CHAPTER 164: Shattered

Adam’s eyes opened. This time it was his real eyes in his physical body. His location was dark, though a bit of light leaked in from where his feet were. It was like an MRI tube, or a sardine tin, cramped and tight. It was too dark to see the details, just that he was lying on a platform.

At attempt to move his arms immediately let him know that there was a brace on each wrist, bolting his arms to the platform. Trying to pull his arms, testing the braces that held them, created no noise and allowed no movement.

Though Adam was on the edge of raging, he tried to keep his breathing even. Voices were muffled but audible, sounding close enough that he didn’t want to tip off that he was awake. His river was boiling, and his heartbeat was loud in his ears. It was a challenge not to use all of his power immediately, but he waited, listening to the conversation. All his efforts would be wasted if that berserker Scyrric was around.

“Is something wrong, mistress?” asked a male voice. It had the same mumbly way of speaking as the Red Clan members from the tower.

“It’s odd,” answered Cruxannith’s voice. It was dull and distant for Adam who was trapped inside the tube, but he would know that voice in an instant. His teeth gnashed. “I keep having memories come up. A few of them even made me feel like my precious native. Are you sure he isn’t using any skills, Kristich'cl'Zulxat?”

“Positive, mistress. You used [Soul Freeze] when he tried to use his rage skill, so it was frozen. That has been reinforced by the scanner to keep him unconscious.”

“Have you found his class and skills yet?” she asked with more of an edge this time.

“Mistress, it is the same as before. A single skill. No class. No status sheet. When I used [Soul Dive], I found that he didn’t even have an area designated for his class.”

“That can’t be possible. Everyone has a class, even all these natives. Were you able to understand the skill?”

Adam heard the researcher sigh, obviously annoyed at having to repeat himself.

“No. All skills are recorded with [System Standard]. This skill is not a language I can understand, if it is even a language. It might be symbols. I’ve checked it against the planetary languages database, of which there are a shockingly large number. The possible letters don’t match any of them.”

There was silence for a few minutes. Then she spoke again.

“But he had so many powers. Are you sure he isn’t using skills?”

“As we’ve discussed on numerous occasions, there has never been the telltale flash of energy being used to activate a skill. Neither in the recordings nor in your descriptions. He defies all our knowledge and scanners that we have available.”

“That is impossible,” she hissed angrily.

“That is why he is called an aberration. Perhaps one of the elders can figure it out. I’m at the limit of what I can check for while on this planet.”

“No!” snapped Cruxannith. “I need more time before we send him through the portal to home.”

Adam relaxed a little hearing that. He had avoided it, but the concern that he had been sent away from Earth had always been in the back of his mind. Knowing he was still on Earth meant that he only had to leave this base, then he could figure out the way back to Jackson.

“Mistress, you have delayed long enough. We don’t want the Scyrric finding out he is still here and taking him.”

“I said NO! I will keep him here as long as I can. I’m sure we can find something!”

Adam closed his eyes. Slowly he breathed in as silently as possible. Then he let it out. In, then out.

These people were keeping him from his family! From his friends! The river boiled into rapids. His strength rose.

“Is there really no other tests that can be run?” she asked.

“You know my level and class. Without being further on my path, I am too limited.”

“Maybe we can get you another class evolution, some new skills.”

“It's possible,” mused the researcher.

Adam pulled, but the braces didn’t come up. [Soul and Body Shaping] activated, pulling more power into his body.

“What was that?” asked Cruxannith suddenly.

“Did you see something?”

“It looked like a skill release.”

Adam strained against the restraint. He struggled against the bolts that held him to the platform, but he needed more power.

“My apologies, mistress. I saw nothing.”

“Hmm…,” she said. Then she approached the scanner that Adam was in. She bent down to look inside.

Adam had no more time. He used [Kinetic Impact] on his hands, causing them to glow. Then he cranked [Body and Soul Shaping] higher than was safe. His skin and muscles began to scorch. Finally, he used a pseudo-skill that could be combined with other skills. It would cause an explosion of energy when he reached the release of another skill.

“[Arc Shockwave]!”

Cruxannith leapt backwards as the top of the scanner burst upwards, crumpled and cracked. Adam’s arms ripped the braces off the platform, a mangled bolt the length of his hand protruded from each brace. Fortunately, nothing was holding his legs down.

With no stop to his movement, Adam jumped forward. The researcher was standing up to scramble away, but he didn’t even reach his full height as the bolt that was clasped on Adam’s left hand was jabbed into the invader’s eye, piercing his brain.

Adam roughly pulled the bolt out, causing the body to fall back to the floor. Cruxannith had backed into a wall and was turning to run for the door. There was no chance of her making it.

Launching himself towards her, Adam reached her near instantly. He grabbed her neck and then lifted her, slamming her back against the wall. She was shorter than him, so he raised her up to look her in the eyes. They were both breathing heavily, her from the sudden situation and him from using too much power. Adam’s skin was practically igniting, so he cancelled his skill [Body and Soul Shaping]. His regular strength from the river was easily enough to hold her.

“How could you do that?!” she shrieked. “How did you get out of it? Not only did you wake up, but you broke the [Soul Freeze]!”

“How could you?!” he responded, ignoring her questions. “How could you eat your own brother?!”

She gasped as she heard his question. Her demeanor was thrown off even further as she struggled against both his grip on her and his question.

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“You watched my memories?! That was why I kept seeing my past the last few days. How can you do all these things?! First a berserker and now you can access my soul, both use skills way about your tier?”

Adam took a breath. His skin and muscles hurt from the power, burning inside and out. He flexed a little with both arms. She watched him with terror open on her face. After he checked himself to his satisfaction, he turned back to her.

“It doesn’t matter,” he whispered. “It will all be solved with your death.”

“No! You can’t!” she screamed.

“I assure you that I can…and will.”

Adam raised his left arm, letting gravity turn the brace on his wrist so the bolt faced her. Then he brought it to her eye. Her fear really hit home then as she struggled, scratching at the arm holding her, kicking at his abdomen and groin. She even snapped her face forward, her rows of teeth trying to find anything to grab hold of.

“No!” she screamed once more. “Killing me will kill you too!”

The bolt stopped millimeters from her eye. He watched her while holding it there. She was desperate. That much was obvious from both her actions as well as what he felt emotionally entering him through the gaping connection between them. But Adam frowned. Coming through the connection was more. She might be more concerned with her own life, but she wanted both to live, and it seemed that she really thought he would die if he tried to kill her.

Adam pulled back the bolt and then stabbed it towards her face once more. She screamed, but he stopped it right before it impacted. Relief came from the connection but also hope.

“Explain,” he ordered.

“You’ve watched my memories. Do you remember learning about the soul bonding technique?”

Thinking back, Adam did remember it. Early on someone had brought it up, derailing their lesson. Without that he might not have learned of it at all.

“It weaves two souls together so that they both take damage if one does,” he summarized.

She was calming down now that he was listening. After a deep breath, she stilled her features back to her regular confidence and smugness.

“It does a lot more than that. It can only be done by someone more powerful, and breaking it creates a backlash. Not only that, but any damage one of us takes, even physically, will harm the other.” At that statement she smiled. “I used it on you after Sgolkr captured you. It was the only way I could ensure you behaved. Now, if you don’t want to suffer or die, I suggest you put me down, my pet.”

She spoke regally, fully expecting him to listen and comply. Adam wondered if having people obey her so often due to her [Charm] affinity gave her an unrealistic expectation for those unaffected by in. Adam nodded in response, and then when she smiled, he drove the bolt through her chest and into her lung.

She screamed with pain. Then she dropped as Adam let go. The bolt coming out caused more pain. Adam stumbled back. The pain really had been felt by him…both times. Not only that, but it was also worse than when he was usually injured since the river typically numbed his body. Adam felt the full weight of this pain throughout his soul.

Cruxannith sat there, struggling to breathe as she choked on her own black blood. She floundered about, trying to reach into a pouch at her side. Eventually she took out a vial, popped open a stopper, then poured the liquid into her mouth. The wound on her chest healed only slightly slower than Adam’s regeneration.

Adam had been bent double from the pain, but as she healed, so did the pain leave him. They both stood and faced each other.

“So, I can’t stab you, then what about a [Soul Bolt]?” he wondered out loud.

“That will cause pain so much worse and just damage your own soul, love,” she responded. Her posture and gestures were all returning to normal. She had weathered the attack but now she seemed to realize that she was in control here and was relishing the uncertainty in Adam. “Now, if you don’t want to feel worse in your soul, I really must insist you behave. But don’t worry, dear. We’ll be together forever like this. I won’t let anyone hurt you and you will stay by my side. With even our souls bonded, nothing can separate us.”

Adam’s eyes snapped to her, and he glared with hate. Red filled his vision, and the river inside began to overflow at her words.

“You…will…die…” he growled.

“Oh, come now, love. Surely you understand what is happening here. You have no control now so don’t bother throwing a tantrum. There are some cages in the hallway. Be a good boy and get in one. Then we can have a reasonable conversation about our future.”

Steam was radiating from Adam. The fury was blinding him to what was happening. Slowly, deliberately, he reached forward. His hand once more aiming for her throat.

“Oh, my dear. This will hurt me as much as you,” she tsked, as if regretting having to discipline a dog. “[Soul Spear].”

Adam felt like a grenade exploded in his chest. He howled from the pain and fell backwards. It was the worst pain he had ever felt. Looking into his soul space he could see the damage done. His energy inside was somehow marred and scratched, like shrapnel had ripped through it.

Cruxannith was affected by it too. She was barely breathing and stumbling over to the researcher’s body. Her rows of teeth sank into his neck, and she pulled from it. Even dead his blood was drawn out from him and into her mouth. When she came up for air, she released a relieved sigh. Her face was not pained.

“Unfortunately for you, only the Red Clan can heal their souls without a Soul Sage. While you still suffer, I will be able to repair any damage to myself simply by sucking on another person. Maybe next time it will be those girls you are so fond of. Or your parents.”

Adam watched her and he heaved from the pain. Once more he dove into his soul space and checked the connection between them. Like before, he noticed that it wasn’t a tendril connection. This was not something that could be pulled back.

Checking the edges he saw that strips of his soul had woven into strips from hers. The strips from both people reached into the other, and there was no border or boundary. Energy flowed openly back and forth between them. There was no way to plug it or remove it without ripping his own soul open, leaving all the energy to float out from the wound, like an airlock exploding in space movies.

Yet there had to be a way. Adam hadn’t fought his way to the point just to let her win. The feelings coming from her told Adam that Cruxannith was confident in her victory. She knew that she had won.

“I really don’t want to have to, love, but I’ll keep using [Soul Spear] until you understand and obey. You belong at my side, and there you will remain.”

A growl built in Adam’s throat.

“There are other ways to subdue without killing or harming,” he muttered.

“Bad boy,” she chided. “[Soul Spear]!”

Adam’s soul was hit with another grenade. His bellow came out like a wounded wolf, struggling for its life. Since Cruxannith had already healed, the pain she felt was still less than Adam’s, which was compounded by the previous damage.

While still pained to move, she walked over to where Adam knelt on his hands and knees, desperate to get breath into his lungs. She gently petted his head, stroking his unwashed hair and caressing his cheeks.

“Oh, my poor baby. You’ll need to learn how to behave properly if you want this to work. Seeing you like this hurts me as much as the soul rebound,” she soothed.

Adam looked at her. Even though the damage wasn’t physical, his control over his body was affected. Slowly he stood up.

“Now, are you going to behave, or do we need more discipline for you?”

The damage that Adam had received cooled his anger and slowed his river. Trying to focus through the pain left him without much anger to stoke, while thinking and moving had become difficult.

When he was almost standing, his hands on his knees like an exhausted baseball player, he looked at her grotesque face again. Any way he saw her, she was a monster. She needed to be put down.

Then Adam thought back to when he was captured. As he had laid on the ground, body broken while the Scyrric and Cruxannith stood over him, he had used the last of his strength. He had intended to fight until the end, only to be put to sleep. But before sleeping, he had attacked ferociously without even moving.

“So, I can’t hurt you and I can’t kill you. However, there are other options.”

“Oh, my dearest boy, give up before I have to do something we’ll both regret,” she cooed.

A smile came to Adam’s mouth. It was genuine joy. He found the strength to stand at his full height, with her an arm’s length away.

“There we go, love. Isn’t that better?” she asked gently. “We can be happy together for a long time.”

“I just remembered something. Before I lost consciousness, it was ME who did something. I was the one who made the soul bond.” As Adam spoke, Cruxannith’s expression quivered. He could feel a sudden fear and uncertainty coming through the connection. “That’s right. Only the stronger soul can create the bond.”

“Wh-what are you talking about, love? Of course it was me who made it,” she defended with an unsteady voice.

“If that’s true, then why are you trembling with fear now?” asked Adam, stepping closer to her. She took a step back and he approached again until she was backed up to the wall. Adam put his hand on the wall next to her, boxing her in.

“It doesn’t matter who did it,” she stammered. “Even if you are stronger and can break the connection, it will irreparably damage your soul. You still can’t do anything about it.”

His smile widened, but it also became cruel, malicious. She tried to shrink away but there was nowhere for her to go.

“Oh, I know quite a bit about damaged souls. Since the [System] came, all I’ve heard about is how corrupt mine is.” Her eyes opened wide at his statement. “But that doesn’t matter now. I might need you, at least your soul, but I doubt I need all of it.”

“What?!” she gasped. Then screamed it at him. “What are you saying?!”

"I learned everything I need for this from your memories."

Adam reached into the giant opening that led from his soul to hers. He moved that part of him to her memory region. Letting go of his imagined body, his soul energy reached around and enveloped the entire border, overlaying it with a thin film made from himself.

“It's all about memories, for me. They carry knowledge and power. If you have no memories, then you won’t be a threat,” he whispered.

“You can’t possibly… There is no way you have that skill…” she gasped, the fear wafting from her.

“Yet I do. My first time using this pseudo-skill. Let’s give it a try,” said Adam as she shrank, sliding down the wall in terror.

“[SOUL SHATTER]!”