Page 159 of Light Leech

“You will die if you do not change something. Here is your change. Take it.”

I looked up at Naoma. She clutched Zhou’s throne, not letting the chaos and my imminent death break her character.

“Do you want to rely on her to resolve this? She could, you know. She could stop it all now by revealing what she truly is.”

And you understand that?

“More than you, as does Zhou.”

No. I’m not letting them take her back.

“I’m sure she would reveal herself in an instant if it meant saving you. All she needs is your word. Tell her. They will take her back soon enough. You might as well capitulate now to save yourself, if that is what you desire.”

I took the spear in my hand and stabbed it into my thigh. The agony was unmatched. I had hoped that the burning light would numb the tissue, but it only aggravated it. Had the others felt such hellish pain when they died by the spear? They at least had the reprieve of death or whatever their disintegration entailed. I was left with pain. It doubled as I stabbed another into the flush just below the first.

“Just as I expected. I know you too well by now, bakuh.”

I ignored him, took another, and stabbed it next to the other two. I fell to a knee as my leg lost its strength.

“Spread the light throughout your body or this will be in vain.”

I did as commanded. I stabbed one into my shoulder. Another into my other thigh. Another into my calf, then the other calf. Another into my hip. I crawled over to retrieve more. My body held onto consciousness despite my desire to fall into a numbing sleep.

Shoulder. Bicep. Trapezius. Back. Calf. Forearm.

The agony was blinding. All I could see was white.

White faded to violet, to indigo, then to a vibrant green.

The light-spears retracted into my body. My vision returned with a vivid aura of enlightened clarity. Every sense followed with similar amplification, then increased with exponential fury.

Zhu snorted in triumph. It felt akin to the animated mindshows I had seen where a hero laughed in glory after a charged transformation.

I stood, sloughing off the spears as my skin pushed them out and the wounds sealed themselves.

I was no glowing god, but I saw in the glimmering hope of my fellow boatmates’ eyes that they could sense a change in my aura.

Their awe came to an abrupt halt as the orca-mech smashed its head into the base of the boat, tearing a massive hole in the back that filled with wine.

The rowers scrambled towards the front of the boat as the back started to sink. The spearmen continued to throw to no avail as the orca retreated. They turned to me as they waited for the next attack. I didn’t let fear of failure overcome me this time. I saw light reflecting on metallic tentacles under the wine’s surface. The faint outline of the animal’s head moved closer to the surface.

I jumped.

I felt nothing and despite ascending, I dared not open my eyes in the wine.

The beast not only touched me but wrapped its tentacles around my chest and squeezed. I grabbed onto it and tried to match its fury.

It did not care how I felt. Whatever hunger or hatred drove it continued as it pulled me towards its head and bit into my side.

I lost my breath as I screamed but managed to keep the wine out of my lungs.

Zeg! What now?

“Give it your light, ascended one.”

I twisted, punching its face with delayed strength under the wine. Had I been an unmodified human, I would have been torn to pieces already. Despite my Bite’s reinforcement, I felt the flesh of my skin tear and my ribs crack.

“Focus! Don’t fight it. Connect to it.”