Kain and his family had no intention of staying for long. They knew the body wasn’t Matthew’s, and they were eager to get back and see what phenomenon would occur.

The boys had already seen an inkling; the girls had not.

Once back in the room, they practically ran to Ashton’s lab. There, Matthew was lying on a body tray. They quickly unbound his body and placed the body bead near his head.

"The number is fading," Dominic said. As he put the bead near Matthew’s ear.

He moved quickly, not thinking about anything except getting the bead into Matthew’s ear.

As soon as it touched his ear, the bear moved of its own accord. Though the movement was much weaker than before, the body still moved.

"It’s still fading," Dominic said.

Matthew’s body twitched. Not as wildly as before, but it still twitched.

Ashton ran over to one side to get an echocardiogram. He ran back as fast as his little feet could carry him. He gave his father instructions about how to use it.

When they found the heart, their faces were surprised. It was obvious that the man’s heart was beating. But it was definitely slowing down.

"Are you sure he was dead when you found him?" Amelia asked.

"He was dead, I’m sure of that. Ashton checked, and I checked. He was definitely dead."

"Look," cried Avery. She was pointing to Matthew’s ear.

A small line of blood came from his ear, and with it came the bead.

Kain, still doing the echo, saw the moment Matthew’s heartbeat stopped. HE stopped, put the instrument down, and looked at the bead.

"What is this thing?" Amelia whispered, bewildered.

"Honestly, I don’t know. I can only guess that every human on the planet possibly has one."

She looked at him quizzically.

"Dominic could see them before the collapse. There are two reasons. One, Source Energy has been around for longer than any of us has realized, and it only exploded now. Two, all humans are born with the ability to use source Energy, but there wasn’t enough in the air for us to actually use.

Now everything has collapsed, Source Energy is becoming more prominent, and our bodies finally have access to it."

He ran a hand through his hair. "Based on what I know, there isn’t a specific technique for humans to use Source Energy. It’s biological. Factors like mental health, strength, environment, all of them decide how much you can use and how far you can go."

Amelia’s brows furrowed. "You never told us that before."

"I didn’t," he admitted. "How do you explain to someone that there are possibly an infinite number of levels, but their body will force them to stop at a certain level?"

The silence in the lab stretched until one of the children broke it.

While Amelia and Kain were talking, the children were talking too. When they finished, they called their parents.

"Mom, Dad. My brother and I know what’s going on." Ashton’s smile was bright. "The bead has energy. It can last for a while, but we don’t know how long. Me and brother guess it was maybe 5 hours.

Maybe if it comes out and we put it back, we can make the person wake up again." He sighed. "It’s too bad we can’t find people to try it."

Kain chuckled, "Alright, stop sighing like an old man. You’ll send your blessings away."

Kain pressed his lips together. It had been a long time since he heard that. It was a phrase his mother used to say. She would always tell him that sighing would blow his blessings away.

He shook his head. He hadn’t seen that woman for more than ten years. He doesn’t even know whether she’s alive or dead. Why did he suddenly think about her?

"No more experiments today. We’re spending the day together as a family. We’ve never done that before."

The three children looked at Kain questioningly.

"We’re going to have fun. No training or experiment." He turned to Dominic, "And you need to put the book away."

The protests came immediately.

"Is spending time with us that bad?" Kain looked at them, hurt in his eyes.

He covered his eyes with his hands and leaned against the wall. His shoulder shook as he pretended to cry.

The children crowded around him, reassuring him that they would play with him.

Amelia watched the performance from the side and smiled.

She thought to herself that Kain was becoming much more lively around them. A month ago, he was muddle-headed. He was confident but also unsure of himself.

Then he tried hard to ensure the people around him lived good lives. As if he were afraid he wouldn’t have food and water. The system didn’t give him security. Even now, there is still some uncertainty, but he is getting better.

One thing she was glad for was his attitude towards people. He wasn’t overly friendly before, but he trusted them too easily, in her opinion. It felt like he was compensating for something.

Now, he kept his distance, and she was delighted.

The play ended quickly. Matthew’s body was placed in a drawer, and the bead in a tube of liquid.

For the rest of the day, Kain and Amelia spent their time playing random board games, computer games, and mobile games with the children.

It wasn’t until the evening that Jake came to call Kain, saying someone was asking for him.

Besides Avery, everyone was busy playing some kind of mobile game. He scooped up the little girl and brought her with him. He couldn’t fathom who would want to see him.

"Ava, you’re my little bodyguard. If someone tries to cheat Dad, you beat them up."

She folded her arms and put on a serious face. "Don’t worry, Dad, I’ll protect you."

Since no one could enter the building, the person could only stay outside and wait. He looked out to see a man, tall, muscular, and with a crew cut. He looked like someone from a gang. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

The ruffian smile he had didn’t earn him any hospitality points either.

"Who are you?"

"Marcus."

Scanning the man a second time, Kain asked. Marcus? Kain did remember he was supposed to come find him, but why did he come so late?

"Come in," he said, gesturing for Marcus to use the ladder.

He might look like he’s from a gang, but at least he’s polite. Then again, if he did try to come in before receiving the invitation, the building would reject him.

"Mind if I get some help? I have supplies that I need to take."

Only then did Kain notice the large number of bags beside him.

’Came with his own supplies? Smart. Seems he doesn’t want to owe me anything. But can he really join Nightfall and stay without owing me? Impossible.’

Kain gave the order and told them to get some people to help him.

Before long, Marcus was standing in front of Kain. Marcus’ eyes were glued to Avery in Kain’s arms.

"My daughter," he said flatly.

Marcus nodded.

"Stay on Floor One for tonight. We can talk tomorrow. Someone will show you the ropes."

Then he walked away. Tomorrow, he would have a conversation with Marcus; today was family time.