Like madmen, the three of them began tearing open the chests of those poor corpses, fingers slick with congealed blood, ripping through flesh and bone like apocalyptic butchers. The stench was unbearable — a sickening cocktail of iron, guts and ash. But sentiment had long since left the building. Each gem they pulled out gave a faint thrum in the hand, as if it were still breathing. Alive, almost.
They gathered around thirty of them, arranging them in a crude circle near the fire in the centre of the village. Stones laid out on old military rags formed a sort of makeshift altar. The whole thing looked more like a pagan ritual than any kind of spiritual training.
Dylan stood watching, jaw tight, clear discomfort on his face.
"Not sure this is the brightest idea. We've no clue what's actually inside those things."
"You want to stay weak?" Élisa shot back, not even glancing at him. "Wouldn't it be better to boost your odds of getting out alive?"
Maggie stayed silent, still as a statue. Then she stepped forward.
"I'll go first."
Dylan looked at her like she'd just volunteered for a firing squad. She merely raised an eyebrow.
"Unless you'd rather take the plunge first, Lieutenant Dylan?"
He shook his head, resigned.
"Fine. But we want to see how you do it first, elf. Not keen on dying clueless."
Élisa nodded, crouched in front of a dark green gem, and took a deep breath. Eyes closed, hands cupping the stone — a soft breath seemed to escape her lips.
The silence was thick. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath.
Sweat beaded on her brow. A faint glow pulsed around the gem, like a sleeping heartbeat. Then, a translucent thread — barely visible — slipped from the gem and into her chest. It slid into her like a stream of light, her body tensing, veins standing out faintly beneath her skin.
One minute passed. Then two.
Then she opened her eyes, breath shallow but alive.
"There. Took in just a little. Enough to show you. You've got to breathe slow, quiet the mind, and pull gently."
Maggie sat cross-legged, eyes fixed on the gem Élisa handed her. It looked nothing special at first — dull greenish glow under firelight — but it throbbed faintly. Like a living heart. She placed her hands around it, took a deep breath and shut her eyes.
First try.
A wisp tried to slip out — crack — the gem exploded with a sharp snap, shards flying into her face. She flinched back, gasping.
"Shit… didn't see that coming," she muttered.
"You pulled too hard," Élisa mumbled. "It's not a well, it's a vein. Yank too fast and it bursts."
Maggie clenched her jaw, snatched another gem.
Second try.
Silence. Focus. Then—
Crack! This time, a fragment sliced her cheek.
Third go.
Same deal. A little magical glass storm.
Dylan threw up his hands.
"Bloody hell, is she gonna blow all of them?"
"She's gonna poison herself stuffing all that rotten soul juice into her skin," Élisa grumbled, stepping forward.
Maggie was trembling now — from frustration, not fear. Blood glistened on her forehead and palms. She stared at the ground, jaw locked.
Élisa sighed.
"Right. That's enough. Knock it off."
She snapped her fingers, like snapping the whole room out of their mystic fever dream.
"I forgot one detail. You've got no perception. You're pulling blind. Like trying to drink from a river with a bloody grenade instead of a mouth."
She sat next to Maggie.
"Before you can absorb, you have to perceive."
Maggie turned toward her, curiosity flickering behind the grit.
"It's not just energy in those stones. There are layers. Living things. Dead things. Some in-between. You've got to learn to tell them apart, or you'll end up a psychic vegetable."
Dylan raised an eyebrow.
"Sounds delightful."
Élisa pressed on, unfazed.
"There are steps. First one's awakening your perception."
She placed a fresh gem in front of Maggie.
"Meditation. The goal's for your mind to pick up the currents inside the stone. You want to detect three things: negative energy — it's the cold, dark mist. Fragments of consciousness — they're the twitchy bits, echoes of souls. And the spiritual essence — that's the steady light, right at the core."
"How am I meant to see that? I don't exactly have eyes in my brain."
"You don't see anything. You feel it. Like when you just know someone's watching. Or when danger's coming. You shut your eyes, and you listen with something else."
She stood and arranged a few stones around the gem.
"Close your eyes. Breathe. Let the silence take over. Then reach your mind out to the gem. Don't try to force it. Just… listen."
Maggie closed her eyes. Hesitant. Tense. Then gradually, her breathing slowed. The fire crackled softly. Wind drifted through the scorched huts. And then, deep within…
A shiver.
"Feel anything?" Élisa murmured.
"…Yeah. Something's moving."
"Good."
Élisa smiled faintly.
"You've just woken up your perception. Next up's learning how to extract without blowing it all to hell."
She gestured toward the circle of stones.
"Next step: Purified Extraction."
"And if I cock it up?"
"You won't get possessed… probably."
Maggie shot her a side-eye.
"Okay, maybe a bit. But hey — that's how we learn."