Chapter 365: Convoluted or Clever is a very Thin Line
‘Hmmm. On the one hand, I should probably intervene to help provide instruction…on the other, they have yet to inform me of anything so maybe I can just leave it to them…please don’t leave a trail of bodies, please don’t leave a trail of bodies…’
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[Possession] was less of a straightforward procedure and more of a nuanced artform…an artform that could be compared to tightrope walking with a pair of fifty pound weights attached to the wrist.
On one side.
The reason for this was that there only two ways to possess: presence of [Chaos] to guide the way, [Resonance].
Being technically made of solidified aether/[Chaos]/desire, the kaijin couldn’t possess anyone willy-nilly without a medium to assist or at least a matching environment.
The kaijin would normally possess Zhen Liu or people Zhen Liu had shot in the face with the [Possestol] due to the former having plenty of [Chaos] inside them naturally while the former was a forcible injection of [Chaos] that allowed the kaijin to enter the target like a fish being let in a reservoir via a hole in a dam.
Plus the sheer shock of being shot in the face was enough to cause anyone’s mind to go into a sudden chaotic frenzy, the kind that kaijin thrive in the best.
Without either medium though, the kaijin could only possess people that share a similar desire that makes them up, in essence, [Resonance].
Now on the surface this sounds really easy, just have the kaijin use their abilities to make people feel a certain way in order to get the target in the right state of mind for possession to work…however, this would be an inaccurate assumption.
In order for [Resonance] to be possible, a person has to have a “naturally” occurring desire from the bottom of their heart, their soul, much in the same way a [Core] can form.
To make a rambling explanation short: in the moment a person is able to produce a [Core], they’re also in the correct state of mind to be possessed by a kaijin that have a core similar to the potential one. In essence,a kaijin made of rage could only possess someone who was enraged.
Or in this case, an injured child who wanted to keep going, could easily be possessed by a kaijin made of [Resolve].
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Nepherage, Frosttusk, Razor Maiden and Spring Brawler watched on as Hurricroak turned into particles of [Thunder] and [Lighting] aether and merge herself into Jasper’s injured form.
It took a few minutes for Hurricroak to fully possess Jasper’s body, but as she did, the wounds on Jasper’s body seemed to heal by themselves bit by bit.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to heal every last bit of damage.
As the last of the particles of aether merged into Jasper’s body, the boy began to violently cough and convulse.
“Cough! Bah! What…the fuck…,” Jasper said in a distinctive double voice, Hurricroak’s more melodic tones underscoring Jasper’s immature voice, “how tough is this kid?”
“Hurricroak, how are you holding up in there?,” Nepherage asked with a concerned voice.
This was the first time they ever possessed anyone so injured before, so it was rather concerning that their voice came out so…pained.
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*Bing-Bong*
For the ease of reading, Hurricroak/Japser will be shortened to just Jasper due to the latter being the host, but the duo will be referred to as “they/them” due to it being two people in a single head…you just didn’t want to Hurricroak/Jasper several dozen times do you?
|I don’t even know if that count as one word or two and I am not risking the word count on that gamble. Besides, we already have a two… existence fluid characters that make shit hard to track as is, don’t need to throw in more.|
Fair point…wait, what pronouns are you two even using right now?
<=Yes.=>
Unhelpful.
|Right??||
*Bing-Bong*
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“Shit…didn’t expect this body to be so damaged,” Jasper said with uneasy breathe, their actions somewhat shaky as they raised a hand and prepared themselves to snap their fingers, “good thing I…possessed him when I did…[Note of Restoration.]”
With a shaky hand, Jasper snapped their fingers and released a crisp sounding note, that was laced with aether, echoing through the alleyway.
As the note played out, Jasper’s body began to fix itself once more, even quicker than when the initial possession process took place.
“Ohhh, this is a really a weird feeling,” Jasper commented as they felt their bones realign and recalcify, torn muscles and tendons mend and formerly popped blood vessels seal up and reinflate.
The two presences weren’t exactly used to such a sensation, what with one being too immature to have even felt a level a pain like this, while the other didn’t really have a body that could feel pain. It was honestly a good thing the latter presence was taking the brunt of this sensory input or else the former would probably go insane from the strange sensations.
“And that’s the-“*pop* “oh no, spine had to realign…that felt kinda nice actually.”
Only a few seconds had passed as Jasper went from broken body on the ground to now standing upright with a new sense of vigor in their flesh, blood and bones.
With everything now mostly fixed, Jasper proceeded to stretch out their limbs and fingers to make sure everything still worked. The only noticable differences was the voice and the aether expression, but not many people were familiar with either in this form, so…no big deal.
The kaijin and proto-kaijin stood by as they watched their companion do their stretches, waiting for them to finish before continuing their conversation/planning session. It didn’t take long for Japser to finish, which is they continued the planning immediately from there.
“Alright so, after possessing this little bambino,” Jasper said as they pointed at their own head, “I now know the identity of the putas who abducted his adoptive sister and now I’m filled with bloodlust and rage that can only be quenched by choking the life out of them and watching their souls leave the eyes in a painfully slow manner.”
“Uhh…what the fuck?”
Nepherage and Frosttusk were mildly stunned at Jasper’s sudden declaration, namely due to the face of person who was saying it looked way too young to be saying such violent things, but they quickly recovered.
However, they did take long enough for Razor Maiden and Spring Brawler to ask a few pertinent questions…well, Razor Maiden asked pertinent questions, Spring Brawler was more mystified by the concept of [Possession] without their lord’s assistance.
“So…what’s the plan now? We still need to track down Donovan for the sake our lord’s paranoia, but now one of our biggest hitters is in the body of a…how old is that kid?”
“I think he’s nine, maybe ten? He doesn’t remember his own age, but I can at least tell he hasn’t hit puberty yet.”
“Nine year old, great,” Razor Maiden nodded, “so…who’s going to do what? Is there even a what?”
“Can we do? That too? Razor Sis?”
“What? [Possession]? Not until we’re…older? Anchored? Have proper cores.”
“Ah.”
“Well I’m glad you asked my sharp tongued dancing friend,” Jasper said in preparation to answer Razor Maiden’s question, “because we are going to be doing one of the oldest tactics in the multiverse, divide and conquer, combined with good old fashioned lying. I’m going to be pretend to be some kind of wunderkid, and y’all are going to be my entourage. Once we’re inside the hotel, we’ll split up into groups to go find this guy’s sister and our lord’s possible enemy and/or toothless rival who just needs a good slap to the face.”
“Okay…”
“But first, I’m going to need new clothes and a bath.”
At Jasper’s sudden request, looks of confusion appeared on everyone’s faces.
“Can’t you…just…use…aether to…make…new clothes?,” Frosttusk asked.
“Been trying this whole time, and I am now thoroughly reminded of the weakness that is having a mortal body: the need for external items to do shit in polite society,” Jasper huffed as the itchiness of their rags finally settled in. From what they could feel/remember these rags were about two years old and hadn’t been washed.
“Ah…”
“So glad I don’t have to worry about things like clothes anymore..do kinda miss the shopping aspect though…”
“What was that?,” Nepherage asked.
“Nothing.”
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=I do believe it was…during the reign of the Blood Shadows Monarch. Which was approximately…five hundred and forty two years ago, give or take a couple dozen years.=
=Yes…and also knives.=
=Depends on whether or not Hurricroak can play the role of a wunder kid on the fly and surrounded by people.=
