Lin, Cecil, and Kyrion sat in a circle as the still vermilion-eyed Kyrion took a deep breath as though he were buying time.

“I am reinforcing my body now so that when I reach the realm of experts, I’ve maximized the potential of my physical form. Spirit mastery isn’t something meant to be done by itself. The body must be strengthened as well. It is originally an orc path to power. Orc’s rarely keep written records so it isn’t something you’ll find in a book somewhere. They also don’t tell this to non-orcs unless they deem them worthy. Do you know why?” Kyrion asked smugly.

“Why?” Lin seemed captivated by the knowledge she had been missing.

“Spirit mastery belongs to the orcs. Those following their path must be strong. Their fledglings build up their bodies to a degree while compressing, and don’t enter practitioner until fourteen or fifteen. After their bodies have finished their rapid growth cycle. As a practitioner they refine their bodies to better become a vessel for mana. Those who don’t train their bodies to their physical limits become weak experts. It’s why there are legends involving practitioner’s slaying experts and also why two experts of the same tier can vary vastly in power. It starts with the foundation, but the path must be reinforced as well.” Kyrion explained.

“Makes sense given the attempted genocides and the great war for land a millenia ago. The other races migrated here and proceeded to steal everything. Makes sense that there are secrets that haven’t gotten out.” Cecil nodded to himself.

“Why are you telling me then?” Lin asked.

“Because it isn’t a secret. Doing this without preparation or the right knowledge can lead to a long and painful death. If you ask them they will tell you the method but unless you prove your worth they won’t teach it.”

“Is that why you wore those insane weights?”

“Yes. My body needs to be at its peak, and my peak is higher than most for some reason.”

“I see. So that’s what you’re doing. I always found your physical strength strange. This method requires someone with extensive knowledge of the human condition, you could help the others do this as well.” Cecil seemingly understood.

“Only Tiffany could handle it to my knowledge given her status on manifestation. Brion will be ready soon. Hopefully Ander has his stuff together by the time the tournament rolls around.. The rest aren’t anywhere near ready as of yet. Unless you’re going to tell me that Minah has been holding back on me for some odd reason.”

“No, she hasn’t managed a full manifestation as of yet. Partial incantations like Ander due to lack of truly understanding the root of their power. I don’t know if Bella’s anywhere near mastering her abilities. Does one need to be a spirit master to do this?”

“Yes. In practice no, in theory yes. With an unenhanced body it is possible in small doses over time. It could take years to get a fraction of the results.”

“Anyhow, you’re wasting time. What’s the collar and pills for?”

Kyrion looked to himself and found Psycho scowling before giving in.

“My time is at its end. As you stated a long time ago, we are not the same people.”

Kyrion scowled. “What do you mean?”

“Quite simply, you were right. We are not the same person A fact becoming more obvious. You’ll understand soon.”

“How soon?”

“When I enhance your brain my soul will; leave your body. The pills will restore your mana and heal any damage caused by my forced extraction. You’ll finally be the main voice in your own head. Congratulations on winning the genetic lottery.”

“What are you then?” Kyrion grits his teeth as he feels his consciousness being forced back.

“An accident, half a soul that wasn’t able to integrate with a body I thought was my own.”

“And your enemy. Who are they?”

“Kyrion. You are my enemy. You’ve always been wary of me. I lessened the effects over time but I could never understand why we couldn’t fuse. This was my body. Only it wasn’t. After the tournament, head to your old home and find your mother’s lab. You should understand then.”

Kyrion scowled as his vision went dark.

Psycho put the collar on and began enhancing Kyrion’s brain.

Black mana flowed out of Psycho and entered the choker quickly. The white room darkened from the concentration of mana as the world tried to shift to no avail.

“What’s going Psycho!” Cecil yelled as he was getting pushed back.

“Make sure Kyr doesn’t fall into darkness, will you. This is where I leave.” Psycho gave a wistful smile.

“What’s going on?” Lin asked.

When Psycho finished, his last words were spoken. “Goodbye for now. Grow strong. I know you can.”

Kyrion’s vision faded back into place as he felt his brain adjust to the world around him. His vision was more precise, his nose sharper, and his thoughts seemed to come faster. He felt he could still temporarily enhance his brain further through his overclocking technique but shouldn’t have to do so anytime soon.

Getting to his feet, Kyrion looked about as though looking at nothing while taking in everything, the box of mana restoration pills in his hands. The world around him seemed to break as his domain kept trying to open in a place it shouldn’t.

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“What did I just….” Kyrion felt as if thoughts came to him unfiltered, unedited. His hunger subsided as worry passed over him. This felt different. He knew it did, but he didn’t know where to start.

“Was I being manipulated…creating chemical imbalances to offset strong emotions and keep me mostly clear-headed.” Can’t charm someone already under powerful effects. A trait that had saved his life more times than he could count. One he hadn’t known wasn’t natural. Yet it also inhibited him and kept him from mentally maturing as fast as he should have in some aspects he now thought were important.

Somewhere deep within Kyrion’s psyche, Kyrie realized that the mental effects of puberty had been getting subdued as well, hence his previous disinterest in the advances aimed at him.

“This is really inconvenient.” His emotions had begun to leak out, but his reactions had been subdued.

Kyrion held his head as the past few events seemed to play themselves back. Before landing on Gamodern, his previous master, one whom he now had to kill. The anger at the forced betrayal of his friend and mentor. His older brother in all but name.

“Get out! I feel like I’m about to explode!” Kyrion’s voice cracked as his composure broke.

Cecil grabbed Lin, instantly realizing something was wrong as the temperature rapidly rose around them.

Lin sighed and encased Kyrion in a wall of ice before she was fully taken and dragged out of the room.

Everything burned by the time Kyrion’s rampage ended. The white walls were charred to the degree that it took a while for their enchantments to repair. His new pants proved useful as they had survived, where his boots, among other things, had become ash. As he looked down, he noticed that he stood in a crater with a thirty-foot radius and a drain on his pool.

Kyrion was empty. He didn’t remember what he did as everything went red, and knew he had run out of mana. None of the ice surrounding him remained as he got a good look.

He did, however, feel great. As though he let out all his pent-up anger, aggression, and frustration. Kyrion touched his face where tears seemed to have boiled on his skin, creating small burn scars he could remove when his mana returned.

Leaving the training room, Kyrion found Cecil and Lin waiting outside with concerned expressions.

“Are you ok?”

“Yeah, I’m ok. Do you have any of the mana restoration stuff?” Kyrion’s voice was hoarse.

“What are you going to use it for?”

Kyrion didn’t try to resist the influence. “I need to regenerate and then recenter. I’ll be taking a brief nap before I’m of any use. Then I’ll get back to training. Now isn’t the time to get distracted.”

“Are you sure? I don’t know what happened but I do know that you seem to have exercised a foreign entity from your soul. I’ve seen long term possessions end before. They aren’t pretty. Are you ok?”

“...I actually don’t know. Were my previous actions my own, or was I being led down this path?” Kyrion slapped his own face and began smushing it together.

“What’s he doing?”

“Psyching himself up, I think.”

Kyrion then scratched his chin as he looked up. “You know what? I am the person I am now, no need to think over the potential implications.”

“Is he convincing himself or us?” Lin asked.

“Are you convinced?” Cecil asked.

“Not in the least.”

“He should be fine then.”

“I am a complex and emotional person.” Kyrion stated in a monotone, having managed to find the breaks.

“I have concerns.”

“Whatever is wrong my….” Kyrion found himself suddenly getting embarrassed.

“Hmmmm… My my. This may be my only chance. How do you feel about Tiffany?”

“She’s like an older sister that looks out for me. I’m thankful for her. A good friend.”

“And Ceres?”

“You ever go out for groceries and give food to a stray only for them to follow you home having imprinted?”

“No. Can’t say I have.”

“Ceres feels like a daughter to me which I find quite bizarre. Since I’m pretty sure she’s older.”

“Bella?”

“You do know she has feelings for you, right? Even I’m not that oblivious.” Kyrion said, catching on to the fact that he was charmed by a spell that forced him to tell the truth and hadn’t tried to resist despite being capable of doing so.

“Hel?”

“Creeps me out.” Kyrion crossed his arms.

“Minah.” Cecil attempted to catch Kyrion off guard.

“You really don’t want to know what I feel about her.” Kyrion squinted.

“Wait. Are these all women?” Lin looked at Cecil.

“Yeah, mostly people on the team. I thought I’d get this settled now.” Cecil stated.

“I really do want to know so elaborate.”

“She’s my friend’s sister. I tolerate her presence, she isn’t a friend but she is a comrade. I protect my comrades, a slight against them is one against me.”

“Nothing. Even given her….”

“I don’t care much about certain aspects of her anatomy. If I’m being honest, she kinda gets on my nerves. I understand her situation but it doesn’t make up for her own actions.”

“You’d break a shoulder for just about anybody?”

“And Max since he’d actually need it. Brion can fight his own battles and I pity the fool that provokes Ander’s wrath. I’d be more worried about cleaning up in your case. Now if anyone harmed Bastion, or Eden, nothing sort of divine intervention will stop my rampage.” Kyrion shrugged.

“Because they’re weak?” Lin asked.

“Because it’s my job as captain. If Brion can’t beat them then I’ll step in. If Ander can’t win I won’t show him up. Just some spot healing and support.”

“What about Nicole?”

“Best friend that wants something more while I’m happier just staying good friends. Can we stop here?”

“Lin?”

“Hey, don’t bring me into this….”

Kyrion popped a hand over his own mouth before glaring daggers at Cecil. A searing sensation closed his mouth in a rather gruesome fashion.

“That’s a response.”

“I would bet whatever he says next is a lie.” Cecil grinned.

With a brief exertion of mana, Kyrion had fully healed his body before conjuring a bed and heading back into the training room, the King-sized mattress fighting through the door with ease.

“Did he seal his lips to keep from speaking?” Lin scowled

“Welp. I’ll need to sleep with an eye open.”

“Why?”

“He’s going to get me back somehow.”

“He does that often?”

“It’s what friends do. I think.” Cecil didn’t seem convinced.

“Should I?” Lin asked.

“At most he might mildly inconvenience you passively. Nothing painful but you may be annoyed.”

“How bad.”

“Don’t eat or drink anything he tries to give you if he’s been consuming it. Especially if you see him season it himself.”

“He’d poison himself?”

“No. He just likes his strong flavors. If it’s good then he won’t season it.”

“Can he not taste?”

“Food is food, unless it’s really good.”

“So he’s picky.”

“No, he’s a glutton with an odd sense of taste. The seasoning is what’s known as a calorie multiplier, they enhance how much nutrition one gets. Unless you’re working out constantly, you’ll probably start gaining weight.”

“Why would one eat such a thing?”

“He needs more food than most to function at peak efficiency.”

“So don’t eat after him.”

“Don’t stand too close unless you want his smell to stick to you either. He has a flower he uses to clean and sanitize everything around him.”

“Doesn’t sound bad. Where’s the mischief.”

“I’m actually drawing a blank on how he’d try to inconvenience you. Me? Simple he’d switch the labels on my tools or alter their colors so that I’d have to re sort them.”

“Ah, fairy shenanigans.”

“...” Cecil scowled.

“What.”

“No it’s nothing. Just have a few enchantments to put on my tool box.”

“That doesn’t tell me much.”

“Like I said, don’t ask for anything he eats. And if the situation isn’t dire he’s likely to be planning something.”

“Got it. I’ll make sure my bodyguard is nearby for all of our interactions.”

“Probably for the best.” Cecil stated.