Adrian leaves the bathroom and goes back into the lounge.

As he's walking towards the captain's office, something moves swiftly and stops him.

"Who the fuck are you?" the thing stopping him shouts. It's a man with messy black hair, wearing a white button-up shirt, and wielding a metal bat.

The man points the bat towards Adrian. "Answer before I bash your fucking brains out."

Adrian stammers, "John Davis. I'm a new recruit of the PRF." He stretches his hand out.

"Captain's got another one, huh? Michael Thatcher, PRF inspector." The man ignores Adrian's hand and goes to sit back down.

What's up with that guy? He's a fucking prick. And since when do police officers use metal bats?

Adrian walks up to the captain's office and knocks on the door.

"Come in."

Adrian walks into the room. The captain seems to be writing something.

"I consumed it, sir."

"You are officially a Revenant of the PRF now. I would congratulate you, but being a Revenant isn't really a good thing. Don't talk to anybody about the PRF Revenants or anything supernatural. Also, don't use your power until you've been trained."

"What do I do now, sir?"

"Go home. You'll start training tomorrow. The address is Ward Street Police Station. Come back then."

"Okay, sir."

Adrian leaves the captain's office.

He walks down the stairs leading to the receptionist booth. The receptionist is a young brunette woman.

"Hello, I'm John Davis, new recruit."

"Yeah, I know. I saw you being dragged in by the captain. Melissa Hawkins, PRF receptionist. Are you a Revenant or civilian staff?"

"Revenant."

"That fast? Normally, you work as a civilian before becoming one."

"I'm a natural-born."

"Oh, that's unlucky. The way I see it, being a Revenant is more of a curse than a blessing. You have to deal with all those scary monsters, and most of them end up going insane due to their powers."

"Are you a Revenant?" Adrian asked.

"Me? No, and I never will be. I'm civilian staff."

"How would a civilian end up here?"

"My brother is a natural-born. I ended up seeing his power. The PRF forces anybody who knows about Revenants to join them, whether they're a civilian or Revenant. Also, my brother works here as an inspector. You'll probably run into him tomorrow."

"It was nice meeting you, Miss Hawkins, but I have to go. Goodbye."

"Goodbye."

Adrian walks out of the police station and looks back at it. It's a brick building with fences around it and a blue lamp hanging outside the door.

It looks just like a normal police station, albeit smaller.

Adrian hails a carriage and gives the driver the address: Cobblepot Street, 41st.

Adrian's knees feel weak. Fatigue has taken over, his body screaming for rest, and his mind is even more exhausted.

This day has been hell. Way too much shit has happened. I killed somebody, got kidnapped, joined the Secret Police, and became a Revenant. All I want to do right now is sleep and not wake up for a whole day.

Adrian’s consciousness drifts between the world of the living and the dead until he is snapped back by the carriage abruptly stopping at its destination.

"Six pennies, sir," the carriage driver says.

Adrian fishes six coins out of his pocket and hands them to the driver.

He hops off the carriage and walks over to his house door, knocking on the hard wooden surface.

Jack opens the door. "Welcome back." Jack wears a surprised expression.

He’s probably surprised I’m not drunk.

As Adrian walks into the house, Jack looks at him with an expectant look.

It seems like he expects me to say something, but what?

Adrian thinks back to his previous interactions with Jack and remembers the reason for the expectation.

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"Did you do well on your exam?" Adrian asks.

"Yes, actually. I think I did well. I'll probably be able to pass." Jack's eyes dart around the room as he rapidly taps his foot on the floor.

Adrian's perception has been enhanced after becoming a Revenant, and he notices Jack's nervousness.

"Whatever you did is done now. Worrying about it won't change anything. Relax a bit."

"You're right."

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm exhausted. I'm going to bed," Adrian said.

"Good night."

Adrian takes off his coat and goes to sleep.

.....

Adrian wakes up. Something about his body feels different—not just stronger, but rejuvenated, like it aged back 15 years.

He gets out of bed and looks at himself in the bedroom mirror.

The reflection no longer shows a 40-year-old man. His mustache is gone, his hair is no longer receding, and it’s not slicked back. His face doesn’t have any wrinkles or blemishes. He looks like a 20-year-old version of himself, much closer to his age before coming here.

What the fuck! They didn’t tell me becoming a Revenant would age me down. I look like I just turned 20. I’m not complaining, though. I look way better.

Adrian walks into the kitchen, his footsteps echoing throughout the house.

Jack turns and looks at him. His face turns into one of fear. He grabs a knife and holds it in front of him.

"John, wake up! We're being robbed!" Jack screams.

"Don't step closer," Jack stutters.

"The hell are you doing? I'm John, you idiot!"

Jack glances behind Adrian into the bedroom and sees that John isn't in bed.

"If you're John, tell me my birthday."

Of all the things he could have asked, he asks something I can’t answer. Damn this rotten luck.

"I forgot it, but I know you did well on your entrance exam yesterday."

"Yeah, you're John. With how much you've drunk, I'd be surprised if you remembered your own birthday. But why do you look like that?"

Shit, I didn’t think of a lie yet.

"I haven't drunk or smoked for a bit, so maybe that’s done it."

Jack doesn’t look convinced by the lie, but he has nothing to say.

Adrian looks down at the kitchen table to see the same thing he’s seen the last two days: porridge.

Why do these guys eat only fucking porridge? But it’s fine—anything is fine compared to that core.

Adrian almost throws up just thinking about the taste of the core.

He has his porridge, then leaves and gets on a carriage to the PRF.

He arrives at the PRF.

"Good morning. You look different—too different," Melissa says with a surprised expression.

"Good morning to you too. Am I not meant to look different?" Adrian asks while walking into the receptionist booth.

"Revenants somewhat age back after becoming one, but usually by only five years at maximum. You look like you’ve aged back 20."

"Maybe it’s just good luck."

He starts walking up the stairway quickly, using his newfound agility. After getting halfway up, he falls.

THUNK!

He fell due to not being used to his power.

"Hahaha!" The receptionist laughs cheerfully. "The cursed stairs claim another victim," she snarks.

The sound of the fall attracts a man in the lounge to see what’s happened—Michael Thatcher.

Michael looks at the fallen Adrian and starts laughing.

Adrian's ass hurts, but the embarrassment hurts him more.

In an attempt to change the topic, Adrian asks, "What do you mean by the cursed stairs?"

The receptionist barely manages to contain her laughter as she answers, "It’s a tradition at this point. Every Revenant has fallen down these stairs at least once—only the captain hasn’t."

Relief washes over Adrian's face when he hears that.

He looks up the stairs—Michael is gone.

Adrian walks up the stairs again, this time putting full concentration into every single step.

He manages to get into the lounge and starts walking towards the captain's office.

"Oy! Captain told me to train you. Get your ass over here."

Adrian begrudgingly turns around and walks over to Michael, who’s sitting down, still holding his bat.

"What type of training do I need?"

"Usage of spirit energy." Michael stands up and puts the end of his bat on the ground, standing over it like a knight.

"The core you consumed is now in your body. It’s where all your spirit energy is held. It’s on the opposite side of your heart. Close your eyes and try to feel it."

Adrian closes his eyes and tries to feel the same type of energy he felt when he used his power.

He feels it—an object pulsating with energy.

"I feel it."

"Okay, now try to focus on letting the energy flow through into your right arm."

Adrian imagines the energy flowing into his arm like a river.

It doesn’t work.

"It’s not working."

"Oh well, then don’t try to flow it. Force it out into your arm. Brace yourself, though—this is painful."

Adrian braces himself and imagines the energy forcefully entering his arm like a cannonball.

Scorching hot pain slowly rises through Adrian's arm. It feels like his arm is about to explode. Adrian lets out a scream of pain.

"Okay, well, that worked. Now change it back into a flow returning to the core."

Adrian imagines the flowing river again, but this time going in reverse. The energy exits his arm, and the pain is gone.

"Okay, now do that for every single part of your body."

I have to go through that hell multiple times? Fuck being a Revenant

Adrian decides to just get it over with instead of prolonging his suffering.

He first forces the energy into his left arm, then his right foot, then his left foot, and finally, his brain.

The process felt like pure torture to Adrian.

"I did it. Now what?"

"The painful part is over. Now you have to circulate it everywhere at once, like blood."

Adrian imagines his core as a beating heart, circulating spirit energy into every part of his body.

No pain is felt. Instead, his body feels like it's at peace.

"What exactly did we do?" Adrian asks.

"We opened up your body's energy pathways. Your body now has a constant flow of spirit energy, making it stronger. Now, let's move on to the next part: actual usage of spirit energy."

Michael holds up his bat. "Punch the bat."

"Why?"

"Just fucking do it."

Adrian punches the bat. Nothing happens; the bat doesn’t move an inch.

"Now flow a ton of energy into your arm and punch it again."

Adrian flows as much energy as he can into his arm before taking another swing at the bat.

Thunk!

A strong punch shakes the bat to its very core.

"Good. Now, this time, force the energy into your arm and do it."

Adrian forces all the energy he can into his arm. It feels like it’s about to explode. He throws a punch.

The bat is thrown across the room. Adrian's arm feels like it's on fire, and it goes limp—he can’t move it.

"That’s called a Surge Punch. It has incredible offense, but it has the drawback of fucking up your arm for a bit."

Adrian’s arm returns to normal after a few seconds.

"Flowing energy into any part makes it stronger, so it's also useful for defense. Let's try it now. I’m going to punch you. Put energy into the place I’m punching to protect it."

Michael leans back and throws a jab at Adrian’s face.

In a panic, Adrian flows all the energy he can into his face as he braces for the punch.

It lands. Adrian barely feels it.

Michael grins. "That was the punching power of a normal person. Don’t even think about trying to block a Revenant with your face."

"For using your power, just focus your mind and energy on doing that thing."

"At Class 2, you’ll be able to infuse objects with energy, and your control will deepen as you move up the ranks. That’s it. Training’s done."

Adrian sighs in relief, his body still aching from the intense session. Fuck being a Revenant.