Another thing that had been bothering him for a while, and that he finally found the time to ask Tutu last night, was the matter of why the demon did not seem to be that interested in gathering soul crystals for himself.

If the little things were so valuable, and if everyone in the multiverse was crazy for them, why Tutu did not seem to covet Danny’s personal stash? Why he was not out there scrambling to slaughter as many zombies as possible and harvest their soul gems?

To Danny’s question however, the demon merely snickered before saying:

“A destitute man might find it worthwhile to bend his back to pick up a quarter he found on the sidewalk, but would a rich man act the same way?”

Danny understood what the demon meant right then and there. Tutu was hinting that he was so far beyond in terms of wealth and/or power that he would not even take a second look at the pitiful amount of soul power humans left behind after their death. It simply wasn’t valuable enough to move him.

Yet, Danny did not think the demon was being entirely honest this time. After all, instead of answering in a straightforward manner, Tutu had deflected the question, opting instead to speak in riddles.

Even if there was some inkling of truth behind the demon’s words, Danny was certain that the shadowy creature was omitting something. There was something he was not telling.

Danny could feel it in his bones.

Still, there was no point in dwelling on the demon’s mysterious secrets. Danny had gotten his answer and anything else the demon chose to hide, he would not be able to find out by simply pondering about it anyway.

There were a few other things and some further details that Danny spoke at lengths with the demon last night, but that was the gist of it overall. Namely, he had discovered why the demon was apparently indifferent to the soul crystals. He also found out that he was currently at the first stage of development in terms of soul power and that as long as he kept consuming the shiny things eventually he would naturally reach the next one.

Altogether, it had been quite a haul for him. The meeting turned out to be very informative.

‘Body Refining and Mind Gate, huh?’

Even after learning the names given to the stages of power by the factions that be out there in the cosmos, myriad planes, different dimensions or wherever the hell the other sentient species came from, it still didn’t feel real for Danny.

Granted, he had never really wrapped his head around the idea of gulping down soul crystals as if they were gummy bears and getting stronger for it. He felt as if what he had been doing was insane, and the fact that it actually worked only bolstered his incredulity at the complete oddity and craziness of it all.

No matter how many times he made use of the shiny stones and absorbed part of the energy contained within to empower himself, he always thought everything to be too weird.

He tried not to think too deeply about it however. He felt that if he hung up too much on details, he would be doing himself a disservice. The only thing he would find at the end of that rabbit hole was madness.

He avoided the issue of the crystals’ origin entirely and focused solely on the results.

“Forget about the skulls you broke and brains you squished to get your hands on the shiny stones. Forget about the fact that those moving corpses used to be people with families and loved ones. Forget about any talks of other dimensions and the invasion of Earth. None of that matter. They are only distractions,” Danny would tell himself. “For now, focus only on the fact that it works. That you are getting faster and stronger. Concentrate your efforts on gathering even more power… because you’ll need it.”

Knowing more about the steps one took when the doors to the world of soul power training were opened to them - and what exactly cultivating his strength by absorbing that metaphysical energy entailed – did not make him any less anxious.

True, he now felt a lot more comfortable and confident after understanding some of the underlying mysteries that plagued his thoughts, dispelling some of the fog that clouded his mind. There was no denying that. However, that did not bring him any peace of mind.

For every question he answered, two more replaced them, as it so often is the case when one starts to understand the world they live in. It wasn’t for nothing that people said that the more you knew the more you realized how little your knowledge actually was.

The path of science and wisdom was a path of discovering your own insignificance. Of learning about how minuscule we were when compared with the immensity of the universe.

If anything, the mention of new dimensions, planes of existence, sentient beings, and previously unknown energy forces only made it seem that humanity’s growing grasp on reality and its development of new technologies to better understand and harvest the powers of nature had been the mere fumblings of a child.

Humankind’s confidence on its control and mastery of the world we lived in were but the delusions of a frog in a well, uncontested in its world’s view.

The bizarre and peculiar nature of his newfound knowledge only added to Danny’s awe and stupefaction. How could it not? Getting stronger like that and learning that the power of one single individual could surpass the strength of the many went against everything he took as common sense. Against the world’s history even.

What would have been of the Roman Emperors and despot kings if one could muster the power of demigods within them? Would the world have ended divided into so many countries as it had if that had been the case back then? Would we have unified under a single undisputed power instead? He could not tell.

This was all something straight out of comic books and fantasy novels. Suddenly, super-heroes, immortals, Gods, monsters and the like were not such a far-fetched ideas anymore. It boggled the mind.

He always knew the supernatural to be real, make no mistake. There were no surprises there. After all, he had been hounded by Tutu for most of his life. The cynicism and doubts that could be found among the common populace was never something that was available to Danny.

It was hard to doubt when solid proof of the unknown took bites out of you every now and then after all.

Even so, he could never have imagined the sheer scope of what was real but invisible to humanity as a whole – including himself – for all this time.

He had no idea how the invaders managed to cover humanity’s eyes for so long. Imagining what it took for the foreign powers to do such a thing, to veil the whole world and prevent it from showing signs of soul power… it scared him more than he liked to admit.

Knowing he would be going against something that could subvert the natural order of things… that he would be standing against powers far beyond his comprehension was terrifying. He knew that he was way, way, way out of his depth.

That was why even if he learned a lot about soul power training and discovered more about the path he had already threaded, even if he was excited about rediscovering his limits as an individual and what abilities he would unlock, even if he was undeniably moving forward… he still didn’t feel confident about the future. The weight of his own anxieties and insecurities crushed him.

Still, there was nothing he could do about it. Uneasy or not, as a human, he would still have to oppose the invaders if he wished to have a future. If he wanted to have a say in his own life there was no avoiding this conflict.

He had to do what he had to do. One must make the most out of their dealt hand.

Seeing the factory entering his view, Danny shook his head to dispel his distracting thoughts. Despondence would do him no good, especially since things had gone so well last night. He had no reason to wallow in pessimism.

He could not do anything about Earth’s overall discouraging situation. He could only do his best and work towards his desired future, one step at a time.

“What will be, will be…” He spoke to himself, putting an end to his musings as he approached the steel-wire fence that surrounded the compound.

Opening the front gate - which he had closed before leaving for his meeting with Tutu -, Danny entered the factory proper. Following that, he beelined to the second floor of the main building, wishing to check on Luke and whether or not the man had left the confines of his room.

Once he reached the second level of the building, Danny looked around as he steadily approached the place where he had left the other survivor. From what he could tell, it seemed that Luke hadn’t gone outside, which would be good news for him, though he could not be sure.

‘Only one way to find out.’ Danny thought before knocking on the door.

After a few instants, he could hear the sound of movement through the door, and soon after, a voice came from the inside of the room.

“…is that you Danny?”

“That’s right. Open up Luke.” He replied curtly, but not harshly.

Immediately after, he heard pieces of furniture being moved away from the door, undoubtedly a result from Luke dismantling whatever makeshift barricade the man had built on the other side of the passage so that he could rejoin his benefactor.

With a twist of the knob shortly afterward, the door swung open, revealing the smelly and dirty former real estate agent who, despite his circumstances, appeared to be thrilled to see Danny once again.

“Thank God you are back. I know you said it would take some time for you and your guys to do what you had to, but I couldn’t help fearing the worst had happened. It seems that I worried for nothing though.” Luke said with a smile that stretched across his face. “So… is it done?” He asked without missing a beat.

Danny appraised the man in front of him, searching for any clue on whether or not he had left his confinement during Danny’s outing. Looking at his body for any signs of suspicion, of whether he doubted Danny’s motives and actions.

However, seeing none of that and judging Luke to be genuinely happy to see him, Danny merely nodded his head, answering the smiling survivor’s previous question.

“It is done.”