Danny grabbed the soldier with his left hand before she could get out of reach. His eyes warned him of a head poking out of the portal behind them, but he ignored it for the time being. The soldier raised her spear above her head, preparing to swing it down at Danny, but he didn’t give her the chance. He raised his injured right arm, pressing the palm against her face and released a point-blank sonic blast.

The force caved in the woman’s face. He felt Kabandha’s tongue dart out of his hand-mouth. It retreated within a second and the invigorating warmth that came with consuming an essence followed. Danny’s body shuddered, and he released the soldier, falling to his knees. He screamed again, pulling the shard of light out of the wound. It faded out of existence in his hands as soon as it was free.

“Hard light?” Danny mumbled, fishing a power bar out of his pocket. He consumed it hungrily and felt Metabolic Regeneration kick in straight away. The burning in his arm turned into an uncomfortable itch. Danny found the feeling of muscles wriggle under his skin unnerving, but successfully ignored it. Instead, Danny focused on the information his floating eyes fed him.

A giant hand reached out of the portal and gripped the alley’s floor. Its armoured fingers were as thick as Danny’s wrists. An almost human head with grotesque burns and warped skin followed. It had the same odd heart shape as the soldier. Danny reached the creature just as a shoulder cleared the portal. He pressed both palms against the monster’s face and unleashed two sonic blasts. The giant retreated and the humming sphere winked out of existence.

Danny wanted nothing more than to collapse to his knees and rest. Metabolic Regeneration fixed his wounds and the euphoric invigoration that came with consuming essence only lasted for a moment. Neither restored his stamina nor eased the mental exhaustion that accompanied fighting or healing near-crippling wounds.

While helping himself to a second power bar, Danny studied the flashing notifications on his HoloLens.

You have fed Kabandha.

He gives you power in return.

Kabandha has never feasted on a squire from the Court of Hearts. He gives you two options:

Armoury of the Heart Aether Drain

The vision Danny saw with the first of the two made little sense to him at first. It felt like a montage out of a film as soldiers fought side by side, laughing and crying. They occasionally bathed their weapons or shields in light, extending them or constructing barriers. When a companion fell, the weapons grew brighter and bigger. Victory did the same.

Psychic weaponry tied to emotions?

The concept intrigued Danny. However, the lack of explanation and situational use concerned him. Desert Jackal’s Reflexes was already too situational, and he was sure it would take him a considerable while before he mastered it. Adding another such essence to the mix would only hamper his growth. The flashiness of the power concerned him, too. Kaka claimed the ability to grow stronger by consuming essence was much too magical. Other relic users would target him for his secrets, the League would get suspicious, too. He needed tools which matched his current power set or looked like a natural evolution of it.

Aether Drain looked like a better pick. Danny saw himself fighting several platoons of soldiers. Every time he struck an opponent with an open palm, the hand-mouths ripped crimson wisps from them. The soldiers slowed, but his speed increased. Danny saw himself not only move faster, but hit harder, and shirk off their empathically enhanced weapons. The hard light flickered and faded.

Aether.

Kaka didn’t call it by the same name, but Danny identified the meaning behind the word. It was the magical energy that the soldiers used for their hard-light augmentations and he for the sonic blasts. Given how the soldiers tired with each drain, Danny wondered whether it would help restore stamina as well. It was precisely what Danny needed.

A squire in the Court of Hearts must keep going no matter the cost. The tyrant queen doesn’t care what happens to her subjects. They must complete their tasks no matter the cost. Failure costs them their heads. When fighting with the heart doesn’t win them victory, they drain aether from friend or foe to succeed.

Threat Level: E

Destructiveness: E

Killability: C

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Might: F

Survivability: E

Recovery: D

Mobility: E

Spark: D

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Powers: Enhanced Sight and Hearing, Sonic Blasts, Durable Arms, Metabolic Regeneration, Desert Jackal’s Reflexes, Aether Drain

Classification: Bruiser/Stalker

None of Danny’s statistics changed, but his Killability rating increased by a letter. He had expected his Survivability or Spark to improve. After all, the vision suggested Aether Drain would help him weaken his foes and keep going for longer. At the same time, it made sense. It wouldn’t help him hit harder or survive more powerful blows. Danny felt a hint of disappointment before reminding himself that at the end of the day, the ratings barely mattered. The only thing that mattered was how he used his gifts.

The second soldier he struck groaned. The armour appeared to have protected it from the sonic blast and the collision with the alley wall. Blood dripped from the beard sticking out of the helmet as he tried to rise. Danny didn’t give him the opportunity. A well-placed punch would’ve likely finished the soldier, but it felt like the perfect opportunity to field test Aether Drain.

Danny squeezed a panel on his right glove and raced toward the struggling soldier. Clawed extensions rose from the fingertips, and they hummed as the taser function activated. The soldier stiffened and spasmed when Danny struck his neck. Once the charge faded, his opponent’s body went limp.

A new sensation stirred in Danny’s arm. He felt a sucking sensation deep inside the arm hollows. The hand-mouths felt more than just vibrations. They detected something unknown in the soldier. It reacted to the sucking. Danny focused on the sensation and felt the energy flow through his arms and into his chest. It collected around his solar plexus, filling him with a comforting warmth.

Much to Danny’s surprise, the Sonic Blaster count on his HoloLens had returned to full. The soldier stopped breathing. His pulse faded too as Aether Drain continued to consume energy from the soldier. The projected counter increased by one. His left hand’s count for Sonic Blasts now matched that of his right.

Fascinating.

Once he had consumed all of his opponent’s Aether, Danny released the neck. The soldier dropped like a pile of bricks, armour clanging against the cement pavement. Meanwhile, Danny felt stronger than ever. The mental drain from fighting and recovering from his wounds still lingered. However, all tiredness and exhaustion left him.

The ThreatLevel app flashed, warning Danny of ongoing turmoil near Holloway Road Station. It warned him of civilians in danger and not enough heroes to assist in their rescue. In fact, their presence appeared concentrated further from the primary rift around a singular spot. Danny guessed something big and terrifying like the giant had come through the portals. All hands were focused on the single threat or a group of them.

Notifications demanded Danny flee the area, highlighting routes with no monster sightings or rift signatures. Instead of following the highlighted path, he ran in the opposite direction, making a beeline for the closest incident of civilians in danger. The ThreatLevel App supposedly had permissions to tap into local CCTVs during emergency situations. He hoped they were correct as he used the fresh burst of energy to run as fast as his feet would carry him.