"…That's dangerous too," he murmured, letting the sensation slip away before it could root itself too deeply.
Two stances. Two reactions. Each raw, each unfiltered, each far less refined than what he was used to. No abilities branching out, no spells snapping neatly into place… Just the core of the thing, exposed and volatile.
Information.
That's what this was.
He was allowed to take a peek at the bones beneath the system's polish. Otherwise, why let him switch out of the stance, which in turn stopped whatever the eerie creature was doing?
Finally, Kaiden reached for Gluttony.
The shift was subtler than Wrath, quieter than Pride.
It began in his center.
Space opened inside him. His body felt like a vessel whose limits had been loosened, reinforced, expanded. Mana flowed in naturally, eagerly… and stayed. It didn't burn. It didn't spike. It simply accumulated, dense and heavy, like water filling a deep reservoir.
There was a great deal of comfort in it.
