“And you said your name was Casper Clay?” A man with a bow on his back asked me.

I nodded while looking forward at the dead monster, a tall humanoid creature with dark green skin, an Ogre.

The corpse of the old man was covered up but even if it wasn’t I would be able to freely look away now. It only took around three minutes for me to see glimpses of their past, or rather, the past that I imagined.

I glanced at the man writing in his notepad, he wore a dark blue spandex bodysuit, like something out of a comic book, with pieces of metallic armor over it. His chest plate bore the depiction of a Lion’s head and so did his belt. I should also mention there were two wide pieces of cloth hanging from the belt that covered his front and backside.

The problem with the bodysuit worn by people like the man in front of me was its revealing nature, the pieces of cloth served to protect his dignity. The last thing you’d want if you were in his place was for someone to take photos of your unmentionables. Besides, all of the Gifted were basically celebrities so compromising photos would definitely fetch a high price or a lot of clicks.

“Are you sure?” He asked me again, skeptical of my name.

“Yes,” I fished in my pockets and retrieved my ID card before handing it over.

Pestering an injured person was certainly rude but he saved me so I put up with it. Plus, he was a Gifted person. One of the thousands of people who “awakened” gifts that helped them fight against the monsters that plagued humanity. He also happened to belong to one of the strongest guilds in the world, Sleeping Lion.

“Okay.” He nodded, giving my ID back to me. “Are you related to the deceased?”

“No.” I shook my head.

“Then why were you just standing there when we arrived-” His question was cut off by a woman who was shouting loudly.

“You have to let me back there! My father was supposed to meet me-” She stopped when she spotted the tarp laid over what would be a corpse.

“Just stand back.” An officer pushed her back.

Members of the Sleeping Lion guild were roaming through the area in search of any other monsters and it would be dangerous to go in.

“Wait…” I muttered as I looked at the distressed woman. She looked extremely familiar and if she was related to that old man that would make her…related to him.

Was I still hallucinating? I’ve been assessed by a psychiatrist and went to see a therapist regularly and I even suspected that my delusions were made up. I was never able to prove they were real and I certainly wouldn’t investigate the background of corpses I looked at since it would get me fired.

“You don’t understand...My father was going to meet me here! You have to tell me where he is!” She looked at me, sitting in the back of an ambulance with my arm placed in a sling, and my gaze unconsciously fell on the corpse.

She suddenly burst out crying, collapsing onto the ground.

"It can't be him! You have to let me see!"

"Ma'am, it isn't safe, you have to stay back!"

I felt sick myself, but I wanted to ask her some questions. Was she in college? Did she have siblings? An uncle? My selfish desire to confirm if my delusions were real took over and I slowly approached her.

“Hey!” The Sleeping Lion guild member yelled but I ignored him. There was a more pressing issue at hand.

The woman was a sobbing mess, burying her face into her hands, completely closed off and interrupting her now would be rude, I’d hate myself for doing so, but…

“Your Father…” As soon as I said that, she looked up at me with a face covered in tears. I was briefly shocked because her face was an exact match for what I saw in my hallucination.

“Was he a man in his sixties?” I asked, just as desperate as her for answers.

She nodded, still crying.

“And…” I swallowed nervously, “Are you his oldest daughter? The one in college?”

She nodded once more, her breathing erratic.

I became dizzy when she answered. It couldn’t be a coincidence at all there was no way it could be. All those times I saw glimpses of someone else’s memories it wasn’t made up but completely real.

“...How did you know?” Her voice was full of emotion that brought me back to reality.

“I…” I couldn’t answer that. Who the hell would believe me even if I told the truth?

“Before he…” I looked at the corpse, hoping she would understand, “He told me about you and how he wanted you to be strong. He said that your siblings and your mother will be depending on you...Also, your uncle, your dad wanted to speak to him last time and make amends. I’m not sure what it was but they grew apart, right? I think...I think that even though something terrible happened, he knew you would be the strongest out of your family and hoped you achieve a lot.”

The woman looked at me, stunned maybe? Or surprised? Whatever it was, she just looked up at me. She slowly climbed to her feet and approached me. Was she going to hit me? I braced for a slap but it never came, instead, she grabbed me and began sobbing even louder than before.

“Thank you,” she whispered faintly, “Thank you.”

…

A few hours later, I was back at my apartment, thinking back on all that happened. I plopped down on my worn-out couch and looked at the medication sitting on the coffee table. I had been regularly prescribed a large number of anti-psychotics to fight my condition since my mother died when I was a kid. Now I contemplated if I should stop using them altogether.

“...I’ll think about it later.” I turned on the TV and found the news channel.

“Another incident has broken out in the downtown area of Levington. The site has been sectioned off by the Sleeping Lion guild as they search for any ruin openings but people are already full of panic. President Wilson has already sent a request to the US in hopes of assistance. With the US guild Sleeping Lion’s close relationship to the Emerian Islands with their own branch guild located here, it is likely they’ll lend a hand. In other news, Morgan Pharmaceuticals has reached a trillion dollar evaluation according to recent data, another milestone for…”

I turned the flipped to another channel after hearing the report. Our country, the Emerian Islands had maintained a close relationship with the Americas, for a while now. A year after the US established its independence, Lord Bertrand Emeritt colonized a set of islands that weren’t too far from the US. We had a tougher time surviving than everyone else but we managed. It wasn’t until a few decades ago when we reached the level of a national superpower. The emergence of monsters was something of a blessing. The Morgan Pharmaceuticals company was largely responsible as they made big medical advancements with the remains of monsters.

And now, we have Professor Phillip Erickson with us, here to speak on his widely accepted “Precursor Theory.”

I turned the TV up when I realized I was watching a live lecture. After a set of roaring applause, the grey-haired Professor finally began speaking.

“Yes, thank you all for attending today, I am truly grateful by the welcome I received. Now, I’m not too skillful at small talk so I’d like to get straight to the point. My Precursor Theory was dismissed at first but now, after evidence supporting emerged, it’s widely accepted by most people. For those who aren’t familiar, the Precursor Theory is centered around that the current creatures infesting our world haven’t suddenly appeared during the last few decades but have always been slowly invading us. To support this, I ask that you look to certain historical mythology. Legends of giants or dragons being slain by some hero were always written off by us. But what if they were real? What if those legendary monster-slaying figures from history were indeed the first wave of Gifted? Now, there may some be exaggerated elements to the stories as we’ve yet to come across evidence any world-ending dragons or serpents.”

The Professor paused, allowing a few people to laugh. They were understandably relieved when he said that there was no signs of a calamity as a country destroying creature would spell the end of everyone. Even more so when you took into account that modern weapons weren't too effective against monsters.

“The fact still remains, with certain monsters that resemble myths appearing these days, it makes sense for Gifted to have been alive thousands of years ago. In support of this, World Governments have already begun collecting relics and artifacts from museums and some have confirmed that they possess special properties similar to artifacts found within the ruins which the creatures dwell. The US has begun an investigation into the Witch Trials as they are now believed to be a record of persecution against Gifted due to fear and paranoia. In fact, it’s no secret that just about every country is now on the search for lost mythological weapons or relics that could be found within their borders...”

I turned the TV off and began thinking.

Was I a Gifted person? It was a question many ordinary people asked themselves and there were hundreds of cases where people suspected they were gifted but turned out to be normal. With the increasing importance of Gifted and the reverence they were shown, it made sense to want to be among their numbers.

“Well, even if I was, I’d be a pretty useless one. If I can only see memories of the dead then-”

I stopped talking because I realized something important. If I could see memories of the dead wouldn’t I be really useful? Since people were searching for past relics if I could see the memories of the dead I’d be able to help find them.

“Wait...” My excitement deflated when I remembered that I never laid my eyes on remains that were older than a week or two at most so I wouldn’t know if I could see the history of a thousand-year-old skeleton.

With my enthusiasm gone, I decided to get some sleep. If I did have a gift it was relatively useless as far as I could see. I sent a text to my manager, letting him know I’d be missing a few days before I fell down onto my futon and closed my eyes.