Beyond The System
Chapter 111: Two Effects

“How in the world?” Marcus breathed, marveling at his companions' new power. He turned to me, eyes lit with what I could only describe as… happy suspicion.

Is there a word for that? Suspicion without hostility?

“Peter?” he asked expectantly.

“Well, I’m not a tamer,” I started, “but I have something that lets me influence beasts.” Honestly, I could hardly believe the outcome myself. It didn’t follow the same rules I did. Like Luna, it could absorb multiple energies, or at least two, anyway. When I left the body, it had still been full of natural energy. 

“I did some experiments, but… this wasn’t the goal.”

He paused, fingers running through his messy, wiry beard. “Only beasts?”

My mind blanked.

I hadn’t even considered it. Could I?

‘Possessing humans is nothing new,’ Wyrem chimed in casually. ‘I’ve seen plenty of creatures that manipulate the mind. Maybe you’re one of them.’

I extended my hand. “Want to test it?”

Marcus looked at it, then shrugged. “No danger with a fool like you.” He clasped my hand.

*Tch.* “Can’t say anything nice, can you?” I muttered then reached out and pushed a wave of violet-powered Beast Force toward hi—

“AHHH!”

It felt like my skull had cracked open from the inside. A violent recoil tore through my thoughts, something sharp and searing. It didn't feel like resistance, but clear rejection.

Like I’d touched something I was never meant to.

No merging, no flicker of thought. Just wild and directionless pain slamming back into me harder than anything I’d ever felt from a creature.

I stumbled back, clutching my head, gasping for breath. It wasn’t just intense... It felt wrong.

The connection had failed before it even began.

Marcus and the others rushed over, concern replacing curiosity. One of the dogs brushed against me, warm and worried. “Peter! You alright?”

I could barely breathe. One of the worst headaches I’d ever experienced was tearing through my skull, but as the pain slowly ebbed, I managed to force out the words.

“Not. Try–ing. Again.” I basically vomited that last word, then slumped to the ground.

#

Warm. Why can’t I breathe?

I tried to move, but my body felt heavy like it was draped in wet blankets. How injured was I? I heard an annoyed grunt from above. I’d apparently disturbed something with my movements.

I opened my eyes and… saw nothing.

Not because it was dark, but because I was buried in fur, surrounded by it.

“Ma—” I wheezed. “MARCUS!”

I heard shuffling, and some of the pups covering me stirred lazily.

Then laughter.

“Get them off me, please,” I groaned through his amusement.

“How could I? They look so comfy,” he teased. “Who knows, if you had a system, maybe you would've been like me.”

Seeing he wasn’t planning to help, I gave a few firmer nudges. C’mon, puppies. Move it.

Reluctantly, the three that had been using me as a mattress moaned in protest and rolled to my side.

“Finally.” I took a deep, blessed breath. “How long was I out?”

“Don’t know. I’ve been cultivating the whole time,” Marcus replied. “Also… I think I’m close to full purification.”

That caught me off guard, but after thinking, it made sense. He’d used up all his energy in one go when he failed the first time. Probably gave him a head start, and purification sped up the deeper you got into it.

“You should get about a twenty-point agility boost when it happens,” I told him.

His eyes widened, and he dropped into a seated position instantly, already diving back in.

Love the enthusiasm.

‘Luna?’

‘Yes?’ she answered immediately.

‘Everything going okay?’

‘No problems. I’m going to focus on the structures first before pushing further into Body Refinement,’ Luna said.

‘Under my advisement, of course,’ Wyrem added smoothly. ‘Foundation is more important. The way you described those transformations to that man, Peter, you should do the same.’

‘You’re not just saying that so my circulation is faster, right?’ I asked, narrowing my mental eyes.

‘I’d prefer if you had more energy. The speed doesn’t matter to me,’ he replied defensively.

I chuckled and let the whole human possession mystery rest for now. There’d be time to dig into that later.

Right now, I wanted to follow Wyrem’s advice, but Tuning Scars weren’t easy to create without a full Grand Channel, and more purification would help with that.

So I got to work.

Condensing failed cores wasn’t new, but this fused gold-and-blue energy was slippery, hard to grasp. The density kept shifting, like the two elements were still bickering over who was in charge. But once I activated Precursor Sense, everything settled.

With tighter control, the process snapped into place.

Time passed peacefully... well, except for the increasingly pungent stench pouring from my pores. The dogs retreated to the window, noses twitching in protest, while I pushed through round after round of purification.

By the time my Grand Channel was bone-dry, my sense of shame had fully eroded.

“HAHA! THIS IS AMAZING!” Marcus roared.

I opened my eyes just in time to see him sprinting laps like a lunatic, a full-grown man fueled with child-like energy.

Oh no.

With the reckless joy of a man who had never once considered consequences, Marcus crouched low. His palms glowed.

He was definitely about to launch himself.

“Maybe take it slow fir—” I started.

“Shut it.” He grinned and shot off.

I sighed, deciding not to point out that maybe, just maybe, aiming his zero-friction launch straight at the exit wasn’t the smartest move with his new agility stats.

But to his credit, it started off graceful. A blur of motion with a glide so smooth it looked like an expert figure skater had possessed him.

“See? Totally fi—AHHHHH!” The follow-through, however, was pure chaos. He slammed into the door with the grace of a dropped sack of laundry then launched through it, his scream echoing all the way down.

Moron... He was fine, right?

I bolted outside, the dogs rushing after me. I looked over the edge half expecting a crumpled heap, but nope. Marcus was skating around in pure bliss, still buzzing from his new stats.

I sighed again and turned back, settling into a seated position. Time to pull in more energy, fuel the Nexus, except… the moment the energy arrived, it vanished.

One second, it was flowing in. The next, it was gone, yanked away like it had never been there, and not gradually. Violently and uncontrolled, dragging more with it like a vacuum.

‘What is that thing?’ Wyrem’s voice cut into my mind, low and tense. There was a rare edge to it, almost a reverence mixed with unease. ‘Something that drinks power so freely…’

I didn’t get the chance to answer. That weight hit. Familiar now like gravity had just increased. My limbs turned heavy, like they were soaked in a bog. My breath became sluggish and my muscles slow.

I opened my eyes on instinct, but it was already too late.

All six dogs were moving. Silent and focused, their eyes locked on me with a strange, unnatural hunger.

No growls or sound at all, and in the next moment, they ran straight at me.

I barely had time to raise my arms. My mind screamed for defense, anything, but there was no energy left to summon. No time, no warning... If they’d wanted to tear me apart, I wouldn’t even be able to stop them.

But they didn’t attack.

The six of them stopped just inches from me. No bared teeth or tension in their bodies. They just… sat beside me. Close, but silent. Breathing heavily, their body heat bleeding into mine.

The air was thick with tension, but not hostility.

A moment later, that oppressive weight didn’t vanish, but it eased slightly. Enough to breathe again.

‘Peter!’ Wyrem’s voice burst into my mind, sharp and urgent. ‘That thing lodged in your Nexus, it’s beyond valuable. You need to gather energy now! Before it changes again.’

I didn’t question it, and dove in immediately.

The force flooded into me faster than I was ready for. My body ignited with heat and pressure. My channels strained, stretched thin trying to contain the surge.

I remembered the Voidseed’s prior effects: a conduit, drawing in World Force, compressing it near me… then repelling it out again in a strange, silent radius.

‘This feels familiar,’ Wyrem murmured, his tone suddenly cautious. ‘Long ago, I saw an object like this. It didn’t devour energy like yours, but it disrupted the world around it… slowed battlefields to a crawl. Even time felt heavier near it.’

He paused. ‘Whatever this seed is… keep it secret. Very close.’

I didn’t reply, but instead, I shouted down, “Marcus! Get up here!”

I saw him start to climb, then turned inward again.

The Voidseed had changed. Not drastically, but noticeably. Its shape had grown more defined, the subtle point at the center of my Nexus had widened.

I wasn’t surprised too much considering it had a name like Voidseed. ‘Do you know how much time has passed since I last used it?’ I asked.

‘I didn’t know you used it before,’ Wyrem replied. ‘But since you arrived at the tree? Maybe three days.’

Probably was hard to be sure with his awareness restricted under Luna’s influence. ‘So, it takes a few days to recharge at most… maybe less. I’ll need to start checking more often.’

One thing was certain though, the barely visible hole near my Nexus had grown to something more defined, more distinct.

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