Chapter 127: Gains & Losses
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Stopping Anna’s apex sigil activation wasn’t possible. The moment she activated it, she became her purist form; her ring and mana merged into one.

She felt like something inhuman in that state—something higher.

But that soaring feeling was relatively new. That feeling became more prevalent as she got used to seeing the soulscape. Was she adapting to it?

Somewhere in the back of her head, she understood why Anavel could be so arrogant. Her sister’s confidence was reasonable if she had permanent access to the world of flickering flames and mana streams. The purest form of the world.

Nothing in the soulscape had a tangible form.

Anna could only see the flames from souls and the whisps of mana flowing like a beautiful ocean through the world around her.

The flame before her was her target.

Roaring grey flames that seemed like a lightbulb running out of life.

She didn’t have time to consider it further. The hunger to latch onto something became so overwhelming that she might have even used a snail if it was nearby.

And the sentient accursed’s shock wasn’t going to last.

So… she moved.

Stopping Anna’s apex sigil wasn’t possible. She moved in an instant once she found a target; they could run, but they couldn’t attack. The ring people saw her as wasn’t tangible. Maybe a powerful magic could, but it was like attacking a ghost.

Her true form existed in the realm no other entity could see—her realm.

The flame, perhaps sensing danger, did try to run. His mana ebbed and flowed around his body as he activated what was likely his movement ability.

But it was a step too late.

Just like that, the battle had begun anew on a plane nobody would ever witness.

It was a monumental, precedent-setting battle. The process and the outcome could give Anna the final piece of the puzzle. Watching as her mana—her soul—tried to eat.

There wasn’t a pillar connecting Anna’s soul to the sentient accursed.

Just from that, Anna discovered how to accurately control the pillar. Of course, it was purpose. The same purpose that allowed her to control her enhancements and activate them all around her body instead of on an individual limb. The same purpose that let her control her barrier.

If she had a concrete goal when entering another being—one within the scope of her apex sigil—Oversoul would accomplish it like a computer being given a task.

And she could control Oversoul from there.

Oversoul.

It was an apt name.

Her soul layered itself above the accursed’s like two oceans parallel to each other.

Then, the battle started.

The battle for control over the body, the struggle to parasitize a soul, and the battle for Anna’s survival.

And it only lasted five seconds—a soundless, sightless battle Anna only felt through sensations of pain, pressure, and willpower.

In the first second, Anna’s soul surged against the accursed’s, eliminating the small space that existed between their overlap in an instant swoop like a tsunami. The accursed’s soul did the same, meeting the charge.

She felt and observed every moment.

The grey soul was thick and oppressive. Both forces met to clash for control over the host of the roaring flame.

It didn’t seem like much, but Anna felt so many things. Most of what happened was beyond her comprehension; it was a primal battle between two fundamental aspects of reality.

A weight pressed against her being, a sharp resistance that even made her formless being feel pain and quiver. But her soul didn’t give up. No—she didn’t give up.

Control was in her hands, and she willed it to push.

In the next second, the grey rippled, recoiling as Anna’s soul forced its way in.

She could sense the coldness of it. It was as if her very presence was being swallowed by darkness.

But her soul—she—didn’t falter at the horrifying feeling. Her soul pressed harder, and a quiet surge of all her strength made the grey retract like a retreating turtle.

It was just too flimsy for a strong counterattack.

Yet, it didn’t give up.

The next moment, a pulse of resistance—a cornered beast. The accursed’s soul shifted, pushing against her in a violent surge. It wasn’t a physical action, but it felt like a tremor deep within her, the force of the push threatening to send her soul into disarray.

Anna gripped tighter, her soul digging in despite the pain radiating across her. It wasn’t nearly as bad as it was with Elyanthra! But it hurt. It hurt so badly.

Her soul was vibrating, and her being was trembling. If she could scream, she would. It felt like she did, but it wasn’t something her form was capable of.

But again, she pushed onward.

There was hope in that pain.

Four seconds.

Anna’s soul expanded further despite its somewhat waning presence. Her being pressed harder, layering itself on top of the accursed’s, each moment a slow but inevitable encroachment.

It was working.

The grey fought back, but it began to fade beneath the weight of Anna’s ocean as its continuous pulses did nothing but vibrate Anna’s presence.

Finally, the five seconds that felt like hours passed.

The grey shuddered and collapsed on itself. The accursed’s soul struggled to maintain its form, but Anna’s grip tightened for the final burst.

It tried to recoil, to resist, but it had no strength left.

Her ocean dug in deeper.

The grey disappeared entirely.

All that was left was Anna’s soul standing in the space. The weight was gone, replaced with a profound stillness as all those illusory senses faded into nothing. It was like waking from a dream.

Her presence dominated now, and the accursed’s soul was nothing but an afterthought, a fading echo lost in the vast ocean of black.

That flame was hers.



“AH!”

Anna regained her senses with a shout—an anguished cry from the pain she felt while her soul battled the accursed. She was on her knees, staring at the field of dark grass.

Her rapid breaths were hard and shallow… but distinctly different than her own.

That was not her voice.

“It… it worked,” she said in the voice of the accursed—a deep, distorted, and broken voice that somehow had more emotion.

She brought her pale hands up and clenched them.

“It worked,” she repeated, whispering.

Who would have thought she’d hear the accursed sound like that?

Anna closed her new eyes, focusing inward to get a sense of her new body. She ignored some parts, specifically attempting to feel the mana flowing through his body.

“Oh my god,” she exclaimed, snapping her eyes open and holding her palm out.

With a tug, black chains roared to life above her hand like an army of snakes being released into the world.

But she pulled all but one back.

“D-do you see this, Anavel?”

She had his abilities.

No—those were her abilities while she was in his body.

Dark Chains. Similar to Aria’s apex sigil, it was an ability that let him create those chains and even transmit his mana through them.

That was how he tried to corrupt Anna. By sending all of his tainted mana into the chains and into the target, he could accelerate or even instantaneously corrupt someone.

He also had a binding ability called Dark Grasp, which was also a chain-like ability that bound his targets. That power was one he could use from anywhere around him. It was a concept she wasn’t familiar with—a control zone.

Next, Dark Burst. It was a power that sent out a pulse of dark mana wherever he wanted that would eviscerate anything it touched. That and the chains were really all he needed for an overwhelming attack.

Adding to his attack power was Dark Tendrils, which allowed him to send snapping, dangerous tendrils from any shadow he could locate. Bacially, whips.

Finally, Shadow Movement. That was the ability that let him move so quickly. He could turn himself into a shadow that flowed along the ground at incredible speeds. Of course, if there were enough shadows.

Five dark abilities.

“Wow,” Anna said, still struggling to get used to that distorted voice. “And I can use all of them like they’re my own.”

Her mana was all tied into her Oversoul—her ring—wrapped around the new body’s head.

A grotesque thought wormed its way into her mind…

What if she could store the body and transfer it whenever she wanted to fight?

She shook her head. “No, even if that wasn’t disgusting.”

His powers would likely immediately dissipate when she left the body.

But… she won.

It was only then the reality of it—her existence—sank on her.

If someone absorbed her soul, they’d likely get her mana purity. It might even work in such a way that it would create a new breed of mana—absurd purity with an elemental attunement.

But Anna didn’t get that. She got nothing from the successful consumption since her mana was so pure. Her soul didn’t see the attuned mana as something worth taking. If he had succeeded, he’d have potentially gotten dark-attuned mana with the same purity Anna had.

Anna, however, gained nothing but a confirmation of how deadly her power was. She felt like she could control it way more, too. But she felt nothing from literally consuming a soul.

Did Oversoul treat it as beneath her and just… get rid of it?

The being that once inhabited this body—the sentient accursed—was dead. The being that was once a normal, living Elf with a unique life of his own was dead.

Another thought.

He was beyond dead, even; she consumed his soul.

If there was an afterlife for the Elves, Anna just took it from him. His soul was completely gone. Anna tried to feel it somewhere within her, but there was nothing. It was just like when she killed the Goblinfish months ago.

“I… I didn’t even… know his name,” Anna stammered. “And I…”

But she had to! With how the accursed spoke, it seemed that Anna’s corruption would make them adapt to her resistance. Furthermore, they’d gain… her. What kind of dreadful thing would she release if she allowed herself to get corrupted?

Corruption aside, she would have died! She and Aria were always in over their heads; they weren’t equipped to take on armies of accursed.

It was only a matter of time before she used her apex sigil like that.

Yet, convincing herself proved pointless.

Justifications didn’t matter when life was utterly lost like that to an extent where even their soul was erased. Elyanthra coped with killing her people by saying they granted them freedom.

But Anna didn’t do that at all.

“Damn it, collect yourself!” she growled while quickly shaking her head. “I’ll properly take care of him… and how can I presume to know how the afterlife works?

Maybe his consciousness was separate and had already moved on to whatever came afterward. She just needed to talk to Anavel about it. Anavel would probably have way more insight into what happened since she was basically an observer. Surely, his soul wasn’t just gone.

She bit back the feelings as best as she could and forced herself to focus on the present. There was a battle happening.

Was she going to be useless?

Anna looked toward the distance, where she still heard the marching so loud in the otherwise silent field.

If only they were faster.

But there were probably accursed in the library just as strong as the Barbarian that they were held up by.

Would they stop now that their leader was dead?

Probably not.

Should she return as she was and see if she could order them around? That was possible…

“Wait…” Anna had an epiphany.

Couldn’t she go to the core and destroy it? Her normal body probably wasn’t strong enough, but now?

She thought about it, but the idea probably wouldn’t work.

“Hive,” she repeated.

If that was a thing, then the accursed would know that she wasn’t one of them anymore. She felt no such connections within her when she took over.

Maybe she could… bring his body back for study? That wouldn’t mean anything, but she didn’t want it to end with so little gain. A life—a soul—lost had to mean something more.

Right as she started walking toward the tree, a tingling sensation spread across her body.

Simultaneously, the entire area became drowned in a violet hue.

“AH!”

Before Anna could even speak, a formless pressure slammed her into the ground like a titan’s hand, robbing her of even the idea of movement.

“Where the fuck is she?”

That voice, that anger—that wrath—made Anna shiver.

She couldn’t even fathom that the sound and overwhelming power were coming from Alisha.

No way Anna could feel good completely erasing someone's very existence. This won't be something she can just ignore! 

But now we get to see the true power of Oversoul! 

Annabelle's stored sigils:

Spoiler

Earth Gathering x4
Rockshell x4
Earthquake x2
Earth Ring
Firebolt x19
Flamelash x2
Flamespear x3
Firebreath x2
Flame Twister
Watershell x3
Icicle x7
Waterjet x2
Lake x2
Windblade
Windpull
Unknown Unattuned/Utility x5
Imbuement x2
Manaskin x8
Pulse
Projected Barrier x3
Projectile Reflection

[collapse]

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