Adrian's eyes slowly open. He looks around and finds himself in a tiny white room with a wooden door.

Adrian feels tightness around his chest and arms. He looks down to see thick ropes binding him to a wooden chair.

Where am I? Didn't I just shoot that shadow guy? Did he survive and kidnap me?

Adrian’s chest tightens as sweat beads on his forehead. His stomach feels like it’s being ripped apart.

Adrian hears people talking in a different room; he can make out the words Reaper and Captain.

Footsteps get louder and louder every second—someone’s walking toward him.

Adrian dreads the sound of each footstep. To him, it sounds like the Grim Reaper slowly coming to take him.

Creak.

The door opens.

A tall and lanky middle-aged man walks in through the door. The man has receding brown hair and no facial hair. He is wearing a grey frock coat, a blue vest underneath, and a red tie.

"John Davis, do you know where you are?" the man asks.

"Are you going to kill me?"

"I'll take that as a no. You’re inside a PRF interrogation room."

What the fuck is a PRF? Adrian wears a perplexed expression.

"Poralue Revenant Forces. That’s what PRF stands for—the revenant police, basically."

"You’re here because you managed to kill a Revenant."

"As you already know, the chances of a normal person killing a Revenant are very low, especially with the situation you were in. Hell, I'd say it’s impossible to kill a Shadow Revenant in a dark room. Now, that’s if you're a normal person. But you’re not, are you? You’re a Revenant."

"Now, I’m going to ask you some questions, and you will answer every single one."

The man's eyes turn from brown to a greenish-blue.

"Are you working with any organization other than the police?" he asks.

"No."

"Are you a Revenant?"

What the fuck is a Revenant? That shadow was apparently one, and he assumes I am one too. Maybe he means my power of seeing the dead’s final moments?

"I don't know what a Revenant is."

"For now, let’s say Revenants are individuals with supernatural powers. Now, answer the question."

"Yes."

"Are you John Davis?"

"Yes."

The man’s expression shifts slightly.

"What is your real name?"

Why does he refuse to accept John Davis as my name? That’s what this body’s name is—unless he somehow knows I’m not John. But nah, how could he know?

"John Davis."

"I see you won’t budge on that, so we’ll come back to it later."

"How did you kill The Reaper?"

"I used my ability, then drew my gun and shot him."

"What is your ability?"

"I can see the last moments of a dead body's life. My partner died, and I used my ability on him. I saw the shadow's presence and shot him as soon as I came out of the vision."

"Do you hear voices in your mind after using your ability?"

"Yes."

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"Are you hiding your real name for a nefarious reason?"

"No."

"That's it for the questions. Now, here’s the thing: since you're a Revenant, we can’t just let you go. You’re forced to join the PRF."

"What exactly is the PRF?"

"We’re the police, but we only deal with incidents involving Entities or Revenants. You’ll be doing the same job you were doing before, but more dangerous—and with better pay."

"I don’t have the option to refuse, do I?"

"No."

"And what happens if I refuse anyway?"

"Death."

What type of police organization is this, where they just kill you if you don’t join them?

"Why?"

"A rogue Revenant is a huge risk to the city’s safety. We can’t just let you leave."

"Okay then, I’ll join."

The man grabs the rope binding Adrian and rips it apart with his bare hands.

He shakes Adrian's hand and says, "I am PRF Captain James Wright, and you are now part of the PRF's 4th station."

"Stay here. I'll get someone to show you around and explain some important basics." The Captain leaves and closes the door.

Well, that went much better than expected. I'm still alive. And these guys are my best chance of finding out how to get back.

...

The door finally opens. A man in his twenties, wearing a black vest and a tophat, enters.

The man extends his hand. "I am Edmund Thorne, Consultant for this station."

Adrian shakes his hand. "John Davis, Police Inspector."

"Follow me." Edmund steps out of the interrogation room.

Adrian follows him. He steps into a large room with some sofas, a campfire, and a table. There are four doors and a stairway leading down. The room smells of burning wood.

"This is the lounge area. You stay here when you don't have a case to work on."

Looks more like a living room. Hopefully, there isn’t too much work so I can chill here for a bit.

Edmund points to one of the doors. "That's the bathroom."

Edmund then opens a door leading into another room.

"This is the armory. There's guns, ammo, and some basic spiritual items." Adrian looks around the room. There are cabinets with different labels on them: "Revolvers," "Spirit bullets," "Vests," etc.

Edmund opens another door. "This is the records room, and it’s also my office. Records of different Entities and Revenant powers are kept here."

Adrian looks around the room. There is a desk in the middle with some files on it, and around the desk are cabinets—presumably full of records.

Edmund points to the final door. "That is the captain's office. Don’t disturb him unless you need to."

"Downstairs is the reception area with our receptionist, Melissa. Also, this building is disguised as a normal police station. Any cases we get are passed on to a normal station unless they concern Revenants or Entities—oh, and also Nobles."

Edmund points to the sofa. "Take a seat. I need to explain some basics to you."

Adrian walks over and takes a seat. It feels like his body is being sucked into the couch—a sense of pleasure floods his entire body. The couch is incredibly comfortable.

"So, let’s go over Revenants first. Revenants are humans with supernatural powers. These powers are either present from birth or gained through consumption. Spiritual energy is needed to use these powers. Consumption is the act of eating an Entity's core. A person with natural powers can still use consumption. Natural powers are completely unique to a person, while consumption powers are the same for everyone. Different Entities give different powers. For example, the Entity I consumed had powers related to knowledge, which is why I’m the consultant. Revenants and Entities have different classes based on their power. I’m a class 1 Revenant, while the Captain is a class 3."

"How do you go up in class?"

"You can only go up in the class of the same species you consumed. I can’t switch from knowledge powers to water powers, for example. For a class 1 knowledge Revenant to go to class 2, he would need the core of a class 2 knowledge Entity or Revenant, and he would need to sacrifice two level 1 cores to the spirit world. Oh, and I almost forgot: the most important thing right now is that when you use your power, some part of your body will hurt like hell. To get rid of it, you need to use your powers correctly against Entities and Revenants. After enough usage, the pain will eventually go away, and you’ll be ready to go up a class. But natural-borns need to consume a core first before they can get rid of the pain with experience."

"Now, let’s move on to the spirit world and Entities. The spirit world is a separate dimension that overlaps with ours. We don’t know much about it, as we haven’t been able to explore it. What we do know is that some creatures from it end up coming into our world. We call these creatures Entities. Entities are classified as Neutral, Good, or Evil. Neutral Entities are like animals—they can act either way. Good Entities are helpful to humans and don’t attack us. Evil Entities are very hostile and attack humans on sight. Part of the PRF's job is hunting down any Entity that comes into this world. And that's about it—those are the basics."

"Thanks for explaining."

"No problem. Also, the Captain wants to see you."

Adrian walks up to the Captain's office and knocks on the door three times.

"Come in."

Adrian walks into the office. It’s a small, modest room with the Captain's desk in the middle.

"You wanted to see me, sir?"

The Captain opens a drawer and pulls out a blue ball.

He extends the blue ball towards Adrian. "Eat it. It's an Entity core."

Adrian takes the core from the Captain's hand. "What power does it have?"

"A decent physical boost and the power to create small objects. It’s not the best for a class 1, but it’s all we have."

"Don’t eat it in here. Go to the bathroom—it tastes disgusting. Most people end up throwing up."

"Okay, sir." Adrian leaves the Captain's office, goes back into the lounge, and opens the bathroom door.

There is a sink, a bathtub, and a toilet inside.

Adrian paces around and fidgets with his pocket watch for a bit before finally mustering up the courage to eat the core.

Adrian puts the ball into his mouth.

It tastes like someone’s shitting directly into my mouth!

Adrian spits out the core and throws up into the sink.

After some time, Adrian recovers and decides to try again.

I’m ready for this. I’ll get this fucking thing down my throat.

Adrian puts the ball into his mouth again, this time bracing for the terrible taste.

He musters all of his willpower to resist the urge to throw up and barely manages to get the core down.

A surge of energy jolts through Adrian’s entire body. He feels incredibly strong, like he could beat any normal human with ease.

Adrian is now a class 1 Revenant.