Yasin Osman quietly placed the plates on the table. Lately, his wife wouldn't talk to him, and soon his daughter stopped too. He felt so alone in their home.

He went back to the kitchen to get the glasses. His wife was just finishing the curry. He couldn't find the glasses in the usual cabinets. He looked in other places, but they were nowhere to be found. Frustrated, he did something he didn't want to do—ask his wife.

“Shehla, do you know where the glasses are?” he asked.

Shehla didn’t say anything. She kept stirring the pot. Yasin tried again, “Shehla, where are the glasses?” But she stayed silent. Shehla was really getting on his nerves.

“Shehla, I’m going to ask you one last time, where are the glasses?”

She stopped stirring and looked at him. “Why? Are you going to kick me out or Fariya too?”

Yasin rolled his eyes and sighed. He didn't want to deal with this right now. “Just tell me where the damn glasses are,” he snapped. “I’ll be out of your way.”

After a moment, Shehla pointed to the dishwasher. Yasin grabbed the washed glasses and was about to leave the kitchen when Shehla called out to him.

“You didn’t answer my question. Are you going to kick me and Fariya out for not talking to you?”

“You know what, forget it,” Yasin said, finally fed up. “No, I won’t kick you out, but you’ve annoyed me so much I’m leaving.”

“Then why didn’t you do that for Zakir, Yasin? Why did you kick him out? Why won’t you listen to him? You’re his father, aren’t you?”

All those questions made Yasin lose his appetite. He didn’t feel like eating anymore and told his wife, “You eat your food, I’m going somewhere quiet.”

He grabbed his coat, put on his shoes, and left the house. As he walked out, his wife called after him.

“You have to answer me, Yasin Osman. Why do you hate your son so much? Why did you kick him out?”

Those words echoed in Yasin’s mind. The questions kept bothering him. He kicked Zakir out because he couldn’t handle it anymore. He had hoped Zakir wouldn’t turn out like him when he was young, but Zakir became worse. Yasin felt he failed as a father and didn’t want anyone to see that, so he did the only thing he could think of—he threw his failure out.

-------

“So, I think now's a good time to talk about upgrading your abilities,” Bagley said, snapping me out of my daydream about Harleen and Mr. Mann.

“Yeah,” I thought, trying to push my mind elsewhere.

“First, bring up your status and the new skills you've got.” I focused on what I needed, and the system showed me the info.

Profile:

Name: Zakir Osman

Class: Apostle of the Death Lord.

Lesser Souls: 9

Normal Souls: 2

Greater Souls:

Absorbed Souls: 5

Abilities

* Gun Expert (E) > Gun (C)

* Investigation (B)

* Defensive tactics (C)

* Knife Expert (C)

* Soul Mirage (C)

* Soul Drain (C)

Soul Mirage – Change your appearance and voice, to any soul you consume. You can only maintain the form for 12 hours, and it has a 12-hour cooldown. Upgrade increases time and reduces cooldown. Cost towards next upgrade – 15 Absorbed Souls

Soul Steal – Drain a soul to replenish your health and stamina. Can only drain one soul at a time. Has a cool down of 1 hour. Upgrade to increase amount replenished and reduce cooldown. Cost towards next upgrade – 10 Absorbed souls “You have 5 absorbed souls. These absorbed souls are just normal souls, not better or worse. Everything above lesser souls has absorbed souls. So, if you absorb a greater soul, you'll see a Greater Absorbed Soul section under your Absorbed Souls. Absorbing a greater soul makes you stronger. Right now, 1 greater soul equals 100 normal souls. Like normal souls, you can split a greater soul into normal ones. So, 1 greater soul can become 100 normal souls.”

That was a lot to take in. But Bagley didn't let me off and kept talking.

“Now for the interesting part. When you absorb a soul, you get all its skills and strength. But that absorbed soul also becomes money to upgrade your strength. Let’s make this practical. If you upgrade your soul mirage skill and use 15 normal souls, how many do you have left?”

“I have none left.”

“Exactly, you have none. That means all your physical strength, speed, and stamina are gone. You drop back to level 1. You go from having the strength of 15 men to just 1.”

That really hit me. I need to use my upgrades wisely. Going back to level 1 is something I want to avoid, so I need to gather a lot of souls. Thinking about it made me more excited than scared.

But Bagley’s explanation was cut short when Donna stopped suddenly, making me jerk forward and then slam back onto my seat.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

She pointed forward. “Those idiots have blocked us.”

I looked ahead and saw Tyrese standing in the middle of the road with a group of people. There were at least 20 of them. We were on the road next to the basketball court on the left and the homeless tents on the right. Just a few more minutes going straight and we’d be home, which honestly, I’d rather be.

Then they started walking toward us.

“Quick, change back to Don before they reach us.”

I listened to her right away and glanced at my watch—it was 9:00 PM. The cooldown was probably over, which meant I could become Don again. So, I did just that while sitting in the car.

Tyrese came up to us by the window. I rolled it down, taking off my mask and hoodie at the same time. “Hey Don, what’re you up to?”

I acted like everything was okay. “All good here. How about you?”

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Tyrese tapped his fingers on the car hood. “I’m just chilling, Don. Life’s good. But I need to talk to you for a minute.” He glanced at Donna, then back at me. “In private, please. It’s something serious.”

I scoffed. “Why is it so serious? Why do you need so many guys armed with brass knuckles, hockey sticks, and knives?”

He smiled, showing his gold teeth. “Because it matters. It’s about Mr. Smith. Step out of the car, Don, and tell your girlfriend to park over there and join us. I want her too, and before you ask more questions, you don’t have a choice. Follow me.”

I looked at Donna, who was trembling and confused. I held her shaky hand to calm her and motioned for her to get out. She did so hesitantly, and I also exited the car.

“Stay alert,” Bagley warned. But I didn’t need to hear it twice. I kept looking around, watching for any signs of an attack. I studied their movements, their eyes, even their body language. They seemed relaxed, probably thinking they could take me with their numbers.

They led us to a small alley behind the basketball court that ended nowhere. They were definitely up to something, taking me to a place with no people. I could fight them, but Donna… she was too vulnerable and might get hurt.

Tyrese wasted no time showing his true intentions. He shoved me against the wall with Donna. Then he pulled out his phone and held it up to Donna’s face. “Where is he?”

I glanced quickly. It was a photo of me, mask down and hoodie up, sitting in the Mustang next to Donna. It must have been taken when we passed the basketball court on the way to Mr. Mann’s. Shit. I pulled down my mask to breathe, not realizing someone was watching. Damn. How am I going to explain this?

Donna pretended not to know. “Who is he? Who are you talking about?”

A slap echoed through the alley. Tyrese slapped her hard, leaving a mark. “I know you’re hiding him, bitch. Don’t lie to me.” Then he turned to me. “Did you know about this?”

I acted clueless. “No.”

“Then why are you wearing his clothes? The same hoodie, the same mask. It’s like a perfect match.”

“That can’t be real. It’s probably an AI or something.”

“I took the photo myself, dickhead,” a voice came from the back.

Tyrese stared at me intensely. “Don, I hate being lied to. It makes me look like a total idiot, and I don’t hang out with anyone who makes me look that way. Maybe you didn’t know he was in the car, but she was. So I’m asking you to convince your girl to let him go. Then we can both get on Mr. Smith’s good side and split the money.”

“Money,” I questioned.

Someone shouted from the back again. “Yeah, Mr. Smith is offering a $1 million prize to whoever brings this bastard to him, dead or alive. Looks like it’s gonna be us.”

“Shut up, Jamal,” Tyrese snapped. He turned back to me. “But the kid is right. That million dollars could be ours, you and me. Plus, I heard you were taking the guy to court. He knocked you out and killed the other officers. You could get your revenge, honor your fellow officers, and climb up in Mr. Smith’s organization. Everyone will see you differently once you convince your girl to let him go.” Then he took out his gun, pointed it at her, grabbed her shirt, and started pulling. “Or we could try another way.”

Donna’s eyes welled up with tears, fear clear in her gaze. She fought against Tyrese’s grip, but he held on tight. “No, please don’t. I don’t know where he is,” she pleaded, turning to me. “Help me, please….”

Without thinking, I snatched Tyrese’s gun, twisted it out of his hand in a flash, and shot him in the head. He collapsed dead, and a blue energy flowed from his body into mine, capturing his soul.

The other guys stood there stunned by what just happened. I didn't waste any time. While they were still confused, I fired at two of them. But soon, the second shots snapped them out of their shock, and they started to attack me, thinking they could overwhelm me with their numbers.

I quickly jabbed at the man on my left. My punch hit his jaw with a loud crack. I saw his jaw twist strangely, which opened up my right side. I took that chance to shoot two more guys chasing me. Still, they kept coming. They moved around the fallen men, knives in hand, and began to stab me. I couldn’t block their attacks. One gave me a shallow cut, another stabbed my shoulder blade, and their fists hit my nose, breaking it. I stumbled back, blood dripping from my nose and everywhere else.

Then, my soul mirage faded, and I became Zakir Osman again. The guys watching were shocked.

"He’s not normal, he’s a shapeshifter," one of them said.

"This is some voodoo magic. He’s a demon," another added.

I took advantage of their surprise, leaped back, and shot more bullets into the attackers. They fell like nothing. Seeing their friends dead and my transformation, forced them to drop their weapons and ran away. I couldn’t give chase without healing first.

"Soul Drain," Bagley said, and suddenly I knew what to do. Ignoring the pain, I aimed at the closest man running away with my injured arm. "Soul drain," I whispered. Blue and red energy flowed from the man as he slowed down, breathing heavily. The energy flowed into me through my mouth and nose. I caught up to him. He looked up at me, scared, begging me to let him go. But his eyes were cold blue. I shot him in the skull. He was gone.

I was partly healed, and the other guys were still running. Using soul drain, I caught each one, draining their stamina, speed, and health, and shot them in the head. I gathered all their souls. I felt each one enter my body, and it felt amazing. I wanted more. My hunger grew until only one was left. He sat on one of the Kawasaki bikes lined up outside the court, where bikes should have been parked. He struggled to put on his helmet. When he met my gaze, his struggle got worse.

There was a gap between us, but I started running fast to catch up to him. I took in the souls I had defeated—nineteen in total—which made me much faster. I was almost there in just a few seconds, covering a hundred meters in two seconds. But I couldn't keep my speed steady and tripped over something on the ground, crashing into the bin boxes.

By the time I stood up, the thug, Jamal, was already on his bike, speeding away quickly. I thought about chasing him, but Donna was alone in the alleyway. So, I raced back to her, carefully managing my speed as I went.

I found her curled up on the floor, scared and shocked. I wanted to ask if he was okay, but she wasn’t in the right state. I hesitated, then slowly reached out to touch her. Thankfully, she didn’t push me away. Instead, she hugged me tightly.

“Shhh… Shhhh,” I whispered. “It’s going to be okay. You’re going to be okay.”

Before picking her up, I reviewed the memories of Tyrese and his gang members. Their lives had some interesting moments. I collected the phones of Tyrese’s key gang members, then took Donna back to the car and drove home. She didn’t say a word, and when we got to the apartment, she went straight into the bedroom and closed the door.

I placed the phones on the kitchen table and sat down on the sofa, waiting for her to come out.

“I’m sorry,” I said when I saw her leave the bedroom.

But she waved me off. “It’s not your fault. Or maybe it is. I don’t know. But I’m feeling much better now.”

“I think I should leave. My actions and just being here put you in danger. As long as I’m around, you’ll be in danger.”

As I stood to go, Donna pushed me onto the sofa. “You’re not leaving.”

“Why?” I asked. “I’m not helping you. My being here only puts you at risk.”

“You killed my abusive boyfriend.”

“Yes, but I don’t think that’s a reason to risk your life for me.”

"It might not make sense to you, but it makes sense to me. Living with Don was pure hell every day. Whenever he came through those doors, I never knew if it would be my last day. What you did was set me free from that nightmare, but I couldn't leave him behind because he would hunt me and my family down. To him, I was just a little bird he enjoyed torturing and playing with. So, yeah, helping you makes sense to me, especially since you're just a kid who got involved with the wrong people for trying to do the right thing."

I didn't know how to respond, so I just gave her a sad smile. Then she changed the subject, walking over to the phones on the kitchen table. "Why did you pick these up?" she asked.

"It's my insurance policy. Don just killed Tyrese and his whole gang. Mr. Smith is definitely going to ask why his distributor in Tower Hamlets is dead. These phones have call records showing that Tyrese was talking to the Russians, who are rivals to Mr. Smith in the drug business. Those records prove that Tyrese has been secretly selling small amounts of Madness to the Russians."

"Is Madness that new drug that's supposed to be better than cocaine?"

"According to Tyrese's memories, yeah."

"That plan might work, but there's something that could ruin everything. One of the guys escaped and they saw your face, especially when you shifted from Don to your real form. What are we going to do about that?"

"The guy you missed," Bagley added.

"We'll tell Mr. Smith about him. That he still has a package of Madness and plans to deliver it to the Russians. We'll see if Mr. Smith takes action. It's a risk we have to take."

I was still holding Don’s phone, so I found Blake’s number and sent him a text explaining what happened. Of course, he sent back an angry text saying we needed to meet up.

"Blake wants to meet me. I need to go," I told Donna as I put on my coat.

"Do you need me if something goes wrong?"

I cracked a smile. "Don't worry about it. If anything happens, Blake will need someone to save him."