Dee was mostly just standing there, not wanting to interrupt the moment. Despite what was going on and the situations each of us were in, it didn’t seem like Dee was evil. Just a bit ruthless. And I knew my brother was in the same boat. I was starting to wonder if all this fighting was really necessary.

After a bit of crying, I started to calm down a bit, as I looked at James, to ask him the question that had been in my mind for the longest time.

-Why did you leave?- I was still crying a bit, so my words came out in sniffles. It was hard to talk, but I really needed to know.

-I…- James stuttered a bit. His face looked distraught as I brought up the topic, as he tried to find the right words to say.

-If he was anything like me, they probably promised him what he most desired as a way to manipulate him into joining- Dee spoke up, almost upbeat, but serious in his tone

-Wait, something we desired?- That sounded familiar to me. It really reminded me of how I was recruited to SoulCrash, but it couldn’t be the case, right?

-Yeah… pretty much- James responded, looking a bit down -When they came for me, as you know, was when I was still being affected by the soul fusion. They said they could make me whole again. They said they could bring me back up to my strength- He said this, almost in a tone of shame, as if he regretted his choice -At the time, all I wanted was to go back to my full strength to teach you a lesson… I didn’t expect them to put that demon inside my body-

-With me- Followed Dee -They promised me unforgettable fights, much better than what I had been getting in the colosseum as of late-

I was in awe. It really did sound like when I was taken in for my judgment. They were promised things that seemed impossible at the time. Just like with me and finding my brother. 

-Wait, what about your other team members? How did they get convinced to join?-

-Yeah, that’s more of Dee’s territory. They never spoke with 022, so I don’t remember anything- James said, scratching the back of his head

-Well, Iris got in after being promised a Safe Haven to be able to still do her crimes. She’s kind of a local crime lord where she lives, if not also a bit of a maniac- Dee chuckled a bit, but tried to keep a straight face -Iago, before you guys offed him, was promised an opportunity to continue his investigations in a more sadistic manner-

-Wait, wouldn’t those two need to be able to still go outside? I thought we were prohibited from even interacting with our families or the outside world outside of missions?- This was perplexing me. This all seemed really ideal.

-Huh, what do you mean? We still get access to the outside. We just have to be present for missions. Of course, if any of us fails at that…- Both Dee and James shuddered. I remember them mentioning the torture, but for both of them to get triggered, it had to be really bad.

-Well, that’s bullshit!- I said, as I stood up shouting -We had to leave our families behind, our homes behind, everything to join this stupid team where all we do is just risk our lives!-

-Wait, you guys are locked in there? Just waiting to be called just to fight us?- James asked this, almost with horror in his eyes.

-Yeah. All of us are just waiting for a mission with nothing to do besides train- I grasped one of my arms, trying to keep me from getting angrier

-Well, it’s not like any of us really leave to see our families or anything, since most of us are outcasts, or, in my case, I straight up did not remember my family- James said this, sighing a little -I think the only one of us that actually goes outside is Iris, and that’s only because she needs to keep track of her little band of criminals-

It made sense. I guess if they were out destroying towns, their families would probably not take them in, even if they cared. 

But, as I thought about this, there was one thing I was questioning heavily

-Hey, but, what about that new member you got after Iago? The one with the mask? Do you know what she was promised?- I asked, to see if maybe I could get some answers for Martha to help her calm down. But, when I finished asking, they both looked off to the side.

-To tell you the truth, she wasn’t recruited in the normal way-Dee started explaining, which just perplexed me a bit more.

-She was… Iris brought her in a couple of years ago. She said she had found a proper replacement for if any of us died and that she had given her a ton of trouble- James continued with Dee’s explanation,

-And at first, we thought that she was just as evil as Iris… But the moment she started talking, we realized she wasn’t like us. I voted that we should not keep her due to this, but since 022 was active, and the rest of the team was full of a bunch of assholes, they decided to keep her.- Dee continued, with their expression slowly turning grimmer.

-But, we didn’t just keep her in the cell. On orders from our boss, we were instructed to do the same process that everyone had on them. A demon’s soul was implanted into her body, and she was continuously tortured until only that demon remained- James’ expression turned bitter. -I wish I could’ve done something about it-

-Wait, a human with a demon’s soul? I thought only Sylphs could carry those while remaining themselves- This all seemed weird, there was just something that didn't quite fit in.

-Well, it’s not really in her. As you said, as she’s human, she can’t host a demon inside of her. So, instead, we turned towards a conduit- James said this in a somber tone -Her mask had a Sylph soul inside, which is how she mainly gets her power. Iris told us all about that when she brought her in. So, instead of infecting her with the demon soul, we infected the mask. And by putting it on…-

-The demon takes over…- I finished the sentence. That feeling of being taken over, not being able to control your actions is a horrible feeling. And the thought of someone going through that for years on end just sounds horrible. The fact that she was even still lucid when we beat her was surprising. Although, the cracks on her skin… that was not  a good sign.

I’ve been dancing around the topic, mainly because I knew that if I spoke about it, I would realize that I was heading in the same direction. The reason why Power Lust affects a Sylph so much is that, as they keep using it, their soul slowly starts to become corrupted, first showing as black spots on their body, like the one I saw after fighting Ness. And, if the corruption gets too severe, or an emotional break happens, the person’s soul can easily become demonic. 

The only way a Sylph can use the power up given by Power Lust without any corruption, is to have 2 souls inside of them. That way, their Power Lust is turned into Power Overdrive, allowing them full control of the transformation. In a sense, having a second soul works as a stabilizer.

Of course, you can still have two souls inside of you and still not have access to Power Overdrive, which is the case with me. Due to my second soul being demonic now, instead of Stabilizing, it takes over, and due to it already being demonic, the corruption of my own soul is being accelerated every time I go into Power Lust. And with how strong this soul is, it can even take over by itself if it senses my body is in danger.

Some people are able to achieve synchronicity with their demon soul, which is something I noticed in Martha, and based on how she described Iris during their fight, she is probably in that case as well. This is achieved when both the main host soul, and that demon’s soul, are able to come to an agreement. And so, whenever they go into Power Lust, they don’t lose their sense of self, and the soul doesn’t get corrupted. Although, it is still not as powerful as Overdrive.

-But, as long as she doesn’t have the mask, she should be fine… right?- I asked this, with a bit of hope that what Martha did was a good move.

-Her body would eventually go back to normal. But, we saw the results of Iris’ experiments. The mask is keeping her emotionally stable in a way. It’s a grounding method for her to stay sane- Dee said this, in a disappointed tone -Taking her mask away will just make her spiral a lot easier.-

I pondered what we could do. I knew that the moment I told Martha about this conversation, she would want to have another match with Lumina to try and save her. To convince her not to use the mask. But, at the same time, it took the both of us to even bring her down. I don’t think she would come out of that fight well, either emotionally or mentally. One of us would need to be there for backup. That… or have someone else fight her. 

None of our team would be willing to do that. Mark would probably just ignore it. Ness would definitely laugh the idea off. I would take that place, but I would need to talk with Martha first. But, with how that mission made her feel, there’s no possible way she would agree to have someone fight Lumina other than herself. 

The more I thought of the situation, the more difficult it became to find a solution that could help both of them.

-Colin- James broke the silence, almost as if he knew that I was overthinking this -Don’t try to find a solution to this. Ever since I recovered my mind and body, I’ve been doing nothing but think of a way to get out of this. But no matter what idea comes to my head, there’s no way to get out of this. It’s the same situation with this. No matter what you can think of, there’s no way no one comes out of this unharmed-

-I guess it is pretty idealistic… being able to come up with the best solution for everyone- I chuckled a bit, looking down -But of course that’s impossible- I slowly began to stand up, while looking at James -I really wish all this fighting could just stop… The only reason I came back was to get you back- My eyes were starting to tear up again -Can we really not go back now? Just ignore all this and leave-

-Colin. As much as I would love to… our bosses are up to something. We cannot quit now- James looked down as he said this, with something clearly troubling him -That’s the reason I went to get you-

Everything fell silent for a moment, as I faced him -What did you just say?-

-That day… the day I attacked our home… I was already back in control of myself- James trembled as he said this -I knew what I was doing. I knew that, if I attacked you that way and hesitated, you would surely come back to try and get me-

-I was the one that suggested the idea- Dee said this in the background -We need you. We need all your current team- While they didn’t seem proud of the idea, it was like they thought this was the only choice. 

-You could’ve told me!- I shouted at both of them, in anger -What, you thought you couldn’t trust me?! I had to burn down our house to be able to get back in! Now we lost that all because you didn’t think communicating would be a good idea!- In the moment, it felt necessary, but, if James really was back to normal, then we could’ve found a way back. We could’ve staged something. But no, of course, he had to take the most broken path to the goal. 

-Oh yeah, as if you would’ve believed me. The last time you saw me was when the souls swapped. There was nothing I could’ve done after that because you left the group thinking you had lost me!- James shouted back, standing up as well to be at my level, although he was still taller than me

-You could’ve not attacked us! That’s what you could’ve done!- I was starting to actually get mad. I could even feel the demon inside me just waiting for things to escalate so he could take over.

At that moment, Dee got in between us and separated us -Okay, that’s enough from both of you!- They were very clearly getting annoyed at our bickering and had gotten tired -This really is no time to be fighting about dumb shit-

James sighed. He was still angry, but he did seem a bit calmer -Ugh, they’re right. Look. We both made mistakes. But at this point, we need your help. We need you to convince your group to help us. There’s something rotten going down, before it’s too late-

I hesitated for a bit before answering. At this point, I was ready to blow, but I composed myself -... fine. I’ll help you two. But, once this is done, we’re discussing all of this, okay?-

-Yeah, yeah, that’s fine- James responded, laughing a bit

As we finished talking, a portal back opened up between our two groups. I looked over to Dee one last time before both of them left. 

-Hey Dee. Before you leave, I have a question-

-Sure. What is it?- Dee looked back at me, their ethereal appearance still creeping me out a bit

-Is Fire Witch really just a power up? It feels weird that you gave me this just for it to be a simple power up- I asked them, a bit perplexed. It just felt kind of weird that it was the case

-... a power up? The hell are you talking about? That’s not what Fire Witch does- Dee tilted their head to the side, confused about my question

-What do you mean? That’s how it’s worked for me ever since I first started to use it. Hell, it’s the only reason I was able to stand up to James, Ness, and Lumina-

-Well, either it takes a different form for each new user of it, or you’re not using it to its full potential- Dee laughed a bit, before walking towards the portal, pulling James with them -Look into it. You never know what you could find-

-Oh, wait a minute- Dee said this in a cheerful tone, before throwing something at me. As I caught it, I noticed it was a burner phone

-What’s this for?- I asked, just confused by this

-We’re gonna need to be able to communicate once you get people on your side. Hell, when you’re ready, call us and we’ll do our best to schedule the next mission in our favor- Once Dee finished saying this, the portal closed behind them, leaving me alone. 

As they walked through the portal, I looked back at the one that led me back to base. I had to think about my next course of action. If something was really going down, I needed the help of everyone, including Ness and Mark. But, they would be the hardest to convince. 

So, first, let’s get Martha on our side

END OF CHAPTER 31