I continued roaming around when an anomaly caught my attention almost immediately.
At first glance she appeared no different from the thousands of other souls moving through the streets of the city. A middle-aged woman with long white hair walked calmly through the crowd while carrying a small bag in one hand, occasionally stopping to inspect a storefront or exchange greetings with familiar faces.
Yet the longer I observed, the more unusual she became. Every resident carried soul force.
That was normal.
Every resident carried a registration mark. That was normal too.
She carried both.
But something else was happening. Soul force continuously leaked from her body. Not enough for ordinary people to notice. Not enough to affect her daily life.
But enough for me.
Thin streams of silver energy escaped her soul every second before being drawn toward the distant center of the region through channels I couldn't immediately identify.
