The clearing was silent except for the whisper of wind and the faint flicker of souls. Kael sat cross-legged, the Witch of Tallow standing nearby, her eyes closed as if listening to a symphony only she could hear.
"Your memories are fractured," she said softly. "The Sight both steals and gives. You must learn to weave the threads, to take what is yours and leave what is not."
Kael frowned. He had begun to notice fragments surfacing brief flashes of laughter, a smell of bread baking, a voice calling a name he could not place. Each memory felt borrowed and alien, and yet, a part of him recognized it.
"Focus," she instructed. "Reach inward. Touch the threads. Do not take them. Observe, understand, and release."
Kael extended his senses, letting the Sight roam through his own past. The glow beneath his skin pulsed in response, tentative, hesitant. He saw the empty streets of Brinefall, the echo of his first feeding, and the pale eyes of the dead he had encountered. But beneath those memories were fragments he had long thought lost: a hand clasped in childhood, a small laugh, the warmth of sunlight on skin.
The witch moved beside him, her fingers tracing invisible patterns. "Do you feel it? Your past is not gone. It has only been clouded by the hunger. Claim what is yours, and you will understand the Sight better. Control begins with knowing yourself."
Hours passed as Kael reached into his mind, threading the memories together, separating his own from those of the souls he had consumed. The process was painful. Some memories resisted, slipping like smoke through his fingers. Others clung too tightly, threatening to overwhelm him. Yet slowly, he learned to let the Sight guide him, to discern the strands that were his and those that were foreign.
When Kael finally opened his eyes, the world seemed sharper, yet heavier. The pale glows of nearby souls were no longer intrusive but discernible, their intentions readable. He could see who lingered in pain, who sought release, and who was already lost to the void.
The Witch of Tallow nodded approvingly. "Today, you have taken your first step toward mastery. You will make mistakes. You will falter. But the threads of the past, once known, can guide your choices. Remember them."
Kael rose to his feet, the weight of the Sight balanced now by understanding. The hunger still pulsed, patient and insistent, but he felt the first faint clarity: that power need not erase the self. The first threads of control had been sewn.