Primordial Expanse: I have the Strongest Talent!

The effect was immediate. Although the Kree didn't outwardly show fear, Alex noticed the slight widening of its eyes, as well as the increased rate of its heartbeat, the minuscule flinches in its muscles etc.

The alien's blue blood still stained the floor from the wounds on its feet, but now there was a flicker of something else in its gaze: recognition and alarm.

As a race that had access to the Primordial Expanse, they naturally knew about the existence of talents.

Though the Kree just wasn't expecting for Alex to have such a talent, and one that seemed so ominous and menacing.

He could feel a deeper, unimaginable power radiating from the flames, but he had no clue what it was, or where it came from.

What he would never expect was that he was feeling the remnant aura of a Divine class being, although a very weak version of it.

In its weakened state, it had about the same potency of Alex's own aura, but with both of them combined, it was extremely effective.

However, the fear factor of the flames wasn't the reason Alex had brought them out though.

No, it was for a completely different, much more sinister reason.

Thinking back to the first time he had obtained and inspected the Phoenix flames, Alex was reminded of one particular effect that stood out to him.

[Soul Fire: Unlike regular flames that can only affect the physical plane, these flames can interact with the spiritual. They have the ability to inflict damage on spiritual entities, while at the same time enjoying the same regenerative effect — able to purify and repair damaged souls.]

Soul fire.

This ability didn't seem too outstanding compared to the other two when he first checked out Phoenix flame's details, but now Alex had realised just how much potential they had.

Particularly in the profession of torturing…

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Alex could feel the shift in the atmosphere as the Kree's eyes widened, fear finally breaking through his defiant exterior.

The recognition and alarm were evident, but it was the deeper, more primal fear that Alex was counting on.

"Do you see these flames?" Alex began, his voice steady.

"They can be a little tricky to wrap your head around at first, so let me put it in plain terms for you."

He inclined his hand, covered in a small layer of Phoenix flames, closer to the Kree's head, but he didn't command the flames to attack.

The Kree's eyes widened even more, a flicker of terror crossing its features.

"They can directly ignore your body and go straight for your soul."

The Kree's terror was almost radiating off of him in waves by now.

But Alex didn't give it the chance to speak.

With a simple thought, he willed the Phoenix flames to attack, targeting not the Kree's body, but its soul.

This was the first time Alex was attempting this, and if he was honest, he was sceptical about how effective it would be.

But all his scepticism washed away the instant he saw the Kree's facial expression.

It was hard to describe, but if it were put into words, it would be the closest to 'Existential dread.'

The Kree's eyes rolled back into his skull, revealing the whites of his eyes, its mouth opening in a silent scream, as something held it back from releasing what would quite possibly be the most soul crushing squeal a living being could utter.

Alex watched for a moment, gauging the effect. The Kree's body convulsed, but no physical harm came to it.

The flames danced around its head, the sinister crimson element wreaking havoc on the Kree's soul.

Satisfied with the results, Alex willed the attack to stop, and the flames disappeared into thin air.

The Kree slumped, panting heavily as its eyes gradually rolled back to normal.

"Willing to talk now?" Alex asked, unsure whether the Kree was even able to answer anymore.

There was no gauge or test to see how much damage he had caused to the Kree's soul, so he could only wait to see what kind of reaction the Kree had to his question.

Though, it shouldn't have been too damaging, as Alex had only allowed the attack to last for a few seconds, which was much shorter than the time he himself had experienced an attack on his own soul, which he had survived.

"Guh… Ugh… Please… No more…"

The Kree groaned, its voice a strained whisper.

'So he can speak and understand me. Good.'

Alex was relieved internally. He hadn't completely destroyed the Kree's soul, which meant it could still provide the information he needed.

He was worried that he may have taken it a slight bit too far.

But even if the worst case scenario had occurred, Alex had a contingency.

The Soul Fire effect of the Phoenix flames wasn't just about purely attacking the soul.

It had a second ability as well — to purify and repair damaged souls.

Alex looked down at the Kree, who was taking his sweet time to answer.

Kick!

He delivered a swift and heavy kick to its shin, jolting it awake from the pain.

It looked up at Alex with much more fear in its eyes now.

"So, my answer? Where is it?" Alex asked, holding his hand out like he was about to summon the Phoenix flames again.

"NO! Wait… wait… please, I'll answer!"

Finally, the Kree caved in.

"Twenty… There were twenty of us when we first took over this ship…"

"So there are 16 of you left?" Alex mused to himself.

The Kree looked downtrodden as it finally answered the question, he was experiencing immense guilt, like he had betrayed his family or something.

But from the way Alex saw it, the Kree probably did just betray its family.

"Good. As a token of my gratitude, I'll make it swift and painless," Alex smiled, pulling the sword out once again.

"What!? NO! Please spare—" The Kree's plea was cut short.

Alex severed his head from his shoulders with a single, swift stroke.

"15 left now."

He had never planned on leaving any of the pirates on this ship alive after he found out there was no escape pod.

This Kree was doomed from the start.

There was no room for mercy on this ship.