《Words of Ancient Magic》 Chapter 1: The World Ends, Slowly It was a calm afternoon. I¡¯d just finished my dinner, and I was leaving my house to go for a walk. Then, it happened.
Mana density has reached 1%. Connection to Earth restored!
Compatible creatures detected: Humans, population 8,197,828,907. Determining method of Mana distribution¡­
Method selected: Widescale role assignment, full communication.
Hello, Humans of Earth! We apologize for the delay, we¡¯re rebooting your Mana Systems now! Power will gradually be restored to the world at a rate of 1% per Earth Standard day to ensure an easier adjustment period. You may look forward to the return of all your favorite System representatives, such as Fenrir, Devourer of the Sun, and Shiva, the God of Destruction!
New Misc. Quest: Reintegration
As compensation for this little mishap, enjoy this consolatory gift. Requirements: Day 1/100 Quest Reward: +50% to all Attributes
Processing¡­
Role Assignment: Speaker for the Dead
Description: Sometimes people leave unfinished business after their deaths, and sometimes those they leave behind have unanswered questions. The Speaker for the Dead spans the bridge between life and death, allowing the user to bring back an echo of a spirit to resolve any final issues it has left behind. Main Skill: Immortal Questions Secondary Skill Choices: Fallen Talent, Eidolon¡¯s Embrace Passive: Echo Garden
Reeling from the sudden there-and-gone migraine, I almost didn¡¯t notice the sudden, distant roar. I did see the shadow encompassing me, though. Looking to the sky, I saw a huge red-scaled lizard with wings. ¡°Nope,¡± I shook my head and walked back into my house. ¡°That is not how today is going to go, thank you very much.¡± Rummaging through my cupboards and the fridge, I poured myself a bowl of sugary, berry-flavoured cereal and started crunching on it as I stared at the magic words in my vision and very willfully ignored the obvious question of what sort of lizards had wings. ¡°How am I supposed to choose one of these without knowing what any of these Skills do?¡±
Immortal Questions (Lv. 1)
Allows the user to speak a word while touching the body of a deceased creature, gaining an Echo of that creature associated with the word spoken. Each corpse may have a number of Echoes harvested from it equal to the level of Immortal Questions.
Fallen Talent (Lv. 1)
You engage a portion of one of your Echoes, temporarily gaining one of their Skills. If the level of the Skill would be higher than the level of Fallen Talent, it is instead reduced to match it.
Eidolon''s Embrace (Lv. 1)
Wrap a target in the grip of an Echo. The Echo may speak to the target freely, providing advice, encouragement, and consolement, and if you¡¯re the target it increases your Attributes by 10% of its own per level in Eidolon''s Embrace.
Echo Garden (Passive)
Any bodies that you personally bury summon simple Echoes that cannot be harvested. These Echoes gain a limited ability to interact with the environment, and constantly work to maintain and improve the area. Furthermore, the echoes passively boost your Mana recovery and will help to ward off intruders. The size of the Garden and potency of the Echoes improves with each creature buried within, with stronger creatures causing a greater impact.
Another headache flared in my head, but after letting it pass, I got to reading. Before long, I frowned, swallowing a bite of my cereal. ¡°What are Attributes?¡±
Name: Kenny Bert
Race: Human (Earth)
Role: Speaker for the Dead
Strength: 5 Mana: 5
Dexterity: 5 Mana Recovery: 5
Passives: Human Versatility, Echo Garden
Skills: Immortal Questions (Lv. 1)
Quests: Reintegration (1%)
¡°So, probably the numbers. What¡¯s Human Versatility?¡±
Human Versatility (Passive)
Humans are known for their adaptability. Gain 1 free Attribute point that can be used to increase any of your stats by 1 when any of your Skills level up.
That made sense. Probably. Without any Echoes, it was hard to tell which Skill would be stronger. I could probably just go get one now? But would that help me figure out what to go with? Or would it just confuse me further? Skills seemed very potent. But how significant were Attributes? Would 10% of my current 5 be 0, .5, or 1? And would 1 more Strength make me 20% stronger? I pulled out my phone and checked for the internet, but it seemed to be down. It was a little freaky, but I¡¯d kind of already assumed something like that would happen. The internet didn¡¯t usually last long during these sorts of things. I was still stewing over my Secondary Skill choice when I heard a massive thud. Presumably, that meant the dragon had landed. Whether that was because of it getting injured I had no clue, but I¡¯d been hearing some helicopters and guns, so it was probable that they¡¯d already engaged the creature.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. I set the decision aside, as well as my now-empty bowl. Not because I''d made my choice, oh no. It was because I''d just decided what my next step should be. I''d steal an Echo from the dragon. That should be pretty strong, and might help inform my decision. I knew on some level that I should be scared, and part of me was utterly terrified, but the rest had decided that the best reaction to the situation was to go along with it. That didn''t involve running around like a chicken with its head cut off. I¡¯d played video games before: as long as I kept the same sort of mindset I¡¯d use in one of those, I¡¯d be fine. I poked my head out of my place. I was currently watching over my aunt¡¯s house while she was on vacation, so there wasn¡¯t anyone else to try to clear out. Instead, I just locked the door, scanned the skies for the helicopters for a second, and then hopped in my car. While the monster did appear to be a dragon, from the glimpse I¡¯d gotten, it wasn¡¯t really that big. More elephant size than blue whale size. Plus, the military seemed to be handling it just fine, and I hadn¡¯t seen any smoke so far, so it probably lacked any sort of ¡°fire breath.¡± I slowly drove my car towards the action, only really able to see the helicopters firing, but I made sure not to go over the speed limit. While there was a dragon, and there were likely a lot of other monsters out and about, that didn¡¯t mean that law and order had failed entirely. Maybe at some point in the next couple of months everything would turn around, but for now it was better to be safe. The government had functioned before the internet, and it would likely continue to do so after. Before long, the helicopters started flying away from the dragon, presumably to put out fires somewhere else. If a dragon had appeared in a small city in Ohio, then who¡¯s to say that something bigger might show up someplace else? In fact, there were probably a lot of monsters out and about right now. I pulled up a block away from the dragon corpse, and spent a moment observing. A couple buildings had gotten crushed, but as it was a Sunday and they were mostly just small, locally owned businesses, there hadn¡¯t been anyone inside. One house had gotten its roof torn off, and there were firefighters and paramedics on the scene trying to pull people out. To the side, there were a few cop cars, and a few men stood beside them locked in an intense discussion. Nobody seemed to be guarding the corpse. It made sense¨C who was going to try to drag the body of a five ton dragon away? I spent a moment considering my plan. They¡¯d probably get concerned if I ran for it, but they¡¯d also probably try to stop me if I got too close. I also wouldn¡¯t have the time to really think about a word for Immortal Questions, so I¡¯d need to have it ready on the tip of my tongue. After I felt ready, I started walking slowly towards the scene. As I got closer, the details of the dragon¡¯s form got clearer. It wasn¡¯t quite red¨C closer to burgundy in color, though its scales glimmered as though they¡¯d been polished, and it was adorned with a pair of majestic horns that twisted and curled atop its skull. Its wings, once long and bat-like, were now tattered, shredded through with holes by the might of the military industrial complex. Once I was within maybe twenty feet of the dragon, one of the police officers started slowly approaching me with a grim expression. That expression turned to confusion when I picked up my pace and set my hand down on the slain beast. ¡°Hey kid, what are you¨C¡± ¡°Power.¡± The world exploded into grey and purple tones, drowning out everything before fading to black. The newborn soared through the skies, inhaling the magic contained within the very air. His blood told him that it was weaker than it should have been, but it didn¡¯t matter. Not when there was prey to be hunted. His wings flapped, sending him soaring into the heavens. He followed his nose¨C there was fresh meat this way. Lots of it. A number of odd rock formations came into view. He could sense that there was meat hiding in them¨C a foolish endeavor. He would rend their walls and topple their burrows. The drake allowed himself to fall through the sky before catching himself again, soaring directly over the cravenous morsels. His blood told him that the purpose of hunting was twofold: to consume, and to instill fear. A dragon¡¯s rule was uncontested, and the deplorable meat sacks needed to know it. Then something tore through his wing. The meat sacks were fighting back? He turned his malevolent gaze upon the odd, metallic structure that flew while somehow holding itself stationary and carrying¡­ more meat? Fury pumped through the drake¡¯s stomach, and he flapped his wings, hurtling towards the insubordinate meat-things. Before he got the chance to tear into the construct, something heavy and fiery slammed against its wing, tearing it to shreds, sending the dragon into a descending spiral. He hurtled towards the ground, his back smashing against the rock formations and reducing them to rubble, his forward velocity dragging him across the earth to impact another structure, rendering it, too, to naught but debris. He roared his fury to the skies and righted himself, flailing his wings once and failing to rise. He turned to face the despicable meat sacks approaching him, pointing black sticks in his direction. Heat built up in the drake¡¯s chest, and it opened its maw wide, preparing to¨C I gasped, stumbling away from the corpse. ¡°--doing?¡± The cop increased his pace, arriving beside me. ¡°Are you alright?¡± I rose to my feet, dismissing his hand. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m alright.¡± ¡°They told us to stand guard in case the body did something weird,¡± the cop said with a frown, ¡°Sorry, I guess we should¡¯ve put up warnings or something.¡± ¡°No, no, it¡¯s fine,¡± I explained, ¡°that was on me I think. I¡¯ll be on my way now?¡± ¡°Oh, uh¡­ okay. Bye?¡± The man seemed extremely confused. Part of me wanted to explain, but I was preoccupied dealing with the Echo I¡¯d harvested. It had been like¡­ I¡¯d been me, but I didn¡¯t know I was me? Like, I¡¯d had all of my memories and my own personality, but for some reason none of them had applied to my thoughts? I¡¯d been both the drake and myself, all at once. And now I just felt weak, like I was under anaesthetics. But clearly that had been a powerful Echo. Plus¡­
Immortal Questions (Lv. 1) ¡ú (Lv. 2)
+1 Mana +1 Attribute Point (Human Versatility)
That explained how Attributes worked. Right away, my weakness got just a little bit easier to deal with, which I took to mean that the feeling was some problem with my Mana. I tried to mentally command the screens to put the extra Attribute Point into Mana as well, and the feeling got even easier to deal with. I got back in my car and idled for a while. Now was time for the decision, after all. I¡¯d just gotten a particularly strong Echo, and now I needed a way to use it. Just like with the Attribute Point, I tried to will the system to give me my choice, and then I quickly tested it out, checking the screen for the changes.
Name: Kenny Bert
Race: Human (Earth)
Role: Speaker for the Dead
Strength: 5 (+3) Mana: 7 (+4)
Dexterity: 5 (+1) Mana Recovery: 5 (+2)
Passives: Human Versatility, Echo Garden
Skills: Immortal Questions (Lv. 2) , Eidolon''s Embrace (Lv. 1)
Quests: Reintegration (1%)
Instantly, my body surged with power. I was faster, stronger, and that odd feeling with my Mana had completely evaporated. I was currently getting nine total stats from the drake¡¯s echo, and was left with an odd feeling somewhere between joy and inadequacy. My numbers had just gone up a lot, and they¡¯d only continue to grow as I leveled up my Embrace and got stronger Echoes. On the other hand, depending on how the system rounded, the Drake had probably possessed somewhere around one hundred total Attribute Points, compared to my twenty-two. I was left wondering how those interacted with the body, though. Was 5 the base for everything, and then there was a multiplier based on the species or body type? Or did different things start with different Attributes in the first place? I was currently leaning towards the latter option, since the drake had thought of itself as a newborn and had probably literally been born today. But in any case, I¡¯d gotten my dragon Echo and picked out a Secondary Skill, and now I needed to figure out how to level up my Skills more and get some Attributes. Hopefully things wouldn¡¯t go to complete crap before I managed to figure everything out. I stepped off the treadmill sweating like a pig. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s an hour,¡± I panted. ¡°No Attributes boosted, no level in Eidolon''s Embrace, nothing.¡± That probably disproved my theory that exercising could boost Attributes. There was always the chance that I hadn¡¯t gone as hard or as long as I should¡¯ve, but I was absolutely wrecked. I¡¯d also been hoping that leveling Eidolon''s Embrace would just be a matter of using the Attributes granted by the Echo, but it appeared that it would be a bit more complicated than that. Part of me wanted to go out and try to hunt down monsters, figuring that not everything would be as dangerous as the drake, but there wasn¡¯t that much of a purpose. Weak Echoes wouldn¡¯t do much for me, other than maybe let me use my Echo Garden Passive, but I didn¡¯t have too much of a need for that yet either. My time would likely be best spent securing reliable food and water for when things really got bad, but I didn¡¯t want to get caught up in the crowds that were already doing exactly that and was a bit more worried about the monsters that were coming. I was a bit worried that I¡¯d jumped the gun by taking Eidolon''s Embrace over Fallen Talent. The latter would have let me collect more Skills, whereas what I had now was limited to just one. There was nothing for it now, though. I had my Skills, and the only way I knew to level either of them was by touching dead things. I still didn¡¯t want to go around casually breaking laws, though. There was a graveyard nearby, but that was a bit too much. I might get desperate later on and resort to such tactics, but I wasn¡¯t at that point quite yet. Instead, the best plan I could think of was to replicate what I¡¯d already done. I¡¯d already harvested the drake, which I¡¯d had absolutely no part in killing. Why not just do that same thing again? Follow trained professionals and profit off of their hard work? It was a flawless plan, and there was absolutely no chance of it going wrong. Chapter 2: Things Going Wrong Murphy¡¯s Law states that anything that can happen, will happen. Sometimes those things happen faster than expected. In this case, instead of chasing after the army and their kaiju hunting party, I ran into a couple little green men wearing loincloths and holding spears. It was in the suburbs near the edge of the town, too, which made me wonder briefly if all monsters were naturally drawn toward concentrations of people. They were standing in the middle of the road, and I didn¡¯t want to risk damaging my car by running them over, so I unsheathed the meat cleaver I¡¯d brought along and stepped outside. Was this a stupid idea? Yes. But I wanted to test my Eidolon¡¯s Embrace and the stats I¡¯d gotten from it. The goblins noticed me straight away and shouted an unintelligible war cry at me, raising their spears high. The behavior reminded me of a monkey trying to make itself seem bigger to scare off predators, which made me hesitate for a second. Maybe these were nice goblins? Then one of them chucked a spear at me. Seriously? I¡¯m twice your size. Stupid meat. I started sprinting, surprising myself a bit with the speed. The goblins shrieked and raised their weapons at me, the one who¡¯d thrown their spear pulling a shiv out of their loincloth. Clearly, they were too simpleminded to realize that they were outmatched. I took out the shiv wielder first, maneuvering around the spear of the other and slicing into my main target¡¯s hand. It was then a simple matter to carve into its throat and leave it choking to death on its own blood. The spear wielder stood away from me with fear clear in its eyes. As it should be. I burst forwards, intent on slaying the monster before it got the chance to strike back at me, but it took the opportunity to thrust its spear directly towards me. For a second, things slowed down. My vision caught the quiver in the goblin¡¯s hands, induced by its own fear and commitment to its attack. I felt my own footing, unstable at the speeds I was moving. The glimmer of some substance on the spear glistening in the sun registered in the corner of my eye. Then something else took over. I felt my body twist, gripping the spear in my left hand and kicking the goblin in the chest, springboarding off of it and flipping completely to skid across the pavement. Then my body threw the spear forwards, and it sailed straight into the chest of the remaining goblin, piercing clean through and killing it on the spot.
Eidolon¡¯s Embrace (Lv. 1) ¡ú (Lv. 2)
+1 Mana Recovery +1 Attribute Point (Human Versatility)
The sensation dissipated, leaving only a feeling of intense satisfaction and a pulsing migraine, as well as a desire to vomit that surged whenever I looked at either of the goblin¡¯s bodies. I held my head in my hands for a moment, pulling up the screens to check over the update.
Name: Kenny Bert
Race: Human (Earth)
Role: Speaker for the Dead
Strength: 5 (+6) Mana: 7 (+8)
Dexterity: 5 (+2) Mana Recovery: 6 (+4)
Passives: Human Versatility, Echo Garden
Skills: Immortal Questions (Lv. 2) , Eidolon''s Embrace (Lv. 2)
Quests: Reintegration (1%)
Already, my stats were getting pretty high, especially my Mana. I dropped my point into Mana Recovery, figuring that it would probably help with my headache, but noted that I should increase my Dexterity. It had been the dragon¡¯s lowest Attribute, so it would also be mine for the foreseeable future. I¡¯d felt pretty mobile in that fight, but that was only after my Echo had started manipulating me. It felt a bit strange. On one hand, it had kept me from getting stabbed and most likely poisoned, and it was unlikely that my Echoes could or would intentionally hurt me, but at the same time, I¡¯d almost fully lost control. The next time it happened, I¡¯d have to test how much control I had over my own body while under the drake¡¯s influence. It was possible that the full manipulation was caused by the strength of the dragon compared to my own weakness. Even now, the Attributes it was giving me were almost as significant as my own. I took a long look at the corpses at my feet. I¡¯d get to collect two Echoes from each, but which words should I use for the Echoes? I¡¯d prefer to stay away from anything that might make me regret killing them, and learning something useful from them would be optimal. Kneeling down, I placed my hand on the goblin whose throat I¡¯d sliced open. ¡°Creation.¡±
There was nothing. Nothing, ever, forever. Only hunger. Then, there was sensation. Sight, sound, scent. It was overwhelming, and the creature wept uncontrollably. It wept for fear. It wept for rage. It wept for pain. But most of all, it wept for hunger. It devoured the knowledge of its body, and rose to its feet, gripping a spear, and started looking for something to hunt.
I closed my eyes and pulled away. These goblins weren¡¯t that intelligent. At least, not in a traditional sense. That was a weight off my shoulders. It also seemed that, rather than be teleported to our world, they¡¯d been pulled out of some sort of void. I put my hand back on the goblin and whispered again. ¡°Hunger.¡±A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
It scratched at its stomach, the pain unbearable. The hunger, the endless hunger, it was agony beyond any comparison, and there was only one way to feed it. To hunt. It and its companion set forth, for every goblin knew that one was weak, but many were strong. Their numbers may have been too few, but the hunger was devouring them, threatening to send them back to the nothing. They hunted and hunted, until they found a small, weak creature, covered with soft hair-twigs and a snapped arm-flap. Its sharp tooth-mouth cried out ceaselessly, and the goblins lunged on it. With its death, the hunger reduced, but only a little. They needed larger prey. And they could smell a lot of it. The goblin pair began their travel towards the unnatural structures in the distance.
For a moment, I just stared at the dead body. They hadn¡¯t eaten the bird. They¡¯d just killed it and left it there. Not only were the goblins monsters in as literal of a sense as they could possibly be, their hunger wasn¡¯t for meat. It was for death. They¡¯d come to the city expressly to slaughter as many people as possible. I ran the same questions on the other goblin and found that their experiences were functionally identical, aside from being in different positions. The revelation that monsters were basically just murder machines from an empty void was upsetting, to say the least. The dragon had seemed different, but it had thought of itself as a newborn as well. Perhaps there was a difference between the two? The goblin echoes seemed to lack much in the way of personality, whereas the dragon had a lot of it, not to mention both types of ego. Was it a difference in strength or intelligence, or was there something else going on? I started walking back to my car, intent on continuing my journey, when I glanced at the spear goblin¡¯s body again and was reminded of my Passive, Echo Garden. I popped open the trunk and shuffled some things around to make space. The cleaners were going to have some questions for me, and I wasn¡¯t sure I¡¯d have any good answers for them.
After my encounter with the goblins, I got back to my route of trying to follow after the military, but eventually I lost them with the sun setting and them getting further and further away. Instead, I started driving around randomly, trying to locate any other dead bodies or monsters that I could reasonably handle. I did see signs of fights here and there, but no bodies, and definitely no more massive creatures. Maybe the local government had already gotten transportation set up for them? I was sure that they¡¯d sell for a pretty penny, or perhaps they¡¯d get someone to study them and figure out weaknesses, or maybe how they were being created? Once the moon had risen and the stars were out, I knew it was time to call it and go home. Luckily, my house hadn¡¯t been broken into, and I was able to transport the two goblin corpses to my backyard and start digging. Even with my Strength having more than doubled since the beginning of the day, digging a grave deep enough to make sure it wouldn¡¯t stink took a couple hours. I didn¡¯t know the exact requirements of Echo Garden, but my personal standard was that I should be able to go into my backyard and not want to die. Handling the dead bodies was gross. They were dirty and bloody and uncooperative. When you lift a living thing, like a pet or a friend, they subconsciously help you distribute the weight because they don¡¯t want to hit the ground like a sack of rocks. Dead bodies can¡¯t do that, so I was forced to awkwardly chuck them into the pit, relying entirely on my boosted strength and their own relatively small size. Once I dumped the final piece of, I felt a slight change in the area. It was like the opposite of a headache¨C my thoughts were clearer, and I had more energy. The dirt on top of the grave also started getting packed down, as though being stomped down by goblin-sized feet. ¡°Huh, that¡¯s disappointing. I thought I¡¯d be able to see them.¡± I frowned. ¡°Then again, I can¡¯t see the dragon Echo and my Skill is actively using it as a power source.¡± It looked like I wouldn¡¯t be getting visible ghosts. That was too bad. With the goblin corpses handled, it was time for a nice long sleep. After locking all the doors, I climbed into bed and closed my eyes.
My eyes opened to gaze down upon a wide, open landscape, my domain. But upon it, there were vermin. Heat built in my chest, and I ascended into the skies on my wings. The rats tried to flee, but I didn¡¯t allow that¨C my jaw unhinged and an impossibly hot flame escaped my lungs, roasting the pathetic, rotten meat to char. Satisfied, I returned to my resting place on the mountain and curled into a ball, closing my eyes and returning to one of my favorite activities¨C sleeping.
My eyes shot open to the distant sound of shattering glass. Quietly, I climbed out of bed, grabbed my cleaver, and crept out of my room, listening carefully. I¡¯m so stupid, why didn¡¯t I board the doors and windows? Monsters were almost always more active at night in fiction, so of course they would be here, too. Part of me just wanted to escape, but the rest of me knew that the best thing I could do was handle the threat¨C not only would I get more Echoes and bodies for my Garden, there was also a chance of getting progress for my Skills, and thus more ability to handle stronger monsters in the future. Instead of fleeing, I moved slowly toward where the sound had come from. There were faint hissing sounds, causing me to pause briefly. If it was some sort of giant snake, then there was a chance it was venomous, and that could be fatal if I messed up. The sounds continued, and I soon concluded that they weren¡¯t snake-like. I kept moving forwards, trying to catch a glimpse of whatever had snuck into my house. Then, just as I reached the end of the hall, I got a better read on the sounds they were making. ¡°¨Cjust some middle-aged lady, and she doesn¡¯t even live here anymore. Probably got some fancy summer home.¡± The voice was deep and quiet, but my ears caught onto what it was saying anyways. ¡°What if the neighbors heard us, though? I don¡¯t want any problems with the police, man.¡± ¡°You idiot.¡± There was a soft impact, cloth on cloth. ¡°The cops don¡¯t have time to be dealing with thieves when there are monsters on the streets. Didn¡¯t you see that dragon? Now shut up.¡± They were people. My knife trembled in my hand. Should I announce my presence, try to scare them off? Or would it be better to ambush them? They were right in what they were saying¨C the chances of cops showing up to help were low. Either I let the place get robbed, or I fight back and risk getting hurt. Not to mention, these were people, not goblins. I couldn¡¯t just kill them, but I didn¡¯t know how to safely incapacitate people. They would probably be stronger than the goblins, too, and there was a good chance they had their own Roles and Attributes to worry about. I breathed slowly, making sure to keep the sound from reaching them. I needed to handle this problem, and currently the only thing I had on my side was surprise¨C that and probably Attributes. I slowly peeked my head around the corner and saw two men, one tall with a muscular frame and one of a more average build. They were in full black, making it a bit harder to see them, but since I already knew they were there I just had to squint and focus. The big guy was carrying a gun, while the other, standing behind him, was looking around nervously and twitching. I pulled my head back and leaned over, undoing my laces and gently stepping out of my shoes. My hands were sweaty, so I wiped them on my jeans and adjusted my grip on my cleaver. Then, I moved. With seven Dexterity, it felt like my body moved half again as quickly as it should, and eleven Strength gave me the raw power to close the gap before either man got time to notice and react. I chopped into the burly man¡¯s hand, forcing him to drop his gun, and used my enhanced flexibility to quickly kick it behind me. The big guy gripped at his hand and shouted in agony, and I quickly turned and looked at the other guy, who¡¯d fallen back in surprise. Then I noticed what was in his hand, and dove to the side as fast as I could. There was a flash, and then an ear-shattering sound, and then pain. I looked down and saw a huge gash across my arm, my sleeve torn and blood splotches everywhere. Something about seeing the blood flipped a switch in my head, and I felt the Eidolon take control. Righteous fury filled me to my core. How dare these mortals injure a god? My body zipped forwards, faster than I would¡¯ve been able to manage on my own, led by my fist. The smaller man had dropped the gun and looked at me with an expression of terror and regret. As is only right. My arm hammered down, and then he was in the floor with an impression of my fist in his stomach. My body turned of its own volition to gaze at the big guy, who was left staring at his friend and putting pressure on his hand to stop the bleeding. Stop! I tried to regain control, to stop myself¨C or rather, the dragon¨C from going on a rampage. No. The voice came back smug and self-assured, and I felt my body start slowly marching towards the meat. I felt the wild grin on my face vanish as the drake played with the man like a cat would a mouse. I pulled back with as much force as I could, trying to restrain the dragon, but it refused to allow me to regain control, and I was left watching helplessly as the would-be thief turned to run and my body dashed forwards, smashing into his back and pinning him to the floor. With all the dragon¡¯s Strength, this man had no chance of resisting me, and my hands wrapped themselves around his neck and squeezed. He choked, gasping for air and failing to get it. Then he caught fire. My mouth hissed and the dragon rapidly changed courses to snap the man¡¯s neck, causing the fire to cut out and leaving my skin only a little burnt. You pathetic meat sacks and your weak skin. You didn¡¯t have to do that. He would¡¯ve left and we would¡¯ve been safe. To let prey flee is to lose your place as the predator. It is only by being ruthless that we can ensure that we never face defeat. With that, I regained control over my body and vomited onto the man that I¡¯d just killed.