Nalaar bleated, unsheathing his sword.

“You took too long. I should’ve left without you.” Nalaar said.

We were on a high ring surrounding the valley below. I could see staircases unevenly descending deep into the sprawling prison city complex of the Celestial Scar. Halls blocking the elements surrounded the isolated cells embedded into the stone cliffside here; shrubs and trees clung to life.

I could see more of the strange prison keeping Treeguards shambling about the side of the cliff and around us.

“If you get the sword, can I have the baby?” One of the normal sized humans asked the giant.

The giant paused, looked up, a confounded look on his face. His eyes were bulging, huge, iris’s black, popping out of his head. He swiveled.

“Now why the hell would you want the baby?” The giant asked. His voice was a deep baritone. “Baby’s not worth anything. Can’t have accumulated any qi.”

“I bet it tastes like goat. Like veal.”

“Veal comes from deer idiot. And the deermen are extinct here.” The other human said.

“No wonder why. They’re delicious.”

The giant just shrugged.

“So give us the sword and the baby, and you can go. I’ll even forget about you killing Marvelle. Got me promoted after all. Looking at the Iron Stomach’s newest Enforcer.” The giant said.

“Marvelle wasn’t dead.” Nalaar said.

“You can’t have the baby!” I said. “What is wrong with you? You can’t eat people’s babies!”

“Why not?” One of the men said.

“I — he — he’s sentient!” I said, waving at the goat man.

He bleated.

[Anomalous energy detected.]

The goat man’s legs flashed, Interface highlighting energy pooling in his legs. Then there was another flash, and Interface highlighting whirls of invisible energy in the air.

[Anomalous energy… what is this? It’s pervading everything. Fascinating. You should try to absorb some. Wait, I can.] Interface said. I staggered back as my vision was overwhelmed with a kaleodoscope as the energy around me started pooling into my interface. Then the render dimmed, letting me see through the swirling energy.

The second the vast amount of energy started pooling into Interface, the giant Enforcer snapped his attention towards me.

Nalaar used that moment. He shot forward like a bullet — it was like he was enhanced by hellfire. He shot over the giants head, swinging his sword and cutting through the thick, leather gauntlet that surrounded the mans arm. Nalaar’s blade cut through it, severing leather and gashing the mans arm.

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No blood poured out.

The man grunted.

Nalaar impacted the wall above the next hallway, spun about, and —

[This energy is strange. And useless.’ Interface said. The swirling accumulation of energy around me stopped. ‘Oh, more anomalous energy… collecting data.]

The giant man’s arms began to glow with Interface’s highlight.

Nalaar’s legs glowed again as he kicked off the wall. He seemed to cling to it, almost sticky for a precarious second as his sword slashed toward the back of the giant’s neck.

Time seemed to slow as the goat neared, the giant man spinning about and flicking the goat with a single finger. Nalaar shot into the wall, bleating as his sword fell out of his hand.

“So we kill them both. And take the baby.” The giant said.

Nalaar bleated again, then looked to me. his right arm, which had been carrying his sword, hung limp, broken.

“Run. Get away.” Nalaar said.

The entire exchange had only lasted a few seconds. Though Nalaar had attacked me, he did so thinking I was Marvelle — someone aligned with the baby eating faction. I would’ve attacked him too!

I knew whose side I was on.

The Hellfire engine buried in my chest was linked directly to my nervous system. It had taken me years to fully master it. Now it was like another limb.

On the left side of my interface, my Hellfire ticked down to 98% as I started circling it in my legs. Each of my limbs featured a set of scars from an artificial piping system, flexible veins that fed refined and activated Hellfire through my body. Unlike Interface earlier, this drew no reaction from the Enforcer as he walked toward Nalaar on the ground. Nalaar’s legs started to glow.

I circled the Hellfire in my own, kicking forward as I felt them begin to burn. They glowed orange as my modified body consumed the Hellfire like fuel to enhance itself.

My arms then sword lit up, consuming Hellfire as I exhausted it to push myself faster.

I expected to cleave through the giant’s arm with ease — I had cut dozens of men in half with my swing before. Instead, my blade stopped at the man’s bone. He screamed in fury as I wrenched my sword from his arm, steaming blood leaking from his wound. He gripped at his arm.

Nalaar kicked the side of his head and bounced back. The giant stumbled to the side.

“You son of a — ”

[Anomalous energy detected.]

The giant’s arms glowed. I lifted the sword, shouting as I readied another swing. The giant crossed his arms. I watched as the energy affected him physically. His arms seemed to grow reflective, like metal.

My sword bounced off his arms.

[Hellfire remaining: 88%.]

The air left my stomach as the giant’s kick hit me, sending me back into the wall. Nalaar looked between me and his exit. He stayed, puffing air, his arm still limp as he turned back to face the giant.

The giant was sweating. Whatever magic he used to guard his arms seemed to take a lot out of him.

“Get them.” He said, his voice strained.

The two humans with him pulled out a dagger and a club, walking toward me.

[They appear to be using the prevalent ambient energy to cast a modified version of spells, entirely internal. Analyzing. This looks very similar to Ixtaran magic, using complex weaving of magic without a base piece of equipment for the artifice. Fleeting, but powerful. I think you could copy these techniques. It would take you — calculating. With your below average intelligence, you could consistently perform these techniques with just thirty-one days of practice. Sixteen hours a day.]

“Not helpful!” I said, struggling to regain my breath. My back burned. I still had my sword in my grip.

Dropping it always meant death.

[I wasn’t done. If I helped you, we could reverse engineer these techniques in minutes! I just need to observe them a few more times…”

The first of the two men lunged towards me. I pushed myself forward, standing and swinging in the same motion.

The man fell into two pieces.

“Oh.” I said, stopping over the body.

Nalaar kicked the other man. Unlike the giant, he went flying, sailing over the wall and screaming.

“Useless pieces of shit.” The giant said, grunting. His arm had stopped bleeding. His arms were still glowing metal. “Guess I’ll have to kill you both myself.”