Chapter 3: Revenant By normal standard, Finn’s daring act of assimilating a soul mass without proper guidance or regulation would classify him as a Revenant, just like the guy they were here to meet. It wouldn’t have been so if Finn had taken the normal test and gotten scouted by an Ossuary School. As he thought about his affinity test, the required memory surfaced in his mind, giving him more context yet again. His affinity test should’ve been straightforward, without any bells or whistles. His family — The Slade Family — had produced multiple Arcanists in the past. His father was one. An Arcanist who showed talent for Body Enhancement Magic — The most common of all, but formidable so long as the magical resources to supplement progression were plentiful, something that never proved a problem for his rich family. His mother was also an Arcanist. But unlike her husband, she was an Elemental Mage, though she had never been one to chase after power. Besides them, were the extended family. Uncles, aunts, cousins, nephews and nieces who mostly showed talent for any of the Arcanist paths. So the affinity test had looked promising for Finn. He had displayed supreme intellect since his birth, smarter than his peers by years. His family took it as a sign that he was destined for greatness in the Arcane... He displayed no affinity whatsoever. Nil. Zero. If Finn said he wasn’t affected by it, he’d have been lying right through his teeth. He put up a strong front, as though unfazed, and credit where due, his family was still very supportive of him. So what if he was bound to live a normal life? He’d get to live the most flamboyant normal life there was! But Finn was not satisfied with just this. So imagine his joy when, a few years after his affinity test, he stumbled on the knowledge of how affinity tests were conducted in other kingdoms that were not as uptight as Aethelos in regards to Soul Mages. Besides affinity tests for any of the arcane paths, there was also a test for soul magic! There hadn’t been one in the test held by his family. I could still be a Soul Mage! Finn had thought. With this new knowledge, despite his family’s negative view of Soul Mages, he went behind their backs, searching for years for a way to test his affinity. And as it turned out, he did have the talent for soul magic. Extreme talent, in fact. Imagine Finn’s joy. The next year was spent learning as much as he could in secret. Money was no issue, so knowing he could not align with the Ossuary — the publicly recognized, official organization of Soul Mages — he went about it himself, scouring for bits and pieces of information as quietly as he could. Every of his actions following that led to the current situation. One where he was on the brink of collapse, dancing on the edge of corrosion. Rick’s suspicion about Finn was right. He had assimilated a chaotic soul mass... and not just one. In fact, not two, three, four, or even five... Finn had gone and assimilated twenty-one chaotic soul masses! And right now, they were already beginning to act up. Rick’s incessant shaking of his collar was doing nothing to help. Finn’s eyes snapped open, the light inside them fully taken up a chilling, distant look. "I dare you to yank me one more time, man..." Finn licked his lips with a devilish grin on his face. "I will literally touch you!" Rick recoiled, dropping his hands immediately and stumbling a few steps back in shock. That was not Finn’s voice... That was not his friend’s voice at all! How far gone was Finn already?! Finn’s expression shifted, and a familiar light came back to his eyes again, before disappearing, then coming again. He shifted in and out of his crazy state repeatedly, mumbling unintelligible words each time, straining and clenching his jaws till veins popped visibly on his head, trying to regain a semblance of control. "It’s nOt mE—! Stay! I never asked you to speeakk...!" his voice took on a chorus-like tone. Like the cacophony of many voices speaking. Fighting to talk over each other. Rick breathed out shakily, watching his friend acting mad from a few steps away. Panic filled his eyes, but he gritted his teeth and charged right into the building, rushing to get the guy they came to see. At least he should know what to do... He had barely run into the building for a few steps when a lanky, pale-skinned figure cloaked in black appeared just at the corner of the stairwell he was about to charge upward to. Rick skid to a stop abruptly in exclamation, but the figure simply gave him a passing glance, turning his gaze outside at Finn, who had dropped to the ground, panting heavily. "Ho... Impressive... You can still maintain control after that?" He walked past Rick like the young man didn’t exist, stepping outside into the open, but careful to stay within the shade of the building. He squatted by Finn’s trembling figure, placing a hand on the his back. "Keke... You fool. Your body is wracked with Soul Debts going rampant," he cackled in amusement, like he was seeing something novel, "how many soul masses did he assimilate?" he directed his question not at Finn, but into the air, as if there was a third person other than Rick who was watching from a safe distance behind. He tilted his ear slightly, as though listening to a whisper. "Impossible!" He suddenly jerked back like Finn’s body was scalding hot. "You lie! You lie! You lie!" he scampered back into the building in shock and stared at Finn’s trembling figure on the ground just outside, like he was debating what to do. "Wha—What’s wrong, Mister Lionel?" Rick asked hesitantly, "C—Can you help him?" The man suddenly jolted, turning to Rick behind, "When Jaden said he referred some young masters to me I never expected this..." he swallowed with obvious greed and ambition gleaming in his eyes. "I can help your friend. He just has to follow me somewhere." Rick gulped. He was no fool, and even a fool could see the unconcealed greed in Lionel’s eyes. He didn’t know what for, but he at least knew there was no way he could allow Finn to be taken elsewhere. "Really...? We’ll think about it and get back to you," he made to step past the Revenant... but the man was not having any of it. "Hold it." He stretched out a hand, blocking Rick’s way, turning his head mechanically to meet Rick’s shaky gaze. "What makes you think I’m asking?" Immediately, the surroundings dimmed and chilled rapidly, sending a shiver down Rick’s spine that made his sphincter clench violently in fear. It was the primal reaction of the average person exposed to a chaotic soul mass. Behind the Revenant, a blurry, shapeless, wraith-like black mass suddenly clawed its way out of the his shadow, rising to a full seven feet height. It twisted and shifted erratically as though its form was unstable. Two deep black dots like eyes shifted on its unstable form and locked onto Rick, freezing him in place in utter fear. The revenant sneered, "Plebians like you should know your place. When a superior speaks, a lesser—" "Oi—" A chorus-like voice jarringly cut him off from right by his side, sending his hair standing upright in alarm. How did he get so close?!! "Your yapping is hurting my ears!" Finn, with eyes fully black like the darkness of an abyss, and his lips curled in a condescending, manic sneer, spoke.