Marcus had more than enough of this horrible day. Exploding planes, killer commandos, a murdered child, a ruined church, he wished to move on from this day, but it was by no means over yet. Not long after their meeting officials of all sorts showed up and started to question him about every detail of the events. Once again Marcus had to suffer through all of it. At least he wasn't alone this time. Over the whole day somebody from the Colors was always next to him and he was grateful for their support.

Eventually all questions had been answered and the rest was up to the officials. There would be committees, sanctions and maybe even worse. But it would take time and it wasn't really about him or even the dead people in the plane. What happened from here on was power politics, interests, leverage, spheres of control. The USA had made a bad move and the other big players would punish them for it.

"I think you are too cynical," Janette said, and offered Marcus a chocolate bar. He took it and welcomed some extra sugar to his diet. They were walking over the estate and watched the daily life of the clan members. "People are very angry. And if you had seen the comments in the internet you would know it is very much about you. Your fans are furious," Janette explained, and Marcus was thankful for her words. "Kou is working on a press conference later tonight. Nothing big, just you talking about what happened and showing that you are healthy," She said and Marcus sighed. He finished his chocolate bar and felt a tiny bit better. Janette gave him a look, "Your fans want to see you. Imagine how you would feel in their place." Marcus had to give in, but not without some grumpy sounds.

If by coincidence or subconscious choice they ended up near the barracks and a bunch of the rookies were huddled up, chanting "BOB! BOB! BOB!" Drawn in by the spectacle Marcus and Janette joined them, only to find Fin doing something with his Shadow Mass on the ground. The little blob was pushing against a small stone and apparently tried to move it beyond a line made out of small sticks. Slowly and steadily the blob moved, while Fin's hand stayed about ten centimeters away from it. When the little stone passed the line the crowd exploded in cheers, "BOB!" They shouted and Fin took the blob on his hand, raising the champion up for all to see. "I see, you are working hard," Marcus said, with a grin and only now they all realized who had joined them.

"You gave your Shadow Mass a name?" Marcus asked, as the crowd evaporated and left Fin to fend for himself. "Yes, Bob the blob," the young man said, with a wide smile. Marcus nodded while Janette laughed. "Have you done your training for today?" Marcus asked, and Fin shook his head. "Because of what happened all activities were canceled," he said, and gave his teacher a worried look. "Don't worry about me, I heal very quickly. Go and change, I will oversee your training," Marcus said, and Fin vanished to change. "You will be fine with Fin?" Janette asked, and he nodded. She gave him another chocolate bar and moved towards the villa. How many of those things does she have, Marcus thought.

She knows you well, Marcus.

Yes she does, he thought and started to snack on his soul food.

Concentrating on Fin's training was a good way for Marcus to get some time to think. He felt calm, far more so than he had expected. In spite of the dramatic events, he wasn't upset or disturbed. But it was maybe exactly because of what happened that he felt different now. He had nearly died, he knew that better than anybody else. Death was never far away in battle, but today he had seen it coming and at some point had accepted it. That experience had washed away a lot of his minor worries and changed his perspective, in a way he didn't yet fully understand. Marcus listened inside himself, but Xeen stayed quiet. Was this something he had to figure out on his own?

Give it time. Accept the change and don't fight it.

Marcus took a deep breath and concentrated on Fin in front of him. His disciple had already made some progress, not only physically but also with Bob. Even while Marcus made him train, the little black blob moved and jumped around. Bob also changed his form slightly, another hint that Fin had become better at controlling his Shadow Mass. Keeping Fin away from the official Warlock training path had been more successful than Marcus had hoped.

Instead of only activating his natural creativity it had caused Fin to walk down a very different road than the common sense suggested. Warlocks train to think of the Shadow Mass as a part of their own body, to make it natural to use it. Not a bad idea, but Fin had on instinct decided to treat his Shadow Mass as something like a pet. This fundamentally different way of thinking would lead to something new, Marcus was sure of it.

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Marcus watched Fin train under the afternoon sun. A soft wind moved the trees around them. This idyllic moment was a stark contrast to the horrors Marcus had witnessed just hours before. His gaze went inwards and memories of the battle rushed through his mind. He could feel something stirring in his mind. The battle in the church, the red ball that exploded and brought the church to ruin…. His mind went back to it and tried to reconstruct what happened. The events were like a key. Marcus knew he had witnessed something of great importance. Impulse Wave went off, but was it really his Impulse Hammer that had triggered it? The events were murky in his mind.

Fin was performing jumping jacks and Marcus watched him jump up and down, over and over. Yes, compressing his energy and unloading massive attacks had been helpful, but now he wondered if that was his fourth ability. Maybe he had been able to do this all the while, but never tried it before? Grace had just recently proven that Channel Light can be 'twisted'. That wasn't a new ability, but a more advanced understanding of the ability itself. Marcus had a hunch and he was closing in on an idea that was simply mind warping. What if the fourth ability allowed him to modify not only his own actions, but all physical events around him?

Marcus' eyes followed Fin's jumping motion and focused on the area his feet touched the ground. Every time the ground underneath his shoes deformed slightly and small pebbles moved and blades of grass gently shook. He jumped up again and landed a second later. He jumped up again and Marcus concentrated on the ground. In Marcus' mind, he covered the area in a red energy bubble and imagined how it would expand once Fin touched the ground. Fin's feet came down again and nothing happened. Marcus tried again but now he covered only Fin's shoes, but it was another dud.

Timing was important for Impulse Hammer, maybe this was the case here too, Marcus thought. Marcus tried to catch the moment Fin's shoes connected to the ground. Only then a red energy sphere formed around the point of impact. He failed again, the timing was hard even with the rhythmic movement. Three more times he tried and was about to give up when he changed his timing to a split second before the feet hit the ground.

As Fin touched the ground the earth beneath him shook, stones flew away and leaves fell from the tree. The unexpected shock wave made Fin stumble and fall over. "WHAT just happened?" He exclaimed, with wide eyes and Marcus started to laugh. He laughed until tears came out and Fin thought he was making fun of him. "No, no, no. All is well Fin. You just helped me immensely. Sorry for not warning you before, but I wasn't sure it would work at all," Marcus explained, and smiled all over his face.

He and Ye-jun had been right before, but they also had been completely wrong. His scream had caused a shock wave and so had his stomp. But that wasn't the true form of his ability, it was so much more powerful than he had ever imagined. While Marcus celebrated, Fin was still baffled by his behavior and Marcus told him he could stop for today.

Exhausted and sweating, Fin was about to leave, when Marcus stopped him with a smile,

"You have made great progress with your base ability Fin. I am very proud of you. From now on I want you to include Bob in your daily chores and tasks. Use him as a tool in whatever way you can imagine. Every time you perform any task, ask yourself how you could include Bob to do it." Fin looked unsure, "All the time sir?" Marcus nodded fervently.

As Fin walked back to his barracks Marcus concentrated on his invisible companion. No comment from you, Xeen?

I can see your Astral Body and I can read your thoughts and yet you surprise me with your insights in the nature of frameworks. Well done.

Marcus took the praise and clenched his fist out of excitement, he couldn't wait to tell Kim. He took a deep breath and returned his thoughts to Xeen.

What did you do in the church? The effect of the talismans vanished from me.

You know I have improved my understanding about the Astral Plane and Astral Bodies a lot since we have started our journey. When the talisman was put on you I was able to clearly isolate its effect on your Astral Body and with some effort I was able to remove it.

Wait! Does that mean you can neutralize class abilities that directly affect my Astral Body?

Evidence would say so. It takes some time, but with more experience and training I will definitely become faster at it.

That sounds absolutely broken! Is that even allowed?

Do you think somebody will hit you with the rule book?

Not really, but are there not enforcers who watch over the Astral Plane? They might have opinions about your meddling.

You are not wrong. I have been wondering about this since we connected, which I believe is a far greater violation of the rules. If there are any.

We need to be careful with this trick, to not draw too much attention. This should only be used in emergencies, until we find a way to obscure your involvement.

Are you not going to praise me for my achievement?

Well done Xeen. I am very proud of you.

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