For the umpteenth time, I failed at my attempt at cultivation. I snarled in frustration and punched a nearby wall. Large cracks spiderwebbed from the impact and I placed my forehead against the concrete. A pleasantly cool wind caressed my face, as if nature itself was consoling me.

I was a damn fool. I let my anger control me and I acted like a damn monster. I noticed footsteps coming from the edge of the roof of the building I was on. I was a couple of streets away from the store. The moons were the only source of light. The occasional cry of a nocturnal creature split the morose silence of the deep night. I glanced behind me and saw Asha and Eliara.

I let out a humorless chuckle, "Congrats, Asha, it seems that I have more of your real master in me than I had thought."

"No, you don't," she refuted, "if you had even a shred of the personality that Maxwell had, then you wouldn't care what any of those people thought. Hel, they wouldn't even be there, just biomass for your experiments. As for Vlad, you would have killed him right there and then along with everyone who was with him slowly to make an example. Yeah sure, you were a bit of a crybaby back there, but the guy had it coming."

Eliara walked to my side and placed her hand on my shoulder, "Victor. I know I haven't known you for long, but I can tell that you are a kind soul. If you feel such turmoil from your actions, perhaps there is another way?"

"So, what if there is? I'm no leader. I'm not some paragon of charisma or tactical genius. I'm just some dude that got powers. I thought just because I had some form of strength that I could become a gallant hero of the people. Instead, I'm just a wannabee tyrant who clenches his iron fist the moment things get tense." I slammed my fist into the wall again, crumbling it this time. "God DAMN it! What am I supposed to do? If I treat them like they want, they'll all be weak and get themselves killed, too worried about bickering with each other instead of doing what's necessary. They haven't seen the monstrosities that are out here.

"What's worse, if I continue how I have, they'll either run away, attack me, or live in fear that they'll wrong me and be butchered. Why the fuck did I think it was a good idea to take up this stupid Sanguine Lord title?" I paced to the edge of the roof and sat down, my legs dangling over the street.

The girls followed my example and sat on either side of me, looking out at the city. I sighed and put my head in my hands, wiping my eyes, "How did I go from one identity crisis to another?"

Asha shrugged, "Yeah, you're kind of a mess."

I peeked out of the side of my hands to glare at her, "It was rhetorical."

Eliara spoke gently, "Might I offer a suggestion?" I raised a brow at her, and she continued, "You wish to know how to lead them? Simple, don't."

"What?" I deadpanned.

"The Duke is a grand ruler now, but she didn't begin as so. I met her relatively early in her reign as the Duke. She was easily overwhelmed and made plenty of mistakes. One of the first things she learned is that in order to establish herself, she needed to rely on others with more experience. You are trying to tell them about a dangerous world and yet the most dangerous thing they have seen is you. Fear is an easy but inflexible tool. Relying on it to control and micromanage your people will only result in their resentment as you had guessed it would. Therefore, the answer is to take a step back. Be a protector, a symbol of strength; something they can rely on rather than be controlled by."

I pondered her words, the tension in my shoulders releasing slightly. I leaned towards her, bumping our shoulders together, "Thanks. Both of you. Really went with the bad cop/ good cop route, huh?"

Asha grinned, her fangs gleaming in the moonlight, "Can't beat a classic. So, you out of your funk?"

I chuckled, "A bit yeah. We'll see how it goes in the morning." I was too emotionally exhausted to even retry my first real attempt at cultivating my core, so we decided to head back and get some sleep.

Several hours later, dawn broke and people began to awaken. I found Frank who was getting breakfast with Luanne. He eyed me with caution and a hint of disapproval in his eyes. That stung but was well deserved. With a touch of flint he asked, "My Lord, what can this lowly servant do for ya'?"

I flinched, "I deserve that, and more. I'm sorry Frank. I lost control last night. Can you call a meeting? Please? Rico and his gang too." He glanced to his wife before he returned a slightly softened gaze to me and nodded.

A few minutes later people were nervously gathered before me. I scanned the crowd. Fear, confusion, and anger were all reflected in their eyes. I grimaced internally and sighed. "I'm sorry, everyone. I let the stress of the past few days along with anger control me. It wasn't right and I went too far." People whispered at each other before I continued, "Rico, step forward, please." After a moment's hesitation and despite his fiancée's protestations he stepped forward, back straight and a defiant look in his eyes.

I met his eyes and recalled something, "Rico, where's your son?"

He didn't expect that, he flinched, and anger flared. He spat, "He's dead, a monster got him a couple of days after shit hit the fan."

My brows furrowed, "I disliked your son almost as much as you, but he didn't deserve that, I'm sorry for your loss." He was stunned, surely thinking I was going to mock him or his late son. "I lost my brother to a monster, too. However, I cannot let the past cloud the present. I don't think I can ever forgive you for what you've done. But I won't punish others for your actions. I rescind my orders last night. Your men and fiancée will have as much rights as the others. Any who help you will face no repercussions and you are all free to come and go as you please so long as you do not attempt to harm anyone here or sow discord. If you are truly upset or unhappy with anything, bring it up to someone in charge, if not me then Frank or Officer Rodriguez whenever she returns. You are also free to learn magic if you wish. I don't think you can survive, let alone be of use in this new world without learning it."

After a shocked moment of silence Rico asked, "What about me? Am I still a slave, huh?"

I stared for a moment, "No. I will not be judge, jury, and executioner. If you prove yourself a danger to the others, I will not hesitate to excise that threat. However, I will wait for Rodriguez to return as ask her advice. She's law enforcement and I think she would be a good fit for our guard captain. She will assist in deciding the laws of our settlement along with appropriate punishments. Eliara, if she agrees, will be an advisor for what will fit in this new world of ours. For now, let's consider you under probation. You will have your belongings and weapons returned to you. However, know this, I do not apologize for how I treated you, only those who are, in regard to my grudge against you, innocent."

I looked at the crowd once again, "There has been much loss and stress since the cataclysm. I propose we hold a memorial service tonight to honor and mourn those we have lost. Frank, please organize this and grab whoever you need to assist you. Let me know if you need anything from me. Anyone who wishes to talk with me, please, do not be scared to. It can be anything, questions, concerns, requests, even if you just need to vent or yell at me. I'll be cultivating nearby until Rodriguez returns." With a deep bow I said a final apology then sat near the fire to cultivate with Asha guiding me.

It took about an hour before the first person approached me. He was a young man who asked for advice on developing his meridians. Asha's explanation got him started but he couldn't wrap his head around the more esoteric parts. "Picture your meridians as an empty tunnel. Feel the mana in the air and imagine the mana nodes in your body are floodgates. When you breathe in, picture those gates opening. It's only natural from water, or in this case mana, to flow into the empty space behind the gates. Once you manage to get the mana behind the flood— no, breathe deeply, yeah like that." He was breathing too quickly and letting it out before his chest could no longer expand.

I continued, "Once the mana is inside you channels, you'll feel a pressure, almost like you're bloated with gas but throughout your body. Focus on that sensation and try to push it out while keeping those floodgates close. Do that to the point until it gets unbearable and open the gates, releasing the pressure. Do that until you can't continue, your body will subconsciously stop you from continuing." After a few tries, he wore a triumphant if exhausted smile at his progress. He thanked me and left to rest and share his good news with others.

The positive interaction encouraged others to interact with the three of us. People grew bolder as time went on. Some asking questions similar to the young man, some complaining, and the occasional people berating me for how I treated everyone. I took it in stride, sensing that most of them were testing me, probing to see how I would react. A few were just assholes who were happy to yell at an authority figure, like a Karen yelling at the manager. I didn't let it bother me, they looked like they needed the normalcy. I actually chuckled at the thought during an elderly woman's rant. She went nearly purple with anger.

"Sorry, sorry, it's just you were yelling at a powerful Vampire lord with no hesitation, and I pictured Dracula in a McDonald's uniform getting told off for a wrong order." I apologized.

That took the wind out of her sail as the thought made her burst with a croaky laugh. She said that was the first time she laughed in months. She walked off, feeling better and so the day went with a more relaxed atmosphere covering the store. My good mood soured a fraction when Rico and his fiancée whose name I discovered was Siri Keldriss. It seems she decided to take his name since a wedding wasn't in the cards anytime soon. His cheek was bandaged where the dagger sliced it.

I nodded cautiously to him, "Yes?"

He hesitated a moment before his fiancée or might as well call her his wife at this point, elbowed his ribs. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Siri rolled her eyes and said, "Listen, Victor, was it? Listen Victor, Ricky told me the story with your brother. I know what you said yesterday, but I wanted to hear it from him. It was a fucked-up thing to do, and I don't blame you for how you acted. You were the bigger man for taking back your punishment. I might not be a stranger to his work, but I don't get involved with the details. He has something to say to you. Rico. Now." She crossed her arms and glared at him. It looked like a mom forcing her son to apologize to the neighbor for breaking a window.

He grimaced then sighed, "Shit, Gale. I'm sorry for what I did to you, to your family. I'm not gonna say I'm a changed man or some shit like that, but it was wrong of me to do your brother like that. He was a chill guy. My guy's deal, but I have a strict rule against doing anything more than weed. It was Marcus, that idiot. My idiot boy," he choked up a bit at that before continuing, "He took Chris to a party and got him hooked on some strong shit. I was too soft on him, and he and Chris ended up really tight. He ended up stealing from me when he spotted a few bundles of cash when he was visiting Marcus. Instead of jumping him, I had him work off the debt. It only got worse, though. He started taking loans from Marcus and since he got his money from me, well you get the idea."

He paused, not wishing to continue as I stared with an inscrutable expression on my face. His wife smacked the back of his head and with a rush he finished his story, "He slept with and OD with the daughter of my right hand. He recovered no problem, but Kelven's daughter had slight brain damage and was partially paralyzed. He nearly strangled Chris. I went with the robbery idea, cleaner for us." I remembered that. Not everything, just the hospital calling Mom about the overdose of fentanyl.

It was a tense few moments as I ran through his story in my mind along with my potential responses. I sorted through my emotions and held back the more volatile ones. They both shivered as my anger momentarily peaked, causing my eyes and aura to flare, causing the air to tremble. I took a calming breath. "As I said before," I began, "I don't know if I'll ever forgive you. But I can't let you, no matter how much of a prick you are, to be even a ping on my radar. I have people I need to protect. I'm sure you can relate." I flicked my eyes to Siri and stood. I summoned my armor, leaving my head exposed except a twisted black crown adorned with blood red crystals in the form of jewels.

This got people's attention, some of the fear flickering in their eyes as they remembered the last time they saw this armor. "I said yesterday that I am the Sanguine Lord. The man you wronged was Victor Gale. His life ended with a bullet in his chest. There are true dangers out there and letting the past control me will get the very people I want to protect killed. Yesterday I used them as an excuse to punish you despite the fact you were helping them as much as anyone else. You risked your lives and the lives of your men to scavenge supplies." I extended a gauntleted hand, "Thank you and let this new world bring in a clean slate." He stared at my armored hand a moment before slowly taking it and shaking it. There was a scattered applause at the tepid reconciliation.

It was during lunch as I was making small talk with Eliara about life in the Dwarven city that we heard, "Rodriguez is back!" Not a moment later, the woman herself burst through the entrance.

"Frank! Where the hell are you? We're under attack!" she shouted. Well shit.