As if in direct rebellion against my thoughts, I feel my right hand start to wither up with an orange tinge as cracks start to form on the skin with crust dispersing at the same time. The cracks travel and finally stops at my shoulder, but before anyone notices, the blond male throws his cloak over me to hide my arm. However, it must be already exposed by the pile of ash slowly forming beside my feet, as I lose sense of ever having an arm to begin with.

I startle as I look in front of me, to notice the person that should be unconscious staring at me with a form of understanding. Let's redo...but that is only a wish for now; to rewind and mask my startled emotion from a lower being. Those eyes seem to have understood a portion of my great self and for that, I am neither thankful nor disgusted, I am content - neutral, uncaring, calm.

"Your name?" I ask as I witness her stomach already starting to make use of the new-found power, slowly healing the wounds by itself.

Thus I can conclude that, the latent power she held was no joke, which includes the other five as they have similar dormant power, but now that her dormant power is leaking, she exudes an aura of being close to an awakening. Funny that she is probably older than me, since it is a common trait that one uses to single out children from a crowd of adults back in Laviana, but also separates the talented from untalented. I was placed in the untalented group when I first started my path, so I can only presume that the person in front of me would be placed in the talented group without being asked any questions, just her ability to utilize the power after obtaining it is more than enough.

"S-Sophia..." She mutters in a quiver before my form, with a tone shockingly different from before.

Without a doubt, certainly placed within the talented group.

"You can see the true me?" I ask, lending her my only hand for her to stand.

My inner power does not affect her any more, at least not to a certain extent.

Her hand is soft yet firm, yet calloused but smooth, she seems to have cared for her hands while the work required her not to, it's typical that a female suffers by doing something to enhance their beauty. However, I already feel the power circulating around within her as I make direct contact with her soul and she starts to shiver.

"I am scared." She starts to mutter as she proceeds to take curious yet fearful looks around her, stopping at certain shadows and trees.

Ugh, I seem to have rushed a little too much with my decision in giving her power, as I did so without personally examining her inner feelings and emotions. I had acted too fast and was controlled by my own emotions. There will be no point if she kills herself before I can even start to reap the benefits, and so my pride as a greater being has to be placed temporarily to the side. I move in closer to her face, lean in an-

"We too are scared." The voice comes from an insignificant speck I thought I had diffused, and she is already conscious, amazing.

Eavesdropping on my conversations are not allowed, but given their current emotional instability, I will let this one slide. I lean back and a large crack resounds from my muscles, I move my hand and the same thing happens. So, is this what it feels like to be a mortal? Nevertheless, I was born as a mortal so I have experienced this before, though it might have only been a short seven years before I transcended. Anyway, if I continue on like this, being all emotional, then I'll become weak somewhere and leave an opening for those around me to exploit, and I will never allow that.

I never had, not to anyone, not to my friends and not to my family.

"AAH!" Just before I can open my mouth, I am interrupted as Sophia falls down into a scream, completely destroying any image I had of her before.

She falls to the ground pointing towards the darkest tree in the vicinity with an expression filled with fear, although I would savour such emotion and feed on it, I am not the one that caused it. I look at her eyes that beat fast and uncontrollably, obviously having witnessed something horrible. Her eyes did not look elsewhere, and her arm shook up and down as her finger stayed pointed towards the one spot.

I turn and look.

Under the cover of a tree, a large ghost cloaked in black with no eyes and pale skin wielding a large scythe that already found a target to execute. It's mouth is wide open, sucking in Sophia's soul inside the black void as colour starts to fade from her face, but the ghost keeps growing from all the soul he is obsorbin-

"Return it." I state and the ghost shakes, before his form starts to shrink and the whole scene is reversed.

"Are your eyes now clear to the real world?" I ask as her eyes lock onto my form, fearing to look elsewhere.

However, the other five must be really confused since they wouldn't know what had happened, they only heard Sophia screaming, but they must have deduced that were are not alone from the scene that took place.

"This is the price for power." I tell her as I begin to move towards a radiating feeling.

The others follow me, only daring to look at my back and nowhere else, though for Sophia, she cannot see anything right now, only my form and overwhelming pressure suffocating her throat. It is astonishing that she had seen anything through my thick energy. Although, it may not be so astonishing after all, considering that I may die before a year even passes if I do not regain my energy.

That is right, I am weak and I feel faint from all the pressure that I had become numb against in the past. This planet "Hediu", it feels like a bulb for moths, except the moths are dark spirits and cursed remnants of god energy. I now regret remembering moths, since during my rising of power back then, I had been ordered along with my other "untalented" kin to wipe out the moth race. I feel nasty just recounting the aftermath of it, imagine it, around one hundred billion moths infesting a single planet, turn to fight as a single entity and take flight with their fur adorned bodies.

Although, I now have another beacon of light that these entities will crowd around, though with me being here they can't get close to me, but that doesn't mean I am immune to it al- well, I was but not any more due to my increasing necessity to lower my power usage.

Shrinking the field my power surrounds, I feel my back being pressed up against by a well proportioned woman. A lower species...dares.

"I fear obtaining this power, please take it back." My thoughts of Sophia go from impressed to hated in an instant, as she has struck a nerve in my system.

If I save you once then return endless benefits, but if I save you twice then you are forever useless. I do not want "useless", I only want "benefit". Even more so if I show you the entrance to becoming a higher-being.

"Then leave my side! Let a dark spirit take you to a world of pleasure and lust!" I turn to her, making her sink into the ground with just my overwhelming pressure as a disfigured spirit floats into the bubble surrounding us with no resistance.

I will receive endless benefits one way or another.

"After you succumb to your pleasure and fall into another plane, make sure you resist the voice no matter what happens to you. If you succeed, then I will take your power and unchain your from my contract." I smile as I watch her expression sink to an ever further despair, before continuing: "If you fail, then enjoy your eternal-lover, you will be cherished for being one so talented."

I might have been a little jealous of the locked up power of those around me, but not after confirming they are nothing but lower-species vermin with no willpower and discipline I had deemed them to be from the very start. It makes me wonder why I even bothered, but maybe I am rushing forwards too quickly.