Felix shivered. He could not tell where warning ended and threat began; Kil had put both into the same offer.He looked at his useless arm. Four servings, then the road, with no guarantee of the other six."I—""I know you're uncertain and afraid. But you'll do it anyway, because I'm making you."You may be afraid to face Daphne and your past. If so, you'll choose the second option. Or perhaps… you'll make a choice of your own."Join another small group and try to live quietly and safely."Felix stared in surprise."You might find a quiet place. You might decide you want what I have. I won't gamble this group on which it turns out to be."Kil approached and casually patted his shoulder."For those four days, learn everything you can. Absorb what I teach you, because…"Whether you live or die, whether you're reborn as someone with a purpose or corrupted by this chaotic world…"That doesn't depend on me."He smiled at the thin, despairing young man and pointed at his chest."It depends

Kil shook his head. He reckoned their breakthroughs gave the women better than a ninety percent chance of surviving. The number came from memory, not from anything he could measure here.In his previous life, even ordinary people had survived to the end of the third stage, some even into the fourth, if they used their heads despite their despair.Evolution potions hadn't been developed then. They had survived on wits alone, eating anything, hiding, desperately avoiding zombies and wild beasts. They cowered in corners, trying to survive by any means.Axel kept watching him, plainly unconvinced. Kil held to his decision.He wanted them to learn to survive without another advantage handed to them. Axel's question about Felix's arm remained unanswered.Kil looked toward the gate his friend had left through. The test would prove nothing if Felix never came back.***April 30, three days after his departure."Seriously… why did I agree to do what he asked?"Felix crouched inside a ransacked

Gabriel's face darkened. He looked grim, but knew the words came from Kil, not Felix.Thinking of the young man who killed so easily, he wondered,"What do you really want from me and the Silver Oath, Kil?"***On April 28, while Felix was still traveling, at Sorrowblade's base…"That puts everyone through their first limit except the children and Felix. None of the three women has a Miracle Root yet."Kil watched Helena and Adeline recover on the bed after their tenth servings. Sweat soaked their clothes, and their faces were flushed."You… How can you look at us like that!"Helena's face was full of anger and resentment.Breaking a limit hurt. Integrating a Miracle Root would hurt more. The women were still recovering from the tenth servings; neither had taken a root.Ignoring Helena's anger, Kil propped up his chin."I'm only watching to make sure nothing goes wrong. Well, I'm glad you both made it through."She looked away without retracting the objection. Axel had said Kil stayed

He turned toward Daphne. Jasper stepped past him to the wounded man without a word. She shrank back, then caught herself. Felix loved her. Surely that had not changed. Bracing herself on the seat to spare her injured left leg, Daphne reached for him in a wheedling appeal. “Felix, I—” SMACK! Daphne recoiled from the slap. Felix lowered his hand. “Don't touch me with those filthy hands.” He ignored the staring faces and drew a deep breath, meeting Daphne's eyes. “You're a scheming, cruel girl. You use people and always think you're better than everyone else. But I can't deny that I liked you. That I even loved you. “I kept thinking that if I stayed, if I helped you, things would change. I wanted a life with you, through good times and bad.” For a moment, his mouth softened into the smile she remembered. “But you disappointed me. Again and again. “I kept coming back even when being with you hurt. I won't do it again. “Eve

Back outside the base, blue light flashed in Kil's eyes. Telekinetic energy sheathed both katanas. He drove at the front of the horde before its ranks could spread around him.His right sword swept from left to right.The left followed in a rising cut before the first body fell. He stepped clear of its weight, keeping room for the next stroke.He leaped, both blades carving across the next ranks as he spun twice.He landed in a downward crosscut. The impact jarred his knees; he drove both edges upward before the opening closed.A diagonal slash tore through the point where the cuts met.He reversed both grips and brought the blades down in another cross.Then he twisted into a rolling turn, swords scything through everything along his path.An upward crosscut finished the rotation. He began the sequence again, correcting his footing as bodies clogged the street.WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH!Compressed air shrieked past the blades. Blue light streamed through the darkness. Each release had to