Chapter Nine: Intrinsic Form.

After an uneventful interview on their first day, Jack and Co. slowly adjusted to life at the Academy. Through sheer force of persistence- though Sunny might call it annoyance- Jack meandered his way into Sunny's life. 

In the original timeline, Sunny and Cassie's corner had a constant aura of despair surrounding it, borne out of Cassie's apparently hopeless situation. But now, that couldn't be farther from the truth.

"So what you're saying, is that you're a dumbass that doesn't even know basic wilderness survival knowledge?"

They were currently in the cafeteria, enjoying a sumptuous breakfast by Outskirt standards. Although their actual circumstances hadn't changed much from the original timeline, Jack's easy confidence naturally lifted the spirits of both of his allies.

"What do you mean "dumbass"?! You're also from the Outskirts! There is no way you know anything about wilderness survival." Sunny was making it too easy for Jack at this point.

"Of course I do. I studied this precisely in case I was ever infected by the Nightmare Spell. I've also dabbled in Dream Realm History, Spell Theory, Combat Training, Field Medicine..."

Each word Jack spoke felt like stab wounds to Sunny's self-esteem.

"Shut up! I get it, you're great. But how did you even learn all that on the Outskirts?!"

Jack looked as if Sunny had just asked him the most foolish question ever uttered by a human being. "You do know we have access to public libraries, even as Outskirt orphans... Right?"

"...We do?"

It was Jack's turn to facepalm. Cassie couldn't help her bubbling giggle. Even though the girl was still skittish around Sunny, she was slowly opening herself.

The whole discussion had been brought upon by Sunny's disclosure of his preferred classes - no doubt spurred by Jet's advice. Although Wilderness Survival would be helpful for him, Jack had long graduated from such basic knowledge.

'I would be the shame of all Reincarnators if couldn't learn as much in so many lives.' Jack thought with mirth.

Just as he thought to continue the friendly banter, a sudden commotion drew his attention.

He looked around and noticed that a lot of Sleepers were gathered around the large screen hanging on the wall of the cafeteria, their faces filled with excitement and awe.

'So it's time for the rank already...'

On the screen, a list of names was displayed, ranking the new batch of Sleepers from weakest to strongest, most likely deduced from the results of the interviews.

'My name should be around... There it is.' Jack thought with a slight smile.

Right at the top, the portrait of a silver-haired girl could be seen. To the right of it, two simple lines were displayed: Name: Nephis / True Name: Changing Star.

No changes from the original timeline.

But under it...

Name: Jack / True Name: Inferno of the Depths.

The Sleepers in the cafeteria were in awe at the revelation of this achievement. Not only was there a Sleeper with a True Name, but there were two of them in the same year! They were staring at the screen and feeling astonishment, fear, admiration, and a measure of ineptitude. 

Unlike Sunny, Jack had no reason to hide his True Name during the interview. 

'Although becoming well-known is going to be god-awful, there are plenty of advantages. Everything is less complicated when people know you. Previously closed doors open. But that's not my main goal...' He thought as he looked at Changing Star's portrait. 

'Showing might is the most straightforward method to catch her attention. Her strength would be more than welcome on my future cohort, even though she has a few screws loose up there.' 

'But... doing so will not be easy. Her headstrong personality is going to put my leadership skills to the test. She is definitely not a follower by nature.'

Leaving his musings for the moment, Jack noticed Sunny scrutinizing him as if he'd just grown a second head. 

"What?"

"You have a True Name?"

Jack sighed. "I told you I got a "Glorious" Appraisal, didn't I?" He replied plainly.

"Yes, but I thought you were joking!" 

"Well, I was not."

"Did you know this, Cassie?" Sunny asked, suddenly feeling betrayed. A completely irrational sentiment, since he was still hiding under the pretense of being a nonentity.

"I did." The blond girl nodded. "He told me the day after we met."

Jack laughed at Sunny's flabbergasted expression. 'At least he seems comfortable with us. Otherwise, he wouldn't be asking anything about my True Name, in fear of evoking questions about his own accomplishments.'

While Sunny's mind was probably a whirlwind of inaccurate theories, Jack looked around. At some point during their interaction, it seemed the Sleepers stopped talking and turned to look at Nephis.

'It seems an interesting scene is unfolding...'

"Lady Nephis. I am Caster from the Han Li clan. I see that your trial went well?"

Caster had left his group and approached her moments ago, no doubt wary of her True Name. Nephis seemed to be a little bit perplexed by the question. After thinking for a while, she smiled brightly and shrugged.

"It is what it is."

Caster awkwardly returned the smile.

"I see."

Jack couldn't help but snort. In the silence of the cafeteria, it sounded like cannon fire. Seeing as all eyes were now on him, he spoke his piece: "That was a poor showing, Mr. Caster. Did you expect she would lay all her secrets bare for you?"

Caster's face was tranquil as he looked at Jack, suddenly absent of the previous awkwardness. After a momentary pause, he gave a slight smile.

"You're right, Jack. I shouldn't have presumed. I apologize, Lady Nephis." And with a nod, made his way through the cafeteria toward his table.

Though the exchange might seem like casual incivility between self-absorbed teenagers, it was anything but.

'You're slipping, Caster.' Jack smiled mockingly as he watched Nephis' would-be assassin. 'You almost showed your true colors for a moment there.'

The sudden change in disposition was a clear sign for the wary that something was not what it seemed. 

'The sharpest of the Sleepers should have already noticed it... Caster's emotions are all manufactured.' 

Jack subtly glanced at Nephis and nodded. Her eyes narrowed as she seemed to be deep in thought…

-x- 

The morning passed with no further incident, and Jack found himself on his lonesome in an Individual Training Room, or ITR, for short.

Having decided most of the classes were of no use to him for the time being, the only thing left to do was acclimatize himself to his Aspect - something he had been itching to do ever since the day he got it.

After thoroughly checking the room for hidden cameras and other such devices, Jack decided the ITR was safe enough for some light testing. 'It seems the Government really is the most reliable of the current factions, as ridiculous as that sounds.'

Jack sat on the floor and tapped his fingers rhythmically on the synthetic tatamis.

'How do I want to go about this?'

Recalling the ominous descriptions of both his Aspect ability and Flaw, he decided his initial assessment would be contact-free. 'I don't know the true scale of my intrinsic form, nor how likely I'll be to attract a creature attuned to darkness. It's best to be cautious, to start with.'

With a deep breath, Jack felt the mana/soul-force hybrid they called "Essence" drifting through his body. Although Sleepers should be unable to interact with it in any form, its similarity to mana granted him some leeway. 'Let's see if I still got it.'

Through some effort, he managed to create a small and unsteady flow of Essence in his right hand, granting him a measure of control over his ability - something that should be exclusively instinctual at his stage.

Slowly, a dark pulse extended from his palm. Even though Jack kept a tight leash on it, the elemental energy struggled and strained, attempting to overcome his authority.

'It's not quite alive, but it's not inert either.'

In the inky cloud of True Darkness over his palm, Jack could feel a simmering vileness. Its constantly revolving exterior emanated a feeling of wrongness - as if the world itself couldn't bear to exist alongside it.

Even while contained in a small sphere, there was no denying what it was: A ruinous power, one that craved to corrupt everything in its path. 

'Could people not sense this in the original timeline? While on the surface it seems tranquil, terrible things could be done with this elemental energy.' Jack acutely felt that Sunny's description of True Darkness was too mild for its actual characteristics. 

…He could barely contain his delight. 'I like it.'

In the next few hours, Jack tried to acquire a rudimentary control of True Darkness, using various tried and true exercises: creating simple geometric shapes, summoning and reabsorbing said forms, and training in area expansion. 

Through his initial tests, Jack ascertained he had a vague understanding of everything that entered his fog, living or otherwise, and its general position - always careful not to touch it directly.

'I think I'll name it Fog of Darkness. In it, no Fog of War will apply to me.' Jack smiled in satisfaction at the wordplay. 'Although the applications of that are limited at the moment, once I can cover the whole battlefield with it, the tactical advantage will be immeasurable.'

While immersed in his experiments, the hours slipped by him. The ITR had no windows for security reasons, so when Jack thought to look at his police-issued communicator it was already nighttime.

'Like a child with a new toy.' He thought in self-mockery. 'There's only one thing left to test today.'

After hours of uneventful training, Jack felt safer that no Ascended or Transcendent powerhouse would still be spying on him. Although they probably wouldn't be able to see through the Fog, Aspects and Memories gave people wonderous and unpredictable abilities. Anyone could be dangerous under the right circumstances. 

To make a long story short… 'There is no such thing as being too cautious.' That, Jack had learned over many lives and just as many unexpected deaths.

So, with careful and deliberate movements, Jack inserted his finger into the Fog, attentively watching for any changes. And, as soon as he did so, his mind and senses warped. 

Suddenly, the whole world became black and white. Voices from the beyond spoke sweet nothings to him in garbled, horrifying screeches. In the peripheries of his now-enhanced vision, he could feel tenebrous creatures, intently watching his every move. There was a creeping madness trying to take over his rationality.

And amidst it all, a new mind was born of his own. It screamed as it came into existence, its deranged thoughts taking form. His Flaw. Although it was Infantile, the Eldritch entity was almost incomprehensible to the common mind.

None of it bothered Jack much.

'So this is how it is.' He thought in wonder. 'A slight touch of Darkness is enough to begin the transformation. And my Flaw… I know this voice. The Secret One sent a facsimile with me. How lovely.'

Jack closed his eyes, trying to ignore the influence and voices of the Hidden Gods of this world. As his first order of business, he thoroughly examined his Flaw, even as it lashed at his mind. 'A fragment of the Secret One with mind flayer capabilities… This is probably the thing that's supposed to turn me into a fulcrum for Cthulhu.'

The thing was completely unintelligent at the moment, but would probably grow as his strength grew. 'Now, to the most important question of all... How do I seal it?'

Jack knew destroying a Flaw with his current power was unwise. Even though the consciousness fragment of the Secret One was fragile to his mastery of mind arts, it was currently under the protection of the Spell. 

'Even the Gods had Flaws... Outright destroying it would have catastrophic consequences.'

To place its mind fragment as a Flaw was probably a failsafe from Cthylla - and a damn effective one. Although the Entity had no way of knowing Jack's complete skillset nor to suspect he could erase its fragment, such beings had many enemies - rivals that would give anything to foil its plans. So, it had probably taken many safeguards.

'So, as long as I'm not fully sure I can deceive the Spell, destruction is not an option. Sealing it, on the other hand...'

Even as he tried to disregard the unearthly voices and think, Jack could feel his Flaw attempting to arrest control of his body. He felt as a foreign energy slowly made its way across his elongated limbs. '...Amateurs.'

With a flash of soul-power in his mind's eye, Jack stunlocked the unwanted pest. Confronting it in a battle of wills, he quickly overpowered the infantile consciousness. 

'Now, for the painful part.' 

He took hold of its metaphysical framework. With a grunt of pain, Jack slowly fashioned his own mental landscape around it into a self-perpetuating labyrinth of redundant memories; destroying his previously organized library of thoughts in favor of a cipher-encoded navigation system. 

'...I feel miserable already.' 

There were some reasons he was reluctant to go through with the change directly after discovering his Flaw. The first and most obvious: it was trickier to have a complete recall in a labyrinth, even if of one's own making, than in a library. The landscape of one's mind was paramount for clear thought, even in one as experienced in the mind arts as Jack. And the second...

'It fucking hurts!' Changing one's mind topography on short notice was an agonizing affair, no matter how many times it was done.

Ignoring his throbbing head for the moment, Jack closed the circuit, directly sealing the beast within his now-labyrinthian mind. Feeling the previous foreign energy fading into nothingness, he sighed in relief.

'That should keep it out of my hair for a while. And now, for my spoils...'

Jack slowly opened his six eyes, adjusting to both the colorblindness and the new level of detail with which he could see. 'The ground is much further away.' Looking down, he estimated that he had grown to at least twice his original size. 

Although his body maintained a vaguely humanoid form, with a pair of arms and legs, his skin had acquired a matted gray tone, similar to a shark. After a quick punch to the walls, Jack was certain its resistance would be greater than any Dormant armor. Its sleekness would also be beneficial for swimming.

Over his body, moving in serpentine patterns, were multiple immense tentacles. Attached at shoulder level, they constricted and loosened naturally over his arms and legs, all the way up to his wrists and ankles. On each of the tentacles, there were countless barbed suction cups. Jack could move the tentacles individually if he so wished, and each felt like a new limb. 

The face was the strangest. He could no longer sense a jaw and could not make facial expressions. The muscles necessary for it were simply not there. In the place of his jaw, multiple smaller tentacles surrounded a shredder-like mouth - which Jack felt could expand to truly bizarre sizes. 

'Although I won't be winning any beauty contests... It is a fearsome transformation.' He clenched his fists. 'I'll soon be putting it to the test.'

Jack laughed, and a terrible, strangled sound left the confines of his mouth. It was a grotesque, but awe-inspiring sight.