Chapter 7: My Power, Part II

  Ray

  I had always avoided using my ability. Not just to keep it hidden, but because of the curse tied to it—a curse that g my sanity. Even using a fra of it made me say and do things I couldn't expin. But this time, I had no choice. I wanted Maki to live. She deserved it. Depending orue potential, she might even surpass Akira. And Akira, too, had done an exceptional job here.

  Desding from the sky, I caught Maki just before she hit the ground. I gently pced her down and turo the crowd. “Any healers?” My voice echoed across the battlefield. Silehen I added, “You’re all so brave for staying here. It’s admirable, really.”

  Someone from the crowd finally spoke. “Why should we fight for your side? We’d have a better ce of surviving with the anization.”

  The young man from the Lion Cub anizatioed into hysterical ughter. “Hahaha! Soon, some of reatest fighters will join us. You’ll have no ce of survival ohey arrive. Listen up, everyone! Here’s the deal—whoever kills this man before they arrive will be weled into the anization. No svery. No ditions.”

  An obvious lie, but I pyed along. I smiled—a smile meant to terrify. “Very well said. Let’s give them a choice!”

  Before I could finish speaking, the muscur man—now shruo a size ner than four men bined—lu me, his massive hand aiming for my head. I caught it with one hand, not breaking stride in my speebsp;

  “This is your st ce,” I said, my voice ced with menace. “You have three choices: join the anization, join me, or leave this battlefield forever. But uand this—choosing wrong meah.” “But holy, you’re free to choose whatever path feels right to you.” I added with a smirk. With a push, I sent the muscur man stumbling babsp;

  Some fled. Others stayed and joihe enemy forces. When the dust settled, only six of us remained: Selia; Akira, the fierce warrior who could transform into powerful animals; Maki, a determined fighter with sharp instincts; Benjiro, who could hear everything with his Wayves ability; Taki, the you, a water maniputor; and me. “You’ve made your choices,” I said coldly. “Don’t bme me for what es .”

  I dashed forward and grabbed one of the traitors by the neck, cutting off his breath. With a swift motion, I severed his legs with my sword areated to my group, dragging the legless man behihrowing him in front of Maki, I said, “Kill him. Get your hands and your life back.”

  The man had already bcked out, but Maki didn’t hesitate. She threw herself onto him, sinkieeth into his neck like a predator. Blood gushed, and her arms regeed before our eyes. Her life force stabilized, but her fad mouth were smeared with blood, givihe appearance of a vampire. Our eyes met briefly. I turned away, hiding whatever emotions threateo surfabsp;

  With my voice cold and steady, I added, “This is your ce, Maki. You've heard what I said and seen what they offer. If you want to join them, now’s the time.”

  Her voice, though weak, carried unwaveriermination. “I didn’t catch everything you said, but ohing is certain: a on your side is as good as dead.”

  Most of those opposing us were ordinary people in their previous lives: farmers, shopkeepers, parents, teachers, and hey weren’t used to fighting, much less killing. That expined why the anization had only sent two elite fighters to subdue them. The bination of the young man’s HumanX ability and the giant’s raas more than enough froup like this.

  But they hadn’t anticipated Akira or Maki—both seasoned fighters—nor had they ated for me. My ability was the perfect ter to their stro on, HumanX. Now that I uood their capabilities, I could proceed with my pn.

  “Selia, take Maki and wait for us. Benjiro, Taki, watch closely—you’re not ready for this yet.” A sudden wind attaterrupted me, f us to scatter. I leapt forward as the others fell babsp;

  The fight began in ear. Activating my ghost-like ability, I hovered before speeding into the enemy ranks. With a sword in each hand, I spun like a whirlwind, cutting through their forces. Their abilities were weak and uncoordinated, iive against someone who could phase through attacks. By the time I stopped, tless bodies littered the ground. Those who remained alive hesitated, their fear palpable. The two elite fighters stood at the back, frustratioched across their faces.

  “It’s over for all of you,” I said, surveying the battlefield. “You had your ce to walk away, but now, there’s no escape. Your fate is sealed.” “And I truly wish none of you had to face this fate.” I muttered, my voice taking on an unnatural edge.

  A voi my head whispered, Release your power. I punched myself iomach. “Shut up. It’s not time yet.” The distra gave them an opening. They attacked. I activated my intangibility, their blows passing harmlessly through me. But the curse inside me grew stronger. Every use of my ability brought me closer to losing trol.

  This is my limit, I said aloud. “I ’t use my invincibility anymore. Now’s your ce to strike me down.” The words slipped out, pletely against my will, exposing my weako the enemy.

  Fuji, one of the traitors, attacked with ah ability. Surrounded, I dodged relentlessly, but they coordiheir efforts. The muscur man, now only twice his inal size, grabbed me from behind, pinning my arms. Fuji encased us both in a prison of soil. As the walls closed in, Fuji hesitated, unsure about crushing both of us ihe young man’s voice cut through, his tone decisive. “Let the big guy ha. He’ll finish Ray off in there—o waste more energy.”

  Ihe earthen cage, I spoke to the muscur man. “Your friends won’t let Fuji kill us both, will they?” He didn’t respond. “You’re out of mana, aren’t you? You started as a skyscraper, and now you’re barely double-sized. Pathetic,” I mocked. But then, without warning, my curse took ain. “You’re strohan this, you know. Don’t let them down,” I added, the words dripping with unnatural encement.

  Outside, the others began pieg it together. “Wait,” one of them muttered. “He’s… giving himself away. His curse—he’s betraying himself!” The realization sparked a wave of fidence among the traitors.

  “He ’t use his ghost form anymore!” someone shouted. “This is our ce. Finish him!”

  Their renewed determination surged as they prepared to strike, spurred on by my own treacherous words, the curse fueling their resolve.

  'Benjiro,' I whispered, knowing he could hear me with his Wayves ability. 'I’ll be gone for a moment. Get yourself and the others to safety. Hide, rest, and don’t attray attention.'

  Using the st of my mana, I activated my most desperate ability. "Grim Reaper: Takeover." My body turned spectral, and I dashed into the muscur man, taking trol of his body. It worked perfectly, fooling the others into believing I was dead.

  From within the muscur man’s body, I mimicked his tone and spoke. "He’s dead. Open the walls."

  The others hesitated briefly, but the young man’s voice broke the pause. "Do it! Let’s finish this."

  The earthen walls opened, and I stepped out in the muscur man’s form. Feigning exhaustion, I anded, "Let’s retreat."

  "But—"

  "Now," I snapped, still mimig the muscur man’s gruff tone. "I killed him. There’s o waste time here."

  Relutly, the young man gave the order. He opened a massive bck hole and shouted, "Everyone, jump in." Believing my act, they left without question.

  Benjiro

  With my Wayves ability, I had heard everything Ray said. Following his instrus, I led the others to safety. Akira awoke moments ter, and we left the battlefield.

  We found an abandoned house nearby and decided to stay there for the time being. Akira took charge, anizing us and ensuring we avoided further flict. As we settled, we finally had a moment to take in the world around us. The sky was vast and eerie, stretg endlessly in all dires. Far off in the distance, pure white ptforms like the one we had first appeared on would occasionally materialize out of thin air, h briefly before vanishing again. Their sudden appearand disappearance felt hauntingly familiar, reminding us of how we had fallen from one of these ptforms into this world.

  This realizatio a heavy tension among us. Each ptform's fleeting presence hi others undergoing the same terrifying ordeal—falling into this strange nd, vulnerable to the chaos it harbored. It was hard not to ect these vanishing ptforms to the attacks we had faced from the anization, making the liween our experiences and their sinister operations unfortably clear. We gathered fruits from nearby trees and sat around a makeshift firepce, the strange and shifting world around us making our temporary peace feel all the more fragile.

  Selia broke the silence. “What about introdus?” she suggested. “I’ll start. I’m Selia. I used to be a security engineer. I like cooking and pying video games, and I knew Ray in person.”

  Her e to Ray didn’t surprise us. I we. “I’m Benjiro. I hysics teacher. My hobbies? Chemical experiments—even though it wasn’t my field. I’m married and have two kids.”

  Akira spoke , relutly. “I’m Akira. I came here because my father killed me.” His words stunned us into silenbsp;

  Maki stepped in to break the tension. “I’m Maki. I was a dancer. I also practiced martial arts. And… I knew Ray.” That st part caught us off guard. “But he doesn’t know me,” she added.

  Finally, Taki, the you among us, said, “I’m Taki. I was about to graduate when I died. My power is water manipution. Oh, and I don’t like fat or overly muscur guys.” She blushed, and we all ughed. Even Akira managed a smile.

  Selia kept the versation going, pushing us to share more about ourselves. We talked te into the night, finding fort in each other’s paually, we fell asleep, uards lowered for the first time in what felt like forever.