Days began to pass by in a blur as Ace settled into a routine. Relying on the nest for protection, the baby Raven consumed the remains of the eagle, growing bigger with each day. This left Ace free to practice his Notch ability in peace.
He fell over thousands of times as he figured out how to move the ball of energy around his body. Over time, he grew to call the sphere a balance point.
If he kept the ball in his midsection, the changes to his balance weren't drastic, but were definitely noticeable. If he moved the balance point to any extremity he would lose almost all sense of weight and hopelessly topple over.
He repeatedly experimented with the balance point, trying to find a potential use for his obscure ability. After a week of moving the orb he finally gained the ability to remain on his feet even if he moved his balance point to his hand, head, or legs. He was remarkably slower while doing so because it required him to feel the muscles in his body and move them without the sensation of gravity.
When he wasn't practicing his Notch ability, Ace practiced enhancing his body with Sever energy.
He noticed that he was not only stronger than before, but that his energy also lasted longer. Curious, he tested his healing capabilities by breaking his own arm but found that it took the same amount of stamina and energy to heal as before.
Talos explained that as his body approached peak physical condition with each ascension, it would require a proportional increase in the amount of Sever Energy to heal.
Ace made sure to take the those words to heart. They were a reminder that he wasn't invincible.
***
After another long morning of practicing his ability, Ace slumped down onto the floor exhausted. Taking a moment to look at the Eagle corpse, he could see that almost half of it was gone, devoured by his friend who he had yet to give a name.
As he lay on the floor of the nest, the young Raven jumped from around the corner of the corpse and hopped over to him. With a great deal of enthusiasm it nuzzled him with its midnight colored beak.
"Ack! You're getting too big! Its hard to even call you a baby! You're almost bigger than me now!"
As the Raven poked at him with its beak, a notification went off in his head.
[Grade 1 Raven has acknowledged you! Do you wish to name him? Doing so will allow you to see his status.]
Ace was elated, he had been calling the bird 'buddy' a lot, but sometimes he was ignored. He had been thinking of good names for over a week. He had already made his decision.
"Let's go with Volcan!"
At his words, the Raven tilted its head and made some knocking sounds with its beak. After, it squawked into the air and flapped its wings excitedly.
[Alert! The Raven has been accepted the name Volcan. You can check his status in your assessment page.]
Still tired to the bone, Ace rose to his feet and walked around the nest looking for eggs. He had eaten dozens of them after the battle with the eagle, leaving only a few left. Spotting one tucked away under a thick branch, he bent down to pick it up.
Before he could grasp it, the entire nest shook violently, knocking Ace off his feet. Scrambling, he jumped to his feet and dashed towards his crowbar and other belongings. He barely managed to put on the backpack and stow his weapon before another impact shook the nest from below. He was once again thrown to the ground.
There was a brief pause before a truly destructive impact shook the nest. Before he could react to the sounds of trees being torn apart, Ace found himself airborne.
From his perch dozens of feet in the air, he watched in horror as a giant paw the size of the eagle rose through the tear in the nest. It felt around a bit before grabbing a hold of the massive beast corpse.
That was the last thing Ace saw before he was hit in the head by a large piece of tree shrapnel.
***
He woke up staring at the moss-covered forest floor only a few feet below him. Sensing that he was upside down, he looked up to see his entire body covered in vines. They had broken his fall through the canopy. Struggling to wriggle free, he eventually fell onto the moist moss below him. Volcan was no where to be seen but a quick check of his status page revealed him to be alive and dozens of miles away.
With no way to track him down, Ace could only focus on his own situation. While he had done well surviving in such a dangerous environment, a dark thought persisted in the back of his mind.
'How... how am I going to get home? I've been pretty lucky so far. The bird eggs were great, but going back to the nest is out of the question... If I want food, I'll have to get it from a beast. For water... it'll have to be the river.'
Left with no other options, Ace climbed a random tree, hoping to reach the canopy. On his way up, he could have sworn that he saw a large shadow jumping between trees. Anytime he stopped to look, it was gone. Clutching his crowbar tightly, he quickened his pace.
Once on the forest roof, Ace looked around cautiously.
There was nothing else on the treetops but him. He couldn't see even the nest he had been sent flying from. Discouraged but not entirely surprised, he picked a random direction and carefully walked on the web of branches beneath the canopy.
*** Hours Later ***
The Sun's searing waves continued to bear down on Ace. Despite the situation he tried to keep his spirits high.
As he absentmindedly continued his journey, a harsh and familiar smell entered his nose, snapping him back to his senses.
Whipping around instantly, Ace checked his surroundings and saw a large column of smoke peeking out from the canopy only a few hundred yards away. He wondered what was causing it since the trees weren't on fire.
With the utmost caution, he proceeded towards the column.
Arriving at his destination fairly quickly, he ducked below the canopy and descended a tree with caution. He kept his eyes towards the direction of the smoke as he continue his descent. What he saw almost made him loose his grip.
'City dwellers?!'
Down below in the center of a small clearing was a small group of tactical scout vehicles. He had seen them in the scrapyard before but had never seen one operational, not to say that the ones before him were in better condition. The four wheeled behemoths had clearly seen better days. Not only were their steel carapaces riddled with slash marks, but nearly all of them were on fire.
From his high vantage point, Ace could see human figures lying down on the ground and against tree stumps. He couldn't make out their condition from his position so he jumped off the remainder of the tree, landing softly.
He took his time getting closer, hoping to avoid an aggressive reaction in case they were only resting. Even if he was confident in defending himself, there were a lot of people.
Treading softly, Ace entered the clearing and approached the people lying down on the ground. As he drew closer he made his presence known vocally.
"He-hello? You guys should wake up! It's not safe to be on the forest floor like this!"
There was no response, not even a stir.
Now concerned, Ace reached out to turn over a man who was lying down.
"I know you guys are from the city but you seriously need to wa-"
He looked down at the man, or rather, what was left of him.
There were holes in his stomach and chest as if someone had stolen his internal organs. Recoiling in both shock and disgust, Ace ran over to another person on the floor. They too were missing their internal organs. Growing more distressed by the second, Ace checked every person within the clearing only to find the same result.
Unable to contain himself, Ace threw up into a bush while falling to his knees. Just as he was giving up hope of finding human company, a weak voice called out to him from behind.
"I-Is someone still alive over there?"
Whipping around on a dime, he ran around the burning vehicles and found a lone person sitting against the shell of a truck. Wearing a full suit of armor and a helmet to cover their features, all Ace could see of the person was a pair of bright yellow eyes that shined through a visor. His own eyes were drawn to the hole in their stomach.
Running over, he took a knee besides the armored figure as they coughed up a mouthful of blood. Panicking, he blurted out "Why aren't you healing?! You're from the city aren't you?"
A feminine voice echoed from the helmet.
"Because I'm obviously out of Sever Energy... you idiot."
At a loss, Ace simply stayed at the woman's side as her condition worsened.
"Is there anything I can do to help?"
She cackled within the depths of her helmet.
"Not unless you can regenerate my energy or fix this gaping hole in my stomach..."
Unable to respond to her comment, Ace placed his hand on the woman's shoulder, hoping to provide her some sense of comfort.
In the same moment they made contact, he felt something strange happen. For some reason, the balance point that he normally felt within his own body wasn't alone. He could see the woman's balance point as well. Out of a desire to alleviate her pain, Ace gathered his Sever and visualized moving the woman's balance point to her hand. It would grow heavier, but the rest of her body would feel weightless, reducing her pain.
However, as he shifted the woman's balance point, he realized that it was taking far more concentration to hold than it normally did. The burden was so great in fact that he was forced to drop his hand from the women's shoulder. Immediately after, he keeled over, gasping for air. Not only had it taken a great deal of concentration, but he had lost far more energy than he ever had using his Notch.
Turning back to the woman, he whispered "Ma'am... I'm sorry, I was only trying to help."
He received no response. Looking into the woman's helmet, he could no longer see her eyes looking back at him. He turned to walk away.
Suddenly, a hand grasped his wrist. Looking back in surprise, Ace could see two bright yellow orbs shining in the visor. After a brief moment, the woman spoke once more, this time her voice sounding lighter.
"You did."
With those words, there were terrible ripping and stitching sounds as the woman repaired her internal organs, muscles, and flesh. Faster than Ace could ever hope to manage, the woman completely healed from her fatal injuries.
Dumbfounded, he questioned her.
"Ma'am, I thought you were dead. What about your capacity levels?"
Rising to her feet, the woman shrugged her shoulders.
"When you touched my shoulder I felt an influx of Sever energy. So honestly, I should be the one asking questions. Also..."
She paused briefly as she raised her hands to her helmet.
"Stop calling me Ma'am, I'm sixteen!"
She then took off her helmet.