At some point, Alexandra Hallworth arrived along with a team dressed in white hazmat suits or something similar. They moved in a practiced manner and got to work without hesitation. They seemed to have artifacts that made the clean-up easier and quickly began removing the traces of whatever was left behind. Seeing how quickly they erased the scene of the crime was downright frightening.

The most important thing was the boy and the two other men he was with. While it was easy to heal the former, it seemed the two men were in a worse condition and would need repeated treatments. Elsewhere, Alexandra had made sure to “talk” to Matthew.

“I trusted you to handle this, you ungrateful little…!” Her fists rained down on the curled up and bloodied Matthew. He squeezed himself into a fetal position, protecting his face, but that only made Alexandra use her legs to kick him while he was down.

“I had to miss my daughter’s violin recital for this, you fucking ingrate!” She didn’t stop, even as his body began to get covered in bruises and lumps, or as his mouth filled with blood. I think I heard a few bones snap as her attacks began to get increasingly powerful.

However, Alexandra seemed genuinely pissed and I didn’t want really want to stop her from venting her grievances. She spent a few more minutes “reprimanding” Matthew before she finally felt as if she did enough.

“Don't think this is the end of it, asshole” She huffed before facing me with an apologetic smile.

“This was never supposed to happen, Casper.”

It was hard to read her since she was wearing sunglasses as always.

“But it did, but that's hardly important right now, right?” I responded, glancing at the building that was being scrubbed from top to bottom. “Do you know how many people died in there?” I continued.

“Our awareness of situation was vague at best. We had our suspicions, but nothing concrete.”

“So you're saying you had an idea then?” I asked, feeling anger rising up, but it wasn't my own. It was as if someone implanted it into me. The unsettling feeling that came with that thought helped to calm me down.

“I thought you handled stuff like this?” I shifted to a different topic.

“We do,” she asserted, her lips bending into a frown, “As much as you might hate to hear it, these guys are nothing. For every group like this, there are ten more that threaten the lives of hundreds if not thousands of people. We can’t possibly get to every single bad thing and there is tons of legislation in place that makes it nearly impossible for us to operate above board. The guilds can deal with the stuff done in broad day, they have that ability. Shit like this? It needs evidence and warrants, by the time that clears, they're gone and we have nothing. If what we do comes to light, people would get scared. It sounds good in theory right? A bunch of superhumans watching over everyone else, but we’re still people just like everyone else. Think about it, one day some poor guy is working a miserable job cleaning toilets and then suddenly, the very next day, he can burn down a city block in less than a minute. You think everyone is equipped to handle that sort of power?”

“This and that are two different things.” I crossed my arms, watching as the clean-up crew put up plastic around the windows to obscure messy interior. “What does that mean to the ones who died? You think they’d be alright with your reasoning?”

“You say that as if you know.” I could practically feel her eyes narrow from behind her shades.

“That’s because I do.”

Even as I said it, I wondered if they were still out there, the victims in all of this, waiting for some sort of resolution. Did they really leave? If so, did they have faith I’d honor their wishes? No, when I thought of the situation I still felt a wave of overwhelming anger toward it that urged me to act. While I sympathized with the ones who died, these feelings weren't my own.

I began to see a downside in my gift if things like this would continue to happen.

Did that mean the thousands who were killed by creatures from the ruins would force me to charge into someplace outside of my skill level? Was I going to be roped into every unresolved issue at this rate?

I had to control my gift before things could spiral to that point. The grimoire did notify me that my innate ability had changed, but that appeared to be all it could do. After all, it was an ability that didn't come from the book itself.

“If you can talk to the dead then tell them they'll get their turn eventually.” Alexandra retrieved a cigarette from a subordinate as she finished speaking and offered it to me.

I didn’t smoke, but I accepted it nonetheless. It wouldn’t hurt to try, or at least, I felt like I really wanted one.

“Do you really mean that?” I inquired curiously as I brought the cigarette to my lips, inhaling a bitter and acrid taste before my lungs violently coughed in rejection. I stood corrected, it really hurt to try.

“Oh god, that is just– terrible.” I spat onto the ground while Alexandra took the cigarette from my hands.

“Yeah, I mean it. Besides, if I don’t keep my word they can’t do shit about it, right?”

“They can't do shit to you, yeah,” I answered.

My mind went all sorts of places as I thought back to past events, but they all stopped on one thing.

“Say–” I started.

“What?” Alexandra perked her ears up.

“The ones they didn’t kill were sent to New Era.” I revealed what I learned from the memories of those men

It came to me as shattered pieces since I hastily absorbed their souls, but there was still valuable things left in them. I came no closer to the tall, lean, man who was responsible, but I had something.

“What did you say?” Alexandra tossed her cigarette aside and stared at me. “Are you sure? Did one of them say it or did-”

“I’m sure of it,” I replied.

“That complicates things then.” Alexandra clicked her tongue before retrieving her phone and texting someone. “I’ll have someone drive you home today, someone I can actually trust.”

She sent a brief look toward the pitiful figure of Matthew still balled up on the ground.

“No, I don’t plan on going home just yet. I think I’ll stay in a hotel or something for now.”

“Alright, if you say so. Oh and keep the armor, free of charge, just please don’t wear it to clear Ruins.”

“What about my debt?”

“This entire thing was bigger than I expected, so let’s say, a quarter million for all of this. It’ll double if your info checks out.”

I hid my surprise behind another question, “By the way, do you know anything about a man, tall, kinda pale, very lean.”

“Anything else?”

“He has short hair and looks about forty or fifty, maybe.”

“There are a few people who fit that description. You know what, I’ll send you some info later on, so keep an eye on your phone. In the meantime, get some rest”

“Got it.” I nodded as she left while calling someone.

I walked along the street for a while, staring at nothing in particular until I reached an alley and immediately rushed into it. I heaved, spewing out a mixture of whatever I had last eaten before all that was left was the astringent taste of stomach acid, burning my throat as I spat it out. A cold sensation swept over my body as my hands began trembling.

Was it the act killing or the invasion of my mind that caused it?

I couldn’t quite answer as my body reacted strangely and I felt my consciousness grow faint.

“Shit…” I cursed as I fell over, feeling my eyes were too heavy to keep open any longer.