Sesius didn’t hesitate to answer. "We were planning to kill it since the beginning. After attacking and killing soldiers of the valein empire, we can’t let it live unpunished."

"Good. I was going to do the same. I want to help you, but can we talk while we walk a little? My legs feel like I haven’t moved them in years. How long has it been since you found me?"

"Two days," one of the medics answered. "But it is still too soon for you to move. The bubbles inside your body are still mending the bones back to their original state. You can’t even walk."

Silas jumped from the bed and stood on his legs. It hurt a little, but it was nothing compared to the fall.

"I want to know if your army is capable of dealing with the shadows. I also need to see the soldiers who got infected. I need all the information before I can give you a good plan to take down the shadow."

Sesius felt no lie or attempt to deceive. If he got the slightest inclination of wrong intentions, he would have Silas arrested and put inside a stasis capsule to deal with him later. He looked down at the small, frail legs of the human.

"Come with me; I’ll show you the capsules."

Silas stumbled a little behind Sesius, but he was in awe at the sight of the camp. It was full of soldiers wearing high-tech armor from a sci-fi setting. The perimeter was guarded by electric barriers running across machines. The guards were holding onto guns that looked like rifles, but he had no idea how they worked.

"I heard about the empire technology, but seeing it is another story. "Why aren't you using a gun?" he asked, pointing to the sword.

"I have a pistol, but I prefer to fight with a sword in hand. Explaining all the details of our weaponry would take too long, so I’m going to give you the short version. All the soldiers in my company are equipped with laser guns that can shoot right through steel and most metals. They have received the standard training and are exceptional in combat."

"Interesting, we’re in the middle of the cave with the old language and engravings, right? I can count over sixty people running around the camp. You guys must have dealt with the army of cockroaches."

"Insects like that are nothing to my men. Unfortunately, some of the insects managed to pierce the armor and infect a few of my men with a single wound. Their eyes turned dark, and they lost their minds under the infection. We subdued them, and the doctors analyzed the infection. Sadly, this shadow infection is unique, and we don’t have any way to cure it right now. The only option we had was to put them in stasis."

They reached a tent guarded by several soldiers. Silas looked at the man in charge; he had a star in his chest. He noticed that Sesius had two stars.

"Captain Sesius," the man said, saluting.

"Sergeant Aien. This is the human we found outside the abandoned city. He’s a System user and overcame the infection. I want him to look at our men and see if he can tell us something to cure them."

"Yes, sir. My men have kept the camp safe, but the attacks aren’t stopping."

"How long is the interval between attacks, and have any creatures other than cockroaches attacked the camp?"

"Only insects, sir. The waves try to invade once every hour, but no one has gotten infected."

"Keep everyone focused while the other squads prepare for the assault at the city’s center."

They entered the tent and saw the stasis tanks. Thirteen soldiers were submerged in water tanks that kept them stable.

"Incredible, how long can you keep them like this?"

"The tanks can work for decades with only a technician giving them a checkup every couple of decades. Can you see anything?"

He looked at the screen on one of the tanks. The display showed strange symbols, but he couldn’t understand them. It was the Valein language. Since he couldn’t read, his only option was to look directly at the soldiers.

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He saw the shadows hanging around their ears and mouths. Some of them were having lucid dreams and had their eyes open. The purple was replaced with black. They looked the same as the infected pix.

"Sorry, I can’t tell you much. I only know that the shadow is trying to take over their minds by showing them illusions."

"What kind of illusions?"

"Lies, an image that shows them exactly what they want. If you give in to the shadows, they will take control. I broke free because I realized I was being manipulated. It was too perfect to be real."

"Were you alone when the infection took you?"

"No, it had companions around. Other members of Dawn, but they couldn’t do anything to help me. I had to notice on my own. Another thing is that I believe the shadow can read the minds of those who infect, so it may already be aware of this conversation."

"We already knew that; the scanners showed their brains were full of activity; they weren’t sleeping or dreaming. Their brains were being read. But your brain activity returned to normal after the shadows disappeared from your body. The infection is dormant, so it doesn’t read your mind."

"Mmm, good to know. I was afraid our plan was going to get leaked."

"Our plan? If you can't do anything else, then your job here is done. I’m going to take the city and destroy the shadow myself. You can stay here and recover."

"You need my help. If I can get close to the shadow, I can copy its power and learn about it. If killing it doesn’t save your people, maybe I can learn to cleanse them."

"Why would you do that? You almost died, and now you’re looking to go back into battle."

"I have a friend around this place; he’s also infected with the shadows. I want to discover a way to heal him. Let me go with you, and I’ll also help your soldiers."

"That is assuming you can heal the infection. What if your power fails?"

"Then you stuck us in those stasis tanks until your empire finds a cure. You didn’t take me only as a prisoner. You wanted to see if we could work together."

He hit the nail on the head. That was the real intention behind saving his life. Sesius was a soldier, and as such, he had the duty to look for other races and help them incorporate into the Valein empire. Unity and order were the creeds of the king and his royal advisers.

"Now I’m really interested in knowing the one who told you about our empire. It's true we want to help your race integrate into the worlds of the System but don’t mistake our kindness for weakness. I expect you to do exactly what I say if you come with us. If we take your friend, you have to tell us everything and give us anything of value that you have. Is that clear?"

"Yes, captain." He made the same salute as the sergeant.

Sesius tried to look for any lies, but he couldn’t find any. Silas was being completely honest. He was willing to sell Cink and the Pix back into the forest for the good of Dawn and his members.

Sorry, Cink, but you would do the same in my position. Saving your tribe and ensuring their future, even if it meant bowing to the Valein empire once more. This is my fault, so I have to heal Silvano. I’ll use anything if I must.

His sense of responsibility was acting up again. He wasn’t the guild leader, but if they did almost anything, he asked, was it bad to try to take responsibility for their wellbeing?

The answer to that would prove to haunt him in the future, but right now Sesius agreed.

"If you’re willing to join us, then I can take you to the assault. Let's go to the armory; you need some equipment to fight."

"I’m fine with my sword; that is all I need. I can do the rest with my power to copy."

"Sorry, but that green ore is reserved for captains in the army. You can take one of our laser guns."

After a trip to the armory, Silas came armed with one of the white armors. It was heavy, but not so much that it made him slow. He was still healing with the bandages covering his body, and the laser gun was very simple to use. Just point and shoot at the enemy. He also had a small heat knife; with the press of a button, a blade came out.

"You seemed used to wearing armor," Sesius said.

"Well, I have experience role-playing as a soldier or cop in quite a few MMOs."

"MMOs?"

"A game; it'll take too long to explain. I want to hear about your plan to defeat the shadow."

"Before that, I want to see the extent of your power. Can you copy me?"

"Sure, but if you aren’t a System user, there is a chance it won’t work."

He raised his hand and stole from Sesius. He couldn’t steal power from allies, but Sesius and the rest of the empire were still strangers to him. Helpful strangers, but they were still temporarily allies. He had no trouble taking the power, but he was going to have to come up with an excuse for the copying powers.

He could realize that I stole power from him. Maybe if I take a little, he’s not going to notice.

The power reached him. His muscles were much stronger than before, but Sesius had no skills or power from the System.

The captain opened his eyes as the human turned into one of his kind. No, it was a half human half valein. The purple of Silas' eyes was tinted with a small black dot.

"You took my appearance, but is that all?"

Silas looked down at his hands; he was missing something.

"A sword. Give me a sword."

The soldier in charge of the armory waited for his captain's permission before getting a heat sword. Silas made a motion that indicated years of experience.

He cut the air with four strikes and ended with a circle cut. It was impressive.

"Moon style. You use this style to fight, right?" He was correct; this was Sesius' combat style, but how did he know that?

My power only allowed me to gain physical power and sometimes skills like those of beasts or races with natural-born powers. How can I use a style I haven’t even seen before? Is my power evolving?

"For a novice, those moves aren’t bad at all." Sesius accepted him to join the assault, but his smile was more like that of a master looking to train a new student.