Nyctophagia POV

  The announcer looked at the spectators for today's show. It was a rag-tag group of kids trying to get their [Skills] under trol, some had the [Hunger] in their eyes. They craved reition... They craved [Vengance] against a world that despised them.

  Some oher spectrum craved [Hope], the idea that they could strive for somethier than the hand they had been given, they had ideas of how ing here could get them [Fixed]. Of course that was a misreition that he would crush right now.

  "[First let's get something out of the way.]" He said while one of the tendrils of shadows in his back pulled a s from the ceiling. "[We will not take away anyone's Skill. If you came to get ary at triggering. Leave.]" A few of the spectators defted at that.

  Among the ohat didn't seem to mind that was a girl who looked way too simir to [Ea], a girl that was called [Alice] acc to Nyctoxis. He was half vihat the girl was the hidden daughter of [Ea], if nothing she stood among the crowd as most kept their distance from her.

  He could almost taste the sweet aroma from her [Shadows], maybe [Ea] wouldn't mind if he took a bite out of her?

  *Grrr*

  Ups, it seemed that was a no.

  The stingy [Warden] hidden in his shadow grumbled and remembered him to tinue. "[Now most anizations say here something along the lines of: The [Hero] association knows what we do, if you e to try and bring us down...bbbb.]" He loved this part. "[We aren't like most, and no Hero wannabe would e here uhey had to.]" His audience grumbled at this.

  They k too, no one came to [Ea] uhey o. They were the [Tainted], no one wao i with them. Why they even despised the idea of livihem unless someone in their family was [Tainted]...Or they o hide from the powers to be.

  "[Now if you want to work as a Herical Girl after getting your skill or tract fixed...That is your prerogative, we will not hold it against you. The service to the taint is expensive if you aren't one of ours...But the first five years are free so you focus on that.]" Some seemed surprised at this, they always did.

  He wasn't sure why [Ea] bothered to get them five years free...No oed one year as a [Justice Wannabe] while [Tainted], their o e get the [Taint] with [Ea] made sure no one would take them seriously. And if they even had the power to get to high tiers?

  Well the [Saintsworths] had their own way to deal with the [Taint], not that it was as effective...And while they cimed that they would have been able to deal with [The Stygian Bane] if they had been around... [Ea] cimed otherwise. And he would listen to his boss over the [Corpos].

  "[So with that out of the way...We wele you to your Indu into our ranks if. You are free to leave at any point during this...But if I was you...I would stay.]" He said while walking out of the stage, he would love to sit in the spectator's area, but the [Warden] in his shadow would grumble, so he settled to see the spectacle from the [VIP] area with the other lieutenants.

  Elizabeth POV

  The bck-masked man finally left the stage, he gave her the creeps and she didn't want to see him more than needed, she could almost swear that he was salivating every time she felt the mask turn to the area she was seated at.

  Something about his [Shadow] seemed...[Wrong].

  So when he left and joihe other four people in one of the balies that would usually be used by [VIP] she let out a sigh of relief, she couldn't feel many different [Shadows] around besides those four and a fifth behind the stage. Most of those around her were... Muted.

  The shadows reacted weirdly around them as if their skill wao act but were being suppressed. She didn't feel the suppression anymore, but she also o ward herself against other shadows wanting to infiltrate into her [Shadow Essence]. So she was half a mind of asking for another red bracelet.

  She didn't have much time for her musing sihe lights focused oage once more while a song started pying in the background. It was almost orchestral...

  A cloud of white smoke started ing into the stage while fires started going around the stage, they didn't seem to burage as if the shadows stopped it from busting.

  And as the music started the curtain was raised showing a woman sitting on a thro the top of an ored stair, as it started gaining momentum more and more beams of light started showing illuminating figures at the sides of the stairs, they looked like the statues of different monsters from the mythological era.

  Each statue was illuminated when the chorus in the music said a name, first it started with deities and a heroes... As the song got momentum and the beams of light started getting higher iairs it started giving names she reized.

  "Those are fallen [Hero]'s names..." Mumbled Alice, the statues with [Hero]'s names had similitudes to those fallen heroes, as if they hoheir memories. Perhaps the same design or style...

  But some of those she had seen while researg [The Stygian Bane], as names of heroes that tried to fight and tain the darkest episode of humanity. Soon enough the light would get to the woman at the top and in the moment it came to her she finally heard the name of the person she had e here to see.

  "[Ea - The Mother of Monsters.]" And so the woman stood from the throne, she started walking dowairs...And...The statues...Followed her, eaorphing and fusing into a mass of living shadows that took a facsimile look as if the maw of a dragon.

  She didn't notice when or how but she was tied to the seating by dark tendrils that had grown from the floor. And oage, the stairs had melted and joihe amorphous mass on maws, Alice idly wondered if Nyx would one day grow to that size...Or if its shadons could mahat if she got enough power.

  She got pulled out of the reverie when the woman started speaking "Sorry about that, but I was told that my [Skill] o be used so you all could get the point across." It was...A beautiful voice. It was as if the angels had e down and blessed that woman with a sweet motherly tone.

  It was...Perfect.

  The woman made a gesture with her hand and all the monsters growled at them before sinking into the shadows...She could swear one of them licked its lips while looking at her...Why is everyone here weirdos that wao eat her?!?

  "As you all may have guessed, we have a way of trolling [The Taint]. Mostly by infusing a special [Skill] into these." Said the woman while showing a red bracelet.

  "These allow the wearers to trol their [Taint] by having the inbuilt skill deal with the corrupted mana." She...Didn't hose anymore then?

  "Of course, there is a limit to these bracelets and you [Will] o e for a sing from time to time, depending on your attrition rate while using skills and your mentality." The woman said while throwing the bracelet into the air and a blur jumped from her shadow into one of the walls where it turned into a shadow once again.

  So no one would get that particur bracelet.

  "These are meant to be silver once worn by someone, if you see it in a red color then it means that you are being affected by the [Taint] tinuously, so return to the base. At red, the bracelet will not provide guidanless it's about to burst to make it easier to withhold the stress." That...Was bad, so the one she used was at full capacity the whole time?

  "So...Any questions?" Said the woman waiting for someone from the spectators to raise questions.

  No one did, they all were focused on looking at the wall where the bracelet had flown.

  So she had to bite the bullet...Why had she do....

  "Will those bracelets be up only for those who will work with yanization?" Said Alice after raising her hand, no sense waiting for them to tell her to go for it if no one else was raising their hand.

  The woman turo her and instead of admonishing her just smiled. "No, you all will receive one of these and that will be lio you. We will have to take the one you have and sync the information to the new one..." She said while pointing backward to some people who were hangihe door but didn't want to leave.

  They all at once gred her way but didn't say anything, a few of them reized her as the girl that had made the shadows around them tremble after all.

  "...So if you want to leave you are free to do so. You will get a bracelet at the exit, there at reception State what you will hem for, Civilian grades will give you lower priority at the ing pods, but they will be free to use, the bracelet will tell you when one is open and that will be your option if you wish to use them. Oher hand, while high-grade ones will grant you priority for five years on the ing pods... After that period of time, you will o pay for the use of ing pods. Sihe high-grade ones are designed forous use of your [Skill] or [Mana] we do o get money off this." Said the woman while waiting for the people to leave. Some did leave, of course, but more than half of those that had hidden his faces with masks, helmets, or hoodies with scarfs did.

  Very few of those that didn't hide their face decided to stay, of those...Most didn't hide their face because their [Skills] made it too obvious who they were, sometimes...Wheriggers] the [Skill] decides that it needs extra help to use its power.

  In those situations the powered ends with modifications to their body, an example could be how a flyer with a weak [Core] would end with wings in its back... Or with hidden els in its body to gee and use as jets for flying.

  How maybe someone could produce a chemical in their hands to gee a bio fmethrower...

  Or how some ended with horns or demonic appearahose that stood behind were mostly in that category...And Alice.

  "Perfect!" Said the Ea measuring those who decided to stay. "Know that if you wish to leave we will do everything in our power to make your civilian life as fortable as possible.

  One of those that stood behind just gru that, the guy was almost three meters tall, and she somehow doubted that he would be able to live a normal civilian life.

  "That includes you big boy, there are plenty of stru firms that would love to have you, and if they don't we at [The Hydra's Fang] do have a stru firm for our more...Extreme works." Added Ea, making the guy look away meekly.

  Alice couldn't help but let out a small giggle at the iion, it was as if Ea was a mother chastising their kids.

  "Now with that out of the way follow me." Said the woman while smiling and maybe she was imagining things, but she could swear that Ea had winked her way.

  Did she know who she was?

  Impossible, her skill should be perfect.

  She trusted it si was based on her [Shadows]... Gra wasn't one [Shadow Based] before, but now that it was suffused with her [Shadow Esse was closer to her and she could [Feel it].

  They walked for a few minutes while Ea tinued speaking about the advantages of w for her as if they had options. Most of these that decided to stay either had a too obvious [Skill] or they had a dangerous [Skill] that they wished to keep under trol.

  After finishing their walk they arrived at an underground arena, they had taken a few elevators and walked across a few hallways where they could see some rooms with cristal walls that allowed them to see inside. In those powereds used their skills in different ways, most failed at simple tasks too.

  "We will test your skills against a dummy here, it's like the testing you would get at one of the schools for metahumans. But since you all have some degree of [Taint] we will go o the time." And there Ea poio her.

  "You will go first [Alice] since we know you mao get into a school, just show us what you got. Don't worry, if your [Skill] acts up we will deal with it." And like that, she got put in the spotlight.

  Well, she did o impress [Ea] to make her stay easier here so it was good for her anyway...

  "Sure, it isn't that amazing but here I go." Said the bck-haired girl while taking a step forward, most of those near her gave way and walked away to one of the walls.

  Cowards.

  "How hard do I go at the thing?" Asked the girl while taking out the hoodie and tying it up at her waist, she made an example of stretg to make time and to [Feel] her shadow. No new influences in it, so she was good for now.

  "We will o use it ter, so just show activation of the [Skill] and a simple [Attack]." Said the woman while putting herself between her and the other attendees.

  Was she proteg them? From her?

  "As long as you are fih only that..." Said the bck-haired girl trying to not think too much about it.

  She felt...Envy, somehow she was a Ea for showing favoritism towards the other attendees when she was here. Helping her.

  A quick look into her [Shadows] found no influence, so this was on her huh. Did she have a Mommy issue now too?

  "First activation...I...Don't really know how to make an example of this." Said the girl while pointing down at her shadow. "They just like to listen to me after all...[Pike]." And after saying so the handle of a type of spear came from the ground.

  She raised it and soon enough a shadow pike was in her hand. "Now usually I would use swords as my main on and these would pop up as obstacles or traps...But sihis is a show..." Said the girl while pying with the pike as if it was weightless.

  "Tei!" And after some flourishing, she threw the spear at the dummy.

  The spear gained speed and shot straight at the dummy, if it was a living being it would be impaled through the heart and nailed into the floor. Of course, she wouldn't do something so vicious against a live target...

  Unless said living target was named Akira...Or was trying to take advantage of [her Rossie].

  "Huh?" Said the girl after the st train of thought.

  "Perfect activation and no evidence of [Taint]." Said Ea while g. She went on to say how Alice had previously used one of the red bracelets and gohrough deination.

  Singing praises to her newfound trol of the skill and use of the right amount of force to ralize a target, she went on and on about how sihe on was made of shadows it made it easier to trol mid-flight and so on.

  But she was busy thinking about something else, she had referred to her friend as [Hers] and didn't think too much about it. Granted Rossie recious friend for her, the first that took a spot in her heart as a true friend.

  But she was...Possessive?

  Why?

  Since when?

  When did she start thinking about her friend as [Hers]... She really o deal with her blonde [Dumb] side, it romising to be a headache. Perhaps she would o visit Alexanders again...Only now she would o do so as [Alice].

  With some luck, they would get them good training at this [Indu].