On the same Monday night, somewhere in the western outskirts of the city, Dexter had just finished his hour-long jeepney ride from the university.

His rented room was only a quarter of the way, but there was a matter of great importance to his clan's survival that he had to attend to personally.

Beneath his identity as a university student, he was, in fact, a legacy ascendant, albeit of a declining lineage.

As he walked toward a small warehouse quite far from the main road, Dexter thought about his classmate, Jay, who had always been strange in the past and had become even stranger recently.

The classmate in question had always seemed to belong to another world.

Sure, the former might have seemed approachable and casual on the surface, but Dexter always felt that there was something else behind such qualities.

To put it in words, it was like a human being who didn't care about the lives of ants.

It wouldn’t be quite right to call it disdain. It was more like the sense of detachment typical of an outsider.

This quality of his classmate had become even more prevalent since more than a month ago.

In the past, Dexter could at least sense that the man was more present in the moment.

Now, he could barely even see the man after class hours, as if there was somewhere else his classmate would rather be instead of the campus.

It could have just been his classmate’s rented room, but the latter had lived close to the university all this time yet this transition only occurred recently.

This change piqued his interest so much that he even requested some of his clan members to perform a minor investigation to determine the supposed uniqueness within his classmate

Needless to say, they found nothing noteworthy. Otherwise, he wouldn't still be wondering about the matter until now.

It wasn't that they were somehow obstructed in their investigation. It was that there seemed to be no metaphysical influence of some sort surrounding his classmate.

Sure, the man had taken to loitering around commercial centers, but there seemed to be nothing else beyond that.

There were no metaphysical fluctuations emanating from the man himself or his immediate vicinity.

That was all they could observe at the time, and Dexter was quite reluctant to bother his clansmen with this matter again just because of sheer curiosity.

If there had been no pressing matters that concerned his clan, Dexter would have delved deeper into this matter.

However, he neither had the time nor the mental resources at the moment.

He had something far more important on his mind, something that was beyond himself.

Along with the pressure of academic responsibilities, Dexter could only reluctantly let the matter rest in the back of his mind.

Alas, if he had the leisure to uncover his strange classmate’s secrets, many unfortunate events in the future could have been avoided.

-

It was Tuesday morning, in Jay’s room.

Jay and Sorrow were about to have their scheduled meeting.

They would discuss yesterday’s events to fine tune some minor details in their arrangement.

To be fair, Sorrow could appear at any time of day, as long as it sensed a corresponding emotion within Jay that would serve as a signal.

However, there was no certainty that Jay could control his emotions to such a degree, let alone in the world out there where anything could happen.

It was quite likely that Jay would send the signal at the wrong time and place, potentially presenting a host of problems.

That was why they also had to specify other parameters, such as Jay waking up, to have a safer and more accurate distinction.

As for how to determine this exact moment, it wasn’t that Sorrow could precisely determine the time of day.

It was that there was a clear difference in the mental and emotional states between a sleeping person and an awakened one.

This was an interesting matter in itself, but Sorrow couldn’t determine why it was so, thus they could only put this thought in the back of their minds for now.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

“Hello there, Sorrow. Anything interesting about yesterday’s buffet?”

“Really? I wonder how different it could be.”

There seemed to be a huge flavor difference in yesterday’s meals compared to the ones at the cemetery.

“Which one do you prefer? The cemetery or the campus?”

“Oh, how greedy of you. Unfortunately, I don’t have the ability to clone myself. Not for now at least.”

The flavor was different, but there wasn’t any considerable difference in quality.

Of course, it could’ve been because of their set criteria regarding the types of people to target.

However, he didn’t dare to relax the requirements in favor of faster progression, as he felt that caution should always take precedence in metaphysical matters, considering his meager knowledge in that field.

“Yeah. It seems like our initiative has been successful so far.”

“Other flavors? Hmm...”

Now that he thought about it, it wasn’t really practical to only focus on cemeteries for the source of potential targets.

As there weren’t any qualitative difference between the extracted negative emotions from different locations, they didn’t have to confine themselves to the seemingly most effective option.

Although it might take them longer to reach their quota if they went to another location, it would be good for his mental health at least.

As practical as it was, he probably wouldn’t feel great if he went to cemeteries every weekend for months on end.

The busy period at the university also wouldn't last for a long time, which removed its qualifications as a long-term option.

“How about we only go to cemeteries once a month? We could go to other public places for the rest.”

“Alright. It’s settled then.”

“By the way, can you sense your improvement after every meal?”

“Oh, okay. It’s actually the same for me too. It would’ve been nice if we can quantify it, though.”

Although he could sense the minute improvements in his metaphysical attributes, there was still no clear indicator for the threshold of the next qualitative improvement.

It was like going somewhere far without knowing the exact destination, only the general direction.

He would likely be fine for a while, but there might come a time when he eventually lost his enthusiasm, as the end was nowhere in sight even after all the effort he put in.

Perhaps this was a long-standing issue among veteran ascendants like Mr. Arthas.

It might not be as prevalent at his level of development, but he should try to address this matter while it was still far away.

If he ever stagnated in cultivating his ability, he could try to delve into other metaphysical fields like artisanal occupations.

He would have to ask Mr. Arthas about this matter the next time they meet.

For now, he would have to keep this matter in the back of his mind, as he currently had no immediate access to metaphysical knowledge in the absence of the elders.

“So I guess that’s it for the meeting. We’ll continue with this arrangement for now, if that’s fine with you.”

“Good, good. Well then, it’s time to start the day.”

-

Four days ago, Arthas had to leave abruptly due to pressing matters, leaving Jay alone in the drinking establishment.

Arthas and Vergil had received information from the national headquarters that some of their operatives from different areas had gone missing during their shifts.

So far, there have been no leads as to what might have caused their disappearance, even with the existence of Kawal’s prized artifact.

The national headquarters promptly requested the presence of veteran ascendants specializing in information and divination to assist with the investigation.

The summoning request issued by the headquarters was sent through metaphysical means directly to its intended recipients, to avoid any potential information leaks.

That was why Vergil had to wait for Arthas to confirm the matter, as the latter was the one with the inherent capability for telepathic transmission, as well as being the intended recipient of the request.

The transcendents of their organization were, unfortunately, busy with their own responsibilities.

Even the handling of Kawal’s artifact was delegated to their trusted subordinates.

They were also in the limelight within their country’s ascendant society.

Any significant move on their part would likely be noticed by several major factions, which they would rather avoid, as it might allow the enemy in the dark to prepare in advance.

For now, they could only rely on other senior members of the organization to handle the matter discreetly.

The assistance of the transcendents would only be needed for the swift resolution of the problem after every factor had been considered.

Of course, they might still be forced to make a move prematurely, but only if things went horribly wrong, which wasn’t likely considering the high collective strength of the organization even without their presence.

“Someone actually dared? That’s just courting death. They don’t even know what they’ve provoked.”

Vergil couldn’t fathom a situation where someone dared to harm a member of Kawal, not to mention that it was even during their shifts.

Of course, this assurance wasn’t merely based on arrogance. The four transcendents in their organization weren’t just for show.

“Not necessarily. The national headquarters even went out of their way to send a quick message in a very discreet manner. The perpetrators, whoever they might be, must have an interesting background to warrant such a reaction from them.”

“Have they identified the perpetrators, though? I’m sure their background won’t matter as long as we have the moral high ground. Our transcendents certainly wouldn’t let them take advantage of us.”

“That’s the issue. Even the organization’s artifact is clueless about their origin, hence the interesting background I spoke about.”

“Is that so? Then I guess they’re summoning you to the headquarters immediately? This seems like something up your alley.”

“Yes. That was the main content of their urgent message. Though, I don’t think I could provide any assistance when even the artifact failed to get anything.”

Arthas wasn’t entirely certain on how he should proceed with the upcoming investigation.

The prized artifact of the organization wasn’t your ordinary trinket.

It was jointly powered by four transcendents, each providing their own advantages to the already-powerful device.

Although it was only operated by their subordinates at the moment, its capabilities were still somewhat equivalent to that of a true transcendent.

Even if he was already considered a half-step transcendent, Arthas still wasn’t confident that he could outperform such a powerful artifact.

“Now you’re just underselling yourself. So, when are we going to the main headquarters?”

Needless to say, a group of ordinary ascendants needing to borrow a transcendent artifact to perform a specific task was quite different from a half-step transcendent who happened to specialize in that same task.

Perhaps the assistance of powerful specialized ascendants, like Arthas, could very well tip the scales in their favor by providing leads that the artifact might have missed.

“Preferably the day after tomorrow, as I still have matters to arrange at the local headquarters. Also, you still need time to recalibrate the energy convergence array and the Amplification Orb for long-distance teleportation.”

“What? I thought we were going by plane…”

“Unfortunately for you, the main headquarters specifically asked for your assistance in this matter. We can’t afford to have our movements traced right now. You understand, right?”

“Do I even have the right to refuse? By the way, what about your student? This new task of yours seems like it would take quite a while.”

“He’s already doing fine. I don’t think he needs our assistance for now. Not for a while, at least.”

“Yeah, seems that way. Well, I better get a move on. These things aren’t going to recalibrate themselves.”