One day like any other, Ronan received a visit from his tutor. The first one his parents had found for him.

  He was an ill-tempered man, also in charge of bringing him food. He had the bad habit of using it at will, whether as reward or punishment. His techniques as an educator were, to put it mildly, deficient. His classes followed a simple pattern:

  Every morning he arrived at the same time, carrying a tray with food in a bowl and one or two books.

  When he carried only one book, Ronan knew he would go hungry because the tutor, as soon as he arrived, would sit in front of him, ask him to do a task, and start reading his book while picking at the food. Ronan had to work very hard to be able to finish the task before the tutor finished eating. If he didn’t manage it, it would be a hard day because not only would he go without food, but he would probably be beaten as the tutor vented his anger.

  However, when he brought two books, he would hand one to Ronan. The boy had to read it quickly before the man finished his meal. Luckily, over the months, Ronan had made a friend who knew all the texts and would whisper to him which pages to go to and which to ignore to focus on what was important. This helping relationship, which Ronan had never imagined possible, was crucial. When he finished with the book, the tutor would stop eating, ask him questions about important facts from the text (at least at first) and, if he answered correctly, would throw him the bowl with what was left of the food, collect the book, and leave. If he answered wrong, he would beat him and walk away, leaving only the book.

  When the tutor didn’t eat anything and left it all to him, it meant it was dried-out leftovers from previous days, something Ronan was very glad about.

  That particular day, as soon as the tutor handed him the book, his friend spoke to him:

  Looks like you’re lucky today. This book isn’t useless like the others: it’ll teach you a spell that could save your life.

  Ronan’s large eyes lit up as he grabbed it. He began reading it immediately, letting himself be guided by his friend.

  Hearing the emotion in the boy’s agitated breathing, the tutor looked up, saw him, and realized which book he had given him by mistake. It was a grimoire explaining life absorption magic. In that same instant, he jumped up abruptly, knocking over everything on top of him. He kicked the book Ronan had, hitting his head and making him fall backward.

  “What are you doing reading this? Where did you get it?”

  The tutor, furious, blamed Ronan for possessing the book, but Ronan wasn’t aware of anything. He was inert on the floor, his head bleeding.

  Ronan, I know I should not do this, but today I want to help you, his friend told him, getting inside Ronan’s head.

  The boy, who normally only had two HP, had lost one from the attack and was about to lose the other. He had entered a catatonic state, but was aware of what was happening. As everything went dark, he saw the tutor scream and bend down to recover the grimoire, like when we close our eyes overcome by sleep and our eyelids slowly lower without being aware of it. But there was something strange. He realized everything seemed to go slower and slower and his friend’s voice became clearer.

  Ronan, I know you can hear me and now you have to decide. I’m letting you choose if you want to end your story now or give it a new beginning.

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  Ronan, unable to answer, without strength and lethargic, thought:

  I do not want to be alone, I do not want to go yet.

  His friend felt great joy hearing it.

  Pay attention because you’ll only have one chance.

  His friend explained how to feel the magic and vital force of others, showing him how two flames of different color and density danced inside each body. He warned him that, with his little experience, he should only try to grab with his flames the flames of the same color, only a few at a time, at least for now.

  The man, who already had the grimoire in his possession, was furious. He had been forbidden from giving Ronan any magic book. He could only teach him literature, history, and mathematics. That mistake could cost him his job. Determined to silence the boy, he bent down extending his hand to threaten him, unaware of what state he was in.

  Ronan reacted instantly, opening his eyes and grabbing his tutor’s wrist.

  Now, Ronan!, the boy’s head thundered, pulling him out of the lethargic and dying state he was in.

  The boy, with his mind a bit clearer and back in the world, used the spell.

  To his eyes it was beautiful, because he saw how a great flame traveled through the man’s body, while another darker one concentrated only in the chest. While grabbing the tutor, he managed to make his flames begin to join his own through his hand.

  His friend, in absolute silence, was surprised. It wasn’t supposed to be like this, not this way. The boy should have grabbed them and claimed them for himself. They shouldn’t have gone to him willingly.

  He was a strange kid, who felt the world in a different way, and perhaps that was what attracted him to the boy, along with the immense power he might one day wield.

  The man started screaming, but not from pain, because it didn’t hurt. He felt as if he were being sucked toward the boy, as if Ronan were emptying him from inside while weakening him. He didn’t hesitate. With his other hand he punched him with all his strength, making Ronan spit blood and collapse on the floor. He looked at his hand. It was dry, as if he had lost much of the fat and fluids from his body, starting to hurt a lot as the adrenaline went down.

  He approached the kid. He wanted to finish him off, he was too dangerous. But all his instincts screamed danger. The boy started to move, while emanating a dark, flaming, dangerous aura, and the tutor knew nothing good would come if he got closer. When Ronan extended his hand toward him, the tutor ran away, leaving behind an injured boy, a classic novel, a grimoire, a fallen chair, and a bowl with food scattered on the floor, far from Ronan’s reach.

  As he ran, he heard inhuman wails behind him. Fear made him run faster, made him climb some stairs and pound on the access door compulsively. The noise ended as soon as they opened.

  Ronan cried lying on the floor trying to reach the food, with his head full of blood and many bruises. He knew he was in trouble.

  Days passed without anyone going down to the basement again and Ronan hadn’t been able to talk to his friend. His only food was a rat he managed to catch when it went for the food that was still scattered, but that wasn’t enough. He was hungry.

  Despite not reaching the ones eating there, Ronan closed his eyes and tried again to use the spell he used with his tutor. He was able to sense the rats in front of him, as well as some other animal that was outside the house, but they only had one flame, that of life.

  Ronan, sitting on the floor with crossed legs, began to breathe calmly, peacefully, ignoring his body and the pains of hunger and poorly healed wounds. When he felt comfortable, he extended his hand, but both remained resting on his knees. With closed eyes, he visualized how his hand approached one of the rats and from it the flame came to him. Then, the same happened with the other. With each one, the boy could feel as if he were filling up with something that allowed him to satisfy himself slightly without becoming sated. Perhaps it was hunger or the sensation of filling up a bit that made him lose control a little, making his hand go to each creature one by one, draining them completely. Once he finished with all those within his reach, Ronan fell to the floor unconscious.

  He had recovered from his injuries and once again had two HP. He was still hungry, but it wasn’t as intense as before.

  The servants, when they finally came down and saw all the corpses, alerted Ronan’s parents who, out of fear, hired a new tutor to continue feeding him.

  They had unlocked a new dread. Being drained without realizing it to fill the monster they believed they had sealed away in the basement.

  Experiment No. 14. Can Hunger Be Sated? Ok.