As Kara roamed the streets, dodging ambushes and people that might prove troublesome, a particularly interesting sound entered her Zone Of Control.

She focused on her senses, her other senses, more. One younger man was attempting to escape the pursuit of two larger men. They were a couple of blocks away, and would soon intersect her path. She had avoided a couple of these occurrences, and was about to do the same for this one, but strangely, a part of her propelled her forward.

The vibrations that rippled from that young man-- they seemed familiar somehow.

The kid turned the corner, the men gaining distance on him. He was strange looking, with a leather coat many sizes too large for him. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but he seemed familiar. She attempted to use Grasping Eyes on him, but the skill failed.

Not only did it fail, but it also seemed to activate some buff, as his movements became noticeably smoother.

Her notes could not identify him, either. They bounced off, and the ones that attempted to force their way inside sizzled out as they clashed with him. She frowned, folding her arms as he neared. He was part of the Anima faction, while those behind him were Animus, being barely in level 50s.

“How fortunate of you to meet me, little rat. Wait here,” she told him as he wheezed by her. She was interested. Something about him was familiar, but she could not place her finger on the memory. Maybe in a different country? A soldier?

Kara never did pay attention to those.

The kid, not realizing how generous she was being, did not wait behind her. She shook her head and turned towards the other group marching towards her. They were two old men, dirty and not entirely pleasant on the eye. A couple of thugs who sneaked in from the First District for better loot and prettier women, no doubt.

Upon seeing her, a wide grin spread on their face. One of them opened his mouth, revealing a set of mostly broken teeth. Kara didn't need a functioning nose to tell they probably smelled of dirt and muck.

“We’ll take you instead!” he yelled, their target momentarily switching to her.

Kara curled her lips. She raised her cane high up in the air, wondering which Source she should tap into.

Kinetic and Gravitational Energies were readily available to her, both in the movement of the rain and in its descent for the later.

Kara settled for Gravitational.

Every core skill required Equanimity to be spent. The greater the effects, the greater the Equanimity cost. 

Kara used the Fourth Movement, Amplification. 

The rain, which was already dropping in buckets, began to drop with increased strength in a circular manner. That sort of Source manipulation was easy and pretty cost-effective, but landing it was difficult as there was a few seconds delay. Using Sources from far away required a build-up time for all the Energy to gather, and anyone above level 100 should have some type of skill that allows them to see how Life Force or Energy moved.

It didn’t matter for this case, as the two men cluelessly charged ahead, not even running at an angle to dodge any potential projectiles. One moment they had a smirk on their faces, and the second they had those same repulsive faces on the floor, the rain crashing on top of their like tiny rocks.

Kara ended the channeling upon them losing consciousness. There was no point in killing them.

She turned one shoulder towards the kid. He had not stopped running. She raised her cane toward him, casting the same skill a few meters ahead of him.

It wouldn’t knock him out, but it should keep him from running. The kid, however, suddenly changed course as he neared the circle.

Kara raised an eyebrow. He must also have Sixth Sense or a way to see Energy. She cast the spell two more times, both being dodged moments before the barrage of rain went down. She stared wordlessly for a couple of seconds, utterly baffled. The further he got away, the more Energy the spells required, yet she still stared without action.

This elusive feeling… Suddenly, something in her ripped. 

It was him--the same one. He got away once, and but he wouldn’t get away twice. She had her pride.

 A field of gravity instantly appeared straight above the Rover. The rain fell like a blanket, yanked from the air, splashing and pressing him against the ground. She lowered the vertical height of the gravitational field, as to not have the rain puncture his brain, but held the pressure as she slowly walked towards him.

The cost was a few hundred points of Energy more in addition to the Equanimity, but it was the only way to keep him alive. Her Notes--she couldn't sing anymore. She needed a break, and until then she'll keep him constrained.

She needed to know what was special about him.

A mouthful of blood slipped through her nose and mouth. The blood mixed in with the rain, spreading over her black coat. Her Flesh Mender had momentarily stopped working. Even when she had the add-ons for it, she hadn’t gotten the hang of maintaining five simultaneous skills.

“What a pain...you…” Kara said, her words fading as the kid struggled to his feet. He limped for a few steps, fell, got up, fell again, and finally crawled out of the gravity zone.

Kara stopped in her feet, her eyes wide open. That was not supposed to happen. No level 20 should be capable of doing that.

She used Grasping Eyes again. It was level 20, and there was no skill that could alter that.

She swallowed the rest of the blood as the kid exited her range. She turned around. “That’s fine,” she said, her fists clenched tight. “He’s just a kid. Nothing of importance.”  Tapping her cane on the broken concrete, Kara nodded. “He’s a level 20, but not a kid. No, he’s a Rover. A rat in human disguise. Probably some time of fiend creature. Still level 20, though. Probably some type of special creature. Wouldn’t it be embarrassing to get worked up over that? Taking my frustrations on a little sad thing because I’m frustrated?”

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Letting out a deep breath, Kara was glad she took a moment to think things over.

She then turned around, pumping Life Force into her body. Using Puppeteer, she hurled her body towards him.

It made her feel better-- to somehow admit to her flaws, yet not correct them anyway.

The rain smashed, striking her iris, but she did not blink. She didn’t need too.

He twisted around, tossing a rock towards her.

She slapped it aside with the back of her hand. It hurt her pride more than the damage it did to her hand, that she had fallen low enough to hunt things of this caliber. It, of course, shattered her hand to pieces, but that was just her body. It would heal in seconds.

She swung her cane diagonally, rotating the rest of her body with the swing of her backhand.

Instead of retreating, he wisely stood his ground. He had two knives--he needed to get close, and there was no escaping Kara. It seemed he had wanted to block with one and stab with the other, but once he saw the speed and strength behind the cane, he immediately brought both knives together to receive it.

It still wasn’t enough--the difference was far too large. He buckled as the enforced wood met his steel, nearly crushing his wrists from the strength. It would have if he had met her strike head-on, but for a level 20, he was certainly proficient. He had received the cane at an angle, and instead of pushing back, he pushed to the side, redirecting the blow instead of taking the full brunt of it.

Once the cane bounced off, Kara felt one knife beginning to leave contact with the cane.

That was a mistake. He should have kicked. It wouldn’t have worked, but it was better than that. He obviously did not have experience fighting against people a hundred levels higher than him.

The cane, even though it would have been very difficult to swing from the side, was made wholly irrelevant by the sheer difference in parameters.

She pushed, immediately forcing the knife that was going to bite her to return to guard. This time, not being able to deflect it, the rat jumped back to escape the damage, but with the sheer strength of Kara’s swing he flew half a dozen meters into the air.

Bummer. Anyone else wouldn’t have guarded with both knives the second time, but that rat was strangely, and rightfully, paranoid against her unnatural strength.

She dashed after him, aiming to end it when he was in the air. Every movement costed her precious Life Force.

Instead of rat, Kara should have called him a monkey. He spun in the air, doing a backflip, and returning upright with a knife flying straight towards Kara.

He was desperate. Just like last time, an inadequate amount of Life Force was inserted in the knife and his body, but it mattered little. He knew he would die if that attack did not work.

Kara sprinted on, ignoring it.

 She reached forward, using Deviation, and redirected the tip towards the side. It required more Equanimity and Energy because of the Life Force enchanting the blade, but it was a minuscule amount compared to her power.

She brought her cane up, preparing for a piercing attack. It probably wouldn’t kill him--she wanted to ask him a couple of questions.

Time Metaphorize Dodge Activated.

Time slowed to a crawl, and all Kara could do was widen her eyes. They snapped from side to side, looking.

She was in critical danger, but how? Who? No one was in the near vicinity--she did not turn off her Siren’s Web, and Sixth Sense would have made bugs eat the inside of her skin if they had someone gotten by.

Kara looked to the front, the knife inches away from her face.

Why was that there? It should have moved by now. Even if his Life Force was resistant--her Energy should have overpowered it.

Should she let it strike her? At this distance, it would take more Energy to repair the wounds that would be caused by her dodging it then if it would have pierced her head.

But if that was the case, why did Time Metaphorize Dodge activate? It was an Epic rank, activating whenever critical damage was about to occur. The skill was too reliable to activate on misinterpreted grounds.

Having little time to think any longer, Kara used an extra burst of Kinetic Energy to push her head to the side. The knife was too close, however. It slid across her cheeks, cutting until the bottom of her ears.

Time resumed at its normal speed.

Her fragile spine snapped from the abrupt movement, forcing her to stop moving mid lung. A large amount of Life Force was immediately converted towards healing it, preventing the injury from escalating. It would be a nightmare if the bones got into her blood circulations. 

The rat landed on his feet, one knife up in guard. He stared at her for a few seconds. Now that Kara stopped moving, he probably began to wonder whether to retreat or to attack.

Things began to become actually dangerous for Kara. She expanded a lot more Energy than she would have expected to. She was sub-thousand, and for her that was a red area. It was embarrassing, but with the break in her neck subduing him was not an option.

She would have cut down on her losses and blasted him if he moved forward, but after a few hesitating steps backward, the child booked it in the other way. He kept glancing behind him until he fully rounded the building.

Kara had not moved. The rain pattered around her, drenching her completely. Her hair, immaculately styled, now fell around her in loose ends, sticking to her cheeks as it bled.

There was a rhythm in how the droplets fell on the roofs, how it went down the sides of her nose and dripped from her chin. It caught her attention.

She looked up, seeing each drop of rain land on her eye. Like most things, all she could feel was a dull sensation of being poked. 

She leaned on her cane with both hands for a minute, or maybe a dozen, she couldn’t tell, and slowly and delicately placing the bones back together. It wasn’t just her spine, but large amounts of muscle, veins, and bone on her left side.

Kara paused.

Her cheeks did not heal. Even as Life Force attempted to close the wound, blood trickled out without a hindrance.

She glanced at her palm, the one she had defended herself with from that rock. Whatever Life Force she had allocated there had vanished.

It was bashed in as if struck by a meteorite, leaving behind a crater. The bones at the end of her fingertips stuck out from the impact, piercing through the skin.

It felt colder than usual. Usually, she was numb to temperature, but now she felt her body weigh heavier, become more cumbersome with its aches.

Moving it was difficult. It always was, but this time it was even more arduous. She almost didn’t have it in her to act as if she was walking, and to simply let her body drop limp. Tossing it with Kinetic Energy was much easier.

She stuck with it, though. She moved the leg forward, supporting it with Kinetic Energy at the sides, and then moved the opposite shoulder forward. The other leg was next, followed by its opposite arm. Eventually, the skill’s commands, of keeping her body upright, of making sure to always have Energy at the side in case a hard wind blows, was back processed by her brain. That was how the Puppeteer skill worked. It was how she was able to move her corpse. 

She stepped past the two unconscious men, pausing. She whacked one of them with the end of her cane, denting his head. She pulled it up into the air, ready to do the same for the other, but gave up on it when she realized it didn’t make that withering feeling at the pits of her stomach fade away.

The great and indomitable Kara had lost to a level 20. She needed someplace where she can think things over.