The infirmary smelled faintly of herbs, antiseptics, and exhaustion. Elias lay motionless upon a white bed while sunlight filtered through crystal windows overhead. The room was quiet save for the rhythmic ticking of a wall-mounted artifact designed to monitor a patient's vital signs.
Jamie was furious.
She stood at the foot of the bed, her arms crossed, her jaw tight. Dante sat nearby in a chair entirely too comfortably. The contrast only irritated her more. Neither had spoken in several moments.
"Sixty seconds."
Dante blinked.
"Pardon?"
"Sixty seconds."
"Jamie—"
"Sixty seconds."
The girl jabbed a finger toward Elias.
"He was in that sphere for sixty seconds." Her voice was flat.
"Sixty seconds where you stood there and watched."
"He survived."
"He could have died." Jamie's hands clenched into fists.
Dante sighed. The argument had been repeating for nearly twenty minutes. The argument had been repeating for nearly twenty minutes.
"Jamie."
"No."
"Jamie."
"No."
The Praetorian rubbed his temples.
"He didn't need saving."
"He was being eaten."
"Well he got spat out again so its fine. I have seen men die in less."
Jamie stared. Dante coughed.
"Poor choice of words."
"You think?"
A man entered carrying a clipboard.
The resident doctor looked to be in his late forties with graying hair slicked back and wire rimmed spectacles resting precariously on the bridge of his narrow nose. His white coat was stained with ink and somehow, that made him look more trustworthy.
"Ah."
"The arguing continues?"
"We're not arguing."
"We're arguing."
The doctor nodded.
"I see."
He walked toward Elias and flipped through several pages. Then he put it away to conduct a physical examination on the boy. After a while he whistled.
"Remarkable."
Dante looked over.
"How remarkable?"
The doctor adjusted his glasses.
"This is the first time in my entire career that I've encountered someone quite like this boy."
Jamie immediately straightened.
"What do you mean?"
The doctor pointed toward Elias.
"Truth be told, his wound healed before he even arrived.By the time the medical team received him, the major tissue damage had already closed."
"Yeah, he heals fast." Jamie said.
The doctor paused at how casual it was, as if she'd seen it many times before.
"Honestly it was astounding." He said after a while.
Dante raised an eyebrow.
"The remaining injuries, what little remain, are healing in real time."
He scratched his chin.
"I'll admit I was briefly tempted to make a small incision to see if his healing was truly that advanced."
The temperature dropped. Jamie's killing intent exploded outward. The doctor wasn't shaken, his smile widened even.
"As an experiment." he continued.
The killing intent intensified.
"Purely academic."
The room shook slightly as Jamie added her Presence. The doctor laughed.
"I'm joking."
Jamie didn't stop glaring. The man raised both hands.
"I take my job very seriously you know."
Only then did the killing intent recede. Dante laughed loudly. The doctor ignored him.
"In any case." He put his hand in his pockets and looked down at Elias.
"The boy isn't injured."
"Then why is he unconscious?" Jamie asked.
"Energy depletion."
The doctor looked impressed.
"Your friend is unconscious because he expended an ungodly amount of energy."
His gaze shifted toward Dante.
"This is also the first time I've ever seen an Acolyte resist the authority of a Dominion Beast."
That made even Dante pause. The doctor shook his head.
"Frankly speaking, if a healthy Dominion Beast decided to consume most Acolytes, the result would be immediate."
He adjusted his spectacles.
"Even you wouldn't walk away completely unharmed."
Dante barked out a laugh.
"Maybe."
The doctor rolled his eyes.
"Here we go."
"But let's be realistic."
Dante grinned.
"There isn't a beast alive capable of taking me out—"
"Yes, yes. Because you would have found them and killed them already." The doctor sighed.
"Exactly."
"You're insufferable."
"I've heard that before."
Jamie groaned. The doctor turned back to Elias.
"In my professional opinion, the explanation is simple. The boy survived because you weakened the fish. It has not recovered. The injuries you inflicted likely reduced its authority significantly."
"Most likely."
"Combined with the boy's unusual vitality, he managed to survive."
Dante nodded slowly.
"Reasonable."
Outwardly.
Internally, Dante wasn't convinced. As a Praetorian he could perceive more than ordinary Flow users. He could peer beyond the first layer. Beyond concepts. Into notions themselves. And for a brief moment— He had watched Elias anchor himself with a concept, fending off the beast's consumption. Enough that Dante had wondered whether the boy was somehow consuming the beast in return.
He almost laughed.
The idea was absurd. Acolytes couldn't do that. Even Votaries couldn't. The gap was simply too large. It would be like a mouse eating a dragon.
Dante chuckled.
'Ridiculous.'
Stories were full of 'heroes' overcoming impossible odds because some plot demanded it. Reality wasn't so generous. The boy had simply gotten lucky that was all.
Probably...
The doctor clapped his hands.
"Dante."
"Hm?"
He doctor pointed toward the door.
"The patient needs rest."
Jamie immediately protested.
"I can stay."
"Both of you—out."
"But I won't make noise.—"
"Out."
Jamie looked offended. After several moments she sighed.
"Fine."
Dante rose from his chair.
Before leaving he glanced toward the sleeping boy.
For a moment his usual grin disappeared.
'What kind of monster have you created, Auro?'
He stepped out. Jamie hesitated. She looked at Elias's still form, at the slow rise and fall of his chest, at the bandages wrapped around his side. Then she turned and followed Dante out.
The door closed behind them.
The corridors of the Hunter's Bureau were vast, labyrinthine, and filled with things that Jamie had never imagined.
She had of course seen the things at the main entrance but things were differentActually walking through it was another matter entirely. Massive corridors stretched endlessly in every direction, Flow circuits pulsing beneath the floors.
Jamie ignored most of it.
She was still annoyed.
Dante noticed.
"You're pouting."
"I'm not."
Jamie refused to answer.
Dante laughed.
"Come on."
He spread his arms dramatically.
"You're receiving the grand tour."
"I didn't ask for one."
"I know."
"Then why am I here?"
"You'll see."
Jamie glared at him from the corner of her eye.
They passed through several divisions. One room housed analysts studying maps covered in moving lights which signified beasts migration routes. Another contained artifact researchers examining fossils suspended within containment fields.
Further ahead was an enormous workshop.
Weapons made from beast parts hung from racks.
Spears.
Swords.
Some radiated enough Flow to make Jamie's skin crawl.
Dante gestured around.
"Most people think the Bureau only hunts beasts."
"It doesn't?"
"It harvests them too."
That earned her attention.
Dante nodded.
"Certain beast organs are used in medicine."
Jamie glanced at a jar containing a cluster of spider-like legs, each one still twitching.
"Charming."
He pointed toward a sealed vault.
"Others become ingredients for artifacts."
Another corridor.
Another chamber with disected carcasses.
This one contained massive storage containers.
"Some are turned into weapons."
Jamie frowned.
"That's a lot of dead beasts."
Dante's voice became serious.
"The Kingdom maintains sixteen Knight Divisions.One for each region."
His gaze shifted toward distant windows.
"Every region faces different threats.Different beasts.Different terrain."
The humor briefly vanished.
"And every one of them needs tools."
Then they entered the containment wing.
Her eyes widened.
Some were small, no larger than dogs. Others were massive, their bodies pressed against reinforced glass, their eyes glowing in the dim light. One room appeared empty.Until Jamie noticed the shadows moving independently from the walls.
"This one produces venom that can paralyze a Votary," Dante said, gesturing toward a creature that resembled a snake with too many heads.
"This one—" He pointed at a hulking mass of chitin and fur. "—can sense Flow signatures from miles away. We use it to track escaped prisoners."
Jamie stopped in front of a tank filled with floating, luminescent creatures. They had no eyes, no mouths, no discernible features—just light.
"What are those?"
"Information brokers," Dante said. "They consume memories. We feed them the minds of prisoners, then extract the information we need."
Jamie stared.
"That's... dark."
"We do that when necessary. Now we just tell them a few things about ourselves and they're satisfied.
Eventually they stopped before a massive aquarium.
The room was dark. Blue light rippled across the walls. It contained a floating jellyfish larger than several meters in size. It was transluscent and its insides flahedlike miniature storms.
"You want something."
"Pardon?"
"You're a fast one."
Jamie folded her arms.
"You underestimate me."
"No."
A small smile appeared.
"You remind me of your father."
The words settled heavily. Neither spoke for several moments as the jellyfish drifted through the water. Blue light danced across the room. Finally Dante spoke.
"Your father," he said, "was a good man."
"I know."
"He was also stubborn. Reckless. He threw himself into danger, thinking about the consequences after the fact."
Jamie's jaw tightened.
"I'm aware."
"If there's anything I can do..."
Jamie's eyes narrowed.
"Is this pity?"
"No. This is respect."
Jamie looked away. The offer was genuine. That somehow made it harder.
"Close enough."
Dante remained silent.
Jamie's reflection stared back at her from the glass.
"My parents wouldn't like it."
The words came quietly.
"Wherever they are."
Understanding entered Dante's eyes.
"So that's why you brought me here?" Jamie asked.
The Praetorian laughed awkwardly.
"A little."
"I knew it."
"You're difficult."
Jamie smirked despite herself.Then the smile faded. Dante noticed immediately.
"If there is any plan you wish to achieve, I will help you."
Jamie met his gaze.
"I want answers."
Dante's expression hardened.
"What kind of answers?"
"I don't know yet."
Her fingers tightened slightly.
"But there's more to my father's death."
The room felt colder.
"Whether I do anything depends on what I learn."
Dante studied her then asked quietly.
"And who exactly plans to give you those answers?"
Jamie smiled. It was not a warm smile.
"You don't need to worry."
Dante blinked.
"I don't?"
"No."
She looked toward the distant city visible beyond the aquarium's reinforced glass.
"I can smell it."
"What?"
amie's eyes narrowed.
"The person who has the answers." She felt a sting on her left shoulder, where her mark was.
A pause.
Then—
"I'm going to meet them very soon."
Elias awoke with a headache. The kind capable of convincing someone that consciousness had been a mistake.
He groaned.
Slowly opened his eyes and immediately regretted it.
Light, far too much light. His skull felt stuffed with molten lead.
He sat up carefully. Everything hurt. Not physically though, the phantom pain lingered and his body was fine.
Mostly...
The problem was deeper.
His soul felt tired. Like a muscle pushed beyond its limits. There was a strange lethargy lingered beneath his thoughts.
Predation had worked. But apparently souls could suffer exhaustion too.
"Wonderful."
His voice sounded terrible.
He looked around.
''I'm in the infirmary?''
That explained the smell. The flowers on the nearby table explained the flowers. Cheap, wilting, probably from a market stall.
He reached out.
He did not intend to touch it. But his fingers brushed the ceramic.
The vase crumbled into dust.
The flowers wilted, browned, and disintegrated and the water evaporated. A second later everything disintegrated into gray dust.
Silence.
Elias stared.
The dust stared back.
"...Uh..."
He looked at his hand. Nothing looked different. Yet he could feel it, he could now actively predate.
'It requires more finesse. But I will find a way.'
He swung his legs over the side of the bed. His body protested but he ignored it and walked to the window. The city stretched beyond the glass beautiful and alive. His gaze wandered across crowded streets below.
Then paused.
"Hm?"
A familiar figure moved through the crowd.
Maria.
Walking beside a young man wearing spectacles. Elias tilted his head.
''Who was that?''
Elias watched them for a moment. He then remembered that he needed to prepare to meet with any of the wards of any of the other deities. It was good that he now had a grasp on his Soul Predation but that alone wasn't enough. He needed to prepare tools to make up for his lack in skill and raw output and so, he needed to go shopping.
He briefly considered bringing Jamie.
Then immediately discarded the idea.
No.
That would become an incident. Possibly several incidents.
Elias sighed.
He found his clothes folded on a chair. He dressed quickly, quietly, and slipped out the door.