Asher didn't slow down after that.
He followed the researcher's name, not through records, but through patterns. Where similar buildings existed. Where people felt drained but didn't die. Where officials avoided questions instead of denying them.
Over the next week, he found three more sites.
All similar.
All quiet.
All testing, not feeding.
Each one used different tools, but the goal was the same.
How much of a soul could be taken without killing the body.
How long a person could survive after partial removal.
What changed when the same subject was tested more than once.
"This is preparation," Asher said. "They're learning how to use souls without destroying the host."
He destroyed every site he found.
He didn't kill the workers unless they resisted. Most ran. Some begged. None of them mattered.
The work stopped when the tools were gone.
At the fourth site, he found something new.
Orders.
Not signed.
Not sealed.
But approved.
