I looked at Eugene and shook my head to keep him out of it. I guess I made the dumbest decision in the world at that moment – to get rid of the Force at all costs, to win or to die trying.

I figured out how to use the Force inside me – I simply needed to release the inner demon as the Guardian had advised. At that moment, I realized what could help me do this – pain or fear were the best things that made me fight.

The Cerberus's body was gradually getting covered by black smoke, coming from me, making a translucent cocoon. I was squeezing the black cloud until it extinguished the lava of Cerberus and he turned into a pile of ashes. He stared at me in surprise, as if this state was unusual to him.

"Second attempt?" I uttered.

I grabbed him by the hands and felt his power flowing into me, feeding my inner demon who enjoyed this.

Suddenly, euphoria gave way to pain. But I crashed into the wall. It was hard to determine what caused the pain the most. As a child, I broke my arm, and I still remembered those feelings. They were similar, though now my entire body was in pain. I could feel the blood running down my cheek from the cut above my ear, my head was spinning, my ears were ringing, and everything was fuzzy. Bones were healing fast, wounds skinned over instantly, and by the time Cerberus got close to me, I already stood, swaying in uncertainty.

Soon I found out that my hand hadn't healed properly, and I was in terrible pain. It could be a dislocation that will ache until reduced. I had poor knowledge in medicine, but fighting the demigod with one hand was mission impossible.

I walked up to the wall and this reminded me of a scene from some action movie that Jackson liked to watch. Movie heroes usually reduced the dislocations with no effort. As a rule, they needed a wall for that, and I happened to have one. I hesitated for a few moments. My brain told me that it would be incredibly painful, much more than it was now. But when bones and joints are no more dislocated the pain would soon vanish.

I kept telling myself. With that in mind, I hit my shoulder against the wall at a run. With my luck, the bones were not reduced. The realization that I needed to repeat the intention again with a double effort paralyzed me. But I had no time for doubts. Cerberus almost recovered, and would soon try killing me.

I took a deep breath, closed my eyes tight and headed straight to the wall. There was a loud crack from the blow, and my hand was pierced with terrible pain. But the necessary result was finally achieved. The pain was gone in a moment, and I could easily move my hand.

"Good girl, Darsy!" I complimented myself. And I thanked the previously killed Murky Shadow for such a great ability to regenerate.

Meanwhile, the smoldering demigod almost approached me.

He flared up again and got angry. Cerberus threw his fireballs at me, and I tried to run away. If it were not for my new ability, due to which I easily climbed onto the roof then I would have definitely turned into a crispy chicken. The fragile edge of the roof disappeared under my feet, and I flew down. Cerberus did not waste time, and threw another fireball at me. I tried to shun the blow, but was not fast enough, so the fireball burned my side in flight. I landed on asphalt. My clothes were burning, though I felt nothing of that. I was enveloped in fog, and was about to fall into darkness. However, if I allow myself to surrender it, then death would be inevitable. I used my last ounce of strength to open my eyes right when the new fireball was flying in my direction.

I put my hand out and formed a thick cloud that stopped the fireball. The cloud was so dense that I felt it with my hand. I could touch it as if it was in my hands, but not at a distance of several meters. The feelings were incredible. I pushed it forward with my hand. The fireball with the cloud hit the lava monster. And if the fireball did not hurt him, then the impact of my protection black matter caused him significant discomfort, if not pain.

I hardly rose to my feet, and began to throw more and more black clouds, and Cerberus backed down. My powers were on the wane, and I felt weaker and weaker with every new attack, barely standing. Having assessed the situation, it became clear that my actions caused inconveniences, but did not enough harm to destroy the opponent.

I wanted to pull out the sword attached to my belt, but it was not there. Most likely, I dropped it at the beginning of the fight. It was hard to find the sword in the dark, but I had no other option. I fell to my knees and began fumbling on the asphalt in an effort to find the sword, while Cerberus helplessly shook his head.

"Darsy!" Eugene called me.

I turned in the opposite direction and caught the flying object. This was the sword I was looking for in the wrong place.

Buildings began to explode. There was no doubt that firemen and policemen, who could get caught in the crossfire, would soon arrive. I could not let this happen. I headed straight for Cerberus. He got really angry. He stopped throwing fireballs. His look alone exploded hangars, and the ground melted and parted under his feet.* He embodied horror! But as scared as I was, I knew what to do.

Cerberus was getting closer. I stood still, praying to all the gods and mentally saying goodbye to my family. I could feel the monster's heat ten meters away. My clothes started to burn five meters away, and a second later, he grabbed me by the shoulders. I screamed in pain, but it was exactly the distance I wanted.

My sword easily pierced through his body. Cerberus stopped moving from the shock and blinked in surprise. A silly smile on my face made him frown. I pulled the sword up and cut his surprisingly soft body in half. Cerberus fell at my feet into a pile of ash. I defeated him not by the Force, but by cunning.

A moment later, his ability flew out of him and pierced my chest. The heat slowly spread through my body, and thick fiery lava filled my veins, burning me from inside. I felt terrible pain with every cell of my body, which struggled not to burn from the external fluid. I was paralyzed. I could not even breathe of pain. My legs buckled, and I collapsed to my knees. The flame within me grew more and more, lacking space and willing to break out. I felt the raging force was about to explode, and tear me into pieces. The skin burst from the high temperature, and the wounds did not bleed but exuded the fluid like Cerberus's one. My body was not adapted to such temperatures, and even the ability to heal did not help much. Wounds quickly healed and then reappeared. All the clothes turned into ashes, and now I was kneeling completely naked, but that was the least of my problems.

I rested my hands on the asphalt that almost instantly began to melt.

"I'm about to explode!" I heard my desperate cry, as if it belonged to someone else.

The moment before my words came true, I felt someone touching me. Eugene pressed his chest to my bursting back close to the ground, clamped my feet with his feet and hugged me. In the place where he touched me, the tearing force was weak and therefore sought a way out in other areas.

"It's too much! My body can't take it anymore!" I cried with fiery tears. Tears dropped on the asphalt and burned through it. Eugene’s embrace kept my body from exploding into tiny pieces by the powerful bomb inside.

"Listen to me, Darsy! Focus on my voice and do as I say. Don't try to adapt to this ability. You won't be able to as your body really can't take it. Remember, you have a Vessel, which like a black hole can absorb any ability and all the abilities of the Universe, and there will be enough place left. Let the Force absorb this. Let it out. Let it consume this. Otherwise, this will consume you. Come on, Darsy! I can't hold it back long!"