His frantic gasps calmed enough for him to ask a simple question.

"Where am I?"

"Some prison for people whose affinities took over." Dei responded.

"Who are you?"

"A visitor from another planet, I specialize in containing mana. You had mana to contain."

When he didn't have any other immediate questions, Dei gently set the man on the ground, giving him time to adjust to using his legs again. By Dei's own scans, it seemed that the man's muscles weren't all that atrophied either, likely returned to their condition before whatever accident made his affinity go berserk.

It felt weird to awkwardly carry him in silence, but Dei wasn't really sure if he could leave the cell just yet. He sensed a few scans run over his body, allowing a select few of them through. The people outside were most likely checking to be sure that the man's mana was under control.

He decided to strike up a conversation, asking "So, what's your name?" His Soul attunement started to act up with the casualness of his words, but that'd take hours to get anywhere harmful.

"Uh… Jean. You?"

"Dei. Come on, let's get out of this muck while they run the tests to check everything is in order."

His words brought some light to Jean's listless eyes, the man finally looking around the room even as he stumbled to follow Dei's pace.

Dei thought he might've thrown up the moment he saw the mass, but he simply asked "What is all of this?"

"You probably don't want to know."

Still, the man looked around curiously.

'He is surprisingly put together. Curious… though I suppose for him, not much time at all has passed if his mind immediately went dormant. What doesn't add up though is how calm he is about being surrounded by what looks like the corpse of an eldritch monster.'

"It's me, isn't it?" he asked abruptly.

"Hm?"

"The flesh. The stuff around us. It's me, or my body, before you brought me back? I remember… hearing stories about what happens to foreign users who push their category too far. Even Class 2 is lethal for us, but in a far different way."

Dei looked at Jean, "Err, yea. That's all correct. You don't seem very bothered by it though."

Jean stared somewhere far off, dazed.

"I guess I'm not…" he mumbled.

When they finally stepped down onto the floor rather than Jean's own body, they made their way to one of the walls and sat against it, just waiting for the clear to leave.

Dei could see that Jean's cell was much different than the others, mainly in its sparsity. It was understandable of course, Jean not conscious enough to get bored, but it still told him this was more cell than temporary home.

"I was so afraid before," Jean spoke again, "They told me to test out how my abilities affected other people. I thought they wanted to use me as some sort of biological weapon, but I was scared I'd lost myself. I didn't have much to live for back then though, and the money was good. I guess I was right, but something feels different now…"

"Like you've been built back wrong?" Dei asked, sympathising with the man. His own experiences in such a thing after inhabiting his new body gave him such a perspective.

"No. Like I'm finally built right."

Dei glanced at him, reading his body language and seeing that Jean was perfectly relaxed. Content. Not the slightest bit of shame at being naked, nor discomfort of being a former monstrosity.

Discreetly, he checked if there was any Duplication mana in his System, but found none. The simple eight thousand Null mana of expended Duplication was all that was left.

Still, he was changed by the experience. Anyone could see that.

'Including the camera and microphone in the corner. I have no doubt that Jean's words will make them apprehensive at letting him out now… not that I can blame them. That will be for them to decide though, not me.'

* * *

An hour later, a voice finally came through the camera. "Mr. Grrata, please walk into the decontamination lock. Mr. Martin, please remain where you are for now. We will change your living situation in a moment, but Mr. Grrata is still assisting us right now and takes priority."

Neither of them raised a fuss, Dei going through the door and getting sprayed down with something in return. A similar process repeated two more times until, finally, he was out. Continuing on, they finally stopped for lunch and Dei was given a hearty portion to eat. He didn't detect any poisons in it as he ate, but that was to be expected. At least until his job was done.

Soon enough they were back on track for the next foreign user. On the way there though, Perumah spoke up again.

"Why are you so suspicious of the man, Matthew is his name?"

"Yea it's Matthew, because he intends to betray us. Well, not just him, but the entire U.S. government in general."

"How do you know this?" she asked, confused.

"Well for one it's kinda just what they do. Not only do I have tons of knowledge from another universe, but I have potential to be a magical weapon. If nothing else, I might end up becoming a way for them to breach into other dimensions. At the end of the day, I have something they want, and they don't intend to let me go. They'll try to pay me off or buy me somehow, and when it doesn't work, the choice will be removed."

"I see… so there are plans outside of Matthew's purview that he is unaware of?"

"Well yes probably. I can't imagine him being directly consulted for it, but he definitely suspects it's gonna happen. It's virtually common knowledge among citizens at this point. Why do you ask?"

"Because I cannot detect any falsehoods, lies, or ill intent within him."

"Ah yea, he probably doesn't want to do it but he has to."

"Hmm… I understand the thought behind doing something you do not want to for the sake of your own future but… this is different. I cannot detect any guilt within him."

Dei mentally raised his eyebrow, but kept his expression stoic. Glancing over at Matthew, he read his body language again.

He did not detect guilt, but clear hesitation was there. Oddly enough though… not fear. More… frustration.

'Frustration?'

With Perumah's mind stored within his soul, there was no distance between their communication of one another. No signal that left his body to intercept, but he still asked as discreetly as he could.

"How about frustration? Do you sense any of that?"

"None. Why?"

"Because, I'm detecting frustration in his body language…"

Both of them mentally frowned, Perumah the first to finish her calculations as this was clearly the topic of her fears. "It must be a mental effect, and a skillful one at that. I believe Matthew's mind is being tampered with in such a subtle way that I cannot detect it, but the caster's emotions are, for some reason, shining through in his body language. Such body language must not be something the caster has accounted for, likely a Mind user?"

"I agree, I think something is going on now, but why would the caster's emotions be mirrored in the mind he controls?"

"I don't think it's direct influence. It must be subconscious manipulation, otherwise it would be too overt. I would have spotted it by now. Scan the other soldiers as well, not just Matthew.

Glancing around him, Dei started to read them one by one.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Each was unique, filled with either boredom, caution, or professional indifference. Below it all though, there was absolutely a sense of frustration.

"I'm getting the same type of frustration from each, I think you're right. Subconscious manipulation, but that still doesn't answer why it's reflected in each person."

"I do not know either, but if the caster is subtly influencing multiple people at the same time, they must not have perfect control over the connection. It may just be a blanket focused on our area, perhaps on you directly?"

"Ah rats, that's probably right. If another country found out about me, there's a pretty high chance they'd try to swoop in and steal me before the U.S. could lock me down. So why the frustration?"

"Is that not obvious? Your Profession gives absurd levels of Spiritual stats, in other words magical defense. Not only that, but you're keeping your Domain of Denial up, further hampering their influence. Finally, I've fled into your soul and am keeping active vigil. They likely intended to pierce into your mind as well, but are finding it difficult."

"Good point… and good eye, Perumah. I don't think I would've picked up on any of this if not for your help. Thank you."

"Someone has to watch out for danger" she said sarcastically, but he felt some pride slip through their connection. He was sure she appreciated the compliment.

At the very least, he wouldn't be attacked in this facility. It would have to be in transit somehow, perhaps on the plane.

* * *

As they approached the second foreign affinity user's cell, Dei said "What's this goober's crime?"

Completely ignoring his chosen vocabulary, Matthew said "This person's affinity is referred to as the Depths affinity, and is clearly a subcategory of the Ocean category, though likely related to the Darkness and Pressure affinities as well. It's a terrain-focused affinity, meaning that the person is in control of their environment, like the Earth affinity. When she was overwhelmed with mana, the patient suddenly took on more aquatic features, meaning she also had to be given a cell that allowed for her to be in water most of the time. When you get in there, be warned that you will likely have to pull her from her pool, and she tends to be… hungry. She will try to eat you."

"A cannibalistic mermaid?" he asked, looking at the door inquisitively.

"Mermaid is a strong term. Do not forget that her affinity is not Ocean, but Depths. Think goblin shark or angler fish."

"Ahh, okay. Well, it will be fine. Let me through."

"Very well. There is an airlock in this cell as well, but that's simply to ensure she does not get out. There's no risk of contamination. Before going in though, take this towel and clothes. She has not deigned to wear any since being locked up."

A passing staff member handed him the clothing.

Nodding, he walked through the door as it slid open then closed behind him, going through the process again to enter… a terrarium?

The room was quite large, around the size of a gymnasium, but the "floor" was made of dirt and rocks, and there were various types of flora all around him. He even saw some bugs.

Though the dirt did not last for long. It was simply a rim to what looked like a pond. And he was sure his patient was somewhere in here. Setting the clothes to the side, he walked a small distance away to stop them from getting wet, and simply stuck his hand in the water.

He was told she'd be more cannibalistic, so why not let her try?

Moments later he was proven correct as water went flying when something came up- not to bite his hand, but leaping for his throat.Grabbing her face easily, he shut her mouth- which he briefly noted were filled with needle like teeth- by clamping down on her jaw with his finger.

Her deep blue eyes, with slit pupils, showed no hesitation as her webbed hands grabbed onto his wrist. At the last moment, he glanced over her head to see her legs were gone, instead replaced with a shrimp back half.

A single flex of her tail, and Dei found himself lifted off the ground, headed straight for the water as she twisted her body to slam him face first into the rocks below the surface.

'Good tactic honestly. Whether I'm stronger than her or not, I can only be so heavy, and I'll struggle more than her in the water.'

Still, his thinking speeds gave him wiggle room to analyze the situation. He was hardly even an inch off the ground at this point and, surprisingly, Vigilance actually activated.

She was, at least slightly, a threat to him. Though, that danger likely disappeared when everything went slower than it already was.

Her skin was mostly covered in dark green scales, and he saw many humanoid parts replaced with aquatic counterparts.

He wouldn't have forever to analyze though, not this time. He wanted to be done before he hit the water, so he used Connection to give himself a view of her internal mana structure and jumped right in to studying the message here.

Depths mana, that's what Matthew called it, and he had to agree. It was aquatic, and incredibly brutal.

The depths spoke of survival in a most impossible environment, the oceanic trenches. Now that he had a point of reference as well, he was able to spot the Ascenders "message" quickly as well, the glimpse of unshakeable will and the most hidden aspect of the affinity.

From this he saw a new facet to the Depths as well, that of outer space. It was the tiniest fragment of the meaning behind the Depths, but it was also incredibly significant to the entire meaning.

Looking at the surface message, then the deeper one below, Dei figured out something of a story.

A creature of the deep dark, somewhere within a planets ocean, reaching the top of its food chain, becoming monstrous and intelligent, then choosing to not ascend towards Godhood. Though one day… it was caught in some kind of environmental activity. Either some kind of underwater volcano ejected it upwards, or the planet blew up or something.

The process didn't matter, the end result left this oceanic creature without water or atmosphere, but its physical body was strong enough to withstand. It was as the years went by and it left its solar system, the light of the star, and was plunged into darkness that it had an epiphany.

The depths were not merely ocean. It was everywhere the light did not touch, the places most inhospitable yet somehow still managed to foster life. The Depths Ascender found great and terrible beasts between the stars, but it was not afraid. It started its lifecycle anew, rising to the top of its food chain without ever stepping into the realm of the divine.

He felt as if the creature had one final epiphany, before getting called upon by something.

Then the memory ended.

He was halfway into the air at this point, and decided to do something about it. He'd gained a lot from seeing the Ascenders message from multiple perspectives. This one was much easier to parse, meaning he didn't actually need to study it for several minutes.

Grabbing hold of the Depths mana, he saw she had only around two hundred of the stuff. Not much, but the damage it dealt to her soul was immense. Unlike the Duplication user which fully succumbed to the foreign influence, this user was clearly still fighting it, and killing herself by doing so.

By his own estimates, she'd be dead in two weeks. Working her condition the other way, he could see she'd probably only been imprisoned for one week.

'Foreign mana kills fast, damn.'

It wouldn't get to that though. When he threw his will into pulling her mana away, the resistance he'd faced with Duplication simply was not there, and he didn't need to summon some disgusting echo to drain it away.

He noticed the beginning of a transformation when the mana first started to disappear from his patient, a few scales flaking off, but he was removing it so fast that the changes didn't have time to settle before more took place.

By the time he hit the water, she was devoid of mana completely, the result being that she practically hatched from the monstrous body, all of it exploding right off her.

Belatedly though, his attention was drawn to a second issue- Cycle of Sealing.

Right now, Dei was suppressing the Depths mana manually, and that was fine, but he raised an eyebrow at Cycle of Sealing not immediately jumping on it. Sure, he could see it making its way to the mana slowly, but it was almost lazy in doing so.

Spiritually squinting, he noticed it looked a little… large.

'It's overfull from eating the Duplication echo? Now it doesn't want to move around too quickly? This spell… is so ridiculous.'

He was glad that Cycle of Sealing was so much more powerful than before, but its clear intelligence made for some humorous situations.

He wanted to push the mana closer and make it easier on Wild Chains, but he wasn't the best at navigating his soul. Sure, the Soulspeak achievement let him know where things were, but the process of getting there? Not so simple. He needed to have something to latch onto and guide him from one point to another.

Even his Connection, which had roots all along his soul, was a labyrinth of misdirection. Easier to let Wild Chains move on its own. While he waited patiently for the spell to arrive, He lifted himself from the water, seeing a naked woman surrounded by monster parts, facing away from him while shakily propping herself up on her hands.

She looked over her shoulder, giving him a tired smile.

"Got any clothes?"

"Yea, they're over there on the bank. Let me just…"

He grabbed her shoulders, still facing her away from him, and carried her up and out of the water, soon plopping her down next to the towel and change before facing away.

He heard some brief ruffling, then "Ok I'm dressed."

Glancing back, she was mostly dry, splayed out.

"I'm guessing this is my containment cell," she said, "But who're you?"

"I'm Dei, you?"

"Rea, but I mean like… position. Are you a doctor?"

"Oh, no. I'm a visitor from another world. Your people asked me to help bring your berserk Elites back under control."

She sighed deeply, "Thanks. It normally isn't this bad. At this point, it's honestly our own fault."

Looking at her curiously, he asked "How so?"

"Please do not answer that," the intercom cut in, "Mr. Grrata, I ask that you leave the cell to continue on to the last patient."

Dei stared at Rea, who kept silent, though… he noticed a familiar sense of frustration bubble up from her subconscious emotions. That, and a sense of seriousness begin to invade her other emotions.

Perumah actually spoke up on the second part. "Dei, I can't be sure, but her emotions are smoothly calming down. I think it might be influenced… but I still can't be sure. I still can't detect anything, just measure the results."

"I agree" he responded, turning and facing the exit, "But I don't think we were right about it being some foreign operative controlling these people. It appears the U.S. has been creating bioweapons using foreign affinities…

"And one of them has gone rogue."

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