“Maybe I can do it. If I can feel the demonic energy inside him, maybe I can guide it too,” Emmet thought.

  Jasper was focused now. His divinity was indeed corrupted. “It's not in any way the same as Raze's... Raze’s aura seems pure and feels serene—well, minus the chaos and light power in him; I'm not even sure what Raze is. This guy somehow… I can feel it that he and I have some kind of connection.”

  Emmet took the demon crystal in his hand, its surface cool and hard, and pressed it against Jasper's back, his palm anchoring the crystal against the skin. Emmet, too, closed his eyes as he allowed the refined demon energy from the crystal to flow into Jasper. He focused on the pulse of the foreign power entering his friend's body.

  "Jasper, focus on your breathing and listen to my voice. I am infusing you with demon energy, which I have refined. Let it flow. Feel it, focus all your thoughts on it, and accept it." Emmet’s voice was a low, steady command that vibrated in the small space between them.

  As Jasper listened, he felt it. The dark energy felt heavy, like a liquid form of pure night, yet it flowed through his veins with the distinct, electrifying precision of a current. He had never truly done any meditation before, but he trusted Emmet and followed all his instructions. The dark energy felt so real he could visualize it: an inky fluid tracing the paths of his circulation, a vast, dark river spreading through his inner world.

  Emmet whispered, "Guide it. Find your core."

  “What is that core? I don’t even know what that is. Oh well, let's just get along with it,” Jasper thought, abandoning logic for blind trust. He mentally reached out to the sensation of the flowing darkness.

  Emmet urged, "Find it, Jasper. Scan every fiber of your being for it—the source of your divinity, the same way you access your warrior divinity. Find the source of that. Keep doing your breathing technique."

  Emmet found it first, a flare of light in the depths of the inky flow. "I found it, Jasper. Now, just allow the energy to flow through it." Emmet understood that, just like him, the corruption indeed had no negative effect on Jasper's fundamental self. Now, he was sure that the repair could be done.

  Jasper, on the other hand, was still unsure, but he felt the dark energy condensing into a central part of him, a pressure trying to get inside a hidden structure. He probed further and felt it—it was like a sphere of dark energy spiraling toward this thing. A profound, resonant humming filled his mind, vibrating in his teeth. “Is that it? Is that my core? It's like I felt it, like it is me too. Wait, I'm confused. Is that me? Where am I? Am I seeing me? I don't know. I can't understand. I can see the dark energy trying to enter me.”

  Then, Jasper heard Emmet's voice, sharper this time: "Let it in."

  Emmet’s POV: “That's it, I'm in, I can see it. The core. A dull, swirling nebula of power, but fractured, like a vase that had been shattered and glued back together imperfectly. The gaps weren't scars; they were intentional. Just like mine, it was intentionally broken. I don’t know how the cult did it, but he feels incomplete the same way I was.”

  Emmet spoke aloud, his voice steadying the process, "Let me know if it hurts."

  Jasper let it flow. The dark energy finally connected, and he felt a sharp, invading sensation—not the gentle tickle from before, but a lightning strike of agonizing heat that caused a violent, uncontrolled jerking movement in his body.

  Emmet noticed the spasm. "Oh, that’s weird," said Emmet, adjusting his grip on the crystal.

  "Jasper, inspect yourself, see if there are any broken parts. Let the dark energy repair it, cover it, patch it using the dark energy, convert it. Accept it as if it is your own divinity."

  Emmet knew Jasper might not be able to do it immediately. The risk was high since the dark energy was Emmet's own processed energy, foreign to Jasper. If Jasper wouldn't allow it to merge with his core, the process would fail. But Jasper’s enduring faith gave Emmet confidence.

  Jasper’s voice was strained, thick with pain. "I can't control it, Emmet. The dark energy—it doesn't listen to me."

  “It figures, of course, it's my dark energy; I should be the one guiding it,” Emmet thought.

  "Well, then, Jasper, trust me. Let me do the rest. Just let it flow, okay?"

  Jasper, though consumed by an unexplained feeling of invasion, endured the escalating pain, a deep ache in his very foundation. He knew he had to hold on.

  Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

  Jasper grunted, "Just do it, Emmet."

  Emmet, seeing all the energy locked and waiting in Jasper's veins and fibers, finally targeted the fractured core. “There you are. Now time to patch you up.”

  Emmet found Jasper’s divine core, and with the sudden clarity of understanding, he felt its connection: it was intrinsically linked to his skeletal system. So this is Jasper’s abnormality.

  “Okay, I’ll do what I did to my divine core: bridge the gaps, patch it, mend it, support it, make it whole again.” Emmet, now fully absorbed, guided the refined dark energy like a molten alloy, filling the intentional cracks in the core. It was a joyful, precise work, as if crafting a new weapon.

  Jasper, simultaneously, felt the full consequence. The pain surged, no longer a tingling, but a deep, grinding crunch within his bones. It felt as if every skeletal fiber was splitting and collapsing, only to be instantly reconstituted and reformed. It was the process of breaking and mending happening at once. He forced a gasp of air through his gritted teeth. He focused on his purpose: if Emmet succeeded, then maybe he could help the others. His pain was a necessary sacrifice, and this conviction allowed him to endure.

  During the most intense phase, spikes of bone—sharpened points of white divinity—erupted uncontrollably from his skin, a defense mechanism of his body fighting the invasive repair. Emmet didn't flinch, merely raising a shimmering dark crystal to shield himself, continuing with the repair process like a madman focused only on the light of the core.

  Emmet was done. He pulled back, the cool crystal lifting from Jasper's scorched skin, and the abrupt silence of the room was a shock. But Emmet, too, came away with an enlightenment, a profound new understanding. He instructed Jasper to continue the breathing and keep exploring his inner core; "Focus on your skeletal system, your bones, Jasper. See what you've become." Jasper nodded, his breathing ragged, and felt it—a resonant strength in his skeleton, as if he could see through all of it.

  Emmet moved further away and assumed a meditative pose, eager to explore his own inner world. He inspected his core, then the demonic energy within. That’s it, I can further guide the demonic energy in me. He compared his situation to his friend's: The peculiarity of Jasper is his bones; mine is my strength. He needed to guide his dark energy to that source.

  Emmet now began formulating a theory about his abnormal strength. He defined his demonic strength not merely as large muscles, but as a flaw in the biological governor that limits human power. This theory links his ability to the muscle fibers and nervous system, contrasting sharply with Jasper's bone, and providing a specific pathway for him to guide the dark energy. Emmet theorized that the cult’s corruption process did not just strengthen his tissues; it removed the natural safety mechanisms of his nervous system, allowing his muscles to operate at 100% capacity—far beyond the human limit.

  His body adjusted to the realization and he understood the scale of the task. Muscle is not the limit; it's my overall body. He saw the difficulty in a flash: The bones would have been easier... but mine, damn, it means all of me needs guiding. My muscles, bone, my nervous system up to the very cell. This is harder than I thought. This is more challenging for me than Jasper's focused repair.

  My whole body seemed to have naturally adopted when I fixed my core, but it was unguided. If I guide it further, I can control my strength even more, or I can become even more stronger...

  Emmet began with rebuilding his overall body. It felt like the entire infrastructure was under attack: a relentless breaking and mending process. His muscles expanded and shrank, making them into finer, stronger fibers. He knew he had to enhance every cell, not just the muscle, because focusing only on strength would lead to self-destruction, tearing his skeleton apart. His method was to forge every fiber simultaneously. The body forging had begun.

  Jasper was the first to finish. He emerged from his meditation feeling not only stronger but fluid, his control over his body absolute. He noticed Emmet still absorbed in his own process and decided not to bother him, knowing the intense repair must have taken a toll. I am too powerful now, all thanks to Emmet. He stood, testing his new form: a focused breath brought a resonant click in his joints, confirming his enhanced, perfected skeleton. Eager to explore his new power in isolation, he quietly decided to go out and check on Emmet later.

  Emmet, meanwhile, kept guiding the demonic energy to improve all the cells in his body. While doing that, he was also letting the flow pass through his essence forge—the crystalline core in his chest—so that all the cycled demonic energy became more processed and enhanced. This not only improved his physical body but also purified his internal energy, making it far more acceptable to his system. Had he not been a vessel with innate control, this intense process would have created a rampaging demon, but Emmet's precise guidance and immunity to corruption instead forged his body into a new and much stronger weapon. The air around him shimmered, crackling with dark power.

  The entire process was over after three days. Emmet opened his eyes, feeling his body too light, and profoundly stronger at the same time. His perception was sharper, his vision crystal clear, and his mind worked with lightning speed—a testament to the holistic, cellular repair. He felt his physical traits, including sight, speed, and agility, had all improved in tandem with his raw strength.

  He stood, testing his balance, and clenched his fist. Unlike before, when he always had to hold back his full strength for fear of tearing his own body apart, he now felt his entire infrastructure—muscle, bone, and nervous system—was ready to receive any physical drawback. He had achieved full, unhindered control.

  Emmet drew a deep breath and deliberately focused every fiber in his body into a single, devastating action. He executed a quick muscle-tightening pose, flexing every muscle in his arms, chest, and core, simultaneously clenching his fists into iron grips.

  As he exhaled, the sheer, sudden force of the internal action created a small tremor on the ground, and the air around him ruptured with a low, deep boom.

  That’s it, Emmet realized, staring at his smoking hands. Just by my physical prowess, by simply flexing, I somehow create destructive energy around me. This realization excited Emmet, yet he knew that this was still not enough. It was a spectacular growth, but only a stepping stone toward the true strength he still wished to pursue.