~~~Lee~~~

Lee's relief at escaping from Wilson was short-lived because Martin was waiting for him upstairs. A perfect ambush that Lee walked right into. Willingly.

"Ah, yes. You're right on time, Lee. Come along."

"Okay..." Lee trudged after him, but did so while sticking the sword master in a slowing bubble. It was tricky to catch him while he was walking, but practice makes perfect. Lee stayed behind him, waiting to see if the man would notice...

Martin continued without missing a step when time resumed for him. But he smiled. "Thank you, Lee. Feeling it for myself was most enlightening."

What followed was a grueling torture session where Martin chased Lee around the entire courtyard and forced him to use every single skill at his disposal. That included a Mana Beam, which Lee fired into the sky to take down some kind of sword ghost that kept sending magic blades after him.

He was drenched in sweat and gasping for breath when Martin finally stopped.

It was worth it.

Training Complete.

+10 All Base Attributes

Lee ignored the boos from the children, who had to stop throwing things at him, and bowed to Martin, still panting heavily. "Th... thank... you... for... the... instruction."

Martin bowed back, and the bastard wasn't even sweating. "Thank you for allowing this one to share his knowledge."

Lee grabbed a shower while going over the other gains he'd made, aside from the attributes. Two class levels, four rune creation levels, five levels in Temporal Shift, one in soul storage, and one in soul infusion. That sadistic monster was a goddamn genius.

Soul Infusion has reached the Level 25 Threshold. Upgrade Available. No Evolution Available.

Soul Infusion upgrading to Level 25 (Intermediate)

Lee felt the shift from the skill reaching the new rank. Nothing massive, but it had definitely just increased what he'd be able to do with weaker materials. Of course, that would require more soul and, thereby, more of his total rune capacity, but it was still good.

It might even be enough to make an invisibility rune on one of his own plates...

Maria helped ease the aches after that. Not with healing, but with a home-cooked family dinner. The family had hosted regular sleepovers and the like, a way to help those children and families who'd lost more than most. Tonight was the rare night where it was just them.

Lee sat quietly while Maria said grace. Following which, he ate quietly and just enjoyed the rambunctious retellings of both children's days, including tales of how they'd nailed him more than once during his training session.

The glee and joy on their faces fed a warm glow in Lee's chest as he watched their little faces light up with each new exclamation and story. It fed him better than the food. It restored him in a way no healing or regeneration ever could.

After dinner, they both insisted he join them for the bedtime story when Alejandro left to make his rounds. Lee wouldn't have missed it for the world. He gave them and the story every bit of his attention. No rune theory. No time bubbles. Nothing.

Maria was a masterful storyteller. Even if it was in Spanish, and even though Lee only caught a few words here and there. The children remained enthralled throughout all of it, eventually drifting slowly to sleep as the tale wound down.

When it was over, he stood quietly beside Maria as she gazed down at the sleeping children.

The love he felt in her soul as she watched them sleep was something Lee had never felt before meeting her. Or something he'd forgotten... It was the warmest blanket on a cold night. A strong hug from the person you trust most in the entire world. A light that dispelled even the darkest of shadows.

"Thank you, Maria," he whispered. "Thank you for taking me into your family." He wasn't sure who he would be without them. Who he might have turned into without their presence here. Their support. Their love.

He wasn't sure he would have survived.

"I no take you in, Lee," Maria whispered back. "You only find your way home."

Lee laughed once through his nose and swallowed back the lump in his throat. "I will keep them safe, Maria. No matter what. I'll burn this entire world to the ground if I have..."

Maria patted his arm and then pulled, leading him out of the room. "Burn world is last resort, yes? We try other things first."

"Yes," Lee said. "A last resort."

He went back to his apartment feeling energized and more alive than ever, but with a dark shadow looming in the back of his mind. All of their lives here teetered on the narrowest knife-edge. One slip, and it would all end.

That was a horrifying vision.

Lee dove into his soul storage and got back to work. He reorganized, dumping rune ideas that hadn't panned out, shelving those that still showed promise, and filling as much of his storage as he could with charged runes. He would be ready.

He saved ones he knew would work and work the way he needed them to. Lee made sure he was as ready as he could be. For anything. Then he got to work making new runes.

The threats to his family only grew more deadly every day. He needed to ensure that his own power never lagged. Because that would cost him more than he was ever willing to pay.

His Create Plate skill needed more levels, but Lee tested an idea he'd gotten while Martin tortured him earlier.

He held the skill back as much as he could from actually creating the plate while forcing every drop of mana he could to condense into it. He hadn't truly pushed the limits of the skill since his evolution, and he could work with far more mana now.

During the process, Lee focused not on making the strongest plate he could but on his runes. He thought of how it felt when his soul and liquid mana fused into something. How the energies would bind with an item. How they would flow once there.

The skill finally finished and left him with a palm-sized disc made of... something. It was white... The surface was silky smooth, and the entire thing felt far heavier than it looked like it should be.

He tested it with some trepidation.

Lee's smile grew alongside the rune on his new plate. It worked!

It was good enough for an invisibility rune. Good enough for more than that.

He made a dozen more identical plates, then stuck modified runes of invisibility on a couple of them. They would use slightly less power since he needed them to cover a smaller area.

On two more, he crafted a rune that would replicate the first, but instead of creating an area of invisibility, these would create a shield. A force field. They would burn out fast if anything tried to cross the boundary... too fast. But even a second might matter.

Most of the kids couldn't trigger runes, so he designed them to trigger automatically if they detected a surge of mana nearby. It would definitely trigger if they were too close to Lee when he fired off a Mana Beam, but it was the best he could do.

They would have a shield that would pop up around them, while another would also hide them from sight. Hopefully, when they needed it most.

He made two sets. Two small plates that could go on a belt...

Lee froze when he saw a small form sit up abruptly in an apartment on the far side of Three. He could feel the fear radiating from the child through the soul-link and knew she was screaming... More eyes opened in the room she shared with half a dozen other kids.

The terror rose fast and thick into the night.

Including from the adult, who scrambled out of bed and sprinted into the room. Lee watched the silent drama play out in his Mana Mind as the parent... or guardian comforted the child, holding her in his arms and rocking gently.

Lee felt the harsh fear dim and fade under the affection. But not completely. Not even when sleep took them once again...

He watched over them the whole time.

Then he looked at the plates he'd been making. It wasn't enough. He couldn't make enough of them. Even if he could make enough, it wouldn't matter. These trinkets wouldn't protect them from any real threat...

He was overreacting. Three would protect the kids better than any rune. He had to count on the building. He could count on it.

His runes would do more good if he made them for the adults. For the parents. For the people fighting back against the monsters that came creeping in the dark.

Lee shifted time around himself and stared out at the frozen world as his fingers trembled and his eyes burned. He didn't see his apartment; instead, he saw a nightmare of shadows and horror as it threatened everything Lee cared about.

They'd beaten it. Martin had saved them. Saved everyone.

It had been so close. Too close. Lee had been too weak. Three might not have been able to stop that thing fast enough... If Martin hadn't been there...

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Time resumed its normal flow, and Lee sank to his butt on the floor, pulling a core from the table as he did so.

Shadowstride (Epic)

Alejandro had yet to find anyone with the shadow aspect. Lee wasn't sure if it would matter if he had. What could one person do if another attack came from that darkness?

I could do something.

Lee stared at the core as he turned it over and over in his fingers. He didn't know what it would turn into if he adapted it. The skill might change completely. Or it might still let him go into the shadows... He wasn't sure which option terrified him more.

His hand shook, and the core slipped free, tumbling to the floor.

Lee looked at and through the core, his gaze seeing only the glowing crystal while his mind saw the shining tapestry of power that filled the floor. I wish you could learn this skill, Three. You would be able to...

The core dissolved into the floor.

What...

He barely had time to comprehend what he'd just seen when Three... changed. For a single instant, Three became... darkness. A flash where every color became its opposite. Like a negative of a photo...

...the hell!

As fast as it happened. It was over. No sound or vibration. Just that single instant of... something. Three? No one had even noticed, except maybe the man now frozen in the stairwell...

It was Jackson. He'd come back after all. Terrible timing, man.

Despite the fear he could feel coming from Jackson, the man eventually continued up the stairs, coming to a stop in front of Lee's door and taking up his post.

Lee just sat in silence as he digested what had happened. Three had learned a skill... that had to be what happened, right? What other explanation was there? Especially with that flash...

He was equal parts relieved and terrified. Now he couldn't learn the skill even if he wanted to. But the building had learned it... could Three drag everyone inside it into the dark now? Would it?

Please don't.

More important than any of that, could Three always learn skills? What if he'd given Three the time skill? Or the arcane veil? Or even the beastmaster. Would the building have been able to use those?

It was a long shot, but he had to try. Three, status?

Nothing happened.

Three still opened his front door on request... so that was working. Jackson flinched, but only slightly, as he turned. His eyes glowed in the dark like a cat's as he said, "Lee? Thought you would be asleep..."

"Jackson, I'm glad you came back. Do you have any skill shards on you?" Lee asked, ignoring the glowing eyes.

The man stepped inside, frowning. "Any... skill? Um, no?" He hesitated. "Should I go ask..."

Lee waved him off, forgetting about the darkness as he did so. "Don't bother. It can wait."

Jackson seemed to have no trouble seeing despite the darkness, and he nodded before turning away. "Okay. Well, I'll be..."

"Thank you," Lee said before the man could leave. "For showing up. And I don't just mean tonight."

"I..." Jackson sighed. "Hiding away won't help anyone... not even me. Might as well die doing something useful." He was afraid, but almost... resigned to his fate.

Lee pushed a floating disc toward the man. "Have a seat."

Jackson glanced back at the open door. "I should really..."

"You can guard me just as well in here, right? Or... hey, if you want to be alone, feel free to take that seat with you. No reason you have to stand there all night."

"I mean, we're not supposed to sit down on the job..."

"You know you're only here because Alejandro is overly paranoid, right? Not only are we inside Three, but I can probably see anything coming before you do... and probably kill it easier than you... Um, no offense?"

Jackson laughed, a spark of humor lighting up in his rather gloomy soul as he plopped onto the floating disc. "We've all mostly figured that part out. The killing part, that is. As for paranoia... you do seem to attract just a bit more attention from the monsters than the rest of us."

"Fair. But I'm still standing, and all those monsters aren't." Though he hadn't survived without help... a rather large amount of help at times.

Then he had to ask the question burning a hole in his mind. "Are you immortal?"

Jackson laughed again, but this time there was no mirth in the sound or his soul. It trailed off into a frown. "Alejandro didn't tell you?"

"He said you were a good man. Trustworthy. And hard to kill, but that the details were yours to keep or share."

"I'm a good..." Jackson trailed off, a jumble of emotions swirling through him. "He saved my life, you know? During the hidden invasion." His voice took on an almost wistful tone as he murmured, "It would have been a peaceful ending..."

"Wait, are you really an immortal!? Like you've been alive for thousands of years, and now you're just hoping to finally die?"

"Seriously?" Jackson stared at him like he was an idiot.

Lee looked at the floor, feeling oddly... disappointed. "What? It would have been really cool... and a little sad, I guess."

"I don't want to die," Jackson said, and Lee's head popped up. "I'm only twenty-five years old! Dude, you actually thought..."

"Come on! The world is magic! Who's to say what's possible anymore?"

Jackson rolled his eyes. "You really are special... and no, I have a class called undying child with a single class skill. If I'm going to die, then I am instead restored to perfect health."

"I'm not that special... Hey!" He glared at Jackson, but his heart wasn't in it. "That sounds kind of immortal to..."

"It has limited charges," Jackson said, cutting him off. "I'm not immortal."

"Well... that's still pretty fucking awesome!"

Jackson slumped in his seat. "Yeah. Awesome."

Lee felt the sensations in Jackson's soul. A lot of the same feelings he'd had himself more than once. Then he remembered Jackson's head tumbling through the air... "Oh. How many times... have you... not died?"

"I don't even know anymore," Jackson whispered. "But I remember them all."

"Shit," Lee said. "I doubt it helps... but I've been... I think I might have died once. I still see that darkness sometimes... dragging me down into the void... It was so cold."

Lee's voice was a whisper when he trailed off, and Jackson shivered. Lee shook himself and stood up, trying to banish the memory as he started pacing. "Sorry, I keep forgetting my soul is broadcasting like that. You don't have to stay in here. The door will block..."

"I'm fine," Jackson said, still sitting, but his head following Lee's figure back and forth. "Was that from... Mexico?"

"Were you around back then?" Lee asked.

"No, but I heard the stories," Jackson said. "About Mexico... and... your soul... attack?"

"You accepted the soul-link. Thanks for that, by the way."

Jackson's soul felt... bleak as he stared off into space. "I was curious if my skill would still... or if it would kill me... once and for all."

"Oh. I don't recommend actually dying," Lee said. "Whatever happened to me... It sucked so much ass."

"I noticed," Jackson whispered. "I've never felt that before. My skill... I guess it restores me before that point... but it still hurts."

Jackson placed a hand on his armor-covered stomach. "That first night... I got eaten alive by coyotes."

"Oof," Lee said. "I got eaten and slightly digested by a giant frog."

"Coyotes ripped out my guts and ate them."

"Bradley got eaten by a snake."

"Four times."

"I got blown up."

"Eaten. Alive. Four times."

"I had a skeleton inside my soul."

Jackson stared at him.

"What? I thought we were competing for who has the most traumatic experiences?"

"A skeleton in your soul? I've heard some whispers about a skeleton, but no one will tell me anything. They all get this haunted look..."

"Oh, it was trying to catch my brother. Cut a hole in our soul. It got worse when my brother then used our soul to kill the thing. Then a bunch of people here helped me patch the hole. With the soul-link."

Jackson tilted his head and just stared for a bit. "Have I... met your brother?"

"Nah," Lee said, somewhat enjoying the absolute confusion coming from Jackson's soul. It was better than the depression. He pointed. "Stanley is way off that way somewhere."

There were a few more seconds of confusion as Jackson stared at him. "Your brother's name is Stanley?"

"Yep."

"Your name is Lee."

"Yep."

"Your parents named one kid Lee and another Stanley."

"We're twins!"

Jackson dragged both hands slowly over his face. "Didn't someone mention brain damage after you got blown up?"

"Yeah, but I'm all better now."

"Are you sure?"

"Ummm..." Lee tilted his head. "Probably? I even got a built in helmet out of the deal!"

Jackson finally smiled. Then he chuckled and shook his head. "What the hell happened to us? How is this reality now?"

"Hey! I almost forgot! I also got turned into an old man when I created Three!"

Jackson scoffed. "Yeah, but you got a magic building out of it, so that doesn't count."

Lee had to agree. "Yeah, Three is pretty awesome."

"I'm guessing you have the same naming sense as your parents?"

"You're just jealous that I have a magic building and you don't," Lee said with a grin. The smile faded as a terrible thought occurred to him. "You said your immortality is a skill? Not your class?"

"It's my only class skill. I just get more charges at rank up... so far."

"You only have one skill!?"

"One class skill. I also have a night vision skill... why are you looking at me like that?"

Lee looked away. "Oh, nothing! I mean... sorry. I just briefly contemplated the value of murdering you for the skill shard... That's all."

Jackson laughed, drawing Lee's gaze back. "It won't work. You would need the class, too."

"Hey, I only... considered it. But... what's the skill? If you don't mind me asking?"

"Like I said, if I'm going to die, then it restores me. I'm up to eight charges every twenty-four hours now, but the best part was the last rank up. Now I can choose to trigger the skill instead of waiting to die." He got that haunted look again. "Really wish I'd had that option from the beginning..."

Lee didn't press for details. He could imagine... "So every day you have eight instant full heals? That's still awesome!"

"Awesome enough to kill me for it?"

"I mean... it's tempting, sure... really tempting. But without a guarantee of getting it... I'd say it's better to give you more skills! You could be an absolute powerhouse! So... why don't you have more skills?"

Jackson grimaced. "Because I don't have mana."

"I can see it..."

"Any skill I adapt burns my life instead of mana."

"But you said you had night vision?"

"Yeah, and it burns my eyes. Just so happens that the regeneration buff from your building makes up for the damage."

"Oh... that is fantastic!"

Jackson finally stood up, his soul suddenly nervous for some reason. "It... it is?"

"Yes! You might be the key to figuring out healing runes!"