Draemir followed the woman through the narrow hallway, up the steps, and back into the lobby of the police station. The familiar room seemed almost surreal after everything he’d just experienced. The fluorescent lights cast their usual dull glow, and the worn chairs sat in neat rows, just as he remembered them. But now, everything felt different, sharper, as if the world had been tinted with something new.

The woman stopped in the center of the lobby, then turned to one of the chairs and took a seat, gesturing for him to do the same. Draemir hesitated. The threat she’d made earlier still echoed in his mind—her calm, cold promise to end him if he strayed out of line. But he doubted he’d get far if he tried to run, so he sat, casting a cautious glance around the room.

The officer behind the front desk hadn’t taken his eyes off Draemir since they’d entered. His expression was a mixture of shock and something Draemir couldn’t quite place.

“What’s his deal?” Draemir asked in a low voice.

“What do you mean?” she replied, her tone flat.

“Why is he so shocked?” he whispered, trying to keep his voice low enough that the officer wouldn’t overhear.

She gave a slight shrug, her expression unreadable. “He probably expected me to drag a corpse out of that doorway.”

Draemir’s eyebrows shot up, and he leaned back, taken aback by her bluntness. Was she… serious?

The woman chuckled, a small, dry laugh. “That face you’re making is funny. Listen, you’re an anomaly, Draemir. Surviving a trial is uncommon, especially for someone from the outskirts. Most who go in… don’t come back out.”

He could feel the weight of her words settle over him, and he glanced back at the officer, whose gaze hadn’t wavered.

“Consider yourself lucky,” she continued, leaning back in her chair. “You fought your way to an opportunity that most people from the outskirts don’t live to see.”

Draemir didn’t know how he felt about that. The idea of being… lucky? It didn’t sit right. He’d been scared, alone, facing something impossible in that trial. And yet, he was here.

“Oh… okay,” he mumbled, not sure how else to respond.

The woman’s lips quirked into a smirk. “With that comes a few perks,” she said, her voice slightly warmer. “But first, I need to ask you a few questions. Standard protocol.”

Draemir nodded, bracing himself.

She watched him intently, and then asked, “First question: have you found your way to your soul sanctum?”

Draemir blinked. Soul sanctum? He didn’t know exactly what that was, but he could make a good guess. It sounded like the strange, empty world he’d found himself in when he’d focused on his soul core.

“If by ‘soul sanctum,’ you mean that strange world inside my core… then yes?”

She narrowed her eyes slightly, as if studying him more closely. “Good. That’s the place. Your soul sanctum is unique to you. It’s a part of your being, a place that reflects your essence.” She paused, considering her words. “The stronger you become, the more you’ll understand what it holds—or rather the reverse of it. It takes patience.”

Draemir nodded slowly, digesting the information. He’d only caught a glimpse of that world, that vast white expanse with the blinding light in the center. But the thought of it being tied to his potential, to his strength… that was something he hadn’t considered.

Something about their conversation nagged at Draemir, a question that had been forming in the back of his mind ever since she’d asked about his soul sanctum. Do people not usually find their soul core inside their first trial?

The thought seemed absurd. The soul core was the essence of what separated the ascended from the mundane, wasn’t it? But when he thought back on it… hadn’t he only stumbled upon his own soul core by accident, while fumbling through his trial without any real idea of what he was doing? He hadn’t used it to solve the trial, not directly, anyway. It hadn’t been necessary to his survival, as far as he could tell. He could have gone through the entire ordeal without even realizing it was there.

Was it not important?

Then again, if he hadn’t found it, he wouldn’t have been able to decipher the writing on the temple walls. The soul core—or whatever that strange inner place had been—had somehow allowed him to “read” the symbols, translating the text into words inside his mind. Not that it had helped him understand the cryptic poetry scrawled across the walls, but still… without it, he would have been left even more clueless.

Too bad it didn’t force it to make sense, he thought with a hint of bitterness.

“Good,” the woman said, moving on with her questions. “Question two. What is your soul affinity?”

“Um…” Draemir hesitated, then answered, “Dreams.”

For a brief moment, something flickered across her face—surprise, or maybe confusion—but her voice remained perfectly even, betraying nothing. “Okay. Strange.”

Draemir’s mood flattened. Strange? What was that supposed to mean? There was nothing strange about him! He had a perfectly normal soul affinity! Didn’t he? What did she even know about it?

Probably a lot, he admitted reluctantly. She did seem like the kind of person who’d dealt with a lot of new ascendants before. She’d probably seen all kinds of people with all kinds of abilities.

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Still, he couldn’t help but feel a prickle of annoyance. Dreams had sounded fine to him. Interesting, even. But her response made him feel like he was less lucky than he imagined.

Before he could ask her what she meant—or maybe defend himself, though he wasn’t sure how she’d react—she continued on, her tone brisk.

“And your abilities?”

‘No. We are not moving past that!’

“Wait… what do you mean, strange?” Draemir asked, narrowing his eyes, determined not to let her brush him off.

“Oh, nothing really,” she replied, her voice flat as ever. “I just would have imagined someone like you would have an affinity related to combat, something that enhanced your physical strength or endurance.” She looked him up and down, her expression completely neutral. “You’re so thin, I’d be surprised if you could survive a harsh gust of wind, much less an actual fight.”

Draemir’s jaw dropped. Did she just insult me? She did! And she’d done it with the same calm, detached tone she’d used for everything else, like it wasn’t even worth her energy to put feeling behind the words.

They sat in silence, just staring at each other—Draemir in shock, and her with that same unflinching, unreadable expression. Finally, the shock faded from his face, replaced by a look of simmering frustration.

‘What does she even know about dreams?’ he thought, indignant. Dreams sounded powerful to him. Sure, he didn’t know exactly what he could do yet, but he could already tell his abilities were different, unique. She’d see soon enough. Once he figured them out, she’d see he had power too.

“And… what are the usual characteristics of others with my affinity?” he asked, trying to keep the irritation out of his voice.

The woman let out a short laugh, the first real emotion he’d seen from her since they’d started talking. “People with dream affinities usually have non-physical abilities. Their powers are… well, let’s just say they rarely impact the physical world in a direct way.” Her lips quirked in a faint, almost condescending smirk. “It makes them a stronger version of an annoying flashing strobe light, most of the time.”

Draemir felt his face heat up in embarrassment and indignation. She was saying his affinity was basically useless! A flashy distraction, something that couldn’t even scratch the surface of real combat. It stung, especially after everything he’d gone through to survive the trial.

He could practically see the judgment in her eyes. She probably thought he was just some skinny kid with a party trick for an ability. Some pathetic “strobe light” that couldn’t make a difference in a real fight.

Well, he thought, she’ll see. When he figured out how his abilities worked, he’d show her what “Dreams” could do. He wasn’t going to let anyone look down on him like that, not now, not when he’d finally been given a chance.

Noticing the defiant set to his jaw, she raised an eyebrow, the smirk never quite leaving her face. “Don’t look so offended. Just because I said ‘non-physical’ doesn’t mean it can’t be useful. People with dream affinities have their place. The key is learning to work within the limits of what you’ve been given.” She shrugged, a casual gesture, as if this was all self-evident.

Draemir clenched his fists, holding his tongue. She wasn’t wrong—he didn’t know how his affinity worked yet. But he wasn’t going to accept her dismissive attitude, not without proving her wrong first.

She watched him for a moment, seeming to gauge his reaction, then leaned back. “So,” she continued, as if their entire exchange hadn’t happened, “what abilities have you discovered so far?”

“I, uh… haven’t figured out how to work it yet,” Draemir admitted, feeling a touch embarrassed as the words left his mouth.

The woman’s eyebrow quirked up, and her lips curved into a smirk. “Uh-huh. Okay. Well, that’s not exactly common, but it’s not unheard of either. Some abilities are stranger than others, and they come with certain… requirements that aren’t explicitly spelled out.” She shrugged, as if to say, It is what it is. “But that might actually be a good thing for another reason.”

She leaned in closer, lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “You want another piece of advice? One rat to another?”

Draemir blinked in surprise, then nodded, leaning in as well. Despite her earlier threats and condescending attitude, she had his full attention.

“I’m surprised you haven’t read the situation yet,” she said, her tone hushed but sharp. “Especially considering where we come from. The government’s not really on your side. So quit sharing your secrets. Everything you tell me, I have to report to my superiors. Right now, it’s not much of an issue—you haven’t said anything that isn’t going to be obvious. But if you start going into detail about how your abilities work? It could come back to bite you.”

Her voice softened, and he could have sworn he saw a flicker of something like regret in her eyes.

Draemir stared at her, stunned. What does that mean? He’d been following her lead, answering her questions, assuming this was all… normal. Expected. But now it sounded like she was warning him. Like he was walking into something much more dangerous than he’d realized.

“What do you mean?” he asked, barely keeping the edge of confusion and suspicion out of his voice.

She sighed, looking away for a moment, as if weighing how much she wanted to say. Then, quietly, she replied, “Exactly what I said. I can’t force you to tell me anything about your powers, Draemir. But it’s in the government’s best interest to have a database on every ascended. If they know the full details of what you can do… let’s just say it’s not used for ‘helping,’ if you catch my drift.”

Draemir sat there in silence, staring at her, his mind racing. What is this woman’s deal? One moment she was threatening his life, making it clear she’d end him if he so much as looked at someone the wrong way, and now she was… warning him? Advising him to keep secrets from her own superiors?

‘First she’s all… well, not exactly nice, but at least straightforward,’ he thought, feeling frustration bubble up. ‘And now she’s giving me tips on how to stay safe? What is this, some kind of game?’

She must have noticed the look on his face, because she leaned back, crossing her arms. “Confused? I get it. But I’m not here to babysit you, and I’m not here to set you up to fail. I’m just here to make sure you understand what you’re walking into.”

Draemir felt a mix of wariness and curiosity. He couldn’t tell if she was genuinely trying to help or if she was playing some deeper game. But he could feel the weight of her words. The unspoken implication—that there was more to being ascended than he’d been told, and more to his relationship with the government than he’d realized—hung in the air between them.

“So… what am I supposed to do?” he asked slowly, not sure what kind of answer he expected.

She gave a small shrug. “You play the game, like the rest of us,” she said, almost casually. “Answer their questions, but don’t answer everything. Keep some cards close to your chest. And learn what you can about your abilities on your own. Don’t rely on them to guide you, because they won’t.”

Draemir nodded, absorbing her words. It was strange advice, coming from someone in her position, but he felt the truth of it. If the government wasn’t there to help him, if he was just another file in their database… then he’d need to look out for himself.

He looked back at her, the woman who seemed to shift from threat to ally and back again without warning. “Thanks, I guess,” he said, the words coming out awkwardly.

She smirked, her onyx eyes glinting with something that might have been respect, or maybe just amusement. “Don’t thank me yet, kid. Just don’t be stupid.” She rose from her seat, gesturing for him to follow. “Come on. There’s more to discuss, and I’m already behind schedule because you took so long to complete your trial.”