Gingerly, I extend my will towards the flames….

….

….

..

As soon as they connect it feels like I was being forced to kneel…. The flames were actually resisting the contract, unlike the rocks which were more like taking away something from them. The flames wanted something in return and began to pull on the river of will between us.

Suddenly the wall of flames began to pulsate as it absorbed my will, almost like it was feeding off of me.

This isn’t good. Shit, I can’t break the connection, my Psychic Endurance was dropping faster than I could regenerate it now. I don’t want to find out what happens when that reaches zero, if blood lust was any indication I might even faint… If that were the case I will end up dead…. Guess it's now or nothing!

I focus on the connection between us and saw how the flames all worked together to siphon away my will…. Well, if they are going to be so kind as to show me how they are doing that…. Then it's only appropriate I do so in return!

So for the first time, I pull!

The flames that had been previously rising to even higher than the surrounding buildings, fluctuated before returning to normal…

I need to pull harder!

AND PULL!

The flames go from around two stories to one and half as I feel a rush of burning hot something fill me.

AND PULL!

The connection is growing fainter as the flames weaken meaning its not able to steal as much from me as I am from it.

AND PULL!

Now the flames are dying down, only around half a story tall. I am almost there!

AND PULL!

With a final haul, I mentally rear back yanking the entire connection as well as the rest of the flame’s energy with it. Instantly the flames are snuffed out leaving only trails of smoke from their previous positions….

Pyrokinesis: (Tier I) Uncommon

You are able to create and control fire at will.

Gives basic knowledge on summoning fire from the Aether.

Boosts Resistance and Will by 1%

Holy shit I am so beat.

I need a second, that was rough……

Probably shouldn’t have done that so soon after learning about them in the first place but whatever. What's important is that I have pyrokinesis…. I had no idea that was a thing, I just wanted to see if I could use telekinesis to control the flames, but it seems that even they are subdivided to an all new skill.

If that's the case though, does that mean I could get more kinesises?

The smile on my face stretched further….

Looks like I have a new way to get stronger…

A quick break later, and i’m ready to grind for some kinesises!

Ok first, Air you're up!

…..

….

….

So that's not working... when I killed those zombie maggots I had used telekinesis so maybe that's not truly air?

Looking back to pyrokinesis, I see the basic knowledge the system had given me on summoning from the Aether….

Aether makes up everything, and is usually measured in living beings as Quintessence. The more Quintessence you have, the more Aether you are made up of. Pretty simple in theory but judging by the basic information available I have barely scratched the surface….

In order to summon fire it says I need to use my pool to send energy through Quintessence as a catalyst in order to interact with Aether….

But what am I really summoning from the Aether… Is it true fire, or maybe it's just what's needed to make fire…..

For any fire to work it needs fuel and oxygen. So summoning fire from the Aether means I am either getting the fuel or both the fuel and the oxygen. Not only that, but I also need heat to start the fire….

I am probably going to regret this, but fuck it.

Reading the instructions carefully, I begin to summon the fire from the Aether.

As I feel it start to form I immediately try and form a contract with the Aether.

WARNING! USER IS ATTEMPTING TO ACCESS AETHER!

ERROR.. .... ..

ERROR... .. .

USER IS BEING GRANTED ACCESS... .. ....

OH GOD IT HURTS, I CAN FEEL MY LIFE BEING DRAINED.

Checking my health it was decreasing at a rapid clip… same for all my other pools… SHIT IT’S DRAINING ME DRY!

It has been 24 hours since your Blood Lust pool was sealed, it has now been unlocked. Thank you for your patience!

Oh fuck, great timing. Like I could use anything it has anyways.

Like whats blood… lust…. going to do….

What if…. Activate Rage now!

….

….

...

Immediately the pace at which the Aether was sucking me dry dropped by a degree. I could feel the anger that something like this was happening to me. My wills responded to my emotion and expanded to fight back, while at the same time critical thinking became nearly impossible. It was still pulling from my pools but my regenerations were canceling out the worst of it… I still need to resolve this fast, if I don’t I will be drained in a little bit.

So I began the game of tug of war for the second time that day.

AND Pul-

The Aether started pulling harder, breaking my concentration.

Shit is this stuff sentient or something? Fine if you want to play that way!

Red began to invade Mark’s vision as he lost his temper completely…. His blood aura also began to flow out of his skin to encompass five feet around him…. As Mark pulled on the Aether, fire began to burst in the air all around, as he unconsciously summoned it.

All he could think was pull.

And PULL!

AND PULL!

Gusts of wind picked up the embers trailing towards the ground as pure oxygen was forced to separate from the water and carbon dioxide in the air….

Aerokinesis: (Tier I) Uncommon

You are able to create and control air at will.

Gives basic knowledge on summoning air from the Aether.

Boosts Dexterity and Will by 1%

The miniature fire tornado began to be snuffed out by the water that would also form as a result of the remaining water vapor condensing in on the area surrounding Mark….

Hydrokinesis: (Tier I) Uncommon

You are able to create and control water at will.

Gives basic knowledge on summoning water from the Aether.

Boosts Wisdom and Will by 1%

Then the cycle began as dirt coalesced around Mark, never actually touching him.

Geokinesis: (Tier I) Uncommon

You are able to manipulate earth and nature at will.

Gives basic knowledge on expanding upon earth and nature through Aether.

Boosts Constitution and Will by 1%

First, fire would pop into existence, quickly being snuffed out by the present water before reappearing in order to boil away the water. The wind would stabilize this reaction, keeping everything in the area around Mark, while the dust and dirt formed a barrier around his Blood Lust, keeping the reaction from affecting him.

Meanwhile, completely oblivious to the rampaging elements outside of his struggle of wills, Mark continued to fight for the Aether.

I NEED TO PULL HARDER. I NEED MORE. MORE MORE MORE MORE.

I AM DYING, THIS STUPID FUCKING PILE OF ENERGY IS TRYING TO KILL ME. IT THINKS I AM WEAK. IT THINKS I AM JUST FOOD. WELL GUESS WHAT? NOTHING WILL EVER KILL ME, I WILL KILL EVERYTHING ELSE.

With that mentality, Mark began to gain on the Aether. All of the energy it had previously stolen from him returned in a flood, but he kept taking more and more…..

WARNING! THIS VESSEL CANNOT TAKE IN AETHER!

WARNING!

WARNING!

ALERT YOU ARE FORCING YOUR BODY TO ADAPT!

WARNING!

WARNING!

His thought processes had long since stopped, as well as his split minds. All of Mark was dedicated to taking everything the Aether had. He continued to drain it as all the plants and wildlife in the area began to die…. Any wood remaining after the raging fires began to rot while the concrete cracked and buckled….. His previously blood red aura began to be tinted with accents of nothingness. Some spots would seem as if they simultaneously exist, don’t exist, and shouldn’t exist. This continued until all of the Aether from the surroundings surrounded Mark.

Aether Kinesis: (Tier I) Epic

You are able to manipulate Aether at will.

Gives basic knowledge on the inner workings or Aether.

Boosts Fate and Will by 1%

Even the air began to shake as the sheer power circulating through the area disrupted the previously calm space. Even the fires hadn’t come close to the amount of damage Mark was dealing to the environment. As the concrete rose to form pillars, buildings were knocked over, all traces of green in the background was transformed into ash…. Nothing escaped as everything was ground to dust.

None of this mattered to Mark, however, as he had just been given his first true choice from the system.

Congratulations! You have met the requirements to evolve! Do you wish to do so now?

Yes / No

….

……

……

And he ignored it. He wasn’t in a stable enough state of mind to process the human language at the moment and decided he needed to make the Aether pay.

Nothing takes from him.