Azrael laughed again, waving a dismissive hand. “In exchange for your service, I’ll spare your life this time.” His amusement faded, gaze turning cold and resolute. “But make no mistake, I can’t bend the rules anymore. The next time you see me will be the last time we meet. You get me!”

I knew that already, Ken thought bitterly. “I said I want more.” You know what I desire. He stood and met Azrael’s stare.

Azrael smiled patronizingly. “When the last immortal’s soul is collected, call for me. I’ll pay extra then.”

“Deal,” Ken grinned sharply, body still trembling from the lingering pain. “Now explain this ‘gift’ clearly.”

“I granted you the power of Rejection and Possession,” Azrael said, holding up his index finger.

“Rejection allows you to sever Meta-Objects from physical forms by touch, while Possession grants you dominion over them. Thus take them as your own.” As he spoke, he pretended to pluck something invisible in front of him and pulled it toward his chest in a clutching gesture. “By temporarily absorbing them into your soul, your soul then becomes a conduit,” He tightened the grip.

“You can then seal a Meta-Object into one of the nine artifacts, then use it however you please,” He pointed to the chain in Ken’s pocket and smiled. “To be more precise, I gave you Possession and your soul gave itself Rejection – and by using both, now you can extract...” He grabbed at the air again.

“...and seal.” He rapidly followed by slamming the imaginary object into his other hand, as if he clapped.

Ken just stared at Azrael, blinking in confusion.

Seeing this, Azrael’s eyebrows shot up for a moment, “It appears a demonstration is in order.”

The angel swiftly moved closer to Ken and gripped his shoulder firmly. Ken tensed, unsure what was coming. Azrael maintained eye contact whilst his hand went up as if he pulled something out. Suddenly Ken found himself floating above his now lifeless corpse collapsed on the ground. His physical vessel lay inert, limp, and vacant, emptied of spirit, mind, and consciousness.

“What the?!” Ken exclaimed in shock, glancing down at his lifeless body while Azrael stood over it, smiling at Ken’s hovering soul.

Ken willed himself to return, but his detached soul could not re-enter the empty vessel. Azrael had completely separated spirit from flesh. And was holding the spirit with his hand.

“This is extracting.”

“Let me back!” Ken demanded, trying in vain to return to his physical self. But the angel maintained possession of his soul.

Azrael ignored him, prodding the vacant husk with his foot. It remained limp and unresponsive, vacant eyes staring blankly ahead. Ken could only watch, unsettled by the sight of his hollowed-out corpse. “I used Rejection to sever soul from flesh, and Possession to keep hold of it.”

After a few more disturbing moments, Azrael leaned down while holding the soul. The angel then completely sucked it into himself through his hand for a split instant after which he then slammed Ken’s soul back inside the boy’s husk, hence allowing it to rejoin his body. Ken felt himself getting pushed back as sudden lucidity returned to his physical form while his limbs jolted back to life.

“This is sealing,” Azrael said, as he stood straight. “Take and keep, or take and release. The choice is yours.”

Shaking his head as he hopped up on his feet, Ken said, “This means...”

“Yes, this is how you capture the souls of the nine in those artifacts,” Azrael confirmed casually, examining his nails. “So don’t lose them.” He glared sharply at Ken, eyes narrowed. “This is also how you can Extract, Seal, and even mold anything metaphysical.”

Hey! Ken’s brows furrowed in concentration.

He just said anything metaphysical… not just souls. The keyword here is Meta-Object! This essentially means possessing conceptual things. With Possession and Rejection, I can own Meta-Objects by detaching metaphysical essences from physical forms I physically touch, then seal those Meta-Objects I capture into the nine artifacts to use at my will. Meta-Objects could be souls, skills, ideas, concepts, knowledge, or memories, so everything abstract that exists but has no physical form.

The only condition here is that Meta-Objects must be tethered to a physical container.

This could work! I can find something Meta to help track the immortals. Maybe I could...

“Smart kid,” Azrael clapped slowly, smirking mockingly. “You’re limited to the nine artifacts though. One cannot house two Meta-Objects at once.”

Wait! Ken’s eyes widened in realization.

Hold on!

That means!

“Correct,” Azrael affirmed Ken’s unspoken deduction, tilting his chin up. “Besides there is another condition,” Azrael stated.

“Huh!”

“Depending on your strength and or your target, some Meta-Objects are a bit harder to sever,” Azrael added. “So you need to do some pounding to get them out.”

Ken clenched his fists as he grinned. This “gift” has a fatal flaw, he thought irritably. Still, I can turn it to my advantage. I can make this work. His face set with determination.

Ken drew the artifact chain from his pocket, examining each link closely. He then looked at Azrael. “And after sealing a Meta-Object, how do I access and use its power?”

Azrael smiled cryptically. “Use Possession on it,” Hinting at the chain.

“Huh!”

“You know kid; there are other words one can use to express thoughts instead of huh!” Azrael mocked.

Ken cringed. Just imagine passing the chain through your skin, merging it with your soul. He instructed himself.

Ken sighed as he furrowed his brow in concentration. He visualized the chain sinking into his hand, its cold alloy blending seamlessly with his inner being.

Instantly, the artifacts vanished within his flesh. But a black-inked tattoo tracing their form remained etched onto his skin.

Awed, Ken grinned. “It worked! And the tattoo looks great too.”

“Not bad,” Azrael said. “Now, to get it out, use Rejection.”

Ken focused, willing the chain out. It reappeared on his hand, good as new.

Once a Meta-Object is sealed within an artifact, I can absorb the whole chain through Possession. That merges it fully with my soul, allowing me to directly access and wield the contained powers.

He held up his hand, tracing where the shadowy tattoo had formed.

With the chain a part of my soul, its sealed Meta-Objects respond instantly to my command. I need only imagine their effects to bring them into reality.

And if I were to extract another Meta-Object in the future, all I must do is use Rejection to safely remove the chain from within myself. That returns it to its physical form, ready to imprison new Meta-Objects once more. Ken continued, his understanding growing by leaps.

Azrael nodded, pleased with Ken’s progress. “Let’s get you set up,” He said, glancing right of Ken. “You almost had your wish granted, you know,” He added, nodding towards the ground.

Ken followed Azrael’s gaze and saw a fist-sized stone lying several feet away. He wasn’t sure what the angel was getting at.

Azrael strode over to the rock and peered down at it meaningfully. “Everything in this Dark Forest will make sure to kill you,” He stated cryptically.

Ken had heard whispers of the Underground’s horrors during his captivity up on the Solo-Ground, right before he was taken down there. The criminals spoke in hushed, fearful tones about the fate that awaited them below. Ken picked up scattered fragments - tales of ravenous beasts and lethal terrains. But he was not ready for what was to come.

“Even a small pebble like this,” Azrael leaned down and lifted it, then stood up and moved his hand holding the stone towards Ken. “So to prevent your instant passing, you need something that will allow you to survive in this place for long enough to make yourself stronger.”

Ken walked over until the rock was parallel to his sight, to examine the stone. It was unremarkable in appearance - dull gray, rough-edged, seemingly bland. “It’s just a rock,” Ken stated.

As Ken reached out hesitantly to touch it, Azrael continued. “This very rock nearly killed you before that stain did.”

Ken jerked his hand back in surprise. The thought of such a mundane thing almost killing him made his skin crawl. Just how many hidden brushes with death had there been?

“Hein?!” Ken wondered.

“This is a Camouphage,” Azrael said. “In its original state, it’s a hairy slug. Though it remains a shapeshifting beast that can morph its reconfigurable and transformable flesh rapidly by rearranging and multiplying its cells microscopically. This lets it disguise itself as objects like trees or rocks, or transform into deadly creatures.” The Camouphage was made of Reconfigurable Metamaterials.

I don’t get it!

“Right now it’s trying to blend into the environment since it remains a vulnerable living creature that must mate, hunt, and sometimes hide to survive.”

Wait! If it can become a deadly force, yet it’s trying to hide as a rock. That means…

“Bingo,”

Stop interrupting my thoughts already. Ken sighed internally. “Why tell me this?”

“To comprehend something fully, you must first understand its nature,” Azrael replied. “Only then can you attempt possession, or you won’t succeed in properly extracting and sealing a Meta-Object.”

I see! So I need to observe and learn. Great! Another thing to worry about.

Another condition.

“So I’m supposed to take its shapeshifting power?”

“No. I wouldn’t recommend it; this ability is useless to you now.”

“Then why?”

“This is just bait.” Azrael tossed the stone westward away from them.

Time unfroze, and began moving except for Ken’s would-be killer. Though the three looked like they were surrounded by an invisible dome that separated them from the environment around them. The rock hit the ground and began morphing rapidly into a colossal winged serpent with gleaming yellow eyes.