"Do you have any other way we can use to push the activation numbers higher?" I asked Lyrate.
She shook her head without hesitation. "Nope. Twenty activations is the absolute limit. Any more and we’ll break him."
I rubbed my chin and looked at Steve. His entire body was burning hot, steam rising faintly from his skin. He looked half-dead, eyes heavy, lips pale but he was still awake, thanks only to the vitality Lyrate kept pumping into him through those roots.
It frustrated me. His transformation was powerful, his Blackvolt Skeleton ability worked perfectly with lightning and darkness and his sword transformation had incredible potential. But potential didn’t mean much without time. What he needed most right now... was time.
’Time,’ I thought, frowning to myself.
"Why are you thinking so much?" Steve asked, sitting up with a groan. "It’s not like I can’t finish the quest. I just need a little more time, that’s all."
I nodded slightly but stayed quiet for a moment. Then an idea sparked in my head.
"Hey, Steve," I said slowly. "Want to take a risk?"
He looked at me for a second, then shrugged with a tired grin. "Sure. What’s new?"
I stepped closer. "Can you stand up?"
He brushed the dust off his clothes and stood. "Alright, what now?"
I stopped right in front of him and reached out, taking his hand in mine.
He chuckled. "What are you doing? I like women, you know."
I ignored him and closed my eyes, calling on my Essence. The violet flow inside me stirred, responding to my will. I let a small portion of it move through my arm and into his right hand.
"Absolute Domain," I muttered.
The moment I said it, the air around us shifted. My domain unfolded and completely surrounded Steve and me.
Runes fluttered in my vision as my perception locked on the violet Essence moving in Steve’s arm now.
I focused on the flow of Essence between us, keeping my grip steady around his forearm. The violet glow spread slowly, snaking through his veins, covering everything from his palm to his elbow. His skin shimmered faintly as my Essence pulsed beneath the surface, almost alive.
"Stay still," I said quietly.
"Not really a choice, is it?" he muttered.
I exhaled and directed my Essence deeper. It wasn’t enough for it to just flow through his flesh, I wanted it to become a part of him. I gathered my will and forced the Essence toward his bones. The moment it touched them, a sharp vibration ran through his arm.
Steve groaned. "That hurts, what the hell are you doing?"
"Assimilating," I replied calmly, though I could see his arm trembling. The bones resisted me, their natural structure pushing back against my Essence. It wasn’t rejection, it was more like they were already occupied.
I slowed my pace, controlling the infusion more delicately, but the resistance didn’t fade. Frowning, I closed my eyes and invoked a skill I rarely used.
"[Right to Insight]."
The world shifted instantly. Everything dulled except the flow of Essence. My surroundings dissolved into threads of light, and inside Steve’s arm I could see it, his bones weren’t empty.
Green runes pulsed faintly within them, symbols carved from natural Essence itself. They shimmered like roots, wrapping around each bone tightly, rejecting my violet intrusion.
"So that’s why," I murmured.
A grin spread across my face. Instead of forcing my Essence to blend, I shifted my intent and gave a silent command. My violet glow turned sharper, wilder. I directed it to devour the green Essence first.
Steve screamed as his arm convulsed, veins standing out beneath his skin. The violet light roared within him, consuming the green energy entirely, and then multiplied, twice, thrice over, until the resistance vanished.
"Hold on," I said, though I didn’t stop. Now, with nothing pushing back, my Essence sank into the bone easily, weaving through its structure and reinforcing it.
Steve’s breathing was ragged.
"Check your status," I said, stepping back slightly but keeping the connection open.
He nodded weakly, opened his interface, and then froze.
"What—" he stammered, eyes wide. "My constitution and strength just went up."
I smiled faintly, cutting off the flow. "Good. That means it worked."
He looked at his arm in disbelief while I took a step back. "We just found a faster way to push your stats," I said.
Lyrate appeared beside me without a sound, her curious gaze fixed on Steve’s arm. "What happened?" she asked.
"I infused my Essence directly into his bones," I replied. "It forcefully increased his stats."
Her eyes widened, a spark of excitement flickering across her face. "That’s... impressive. His stats have been holding him back. If we can push his dexterity and constitution higher, I can increase his number of activations even further."
I nodded slowly. "Yeah, I want to do that too. But there are risks."
She tilted her head. "What kind of risks?"
I gestured at Steve’s arm. "That’s not natural Essence anymore, it’s mine. If it spreads too far, it might conflict with the Essence in the rest of his body."
Lyrate hummed and took his arm gently, studying it. Her fingertips brushed over the faint glow. "Yes," she murmured, "I can sense the difference. Your Essence feels alive, almost aware. It’s responding to you even now. I can feel a faint link between you two."
I folded my arms, thinking aloud. "Exactly. It’s bound to me. The Essence doesn’t belong in his body, and we don’t know what side effects it might cause. The only source of violet Essence is me. If it starts spreading on its own, it could replace his natural energy entirely or worse."
Steve glanced between us, his brows knitting together. "Worse? As in explode worse or die worse?"
"Nothing like that," I said, shaking my head. "The real question is what happens when you level up. Your stats will rise through natural Essence, but this—" I pointed to his arm, still faintly glowing violet—"this isn’t natural. What happens then? Will the violet Essence be consumed? Will it resist? Or worse, what if your body stops gaining stats naturally, and you become dependent on me just to keep growing?"
Steve let out a long sigh. "Great. I was actually getting excited for a second there. Now it just sounds like a ticking problem dressed up as progress."
I gave a small shrug. "I did warn you this was a risk. And we’re not done yet. There’s still one more path we could try."
He raised an eyebrow. "I don’t like where this is going."
I ignored the look and continued. "We could replace all of your natural Essence with mine. Completely overwrite it. That would remove the conflict entirely. And if it works... when you rank up, the change might trigger a transformation. You already have the one Azalea gave you, this could push it even further."
Steve blinked. "You mean, like another evolution?"