The bus stopped at McCowan and Eglinton. The big McD’s yellow arches flickered like they were about to go out. Trash can by the side of the bus stop overflowed, and two full black trash bags littered the side of it. Tiny droplets started pouring. Rain soon going to make the trash smell even worse.

Home, crap home.

Gale stepped off the bus, crossing the street to his apartment building. Breath of the Void showed him the leftover blood residue from the crime scene.

Should’ve gone after him. Too late to regret now.

Going inside the apartment building, the elevator door half opened. Lights inside flickered constantly. Elevator was out again. Who was he kidding? It was never in service. Just another ploy by the Path to make it inconvenient for him.

For a moment, he stood there in front of the broken elevator. If no one fixes it, then he should fix it himself. Gotta fix his own mistake of letting the beast go.

Closing his eyes, his breath slowed. Breath of the Void spread outwards, further than ever before. It felt as if he stretched a muscle that he hadn’t stretched in a long time. The tendrils spread through walls, down streets, into alleys, buildings, feeding him back what sounded and smelled like static.

“Guide,” Gale said. “Interpret data. Look for possible targets.”

If the Guide can use his analyze to give him more detailed interpretation, it should be able to do this as well. The reply only came after a minute.

[5128 ether signatures detected in range. Numerous signatures from Awakened to Resonant. 1 harmonic signature found. Threat Level: Moderate]

Gale smiled. That worked. At least something was going his way, but not exactly what he wanted. “Too many. Can you look for entities with similar signatures to the trench coat man from earlier?”

[Processing.]

[Query constraint to: Trench Coat ether signature LIKE SIMILARITY > 40%]

[Four signatures detected. Closest signature: 1200 meters south of current position. Two additional ether signatures detected in proximity to target. One biological entity present.]

“Give me more details on the closest match,” Gale said.

[Signature matches 82% LIKE similarity with previous encounter. Based on available data, location is of commercial space. Target is in second floor. Three entrances detected. One emergency exit.]

Gale tightened his backpack, crumpling his baggy gray hoodie inwards. Looking outside, the rain started pouring. Lightning flashed above the sky, soon came the thunder that rumbled the glass of the entrance door.

“What about the other signatures you mentioned?”

[Two additional Awakened signatures present with target. Different signature patterns than query constraints. One registers significantly higher ether density. Female, approximately 25-30 years old. Approximate ether density equal to late stage Awakened.]

“And the one without an ether signature?”

[Unable to determine specifics. Target’s biological matter contains no ether. No ether signature indicates non-awakened human. Threat level: None]

Gale homed in Breath of the Void himself on where Guide had said, monitoring the connection to the target himself. This far out, he only saw the outlines of the targets inside the building.

Turning to open the door of the foyer, he headed out again. Outside, the sky had darkened. Rain formed puddles on the ground, splashing everywhere. He covered his head with his hoodie, though it wasn’t going to do much in this rain.

South. That’s where they were, and his legs started moving. Sneakers already soaking in the water.

1200 metres. Just under a mile. He’d trekked worse in the rainforest with mom and dad during a storm. This was nothing.

Rain picked up more. Lightning and thunder roared. Great timing for this hunt. The rain wouldn’t allow him to use distort. He ran normally like a mundane on the sidewalk. It’d take him less than a minute and a half if he ran at full speed, but this was the mundane world. Emmerson told him to hide it from plain sight. Make it three minutes then.

Gale cut across a small park, mud covering his sneakers. Socks already wet. Hoodie as well. The Path donation box didn’t even provide him a raincoat or an umbrella.

Three blocks later, he stopped at the edge of the sidewalk across a plaza. Old storefronts. Scratched-up front signs of a convenience store, shawarma place, nail salon, and something in chinese that had no English.

“Guide, that it?”

[Affirmative. Second floor, above convenience store. Three awakened signatures detected. One normal human present.]

Gale crossed the street, staying away from the street lights. Fire escape was on the left side of the building. Second floor had offices. Front entrance was next to the convenience store. Back entrance was behind where the fire escape led to.

“Any movement up there?”

[Minimal movement detected. Signatures remain in close proximity to each other.]

On the other side of the storefront, there was a loading dock and a metal door beside the dock. He circled around more, keeping away from the lamps by the side of the building. The rain helped, made people want to stay inside. Right now, there was no one. Not even parked cars in the parking lot of the storefronts.

Gale walked near the door. The smell of rotten food hit him, made worse by the rain. He covered his nose and tested the door, slowly turning the knob to see if it would budge.

It didn’t.

Better that way probably. He’d be going in there guns blazing, and he had no gun. When on a hunt, never scream before the attack.

Looking up, the fire escape sprawled through the second floor’s windows. Rusted, but intact. The issue was the noise walking through that metal.

Lightning suddenly flashed, showing the outline of a man in a suit walking past the second floor window. His blocky shape visible through the blinds, and the way he moved across the floor, made himself look big and wide. Felt more like a display of an animal trying to assert dominance. Basically, animalistic.

Turning his head, Gale found a dumpster just under the fire escape. It’d give him enough height to see what’s going on. To see what’s going on…

He shook his head. He pushed himself against the wall, enough so that the rain didn’t hit him as much. Rather than going on the fire escape, he willed Breath of the Void’s tendrils to invade through the window. Now inside, he saw the whole scene.

A glass cup shattered in front of a man kneeling on the ground.

“Fucking idiot!” a woman shouted. She wore a red leather jacket and stood over a man kneeling on the floor. Blood ran from his nose. The man kneeling didn’t have an ether signature, a mundane. Two more men stood beside her. One had a tattoo on his neck in the shape of a lion’s paw.

With the outfit the red jacket woman wore, it screamed that she had some connections to the red jacket man that Ollie caught. However, I have to say, her business suit under the red leather jacket made it look less like a B-movie villain.

“Last chance,” the woman said. “Where’s my product?”

“I don’t know!” the kneeling man said. “I just deliver packages! I got nothing to do with this!”

The woman’s eyes quickly glanced. Tattoo Man made himself look even bigger, stepping forward before kicking the man in the stomach. The man hurled over backwards, gagging for air.

From the way the Tattoo Man looked and his signature, it was still different from the person that had attacked the couple near his building. Still though, it was similar. Enough evidence for Gale to apprehend and bring back to Ollie for questioning.

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The woman grabbed the man’s hair, pulling his head back. “Let’s try again. The shipment that went missing. Who has it?”

“I don’t know!” the man cried. “I just drive the truck!”

She slapped him, the crack audible through the glass. “You’re lying.”

Gale’s hand moved to his storage box in his pocket. Three awakened versus one. Bad odds, but that mundane wouldn’t last much longer.

Guide, what’s my best approach here? Gale mouthed.

[Highest threat: Female signature significantly higher than others. Female recommended as primary target. Threat level: Moderate. Caution recommended.]

[Male signature estimated to be at mid-stage Awakened. Threat level: minimal.]

[Multiple approaches possible. SAGE suggests to take out primary as fast as possible. Use Phase Touch to slip through the wall and immediately behead primary, followed by neutralizing secondary non-primary targets. Mission success rate exponentially increases via this method.]

Behead the primary? This is back on Earth not the Eclipsed! He’ll go to jail, and they’ll lock him up with the other inmates. He wasn’t that tall. Barely even taller than Rachel. The other inmates will eat him up. There was no way he’d be beheading anyone. Besides, he needs them alive to give to Ollie for questioning. Then, Ollie can cheer up.

Ok, what about I just knock out primary instead of beheading?

[Success rate exponentially decreased without effective target neutralization. Non-lethal action is not recommended.]

Well, your face is not recommended. I’m doing it anyways.

Looking back at the window, for a second, Gale swore those fiery eyes met his through the gap in the blinds.

“Check outside,” she ordered. “Now.”

The tattoo’d linebacker in the suit moved toward the window. The window clicked. Then a pause.

The window exploded outward. Glass shattered. Bullets tore through the air.

Gale threw himself sideways. Rolled. Landed hard on his shoulder.

More bullets hit the fire escape. Metal pinged and sparked. The rounds curved in midair, tracking him. Fire trailed behind them. Not muzzle flashes but actual flames licking the raindrops.

No time to think. Gale scrambled up. Jumped to the rooftop of the other building. His feet hit wet gravel, skidding and almost tripping him. He caught himself against an air vent.

“There!” the woman shouted. “Don’t lose him!”

Gale looked back. Red Jacket stood at the window, aiming a submachine gun at him in her hand. No muzzle flash. No sound. Just streams of fire-trailing bullets, similar in the warehouse, coming at him.

The suited man jumped through the broken window. His fingers grew into curved claws. He landed on all fours, spine bending forward like a beast.

“Shit.” Gale ran across the rooftop.

The rain poured down. Lightning flashed. Thunder boomed overhead.

Footsteps behind him. Too fast for a human. Of course. It was an animal that looked like a human.

Gale put his left hand into his left pocket. Opened the storage box interface. Immediately, tapped the Weber blade. It materialized as he spun to block a swipe from the Tattoo Man’s claws.

Sparks flew. Keratin scraped against bone.

“The fuck are you?” Suited Man growled.

Same thing the other beast guy said. They were definitely related.

Gale stepped back.

Red Jacket landed beside her partner. Gun pointed at his chest.

Gale activated distort. Light bent around him, turning him nigh invisible. Rain didn’t help, though. A blurry outline formed around him as the rain pattered against his soaked hoodie.

“Cute trick.” Red Jacket fired.

The bullets curved through the air. Homed in on his vague outline.

Dodged right. Bullet followed. One fiery bullet grazed his shoulder. Steam formed on the threads of his hoodie.

Two more bullets came mid air, steaming through the air. Weber Blade’s flat met them head on like it was baseball.

“Not bad,” Red Jacket reloaded. “For an amateur.”

These weren’t just amateur street thugs. They were coordinated, like the brass boy and the wannabe archer. Except, these guys were really trying to kill him. He was backed into a corner. Behind him, an AC unit vent and the edge of the building. He’d have to drop to get away.

“Guide, assessment?”

[Opponents working as one unit. Female: approximately showing ether signature levels 65% above host’s total essence capacity. Male: mid-stage awakened. Showing ether signature levels 33% below host’s total capacity.]

[Host is unprepared and is not willing to take lethal action. Tactical retreat is recommended]

Gale gripped the sword tighter. “Not an option.”

Suited Man lunged. Claws slashed through the air. Gale parried. Countered with a kick to the knee.

Suited Man grunted. Didn’t fall.

Red Jacket fired again. The bullets curved around her partner.

Gale dropped flat. Rolled under the stream of fire. The bullets hit the roof behind him.

He needed an edge. According to what Jeanne said, the knights were already weakened when he fought them. These two, though, they were fresh.

Suited Man rushed again. Gale deflected the claws with his blade. Spun inside the man’s guard. Slammed an elbow into his throat.

Suited Man staggered back. Coughing.

Red Jacket moved to the side. Her weapon aimed at his head.

“Hold still,” she said. “This won’t hurt. Much.”

Gale feinted left. Dashed right. Suited Man recovered. Hit him with a shoulder check, launching him a couple of metres back.

Air knocked out of Gale’s lungs. He stumbled, almost falling off the edge of the building.

Red Jacket laughed. “Nice try.”

She fired. Gale twisted away. The bullets passed his face. Hot wind and steam hit his cheek.

This wasn’t working. He needed to split them up.

He charged straight at Red Jacket. Zigzagged to avoid the bullets. Closed in before she could adjust.

Her eyes widened. Mouth gaped as she backpedalled. Shot a couple more bullets just in front of him.

Too late. He was already past that. Gale swung the flat of his blade. Aimed for her temple.

She raised her arm to block. The sword hit. Bone cracked.

Red Jacket launched sideways. Her hand tried to grab onto the roof, but the gravel was wet. Her body hit the edge and fell off to the ground.

One down.

Pain hit Gale’s chest.

Tattoo Man’s claws had got him. Cut through his hoodie. Blood ran down the scratch.

Gale jumped backwards, but Tattoo Man jumped and followed him.

Claws already out, mid motion swing. “Sweet.”

The claw scratched through Gale’s forearm as he tried to block. More blood ran down. Looking down at the gash, it wasn’t deep. Painful, but he’ll live.

Tattoo Man licked the blood from his nails. “Mmm, tastes like young boy.”

Gale backed toward the edge of the roof while keeping his Weber blade up.

[Warning: Immediate recovery recommended. Blood loss increasing.]

He looked over his shoulder. The next building was lower. About twelve feet down.

Suited Man got ready to jump.

Gale turned. Jumped. Felt claws swipe at his back. Miss by inches.

He landed hard. Rolled. Pain flared in his chest, blood spilled onto the gravel on the roof. Billions of inky patterns and shapes bloomed into his skin. Breath of the Void seeped in. Tendrils going inwards instead of outwards.

Run, Gale.

That’s all he could think of. Rooftop to rooftop. Rain blurred his vision. He didn’t need it. He felt each footing and rail just through the Void alone.

Gale phased through a roof door. Downstairs. Through an empty office. Out into an alley.

He needed cover. A place to recover.

Three blocks later, he found it. A construction site. Chain-link fence with KEEP OUT signs.

Gale jumped over the fence in one leap. Found shelter under a half-built overhang.

Rain came through gaps in the concrete. His chest hurt. Blood soaked his shirt. Tattoo Man could no longer be felt around him.

Gale leaned against a pillar. Opened his status screen. He went to Vianne’s Express Amazing Store.

The familiar interface opened.

[Purchase: Vit Vial – 100 points]

[Confirm? Y/N]

“Yes.”

[Purchase complete. Points remaining: 0]

The vial materialized in his hand. Red liquid inside. Gale opened it and drank it all at once.

Warmth spread through his body. The pain in his chest eased and the wound started to close.

He rested his head against the concrete pillar. Closed his eyes briefly. Guide was right. He should’ve gone in using lethal force. Instead, he got done in by their lethality. The tussle with the United Knights was just luck.

Aur wasn’t like the forest. People were more cunning. Dad always said, a smart animal is a dangerous animal. Humans were infinitely smarter than beasts. And that human was basically a beast with a human brain.

Fuck! Now he had nothing to show for Ollie.

Maybe Ollie was right. This whole Aur thing wasn’t for him. He didn’t know any of this. None of how everything worked.

He opened up his phone, looking through his contact list. Rachel’s contact card stayed at the top. No, he couldn’t contact her. She’d get mad at him for doing things alone again.

Gale sighed. This whole thing was stupid.

Blood mixed with the rain that fell on him, leaving a trail of red down the drain. He could’ve died, so why was he smiling?

Information was the only thing he lacked. Ollie and Rachel had vastly more knowledge than him. So all he needed was more info and a more lethal approach next time.

Suddenly, his phone buzzed multiple times.

[Andrew: Hey, you weren’t in class today. You busy? I wrote you some notes for chem class.]

[Andrew: Yo, guess what? There’s some buzz around an asylum just between Pickering and Ajax.]

[Andrew: They say it’s haunted. The group’s planning to go tomorrow. No classes. Wanna come?]

[Andrew: You gotta come.]

[Andrew: You’re coming.]

[Andrew: I’m not taking no.]

[Andrew: Let’s go. See you tomorrow. I’ll pick everyone up at STC. Be there or I’m not taking notes for you anymore.]

Gale sighed again. That’s right. It wasn’t just one world. He lived in two.

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