As she floated high above the store, her body cloaked in invisibility, she used her powers to watch the man as he read. She lightly touched the man's surface thoughts, being careful not to damage anything important. It took longer than she thought it would because she had to sift through all the mental anguish he was hiding from the world.

How can one so young hide so much pain? She wondered as she furrowed her brows.

She found a surprisingly sharp inquisitive mind once she finally managed to trudge her way through the bevy of mental trash that clogged his thoughts. Besides learning that his name was Derek, she learned just how complex his mind was. 

This was a mind that had to be protected. She followed Derek from a discrete distance and had to stop herself from immediately dismembering a group of three males that were following him. She could tell by the evil gleam in their eyes that they had ill intentions in mind.

She'd been warned by her master that she must not expose her identity to anyone in this backward realm.

The sounds of rapid footsteps snapped her out of her indecision. While she had been distracted Derek apparently had realized the danger he was in and made a break for it.

She nodded in approval.

Derek ran through several side streets before he finally ducked into an abandoned building. Luckily the men that were chasing him couldn't keep up with him and never saw Derek enter the building.

She fully expected Derek to leave the building once he was sure he was safe but she was surprised when she saw him step through the roof's access door. The pensive look on his face made her heart hurt. 

That look and the feelings she was receiving from the light psychic link she still maintained caused her to frown. His psychic scent stinks of such abject sorrow I can barely breathe. Once again she had to wonder how someone could live with such pain weighing them down. 

As if Derek heard her thoughts he left the doorway and made his way to the roof’s edge. He took a deep breath then leaned over until his head and neck hung over the edge. 

Is he going to jump? She wondered apprehensively as she watched him throw a piece of slate over the edge.

She breathed a short-lived sigh of relief when Derek appeared to change his mind and turn his back to the edge of the roof. Short-lived because she then watched as he slipped on a small puddle of water and fell backward over the edge.

As she watched Derek fall the words of the prophecy suddenly appeared in her mind.

From the worst place shall you find that which you need to save us all. 

From his pain will you know you have found that which you seek.

Weep not for the shell for it is of little import.

Take the soul because held within it shall our realm find salvation.

As she played these words in her mind she realized that Derek fit the prophecy like a glove. Even this accident fit into her plans.

Luckily for her, Derek landed in a darkened ally. She wasted no time and teleported to his broken body. Using her powers she drew his soul from his body. She had to make sure she did this before the body's death or the process would fail and his soul would be lost.

When she successfully pulled Derek's soul from it’s broken shell she smiled. Good, now all I need to do is move it to the Null Field and let the process take its course.