— Let me see if you're hurt.
Thana's voice was gentle, yet focused.She stepped closer, laying a light hand on Kael's chest.
What she didn't say was that she wasn't only checking his body.
She was probing deeper.
Further.
Into what he could not see.
Into his Anima.
For her, the process was natural.Their magical affinities resonated in perfect harmony.
She had access to all his channels.To his inner network.
And what she found… chilled her.
An imprint.
Faint.But distinct.
Something—or someone—had left a mark upon his soul.
The imprint wasn't Kael's.Not entirely.
But neither was it foreign.
It bore a signature strangely similar,as if from a cousin lineage,a bloodline almost identical.
And that, Thana had never seen.
She frowned.
Dove deeper.
Into his Spirit.
There too… she found a trace.
The same.
Now it was clear.
Something—or someone—had taken Kael's place,if only for an instant.
And it wasn't a parasite.Nor a demonic possession.
It was a fragment.An inheritance.
An… echo?
She stayed silent.Ignoring the questions Kael began to ask.
One thought spun endlessly in her mind:
Should I tell him now?Or wait… and risk him finding out alone?
And then everything shifted.
Her Magia, still active, was yanked in a sharp pull.
Not drained.Siphoned.
Brutally.
A vortex.A tear.
And in her head, a scream ripped through balance:
— Gyaahhhhh!
It wasn't Kael.Nor a memory.
It was a voice.A familiar voice.
And then she understood.
She had woken him.
She had forgotten.
Umbra.
A strange warmth coursed through her chest.
A mix of surprise… and nostalgia.
A discreet smile escaped her.
An almost tender grimace.
She had just heard his cry again.
After all this time.
And for a brief instant, she forgot Kael.
He, meanwhile,felt something stir on his shoulder.
He lowered his gaze.
His arm.His skin.
The black tattoo—the one he thought a mere birthmark—was spreading.
But not like before.
It was swelling outward.
A black mass, heavy, almost viscous,slowly pushed its way out,distorting his shoulder,drinking his Magia like a starving beast.
— Thana…? What is that…?
She straightened instantly, hand on him.
Her aura quivered, alert.
— Don't worry, she breathed.
Her voice was neither calm nor panicked.Just… aware.
— It's… my fault.
She drew a sharp breath.
— I woke… Umbra.
She paused, eyes fixed on the black mass forming.
— He was my familiar. Once.
She arched a brow, irony flickering in her gaze.
— And apparently, he's decided… to follow you now.
Kael frowned faintly.He watched the unstable silhouette, shifting, almost vaporous, forming without settling.
— He… follows me?His tone was uncertain.— Since when? Why never show himself before?
Umbra didn't answer.Didn't even lift his head toward Kael.
Instead, he drifted through the mist, circling Kael, silent, without hostility.Then, he approached Thana.Slowly.As if to confirm she was truly real.
Thana didn't move.When the shadow leaned closer, a shiver crept up her neck.A whisper slid into her mind.
— I never wished to wake.Not by him.You know what he carries. You've seen it. You too.
Umbra's breath was faint. But each word weighed like a pact.
— He frightens me, Thana.He is not human. He is no longer only himself.
Her eyes widened for an instant.
Kael, a few steps away, could tell something was being kept from him.Thana's tone had shifted.Her shoulders had tensed.And the shadow… didn't return to him.
— What did he say? Kael asked.He tried a step forward. The shadow didn't move.— Does he have a problem with me?
Thana met his eyes. Hesitated.Then softly:
— He doesn't resent you.He… fears you.
Kael froze.
— Fears?He's supposed to be your familiar, isn't he?
— He was, Thana breathed.— But even he… has never seen what I've seen in you.
Kael opened his mouth… then shut it.He wanted to laugh.Or scream.But did neither.
His fingers curled around the haft of his weapon, still stained with Devourer blood.
— What is it… you saw?
Thana looked away.
— I'm not sure yet, she murmured.It's blurred.But it isn't only me.Even Umbra… can't fully grasp what he feels.
Kael frowned, lost.
— So what then? I'm supposed to do what with this?Carry this… thing on my back?A familiar who refuses to even approach me?
Silence.Long.Thick.
Umbra still said nothing.But he hadn't vanished.
He had only drifted back, hovering a few paces away, like a guard dog unsure whose house it now belonged to.
Thana stepped closer to Kael, hand on his arm.
— Listen.I know it's a lot.But you need to understand one thing.
Kael slowly turned his eyes to her.
— It's not against you.It's what's inside you.Something neither he nor I… can control.
Kael lowered his head.His voice was low. Muffled.
— And me?I don't control it either.
He closed his eyes.
— So what am I supposed to do, Thana… if even your own familiar would rather flee than speak to me?
She wanted to answer. But nothing came.
So she stepped closer. Closer still.Her forehead nearly touched his.
— You do what you always do, Kael.You breathe.You go on.And you prove fear wrong.
A pulse flowed between them.
And for the first time, the shadow seemed to bow.Almost imperceptibly.
As if… reconsidering.
Silence.Then a breath.Faint. But there.
Umbra had lifted slightly.No longer retreating.Watching Kael. Long, steady.
Something had shifted.Thana felt it before the shadow moved.
As if a tension had eased.Or a truth had fallen.
The shadow drifted closer.Not in a sudden lunge.But in a slow, measured glide.Almost… respectful.
Then, against all expectation, he halted before Kael.Faced him.
Not his eyes.But his being.
And without warning, Thana heard his voice again—this time steadier.
— It wasn't him…The one before. The other.The one who screamed without a mouth. He's gone.What remains… is Kael.
A pause.Then a mental sigh, almost embarrassed.
— I was wrong.
Thana blinked.
Kael, meanwhile, heard nothing.He only saw.
And what he saw…
Was the shadow turning. Slowly.
Then, with eerie naturalness, it began to draw in the air around it.But not just the air.
The twelve spiritual essences, still hovering within the fading mist, began to swirl.
Kael's eyes widened, sharp.
— No, wait— not that!
Too late.
The shadow opened a mouth that did not exist, and in a silent whirlpool, devoured the first.Then the second.Then all the rest.
In mere seconds.
— Stop! Are you serious right now?!
Kael thrust his hand out as if to halt it…But the shadow had already consumed everything.
A faint snap, almost satisfied, echoed in the space.
Kael grimaced.He was about to explode.
— You just ate the twelve F-rank essences…You literally RUINED an entire floor's worth of farm for me!
His fists clenched, furious.But just as he was about to lunge at Umbra, he felt something.A shiver, slow, deep.
Not a surge of power.Not immediate strength.
Something… gestating.
He placed a hand against his chest.
— Wait… this isn't…Why don't I feel anything?Why am I not ranking up right away…?
Thana stepped closer, calm.
— Because you didn't receive it.
She tilted her chin toward Umbra.
— Do you really think he'll hand you the fruits without digestion first?
Kael looked up, perplexed.
— It's… slow?
— It's alive, Kael.Umbra isn't a courier. He's a conduit.He ingests. He sorts. He filters.And only after… he delivers.
Kael growled under his breath.
— And how long does that take?
Thana shrugged.
— No idea.But…
Her gaze shifted outward, toward the mist reforming at the edges.
— I doubt you'll have time to sit around and wait.
A growl.Low.Distant.But drawing closer.
Kael turned.And what he saw…
Two massive silhouettes, E-rank.And behind them, a form even greater, wreathed in mist darker, denser.
The true predator was coming.