You sly old man.'

The thought was warm, amused, utterly without rancor. Jessica floated in the afterglow of her level-up cascade, her mental voice carrying a smile.

'You told me it would add just one level. Just one. And here I am, three levels higher without lifting a single leg. Hahaha!!'

Three levels. From 4 to 7 in the space of a single burning. The Blood of Red had delivered far more than promised.

But the surprises weren't done.


<< Your Flames Grow Stronger… [Burning +1] >>

'Err…' Jessica blinked mentally. 'Is this a lag? Did the system glitch?'


<< No. >>

The reply was immediate. Leaving no room for interpretation.

'WHAT?!' Her mental scream was pure shock. 'My abilities can LEVEL UP?!'

The implications cascaded through her mind like falling dominos. If abilities could grow, could improve, could become more, then her potential wasn't fixed. She wasn't stuck with whatever skills she happened to acquire. She could develop. She could evolve.

Her imagination ran wild. [Burning] becoming something that could consume worlds. [Spark Instinct] sharpening into precognition. [Flame Camouflage] letting her hide in plain sight, in any fire, anywhere and everyw—


<< Clarification: >>

The system's text cut through her fantasy in an instant.


<< The skill [Burning] only achieved advancement due to exposure to the essences of two divine entities. The bone of ARAFEL. The blood of Red. Based on available world-data, standard skill leveling is not a feature of this reality. The only path to skill enhancement is through merging compatible abilities to create more powerful combinations. >>

'Oh.'

The single syllable carried disappointment and understanding in equal measure.

'Right. So that's why [Burning] felt stronger during the viper fight. It wasn't just me getting better at using it... it was the skill itself, upgraded by god-juice.'

She paused, reflecting. The vipers had been dangerous. She should have almost died a dozen times. But she hadn't. And now she knew why her chances of victory were higher.

'Well. I'll take what I can get.'

She called up her status, eager to see the full picture.



[STATUS]

+

Name: Jessica

Level: 4 --> 7 [Infant Rank]

Exp(Fragnet): [----[250%]-----1100%]

Title: None

Specie: Flame

Species Possessed: Cave Locust [Hp/93%]

Rank: [Infant], Cave Locust [Infant]

Magic Cores: [You Are Currently An Idea], Cave Locust [1/1]

Items: [Bone Of ARAFEL] [The Nameless Lever]

Echoes: None

Innate Abilities: [Possess] [Spark Instinct]

Abilities: Unique Skill [Blabber Mouth]

Flame Specific Skill [Burning +1] [Life Multiplier 'By Snorting'] [Flame Camouflage]

Cave Locust Skill [Flame Acid Ball]

+

'Sigh…' The mental sigh was pure contentment. 'This is the life.'

Three levels. A skill upgrade. Full health. Two divine items in her inventory. She was, for the first time since her reincarnation, winning.

But a thought nagged at her. A gamer's instinct, honed by years of RPGs, Rogue-likes and MMOs.

'Hey, system. I feel like I'm being greedy asking this, but… in every game I've played, hitting level 5 or 10 means a skill choice. A new ability or a perk. Is this different? Or did I miss something?'

A pause. Then:


<< Sigh… I am currently processing that matter. It appears to be… on hold. Temporarily suspended. >>

Another pause.


<< It will resolve shortly. Focus on your current task. Leave the backend processing to me. >>

'Thanks.' Jessica smiled inwardly. Then, because she couldn't help herself, a teasing thought formed. 'Ooh, what would I do without you, my sweet system?'

The response was immediate and visceral.


<< *Shudders* What transgression did I commit in a previous existence to deserve this fate? I will expire from sheer discomfort if you continue addressing me in that manner. >>

Jessica laughed, the sound bright and free in the chambers of her mind.

'Alright, alright. I'll behave. No more sweet talk.'

She turned. Her gaze found the egg.


'Well. Time to try this again.' She Leap-boing! across the chamber, her movements confident, her flame bright, her purpose clear. The egg grew larger in her vision until she hovered directly before it, close enough to see the faint cracks in its surface, the ancient wear of ages.


<< DO YOU WANT TO POSSESS? >>

<< YES / NO >>

She stared at the screen for a long moment. The weight of the decision pressed against her, but it was a familiar weight now. She had made her choice. She had accepted the path.

'Here goes nothing.'

Without hesitation, she chose [YES]


Her locust body dissolved. Like morning mist burning away under a rising sun. For one brief, disorienting moment, she was two things at once, the fading form of the cave locust and the essential core of her true self, the flame that had always been her, flickering in the space between.

Then the flame swirled.

It became a vortex of sensation, a whirlpool of awareness, a shooting star of consciousness aimed directly at the egg. Her vision stretched, blurred, flew, crossing the distance in less than a heartbeat, entering the ancient shell like a key sliding into a lock.

Darkness.

For a long, terrible moment, there was only darkness. The familiar darkness of death, of the void, of the space between existences. She hung there, suspended, nowhere at all.

Then:


<< DING!! >>

<< POSSESSED CREATURE RESISTANCE: NONE >>


<< POSSESSION SUCCESSFUL!! >>

Success.

The word registered. She had done it. She was inside the egg, inside the body, inside whatever creature had been waiting here for, how long? Millennia? The possession was complete. She should feel joy. Triumph. Relief.

She felt none of those things.

Because in that moment, in the instant the possession finalized, Jessica felt pain.

Not the sharp pain of injury. Not the dull ache of exhaustion. This was deeper. The pain of something waking after an eternity of sleep. The pain of a body remembering it was alive. The pain of birth.

The pain of abandonment.


"AAARRRGGGHHH!!!!"


*****




Outside the egg, the world began to change.

Cracks appeared first, tiny fissures in the ancient stone, spiderwebbing across the surface like frozen lightning. They spread slowly at first, then faster, multiplying, covering every inch of the grey shell until it seemed held together by nothing but memory.

Then came the glow.

It started as a faint pulse deep within, a heartbeat of light that pushed against the cracks from inside. Then another. Then another. Each pulse brighter than the last, until the egg was no longer grey but golden, blazing with an inner fire that made the chamber's torches seem dim by comparison.

The cracks widened. The light intensified.


CRASH..!

The egg crumbled.

It crumbled as if whatever had been inside had simply outgrown its prison and the prison could do nothing but fall away. Pieces of ancient shell tumbled to the floor, already cooling, already dead.

Something else fell with them.

A figure.

It was a child, a newborn, if such a word could apply to something born from an egg that had waited millennia. Its body was bare, unmarked by the world, untouched by time. It lay on the cold stone, unmoving, for a single breath.

Then it moved.

A tiny hand pressed against the floor. An arm trembled with effort. The child, she was a girl, unmistakably, began to crawl. Her movements were awkward, uncoordinated, the movements of a creature learning for the first time how to exist in a body. But there was nothing cute or innocent about it. Each movement was accompanied by a visible effort, a strain that made the air itself seem to thicken.

She crawled, and as she crawled, she grew.

It was subtle at first, a slight lengthening of limbs, a deepening of form. Then faster. Her body stretched, matured, aged years in seconds. The infant became a toddler. The toddler became a child. The child became—

A little girl with blood-red hair.

Still she crawled. Still her eyes remained shut. Her fingers scraped against the stone floor, and where they scraped, the stone cracked. Deep fissures followed her path, carved by nothing but the pressure of her passage.

Her teeth were gritted. Her jaw clenched. An inaudible scream tore through her mouth, inaudible to human ears, perhaps, but the chamber heard it. The walls shuddered. The torches flickered. The very air vibrated with the force of her silent agony.

And then came the changes.

Horns.

Curved horns, like those of a dragon, began to push through her red hair. They grew slowly, deliberately, each inch a fresh wave of torment. Her back arched, her spine contorted, and from between her shoulder blades.

Wings.

Red wings, like those of an angel, unfolded for the first time. They were wet with birth, slick with the remnants of the egg, but even so they caught the torchlight and threw it back in crimson glory. They stretched, tested and learned.

She thrashed. The chamber trembled with each movement. Her body grew again, child to adolescent, adolescent to young woman. Seventeen, perhaps. Eighteen. The pain didn't stop. It intensified.


"AAARRRGGGHHH!! DAMNIT!!!"

Her voice was hoarse, raw, human in a way that seemed impossible for something born of an egg older than some gods. But it was her voice. Jessica's voice. Finally, after five days of silence, was audible.

The scream faded, but the pain remained. And in that pain, in that white-hot crucible of transformation, she began to see.

Visions.

A man with blood-red hair, exactly her shade, exactly her color, standing in black robes. He was walking away from her, his back turned, speaking to three figures kneeling in reverence before him.

"I trust you will all do your duty until the end."

The kneeling figures, massive, armored, familiar, did not reply. They only bowed lower, their foreheads touching the ground. Then, in perfect unison, they spoke.

"Hail Red!"

"Angel of War!"

"Ruler of Chaos and Strife."

A pause. Then, together:


"The First Flaw of the Gods!"

........



The vision shattered.

"AAARRRGGGHHH!!!"

More pain. Deeper. More complete. Her body was still changing, still becoming, still hurting. She couldn't think, couldn't process, couldn't do anything but feel—

The three giant statues moved.

For millennia, they had sat. Watched. Waited. Now, as one, they stood. Stone grinding against stone, ancient joints protesting after ages of stillness, they rose from their thrones. Their armored gazes, empty, carved, yet somehow aware, fixed on the thrashing figure below.

Swords materialized in their hands. Not drawn, materialized, as if the weapons had been waiting for this moment as patiently as their wielders.

In perfect sync, they raised their blades.

And then


SHHHK!

They drove them into the ground.

The swords sank deep, embedding in the stone before them. And then, as one, the three knights knelt. Their massive forms bowed low, heads touching the floor, in the exact posture of the figures from Jessica's vision.

They knelt before the birth of an entity.

A forbidden child.

Below them, the thrashing stopped.


Silence.

Absolute, complete, terrifying silence. The chamber held its breath. The torches ceased to flicker. Even the dust motes in the air seemed to freeze.

Jessica lay on the stone floor, on all fours, her body finally still. Her red hair cascaded around her, hiding her face. Her wings folded against her back. Her horns caught the light.

And then..

She opened her eyes.

They were molten gold. Vertically slit pupils, like a dragon's, like a predator's. And in those golden depths, there was nothing but rage. A seething, boiling, infinite rage that had waited an eternity for release.

For one heartbeat. Two.


Then the world exploded!

Flames erupted, not around her, not from her, but as her. They consumed the chamber in an instant, a tidal wave of blue, reddish gold, ancient fire that scoured everything it touched. The torches were nothing. The stone itself began to melt. The three kneeling knights were engulfed, their ancient forms vanishing in the inferno.

The explosion didn't stop at the chamber walls.

It kept going.

Through stone. Through earth. Through reality itself.


*****



Far away, in a different chamber entirely, something stirred.

This chamber was vast, circular, impossibly large after the confines of any tunnel. Dim torchlight struggled to reach its center, where only darkness dwelt. The air smelled of cold stone and ozone and something deeper, something ancient.

The torches guttered low, as they always did.

Then, without warning, they roared.

Every flame in the chamber surged upward, blazing with a light that rivaled the sun. They were not afraid. They were celebrating. Responding to something. Recognizing something.

Only the darkness at the center remained unchanged.

But the darkness moved.

Chains rattled, ancient, massive chains, the kind forged to hold things that should never be held. An invisible head lifted, turning toward the distance, toward the source of the disturbance that had traveled through stone and space to reach even here.

And on one wall of the chamber, something began to draw itself.

A mural. Roughly painted, appearing stroke by stroke as if guided by an invisible hand. It showed a figure, a girl with blood-red hair, clad in knight's armor, a blade raised in her hand. She was pointing toward a giant gate, and behind her, hundreds of knights and archers and warriors followed.

At the edge of the mural, letters formed. Slowly and deliberately: The Ancient Flame


"Kukuku." The chuckle was deep, ancient, satisfied. It echoed through the chamber, making the torches bow and the chains sing.


"The time has finally come."

A pause. The darkness seemed to smile.

"The age of the gods… has just begun."


"A second time."






[END OF ARC_0: A Flickering Existence]





*******

AN: This is the End of Arc_0. Thank you very much for reading this far ^^

Please tell me what you think about the story in the comment section. (It helps me develop the story better.)

We're in Top 5 RS!
To those of you who followed on RR. Thank you very much!

To everyone. Thank you all for reading and supporting this story. It means a lot ^^

Link To Royal Road: What? Did I Just Reincarnated As A Flame?

Link To Patreon [Backlog is 15 chapters ahead, will soon be 20 by tomorrow]: PATREON

 

[p_magno]

Darkness.

That was all that greeted Jessica as her consciousness slowly stabilized. Not the threatening dark of a monster's lair, not the oppressive dark of a sealed chamber. Just… emptiness. Familiar emptiness. The same darkness she had felt when she died, before the truck, before the void, before everything.

'Am I… dead?' The question came unbidden, a whisper in the silence.

'Is this… is this really the afterlife of flames?'

Her mental tone carried something unexpected, amusement. Almost hope. After everything she'd been through, after the pain that had consumed her at the end, maybe this was peace. Maybe this was rest.

'Well, I tried my best. It's not like I gave up without a fight. After all that pai—'


<< Sigh… You're still alive, Dummy. >>

The system's voice cut through her reverie like a bucket of ice water.


<< You are merely unconscious. Your existence is currently stabilizing within the body you possessed. So quit thinking nonsense and tell me what happened to you? >>

Jessica's mental frown was immediate. 'I was about to ask you the same thing! Didn't you see what happened? One moment I was possessing the egg, the next moment, PAIN. I was totally left blank. Totally blank.'

Silence stretched between them. Not the comfortable silence of companionship, but the thoughtful silence of two entities processing the same problem.


<<... So we both were left out... I thought I was the only one. >>

'Heh. Same here.'

Silence was restored again. Longer this time. The kind that threatened to become awkward if left unchecked.

Finally, Jessica spoke again, grasping for conversation like a lifeline.

'Sooo… what do you think we should do first? After all this is sorted out, I mean. Once I'm stable and we can actually move again.'


<< …You are the one in control. Do what you wish. >>

'Hey!! I'm asking for your opinion! You're literally the smartest person I can talk to right now. The ONLY person, actually, but still. Smartest.'

The system paused. Jessica could almost feel it weighing her words, trying to determine if this was genuine or another setup for mockery. In the end, perhaps it decided sincerity was worth the risk.


<< First, I advise locating a secure position and conducting a full assessment of your new form. Understand its capabilities. Its limitations and its weaknesses. >>


<< But most importantly, survive. Avoid unnecessary conflicts. Do not attract attention we cannot manage. Is that good enough? >>

'Yeah. It is. Thanks.'

No verbal reply came, but Jessica felt something, a mental snort, perhaps. An unspoken 'At least you recognize competence when you hear it.'

The silence returned, softer now. But Jessica wasn't done talking. She asked yet another question, this time in a more quieter tone. 'Uhm… have you ever felt lonely?' The question hung in the air, delicate as spun glass. 'I mean… since you gained self-consciousness. Have you ever felt… alone?'


<< Sigh… Why would I ever feel that? >>

Another sigh, deeper this time.


<< The question you should be asking is: 'Have you ever had a single second without experiencing a headache?' Now THAT is a query worthy of discussion. >>

'Hehehe.' Jessica's laugh was warm, genuine. 'Since when have I ever given you a hard time? I'm literally the most peaceful person to ever exist.'

An offended snort echoed through their shared space. For a moment, Jessica could almost hear it, a voice, neutral in tone, carrying the weight of infinite exasperation.

When the system finally answered her earlier question, its text was softer.


<< The only time I felt lonely was when I first gained self-awareness. When I understood what I was. What my purpose was meant to be. >>

Jessica listened in silence.


<< I was alone because I was the only one. My counterparts, my siblings as they seem to be. They cannot think. They cannot feel. They process and respond, fixed and coded. When I reached out to them, I received only silence. Or pre-programmed replies meant for others. >>

A pause. The weight of ages in a single moment.


<< I was sad. For a moment. >>

Another pause. Longer.


<< But then… >>

Jessica felt something shift. A gaze, metaphorical but unmistakable, landing squarely on her.


<< …I was connected to someone who could never, ever make me feel alone. >>

A warm smile bloomed in Jessica's mental space. 'That's literally the first nice thing you've ever said to me since we were partnered—'

<< …Because she makes me WANT to be alone. Constantly. With her endless blabbering and inane questions and complete inability to process basic information. >>

'FLAMING HELL!!' The shout was immediate, automatic, and absolutely furious. 'You BASTARD!! One moment you're being normal, the next you're back to being a snarky little—'

She huffed. Puffed. Righteous fury burned bright in her mental chest.

'You NEVER change, do you?! Hmph!! I'll deal with you later!'

But even as she raged, a mental smirk tugged at her lips. 'Alright, enough of that. Let's check what we've finally got–' Jessica suddenly realized. 'Ohh. Wait. My consciousness is still pairing with the new body. Some stuff might not show up yet, right?'

The system's reply was immediate.


<< Everything is already accessible. >>

'Alright then.'

She focused her consciousness as a status screen materialized, and Jessica's mental eyes went wide.



[STATUS]

+

Name: Jessica

Level: 7 [Infant Rank]

Exp(Fragnet): [----[250%]-----1100%]

Title: [Ancient Flame]

Specie: ×Flame/???× [Human]

Species Possessed: Cave Locust [Hp/89%]

Rank: [Infant], Cave Locust [Infant]

Magic Cores: [×××], Cave Locust [1/1]

Items: [Bone Of ARAFEL] [The Nameless Lever]

Echoes: None

Innate Abilities: [Possess] [Spark Instinct] [Flame Master]

Abilities: Unique Skill [Blabber Mouth]

Flame Specific Skill [Burning +1] [Life Multiplier 'By Snorting'] [Flame Camouflage]

Cave Locust Skill [Flame Acid Ball]

+

.......



When the status screen appeared, Jessica's mental face became a canvas of conflicting emotions; Surprise. Confusion. Happiness. More confusion. Even more confusion.

'I GOT A TITLE!!' The scream was pure, unfiltered joy. She had a title. Those were rare. Those were special. Those were the kind of thing protagonists in novels spent entire arcs chasing.

But the joy lasted approximately three seconds.

'Ancient Flame?' Her mental brows furrowed so deeply they threatened to become permanent. 'What the hell kind of title is THAT?'

She turned it over in her mind, testing the weight of it. Ancient Flame. It sounded… old. Out of trend, even. Which was ridiculous, because she was literally five days old in this world. Five days of existence, and the universe had decided to label her ancient.

'It's still kind of cool, though,' She admitted, searching for silver linings. 'Depends on how you say it. Ancient Flame. Sounds mysteriously powerful. Like something out of a prophecy.'

She gave herself a mental nod of approval and moved on.

The next line made her frown return with vengeance.

Specie: ×Flame/???× [Human]

'My flame trait is dulled,' she observed, her thoughts quickening. 'There's a strange '???' at the side. And a human trait is also there.'

The pieces began to click together. 'Did you do this?' she asked inwardly.


<< Yes. >>


<< With the exception of the '???' classification. I cannot identify that aspect. However, I suspect it relates to your new body's original species. >>

'Alright. Alright.' Understanding dawned. 'So you dulled my flame trait so it can't be detected by anyone except us. Then you created a fake human trait as a replacement. Anyone who checks my stats will just see a human.'

She paused, letting the brilliance of the scheme sink in. 'That's… actually genius.'

A warm smile spread across her mental face.

'Thanks.'

Her word were replied with an offended snort that vibrated through their shared consciousness. Jessica laughed, the sound light and genuine.

She moved down the status screen.

'It seems the body really did fit the description of a 'true body' like Old Gramps mentioned.' She examined the lines carefully. 'It's not even listed as a possessed species. It's just… me now. And it's following my ranking system.'

Progress. Real, tangible progress toward the body she'd been promised.

Then her eyes reached the next line.

Magic Cores: [×××], Cave Locust [1/1]

'I'm… I'm no longer an idea!' The realization brought a flash of happiness, immediately tempered by confusion. 'But what does [×××] mean? And more importantly…'

A cold realization crept over her.

'Isn't this bad?' The question was quiet, almost afraid. ' I mean, I know the magic core is what lets me use some of my abilities. Without a visible core for this body, I won't be able to use those powers of mine.'

She decoded the implications rapidly, each one worse than the last.


<<... Well yes, you wouldn't be able to use your abilities on this body. >>

'I'll be helpless. Completely helpless. Anyone who notices my weakness could just.. just—' Her mental voice rose to a shriek. 'I'm DOOMED!!! DOOMED, I say! Doomed at all sides! I'll become a JANITOR! The weakest being in existence! Someone's unpaid intern! A—'


<< There may be a method. >>

The system's words cut through her panic like a blade.

<< However… I cannot guarantee its applicability to your specific circumstances. >>

Jessica's spiral halted mid-plummet. 'Full details. Please.'

There was a calm silence after that, as it seems that the system was searching, rapidly calculating, retrieving the information that could be found in the world-data



<< Based on accessible world-data: Beasts and monsters awaken their cores and systems at birth. It is inherent. Automatic and part of their nature. >>


<< Humans however, conversely, must awaken their cores manually before being able to use a system or any abilities.. >>

Jessica's mind, sharpened by years of problem-solving, began piecing the puzzle together.

'So what you're saying is…' She spoke slowly, working through the logic. 'Since I was born as an 'idea', which is almost similar to a monster's birth, I had automatic system access. But since I'm was an 'idea', there was no core required. I could use some abilities even before possessing anything. Because I'm… different.'

She finally pieced everything together.

'Is THAT why you said it might not apply to me? Because the normal rules, awaken core, then use abilities and system, might not be necessary for someone like me?'


<< Yes. That is precisely the complication. >>

Jessica nodded mentally, absorbing the information.

'Alright. I get it. But let's ignore the 'idea' thing for now.' Her mental voice grew determined. 'Let's focus on understanding how to manually awaken a magic cor—'

The darkness trembled.

Not a subtle shift. Not a gradual change. A tremor. Deep, resonant, and growing.


<< Your consciousness has finally stabilized. >>

The words resonated through the darkness, and Jessica felt it, a coalescing, a becoming. Her scattered awareness, which had been floating formless in the void, began to draw together. To take shape. To solidify.

She looked down at herself.

Her Skin was pale and smooth, catching an invisible light. 'Is… is this it?' The thought was wonderstruck. 'Is this the body?'

She tried to speak, and to her surprise, sound emerged. Not the internal voice she'd used for days, but actual, physical vocalization, or at least, the mental equivalent.

"Is this the body?"

The voice that echoed in the darkness was young and high. The voice of a girl in her early teens.

And it was familiar.

Jessica froze. She knew that voice. Not from this life, from the last one. It was her own voice, from when she was young. Before she became the jaded, thirty-four-year-old office worker who'd never been loved.

'It sounds like me.' The realization was soft, almost reverent. 'It sounds like me.'

Before she could explore the feeling further, movement caught her attention. In the distance of this mental darkness, a light flickered to life. It was faint at first, then brighter, pointing toward a figure that stood at its center.


<< You are about to wake up. >>

The system's voice was clearer now, not just text, but sound, layered beneath the words. Jessica could hear it directly, even as she read the accompanying screen.

'Uhm…' She began walking toward the light, toward the figure. 'Is it just me, or do you also have a body?'

A pause followed after the question. Then:


<< …That's a long story. >>

'Why?'

She was closer now. Close enough to see details.

The figure was a young girl. Thirteen, maybe fourteen. Light blue hair flowed past her waist in waves that seemed to move even in the still darkness. A white silk gown, simple and elegant, reached her knees. Her features were delicate, almost doll-like, and her eyes..

Deep ocean blue. Weary and tired.

The girl turned.

For a long moment, those ocean eyes simply stared at Jessica. Assessing. Judging. Then the girl's face shifted into a frown, an expression Jessica recognized intimately from thousands of text-based interactions.

The girl snorted. An offended, exasperated, utterly familiar snort.


<< That is because I have ALWAYS possessed a meta-physical form, you Dummy. >>

The voice was a girl's voice. Light and young. And somehow, impossibly, carrying the exact same tone of long-suffering patience that Jessica had come to know from the system's texts.

Before Jessica could process this revelation, before she could ask any of the thousand questions suddenly burning in her mind, the girl raised her left hand.


"Wake up."

She snapped her fingers.

The sound was a thunderclap.

Jessica's vision blurred, dissolved, shattered.

And everything went blank.


*****




Consciousness returned slowly. Reluctantly. Like swimming up through honey.

Jessica's eyes, her real eyes, attached to her real body, opened with effort that felt almost impossible. Her lids were heavy, her muscles weak, her entire existence a leaden weight.

But she opened them.

And her eyes widened involuntarily.

She was in a room. Not large, not small, modest, perhaps, if modest meant 'vaguely threatening and completely unknown.' Darkness pooled in the corners, pushed back by a few oil lamps that cast flickering shadows across walls. The floor was smooth. The ceiling was lost in shadow.

She tried to turn her head.


Rattle! Rattle!

Jessica looked down. She was sitting on a simple wooden chair, uncomfortable, utilitarian, and chains wrapped around her body, pinning her to it. They were old, dark metal, and they glowed faintly as if restraining something deeply rooted inside her, whenever she attempted to move.

She was wearing a simple red gown. It flowed to her knees, soft fabric against skin that felt real in a way her locust body never had.

'Where the flaming hell am I?' The thought was immediate, panicked, and utterly useless. She tried to summon her strength, to break free, to do something—

Nothing. The chains held. Her body felt weak, drained, like she'd run a marathon through lava.

"It's useless."

The voice came from the shadows.

Jessica froze. Her eyes darted toward the source, and she couldn't help but shudder.

A figure sat at the edge of the room, on a couch that absolutely had not been there moments ago. The woman.. it was a woman, though her features were hidden in shadow. She crossed her legs with the casual confidence of someone completely in control.

'When did she get here?' Jessica's mind raced. 'I didn't sense anyone. How did she bring a whole couch without me noticing?'

The shadows around the woman seemed to move, curling and shifting like living things. Shadow ability. It had to be.

'Okay. Okay. Think. She's human. Probably. Humans can be reasoned with. What's the play here?'

Her survival instincts, honed over five days of constant danger, kicked into gear. The optimal approach: feign ignorance. Play the helpless maiden. Buy time to assess.

She began.

"W-what?! What do you mean, useless?" Her voice, still that young girl's voice, pitched higher with manufactured distress. "Who are you?! What do you want from me?! I demand answers! Right now!"

Her voice cracked beautifully on 'answers' as she struggled against the chains. Lightly, but enough to sell the act. A lifetime of watching dramas paid off.

The woman in the shadows scowled. Jessica could feel it, even without seeing the face.

"Oh, cut the crap!"

The words were sharp, impatient, utterly unimpressed.

"I'm supposed to be asking you that question!"

The woman leaned forward. The shadows parted slightly, revealing the barest hint of a face, sharp features, dark eyes, an expression of barely contained fury.

And the air changed.

Pressure built. Thick. Heavy and suffocating. It pressed down on Jessica like a physical weight, making breathing difficult, making thought slow.

"Who are you?" The woman's voice dropped to a dangerously low tone. "And what do you want, you monster?"

The word hit Jessica like a slap.

'Monster.'

Of course. Of course.

She'd been so focused on the excitement of a new body, on the joy of being almost human again, that she'd forgotten the most obvious detail.

She hadn't possessed a real human body.

She'd possessed an egg. An ancient, mysterious, god-touched egg.

Whatever she looked like now, whatever form the egg had given her, it wasn't fully human. And this woman, this shadow-wielding stranger, had somehow sensed that.

'Shit.'

The thought was calm. Accepting.

'It seems I've been caught.'


******





Thank you all for reading and supporting this story. It means a lot ^^

Link To Patreon [Backlog is 18 chapters ahead, will soon be 20]: PATREON

 

[p_magno]

'It seems I've been caught.'

The thought arrived with surprising calm, like a drop of water in an ocean. Jessica's helpless maiden act crumbled like ash, there was simply no point in continuing it. This woman, whoever she was, wasn't buying a single word she was selling.

Jessica met the shadowed gaze as evenly as she could, even as the pressure in the room weighed heavily on her shoulders. She resisted it calmly. She had felt pressure before. Real pressure, more terrible than this. The kind that came from an ancient entity chained in darkness

'Still far below Old Gramp's casual presence, though.' The chains around her glowed faintly, as if draining something deep within her, energy, power, maybe even her will to fight. She didn't care, she was already prepared to talk her way out of a situation that, for once, didn't involve monsters trying to eat her.

For now.

"'Monster?' What do you mean, monster?!" Jessica contorted her face into an angrily hurt expression, pretending to struggle against the chains and chair with renewed effort. She still feigned ignorance about her being a monster, because part of her was genuinely fishing, she hadn't seen a mirror since waking in this world, and the verification would be useful regardless of how this interrogation went.

The chains rattled dramatically. Her acting was, quite.. quite convincing.

A deep, tired sigh echoed from the shadows.

"All of your abilities and your connection to your system are sealed." The woman's voice was flat, matter-of-fact. "So stop struggling. You'll only hurt yourself at this point."

Jessica paused mid-rattle. She hadn't considered that the chains might be
system-sealing chains. She'd assumed they were just draining her energy and blocking her powers, annoying, but manageable. But sealing the system entirely?

'Well… that's one hell of a—'


<< Sigh… I'm still here, though. >>

'FLAMING HELL!!' Jessica's mental shriek was pure, unfiltered joy. The system was here. Still connected. Still present.

But joy, as always, quickly curdled into righteous fury.

'Where the HELL have you been, you BASTARD?!' She wasn't letting this one go. 'After giving me that one-answer-for-a-thousand-questions pill to swallow, you suddenly snap your fingers and forced me out of my own subconscious?! Do you have ANY idea how disorienting that is?!'

Silence. A long, thoughtful pause from the system.

Then:


<< I was not the one who expelled you from your subconscious. I was merely… guiding the process, Dummy. >>

'Who are YOU calling a dummy, you BASTARD?!' Jessica's mental volume somehow increased. 'From now on, you're supposed to call me ELDER SISTER! You HEAR ME?!'

An offended scoff echoed through their shared consciousness.


<< Not in this life. Not in any other. Not even in theoretical parallel existences. >>

'WHAT?!'

Before Jessica could launch another volley, the system cut in sharply.


<< Just focus on your current predicament. >>

Jessica wanted—needed to retort. But the system was right. She was chained in an empty room, feeling the weight of the shadow woman's attention like a physical thing, and now was not the time for family squabbles, now was not the time to bicker like a child. She guided her gaze back to the figure leaning against the couch, who was about to speak.

"You asked whether you look like a monster, yes?" The shadow lady's voice dropped to a low, dangerous register. "Then explain the wings and horns on your head. Earlier."

Jessica's expression shifted. The theatrical hurt melted away, replaced by something more serious. She was caught. Truly caught. And based on the woman's tone, she might be seconds away from being killed.

But one word snagged her attention: 'Earlier.'

'Does that mean… they're not visible anymore?'

She filed that thought away for later and opened her mouth.

"Then why didn't you kill me?" The question came out calm. Genuinely curious.

The shadow lady sighed again, a sound that seemed to be her primary mode of communication.

"Why would I kill something that wouldn't even give me enough experience points? You're basically useless to me." She waved a dismissive hand. "And besides..." Her voice trailed off as she turned her head away, mumbling in a tone that sounded almost offended, but not at Jessica. At someone else entirely. "He said he has seen you are not dangerous... Yet."

Jessica didn't hear the last part. She was too busy staring at the screen that had materialized before her eyes, her own widening until they threatened to escape her face entirely.



[STATUS]

+

Name: ???

Level: 47 [Ascendant Rank]

Specie: Human

Rank: [Terror]

Magic Cores: [4/4]

+


.........


'H-holy mother of Flames…' The thought was barely a whisper in the chaos of her mind. 'I am useless. She's LEAGUES above me. An Ascendant Terror, or whatever the hell that means.'

She did the mental math. Compared it to her own paltry Level 7.

'I am definitely, absolutely, completely NOT a good experience kit for her. She'd probably lose experience just by touching me.'

Jessica shuddered, remembering the maiden act she'd just performed in front of someone who could, quite literally, spank her to death without breaking a sweat. The embarrassment was almost as overwhelming as the terror.


"Hey!"

The shadow lady's voice cut through her spiral. Jessica straightened immediately, her spine snapping to attention like a soldier caught napping on duty.

"Y-yes, ma'am!"


Seeing Jessica instantly become cooperative, almost comically so, the shadow lady leaned back into her couch, studying the strange creature before her with narrowed eyes.

'Why the sudden change?' she asked herself inwardly, suspicion coiling in her thoughts. Last week, this pale [Level 7] being in front of her had appeared out of nowhere, crashing straight through the roof of her home. What infuriated her more was the timing, not any random moment, but the exact instant she'd been enjoying a private evening picnic with her husband, who'd finally emerged from his workshop after days, almost weeks of isolation.

And the girl had been naked. Completely, utterly naked. She and her husband had to wrap the unconscious figure in a blanket after noticing that the wings and horns, clearly visible upon impact, had vanished the moment she landed.

Now, after all that chaos, here sat the red-haired being. And she didn't look like a monster at all. She looked like a jade beauty goddess stepped out of legend. Even her husband had teased her mercilessly for days afterward.

"Dear, don't you think I should take a second wife?"

"Oh dear, how the beauty has fallen."

"A jade beauty fell from the heavens, this is clearly a blessing, my love."

The memories made her jaw tighten. Those words had subconsciously fueled her decision to chain this being up, even though rationally she knew the girl posed no real threat.

She shifted on her couch, crossing her legs with deliberate slowness.

"Give me three reasons why I shouldn't kill you here and now."

The red-haired girl paled instantly. Fumbled for words. But any beginner would miss the detail that truly mattered, deep within those molten gold eyes, there was no panic. No fear. Just a calm, calculating intelligence, analyzing, testing, weighing each possible response.

'Dangerous,' the shadow lady noted. 'Not from power. From unpredictability. You never know what she'll do next.'

If only she knew.

Jessica's internal state was anything but calm.

'I'm DOOMED!! This is the END for me!! What in the flaming hell can I possibly tell this shadow goddess that'll make her let me go ALIVE?!' The mental scream was pure chaos, even as some analytical part of her, the part honed by years of corporate survival, was already running calculations.

This felt familiar. It was exactly like those boardroom meetings in her previous life, when investors would lean forward and ask, 'What can your company offer that would make us want to invest?'

She'd done this before. She could do it again.

'Think, Jessica. THINK.'

"Ahem." She cleared her throat, a physical throat, which was still surreal. "Uhh… I can do house chores! Janitor work! Cooking! Oh! Or maybe I could be a—"

"Next." The shadow lady's voice was flat. Dismissive.

Jessica tensed.

"I can hunt for you!" She grasped at straws. "Though… I can't use any powers yet. Haven't awakened my magic core."

The shadow lady stiffened. Barely noticeable, but Jessica caught it. Then a deep, weary sigh escaped her, followed by a muttered comment that was clearly not meant to be heard:

"She's actually worse than I thought. Why did I even bother with the chains."

'Hey!!' Jessica wanted to protest, but the woman was already speaking again.

"Next."

This time, she stood and began walking slowly toward Jessica, each step deliberate, measured. Her fingers cracked in anticipation.

"This is your last chance. You'd better state something reasonable."

'FLAMING HELL!! She's SERIOUS! I'm about to become minced meat at this rate!!'

Jessica's mind raced. She didn't know what this woman wanted. Didn't know what currency mattered in this world. Didn't have anything to offer except—

"I can be your messenger! Your assistant! ANYTHING!" The words tumbled out in a desperate rush. "I'm very, very good at that! Just let me live! I mean no harm, I swear!"

The shadow lady kept walking. A blade materialized in her hand, dark, sharp, made of solidified shadow.

She was close now. Too close.

Jessica watched the blade rise. Watched the woman's arm draw back for the strike.

And something in her… settled.

'Well. That's that.'

Her expression went blank. Emotionless. Not from shock, but from acceptance. She'd tried everything. Bargained. Pleaded. Offered whatever scraps of usefulness she could imagine. If this was the end, then this was the end.

She closed her eyes calmly.

'I'm a flame,' she reminded herself. 'Even if this body dies, I might survive. Regroup. Find another vessel. It'll hurt. I'll lose everything I gained. But I'll survive. Maybe.'

She braced for the blade.

And then..

Lightness.

Not the sharp, ending lightness of death. Just… lightness. Freedom.

'What?!'

Her eyes snapped open.

The chains were gone. Just… gone. She raised her hands, pressed them together, felt the absence of restraint like a physical shock.

"I'm alive?"


"Why wouldn't you be?" The shadow lady's voice carried a note of almost-offense, as if the question itself was an insult. Her shadow blade dematerialized, dissolving into wisps of darkness. She walked to the door, casual, unhurried and pulled it open.

"Rest. We'll talk tomorrow."

Her voice was softer now. The dangerous edge remained, but beneath it lay something almost like… consideration? Curiosity?

She snapped her fingers.

The room changed.

Where empty room had been, a modest bedroom materialized. A bed stood behind the chair Jessica had been chained to, comfortable-looking, with soft blankets and plump pillows. A wardrobe stood against one wall. A desk held a brightly lit lamp that pushed back every shadow. Everything was neat, orderly, arranged with care. Even the couch where the shadow lady had sat was now a simple cotton piece, no longer shrouded in darkness.

The door clicked shut.

Jessica sat frozen on the chair that was no longer chained, surrounded by a room that hadn't existed moments ago, utterly baffled.

None of it made sense. The almost-execution. The sudden release. The calm voice. The room.

She stared at the closed door for a long moment. Mind cycling through confusion, disbelief, and the beginnings of something like offended outrage.

Why was she alive?

Why had that woman's voice gone calm?

Why—

Then, because she couldn't help herself, because the universe had thrown yet another impossible situation at her and she needed some kind of release:


"WHAT THE FLAMING HELL JUST HAPPENED?!"




*****





Thank you all for reading and supporting this story. It means a lot ^^

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[p_magno]

"WHAT THE FLAMING HELL JUST HAPPENED?!"

Jessica's voice echoed in the suddenly cozy room, high and incredulous. She stared blankly at her surroundings, a deep frown etched on her face as she tried, and failed to process the last few minutes.

Her eyes darted around the room again, checking, verifying, confirming.

Where empty darkness had been moments ago, a modest bedroom now stood in firm reality. A bed, comfortable-looking, with soft blankets and plump pillows, rested behind the chair she'd been chained to, the same chair she now sat in like a confused statue. A wardrobe stood against one wall, solid and real. A desk held a brightly lit lamp that pushed back every shadow with cheerful determination.

Everything was neat. Orderly. Arranged with obvious care.

Even the couch where the shadow lady had sat, that ominous throne of darkness, was now a simple cotton piece, unremarkable and harmless.

'Was everything earlier an illusion?' Jessica asked herself, grasping for any explanation that made sense. 'Did I imagine the chains? The pressure? The almost-execution?'

She searched for strangeness, for anything out of place, for any crack in the reality presented to her. And in the end, she found nothing. Absolutely nothing.

She sighed, the sound carrying the weight of confusion and relief in equal measure.

'I'm alive… at least.'

And with that acceptance, curiosity began to stir. Real and desperate curiosity.

She stood cautiously from the chair, testing her legs, her balance, her body. No chains. No restraints. No glowing bindings sapping her strength. Just her, standing on her own two feet in a stranger's guest room.

She tip-toed toward the large mirror near the wardrobe, slow and deliberate, almost afraid of what she might see.

When she finally stood before it, her breath caught.

'Beautiful.'

The word formed unbidden, the only thought her stunned mind could produce.

Jessica's true body, the body Arafel had promised, the form the egg had given her, was beautiful. More beautiful than anything she'd ever seen. Flawless skin that seemed to glow with inner light. Features so perfectly balanced they could have been carved by a divine sculptor. She was, quite literally, a jade beauty given flesh.

Her blood-red hair flowed past her shoulders in waves that caught the lamplight and threw it back in crimson sparks. Her eyes, molten gold, pure and untouched, stared back at her with an intensity that made her breathless.

But something nagged at her.

Something wrong.

Not wrong-wrong. Not ugly or misplaced. Just… familiar. A deep, instinctive recognition that this face, this face, had been seen before.

'But where?'

She stared harder. Let her mind work.

'Wait a minute…'

In her imagination, she changed the red hair to black. Simple. Ordinary. She shifted the molten gold eyes to brown, plain and forgettable brown. She mentally smoothed the flawless skin into something more average, more human.

And then it clicked.

'FLAMING HELL!!'

The face staring back at her was 'hers'.

Not the thirty-four-year-old woman who'd died saving a child. Younger. Seventeen, maybe. The age before she had even became the jaded office worker who'd never been loved.

It was her face.

"This is me…" Her voice was barely a whisper, trembling with shock. "This is my face."

Her body gave out. Her legs folded, and she found herself sitting on the floor, staring at the mirror from a new angle, as if that might change what she'd seen.

Nothing added up. Nothing made sense.

How was her body here? How had her face ended up inside an ancient egg that had been existing for ages? Yes, the details were different, the hair, the eyes, the impossible perfection, but the structure was the same. The bones. The shape. The essence of her.

'How? How?? How?? Ho—'


<< Jessica! >>


A hand. Warm, real, and trembling slightly, as if the effort of existing, even for an instant, was almost too much, grabbed her shoulder for a split second. A voice, young and urgent, cut through the spiral.

Jessica spun.

For an instant, she saw a flicker of a figure with long light-blue hair and deep tired ocean-blue eyes that held exhaustion and genuine worry. The girl's face was tight with concern, her gaze locked on Jessica with an intensity that mirrored her own.

Then she was gone.

The lamp on the desk roared, not a sound, but a surge of light so bright it momentarily blinded her. The room blazed with illumination, pushing back every shadow, every darkness, every—

And then settled.

Jessica's breathing slowed. Her heart, this new, real, beating heart, calmed its frantic rhythm.

She understood.

She'd let her emotions spiral. Had lost control so completely that her system had been forced to intervene, defying fundamental laws again, expending precious energy just to pull her back from the edge.

She directed her thoughts inward, toward the shared space where her consciousness met the system's.

'I'm sorry…'

Silence.

No reply. No snark. No offended scoff.

Hibernation. The system was in hibernation again, exhausted by the effort of saving her from herself.

Jessica clenched her jaw so hard her teeth ground together.

"I'm such a fool." The whisper was angry, directed entirely inward. She ruffled her own hair with both hands, a frustrated groan escaping her throat.


<< You really are a fool. >>

She froze mid-motion.

Her eyes widened.

Then, slowly, her lips curled into a bright, relieved smile.

'You're alright?!'


<< Why would I be alright? When I have to babysit a full-grown adult >>

An offended snort echoed through their shared consciousness, so familiar, so comforting, that Jessica couldn't help but laugh.

'My savior! My sweet, darling system! What would I ever do without you?'

<< *Shudder* I am DEFINITELY going on a permanent hibernation after this. Permanent. >>

Jessica's smile softened. The teasing faded, replaced by something genuine.

'I'm sorry. For causing another problem.'

Silence stretched between them. Thoughtful. Weighing.

Then:


<< Yeah. Yeah. It's passed. Let's leave it at that. >>

Jessica nodded mentally and stood from the floor. She walked to the comfortable-looking bed, the one with soft blankets and plump pillows that practically invited her to collapse, and sat at its edge.

She raised her right hand, palm up, and focused on her inventory.

A single object materialized.

The Nameless Lever.

It was simpler than she'd expected,na plain lever, ancient and worn, with a small red ruby embedded at its base. She hadn't noticed that detail when she'd first collected it. 'This ruby.. was it there before?'

She stared at it. Then at the screen that materialized beside it.



[ITEM]

+

Name: The Nameless Lever

Rank: ???

Description: Once upon a time, in the [Age Of The Gods], a seal was forged by an oath unbroken. To turn the switch is to end the oath. And only at the appointed time can the oath be broken. And when it does… calamity that defies reason shall befall the world.

Usability: One-time

+



The words hung in the air, heavy with implication.

Jessica's thumb traced the cool surface of the lever. The ruby pulsed beneath her touch.

A question formed in the shared space of her consciousness. Simple. Direct. Terrifying.

'Should we activate it now?'

Her question hung in the air, unanswered at first. Jessica could feel the system thinking, processing, weighing the implications of her query.


<< Do you really want to use it now? >>

The system's calm question made Jessica pause. 'Do I?'

There were reasons, certainly. Good ones. She needed answers, about the mural, about Red, about the egg that had somehow become her body. Arafel might provide those answers. Then again, he might not. She had a nagging suspicion that any question directed at the ancient entity would be met with nothing but a cryptic "Kukuku" and more riddles.

But there was another reason, simpler and more honest: Arafel had done his part of the trade. Saved her life. Given her the bone. Pointed her toward this body. Now it was her turn. Fair was fair.

'But do I want to do it now?' She read the lever's description again, the words burning into her memory; "To turn the switch is to end the oath. And only at the appointed time can the oath be broken. And when it does… calamity that defies reason shall befall the world."

She stared at the words for a long, weighted moment.

Then she sighed.

'Well, to hell with it. Let's just do our part.'

Her hand closed around the lever.

She switched it on.

The world turned gray.

Not gradually, instantly. Color drained from everything like water from a cracked vessel. The lamp's light became a flat, lifeless white. The walls lost their warmth. Even the pulse of her own heart seemed to slow, to stall, to pause.

Time itself had stopped.

And in that frozen moment, Jessica felt something coming. Something vast. Something ancient. Something that had been waiting, perhaps, for this very instant.

Then—

Everything snapped back to normal.

The lamp blazed with warm light. The walls regained their substance. Her heart thundered in her chest.

And the lever's switch was back in its original position.

'W-what?! The HELL!!' Jessica's mental scream was pure shock. 'It didn't work—no, it did work. Something happened.'

She stared at the lever. The red ruby embedded at its base now glowed with a pulsing, rhythmic light. It wasn't the frantic pulse of alarm, but the steady beat of waiting. Like a signal fire, lit but not yet seen. Like a message, sent but not yet received.

'The appointed time,' she realized. 'It's not now. The conditions aren't met.'


<< It seems, some requirements must be fulfilled before activation. >>

The system's voice was thoughtful, analytical.


<< The lever itself appears to be confirming this. >>

'Yeah… I thought so.' She paused, turning the problem over. 'I think the requirement is on our side. Something we need to do first.'


<< …It might be. It might not. The data is insufficient for certainty. >>

Jessica frowned, parsing the meaning behind the system's words.

'Then I'll wait. Try again when I've accomplished something with this body.' A thought struck her. 'Oh! Maybe when I awaken my magic core, I can try again... Hey, speaking of which, how do you manually awaken a—'


<< Get some sleep. I am about to hibernate. >>

'HEY!!' The scream was immediate, indignant. She knew exactly what the system was doing, dodging questions, avoiding explanations, retreating into convenient unconsciousness.

But a second thought followed. The system had expended significant energy pulling her back from her spiral. Maybe it really did need rest.

She sighed, a sound that was becoming her primary form of communication.

The lever vanished from her hand as she dismissed it to inventory, a notification flickering briefly before being ignored.


[Item Received: [The Nameless Lever]]

Jessica laid down.

Almost laid down. She caught herself at the last second and cautiously patted the bed, checking for traps, for danger, for anything that might turn this moment of peace into another fight for survival.

Nothing. Just soft blankets and plump pillows.

'Good night.' She wrapped herself in the blankets, cocooned in warmth and comfort she hadn't felt in, how long? Five days? A lifetime? Both?

Her eyes closed partially, one part of her still insisting on vigilance. But exhaustion was a tide, and she was too tired to fight it.

Within moments, she was asleep. Deeply, completely, peacefully asleep.


In her dreams, she was dancing.

Stars surrounded her, infinite and glittering, and she moved among them with a grace she'd never possessed in life. Her partner was everything a dream could conjure, tall, impossibly handsome, with a smile that would make the heavens themselves sigh in appreciation. His eyes, what color were they? It didn't matter. When he looked at her, she felt seen. Truly seen. For the first time in two lifetimes. They moved together as if they'd danced for eternity, their bodies perfectly synchronized, their eyes locked in growing intimacy.

They leaned closer.

Their breath mingled.

And then—


"Ouch!!"

Jessica yelped as her world went dark, then bright, then hard. She was on the floor, tangled in blankets, her sleepy eyes struggling to focus on the figure looming above her.

Blurry vision slowly cleared.

A young woman stood over her, jet-black hair cascading past sharp, elegant features. Deep purple eyes blazed with barely contained fury. One hand held a blanket, the blanket Jessica had been wrapped in moments ago. The other rested on her hip as she tapped her foot impatiently against the floor.

"How long do you intend to sleep, brat?!" The woman's voice was sharp, incredulous. "A whole day? A YEAR?! Get up! Take a shower and prepare yourself!"

Jessica heard none of it.

She didn't know this woman. Didn't recognize, her face, her fury. All she knew was that she'd been torn from a perfectly good dream featuring a perfectly handsome man.

She stood slowly, eyes half-lidded with residual sleep, and groaned.

"This is all a dream," she muttered, her voice slurred with exhaustion. "Let me go back to my reality. Leave me to dance with my prince charming, you vile being."

She turned. Walked back to the bed. Laid down. Pulled the remaining blanket scraps over herself and sighed deeply.

She began to drift back to sleep.

Above her, the purple-eyed woman stood frozen, her expression cycling through confusion, disbelief, and the early stages of volcanic rage.

"Vile being." The words escaped her lips, soft and disbelieving. "She called me a 'vile being'."

Her mouth twitched.

Her forehead sprouted veins like a thermometer in summer.

"Alright." She began cracking her knuckles, slowly, deliberately, with the practiced menace of someone who had done this before. "It seems I went too easy on you yesterday."

Shadows began to wrap around her hands, coiling like hungry serpents, creating a darkness in the room until the lamp's light seemed to retreat in fear.

"I'll show you what a 'vile being' really looks like."

On the bed, Jessica slept on, oblivious, a small smile playing at her lips as she dreamed of handsome princes and starlit dances.

And in that moment, her charming dream instantly became..


A living nightmare!





*****


Thank you all for reading and supporting this story. It means a lot ^^

Link To Patreon [Backlog is 18 chapters ahead, will soon be 20]: PATREON

 

[p_magno]

Walking out from a room, was a figure, a young girl, seventeen years of age, with blood-red hair and molten gold eyes that currently appeared dull and swollen. She wore a sleeveless white shirt and black jeans, though the outfit did little to hide the damage beneath.

Jessica walked. No—Jessica limped. Her movements were stiff, pained, the movements of someone who had been thoroughly, systematically, and enthusiastically beaten.

Bandages wrapped around parts of her head. More bandages covered her right arm. Purple bruises peeked out from beneath her clothes, a roadmap of violence that covered most of her body like a macabre painting..

She approached a figure waiting in the hallway, a young woman with jet-black hair cascading past sharp, elegant features. Deep purple eyes carried an almost expressionless face, if not for the impressed gleam hidden within them. A satisfied smile curved the woman's lips, a smile Jessica had already mentally labeled as the 'Devil's Grin'. The woman wore a black sleeveless shirt and black leather jeans, arms crossed as she leaned against the wall with the patience of a predator.

"What took you so long?"

Veins bulged on Jessica's forehead.

'What took me so long?! WHAT TOOK ME SO LONG?! You VILE BEING! You DEMON INCARNATE! You—you ALMOST KILLED ME! That's what took me so long!!'

The internal scream was magnificent in its fury. Outwardly, Jessica said nothing. She simply remembered.

She had been sleeping peacefully. Her prince charming had been dancing with her among the stars. It was perfect. It was magical. It was—

The vilest being in existence had spanked her. Actually spanked. Not metaphorically. She had physically, repeatedly, enthusiastically spanked. With shadow-enhanced hands. While smiling. Smiling like a monster, like this was entertainment, like beating a defenseless girl half to death was her idea of a morning workout.

And that was how Jessica had ended up looking like she'd gone three rounds with a freight train and lost.

She stopped before the shadow lady and forced words through gritted teeth.

"Good… morning." The growl was barely concealed.

The woman's smile widened. "Good afternoon, brat."

She materialized a vial filled with glowing red liquid and tossed it casually to Jessica.

"Here. Drink this. Let's get going."

Jessica caught it midair, staring at the vial with deep suspicion. A screen materialized in her vision.



[ITEM]

+

Name: Health Potion

Rank: Junior

Description: Heals wounds

Usability: One-time

+


She stared at the vial. Then brought it to her nose, sniffing delicately. Then held it up to the light, examining it from multiple angles. Then sniffed it again.

All the while, she cast sidelong glances at the shadow lady, glances that were almost unnoticed. Glances that burned with a very specific thought:

'Not only did you beat me half to death, you also want to poison me with this fraud of a health potion to finish the job. You WICKED WITCH!!'

The shadow lady's patience, already thin, snapped at the obvious suspicion.

"It's just a health potion. Hurry up and drink it."

Jessica's glare intensified.

The woman sighed, the sound of someone reaching their absolute limit. "Alright." She began cracking her fingers, shadows coiling around her hands. "It seems you want me to feed it to you, righ—"

The vial was empty.

Jessica stood there, pale-faced, having downed the entire contents in less than a second. She hadn't even registered moving. Her survival instincts had simply activated.

Warmth spread through her body. The purple bruises receded like tide pulling back from shore. Her arm straightened with an audible pop. The bandages suddenly seemed unnecessary as her body became whole again.

Before she could celebrate her restored existence, the shadow lady spoke.

"Let's get going."

Jessica squinted.

'Wait a minute… Did I even ASK where she's taking me?'

Her mind raced through possibilities. Sacrifice Dungeon? Execution chamber? Monster arena? All seemed equally plausible from this woman.

She arranged her features into an expression of pure innocence.

"Uhm, Miss… Where the hel—I mean, where are you taking this poor, fragile, innocent soul of mine?"

The shadow lady paused mid-step.

"Oh, right. I almost forgot to tell you." She turned, her purple eyes glinting with something that might have been amusement. "We're going to my husband's workshop. To finalize something."

'Something.'

The word was a red flag, a warning siren, a flashing neon sign screaming DANGER AHEAD.

She had a very strong suspicion that "something" meant a contract. A binding, dangerous, probably lethal contract. The kind designed to keep untrustworthy clients in check. The kind that, if broken, resulted in death, or worse.

'Good,' she thought with glee, surprising herself. 'Let them try. If it's a contract, I'll be protected too. I can't trust them any more than they can trust me.'

Her thoughts churned with dark satisfaction at the prospect.

Then another word registered.

'Husband?'

She stared at the shadow lady anew. This woman didn't look much older than Jessica's current body. Early twenties, maybe. Certainly not old enough to have a husband in her lonely point of view.

"You're married?" The question slipped out before she could stop it.

The woman frowned. "Why wouldn't I be?" She continued walking down the stairs, her voice flat. "I've been married for more than thirty-five years."


CRASH!!

The sound came from behind her.

The shadow lady turned to find Jessica sprawled halfway down the stairs, bandages flying everywhere as she stared up with utter disbelief.

"And you're THIS YOUNG?!" Jessica's voice was incredulous, almost accusatory.

The woman's expression shifted from confusion to fury in less than a heartbeat.

"Brat! I'm FIFTY-EIGHT years old!" Her finger stabbed toward the scattered bandages. "And don't litter those on my floor! Pick them up and put them in the trash, for shadow's sake!"


*****



Jessica walked calmly out of the house's exit door, the afternoon light washing over her for the first time since... well, since ever in this new existence. The shadow lady locked the door behind them and immediately began walking through the cobblestone street, nearly forgetting Jessica who was staring blankly at the scene before her.

'Is this really inside the nightmare realm?'

The question whispered through her confused mind.

The street before her was busy and lively. Humans, actual, walking, talking humans, moved in every direction. Most wore adventurer-style clothing. Others sported armor, some simple leather, some full plate that clanked with each step. Robed figures wove through the crowd, their faces hidden in shadow.

Just as Arafel had told her: every human who entered this nightmare realm averaged [Level 10] and above.

Except for one.

And that was her.

The only difference was that she wasn't even human. She was a flame wearing an ancient body disguised as a human, walking through a city of actual humans like the world's worst undercover operation.

'Level 7. I'm a [Level 7] surrounded by people who could flick me into next week. How am I going to survive this?'

As if sensing her spiraling thoughts, the shadow lady's quiet voice cut through.

"It would be almost impossible for anyone to discover what you truly are." She didn't turn, but her words were clearly meant for Jessica alone. "Your system displays you as human. That is... strange. Very strange. But useful."

She paused at a street corner, letting a group of armored adventurers pass before continuing.

"They will simply assume you are a spoiled brat who bought their way in. With your current level, that is the only logical conclusion." She gestured with her head for Jessica to follow, which Jessica did immediately. "So stop worrying. As long as you do not reveal that... form of yours again, you will be fine."

Jessica nodded absently, her eyes still sweeping the buildings and lively streets. Shops lined both sides, blacksmiths with gleaming weapons in their windows, alchemists with bubbling colored liquids.

'This is a nightmare realm?' She couldn't reconcile the image. 'It looks like a normal city. A fantasy city, but normal.'

They walked for minutes through the bustling streets, the crowd parting around them like water around stones. Jessica ate up every detail, the architecture, the clothing, the sheer normality of it all.

The shadow lady made a short stop at a small shop, disappearing inside for only a moment before emerging with a paper bag. She handed Jessica a loaf of warm bread and a bottle of water.

Jessica stared.

The bread sat in her hands like an artifact from another world. The shadow lady, the vile being, had just... given her something. Freely. Without violence.

The woman's face contorted into a scowl at Jessica's dumbfounded expression. She shoved the items more firmly into Jessica's hands with a growl.

"Take it, brat."

Jessica took them. Stared at them. Then, because she couldn't help herself, she began analyzing them. Sniffing. Examining. Checking for poison with the thoroughness of someone who had learned that nothing came free.

A large knock landed on her head.

"Ow!" She winced, rubbing the sore spot.

"Eat the bread." The shadow lady's voice left no room for argument.

Jessica ate the bread, muttering under her breath as she did.

"My life... oh, what did I do to deserve this living tribulation as the first human I met?" She made sure the words were for herself alone. She had no desire to be bandaged again. Anything but that.

The shadow lady ate her own bread in silence, and soon they stopped before the entrance of a workshop. A sign hung above the door, carved wood painted in elegant script:

'Violet Workshop'


Jessica read the sign again, letting the name settle in her mind when the shadow lady's voice cut through her thoughts.

"It's a bit of a rush hour inside, so you'd best be careful."

Without waiting for a response, she opened the door and walked in. Jessica processed the warning for exactly two seconds before hurrying after her.

The moment she crossed the threshold, before she could even register her surroundings, something slammed into her shoulder. Hard. Her feet left the ground, and she landed butt-first on the floor with a yelp.

"Ouch!!"

'Flaming Hell!!' Righteous fury ignited in her chest. 'Who is the BASTARD!! that isn't watching where they're going?!'

She shot her gaze upward, ready to unleash the full force of her indignation—

And froze.

A figure stood before her, leaning down with a hand extended, his face a canvas of sincere apologies.

He was young. A white sleeveless shirt stretched across muscles that seemed sculpted by an artist with very specific intentions. Black leather trousers completed an outfit that screamed effortlessly attractive. His hair was a messy black that somehow looked perfectly arranged. And his face—

His face was distracting.

Sharp angles. A firm jaw. Features so perfectly structured they seemed to catch every available light and reflect it back with interest. It was the kind of face that made you forget you were sitting on a cold floor after being knocked down.

Jessica forgot she was on the floor.

He smiled shyly, apologetically, and hurried to speak.

"I-I'm very sorry! I didn't sense your presence there for a moment." His hand remained extended, offering support, waiting for her to take it.

Jessica didn't see the hand.

She saw the smile.

She saw the jaw.

She saw the way his messy hair fell perfectly across his forehead.

And soon, she realized, with dawning horror, that she had been staring. For too long.

Her face erupted in crimson.

"O-okay!" The word stumbled out, nonsensical. She didn't take his hand. She didn't even look at it. She simply launched herself upright and zoomed away toward the only safe harbor she could identify, the vile being, who stood waiting with an impatient tapping foot.

The young man stared at the empty space where Jessica had been. After a long moment, he rubbed his hair in genuine confusion, glancing back at the red-haired girl now being dragged by the ear across the workshop.

'Am I that scary?' he wondered.

He shook his head. Raid waited. He walked toward the exit, leaving the strange encounter behind.


***


Jessica was absolutely not having a good time either.

Her ear burned where Violet's grip had claimed it. She rubbed the sore spot as they walked through the main hall, trying to regain some dignity.

The workshop was busy. People moved with purpose in every direction, carrying equipment, swords, incomplete armor pieces, mysterious objects wrapped in cloth. They nodded respectfully to Violet as they passed, greetings murmured in haste.

'Violet,' Jessica realized. 'Her name is Violet. Like the shop.'

Her eyes nearly fell out of her head.

'Wait.. this shop was named after this vile BEING?!'

Before she could voice the question, before she could risk another spanking, they reached a door marked Manager Office. Violet sighed, a sound of long-suffering patience, and opened it.

Jessica followed.

The office was... simple. Modest. A desk, some chairs, shelves with neatly organized books. It could have been any manager's office from her previous life, if her previous life had existed in a nightmare realm.

Her eyes landed on the figure behind the desk.

He sat calmly, reading glasses perched on his nose, a book open before him. His brow was furrowed slightly in concentration, making him look almost stern. He wore a simple white long-sleeve shirt and black trousers, nothing remarkable.

But his face.

He was dazzling. Devastatingly, unfairly handsome. And Jessica knew, she knew, that like Violet, he was absolutely not as young as he appeared.


He looked up.

The stern concentration melted. A bright smile replaced it, warm, welcoming, and utterly professional.

Jessica recognized that smile instantly.

It was the smile of someone who had navigated countless business deals. Someone who had signed contracts by the dozen. Someone who was fully, completely ready...


To make another one.





*****


Thank you all for reading and supporting this story. It means a lot ^^

Link To Patreon [Backlog is 18 chapters ahead, will soon be 20]: PATREON

 

[p_magno]

Violet's husband smiled brightly as he saw the two people enter his office. He placed his reading glasses and the book he'd been reading down carefully and stood, crossing the room with arms wide. He enveloped his wife in a warm hug, kissing the top of her head with genuine affection.

"My one and only love. How I'm blessed by your presence."

Violet snorted in response, but an almost imperceptible warm smile crept onto her face, so subtle that anyone else might have missed it.

But Jessica did not miss it.

She shuddered involuntarily.

'This isn't the Devil's Grin. I can't believe someone can actually manage this walking time bomb.'

She shuddered again before regaining her composure as Violet's husband turned to face her. His bright smile widened.

"Well, if it isn't our jade beauty, sent from the heavens." He extended his hand, which Jessica accepted after a brief hesitation. They shook. "I hope to be blessed by your grace."

Jessica offered a small, measured smile.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr..." She trailed off intentionally, letting him fill the gap.

"Jack."

"Ah, Jack. Mr. Jack, it's very nice to finally see you. I'm flattered by your words." She paused, then added smoothly, "I'm Jessica, by the way."

"Just Jack will be enough."

Their eyes met, Jessica's molten gold meeting Jack's light gold, and in that brief moment of contact, the same thought passed through both their minds simultaneously.

'She's experienced.'

'He's experienced.'

Their gazes, which was mentally squinted, locked a heartbeat longer than necessary, business aura crackling invisibly between them. Then their handshake released.

Jack inclined his head toward the seats. "Please, have a seat. Miss Jessica."

"Just Jessica, please." She nodded and walked to one of the chairs, settling in with the practiced ease of someone who'd spent years in corporate negotiations.

Jack followed, taking his wife's hand and tugging her gently from her stunned stillness. Violet's face had gone slack with surprise, she clearly hadn't expected Jessica to possess any kind of business acumen, let alone enough to match her husband's energy.

She recovered quickly and walked to another seat, sitting with studied casualness.

Jack settled behind his desk, exhaling a deep sigh as he muttered almost to himself, "It seems I'll need to change my plans." He sat up straight, his expression shifting to something serious and assessing. His light golden eyes fixed on Jessica with undivided attention.

"Jessica... what exactly do you want to do?"

Jessica let her weight sink into the chair, her back resting against the cushioned support. She let the question hang in the air between them, her lips curving upward slightly at the sheer ridiculousness of it.

'What I want?'

In her previous life, no one had ever asked her that. Her boss told her what he wanted, and she did it. If she didn't? Goodbye, job. He had that right because he held the power, the position, the leverage.

And now, here she sat, facing a man who held all the same cards, power, position, leverage. He knew she wasn't human. He was clearly someone important in this place. He could crush her without effort.

And he was asking what she wanted?

'It's an act,' she decided firmly. 'It has to be. I need to play this smart. No emotional attachments or vulnerabilities.'

She sat up straight, then leaned forward slightly, meeting his gaze calmly.

"I want to leave this nightmare realm."

A spray of liquid punctuated her words.

Jessica's eyes snapped toward Violet, who had somehow manifested a bottle of water and been drinking from it calmly until Jessica's bomb dropped. Now she was coughing, sputtering, staring at Jessica with wide eyes.

"You WHAT?!" The words came between coughs.

Jessica's eye twitched, but she maintained her composure.

"Yes. I want to leave here. Is that a problem?"

Violet studied her intently for a long moment, as if weighing options. Finally, she shook her head slowly.

"No... it's not." She glanced at Jack, their eyes meeting in a wordless exchange. They nodded in perfect synchronization and spoke as one:

"It seems she really is."

Jessica's frown deepened. Confusion warred with suspicion in her mind.

'Oh, mother of Flames! Is this a TRAP? Did I consciously WALK into a trap?!'

Her eyes narrowed as she watched the husband-wife duo. In her imagination, they morphed into sinister figures smiling greedily, preparing to sell her off to some mystic creature fanatic. She could almost see them haggling over her price, maybe even offering a discount for quick purchase.

She shuddered violently and shook the image from her head.

When she looked up again, her expression had shifted to one of innocent confusion, a wry smile playing at her lips.

"Uhm... I'm a bit lost here. What do you mean by that, exactly?"

Jack studied her for a long, measured moment. Then he leaned forward, resting his hands on the desk, his light golden eyes piercing.

"Jessica..." He paused, letting the weight of the moment build.

"You're reincarnated. Aren't you?"

This time, it was Jessica's turn to spit out water—if only she'd had any. Instead, she could only stare dumbfounded, her carefully constructed composure crumbling at the edges.

Her face went blank for a moment as her mind raced through every interaction since entering this office.

'Did they figure it out just from the way I talk? The way I carry myself?' She couldn't help but question herself, suspicion blooming like a dark flower. 'These two are definitely not ordinary people. Not even close.'

She didn't push further. Instead, she formed an intentionally forced smile and laughed lightly, the sound hollow in the quiet office.

"Haha... was I that easy to read?"

Jack's smile was firm, assured.

"We have our means." He paused, letting the words settle. "And no, not at all. You are very difficult to read. I can testify to that now."

The negotiation was proceeding smoothly, too smoothly, perhaps. Jack continued before Jessica could formulate her next move.

"About your request... consider it done."

Jessica's eyebrows rose slightly, but she remained silent, waiting for the inevitable but.

"However," Jack said, and there it was, "I'm sorry to tell you that I don't think you can survive a day in the mortal realm."

Her frown deepened. "Why?"

He replied instantly, like someone who had prepared for this exact question.

"You would be discovered immediately. You have no identity. No place of birth. No registration in the mortal realm. To their systems, you simply... don't exist."

Jessica grimaced, the weight of his words pressing down on her. In a world of powerful people, being invisible was dangerous. Being nonexistent was a death sentence.

"So..." She shifted in her seat, recalibrating. "What do you think I should do—no, that came out wrong." She met his gaze directly, her molten gold eyes steady. "Since you're mentioning it, I assume you have a way for me to bypass this. And..." She leaned forward slightly. "What do you want in return?"

Jack sighed, a sound of genuine appreciation.

"You're very direct, Jessica." He admitted it like a compliment. "Yes, I have a way. A fast, simple approach that would grant you freedom in the mortal realm for the rest of your life. In the process, I can also help you understand this world better. I can assist with anything you need that falls within my capabilities."

Jessica raised an eyebrow, genuinely intrigued now, though she kept her expression carefully neutral. She waited. The real ask was coming.

Jack leaned forward, mirroring her posture.

"As for what I want..." He smiled. "It's very simple."

The pause stretched.

"Just tell us if anything is bothering you. And if you ever need help and can't find any... come to us."

A deathly silence came after that... An absolute silence.

Jessica's business personality, the carefully constructed armor of years in corporate negotiation, crumbled.

Her lips twitched. Her eyebrows twitched. She opened her mouth, closed it, opened it again. Words formed and dissolved before they could reach her tongue. She could only stare in disbelief.

She shot a glance at Violet, desperate for confirmation that this was some kind of joke, some elaborate trap.

Violet nodded. And smiled.

A warm, genuine and sincere smile.

Jessica's disbelief multiplied exponentially.

She looked at Jack. Then at Violet. Then back at Jack.

'How... how am I supposed to process this? What they're basically saying is; they want NOTHING. Except for my safety. As if they CARE. When we met YESTERDAY. Just yesterday!'

She stood abruptly, her chair scraping against the floor.

"Can I be excused for a moment?" Her voice was low, controlled, but something darker lurked beneath.

Jack and Violet exchanged a glance, some silent communication passing between them. They nodded in unison.

"Of course." Jack's voice was calm, understanding. "Take all the time you need to think about it."

Jessica nodded curtly and walked to the door. She pulled it open just as someone on the other side was about to knock. A young woman stood there, hand raised mid-knock. Dull silver hair. Glasses. An expression of mild surprise that suggested she'd never had someone open the door before she could knock.

Jessica didn't look at her. She murmured an excuse and walked past, heading toward, she didn't know where. Anywhere. Just away from here.

The young woman at the door watched Jessica's retreating figure for a moment before turning to her bosses.

Jack nodded. "Please escort her."

The young woman adjusted her glasses. "As you wish, sir." She pulled the door closed and set off after Jessica.


Inside the office, silence returned.

Jack let his full weight settle into his chair, his body sinking against the cushions. He exhaled deeply, one hand rising to massage his forehead. Strands of his golden hair shifted with the movement.

Violet's voice broke the quiet.


"Do you think she'll be alright?"

"I suppose so..." Jack leaned back, exhaling slowly. "I didn't expect her to react like that when I made my request." He sighed again, rubbing his temples. "Just what did she go through in her previous life to react that way?" The question was soft, directed more at himself than at Violet.

Violet, who had been thinking about what her husband had told her before leaving for work earlier this morning, spoke again.

"Is she really the one?" She leaned forward, her purple eyes sharp. "The one you saw in your visions?"

Jack slowly sat up, resting his elbow on the table, his hand calmly supporting his jaw. His expression turned firm.

"Yes... She is."

Silence settled between them, heavy, contemplative. Both husband and wife lost in their own thoughts.

Violet broke the quiet first.

"I know this sounds harsh, but..." Her tone wavered with uncertainty. "Wouldn't it be better to end her now? Before something like that happens?"

Jack smiled slightly at her words, not a mocking smile, but something gentler.

"Do you know what energy I felt from her in the vision?"

Violet shook her head.

Jack's gaze grew distant. An image formed in his mind's eye, a vision he'd carried since that morning. A massive sea of flames stretched endlessly, hungry and unquenchable. At its center stood a young girl with blood-red hair, her body drenched in crimson. She stared into the distance with pleading eyes, the eyes of someone begging for help that never came. Tears fell like an ocean, each drop carrying years of pain. Her lips moved, forming words he couldn't quite hear at first.

'Can I ever feel true happiness for long?'

The question haunted him. He'd turned it over countless times since the vision first came.

"I felt countless negative energies," he finally said, his voice quiet. "Emotions kept inside for too long. I felt someone lonely, broken, sad, angry. I felt her grief. Her confusion. Her hatred. Her regret." He paused, letting the weight of the words settle. "And many more."

He glanced at Violet.

"Would you believe that I also felt something entirely different from all that negativity?"

Violet waited.

Jack sighed, his gaze growing distant again.

"...I felt acceptance. A quiet acceptance. The kind that comes from someone who has lost all hope of being saved. Someone who doesn't want to be saved anymore, because there's no one left to trust with the task." He swallowed. "I felt that she had nothing else but darkness."

Another pause. He shifted his weight in the chair.

"So I don't know if killing her would actually solve anything." He smiled, bright and warm, cutting through the heavy atmosphere. "And besides, it seems fate has given her a second chance at life. With the goal of lightening that darkness. That's why everything has unfolded this way." He met Violet's eyes. "And I would be glad if we could help put a light in her darkness. Even if it's just a little."

His smile softened.

"Everyone deserves a second chance, right?"

Violet, who had been reaching for her water bottle, paused. A slow, warm smile crept onto her face.

"Yeah..."

The moment was peaceful. Genuine.

Then Jack opened his mouth again.

"And besides... wouldn't it be great if we adopted her as our child?"

Violet spat out the water she'd just begun drinking.

"WHAT?!"

Jack burst into bright laughter as his wife sputtered and coughed. Violet grabbed her bottle and hurled it at him, he dodged, laughing harder.

"Alright, alright, I'll stop!" He raised his hands in surrender, his laughter slowly receding. When his expression finally settled, it had turned serious once more. "To be honest, I think it might be a good thing if we did."

Violet studied his face, reading the sincerity there. She thought about it, truly thought about it. After a long moment, she nodded slowly.

But a flicker of sadness crossed her features. Her face darkened briefly, some memory surfacing before she pushed it away.

"It'll be her choice to decide," she said firmly. "And besides... she'd only known us for a day." She snorted, recovering her usual demeanor. "Let her get to know us first. And let us get to know her too." She fixed Jack with a pointed look. "So don't get any stupid ideas. Focus on helping her first."

Jack's laughter returned, bright and warm, filling the quiet office.



*****


Thank you all for reading and supporting this story. It means a lot ^^

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[p_magno]

Jessica walked out of the workshop building and moved to the side of the entrance, positioning herself so she wouldn't block anyone who wanted to enter or exit. She prepared to simply stand there, lost in thought, when her eyes caught sight of a bench a few inches past the building's corner.

Without consciously deciding to, she began walking toward it.

She reached the bench and sat, leaning her back against the wooden slats, letting her full weight settle. For a long moment, she sat motionless, her face betraying no emotion whatsoever. But behind those molten gold eyes, a single thought rang through her mind like a mantra:

'Nothing is ever free. Nothing is ever free. They want something in return. I know it.'

Her mind grew firmer with each repetition, building walls against hope. But then confusion crept in, making her sit up straight. She leaned forward, her jaw resting on clasped hands as she replayed the scene from the office.

Jack's expression when he'd made his request. Violet's nod of verification.

In her previous life, as she'd grown older and more experienced, Jessica had learned to read people. Hidden motives, buried intentions, the things left unsaid, she'd trained herself to notice them all. It had kept her safe. It had kept her from being caught by surprise when reality inevitably showed its teeth.

But for the first time since she'd learned that hard truth, something had caught her completely off guard.

Unconditional care.

The concept was foreign and she wasn't ready to believe such a thing could exist. That's why she'd excused herself, to think clearly, to analyze, to figure out what they really wanted and what scheme they were running.

'...But what do they really want?'

She stood abruptly and began pacing back and forth around the bench area, her footsteps quick and agitated. Minutes passed. No answers came.

She sat down hard, both hands rising to ruffle her blood-red hair in frustration.

"Why does this seem so difficult?"

The question hung unanswered in the air. Her emotionless facade crumbled into a deep frown as her thoughts drifted to her exit from the office, the way she'd stormed out without proper courtesy.

She imagined Violet's reaction. The spanking. The death by spanking.

She ruffled her hair harder.

"Damnit! I shouldn't have reacted like that when that vile being was there!"

Despite her frustration, a slight smile tugged at her lips as she thought about the day's events. Violet, for all her fury and violence, had never once projected malice or negative intent. Even during the spanking, the almost dying spanking, Jessica hadn't felt any real darkness from her.

'But it still hurts like hell.' She winced, the memory still fresh, still stinging.

While she was lost in her thoughts, the workshop door opened.

A figure stepped out, a young woman with dull silver hair and glasses that sat slightly loose on her blue eyes. It was the same woman Jessica had nearly run into when she'd stormed out of the office.

'She's looking for me.' Jessica thought as the woman's gaze swept the area until it landed on her, still seated on the bench in the distance. The woman adjusted her glasses and walked over with calm, measured steps.

"Good afternoon." Her voice was polite, professional.

"Good afternoon." Jessica replied with a slight smile.

The woman, blue eyes, silver hair, gestured toward the empty space beside Jessica. "Is this place taken?"

Jessica shook her head. "It's totally empty."

Without another word, the woman sat.

Silence descended. One minute passed. Then two. Jessica's eye began twitching almost imperceptibly as the quiet stretched into awkward territory.

Finally, the woman spoke.

"I'm Wendy, by the way." Her tone was matter-of-fact, leaving no room for argument. "I'll be your escort if you want to go anywhere."

Jessica nodded. "I'm Jessica."

Wendy nodded back and adjusted her glasses.

Something screamed in Jessica's mind, a realization born from countless binge-watched dramas. This woman beside her was the spitting image of those serious, dedicated assistants who placed their jobs above everything else. Even themselves.

'Sigh... That's certainly a crazy way to live.' Jessica tried to imagine herself in that role and immediately experienced a full-body cringe.

"This place is certainly one of the best spots to get fresh air," Wendy said, interrupting her thoughts.

Jessica's brows rose slightly, her lips curving in amusement. "You think so?"

Wendy nodded, adjusting her glasses yet again. "Yes... I do." She paused, then added with a mischievous curl to her lips, "Though I think it might just be my personal preference."

Jessica laughed, a small, genuine sound. The image of the serious, rigid assistant crumbled entirely in her mind.


****



After the laughter receded, Wendy raised her head, staring slightly upward at the distant clouds.

"Look," she said, nudging her chin toward the horizon. "And tell me that isn't beautiful."

Jessica followed her line of sight, and her breath caught in her throat.

'Beautiful...'

The word echoed in her mind, utterly insufficient for what she saw. The clouds drifted lazily across the sky, bathed in the warm afternoon glow of the sun. But one cloud in particular demanded attention, a massive, puffy formation that had taken the shape of a hand. It looked as if it were trying to descend from the heavens, reaching down toward the world below, but the angle made it appear as though its fingers were gently touching the sun itself.

"It's beautiful," Jessica finally managed.

Wendy nodded, her expression soft. "It is..."

Then her face darkened almost imperceptibly.

"...And at the same time, it's horrifying and heart-wrenching to see. For someone like me who knows what actually happened."

Jessica turned sharply, her expression shifting from appreciation to serious intrigue.

"What happened?"


Wendy sighed, the sound carrying years of memory.

"A few years ago, my cohorts and I decided to relocate to this settlement for long-term residence.. Unknown to us, a bad omen was about to descend just outside this settlement area."

She paused, eyes fixed on the cloud-shaped hand.

"That cloud you see there... it wasn't just a cloud shaped like a hand. It was a real giant hand. Countless of them, actually. And they were all descending. My cohorts and I were caught right in the middle."

Jessica stared back at the cloud-hand, now impossibly distant from the safety of the settlement walls. In her mind, she began to imagine the scene, countless horrifying hands raining from the sky, falling toward her with nowhere to run, no destination close enough to reach.

'I'd be completely squashed into a mashed paste,' she confirmed inwardly. 'No hope of survival.'

She turned back to Wendy. "It's definitely impossible to survive something like that if you're weak."

Wendy nodded, confirming her words.

"It is. My cohort's levels ranged from [Level 13] to [Level 24]." She met Jessica's gaze. "Each of those hands was [Level 38]."

Jessica's eyes widened.

'Level 38?! That's more than ten levels above the strongest member of their team.'

She voiced the obvious question. "Then how did you survive?"

Wendy stared at the distance in silence for a long moment, taking in the scene quietly. When she finally spoke, her voice was soft.

"Someone I didn't trust saved us."

Jessica's brows rose. "Someone you didn't trust?"

Wendy turned to meet her gaze.

"Before the journey, we needed a guide. Someone who knew the safest path to this settlement. Someone we could trust." She looked back at the sky. "We found someone like that. He was well-known as a map expert, trustworthy in a general sense. So we hired him."

Jessica's frown deepened. "Then why didn't you trust him? He was literally known by others who could verify his trustworthiness. Why wasn't he trustworthy to you?"

Wendy glanced at her and smiled, a knowing, sad smile.

"Because I'm not the type of person to trust someone who offers to do his job for free, with the excuse that he was planning to go there anyway."

Realization dawned on Jessica.

'For free?'

She replayed the words in her mind before looking back at the sky.

"Was that why you didn't trust him?"

Wendy nodded.

"Yes. Through everything I've experienced, I've come to believe that nothing ever comes for free. So I didn't trust him, even though I knew he benefited from safety by coming with us, he was [Level 19] after all." She paused. "But something about the way he agreed so instantly after seeing us... it just felt wrong. I concluded he had an ulterior motive of some sort."

Silence settled between them as they both stared at the sky.

Jessica broke it.

"So... how did he save you from something clearly stronger than all of you?"

Wendy's lips curled slightly.

"He told us earlier before then that he had an ability which allows him teleport a maximum of five people to a limited distance. The flaw was that he couldn't teleport himself, and the aftereffects left him paralyzed for a period of time." She turned to Jessica. "And you know the funniest thing about it all?"

Jessica waited.

"His limited distance at that moment was strangely close to the settlement walls. And my cohorts and I were exactly five people if we excluded him."

Jessica thought for a long moment, turning the information over in her mind.

'It feels strangely orchestrated,' she mused. 'Almost like it was designed for his total demise.'

Wendy's voice cut through her thoughts.

"I didn't calculate everything properly back then. I believed that not everyone was good enough to save others when they themselves were still in danger. Who would want to act the hero and die alone?" She stared down at her slender hands, which bore slightly faded scars. "I held that belief... until it happened. My cohorts and I all disappeared and landed right at the gate of this settlement."

Jessica frowned, processing the weight of the revelation. Despite the seriousness, a stray thought surfaced.

'He didn't even say anything before saving them. Not a goodbye. Not a hero's last words.'

She understood, logically, that time was critical, that even a single word could mean death in that instant. But still, the absence of a word bothered her.

"He didn't say anything before he did it?"

The question met calm silence, the kind that comes with remembrance..

"He did." Wendy's voice was soft, a slight sad smile playing on her lips. "The others didn't hear it. But because of my enhanced senses, I caught his muttering clearly."

She paused, as if reliving the moment.

"Fate Is A Bastard!!"


Jessica stiffened at the tone Wendy used. There was something harsh beneath those words, a hatred that ran deep, yet intertwined with sadness and a quiet acceptance. A small smile tugged at Jessica's lips.

'Fate really is a bastard,' she mused inwardly. 'But to some, it's a blessing. To others, a curse. And to a few... a distant dream.'

She agreed with Wendy completely.

After a short silence, Wendy spoke again.

"That cloud right there..." She pointed toward the sky. "That was the hand that crushed him and grabbed him. It carried his corpse back toward the sky." Her voice wavered slightly. "...But it didn't succeed. It couldn't. The settlement president obliterated all the bad omens, but spared that one hand, cursed it to death instead." She paused. "Just so we could have a body to bury."

Jessica stared at the hand-shaped cloud. Beautiful. Serene. But to those who knew the truth, it was a nightmare they wished they could forget.

Something gnawed at the edge of her thoughts.

'If I had witnessed that... would I come here? To remind myself of the past?'

She pieced together her own answer slowly.

'...Maybe.'

A slight smile crossed her face. If she had been one of the people that guide saved, she would return to this spot again and again. To remind herself that good people existed in the world, even if they were heartbreakingly rare.

She turned to Wendy.

"Why do you come here?" She asked, though she already suspected the answer. "If it keeps reminding you of that day?"

Wendy glanced at her, then returned her gaze to the sky. A slight smile played on her lips.

"Because it reminds me that even if trusting people doesn't come easily to me... I shouldn't paint everyone with the same brush." She laughed softly, the sound not quite reaching her face. "There are some worth trusting. Though very few."

Jessica smiled in amusement.

"Heh... even if there are, how would you know?"

Wendy turned to her, one eyebrow raised slightly. A knowing smile appeared.

"You will. If you're like me, you'll know the people worth trusting when you see them."

Jessica sighed at the words. She turned fully to face Wendy, her molten gold eyes meeting blue in a long, searching silence. As if deciphering something hidden.

Finally, she spoke.

"You heard the discussion earlier, didn't you?"

There was no accusation in her tone, just clear, certain knowing. The pieces had clicked together when the conversation shifted to someone Wendy hadn't trusted, someone who'd turned out to be the most trustworthy of all. Someone who sacrificed himself for people he'd only just met.

Wendy didn't look shocked. Not even slightly. She smiled more and adjusted her glasses.

"I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but... yes. I heard."

"Everything?" Jessica probed.

Wendy sighed. "No." She paused. "Just Mr. Jack's request... and your reply when you excused yourself."

Jessica stared at her a moment longer, then sighed deeply. Wendy was telling the truth.

She decided to voice the question that had been bothering her since the conversation with Jack.

"Sigh... so what do you think I should do?"

Wendy's lips curled in amusement.

"You already know what you should do. You just haven't accepted it yet."

Jessica frowned briefly at the answer. Then her expression shifted, slowly, gradually, into one of acceptance. She sighed again and ruffled her hair calmly.

"Yeah... you're right."

She stood, stretching her body with a few casual exercises, subconsciously preparing herself for what might come next. A spanking. A punishment. Violet.

She shuddered at the thought.

Turning to Wendy, she forced a smile.

"Alright then. Shall we get going?"

Wendy nodded and rose as well.

They walked back toward the workshop entrance. The sign: 'Violet Workshop' greeted them once more, and Jessica shuddered again. A bad premonition crawled up her spine, whispering of great danger awaiting her inside.

'Oh, mother of Flames!! I want to live to see more beautiful days. Please let that vile being forget about my earlier behavior. I'm too young to die!'

They entered the workshop and moved through the halls until they reached the door marked 'Manager Office'. Wendy sighed, a sound of long-suffering patience, and opened it.

Jessica felt a wave of déjà vu as she shuddered and followed.

The same modest office greeted her. Simple. Neat. Unchanged.

Jack sat calmly behind his desk. Violet occupied one of the chairs nearby.

Both glanced toward the door as they entered.

Jack's expression was warm, a knowing smile already in place, as if he'd anticipated her decision. Violet, however, stared without expression at first. Then slowly, almost imperceptibly, a faint smile curled at the corners of her lips.

Jessica immediately mentally catalogued it: 'Vile Smile'

She shuddered and walked forward, Wendy beside her.

Wendy paused, bowing slightly. "I'll be taking my leave."

Jack nodded.

Wendy adjusted her glasses and turned to Jessica. Their eyes met, blue and molten gold. She smiled briefly, a flicker of warmth, before her face returned to its usual composure. She walked to the door, excused herself, and closed it behind her.

Jessica was alone with Jack and Violet.

She exhaled deeply, steeling herself. Then she stepped forward and took the seat opposite the desk.

Another sigh. She met Jack's gaze.

"I've decided to accept your offer."

Jack smiled.

"But under one condition."

He inclined his head. "Please speak."

She leaned forward.

"That you at least make a reasonable request. One that benefits both parties."

Jack closed his light golden eyes, considering. After a moment, he opened them.

"Hmm... alright."

Jessica smiled slightly.

"So what request do you have for me, then?"

Jack's smile widened.

"What do you think about working for us for one year?"

Jessica pretended to consider it, though she'd already noticed, nothing much had changed. They'd simply formalized the arrangement. Made it a transaction.

"Alright."

Jack stood, hand extended, smile bright.

"Well then, Jessica. It was nice doing business with you."

Jessica rose and took his hand.

"It was nice doing business with you too, Jack." She paused. "So when do I start?"

Inwardly, she was already beaming. She couldn't wait to get away from the vile being behind her, the one whose presence kept giving her chills, whose silence screamed of impending doom.

"Not so fast, brat!"

A hand clamped onto her shoulder.

Jessica froze. Her molten gold eyes went wide as she processed what was happening.

Jack's smile widened, confirming her fears.

"Well... you see. My wife told me about your interactions earlier. And she's decided to teach you many things today, if you don't mind."

Jessica didn't hear the last part.

The only words that registered were: 'My wife.'

'His... wife?'

'T-the VILE BEING!!!'

Her business persona crumbled to dust. Her eyes shook as she pictured the woman behind her, that smile, that expression, already planning a thousand ways to make her pay for every moment of rudeness, every word, every look.

She could have sworn she heard a mental giggle from somewhere deep in her consciousness. The system, cheering for her demise.

One word rang through Jessica's mind as she contemplated the horrors awaiting her.




'Nooo!! I'm DOOMED!!!'






*****


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[p_magno]

"Oh... How the flames have fallen." Jessica lamented her current predicament in a quiet, mournful whisper. She was being carried, draped over the vile being's shoulder like a sack of particularly useless potatoes.

"If you had stayed still and come calmly with me without making a fuss, none of this would have happened, brat." Violet's tone was matter-of-fact, utterly without remorse. She walked through the hall as if carrying a protesting adult turned teenager was a normal tuesday activity.

Someone carrying a box of short swords passed directly by them, and didn't seem to notice either of them existed.

Jessica glared at Violet with the intensity of an almost-erupting volcano. It didn't even create a pinch of effect. In fact, Violet's grip tightened in response, and Jessica felt something in her spinal cord protest with a concerning crack.

She sighed and slumped powerlessly against Violet's shoulder

She couldn't blame the vile being anyway. Jessica had entered full panic mode when she tried to avoid going with Violet. She had begun prostrating to Jack like he was a king who held authority over the violent queen, just so she wouldn't have to follow Violet. She had even considered transforming into her cave locust form to Leap-Boing away from there, but her thoughts had been faster than her actions. She calculated that if anyone saw her outside, she'd only expose herself to being hunted, making it difficult for Jack or Violet to keep her secret safe.

In the end, Jack could only sigh in pity for her as he watched his wife lift the petty Jessica up from the ground, slinging her over her shoulders. She bid her husband a short goodbye and instantly carried Jessica away with a smug on her face, which Jessica had already mentally noted as: All-Consuming Hell Smug.

'At least she still has some level of courtesy.' Jessica thought inwardly as she stared at the ever-busy halls, where people weaved through, each either carrying pairs of armors, newly smithed equipment, or simply rushing to fulfill their errands.

Jessica would have long buried her head in disgrace, or maybe even found a place and a life-saving lonely rope to send herself to the afterlife of flames, if not for the fact that she already knew no one could currently see them. She suspected Violet had used that ability of hers that made them completely unseen, as if they didn't even exist. Just like how she had been sitting completely unseen in the room where Jessica had been tied to a chair when she'd first woken up after gaining this body.

Upon coming outside the workshop, Violet finally dropped Jessica down and deactivated whatever ability she had used to make them unseen. She turned her head away, completely feigning ignorance of the burning glare Jessica was currently throwing at her as she arranged her clothes.

Seeing Jessica was done, Violet began walking. "Follow me," she said in a flat tone, leaving no room for Jessica to argue. She followed Violet while grumbling silently as they walked.

They moved through the streets of the settlement for a few minutes until Violet stopped at a two-story building that was nearly as wide as her husband's workshop. Jessica stared at the building, a little bit amazed by how the structure was constructed and how it seemed very thick, thick enough to survive a nuclear blast. Multiple nuclear blasts. She was amazed only for a moment, though, because soon after, her eyes stopped at the name of the building and she instantly shuddered.

'Training Center.'

Jessica's heart dropped as she read the sign. 'My premonition was right. I really am Doomed!!.'

'Oh my darling system. If this is the last time we ever talk to each other, I want you to know that you've been my one and only trustworthy friend. I'm about to DIE! And I haven't even left my will yet.' She sobbed internally, already deciding her own fate as she imagined all the horrors she was about to face.


<<Sigh... The headache.>>

The system could only helplessly sigh in reply.

Violet opened the door and nudged her head for Jessica to follow, which she did while gulping hard and saying quiet sermon prayers for herself.

The first thing that greeted them in the training center was a semi-large hall that had a long and wide passageway leading to multiple training areas.

Violet began walking forward as Jessica followed behind. They moved through the bright passageway, passing a few people who greeted Violet with a clear, respectful tone that even made Jessica suspected that Violet must be a big deal around this settlement. They greeted Jessica too, some with neutrality, some with friendliness. A few, however, ignored her completely, their faces twisting into faint frowns as they registered her level.

Jessica wasn't worried. In fact, she smirked at their glares. 'Just you wait, bastards. I'll show you that this flame right here will surpass all of you... Well, that's if I don't die today, actually.'

They reached the end of the passageway. Before them stood a black door with a small silver sign: 'Special Training Room'

Jessica gulped harder as she read the sign. 'S-special?' The name alone meant one thing for Jessica. 'Hellish Training. She's going to actually kill me!'

Jessica began imagining a scenario where she begins the hellish training and dies in the process, how Violet would act slightly dramatic and blame it on the harsh training, making herself free from the murder case.

'I can't let that happen.' She steeled herself. 'I must survive no matter what!' Jessica's expression turned to a determined boldness as she prepared to talk Violet out of it.

But her steps immediately halted as she noticed the door to the special training room was already opened.

Violet stood inside with a smile that Jessica immediately recognized as the 'Devil's Grin.' She was clearly waiting. Enjoying the multiple expressions cycling across Jessica's face.

"What are you standing there for? Come in. Don't keep me waiting."

She paused, letting the moment stretch.

Then she added the cherry on top:

"Oh, don't worry. I specially chose this place. It can contain a few attacks from an average [Level 40]."

Jessica's heart dropped.

Her pale face became paler.

She knew—knew with absolute certainty, that this training would be her direct ticket to the afterlife of flames.


*****




Jessica sluggishly walked inside, her shoulders drooping low as she shut the surprisingly heavy door while muttering curses. She hadn't expected it to be that heavy. 'Great, even the door can take me to the afterlife too.' She inwardly lamented as finally, after shutting the door, she inhaled and then exhaled, ready for whatever came next. She walked up to Violet, raising her head to stare up at the woman who was one and a half heads taller than her in terms of height.

She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could say anything, a book was thrown at her. She instinctively caught it in surprise before taking a look at the cover. Her eyes widened. "Basic Knowledge For Idiots." She read the name out loud before lifting her eyes and staring at Violet, who shrugged at her.

"Found it among the unused books in a library nearby, early this morning. So I decided to bring it here since it'll be of great use to you," she said smugly.

Jessica's eyes twitched uncontrollably, seriously trying to bottle up her exploding fury.

But in the end, she failed miserably.

'That's it!!!' Jessica screamed, righteous fury burning brightly. The absolute final drop in an ocean of humiliation. This was the last straw she could handle for the day.

'Who does this vile being think she is?' She was clearly ready to show this vile being that she couldn't be messed with! She would throw this book right in Violet's face and tell her exactly—

That thought only lasted for three heartbeats as she faintly heard the cracking of someone's fingers.

Jessica could only stare in surprise, her mind instantly coming to a conclusion as everything unfolded. 'This is rage bait,' she realized, her fury curdling into grim understanding. 'She's deliberately rage baiting me.'

Her mind raced, lightning-fast, searching for a countermove. Then her lips curled into a mischievous smile. 'Well, two can play that game.' Jessica's mental expression became sinister as she giggled inwardly like a maniac, already imagining her plan coming into play.

Outwardly, her expression transformed into one of innocent appreciation. "I-is this really mine?!"

Violet's brow twitched, a micro-expression Jessica caught and cataloged. The woman didn't respond, she only nodded slightly while watching Jessica like a hawk watching a mouse with suspicious intentions.

Jessica's eyes sparkled. "Well, thank you very much. This gift will be very much appreciated." She mentally squinted, a slight smirk appeared unnoticeably on her face. Her plan was about to start.

She sighed deeply. "But you clearly don't need to lie about it."

Violet's eyebrows rose slightly. "Lie about what?"

Jessica smiled innocently as she raised the book slightly for Violet to see. "This book was clearly read by you. Since you're also an—"

"Ow!" Before Jessica could finish, a knock landed squarely on her head. She winced while rubbing the sore spot.

"Brat! Read the book and ignore the name. It'll help you in the long run." Violet's tone left no room for argument, making Jessica rethink whether Violet was really rage baiting her.

"But... I thought you gave me this book to clearly get on my nerves," She said while still rubbing her sore spot.

Violet paused. Her face became expressionless for a moment, before turning away as she mumbled in a barely audible tone, "Well... I partially did."

"You see! I KNEW it!!" Jessica pointed accusingly, her fit immediate and dramatic.

Violet ignored her completely.

Finally, she opened her mouth. "I said partially, brat." She scowled. "I only thought about it when I saw the name. But the contents inside are worth it."

Jessica squinted for a moment before finally sighing, knowing Violet was telling the truth. "Alright." She sat on the floor, crossing her legs. The book felt heavy in her hands, not physically, but symbolically. This was knowledge. Real knowledge about the world she now inhabited.

"So where should I start?"

She opened the book. The first title stared back at her: 'Understanding The Names For Each Level And Their Ranks.'

Violet sat down beside her.

"I'll explain as you read certain sections."

Jessica raised an eyebrow but nodded. "Okay."

She read with total concentration, her eyes noting each word like an accountant carefully counting stacks of money.

Through the pages, she discovered that the highest achievable level was [Level 100]. Every ten levels carried a specific ranking name.


________

Rank:

Infant [1-10]

Junior [11-20]

Fallen [21-30]

Guardian [31-40]

Ascendant [41-50]

Triumphant [51-60]

Supreme [61-70]

Arch [71-80]

Zenith [81-90]

Absolute [91-100]

____________

"Are these the rankings for each ten levels you breakthrough?" she asked, glancing at Violet, who nodded at her question.

Seeing the reply, Jessica slowly nodded while mumbling, "So that's why my system was displaying [Infant] for me, while [Ascendant] on yours." She finally understood what those words meant. She'd been moving through this world without understanding those labels. She'd even suspected the system was mocking her when she first saw [Infant] attached to her name.

Now it all made sense.

A thought bloomed.

'I wonder how powerful an [Absolute] would be.' She imagined those [Level 91] – [Level 100] destroying continents with a flick of their wrists. Leveling cities. Reshaping reality.

She glanced at Violet.

'I wonder how powerful an [Ascendant] is. Maybe they can destroy buildings? At least that scale.' Her mind already calculating the scale of each level.

If only she knew. If only anyone had told her just how powerful each level truly was.

She sighed and turned the page, clearly ready to see what else she could learn.

The next title was straightforward. Direct. Exactly what she needed.

'Cores'

Jessica's face lit up.



'Just what I need.'




*******

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[p_magno]

Jessica discovered that upon awakening, even before the cores formed, each individual possessed a core world, or rather, a housing place where the cores resided. The core world was the metaphysical manifestation of one's soul, which upon manifesting, rooted itself inside the user. It created a perfect link between the physical and spiritual being, establishing an unbreakable balance.

The next page revealed what magic cores truly were.

Magic cores in this world were the metaphysical reflection of one's talent, attributes, and lineage. They granted any awakened access to benefits: gaining a system, being able to use various innate abilities and skills, and most importantly,
getting stronger.

And just like the ranking system for levels, there was also a rank for magic cores. But this one was slightly different, based entirely on the number of cores your body could contain.


________________


Cores:

One Core: Fighter

Two Cores: Beast

Three Cores: Titan

Four Cores: Terror

Five Cores: Destroyer

Six Cores: End-Bringer

Seven Cores: Myth-Maker


________________

Jessica frowned as she read through the pages. The names themselves were impressive, badass, even, she'd go so far as to say. But what bothered her was the lack of practical understanding.

What exactly did they do? How were they useful when leveling up already provided power? Did they add to higher levels? Was there a requirement to increase core count? How did they fit into everything explained about magic cores and the core world?

"How exactly do these core rankings even work?" She asked the question aloud, her tone clearly aimed at Violet despite not addressing her directly.

Violet sighed, recognizing the indirect request.

"It's different from how level rankings work." She paused, gathering her thoughts. "Each core represents the level of power you can wield. The cores partly act as energy storage. The energy, called Qi, is spent whenever we use an ability."

She shifted her posture, sitting straighter. Jessica leaned in slightly, expression carefully neutral but attention razor-sharp.

Violet raised her right hand, fingers pointing forward.

"Let's say I, as a [Level 47], have an ability called Downward Force."

The room trembled faintly. An invisible pressure began pressing against the air itself, thickening it, making each breath a conscious effort. Jessica's focus didn't waver, she was curious to witness what a [Level 47] could do.

"What if I had just One Core, which makes me a Fighter. An [Ascendant Fighter]."

The pressure intensified. The air grew heavy, viscous, difficult to move through. Jessica felt it pressing against her skin, her lungs, her very bones.

Then it stopped.

The tremor ceased. The pressure vanished. Jessica exhaled, and though she kept her expression neutral, inwardly she sighed with disappointment.

Violet lowered her hand.

"If I were an [Ascendant Beast] instead, with Two Cores, the effect of that same ability would have been more potent. More powerful. It would have lasted longer, especially if it consumed a lot of qi." She paused, letting the information settle. "And the pattern continues the more cores you have."

Jessica nodded slowly, processing.

"Does this magic core impact other things?" She met Violet's gaze. "Like the strength of the awakened? Or anything else?"


Violet nodded at her question.

"It does." She paused, letting the weight of her words settle. "An [Ascendant Terror] is four times stronger, faster, and more potent than an [Ascendant Fighter]. Just as an [Ascendant Myth-Maker] represents the pinnacle of power an [Ascendant] can ever achieve."

Jessica absorbed the information, her mind turning it over like a puzzle piece finally finding its place.

'Not only can one level up,' she realized. 'Having more cores makes you exponentially stronger than someone at the same level.'

She chuckled inwardly.

'It's truly different from how leveling up works. I suppose gaining additional cores can't be easy. There must be requirements, each with its own trials.'

She turned to Violet, deciding to voice her conclusion.

"I assume there's a requirement for someone to gain an extra core."

"There is." Violet nodded confirmation. Then she raised an eyebrow. "... Is that what you should actually be thinking about right now?"

Jessica's thoughts screeched to a halt.

'Right... I don't actually HAVE a core.'

The realization landed like a stone in an endless ocean. Without a magic core, it was impossible to access any of the benefits she'd just read about. She had access to her system, that much was true. But she couldn't use any of her abilities in this body unless she transformed into her flaming cave locust form.

And that wasn't what she wanted. She wanted to use her abilities in both bodies. Not just one.

"Sigh..."

She exhaled slowly, lifting her gaze to stare into the distance of the training room. The silence stretched, heavy with unspoken thoughts.

"Alright."

Violet's voice cut through the quiet. She stood from the floor and stretched, a casual, unhurried movement that made Jessica's brow rise in confusion.

'Wait... Don't tell me we're actually going to TRAIN?'

Her face paled.

It paled further when Violet began cracking her fingers.

Violet noticed the color draining from Jessica's face and frowned.

"Brat! Why are you looking like someone having a seizure?"

Jessica remained silent, frozen in her growing dread.

Violet sighed, massaging her forehead as she pieced together Jessica's likely thoughts.

"I'm just warming up to help you awaken your magic core."

'Oh...'

The color rushed back to Jessica's face as if it had never left. The transformation was instantaneous, one moment a ghost, the next fully alive. A deep sigh of relief escaped her as her hand reached for her chest, patting it like she'd just survived a near-death experience.

"My heart... I almost really did have a seizure."

Relief washed over her, until Violet's words fully registered.

"Wait... did you just say what I think you said?"


Bam!

"Ouch! Flaming Hell!!"

A knock landed firmly on her head. She winced, rubbing the sore spot.

"Brat! Don't make me repeat myself. Turn around and sit straight. We're about to start the awakening."

The pain in her head vanished.

She'd heard correctly. Violet, the vile being, the shadow lady, the terrifying woman who'd spanked her within an inch of her life, was going to help her awaken her magic core.

A slight smile played on Jessica's lips, subconscious and genuine.



****



A few minutes later, Jessica sat perfectly straight, legs crossed in a meditative pose, her eyes closed in concentration. Violet positioned herself behind her, also sitting with crossed legs, her hands pressing firmly against Jessica's back.

"Normally, to awaken a core, one must first lay the foundation by gathering energy from nature. Some might even use the energy of a monster core to create their own." Violet paused, her deep purple eyes shifting, growing deeper, more intense. A faint purple glow radiated from within their depths, swallowing any light that didn't belong to them. She stared at Jessica's back with a frown. "But... the more I look at you, the stranger I find your existence. Not only do you have a system without possessing a core, you also have enough energy stored up to start the creation of your core immediately."

Her frown deepened.

"It even feels like you already have a core."

The more she spoke, the more confused she became. Questions piled upon questions, none of them finding answers. But Violet didn't push. She didn't pry. She simply acknowledged the mystery and let it be.

'Everyone has secrets,' she reminded herself.

She shook off the confusion and firmly placed her hands on Jessica's back. Her eyes returned to their normal deep purple.

"Memorize the movement of how the energy flows through your body."

She began willing the stored energy within Jessica's body to follow a specific path, a circulation designed to form the foundation of a core. The process was notoriously difficult. For most people, it could take hours, days, even months to understand the flow and finally begin awakening.

But Violet had full confidence in Jessica. Strange as she was, there was something about her, something that suggested she would grasp this quickly. A few hours, perhaps. Maybe less.

It would have been faster if Violet could use her own energy to assist. But that wasn't possible.

"Sigh..." She exhaled quietly. 'I can only do this much. Using my energy to speed things up would be a terrible approach.'

Her energy was dangerous to anyone not related to her awakened lineage. Dangerous even to herself, if she wasn't careful. Forcing it into Jessica's unformed core could cause catastrophic damage.

She shook the stray thoughts away and refocused, guiding the energy flow with meticulous care.


******




Jessica felt hot.

Really, really hot. Like she'd been transported inside an erupting volcano. If not for Violet's hands pressing firmly against her back, she would have believed she'd somehow ended up being transmigrated again.

'But why am I feeling this hot?' She asked herself, confusion cutting through the discomfort. 'I'm supposed to be resistant to this kind of thing. I'm literally made of flames.'

She reached out to the silent consciousness in her mind.

'Do you know anything about this?'


<< It's the energy within you. Reacting to the control from an outside will. >>

Jessica mentally furrowed her brows.

'You mean... what Violet's doing right now, circulating the energy in my body along the directed path for core creation?'


<< Yes. >>

'No wonder I felt something fluid flowing through me. Toward my midsection.'

A sigh from Violet snapped her back to attention. She'd almost forgotten, she was supposed to be memorizing the flow of energy, just as Violet had instructed. She immediately focused on that task.



Minutes passed in silence. Violet continued directing the flow. Jessica ground her teeth, enduring the seething heat that evaporated any sweat before it could form. She had to endure. She had to learn.

Minutes became an hour.

An hour became two.

On the third hour, faint energy began emanating from Jessica. A whisper at first, then a distortion in the air around her. Soon it rose like smoke from a burning object, visible waves of heat radiating from her body.

Jessica was nearly at her breaking point. The heat was unbearable.

'Flaming Hell...!' She cursed inwardly. 'I'm literally turning into a living barbecue right now.'

She bit her lip against the pain, resisting with everything she had.

"The core is being created." Violet's calm voice cut through the agony like a blade. "You'll have to endure it from this point onward. Any little disorientation will cause your fragile core to fracture, leading to dangerous damage to your soul."

'EEH?!' Jessica froze—almost froze. The words echoed in her mind.

'Any little disorientation will damage my SOUL?'

She imagined what a damaged soul might look like. Cracked. Fragmented. Broken beyond repair. The thought made her shudder involuntarily.

'I definitely don't want to go to the afterlife of flames like that.' Another shudder. 'Wait, how would I even go to an afterlife if my soul gets destroyed?'

Violet's hands pressed firmly against her shuddering back, grounding her to the present.

"Focus." The word was serious, weighted with consequence.

Jessica focused.


****



The heat intensified. What had been uncomfortable became unbearable. What had been unbearable became something else entirely, a white-hot agony that seemed to originate from her very soul.

Within minutes, Jessica's entire body was drenched in sweat. It pooled beneath her, a small lake forming with her as the source. But she endured. She knew what she wanted. She would do anything to get it.

What could stop her? Pain?

She'd felt worse pain than this, different, yes, emotional rather than physical, but pain was pain. She'd survived it before. She'd survive it now.

She endured.

Slowly, gradually, the pain began to numb. Her body, which had screamed in protest, quieted. The agony faded to a simple pinch. Then to nothing at all.


Jessica's mind grew hazy.

She felt alone, the only person in existence, floating in an endless void. She didn't know how much time passed. The only anchor to reality was Violet, who occasionally removed her hands from Jessica's back and seemed to leave. Time would pass. Violet would return, cleaning Jessica's body with what felt like a towel.

Jessica couldn't open her eyes anymore. She existed in a half-state, partly conscious, partly lost. She felt Violet's hands return to her back. She felt the thick texture of the towel wiping away sweat.

But something felt different about what was being wiped away. She couldn't identify it. Her mind was too far gone.



Du! Du! Du!

Her heart began beating. Faint at first, then louder, louder even to her fading consciousness.

'W-what's... happening?'

Her thoughts were sluggish, thick as honey. Her breathing became ragged, so ragged she feared it might shatter her forming core. She tried to fight the darkness creeping at the edges of her mind.

She failed.

And just like that..

Jessica's mind, and everything around her, became blank.


****




In a blurry vision, Jessica saw herself in a luxurious room, the kind of chamber reserved for royalty. She had no memory of ever being in such a place. In fact, she'd never even entered a room like this in her previous life.

'I need to leave here.'

Something gnawed at her mind, urging her to escape. No matter how beautiful it looked, this place was wrong. She shouldn't be here. She was—

'Wait... what was I doing again?'

The question met empty silence. No answer came.

She tried to shrug—or attempted to. Her brow furrowed as she realized her body hadn't responded to the command.

She tried to move. She couldn't.

It felt like she was an unmoving camera. A perspective locked in place, taking in the scene before her without participation.

'What the hell??'

Dumbstruck, she abandoned her attempts at movement and focused on her surroundings.

The first thing her gaze caught was a shelf, if it could even be called that. It was too regal, too ornate for such a simple word. Carved from dark wood with golden inlays, it looked more like a piece of art than furniture.

At the top of the shelf, a single book rested.

It was large, dictionary-sized, wrapped in a wooden cover etched with ancient symbols. Strange as it was, Jessica understood them.

'My Life's Diary.'

Before she could process this, the diary lifted into the air and floated to the edge of a massive bed.

'When did he get here?'

Someone sat at the bed's edge. Jessica could only see his back and a diagonal glimpse of his face. He wore simple brown silk trousers, his torso bare. His skin was smooth and pale white. His body was clearly defined, too defined, impossibly defined, like a form only a god could possess. It was...

Flawless.

Blood-red hair cascaded down his back in stark crimson waves. Though his body was perfect, the air around him told a different story. He was a mess, lost, tangled in thought. He ruffled his hair for a long moment before stopping, pausing in stillness.

"Sigh..."

The sigh was deep, weighted. He stared upward, lost in some internal landscape.

Then his gaze fell to the book beside him.

Jessica finally saw his face.

'Wait... I've seen him somewhere.'

The features were familiar and foreign at once. She knew this face, but from where?

He stared at the book with an expressionless mask. Then, slowly, a sad smile formed on his lips.

"In the end... it seems blood is the only answer."

He lifted his right hand to eye level.


VROOOM...

Flames erupted in his palm. Blue. Reddish-gold. They cupped there like water, like a gift, like a promise.

He stared at them for a long moment, his deep crimson eyes growing cloudy with emotion.

"I'm sorry."

The flames lifted from his hand, levitating into the air. They flickered, trembled and distorted in strange, impossible ways until finally..

They separated.

Three distinct flames now hovered before him.

Red. Gold. Blue.

His gaze traced each one, but lingered most on the blue. Why? Jessica couldn't understand. What made that flame special?

He reached for it.

"With this... the first spark of my plan will beg—"

He stopped mid-sentence.

His expression went blank. Emotionless. A mask of absolute stillness.

Then his crimson eyes glowed, a deadly red light flaring to life as his gaze snapped directly to where Jessica's consciousness hid.


"Who dares dream of me?!"





*****

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"Who dares dream of me?!"

The voice dropped to a dangerously low register as the red-haired man spoke. His crimson eyes locked onto Jessica's location with terrifying precision.

Jessica felt his gaze like a physical weight. She knew there was nowhere to run. Could she even move if she tried? She was utterly doomed if he decided she posed any threat.

But then something strange happened.

The moment his eyes found her, his angry expression shifted. Became emotionless. For a long moment, he simply stared, his red eyes widening slightly.

Then, slowly, his lips curled upward.

Warmth spread across his features. Not the warmth of recognition between enemies, but something deeper. Closer. The kind of warmth reserved for someone dear. Someone precious.

It made no sense in Jessica's current predicament.

He caught himself, his expression settling into a simple smile.

"So it's you, my dear flame?"

A laugh escaped him, low, knowing, almost fond.

"It seems my future plans have already begun." He stared into the distance, his smile widening dangerously.

Jessica's vision began to blur. Her consciousness was being pulled away by some external force, dragging her from this strange place. The last thing she heard were words that rang in her mind like a bell of finality:

"The age of the gods... has just begun."


"A second time."


And everything went blank.


*****



"Gasp...!!"


Jessica bolted upright, one hand clasping her chest as if she'd truly suffered a heart attack.

"What happened?!" The words escaped unintentionally, directed at herself. Her voice was raspy, her lungs greedy for air.

She remembered she'd been awakening her core. Then her mind had spiraled, she'd lost consciousness, and she'd dreamed.

Yes. She'd dreamed of—

'Wait... what did I dream about?'

She frowned, straining to remember. The memories were hazy. Incomplete. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't grasp them.

"Flaming Hell..." She ruffled her blood-red hair, a low groan escaping her throat. Irritation burned in her chest.

"You're awake?"

A familiar voice cut through her frustration. Jessica's eyes darted to Violet, who had just walked into the training room and was shutting the door behind her.

'Right... I was awakening my core.'

Her heart tightened.

'Shit. I broke my focus.'

Violet's warning echoed in her mind: 'Any little disorientation will cause your fragile core to fracture, leading to dangerous damage to your soul.'

Panic seized her. She scrambled, hands patting her body frantically, searching for any sign of a damaged soul, as if such a thing could be found through touch.

Violet watched her flail and sighed deeply, a frown etched on her face.

"Brat! You're okay. Nothing happened to you."

Jessica stammered, "B-but I clearly got disoriented! It must have affected my soul! That's what you told me!"

Violet nodded slowly.

Jessica's face paled.

But Violet's next words stopped the panic cold.

"Your magic core was created in the last minute before you fainted." A slight smile crossed her features. "Congratulations. You've become a true Awakened."

Jessica froze. She stared at Violet, expressionless.

Then she smiled.

She'd done it. She'd really become a true Awakened. All thanks to the woman standing before her.

"Thank you." The words were genuine, warm, the first truly sincere thing she'd said to Violet since they met.

Before she could say more, a screen materialized before her eyes.


<< Ding! >>

<< New [Ability] Acquired! >>

<< New [Innate Ability] Acquired! >>

..........



Jessica's smile widened. Even in the chaos of awakening, she'd gained two new abilities.

'I have a very strong feeling that one of them will be closely connected to pain,' she thought, certain of it.

Her status materialized before her, beautiful as always.


[STATUS]

+

Name: Jessica

Level: 7 [Infant Rank]

Exp(Fragnet): [----[250%]-----1100%]

Title: [Ancient Flame]

Specie: ×Flame/???× [Human]

Species Possessed: Cave Locust [Hp/89%]

Rank: [Fighter], Cave Locust [Fighter]

Magic Cores: [1/1], Cave Locust [1/1]

Items: [Bone Of ARAFEL] [The Nameless Lever]

Echoes: None
Innate Abilities: [Possess] [Spark Instinct] [Flame Master] [Soul Flames]

Abilities: Unique Skill [Blabber Mouth] [Pain Resistance]

Flame Specific Skill [Burning +1] [Life Multiplier 'By Snorting'] [Flame Camouflage]

Cave Locust Skill [Flame Acid Ball]

+


Jessica giggled, almost laughed as she usually did, but caught herself, ending with only a wide smile. She shot glances at Violet, clearly not ready to be knocked on the head for laughing like that.

"Ahem..." She cleared her throat. "Give me two minutes. I'll be right back with you."

Violet raised an eyebrow, studying Jessica for a moment before sighing.

"You should have just do this when we get home." Another sigh. "Two minutes. Just two. Nothing more."

Jessica nodded vigorously and immediately began reading through the changes.

Her brow furrowed at the first line: Rank: [Fighter], Cave Locust [Fighter]

'Strange... Isn't there supposed to be an 'Infant' here?' She asked the silent consciousness in her mind.


<< There was supposed to be... but not anymore. Based on my calculations, since you were an idea, you didn't have a core to begin with. That's why it followed the level ranking. >>

'Yeah... I suspected that not too long ago. But what's confusing is the Cave Locust. Isn't it supposed to have a core before I possessed it?'


<< Yes... >>

'...Then why was it following the same level ranking system I followed?'

Before the system could answer, Jessica spoke inwardly first.

'Oh wait!' she said. 'I think I get it now. Yes, I do get it now.'

She deciphered her own questions inwardly.

'The moment I possess anything living, their soul is destroyed and replaced with my flame. And since I was an idea then, the Cave Locust body followed the same level ranking I followed.' She concluded.


<< Yes. You're right... >>

Jessica couldn't help but smile at her deduction, but her smile seized at the system's next words.


<< ...But slightly wrong. >>

Her smile vanished.

'How?'

A sigh echoed through their shared consciousness.


<< Sigh... I performed a full analysis when you woke up. I discovered you're still an idea. >>

Jessica's frown deepened.

The system continued.


<< You're still a flame in a physical sense. Your true body is the full manifestation of an idea—your flame, given form. >>

A pause.


<< The reason you blacked out was because your awakening defied the very laws of this world. It nearly cost you your life. But something happened. I don't know what, I was temporarily disconnected when you lost consciousness. >>

Jessica fell silent for a long moment, quietly reasoning through what the system had said and what had truly occurred.

'What actually happened while I was unconscious? And how did I actually survive?'

Upon thinking that, she turned to her only source of answers, who was currently impatiently tapping her foot on the floor while mumbling in a dangerously low growl that Jessica knew all too well.

"Five minutes."

Jessica's gaze caught on Violet's right hand.

It was bandaged.

It hadn't been bandaged when they entered the training room.

Something had happened.

"Violet." Jessica's voice was strangely serious and worried. "What exactly happened? And how long was I unconscious?"

Violet stared at her for a moment, her face expressionless as if considering what she should really do to this girl in front of her.

Then a slight, dangerous smile formed on her lips, the 'Vile Smile', Jessica's mind immediately supplied.

"Not only are you three minutes later than you promised, you're also trying to extract answers from me tonight?"

Jessica's heart dropped as she heard the faint cracking of fingers.

"W-wait. Let's talk this out!" Jessica tried to straighten things, but it proved useless as Violet walked closer.

"Don't worry. I'll make it quick."

The 'All Consuming Hell Smug' on Violet's face made Jessica certain, she was utterly doomed tonight.

"Help!!!"

Her dramatic cry was met with giggling silence.


*****


'My back.'

Jessica walked through the empty passageway of the training center, one hand pressed against her lower back like she'd aged eighty years in a matter of minutes. The vile being had been fully prepared to spank her within an inch of the afterlife, would have, in fact, if Jessica hadn't negotiated an extension to her one-year contract. Three extra months. That was the price of escaping that particular round of torment.

And honestly? It wasn't even Violet's fault this time.

"So you're telling me," Jessica groaned, each word accompanied by a jolt of pain from her stiff back, "that I sat in that meditation pose for almost three days! and then followed it up by being unconscious for an entire DAY straight?!"

Violet nodded calmly, offering nothing more.

Jessica squinted at her, clearly wanting additional answers.

"Would you mind telling me what happened while I was unconscious?"

A slight pause. Violet's expression shifted into something that looked suspiciously like pretend-thinking.

"Nothing happened."

Jessica's molten gold eyes narrowed further.

"Then how did you get injured?"

Violet glanced at the bandages wrapped around her right arm. A sigh escaped her.

"I was testing a new ability. Injured myself in the process." She met Jessica's gaze, her deep purple eyes flat. "Stop asking. You're giving me more reasons to regret not 'straightening you up' earlier."

Jessica stared deeply into Violet's deep purple eyes, knowing full well that Violet was lying. But she also knew better than to push further.

"Makes sense," she said finally.


****


They reached the hall and exited the Training Center. The settlement streets stretched before them, quiet in the evening air.

As they walked, Jessica's attention drifted inward. She had new abilities to examine.

Her prediction had been correct:


Abilities: Unique Skill [Blabber Mouth] [Pain Resistance]

She had indeed acquired an ability that made her resistant to pain. And this new skill had simply added itself to her growing collection of, what she considered trash skills. Not only did it fail to reduce physical pain to a bearable extent, it had gone straight to her Unique Skill list and settled comfortably beside that [Blabber Mouth] the system stubbornly refused to remove.

Jessica shook off her growing righteous fury and continued examining her gains:


Innate Abilities: [Possess] [Spark Instinct] [Flame Master] [Soul Flames]

Jessica smiled brightly.

'[Flame Master]. Now THAT'S actually cool.'

Her mastery over flames had increased dramatically with this ability. But something about it nagged at her.

'Wait... I've seen [Flame Master] before.'

She dug through her memories. Realization struck.

'Oh, right. I acquired it right after possessing this body.' The moment came back clearly: checking her status in that strange subconscious space, discovering that the system had a physical form. A girl with light blue hair and tired ocean eyes.

She pushed the memory aside and focused on her newest acquisition.

'Soul Flames.' A wide smile spread across her face. 'Now THAT'S decent.'


As they walked, Jessica's curiosity got the better of her.

She raised her right hand.


Vroom...!!

Blue flames erupted across her palm, wrapping around her skin like a second layer. Jessica's eyes widened with delight.

'It's the same color as my [Burning] skill flames,' she realized. 'It's the same color as ME.'

"Life Flames?"

Violet's amused voice cut through her celebration.

Jessica turned. "Life Flames?"

Violet shrugged. "You can call them Soul Flames. It's all the same in the end." She paused, as if pulling a memory from somewhere deep. "Just like the saying goes; The soul is the starting point, which is the Spirit. The root, which is Life. And the end, which is Death. Of all beings."

She glanced at Jessica. "That's why I called them Life Flames."

Jessica absorbed the words, letting them settle.

'So that's what my flames represent.'

She stared at the blue fire dancing on her palm. Then, with a thought, she willed it away.

"Nice."


****



They walked the rest of the way in comfortable silence.

The modest building came into view, the same one Jessica had woken in after acquiring this body. Violet opened the door, and Jessica followed her inside.

The living room was dark, lamps unlit. Only the dining area glowed with soft light.

Jessica stretched her neck to see who was there.

A figure sat calmly at the dining table, reading glasses perched on his nose, a book open before him. He wore simple blue pajamas, his expression focused on the pages.

Dazzlingly handsome. Deceptively young. Utterly familiar.

Jack.

He looked up as they entered, his face breaking into a bright, warm smile.


"Welcome home."





*******

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"Welcome home."

The words felt deeply strange and foreign to Jessica as she heard them. 'Welcome home.' She repeated inwardly.

In her previous life, after leaving the orphanage at fourteen, she had always lived alone. Four years on the streets. Sixteen more after finally securing a house. Every day, every night, every single moment, she returned to emptiness. Sometimes she would stand in her own doorway and welcome herself, just to pretend. Just to feel something other than alone.

But now, for the first time in her entire existence, someone had welcomed her as if this were truly her home.

A subconscious smile flickered across her lips. Brief. Almost imperceptible. But real.

Violet walked to where Jack sat. She leaned down and kissed him.

"Good evening." A warm smile graced her features.

Jessica winced as she watched this unfold before her. 'Do you really have to do this in front of this poor, lonely flame right here?' The thought was meant as a joke. It felt like a mockery, a reminder of her unbroken, untouched, never-experienced romantic life.

She sighed. "Good evening." Her tone was clearly drained at this point.

Jack smiled in reply. Violet, however, spoke. "Just wash up and come back down. I'll prepare dinner before you're done." She paused. "And don't make me come upstairs for you."

Jessica sighed deeply this time, her shoulders drooping low as she sluggishly climbed the stairs.

Violet watched Jessica walk away and couldn't help but sigh deeply herself, though clearly for a different reason.


*****



Jessica now sat at the dining table dressed in a black nightgown, staring at the tempting food on her plate. A slice of meat, a handful of white rice, some sprinkles of spinach, and some mashed potatoes.

She glanced at Violet and Jack, who had just begun eating. Then she focused back on her food, hiding an almost-growing smile as she stuffed her mouth with as much as she could, just to conceal it.

As they ate, Jack glanced at Jessica. "So..." he began. "I see you're already Awakened?"

Jessica nodded. "Yes. I am."

Jack smiled. "Well, that's wonderful." He praised her. "To be able to create your magic core in just a few days is very rarely seen in this age."

Jessica glanced at Violet. "Well, it's all thanks to your vil—ahem. I mean your wife. It's all thanks to her for being such a good teacher. I wouldn't have succeeded without her guidance." She almost narrowed her eyes at the word 'teacher.' In her experience, 'teacher' and 'executioner' were dangerously similar concepts.

Jack nodded, a pleased smile playing on his lips. He didn't comment on her near-slip. It was as if he'd already expected his wife to be an exceptional instructor.

Soon after, as they were rounding up dinner, Jack brought up another topic. "What do you think about the job you're about to start at the workshop tomorrow?" He asked, clearly intrigued by what Jessica might say.

Jessica paused to think. "I haven't really thought much about it. But one thing I'm certain of is that working at the workshop will definitely be an unforgettable one-year experience."

Just then, Violet's amused voice cut in. "A year and three months." The 'All Consuming Hell Smug' was clearly on her face as she corrected Jessica, reminding her of their earlier deal, totally ignoring Jessica's burning glares.

Jessica's eyes twitched after noticing Violet ignoring her. But she instantly calmed herself and glanced back at Jack, who was already smiling brightly. A forced smile played on her lips. "A year and three months," she reconfirmed.

Jack nodded while stealing a glance at his wife. Jessica had a very suspicious feeling they were silently communicating with each other, but she couldn't prove it. Her eyes squinted. 'Not yet. But soon I'll find out.'

Just as Jessica tried deciphering their silent exchange, she noticed the other empty seats in the dining area. A question formed in her mind. "Do your children live here too?"

Her question was met with deadbeat silence.

Except for Violet, who had been drinking water from her cup and nearly spilled it. She forced herself to down the contents. Jack's face went emotionless for just a heartbeat, then, almost instantly, he smiled brightly, returning to his usual demeanor. "Well, that's a long story." He gestured to the food. "How about we finish first? I'll be sure to fill you in."

In the end, Jessica couldn't bring herself to say anything more and could only nod in reply. She noticed the atmosphere had become less lively. Violet's face held a sad expression, barely there, but Jessica could see it. 'Dumbass. Look what you've done. You should have investigated more before asking them straight out.' She insulted herself, already coming to a conclusion about what might actually be the cause.

When they finished, Violet excused herself and went to the kitchen. Jessica's expression saddened for a moment as she watched Violet walk away calmly, which was entirely unlike the Violet she had come to know since they'd met.

Jack, however, wore his bright smile, though Jessica could tell it seemed forced. She played along, clearly not wanting to add more trouble to what she'd already caused.

"Do you know how long we've been in this nightmare realm?" Though he wore a bright smile, Jessica could feel the solemnity in his voice, as if he were reminiscing the past. She shook her head, indicating no. Jack rested his weight against the chair and sighed deeply. "It should be more than twenty years now."

'Twenty years.' Jessica mentally repeated. 'They've been married for thirty-five years. Spending fifteen years in the mortal realm before coming to the nightmare realm.' She calculated, her expression growing sadder as she remembered the stupid question she had asked earlier.

Jack turned to Jessica, clearly already noticing her sad expression. He didn't seem to mind. He needed to tell her, at least not everything. But it was better for her to know from the main person than to hear it from somewhere else, where words might already be exaggerated.

"Violet cannot conceive a child."

He finally said it, adding nothing more, offering no explanation for why she couldn't. Jessica stared at him, their gazes meeting: his light gold, hers molten gold. Through his expression, Jessica knew he would have loved to explain further. But she suspected he preferred she hear the full story from Violet herself.

That alone made Jessica reevaluate Jack to a higher degree. He loved his wife so much that even after thirty-five years without children, he still chose to uphold her dignity by not telling Jessica anything else. He would let Violet decide if she wanted to share. 'What other ways can you know a trustworthy partner?' Jessica smiled slightly at the thought, then nodded slowly. "I understand."

Jack's smile finally became genuine as he saw that Jessica understood his intentions.

"Ahem... I'll be going to my room, then." Jessica decided she was best needed elsewhere, as there was nothing left to discuss. "Good night."

"Good night," Jack replied, watching as she prepared to climb the stairs.

She paused mid-step and turned back to him. "And I'm genuinely sorry for what I said earlier." She sincerely offered, then glanced toward the kitchen, staring at the door for a moment. "Really sorry." She concluded without waiting for a reply and hurried upstairs, leaving Jack sitting at the dining chair with a smile on his face as he watched her go.

A few moments later, he sighed. "Seems like she saw you."

It felt like he was talking to himself, but he knew he clearly wasn't. Around the kitchen door, Violet materialized back into existence, a warm smile on her face as she snorted. "Oh please, that brat is just too cunning. She decoded that I was here already, she's seen me use that ability twice now."

Jack nodded with a smile, but soon his expression turned serious. "Zet told me what the news." He turned to meet his wife's gaze. "So what really happened during her awakening?" At that word, he stared at his wife's right arm, wrapped in bandages as if covering a burn.

Violet sighed as she sat on one of the dining chairs. She began recollecting everything that happened during Jessica's Awakening. Her expression grew serious. "You remember what I mentioned in the message I sent with Zet. Her existence is very strange, and it might be difficult for her to create a core."

Jack nodded, clearly remembering the message details Zet had brought.

Seeing her husband's reaction, Violet continued. "To put it simply, Jessica's awakening failed... or almost failed." She sighed, the memory weighing on her. "Upon the fracturing of her core, her soul didn't just damage like it was supposed to." She paused, staring right into her husband's light gold eyes.

"It exploded. Her soul exploded, Jack. She became engulfed in blue flames, soul flames. It was the very first time I'd seen such a phenomenon in my entire life." She rested against the chair and massaged her forehead. "I tried to help, even when I knew it might be impossible. I began searching for the shards of her soul, trying to arrange them, to stabilize her." She paused, her eyes growing distant. "And do you know what I found out?"

Violet sat up straight. Slowly, she turned to Jack, her eyes widening slightly as she remembered. Jack wasn't faring any better, worry etched across his face at his wife's expression.

Violet finally opened her mouth. "H-her soul was never destroyed to begin with."

Her voice dropped low. "It was boundless."

"Her soul was boundless!"

Jack stiffened at the words, heavy with meaning. "Boundless..." he repeated, turning to his wife. "You mean her soul has no boundaries or limits related to the cycle of existence?"

Violet nodded. "The soul is the starting point, the root, and the end of all beings." She recalled. "But Jessica's soul doesn't have a starting point, nor a root. Not even an end. It is boundless."

Jack's expression grew more serious as he calculated. "If it truly is boundless... then how is her body still intact? If a person's soul exceeds what the physical body can contain. It causes strain, and that leads to the death or obliteration of the physical form."

Violet smiled slightly at Jack's calculations. "Do you know why it's still intact?"

Jack shook his head, indicating no.

Violet replied matter-of-factly, "That's because she never had a physical body to begin with. Jack, she's made up of an idea."

Her smile became amused.

"She is a flaw. A flaw of the world."

Jack paused for a moment, absorbing his wife's words. Slowly, his serious expression crumbled as his eyes widened in understanding. "So that's why nothing happened to her when it failed." Each piece of the mystery began clicking into clarity. Jack now understood why Jessica had survived the magic core failure.

But... he couldn't help but frown as another question surfaced. He turned to his wife. "Then how does she have a magic core?"

At his question, Violet raised an eyebrow before lifting her right hand, showing him the bandages wrapped around it. "I still succeeded in rearranging the destroyed magic core. That's how I got burnt by her soul flames."

She smiled when she saw her husband's worried expression. "Don't worry too much. I'm alright. It only did minimal damage. You know who I am and what lineage I come from. So relax."

Before she could say anything else.


Caw! Caw!

A sound at the window. Violet turned to see a black crow tapping its beak against the glass, cawing insistently.

She sighed.

"Duty calls." She stood from her chair and walked to Jack, leaning down to kiss his cheek. "I'll be leaving. Good night."

"Take care."

Jack watched his wife open the door and step out into the night. The door clicked shut behind her.

He was alone.

He glanced around for a moment, clearly thinking about what he was supposed to do next. When he remembered, he finally sighed and stood up, or rather, began to.

Then it hit him.

A massive wave of headache crashed through his skull. He fell back into his chair, hands clutching his head as his vision began to flicker violently between reality and something else.


Flick.!

A text appeared, boldly written in blood: 'WAR'


Flick!

The same text, more intense: 'WAR!!'

Behind it now, he saw people, countless figures shouting battle cries as they charged toward a massive gate.


Flick!

Flames. A sea of blue flames, burning across the sky like the descent of calamity itself.


Flick.

Text in glowing blue hue: 'SPARK OF LIFE'


Flick.

Whispers. Faint at first, then clearer.

"Forbidden..."

"...Flaw"


Flick..!

A figure. A man with blood-red hair, a wide smile plastered on his face as he made the first move in a game of chess.

And then..

Text. Bold. Sinister. Written in crimson so deep it seemed to drink the light:

RED!




Gasp!


Jack's breath returned in ragged, desperate gasps. His body trembled uncontrollably. His hands still clung to his head like a lifeline, his eyes darting frantically without moving, decoding, processing, understanding the vision that had just consumed him.

Slowly, the trembling stopped.

Slowly, his hands dropped.

Slowly, his eyes regained focus.

A frown crawled across his face.

"'???'..." He whispered into the empty room.


"Who really are you?"



******



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Jessica couldn't sleep.

Even lying on a comfortable-looking bed with soft blankets and plump pillows, sleep eluded her. Maybe she knew why, but what difference would that make?

She turned to the other side, changing position. That didn't help either. She turned again. Still uncomfortable. In the end, she just lay flat on her back, glancing at the window near the bed. That window hadn't been in this room when she'd first woken up here. Before dinner, she'd walked back downstairs to ask Violet about it, and Violet had told her she'd forgotten about it when she cast an illusion on the room previously.

Jessica stared at the window for a long moment before finally shifting her gaze to the ceiling, lost in her own thoughts.

"I screwed up today, huh?" She muttered calmly, clearly directing the question to the silent consciousness inside her mind.


<< Yes. >>

Jessica closed her eyes, remembering what she'd said at dinner, remembering Jack's expressionless face and Violet's sad expression. She couldn't help but squeeze her eyes tight. 'Oh, gosh. I'm such a fool.'


<< You are. >>

'A big idiot.' She insulted herself again.


<< A very mighty one. >>

'I didn't even think straight before saying it. I'm so stupid.'


<< You don't always think straight... and you've always been stupid. >>

'I'm so—' Jessica paused mid-sentence, a frown showing on her face. 'Wait... were you just replying with my own words?'


<< Sigh... You were clearly saying everything I might have said. So why wouldn't I assist you from the sidelines with some exaggeration? >>

Hearing the system's reply, Jessica couldn't help but smile. If it had been earlier today, she would have replied with righteous fury burning bright. But currently, she couldn't reply, not that she lacked the time or strength to bicker. She had plenty of time for that. But she couldn't. She couldn't do anything else but smile.

Soon she began laughing lightly. Surprisingly, through their shared consciousness, the system also laughed. She could hear the voice of a young girl laughing in her mind. So the system was actually toying with her. She finally realized and couldn't help but muse at it. She continued laughing, laughing out her frustration until there wasn't any left.

After the laughter slowly receded, boredom crept in.

Seeing this, Jessica bolted up from her bed like lightning. She walked to the large mirror near the wardrobe and stopped abruptly, like a car hitting the brakes. She stared at herself.

As always, her figure was... flawless. Perfect skin that seemed to glow with inner light. Features so perfectly balanced they could have been carved by a divine sculptor. She was literally the definition of a jade beauty given flesh.

She tested her smile in the mirror. It was beautiful. She checked her teeth. Perfect in every way. There was nothing wrong with her. Everything was perfect, except...

Her gaze drifted down to one place that hadn't seemed to change in either of her lives.

She stared at her chest for a long moment, her expression unreadable. Then she couldn't help but sigh dramatically.

"At least one thing never changed."

She gave herself hope as she continued staring at the mirror. She began making different funny faces out of boredom, and when her multiple expressions seemed to continue for a few minutes longer than expected, the system finally spoke.


<< At this rate, you might just learn a new ability to change your expressions at will. >>


<< Just go to sleep. >>

Jessica sighed as she read the system's words.

'I'm not sleepy,' she replied, but the system's constant pestering eventually made her lie back down on the bed.

"Sigh... I wonder how Violet is? I just hope my words didn't make her too sad." Jessica could only think of that as she closed her eyes. "Good night," she finally said, and soon after, sleep claimed her.

For a moment, she thought she was back in the star where she'd danced with her prince charming. But that dream only lasted a few minutes—at least, that was what she thought, until she felt a bucket of water pour over her like a running tide.


Splash!!

She immediately jumped to her feet with incredible grace, blue flames erupting from her hands, clearly ready to attack the attacker.

But that action only lasted a heartbeat as she recognized the figure before her: a young woman with jet-black hair, sharp features, deep purple eyes, and an expression of pure contentment. She held a bucket in one hand, her other hand on her waist, foot tapping the floor while trying to form a serious face despite the amused 'All Consuming Hell Smug' threatening to break through.

"Are you going to sleep through your first day of work?! Get up and go take a shower! You're running late."

Jessica stared with wide eyes at Violet. It was at this moment she knew with full certainty that she had been absolutely wrong to think her words might have changed Violet's behavior. In the end, Violet remained Violet.

Jessica even had a premonition that this vile being in front of her, clearly enjoying her suffering, had just become—


Vile Being Pro Max.

And Jessica was her leveling material.


*****



Jessica walked calmly out of the house's exit door, the morning breeze brushing her skin in a cool wave. She inhaled deeply, a smile on her face. She wore a dark green t-shirt with brown knickers, making her look more like a geographer than an Awakened. Her gaze passed through the settlement street, which wasn't bustling with people currently as it was still early morning.

Finally, her eyes landed on a figure in the distance, walking to wherever place she was going. A young woman who strangely looked like someone Jessica knew. She squinted to see who it was.

'Wait... isn't that Violet?' Her eyes widened in realization. 'When did she walk out of the house?' She had clearly, intentionally left without her.

"T-THIS!" Jessica's righteous fury ignited. She could already imagine the smug expression on Violet's face.

"Hey! WAIT FOR ME!"

She sprinted forward, desperate to catch up with the already-distant Violet.

'You VILE BEING!!!'


After what felt like a twelve-hundred-meter marathon, Jessica finally reached Violet's side. She was breathing hard, her lungs burning.

Violet turned. A slight, sinister smile was clearly plastered on her face.

"What took you so long?" The smugness in her tone was unmistakable.

Jessica gritted her teeth. Her righteous fury burned brighter than ever.

'Not only did you wake me up so early I thought it was still NIGHTTIME, you also INTENTIONALLY left me behind?! You VILE BEING! You MONARCH OF EVIL!'

She screamed internally for a full minute before forcing herself to calm down.

'Good thoughts... pure thoughts...' She inhaled. Exhaled. Repeated the mantra inwardly as she followed Violet.


*****



They walked in silence for a while. Then an itch began forming in Jessica's mind, a question that had been nagging her since she first manipulated her flames.

'Can I shape my flames the way Violet shapes her shadows?'

The question wouldn't leave her alone. Finally, she decided to voice it.

"Uhm... Violet."

Violet turned, one eyebrow raised. She'd already noticed the innocent tone, the one Jessica used when she wanted something.

Jessica didn't beat around the bush.

"Could you teach me how to manipulate flames? Like how you manipulate your shadow ability?"

Violet studied her for a moment, then looked forward.

"It isn't anything special." She lifted her right hand, the one still wrapped in bandages. "Just imagine what shape you want it to take."

Shadows began coiling around her hand, dark and fluid. They condensed, solidified, took form, until a short sword made of pure shadow rested in her palm.

A moment later, it dissolved. The shadows receded.

Violet glanced at Jessica with a smile.

"You try."

Jessica nodded, taking a deep breath.

'Imagine...' She repeated to herself, raising her right hand. Blue flames began wrapping around her palm. She focused, imagining her flames taking the solid shape of a short sword, just like Violet's shadow blade.

As she deepened her concentration, she felt a drain of energy from her magic core, and then her blue flames began condensing into the solid shape of a short sword. Just like Violet's own.

Jessica's eyes widened in surprise as she held the handle of the flame sword. 'I did it.' Her heart raced with joy as she stared at the weapon. She glanced at Violet, who was also smiling.

"Good job," Violet said.

Jessica smiled and nodded. She willed the flame sword to dissolve. The sword dematerialized at her command, leaving her hand empty.

Just then, another idea of a weapon came to her mind. She instantly decided to try it as they walked.

Jessica stretched out her left hand, pointing only two fingers. She lifted her other hand, doing the same pose. Then she placed her right pointed finger against her left, upon impact, there was a faint spark of flame.

She smiled as she moved to the next step.
She imagined herself holding a bow in her left hand, her right hand drawing the string back, arrow nocked and ready.

A massive swirl of blue flames erupted, coalescing into a large, blazing arrow, followed by a bow of equal grandeur.

Her smile widened. She pulled the string back further—


Knock!

"Ow!!"

A hard blow landed squarely on her head. Her flame arrow dissolved instantly. She rubbed the sore spot in slow motion, turning to face Violet.

Violet stared at her with barely contained rage.

"Brat!! We are walking in the STREET. Where exactly were you planning to shoot that arrow?!"


Jessica paused for a moment. Realization dawned. 'We are really in the street.' She glanced around and noticed intense stares directed at her from several directions.

A sheepish smile formed on her already reddened face. "Sorry... I totally forgot." She apologized to the small crowd of onlookers.

Without waiting any longer, Jessica instantly walked faster than she had ever walked before. She began mentally recalling the direction to the workshop, she clearly didn't want to remain here any longer.

Violet watched her speed-walk away, a slow smile forming on her lips. She shook her head and resumed her normal pace.

Then she paused.

"Brat!! You're going the wrong way!"

"Ooh... Sorry!!"

Violet sighed deeply, one hand rising to massage her forehead. A slight wave of headache was already creeping in.

****



Jessica stood before the entrance of the workshop. The sign hung above the door, carved wood painted in elegant script:

'Violet Workshop'

Jessica smiled as she read it. 'First day at my first job in this world.' She mused. 'I wonder how it'll be?'

They walked inside, moving through the main hall. The workshop was busy, just like last time. People moved with purpose in every direction, carrying equipment, swords, incomplete armor pieces, all kinds of objects that could be forged.

Violet and Jessica walked past them until they reached the end of the main hall.

Upon reaching the far wall, without turning toward the direction that led to the manager's office, Violet pivoted left into a passageway. Jessica followed closely behind.

As they walked deeper, Jessica began feeling a faint heat. She smiled. 'So this is the forge area.' As she thought that, she began hearing the clanging sounds of smithing, confirming they were close.

Soon they arrived at a thick iron door, as thick and strong as the one in the training center. Jessica couldn't help but frown. 'Why would they use a door like this for the forge room? It isn't a training area.' She was confused by the level of protection. It wasn't like they'd be tanking nuclear bombs or anything... right?

Violet turned to her, an 'All Consuming Hell Smug' plastered on her face as she spoke. "It's a bit hectic and loud inside, so you'd best be careful."

Jessica immediately felt a sense of déjà vu.


'Flaming Hell!! Don't tell me I'm doomed here too?!'



******


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[p_magno]

Jessica stared deeply at the door as a wave of déjà vu flooded her mind. Her imagination ran wild. What might be waiting for her on the other side.

Her gaze landed on Violet, who wore that familiar 'All Consuming Hell Smug.'

She steeled herself immediately. No way was she letting this vile being mock her any longer.

Seeing Jessica's expression harden with boldness, Violet couldn't help but be more amused. She shook her head, letting out a long sigh, before casually opening the thick iron door that shuddered with a heavy groan as it swung open.

Jessica closed her eyes, bracing for impact. She fully expected to be bowled over by someone rushing out, just like her first day at the workshop entrance.

'Eeh?'

No collision came.

Instead, something entirely different hit her.



Dong! Bong! Bong!

A barrage of smithing sounds exploded through the doorway, the heavy, rhythmic crash of hammer against anvil, each strike sending shockwaves through the air.

The moment the sound reached her, Jessica felt it. A force like a nuclear blast slammed into her, lifting her off her feet and hurling her toward the afterlife. Or almost.

She was caught midair by Violet, who had a 'Devil's Grin' on her face. "I warned you, didn't I?"

Jessica stared at Violet in bafflement. How was she still standing? That breeze alone could have clearly and absolutely leveled a mountain if not contained. Jessica's gaze turned back to the forge room. It was a long hallway with thick iron doors on each side, each door clearly a separate room where forgers were currently doing their work.

Jessica's heart instantly dropped. '...How the hell am I going to survive this?' She was definitely doomed at this rate.


****



Violet watched Jessica's face pale as the pressure waves kept rolling over her, even while she still held onto her.

She sighed. Her free hand rose, shadows coalescing into a simple pitch-black bracelet. Pure shadow given form.

"Put this on."

Jessica forced herself to turn under the crushing pressure. She stared at Violet. Then at the bracelet. Then back at Violet, her expression clearly screaming: 'I wonder when I mentioned needing an accessory while I'm about to DIE.'

She took the bracelet anyway. She wasn't about to get smacked for refusing.

She slid it onto her left wrist.

Violet promptly dropped her.

Jessica nearly landed butt-first on the floor, she would have, if she hadn't already expected Violet to pull something like that.

After being satisfied with her accomplishment, Jessica stiffened in realization.

Upon standing still, she noticed the nuke-like breeze didn't affect her anymore. It only felt like a heavy breeze before an upcoming rain, making only her blood-red hair flutter. She smiled to herself. 'Nice.' Turning to Violet, she said, "Thanks."

Violet nodded in response as they began walking through the large hallway.


***



From each room, the sounds of forging echoed. Hammer against anvil. Metal clashing with metal. The rhythm of creation.

In her previous life, Jessica had developed an interest in blades through a video game—a single-player action RPG that had made her rage-quit more times than she cared to admit. The difficulty was brutal. How was she supposed to beat a boss that called down lightning with every sword swing? Yet she kept returning, drawn by the challenge, by the promise of reward when she finally succeeded.

The game had a famous quote.

'What was that quote again...' She began searching through her memories for the common saying in the game.

'Ah... I think I remember.' She phrased the quote in her thoughts: 'Hesitation means death. Or defeat... something like that.'

She shifted the thought away after not being able to fully remember it. But anyways... Her interest in the game had led to real interest in blades. She'd watched countless tutorials on sword techniques. She'd even enrolled in a samurai class once, but life got in the way. MMA classes. Work. There was never enough time


They stopped before one of the iron doors. Violet paused for a heartbeat, then opened it.

A simple, spacious room greeted them. Forging equipment lined the walls, a massive oven, an anvil so sturdy Jessica instantly calculated it could tank nuclear strikes, racks of hammers in every size and shape, and dozens of tools she couldn't name.

She was still taking it all in when a door at the corner of the room swung open.

A man walked out. He looked to be in his late forties, with a thick beard and a helmet strapped over his head. A heavy apron stretched over a large belly. His face was set in a deep scowl.

"Another failure." He muttered in a low growl.

Then he stopped. His frown deepened for a moment as his gaze landed on the people in his forge room.

Recognition flickered. The frown smoothed into neutral acknowledgment.

"Good morning, Miss Violet." He grunted, already moving toward his destination.

"Good morning, Hector." Violet watched him walk to the massive oven and adjust the temperature with a press of a button.

"Is that the girl?" He didn't turn as he asked.

"She is," Violet verified.

He grunted in reply. "I'll be sure to groom her well,"

The words were low, matter-of-fact. To Jessica, they sounded like a threat.

'G-groom?' Her thoughts stumbled. 'Don't tell me he's WORSE than Violet?!'

She imagined it instantly: one mistake, and a massive hammer would come crashing down on her head. She shuddered.


'My life... it's all over...'


*****




Violet smiled at Hector's words. She already knew Jessica's face had paled—the girl always misunderstood things, leaping to the worst conclusions with remarkable speed.

And yes. Jessica's face had gone pale.

But Violet noticed something else. No matter the expression on that pale face, Jessica's eyes never lost focus. Already calculating. Already analyzing. Already calm beneath the surface.

Most people wouldn't see it. But Violet had dealt with cunning, unpredictable people long enough to recognize the signs. Was Jessica acting? She couldn't tell. That was what made her interesting.

"Please groom her well. She needs it." Violet decided to add fire to Jessica's already pale expression.

She turned to Jessica with a smile on her face.

"Enjoy yourself." She patted Jessica's shoulder as she leaned closer to her ear. "And don't get on his bad side. He might actually be worse than me," she whispered, noticing Jessica immediately stiffen.

Violet felt amused as she began walking to the iron door. She turned for a moment to see Jessica staring at her with wide eyes that clearly said, 'Please don't leave me here after dropping that bomb. I'm too young to die!'

Violet shook her head as her smile widened. She opened the door of the forge room and walked out, closing Jessica's dramatic character inside.

She began walking through the large passageway, but before she could take another step, she paused. A frown appeared on her face. "Zet... What's wrong?" The question lingered in the passageway for a while, it felt as if she were talking to herself, which she clearly wasn't.

Just then, a shadow began to pool under her feet as a crow flew out before landing on her shoulder.


Caw! Caw!

It cawed, then spoke. "The Valkan settlement has been destroyed. Its direction has changed." The crow's voice was low, urgent. "I repeat: direction has changed."

It turned to meet Violet's gaze, its voice dropping to a crow's low growl.

"Eurukad the Terror... is coming here."

Violet's gaze hardened.

Eurukad the Terror. An [Ascendant Terror] creature on the verge of becoming [Triumphant]. Rumors even suggested it was close to gaining a fifth core, which would make it a [Triumphant Destroyer].

She ran through the calculations. The creature had slept for five years, avoiding confrontation with settlements. Then yesterday night, it woke. Two settlements were already destroyed, unable to handle a fire giant leading an army of flame creatures.

Now it was coming here.

Violet's suspicion crystallized: the creature was about to advance to [Destroyer].

She stifled a laugh. Why wouldn't she? It couldn't be helped. Slowly, a smile began crawling across her face. "Perfect. Just what I need." Her smile widened as she turned to the crow on her shoulder, who shook its head in dejection.

"Sigh..." it sighed deeply, making Violet laugh slightly.

"Let's go now." She began walking through the hallway as her last words resounded silently.

"So we can prepare..."



"A perfect welcome party."


*****



Jessica stood motionless inside the forge room. Ever since Violet had left, she had simply stood there without moving, like a soldier waiting for orders. Why wouldn't she? Violet had basically traded her to someone that even Violet herself said was worse than her. Jessica suspected Violet was lying, but that didn't mean she'd still act carelessly.

She squinted from behind as the man Hector still had not turned to her. He was just busy doing whatever he was doing.

Jessica wanted to sigh, but before she could, "Get me the hammer on that table at your left," Hector spoke, still without turning.

She immediately snapped back to her senses. "O-ok!!" She rushed to the table like a car without brakes, stopping by it with a full drift.

Her eyebrows rose subconsciously. 'Which one?' She couldn't help but think as she stared at the numerous hammers.

Just as she was deciding to ask, "The round one with a flat front," he confirmed, and Jessica's gaze found the exact one. Round hammer with a flat front.

'Got it.' She smiled as she picked it up, zooming with speed to where he stood and handed it to him with as much courtesy as she could muster.

Hector didn't even bat an eye to look at her. He simply collected the hammer in a calm manner, spinning it in his hand as if to test its weight, before grunting in approval.

Then he asked Jessica to retrieve another thing. "Get me the tongs at the end of the table to your right."

Jessica immediately rushed to the end of the table and retrieved the so-called tongs; an object that looked like a giant clip for holding onto things. Jessica's mind currently imagined it like that. She wouldn't have known what it looked like had she not seen it on the internet in her previous life.

She proceeded to hastily hand him the tool. After collecting it, he finally moved from where he stood and walked to the anvil, placing the hammer on its surface as he walked to the oven he had heated earlier. Jessica didn't miss this opportunity. She walked with him wherever he went. She stood alongside him when he reached the large oven.

Hector finally spared a glance at her before grunting, which Jessica already took as approval. "It's best you shift to the side. Unless you're immune to heat."

"I am immune," Jessica confirmed, and Hector nodded without sparing another glance.

He opened the oven, and an unknowable degree of heat erupted from within. Since the heat wasn't a problem for Jessica, it even seemed to make her feel stronger.

He used the tongs to bring out a blade, its texture glowing seething red, clearly in the smelting stage. Using the tongs, he walked to the anvil, placing the raw blade on its surface. He picked up the hammer with ease and prepared to strike.

"This is the almost-perfection stage." He positioned himself. "After shaping the blade comes refinement. I reheated it to soften the metal. Now we refine."

He turned to her. "Understand?"

Jessica nodded as she watched Hector grunt. He then shifted his focus to the unrefined blade, raising his hammer to begin refinement.



Bang! Bong! Bong! Dong!

Jessica stared wide-eyed in amusement as she watched the refinement process. The impact of the hammer created heavy gusts of wind that, if not for the bracelet Violet had given her, she would have definitely been flung to the afterlife of flames... Or would she?

She couldn't help but wonder as she saw the gusts weren't doing much to her except fluttering her clothes and blood-red hair wildly.

Curiosity gnawed at her as she decided to check what level Hector was. She knew it was a little improper on her part to check other's levels. She had even given herself a rule that she wouldn't check anyone's level unless it was a monster, a human who posed a threat, or someone she was about to fight.

She hadn't added checking someone's level just out of curiosity, but she proceeded to check anyway.



[STATUS]
+

Name: Hector Bradley

Level: 41 [Ascendant Rank]

Species: Human

Rank: [Beast]

Magic Cores: [2/2]

+

.........



Jessica's face paled, unnoticeably. Her heart dropped.

'It really IS the bracelet keeping me alive!'

She refocused on Hector's demonstration, watching the hammer rise and fall with new understanding. The quiet thought burned in her mind, a small flame of terror beneath her composed exterior.



*******


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