"And what about the rest of you guys?" asked Jenny. She was still apprehensive about letting the demon back into her mind, but then, as she looked at the silhouettes of the possessed ghouls, an idea struck her.

  If the demons could possess ghouls, and they needed bodies to move between worlds, and there were more ghouls in the world of the dead... maybe she could bring a lot more ghouls back with her. There was a deal to be made, some kind of cooperation that might finally put Jenny ahead of the chaos for once.

  She blurted out her next thought before Iblis could respond. "I want more," she said. "You're not just helping me save Yeshua. I want to find someone else too and help her if I can." Her heart raced, thumping inside her chest as she realized what she was doing. What if the demon said no?

  But why would the demon say no? Jenny held the card that the demons needed. And they couldn't possess her. If there was ever a time to barter, if there was ever a time to stand up for herself and fight for what she wanted, to fight for her own needs, it was now.

  Iblis cocked his head, the fmes flickering up the side. What do you want?

  "You told me about the worlds before. And Yeshua told me about how Deaths are only one part of us humans. That humans are three parts. You called it Energy, Light, and Matter." She swallowed, trying to put everything together. It all sounded like the Holy Trinity. "I guess that transtes to our living bodies, right? Our deaths and our souls being the other parts?"

  Yes.

  She leaned forward. Fire crackled. She stared intently at the demon. "Then I want you to help me find Susan's soul. You'll help me save Yeshua. And then you'll help me find Susan. I need to save her too. I need-" She stumbled.

  She knew the demon knew what she'd done. The horrible thing she'd done. When Iblis didn't respond, Jenny licked her lips, ignoring the biting wind. She had her idea too, something that would bolster the demon's numbers if they all worked together. But again - that was up to her too, wasn't it? She had to drag all those bodies through the valescent light to bring them between worlds.

  "If you help me, I promise to help your people get as many bodies as they need." Just saying that out loud gave her a strange chill. It was something out of a horror story. A nightmare. But even though the ghouls seemed to be mindless, she felt bad. She was signing over their bodies to the demons. That's what happens in war.

  Very well, said Iblis. The Souls you speak of are indeed the Light of humankind. And we believe they are a vital part of Adonai's pns and seeking that out will be mutually beneficial.

  "And one more thing," she said, feeling bolder now. "I want to stay in control."

  For a long moment, there was nothing but the stillness of the snow, the crackling fmes, and Iblis staring back at her. We accept your conditions.

  “That's that then,” she whispered. I am trusting someone else.

  Can you trust them?

  I don't have a choice!

  You can wait.

  And then what? Go back to the world of Death alone? Leave the other deaths here to the demons? Isn't it better to make an ally?

  Her thoughts spiraled in several directions. Would this be like what happened with Eve? But she hadn't really had much of a choice that time. And Iblis couldn't quite lie to her. She'd seen inside Iblis' head too. And Iblis had sat down and finally expined things to her.

  She decided she trusted the demon. And she had to, didn't she? To let him into her body. If she was afraid, if she was mistrusting, there would be too many cracks, too many openings, and she'd lose control. There was a thin line between control and loss that she had to navigate. And this will work, she told herself. This was going to work.

  I must warn you, human. Possession can be very taxing on the Vessel. Especially Vessels with developed minds.

  "Are you kidding me?" said Jenny. She almost burst out ughing. "So, you were just going to take over my body, use me to open the passageway, and then burn me up?"

  No, said Iblis. We would have released you upon fulfilling our needs. Prolonged exposure is what leads to deterioration.

  She wasn't sure if she should feel better about that or not. Was this really the best way to do it? Shouldn't she just rest and do it herself?

  As if reading her mind, Iblis spoke up again. You will have our support in fighting the blooded ghouls. We will protect you against their hoard as you assist Yeshua.

  She inhaled deeply, shutting her eyes and standing from the log she'd been using as a seat. "Alright," she said, making up her mind. If Iblis tried to take complete control, she'd vanquish him again.

  Jenny even wondered what might happen if she used Severed Spirit while the demon was trying to possess her. She took another deep breath, too many horrible thoughts spinning through her head as she braced herself to allow another being to enter her mind again. "Let's do it."

  She swept her face out of her way and straightened her shoulders. This time she was prepared, she told herself. This time it was her decision. I will stay in control.

  The blue fmes went out in the demon's eyes, and the ghoul awoke. It was still seated. Its mouth opened as it cried out, a choked, pained cry that made Jenny wince. Was it in terrible pain? Did it hurt to lose its autonomy? But as it tried to get up, as it tried to cmber to its feet, reaching for Jenny, ice spread from its fingertips across its arm.

  In a moment, the ghoul was frozen, its limbs awkwardly in the air, ice glistening all over its body, shining brightly in the flickering glow from her campfire.

  Above its frozen body, hovered sparkling blue light. All of a sudden, the light fshed toward her, and Jenny sucked in another deep breath as blue light shimmered at the tip of her nose. Then, like water spshing her face, she felt the demon. She felt Iblis enter her body again.

  She didn’t struggle, but her core tensed like she was bracing for a punch to the gut. She forced herself to unclench her fists, trying to ease. Trying to focus on the warmth from her crackling campfire, trying to ignore the sensation of a foreign mind pushing against her own. A different kind of heat spread into her bones. Thoughts that weren’t her own swished around in her head – and she figured this wasn’t that different from having the Guidance System or Eve. At least there wasn’t a headache this time. It wasn’t an assault this time. She could feel Iblis’ presence but it was more like a faint tickle.

  Allow me to show you something, came Iblis’ voice from inside. As you have shown me your hurt. Allow me to show you mine. And perhaps we can reach a greater understanding of one another.

  What? I... but Iblis’ memories flipped open. They were fragmented, disjointed, like watching someone else’s dreams. These were the remnants of the memories Iblis had forgotten. The memories of Sat’en.

  She saw an angel made of pink and purple light. This angel had once taken on a male identity, and was once called Sat’il. He had beautiful wings of pink and white feathers, and his glowing hands were on Jenny’s face. No. Not Jenny’s - it was Iblis’ face. These were the demon’s memories.

  Not every angel wanted to fight. One angel rejected Adonai’s decree and many followed their lead. He rejected Adonai, abandoned his name, and became Sat’en. They who led rebellion against injustice.

  They gathered the other like-minded angels. Connected with the demons, with me, and war grew to a scale that shattered so many worlds.

  Jenny’s chest tightened. Her breathing quickened. And with each quick breath, she felt the pain like a knife lodged between her ribs. Iblis had loved Sat’en. But Iblis had never been sure if Sat’en had loved him back. But for Sat’en, Iblis had led the demons to battle over and over.

  The memories blurred. There were some flickers of Iblis pressing his inanimate self against Sat’en’s light. There were moments where their wings touched and warmth, such warmth, would flow through Iblis. It was hotter than any supernova. More brilliant than any gaxy. But these memories were disjointed and unwhole. These memories were lost. And then there was anguish. Heartbreak. A ripple in the fabric between worlds.

  She saw Sat’en sinking into the darkness, as though the angel had been trapped by quicksand. Wings beating furiously, struggling to get out. And had the angel been rested, had they not been battered and bruised by the towering figures standing over them, Sat’en might have escaped.

  Iblis threw himself into Sat’en’s body, trying to give his beloved the strength they needed, and now Jenny was also inside Sat’en. Another mind. A grand, unfathomably scaled mind, full of memories and dreams and – new chunks of memory hurtled through Jenny. And this part, she was familiar with. This part, she understood.

  The wings tore away, disintegrating into nothing. Skin stretched over the angel’s light as bones and muscles took shape. Veins and arteries snapped into pce, tangling and expanding, and the pain... the sheer hunger. The uncontrolble appetite that made her want to rip out of her stomach and never feel hunger again -

  Sat’en emerged in a dark world, cwing at their own face, ripping off their own skin, pulling on dark hair. This new mind was tearing itself apart, shredding, pulling – they couldn’t stand it.

  And Iblis, desperate to take over, desperate to stop the self harm filed, tossed around the newly tattered mind like a rowboat in a storm. And other angels, other Tarnished beings, their teeth glistening with blood and want, leaped onto Sat’en as their eyes flickered with blue fmes that kept going out. Iblis couldn’t take over Sat’en. And Sat’en’s teeth sank into flesh, and an overwhelming joy ignited in their belly.

  But it wasn’t enough. It would never be enough -

  Iblis remained inside Sat’en for a long time. So long that the memories blurred, but Jenny watched Sat’en grow. They became wretched, covered in pink and purple exoskeleton, continuing to feed their insatiable hunger.

  There were humans too, and Jenny realized the world was earth. A prehistoric earth with early humans attacking with spears and rudimentary tools. Some even started to pray, designing religions that depicted the Tarnished angels. Some begged. Most were eaten, vilges razed to the ground, poputions wiped off the face of the pnet.

  And still it wasn’t enough. Sat’en buried themselves into the earth as Iblis watched. A cocoon of glowing pink light until eventually a Desecrated Sat’en hatched. Pink beams of light radiated form their enormous body. Blue and purple bubbles of energy brought pyramids down to rubble. And as Sat’en hunted, the memory faded away – Iblis didn’t know when he left his love. Perhaps Sat’en died. Perhaps Sat’en’s body remains in the mortal world somewhere.

  But there were no memories of Sat’en left, and Jenny straightened up, returning to the present. Blue fmes spilled from her eyes.

  She blinked several times and even waved her hands in front of them. Energy fred up inside her. More fmes spread across her armor, and she clenched everything, shutting her eyes as her body adjusted. A notification appeared:

  Desecrated Human (Vessel)

  Heat pumped through her blood. Gushed into her muscles. She clenched her teeth tight to keep from crying out as Iblis spread across more of her – everything seemed to expand. Like she was growing, infting like a car tire being pumped with air. It was oddly familiar, like the first time she’d applied a bunch of stat points quickly, and that prompted her to pull up her stats.

  Jenny Huang

  Level: N/A

  Css: Desecrated Human (Vessel)

  Age: N/A

  stats

  Power: 45 (+200)

  Stamina: 40 (+200)

  Durability: 35 (+200)

  Agility: 40 (+200)

  Stat points avaible: 2

  Energy Avaible: 4232

  Jenny felt as though she could shatter the world with one blow. She trembled with raw power. Strength, and looked up at the falling snow, at the stretch of white clouds.+200 to each stat? That was mind-blowingly powerful.

  Direct possession lends the vessel my power. But it comes at a cost. Your body will burn if we maintain this for too long.

  “Got it,” whispered Jenny, wishing there was some way she could harness this. Wishing she could keep this. Maybe she could make something with the System that would allow her to continue? Like a stamina potion or-

  There is nothing. This is overheating your spiritual being to consume your material being. A potion might prolong, but it cannot sustain you long term. We should not waste time.

  A memory was pushed to the forefront of her mind. She could feel Iblis making the suggestion as the demon showed her the light. The glowing hands. Severed Spirit and the hurt she needed to open a passageway, and she got the sense that Iblis was asking her to use his hurt too. So she wouldn’t have to shoulder the burden alone.

  She faced the Deaths, the crowd of them that were staring at her from the comfort of the logs and campfires she’d made for them.

  “Stay here,” she told them. “I will return with Yeshua.”

  Then, in another voice, a deeply yered voice that startled her, she spoke to the demons. Do not harm the Deaths. Vessels to me. We take our first step toward salvation. And this time, we will prevail.

  But it wasn’t exactly with words. She wasn’t even sure what sounds were coming out of her mouth, or if this was how her brain transted what Iblis was communicating to the other demons who bowed their ghoul heads, fmes streaming upward from their eyes. The possessed ghouls stood at the ready, waiting for her to open the passageway.

  For a second, she marveled at the new sensations. Every step made her feel like a giant. Her limbs felt powerful, brimming with raw Energy. She felt Iblis inside her head like a bnket wrapped tightly around her. Like a second suit of armor. She could feel every shift of the wind. Could feel the slight differences from demon to demon, and that was strange. It wasn't like names, but she could differentiate between their temperatures. She could sense how hot they burned, and though they didn’t have age the way humans did, it was through these temperature fluctuations that they measured themselves. And as she focused on that, she realized it wasn’t as simple as their temperature, but even the various ways they shifted in temperature. Like a fire burning hotter on the inside with a cooler fme on the outside.

  It was completely bizarre to her, but to the demon part of her mind, it was very much normal – and she wondered if it was simir to how scientists measured stars on her world. Gravity and light and the color of the fme and... she could feel the air too. And it was much easier to find the strangely warm gooeyness of the passageway. She walked up to it, steam rising from her body, the fmes in her eyes brightening everything around her. Her fingers reached out and she touched it, touched the slight thickness in the air and whispered, "Valescent light."