Erik returned to his magic sea. The rge cliff with the rushing waterfall was still there, just as he thought it would be. As he was standing in the bck void outside the sphere of magic, he could withdraw from the sphere, giving the cliff a slight curvature as the sphere shrank. It was definitely a part of the whole now.

  He went back in front of the sphere again, It felt the same, but it also felt like more. He was getting a bit tired of magic confusing his senses so much. It felt paradoxical most times. Like hot and cold at the same time. Wet and dry.

  He pced his right hand into the sphere, reminiscing to the st time he did so. He still got that feeling that part of him was in water, and the rest of him not, but he didn’t know which part was what. He tried expanding his senses both into the bck void around him, and around the sphere.

  Something within the bckness prevented him from sensing anywhere but the exact pce he was. It was a resistance without will, like it was just not within the ws of physics.

  The sphere, on the other hand, had no problem letting his senses envelop it in its entirety. It felt like it was asking him why he didn’t do it sooner. The time he first awakened his power, he let the sphere drown him in power as the sea enveloped him. That had felt right back then, but it didn’t anymore.

  He was awakened already.Earlier he had reached into it, practically poking and prodding information out of it. He hadn’t thought of making himself envelop the massive sphere by then. It wasn’t until he was absorbing another power that he realised his will, his focus, were much more in here.

  It was how he had broken away the mysterious talking form that had bnketed him. It was his own willpower that he expanded away from him with such a force that the visage was pushed away. That first experience led to him now carefully covering his magical sphere with his will.

  This was how it was supposed to be done, he realised. The magic didn’t own him. They weren’t separate from each other. It was part of him. He completely covered the sphere, and felt almost whole. But nothing had really changed. It wouldn’t. He was missing something.

  Was it more powers? No. He was missing a clue, but he had all the pieces. He could figure this out. He could make it work now.

  “What am I missing?” he asked himself. He felt like hours had passed as he considered what he could do. A form, much like the usual one, but slightly different, visited him. He decided he wouldn’t give it any thought.

  The st time one of these forms appeared, it had almost caused him to fail the merge of magic. Even if this wasn’t the same spectre, as its colour had a gentle, glowing sheen of pink and orange with a golden core, he didn’t trust it. Unlike the other one, this one hadn’t said a word, which actually bothered Erik. It was there for over an hour, patiently watching Erik, before the Remnant had had enough.

  “What do you want?” he asked, turning to the shape. He didn’t get any response from it. It unduted like normal. “Can you at least just leave me alone?”

  Nothing. Erik realised the new form might have something to do with the new addition to his sphere - the waterfall. The imperial gold quartz he had absorbed had simir colours, now that he thought about it. The other form did resemble his Crest with the bck swirls inside it. Could it be? Was this thing a manifestation of his power?

  In that case, why didn’t either of them help him? The first one muttered utter nonsense about Titans and crosses, even actively trying to ruin his absorption of another power. Or did it? It had said to ‘join the Titan’, and it enveloped him. Despite Erik losing his grasp on the links he was pulling in, the two didn’t start drifting further away from each other.

  Did the form help him hold them back? Was it trying to help, rather than sabotage? It didn’t matter. He had to find what he was missing with the sphere.

  What did he know? What did he feel? It was a part of him. They were the same. His will and its will were joining, but couldn’t completely merge. What if their will wasn’t the only thing that had to merge? Could it be that easy?

  Erik looked towards the form still watching him. It somehow seemed to sense what he was thinking, as it unduted more violently. Whether it was excited or angry, Erik couldn’t be sure. It was something at least, so Erik decided to try it.

  His will completely bnketing the magical sphere, he started pushing his body into the sphere. If it was part of him, he had to merge it with both his will and his physical body, right? Struggling to keep his focus completely enveloping the sphere as he submerged himself in it, he eventually was fully inside.

  The separation of his willpower and his body felt odd at first, but after a few seconds, his willpower reached his body again even inside the sphere. It wasn’t just covering it anymore, it had merged with its waters. His own will and the contents of the sphere had now fully merged, and he could do nothing but let his physical body melt away in the waters as well.

  It wasn’t hot and cold anymore, He wasn’t hiding out in the bck void anymore. He became one. Whole. It was warm. It felt like several more hours went by as his body broke down into its base molecules. He could sense himself within each of those molecules, melding together with everything else around him.

  Soon enough, he was the sphere. His instincts suddenly kicking in, he easily manifested a copy of his body atop the cliff. The rushing sound of the waterfall was soothing, even more so than the feel of soft grass on his naked feet. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath through his nose. He didn’t exhale immediately. The air was incredibly fresh. It was nothing like the air on Earth. Even the air in Afterlife had nothing on this great air.

  The golden cored form appeared behind him, but it didn’t look the same anymore. While both forms had previously been vaguely humanoid-shaped, this one was now a fully-formed being. It was still composed of the same matter, this one glowing pink and orange, the colours unduting every few seconds or so, but it was clearly a man now.

  He had horns growing from each temple, reaching around the side of his head and ending in twin points pointing towards the sky at the back of his head. His body and clothes were from the same matter, a cloak billowing gently in the weak breeze at the top of the cliff.

  “Master Titan,” the man said, bowing deeply before Erik.

  “Hi there,” Erik responded, still analysing the thing in front of him.

  “I am happy you completed your core in such a timely manner, Master Titan. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Sovereign Faith, Avatar of Authority,” the man-thing said, not even looking up from the ground as he bowed.

  “Please, call me Erik,” Erik said, wondering what was happening. Sovereign Faith was what Jessie had called the quartz he absorbed, wasn’t it? That meant her little bonus-ability actually meant something. “Stand up, please. What are you?”

  “Of course… Erik,” Sovereign Faith said, rising to his feet and meeting the Remnant’s eyes. “I am Sovereign Faith, Avatar of Authority,” it repeated.

  “Thanks, Sovereign, but I meant what are you? Why are you here?”

  “I am a spirit, of course. You absorbed me, letting me in as part of your whole,” it expined.

  It was as Erik had started to suspect. The second form appearing after the second power was absorbed, the simir colours, even using the name Jessie called the quartz. Was the creature in front of him now the manifestation of the power he had absorbed? In that case, what was the waterfall?

  “I see,” Erik lied. “Where’s the other guy?”

  “Resting. I’m sorry to say, the misunderstanding between you during the Absorption weakened her. Please understand, we are not opposing you, Master Titan,” Sovereign answered, bowing his head.

  “In that case, I guess I’ll talk to her ter. If she was only trying to help, I’ll apologise. Her appearance and the way she surrounded me, it felt like she was trying to sabotage the absorption.”

  “She told me as much. You need not worry. Communing with each other will be easier now that you have become truly one.”

  “I’m gd. It feels like I’ve been here for hours, so I should get back out there. I trust I’ll see you ter? I’ve got several more questions to the both of you,” Erik said.

  “Of course, Erik.”

  “Bye, then,” the Remnant said, and the world around him vanished. He opened his eyes again, meeting Sophie’s gaze. He looked to where Jessie had been the st time he saw her, but she was gone. He looked behind him, and she was lying there, asleep.

  “That took a while,” Sophie said. “Any more problems? Your core-thingy and the new golden symbol kept lighting up, but the st minute or so it’s been acting normally.”

  “How long have I been under?” he asked with a lowered voice, hoping not to wake Jessie. If she had gone through the same as him, she’d likely be tired as well.

  “Half an hour or so. It wasn’t long. Jessie woke up after only half a minute or so after you went under. She said she got what the ability was, but wanted to keep it a secret for now. She was grinning, though.”

  “I feel like I’ve been gone for hours. I had some problems, but I managed to work through them. I feel… great now, actually. But I completely forgot about learning about the ability. I…” Erik said, and suddenly stopped talking. He looked confused, but had realised something. “I think we’ve been doing it wrong the entire time. I know what the power does, but the sense of it isn’t disappearing, like st time. I got the whole thing, now. For both. It’s called Authority. I think I understand why Jessie reacted the way she did earlier, as well,” Erik continued, with a wide smile on his face.

  “Really? What was it?”

  “I’ll tell you guys tomorrow. I’m sure Jessie wants to know as well. I should get back to my own room, let you guys sleep.” Erik rose from the bed, and Sophie did as well just as he did.

  “You don’t have to go. It’s only about 9pm,” she said.

  “No, I think I should go. We’ll see each other tomorrow.”

  “Can’t you keep me company a little while more?” Sophie then asked, her lips turned down slightly.

  Erik looked at her, then Jessie. He didn’t want to wake her. They had been up and at it the whole day, and the absorption took a good deal of energy. It was hard to say no to Sophie though. That look in her eyes. It was almost sadness, but not quite there. She truly was a people person, only being at her full potential when around other people.

  Still, it was just for the night, and Erik was tired. They had visited every shop they could think of that day, so now they had to wait until Ange and Emma returned with their haul. That should be the next evening. That meant they had an entire day to rex. She could wait until then, right?

  “Sorry,” Erik said, and her mood visibly dropped. “We’ll hang tomorrow, okay?”

  “Okay,” she said, smiling at him. They said good night, and Erik left their hotel room for his own. He couldn’t wait to get to sleep. He entered his own room, undressed and went to bed. He fell asleep almost instantly.

  The next morning, he woke to his hotel room door opening and closing, the loud automatic locking system waking him up. Jessie entered and sat down on the side of his bed. She didn’t look at him, nor did she say anything.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked, sitting up.

  “Listen, I don’t know how to feel about this, but that isn’t stopping this from happening. You really hurt my sister yesterday. Are you just stupid, or did you really not catch on to what she’s thinking?” she said after a few more silent moments.

  “You mean during the absorption? I’m sorry about that, but I think I know why tha-”

  “No, dummy,” she interrupted, ying down beside him with a sigh.

  “Then what? She didn’t seem upset or anything?” he said in a questioning manner. Maybe she did at the end of the evening, but it didn’t seem bad, right? He just wanted to sleep. He was exhausted, and he said they would hang today.

  “I was awake the st moments before you left yesterday. Hearing that you were leaving, I thought I should let you go. But she wanted you to stay,” she started. “She wants to spend time with you, to get to know you,” Jessie finished.

  “I said we’d hang today. Was that wrong?”

  “Not at all. If you were just as out of it as I was, I don’t bme you. But she didn’t realise that. Listen, she’s a naive and gullible girl, but she’s the purest soul I know. The st few months have been devastating to her, and all of a sudden everything flips. Her sister thought dead, comes back like nothing had happened, and with her comes a dapper man, the strongest and bravest she ever met. She’s clearly crushing on you, but you’re something new to her. I don’t think she realises the pedestal she’s put you on. She might even think that you’re the reason I returned. It isn’t that far-fetched, given the week she’s had. The way I talked you up before you arrived probably didn’t help, I guess. You leaving her st night hurt her because she felt you didn’t want to spend time with her.”

  When Erik considered her words, it did make sense. It would expin why she had paid so much attention to him. She even saw straight through how he acted. “I didn’t realise,” he expined.

  “I get that, doofus. You’re just a boy after all,” Jessie sighed, tussling his hair before pinching his cheeks with a grin. “She’s always been popur, and she’s never been rejected before. She doesn’t know what rejection really is, except when the boys she’s been with break up with her. I’d rather you two don’t get together, to be honest, but I know you, and you’re a great guy, and I know you’re practically perfect for her.”

  “But?” Erik asked.

  “But you’re not human anymore. You’re a Titan. We don’t know what that will mean a month from now, or a year from now. You’re fighting a war while she can only stand on the sidelines. It isn’t fair to either of you, but much less to her. What if she wants to die, just for the hope of joining you as a Remnant? It’s in her blood, obviously, and she knows that.”

  “What about you? Isn’t that exactly the same risk?”

  “It is. That’s why I won’t stand in your way if you decide to pursue this. I’ve made my choice, and I stand by it.”

  “I don’t know her well enough to really decide to pursue her right now. She’s beautiful and sweet, but I don’t know. Would you mind if I spend some time with her today? I have to make up to her for st night, I think,” Erik said.

  “Damn right you do,” Jessie said, tussling his hair again before getting out of the bed. “You should think about it and let her know quickly if you’re not interested. It’s better to let her know now that she’s confused about her own feelings, rather than waiting.”

  “I will. Thanks, Jessie. I’ll visit your room after a shower. You should tell her about Hosu. I kind of mentioned her st night”

  “I know. I’ll do it now. I’ll talk to her about you as well. Don’t worry, I won’t say what we talked about,” she answered, walking out the door once more.

  Erik didn’t have time for drama. He had been worried about what would happen considering his companions were all women. He was certainly not expecting everyone to fall for him, but how much could he trust himself? Jessie was right about everything.

  He was interested in Sophie. It wasn’t love. It wasn’t even a crush, but it was a seed. He’d have to decide whether to nurture it or let it die. He needed some more guys around, as well. He had to keep his mind focused on getting stronger and winning the war. Everything else had to wait until after that.

  He appreciated Jessie letting him know, however. She didn’t have to do that, but Erik thought she was considering not just her sister and Erik, but the group dynamic in its entirety.

  He went into the bathroom to take a shower, thinking about what he should do. He didn’t get anywhere. He dried himself with a towel, got dressed and went to visit the sisters.

  He knocked on the door before entering, something he hadn’t done for Jessie’s apartment or room in over three months by now. The two siblings were lying across each of their beds, facing each other in the middle. It was hard not to notice Sophie in just a short nightgown. Had she not dressed on purpose?

  “Hey,” Jessie said.

  “Hey, girls,” Erik said casually, closing the door behind him and sitting down next to Jessie. “What’s up?”

  “I’m telling her about Hosu,” Jessie expined.

  “I can’t believe elves are real! Jessie says she’s incredibly beautiful, is that true?” Sophie asked.

  “Definitely. As she arrived at Afterlife, neither of us could keep our eyes off her. Until she spoke, that is,” Erik expined.

  “Nasal voice?” Sophie asked, and Erik realised Jessie hadn’t talked about the limitations they first experienced before getting their Crests.

  “No, because she’s from another world or dimension or something, our brains couldn’t comprehend each other’s nguage. It just gave us a massive headache. When we got our Crests it was okay, though.”

  Sophie looked suspiciously at her older sister, and said, “You said you got together when Erik was getting his Crest, but he was the first of you,” she said matter-of-factly. “So even before then?”

  “Oh, she’s that hot,” Jessie said with a grin.

  “Those two were like bunnies even before they could communicate properly. When they were getting their own Crests, I had to separate them, as the pained groans of your sister caused massive extra pain for Hosu, and the other way around. Still, they wanted to be together even then. That’s when I knew they loved each other, probably before they even did,” Erik expined, looking at Jessie with her now rosy red cheeks and innocent smile.

  “That was only a couple of days, a week tops, after you got sick from your Crest, right?” Sophie asked, a new expression covering her face as she looked at Erik.

  “Yeah, less than a week after me, I think. Why?”

  “Nothing,” Sophie said, looking straight back at her older sister, who clenched her lips tightly together. “Just developed quite quickly, it sounds like.”

  “Speaking of developments, I’ve got something to take care of today regarding my new ability. I’d like to keep it a secret for now, if you don’t mind. Want to tell us about yours before I leave?” Jessie said, expertly changing the topic of conversation.

  Erik gave Jessie and Sophie the run-down of his new power, Authority. This power was an aura-power. Erik remembered Nana expining that all living things had an aura of some sort, but as a Remnant, they could not just sense these auras, but even control it to some extent.

  Every Remnant would get a few key powers, but whether they would be major or minor would depend. One of these was the Aura power. Erik expined that he thought his aura went completely out of control when he absorbed the new power, as it likely changed and possibly even upgraded.

  The description of his ability was short, and didn’t say much, but he and Jessie knew they would be able to improve this ability as well. Sophie decided to write down Erik’s description of his new ability, as well as his Core ability in a little book she bought the previous day for just that purpose. Erik and Jessie thought it a good idea to keep their abilities written down if they wanted to fight together as a team.

  Erik also told them about his merging of his ‘sea’ and himself, and how that made the information about his powers avaible at all times, something like a file download rather than the preview they had used previously. Erik thought it was because it was now a part of his whole, rather than a separate entity.

  Jessie didn’t see her magic as a magical sphere like Erik did, but she thought the same could apply to her own manifestation. It was indeed separate from her own self when she meditated, but she hadn’t thought of merging them together like that.

  She had reached for it, and it would come to her. She decided to try the merge ter that evening, when she had made a few preparations.

  “So that fear I felt, that dominance.. That was your aura? Authority and dominance can be very simir, I suppose,” Jessie said.

  “Yeah. I want to try to control it soon, but I want to do it under controlled circumstances, not in the middle of a hotel. I think even normal people should be able to sense it, if I focus it enough. I don’t want it to run rampant and cause what happened to you yesterday accidentally,” Erik expined.

  “Accidentally?” Sophie asked.

  “I’d like to be able to do it purposefully and targeted, yes,” he answered her worried question.

  “Oh. Yeah, I suppose.”

  “I don’t want to feel anything like that again, but it’s a weapon we can use to drive the invasion into the ground. We should definitely be able to use it, so long as it's safe,” Jessie said in agreement.

  Erik:Core AbilityName: Unexpected ArsenalTier: IronType: N/ACost: VariableEffect - Iron: Manifest spiritual power in objects around you. Items used can have varying effects.Applicable items limited by mass, volume, density, quality of materials, spiritual bond, spiritual power and more.

  Major AbilityName: AuthorityTier: Iron | Rank: 0 | WillpowerType: Aura, Control, WillCost: N/AEffect - Iron: Improved Aura, Aura sense and Aura control. Aura effect changed to Authority.

  Jessie:Core Ability (Note: partial information)Name: Call of NatureTier: IronType: Spell? Fire, Water, Earth, Wind.Effect - Iron: Allows user to hear what nature has to say? Neat.Gives access to four spells of separate elements;Fire: Inferno (temporary name). Massive burst of fire at target location. Range: Dunno. Careful, hot!Water: Gentle Stream (temporary name). Cold and soothing stream of water. Range: Touch. (We think it heals? Have to check)Wind: Gentle Breeze (obviously temporary, see Water). Same as Water spell? Think it does have a different effect, nothing noticeable. Range: No clue.Earth: Boom Spike (I want this name!). The earth gets upset at the target location, stabbing whatever stands on it. After stabbage, spikes blow up, causing damage in a rger area. Range: Keep away!

  Note: Each spell has its own cooldown of about thirty seconds.

  Major AbilityName: UndisclosedTier: Iron | Rank: 0Effect - Iron: Super secret!

  This archive is under the administration of the lovely Sophie Callum xx

  Erik and Jessie had discussed this with Hosu in Afterlife after learning of the various tiers and ranks their abilities would have. It would be something they instinctively knew themselves, at least after merging with their magic as Erik had just found out about.

  They had agreed on keeping a common name for these tiers rather than simply numbering them, which is why the tier was now iron instead of zero. Ranks, on the other hand, would rise more often as there were ten of them within a single tier, which meant they wanted the simplicity of numbers when considering ranks.

  Jessie left shortly after Sophie had jotted down what she could gather from meditating on her Core ability. As she closed the door behind her, the tension in the room immediately shot up. Sophie pced the book and pencil into her bag and looked at Erik. She hadn’t acted weird when her sister was here, but now she suddenly seemed a bit upset. She didn’t smile the way Erik was getting used to.

  “So, I thought maybe you and I could hang out today, like I said st night. You in?” Erik said, trying to break the ice.

  “I thought maybe I should rex a bit. Maybe ter? I was up te st night watching a movie on the TV,” she answered, changing position on the bed. She pced her head on her pillow instead of crossing the bed. Her nightgown was bck and cy, and barely reached her thighs in length. It was low cut, the girl’s pink bra showing.

  “Oh. Okay. I guess I’ll have to wander around town aimlessly, all alone… probably get lost,” Erik said with hopeful eyes as he slowly retreated backwards towards the door. Sophie smiled the usual way.

  “You’re horrible! Fine, I’ll come with you. Have you had breakfast yet? They’re serving until ten,” she said, shooting up from the bed.

  “No. Want to eat with me?”

  “Of course. Give me five minutes and meet me downstairs?” she said, entering the bathroom. She didn’t close the door behind her, and Erik could see her as she lifted the free-flowing dress up above her head.

  “Of course, see you there,” he said, exiting the room.

  He knew what she was doing, but he had to be more mature about this. He couldn’t let her tempt him so easily. If he did, he’d be just like her previous boyfriends, who weren’t the best people according to her sister.

  He hadn’t decided whether to pursue her or not, but he did at least have to be better than them if he wanted their retionship to evolve. If he wanted a retionship, it would be a mature one, not some youthful fling doomed to fail after a few months. Right now, Sophie was acting like that was what she wanted, and based on the st few months of her life, he couldn’t bme her for that.

  Erik went down to the eating area in the hotel. There was only one other guest there at that time, and the amount of food was nothing to write home about. Erik figured the staff had been downsized some time after the invasion, and this was what most hotels were like by now.

  Erik took a bowl and filled it with thawed berries, vanil yoghurt and some muesli, followed by a gss of milk. He sat down at a small table with two chairs, then waited for Sophie.

  Twenty minutes ter, the girl approached him, wearing a pink sundress and a yellow jacket. She wore the same pink hairband she had when the two first met outside Jessie’s apartment. She picked out a few pieces of bread, some grapes and cheese, then joined him across the table.

  “You look really nice,” Erik said as she sat down.

  “Thanks!”

  “What, nothing in return?” Erik joked, and ughed as Sophie threw a halved green grape at him.

  After breakfast, the two left the hotel together to see the sights of Leicester. Honestly, it wasn’t much, and most of their time was spent in a mall. Erik needed some new clothes, and with the UBAF covering the bill, he didn’t hesitate even a little bit.

  Sophie enjoyed helping him pick out some clothes, meaning she decided what he should buy. He felt alright wearing his current clothes for the rest of the day, so all the new stuff went into bags.

  At one point, Erik wanted something to drink, so he split up from Sophie to get a soda from a vending machine nearby. As he returned a minute ter, he saw Sophie sharing heated words with another man about her age.

  He was young, had a buzzcut and wore a way too rge hoodie. His jeans were loose, barely hanging on to the rest of him. The guy grinned at the shorter girl and moved closer to her, bringing his arms around her waist. She attempted to push him away, but he clearly overpowered her. She spped him on the chest, but his thick hoodie clearly stopped most of the force.

  “Come on, We’ve had a long break. I want you back now, babe,” the guy said, grabbing Sophie tighter and pulling her close. She turned her head as far away as she could from him, ending up in an unwilling hug with the man.

  “Stop! We’re done, you ass! You made sure of that when you dumped me for mourning my sister,” Sophie said, grossed out at the man’s actions and closeness.

  “No, babe, I just wanted to give you some space. Let’s go out tonight, I’ll show you how much I missed you.”

  “Please, you were just sick of not getting anything, so you swapped me out with Stacey. It’s a small city, jerk!” Sophie compined, finally managing to push the man away from her.

  As she did, Erik stepped between them, looking the slightly taller guy in the eyes. He wasn’t alone, as two guys had been standing around behind him, talking and looking at them. As Erik intervened, the two other guys took a step forward.

  “Excuse you, what do you want? I’m talking with my girl here,” he said, looking Erik up and down, not impressed by the looks of it.

  “She isn’t interested. She told you to stop,” Erik said in a calm voice.

  “Just get away from me, Brad. And stay away," Sophie interjected.

  “You and me gonna have a problem?” Brad asked, sticking his face closer to Erik in an attempt at scaring him. It didn’t work, much to Brad’s dismay.

  “Not so long as you leave Sophie alone.”

  “This your new guy, babe? Doesn’t look much. Guess you couldn’t get any better,” Brad ughed, and so did his two friends. “Never seen you before. You don’t look like you’re from here. Maybe he’s just your cousin, right babe? Tell him to get out of my face, and we’ll get out of here. He’ll find his way home.”

  “Please just leave, Brad!” Sophie excimed, her voice cracking up and a tear falling from her left eye.

  Erik looked at her briefly, noticing the pain in her voice. He also noticed that they had gathered quite a few onlookers. He didn’t want to start a fight in public.

  “Leave. Now,” Erik said, not bothering to keep a calm demeanour anymore.

  Guys like this shouldn’t exist. He briefly considered how Sophie could have been this guy’s girlfriend. How much of a thing had she had for rotten boys?

  “No, I want her back. If you want to stop me, go ahead and try,” Brad said, pushing Erik with both hands against his chest. Surprisingly, Erik didn’t even budge.

  “Leave.”

  Brad shot back with a scream and wide eyes, bumping into one of his friends. The friend fell backwards onto the floor, but Brad managed to keep standing. It was barely though, as his legs were visibly shaking. He breathed heavily, worrying his second friend, who looked back and forth between the new guy and his friend.

  Brad started retreating backwards, barely keeping himself from stumbling until he tripped on his fallen friend, hitting the ground shortly after. The second friend helped Brad up, then his other friend, and the three left hurriedly after that.

  Erik didn’t turn from them before they were well away and out of sight, then turned to see the people around them. Most were pretending nothing had happened, and the rest nodded his way. Everyone had seen him not doing anything other than stand in their way.

  He turned to Sophie, who was crying silently behind him. He hugged her tightly, one hand around her shoulder and on her back, the other on the back of her head, holding her close to him. Neither of them spoke for the next minute or so, and eventually no one watched them anymore.

  “Thank you,” she said into his chest with a torn voice.

  “Let’s get out of here, okay?” Erik asked, and Sophie nodded her head up and down before he let her go, seeing her red and puffy eyes. She had makeup smeared across her face, which Erik tried wiping away. It only made it worse, however.

  “I must look horrible, Give me a minute,” she said, and headed towards the bathroom, wiping away tears on the way.

  Five minutes ter, she returned from the bathroom, the makeup gone but her face still red.

  “I’m sorry, I can’t reapply it like this,” she apologised.

  “I don’t care. How are you feeling?” Erik asked. He wasn’t sure why she was apologising for removing her makeup. It didn’t matter to him either way.

  “Better. I’m sorry you had to see that. He didn’t use to be that gross,” she answered, looking towards where the boys had vanished from.

  “I believe you. Can’t imagine you being with someone like him.”

  “He’s always been a jerk, but he was good to me. Until my sister died, and he didn’t get the attention he needed,” she said, wiping away a new tear, looking mad.

  “You’re cute when you’re mad,” Erik commented, wiping another tear from her she hadn’t wiped away herself.

  “Stop,” she giggled, giving him a smile.

  “Let’s go back to the hotel, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  As the two returned to the hotel forty minutes ter, Sophie had cheered up. She’d told Erik more about Brad, and how they broke up, but he already knew most of it. The rest of the way they talked about nothing in particur, but outside their hotel, Sophie asked a question she had clearly held on to for most of the walk.

  “Back there with Brad… That was your aura thing, right?”

  “Yeah. It was just a slight glimpse. I managed to keep it back for the most part. I didn’t intend for that to happen, but I couldn’t control it. Still, it was better than hitting him in public, I suppose. Did you feel it?” he asked.

  He’d only seen Brad react weirdly when he felt his aura slip as he got more and more upset. The moment it broke free from his control, it crashed into the man for a fraction of a second, until Erik got it under control once more. The accidental aura attack wasn’t directed, and only Brad’s close proximity caused him to feel it and no one else.

  “No. He just looked a bit like Jessie did yesterday. Thank you for keeping it to a bare minimum,” she said, shaking her head.

  “I don’t understand why you’re thanking me for that. He practically assaulted you back there,” Erik said.

  Sophie simply looked down on the ground. “He shouldn’t have done that, but that doesn’t mean his life should be ruined. He clearly isn’t acting like himself. I heard the girl he repced me with has a drug habit. He’s probably stupid enough to get pressured into drugs himself. He’s probably having it bad enough as it is without you scaring the hell out of him like you did with Jessie.”

  “If you say so. You’re too kind, you know that?” Erik asked, opening the outer door of the hotel for her. She entered in front of him, and they both walked towards the stairs.

  “Maybe. But if I wasn’t, I wouldn’t have joined you today, so it works in your favour as well, right?” she said with a wink.

  “I suppose that’s true. I’m sorry about st night. I was exhausted, and I should’ve expined that to you.”

  Sophie stopped in the middle of the stairs, looking at Erik thoughtfully. A second or two ter, she continued, walking past the halted Erik.

  “Jessie talked to you, didn’t she?” she asked with a rare frown barely visible to Erik as he caught up with her.

  “She… Yes, she did.”

  “That’s why you asked me out today, isn’t it? To make it up to me for st night?”

  “Not entirely, but it was part of it.” Erik felt he needed to be honest right now.

  The two reached their floor and turned to the right, entering the hallway leading to their rooms.

  “I can’t believe this,” she said, huffing as she increased her speed.

  “Sophie, let me-”

  “Not now. Please, let me be alone for a while,” she said, quickly reaching the door to her room, sliding the keycard into it and opening the door.

  Erik didn’t say anything as she shut it behind her.

  Erik returned to his room after wondering whether he should knock on her door or not. He had decided against it.

  He turned on his TV and sat down in his bed. It only took a minute before he was interrupted by his ringing phone. No one had that number, right? It was the phone he had taken from the corpse of his parents’ friend back in his hometown. He had finally charged it a few days ago and had kept it on in case he needed something, though he had all but forgotten about it.

  It wasn’t protected in any way except a ‘Slide up to unlock’ screen, which was terrible security for something as personal as a phone. He looked at the number showing on the screen, and it had a UB country code. He realised he had given it to MacLeod before leaving the air base. That meant he needed something. He answered the call.

  “Hello?” he started the conversation.

  “Mr Fried, this is Major MacLeod, of the UBA-”

  “What do you want?” Erik asked, a bit annoyed at the timing of the call.

  “Sorry. There’s a couple of hounds that got through our barricades at the shoreline. They’re wreaking havoc further innd,” MacLeod’s stressed voice said.

  “Where are they heading?” Erik asked, getting up from the bed immediately, already heading out his door again.

  “They’re headed straight towards Cambridge. Evacuation is under way, but it’ll be too slow. They should be there in about twenty minutes, given their current speed.”

  “What about Jessie, did you reach her?” Erik asked, hurriedly walking down the hallway, stopping outside Sophie’s room.

  “She’s not in Leicester, but she gave me this number. I’ve got a chopper touching down on your roof in two minutes. You’re what we’ve got,” the major said.

  “I got it. I’ll head up right away. Talk ter,” Erik said.

  “Thank-”

  Erik hung up the phone call. He was still outside Sophie’s door, wondering whether he should let her know. He knocked.

  “Sophie, there are Hellbeasts headed towards Cambridge. I’ll be back,” he said quickly, and ran up the staircase towards the roof. The reason this hotel was chosen was because of its helicopter access on the roof. He was already sprinting up the stairs with incredible speed when Sophie opened the door in panic,

  “Wai-” she said, but no one was there. In her hands were Erik’s trusty Backpack of Stuff.

  “Good to see you again, Mr Fried,” Amir said as Erik put on the headset in the helicopter.

  “Amir!” Erik excimed. “Is this a coincidence, or are you joining the party?”

  “I’m all in now, baby! I’m your new personal aerial chauffeur,” Amir answered, lifting off the helicopter. It spun 180 degrees as they had enough clearance, and it leaned forward in the direction of Cambridge.

  “Good to have you with us. I’ve been saying we need more guys,” Erik said, withholding the information that he’d only said so in his head.

  “Well, I’m not joining you on the ground, but I’m gd to be of assistance either way.”

  It didn’t take long before the helicopter reached Cambridge, and the hellbeasts were already tearing up the outskirts. There was already another chopper in the vicinity, likely a scout keeping track of the Hellbeasts.

  “You should wear this,” Amir said as the chopper hovered above the ground, handing the Remnant a bck bacva. “There’s a lot of people and cameras around. Might even be press. Better safe than sorry.”

  “Thanks!” Erik said, removing his headset and donning the facemask, covering his nose and mouth.

  As he went to jump out of the helicopter, he remembered his backpack, and looked around the chopper. It wasn’t there. He didn’t bring it with him. How could he have been so stupid? Already, the drama involving him and Sophie was messing with his mind. He had one job, and that was to fight the invasion.

  Sighing, he jumped out of the chopper. Seven or eight metres further down, Erik nded and rolled, barely getting back up on his feet in a retively smooth motion. He really had to train to do manoeuvres like that.

  He already knew the direction of the hellbeasts, but even if he hadn’t, he could sense where they were now. He had learned that the tingle he felt with Jessie was him sensing her aura. When his aura was improved by his new power, his aura had increased in strength, which was why Jessie felt it more strongly now.

  His own aura sensing ability had improved as well, though it didn’t make the tingle Jessie gave him any stronger. He felt how his senses had powered up. He could sense the dogs almost fifty metres away when focusing in their direction. That would definitely come in handy ter.

  Erik ran towards the hellbeasts. They were crashing into houses and flipping cars, but luckily all the people in the immediate area had already gone. It seems they had gotten a good head start on the evacuation, at least.

  Erik looked around for anything he could use his Core power with, finding nothing but pebbles. Still, the concussive effect of them would really help, so he picked up a dozen or so pebbles, confirmed his power reacted to them as he anticipated, then put the bunch in his pockets.

  He picked up a few other things he found lying around, but nothing gave any indication that he could use it in any other way than its intended usage. He cursed himself for forgetting his backpack again, and could only sigh at the fact that he hadn’t absorbed another power, despite the link not being as powerful as Sovereign Faith was.

  He didn’t expect his aura power to be able to kill the beasts, and he was worried it wouldn’t even scare them off if he released it at them. Still, he could do this. He’d fought off a beast hand-to-hand before, though he didn’t manage to kill it at that time.

  One important thing with the major powers was that when filled, that power would connect to one or more of his innate abilities. It could be strength, speed, willpower or something along those lines. Sadly, his Authority was linked to his willpower, which made sense for both the power, and the tribution he had gone through to link the waterfall to the rest of his magic.

  He didn’t know if that had actually impacted anything at all, but it felt like it did. Still, willpower wouldn’t help in a straight up fistfight, either. If it had been connected to strength, it would certainly have helped. Maybe the best thing he can do right now is scare them off. That had mostly worked for the military, both at the shore of the UB and at Bridgefort.

  The beasts eventually gave up, retreating for a while before coming back. That might be the best bet, but whether they went back to the sea was certainly not a given. If they retreated to another town or a forest or something, they’d still be a menace to everything around them, possibly hurting a whole lot of people.

  He didn’t have time to consider more as he was quickly approaching the beasts, and the two were charging right back at him. Close enough, Erik figured, he pulled out two of his pebbles and chucked them at his targets, one by one. This meant that one of them practically ended up on top of him after the concussive bst of the rock affected the dog, but Erik whirled around the massive body, letting it slide right past him.

  Hoping to maximise the time it was down, he leapt on top of the dog and immediately punched it in its neck, over, and over, and over. The meat beneath the repeatedly struck area slowly turned mushy, and the skin had torn apart several pces in that same area, but the dog-beast soon came to, and it was still healthy enough to roll over, tossing Erik off its body.

  Erik rolled on the ground as he nded, quickly getting back up on his feet. While the dog he attacked hadn’t gotten up on its feet yet, the other one had. It was still dazed, but it was coming to quickly.

  Rather than reinforcing his efforts at crushing one of the beasts’ throats, Erik turned around and ran. He jumped into a nearby house through a window, and he went straight to the kitchen, hurriedly searching for anything he could use.

  He found a good quality kitchen knife that didn’t activate his ability sense, but he could still force his magic through just like st time, so he picked it up. In a pinch, it would certainly help.

  He did sense something that would work with his ability, and it was something he hadn’t used before. Getting a quick idea of how it would work, Erik pocketed that as well.

  That was all he had time for, however, as one Hellbeast had already gotten inside from the same window he entered through. It roared loudly as it searched the house, and Erik hid behind a corner. He forced his magic through the knife, hoping it would hold long enough before melting away.

  The hound’s head stuck out from the doorway, but it noticed Erik almost instantly. Erik stabbed at it with the knife, managing a deep wound on the dog-monster’s shoulder, but the massive beast had the leverage in this tight space. It headbutted Erik hardly into the wall, Erik feeling a rib crack under the force.

  No time to catch his lost breath, he ducked under a swipe of the beast’s paw, stabbing its chest with the knife. The beast jumped back a metre or two, pulling Erik along with it as he clenched the knife stuck in its chest tightly.

  The dog rose to its hind legs, then whirled violently. Erik had no choice but to let go of the knife as he was sent flying back out of the house through a new hole his body bashed out of the wall. He coughed up blood as he got up on his knees, facing the house.

  The second beast was out there waiting for him, this one the one with the softened neck. It looked like it walked crookedly against him, its neck likely damaged enough for the muscles in the area not to function as intended. Still, that one wasn’t the main concern right now.

  Erik noticed the beast inside the house readying a pounce, and Erik figured he only had one chance to get this right. As the dog leapt through the wall, enrging the hole Erik had made, Erik mimicked the action, also leaping towards it. As he got closer to his attacker, the dog’s leap went too far, and Erik ended up beneath it while it soared above him.

  Just like he’d pnned, he reached towards the knife stuck in its chest, forcing as much magic as he could muster through both his hands even before touching the knife.

  As both hands grabbed the handle of the sharp knife, and his magic shot through its bde, Erik’s weight and the dog’s momentum in the opposite direction was all that was needed to end it. The magically sharpened knife slit open the dog’s chest and stomach, opening it wide. Its guts fell to the ground behind Erik as the dog nded, already dead.

  Erik y face down in the dirt outside the house, and couldn’t move. His body hurt all over. Still, one of the dogs remained. Before Erik managed to move, the dog had pounced on him, ripping up the Remnant’s back with its rge cws.

  Erik felt a surge within him as his blood violently escaped his body, and he unleashed his full aura without an ounce of direction or control. The beast audibly whimpered, and got off his back. When it had retreated a few metres, it stopped its retreat and growled harshly, yet didn’t attack again immediately.

  Erik managed to use the st of his willpower to drag himself forward to the house wall, using it as leverage to pull himself up to his knees, and reached into his pocket. He grabbed the first thing he felt, and immediately tossed it at the beast. The rock hit the beast with no additional effect.

  Erik knew that would be the case. Each target he concussed would be resistant to the same effect for a while, though he didn’t know how long. The small rock wasn’t what he was looking for, however. He reached back into his pocket, picking another item and threw it at the dog.

  It was simply another stone, and it bounced off its thick skin. Erik could feel his aura weakening along with his strength and energy, and the dog dared to close in on him, though it still kept its guard up. It didn’t scare easily, and it didn’t recognise Erik’s Authority.

  Erik took the st item from his pocket, knowing this would be the right one. He fell forward, unable to keep himself upright any longer. His face once more hit the dirt, His aura fully retracted. He couldn’t keep it going at such strength any longer, not when he needed his st bit of energy for this st item.

  He looked up at his hand and weakly lobbed the item towards the dog, which had already closed in on him. The lighter he tossed activated, and Erik could hear something like a buzzsaw cutting through a thick piece of wet wood, followed by a thump in front of him. The two divided parts of the Hellbeast’s face stared at him with empty eyes.