Alicia's eye twitched. She knew that her condition was her own fault, but the enticing aroma hanging in the air and the riotous lust coming from Jack made her feel like a sick kid who missed sports day at school. She violently shook her head. Not that she wanted Jack's attention like that, she thought.

Alicia sighed, contenting herself with the rapid improvement of her soul's condition. The power of the soul elixir was overwhelming, easily healing over half of her soul with just the first dose. However, the underlying problem still remained- her aura was still damaging her soul. Even with more doses of elixir, new small wounds opened up in her soul over the healed portion.

The girl clucked her tongue. She'd hoped the reason her aura was so damaging was because her soul was already injured. She'd hoped the reason she was struggling to fight her aura was because she was weak and tired. Faced with the truth, she couldn't deny it any longer. Her aura was significantly stronger than before.

Alicia analyzed the state of her aura. Like a fire burning itself out, she felt her aura weakened itself earlier by damaging her entire soul. However the soul elixir, while immensely beneficial to her soul wounds, fueled her aura and Innate, giving her aura the resources it needed set her soul ablaze.

Unable to purely rely on the soul elixir, Alicia returned to her previous strategy of using the swords littered throughout her Innate as a static defense. This time however, she decided to go one step further than before, stabbing swords into the torn wood flooring, the shorn walls and the ceiling at even intervals. Each stab damaged Alicia's soul further but she didn't mind, still enjoying the support of the elixir.

With her newfound stability, she felt emboldened to carry out her new plan. She knew the swords couldn't truly stop her aura. The holes she made were to attract the attacks of her aura which gravitated towards weak points. Once the aura was attracted, it would break the swords standing in the way of the holes, leaving the shards inside while the walls healed around them. By making her walls out of what the swords were made of, she hoped to slowly strengthen her Innate against her aura.

As she continued placing swords on after the other, doubt gnawed at her mind. She wondered if embedding the swords really made her soul stronger. The swords resisted the aura better than the floors and walls of her Innate, but they still broke eventually, and broke quicker if her swordswoman wasn't wielding them. She furrowed her brow. Although it was a start, she needed more than this half-hearted idea if she wanted to survive.

The girl looked away from her Innate, taking a deep breath. Although taking a break from the bone deep weariness and soul pain was nice, she felt vulnerable. She felt as if  she'd stopped running now while all of her worries and fears kept chasing after her. She distracted herself by staring into the murky depths of her soul around her. Even though it was her own soul, she felt ill at ease staring at it. Maybe that's because of how messed up I really am, she thought.

She kept looking, seeing shadows of swords, faint silhouettes practicing swordsmanship and echoes of old memories. She reached out her hand, trying to feel the ephemeral tapestry of her soul run through her fingers but the soul avatar she inhabited seemed to always stop just before she could extend far enough. She looked back at her Innate, dreading the work ahead of her and the consequences of its likely failure.

A mental sigh came from Jack.

“Can you keep it down with all the angst and anxiety? I'm trying to enjoy myself here.” Jack thought.

Alicia's jaw dropped.

“I can't- I literally just can't with you. I'm in here struggling for my life and you have the nerve- The nerve to... Jack Cassidy, you are with out a doubt-”

“Yeah, yeah. You'll get yours soon, so pipe down if you want to be piped down.”

“Fuck you. I can't believe I have to be soul bonded to a piece of shit like you.”

“Is that any way to ask for help?”

“Help? I... wasn't going-”

“You were. I can tell, remember? I'm in your head.”

The boy tapped his forehead.

“Anyways, you feel a lot better to me. Stronger, if I'm being honest. I might actually have to try when it comes time for me to teach you some respect. So I don't see the need for you to worry.”

Alicia sighed, feeling her anger turning into lust. She grit her teeth, holding herself back from unloading on Jack so she didn't end up soaking her underwear again.

“It's my aura. It's much stronger now. The soul elixir is outhealing it for now but even if I fully recover, my aura is just going tear my soul apart-”

“- Hold on. Great info. Really interesting. Why don't we talk a little later? Wait for the next time I give you your soul elixir.” He thought.

Alicia noticed the familiar rising pleasure and excitement in the boy.

“Are you seriously fucking Lisaseron again?”

“Sor- Sorry, you're... coming in brk- broken.”

“My soul is on the line Jack, do you really need to bang her for the fourth time tonight? You are so full of- ugh- you know what? Just fucking hurry up. ”

Alicia sighed, annoyed she couldn't keep going off on Jack because of the soul bond increasing her lust. She tried taking her anger out on something else.

“I can understand Jack being unreliable but what about this fucking system? Where are my level-ups?”

A blue panel appeared in front of her avatar.

Skill enhancement suppressed due to ongoing Soulwork.

Skill Enhancement backlog will update once Soulwork completes.

Warning!

You may seek other paths for inspiration but no more.

You can only walk your own path.

“Other paths?” Alicia asked. “What paths am I walking? Is a skill a path?”

A Skill is a focused path compiled from the collective knowledge, experience and akashic insight of Licirmon. Further advancement is required to access deeper-

The blue panel flashed yellow, its clean form distorting into twisted runework for a split second before shifting back to blue.

Detecting Request for Advanced Briefing.

Detecting Forward Strike Group Protocol in place.

Special Authority Applied: Syraviel, The Shadow of Desolation

Request Granted. Commencing Advanced Briefing.

The panel blinked red.

Warning! Detecting ongoing Soulwork!

Warning!

You may seek other paths for inspiration but no more.

You can only walk your own path.

Do you accept this briefing from Forward Strike Group Administrator- Syraviel, The Shadow of Desolation?

Alicia hesitated. Syraviel's voice sounded from the outside world.

“Seems like you're having a bit of a moment.” Syraviel said. “I can talk to you from out here, but if you let me in I can get a better read on the situation. If you want to handle it yourself, no worries. But I'm getting the impression you're a bit lost. I wouldn't be much of a teacher if I just let you blunder around in a panic.”

Alicia sighed.

“I accept the briefing.”

The Panel turned black with purple lettering, emitting a faint sense of dread and bloodiness.

Hey Sleeping Beauty! I sensed you were going through a bit of an existential moment there, so that's why I chose to intervene. Usually this is a moment you have to face alone but you've got a few extenuating circumstances and I don't plan on being too heavy handed. Don't get used to this, though.

“Sure,” Alicia said. “What can you tell me?”

Okay, let's take a peek around. Wow. Big powerup, that's more than we were projecting. A lot more. That's going to be a problem... but I don't think it's... completely unmanageable. Hmm... Interesting idea for your Innate. Messy but very resourceful. Alright. Talk to me. What's your plan?

“Um... reinforce my Innate and soul defences so that I don't die?”

Really? I thought you were about to Rank Up? You've absolutely got the momentum and power, although the vision is a little lacking. Hmm. Good choice. I think that's a fine direction to take for now. No sense in dangerously rushing ahead without a proper idea.

“If I can Rank Up, shouldn't I?” Alicia asked. “It would help, right? Jack seemed to get a lot better.”

Oh no, honey. I can say for sure now that I'm seeing it firsthand. Ranking up would increase your soul's capabilities overall but it would increase your aura's strength much more than your defense. Up close, it's unmistakable.

“What is?”

Let's back up a little bit. Awakening to the Innate means you're opening up the deepest levels of yourself to the Concepts of the Akasha. Every awakened Innate has a hint of aura from an Akashic Concept. Concepts are the essentially the rules underpinning our reality and they form the backbones of our power. At my level, I can directly manipulate the power of Concepts but even at Rank one, you benefit from the Concept within your Innate at a passive level.

“If benefiting from it means getting killed by it, sure. So what kind of Concept did I awaken in my Innate. The concept of Suicide?”

Your Innate has an abnormally high presence of Sundering, one of the four Extreme Offensive Concepts. Sundering is the easiest of the Extreme Concepts to control but it is also the most directly damaging.

“It kind of sounds like you're telling me I'm screwed. Am I screwed?”

I'm sure you don't need me to tell you how poor your condition is. But screwed, might be a bit of an overstatement.

“Is there any good news here?”

Definitely. Just by having insight into an Extreme Concept puts you above people at your level in certain aspects. There are countless Akashic-touched and even Eternal level people who've struggled for ages to learn an Extreme Offensive Concept. In fact, you're talking to one of them right now.

“Oh... um- Really?”

Don't feel awkward about it. Everyone has their own path and affinities. You may have an excellent affinity for a superior Concept but that doesn't mean your path will automatically be strong. One look at your Innate is proof enough of that.

“Okay I agree, I'm messed up. But what's the solution?”

You'll have to work to incorporate it better into your path. Void has insight into three of the four Extreme Concepts, and at a much higher level than you but she does not struggle with managing the power of her aura. I think you've seen how potent her stare can be.

“How could I forget?”

The reason her own aura doesn't damage herself is because she has built an impeccable path, based on a deep understanding of numerous Akashic Concepts and has seamlessly woven them together to create a style of overwhelming reach, precision and firepower while still maintaining obscene amounts of utility. That could be you, Alicia.

“So all I need to do is make this impeccable path and I get to survive?” Alicia asked. “How do I do that?”

Alicia heard the Goddess sigh.

That's something everyone has to figure out for themselves. For now, just hold firm. We can support you. But seriously think about how you want your Innate to look in the future, how you want to fight and how you want to develop and innovate yourself while maintaining a proper harmony.

“I know you said you weren't going to be heavy handed in helping me, but... you've got to have something. Come on, Syraviel? Tell me there's more.”

If it were easy, everyone would be an Eternal. Void did warn you it would be dangerous, no? Lisaseron, of all people, said it was dangerous. Even with a single day of exposure to her, surely you could tell her assessment of danger was... skewed at best.

“So, it's my fault, that I was manipulated?”

Not just yours but yes. Void saw an opportunity to show you a little bit of the magic of Sundering, and you completely ran away with it. I'll be honest, I've never seen someone at your level pursue such an advanced Concept so recklessly. That said, we underestimated your ability to gain insight into Sundering.

“Syraviel,” Alicia said. “You realize that nothing you're saying is helping me?”

Syraviel shrugged her shoulders.

I'm not here to help, Alicia. I'm just here to answer questions. It's your soul. It was your talent and determination that brought you here. Why can't your talent and determination get you out of this mess? Believe in yourself a bit more.

“You said it best yourself,” Alicia said. “You're definitely not The Shadow of Reassurance.”

What can I say? For you to gain enough insight to increase the strength of your aura to the point where it could seriously endangering your life was not even in our considerations. Again, Sundering is a Concept even I have yet to gain insight into, despite countless years of study. Even Void herself, the third strongest of us, only has a small bit of skill with Sundering. We can support you, teach you and protect you from external enemies. But this? I can't help you with this.

Alicia let out a sigh.

“So why even come here?” Alicia asked. “Were you hoping to steal some of my insights for yourself, since apparently it's so valuable?”

Alicia heard Syraviel laugh.

There's no such thing as stealing insights! Well... killing people comes quite close. You can get a really good look at the Concepts of strong enemies by killing them.

“Was this all part of your plan?” Alicia asked. “Let me understand more of Sundering than killing me? Like fattening up a pig for slaughter?”

You know I wasn't quite sure earlier but you really don't trust us, do you? What happened, Alicia?

Alicia turned her head away from the panel.

“If you can't help me, don't bother. I know you two are up to no good.”

Oh... I think we should talk more another time. Anyways, even though I can't help you, I can help Jack help you!

Alicia put her hand over her face.

“I mean, his aura is nice but-”

Oh no, Alicia. I'm not talking about his aura. Oh, there he is!

“Jack!” Syraviel said. “Perfect timing!”

The sweaty boy walking out of the wall curtain froze, giving the Goddess a suspicious look.

“What?”

“Alicia's aura is a little too strong for her to deal with,” Syraviel said. “She needs your help.”

The boy relaxed.

“I'm on it,” he said.

Jack walked over to Alicia's unconscious body, and infused his aura into her as casually as if he were checking the contents of a refrigerator. He looked at Syraviel then back to Alicia, sensing a lingering expectation in the air.

“What?” Jack asked.

“Giving her your aura is great but it won't be enough.” Syraviel said. “ Let me teach you a neat little trick to really help her out.”

Jack backed away from the Goddess.

“This isn't going to hurt, right?”

“Jack, why would you ask something silly like that?”

“Because everything else you guys tell me to do hurts like hell.”

Syraviel let out a sigh.

“Exactly my point,” Syraviel said. “You know it's going to hurt, so why bother asking? I thought you were smarter than this, Jack.”

“I hope you appreciate this,” Jack thought at Alicia. “I'll be expecting something nice for this.”

“What do you want, a gold star? A pat on the back? You're not fooling anyone. You saving me is the same as saving yourself.” Alicia thought.

Jack turned Alicia's limp head to face him.

“No reward? Alright. I'll take it for myself.” Jack thought.

Jack kissed Alicia.

“Hey! What the-”

“Damn. I forgot this doesn't shut you up anymore. Oh well.”

“Oh my god, Jack,” Diana giggled. “Down, boy.”

Syraviel blinked, completely not expecting his reaction. She rolled her eyes.

The boy finished, enjoying the mix of Alicia's guilty pleasure and her increasingly flustered vitriol. He leaned in again, stopping just short of her lips. He let out a low laugh, feeling panic and excitement rise in the girl.

“Those are some hurtful words. You know, a sensitive guy like me might need another kiss to feel better.” Jack thought.

“C-Can you just fucking help me?” Alicia thought.

“Sure can, sweetheart. Just remember what I said. I'll be coming to collect.” Jack thought.

“Jack, we'll have plenty of time later,” Syraviel said. “Are you ready?”

He turned to Syraviel.

“I'm listening,” Jack said. “What kind of crazy shit do you want me to do now?”