Kaelen's first act of thievery was swiping a warm loaf of bread from Mrs. Henderson's windowsill when he was just seven. The guilt ate at him for a week; it felt like a hot, bad taste that ruined every bite.
Ten years later, he stole a man's soul, or at least what made him *more* than just human.
This time? No guilt. Just a massive, all-consuming need that blocked everything else.
It went down on a Tuesday. Turns out, Tuesdays are when the Veil is most likely to be weak. The news even covered it with happy graphics. The rich folks in their shiny towers probably had it marked: Apocalypse? Maybe. Wear armor. For Kaelen, it was just the day his last bit of hope died.
He stood in a line that stretched for three blocks, a river of people wanting something from the Lyceum District's charity place. The air was thick with the smells of wet concrete, cheap coffee, and the sharp tang from their machines. You could taste desperation, and Kaelen had been breathing it in for two years.
He shuffled forward. He could feel the cold from the ground through holes of his shoes. Up ahead, the woman in front of him sobbed quietly as they turned her away. She didn't have enough money to pay. His own little stash felt like it was dying in his pocket.
Next! The worker sounded bored. A woman with a blank face didn't even look up from her computer. ID and scan.
Kaelen slid his beat-up ID card. He put his thumb on the scanner, and a blue light scanned his hand. The screen showed his data. He already knew what it said. He was a number in their system and close to the point of being removed without trace.
Seventeen point three credit, she said. One lottery ticket. Put your hand on the thing.
Seventeen point three credits. Two years of picking through trash, taking the worst jobs, and going to bed hungry. All for a shot at the stuff the rich didn't want: changing your hair color, talking to bugs, or lifting a teacup with your mind.
A life of serving or simple tricks. Still, it was a life. A chance to be more than nothing.
His heart pounded. He wiped his hand on his pants because it was sweaty. He reached out, and his fingers touched the smooth thing.
The machine started, and the energy traveled up his arm. Glass tubes filled with light. The pressure was high, and he wondered what was happening. He could feel it—the source of all power, a huge ocean touching his edge and looking for something to use for the money he put in.
He closed his eyes, put his hope on one thought, and begged, Please, not something bad. Something that can get me out of this.
The pressure stopped.
A beep echoed.
The worker sighed, making a face as if he had ruined her day. No match for your credit. Processed. Next.
Those words hit him hard. He couldn't breathe. He stood there with his hand on the thing, his mind blank.
No, he whispered. That's all I have. Check it.
The machines don't mess up, she said, finally looking. She didn't care. You don't have the stuff. Your credit is gone. Move or get out.
He didn't have it. That was it. He was nothing. His hope since he was a kid broke, and it fell into nothing. The hunger in his gut went crazy. It wasn't just for food anymore. It wanted warmth, light, a future, and the power they just said he couldn't have.
He backed away. The world felt wrong. People stared with pity.
Another one.
Lost his credit.
He's from the Undercity. What did he think?
He didn't run. He walked like a ghost through the Lyceum's doors, pushed by his failure. He ended up in an alley, surrounded by gross concrete and trash. A pink sign from a cheap food place made the puddles look sick.
He fell against a wall and sat, pulling his knees up and holding them. The emptiness felt real, a hole that might swallow him. He was empty. He had nothing to give.
I have and am gone.
That was his last thought.
Then he heard a scream, followed by energy.
He looked around the corner. A guy in a suit was backed against the wall, holding up his hands. Two guys, who were obviously not just common thugs, faced him. One had skin that looked black, and his fists were on fire. A powerful combo. Enforcers.
Please! the suited guy begged. I have money! Transfer everything!
Money is fine, the fire guy said. But your thing is better. A Space Pocket, right? Rare. Expensive.
The suited man turned white. You can't! It's against the rules! Punishment is horrible!
Nobody is here to save you, the other thug said. He raised his hand, and a red thing appeared in the air. It was going to tear the thing from the suited man's soul. It would hurt and leave him empty or dead.
Kaelen should have run. This was bad. But he was stuck, watching the scene. He saw the red thing connect to the suited man, and a silver light, his Space Pocket thing, started to get torn out.
As Kaelen watched, the emptiness inside him reacted.
It moved.
It wasn't empty anymore. It was hungry.
He wasn't trying to think. His body moved on its own.
The two thugs were focused on the guy they were hurting.
Kaelen reached out, not with his hand, but with his entire body.
It was like using a muscle he didn't know he had. A pull came from inside, a silent thing. The air messed up around him, and the neon lights looked weird.
The red thing broke.
The silver light just floated in the air. Then, it changed directions and went straight into Kaelen's chest.
The world went crazy.
He felt space inside himself. It wasn't just a feeling. He could sense it—a spot of nothing, right there. It was huge, bigger than his building. He just knew he could use it to store stuff. It was his.
He knew about the Space Pocket and how it worked.
The two thugs stared in shock. Then the fire guy got angry. What did you do, you little nothing?
He charged, trying to kill him.
Kaelen didn't panic. The hunger just wanted more.
Everything slowed down. Kaelen saw the fist coming. He lifted his hand and let the hunger go.
More.
The flame changed flow into his hand like water. In an instant, it had all transferred to Kaelen. He wasn't burning. He felt alive.
The thug stared at his normal hand, his face scared. My fire! It's gone!
The other thug fumbled with a knife. His eyes were huge with fear. He's a Soulshifter!
Soulshifter. The word stuck.
The fire guy didn't think. He charged, relying on his size.
Kaelen didn't move. The fire inside him wanted to go out. He knew how to use it. He shot a spear of fire from his hand. It slammed into the charging man and sent him into the wall. He hit the ground and didn't move.
The other thug ran.
No. The hunger talked to him. He wanted the man's power. It would make him safe. Take it.
Kaelen reached for the man's back.
The thug yelled as a grey energy got ripped from his body. It was heavy. It was like taking a tree from the ground. The energy went into Kaelen, into his bones and skin. He felt strong on the earth.
He looked at his hands. His skin looked like rock. He tapped the wall, and it felt okay, hard and firm. He was a statue.
It was silent. The thugs were down, one knocked out, and the other curled up in fear. The suited guy was alive, but he was empty.
Kaelen stood there, feeling full. The emptiness was gone.
He understood what he was now. He could feel the three energies inside him. He knew he could use them. He was a container.
He wasn't nothing anymore.
He was a thief. A Soulshifter.
The man groaned, and Kaelen looked at him. Then, he looked at the thugs. He was serious. The world was still bad. The machine sold power, and the gangs stole it.
But he... he could eat it.
He knelt next to the suited man. Sorry, he whispered. He looked through the man's pockets. He found a lot of chips and a nice tablet. He focused on them, and they went somewhere safe.
He stood up and focused. The rock look on his skin went away, changed back to himself. But inside, he had three powers.
He walked out of the alley, not as a nothing, but as something dangerous. The city lights, once a symbol that he'd been rejected, now looked different, like they were a feast.
They said he was empty and bad.
Now, he would swallow their world, one soul at a time, until his own was the only one that mattered. Something cold said one word in his head, both a promise and a threat.
Mine.