Daniel looked at Bran. He saw the admiration in the boy's eyes. He saw the trust. He couldn't keep lying to him. Not after Sophie and Ragnar.
The lie had destroyed that team. He wouldn't let it destroy this one. "Bran," Daniel said quietly. "I need to tell you something. Something I haven't told anyone."
Bran tilted his head. "What is it?" "You asked me before... about how I defeated the Mindshroud. About how I move so fast and hit so hard." Bran nodded.
"You said it was your Attribute Enhancement talent. You said it evolved." Daniel took a deep breath.
The weight of the secret had been heavy on his shoulders for so long. "I lied," Daniel admitted.
Bran's eyes widened. "What?" "I don't have an Attribute Enhancement talent," Daniel said.
"That was a cover. I made it up because I was scared. I was scared people would fear me. I was scared the Academy would use me."
He looked into the fire, watching the wood turn to ash.
"The reason I left the team... the reason Sophie and Ragnar didn't trust me... was because nothing added up. I was doing things a D-Grade talent shouldn't be able to do."
Daniel turned to look directly at Bran. "I owe you the truth, Bran. Because you trusted me with your life. Because we are the only ones left."
Bran leaned in closer. His face showed shock, but inside, his mind was racing.
"Finally," Bran thought. "Tell me. Tell me what makes you so special."
"My talent isn't D-Grade," Daniel whispered. "It's not C-Grade. It's not even A-Grade." He paused.
"It's not Attribute Enhancement," Daniel said clearly.
Daniel felt lighter. He felt like he was finally being a real teammate. He didn't see the tiny, hungry smile that flashed across Bran's face before disappearing back into a mask of confusion.
"Then... what is it?" Bran asked softly.
Daniel took a deep breath. He held it for a moment, then let it out slowly. His heart beat fast in his chest.
"Bran," Daniel started, his voice barely a whisper. "You have to promise me something. You have to promise you will never tell anyone. Not a soul. Not even if we make it back to the Academy."
Bran nodded quickly. His face was serious. "I promise, Daniel. I swear on my mother's grave. Your secret is safe with me."
Daniel believed him. "I didn't awaken a D-Grade talent," Daniel said. He paused, looking around the dark forest to make sure no one else was listening.
"I awakened an SSS-Grade Talent," Daniel said. Bran froze. He sat completely still, like a statue. His mouth opened slightly, but no sound came out. "SSS-Grade?" Bran finally whispered.
His voice trembled. "But... that's impossible. That's a legend. Even the Chief Instructor only has an A-Grade. They say SSS-Grade is for gods and monsters."
"It's true," Daniel said. He looked at his hands. "It is called Soul Assimilation." Bran stared at him. He looked shocked. "Soul Assimilation? What does that mean?"
Daniel picked up another stick and poked the fire. Sparks flew up into the night sky.
"It means I can take power," Daniel explained. "When I kill a monster, I don't just get the normal experience points that everyone else gets. I absorb their soul. I take their essence."
He looked up at Bran to see if the boy was scared. Bran just looked amazed.
"When I absorb a soul," Daniel continued, "I get their stats. I get stronger. I get faster. My body becomes tougher. It's permanent. The power becomes part of me."
"That explains it," Bran breathed out. "That explains how you killed the Constrictors. That explains how you fought the Ravagers. You are stronger than a Level 2 should be."
"Yes," Daniel admitted. "I am much stronger. My stats are... they are very high. Much higher than anyone else in our group."
"And the skills?" Bran asked. "You used skills that looked like the monsters. The speed... the shockwave." Daniel nodded.
"That is the other part of my talent. Sometimes, when I assimilate a soul, I get their skills. Or I get a version of their skills. I got the speed from a human... I mean, from a monster I fought." Daniel quickly corrected himself.
He didn't want to tell Bran about absorbing humans yet. That might be too scary. "I can even combine skills," Daniel added.
"If I have two skills that are similar, I can fuse them together to make a stronger skill. That's how I got [Shadowsteps] and [Forceburst]."
Bran shook his head in disbelief. "That is... that is the most powerful thing I have ever heard. Why would you hide it? You could be the king of the Academy! You could be famous!"
Daniel laughed, but it was a bitter, sad sound.
"Famous?" Daniel said. "No, Bran. Think about it. What did Instructor Baldwin say? 'Power is not given, it is taken.' If the Academy knew I had an SSS-Grade talent, what would they do?"
Bran stayed silent, listening.
"They wouldn't treat me like a student," Daniel said darkly. "They would treat me like a lab rat. They would want to study me. They would want to know how it works. They might lock me up and never let me go."
Daniel threw the stick into the fire. "Or the other aspirants," Daniel continued. "Imagine if the Iron Vultures knew. Imagine if the stronger groups knew.
They would be terrified of me. They would think I am a monster who eats souls. They would band together to kill me before I got too strong. Or they would try to force me to work for them."
He looked at Bran with sad eyes. "That is why I hid it. I was scared. I didn't know who to trust." "And the team?" Bran asked softly. "Sophie and Ragnar?"
"I wanted to tell them," Daniel said. "Especially after we started working well together. But I was afraid. Sophie was so smart. She was so logical. I thought she would see me as a threat.
And Ragnar... he was a good guy, but he had a big mouth. What if he slipped up? What if he told someone by accident?" Daniel sighed.
"So I lied. I made up the Attribute Enhancement talent. It explained why I was strong, but it wasn't special enough to make people jealous.
But lies are heavy, Bran. They weigh you down. And in the end, the lie pushed them away."
He looked down at the ground. "I don't want to make that mistake again. We have to trust each other completely." Bran stared at Daniel for a long time.
Then, a look of pure awe spread across his face. "That is... incredible, Daniel," Bran whispered. "You are like a hero from the old comic books. You have a secret power to save the world."
Bran moved closer to the fire. "Your secret is safe with me, Daniel. I promise. I won't tell anyone. We are brothers now, right? Brothers keep secrets."
"Right," Daniel smiled. "Brothers." For the first time in days, Daniel felt a massive weight vanish from his shoulders.
He had a friend who accepted him, even with his terrifying power. "So," Bran said, his voice full of excitement. "If you kill more monsters, you get even stronger? There is no limit?"
"I don't think so," Daniel replied. "The description said the potential for growth is infinite. As long as I have Assimilation Charges, I can keep growing."
"That is so cool," Bran said. He looked at Daniel with shining eyes. "You are going to be the strongest Awakened ever. You are going to save your family for sure." "I hope so," Daniel said. "That is the only thing that matters."
Daniel leaned back against a log. He felt tired, but it was a good kind of tired.
Bran looked at Daniel through the flames. He saw a soft heart. He saw a boy driven by guilt and love for his mommy. He saw weakness.
He wanted that talent. He remembered the forbidden books he had read in the Academy archives.
He remembered the dark rituals. He knew things that Daniel didn't know. He knew that talents were not always permanent. He knew that under the right conditions, with the right preparation, essence could be transferred.
It was dangerous. It was forbidden. But for an SSS-Grade talent? It was worth any price.
He needed to wait. He couldn't strike yet. Daniel was Level 3 now. His stats were too high.
Even if Bran stabbed him in his sleep, Daniel's high Vitality and [Mental Echo] might wake him up.
"I will let him fatten himself up," Bran decided. "I will let him kill more monsters. I will let him absorb more souls. And when he lets his guard down… I'll take it all."
They told each other goodnight, and Daniel settled in to take first watch.