Chapter 33: Unexpected News

The force of the slap folded him in half at the waist like soft bread.

Finn was hit so hard, he forgot how to think for a second. His mind blanked immediately, and even the fact that he’d also hit Isis was lost to him.

All he knew was that when his mind finally started to work and he could process thoughts again, he was lying face first into the ground, his waist hurt like hell, like his spine had nearly been snapped in half.

But most importantly… he couldn’t hear a single thing besides a high pitch whine, as if his ears had tapped into the hidden frequencies of the very world itself.

What…happened…? His thoughts moved slowly like wading through thick sludge. He saw someone’s feet come into view, before they dropped to their knees and suddenly a face took up his whole view.

It was Isis. And from the look on her face, she was extremely mortified by what she had done.

But Finn was still having a hard time processing that fact, it was only after a few more seconds that he finally remembered that the face taking up his view, with tears in their eyes, was the face of Isis, who had sent him head-first to the ground.

It was only then that sounds started to flood back to his ears besides the high pitched whine.

As everything — sounds, memory of the last few seconds, and pain — came flooding back, Finn was finally able to process terror and fear properly. Subconsciously, his eyes that were focused on Isis’ who Finn could hear apologizing repeatedly, showed a trace of fear, taking her in a new light.

She’s damn strong! Finn realized as he slowly tried to sit up with the help of Isis.

“…I’m very very sorry, Finn. I don’t know what came over me at that moment. You were coming at me so fast and I just reacted. I was never supposed to—” Isis rambled very quickly, but Finn held up a hand to stop her. He could actually tell she was genuinely worried.

And now that his brain was working well, he realized that besides the fear for his well-being, there was also a self-conscious terror laced underneath her worry, as though Finn had gotten to see a side of her she didn’t like others to see, and she was worried what he’d think of her.

So Finn simply wanted to let it all end smoothly. He just hoped she hadn’t noticed the look in his eyes earlier when he’d first come to.

“It’s alright, Isis,” Finn’s voice came out softly as he massaged the side of his face, stretching his mouth wide open, trying to get the last of the high pitched whine he could still hear, to stop.

“I’m fine… or, I will be fine,” he slowly stood shakily before stabilizing, “But damn, you’re strong,” he praised.

It was crazy because it had been a single blow. If this was a real fight, then he would’ve been dead twice over.

Now he could see why Micah had chosen Isis as his student. And also why, during their banter with each other, Micah, while overly dramatic, still seemed to place a huge priority on not getting her angry.

“Damn,” Finn whistled again, as if appreciating just how strong she was. “Isis, if it’s not too intrusive, what soul mass is responsible for that kind of strength?”

While his Crimson Fist Baboon was the lowest ranked of the twenty one chaotic soul masses within him, Finn felt it was still strong. It was just that Isis’ had been stronger.

She pulled a face at Finn’s question, hesitant to respond as her face took on a bright shade of red, but after observing more closely and noticing from his expression that Finn genuinely seemed curious, rather than judging, she answered, “King of the jungle: Silverback Orangutan.”

Finn whistled in appreciation, genuinely amazed, “I don’t know what that is, but it sounds way more domineering than ’Crimson Fist Baboon’”

Isis chuckled in surprise at how casual Finn was taking it, he really didn’t seem to be bothered by the fact that she embodied such a domineering and barbaric beast soul. It wasn’t until a beat later that she processed Finn’s words more carefully, “Wait… Crimson Fist Baboon? You embody a beast soul too?!” she stared at Finn with wide eyes.

Finn nodded, confused. Was he not supposed to have said that?

Isis wanted to speak about Finn’s confused look, when she remembered that his common Ossuarist knowledge was still a work in progress.

“Most Ossuarists prefer not to embody beast soul masses. In fact it’s not recommended. Because of the species differences, the soul debts that come with them usually makes a person more bestial in nature, in one aspect or the other,” Isis explained.

“It is why, despite the fact shadow manifestation is harder to master, lots still prefer to take that route rather than internalize. The soul debts would at least not be as tied to their psyche as embodiment manifestation would.”

“Oh…” Finn hummed, realizing why he’d felt so ’Chad Maximus’ earlier during their fight. Besides that strong urge to be at his chest, he felt very challenged and… primal?

The revelation also made him understand why Isis was self-conscious about revealing that part of herself too.

Finn wanted to speak, but Isis didn’t seem to be finished. Her face took on a pondering look before she asked Finn, “By the way… I’ve never heard of a ’Crimson Fist Baboon.’ That’s the name of your beast soul mass?”

Finn shrugged, smoothly playing it off, “Yeah… But I actually can’t remember how I got it in the first place.”

“Hmm…” Isis fell into deep thought again, looking as though she was still trying to place the name. Until eventually, she gave up, “Well, it’s not every beast I know anyway,” she clapped, before stepping forward. “I think we are done for the day, Finn.”

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This became Finn’s routine for the rest of the week. Everyday the loud bell would wake him up, and he’d have a hard time getting back to sleep, then wake up a couple of hours later in the morning, get breakfast, and then get to the classroom for teachings about more Ossuarist knowledge.

That would continue till afternoon, where after lunch, Finn would either engage in a spar with Isis, or if that Althea girl came by, would practice purging D-Grade soul masses, which proved harder than the easy E-Grade. The difference between the two grades wasn’t linear whatsoever. It was just one step between grades, but the difference was exponentially greater.

Finn learned the use of chants to stabilize his mind, focus and tie the invading force of his soul strength to words as he purged a soul mass.

He’d failed spectacularly the first few times, showing that even he was still human. But the speed at which he improved shocked Isis yet again.

And by the end of the week, Finn could already purge D-Grade soul masses consistently, though it took thirteen chants for him to purge the same soul mass that Isis did in eight. The logic being that the lesser the number of chants, the more mastery the Ossuarist had over soul masses.

Finn thought his current chant count subpar, while Isis vehemently emphasized otherwise, stating that Finn was doing well for someone who had just started. Mainly because his soul strength made up for the most part of the finesse and skill required for a Soul Purge.

This schedule, coupled with a ’minor blood feeding every seven days’ to satiate the Storm Prowler soul mass became the norm for him, continuing into the next week and even beyond that.

In the blink of an eye, nearly a month had passed…

Finn walked into the classroom this morning just like every other day, greeting Isis with a bubbly air.

“Well, you look happy this morning?” Isis tilted her brow where she sat on a desk by the window side.

“I dunno,” Finn laughed. “I just feel like today is gonna be a great day.”

“Oh?” Isis chuckled, leaping down from the desk. “Well, your feeling is spot on.”

Finn paused, looking at Isis expectantly.

“The school is conducting another round of Initiate Rank tests to grade new Ossuarists…” she paused for dramatic effect. “It’s time for you to become a fully fledged Ossuarist, Finn.”

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