Mathew

Pressed down by a thousand pounds of rock, Mathews' focus wavered. It seemed as though there was a difference between willpower and willpower. His drive to keep going wavered as his body anguished. Each repetition of movement was at his limit. Engaging every muscle to lift the weight, he felt them bulge against the exoskeleton.

Slowly the weight rose. It took everything from his body, but the weight reached its apex. Mathew once again thought of Atlas carrying the world on his back. Of how the trial of carrying the burden didn't ever end. Refueling his body's stamina with conversion, he continued the cycle again. Making sure to exert a small amount of conversion at all times to repair torn muscles

With his prodigious reserves, there wasn't any need to stop. Like a machine, he kept the cycles going.

"Hey ya," Amber rapped her bone knuckles on the door frame. "Is now a good time?"

"Sure thing," Mathew squeezed out.

"You're moving pretty fast, don't cha think?"

"With my grower award from the transition and digestion magic to metabolize away fatigue, I'm a workout machine," Mathew said. "Future gains will never be as easy as getting them now."

Amber snorted, "Not what I'm talking about, an' you know it. I'm all about sheltering people here, but I don't get quite how you've integrated our latest guest. Let's say, I got questions."

Sighing, Mathew set down his weights on the improvised squat rack. "You've never been one to mince words. Don't start now."

"I kinda don't think I needed specific questions. More like what the hell?" Amber tilted her head.

A gentle sweep of mental attack to spy showed him that Amber was genuinely trusting and curious, but he was straining their young friendship.

"People will die. We are powerless to protect them. At least most of them." Mathew's eyes crinkled in concern. "If we gain power, we can save more. Clare has power; I want to borrow it."

"I didn't get all the details from the conversation I had with Clare, but you seem kinda casual about being a prostitute for the sake of power," Amber nodded to herself. "Would you stand by if it was someone else making your choices?"

That stopped him. His first thought was that he was glad he wasn't in the position he'd put his friends in.

"Damn, I'm sorry-" Mathew started.

"-No, no," Amber held her hand up. "I'm not trying to make you fold under. Or say sorry for a decision you mean to stand by. Just making sure you're taking care of yourself."

"Yeah, but..." He gathered his thoughts. "You guys are important too. Making my own decision doesn't mean I shouldn't care about you guys. Anyway, you said I seem casual about it. That's because I'm banking on my hope. Option 'A' is that I get strong enough to grant her human side enough growth so she can balance without sacrifices. If best doesn't turn out... What would you do to save someone else from insanity?"

"Plus, she's hot," Amber quirked an eyebrow at him, while contemplating what she'd do to keep him from going crazy.

"You're as bad as Ben," Mathew rolled his eyes, and tried not to blush at the stolen thoughts. "I'm not opposed to a relationship, or kids even, just in due time, you know?"

"Oh, what'd he say?" Amber's eyes lit up as she scented gossip.

"Nothing he said aloud. When I pick up information straight from someone's mind, I try to keep it to myself," Mathew shrugged. "He's got struggles just like we all do. And sometimes those struggles make strong opinions."

"Welp, if you are making your decision free as you can, I guess I'll leave it alone," Amber paused. "Mathew. You don't have to sacrifice for anyone."

"Thank you, and I know. That's why it matters." Getting back under the weight, Mathew stood and raised the burden on his shoulders.

Harper

"So why are you here?" Harper asked, processing the conversation Hint had shared with her.

Clare turned gracefully to look at her, "Why, I was invited. Though to be fully transparent, I had intended to seek an audience regardless. It is in my best interest to establish an alliance and for Mathew's Territory to have controlled borders."

Harper hardly listened as she struggled within herself. Letting go of the jar of sleeping powder hidden on her side of the countertop, she tried to keep her conflict hidden. It was made worse by how much of her magic she held within herself.

Keeping that fear inside was essential to being able to knock Clare out. On top of Hint being at full power, Harper wanted her tank as full as possible. Remembering Clare accidentally pulverizing a stone cup left little doubt about how seriously they all had to take Clare's strength.

Every move Clare made seemed to carry the intimidating presence of a predator out for blood.

"Allies then. Is that how you see us?" Harper asked.

"I'm sorry, but I was not sincerely looking at all of you," Clare dipped her head. "I sometimes forget how to treat every person as though they are important. Once upon a time, I was quite adept at the task."

Eerily Clare looked at her. Really looked at her for the first time. Harper suppressed a shiver and her urge to grab the alchemical weapon.

"Yes, I suppose I can see you as an ally," Clare's small smile spoke of pain. "And one day when I can trust myself, maybe a friend."

"You don't trust yourself?" Harper asked.

"No, and you should not either," Clare turned her eyes on Ben. "Speaking of, I can not help but notice the excellent quality of material in your fabric. I wondered who had killed off my lookout. Tell me, did you kill my child?"

Ben gulped, "I didn't kill any Blood Spider while getting the string for my net."

Grant's laugh cut through the moment. "Your children are monsters."

Seriously, Harper thought. Don't antagonize her!

"I suppose they would be," Clare locked eyes with Grant. No casual curiosity remained. "You would know about monsters, as an original, wouldn't you?"

"What's an original?" Harper asked.

"One of the humans who were awake most of the transition. They talked with the Overseers of our transitions. Those with the advantage of understanding everything before actually arriving." Clare gestured at Grant. "Those who were supposed to use their advantage to protect everyone. Not run away and leave the burden on the rest of us."

"Don't confuse me with those few blessed ones. My Overseer treated me as little more than a lab rat," Grant growled. "And make no mistake, I protect who I can."

"And who is on that list? Did you save Miss Harper here? Did this young man-" Clare gestured at Ben. "-need your saving?"

Grant balled his fists and ground his teeth. Harper had never seen him so upset, and they had several pointed conversations before. Was it an act?

"I'm going for a walk," Grant spat out. "Please excuse me."

Confused, Harper replayed events in her mind. Grant took all the focus after Clare honed in on Ben's theft. Having cataloged every bit of information they had discovered, she remembered Ben fed Mathew one of Clare's spiders. For the first time Harper had seen, Grant took a risk for another person. Maybe she was wrong about him?

"Sorry, he's a temperamental old man," Ben's smile didn't reach his eyes. "If you don't mind a question, what type of abilities do you have?"

"When I declare one person as my student, I can feel how to be a better teacher. It is a title I got for teaching someone the skills that later saved their life," Clare's smile matched Ben's. "If you do not mind me asking, how did you get Gifted as a title?"

Ben broke eye contact first. "Touche"

Something happened, and Harper felt out of the loop. The insecurity of her magic mixed with her apprehension, and she decided to wait for another time to get answers.

Clare spoke again, "My human class is a single target specialist. And my hybrid side is a vitality Alpha. Some ambush, some poison, and an army."

"How did you do it?" Ben asked. "Being a sane hybrid. Grant said it wasn't possible not to go crazy."

"I am not sane. Not fully. I sometimes wonder if- ah, excuse me, I have more tutoring to do now," Clare stood, and Ben followed her down to the new training room.

Would you like to hear their conversation? Hint asked.

Yes, please, Harper thought back.

"Hey, uh," Hint mimicked Ben's voice perfectly in Harper's mind. "About the whole Mathew thing you have going on... why him?"

"Maybe you do not appreciate when I say I am no longer sane. The Spider Queen side of me has standards. She would literally eat you. Do you want to risk your life? No. Well then, I will not risk your life either." Hint's mimicking of Clare missed something but Harper could practically see the scene playing out.

Having achieved Apothecary level 9, Harper was itching to get another perk. Following her first selection, Harper planned to get a perk to reduce the trial and error of making valuable products and materials. Hint was reporting all the work Mathew was doing to gain power. It was time she found a more direct way to help.

Clare

Down in the bland grey stone of the new training room, Clare could feel it. Mathew's training gains were as good as they could train in the time they had set. Now to see how much mental strain he could take and how powerful he would start.

The infant Night Stalker bled its vitality into the rock of the Spire; that power had not yet tied into the Territories foundation. All the power held within its health was not destroyed by death. Instead, it changed in form.

For the time being, Mathew should be able to draw that power to his Alpha side.

"This portion of your training is complete. Can you show me how you progressed?" Clare asked.

[Body Total 85.2

Strength 21.3

Agility 18.1

Durability 26.6

Endurance 19.2

Mind Total 66

Willpower 16.3

Cognition 12.6

Resistance 18.6

Resilience 14.5]

"Never again will it be this easy to train your stats. Are you ready?" Clare asked.

"Let's go," Mathew said. "I trust you."

Trust. The idea of being trusted rattled her. Ignoring the discomfort, she proceeded with the explanation. "You exist outside of your body. According to the Originals, the Overseers took our soul as a base, then mutated and empowered it. We have biological organs and spiritual organs. Health is where they cross over. The material of spirit using a spiritual blueprint to keep our bodies alive and help them return to their natural state. This spiritual matter can be converted into essence, I think, anyway. I have not run into the term essence until now. By any name it is the material used to gain power. With your Territory reinforcement, find the decaying health feeding into your Territories foundation. Then take it for yourself."

Clare reached out and placed a hand on his forearm. It was warm. She had expected his arm to be cold. "Take care. My monster side grows faster when I do this. Use your insight from watching the lifecycle of a Carrion Beast to look for where you are being influenced and how much you can handle."

Grunting, Mathew closed his eyes.

With her enhanced cognition, times like this were particularly difficult. Every second that ticked by was stretched out. Passing the time was fairly easy when she could put her attention into survival. Be it her own survival or that of her spiders there was always room to improve. At this moment, however, she had to pay attention to her title-born instincts and could not afford to overthink.

Her heart asked, 'why go through this?' Because this may be salvation, she thought the words for the first time. Hope she had buried punched its desiccated hand from the cold ground she burred it in. Even after she killed it, like a zombie, the feeling of hope returned.

Cursing her errant thought, Clare redoubled her efforts to keep her mind clear.

A few excruciating minutes passed as she waited.

"It doesn't feel for me like it does for you. I mean, like you described. But there is something I feel resistance from. Should I try to take that?" Mathew gave her trust again.

"Take it," Clare answered.

Mathew closed his eyes again. This time Clare only counted to ten. Two or three seconds, then.

"Uh, what do you think?" He shared a message.

[Consume Territory foundation for essence

note: this will reduce generation over time

Yes/No]

Envy pulled a tear from her eye before she could react. If she had this, she could rule over truly barren land that never drew the ambition of another Alpha.

"Yes," Clare had time to control her tone of voice, hiding all emotions.

Through the Alpha spectrum, she could feel the outpouring of power generated by the land fade away. Monster instincts told her to hunt the source of this desecration. Thankfully it was a relatively weak impulse.

Mathew grinned, "You said power depends on everything, including an army?"

"Yes, any willing fighters." Clare nodded.

"Is it that same Territory power that needs to be stronger so you can join us, or is it my power?" Mathew said.

"Territory power. Submitting to another is a matter of survival it doesn't matter what the strength to survive comes from so long as there is sufficient strength," Clare said.

[Territory essence 112

Note: unspent essence will decay without a Throne of sufficient capacity]

The essence continued to climb steadily for the few seconds he shared the notification.

As the foundation for the Territory rotted away, Mathew spoke. "The cost for growth is exponential. I've done the math. The most cost-effective use of essence is spending it on the weakest. So long as the weakest is still strong enough to matter in a fight. At least in theory."

"You mean to empower the others as well as yourself?" Clare's training intuition told her no, but her mind was well versed in ignoring instinct. The logic of it prevailed. "There is much we do not know. For now, it makes your Territory stronger."

"Yup," Mathew nodded. "I worry this is just the instincts of a Carrion Beast, but I think it's the best option."

Clare had to admit she felt some relief at that. At first, she had to fight her instincts to even think about sharing Spider Essence. To see Mathew offer it so readily made her feel weak. This was just a difference in what type of animal they were. Knowing she was not simply weak was a comfort.

So they waited. Clare tried to prepare him for what new senses he should expect from his next growth in power. By her best estimate, the process took half an hour. Mathew seemed uncannily intelligent. Even when Clare did not explain an idea well, he would jump to the conclusion she intended by inferring some other information.

Eventually, the Alpha spectrum in this space became thin and energy reversed flowing from all around into the Spire. With so much power generation drained, she was sure nothing would invade to take over.

Mathew shared his haul.

[Territory essence 2100

Note: unspent essence will decay without a Throne of sufficient capacity]

"Hint, please gather everyone in the conference room," Mathew grinned. "We have leveling up to do!"