Reaching the research facility took only a short while that was filled with some problems. Tian and Zenaria were especially angry about the drugs and before James could stop them, they had started killing people.

They had every right to want the drugs to stop as they had flooded the human district. James had planned on handling it eventually, but those two took it into their own hands.

That only slowed them down a little as Luna ended up pulling on the worker's souls, killing the entire operation in one fell swoop. They would need to handle the bodies before the day ended, but Luna already had plans to feed the corpses to the Forsaken. As grim as that was, it would work.

Stepping into the cavern of the facility, everyone stopped in awe of the sheer size of the place. James gave them their moment to recover before clapping his hands.

"Let's get started. Luna, run down and grab a few Forsaken bodies for us. Our three new members will need to eat." He could see movement in the distance as monsters roamed the dimly lit streets. The luminous stones that guided the paths didn't shine light on the souls on top of he buildings however. He also needed to question why their were Forsaken in the research facility in the first place. What exactly was the place used for?

Nodding, Luna took off at a run, descending the path down to the first facility. Amber went with her without being prompted and a moment later, so too did the others, leaving James with the new three.

"Is this about that hunger you were talking about?" Grace asked.

Nodding, James watched the road and sure enough, Luna was already hurrying back to him, having killed three of the Forsaken with ease. The monsters were large humanoid creations with hands instead of tendrils. They had eight legs that ended in what looked like single talons. Their black bodies rippled with muscle, but it was their faces that scared the others.

Instead of eyes and a normal mouth and nose, they had a giant orifice with razor sharp teeth in several rows. Like a lamprey, they would latch onto their victim and drain them of life while tearing them apart with their talons. They could even hold the victim in place with their powerful looking hands.

"Any other creatures down there?" he asked.

Luna nodded. "A few. These were just the first ones I ran into. Still, there are thousands of Forsaken for them to work through."

Turning back to his recruits, he rubbed his hands together. "What I'm about to do will cause you more pain than you can imagine. You will scream and pass out, but once you wake, you will be ravenous, thus the corpses. I'll watch over you the entire time."

One by one, they nodded and James got started. Touching each of them with his soul, he found the process to be even easier than before. Crushing their cultivation, or simply activating the soul in Grace's case only took a small fraction of power.

Once the screaming started, James nearly closed his eyes to focus on something else. Grace was the first to collapse, followed by Tian. It was only when he met Zenaria's eyes, that he found her looking bored. Cocking his brow at her, he watched her shrug and yawn.

He wanted to comment, but something told him that she wanted to keep her past a secret for the time being. When she started to growl, and her stomach followed her a second later, he pointed to the Forsaken. Understanding what she needed to do, she fell onto the monster and started to feast.

With her handled, James focused on the other two. Grace seemed like she would be the first to wake up as her soul settled into an ember within minutes. The skunk seemed happy, despite the pain she was in.

Tian would take longer as his cultivation was further along. James had to grind him down and rebuild him, and it would take a few days to absorb all of the pieces of his old core.

Once Zenaria finished eating, Luna took her away. The woman was far weaker than she was before, and Luna would protect the kitsune while she learned how to Siphon souls and hunt.

Grace woke up a few minutes later and James forced her to eat as Amber came back. Once the skunk was full, the nekorian took her away to do the same as Luna.

Tian was the odd one out and it wasn't until Mender returned to take him that James stopped worrying. His three volunteers would make sure the new cultivators were on their path to strength before setting them free. They had four hours to wait before their reserves were full.

Left alone, James started toward the first complex. What looked like a large domed building, towered over the nearby area. Satellite structures branched off from the large dome, creating much small domes at four points. Those smaller domes branched off in fours as well, leaving one story domes at their ends.

This is going to take a while to search. How many Forsaken will I find inside, and will I have to kill them, or wait for the others to do it for me?

Spreading out his soul, he found Linda already inside the building with Jamie. It seemed part of his question was already answered as he felt souls being drained by the ladies.

James found an entrance to the large dome, just off the main road. A small illuminated path took him to a door that blended in perfectly to the building. If it wasn't for the path, he would never know that the door was even there. As he drew closer, it slid open, letting him enter a small room.

The door shut behind him before an announcement came over some sort of sound system.

"Sterilization in progress. Close eyes and mouth."

Following the instructions, he was buffeted by strong air pressure that blew his clothes around him. Within seconds, it passed, making his ears pop as the voice came back.

"Proceed through door for further testing."

Opening his eyes, he watched the next door open, leading him into an even smaller room with a chair. Taking his seat, he was surprised when metal clamps suddenly locked down his arms and legs.

"Testing biological material commencing."

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Before he could break free, needles sprouted from the cuffs and stabbed into his toughened flesh. The fact that they could pierce his skin told him that this was no ordinary place.

"Warning! Warning! Warning!"

James frowned as an alarm started blaring from the speakers.

"All security forces respond to Protocol Alpha-9."

Pulling on the clamps, he found that he could stress them, but not break them right away. With a growing frown, he watched some sort of sentry gun drop from the ceiling as a red dot blinked into place on his chest.

"Well, that's not good," he murmured.

"Do not move," the voice warned. "Security will dispose of Valiant as humanely as possible."

The barrels of the sentry started to glow white and James felt his eyes widen. Using Soul Pulse, he shattered the restraints and chair before throwing himself backward. The sentry fired a blast of plasma that distorted the air and burned his flesh from a distance.

Hissing in pain, he smashed into the door behind him, denting the metal. The sentry started to charge up again when he rushed forward and jumped at the turret. Grabbing the base of the machine, he pulsed his soul, destroying the mechanics inside as the doors around him started to bend.

"I have him!" someone shouted.

A moment later, Amber's claws ripped apart her door before she was in the room. She only paused for a moment before taking in the sentry gun and leaping at it. With her Soul Claws, she managed to scratch the metal, but failed to destroy it.

Pulling with all of his might, James felt his muscles bulge as he continued to pulse the machine. With a ripping sound of metal giving way, he tore the turret from the ceiling and dropped it to the ground.

"What the fuck was that?" Amber asked.

Breathing heavy, James watched the second door collapse and Luna appeared. Behind her was Mender and Jamie, while the others came through Amber's door.

"Some sort of security measure against my kind," James stated. "Whatever they were doing here has to be something they needed to protect greatly."

Luna started to rub his arm before tutting, "Someone needs to stay with you at all times."

"I'll take over training for Luna," Jamie offered. "She's the only one strong enough to help James if something like this happens again."

"I have a question," Mender voiced. "Why couldn't you break out right away?"

James showed his arms to them. "Whatever technology they used was strong enough to get through my defenses. I think we all need to be careful in this place."

Once they were all in agreement, they split up again. Linda went back into the building, while Jamie took Zenaria back into the city. The kitsune already had a decent amount of strength to her soul which was beyond impressive.

Amber lingered for a moment.

"Go," he ordered. "The others need you, Amber. You'll know if I need you again."

Closing her eyes for a moment, she nodded. "Be careful, James. For me?"

"I will." Cupping her cheek with his hand, he gave her a reassuring smile. "Now go and teach our new family members what it means to cultivate like we do."

Pressing into his hand, she smiled. "I will." Turning, she pulled Grace with her.

Mender took Tian again before James found Luna glaring at him. "Yes?"

"Why don't you comfort me like that?"

The jealousy was clear in her tone and mannerisms as he backed up a step. "I do…"

Huffing, she turned and walked into the facility. Realizing he was in trouble with his wife again, he followed, hoping they could discover something that would distract her.

***

Amber walked with Grace back to a nearby street they were starting to clear.

"Does he always comfort you like that?" Grace asked suddenly.

Frowning, Amber touched her cheek. "Sometimes. Why?"

"I've never seen him touch another like that." With a shrug, Grace summoned her claws. "Maybe you should have made a move on him while you could."

Chuckling, Amber shook her head. "No, it's okay. If I'm meant to be with him like that, it'll happen when it's needed most."

Amber didn't want to share more than that. James had his soulmate already, even if Amber was supposed to be that person. She couldn't admit it to James and Luna that she had to decline and push James away. With what the future was supposed to hold, Amber couldn't be in a relationship with James.

Sighing, she let her hand drop from her cheek. "Are you ready to kill a few more things?"

"I still don't know how to fight," Grace grunted. "Any advice?"

Humming, Amber summoned her claws. "We are natural predators. You should be able to kill most of these monsters if you let your instincts take over. The elves, dwarves, oni, and all the others have nothing on us. It's time to prove to yourself and James that you are strong and reliable."

Nodding, Grace did something that Amber wasn't prepared for. She spun in a circle and sent a ball of gas towards the humanoid monster. When it exploded, a green toxin spread around her foe before the monster started to shake and cough. A moment later, it was slinking to the ground as Grace ran toward it.

"What the hell was that?" Amber questioned.

Grace laughed as she tore through the throat of the monster while Siphoning its soul. Once it was dead, she returned to Amber's side. "I'm a skunk, remember. We have gas attacks and apparently with my change, they are toxic."

Eyes wide, Amber stepped back. "Umm…"

"Don't worry," Grace waved her off. "I won't use it if you are fighting close to the monsters. I would hate to explain to James that I nearly killed you."

"Right…" Amber said nervously. "How long does the cloud linger?"

Both of them glanced at the monster and drifting green poison. "I don't know," Grace admitted. "I'll have to keep testing it."

Retracting her claws, Amber started down the street, skirting the toxic cloud as far as she could. This is going to be a long day. Why did I not know that she had a gas attack?

***

Mender stayed with Tian, his hands empty as he hadn't replace his last staff. He was prepared to use Consecration if needed, but the ebony man was tearing through monsters with aggression that he had only seen in Linda.

"You can slow down, you know," Mender commented, which was a mistake.

Tian turned on him and snarled. "I can't. I have to get stronger."

Nodding, Mender didn't question it further. The man had something that he needed to run from, and to do that, he needed the strength to be away from the city. Just like Zenaria was running from something too.

Mender could only watch as Tian tore into another monster with his giant sword. The humanoid creatures had already torn open his chest and stomach multiple times, but the man wouldn't stop.

Tian's Regeneration always kicked in when needed, but if he didn't slow down, his reserves weren't going to be ready for when he needed them.

After the next monster, Mender forcefully stopped him. "Enough!"

"Let me go!"

Mender used his soul to press down on the man, stopping him in place. "You need to fight carefully until your reserves are full. I don't want to explain to James that you died and couldn't be brought back because you are impatient and stubborn."

Giving up on struggling, Tian lowered his sword. "Very well. I'll wait."

Letting out a relieved breath, Mender let the man go. "We can talk about the skill you might get at level one, and I can explain your character sheet." With an agreeing nod from Tian, Mender started in on what he knew.

***

Jamie walked with Zenaria as the woman touched the shadows all around them. The way the kitsune seemed to know exactly how to manipulate them was scary. None of them had gained a elemental skill quite as easily as Zenaria.

She can already use the shadows and it's only been minutes. How strong is she going to become, and why didn't she feel any pain when she was changed?

She wanted answers, but Jamie knew not to ask. If Zenaria wanted to share, she would. But it was quickly becoming obvious that she knew how to use those wires of hers.

With subtle movements, the kitsune wrapped the monsters in wire and shredded their bodies with a few pulls. They were cut to pieces as she Siphoned their souls before moving on. Not once was the touched.

"We should take a break soon," Jamie suggested.

"Why?" Zenaria asked. "I'm almost level one."

Jamie really couldn't find a reason to stop, especially as her charge hadn't been touched. Cursing to herself, she settled in to watch the kitsune grow stronger than the other two. She could already feel Zenaria trying to spread out her soul, even though it only went a few inches. The woman was learning quickly, and it was honestly terrifying.

James might have to handle her training. He'll be able to direct her far better than I can.

Vowing to talk to her brother, she settled in to watch the kitsune cut through the monsters with ease that shouldn't be possible at her level.

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