{LUKES POV}
Let go… easier said than done.
I've always been tense, always had a hard time relaxing. Even when I was a kid, it felt like I always had the whole world resting upon my shoulders.
And I'm sure anyone could tell what such a thing would do to any and all relationships.
…but I have to try it anyway, right?
If not to save myself from this situation, with bullets still constantly firing at me—punches that arguably do more damage than said bullets—as well as the audible sound of backup responding to earlier requests from this unit through the radio attached to their hip… then I at least have to do it to save the only people left that I hold dear in this world.
I let go of the harsh grasp I've had on my mana this entire time.
Still letting it surge through my body, still letting it flow alongside my blood.
Just… letting it go, allowing the energy to take a more 'natural' path along my body.
The effect was immediate and, while slightly disappointing, it showed a couple of positive effects by itself.
It allowed me to let go of the sheer amount of focus I had to put into the circulation of mana. To the point that the ability returned to more of a passive effect, resembling the predecessor of the new power.
As a result, more room opened up in my mind, allowing for my higher perception, something that I gained from my time as Corvo, to slow down the battlefield and give me more space to concentrate on this task.
Everything slowed down by a degree around me, giving myself much more time to dodge around my opponents. Especially with the bullets.
But… without my constant input and attention on forcing the flow forward, the enhancement took much longer to take effect, slowing down significantly. Nearly taking triple the amount of time it usually would.
The pro to this disadvantage was that the enhancement created by reinforcement took longer to wear off, while also being more evenly distributed across all muscles.
So while it took slightly more mana and took up a significant amount of time for the effect to be present, the effect of going with the flow was a lot better.
…if I were not in a life-or-death battle.
With a longer buffer between the enhancement taking place and running out of mana, it left me vulnerable. As a result, more and more attacks managed to slip past my guard, the gunman getting closer and closer to taking a life-threatening shot.
This left my clothes in tattered rags and dozens of grazes or bullet wounds piercing through my body.
Internally, I winced grimly, silently cursing out the world and everyone involved in all this.
Eventually, though, a different sensation started to rise up from the channelling mana.
At first, it was like a clog in the drain, not allowing any of the mana being pumped from my heart to leave. This had the added effect of causing a minor heart palpitation that left me breathless and open to more attacks.
I thought it would only be another delay in my strengthening.
What instead happened was that all the mana pumped for a minute straight shot out through a single exit from my heart, travelling all the way up to my eyes. Or more specifically, eye. Or even more specifically… the lack of one.
The ethereal visual organ was flooded with mana, to the point that, if this were my real physical eye, it would have exploded.
What instead happened was what I thought should have been impossible.
A sort of burning sensation filled the fake organ, with none of the usual pain that would usually come with it.
The only thing I can think of that could be compared to that would be the faint afterburn of a heavily carbonated drink or a slightly spicy meal.
I hyper-focused on the eye to the point that I left my body running entirely on instinct.
In my mind's eye, I 'saw' the changes occurring.
First, the details matching the eye on the other side of my face started disappearing. It all faded, as if someone held a cloth to it and rubbed it away like a whiteboard. What was left afterwards was the purplish-white of the sclera and a single pitch-black dot in the middle.
Initially, I thought that was a pupil. I mean, what else could it be but that? Even if it was just a physical construct of energy, it still had to have the same functions, right?
That thought was completely derailed moments later.
The 'pupil' darkened to pure darkness. Then, as if using the erasure of detail from the eye itself, the mana surging inside started to 'carve' into it, bringing back the nostalgic feeling of when the Outsider's Mark was first engraved.
Three-quarters of a circle surrounded the middle dot, curved into an arrow on one end. The other merged directly with a short, dagger-like mark. Directly opposite was a giant blade about three times the size of the dagger.
As a whole, the mark formed a symbol resembling that of the blade… something that was a puzzle piece to a more intimate picture.
And as the piece slotted into place inside my eye, something clicked inside my head, almost making me pass out.
First was the flood of mana washing over my mind. Second was the fracturing of said mind.
'Woah.' 'Woah.'
I felt two sets of thought appear in my mind simultaneously, creating an echo-like effect that gave me a ringing headache.
Luckily, most of my processing power was already spent on other things, mostly trying not to di—
BANG
PEIRCE
In incredibly ironic timing, a bullet impacted my left arm, tearing through muscle and making the appendage hang uselessly by my side.
Another thing ironic, as it matched the injury I gave to their companion not long ago.
Luckily, though, the shot apparently got too close for my hooded opponent's liking.
"OI!! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE FUCKING AIMING THAT!!"
A gravelly, inhuman voice escaped his mouth, instinctively making me want to put this guy down. But by the wince the others gave him, this was new to them.
"Sorry!"
The gunman shouted back quickly.
The goddess-like figure made quite a bit of distance from me at that shot, retreating back towards the gunman with a pissed-off look on his face. That gave me some breathing room.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the knuckle-duster-wearing fella manage to sneak up behind me… but he was predictable enough.
Again, I grabbed hold of the man's wrist and pulled him forward, off balance. Using that momentum, I kicked his ankle out from under him and sent the man straight to the ground, faceplanting.
And again, I tried to follow up the created opening.
BANG!
But I was stopped just in time by a sound that was becoming annoyingly familiar.
"Haaaah, prick."
I muttered under my breath, feeling a cold anger rise up my gut.
I needed to get rid of him.
Just in time for that, I heard that ethereal female voice speak inside my mind again.
Notice: power re-acquired!____
..that voice again.
A quiet, soft voice that was so easy to ignore.
What is it?
The burning curiosity of what happened to me itches at a corner of my brain, begging to be scratched.
But ever since I… returned? Returned back to this world, it feels like it's been one thing after another, and it feels as if I have been back for weeks when, in reality, it's only been a day.
So despite this curiosity about this voice and why only now it reads my powers back to me, I ignore it.
I mean, when you have an instinctive understanding of your own abilities, do you even need someone to describe them?
Once more, with practised fluidity, I grab hold of the slippery substance that is my mana with an iron grip. I direct the energy upwards towards my mind, allowing it to merge with one of the halves of it.
For a moment, the usual slowed-down effect of my perception completely cut off, plunging my awareness back into the realms of an ordinary man.
I panicked when the hooded figure caught back up to me in an instant, fist already drawn back and charged for one of his devastating haymakers.
The anxiety seemed to work in my favour, though, as I felt the familiar 'flight' of the fight-or-flight response carry me into a somersault across the floor. While painting a pathetic picture, it did its job long enough for me to regain my composure.
CRASHHH
A crashing sound resounded behind me as the force of his blow carried my opponent's strike into a wall that was previously behind me. And as a result, completely caving in the wall… as well as his fist.
"ARGHH-!"
His pained scream rang out uncomfortably in the hallway, but I ignored it in favour of capitalising on the opening created.
Using my regained grip on my mana, I pumped a surge of it towards my legs, letting me close the large gap between me and the gunman in merely a few steps.
The once-knife-wielding fellow tried to intercept me but ultimately failed when his knife left my hand at a faster speed than me and sank into his head, right up to the hilt.
I sent the corpse crashing to the floor when I barrelled straight through it, landing in front of the gun wielder.
He raised the gun up to my head, pulling on the trigger to kill me.
BANG BANG BANG
But with my hand locked onto the weapon and a tug of strength holding it upwards, the bullets sprayed uselessly above us.
"…finally got a hold of you, bastard."
I heard my own voice, raspy and awkward in a way that's been bugging me since my return.
"…shit."
His own rang out a moment later, announcing how much he was bricking it, though a self-deprecating grin cracked his face, speaking of his resignation.
"Get on with it, then.."
He spoke, a tremor in his voice as the reality of his situation came crashing down.
He doesn't get much time for self-reflection, though.
I rip the gun from our still-contesting grip and throw it behind him. Then, grabbing the man by the throat, I restrain him against the wall.
"I'm afraid it won't be that easy."
I speak out this time, drawing a sick pleasure from the way his expression crumbles.
Using the contact I have with the man's neck, I expel my mana inside it.
Under normal circumstances, when mana leaves the body, it becomes entirely useless and evaporates into the atmosphere, at least in my opinion. But due to the power being partially activated, as well as the portion of my mind dwelling within it, the energy is stabilised long enough to reach the man's head.
And as if instinctively sensing what was about to happen, the man thrashed and resisted with a surprising amount of strength, to the point of nearly causing the process to fail.
But it succeeded. The light in his eyes died completely.
Temporarily, as the root of what I had done sprouted inside the man's brain like a corruption. All his mobility was lost, and if not for my catching of him, the body would have crumbled to the ground.
It only takes a couple of seconds for my power to kick in.
Life returns to the body's movements, and 'he' stands back up only after having picked up the gun again.
Taking out another magazine, 'he' reloads 'his' weapon with an ease speaking of 'his' experience with firearms.
Only I know that this isn't another person.
Ceasing to look down at the pistol, the body looks up at me, and I shiver a moment as I look into his eyes.
Once blue, now transformed, changed to look like a pair entirely matching my own to the last detail.
"Like looking into a fucking mirror, right?"
———-
Possession < Projection
Ability description:
Use your mana to split off a part of your mind and allow those fragments to merge with a target of your choosing, turning them into a thrall of your bidding. The power sends any and all information acquired by the thrall to the user, not allowing the thrall to have any recollection of events while possessed.