“Ahhhh!...” a searing pain filled my lungs when I woke, I shouted as every bone in my body felt like it had broken, shattered then re built itself anew. The pain slowly began to subside and I heard the door quickly open “What have you done?...” Abbey’s voice entered my ears and I turned my head to look at her, Risa was behind her and both of them looked pale and terrified “I did…” my voice came out different as if colder and more metallic “what I needed…to release myself from my strings…and keep the power I need”. I would have been on my back but I felt something else there now, I rose up and glanced at the pitch black wings “Do you have a mirror?” I turned Abbey and she nodded “Yeah…the next room…” they stared at me as I walked past them and out of the room. I reached for the knob of the next room’s door and noticed my hands for the first time, my skin had turned paper white while the runes that covered it changed and became a single list that tattooed the top of both my arms in blood red inscriptions. I opened the door and entered the room I discovered to be a bathroom, I saw two mirrors and walked over to the full sized one by the shower. “No scales…at least…” I took in my current appearance, red hair with white strands, a red right eye with a slit, a black left eye with red crack like patterns filling it, a pair of black wings with dark grey webbing and three claws at the end like a wyverns, a single white horn grew out of my forehead with a hook like spike growing opposite of the main spike. (“Ember, Wayne?...”) I thought of their names (“We’re here master….”) Embers voice came first (“We are one with you now…”) Wayne’s second (“Don’t forget about me…”) with sudden surprise I took a step back “Saya…” her voice came third and it echoed in my mind like the others (“You’re awake? What happened?”) she had been slumbering inside me the whole time and my change must have awakened her but I worried how it affected her. (“Your merge of the contract affected me too…My power is now fully yours too…I feel them too…your spirits…I can interact with them…I think I can move their power too…with mine…”), I took a deep breath and focused on her spirit (“What else can you tell now?”) It is strange to explain but I could feel her presence searching me (“Ma…Matt…I can sense your mana…I can…move it…use it…it’s…its raw…your mana is pure…this shouldn’t be possible…your soul can no longer process mana…you cannot use any of the elements anymore…”) I first grimaced but then sighed (“Power comes at a price…this only means I’ll have to find other ways than the conventional ones…”).

I finally turned around from the mirror and faced the two currently staring at me from the door way, “Did you remove her mark? How long have I been out?” my voice snapped Abbey out of her thoughts “Yeah…it wasn’t easy but I took it off...the mark will remain on her skin but its disabled…I came to tell you some hours ago but you didn’t respond to the door so I left…you’ve been in there for seven hours Red…”. “What happened?...to you?” Risa took a couple steps towards me “I merged with my spirits, it appears I was correct and it affected my soul’s elemental alignment but…” I looked down at my left palm “It changed much more than I first expected…my body changed to reflect all three as expected” I looked back at her “I freed myself from the power that held me back, nothing will hold me back now”, “What will you do then? About the Cerberii?” Abbey rested her back to the door and held her face with her right hand. I thought it over for a moment “My information is inconclusive, I don’t know what they are doing with them if they really even have them at all. I know many places to start but I’ll go for the most probable one first, Ma can you take care of Risa while I’m away?” she sighed and looked at me but nodded in approval. “No!... I’m coming with you…I owe you that much…let me help you…” Risa looked at me with determination “You cannot, princess you’re not part of the alliance and currently your people aren’t on the best terms with ours. If the government were to find out you’re even here it would speak tragedy for your people, you will stay here and lay low. Do you understand?”, her expression died down and she nodded “Yes…”. I walked passed them but Abbey stopped me by putting a hand on my shoulder “Are you leaving already?” she glanced at Risa and so did I “I have to, I need to know what they are doing with them” she quietly chuckled “You never change, I’ll take care of her but you have to promise me you won’t do anything insane” I looked away and continued walking out “When have I ever done that?...” she laughed “Whenever you found the time to!”.

I took the stairs and went to the ground floor (“Firstly…I need to figure out what my current body can do…”) I think over multiple locations I could use to test my power out but the closest one was a place I was reluctant to go to, “Matt…is there nothing…I can help with?...” the both of them followed me down (“She feels useless master…”) I sigh “Ma, I’ll need your ride to get somewhere” I feel an arm on my shoulder and a hand with keys in it appear in my vision “Just don’t break it…” I take the keys “I won’t, Risa…I understand how you feel and I cannot take you all the way but…” on the last word I saw a gleam in her eyes “You could help me figure out what all I can do now, after that you’re coming back here though” she nodded multiple times “Anything… I’ll help… ”. I turned towards the exit “Hey Ma…thanks… as always” I turned the knob and entered the garage with Risa following me, “It should be here somewhere…Heh…always next to the garage exit huh?” I spot the vehicle half covered up and walk over to it. “What is that?..” Risa walks over to me as I uncover it “This is an AetherBike” the vehicle looked like any normal motorbike except the two black crystal spheres for wheels “Our lives run on both magic and engineering, things like this is barely scraping the bottom of what we’ve created” I hop on the vehicle and glance back “Hhmm…this will be a problem though…my wings are in the way…” (“You can probably change that master…”) Wayne’s voice echoes in my head (“He’s right, focus on not having them”) Saya follows up and I do as she suggested. Suddenly the wings began to shrink until all that remained were two holes in the back of my coat and shirt, “Hop on, wear this and hold on to me” I hand her a helmet which snaps her out from staring at what just happened. She takes the helmet and puts it on after watching me put mine on, “Yo kid, you gonna bring her back yourself or should I come for her?” Abbey called out from another room in the house “You come for her since you offered, would save me time. We’re going to Casvelle!” Risa gets on behind me “Hold on to my waste, trust me you don’t want to let go” she hesitantly put her arms around my waste. I enter one of the keys into the keyhole and turn, the engine roars to life as mana fills the crystals and the vehicle hovers slightly off the ground “Ehh!” Risa tightens her arms around me “Here we go” I place both hands on the steering and lightly turn the right handle backwards which makes the bike go forwards.

I slowly drive it out of the garage and then onto the open road “Hey Red! Good luck!” Abbey waves out of a window from the second floor and I wave back “Yeah!”, I then look down the road and take a deep breath. I turn the handle further than before and we zoom forwards at great speed, I glanced at the speedometer as it hit a hundred twenty kilometres per hour “Whe….wher….are….we…go…goin…” Risa trembles as she speaks from behind me “A barren landscape long abandoned by my people, unlike hundreds more like it this one is the closest. Also…nevermind” I turned the handle further and we accelerated forward,  we drove past many buildings until a straight empty road began to present itself for miles. Risa’s arms held on further as I felt her take a deep breath “What is that?...” I glanced to the left where I figured she’d be looking “That…is the height of our technology…” a gleam stood like a sore thumb far away amidst the dead landscape “Our capital, Olympus City” the city shone like a bright star surrounded by death and emptiness “It’s…beautiful…” I looked away “There is a flower similar to that city…the rose…beautiful…but pointless…and full of thorns. That city is nothing more than a symbol, it blinds everyone with its brightness from what we really should be focusing on. My government still can’t forget…my people…haven’t forgotten…their anger…their hatred…their thirst for revenge…The Atlantians are a people of higher technological standing than even us, they played gods with us and the Etyrians. They only cared for themselves, when the void came to devour us they did not stand with us but ran and not just that but kidnapped some of our own for their experiments. Humanity doesn’t forget, forgiveness comes at a heavy price…and our hatred burns brighter than any star. That is what that city stands for, hatred, greed, vengeance. My people are so blinded by that vengeance that they don’t see the mistakes they are making yet again, I won’t permit the Cerberus project to repeat itself. No matter the cost, no matter how many I must break or even kill I will shut down the program that created me”.

We drove for about three hours until our destination came into view “Is that it?...” Risa glanced at the town from behind me “Yeah…nobody will bother me here and Abbey will know how to find me” the town fully came into view as I began to decelerate, “This is far enough, we’ll stop here” I turn the bike into the first building who’s shape reminded me of an old gas station “Here? Why not further?”. I turn off the ignition and take out the key “Because it won’t matter, the town is all the same. Destruction is all you’ll find in there, come on if you want to help” I got off the bike and looked around “Firstly…I’ll need a..” (“You there kid?”) when the voice came in I sighed “Zeaxar…” Risa turned and looked at me “What about him?”. I gestured at my head “Our devices use telepathic magic, he’s speaking in my head. Give me a minute”. (“If you’re contacting me that means you’re on earth, I’m not sure if that is because your pissed at me leaving or you actually put all this together to get me here.”) I began checking the settings in my Iris to shut him off, Zeaxar speaking in my head whenever he wished was the last thing on my to do list (“Would you have accepted to be my spy for a couple days? I doubt it…But what Dr.Heiken told you did interest me enough to change my plans…”) I slightly relaxed (“So you didn’t know either? Your torture methods must not be as effective as you think, boss.”) I walked over to a large brick which I presumed use to be part of the torn down roof and sat down. (“Kekekeke…maybe you can give me some pointers. Officially I’m here to speak with your government about our findings in the new realm, Alexius is here with me. I will find whatever I can about the surviving Cerberii, in the meantime I need you to look into certain individuals for me. I will send you the details via notification when I have them. Expect mission details in two days and don’t even think of looking for information about the cerberii yourself, you know what your government thinks of you and now you know what they would have done with you if you hadnt been publicized.”) I hated it but he was right, the government would shut me down the second they figured I was onto them and with how things worked now traitors get the death penalty. (“Also…your Iris has recorded some interesting mana fluctuations, I don’t expect you to explain but I do expect you to live. What this tells me is that you have changed a lot since we last spoken, I admire your choice of abandoning lent power kid but remember this. All power comes with sacrifice, I expect this “God” to not take your actions lightly”).

A grin curves my lips (“Then I say come, Gods don’t scare me Zeaxar. I’ve already proven I don’t fear it, if it means securing our future I don’t care what I must fight.”) no answer came beyond that “Risa help me look for something I can use as target practice, preferably metallic or stone.” I stood up and began looking around the wrecked buildings, (“Might as well check now while I look around”) I took out the tablet from my coat and looked over my previous elemental efficiency where I had listed at what rate it was changing. Mana efficiency was something hereditary that one is born with, efficiency to an element that you possess no percentage for is impossible to gain as far as we knew so what elements you could use effected what mana types you could use and the purer the mana meant the more balanced were the amount of elements inside it. Chaos, fire, water, earth and wind were the only elements humans could use naturally because our mana efficiency was with them only. I took out a pebble like crystal from one of my pockets and pressed hard on it while pouring in large amounts of my mana, within the crystal was a device used for efficiency detection while an app on my tablet gathered that information and calculated it. “This really should be impossible…” my mana efficiency was being shown on the tablet as a pie chart “Eleven point eleven recurring?...All of them?...Darkness?...Light?...Corruption and Nature?...” I currently possessed perfectly balanced mana efficiency which means the mana within me was the purest you could find, the kind that runs within a planet’s core and it’s ley lines. I put things together in my head “Wayne is Darkness and Chaos…Ember is Fire and Light…Saya Nature and Earth…where did Corruption come from?...” I pondered over this as I looked around for something appropriate for me to use as a training dummy. “Matt…will this do?” I heard Risa shout from the other side of the wrecked gas station, I walked over to where she was “Yeah  this should…” it was a large metallic sign with what I presumed to be advertisement for a gas company. The sign had a large depiction of earth “Corruption… efficiency… mana… So that’s how…” I glanced away from the sign and at Risa who was worriedly staring at me “Ah… it’s nothing… I just figured out why my mana is as it is… Currently” I show her the tablet “I have mana inside me that is for all the known elements which is normally impossible, each is perfectly balanced-out so that makes my mana what we call pure mana”.

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“Then you can use all the elements?...That’s incredible…my kind is attributed to Corruption, earth,fire,wind and darkness but to be able to use all nine? And all five prime elements?...All that just with some changes to your appearance?...Isn’t that…a bit too…” I sadly chuckled “Yes it would be incredible if it were true, unfortunately it doesn’t work that way. You see when casting magic the pureness of your efficiency effects it’s power, each element has others it cancels out so for example if I had the same amount of efficiency for water as I do fire then I wouldn’t be able to use fire. The same goes for any other element so…with how things are now…I cannot use any of the known elements and therefore none of known magic. I can move and let my mana flow as aura but I cannot manipulate it without condensing specific amount of it with the exact amount of one element…and that takes too damn long…picture a sorcerer’s casting time…it would take me ten times as long as your average sorcerer…in combat that is more than enough time to die. I cannot even use enhancement magic because even that has its elemental use…” I stared down at the palms of my hands. “Then… why do you need a target if you cannot even cast?...” I looked up at the sign “Oh that target isn’t for me… I want to test something…” (“Saya I’ll need you for this, you said you can sense my body and soul as well as my spirits. I need you to focus on my soul, the mana flowing from it and then on Wayne.”) I close my eyes (“I feel them…master I think I understand…similarly to summoning correct?”) a smile creeps up my lips “Clever girl…Wayne accept the call” I raise both arms forward and chant “You’re a draconic now…this should work…Being of fire and earth, breather of flames and devourer of worlds, beat your wings for me, descend your might upon my enemies!” I felt mana rush within me as if boiling, I opened my eyes “Wayne!” mist surrounded my body similarly to mist form but after fully engulfing me it move away and momentarily stood in front of me in a blob of black mist which then began to grow and take form “Concentrate Wayne! Focus on your new form! Focus on what you look like! What you feel like!” the mist began to twitch and shift until the noticeable shape of a wyvern presented itself. “Almost there!” the mist began forming some more edges and detail “Damnit!” the wyvern burst in an explosion of mist and dissipated.

(“I’m sorry master…I couldn’t do it…”) Wayne’s sadness noticeably affected my own emotions as I grimaced and kicked a stone out of my way “Matt…? Maybe there’s other things you can try?...” I shook my head “No…I won’t give up so easily. His wyvern form didn’t work… maybe he could still take the form of a bat?...he only spent a day or so in that form after all…” I closed my eyes again “Wayne again, if it almost worked that means that it will we just have to figure out what’s keeping it from working”. I raised my hands again “Being of darkness, hunter of the night, seen as blood but known as shadow, echo your voice, find my targets and engulf them with your shadows” mist formed around my body again and then moved to stand in front of me again this time more quickly, it took the form of a large bat and quickly formed details as the bat’s wings closed on its body shrouding it “It’s working! You can do it Matt!...Wayne!” Risa began to become enthusiastic. “Come on Wayne, we’re right there…” the mist again exploded but this time in its place stood a four feet tall black bat with purple runic patterns and bright purple eyes, I lowered my arms and took a deep breath “It works, we di…” Wayne’s form exploded into mist and yet again dissipated “Why…”. I clenched my fists and stepped towards the sign then slammed my right palm onto its surface “I won’t be able to…at this rate…”, I felt a hand hesitantly placed on my left shoulder “You did there…if taking a different form…made it easier…aren’t your spirits those two weapons you use to wield?” I felt a shiver climb my spine as the idea entered my mind “The Bound Aethers…Yes…Yes that explains it!” I stepped away from the sign and blankly stared at it “When Wayne and Ember changed form they did so with their physical bodies at the time…which were the Bound Aethers…the material and magic cast on the Bound Aethers is very specific…Form manipulation is coded into them…which means…” I turned and stared at her “The magic is still in place…they merged with me…it’s within me…the wings…Saya focus on the same thing you did with my wings! This time focus on both that and Wayne!” I waited for a couple moments but nothing happened (“I need somewhere on your body to also focus on…I also need a shape…what should I think of?”) Saya’s voice followed the momentary silence and it made me think.

“I understand how it works then…” I stretched my right hand and touched where the wings use to stick to “The soul pores…but that one is unreachable…” I then placed the same hand on my chest “Saya focus on the middle of my chest and concentrate on a pistol, you are connected to my mind and memories…you should find what you need there” I waited again while hovering my arm over my chest, what I was waiting for? I honestly don’t know but I at least expected pain and disoriented senses. Suddenly I felt something strange in the middle of my chest, as if a void was created and I couldn’t feel that part of my body anymore as at first I thought I couldn’t breathe anymore but that wasn’t the case. I looked down which made my heart stop if I even had one anymore,  a whirlpool of mana grew from my chest as it engulfed my clothes and presumably my skin “What is it?..” Risa walked over to see what I was looking at “Wha…” she said something in her language and simply continued to stare at the swirling hole in my chest. (“Master you’ll have to pull him out..”) I raised a brow “Pull him out?...” I looked at my right arm and grounded my teeth in preparation for whatever was to come, I looked back down at the hole and hesitantly moved my hand inside. Surprisingly the hand entered and I could still feel it, I pushed it in further and felt something hit my fingers so I gently grabbed around it to feel its shape “Found it…” I put my hand around it and slowly pulled. (“I added my own…touch to it… I hope you like it…”) Saya sounded excited somewhat so I increased the pull and out the weapon came, Risa gasped at what was happening but I simply grinned while looking at the gun. “It’s perfect Saya…maybe a bit too flashy…” I marvelled at the weapon, from the grip to the trigger it was obsidian black and suddenly switched to paper white all the way to the barrel, the pistol’s body was similar to a pre third wave semi-automatic with two times the barrel length and Saya’s “touch”. At the start of the barrel right in front of the trigger was a miniature white wyvern skull with the barrel going through its mouth while skeletal wings grew out of the back of the barrel and a skeletal tail fell down from the grip’s bottom.

 “A trigger? I guess I can’t manipulate the mana myself anymore so a trigger does help me control when the shot starts…Good job Saya” I heard a giggle echo through my mind and somehow it also affected me as I chuckled “Wayne how you feeling?” the skull’s eye sockets came to life as two balls of black flames “Except for whatever that feeling in my throat is? I feel great! Really what is this…” the wyvern skull literally spoke with Wayne’s voice which had me taken aback. “I wonder” I raised the gun and aimed at the sign “Here we go” I pulled the trigger and immediately a bullet sized shot fired slightly denting the sign “Ahahah! That’s what it is! Master do it again!” I pulled the trigger a second time but this time the shot took a bit longer to exit the barrel but also seemed to deal more damage to the sign, “I can control how much mana is used! Nothing fancy like with the Aether like shape or mana types but…there is something else. Fire again” I nodded and pulled the trigger a third time, as the first it immediately left and slightly dented the sign but this time it made my eyes grow wide and my jaw slightly drop “Did you just?” the skull began to clatter rapidly “Yes! Yes! I can control the projectiles! It’s just like controlling my swarm! Well…except for the slack on turn speed….”. This made me wonder “Wayne tell me when you can no longer control the projectile” I aimed the pistol upwards and pulled the trigger, the shot fired immediately and about two seconds later “I lost control…Aww…” I glanced at the pistol then at the sign “Doing it again, this time charge it up like the second shot” I aimed upwards again and pulled the trigger. The shot fired about a three seconds after I pulled the trigger and for what I counted as six seconds Wayne didn’t answer “Lost control, master you’re a genius!”, Risa walked over and closely inspected the pistol “You can control the attack?...I’ve never seen that before…” she then poked the skull “Oi girly! That’s my cheek! Well…bone…you know what I mean!” Risa shook her head “No…No I don’t…”. “Alright then, now we see just how long you can charge up. Wayne get ready.” I distanced myself from the sign a bit more and then aimed “Here we go” I pulled the trigger and seemingly nothing happened until I could visibly see energy crackling on the barrels tip “I can’t hold it much longer!” about a half a minute passed and my whole arm wanted to tremble “I…I…” I rushed to hold the pistol with both hands and the shot fired piercing right through the sign and a couple buildings behind it “Woah…” my knees buckled as the toll from that attack’s mana usage hit me.

“That was… interesting…” I glanced up at the multiple holes in a straight line in front of me “Let’s… never do that again…” Wayne spoke once more and his form turned to mist which then entered my body. I fell back into a sitting position and began to breathe heavily “This will take some getting used to Wayne…I wonder what Ember can do…”

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Author; I went through multiple thoughts of changing the mc’s power but in the end gunner remained my favourite and that gun design….oohhh…sexy….Ahem!....Anyway….Remember to rate and maybe leave a comment and/or feedback :D All feedback is appreciated!

Edited by; Birse