The shadows greeted him, and as chains were pulled, a figure formed in the depths of the ocean. Her eyes were red, her short hair black, and her feminine body was dressed in bright red clothes, with black lines tattooed across her face and arms.

"Who are you?" Stark looked at her, his head spinning. She was serious, a hint of hatred etched on her face.

"I am your power, aren’t I? You just said that a moment ago." He couldn’t understand; this figure didn’t resemble him or anyone he had ever seen.

"I’m sure that’s how it should be..." She looked at him, laughing arrogantly.

"And I’m sure you don’t know anything." She said as she turned and walked away.

"Come back here, we’re not done talking." She continued to wander, and he tried to assert his authority to pull her back, but it was futile.

"I am your power; do you really think you can force me into anything? If I don’t want to be used, I won’t be. You’re pathetic..." She glanced back one last time, her eyes gleaming.

"Go away!" Suddenly, he was back in the room, his breathing ragged, his body covered in sweat, his chest rising and falling wildly.

"How did it go?" Agatha was eager for an answer.

"I’d say it was a total failure. You try..." They nodded and proceeded, but the result wasn’t much different. Each time they returned sweaty and out of breath.

"So, we have some kind of rebellious power inside us that refuses to obey most of the time..." Stark pondered briefly. Agatha, with the book in hand, read a passage aloud to them.

"Within the sea of the soul, you will find power in physical form. It should appear as a figure made of shadows, without appearance or will, only responding to your questions... it’s like talking to yourself, already knowing the questions and answers..." They exchanged glances, reflecting.

"Do we have some kind of multiple personality?" They shrugged, not knowing how to proceed or who to ask for help. Their instructors were mid-level, so they couldn’t guide them in this; their higher-level peers knew as little as they did...

Stark sighed deeply before making a decision.

"I’ll go back. You try again; we need some progress." Diving back, he decided to analyze the situation more carefully.

First, his sea had two layers, two depths, and numerous figures inhabiting it, many of which he had never seen or interacted with. In theory, they should be part of his power, all showing hostility toward him, though they didn’t attack.

Second, he had some sort of second consciousness that refused to see or listen to him, holding most of the authority in this world and expelling him at will. This was already his tenth dive.

"Could you stop kicking me out for a second? Can we talk?" He looked down at the first layer; from the second layer, he could only see two glowing eyes before being expelled.

"What the hell!" He took a deep breath and dove again.

"Look, I know you’re not a fan of mine, but we should cooperate.” He could swear he heard a loud laugh before being kicked out again...

And so it went on for hours. Occasionally, he took breaks to talk with his companions, but their progress was minimal. Until Agatha had an idea.

"It seems like our own power has mixed feelings about us, a strange love-hate relationship. What if I use my powers to calm the emotions?" Stark felt enlightened as he agreed to use the ability. The girl positioned herself, kneeling behind him with her hands on his back.

"Ready, go ahead..." He dove again, his emotions now incredibly shallow. As he tried to cross the second layer, he noticed it was much easier, descending again to meet the woman.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"I’m surprised at how persistent you are..." Her emotions seemed more lethargic but still present.

"We need to talk. I want to use what’s mine..." She sighed deeply.

"If you want something from me, you’ll have to earn it. Kill all your companions and bring down the White Tower. Then, maybe I’ll consider it..." He stared in disbelief.

"Of course, I won’t do that. Give me a reasonable offer." She pondered again.

"Then destroy those who are above me..." her finger pointing to the first layer of the soul sea

"Even though I don’t understand what makes them special, they are still my power in some way, so that’s out of the question." Rolling her eyes, she continued.

"If you can’t do anything, there’s no point in trying to negotiate." She tried to leave again, but he ran after her and grabbed her arm. Her fury was visible.

"A part, then. Tell me what I need to do to use part of the power!" She clicked her tongue for a moment.

"Since you want it so badly... Kill one of the division leaders and take their place. Bring the girls as your subordinates and rise as a major power in the tower. If you agree, I’ll give you a

a small advance now..." He thought briefly, knowing he couldn’t deceive her.

"Fine..." She approached, whispering in his ear.

"Power of the fallen, use aura or your essence into your trophies, and you’ll be able to manipulate them, turning them into powerful weapons." He listened with delight, a locked door in his mind unlocking.

The ground beneath him trembled as they spoke, catching his attention, with feral screams rising from below. He looked in shock.

"Is there something below here?" She kicked him out again. This time the return was much smoother, his eyes opening lazily as he grabbed one of the horns he had saved. His soul’s essence slowly obeyed him, but only a small part. Injecting it into the horn, he imagined the shape of a knife.

A blade made of black metal materialized, and the others admired it.

"I can possibly calm you with my aura. The negotiations might be difficult, but we can reach something..." This time Agatha dove, and Stark, with his bloodlust, pressed as hard as he could on the shadows within her. Some time later, she returned with a strange expression. Leaving the negotiations for later, they helped Alice.

"What’s the price for each of you?" He didn’t want to reveal his first, as it involved them. Agatha took the lead.

"Kill a specific person, a kind of seer in the White Tower." Alice was next.

"Steal some artifacts from the White Tower." Stark, taking a deep breath, continued.

"I need to become the leader of one of the divisions, as well as have you under my command." They smiled for a moment. Their intentions were clear.

"You’ll have to help me in return..." Both had complicated missions and needed each other’s cooperation.

"Does that make us traitors? Well, I guess everyone here is dying to stab each other..." Yet, there was one lingering doubt in both their minds.

"I’ve never seen a seer in the tower..."

"I’ve also never heard of the artifacts I was asked for..." Stark knew something was very wrong with their powers; they had thoughts and consciousness of their own despite belonging to them. They knew things the group didn’t and had their own secrets. And most importantly, they wanted their masters and the White Tower dead...

"Among the items I was asked for is the one that darkened everything in the death zone, the one that brought that black jaguar." He raised an eyebrow. Charia had left a deep impression on him, and his missions involved him...

"Well, we have a lot to think about moving forward. Anyway, our current priority is to understand why we’re so different. We need to study how these experiences are for others at our levels. As well as study the next steps in our evolution."

"And, by the way, what skills did you gain?" Alice extended her hand, her black eyes glowing as she began to disappear, as if being erased by an invisible hand. After a while, she reappeared.

"It costs quite a bit of essence, so I prefer to avoid using it." Next, it was the goth girl’s turn.

Agatha summoned some black flames around her, spinning them calmly.

"As long as I use emotions to generate them, it doesn't have a cost with essence having a moderate cost..." Emotions were her primary tool, and she could extract power from them at will. As for Stark, he summoned a dagger using the horn he had as a trophy, its shape able to change depending on his intention.

"Low cost, but it takes a while to change shape..." He could feel, however, that he had only scratched the surface of something bigger.

'Why does this relate to my trophies? I can’t model or reshape other things...'

"Any more useful information?" Alice’s eyes were glowing as she replied.

"I spied a few things... In short, there’s some kind of transformation that’s being blocked from us... this isn’t our true form..."

"What?" He almost shouted, looking at her.

"Our power is being completely contained, and it doesn’t want to allow us to transform..." He had suspicions about many things, especially after seeing his soul sea containing multiple forms instead of just one personification of power.

"So, we’ve concluded that we share some common abilities: we can see layers of reality that others can feel but not see as clearly, as well as interact with them, reality manipulation, peak physical abilities and senses, and most importantly..."

"Our powers demand death and destruction..."