The screeching shuddered the world, buildings fell, the fire burned brighter in tune with the endless noise. It was getting on my nerves. I snapped my fingers, willing for the rain.

  First drop of water fell on me, then quicker and quicker more fell down. In but a few seconds the fires extinguished, leaving behind a monsoon. It never stopped screaming.

  “Can you shut the fuck up?!” Eclipsing even its screams, my shout staggered the monster. I flew upwards to face one of its heads. “Stop screaming, you absolute moron.”

  All eyes were on me. Two of the heads giggled, others cried, one licked its ceaseless maw. As one they spoke, “I live.” The same disgusting noise that made my head pulse in pain.

  “And? If you won’t leave my soul this instant, I will annihilate you.” I knew that fucking deal was a trap. The slithering sensation tied itself around my chest, making me want to escape. If this wasn’t a dream, I would’ve been running away.

  Roaring laughter crackled the skies, dispelling the storm clouds. “You dare? Not only do you ignore my quest, but you think you can win against me?”

  This thing. It was a dream construct. I was nearly certain of this. Maybe this place was supposed to be a nightmare that was frozen by soul damage, or maybe something else. Unfortunately for the fake Betrayer, I was completely lucid.

  “Say, little guy.” I looked at it condescendingly. “What do you know about nuclear fission?”

  Three of its heads rolled their eyes, others stared at me without blinking. “There is nothing you can do.” Without flopping its wings, it started flying towards me. I flew backwards. “Surrender and give me your soul!”

  “Well this was a nice dream, but I have places to be.” I shrugged and clicked my fingers.

  “It’s usele-” An atomic bomb appeared in front of him and immediately exploded. The world became white and my skin got warm. When the light receded the Betrayer had a giant hole in its stomach, some if its endless fingers were cut and two of the faces were dead. “How?! This is impossible! I will not lose to a mortal in dream mastery.”

  “Impressive, you survived the Tsar Bomba.” Its fingers twisted around like whips as it tried to do some sort of infernal technique. I wouldn’t give it the opportunity. “What about another?” I snapped my fingers and Tsar Bomba didn’t disappoint.

  Three more heads became dead. “S-stop… I beg.” The remaining faces were crying, it barely held itself in the air and even the thunderous voice was quieter. “I made you live again…”

  “Nope!” Another snap. The construct of the Betrayer shrieked in horror as the largest thermonuclear weapon tested blew up for the third time.

  My eyes opened wide. I was wet. Covered in blood. My fingers shook wildly as starpower surged out of me like an endless flood. I screamed in pain.

  “Hold him, Steel!”

  Everything burned, my skin prickled as if a million syringes were injected, my muscles vibrated in agony, the pain was so strong it reverberated through my bones.

  “He’s too wriggly!” I barely heard these shouts amidst my screams of agony. My stomach lurched. A bitter taste flooded my taste buds, then my stomach started convulsing. The spasms wrecked my ribs with even more unbearable pain, leaving me gasping for air like a dying man. Because if I was dying…

  There was no room for emotion, as something giant moved through my esophagus making my chest expand at it ascended. My eyes rolled back. With each retch it was moving closer to my mouth.

  “Heal him!”

  “I am!”

  My throat was torn apart as the wriggling thing, slithered through. It unhinged my jaw and crawled out. I blacked out.

  “Magnus. Magnus!” Someone shook me. Aching pain spread through my body as I opened my eyes again.

  “What’s this smell?” The room was surrounded with blood, vomit and some weird black liquid. Someone died here.

  “Thank Source, you’re alive!” Kory grabbed me in a hug and quickly someone stronger joined in, crushing me – Steel.

  The conscious part of my mind decided to return, and I quickly processed the memories. Flooding my body with starpower, I let strengthening reduce the pain. With a determined shove, I pushed away the girls.

  I looked filthy. “What happened?” I stared at them. Something crawled out of me… I defeated the Betrayer, or was it just a dream projection.

  “W-when I was forced out of the dream, y-you were bleeding from everywhere! I-I healed you and Steel helped…” She gulped, hesitating to say something.

  Steel continued. “A long geist with wings crawled out of your mouth! It was 10 whole SE! I couldn’t catch it.”

  My mouth went dry and I vomited a little spitting on the ground.

  “Not again!” Kory, already started using a technique.

  “Everything’s fine. I’ve just remembered.” I took a deep breath, looking around the room. Starpower was with me. Everything was fine… Most of the things were.

  Your SE has increased by 2. From 29 to 31

  Your Affinity has shifted! Onyx -2%; Ruby +2%

  If it was really the Betrayer… Quickly I used the soul introspector.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Soul Introspector

  Magnus Glanzvoll

  Species: True Human (Genetically Altered)

  Age: 5 standard years

  Standing Emissions: 31

  Soul Resonance: 60%

  Affinities: Diamond – 4%; Sapphire – 32%; Onyx – 34%; Ruby – 15%; Emerald – 15%

  Spiritual Coordinates: 41,3 Ambition; 11,4 Pride; 31,2 Intelligence; 2,23 Focus;

  Traits (1/2): VITA

  “Shit… I knew something wasn’t right with that. Nobody has a useless trait.”

  “What are you talking about?” Steel looked around. “Do you want to eat?”

  I was exhausted and my room was a fucking mess. So many amazing drawings turned were covered in vomit, blood and a disgusting black thing the scouter identified as materialized soul… Yuck.

  “I want to shower… And to sleep. Sleep normally. This was fucking horrifying.” I shivered. “The geist! We have to find it!”

  “What’s a shower?” Steel mumbled.

  “We can’t.” Kory ignored her, and resolutely said, “It phased into the lower metaphysical dimension. We need someone with spiritual perception abilities.”

  “Shit, fuck, dammit, crap.” The strengthening starpower didn’t feel me with any ease. “It could be anywhere…”

  Steel shrugged. “What are you worried about, it just had ten SE. Anyone in this school can kill it.”

  I took a very deep breath that totally didn’t make my whole body shake. “It was an actualized geist…”

  Kory gasped, while Steel tilted her head. Kory shook her head. “That’s impossible, you’d need at least 100 SE for an actualized geist.”

  “It was weakened! Someone has to report this to the professors, it can possess people, it can use forms! It must not roam free.”

  “It can’t leave the school. The wards will not let anything in or out. No matter whether they are spiritual or not. And again, it’s not actualized.”

  I grabbed my head, trying to squeeze out the pain. “It fucking is! It spoke to me in the dream! It was the fucking thing in the dream! You unfroze it and I got it out.”

  “What thing?” She tilted her head. “I healed you and left. There were no geists in your dream.”

  My heart clenched. The Betrayer did something to her. “Check your memories. Every second of them. What exactly did we do?”

  Steel scratched her head. “Should I call the guards?”

  “Go find Varaxis! Tell her that there is an actualized geist in the station. It can take over people’s bodies and it is extremely skilled.”

  She nodded, and glanced at Kory. “Do I go?”

  Kory covered her mouth, her eyes trembled. “Something altered my memory.” She coughed. “We’ll go together this is important. Magnus, what did you do? How is there a-” Realization flashed in her eyes as she stared at me with wide eyes. “Human children aren’t even close to sapience until 10 years old…” She retreated, her mouth opened wide. “Y-you had a geist trait… You had a geist trait!”

  “What’s that? Is that bad?” Steel clenched her fists, eyeing me.

  “That’s how you are able to exceed human limitations, that’s how you grow so fast!” Kory pointed her finger. “You… You… Source damn you.”

  “I didn’t even fucking know geist traits existed! You think I’m happy about this! I’m also a victim.”

  “I need… We need to tell Varaxis.” Her pleading gaze shifted to Steel.

  “Okay, but did Magnus do something bad?”

  “No I didn’t! I got cursed, okay! That trait is gone now. It’s gone. I can write you down my Soul Introspection! Don’t tell Varaxis she’ll kill me-”

  The door slammed open. Two adult dragons wearing the guard armor rushed inside. I called on my starpower looking for any way to escape. Their spears got pointed at me. They stood apart, letting another dragon walk in.

  “Speak of the devil.” I sighed. Chills went down my spine and my stomach rolled.

  “My hunch turned out to be correct. You were either the most pathetic or cursed.” Varaxis rolled each word as if savoring them. “Where is the geist?”

  Kory’s eyes darted around, between me and Varaxis, as she hesitated to speak. Her fear was even more apparent than mine.

  Steel didn’t have any such feelings. “It ran away. Crawled into the floor and whooshed into mist. I couldn’t catch it.”

  Varaxis nodded. “Magnus Glanzvoll, Kory, Steel. You have done a good job expunging a cursed trait. I will take the task of removing the parasite into my own hands. No geist will be allowed to reign freely in my academy.” Her eyes glinted with rage.

  “Thank you?” The fact that spears were pointed at me didn’t help.

  “You are to provide the full description of the actualized geist. I will hunt it down and restore order.” Her tone left no place for objection.

  Before I could muster the courage to speak, Steel said, “It was a wriggly thing, like many fingers curled into a cone, it had these swirling thingies instead of eyes and wings! Not the dragon wings… Bird wings! Only ten SE, really weak.” She shook her head.

  “Thank you.” Varaxis gestured to the guards, who pointed down their spears. “Magnus Glanzvoll. As the bearer of a cursed trait you will go through an extensive soul inspection. Follow me.” She turned her eyes to the girls. “You two will be interrogated by my subordinates. Answer truthfully or become the first willing traitors of dragonkind.”

  “Y-yes, Varaxis.” Kory mumbled, and Steel simply nodded. She warily looked at the two guards.

  The accelerated mind was already running at full speed, but I still couldn’t think of a good way to get out of here.

  Varaxis turned around and started walking. I needed no further persuasion than the spears pointed at me. “See you later.” I winked at the girls, hoping that my words would ring true.

  I ran after Varaxis, trying my best to catch up to her unreasonable speed. “What made you think I was cursed? Even I wasn’t aware.” I had to strain far more than I wanted. My body was pushed to the limit and starpower wasn’t enough to bring relief.

  “Your soul gave out iffy frequencies.” The vague response didn’t tell me anything. Souls had frequencies? There was always so much to learn.

  “So was the whole thing about me being pathetic and you leaving the curator position an act?”

  She grunted. “No. I meant every word.” Varaxis accelerated as if trying to get away faster.

  Surely at this point I had to be not in danger? The desert that was my mouth and the constant twitching of my muscles, hinted that I didn’t feeling anything close to being safe. “Can you slow-”

  “Stop talking or I’ll knock you out.” The calmness with which she spoke that made me feel even worse.

  As always Varaxis projected such a metaphorical aura that made everyone either step away from her path or be destroyed. We reached the biocrafting course class. Without hesitation Varaxis snapped open the door and spoke, “Simona. Perform a deep soul analysis on the human.”

  I walked in after her. Never was I so glad to see the massive four-armed purple snake woman. “Hello!”

  “Oh, Varaxis, dear, and Magnus! It’s so nice to see you today.” She was glued to her hologram.

  “This is an order. Cease your activities and get to it.”

  “No need to be so aggressive. Just give me a-” Varaxis flared her aura and crimson filled the room. The air became heavier. Struggling through the pressure I managed to breathe.

  Dean Varaxis

  Species: Dragon-Tiershen (Improved genome)

  Standing Emissions: 710

  Age: 59

  Affinity: Ruby-Diamond

  The scouter worked… Simona turned her full attention to the dean. Two of her hands entwined making a form. The giant hologram table descended into the floor, and an operating table rose.

  “Your intimidation tactics are useless, Xis.” The look in Simona’s eyes was indomitable. Her muscles tensed like springs ready to pounce. “Aura techniques are parlor tricks. Act rationally and stop distracting my students.”

  Varaxis frowned and the pressure was lifted. The red light surrounding the woman didn’t disappear.

  “Magnus, please be a dear and lie on the table.” Simona looked at me smiling warmly. “Oh, don’t look so scared. I will be extremely careful. Your safety is my number one concern.”

  I wasn’t scared… Through the lump in my throat I mumbled, “O-okay…”

  Simona’s warm smile grew wider.