It had been three days since that family dinner. Three days of an odd combination of restlessness and peace, with a healthy dose of boredom.

  In the Soul-Sheer, I'd grown used to always having something to do. To driving myself forward so I could survive the next enemy. Now there was nothing.

  I kept myself busy with the small amount of yard work there was in maintaining my father's house. Lawn mowing, edging, weeding, all the small things the Kaesor children disdained as teenagers. It helped. I'd tried sitting down to play some games on my old laptop, but I couldn't get into anything. It hit a little close to home, so to speak, given that my life seemed more game-like all the time. All I had to do was glance at my status sheet to confirm that particular piece of reality.

  All things come to an end, though, especially times of peace.

  "Dad," I called out, my aura senses pulsed. My aura wasn't huge, even when I pushed it out as far as I could. It was far enough to reach the street, however, and sense the familiar presence mixed in with ones I didn't recognize. "I'm going out for a while." I made my way from the kitchen to the front door, tracking Uncle Wolf and the other auras as they pulled up in front of the house. I heard my father call back as I opened the front door and stepped outside. My gaze found Uncle Wolf as I stepped out of a blacked-out SUV, followed by two more men in dark suits, eyes covered by heavily tinted black glasses. I felt little danger from the other two. All of them, however, burned bright in my aura senses, which meant everyone here was part of the System one way or another. Uncle Wolf felt like he was the biggest threat of the bunch if it came down to it. Uncle Wolf's aura was smooth and calm, though it didn't feel like he was looking for a fight; the other two auras had a strange tremble to them. Was I sensing their emotions through their auras? Was it fear? Anxiety? Or a desire for violence? I wasn't quite sure, but the latter seemed unlikely, though. I stepped off the porch, making my way down the concrete path to the road.

  "Uncle, I see you brought company. Concerned?" Uncle Wolf's eyes crinkled at the corners, a hint of amusement in his weathered face as he stepped away from the SUV. Interestingly, the men I pegged as goons stayed by the SUV. Every step Uncle took away from them made their auras tremble a little more vigorously.

  Guess that’s what anxiety looks like then.

  It was taking more time than I'd like learning how to read auras, but I was making some progress. Uncle Wolf stopped just short of the path that cut through the yard to the porch, keeping a bit of distance between us.

  "Not concerned, Aiden. Just protocol. These gentlemen are here to ensure our conversation remains private." I raised an eyebrow, glancing at the suited men. Their auras still trembled, but they maintained stoic expressions. I was certain they'd had some kind of training; it showed in their bearing. Military, police, otherwise? That I wasn't sure about.

  "Seems a bit much for a chat."

  "Perhaps," Uncle Wolf conceded. "But given recent events, I think you'll agree it's warranted." He gestured towards the SUV. "Care for a ride?"

  I hesitated, Vipera's presence surged in my soul, waves of comfort and assurance soothed my nerves before they ever had a chance to get out of hand. There was something else; there was a wellspring of feeling. A surge of excitement. She'd been cooped up in my soul ever since we'd left the Soul-Sheer. There had been little chance to let her out to stretch, so to speak. There hadn't been any fighting either. In short, the giant root-snake-monster in my soul was bored. Or at least lacking in stimulation. I was certain she'd be quite happy if this turned into a fight.

  "Where would we be going?" I asked, careful to keep my voice neutral and not agree to anything yet. I wasn't going to be getting in that car without at least some idea where it was going. I trusted Uncle Wolf, even if that trust was a bit strained at the moment; the other two not so much.

  Uncle Wolf's expression softened. "Somewhere we can talk freely about what happened to you; there are some people who want to meet you."

  I considered my options. I could refuse, I'd rather not fight Uncle Wolf, but if it came down to it, he was the only one here who felt like he might truly be a threat to me. I'd long ago learned to trust my instincts, battling my way through the Soul-Sheer; rarely if ever were they wrong. The other two were barely a concern; my gaze swept over them, and I saw nothing that indicated they were carrying any weapons. No odd shapes, no bulges. Of course, I couldn't rule out that they might have other means of storing things; they were part of the system, like me. I didn't have enough knowledge to predict what any of them might be able to do. For all I knew, one of them would pull an eight-foot glaive out of their hindquarters the moment a fight started.

  "Where might that be, Uncle? And who wants to meet me? You know I'm not getting in that car without you telling me at least that much." I crossed my arms over my chest, meeting my Uncle's gaze with a flinty one of my own.

  Uncle Wolf nodded, a hint of approval in his eyes. "Smart lad. We're heading to a secure facility, a little under two hours from here. Nearer to Toronto. As for who wants to meet you... Well, let's just say they're individuals who have a vested interest in people like us. People who've been touched by Mana, by the System. They're also my current employers." Uncle Wolf winked in a conspiratorial way, as if he wasn't supposed to be telling me any of this. I mulled over Uncle Wolf's words, feeling Vipera's reassuring presence coiled around my soul. The prospect of meeting others like me – people who understood what it meant to be part of the System – was tempting. If Uncle Wolf was willing to work with these people, whoever they were, then there must be at least some credibility there. I doubted he'd be willing to work for some sort of magical mafia. I took a deep breath, weighing my options. The curiosity was gnawing at me, and Vipera's excitement was contagious. If things went south, I was confident in my abilities to handle myself at least against the two goons. The concern was the secure facility part. If it came to a fight, breaking out might be a problem.

  "Alright, Uncle. I'll go with you," I said, uncrossing my arms with a sigh. "But I have conditions."

  Uncle Wolf's eyebrow quirked up, a mixture of amusement and pride in his expression. "Oh? And what might those be?"

  "First, I want to be able to leave at any time if I feel uncomfortable. No strings attached." I held up one finger, then added another. "Second, I want your word that no harm will come to me or my family because of this meeting." My gaze sharpened like hardened granite. I wouldn't budge on this. Since I'd come back, the killer instinct that had kept me alive in The Soul-Sheer had been hidden, just under the surface. Just a scratch away. A little slipped out through the cracks now. Uncle Wolf was a different story, but the other two goons? If they threatened my family, I'd bury them.

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  Well, maybe not bury them. Vipera could use a snack I'm sure.

  As much as I wanted answers, if it put the family at risk, it wouldn't be happening. I didn't mind risking myself so much, but the idea of something happening to the rest of the family because I needed some answers was a harrowing one. Briefly, I contemplated the sort of man I was becoming, or had already become, that I was contemplating murder in broad daylight. And feeding my pet the corpses.

  Uncle Wolf nodded solemnly. "You have my word on both counts, Aiden. You're free to leave at any time, and no harm will come to you or yours. You have my word."

  I studied him for a moment, shaking off my morbid thoughts. His aura was steady, solid. No trembles, no shaking or warping. It felt like he believed what he was saying. I gave him a nod, and I started crossing the distance between us.

  "Then let's go."

  As I approached, the two suited men shifted nervously. Their auras flickered and pulsed, further betraying their unease despite their stoic expressions. I couldn't help but feel a twinge of satisfaction at their discomfort. It was nice to know I wasn't the only one on edge. Uncle Wolf led the way to the SUV, opening the nearest rear door of the SUV, gesturing for me to enter. As I slid into the leather seat, Vipera's excitement surged through our bond. I could feel her coiling and uncoiling within my soul, ready for whatever challenges lay ahead. The interior of the vehicle was spacious, lit up by the mid-afternoon sunlight despite the pitch black tint that covered the windows. I didn't know much about cars or SUVs in general, but I could guess enough to know when one was expensive. I could smell the polish that made the leather shine; the interior was immaculate, as if it had been cleaned only moments before. This vehicle likely cost more than what I would have made in several years working my warehouse job.

  Uncle Wolf took the seat beside me, while the two suits took the front seats as driver and passenger.

  "So, are you going to tell me more about these people we're meeting?" I asked, keeping my voice low. Uncle Wolf's weathered face creased into a small smile.

  "Patience, Aiden. All will be revealed in due time.” A chuckle slipped out of the older man. “I’m still just an old soldier, I’m not the one to ask all the pointed questions. Save them for where we’re going.”

  I nodded, settling back into the plush leather seat as the SUV pulled away from the curb. As much as it irked me, my questions had waited for days. They could wait a while longer. The familiar sights of my neighbourhood slipped by outside the tinted windows. I found myself grateful for the dark glass - it felt like a barrier between the mundane world I was leaving behind and whatever awaited me at this 'secure facility.' As we merged onto the highway, I turned my attention inward, focusing on Vipera's presence coiled around my soul. Her excitement was still palpable, a stark contrast to the anxiety radiating from the two suits up front. I closed my eyes, allowing myself to sink into a light meditative state. It was a technique I'd developed in the Soul-Sheer to pass the time during long treks between battles.

  "You've changed, Aiden," Uncle Wolf's voice broke through my contemplation. I opened my eyes to find him studying me with a mixture of curiosity and concern. "The way you carry yourself, the way you assess everything as a threat first... It's not just the physical changes, is it?"

  I met his gaze steadily. "No, it's not. I suspect you know, at least a little, of what it was like where I was. It was kill or be killed. Constantly, a never-ending battle for survival." I stated it flatly. "I chose to kill everything that moved, so I could live." I couldn't help but smirk as I felt the tension of the two goons in the front of the vehicle ratchet up several notches. "Anyone would come back from that different Uncle, I suspect, if it weren't for a dear friend of mine, I would have come back even more changed than I have." Uncle Wolf looked contemplative as he watched me from the corner of his eye. Silence reigned in the vehicle as we rolled down the highway at speeds that didn't seem quite so fast as they used to once upon a time ago.

  "You know, Uncle," I said, breaking the silence that had settled over us, "This all feels a bit cloak and dagger. Blacked-out SUV, men in suits, secret meetings... Are you sure you're not recruiting me for some sort of magical CIA?" Uncle Wolf's laugh was a low rumble, barely audible over the hum of the SUV's engine.

  "Nothing quite so dramatic, Aiden. Though I suppose from your perspective, it might seem that way." He turned to face me, his grey eyes serious. "What we're dealing with... It's beyond the scope of normal government agencies. Though they are aware of what's going on at least to some degree." I nodded, mulling over his words.

  "So, this organization you work for... they're what? An arm of the government? A branch of the military?”

  Uncle Wolf was silent for a moment, a familiar look on his face. It was the look he always had when he was ordering his thoughts. Marshaling them into neat and tidy lines like a drill sergeant preparing his troops for inspection.

  "They're not the government or the military. They're a separate force, but they do work closely with the government to handle a specific set of issues, ones that frankly, neither the government nor the military are equipped to handle on their own." I leaned back in my seat, processing this new information.

  "So, a private organization dealing with supernatural threats? Sounds like something out of a movie."

  Uncle Wolf's lips quirked into a half-smile.

  "Life often imitates art, Aiden. But yes, that's not a bad way to put it. We call ourselves The White Banner."

  "The White Banner," I repeated, testing the name. "Sounds... medieval."

  "It has its roots in history," Uncle Wolf nodded. "But we've adapted with the times. Our primary goal is to maintain the balance between the magical and non-magical worlds. To protect both sides from threats, as well as each other.”

  I felt Vipera stir within me; her curiosity was piqued by this revelation just as much as my own. "And where do I fit into all this? I'm guessing you didn't arrange this meeting just to give me a history lesson."

  Uncle Wolf's expression turned serious. "You, Aiden, are something of an anomaly. Not wholly unheard of, but rare. You weren't brought into the System the way most are. We call it a DTE, a Dimensional Tide Event. What we know is from accounts of the few who have survived them." Uncle Wolf paused for a long moment while I absorbed what he'd said. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who'd experienced Soul-Sheer. Not by a long shot.

  The vehicle rocked as we pulled off the highway and onto what looked like some sort of access road. Definitely more of the dirt road variety than paved. I stared out the window in silence for several moments as we passed through rolling hills and clumps of trees.

  “Most people who are caught in a DTE have one of two things happen. Either something, which we suspect is the system, ejects them from the area. Or they die. Outright.” Uncle Wolf let out a heavy sigh, the sound of a man who had cleaned up far more dead bodies and made far more phone calls than he would like.

  "When a DTE reaches a certain threshold, it forms what we call a dungeon, for the sake of simplicity. An extra-dimensional space filled with TE's, Tidal Entities. Most of the boots on the ground just call them Monsters or Mobs." Uncle shrugged helplessly. I noted the smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth. Apparently, it amused him that the people doing the actual work didn't follow the bureaucratic guidelines for what to call the things that wanted to kill and eat them. To be fair, I found it rather amusing as well.

  "What you faced, by all accounts we know of, was a dungeon on steroids while suffering from Soul-Sheer. Which we know is a sickness caused by absorbing too much mana when the body isn't able to accept it." That information sent me reeling for a moment as I reexamined my memories of my time spent in the Soul-Sheer. I couldn't recall ever feeling sick or like I'd been debuffed. Perhaps unlocking my Bloodline the way I had, as quickly as I had, gave me more benefits beyond the obvious. It was the only thing I could think of that might have mitigated what Uncle Wolf was describing.

  "The White Banner sends forces to combat these dungeons. To prevent the worst-case scenario." Uncle Wolf went on, a distant look in his eyes, as if sifting through years of memories and information.

  "Worst case scenario?" I questioned, looking away from the window and back to Uncle Wolf, something in his tone tugged at me. What was being said here was important.

  “Dungeon Breach.” Uncle Wolf stated grimly, the look on his face was as if he was describing a natural disaster on the level of a category five hurricane making landfall in a populated area.