The Underworld Mercenary Guild was built inside the hollowed-out skeleton of an ancient, ruined cathedral in the center of Oakhaven.
Rain poured through the cracked stone arches above, washing over neon-purple alchemical lanterns that illuminated rows of crowded, rowdy taverns, weaponsmiths, and bounty boards below. Outlaws, rogue mages, and dark-armored mercenaries filled the central plaza, drinking, gambling, and shouting over the noise of the storm.
When Valeska and I walked through the main hall, every single conversation died.
Her six-foot-two obsidian frame, black greatsword, and radiating heat made even the most ruthless cutthroats instinctively step out of our path.
"Look at that armor..." someone whispered.
"Ugh, I have fallen for that visor, man."
"Don’t look at her visor, you idiot! Do you want your head blown off?!"
I ignored the whispers, holding up the dark iron token Raven had given us.
An old, scarred dwarf behind the guild counter took one look at the token, swallowed hard, and handed over a heavy brass key without asking a single question.
"Third floor. Room Thirteen," the dwarf grunted, looking anywhere except at Valeska’s burning red visor. "Don’t break the furniture."
Room Thirteen was small, dark, and smelled faintly of old wood and rain.
It contained a single wooden desk, a stone fireplace, and—to nobody’s surprise—a single, wide bed with a thick wool blanket.
"A single bed," Valeska noted, her cold, grinding voice echoing off the stone walls as I locked the heavy oak door behind us. "The mortals in this city have an insufferable sense of humor."
"Hey, don’t look at me," I said, taking off my soaked jacket and hanging it over a wooden chair near the fireplace. "I didn’t pick the room. Besides, you don’t even sleep."
Valeska sheathed her greatsword against the wall, the heavy obsidian blade making the floorboards groan. She turned her featureless helmet toward me, her red visor glowing in the dim, green light filtering through the window.
"I do not sleep, but I require rest to stabilize my soul-tether," Valeska said coldly. "And more importantly... we must address what the broker woman said."
I sat down on the edge of the bed, rubbing my sore shoulders. My ribs still throbbed from where Valeska had broken them earlier, but [Endless Resilience] had already mended the bone.
"You mean Soul Synchronization?" I asked as I lay down on the bed.
"Yes." Valeska climbed over, her heavy armored boots sinking slightly into the wooden frame. "The broker was not lying. God’s generosity has been stripped from you. If you wish to expand your Aether capacity to 3,000 and unlock the rest of your locked entities, you cannot simply slaughter weak beasts."
She stood directly over me, her six-foot-two frame blotted out the lantern light.
"You must absorb my Ashen Flame directly into your soul," Valeska commanded, her visor narrowing. "You must harmonize your frail vessel with my spirit. But be warned, mortal... my soul is a furnace that has burned three continents. If your willpower slips for even a second, your mind will be reduced to ash."
I looked up into her burning visor, letting out a short laugh. "Empress, my soul survived a twelve-hour night shift under Curator Sterling. I think I can handle a little heat. How do we do this?"
Valeska remained quiet for a moment. Then, with a heavy clank of armor, she sat down on the bed right across from me, crossing her legs.
"Sit face-to-face," she instructed. "Place your hands on mine. Channel your Aether inward, and do not break the connection until I say so."
I took a deep breath, crossed my legs, and reached out.
I placed my hands directly over her black-armored gauntlets.
[Initiating Manual Soul Synchronization...]
[Connecting Vessel ’Kaelen Cross’ to Entity ’Valeska’]
BOOM!
The moment our Aether connected, a wave of intense, suffocating heat erupted inside my chest.
It felt like someone had poured molten lava directly into my veins. My vision flashed bright white, and my lungs seized as pure, unadulterated Ashen Flame flooded through the soul-tether, trying to burn my vessel from the inside out.
"Aaargh!" I gasped, my teeth grinding together so hard I tasted copper.
"Do not sever the link!" Valeska commanded, her voice echoing inside my skull. "Resist it, mortal! Anchor your soul to mine!"
[Innate Trait: [Endless Resilience Lv. 1] Active!]
[Innate Trait: [Adaptive Resonance Lv. 1] Active!]
My body automatically fought back against her heat. My internal organs hardened, my blood vessels adapted, and [Endless Resilience] worked overtime to repair the microscopic burns tearing through my soul-channels.
Instead of burning to ash, my body forced itself to absorb her flame.
And then, my first trait triggered involuntarily.
[Innate Trait: [Somatic Overload Lv. 1] Activated!]
Through our locked hands, a heavy pulse of purple Aether shot backward through the soul-tether, flowing directly into Valeska’s spirit.
BZZZZT!
"Ah...! Hah...!"
Valeska’s commanding posture instantly shattered.
Her visor flared from a dark, terrifying crimson into a bright, flustered pink. Her entire six-foot-two frame shivered, her armored thighs tightening against the bedsheets as the heavy, overstimulating feedback from my trait flooded her soul.
"Y-You... fool...!" Valeska panted, her head tilting back against the wall, fast, shallow gasps escaping her lips. "I told you... to channel... your Aether... not... not use that degenerate... overload...!"
"I’m... not doing it on purpose!" I wheezed through gritted teeth, my hands locked onto her gauntlets as the heat and sensory feedback swirled between our connected souls like a hurricane. "It’s triggering... automatically... because of the resonance!"
The heat between us spiked. The spiritual pressure inside the small room grew so thick that the glass in the window began to vibrate and crack.
Valeska’s hands trembled beneath mine, her fingers tightening around my wrists. Through her translucent pink visor, her pale face was flushed a deep, burning crimson, her lips parted as her soul involuntarily harmonized with mine.
For three agonizing, intoxicating minutes, our Aether swirled in a violent loop—her Ashen Flame burning my vessel, and my Somatic Overload melting her defenses.
PING!
[SOUL SYNCHRONIZATION COMPLETE (FIRST STAGE)]
[Resonance Level: 12%]
[Soul Essence Permanently Expanded: 520 -> 720 / 3,000!]
[Progress to 2nd Calamity Unlock (Lilith): 720 / 3,000]
BOOM!
The soul-link snapped shut.
The suffocating heat in my chest vanished, replaced by a massive, permanent surge of fresh, refined Aether coursing through my body. My lungs expanded, and I collapsed back onto the bed, gasping for air, covered in sweat.
Valeska slumped back against the stone wall beside the bed, her visor still glowing a flustered pink, her breathing heavy and shallow as she clutched her armored chest.
"You... insolent... insect..." Valeska panted, her voice lacking any of its usual terrifying power. "You... almost destroyed... my focus..."
"Hey..." I wheezed, looking up at the wooden ceiling with a smirk. "It worked, didn’t it? My Soul Essence jumped from 520 to 720 in three minutes."
Valeska glared at me through her pink visor, though her armor was still shivering slightly from the lingering sensory overload. "Do not... celebrate... that was merely the first stage... further synchronization... will require far more... rigourous... resonance..."
Before I could ask her what she meant by "rigorous resonance," a loud explosion echoed from the city gates outside.
BOOM!
Shouts, clashing steel, and the thunderous roar of divine magic shattered the rainy night.
I sat up, looking out the cracked window.
Over the rooftops of Oakhaven, three massive pillars of golden light pierced through the storm clouds, illuminating the entire city in blinding holy radiance.
[SYSTEM WARNING: Imperial Archons Have Entered Oakhaven!]
[Target: Class-S Fugitive ’Kaelen Cross’]
Valeska’s visor slowly shifted from pink back to a deadly, burning crimson as she stood up from the wall, drawing her greatsword.
"They’re early," I muttered, wiping the sweat from my forehead.
Valeska looked down at me, her greatsword igniting in pitch-black fire. "Let them come. My soul is fully synchronized... and I am hungry for blood."