I prowled around the Pit, cloaked in darkness. The night sky was a blanket of purple silk, and the moon was a glittering jewel. A gentle wind blew through the air carrying a rotten stench. Broken glass crunched under my feet as I turned a corner.

Unconscious bodies lay strewn in the streets like trash. They were streaked with dirt and dried blood, half-naked and shivering pathetically. A few snored softly, others lay still. The city was quiet tonight.

I wandered the street for hours. Just as I was starting to lose my will to continue, I found what I was looking for. A trio of rowdy young men was standing around smoking Nuke and taking turns throwing bricks at a half-naked bum. He cowered pathetically against a wall, whimpering and covering his head with his hands for protection. I could hear their irritating voices long before I could see them.

"Come on, one more solid hit! Make sure he doesn't wake up."
"Yeah... we're just helping him get to sleep. Isn't that right, Lloyd?"
"Hmph! Helping him sleep. That's it. Make sure he's comfortable!”

SMACK!

A direct hit. The homeless man’s head snapped to the side and smashed into the wall. A bead of blood trickled down his face and stained his unkempt beard. He went silent and still. One of the brutes kicked the man's face in for good measure. It appeared as though he was no longer breathing.

"Excellent shot, Lloyd! You're a real master. Let's find another one... a woman this time."
"Don't forget to grab your brick, gentlemen."
"Let's go!"

The trio sauntered out of the alley and down the sidewalk, chuckling like demons. I followed them from the shadows, clutching my knife in my hand. The men led me to a makeshift homeless camp set up in a public park. Dozens of tents and sleeping bags lay sprawled across a field of dead grass. Stinking piles of refuse and human waste accumulated everywhere.

I watched as the three men crept up to a dirty-looking young woman in a sleeping bag and dragged her off into the street. The woman screamed and struggled to get free, but it was no use. A harsh blow to the chest knocked the wind out of her, and she was set up against a wall to be used for target practice.

It was time to make my move. I crept up behind Lloyd and plunged my switchblade into his neck. His body thrashed violently like a fish on a hook and he let out a pained gargle. I felt the blood trickle down my arms as I wrenched the knife from side to side. The stench of raw meat filled the cool night air.

Lloyd's bleeding corpse slumped to the ground. His two friends stared at me in shock, unsure of what to do. The woman took the opportunity to break free and run off into the night. One of the thugs turned to flee as well, but I was faster. I tackled him and stabbed him repeatedly in the back. Chortling with glee, I finished him off by slashing his throat open. The last one of them got away, but I didn't really mind. I hoped I would run into him again soon.

'Soul Vision.'

I ran my fingers over Lloyd's body and absorbed the loose fragments of his soul. I couldn't help but shiver in delight as his power flowed into my body. The sensation was refreshing, like a sip of cool water after spending all day in the blistering heat. It was something I craved now.

I moved on to the next body and then backtracked to find the homeless man the group had killed earlier. My fingers trembled as I absorbed the last psychic fragments clinging to his cold and lifeless corpse.

I licked the blood off of my fingers and cackled. 'Soul Vision' was the only psychic power I had left, but it was all I needed for now. I would patiently and slowly get stronger, absorbing more and more souls. I had faith the rest of my powers would return to me in time. Once I'd gathered enough power, I'd get turn my attention to the Brotherhood and get my revenge. I could hardly wait for that day to arrive.

I’d done all I set out to do for the night. Three people’s worth of soul fragments was about all I could contain at once, anyway. I left the corpses out in the open and began the long walk back to my apartment. My new life would revolve completely around the pursuit and consumption of souls, souls of criminals, souls of the weak and innocent, and eventually the souls of the strong. They would be my food and my fuel. I ambled through the cold night with a smile on my face. 

When I got back to my room, I quickly wrote down the night's events in my diary and decided to give my precious pet ants a little snack before I went to bed.

The tiny black ants lived in a plastic case. I only had to feed them, give them water, and clean up after them every now and then. The ants were self-sufficient for the most part and honestly didn't need very much attention at all, but I enjoyed their calming presence all the same.

"Sweet children. Receive my love."

I lifted the lid of the case off carefully so as not to disturb the ants inside. Then, I sliced open my pointer finger open lightly with a razor blade,  shedding a few drops of psychic blood for my little pets to eat.

'Soul Vision.'

My psychic power was so potent that I could infuse it into objects, animals, or even people. The ants had developed a psychic consciousness of their own; it appeared to be some kind of evil spirit. I observed it as a sinister white face that moaned and occasionally spoke.

"Brotherhood... Kill..."

The worker ants swarmed around the dark red droplets and drank it all down. They loved drinking blood. What lovable creatures. I'd do something special for them soon.