Jay startled awake in a bed. A face loomed over him, and he instinctively punched the face, his attack having no effect. Then he realized just who he had attempted to hit. "Sorry about that, Diamond," Jay said, letting his hand flop back down.

  Diamond shook his head. "You've been given the strongest painkillers we have. Don't you dare move, you can't feel the pain you'll cause yourself."

  He grabbed a mirror, showing Jay his own hand, wrapped in bloodsoaked bandages and folded the wrong way in three places. Multiple chunks seemed to be missing, the bandage showing Jay the current shape of his hand. He winced. "Well. Did you get the root Mage?"

  Diamond raised an eyebrow. "Did you fight a root mage?"

  Jay nodded. "Yeah. I assume you didn't get him. He took off with Millie."

  Diamond sighed. "Did you know you 'Millie' is the princess? Many people would have your head lopped off just for casually saying her name."

  Jay tilted his head. "She doesn't care, and so I don't care."

  Diamond nodded, seeming resigned. "I need a report of the events."

  Jay closed his eyes, recounting the night. "So, I walked into the eating area of the dorms-never found out what that's called, by the way-so Millie was alone there, drinking coffee. I walk over to her, and notice that her coffee smells weird. I grab it and take a closer look, and it looked normal. I assumed it was spiked. I put the cup next to Millie, who had fallen unconscious, and hid in the shadows, waiting for whoever came along to get her. I assumed it was a student, so I didn't move her to her room because I expected them to be in wait on the stairs, though I suspect that would be a bad idea anyways, given that the root mage came from that direction. So, the root mage eventually emerged, and I thought myself unseen in the shadows. They exhibited skills outside what they had said was their purview, making a cage of roots for Millie."

  Diamond interrupted. "What was the skillset they showed in class?"

  Jay thought for a moment, coming up with the answer. "Bad arcane magic. Mana bullets that never hit their targets, things like that."

  Diamond nodded. "Continue."

  "So, I waited for him to turn his back to me before attacking, but when he turned his back I felt a pulse of Mana from behind me and I had to sidestep a root that came out of the wall. Then we fought for a while and I realized he was toying with me. I used a skill to analyze him and found that he had an Emblem of the Metallic Council. He was Mercury."

  Diamond raised a hand to stop Jay, thinking for a brief moment. "Mercury is one of their mid-ranking members. He's called Mercury because of his adaptation. He carries memory stones that he can use to switch his skillsets, and can adapt to many situations."

  Jay nodded. "I saw that he had those as well. Some kind of armor as well. After I realized he was toying with me, I switched to a more... conservative style, to keep my resource pools as high as possible. I tried to keep him interested, however, to stall for as long as possible. I thought, if I could hold him long enough, you would arrive..."

  Diamond's eyes clouded. "I... was held up."

  Jay accepted the answer, seeing Diamond's internal conflict. He was human, after all. "I held him for as long as I could, but he got bored and captured me in a root cage, wrapping up my arms and legs and was about to stab me. I got out of the first trap, just barely because he didn't expect it, but the second one got me. His root went right through my heart."

  Diamond turned back, and Jay could tell that he had pushed the clouds away. "You were missing a heart when we found you."

  Jay started speaking again. "Yeah. Don't really know how I survived that, but after he stabbed me, I was dying. Slowly. I watched him walking away, and I must have awakened some being, or garnered some being's attention. I got an offer of help, and I instinctively knew how to respond to the being's mental communication. I asked it about what would happen if I accepted, and it told me that the power it would give me would be too much for me to channel, so I would have a time limit."

  Diamond looked up at the sky. "None of the gods are benevolent enough to give you power like that in return for nothing. This wasn't a god. I expect some being within you, because the gods would know about it if it wasn't. I don't expect they would like a being like this."

  Jay closed his eyes."Yeah. So, in the end, I accepted. Was this the right choice?"

  Diamond nodded. "Yes. This was a benevolent entity, as far as I can tell, and you could tell at that time, and you had no other choice."

  Jay continued. "So, the being gave me power. I instinctively knew what to do. It was the being's power, but it was mine to control. I manifested my soul, making it appear as silver liquid, and created a heart for myself out of the liquid. It was a temporary measure, but it worked. I lived, at least for the time being, and I could use the power. My soulsworn class, part of my soulshaper path, is... similar, but at a far lesser magnitude. It summons a tiny portion of my soul, but at least it's safe. This... removes all the limiters. If you're not good enough, you break your own soul and die. In the moment, I didn't care. I was going to use it."

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  Diamond shook his head. "Next time, stay safe. Don't take risks like these."

  Jay looked Diamond straight in the eyes, so that he could see the conviction within them. "I would have done it whether you told me to or not. So, I manifested most of my soul, using tendrils of the silver liquid to push back the root mage, and actually start winning. I hit him multiple times, not getting hit once, and I changed my soul to acid and fire to block his strikes, harming him as he attacked me. Then he consumed a memory stone, and his entire skillset changed, to some kind of brawler. He rushed me, and... I created a True Soulblade."

  Diamond sighed, his hands on his temples. "So. What is this True Soulblade?"

  Jay gulped. "When you condense enough of your soul into a single blade that it becomes a physical weapon tied to the entirety of you."

  Diamond rubbed his temples. "So, this was an even bigger risk than using this power?"

  Jay nodded slowly. "...Yes. So, this is when I realized that all my manifestations, everything I'd done so far, only used the tiniest part of my soul, even though I felt like I had used most of it. The rest wasn't available at the moment, simply because pulling from it would kill me instantly."

  Diamond looked at Jay. "And so you pulled from it?," he asked, sounding weary.

  "No, I actually didn't."

  Diamond laughed. "Finally! A risk you didn't take!"

  "So, the root mage dude came at me wtih a blood-red punch and I met it with my True Soulblade. We were evenly matched, but I felt he was running out of energy. Right before he did, however, my body started exploding, and that's why chunks of my arms and legs are missing."

  Diamond nodded. "So, the world decided to punish you for the risks you'd taken."

  "I guess. After my body exploded, he simply walked away, taking Millie with him. Then... I faded into darkness. I don't remember what happened after that, until now."

  Diamond nodded. "Cool. I have a few things to tell you."

  Jay nodded.

  "One. Never do anything like that again, at least until you get stronger."

  Jay winced. "I can't agree to that, sadly."

  Diamond glared daggers at Jay. "I guess I was like you at your age, but at least try to follow the rule. Two. Don't go after random Metallic Council Members and try to kill them."

  Jay grimaced. "Yeah."

  Diamond nodded at him. "At least you weren't rude this time. Three. Don't commit suicide. Going after Metallic Councilors counts as suicide. Going after stupidly strong beasts counts as suicide. Using power that you shouldn't be using counts as suicide. Offending powerful people you shouldn't counts as suicide." Diamond leaned in close, whispering. "If you do any of this, I will find your soul and transport it into hell. Believe me, I can do that."

  Jay nodded, blanching. Diamond turned away. "So, how long do I need to wait to recover?"

  Diamond sat silently for a moment before responding. "It depends on when the healers get here. While you're here, you'll be getting lessons on the nature of magic and the energies that make it up. Listen to your teachers and healers. I swear, do not move until the healers say you can. After you heal, we'll see about leveling you up."

  "Yes sir!," Jay said.

  "Also, call me Diamond, not sir."

  "Yes sir, Diamond sir!"

  "Shut it, kid."

  "Sure."

  Diamond left the room, Jay deciding to go to sleep. There wasn't much else to do, after all. He attempted to activate his flowery domain, to create a flower to put himself to sleep, but nothing happened. His aura refused to flow, staying stubbornly within his pool. Jay grabbed it, pulling it through himself to activate his ability. Pain suddenly flowed through him, following the same paths as his Aura. Jay let out a clipped scream, releasing his ability.

  The door opened, a man in a white coat stepping through. "Did you attempt to move? Actually, no. That would be dampened by your painkillers. Did you try to use magic?"

  Jay nodded. "Ah, Diamond probably forgot to tell you. Magic will hurt you to use right now, because it'll be coursing through a destroyed body."

  The man tapped Jay. "Sleep, and stop attempting to cause yourself pain."

  Jay almost instantly fell asleep, dreams embracing him.

  Jay found himself face-to face with a woman made out of silver liquid. It flowed as she moved, an ever-changing dress of that silver liquid covering her. "Who are you?," Jay asked the woman.

  "I.. am Amondrienne," the woman said, talking in a way that felt... familiar to him.

  "Can I call you Amon?"

  The woman smiled. "Yes. Please do."

  Amon nodded. "You've probably guessed that I am the one who helped you earlier."

  Jay nodded. "How are you so strong?"

  Amon shook her head, silver liquid cascading down her face. "I only manipulate what's already there."

  Jay sat down. "So, you manipulate souls?"

  Amon nodded. "For you, I unlocked part of your soul, so you could use it to fight. However, I... can manipulate souls. Most people aren't really benevolent when I tell them I can."

  Jay nodded. "Hey, you helped me. Imma be nice."

  The silver making up Amon's face twisted into a smile. "So, will you accept my help in battle and as counsel?"

  Jay raised an eyebrow. "What does that entail?"

  "So, in battle, I manipulate your soul for you, into weapons or such. I'll only be using the portion of your soul that you can currently access, because anything more isn't such a good idea at the moment. Also, we can talk and stuff. I'm far better at manipulating souls than you are, by the way."

  Jay nodded. "So, do I need to ask you what to create?"

  Amon shook her head. "I can see through your eyes and I receive all the information from your senses, if you agree."

  Jay nodded. "This is... a deal that benefits me far more than you. What do you get out of it?"

  Amon's face shimmered. "I get a friend, adventure, and fun times."

  Jay laughed. "So, what type of being are you?"

  Amon's face twisted once more into a smile. "I would be called a 'Spirit of Eternity', though I'm not really a spirit. I'm a... piece of a soul that gained sentience."

  "So, do you have any soulshaping paths or anything?"

  "If you give one to me, I'll have one," Amon said.

  Jay replied. "I can give you the path?"

  Amon nodded. "Yep! Then I'll be able to use its benefits and be even better at soulshaping!"

  Jay smiled. "Do we shake hands or something?"

  "We don't need to. I'll just start manipulating your soul-I just need acceptance. This is you soul, after all. It is you."

  Jay laid back. "So, I'll wake up now. Can I communicate with you while awake?"

  A voice rang in his head. Yep!

  He nodded. "Well then, see you the next time I wake up."

  Amon waved, dissipating into motes of silver light as Jay returned from his dreams.