"Jaaaaaay."
"Hm?... Oh, Kana."
She stopped right in front of him, leaning her hands on her chest to catch her breath. "Haha, where are you going, looking so serious?"
They started walking through the crowded city streets. He kept his eyes averted, avoiding her gaze. If he looked at her, she'd know instantly what he was thinking.
"Nowhere. I think I'm just going to head home. It's getting late."
"Dude, it's only 8..."
"I'm old. I need my sleep."
"You're eighteen..."
"I'm actually sic—"
"Stop the bullshit. Where are you going?" She stepped in front of him, arms on her hips, waiting for an answer. He tried to walk around her, but she blocked him every time. He was out of options. If he lied, her skill would expose him in a second.
"Dammit... I was going after Vell." He looked away, bracing for her to rage at the mention of his name, but no yelling came. He turned his head, confused by her silence, and then he saw it—a single tear rolling down her cheek.
"Vell...?"
"Kana, are you okay? What's wrong?" He rushed to her side, scanning her for any injuries, but there were none. She quickly wiped her tears away, the memory of how Vell looked the last time she saw him flashing in her mind. When she looked up again, her expression was back to normal, but her eyes were cold.
"Vell was here?" Her tone was distant now, and Jay knew exactly what that meant. She was serious.
"Yeah. He came to the Association to register as a player, or so he led them to believe. He stole a registering core—which, I'm sure you know, are valuable and rare. He escaped the city, but I can't let him get away, not with something so important."
"Do you truly believe that?" she asked, her voice sharp. "Look me in the eyes and tell me if you truly believe he did it."
Her eyes glowed a faint blue, and Jay instinctively tried to look away, but she grabbed him by the chin, forcing their eyes to meet.
"Well?"
"I don't know what's going on, but please calm down, sis. You're hurting me," he groaned in pain, trying to break free, but she was too strong.
"Let me ask you this. Does it make any sense for a normal human to escape a city full of players?" The question hung in the air. Seeing his reaction, she pressed on. "Last time I'm asking. Do you think he did it?"
Jay's head started to hurt, a throbbing pain, as if he was having a seizure. It went on for a few seconds, and then he started crying. Seeing this, she finally let him go. She looked at her hand as a wisp of black smoke disappeared from her fingertips.
"You good now?"
"Kugh... I... HOW COULD I DO SUCH A THING TO HIM?" Memories of how he had treated Vell flooded his mind—the way he'd thrown his things out, the pleading look Vell had given him, begging him to listen, and the disgust in his own eyes. The memories hurt him to his core.
"It wasn't your fault," she said, her voice soft but firm. "Think about this carefully. When did we black out?"
'Black out? What does she mean?' he wondered, digging deeper into his memories until he finally remembered. The day everything happened.
"T-the... Association?"
"Exactly. We have a lot to talk about, brother." She looked at him, her eyes filled with cold rage—not directed at him, but at everyone else. She looked detached from the world, driven by a single, all-consuming goal. Jay was about to have his entire view of the world turned upside down.
---
Back in the forest, Vell was locked in a stare-down with the shadowy figure in the trees. He knew just from the mana it was giving off that he was no match for it, not even close. Instead of risking a pointless fight, he raised his hands slowly, a universal sign of peace.
Yenna, who had been getting ready to go to sleep, noticed his strange posture and sat up, her eyes wide. "What is he doing?" she wondered, then she saw it too—the figure in the trees. Unlike Vell, she froze completely, a wave of fear washing over her. It felt like she was staring at death itself, and her newly formed, weak mana core couldn't handle it. The pressure was too much, and she passed out.
[Master, that thing is way too dangerous. Have we perhaps left the city zone without realizing?]
'I don't even know, to be honest. Let's just focus on not dying right now.'
[Do you really think it understands you?]
'We'll know soon enough.'
[Why don't you try taming it? It looks strong.]
'Dude, shut up.'
The figure jumped down from the tree, landing silently on the forest floor. It started walking toward him, and he instinctively knew that one wrong move would be his last. But despite the danger, his eyes showed no fear. It stopped right in front of him, looking down at him with an expression of mild interest as the shadowy aura around it began to disappear.
It had a humanoid form, but it was clearly not human. Its skin was the color of polished obsidian, and its eyes were pure white, with no pupils. It looked directly into his soul.
(What an interesting smell you have, human.)
It spoke in a strange, ancient language, but for some reason, he understood it perfectly. He stayed quiet, waiting to see what it would do.
(Are you curious how you can understand me despite being human? It's simple, really. You are not fully human. Not anymore.)
"What do you mean?" he finally asked, slowly lowering his hands.
(I am not quite sure what you did to your body, but whatever it was, it turned you into something fascinating. A human that can hold both types of mana, and not only that, a human that has three cores filled with both types of mana. It's truly a fascinating sight.)
'It can see my cores? Just how powerful is this thing?'
"Oh..." He knew why this might have happened, but he planned to think about that later.
(Oh, huh? It seems you are already aware of this. Then I'm assuming you absorbed corrupted mana knowing what it is. The more I learn, the more I'm interested in you.)
"Yeah, I've learned a few tricks along the way. Is it okay if I know who, or what, you are?"
(Hmmm, before that, try surviving this. I can't help my curiosity.)
A small, black orb of pure mana appeared in its hand. He instinctively jumped back, a chill running down his spine.
(Oh, not bad. But still not enough.)
The orb vanished from its hand and reappeared right in front of his face, engulfing him in an instant. Pain shot through his body as the raw, untamed power invaded him.