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The charred clearing was behind him, but the echoes of the battle remained like a scar in the air. As Yuki moved deeper into the forest, the temperature dropped—not cold, but strangely still. The trees here grew thinner, taller, their bark pale and glimmering faintly under no visible light. A soft mist clung to the forest floor, brushing his claws like velvet.
He paused.
Something here was *wrong*—or perhaps *different*.
> **Warning:**
> Magical interference detected.
> Local mana field unstable.
He extended his **\[Mana Sense]**, gently pulsing through the mist. Unlike before, the mana didn't flow in currents or waves. It shimmered like *threads*—fine, gossamer strands stretching between trees, gently vibrating.
Then he saw them.
Tiny lights—pale blue, like frost-kissed moonlight—floated between the trees, silent and ethereal. They danced slowly, not quite touching the forest floor. **Willow Wisps.**
> **\[Forest Spirit Subtype – Willorae Wisp]**
> Classification: Lesser Spirit
> Status: Curious, Not Hostile
Yuki narrowed his eyes, watching as one wisp floated close. It stopped a few meters away, pulsing softly. Then—
**"Intruder... or chosen...?"**
The voice was not heard, but *felt*. It rang inside his mind like a ripple through his soul.
Startled, Yuki reared back slightly, wings half-flared. He had faced beasts and cunning predators—but this was something altogether different.
"Who... or what are you?" he asked aloud.
The wisps pulsed again in response.
> **Spiritual Contact Detected.**
> \[Memory of Mortality] is reacting...
> Awakening fragment: **Soul Resonance: Tier-0**
For a moment, the world bent around him. The trees wavered, the mist thickened, and the lights blazed brighter.
Yuki's vision shifted.
He saw himself—*from above*, as though looking through the eyes of something older, larger, less bound by flesh. For just a heartbeat, he felt… small. Like a spark in a tapestry of ancient flames.
Then it passed.
He staggered, breathing heavily, the pressure retreating.
One wisp floated closer, and its glow expanded, shaping vaguely into a humanoid silhouette—*feminine*, flowing like wind. The voice came again.
**"You burn with the Flame of Origin. But the forest does not trust fire. Not yet."**
Yuki growled low in his throat. "Then test me. Or leave."
There was a long silence. Then the mist around the wisp shifted—and *from it*, a creature formed.
It resembled a long-bodied cat woven from mist and starlight, with curved horns and talon-like paws. **A wisp-formed guardian.**
> **\[Mistshade Prowler – Spirit Construct]**
> Trial Level: Moderate
> Intent: Evaluation of Flame-bearer
The guardian leapt forward—*silent*, like the breath before lightning.
Yuki ducked and met its charge with a forward slash of his claw. His flame caught only empty air. The creature passed through like smoke, then re-formed behind him and struck with a shimmering claw.
Pain lanced across his hindleg. Not deep—but sharp, and real.
Not an illusion. *A spirit-body. Transient, but dangerous.*
He turned and let loose **\[Flame Clad]**, wreathing his form in infernal heat. The mist hissed and twisted, and the guardian retreated, its form destabilizing.
*Can't hit it normally. I need to attack its essence.*
Then **\[Predator's Wisdom]** triggered.
> Suggestion: Channel mana through **\[Memory of Mortality]**. Ignite not flesh—but soulfire.
Yuki didn't hesitate. He drew his flames inward, focusing—not on burning trees or monsters, but on his *will*. His *core*. The heat surged behind his eyes, and his breath crackled with something *purer*.
> **Skill Acquired: Soulfire Breath (Prototype)**
> Fires condensed spiritual flame, damaging ethereal and soul-type entities.
He exhaled.
The flame that emerged was no longer orange or crimson—but silver-edged, white-hot, with a faint echo in the air.
The wisp-cat hissed, but it couldn't flee. The **Soulfire** struck it full on, and for the first time, it *screamed*—not in pain, but in *release*. Its body unravelled into light.
Yuki stood still as the remnants faded.
Then the leading wisp returned to its form. And this time, it *bowed*.
**"Flame of Origin… accepted."**
The mist thinned. The gossamer mana threads relaxed.
And with it came a gift.
> **Title Gained: \[Spirit-Recognized]**
> Spirits will approach with curiosity rather than fear. Minor resistance to spiritual influence.
> **Skill Fragment Acquired: Wind Affinity (Unstable)**
> Initial resonance with aerial essence achieved.
Yuki blinked. Wind? Not fire?
Then it clicked. *The spirits here… they're tied to wind and forest. They're helping me awaken my second element.*
And just like that, the wisp vanished—gone with the mist.
He was alone again.
But something had changed inside him.
A part of him now moved with the wind.
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