Chapter 5: My Power, Part 1

  Seve people died from that fall. Most of them cked abilities that could save them, such as flight or some form of prote. Only forty-five of us remained, scattered across peared to be a p simir to Earth. The key difference y iforms—massive, floating cubes visible in the sky. The one we had been on had vanished, leaving us with a chilling realization: We are not alone.

  The survivors dispyed mixed reas. Some tested their new powers, thrilled by the possibilities. Others stood paralyzed by the sight of mangled bodies—the 78 who hadn’t survived. Among the chaos, I began searg for any who might still be breathing. I found a couple ging to life, their bodies broken but not yet beyond saving.

  While them, I noticed something peculiar. Every corpse shared the same anomaly: a heavily damaged ahe chest, an an I quickly deduced to be the sourana. As I watched one die, I uood. The moment life left a body, this an self-destructed. A faint smile crossed my lips. 'So this is how it works.'

  I began experimenting, pieg together the meics of this new world.

  Twenty minutes passed. Survivors were regaining their strength, but the tension in the air hadn’t eased. Six people approached me, their leader stepping forward with a scowl.

  “Hey, you. Stand up,” he demanded.

  I didn’t bother looking up. "Busy. Go to Akira."

  The man spat on the ground. “I said, stand up.”

  Finally, I looked at him. Pedoro’s little pdog. “Ah, it’s you.” Rising slowly, I added, “Did you waste your wish oing a bigger pair of balls?”

  His face twisted with rage. “You think we’ll follow you just because you killed Pedoro?”

  “No,” I replied ftly. “But you will die if you don’t.”

  “The only one dying today is you.”

  “Don’t you want to know my power first? Attag blindly seems foolish. I’ll even show you, if you’re curious.”

  The maated, turning to his group for a whispered discussion. He faced me again. “Fine. Show us.”

  “Good. I need a volunteer.”

  One of his ckeys stepped forward, activating an ability that turned his body to solid metal. A smart choice against most threats—but not against me. I pced my hand on his head, closed my eyes, and activated my power.

  In the same instant, I drew my sword and stabbed it into my stomach. The group recoiled, fused. When I removed my hand from the metal man’s head, it appeared to clutething—his very soul. For a brief moment, he stood still, lifeless, before colpsing. His metalli faded, his soul dispersing into the sky.

  His rades roared with fury, charging at me. They assumed my power required a lengthy ritual and po strike before I could prepare again. H they were.

  I whispered, “Run, before you die.” A bitter ugh escaped my lips. 'So this is my curse, then.'

  As they leapt to attack, my body transformed. Metallic spikes erupted from me in a blink, skewering all five of them mid-air. They hung lifelessly, their abilities never even activated.

  “Unfortunately, you died before we could see your powers,” I said coldly, letting their bodies fall. The onlookers’ faces betrayed a mixture of awe and terror. To them, I had performed an intricate ritual to kill the metal man, stolen his ability, and used it to sughter the rest. When the fighting ended, I noticed something else: the wound I had inflicted on myself was pletely healed.

  In this world, killing another person heals your wounds—but only if their body remains intaormally, the mana core within a person self-destructs upoh, making it impossible to use another’s core to heal your own. However, I discovered a loophole. By separating the soul from the body without fully killing the person, they exist in a paradoxical state—both alive and dead. In this state, their mana core doesn’t self-destruct, allowio tras properties.

  Here’s how it works: I damage my own mana core, leaving it vulnerable. Then, by f the enemy’s mana core to heal mine, I iently absorb some of their abilities. This transfer es at a cost. The process is uable and activates the curse tied to the stolen power. But the risk is worth the reward. Utilizing this trick, I stole the metal man’s ability before his core could destroy itself.

  This teique came with limits. First, the stolen ability could only be used onless my mana core absorbed enough abilities to grow stronger, enabling it to hold two or more powers permaly. Sed, I had to ehe victim’s curse while the ability was active.

  Before this battle, I had already stolen two abilities. The first enhanced my physical strength and senses, but its curse required me to eat furly, uhers in this world who only needed food to replenish mana. It was a familiar invenience, so I kept it active. The sed was the metallic body, which I had just used to devastating effebsp;

  When I deactivated it, the spikes retracted, and I felt the curse settle in: my body became unbearably heavy, likely proportional to the power of my attack. Even so, I remaianding, thanks to the first ability.

  I addressed the crowd. “Have I proven myself? We’re not alone in this world, which means we’ll face others like us. Are you ready to fight and survive, or will you choose to fade into nothing?”

  A pause. Then, I tinued, “I won’t foryoo follow me. Leave if you wish. Those who stay will have to fight to survive.”

  No one moved. The fear I’d instilled eheir plianbsp;

  Akira approached, his face pale. “Where were you?” I asked.

  “Apologies,” he said. “My curse activated.”

  “What is it?”

  He expined. His power allowed him to take oributes of animals, but when he reverted to human form, he became a tree for one-fourth the time he had spent transformed. The size of the tree depended on the animal.

  “Your ability is valuable,” I said. “Fly up and scout the area. Find us a pce to build a base a back.”

  “Uood,” he said, taking off immediately.

  Turning back to the crowd, I said, “I o see your powers. Let’s determine who among us is most useful.”

  By the time Akira returned, I had identified five standouts:

  Fuji: Earth manipution, though it drained water from his body. Taki: Water manipution, essential to sustain Fuji. Touma: Metal manipution, perfect for crafting ons and tools. Ohta: Enhanced vision, capable of seeing vast distances and through obstacles. Benjiro: Wave dete, able to sense movement in a wide radius. Akira suggested a locatioled between mountains with natural resources. It was defensible and practical.

  “We move there immediately,” I announced. “Fuji, you’ll struct the base usih. I’ll provide the blueprint. Taki, supply him with water. Ohta and Benjiro, you’ll handle surveilnd defense. Ohe base is plete, we’ll ao proper units.”

  Suddenly, Ohta and Benjiro turned sharply toward the same dire.

  “Someone’s approag,” Benjiro said. “They appeared out of nowhere and are heading straight for us. Slowly, but deliberately.”

  “A muscur man and a teenager,” Ohta added. “They look strong.”

  As I processed this information, a sharp pain coursed through me. The world spun. My head fell—severed ly from my body. Yet, before it hit the ground, my hand caught it. Without hesitation, I reattached it, the e seamless as though it had never happened.

  “An attack from behind,” I muttered. My sed stolen ability had saved me, allowio survive the otherwise fatal blow. "This will be the first and st time I rely on it," I added, knowing that stolen abilities only granted a single use.