David woke up early the next morning to go talk to Mr. Lester. He really needed to speak with him about his training. David had a very strong desire to gain to gain strength. He needed to be able to protect himself...he needed to be able to take revenge.

Coming into the gym, David noticed that there were several more people than usual. The gym was slightly crowded. In the middle of a group of guards, Mr. Lester was standing around watching everyone train.

Seeing David walking over, Mr. Lester smiled and waved. His gesture hasn't went unnoticed by a few of the people in the gym and a couple of scowls were directed David.

David was pretty observational. He noticed the few scowls and glares sent his way.

He walked over toward Mr. Lester wondering what this hostility was all about.

"What's these assholes' problem?", David said in greeting to Mr. Lester.

Looking around, Mr. Lester said, "They are Vincent Carmine's men from The Other. Most men spend their entire lives trying to get the Carmine family to move them to The Other. These rejects chose to come here. Why be a peasant on Nibiru when you can be a king on Earth? They are mostly made up of idiots that have no more room for growth. Earth is safe and they can be considered strong here...."

Mr. Lester had an odd tone in his comment. David could tell that Mr. Lester wasn't happy about the atmosphere in the gym.

"Well, they can go fuck themselves," David said getting pissed, "I didn't do anything to them."

"Keep quiet," Mr. Lester said, "I don't want them coming over here causing trouble with you. They have been randomly picking fights with the old guards. It is some sort of dominance thing."

"What you got kid? Glad to see you moving around good", Mr. Lester asked.

"I have an idea," David said with a grin, then he started explaining his training plans to Mr. Lester.

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After the describing the planned training, Mr. Lester used words like "idiot" and "insane" pretty frequently....but eventually he agreed that it sounded like it would work. He would meet David and Chaz at the gym at 4:00 PM to get things started.

As David was wrapping up in his conversation with Mr. Lester, his phone kept buzzing.

As he was walking away, he glanced at his phone. It was a text message from Mr. Gauge.

Checking the message, David read, "Head over to the Carmine estate if you can. ask to see me."

Thinking that something might be wrong, David hopped in a car with some other guards and rode over to the Carmine Estate. Arriving, David noticed the estate grounds seemed much more crowded than last month.

Some of the guards looked new. The guys in the car were even asked for identification at the gate.

"Everything sure did change a lot in the last month," David thought to himself.

It didn't just change at the gate. Once he made it inside the mansion, David had to sign in and be escorted to Mr. Gauge's quarters.

With a knock at the door, Mr. Gauge arrived in a few seconds.

"Oh...David, I'm glad you are here," Mr. Gauge said.

"How are you feeling? I haven't seen you since that night," Mr. Gauge said referring to the night David's parents died and Mr. Gauge found him half dead in some bushes.

"Have they found any clues into the guys that were responsible?" David keep himself from asking.

"No, we are still actively searching though. We can't have violent rouge cultivators running about unchecked....that and they should pay for what they have done," Mr. Gauge said a bit rushed. It seemed like he was brushing the small talk aside to get to the reason why he texted David in the first place.

David helped him along, "What did you text me for Mr. Gauge?"

"I wanted to talk to you about that night? Do you remember using any skills?," Mr. Gauge asked practically sitting at the edge of his seat.

"After I killed the two men, I knew that I needed to hide. I started walking toward the tree line. By the time I got there, I was almost unconscious. Last I remember was falling in the bushes and executing the shadow skill over and over to make myself blend into the darkness of the brush. After that, I passed out," David narrated the slightly modified survival story to Mr. Gauge.

"That's pretty much matches everything we reported based on the evidence at the scene....but I left one thing out of all the reports because no one else saw it but me....and no one would probably believe me," Mr Gauge said in a very excited manner.

"David, you were literally shrouded in darkness when I found you. It was one of the craziest things that I have ever witnessed. The only way that I could detect you is because I was coming close to breaking through to a Level 1 Darkness Demigod and you were manipulating so much darkness element that I could tell there was some slight difference in the shadows. Shadow skill is my best skill and I couldn't do what you accomplished.The whole effect went away when I reached to touch you. I don't know if it is something that you can reproduce or if it was just a freak accident due to your condition.....Can you use the Shadow skill now? I wonder if there is still a difference," Mr. Gauge asked.

David was slightly caught off guard by Mr. Gauge's request. How the hell did David keep using his his skill when he was unconscious? David didn't even know the answer to the question. There was one thing that David did know....he shouldn't show Mr. Gauge his real skill with the shadow skill.

Davis was very lucky that he had grown accustomed to faking his darkness skill level in front of Mr. Gauge.

"Sure....I actually haven't used the skill since that night," David said showing a willingness that indicated he was interested too.

David prepared his usual skill routine and began to chant, "Let the light of the day not reach my feet, Shadow."

The shadows in the room started to blend and shift. David displayed a skill that was almost exactly the same as the skill Mr. Gauge had show him originally.

Seeing the normal skill happen without any weird effects. Mr. Gauge seemed to be disappointed.

"How is it?," David asked.

After looking for a minute, Mr. Gauge sighed and said, "Looks perfectly normal. Actually, I was really hoping that you would be able to reproduce the effect you caused that night...Seeing you that night really helped me out a lot. After thinking about your use of the skill, I had a realization and started to break through in my concept of shadow. I should be able to break through to Level 1 Demigod anytime once I make it to The Other."

"What? You learned a concept by seeing the messed up skill I executed when I was half conscious," David said, "...and you're going to The Other too?"

"Amazing right?" Mr. Gauge said, "I never expected that to happen either.....but, I was really hoping that you would be able to recreate the effect...it was an awesome application of the shadow skill."

"Must be because I was half dead," David said mournfully while trying to make up excuses, "I have always done the shadow skill the same way. That night.....I really can' t remember a whole lot of fine details."

"I understand," Mr. Gauge said, "Since you can't make it happen again, don't worry about it."

"Thank you for stopping by, David," Mr. Gauge said with a lingering bit of excitement in his voice, "I need to start making arrangements for things on my end, since the family wants me to transfer over to The Other with William next month."

"What? They want to transfer you two so quickly?" David said with a hint of worry.

"Yes, everything is happening pretty fast. I have been given hints that some conflict is brewing in The Other and all the gatekeepers are pressed by Earth for more reinforcements. I don't have any details though," Mr. Gauge stated while starting to move about his suite.

Seeing that David was still standing around, the absentminded Mr. Gauge said, "oh...David...you can leave if you want...remember the way out?"

"Yes, I remember the way out," David said with a chuckle at the rushed man, "I'll see you later Mr. Gauge."

David proceeded to start his exit of the Carmine Estate. As he was walking down the hall, he heard a familiar set of voices. Continuing down the hall, David could overheat the conversation taking place.

"Why are you upset? I put the request in to the family a week ago. They unanimously approved it," Gabriel's smooth sounding voice echoed down the hall.

"Gabriel, I already have a suitor and he is a great guy who is also approved by the family," Karine's voice said in contest.

"Who says that you can't have two suitors? Why don't you let us compete for your hand in marriage? Isn't that the way it has always been done? Being a suitor isn't a shoe-in, we need to compete," Gabriel's pleasing voice sounded again.

"Gabriel, I'm not....," Karine's voice trailed off.

David had stopped in his tracks just around the corner. He was listening intently to the conversation.

"I know Karine. You are not sure because you have feelings for that other guy. I'm just asking for a chance. I know we have some sort of connection after working together on the transition for the last couple of weeks. You can't deny that," Gabriel said passionately.

"I know. We work really well together, Gabriel. But....with all the changes happening so fast...and my father and uncle leaving....I need some time to get my own priorities and goals situated before really working on a relationship.....You and David both need to consider that before pressing me for some sort of decision..." Karine said in fussing manner.

David understood. She was worrying about herself and her dad first. He had no issue with that....they were both undergoing massive changes to their lives.

Still pressing forward, Gabriel continued, "Then at least resend that other guy's suitor status? What does he have that I can not offer more of? The man can't even protect his family from a few rouges....it would be a shame to have you in his care forever."

David was just about to storm out at the mention of his parents when Karine shouted angrily, "How dare you say something like that? Do you know why he is even involved in this world to begin with? Me....He saved me. Don't you understand?"

Karine was pretty upset. She had even started to ball up her little hands into fists.

"I'm sorry. It may not have been nice to say but it was the truth. Don't worry I'll find a way to show you the difference between the two of us," Gabriel said as he realized that he probably overstepped but wasn't going to back down.

"Again....I apologize for upsetting you. I'll see you at the 2:00 meeting this afternoon," Gabriel said before turning and walking down the hall wall in the direction opposite of David.

After a few seconds pause, Karine started walking because David could hear the clicking of heals headed towards him from around the hallway corner. David panicked for a moment. Was eavesdropping a bad thing? Then he figured why the hell not just talk to Karine. They hadn't had a chance to chat since her visit in the hospital and they had a few unresolved issues.

He remained standing just past the corner of the turn in the hallway.

Karine came storming around the corner in a tizzy and immediately came face to face with David.

She let out a startled shriek and backed up a few steps.

"Hello, Karine. Do you have a few minutes to talk?," David said. Her startled nature had put a smile on his face for some reason.