When Shisui awoke, he wasn't by the lake.
He was in a realm of soft wind and burning stars—inside the Myrrkai's memory.
The creature's past played out in pulses: hunted by shinobi, burned by chakra, cast out by men who feared Arch Beasts.
"You're not like them," its voice said, echoing all around him. "You can walk two worlds. I will mark you."
When he returned to himself, he lay in the forest, head in Kurou's lap.
The old man smirked. "Didn't die. Good."
Shisui looked down. Across his right palm was a glowing sigil, shaped like the Myrrkai's eye.
Kurou held up a scroll with faded ink and whispered the name of a sacred technique:
> "Arch Pact Jutsu: Soulbind Contract."
He placed the scroll in front of Shisui, who placed his bleeding palm over the contract.
The sigil in his skin responded—activating the contract, merging it into his Animus.
Kurou continued:
> "This jutsu binds your soul to any beast willing to share their name. Not for domination… but for communion."
A small tremor passed through Shisui's hand.
The voice of the Myrrkai echoed in his mind:
> "Call, and I will come."
Shisui stood slowly, strength flooding his limbs like a river freed from a dam.
He had passed his first real trial.
Not just as a ninja.
But as a Seeker of Arch Energy.