Chapter 17:

SPIRIT WOLF

STAR AWESOME

"Does it matter if we died?" Dacoria lay down on the floor.
Ren closed his eyes. He is right; that's in the past now.

"What matters is that you had the funniest death." Dacoria got up and poked Ren.
On second thought, I want to straddle this kid.

"Should we practise, since we are already here?" Damian shouted.
"I still have no idea what my powers are." Ren flushed nervously.
"Your power is called 'spirited wolf'; this manoid was extracted from the spirit species," Philomena announced.
"S-so am I dead now, if I am a spirit?" Ren wobbled on his feet.
"No, no, you aren't a spirit; your species didn't change. You can turn into a spirit and become physical at your will." Philomena replied slowly, making sure her words register.
"O-oh, so...um...what about the actual s-spirit species?" Ren tried his best, trying to sound smart but came out nervous.
"They are born spirits; they usually take over other beings to become physical. Ah yeah, you can take over others too."
"Cool."

I will take over, Sen.
Ren chuckled at his own thought.
I should try controlling my power if I wanna do that.
Ren stood straight, focusing.
In his mind, he concentrated his manoid.
Feeling invisible.

"What is he doing?" Dacoria looked at Damian.
"Hmmm, I think he's gotta go." Damian squinted, trying to understand.

Ren's eyebrow twitched.
"I am trying to control my powers," Ren shouted.
The three burst into laughter.
"Ren, you dumb," Dacoria giggled. He went up to Ren. "You are on grade 0; you can't activate your powers that easily."
"But that's how I ever saw it." Ren cried out.
"Null-borns or manoid-less beings need activation crystals, stones, or potions." Damian looked at Philomena, awaiting her praise.
“Well explained, Damian.” Philomena gently stroked his head.
Damian flushed, moving away from her.

“I will get you an activation stone,” Dacoria shouted.
His palm shone; tiny air particles became visible around his hand.
Colliding together into an oval rock.
“There you go.” Dacoria handed Ren the rock. “this is a stone.”
The stone shone, gently radiating red light.
“Is this your obvious power?” Ren stared at the stone.
“No, it’s the power I picked up,” Dacoria shouted enthusiastically. “You gotta put it on the batch.”
Ren pulled over his sleeve, examining the batch on his forearm.
He recalled the empty slots on the batch, which were a perfect fit for this stone. He gently pressed the stone in.

*Ba-dum*
His feet wobbled.
“What is that sound?”
Looking around only to realize that was his heartbeat.
Vision kept on blurring until the moment of his death flashed before his eyes.
His body shivered as he panted, trying to inhale some air.
“C-cannn’t…b-brea…th…”
He collapsed onto the floor, clenching his collar.
“So……hot.”
Sweat popped over his face.

“Guys, he is calling me hot.” Shar flipped his hair.
“I am pretty sure he was talking about himself.” Damian rolled his eyes.
“He is weaker than I thought.” Dacoria looked at the others.

“Tell me about it,” Damian chuckled.
“Can’t you guys be supportive for once?” Philomena tried to keep a smile.
“Whats su-su-ptive” Dacoria walked over to Ren.

Dacoria kneeled down to Ren. “Don’t worry, Ren, if you die, I will bring you back!”

Ren reached out to him, but his hand went past Dacoria.
Dacoria jumped on his feet. “His powers are activated.”

I don’t understand a thing.

My body hurts a lot.
He lay on the floor, closing his eyes.

I think I will take a nap.

Dacoria turned to him. “Huh, are you okay, SEN, SEN?”
S-sen, Ren’s eyes shot open, his pupils constricted into an ovular shape.
He grabbed Dacoria, pinning him onto the floor.
“A-are you okay, Sen?” Dacoria whined.
“Idiot, his name is Ren.” Damian quickly turned to Philomena and whispered, “Right?”
“Right,” Philomena sighed.

Ren growled.
His features were more like a beast than a human.
He had Dacoria’s arms clamped against the floor with his claws. He leaned in to take a bite.
Dacoria’s back abruptly raised as a tentacle emerged out. Slapping Ren off the kid.
Dacoria got up. “Are you okay?”

Ren lay afar from them.
“I think his wolf powers are working separately from the spirit ones,” Philomena sighed.
“Doesn’t matter; now that his powers are active, let me have a showdown,” Shar shouted.
“I don’t think he has gained control over his powers yet.” Damian pointed at Ren, who was on all fours.

His human form completely dissolving into a wolf.

He leapt into the air, growling.

With a thud, Shar took a leap into the air.

He kicked Ren, crashing him onto the floor.
"Take it easy, Shar," Philomena shouted, "don't hit him too hard!"
Shar landed back; his hair waved down behind him.

"He is a persistent one." Damian glanced at Ren, who was leaping towards him and Philomena.
A burning smell filled the air.
Sparks of lightning flashed, creeping along the floor's length.
Jolting Ren as he screeched.
"He he," Damian snickered.
"Stop it," Philomena nudged him.
He snapped his fingers, and the sparking subsided.

Ren stood straight. Gasping for air.
He looked at everyone, trying to stay conscious.

Hungry
Huhhhh...Hungry

He took a leap; Shar was about to kick him, but Ren went past him.
"Finally, the spirit power took over." Philomena exclaimed.

Ren leaped onto Dacoria, vanishing into thin air.
"Did he enter Dacoria's body?" Shar screamed out, "But lower grades can't use their powers on higher ones."
Damian laughed out, "Haha, that's for letting your guard down."
Philomena sighed, "Yeah, a higher grade can be attacked if they are not focusing."

Dacoria wobbled. He raised his hands, glancing at the small palms.
He looked around before clamping his face on his palm.

Why did I have to die like that?

His head throbbed.
Who said that?

I wish King were still alive.
I wish Sorceress hadn't left me.
Toby left me, too.

What are all these voices?

I wish I weren't a power taker.

Is this Dacoria?

Everyone hates me.

I don't wanna be alone.

My headache is escalating.

Stupid uncle, if I ever cross dimensions, I will annihilate him.

I will kill the sorceress for betraying me.

I will destroy anyone who breaks me.