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“I don’t know. They just keep showing up... And my hands already ache like crazy. It’s not like the normal soreness.”

The reaper’s eye sockets widened. ‘Oh...’

“What? Is it something bad...?”

‘On the contrary, this is unexpectedly good news. I guess it was a stress trigger. Do you have any idea what the specks are?’

“That’s what I’ve been asking you!”

‘Oh, sorry. They could be pretty much anything.’

“You’re not being very helpful, right now...”

Garovel laughed. ‘You’re right. Let me start over. Hmm. Essentially, what’s happening is that your ability is manifesting itself.’

“Ability? What kind of ability is this? It’s just... powdery shit.”

‘That, my friend, is the beginning of a materialization ability. Creating something from nothing, that is.’

“Uh... whoa...”

‘Right now, though, you’re only able to produce trace amounts of it.’

“Trace amounts of what?”

‘Hard to say at this stage. Let me have another look.’

He held his hands up again.

‘Materialization is typically based around raw elements. This is something dark gray in its natural form. Maybe iron? I don’t think there’s a way we can be certain yet.’

He licked his hand. “Yeah, that’s definitely metal...”

‘Tch. Having a sense of taste is cheating.’

“I didn’t realize we were competing.”

‘The reason blood tastes metallic is because of iron-containing hemoglobin in your red blood cells.’

“What does that have to do with anything...?”

‘I just wanted to say something smart.’

“Okay, um... about this ability...”

‘Hemoglobin is what allows blood cells to transport oxygen.’

“Garovel...”

‘Oh, fine. What do you want to know?’

“How does this ability work? And, uh... what can I do with it?”