Day one at the checkpoint.
I woke before dawn, body still radiating low heat from [Magma Body]. The constant warmth meant I didn't need blankets or shelter—just found a flat section of stone and slept there.
Efficient. Inhuman. Pick your interpretation.
Kasumi was already awake, running through sword forms in the courtyard. Precise movements, each strike flowing into the next. Combat meditation.
"You don't sleep much," I observed.
"Neither do you." She didn't break rhythm. "How do you feel?"
"Stable. The energy from the Residual Specters is holding." I tested my reserves mentally. Full capacity. Maybe even slightly beyond what I'd had before. "The Ghost Stomach is getting more efficient at processing essence."
"Good. You'll need every advantage." She finished a complex sequence and lowered her sword. "Master Yamada wants to test your defensive capabilities this morning. Specifically the [Psychic Defense]."
"Test how?"
"By attacking you." She smiled without humor. "Controlled assault. He'll use illusion techniques and mental pressure. You'll practice detecting and countering them."
Made sense. The Containment Master would definitely use psychological warfare. Better to develop defenses now than during actual combat.
I found Master Yamada in what had been the checkpoint's command post. He'd converted it into a workshop—seals and talismans spread across every surface, spiritual formulae sketched on the walls.
"Good, you're here." He gestured to a clear space in the center. "Sit. We begin immediately."
I sat cross-legged on the stone floor.
"[Psychic Defense] is reactive," Master Yamada said, circling me slowly. "It protects against hostile intent directed at your mind. But protection is passive. Defensive. Against a skilled opponent, that's insufficient."
"What's the alternative?"
"Active perception. Using the barrier not just to block attacks, but to trace them back to their source. To see through illusions by detecting the spiritual energy sustaining them." He stopped circling. "That's what we'll practice today."
"How?"
"By me attempting to kill you psychologically while you learn to identify the attack vectors." His tone was matter-of-fact. "Ready?"
Before I could answer, the world twisted.
The command post vanished. I was standing in a burning building. Flames everywhere. Smoke choking my lungs. And screaming—dozens of voices crying for help, trapped behind walls I couldn't reach.
My fault. All my fault. I'd brought danger here. My presence had condemned them.
The guilt hit like a physical blow.
Then I felt it—a thin thread of spiritual energy, almost invisible, connecting the illusion to a point behind me.
Master Yamada's position.
I grabbed onto that understanding with [Psychic Defense]. Followed the thread backward. Saw how the illusion was constructed—layered false sensory input over reality, targeting my guilt response specifically.
The burning building flickered. Became translucent.
"Good!" Master Yamada's voice cut through the illusion. "You found the connection. Now break it."
I pushed back along the thread with conscious will. Not attacking—just asserting reality over fiction.
The illusion shattered.
I was back in the command post. No fire. No screaming. Just Master Yamada watching with approval.
"Eleven seconds," he said. "Not bad for first attempt. But a real Onmyoji would have layered multiple illusions in that time. Buried you in false realities until you couldn't distinguish truth."
"Again," I said.
He smiled.
The world shifted.
This time I was drowning. Water everywhere, pressing down, crushing my lungs. No surface. No air. Just endless black water and the certainty of death.
I activated [Psychic Defense] immediately, searching for the connection thread.
Found it. Thicker this time. More complex. Master Yamada had woven multiple layers into the illusion—fear of suffocation, disorientation, hypothermia, all compressing together.
I followed the primary thread. Isolated it from the supporting elements. Pushed back.
The water vanished.
"Eight seconds." Master Yamada nodded. "Better. Again."
We ran through scenarios for two hours.
Being buried alive. Falling from impossible heights. Watching allies die in front of me. Each illusion targeted a different fear, a different psychological vulnerability.
And each time, I got faster at detecting and breaking them.
By the end, I was countering illusions in under three seconds. Not by resisting the fear—fear was natural, useful even—but by recognizing the artificial nature of the assault and severing the connection.
"Sufficient," Master Yamada finally said. "You've developed the basic skill. Now we test application."
"Meaning?"
He gestured, and suddenly there were three of him. All identical. All moving independently.
"One of us is real," they said in unison. "The other two are illusions. Identify the real target."
I activated [Psychic Defense] and pushed awareness outward.
Three signatures. All producing spiritual energy. All appearing equally solid.
But one was different. Subtly. The spiritual energy was denser. More complex. The illusions were simplified constructs—visually perfect but spiritually hollow.
I pointed at the Master Yamada on the left. "That one."
The illusions dissolved. Master Yamada smiled. "Correct. How did you know?"
"Spiritual density. The illusions looked right but felt empty." I paused. "Is that how [Psychic Defense] is supposed to work?"
"No." His expression turned serious. "Standard psychic barriers just block attacks. They don't provide sensory enhancement. What you're doing is more sophisticated—you're using the barrier as a detection array. Feeling the shape of hostile intent instead of just resisting it."
"The Vengeful Spirit's influence?"
"Possibly. She spent four centuries developing psychic attack and defense techniques. When you consumed her essence, you didn't just gain her abilities—you gained her expertise." He studied me carefully. "That makes you significantly more dangerous than a typical Specter-human hybrid."
The Ghost Stomach pulsed with satisfaction.
"Let's test fusion," I said. "Can I combine [Psychic Defense] with [Night Vision]?"
Master Yamada's eyes widened slightly. "You want to see illusions directly? Map spiritual energy visually?"
"Why not? [Night Vision] enhanced my visual processing. [Psychic Defense] enhanced my mental perception. Together they should—"
I activated both abilities simultaneously.
The world exploded into layers.
Physical reality—the command post, the walls, Master Yamada standing before me.
But overlaid on that, I could now see spiritual energy. Threads of power connecting everything. Residual death energy still clinging to the stones. The bounded fields Master Yamada had established around the perimeter, visible as shimmering barriers of light.
And most importantly—I could see the structure of his prepared illusions. Complex formulae woven into the air around him, ready to activate. Spiritual traps waiting to spring.
"This is..." I rotated slowly, taking in the enhanced perception. "This is incredible."
"You're seeing the spiritual realm directly." Master Yamada's voice carried awe. "Without drugs, without ritual preparation, without years of training. Just... fusion of consumed abilities."
I focused on one of his prepared illusion traps. Could see exactly how it worked—the trigger mechanism, the false sensory data it would inject, the energy sustaining it.
"I can see through anything you throw at me now," I said. "Any illusion, any psychological attack. I'll know it's coming before it activates."
"Against me, yes. Against a Containment Master?" He shook his head. "They'll have decades of experience. Techniques refined to art forms. And they'll specifically prepare counters for your known abilities."
"Then I'll need more abilities."
The Ghost Stomach stirred with hunger. Agreeing.
"There's nothing left to consume here," Master Yamada said. "You cleared all the Residual Specters yesterday. Unless you want to start hunting the local wildlife for trace spiritual essence—"
"No." I deactivated the fused perception. The layered vision collapsed back to normal sight. "I need to understand what I already have. Perfect the fusions. If I can combine [Psychic Defense] and [Night Vision] into threat detection, what else is possible?"
"[Shadow Stealth] and [Rapid Movement]," Kasumi said from the doorway. Neither of us had heard her approach. "You used that combination at the shrine. Created something you called 'Ghost Shadow Speed.'"
Right. I'd almost forgotten about that.
"Can you do it again?" she asked. "Consciously? Not in combat panic, but as a deliberate tactical choice?"
I stood, moving to the courtyard where there was space.
Activated [Shadow Stealth] first. Darkness pooled around me, obscuring my form. I became difficult to focus on—not invisible, but forgettable. Easy to overlook.
Then added [Rapid Movement].
Speed and concealment merged. I blurred across the courtyard, moving faster than the eye could track, leaving no visual trail. Ghost speed. Silent and untraceable.
I circled behind Kasumi and tapped her shoulder.
She spun, sword half-drawn, but I was already gone. Repositioned to her opposite side.
"Stop showing off," she said, though I caught a hint of a smile.
I deactivated both abilities. "It works. The fusion is stable."
"How many combinations have you tested?" Master Yamada asked.
I counted mentally. "[Night Vision] plus [Magma Body]. [Psychic Defense] plus [Night Vision]. [Shadow Stealth] plus [Rapid Movement]. That's three confirmed fusions."
"And you have five base abilities," Takeshi said, joining us from his perimeter watch. "Which means... what, ten possible combinations? Fifteen?"
"More if triple-fusions are possible," Master Yamada said quietly. "Though that would require precise control and enormous energy reserves."
The Ghost Stomach pulsed with interest. Possibility.
"We have three days," I said. "I'll test everything. Map every combination. By the time the Containment Master arrives, I want a complete tactical library."
"Ambitious," Kasumi observed.
"Necessary." I looked at each of them. "They're sending someone specifically trained to neutralize me. Someone who's studied Specter-human hybrids their entire career. The only advantage I have is that I'm new. Unique. Using abilities in ways they haven't encountered before."
"Unpredictability as a weapon," Takeshi said. "I like it."
"Then we train." Kasumi's expression hardened into professional focus. "Ryan experiments with fusions. Master Yamada refines the defensive arrays. Takeshi fortifies firing positions. I'll coordinate and plan tactical responses."
We had three days to prepare for a battle that would probably kill us.
But as I felt the Ghost Stomach settle into satisfied anticipation, I realized something:
I was looking forward to it.
Not because I wanted to fight. Not because I enjoyed killing.
But because for the first time since arriving in this era, I felt like I had control. Like I was choosing my path instead of being swept along by circumstances.
The Containment Master was coming.
And I'd be ready.