“Where do I start?” Ash asked, looking again into the flames. She had an odd feeling this time, as though they were almost looking back at her. Something in them was pulling at something inside of her.

  Was she being judged? How could fire judge her? No, it wasn't the fire. There was an energy that was coming off of the representations of what she and her father had fought on Earth. But how could they judge her, and why would they?

  She still didn't fully understand what was going on here, but some of the energy within the fire was starting to connect to her. And the strange spot in her mind that seemed to be occupied by that acolyte class she'd chosen was starting to tickle. And while tickle probably wasn't the correct word, she had no idea how better to describe the sensation.

  “Do you feel the forces of each of the aspects?” Stalplaht asked.

  “Uh, is that what I feel like is kind of judging me, for lack of a better word?” She felt like she was in elementary school again, asking questions about topics she didn't even begin to grasp. A memory of the time she had asked why one plus one was two flashed in her mind. The teacher hadn't been overly happy with her question. Hopefully, this man didn't feel the same.

  “Likely, yes, though it's hard to predict how the Green Flame energy will choose to impose itself upon a living being such as yourself. You see, human Ash. Aspects like these are generally only forged and grafted onto other constructed beings, such as Klorn here. I would guess that the feeling you are perceiving as judgment is actually a state of confusion from the aspects themselves. They almost certainly do not understand this new system of partnership we are creating here,” he answered calmly, with no note of scorn from the question.

  “They ain't going to appreciate returning to the mortal world, at least until they really get what it means. There's a lot of fun these aspects are going to have, but first, you're going to have to convince them of it. But they're already pretty ornery, so be careful. Stalplaht's got a lot of faith in you, kid, but nothing like this has ever been tried before,” Klorn added.

  “What Klorn is saying, a little bit inelegantly, is that perhaps you should try convincing them. Forge them into your soul. Invite them to experience reality through you,” Stalplaht said.

  Ash wasn't sure if she fully understood how to do any of that. But she was willing to try. “Okay, I guess I'll see what I can do.”

  There were eleven different shades of gems within the flame. She knew they weren’t gems, of course, but she didn't have a better way to describe their form yet. Did each of the colors correspond somehow to the type of creature her father defeated?

  She looked over the log of monsters they defeated quickly and checked the gems again. They'd killed seven different types of funnel brood spiders, and coincidentally, there were seven different shades of light brown gems. Clearly, that wasn't just a coincidence.

  There were two shades of blue as well. Both of them were close to a seafoam color, and she suspected that meant they were the leviathan drudges. That left a gray one and a red one, while she had no way of knowing for sure, she just felt like the gray one had to be the rat and the red one had to be the acid slug.

  Did their hostility persist from their life? Did they even remember any of their life, or were they just something that was passing on to a new existence? She wasn't sure, but the way the green flame had been described so far made her suspect the latter.

  She couldn't say why the red one of all of them grabbed her eye the most, but it had. So that was where she really started. She looked past the shimmering shape the energy had created into the essence of what it truly was.

  She quickly found her guess had been correct, as the pattern it produced looked just like the strange slugs that had been on the street in front of their house. But even that was still just a representation of the energy below it. It was a form it had taken when it was recreated outside of its natural web.

  “Can you hear me?” she asked the question with her thoughts, not her voice. There was some tug in her mind that guided her on how to do this. Was it something to do with her new powers?

  “Yessss,” it droned back, elongating the word as it answered. “Why am I still here?”

  “I think it's my fault. I picked a class that taps into the energies of things I fought. Or in this case, things my dad has fought. Would you be interested in working with me somehow? I'm still not entirely sure how, but despite that, I think with your help we could do some amazing things.” She really did have that feeling, and she wasn't sure where it was coming from. But again, something was telling her that with the help of these aspects, there was an amazing future ahead of her.

  “Why did we fighttttt?” The last bit asked was elongated yet again.

  “Uh, I think it was because the form that your energy took when it was on Earth last time was hostile to my energies, but if we worked together, I don't think we would have to fight each other.”

  “What does that meannnn?”

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “I don't know exactly, but I'm gonna try something. Is that okay?” This time, instead of words, she just felt an acceptance from the energy.

  She looked up to the god and the metal bird, looking for some sort of approval before she did the idea that was in her head. Klorn shrugged as much as a bird could. Stalplaht, on the other hand, gave her a nod. That was all she needed.

  Reaching her hand into the Green Flame, she pushed past any fear of being burned. Wherever she was and, for that matter, whatever she was, she was sure that she was safe from that kind of pain. It was another one of those little bursts of information that seemed to pop into her head right at the moment.

  She wrapped her fingers around the gem that represented the acid slug and pulled it free of the flame. As she did so, she began to reshape it with her hand. She was running entirely on instinct, some sort of small guiding force from the class itself pushing her.

  “I need some sort of hammer, maybe?” She said this aloud as the inspiration hit her.

  Stalplaht was already holding one in his outstretched hand, waiting for her. She suspected he knew far more than he was willing to let on, even if he claimed this was all brand new. But then again, with how insane her life now was, who was she to judge?

  She grabbed the small mallet from his hand and went to work. Carefully, she shaped the energy into a new form. Each swing of it melding an edge, her odd class knowledge guiding her arm.

  Just as she felt she had finished her work, a System notification popped into view.

  __________

  Aspect Unlocked

  Minor Acid Slug

  While this Aspect is equipped, the host gains a 5% resistance to all acids. They are also able to utilize the spell Acid Spray.

  Spell Unlocked

  Acid Spray

  Key Attribute

  Spirit

  A line of acid may be fired from the fingertip at a target.

  1/10 Aspects Unlocked for Acolyte of the Green Flame Progression.

  __________

  “Whoa, that… That felt different,” she said, as a rush of energy surged through her body. Well, she wasn't sure what she had been expecting. It hadn't been anything quite like this.

  “Yes, I felt that too. I also saw those System notifications, the same as you did. Or at least I believe they were the same ones you saw, Human Ash. It appears that you have solved the riddle of how to truly connect to your class. Do you wish to proceed with the others?” Stalplaht asked.

  She did and nodded her affirmation to the god before resuming her work. Most of them were easy enough, basically going the same way the Acid Slug had. But when she finally reached the Brood Queen, she hit her first roadblock.

  “I was royalty, and I bow to no mortal!” the voice cried into her brain as she tried to reason with it.

  Sharp stabbing pain lanced into her brain, accompanying the cry. Ash winced in pain, and I felt Stalplaht's hand grasp her shoulder, steadying her.

  “Careful, human Ash. That one may be a bit too strong for you at the moment. Why don't you set that aside and those two small leviathans until later? Finish up with the rat, and I think we should call the forging good for now.”

  “Alright, that hurt a lot though.” Her head was extremely unhappy with what it had just experienced. But she went back to work anyway, reading through all of the system notifications when she had finished with the rat.

  __________

  Aspect Unlocked

  Funnel Brood Soldier

  While this Aspect is equipped, the host gains a 10% increase to the noise their body makes as it moves.

  Spell Unlocked

  Chittering Echoes

  Key Attribute

  Perception

  While under the effects of this spell, all movements made by the target produce an unnerving sound whenever they move.

  Aspect Unlocked

  Funnel Broodfather

  While this Aspect is equipped, the host is able to affect the attitude of all non-sapient spiders.

  Spell Unlocked

  Summon Minor Funnel Broodling Swarm

  Key Attribute

  Constitution

  A minor swarm of Funnel Broodlings appears, completely under the control of the summoner. This is not a true creature. It is an energy construct created by the aspect.

  Aspect Unlocked

  Funnel Web Weavers

  While this Aspect is equipped, all bindings placed by the host are doubled in strength.

  Spell Unlocked

  Minor Web

  Key Attribute

  Strength

  Minor Web creates a web with a 1-foot radius at the location the caster targets.

  Aspect Unlocked

  Funnel Broodling Swarm

  While this Aspect is equipped, minor annoyances are much easier to ignore.

  Spell Unlocked

  Phantom Itch

  Key Attribute

  Spirit

  While under the effects of this spell, the target experiences a distracting, annoying itch, but no matter how hard they try, they can not find the source of it on their body.

  Aspect Unlocked

  Funnel Blade Dancer

  While this Aspect is equipped, the host gains a minor blur effect as they move.

  Spell Unlocked

  Sharpen

  Key Attribute

  Strength

  The target bladed weapon gains a magical strength enhancement, doubling its effectiveness.

  Aspect Unlocked

  Funnel Broodtank

  While this Aspect is equipped, all physical strikes against the host are 50% as effective.

  Spell Unlocked

  Minor Force Wall

  Key Attribute

  Constitution

  A 10 ft by 10 ft, 1 in thick wall of force is erected in open space at the targeted designation.

  Aspect Unlocked

  Reptilian Ratking Spawn

  While this Aspect is equipped, any mind-affecting effects the host experiences are drastically reduced in effectiveness for each living ally within sight.

  Spell Unlocked

  Minor Party Boost

  Key Attribute

  Spirit

  All attributes of all members in the party are increased by 5% as long as this spell is active.

  9/10 Aspects Unlocked for Acolyte of the Green Flame Progression.

  __________

  “Now what?” Ash asked, unsure if there was anything left to do. And if there wasn't, how did she communicate this to her waking self?

  “Now you wake up, human Ash. I will see you again for our next forging.”

  =======

  “If I don't make it through this, I'm gonna need you to take care of mom and dad, okay, Floof?” Ash said as she pet the dog on the back of his head. She had been having a particularly hard week and wasn't sure she was going to pull through this anymore

  Floof just cuddled up to her closer.

  Memories of Ashley Miller before the integration.