It was an interesting set of choices. Tempest Blade sounded like a better version of what she already had. Like Wind and Mana Blade, she could continue transforming her staff into a glaive. Better yet, it sounded like it would be both cheaper and more powerful than the combination of Mana Wind Blade was currently.

The line “Condense elements of the raging storm into blades” was also interesting. That suggested she could manifest glaive blades of more than just wind. What counted as an element of a raging storm?

Lightning, surely?

Water or ice? Maybe.

What about sand or fire? Sand storms and fire storms were both things, right?

The system did not answer her question.

Manifested Blade was interesting too, though it took Mana Blade in a completely different direction. Rather than augment an existing weapon, it would allow her to create one from nothing but her own Focus. That meant, with the huge amount of Focus she possessed, no matter what happened, she would always have a weapon on hand.

The question was if that weapon would be any good to her.

Mana Blade had been valuable to her for two reasons: the additional damage the mana inflicted on the strikes of her Wind Blade and the ability to cut the incorporeal.

As a blade made of mana, she assumed it would keep the ability to cut the incorporeal, though it did not list that explicitly. But it would lose the ability to increase her primary weapon’s attacks.

Could she replace her staff with a mana blade? It said a ‘blade of mana in a form you are familiar with’. Would that include the wind glaive she fought with now? Or would it be specifically knives and swords?

Again, the system provided no answers to her questions.

Any chance you know? Cass asked Salos, showing him her two offered skills and explaining her questions.

His eyes widened at the windows. Abyss, you were offered Manifest Blade?

Is it good? Cass asked.

He sighed. It was one of my skills once. I had a blade for every job. Stabbing, slicing, chopping. Daggers for small spaces. Long narrow blades for narrower openings.

Okay, but can I create a glaive with it? Cass asked impatiently.

Oh. No idea, he said. I used daggers. And swords, to some degree. I was never familiar enough with a spear or axe or anything like that to have bothered trying it. Given it is being offered, I would assume it does. But then, you have a little experience with daggers, don’t you?

I don’t think carrying your reward from the epherwing should count for dagger experience, Cass said.

He shrugged.

What about ‘elements of a storm’, Cass asked, Any idea how reaching that might be?

He shook his head. That language is similar to your Elemental Manipulation, and you are still teasing out the capabilities of that. All I would be willing to say confidently is it covers more than just wind.

That was Cass’s guess as well.

Opinions on which I should take? Cass asked. She was leaning toward Tempest Blade, but that meant she lost out on the threshold bonuses of leveling up another skill.

I would take Manifested Blade, but you are not me. Salos said.

What does that mean? Cass asked.

That means that my priorities are not your priorities. Salos said. And that you need to start thinking about what your priorities are. What are your victory conditions in a fight?

Personally, he continued, I win if I get in close to my target without them noticing, Salos continued. I win if my dagger makes it through their heart or across their neck. Conversely, I lose if they ever remove my mobility. I will die if I cannot dodge.

This means I focus on skills that will make the first strike more powerful, reduce my presence or direct attention elsewhere, or increase my mobility.

Toward that end, a dagger I can shape to handle whatever foe is in front of me is ideal. A blade that makes healing difficult increases the chances that, if I am forced to give up for the moment, my target will still be in a weakened condition the next time I see an opportunity.

Tempest Blade does nothing for me while Manifested Blade does much. Ergo, I would pick Manifested Blade.

That was a complicated way of saying I shouldn’t, Cass commented.

Salos looked away. I did no such thing.

Uh-huh. And should I be worried about losing a skill from combining Mana and Wind Blade for this? Cass asked.

I would not, Salos said. Knowing you, you’ll develop another skill to fill that slot before you know it.

That was enough reassurance for her.

She wanted to be a ranged fighter. She didn’t want to be anywhere near the enemy and their claws or swords or what have you. She won by keeping her distance and observing her opponent. Finding a win condition that may be outside the conventional kill.

Manifested Blade didn’t do that.

Tempest Blade, with its ranged attacks and promise of potential elemental variation, did.

Skill Earned: Tempest Blade (lvl 12)

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[Your mastery of this skill has awarded you the following stats:

+ 4 Wll

+ 3 Ala

+ 2 Dex

+ 2 Res]

Cass frowned at the window. She hadn’t been expecting to get a First Step mastery bonus for this skill. Is this normal?

Yes, Salos said.

Even though I already got one for Wind Blade, which I no longer have?

Yes.

Even though I’m getting it at level 12, not 9? Cass confirmed.

Sure.

Okay then. Sometimes it was better not to complain when the universe—or the System in this case—threw her a bone.

That left was the loot from the monster. Cass could still feel the pull toward the corpse. Souls were waiting for her there.

We need to talk about what just happened, Cass said.

Salos stiffened in her lap, but his head rested back on her knee with a sigh. Yes.

Where did she even start? Where is the battle mania coming from?

I think it might be demonic instincts, Salos said slowly.

Your demonic instincts? Cass repeated, stressing that they were his despite notably affecting her.

He looked away.

When he didn’t elaborate, Cass voiced her unspoken question, Why are your instincts affecting me?

Salos hesitated, his claws flexing anxiously over her pants.

They shouldn’t be able to affect me, Cass pressed. Contrary Will shouldn’t let it.

Salos looked away. It wouldn’t do a thing if that Will was compromised to begin with.

A shiver ran down Cass’s spine. What does that mean?

Pull up the description of Contrary Will, Salos said.

Contrary Will (Inborn)

[You have a contrary nature. It's fine, we won’t hold it against you. But may the gods help any who try to make you do something you do not want to do.

You may apply Will defensively when resisting any Social, Coercive, or Manipulation related actions. Additionally, it counts for 10 times its listed value when used this way.

Additional resistance provided proportional to the difference in level between you and source.]

Notice it references ‘resisting’ certain classifications of ‘actions’, Salos said. As far as I can tell, your trait is about rejecting outside influence. It can do nothing to impose self-discipline or resist your innate nature.

I don’t need it to, Cass said. I don’t want to rip constructs up in a feral rage. That isn’t me. Those are your demonic instincts!

Salos’s gaze remained firmly on his feet. We may be bound more closely than I initially thought.

That didn’t answer her question. She glared at him, waiting for him to explain.

You might, technically, be a demon, too.

Her heart stopped. What?

He didn’t move, but she could feel his anxiety swirling around him. Swirling through them.

No, that’s ridiculous. I’m not a demon. My status says I’m a slyphid. See. She pulled up her status screen and shared it with him.

Name: Cass

[Race: Slyphid

Lvl: 22]

See, not a demon. I still have my whole soul. Probably. Did she know enough about souls to comment?

I think our souls are merging, Salos said. And the demonic tendencies are the most obvious result.

Cass sat, her mind whirling. What did this mean?

What was a soul, anyway? A broken soul was a demon. Demons devoured more souls, becoming amalgamations of more than one. Was that what she was?

If their souls were fusing, what would happen to them as individuals? Am I becoming you?

I don’t think so, he said but uncertainty welled under his words.

Are you going to disappear?

At this stage, I don’t think so.

You don’t think so?

I don’t know, he snapped. I remember I knew some people researching this before. All very taboo. All very secret. But important, useful work. But, I never heard the results of that research. I don’t know if it was ever completed.

No. She shook her head. No, no, no. There are other explanations. Her mind whirled looking for them. Maybe it’s that your demonic impulses aren’t ‘actions’. Or maybe they aren’t considered one of the categories my trait effects. A nervous laugh bubbled over their connection. I’d hardly call demonic impulses a ‘social action’ after all. Though, would ‘coercive’ or ‘manipulative’ be that far off?

I probably just need to try harder, Cass added. The wording is ‘may use’. In other words, its an optional effect. The manipulations of others always pressed against her before she threw them off. She probably just needed to actively stop it.

Maybe. Salos did not sound convinced.

Cass bit her lip, her chest tightening and her hands twisting around her staff. Was it his anxiety choking out the air around them, or was that her?

If my soul was absorbing yours, she asked despite herself, How would I stop it?

Salos shook his head. I don’t know.

Her heart pounded in her chest. She had more questions. An endless number of questions. But he didn’t have any answers either. All asking them now would do was wind them both up further. She shoved this bomb aside for now, balancing it precariously on top of the pile of everything else she was trying not to think about.

But there was one more thing she needed to understand. What was that part at the end? That wasn’t me. And it didn’t feel like you.

He shifted.

Salos?

I don’t know. He said finally. I don’t know. It was me? It wasn’t me? I don’t know. They used your stats and your Elemental Manipulate, but that was my Hidden Blade skill, and the way they used their stats was nothing like you. And what they cared about… The thought trailed off, tinged in a sorrow Cass didn’t expect from Salos.

What did they care about? Cass prodded.

You know I have a broken Concept.

Cass nodded. She’d seen it when he shared his status screen with her in Uvana. She’d asked about it then and he’d said not to worry about it.

It was at one point the Concept of Loyalty, he said. It was a foolish thing. A childish thing. Softer, he whispered. But perhaps a beautiful thing.

He shook his head, his claws clenching her robes as he spoke. Loyalty is not something to stake your identity on. It is asking to be betrayed. Only a fool swears his undying allegiance to another.

But the point I was getting at is that it felt like how I used to be. Long before all this. Back when things were simpler. Much simpler.

Then, I was possessed by a ghost? Cass asked.

I don’t know. A sharp note crept into his voice. Frustration with her and their situation and his lack of knowledge overflowing.