It took a lot of work but Jack managed to get the floor cleaned before the morning rolled around. It had been a struggle to get it done through the nausea from mana deprivation but he had managed. The shirt he had nearly bitten in half proved it's worth again as he soaked it in water to mop up the ashes. While he had hidden the ruined garment, it added yet another possible way for his actions to be discovered. He really needed to get out of here and soon.

Jack sat on the bed barely keeping himself from vomiting profusely and placed one hand on the lamp. He needed to restore his reserves and get to work on the other rituals as soon as possible. He would be more careful this time as he didn't have paper to spare after everything went up in flames. As he drew power into himself through the artifact Jack's body devoured the dense mana. The weeks of insane body destroying practice allowed him to consume it without any issues. In fact, his body jolted in ecstasy from the influx of mana. He needed to be careful absorbing mana this dense, no longer because it was difficult, but because it was dangerously pleasurable.

Forcing himself to let go of the lamp before he overloaded his body, Jack took several deep breaths. Sweat pouring down his body as he fought himself not to grab it again. It took everything he had, but after a while he had gotten himself back under control. He had refused to let himself become addicted to drugs as a teenager and he was damned if he would lose his mind over amazing feeling mana now.

Grimacing slightly as memories washed over him of his time on the streets, Jack concentrated on the work that he had done yesterday. Instantly all of the spell formula and array calculations popped into his head displacing the emotionally charged thoughts. It was working perfectly! With the memory so fresh and clear in his head he would be able to redraw everything needed quickly and without issue. A grin on his face he laid back and augmented his hearing letting him listen in on everything happening in the building.

It was difficult to keep track of any one specific thing, there was just so much information coming in all at the same time. Jack's hope was that while skimming through everything there would be at least some information that could help him further his plans or figure out where exactly he was. Sinking deeper into a meditative state he attempted to filter the caught snippets of sound from all over as best he could.

The first thing that truly caught his attention was one of the night staff exchanging pleasantries with an incoming employee, letting them know how the night had gone.

"Morning Paula! How's it going today?"

"Oh… It's going alright… Didn't get much sleep last night, the little one didn't want to go down. He kept me and my husband up all night. How was it here?"

"Nothing really to say there. Everything was quite as far as I'm aware. Well other than that one new beastfolk. She was really worked up last night. Wouldn't stop trying to break down her door while shouting about how this was not what she was promised. I think she has worn herself out by this point."

"Good to know. I'll make sure to keep an extra eye on her throughout the day today. Don't want another one to be going berserk. Madam Director was clear that she wanted all the patients in as good of shape as possible for when the animal testing has some consistent results."

"Ugh. Don't remind me. It was hard enough already before the newest directives. I really…"

His attention drifted, and was soon caught by the sound of a religious ceremony that was thanking the Agier for the rising of a new day.

"This morning like every morning we gather in the light of the eternal ones. Those who guide our paths from on high. Let their truths and the light of their blood flow through us and show us the glories that await. We, the devout, the faithful shall bring glory to their names and their work with our actions this day. We shall show them our devotion and love through our efforts and support.

For it is by their grace that we live and thrive. It is by their kindness that we excel. The truths they have uncovered and shared have brought forth the advancement eternal that will carry us and our planar allies to heights we cannot yet conceive.

Join me brothers and sisters. Let us hold each other's hands and give our thanks to the truthbearers. Even more to our patron among their number, to whom our lives are dedicated. Oh lord of the ever-rising sun who watches over our days protecting us under his great eye. Hear our prayers and let our mana reach you in your vaunted golden halls oh Lord T…."

Various howls, yowls and other screeching noises interrupted the droning voice of the person leading the sermon. The noises were clearly made by animals but they were so jumbled together that Jack could only make out that there were some types of canine and feline present along with an assortment of many others that he could not distinguish.

Jack had gained a severe headache trying to deal with that cacophony of sound and was just about to cancel the spell when he heard the cold voice of someone that he had spoken to once before. The director. She seemed to be talking to herself. He tried as best as he could to fully concentrate on her and ignore all other sounds in the slim chance that she would mention something useful before he could no longer maintain the spell.

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"Why is everyone at headquarters so useless? Yes, I get it that most of us were sent here for "punishment" but that doesn't change the fact that many of us are all still top of the line researchers. If we say we have a new potential breakthrough then we mean we have it. Not that we are requesting additional funds to throw an agier bedamned party or something.

Ugh.

Well, the collecting is still going well at least. Even if they won't increase funding, they are willing to send extra animals for the experiments. I guess they don't want to push too far. With it just being the money denied they can claim it's only until there is proof with results to be shown."

Jack awoke from the spell, not because of his headache finally causing him to stop, but rather because he was nearly deafened by the sound of his room door opening for breakfast to be dropped off. Laying still he waited until the employee had left before he stretched and made his way over to the table. As he munched on some of the food, he ruminated over what he had heard. Trying to figure out what clues he may have picked up in the jumble of voices and other noises.

There had been that conversation between staff that had mentioned that there was at least one female beastfolk in the facility. That was something that he would definitely have to follow up on. If he had any luck at all the person mentioned was Dilacy. He wasn't sure on how likely it was, but the possibility was certainly there.

Outside of that the sermon that he heard confirmed the fact that this facility was under the purview of one of the large agierian corporations. One who's patron family started with a T. There were a few of those in the city and surrounding regions. In his sleep deprived state he knew that there was something else mentioned in the preaching that really should have triggered his brain and let him figure it out, but it just wasn't coming to him.

No matter. It would come back to him at some point. For now, he needed to get set up for the next night's activities and maybe take a small nap afterwards. With how painful and exhausting the spell had been, Jack had no illusions that he would not be having a miserable few days as he tested the other two out and reviewed his plans.

The next spell that he would be testing was the memory suppression. Even though it was the closest to what he had done before, it was also the one he had the most apprehension about. He had experienced so many emotional and physical problems from having just minor aspects of himself under such a spell. He dreaded to think of what could or would happen to his mind with whole swaths of his memory being locked away. Especially as the memories that would be repressed were ones that had shaped so much of his personality and outlook on life. Shrugging uncomfortably at the thought Jack got to work. A little bit of danger and the possibility of death hadn't stopped him before and he wouldn't let it stop him now. Plus, the spell would only be temporary. Even if the person he became did not want to reverse it, the lack of magic in the area and the suppression of the memories on how to absorb mana from artifacts would guarantee it.

As Jack began writing out the array for the memory suppression spell, he realized something. Even though it would make his paranoia spike through the roof, he really should write out his current escape plans and what information he wanted to ferret out. If he was going to be messing with his memories and thought patterns like this, while it would be great for second opinions without actually needing a second person, it could also mean that parts of the information that he wanted the new personalities to weigh in on could be damaged or destroyed.

Grumbling under his breath at the possibility, Jack switched over to jot all of what he currently knew, needed to find out, and his possible routes for escaping along with his plans on doing so. With that he should hopefully have at least one layer of extra protection against something going wrong. As soon as it was written out Jack took the paper and tried to figure out the best place to hide it. He could stuff it under the sheets. No, no that wouldn't be a good place. It would work for a little while but they were due to change the bedding soon. He could of course use the drawers, but honestly, he would be surprised if there wasn't already something monitoring those. He considered each and every object in the room carefully but his mind just kept on going back to the bed. Finally, it struck him. Hiding it under the sheets wouldn't work but putting it into the mattress or the pillow? That could.

Jack went over and checked out the pillow. Pulling off the case it looked like there was a simple zipper on one side allowing for the stuffing to be added and removed. Opening it up he reached his hand in as tried to feel inch of the interior. Trying to see if there were any crystals or other artifacts hidden inside. He didn't find anything but looking at the paper he couldn't help but wonder if writing his plans down was really a good idea. Before he could second guess himself more, he folded the paper and stuffed it inside zipping the pillow closed as soon as he was done. It would have to do. Popping the pillow back into its case he set it on the bed and went back to the table.

Soon enough the day had passed. Jack had finished getting everything set up for the next ritual. This time he had also grabbed a thin book to bite down on. It would hopefully stand up to his teeth better than his shirt had the night prior. He sat in the center of the circle and clenched his eyes, taking several deep steadying breaths. It would be okay. He wouldn't be stuck as someone else forever. He would get all of his memories and everything else back as soon as the spell ran its course. Jack couldn't help but laugh sardonically. It was funny, in the end the thing that was most terrifying to him wasn't death or the physical pain. But the possibility of losing himself. It didn't matter if it was to some strange being from another dimension or a spell of his own devising. The thought of his body being paraded around by someone other then himself was horrifying.

Jack grabbed the book and shoved it in his mouth. He was just delaying, hoping that some miracle would happen that would make it so he didn't need to do this. He knew full well that miracles didn't happen. At least not to him. If he wanted something he needed to make it happen himself. Biting down he started to cast. Just like the previous night his body was a beacon of agony when the mana moved through his passages. It didn't matter. Just like his fears didn't matter. This needed to be done, and so he would do it.

Even through the pain Jack could feel it. It wasn't a physical sensation but more a tingle in the back of the head. Like there was something just out of sight, just past the corner of his vision. Something that he should know but the information was just out of reach. It was discomforting on a fundamental level. A portion of himself was disappearing.

Finally, the pain ended. Pulling the tattered remains of the book out of his mouth Jack stood and walked over to the bathroom, carefully stepping over and around the ashy remnants of the ritual. Turning on the faucet he washed his face and rinsed out his mouth. He looked at the reflection in the mirror and the only thing that came out was a grunt.

It seemed he was right to be afraid of the changes. Without a shadow of a doubt Jack as he currently was did not want to let himself go back to having all of those terrible memories. It felt like losing the few good memories that he had was more then worth it to be free of everything else. It felt like a massive stone that had been weighing him down had suddenly vanished.

A small sigh escaped his lips. Well, it wasn't like he had a choice in the matter in the end. The spell would end here in a few hours at most, and there was no way for him to extend it. He cursed at himself for having the foresight earlier to make sure he couldn't draw in energy from the artifacts in the room. If he couldn't keep himself in this state he may as well get to cleaning up and checking over his plans to see if anything hit him differently. No sense in putting things off.