Sarah thought as the cold metal floor of the massive plane going to some place she had no idea cooled her back. She thought back to her first full transformation and how she felt like she was trapped, watching her body become a blood-thirsty monster. The image of her using her claws to tear some innocent bystander into bloody strips made her shiver. What made the feeling worse was that in a place deep down, she wanted to see and feel what it was like to have real power.

  In the original exercises, if she could call being grabbed and forcefully shifted back exercises, she didn’t have time to really understand the beast before being forced back. The initial meditations to feel the beast were practically useless. The very moment the beast found her looking, it took it personally. How dare she try to figure out whatever weird and magical thing is happening to her. How rude.

  She slightly blushed at the memory of Miyuki’s insinuations before quickly moving on. Seriously, did she really need to take it in that direction? What the hell man? Sarah never even had a boyfriend let alone any interest in that kind of thing. She just hoped that it didn't awaken something in her. Adult equipment was crazy expensive and she didn’t think she could afford going down that road. The one time she went into one of those stores with her roommate she almost fainted at the price and had to leave. The fact her roommate was starting to ask her what she used was completely irrelevant.

  She mentally shook herself to realign her thoughts. While in the prolonged shift she was finally able to really feel the beast. At the beginning when she was pushed back into the background, the beast had total control without allowing any input from Sarah herself. It futilely struggled against its bonds while raging at the world, the world that kept suppressing it and showing how weak it was. Sarah’s mind had been muted by the pure fury of the beast, her attempts to communicate blocked.

  When the beast was in control it was like her consciousness was split in two. One portion was vaguely aware of what her body was doing while the other was casually thrown into a massive pit. It's not like she had a light case of claustrophobia and finding herself in an inescapable pit nearly started a freak out. Of course not only was she in a pit, when she tried to somehow climb up the walls the higher she got the worse the gravity became. She was never able to get far before losing her grip and dropping.

  She quickly realized that the higher she got, she was both more aware of what her body was feeling while also having more pull on the beast. Even at her highest she was barely able to do anything more than light tugs. That changed when Miyuki poked her and shifted the focus of the beast’s rage from the world at large to one target. With that shift Sarah was able to solidify her grip. With that progress she was able to push into the beast.

  The influence apparently gave it rudimentary intelligence and the ability to curse. Sarah almost laughed and lost focus when it called Miyuki a bitch and Logan a bastard. Though she would never admit it, calling the man a bastard was in fact a group effort. After that she calmed herself and was able to both listen and follow his instructions. Instead of pulling, she slid alongside. Synergy instead of force. Even if she couldn’t gain equal control, her influence expanded exponentially. In the end she only succeeded in increasing the beast’s vocabulary and ability to insult her captors.

  The break couldn’t have come at a better time. By then she had become severely mentally exhausted. Her attempts started getting sloppy and was rarely able to get anything done before falling. Her mental and physical exhaustion simultaneously after the final forced shift.

  After being freed she returned to her lying position. The cold floor was nice against her sore muscles. The more she relaxed the more reticent she was to get back to the “communication” practice. As she rested, she felt and watched as her marks and bruises faded. It wasn’t instant but was fast enough she could see. This healing only emphasized her abnormal state.

  Her eyes started to water as she remembered her family and what she’d lost. The feeling of a breakdown approached but her beast somehow pushed it back. She felt it give her a glare as if saying, “knock it off, you can freak out later.” With begrudging thanks, she returned to a sitting position and crossed her legs. Before she could get back in her head both her beast and stomach sang the song of its people. Its performance made her realize how long it had been since her last meal. She glared at Miyuki when she started snickering.

  “Oh, don’t give me that look, if you’re hungry follow me.” Miyuki said with a wave as she started toward the stairs leading to the upper floor.

  With a grunt Sarah stood and followed. By the time she reached the top, Miyuki was already something from a plastic bag left on one of the seats. Sarah didn’t wait for the food and collapsed into one of the uncomfortable seats. After only a single deep breath Miyuki tapped her shoulder with what looked like a protein bar sealed in foil. She accepted the offered food and water bottle.

  Sarah hesitated. What if it was some sort of weird magic nonsense? “Uh, what is it?”

  Miyuki dropped into the opposite seat to her with her own bar. She ripped the wrapper to reveal a light blue colored bar. Sarah looked confusedly at the abnormal color.

  “Don’t worry,” Miyuki said, “it’s made from a combination of magically grown plants and vegetables while infused with small amounts of mana. It has a massive amount of carbs and protein and enough mana to keep an agent going. It’s a standard issue ration for field work. One of these has enough nutrition to fill even a beast-cursed with energy for a few hours.”

  Sarah unwrapped hers to find the same thing. She was hesitant to take the first bite of the sky-blue material, but her ravenous beast reared and forced her forward. The moment her teeth closed on the bar and the taste hit her tongue, it was unlike anything she had ever tasted before. She paused with the mouthful of bar for less than a second before spitting out the foul-tasting concoction. It wasn’t just the taste, which was like eating freshly clipped grass mixed with a light layer of dirt, the bar changed its consistency almost instantly after being eaten. The solid bar liquefied into mud while also giving the feeling of licking a battery.

  As Sarah spat out the foul concoction and rinsed her mouth out with water from her bottle, Miyuki laughed hysterically. With her tongue still hanging out in a pathetic attempt to reduce the taste and feeling the bar left behind, Sarah spun on Miyuki. “What the hell?!” she shouted, her lolling tongue making her lisp only making her laugh harder.

  Between heaving breaths Miyuki answered. “Yea, that’s everyone’s first reaction.” She took a bite out of her own with only a slight wince. “It may taste like an herbalist’s leftovers mixed with static, but it works.” Without saying anything else she started eating the rest of the bar.

  Sarah hesitantly returned to her own meal. Only then did she realize that the piece she spat landed on her leg. She paused as she looked around for something to wipe it up with. Unfortunately, there was nothing. With a sigh she removed the rest of the uneaten bar from the wrapper and used it to pick up the mess.

  After “cleaning up” and leaving a faint stain, she returned to the blue bar. She knew how hungry she was and how important it was to get something in her system…but the taste. For the first time she hoped for her beast to take over. Regrettably, it seemed just as reticent as she was to eat the horrible thing. Like she was taking disgusting medicine, she closed her eyes and pushed ahead. The taste was just as bad as before. At least the magically texture-shifting food made it easier to swallow down. She felt like she was choking down grass paste with water making it go down quickly. As soon as she swallowed an electric feeling spread through her body. The closest thing she could relate it to was getting a solid hit of caffeine from an energy shot. Not an unknown feeling to the procrastination-vulnerable former student.

  She weighed the benefits vs. taste of the bar and took another reluctant bite. It was bad but not the worst meal she ever had, the horror of discount microwave dinners during her broke college years taking their place. The power it gave also energized her while barely appeasing her beast. Now feeling almost hyper she wanted to talk to Miyuki, only to find her laid back in her chair with her eyes closed and arms crossed.

  She wanted to interrupt but thought better of it. She took a deep breath and tried to think of a way to occupy herself. It didn’t take long for that to become impossible. The longer she thought, the more restless she became. She then remembered her method of entertainment after her initial kidnapping. She looked at Miyuki and hesitated.

  “So, uh,” she said with a raised finger.

  Miyuki opened an eye and glanced at her. “Yeah?”

  “Do you think…I can use your tablet again?” Sarah asked.

  Miyuki looked at her confused for a moment before understanding. “Oh, sure.” She moved to retrieve the tablet from her duffel bag. “Actually, that’s a good idea. Now that you’ve been accepted you can read more of the secret stuff.” She tapped the screen a few times before handing it to Sarah. “Here, enjoy.” She then returned to her previous position and closed her eyes.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Sarah took the tablet and excitedly looked over the new information. While her body and soul had changed, her love and thirst for knowledge hadn’t. The database she previously read was absolutely filled with facts, legends, and instructions that, at the time, seemed completely ridiculous. Every entry seemed more unbelievable than the last.

  The section describing the proper procedure when encountering an undocumented revenant alone was enough to completely baffle her. Only after encountering that Elizabethan-looking ghost did she really start to believe everything.

  She started with the section marked “The Creation of the Supernatural.” She found it describing how supernatural beings were created. Before the section began there was an interesting preface.

  The following material is a broad overview of the formation of mana-based creatures. As such, there is significant information missing from this section that may or may not change one’s perspective on what is learned. All information is factual and unaltered according to the Keepers Information Act § 1.3c, 1807.

  The preface alone piqued her curiosity. What choice did she have other than to read on? She wouldn’t normally believe such a legal notice until thinking about the Council and what kind of punishment they could bring down. With nose down she started reading and partially understanding everything.

  From the dawn of creativity there existed stories. Myths and legends born from nothing. Human imagination was more powerful than she ever imagined. Long ago there was an amorphous energy that permeated everything on earth. Very few could feel this energy let alone control it. Those who could became the first shamans and druids.

  As humans progressed they created stories of mighty gods and dangerous creatures. When these beliefs interacted with the mysterious force, the first beings were made. Whenever a new type of being is born they are what humans believed. Every action and feeling was locked to the myths that created them. Thankfully, this was only temporary and the longer they existed the more they were able to pull away from their stereotypes. This even repeated over and over all across the globe.

  Beings weren’t the only thing created in this way. What was more powerful in human religions than their gods? Though also created, they didn’t work under the same rules as regular beings.

  If there was an analogy Sarah could make, the amorphous energy would be like a pool of water. Whenever a new being species was created, a drop was taken from the crystal-clear pool. It was different when a new god or other deity was created. Instead of taking a drop of water, ink was added instead. Over the course of thousands of years, the pool became too corrupted by ink to give birth to any new beings not tainted by divine energy.

  Not only were gods real, they weren’t individual beings but a collection of aspects. For example, Zeus contained the aspects of rulership, lust, thunder, law, and order. While Odin contained the aspects of rulership, wisdom, magic, prophecy, and victory. As they both share the same aspect of rulership, they are partially the same being. Whenever a god needed to manifest itself or communicate with their believers, these aspects would combine to form the entity. Once their goal was completed they separated back into their separate aspects.

  The only exception was God and Lucifer. That was because the Judeo-Christian's monotheistic focus and widespread belief was unprecedented. The volume of believers and their dedication gave enough power to portions of the pool’s aspects to separate themselves and condense into two permanent deities. Sarah noted that they were born from belief but didn’t keep their names, instead going by Lord Light and Lord Dark. Using their own power they pulled from the pool. They then created their own sub-dimensions, the Demon Realm and the Angelic Realm and organized them as they wanted. From that the first angels and demons were spawned. This also meant that the first celestial beings were only about five or six-hundred years old.

  Sarah put down the tablet and pinched the bridge of her nose. What she read reminded her of a passing lesson about strange early theories in her psychology class. She remembered that it was back in the 1910s to 1920s, the time her professor called the “Freudian playground,” a personal friend of Sigmund Freud, a psychologist named Carl Jung. He posited that there existed a “collective unconscious” that connected the souls of all human beings, though his hypothesis stated that humans are influenced by this collective not the other way around. He thought this explained how every culture, no matter how separated by time or distance, arrived at similar conclusions and practices. She chuckled as she remembered the real reason she remembered all that. Her roommate’s favorite pseudo-anime game series relied heavily on the concept and she loved to talk about it. The memory of hours of listening to her paddle on made her melancholy begin to return. She shook it off to refocus on her distraction.

  She still didn’t know what Logan was talking about when he said the gods were sealed, but she decided to change subjects to something more…understandable. She went back to the database selection and continued through the less complicated sections. These included basic organization structure, how to request special supplies, and, interestingly enough, how to apply for maternal and paternal leave. These leaves can range from days to years depending on the species.

  Sarah sighed at the insanity of her situation. Ever since she was a kid her life had never really diverted from her goal of being a famous archaeologist. She wasn’t looking to be like those in video games or action movies. She wanted to be known as the one to find the next Machu Pichu or Dead Sea Scrolls. The prospect of going down in history by discovering what was lost and returning it to the world was her dream. Now, all that work was for nothing.

  Tears began to well as she confronted her future. Her entire life was practically meaningless. What was the point of discovering something if you can’t share it with the world since you’re effectively dead. What was the point of spending years working, studying and dreaming about a life that was impossible to come true.

  Her breath hitched as she stifled a sob and a tear fell. She just fell further into despair. She didn’t know how long she had stayed in this state. Her beast would give her strength to pull herself out of the dark only for her own wandering thoughts to pull herself back in. This emotional turmoil eventually exhausted her enough to fall asleep.

  Instead of everything going dark or entering a nightmare as she expected, she entered a state that she could only compare to meditation. She was simultaneously able to sense her body but unable to control it. She felt her slowed breathing but had no need or urge to increase the pace. As she mentally explored her state she heard a single word.

  “Weak!”

  Sarah searched for the booming voice but couldn’t find the origin.

  “Weak!”

  Again, Sarah searched but couldn’t find who was insulting her. Before her a a pair of enormous orange eyes opened and glared at her. She instinctively knew that this was her beast, perhaps Dawon itself. It was pissed.

  “You are WEAK!” It thundered.

  Even though she knew it was right, she couldn’t help but become indignant. “Weak, huh? Well, you can shove your judgments right up your ass! You are nothing but a god’s leftovers that decided to tag along for the ride. You are nothing without me!”

  Her beast growled. “Nothing without you? You are nothing without me! If I wasn’t here, you’d be nothing but a sniffling child!”

  Sarah yelled back in equal fury. “No, without you I would still be at the site, my entire life ahead of me!”

  Her beast scoffed. “Oh yes, the site where you destroyed some priceless art. Your career would have been fine after that.”

  She tried to refute the statement but couldn’t.

  “Yea, I thought so.” It paused in smug satisfaction. “Oh, poor you,” it said sarcastically, “your entire life you were looking for the truth in history, what was long forgotten. Now you are pulled into a global organization that might have beings WHO WERE ACTUALLY THERE!”

  Sarah flinched at its shout. She wanted to respond but realized that it was right. Some of the biggest questions in archeology could be answered so easily. What she thought she knew about ancient history could very well be wildly wrong. If the organization was so influential, why couldn’t they manipulate what people discovered. Who would be more believable as an expert as someone with a first hand account? Sliding in some sort of shape shifter would be easy. For all she knew they replaced her with one and lied about it. That thought disturbed her before putting it to the back of her mind to panic about later.

  Sarah thought about how some of her biggest questions could be answered but remembered how she couldn’t spread what she learned. What was the point of discovering if she couldn’t share it? As she thought this her beast rolled its eyes.

  “Are you serious? What is the point to discovery if you can’t share it with the world? Stop thinking about your old life and look to your future. Who’s to say these new people don’t need someone to investigate their past, the unaltered past by the way. You’ll have free access to forgotten history and look for ‘truths’ you didn’t even know were lost.”

  As Sarah’s mind was still grinding through the new information, her beast continued. “We need to get stronger in both mind and body.”

  Sarah looked up, “we?”

  “Yes, we. In case you don’t remember we’re two sides of the same person. Just because I’m not a whimpering coward like you doesn’t mean I don’t remember our family and our goals. We’re also kind of sharing the same body so your success and survival is in my best interest.” The eyes neared her and seemed to grow in power. “And if you think I’ll let you take us to an early grave you’re wrong. If I must, I will take this body by ripping your soul apart. I’m going to survive; it is up to you if you join me.” At those threatening words the eyes closed and left her alone in the endless dark.

  It wasn’t long before she woke up with a start. She frantically searched for the judgmental eyes. Finding nothing, she sat back and tried to calm herself. She was startled when Logan put his hand on her seat.

  Logan motioned to the stairs leading down to the cargo hold. “Time to go again.”

  Sarah hesitated but remembered her beast calling her weak. She nodded resolutely. This started a pattern that lasted the rest of the nearly 24 hours of air travel. This pattern was about two hours of meditation communication, one hour of “bound” communication, and two hours of rest.

  Over the course of the trip her and her beast did become “closer.” Though non-aggressive would be more accurate. She swallowed roughly as she prepared for the final landing. She still had no idea where she was or what their headquarters was like. Whenever she asked Logan or Miyuki for any information, they shrugged it off. Logan did it like it wasn’t important while Miyuki was acting like she was hiding some sort of surprise. As the oversized plane landed, she prepared herself for her new future.

  an entirely different reason I discovered something. I thought that in order to remain in the challenge an author needed to upload 15k chapters by the 5th. On second reading I discovered that it is in fact 25k words. Now it you would excuse me I need to get 11k words ready in the next four days.