When we get back to the room I lay her on the bed gently and pull the hair of the wig away from her face, then the wig completely off.

  “Now, Cal. We have to do it now,” she mumbles, but what she says is unmistakable.

  “Now?” I ask. I’m not ready. Can I ever be ready?

  “Lock the room, Cal!” she grunts, straining to talk, and I race over and do as she asks. Unlike other times, this time a light blue glow appears on the walls, floor, and ceiling that looks exactly like the shield that protects Saint Marianne’s. I remember what she’s said about this room being powered by ley lines, and here’s some of the evidence.

  Auntie V’s hands clench and she arches her back. White light envelops her and she opens her eyes then sits up, recovered as if nothing had happened. Except… the white glow doesn’t leave her, it surrounds her like she’s an angel.

  “I need a few minutes. A few minutes of meditation,” she says, almost to herself. Her movements are strong and she shows none of the weakness she did before, but the dark pulsing veins are now up above her jawline and across her cheeks, almost to her ears. Without any more words she sits on the floor in a traditional meditation pose and the light around her gets noticeably brighter like someone is turning up a dimmer switch.

  I have no idea what to do, so I open the notifications that are blinking at me insistently.

  Soul Sparks Reclaimed: 8

  Soul Sparks Reclaimed: 2

  Soul Sparks Reclaimed: 5

  Soul Sparks Reclaimed: 9

  Soul Sparks Reclaimed: 4

  Soul Sparks Reclaimed: 5

  There are more, but I just wave them away and stare at the last one.

  Soul Spark reservoir: 294

  Would you like to allocate your Soul Sparks?

  (Y/N)

  What could possibly be the best thing for me to allocate them to right now? I don’t even know if I’m going to be alive in half an hour, if all this goes pear shaped. I feel like I should be shitting myself, but I’m not. I feel determined. Ready to match Auntie V’s bravery. Ready to be a Corvin and make my mark. The only thing Auntie V ever told me to put Soul Sparks in was Constitution, and with what’s about to happen I can’t think of anything better. This isn’t a battle I’m going to win with a weapon or an underdeveloped capability in magic.

  Decided, I hit ‘Y’ and drop all 294 Soul Sparks into Constitution.

  My body seizes up as the Soul Sparks flow through me and change me, increasing my healing factor, my Stamina, and my ability to take punishment. Every cell in my body becomes a supersoldier to fight against injury, disease, and maybe even aging.

  I feel like I lose track of time and float mentally, until a new notification eventually anchors me and I open it up.

  Soul Sparks Allocated!

  Constitution +294 (494)

  Damage Reduction Index +2.9 (4.9)

  Stamina +2940 (4940)

  Stamina regeneration +294 (574 /min)

  Level Up! +2 (9)

  Feeling completely different and invigorated, I turn to Auntie V and see she’s opened her eyes, but still aglow in white and sitting in her meditation pose.

  “Good,” she says as she looks at me. I’m not sure if that means I made the right choice, but it probably means I didn’t make the wrong one and I grit my teeth, ready to do what needs to be done, whatever it is.

  “Tell me again about the Soul Sparks, Cal,” she says, surprising me, and she sounds far away like she’s dreaming. Her eyes can focus on me, but it seems like she’s also seeing something far away, or deep within.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “Auntie V!” I exclaim at her, but she ignores me.

  “Tell me about them,” she says again, and I tell her, words tumbling out.

  “They call to me. I sense them with a sense that I can’t describe. When someone dies they start to collect, first inside them and then near them, usually at their chest. And then, when they form I can pull them to me. Golden spheres that stream into me and send warmth all through me.”

  As I’m speaking, I realize I can feel Soul Sparks near the surface in Auntie V for the first time. So… so many. Like an ocean compared to the puddles of what I’ve felt before. I’ve never been in a situation where I could sense them like this while the person was still alive… while she’s still talking to me!

  “I’m… I’m going to try something Cal. Something you mustn’t ever tell anyone, my boy. I owe you… I owe you so much.”

  “What are you talking about, Auntie V? What are you doing?” I kneel down and grasp her hands. Touching her seems to bring her Soul Sparks even more to the surface. They brush against my senses through my hand like a soft breeze and beneath them I feel something… more. Something corrupt and black, like a necrotic, toxic sludge that clings to the Soul Sparks beneath the surface and strives to free itself.

  “Got… to time it, Calrik. Get ready… don’t… hesitate… it will only be seconds. You… you’re the son I always wanted… Cal… do it.”

  “Auntie V…” I say softly, trying to peer into her eyes, but they’re lost and then closed. Through her hands I can feel tremendous power surge, much greater than anything I could imagine. I close my eyes in shock, but I don’t pull away and through our connection I can feel the golden Soul Sparks increase their intensity a hundredfold, a thousandfold. Auntie V’s hands wither and I open my eyes in panic to see her wordlessly scream as her body starts collapsing in on itself as the golden ocean of Soul Sparks overwhelms the dark toxic sludge. For one beautiful moment it’s like I’m basking in the middle of a sun that can’t hurt me and the entire pool, both substances combined, is golden - then dark hairline patterns start to form.

  “Do it NOW!” an impossibly raspy voice thunders from Auntie V’s throat as it tears itself apart.

  “No!” I yell, but I feel the Soul Sparks call to me and in a surge of emotion I pull them to me… all of them. I pull and pull, a torrent of Soul Sparks drowning me, burning me with their warmth, filling me to the bursting and beyond until it feels like my own soul is stretched beyond even the immaterial, existential limits it might expand to.

  Suddenly, the rush is over and everything around me is suffused with energy that radiates from me, spilling out. Clenching all my physical and mental muscles, I clamp down my will and pull all the Soul Sparks back to me. I hold all of them and pull them deep, deep down into me, into the reservoir that my Power provides, forcing them to compress and stay contained.

  I open my eyes and look around. The light blue glow still surrounds the room and multiple pieces of equipment on machines or emerging from panels in the walls are active, possibly searching for something, or maybe even activated by what just happened. Eventually, after a few seconds of avoiding it, I look down.

  Auntie V’s lifeless, dried up husk sits in front of me unmoving. There’s nothing to suggest that she was a Superhero or the level of vitality she brought everywhere she went. I look up, wondering if her spirit is still here or if maybe it’s deep inside me, inside the Soul Sparks. Things have happened so fast. At the end - what did she do? Did she somehow meld with the creature, or was that the final killing blow that she needed to strike?

  Without warning, as I’m looking at her unsure what to make of all of it and what to feel, small rivulets of dark energy start flowing from inside what’s left of Auntie V. I can only conclude my hesitation and the reappearance of the dark, hairline cracks I saw before allowed some of the creature’s essence to fight back, and now it’s hunting. Hunting for Powers and life and a way to revive itself.

  I disengage from Auntie V and rush to the orange bag, then yank it open. Inside is a green blanket covered in silver runes. I pull it out and glance over at Auntie V’s corpse and the small but growing threads of sludge flowing around on it. Revulsion fills me and I don’t know what I’m doing, but all I can think of is to wrap the blanket around her. I quickly open the blanket on the floor and see it has runes on both sides.

  Careful where I put my hands, at the high speed and dexterity my Attributes allow me, I pull what’s left of Auntie V up. The dark sludge near my hands seems to start to react to my skin being near, but then continue to flow in patterns that make it clear it’s not interested in whatever I have, or at least it can’t detect it. Quickly I lay her body down on the blanket and go to wrap her tightly in it, ensuring there are no gaps or open spaces. Even in the split second before the blanket is fully closed I can see and hear sizzling and distant, alien screaming echoing from Auntie V’s remains. At superhuman speed I tuck everywhere around the blanket and its extra material in forcefully to ensure it’s snug and won’t unravel, then stand and step half a step back to be able to see the whole thing and react if needed.

  The blanket’s runes glow brightly as they activate and under the blanket I see small signs of movement as the intensity of the magic gets higher and higher. I reach out with my paltry, undeveloped Mana senses and they’re immediately overwhelmed, so I shut them straight back down. I don’t know if I should take cover, but instead I decide to stay and watch intently, ensuring no gap in the runic blanket opens up and nothing escapes. Machines, equipment, and even the air seem filled with effects and activity as room 300 comes to life in response to whatever’s happening. None of whatever is going on touches or harms me.

  Suddenly, I’m blasted off my feet and I catapult straight into the bed, slamming it against the wall with a crash as it wraps around me crumpled. My arm feels a bit bruised and I fight to stay oriented on what’s happening with Auntie V’s body, ignoring everything else that’s going on.

  An earth-shattering thump sounds and the blanket collapses in on itself like it’s being forcefully compacted. Ripples of spiritual and magical energy fill the air and buffet me, then a wailing cry echoes in the room as I pick myself up off the floor and see the runes flare one last time. With an ethereal glow the blanket and everything in it are incinerated, leaving nothing behind - not even ashes.

  I stand and stare at the spot where the blanket was and then look around. The room’s defences and detectors are slowly deactivating which gives me some hope that I might have been able to achieve what Auntie V brought me here to do.

  Warmth like I could never imagine flows and threatens to burst from me. Mentally and emotionally I feel hollowed out and empty, a husk not unlike Auntie V was only a few heartbeats ago, but the warmth flows into all the empty spaces. I close my eyes and sit down on the chair beside me, overwhelmed.

  Notifications blink furiously in the corner of my vision, calling my attention. The Soul Sparks feel overflowing, I can barely contain them, though that feeling is gradually receding.

  I feel somehow like opening these notifications disrespects Auntie V in some way, but I also feel it honors her and what she’s done. Regardless, I start opening them.