POV - Sam

Samantha's brain pounded behind her eyes as information from all around her imprinted itself on the inside of her skull. The mathematics alone was enough to overwhelm the human mind but it was more than that. Sam had always been able to feel a room's Mana, but now she could see it. It was moving around them all like motes of dust interacting with everything in here, both material and living.

Right now it was like a physical force expanding off Mark and Jason. They were drawing it in at an incredible rate, but they were also losing a good amount of it simultaneously. Mark's was more controlled but neither of them compared to the way the Mana was acting around herself.

Sam could even see the Mana that was being created beneath her skin. More interestingly every mote of Mana was interconnected, and a tug was all it would take to pull this outside Mana into herself. She was already doing it unconsciously, what would happen if she called it all now?

Sam's thought process was interrupted by the sudden system ring in her ears.

Skill acquired: Astral Embodiment(incomplete)

 

Through exchange with the cosmos, the user has gained knowledge beyond its understanding. To make up for this the physical can only follow.

Upon activation all physical aspects shall be converted to Mana, allowing for the integration into the building blocks of reality.

While active, Mana attribute is doubled.

While active all physical and emotional processes are suspended.

The strength of this skill is limited until core expansion reaches maximum saturation in primary species[Homo sapiens].

Current chance of evolution: 0.00011%

Sam stared at her notification before looking up at everyone. The room was completely silent as some of them sat around the living space while the original residents of this place watched on as deeply unsettled onlookers.

Sam didn't feel anything for their obvious discomfort, instead, she studied them in return. The two females had a modicum of all three types of energy, while the man held a decent amount of Aura. The most notable thing about them was the amount of blackened energy rushing through their beings. They were all on the edge of conversion and they were somehow hiding the symptoms. A casual glance at pulled sleeves and buttoned collars made for obvious signs.

Sam would have found this alarming before but right now she wasn't sure how she felt. Everything felt distant, as though her emotions were muffled behind a layer of glass. Yet one thing broke through: Jonathan, sitting beside her with a stoic expression that barely masked his worry. After all these years, she knew him well enough to recognize the fear lurking beneath the surface. Jonathan only showed concern when he couldn't fix something, so the fact that he seemed worried about her didn't make sense. By every measure, she was perfectly fine—or at least, that's what she kept telling herself.

She was neither hungry, nor harmed, and when she got used to the information steaming in she would be perfect. The distinct pattern of her new body was offputting, but she didn't see that as an obstacle.

Glancing at Mark, Sam saw an undisguised look of care gracing his face. He was worried but neither he nor Jonathan had spoken. No one had for a while.

Cocking her head Sam glanced down at her hands.

They flashed with a multitude of colors and patterns, shifting as time pressed on. Sam's new body had rhythm and reason to it, but it would take time to adjust to it.

Captain price looked impatient by the way his brows drew together.

"So? Are you okay in there? You haven't said anything for the last ten minutes, I get you are taking everything in but this is getting kinda creepy."

Sam turned to look at the man.

"Yes, Mr. Price, I can assure you everything is alright I'm feeling better than I have in a while"

Captain Price did not look convinced because he shot Mark a look by widening his eyes just a few millimeters than normal and tilting his head by about four degrees.

"Well… it's just you're kind of sitting there staring off into space… are you sure everything's okay?"

Sam processed his request but couldn't find anything out of sorts, perhaps a demonstration would put his concerns to rest.

"Your distress is noted. I shall now explain why it is unnecessary."

Raising her index finger to point to the ceiling, Sam went about the room collecting all available Mana and structured it into a neat network of condensed motes. Mixing some of her own in resulted in a ball of Mana that turned into a kaleidoscope of stars as it expanded into the room.

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"In simple terms, I have just turned all the existing Mana in the room other than your internal reserves towards nuclear fusion. I've protected us against the heat, but If I wanted I could upscale the process to superheat this room to about one million degrees Celsius or one fifteen the temperature of the sun's core."

Everyone in the room went deadly quiet once they processed what she'd said, then fear began to etch itself on their faces.

Jonathan and Mark were the exception and looked at one another before Jonathan gently rested a hand on her own.

Captain Price stood and narrowed his gaze at Sam, his voice strained but urgent.

"You're telling me you could set off an equivalent of a nuke anywhere you chose."

Sam shook her head.

"Unlikely at this stage. A nuclear warhead easily reaches around fifty million degrees at the point of detonation. With the Mana I have available, it would not be feasible to reach those temperatures. Plus it would wreak unbiased destruction and I have no need for that. I was merely stating that I'm healthy and everything is in order."

Jonathan and Mark closed ranks in front of Sam, challenging Captain Price in some non-verbal sparing match. All too quickly it was over and Jonathan turned back to Sam, taking her hands in his.

"Sammy, listen to me. Are you capable of switching back to your human form for now? Mark says it should just be like flicking a switch. Would you do it for me?"

Sam cocked her head and searched for the information to do so. She found it immediately but she wasn't sure she should trigger the shift just yet.

"I can make the change but if I were to trigger it now, shifting back may take me some time. I believe as I am, I can use long-range spatial magic to teleport these civilians to the city. Should I do that?"

"What?! Wait, no we don't want to leave!" Dorian said, a look of shock and horror on his features.

Both Selene Alara seemed to mirror Dorian's trepidation, clinging onto his clothes for comfort.

Sam looked at the man causing him to shrink back.

"This place may shield you from the physical dangers outside, but it does nothing to protect against the taint permeating the area. You should be aware that all of you are at risk of succumbing to it very soon. I'm certain Mark has already sensed your conditions and could assist you, but without adequate protection, you will still fall victim to it; it's only a matter of time."

Captain Price crossed his arms.

"Keep in mind that this is not your home to do with what you will. This is a military installation that you three are guilty of trespassing on."

Mark went over to the trio and lowered himself to where they were seated.

"I can't make the decision for you, but I can help you to feel better. Sam is right, you are all suffering from the late stages of Corruption poisoning. I can cleanse it from you if you'll let me. "

Mark spoke in his usual demeanor. Offering his help without asking for much in return.

At first, they all seemed hesitant, but Mark had a way of disarming people and Selene was the first to accept. Watching the process, Sam could see how he called the Corruption into his body and locked it away. When the others saw how much better she looked they accepted Mark's offer shortly after

When they were done Dorian looked up at their group.

"Please. Hear me out. I understand this place is not safe but as long as no one else is coming here, can we not stay? We're not bothering anyone and I understand we're in danger here but if anyone else shows up we can help them like we did you."

Sam looked over to Captain Price. The man was a stickler for rules and yet she had observed a soft spot for people. He cared greatly for his fellow soldiers and by that same token the people he protected.

He showed this by not turning down the man's request the moment he asked.

Mark stepped forward again reminding them just how dangerous it was to stay here and yet all of them nodded

"Can I ask why you want to stay here?" Mark frowned as he stared at them from the other side of the couch.

The three people glanced at one another and shared a smile. Alara was the one to answer him, her voice was the softest out of all of them, yet it held the same resolve.

"All of our lives were pretty difficult before this happened, but when we managed to escape to this place we realized that things weren't so bad. The outside became too painful to watch, that's why we turned off the external camera. From our point of view, the world was ending and yet we were safe. Eventually, we all decided that we would stay together no matter what. We'd die down here if we had to. The city is just another dangerous place. Where we'll have to fight to survive, here or there it makes no difference. I want to stay to keep that promise, and I think that's the same for Dorian and Selene."

Mark looked painfully at the woman but he pressed his lips into a firm line trying once more.

"You seem aware of what that means, but if we leave the chance of us coming back is low. Come with us."

All three of them shook their heads without saying a word.

As far as Sam knew Mark tried not to interfere with people's decisions even if he truly disagreed with them. These situations were the hardest for him, Sam had an irrational desire to crack a joke to comfort him but couldn't find a reason as to why.

This alone caused Sam to frown.

She was still watching the exchange when she felt another squeeze against her palm. Jonathan had not let go of her hand the entire time and he looked at her with concern. She remembered his request and saw no reason to deny him.

Closing her eyes she began to process of shifting over to her human form. Her skin was the first thing to shift, losing its sensitivity to Mana and defense to external stimuli. Followed shortly by her internal organs that condensed back down into their physical forms.

When Jonathan saw her change a calm face settled over his features and he seemed to return to his old self.

It was her eyes and mind that shifted last. Sam's brain stepped back into a formfitting suit of flesh as the number rushing through her consciousness slowed to and manageable amount. Finally, her eyes faded back to their usual glow. Losing sight of the motes and connections all around her. Not least were the bands that ran from herself to Jon and Mark. Subtly connecting them all. When Sam shut her eyes and opened them again her emotions returned in full and she realized just how much the other form had been suppressing.

Even the heartwrenching declaration from Alara had not shaken her but now it all doubled back on her. The tidal wave hit and Sam's chest shook her as she hunched feeling it all at once.

Jon patted her back but she just smiled through the sudden tears.

"Don't worry all good. That form's a doozy. I'm just recovering from using it."

This seemed to placate Jon and he nodded.

"Right, I think we should take some time to recover and then head out when we are ready," Jonathan said

A series of acknowledgments came from everyone as Jonathan refused to take his eyes off Sam.

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