Ning sat on his couch and looked at the vial in his hand. The light violet mixture glistened under the bright light; a serum that could make anyone without a power in the past into a superhero.

Sadly, he could hardly care about it. If not for the fact that there was no one else he could give it to, he wouldn’t even be thinking of taking it.

But the idea of seeing what sort of powers he could unlock via this vial was still a fun one.

He turned it over in his fingers the same way he had done at the president’s office, watching the light violet liquid catch the lamplight. The Aullazire inside had been fully utilized, so there were no sparkles left.

"Well, here goes nothing."

He uncorked it and drank it.

It tasted like nothing. Slightly salty, maybe, but otherwise unremarkable. However, it did have a very low viscosity, even lower than water, and it slipped right through his throat with him hardly noticing it. He tossed the empty vial to the side and crossed his arms in wait.

All he could do now was wait.

Since he didn’t need sleep, he figured he’d just watch some TV while waiting for the awakening to take place. He had the System ready to tell him when the changes became apparent.

For a while, nothing happened.

Then, 2 hours in, the System spoke.

<The Aullazire particles that had entered the body are now beginning to disperse through the bloodstream. They are actively seeking anchor points in the physical structure, finding spots within your bones, muscles, and neural tissues. This process will take some time to complete>

"How long exactly?" Ning asked.

<Between 3 and 4 hours. The process is dependent on how the particles interact with the individual and the individual’s actions as well. It is randomness of the highest order>

Ning settled in and waited. He could feel something, distantly. Not pain exactly—more like pressure from the inside, creating a slight itch throughout his body that was too weak to need his immediate attention. If he had been asleep, he wouldn’t have even noticed it at all.

The itch lasted multiple hours as his body slowly adapted to the serum.

<The Aullazire particles have finished bonding to the physical self. There are no longer discrete crystals left from the serum>

Ning raised an eyebrow. "Then do I have a new power now?"

<Not yet. The newly settled crystals should take an hour more to come into resonance with the crystals that were already in your body. Only when they reach a certain degree will you gain your power>

Ning frowned. "What does that mean, exactly?"

<When Aullazire bonds to a living host in sufficient quantity, the particles begin to resonate with one another as well as with the person themselves. Each particle alone is inert. Together, they form a frequency, creating a specific vibrational signature unique to the individual. That frequency is what a power in this world is built on>

Ning thought about that. "So anyone with a frequency can have a power?"

<Correct>

"Don’t different people need different amounts of Aullazire in their body, though?" he asked.

<Since the Aullazire crystals must enter into resonance with the individual’s body to provide them with their power, there is a certain amount that is required for each individual>

<Some people gain their powers with a lesser amount of the crystals, as they are enough to reach resonance. But others need Aullazire crystals in higher amounts, resulting in a majority of the population being without power>

"I see. So that’s how it works," Ning said as he nodded in understanding.

<Yes. The serum provides the Aullazire in sufficient quantity to make the bonding possible>

"Could I have just crushed some Aullazire crystals into powder and snorted it? Would that have worked?" Ning asked. The crystals felt a lot like Spark in that they were a powder that gave power. However, while Spark was a fuel for power, these crystals were the entire engine.

<You could have, but it doesn’t work with a regular person. The crystals on their own are glass-like and dangerous to ingest in any way. A regular person’s body will also reject them outright, causing a high fever and other symptoms. The best way to use them is in a solution that diminishes their sharpness and keeps the body from reacting to them>

Ning had learned somewhat about how the powers of this world worked, but he had never gone into such detail. Only today was he finding out so much about them.

The itching began subsiding a while later before completely vanishing. Then, around midnight, Ning got the System’s notification.

<Bonding complete>

<Frequency established>

<Congratulations! You have a new power>

Ning didn’t feel anything different at all. "What did I get?"

<Kinetic Dampening. You are able to reduce the kinetic energy of any object that makes contact with your body. The degree of reduction scales with focus and intent>

"Kinetic Dampening?" he repeated.

<Correct>

"Isn’t that useless for me? I’m already able to survive anything that comes my way."

<Also correct>

Ning sighed. "And here I thought I would gain something I hadn’t thought to buy from the system."

<Would you like to change the frequency of your physical body?>

Ning slapped his face with his palm upon hearing the system’s words. "No need. I don’t want a pity power when I can just get any I wish to anyway. I’m done for now."

Ning didn’t want to sleep, so he decided to leave the house for a bit and go keep watch around the city. Crimes hardly took a break at nighttime anyway.

He roamed the city for a few hours, saving someone from a car crash and stopping a mugging just as it was about to start, before returning early in the morning.

He had just arrived back home when he got a call from Blake.

"Please come to the Agency’s training facility as soon as you are free."