Breaker

She had not waited for that long before the youth had been seen by her as they were exiting the building.

She kept a watch over him from further away and saw him enter a nearby convenience store.

He came out with some drinks and snacks before heading towards the local park where he sat alone. 'I really do hate my life. I wish this would all just end.'

He had very little presence and sat there quietly until someone sat near him wearing a hat and face mask.

He felt that there was more than enough room nearby for others to sit so he was about to move over to avoid them.

He was going to get rid of the uncomfortable feeling from being close to a stranger and was about to go back to his own thoughts but there was suddenly a piercing pain at his waist area.

Azra looked around the surroundings and lifted the body towards the playground where he was placed down out of sight. "You must have been coming outside to help you think things over first before you read more but.. this is as far as you will be going."

His clothes were searched for the keys to his home and for anything else that he may have been carrying on him then his coat was removed.

It was carried away by Azra and was put on once she was closer to the house that she had been watching.

The key was used to enter the apartment and she entered slowly with the hood up on the coat.

There was no noise within which had let her feel relieved that her information was correct so she cautiously walked inside so that she could begin searching the rooms.

It was quickly confirmed that nobody else was inside just as she had known from the knowledge she had gained from the revelation.

She couldn't help but feel that everything had worked out in the end and Azra quickly found the room of the youth.

The book was kept out in the open so it was not difficult to find which was due to their overall lack of vigilance and not thinking that they needed to keep it hidden.

The youth was still unsure if it was actually real and if it was worth trying out at least once.

They only had it for less than a day and had not had long enough to read or study it in greater detail.

Azra quickly checked to see if there were any notes taken nearby but found none so she left holding the black book.

The door was locked behind her and the key was placed back into the pocket of the youth once she had returned to find him still sleeping.

She looked over his body calmly for a while before leaving him behind. 'He was not injected with much so he should not be out for too long so I should get out of here.'

The coat was discarded further away in a bin then Azra had made her way back towards the village.

Once Azra had arrived home, she sat reading the contents of the book. "Sacrificial arts, hexes and other dark arts."

If there was a form of power that existed in the world that followed balance then there would usually be one that broke the balance or rules for personal gain.

Those methods were usually referred to as dark arts, black arts, evil arts, sacrificial arts or something similar.

If the people who dealt with spirits were called sorcerers, shamans or something else then the opposite would be known as dark shamans, evil sorcerers or something similar.

The skills and methods were similar but also slightly different from the way Balancers sealed or purified spirits while using their life energy.

Just like how spirits would have those that had their bodies that were made up of life energy, the evil spirits would be made up of what was known as corrupted energy.

They were essentially the same thing but they had a different influence and effect on the spirit.

Those that used the dark arts used life energy too but it was not in a state that could be recognised as the normal life energy of a Balancer and it was in a corrupted state, normal humans that used the dark arts would have to use up their own lifespan unless they somehow were able to gain access to life energy or to be able to replenish their lost lifespan.

Using the dark arts would be very damaging to their health and lifespan if they overused it and did not find another method to replenish that lost life energy.

Some form of cost, sacrifice, special ingredient or totem was needed to practice that path and most people that went against the rest of the world and its order were labelled as Balance Breakers or Breakers for short.

The youth may have used the book to cause problems but he had to pay some price to be able to do it and he was easily defeated once he was confronted so it was shown that he was unable to make the greater sacrifice needed to grow his own power.

The name Breakers was not just used for those that used dark arts but it was also used for individuals or groups that were known as outsiders or criminals in the eyes of those that held power in the world.

Breakers were hunted down just like evil spirits if they became much too famous for how they had hurt the influence of the Balancers in power or had caused major problems in the world.

Azra had decided that she would much rather live on as a Breaker rather than live on as an ordinary person or risk her life in an attempt to become a Balancer.

One page had caught her interest the most and it required a much greater sacrifice that not many would be so willing to perform.

The details were so fitting to her circumstances that it was almost scary how well suited it was for her. "This path would be best for me. Now I just need a little time to prepare for it."

Azra had already lost so much already so there was very little that could be given up further but the book had shown her that there was still a sacrifice that could be made.

Whether she could do it or not would determine if Azra was able to enter the world of spirits or not.