Human creativity was something that could be controlled or contained in an era that had the world so connected together through the internet, trade, travel and other forms of media being accessible to just about everyone.
All kinds of brand new novels, comics, movies and tv shows that became popular and had gathered a large fan base all around the world.
It did not take too long for technology to begin progressing quickly and that had a big impact on not just the human world but also the supernatural world.
There was a limit to how much of that information could be contained without strictly enforcing certain things upon the masses of every country in the world and that action would slowly result in the rest of the world petitioning and rioting to stop such things being put in place permanently.
The balancers were not exactly quick on noticing the changes brought on by the advances of technology so they would still not realise the importance of cyber security or hackers that could clear up certain things online until later.
They had made some progress in stopping their events being found online but they could not control every aspect related to the creation of different novels, video games, tv series and so on.
If they interfered with one then another would appear and would become popular in its place.
The spirits created by them would look very similar to what they were based on and could possess an ability similar to one of their abilities based on the original that people were more familiar with and had a clearer vision of.
An example would be a horror movie that would result in a scary looking spirit that was made up of the fear and other negative emotions of humans that watched it.
If a balancer wanted to cause problems in the world and had come to know of the method then they would take up writing or drawing so they could create a spirit of their own if it became popularised among the masses.
Most balancers that were not aligned with the ones in power and sought to break the rules would still be able to make use of making corrupted spirits from how they usually came to life.
Locations that had a heavier amount of negativity gathered would be the perfect place for a corrupted spirit to be born or to gain power from its surroundings.
Most spirits did not leave where they had been born but there were always special exceptions when they were forced out or lured out by something like a strong attraction force like a better location for them or there being a corrupted spirit item nearby.
Some spirits were born next to shrines or other places and objects of worship then others would be born on more famous locations like a mountain.
Created spirits in the current era were harder to predict where they would be born so they could end up anywhere that looked remotely similar to their world, where the most wills of humans had summoned it, where it had been created or where it had first been viewed by humans other than their creator.
The growing unpredictability and imbalance was becoming more difficult for the balancers to manage but the new age had come with other changes.
The balancers were born with their sight and with life energy usage but not everyone of them were able to use life energy.
Even rarer were balancers with an innate ability of their own.
There were occasions where there would be people have their potential stimulated after surviving a spirits attack but it was rare for them to be able to gain anything beyond being able to see spirits.
Without a school to teach them or manifesting their abilities much later than those who had been born with them, most would find it difficult to grow that power.
With the new age becoming more turbulent, more balancers were being born outside of the clans and there would be more appearing from those that had lived after coming across a spirit.
Those that had lower life energy or could not use it would not be allowed to be registered as an official balanced but they would be put to use.
They would be called Watchers and would live a normal human life or would run errands for the Balancers.
The role of the watchers was to spot and report the spirits they came across or to monitor potentially dangerous ones.
Those that were taught the most basic of techniques would be able to put up a veil or barrier that would stop ordinary people from entering an area but they were not taught combat or protective techniques.
They or teams of Balancers would occasionally be sent to locations that were more well known for spirits.
Azra was not born with the ability to see spirits or anything else but she had gained knowledge about that part of the world.
It could be possible for her to enter that world but her future potential would not be that high compared to others.
There was a need to do as much research as possible and to learn new things that would help her survive so the daily life of Azra became studying, training and making occasional visits to some locations nearby.
Book stores and antique stores became a regular spot for her to visit when she had left the village.
When she had visited the forest or mountains, Azra had come across smaller animals so she had tried to practice hunting or capturing them using her basic physical abilities or a weapon so that she could train her adaptability to danger or different types of encounters.
It was just her running around the forest chasing chickens, rabbits or other small animals but it gave her some kind of goal to strive for.
Meanwhile in another location back where she had run away from, there was a man sitting in an office that had picked up his phone after it rang once. "Hello?"
The voice on the other end spoke up. "You have really let us down. How could you let this happen? You have brought exposure to what has been going on here. It would do none of us any good if this investigation continues so I will handle this. Do not mess up again."
The man looked towards the corner of the room and laid eyes on a very small spirit that had an ugly and twisted appearance. "How do you plan to deal with it?"
The voice answered. "This needs to be ended as quickly as possible so you should get everything back under control while I handle the rest. Since there are two dead bodies, there needs to be someone to take the blame so someone that already fits that role will be held responsible."
The man asked. "What about the girl?"
The voice had responded calmly. "The girl does not exist and it is most likely a fake identity that she was living under. It will be difficult to track her down but I will try to keep others on the lookout in case she slips up and makes an appearance.
If she does not appear then we can just let all this go and move on so that we can move forward with our plan. If we do find her then she will probably be dealt with so that there will be no further leaks to the public."
If Azra did not get caught or tried to leak information about what they were doing then they would be unable to deal with her but if they did find her then they would show no mercy.
The main problem was that they had failed to locate her after a couple of days and they had limited information on her.
All they had to work from were surveillance videos taken from within the mental institution and other footage that was shown from the doctor's home leading to there but even those images were unable to get a good photo of her.
The surveillance inside the mental institution had helped to gain a closer look at her but the quality was not that good while most other images that could be found of the trips between the two locations had been when they were within a car.
The man frowned but then answered. "I got it, I am sorry for failing you at this time."
The call ended and he had not taken his eyes off the spirit that lingered for a while before phasing through the wall. "How much longer do I have to stay stuck in this place?"
The spirit had a monstrous looking appearance and had what looked like cut markings on the outer layer of its body.
It was a small common grade corrupted spirit that could not affect others and could be dealt with by a beginner Balancer so long as they could use their life energy or a spirit weapon to harm it.
If it grew larger and stronger then it would become far more dangerous and its energy would be able to have an effect on the surroundings enough to cause harm.
It was one among the other corrupted spirits that were born within the mental institution over the past couple of years when there was a change in management and goals there.
Azra was not aware of what the call was about or could have known about the danger that was growing within the mental institution since she had already left but she would be glad to know that the case was going to be intervened with.
There was still a problem with her identity and those supporting the mental institution trying to find her so Azra would not reveal herself even if she knew those details.
The man that had sat there and was lost in thought was the director of the mental institution and had been the one pushing everything forward but even he was just a pawn in someone else's game.
The case was later put to an end with the prisoner that Azra had framed taking the blame for the death of the doctor but the whole story was a little more complicated.
The cover story was that the guard had cut the restraints and handed the scalpel to the doctor which resulted in the death of the doctor.
The guard then took advantage of the situation to access what had belonged to the doctor and then went to rob the doctor further.
It was a likely story that he would go on the run from there with everything he had taken but he had been caught up in an explosion that happened within the house of the doctor.
It was enough for others to accept when there was pressure from the media and influential figures while they had no leads on Azra.
The amount of resources available to the investigation were not that high so it would have been left as an unsolved case or would have been quickly resolved depending on how everything surrounded it worked out.
The skill level of those investigating and the lack of special investigations had made it much slower and those involved had far less of an influence on the overall outcome so it was ended once a valid story could be told to the public.