Renard knelt over Elder Thomas's lifeless body, breath still ragged from their violent encounter. The small bathroom reeked of iron and wet stone. The warmth of the corpse was already fading, and Boa remained coiled nearby, silent and watchful.
He had done it.
Things went outside his expection, he was caught offguard by the reaction speed of the elder but he had managed to kill Thomas at the end!
Now came the harder part.
With a deep breath, Renard placed both hands on the elder's chest. "This has to work," he whispered to himself.
He activated his Blood Crest ability: Devour.
Dark tendrils of energy slithered out from Renard's hands, sinking into Thomas's body like hungry roots. Up until now, Renard had only used Devour to steal physical or magical abilities—skills stored in the flesh, etched into bloodlines. This time was different. He wasn't here to copy a spell. He was here to steal knowledge.
And that meant entering Thomas's soul.
