---
The serenity didn't last.
Yuki had barely begun to rest near the base of the Veilwind Tree when a shift rippled through the spiritual current of the forest. It was subtle—like a breeze blowing the wrong way in a sealed chamber, or a heartbeat out of sync with the rhythm of the world.
The silver leaves above rattled with unease.
Yuki's sharpened instincts flared. The **Mindforge Heart** pulsed within his soulspace, and the **Soulveil Resonance** he had just acquired activated passively, tuning his senses to the disturbance.
A shiver ran across the grove as a shadow emerged from the mist—not merely dark, but void-like, absorbing light and sound in its wake. It moved like liquid smoke, lashing tendrils crawling along the roots and soil. The natural harmony of the grove recoiled from it.
**\[Warning: Invasive entity detected – Hollow-Touched.]**
**\[Soul-Sector Contamination: 7.3%]**
Yuki's wings snapped open.
The creature slithered closer, shifting between visible and invisible states. It bore no clear form—just a pulsating core surrounded by writhing black veins. Around it, the mist curdled, turning murky and oppressive. Where it passed, the grass withered, and the luminous butterflies dropped like stones.
It hadn't noticed Yuki yet.
He crouched low, tail coiled.
*It must've followed me. Or worse—it's hunting the Tree's power.*
The **Veilwind Tree** stood silent, as if testing Yuki's resolve once more.
He didn't hesitate.
Mana surged through his body, igniting his **Flame Clad** and boosting his momentum. A beat of his wings cracked the air as he launched toward the invader, claws glowing with **Phantom Ripper** energy.
The beast reacted with unnatural speed, twisting its body to deflect his strike with a tendril. The impact sent a ripple through the air, and a jagged screech echoed—not from its maw, but directly into Yuki's mind.
**"*Return the spark… feed the hollow…*"**
It was intelligent.
Barely.
But not mindless.
Yuki snarled and ignited his core flame. His chest flared with golden light, breath condensed—and he unleashed **Oblivion Pyre: Focused Lance**, a condensed stream of divine fire designed to pierce soul-infused creatures.
The bolt struck the entity's core. It shrieked as the flames seared through its essence, but instead of disintegrating, it began to divide, splitting its core across multiple tendrils.
**"Adaptation protocol—commencing—"**
**\[Warning: Hollow-Touched mutation accelerating.]**
Yuki's eyes narrowed.
So it could evolve, too.
He drew on his new synchronization with the terrain. **Soulveil Resonance** enhanced his perception—he now sensed each thread of spiritual contamination, the weak points where the creature's essence hadn't yet fully adjusted.
His wings folded inward, and he vanished into the fog with **Aether Drift**, blinking from sight.
The Hollow-Touched reared up in confusion. That's when Yuki struck from behind, slashing into the exposed core with **Phantom Ripper: Twin Spiral Rend**—a new variation forged through instinct.
The strike cleaved through two of its stabilizing veins. The monster staggered, and this time, it didn't regenerate.
Yuki dove back, but not before a tendril caught his hind leg, spreading corrosive essence like tar. Pain laced through his nerves.
**\[Soul corrosion detected – Minor status effect: Weakened Regeneration.]**
Snarling, he summoned **Flame Reconstitution**, purging the corruption from his wound in a burst of heat and light.
*This isn't just some random beast,* he thought. *This is a probe. A hunter. Something worse is watching through it.*
The Hollow-Touched convulsed violently. Its form began collapsing inward, tendrils retracting, energy coiling back into a dark orb. The orb pulsed once—and shattered, releasing a wave of soul-pressure so intense it bent the branches of the Veilwind Tree.
Yuki barely braced himself in time.
In the aftermath, silence returned.
But the ground where the creature died remained tainted—a circle of withered roots and blackened mist.
**\[Skill Absorbed: Hollow Devourer's Maw]**
> *Allows limited soul-corruption channeling. Can devour unstable soul matter to temporarily increase soul-type damage. Dangerous if overused.*
**\[Mindforge Heart Sync Rate: 18% → 24%]**
> *Phantom Ripper damage against soul-beings increased. Soul-type resistance moderately enhanced.*
Yuki panted, staring at the scarred ground. His body ached, not from fatigue—but from *strain*. He had fought harder opponents—but few that left such an aftertaste in the air.
This wasn't just a test anymore.
Something was changing in the forest. Something waking.
He turned back to the Veilwind Tree.
Its leaves shimmered faintly, and for a moment, Yuki saw a figure watching from the upper branches—feminine, cloaked in wind and emerald light.
She was gone before he could react.
But the whisper that followed wasn't his imagination:
**"Keep walking, little flame."**
---