“Let’s see if we can find out if that’s possible, and how much trouble we’re both in,” she says. With clear purpose she puts her mug down, then picks up the cube.

  It’s a cube I know all too well from the more advanced testing my parents arranged when no Power could be found within me by the standard tests. It combines the most advanced human technology and Mana-based Power infusions to uncover someone’s Powers and potential. What will it say now?

  “When you’re ready, Cal,” she encourages me.

  I place my palm firmly on the side of the cube with the panel while it’s still held in Auntie V’s hands. We both wait, watching it intently. I’m no doubt feeling differently right now than her - my thoughts and emotions about our conversation are still swirling.

  Nothing.

  “How… how long do we have to wait?” I ask. I’ve seen plenty of people tested by one of these in a facility and it never takes this long. “Is there a chance it’s been damaged or it’s not working?”

  She’s been watching it just as expectantly as I am, but she’s much more certain.

  “It’s definitely working. You hold it, Cal. There is a very slight chance my Power and the beast inside me are interfering somehow.”

  I take the cube from her and hold it on my lap, right palm still on the side with the panel. Do I need this thing’s validation? I call up my Status and it’s right there… all the proof I need that I really do have a Power, even if I hadn’t gone through the last couple of days of experiences.

  Still… the cube remains inert.

  “What does it mean, Auntie V?”

  “I don’t know Calrik, but… I think it’s good. I think it gives us a chance.”

  “Because my Power can’t be detected?”

  “Because your Power is so different, almost like a step-change mutation. If I don’t manage to completely destroy the creature you’ve still go the best chance of destroying it.”

  I glance over at the orange bag that Maggie’s placed against the wall to the right of the door. It’s a very big duffel bag with a couple more piled on top of it. Nothing to suggest the future of humanity is riding on what’s inside. Auntie V knows exactly what I’m thinking.

  “Don’t worry about that bag for now, Cal. I still have some time, and based on what you’ve just told me there are a couple of very trusted people I need to have a conversation with.”

  “Will you tell Kaltor about me?” I ask.

  “I will,” she says confidently. “If everything goes sideways, he’s the one who’ll be here to try to clean it all up.”

  “A Level 42 Builder?” I ask. My confusion is fake and she knows it.

  “Something like that,” she agrees.

  “What else can you share about my parents?”

  “Of their disappearance, I don’t know any more than I’ve told you. But I have a lot of stories about them from before you were born and even things they did when you were young. I took your mom under my wing a bit while she was mastering her Power and gaining Levels and Ranks. Your father - now he was a different story.”

  I make us another cup of tea and we sit for a couple of hours while she tells me stories. A few of them I’ve heard a version of, but most I haven’t. They did so much good, and I try not to let it bother me that I’ve wasted so many Powerless years.

  “You know…” I say eventually, working up to a topic that’s been on my mind. “With you here, I’m unlikely to continue to be able to reclaim many Soul Sparks. How do you think I should keep building up my Power to the point I can take care of myself?”

  Auntie V smiles at my question. I know she can see the conflict.

  “Calrik, my Power can’t fix everything, although it can work wonders. There are a few residents here I can’t do anything about… they’re simply at the end of their natural life, and I can tell you almost to the minute when they will pass on, so that will help.”

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  It’s going to take some getting used to, hanging around for people to die.

  “But…” she continues with a serious look; one that shows some of the hardness that she’s developed protecting humanity. “Based on the number of Soul Sparks you’ve reclaimed so far from residents, this isn’t what you need to properly advance your Power.”

  “I know,” I agree. “I’ve been thinking about other places I could be and even joining the EDF or ESF, although I don’t know how I’d be able to survive if everyone around me is being killed.”

  “You’ve tried low Level Dungeons, but said it felt like there just wasn’t enough Soul Spark energy in the creatures there to reclaim?”

  I nod.

  “I think it’s worth trying a high Level Dungeon to see if the same thing still holds,” she recommends, and I laugh at that.

  “I’ve got a tiny bit of Mana, some decent combat training, mid level weapons, and slightly increased damage resistance and healing rates - how on Earth could I survive a high Level Dungeon? I appreciate your faith in my Auntie V, but I don’t see it.”

  “Oh, stop being dense Calrik,” snaps Auntie V. “I’m not without means and favors owed. Right now there are three EDF strike teams watching Saint Marianne’s on rotation and I’m sure I can get one of them to take you on a Dungeon run for a couple of hours. There’s a Dungeon nearby here, if I recall.”

  I blink again and shake my head, not really sure why I thought it would just be Auntie V here with me and nobody else.

  “So you think…”

  “For everyone else going on a high Level Dungeon run is useless - they won’t grow their Powers without doing the fighting themselves. But for you, Cal - your Power is different.”

  “As long as I’m close enough and the creatures are powerful enough that they have Soul Sparks I can reclaim… I can grow my Power,” I realize. I consider for a few seconds, the lightbulb going on now that my perspective on how to approach this has shifted. “If it works, I’m going to have to invest the Soul Sparks in Aura to gain more range.”

  “And Constitution, Cal. Constitution. Don’t go getting yourself killed for nothing. For this Dungeon run I’ll cash in some favors to make sure you’re properly equipped and protected, but you won’t have that luxury all the time.”

  I nod, accepting her wisdom. I want to add Soul Sparks to all of my Attributes, but I’m going to have to make some tough choices. I wonder who she’ll call on and I feel up for the challenge and threat of it.

  “Cal, you’ve got about five minutes before one of the residents expires. He’s got a Power that oxidizes metal,” she says.

  “That’s Rusty,” I say, a bit sad. “He’s over 90.”

  “Go now. He’s the only one close. By the time you’re finished I’ll have a team waiting for you outside Saint Marianne’s.

  “You sure Auntie V?” I ask while I stand up and put my mug in the sink.

  “Go,” she instructs, and I open the heavy door using the panel to the right of it. When I do, I also sense a surge of Mana and notice a shimmering field dissipates. I look back at Auntie V, who waves me away and I slip out of the room. Rusty’s room isn’t far and when I get there, nothing remarkable is happening. I peer through the window on the door and see him laying in bed, trying to change position. I recognize his daughter who’s there with him and stands to help, but Rusty gives up after a couple of seconds. A couple of visitors turn into the corridor and I slide to the side of Rusty’s door and pull out my phone, pretending to look at something. There are actually a few texts I haven’t seen yet, so I start looking through them - all the while wondering if Auntie V was right about Rusty.

  By the time I finish quick replies to a couple I feel Soul Sparks collecting behind me through the wall in Rusty’s room. This time their formation is very quick and I reach out then pull them into me, just as noises start emerging from reception and I hear the heart monitor behind Rusty’s closed doors flatline at a louder tone than normal. I feel the warm rush of the Soul Sparks and open the notification right away.

  Soul Sparks Reclaimed: 3

  Soul Spark reservoir: 3

  Would you like to allocate your Soul Sparks?

  (Y/N)

  Not a massive haul from Rusty, but to be expected with his advanced age - I feel bad that he’s passed away. The door opens and Rusty’s daughter, a calm but teary woman in her sixties, emerges into the hallway and looks around.

  “I’m so sorry Marie,” says Teresa as she approaches her and gives her a hug. I realize I’m just standing her and it feels awkward.

  “Calrik,” Teresa says as she separates from Marie. “Give us a hand?”

  “I’m really sorry for your loss, Marie, but I have to do something for my aunt right now,” I say, avoiding their eyes, and give a short nod before walking to my room. I close the door with a sigh, feeling slightly guilty, before hitting ‘Y’ in my notification and allocating all 3 Soul Sparks to Aura.

  Soul Sparks Allocated!

  Aura +3 (15)

  Mana Regeneration +3 /min (15)

  Soul Spark Reclamation Range: +3 meters (17)

  I quickly change into my ‘normal’ clothes and slip out the front entrance then through the courtyard and outside the gates, onto the sidewalk.

  “Hey - Calrik Corvin,” says a voice from my left that I recognize from when he healed me after I got jumped. I turn to see the EDF trooper, same dark hair and eyes and about my age, leaning against the wall with two others nearby, another man and a woman. He’s got a grin like he’s pleased to see me. “Long time no see. We’ve got some stuff for you to borrow, courtesy of Vitalis.”