The Allbright System - A Sci-Fi Progression LitRPG Story

"SO YOU'VE COOKED YOUR SOUL!"

A Friendly Guide to SOUL BURN, brought to you by the UHF Marine Corps Psychic Health & Wellness Division!

WHAT IS SOUL BURN?

Did you push a little too much Psyfocus through that Gate of yours? Reach for an esoteric Power that was juuuust a bit above your pay grade? Suffer a teensy-weensy Psychic mishap in front of your entire squad that killed half of them in the process?

Congratulations, Marine—you've earned yourself a genuine, Corps-certified case of SOUL BURN!

That's right! That searing, full-body ache that no painkiller can touch?

That's not your body hurting, that's you hurting! The real you! The one underneath all that meat! The one that gets transferred into new Shells—pain and all!

KNOW THE SIGNS!

1. Pain radiating through your entire body that medical says "isn't technically there!"
2. Feeling more erratic than a fresh Recruit on Assessment day!
3. Snapping at your (remaining) squad mates over absolutely nothing!
4. The unshakeable sensation that your insides have been lightly toasted by something that does not quite respect physics nor personal boundaries!

WHAT CAN I TAKE FOR IT?

Great question, Marine! The answer is: NOTHING!

That's right! Centuries of the finest military medical science in the galaxy have produced a treatment list consisting of:

1. Rest
2. Good Food
3. The company of people who can tolerate you!
4. The Void’s very own, real-space grown, natural predator: Time!

Your Soul doesn't have a prescription pad, and frankly, it wouldn't honor one anyway!

WHAT SHOULD I DO?!

DO report to your squad medic! (They can't fix you, but they love the paperwork!)

DO eat every meal like it's a mission objective!

DO let your squad mates keep you company! Yes, even the annoying one! Especially the annoying one!

DON'T open your Gate "just to check if it still hurts!" (It does! It will! Trust us!)

DON'T attempt to "push through it!" Your Soul is not a muscle, Marine! It does not respond to grit!

DON'T be a hero! You already were one! That's how you got here in the first place (at least we will pretend you didn’t mess up your Soul by being a complete moron)!

REMEMBER!

Soul Burn goes away on its own—usually within a few weeks!

Until then, your job is simple: Rest. Eat. Annoy your friends. Repeat.

Your Soul carried you through the fight, Marine. Now carry it to the mess hall.

And always remember: "A Rested Soul Is A Ready Soul!"

(Printed on recycled ration packaging.)

(The Division thanks you for your service and reminds you that the pain is just, technically, all in your Soul.)

[Excerpt from "SO YOU’VE COOKED YOUR SOUL" — UHF-MC Psychic Health & Wellness Division, Pamphlet #77-C, Revised Edition, PFC 927]