The amulet that Lass only tinkered with when remembering the days of terror and anguish he had gone through, was but the one object on his person he tried to hide, and one he would never want to be separated from.

"Ok, relax! Can I just take a look? A little look, nothing much."

"Why are you so fixated on that?"

"Why are 'you' so worried about that? I can't see anything in your memories regarding the origins of this thing. And even if for a brief moment, when I touched that it felt...it felt as if a dark presence was watching over it. Or rather...sealed in it. You have to either purify or get rid of it."

"Purify what? Forget it."

"Why? What is it with you and that thing?"

"It always felt like...if I got rid of this one tiny object, I'd lose the last part of me that resembles what I was supposed to be. It's...it's getting harder and harder to explain it every day. But I sure as hell ain't letting anyone near it.", Lass sighed.

"You know what? Yeah, actually, forget it. For now, you can keep it. I've come up with a plan revolving around that little amulet of yours. With Excelsior at hand and this thing to camouflage us, we can easily infiltrate the Shadowers' camp. They will no doubt be caught off guard."

"But won't they see...well us? These things have a proper campsite set up. Actually proper one. Lights are on, they seem to have it very well and meticulously built for a hole in the ground, given the beams they had up to support it. They aren't really normal monsters like Enmities, so won't this be a suicide mission?", Lass asked.

"No. Based on previous observations and especially with our hiding in the bushes thing earlier, I'm sure that their vision revolves around Obsulyte-imbued creatures, also known as those unlucky few who were accumulated by those assholes. And only Obsulyte. It's kind of like an infrared vision. However, because of the 'dark' disturbance, this thing provides, it'll cover both our Obsulyte signatures, essentially cloaking us as if we used an invisibility spell of sorts."

"It's out of the blue, but honestly, we're on a tight schedule here so...good. We'll do as is then. I can only hope they are doing well."

"Don't worry. I'm sure they are. Otherwise, the Spirits wouldn't have told me about their power and how amazing it was."

"About that. You can communicate with spirits that well?"

"It's a general skill my race has. We're Hyrusas. Or, to put it how the texts go: tiny, flying, dragon creatures blessed by the goddess as the bearers of light and locked away to their plains as their Spirit Whisperers. We are all capable of talking with the spirits of the forest, or spirits in general. This place expands way beyond what top-down pictures of satellites and drones take. It's sort of like purgatory, helping souls who are essentially ethereal Obsulyte ghosts pass on. The strongest of us once had access to the Elysian Plains, somewhere where spirits anchored themselves into this world by force, for their own reasons. I don't know much about that, but in general, we help them be at peace and pass on."

"Well then...can't you order some of those spirits to assist us in the assault at the enemy camp?"

"No. Let's not torment them more. Most of them are Obsulyte-users that were forced into turning soldiers for the Great War a few years ago. In fact, thanks to the Shadowers, it's come down to spirits being way more unpredictable and volatile than ever before. Hence why they broke my illusion while I was trying to drive you off with it. It's as if, again, like Rafgo, they are actively corrupting those around them."

"So the only one we can rely on is me and the others once I manage to free them. Because we sure as hell ain't getting out of there without a fight."

"Do not, under any circumstances, underestimate me. You have no idea what this specific Hyrusa is capable of.", Yuno said with a smirk.

"Fine. I'll give you a chance to prove to me that toying with swords isn't the only thing you know. What now?"

"Basic training. Your power with this sword will surely be devastating, but without proper control over it, you might actually be the one to end this world instead of whatever gods we're going after."

"You're coming too?", Lass sighed.

"You die, I die, no way in hell I'm not coming along to prevent that."

"Fine...it's fair, I guess."

"Just don't kill us all instead. Accidentally taking Existence with you."

"Wait, what? Am I capable...", Lass wondered while looking at his Gate.

"Er-Nevermind. Just focus on some training for now. We don't have a lot of time, so you must at the very least, be able to control the influx of your powers through that weapon by the next two days. Else..."

"Understood. I'll begin.", Lass nodded.

Yuno raised wooden training dummies in the circular area in front of the temple, setting them up for Lass to destroy.

"First things first, Condensed Strike. It's a very basic move where you use your Obsulyte through your weapon like a pencil, drawing an area where you want to precisely cut. Don't worry if you don't get it right first time, because results vary with weapon types, plus needing to get used to it in the first place. Go ahead."

Lass then took his fighting stance as he remembered from his training and swiftly grabbed the blade, skillfully controlling the power surge of red sparks coming out of the sword and waving it while visualizing the strike spot in front of the temple, all while standing from the distance. A bright red flash appeared in front of the dummies, cutting them in half as if he was slashing right in front of them. It was but mere seconds that the dummies existed, and in a mere blink of an eye that they ceased to exist. Red sparks started to emit from him and the blade before he once again contained them by concealing the Gate.

"What? So you've already gotten used to fighting with it? Not bad...however, you are constantly discharging energy in the nearby vicinity, which could be troublesome as it shows a lack of control. But other than that, not bad at all. But of course, improvements can follow."

"It somehow feels that I've used this before. I mean, I am the weapons guy, and I've tested all sorts of this, but this feels like it's just...right? I don't know how to explain it."

"Could be, after all, you're literally chosen by this thing. It's like a chemical reaction, Gates normally only wants a very specific signature to control them, I've read all about it. Still, your fighting, at its core is very...professional. Judging off everything I can see in your memories and now. And I'm talking beyond just 3D printing whatever weapon you want before using it. This is really good, as it basically removes the need to actually worry about your need to learn a multitude of things. Control of your Obsulyte is, well...awful. You have to practice like hell, given how uncontrollable they look. I don't think you've ever even tried to actually use them in battle, at least on purpose. And you know how potent these powers are, hitting way harder than some sad, wimpy-looking gun."

"Honestly, I still don't know about that. I know dad trained me to fight, once he told me that he found out I was an Obsulyte-user so that I can eventually learn to contain my powers and take over the business to have a living. But every time I fight, whether sparring or fending off against Enmities and monsters, I do some really wacky stuff that dad never even came close to teaching me. Is it...is it perhaps connected with the Gate?"

"Excelsior was supposedly made to kill the gods and anything connected to them. Again, supposedly, based on some not-so-canonical facts. No one really knows where the sword originated from or what it actually does, but rather that it's a major component of the ongoing chaos, like every other Gate during the Starfall. And since you have the Shadowers aura around you, whenever your emotions get out of hand, you'll either force the sword to do what you want it to, or it will turn your major power surge against you and kill you. Either scenario does rely on the intense emotion you'll be feeling, whether it's love, anger or fear and such. Really this is one weird ass power you got going on. Though I guess anyone becomes more overcharged with Obsulyte when they feel strongly somehow, but hey, you're special. I don't know if it's the good or bad special yet, but keep on feeling special."

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

"So that means just control your emotions and get away with intense power? Sounds like a fair trade-off if you ask me.", Lass sarcastically said.

"Too bad it was assigned to someone who doesn't show much of any emotion. Also had like two power breakdowns already, despite whatever emotion he doesn't show. To be fair, you do seem like your average online keyboard warrior.", Yuno whispered.

Lass heard Yuno, "Oh, so you know about the internet too?"

"I'm living in this world too. Hello, smartphone user as well. Did you think I'd mention the Wi-Fi earlier without actively using it myself?", Yuno summoned his smartphone out of nowhere, "Did I mention these powers have storage in them? With a limit, of course, but I only figured this out recently. Super convenient honestly. And yes, I know about the internet, who doesn't? Otherwise, I wasn't gonna be able to talk to Lili every now and then. That is when we don't talk face to face." Yuno scratched his head, dissolving his phone into thin air.

"You keep mentioning that 'Lilith' character. Who exactly is she?"

Yuno sighed, "She's my only friend in this damn place. I suppose I'm the same for her. If you look at me, I'm a black-coloured Hyrusa, and so is she. And to be frank, a Hyrusa's coloring can vary a lot and tell a lot about them. It's the same for other mutated animals and plants from Obsulyte over the millennia, like Splashers. Because we are so Obsulyte compatible, the more intense the Obsulyte, the different the colors. For example, Warrior class Hyrusa who are extremely rare to come by, have the ability to freely use Obsulyte to swiftly move around the battlefield. Their colors come in shades of red if they're females and shades of blue if they are male. There are other classifications like the Pathfinders who exclusively use a weak version of Obslyte to guide the souls of the fallen inside Kaci who are pink for females and brown for males, the Natura who use a greater version of Obsulyte to harness the earth and farmland, lettuce green for females and deep green for males. And well...there's me and Lilith. We...don't know what we are. For a Hyrusa's color to turn black, it would usually refer to such obscene amounts of Obsulyte power inside them, that their body both rejects and accepts it. This is a better way of saying, I'm way stronger than all other Hyrusa, but excessive use of that strength will most likely kill me. Having my power similar to yours, just like your opinion on it, is both a blessing and a curse."

"So that's why everyone has been looking at you like that? Out of fear for your powers?", Dante asked.

"Basically, yes. That and the sword thing from earlier. It's been a...rough journey to say the least. A Hyrusa normally doesn't have a color upon birth, and instead gains it after they actively use their Obsulyte for the first time. Ever since I gained the color that reflected my Obsulyte level, everyone has been scared of me, while some others simply only wanted to research me. I do go down in the town, but I'm not at all keen on staying there. This place and the sword altar should've been my day job, but I instead decided to make it my full-time one by staying here. Lilith on the other hand, stayed in the town. Not that it was much better. She appeared one day out of nowhere as a stray, but we took her in, instead of turning her away. I did, that is. Because nobody wanted two massive Obsulyte time bombs in the same area. She did face a lot of discrimination as well, but despite that, she never actually fought anyone or even trained with me. She only seemed to be using her powers to heal others and me when I got hurt during training, though I wouldn't at all be surprised if she could fight. To an extent, I'd think she's even stronger than me since her proficiency with her powers was massive. We grew up together just being who we were and got into tons of trouble for it too. Unfortunately, I haven't received any word from her at all, no text, not showing up anywhere and I'm fearing for the absolute worse. I don't want to think about it, but I'm certain at this point that those Shadowers have gotten their hands on her. And what pisses me off the most is that no one in the town seems to care! I know they're caught up in worrying about their families as well, but come on! She was always there to heal everyone despite all the despair and discrimination...why should no one care?", Yuno frowned, angrily remarking about his friends' troubles.

"I mean, you do."

"Believe me, I really do...but there's no way I can live knowing that Lilith is in danger. I've been stuck here, trying to fend off against the raids of those monsters along with the Warriors, while making no progress into finding her. Part of me wants to really do that selfish move and leave everyone to burn for all they did but...I simply don't know if I'm to judge such heavy rights or wrongs."

"I'm sure that if your relationship is that good, then her not showing up probably means she's right where we're headed at.", Lass reassured him.

Yuno nodded, "I think so too, but I don't know if I should count it as a good or a bad thing. I just don't want anything to happen to Lili, because what I do know, is that she surely does not deserve it. And even worse, my communication has been cut out severely over the past day or two. Must be those Shadowers that are using the hole as their base. Their energy overload might have caused a malfunction in the already crappy phone lines and the submarine communication cables. We figured out how to use laser weapons and have big floating, high-tech aircrafts, but we're still using fiber wiring. Though to be fair, the connection in here has always been god awful."

"Seriously? But I'm getting the best connection ever. Are you sure it's not just outdated devices?"

"Honestly, it could. It's like a 10-year-old phone and I'm basically living off constant CometBucks internet. I also have zero Idea why they still haven't connected the new WiFi lines in this forest or make it a little more accessible with roads...",

"Yeah, I wonder why they didn't let the ghost forest get proper WiFi.", Lass said with a straight face.

"Ah, whatever. Let's get on with it already. I've gotta teach you how to use that thing before you go ahead and die trying.", Yuno lifted the sword.

"Are you trying to tell me that without this sword, I'm utterly useless?"

"No, not really...even without the sword, you seem to have some skill with weapons in general, the Gate is a massive, goliath-sized cherry on top. But your memories don't really show me you fighting a lot with a sword or anything. Aside from the obvious testing of your gigs. And they get extremely blurry and hard to see after I try to go back in the past a lot. Strange..."

"Well, anyway, what should I do? Train with the blade or try and control myself and show...emotions?"

"Both. Now think fast!", Yuno threw a weird-looking sword at Lass, dashing towards him.

"Hmph!", Lass successfully blocked the hit, "The hell? Where did you go?", he looked around.

"In here!", Yuno's voice echoed around Lass.

"What? Where?", he awkwardly looked around.

"I'm inside you. Our souls are connected as one, so I'm capable of doing things like entering your physical body and soul. I can also momentarily control your body if need be...now let's start! Summon Excelsior and grab onto the sword I made with pure Obsulyte. Now try to fight the illusions that will appear before you!"

"Wait, seriously? You can do that? What a pain. And how did you even make that sword?"

"Everything you and I does is similar. The same goes for our power. We share it...the difference here is that I have been training almost my whole life with said powers, while you are a blurry mess."

"So I too can make weapons out of thin air?"

"Eventually...but not now. Now you have to focus on the obstacle directly ahead. Time is against us. Use the same trick I showed you before, and try to have each strike at least a tiny bit imbued with Obsulyte so that you can start getting used to it, got it?"

"I'll do everything I can.", Lass took his battle stance to face the illusions.

With that, a hoard of illusions appeared before him, all looking exactly like the monsters pictured through Yuno's memories. Lass began hacking and slashing his way through several enemy illusions, while skillfully blocking and evading all incoming attacks. Launching ranged attacks, empowering every strike, he tried and tried again, sometimes taking hits, sometimes delivering them instead, pushing his limits further with every move. And amidst the battle, he could only help but think, what if this specific sword fell into the hands of the wrong person? The sheer power to take down gods and armies alike...what if he himself was not the one to take such a task on? What if he himself was the malice he feared all along? But at that moment, all that mattered was to save his friends from those things that had captured them. And for once, he did not doubt himself, as his goal and task at hand were clear.

In the meantime, inside the deep end of the Shadowers camp, a plot started taking place, as Anya tried her best to take control of the unfortunate situation.

"Gah-Why you!", Anya broke a knife and cut herself, "What even are these cells?! I can't cut them, I can't bend them with Wolven strength...screw this!", she threw the broken knife away.

"You're only wearing yourself down.", Ikarisa healed Anya's hand, “It's no use. We must find another way."

"God...if only big guy was with us."

"Lass is on his way, I'm sure of it! But before he does come, we have to help as much as we can. Come on, you work on some traps. I'll go check if the other prisoners need something."

Ikarisa tended to the wounds of several small Hyrusas, having them all stuck in a massive prison cell, laced with humidity and the smell of blood. The cells' doors possessed what seemed to be new, reflective steel, completely contradicting the appearance of dirt, spiralling holes from outside. Metal was all around the room, painted with splatters of red and what looked to be dead, or soon-to-be bodies were calmly sitting on the far right side, away from everyone else. No other presence of humanoid character was present, aside from Anya and Ikarisa, betraying the obvious fact that this calamity was quite new, having only affected those in its surroundings, without having the chance to expand further outwards...yet. They could at least be happy that there was steel, somewhat enhanced by what appeared to be mildly glowing Obsulyte, and not something much more powerful and higher in terms of technology. That at least meant that this new, fearsome enemy, had some shortcomings they couldn't fix just yet.

"Make traps with what? We are all out of materials...", Anya took a deep breath, "Big guy, I myself can also feel it...I'm not truly the one in danger here. Nor are the other prisoners. You have to hurry...for Risa.", she whispered, leaving herself to faith.

As the night fell and the sun disappeared he did not stop. He felt not the sweat, fatigue or his breath going away. This was a matter he took personally. And he was certain...as the night when the moon would rise, so would his enemies fall. He was always modest. He was always earnest. He would keep himself below the clouds and always grounded in the harsh reality that was the world they lived in. But how did he know that victory was within his grasp? How did he know no one would match him? To him, it was as simple as taking a breath. For this matter...defeat was never an option...