There was no one left on earth. It was all the system’s fault; in less than 15min, it took everyone, forced a skill upon us, and scattered us. I didn’t know if anyone had survived the trip. My heart ached at the thought of children being thrown chaotically across the universe. I didn’t want to know how many may have died already.

I had been transported to the world of Amen. A plane ruled by belief in the spiritual where the laws of the physical and the spiritual comingled. The system had transported me to a random living room somewhere in the world.

Name: Red

Skill: Root Of Black Dragons

Type: Qi

Rank: A

Strengthen Quests

Mega Dragon Fire: Burn 10,000 ghosts with Dragon Fire

Mega Dragon Flight: Fly 10,000 Miles with Dragon Flight

Mega Battle Form: Maintain Battle Form for 240 hours

I clutched my head just thinking about it made me see red. But there was more to it. I felt the skill worming its way through my mind. The skill dug, ripped, and clawed into me, altering my mind, and there was nothing I could do. How long would it take before it replaced me?

Ding!

Bond With A Spirit

Reward: Stabilization of the Soul

My head rang from the sound, and my vision swam before vertigo toppled me over.

I gripped a nearby wall feeling ancient wallpaper slough off a greasy skin like wallpaper ripped from chicken thighs. Wallowing in self-pity wouldn’t get me anywhere, but the pounding in my head wouldn’t leave me alone. The skill found its way into my bloodstream. I felt it shooting through my veins, changing me.

Thinking about it would surely drive me mad, so I focused on the world around me instead. I found myself in a richly furnished room more significant than my house on earth. Paintings of seemingly important figures covered the walls, along with sculptures of angels and demons. On the mantle over an extinguished fireplace was a painting of an angel battling three kaiju-sized demons. A book with a triangle on its cover rested above the mantle, obviously well used by its haggard appearance. Hanging from the book, I found myself drawn to a large chain with a triangle at the end of it. Within the point of each triangle was another smaller triangle.

At a glance, I could tell the triangle was 17% gold, 45% silver, and other metals. So, I ripped the object off the book and tossed it in my inventory without a second thought. Unfortunately, a small patch of book cover tore away as a consequence of my actions.

It happened so quickly that I hadn’t put conscious thought to it. Of course, my headache was no better, but something about taking something felt right. But, of course, that wasn’t like me since when was I a kleptomaniac.

This was going to be a problem. I turned away from the mantle to see a small golden statue of an angel.

30% gold flashed through my mind as I tossed it in my system inventory. The action was too quick to be natural. Somehow the skill had turned me into a thief or a looter. This hadn’t been a problem since I stole a chocolate bar at 5. But when I saw yet another statue, I snatched it up.

Once I cleared the room of valuables, I calmed down. I heard a gasp before I saw a shift in fabric and a flash of red hair. A woman had just fallen out of the sky crotch first.

While this would seem romantic in most anime, my skull slammed into the hard ground with a thunk. My vision swam as I breathed in the scent of this potential enemy!

A cooler of ice water poured down my spine, and I immediately went on the alert. I scrambled away, knocking her back and pressing my crotch against her rear. Once I gained some distance, I puffed my chest up to appear larger.

The redhead looked me up and down before giggling. “How bad did you hit your head? Do you think you’re a lizard spirit?” The woman stood up, dusted herself off, and smiled, revealing pointed teeth. “Well, you’re not praying to the Triad, so that’s a good sign. My name is Ula Amon, and I can’t help but wonder how a mortal stumbled upon the haunted mansion of the Panama family.”

I glanced her over. She had a modest chest, nothing to write home about, a face possibly carved by angels, and a butt that could make all my wet dreams come true. She wore a black mini skirt that exposed a pair of snakeskin panties with the slightest movement. Ula wore black boots with black socks traveling up above her knees. Around her neck, she wore a gold chain necklace with a sapphire square hanging from it.

While I looked her over, Ula twirled around and shook her rear at me. The woman wasn’t afraid to show off, that’s for sure. I wondered if I could get close enough to steal the gold chain. But, of course, I’d leave her the sapphire.

Then I heard sounds of squelching flesh and turned my head to the wall where earlier I ripped the wallpaper free. An angry red growth puckered out from the wall. Fleshy hands pushed against the growth’s wrinkled opening.

“What the hell is that?” I asked.

Ula placed a hand on my shoulder and pushed her face against me. I felt on edge, turned on, and grossed out all at the same time.

Her voice poured like dripping honey sweet enough to make a man sick. “Have you never wondered why the Triad forbade masturbation? Why is it a sin to spill seed outside a woman’s womb? Men who love men are thrown from rooftops to prevent what you see before you.” I turned to Ula, who had a cheery smile on her face. “Seed spilled carelessly attracts all sorts of spiritual entities. Some call the result of seed possession goblins, others claim they’re the ugly cousins of fairies, but the learned men of ages forgotten by the Triad called them homunculus. They are common enough in haunted mansions like this.” Ula said.

My mouth opened, but nothing came out. What the hell could I say to that? Finally, stoicism took over for me. “That is good to know. But who supplied the seed?”

Ula turned her head to the side. “The men we kidnapped from the local village, of course. Our succubi are busily draining them dry and laying eggs all over this place. Soon we’ll have enough to march back home and turn a profit.” Ula said.

“Is this where you send in a succubus to take me to production?” I asked.

Ula shook her head. “Nope, you need a certain amount of spiritual power, or the homunculus produced won’t be any good to us. You’re a mortal and an old one at that. You haven’t even bonded the weakest wood nymph.” She patted my shoulder. “Some mortals just can’t bond with human-like spirits, and that’s all the Triad allows,” Ula said.

The sphincter chose that moment to open, and a squat gray creature emerged. It looked like a gray-skinned chimpanzee and smelled like a septic tank. The second it was free of the sphincter, it leaped up and down, flapping its oversized dark grey genitals around.

“So, what are you going to do, have it attack me?” I turned around, and Ula was gone.

The creature shrieked and sprinted. I turned just in time to see its mid-air leap. On instinct, I raised my hands to shield myself from the worst of the damage. Unfortunately, the full-body tackle still hit me full force, and I lost my balance, crashing through a coffee table. It clawed at me, and I felt it rip through my shirt and claw deep gouges in my skin.

Red hot pain shot up from various wounds before I returned my own punch. The creature flinched long enough to regain some leverage. I twisted, throwing the creature off of me before diving down with an elbow.

Clumsy, slow, and full of adrenaline described me along with my lack of actual combat experience. I hit the creature in the throat as a plan slowly formed. The second it gasped for air, I scrambled off of it. Unfortunately, time wasn’t on my side, and a roar from the creature told me it had recovered.

I grabbed ahold of a statue and twisted with it. I knew from the sound of the creature’s footfalls that it had jumped again.

This time I hit it with the statue. Its leg clipped me as it smashed into a nearby wall.

My head pounded as the earlier hit I had taken caught up with me. I caught myself from a complete fall and rushed to put my left foot under me. The statue in my hand felt heavy, but I only needed to set it down now. I made it to the homunculus, yelled, and slammed the statue down on its head.

Unsurprisingly its brains smelled like shit. I kicked the body away, growled, and threw the statue away.

I heard clapping and rounded on Ula. The redhead gave a wolf whistle before she seemed to phase out of existence and appear beside me. She pushed against me, and it was as if a horse kicked me in the chest. I slammed hard against the nearby wall and rolled over, gasping for breath.

“That was amazing. I’ve never seen a mortal take on a Coalescent stage homunculus.” Ula said.

I stared at her blankly. Her praise held absolutely no context for me.

“Right, you’re a mortal that apparently knows nothing.” She rubbed at her chin. “I’ll fill you in. Cultivation of the spirit has three stages no more and no less. Coalescence, Nativity, and Majority make up your relationship with your spirit. Coalescence is a rather broad stage made up of a multitude of mini-stages. The road from Nativity to Majority can take decades. I’d say the homunculus you killed was at the beginning of Coalescence.” She patted my shoulder. “Don’t get me wrong, duckie, you impressed me.” She nodded her head.

“Good for you. I’m leaving.” I turned and walked towards the door. When I opened it, Ula was there on the other side. She marched forward, forcing me to back away.

“Don’t be like that. Sure, you’re a little on the rough side, but you have potential. With a bit of training, you’d make a great lacky. I’d even consider you more useful than our average homunculus. Trust me, that’s a big deal, and to show you I’m serious, I got some goodies.” Ula said.

She opened a leather bag on her side and pulled free a chest larger than the bag. Ula caught me staring at her bag and winked and turned her back on me to fiddle with the chest’s lock. I noticed she was busy with the chest and raised my hand slowly behind her back. Her gold chain was 80% pure gold. I needed it.

Just before I could touch the clasp to slip it off, I heard the click of the chest and withdrew. “You look so curious. Well, feast your eyes on these and see the difference between the heavens and the earth.” I stared at a box full of crystals. Each was labeled in a language I didn’t understand. Ula clearly expected amazement.

I stood still, blinked a few times, and looked at her then the chest. “This is incredible. I can’t believe there are so many.” I said.

“Do you see my glittering jewels; do they delight your eyes? Don’t look sideways? I want you to search through my collection and find one that speaks to you. This isn’t going to be a trend. You get one chance to get a superior spirit, and if you can’t find one.” Ula left the rest unsaid.

“So, it’s like Harry Potter,” I said.

Ula gave me a what the fuck look. “The spirit chooses the cultivator,” I said.

“No, the spirits would take your meat suit so long as it's alive. But if I wanted a puppet, I’d jam one up your ass and call it a day.” Ula said.

“Is there a limit to how many spirits a cultivator can bond with?” I asked.

“The current record is 10,000 before the guy turned into a demon host. You only get one. Why would I waste hundreds of mid-grade spirits on you?” Ula asked.

I gripped the first picture and saw a fox spirit with snow-white fur and glowing blue eyes. The crystal felt wrong to my very existence. I’d rather destroy the spirit than bond with it. After returning the crystal to the pile, I chose another. Within the crystal, there was a yawning green fairy. This one felt like roots, the earth, and long naps. While it wasn’t my worst choice, I didn’t want it. I began to search deeper, finding spirits of the dark, fire, water, and steel. None of them felt quite right to me.

Just when I thought I’d hit a roadblock, I touched a light blue crystal. The creature within held no element; it was as neutral as neutral could be and maintained the shape of a floating cube. It felt pleased with my touch; I couldn’t explain the feeling of rightness radiating from it.

Ding!

My head reeled at the annoying sound.

Spirit match acquired

Bonding process initiated…

Soothing pure energy flowed into me from the box, and I felt it emerge from the crystal and zoom around me. The box turned over until it appeared like a diamond and began spinning in celebration.

Ding!

Soul Stabilization Complete

The second ding didn’t hurt, and even the pain in my head began to recede. At that, the good news ended the skill within traveled at a breakneck speed flowing through my body. Every cell in my body felt like it was on fire, and the box wobbled in concern.

I felt soothing energy flow from the box and push into me. The box wanted to help me desperately and more. It wanted to build and create. From it, I saw visions of ships that sailed the skies, towers that extended beyond the clouds, and adventures through dusty ancient cities.

A solid hand gripped my shoulder and shook me. I slapped the hand away and growled at the woman. “What was that for?” I demanded.

She punched me hard in the gut knocking the air out of my lungs and flinging me into a nearby wall. Claws grew at the end of her fingers, and she pointed them at my throat.

There wasn’t any playfulness in her voice this time. “I am the falcon in the heavens, and you are a worm wiggling in the dirt. You dared to poke your head up to witness the heavens, never to see my shadow under dawn's light.” Ula said.

I struggled to suck in a breath. So, I overstepped myself. If Ula expected me to fall to my knees and beg, she had another thing coming. My eyes widened at my own thoughts. That wasn’t me, but it felt natural. I needed to focus if I was going to diffuse this situation.

The box warbled in warning. It blasted me with a cocktail of soothing energy. For a second, my rage cooled, and I swallowed my pride.

“Please forgive me for my outburst; you surprised me.” I lowered my head and stopped the second the soothing energy left me. The thought of bowing my head to this woman disgusted me to no end.

A dragon stood at the top of the food chain; this woman should bow before my majesty.

I wanted to argue with the thought. But even thinking I wasn’t a dragon felt inconceivable. So slowly, I felt the box spin around me, sending me a slow but steady dose of mind-clearing energy.

“You are forgiven,” Ula replied in a singsong voice. “Now that you’re my henchman, killing you would be a waste. It would also make reclaiming my resources spent on you impossible. I mean, you haven’t stepped on the path of Coalescence. Bonding with a monster is the easiest step.”

I glared at the woman. “Thank you. I feel so proud of myself for such a compliment.” I channeled as much of the cube’s energy as I could to force that one out. Perhaps if I fed her enough bullshit, she’d let her guard down, and I could steal her necklace. At that thought, my pride settled down a bit, letting the cold logic of the cube wash over me.

Ula spun around and floated a few feet off the ground. “This place is not just our hideout; it's also our meal ticket. A noble house faithful to the Triad was ousted by the nearby town as greedy little pigs. So the people of the nearby village demanded that they share. So they stole the family’s wealth, violently tore away their spiritual powers, and tortured them to death. Not even the children, dogs, or servants were spared.” Ula spread her hands out. “Look around and pull your spirit's energy to your eyes. See the world and take your first step to ascension.”

My box warbled a warning as I took in its energy and pushed it to my eyes. It felt clumsy, and the energy fell from my mental grasp several times. But soon enough, I saw.”

Blood, torn hair, and guts littered the floor. Eyes covered the ceiling and walls, ever watchful while the hands of those trapped in this place pushed against the wallpaper. Then, finally, I began to understand where the homunculus came from.

“All they need is a little life to cross over. Why can’t they give up on their hate and pass on?” I asked.

I stared up at my informant just before she fell back down to earth. Her crotch fell on my face and her legs wrapped around my head. Then, with her vice grip on me, she answered my questions.

“Emotion is the antithesis of reason.” The smell of her awakened a sexual need that had no place here. Even channeling the box’s energy, it felt overpowering. She had to go. I reached up to grab her, but she vanished. I felt a chill behind my ear.

“Baby cultivator, oh henchman of Ula Amon, do you feel the lust charged with your spiritual power?” To my eyes, pink energy passed from me into the greater amalgamation of energy that filled this place. “What is it doing?”

I watched the energy bound with the greater network twisting into the emotions trapped in this place. “It merged with this place,” I said.

“Haunted houses are truly a treasure; powerful emotions have filled this place down to its foundation. They can attract all manner of spirit from naughty fairies to hungry ghosts and much darker spirits.” Ula said.

I pulled away from the red-headed woman. “Then why are they allowed to exist?” I asked.

“That is a secret. You need to journey further down the path of cultivation.” Ula said and waved her hand. The furniture moved aside, exposing a trap door. “By day, it is a desiccated manor, but by night its nightmare takes over.” From the dark windows, I saw the flames of torches. Hundreds of men and women-shaped shadows screeched as Ula flipped open a hatch.

“If they catch me, what will happen,” I asked.

“You’ll become intimately aware of the tortures the family and staff suffered here. Now come with me down to the safe room.” Ula said.

From the beginning, she had led me by the nose. She offered, explained, and pushed me all to lead me down into the bowels of this place. What did she need me to do? I narrowed my eyes and jumped into the darkness, using my new spirit vision to see in the blackness.

Bones radiating black emotions crunched under my feet. The faces of innumerable tongueless ghosts radiated filthy black energy constantly. Glowing red symbols covered every corner of this place, bathing the world in light. For once, I wished for the darkness to hide flowing guts around me. Rusted tools lay on a table made of stretched skin over bone.

“Of course, an expression of piety and the Triad would have seen you spared as well,” Ula said.

I glared at the woman. “How do I begin the process of Coalescence?” I asked.

Ula smirked. “That’s just how I like my men power-hungry and gullible.” I frowned was her game over the moment I jumped in the hole. “Look around and take in your fate.”

My box fed me a feeling of absolute horror and deep concern. It wobbled so chaotically from its spin that it threatened to fall over.

I snorted; if the fountain made from half-rotten heads spewing glowing blood didn’t clue me in on my fate, then nothing would. “Before I die, humor me; how would I begin coalescence?” I asked.

This horrible sight should have turned me into a jabbering idiot. Despair should have set in with madness. But, instead, I could feel the emotions of the betrayed flow through this place, fueling the betrayer. Ula Amon was at her strongest here.

To my horror, the skill the system imparted to me had already worked its way through my mind. I was more concerned about stealing the woman’s necklace than the bones beneath my feet. Nevertheless, there was still some information I wanted.

Ula Amon stared at me with growing irritation. “That’s simple; all you need is a place rich in spiritual energy and time to communicate with your spirit. But, of course, there is a danger of possession if your bonded spirit is untrustworthy.”

Her smile spread wider than any human had the right to grin. Goat horns grew from her head, and the legs of a horse emerged from her lower body. The terrible wings of a great bat spread from her back while her body lengthened. Her hair lifted and spread in either direction gaining the scales of dragons along with the teeth. A great mouth opened wide from the top of her lip to her torse. Her breasts sagged and sunk in on themselves taking turning milky white before pupils appeared. Then her arms twisted and lengthened, becoming the scythes of a praying mantis. The face that once appeared so beautiful split apart, forming a long sucker edged with teeth. Finally, her skin turned purple, and across her body, long tentacles stretched out, ready to grab prey.

I had been changed just like she had been. Seeing her now made me realize that. We were very similar, but I was sure my form would be the better looking. I felt for my skill and unleashed the battle form. The skill had changed me on a molecular level. My skin turned black and hardened, growing as segmented armor formed over it. Pain like nothing I’d ever experienced flowed through me before it was swept aside by rage.

An overwhelming feeling of hate for this creature finally escaped its leash. How dare this ugly creature trick me. It would burn, this place would burn, and everything else that challenged me would burn. I took a step forward, and it felt like I’d walked through glass barefoot. It only made me hate Ula more for making me do this.

A tentacle slammed into my chest, driving me up out of the cellar and up through the floor above. I smashed into the ceiling and rolled over before scrambling to my feet.

My new vision swam with the subtle shifting of spiritual energy. Above horrible sphincters had appeared all across the walls of the manor, and homunculus ripped their way free. I saw them for what they were pieces of this place possessing flesh.

These homunculi looked more like gorillas than chimpanzees. The monsters roared, baring fangs easily 6inches long and half an inch thick. Every second I held this battle form was hell. The form felt like a mix of being burned alive and stabbed with thousands of needles, and no matter how much my box tried to help me with its spiritual energy, the pain wouldn’t stop.

I punched one of the charging homunculi with all my might. My hand shattered, and I screamed as an ape bit down on my shoulder. I lifted my good arm, and black flames appeared in my palm and sucked my spiritual energy dry. I threw the flame at the apes as they bit down on me.

The homunculus hit by my flame shrieked for a moment before the flame flickered out along with my spiritual energy. I hated this, I hated the system, and I hated myself for falling into this trap.

Just when I gave up hope, I heard a gunshot. The head of one of the apes exploded as a tall man began to hack and slash his way through the monsters. My battle form ended just as the apes broke from me to focus on the man. Blood oozed from my wounds, pouring out onto the floor of the manor soaking into an expensive rug.

Gunshots continued to fire as the sounds of blood squelching grew louder. The hot barrel of a revolver pushed against my chin. I looked up at the man to see a holy seraph. Long flowing black hair fell down to the man’s shoulders. A halo of impeccable majesty floated above the man’s head. And on his back were the exquisite wings of an angel.

“You’ll be alright, lad, because I’m here.” I opened my mouth, and blood flowed out of it. The angel man waved his hand, and I felt my wounds begin to mend. “Get out of here; you won’t survive what happens next.” I looked up to the exit the man had made. “What’s your name, son?”

Red,” I said.

“Logan Samael,” The man looked for recognition and seemed puzzled when he saw none. “You must not get off the farm much; you didn’t even have a bonded spirit. Get some distance but don’t go too far.” Logan said.

I saw purple tentacles in the corner of my eyes, and the angel man threw me out the window. My ass hit the outside grass, and I flipped over on my stomach. “Oh, daddy, you came; that makes Ula so happy. Don’t be too mean to my courter he’s just a big softy.” Ula said.

My body felt healed enough to keep from bleeding out but not much more. Clearly, the angel man meant for me to stick around. Worse, my newly gained spiritual energy was depleted; I felt like a rag squeezed out and tossed in the summer sun.

A beam of light blasted through the side of the wall leaving the edge of the holes it made white-hot. Gunfire sounded off, and beams of light ripped through the mansion. Explosions rang out before a black beam erupted through the roof. Fire began to catch in the mansion, and smoke rose out of the mansions many new holes. I fell flat and crawled towards the woods on my belly.

Was Ula joking, or was that man really her father. If so, then the apple really fell far from the tree. I leaned against a tree, and my box floated down to rest in my lap.

My body began to shake, and I focused on my box. It had six sides, eight points, and six faces; knowing those static details made me feel a little better. My spirit had managed to stabilize my soul, and to think I hadn’t believed in a soul until I received the system order. I held my cube as the battle wore on and focused only on it.

My vision changed, and I was with my box pulling the sails upon a new boat I’d built. In other visions were climbed the stairs of our tower after a late night of studying. Finally, we worked a forge, pouring iron into the mold of a blade and beating it into steel.

The fantasy reminded me of the gold necklace around Ula’s neck. I still wanted it.

At some point, I must have nodded off before Logan splashed my face with whisky. Then, my eyes snapped open, and I sputtered. Then, the world returned to a semblance of sense, and I realized I was riding in a wagon.

The angel man smiled, and he looked more handsome than any man had the right to be. It made me feel a little self-conscious about my haggard appearance. “Not running was a smart choice.”

The angel man turned to a blonde woman with big titties. She wore a triad symbol around her neck and stared down at me with big and innocent blue eyes. That is until she glared at my spirit. “That thing is heretical; we should break his bond and kill him now. It would be a kindness. He was clearly played for a fool.” The woman said.

“Interrogator Emily, that’s no way to treat a valiant survivor. My daughter won’t be able to resist hunting him. She gave him his spirit, and so they’re connected.” Logan said.

“Blessed are the deaths of those led astray lest they feed wolves and allow them to multiply. Our orders are clear his life was forfeit the second he indebted himself to a devil.” Emily said.

“Unless the prophet orders it, he will live to lead my daughter into a trap. Then, his weak spiritual energy will allow us to execute him at our leisure.” Logan said.

“What of his spirit?” Emily asked.

“Take him into the woods to find a spirit suitable for a high inquisitor’s servant,” Logan said.

“My lord, your habit of picking up strays is as amusing as it is troubling. But I will do as I’m told.” My stomach rumbled, and she glared down at me. “It seems I’ll have to hunt for the weakling as well. I pity him for his mortality.” I could only conclude that I had escaped the frying pan for the fire.