Andrew was chopping firewood on the main plaza while waiting for his test to unfold. During the past few days, he had observed Denise’s and the people’s behavior.

What at first seemed like an almighty control over them appeared to have certain conditions and strict limitations. He had seen Denise test the limits of the people. If she pushed them too close to something they didn’t feel comfortable with, they started showing signs of resisting her influence.

Sadly, Denise could partially overcome this factor. She found out more and more about the circumstances under which people would do something they normally wouldn’t. Just yesterday, he had observed her ordering someone to steal food.

The same person was later beaten up by otherwise harmless people. That happened because Denise apparently noticed that some sort of betrayal was their trigger. Like this, she managed to shape the camp more and more to her liking.

A strange incident happened just a short while ago. For an unknown reason, she had started laughing wildly for a few moments and had shouted, 'Serves you right!’ while grinning manically. After people started staring at her, she hastily pulled up her façade again.

A plus point for Andrew had been that she wasn’t able to sway people with her beauty anymore. She had barely any hair left, and one could see horrifying scars underneath her bandages. It was puzzling to Andrew how her skin had already healed that damage. The only logical solution was that she either had a particular skill or was at a much higher level than them all. Seeing how she had been able to influence even Sarah, the latter was much more likely.

Andrew’s heart beat faster for a few seconds as he saw her walking to the center of the plaza. How she was able to navigate herself so flawlessly without her eyes was also a wonder to him.

Her chin held high, she walked up to one of her servants, as Andrew called them. His name was Hans, and he was one of the better-looking ones.

"Where’s my food?" She demanded in a sharp tone while snipping her fingers.

Hans turned around with furrowed brows and rubbed his chiseled chin. "How would I know? Go to the kitchen crew; they’ll have it ready for sure."

Denise was visibly shocked. This simple command had been carried out by Hans for days now and definitely shouldn’t fall into the category of going over the limits.

Andrew had tampered with her influence in his soul without him or her noticing. He had weakened the effect of it, without touching the soul parasite itself.

"Bring me my food! Now!" Denise screamed at the scared-looking Hans, who held his hands up to calm her. Denise’s voice started shaking, and her hands were trembling. Even through the parasite, which was still embedded in his soul, Andrew could feel her trepidation. This reaction was well beyond what he had expected. His goal had only been to see how she would react if her skills didn’t work as planned. But he never wanted to agitate her so much. For now at least.

"Listen Denise." Hans talked to her in a calming voice. "I know you have… well, your eyes… I know it's difficult for you. But I am needed here. And you can orient yourself just fine. I hope you can understand that."

"TURN AROUND AND LOOK AWAY!" Denise screamed with an insane and cracked voice, and Andrew felt a strong surge of magic power wash over the clearing. Everyone in the vicinity dropped what they had been doing and looked away.

Andrew scrambled to do the same, but only turned around so far that he was still able to see out of the corner of his eyes.

Denise was panting heavily, and sweat was running down her forehead.

"What is...?" Hans wanted to say something while looking around with fear in his eyes. But he was interrupted by Denise’s fist in his face.

Andrew stood there, shellshocked, as the small, delicate woman threw the big man to the ground like he weighed nothing. She sprang on top of him and started hitting him in the face. Hans tried to defend himself, but she swatted his arms away like they were feeble twigs.

When Andrew heard the first crunching sound and saw blood spraying around, he turned his head.

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The sickening sound of flesh pounding on flesh and the occasional crunching of bones continued for a few moments until Hans stopped howling in pain.

A deadly silence fell over the clearing, only disturbed by Denise’s heavy breathing. Andrew’s heart felt like it would jump out of his chest at any moment. If it hadn’t been for his skills, he would have shat his pants from fear by now.

The look on her face had shaken him to his core. The uncontrolled rage and fear that had not only been visible in her expression but also through the parasite had paralyzed him.

For a long time, nothing else happened. After Denise's breathing had calmed down somewhat, she spoke again. This time, her voice was calm again. No, it was even gentle.

"Go now. Don’t look back, and don’t talk about the sounds you have heard. Hans tripped and hurt himself." She told the people, and another powerful wave of magic power washed over Andrew.

Like the others, he started walking away but risked a sneak peek behind him. Denise lay on the ground, probably unconscious.

This was his chance. He looked around suspiciously, but nobody gave him any attention.

He gulped, but his mouth was dry from nervousness. It was so strong that he had a hard time suppressing it.

With cautious steps, he went closer to the motionless figure of Denise. It would all be over if he could kill her.

With each step he took, he came closer to her. When he was just a few steps away, he stepped on something soft and squishy.

He jumped back in shock, only to notice that he had stepped on the barely breathing Hans. His foot was drenched in blood, and he froze in horror. But this was no time to hesitate. With a few deliberate steps, he went closer again.

But before he could do anything, he felt a heavy hand fall on his shoulder.

"What are you doing so close to her?" he heard the gruff voice of Alex from behind him. Andrew wanted to turn around to somehow get Alex off of him, but he already felt a punch in his stomach.

The force of the punch lifted him up slightly, and he fell to the ground while wheezing in pain.

He looked up at Alex with blurred eyes while forcefully trying to breathe.

While he started vomiting, Alex crouched down next to him. "I know what you had in mind, filth. Don’t think I didn’t notice the looks you gave Denise. But trying to sneak up on her when she is unconscious and vulnerable. You are despicable, Andrew."

He spit on Andrew's head before standing up and walking over to Denise. He had probably lifted her up, as Andrew heard his heavy footsteps walk into the distance. Andrew had no idea what exactly was going on, though, as he was still doing his best to get at least a little air inside his lungs.

While lying in the dirt and his own vomit, he started to ask himself where everything had gone wrong. Had it been when Denise came? Definitely, for some part. Or had it been even earlier, when he had sent Sarah to deal with the violent group? Maybe. Or had it been even earlier, when he had awakened his abilities?

Tears ran down his face when he realized that everything had gone wrong from the moment he had opened his eyes in this cursed world. Death, suffering, betrayal, more death, and more suffering. And there was no end to it.

The powers they had received were a curse disguised as a blessing. He started to wonder which twisted mind had devised this torture for them. Who had thrown them into this mess? Who had given them these fucked-up abilities, which made a joke out of free will?

The system. The creator. The administrators.

A burning rage awakened inside him, and he screamed out his long-suppressed anger and pain. But only a weak gurgling sound came out of him, and his stomach cramped painfully.

He sobbed on the ground for a while until he was somewhat able to breathe again. While holding his aching stomach, he stood up and stumbled over to Hans.

But Hans wasn’t breathing anymore. He was dead. His empty eyes stared into the sky, still with a look of shock and betrayal in them.

Andrew averted his gaze and gritted his teeth. He stood up again and started wobbling away.

He was sick of all of this. He had enough of being pushed around by the circumstances. Only now did he realize that he was weak. He was pathetic. The only thing he had been able to do was order people around.

But this had to change. He had to become stronger. He had to become so strong that no one and nothing would be able to take things away from him. Not even the administrators.

With gritted teeth, he started focusing on his new ability, ‘soul manifestation’. He had used it to infiltrate the soul of Hans and lessen the influence of Denise. He had never even thought of using it as a means to attack someone. But it was his only chance.

With a growl, he forced a part of his soul out of his own body and into a pointed shape. A reddish shimmer shot out of his chest, and a wave of exhaustion overcame him. But he wouldn’t stop. He had no idea if this would even work. But he had to at least try.

He tried again and again and again while walking through the forest, and his proficiency increased at an insane rate. Despite his rage and fear, his focus was unparalleled.

When he finally arrived in front of his new cave, he broke down and fell to the ground. This wouldn’t do. He had to stand up again. He had to get stronger.

But he had to train. He had to know if his skills even affected other people.

While trying to get up to his feet, he heard a rustling sound in front of him. He looked up in fright, only to see the empty eyes of Derek and Till in front of him.

A grim determination rose up in him, and he forcefully suppressed every feeling of guilt inside of him.

Emotion eradication (Equilibrium): You are able to forcefully eradicate feelings inside of you. Warning: Overuse of this ability will permanently damage your ability to feel the respective emotions.>

He only gave the prompt a quick glance while immediately using the power. A wave of calmness overcame him, and all his uprising guilt vanished like a lie.

He went over to one of the two former humans and laid a hand on his shoulders.

"Come Derek. I need to show you something."