As someone who had let his soul interact with great power countless times, Hajime might have expected the sensation to be slightly more familiar. It did feel rather like he was on fire, as magical energy ran through his every wired nerve and circuit boards overloaded with light.

For the horrible monster he was, Eggman's science had perfected the roboticization process, and Hajime had been too out of it to remember much of the pain. This reversal, led by Shantae's uncertain magic and anxiously anticipated on his part, seemed to stretch out in far longer seconds.

It would be worth such discomfort, he knew, should things go right. If things went as they hoped, he'd bear far worse than this for as long as she needed.

All she needed, though, were a few long, glowing, exhausting seconds, before the flash burst--