Kill the Sun

Nick left the Containment Unit and checked the Zephyx container.

'84 grams,' Nick thought. 'If we subtract the cost of the Recovery Liquid, this comes to about 74 grams of profit.'

'The good thing is that there is no limit to how much Zephyx can be made in a day.'

'According to the report, the Blaze produces more Zephyx the more Zephyx it burns. As a Mid Veteran, my body is made of far more Zephyx than the body of a John. Because of that, it takes the Blaze more time to burn my arm, but it also produces more Zephyx that way.'

'A Peak John can hold their hand in the fire for a maximum of three seconds before it becomes so damaged that it has to be amputated.'

'However, the Peak John would still need a drop of Recovery Liquid, and the price of that doesn't fluctuate. Also, I can't just keep the Recovery Liquid from them since that would be barbaric.'

'I need to test more.'

Nick left the fourth floor to search for someone.

About two minutes later, he returned with a man of average height and black hair.

"Oh, it's a Possession Specter, Boss?" Taren asked.

Nick nodded and led Taren into the room.

When Taren saw the burning stick, he took a deep breath.

He really hoped that he didn't need to do what he thought he needed to do.

"It gains power by burning Zephyx," Nick said.

Taren's heart rate increased.

"Yes, it hurts just as much as you imagine," Nick added.

Taren closed his eyes.

"Will it increase my power?" he asked.

Except for Nick, Taren was probably the most power-hungry employee of Dark Dream.

He was the person that kicked the Can the most.

Sadly, he had become too strong to kick the Can, which meant that his growth had slowed down.

"It's an Initial Adult," Nick said.

Taren's eyes looked at the Blaze with absolute focus.

"It's basically just like the Can, but more painful and stronger," Nick said.

A complex mix of emotions appeared inside Taren.

He was afraid, but he was also glad that he finally had a way to grow stronger quicker!

"Okay," Taren said after a while. "What do I do?"

"I'll show you," Nick said as he approached the Blaze again.

Taren watched with bated breath.

Then, Nick took a breath and held his other hand into the Blaze.

SSSSSS!

The fire became violent, and Nick gritted his teeth.

Yet, from Taren's perspective, Nick barely showed any reaction.

He wasn't sure if Nick had exaggerated the pain or if he was just a monster.

Ten seconds later, Nick pulled his arm out and got a drop of Recovery Liquid.

Nick took a deep breath.

"That's it," he said. "However, since your body is weaker, you can only hold your hand in there for three seconds, four at maximum."

"After that, you are allowed to use one drop of Recovery Liquid," Nick explained.

Taren nodded. "Understood."

Then, he looked at the Blaze and approached.

He took a deep breath.

And then, he held his arm in.

"Ah, fuck!"

Taren shouted and pulled his arm out after just a single second.

His arm was red all over, but it wasn't as black or sinewy as Nick's arm had been.

Nevertheless, this was already painful enough, and a sweat broke out all over Taren's body.

Taren ran towards the faucet.

Bonk!

However, Nick stepped between him and the faucet.

"You were in there for barely a second. If you use the faucet now, we are going to break even, but we want a profit," Nick said neutrally.

Taren looked at Nick in shock.

"You can leave now or put your hand in there for another two seconds," Nick said.

Taren gritted his teeth.

This had hurt like absolute hell!

Taren kept looking at his burned arm, which was starting to shake.

He glanced at the door.

He looked at the Blaze.

He looked at the door.

He clenched his fists.

He wanted to continue, but it was just so fucking painful!

After a bit, Taren approached the Blaze again.

Then, he slowly extended his arm.

His arm went back and forth.

It approached the Blaze, quickly pulled back, went forward, pulled back, shot forward, shot backward, and so on.

"Fuck!" Taren shouted in rage and frustration.

Then, he shoved his arm into the Blaze.

And immediately pulled it out again.

"FUCK!" Taren shouted again.

He wanted to grow stronger!

But he just couldn't fucking do it!

"Why can't I fucking do this?!" Taren shouted in frustration.

This was one of the reasons why the city had given them this specific Specter.

It was extremely difficult to work with the Blaze.

Putting one's hand in the fire for just a tiny moment wasn't actually that difficult.

The difficult part was keeping it in the fire.

Burning pain was one of the worst pains in existence.

One had to remember that Extractors were employees, not slaves.

A Manufacturer couldn't force an Extractor to do something against their will unless they literally threatened the Extractor's life.

But then, an Extractor's loyalty would be compromised, which would be horrible for the Manufacturer.

Getting one's hands burned as a day job was not something most people would want.

It required extreme conviction to work with the Blaze in a profitable way.

Taren felt horrible right now.

He felt especially terrible when he remembered that Nick had held his arm in there for ten whole seconds, while he couldn't do it for three!

"Fuck!" Taren shouted in rage.

"Boss!"

Nick looked at the agitated Taren.

"I can't count like this!" Taren shouted. "Take my arms out when the three seconds are up!"

Nick's eyebrows rose.

Then, Taren turned to the Blaze with an absolutely mad glint in his eyes.

He rapidly breathed in and out.

Sweat broke out all across his body, and his eyes seemed to lose focus.

And then, he jumped forward and grabbed the burning piece of metal with both of his hands.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!"