"No! What is this? Get away!"
Leib's voice tore through the silence of the graveyard, a jagged scream that startled a murder of crows from the nearby trees. He clutched his chest, his fingers scrabbling at his tunic as if he could peel the shadow back out of his skin. The glowing violet text ~ the words Wanna Continue? ~ flickered one last time before his eyes, mocking him with its cold, digital precision.
Then, the world simply ran out of light. The sheer sensory overload, combined with the necrotic chill of the feline spirit merging with his own, was too much for his weary heart to bear.
Leib collapsed onto the damp earth of the fresh grave, his body twitching once before falling into a heavy, dreamless unconsciousness.
When Leib finally opened his tired looking eyes, the world was painted in shades of indigo and charcoal. The sun had long since dipped below the horizon, and the stars were sharp, cold needles in the sky. He lay still for a moment, the scent of fresh dirt and wilted lilies filling his nose.
Slowly, he pushed himself up. His joints felt strangely fluid, his movements possessing a grace he hadn't owned that morning.
He wiped the dirt from his cheek, his breath hitching as he looked down at his hands.
They looked the same, yet they felt... different. There was a coiled tension in his muscles, a readiness that hummed just beneath the surface of his skin.
"Did it really happen?" he whispered to the empty graveyard.
There was no blue cat. No glowing orb. Only the cold wind whistling through the headstones.
He scrambled to his feet and began to walk, putting the cemetery behind him as fast as his legs could carry him. He moved through the dark forest with an uncanny ease; even in the pitch black, he seemed to know exactly where the roots were, where the low-hanging branches dipped.
It was as if his eyes were adjusting to the dark with the predatory sharpness of a cat.
He reached the Jade Village, but the lively market had settled into a quiet hum. Lanterns hung from eaves, casting warm orange glows over the cobblestones.
For a moment, he paused, watching a young man sit on a porch, stroking the ears of a Common-tier dog Gabay. The sight usually made Leib feel a hollow envy, but tonight, there was something else. A strange, primal thrum in his chest. A hunger he didn't recognize.
Reality crashed back into him. Paraiso. He hadn't told anyone he was leaving. He was the King's "guest", a ward of the crown. To vanish for an entire day was more than a mistake; it was a crisis.
Leib ran. He didn't just jog; he sprinted. He felt a terrifying amount of energy surging through his lungs. He reached the massive white gates of the Paraiso inner city in record time, his breath barely labored despite the distance.
The Royal Guards spotted him immediately. Two of them stepped forward, their spears crossing to block his path, while their War Hawks shrieked from above.
"Where did you go?" one guard demanded, his hand gripping Leib's shoulder with bruising force. "The King has been half-mad with worry! He sent out three search parties!"
The guard didn't wait for an answer. He turned and shouted into the inner courtyard, "He's back! The boy is back!"
Leib was hurried through the palace halls, his boots clicking rhythmically against the marble. He was led directly to the King's private chamber.
The heavy oak doors swung open to reveal Batlaha standing by a massive window, his Mythical Gabay, Shaba, standing in the shadows behind him like a silent sentinel.
Batlaha turned, his face a mask of relief and simmering frustration. "Leib! Where have you gone? I thought you had run away, or worse."
Leib looked at the floor, his heart hammering. "I would never do that, Your Majesty. I just... I needed to walk. I needed to think."
Batlaha sighed, the tension leaving his shoulders. He walked toward Leib, his voice softening. "You shouldn't be wandering around alone, Leib. Especially when you don't have a—"
"Don't have a what?" Leib cut him off, his voice sharper than intended. "A Gabay? A protector? A spirit?"
Batlaha fell silent, his eyes searching Leib's face.
"My point," the King replied calmly, "is that the world of Hirayi is dangerous for the unbonded. There are beasts, outlaws, and things far worse. Please, do not be alone out there."
Leib looked up, his gaze defiant despite the luxury surrounding him. "I've been dealing with the world alone all my life, Your Majesty."
"Since my parents left, every day has been an adventure in survival. Nothing out there is new to me. Please... don't imprison me here. Wandering is the only cure I have for this... this depression. For me, adventure is the only way I can breathe."
Batlaha looked at Shaba, who gave a nearly imperceptible nod.
"Very well," the King said. "But from now on, you inform the guards. Go. Eat. Rest."
Dinner was a blur. Leib ate mechanically, the fine silver utensils feeling heavy and clumsy in his hands. He washed up in the marble basin of his room, the cold water doing nothing to soothe the buzzing in his brain.
He lay on his bed, staring up at the celestial maps on the ceiling. Why did the cat fuse with me? What am I? The questions were a swarm of bees in his skull. The clock on the wall ticked toward 3:00 AM, and sleep felt like a distant, impossible country.
Suddenly, a sharp gust of wind caught his curtains, blowing them inward with such force that they snapped like whips. Leib sat up, his feline-heightened senses instantly alert. The air in the room didn't just feel windy; it felt charged.
He stood up and swiped the curtains aside, expecting a storm. Instead, he gasped.
Hovering just outside his window, thirty meters above the ground, was the shimmering form of the Opal Serpent. Its scales caught the moonlight, turning the serpent into a ribbon of liquid starlight. And sitting atop its back, her hair wind-blown and her eyes bright, was Reign.
"What are you doing here?" Leib hissed, his eyes wide.
"I couldn't sleep either," Reign whispered, reaching out a hand. "And Opa was restless. She wanted to fly. Come on, Leib. Let's go where the walls can't hear us."
Leib didn't hesitate. He climbed out onto the ledge and jumped, landing softly on the serpent's back. Opa let out a low, melodic hum and dived into the night sky.
They soared far above the spires of Paraiso, the city below looking like a scattered handful of diamonds on black velvet. For the first time since the Awakening, Leib felt the weight on his chest lift. The wind was cold and pure, and the rhythmic movement of the serpent was hypnotic.
For an hour, they said nothing, simply enjoying the freedom of the sky. Eventually, Opa slowed, circling a high, lonely peak that overlooked the Great Sea.
"I went somewhere today, Reign," Leib said, his voice barely a murmur against the wind.
He told her everything. He told her about the prompt, the 3km walk, the cemetery, and the blue cat. He told her about the horrific moment the light turned black and the spirit was dragged into his chest.
Reign listened in total silence, her hand resting on Opa's neck. She didn't look at him with fear or disgust. She looked at him with a profound, quiet curiosity.
"A skill?" she asked. "You got a skill from a dying Gabay?"
"I feel faster," Leib admitted. "My eyes... I can see things in the dark I shouldn't be able to. But it was so dark, Reign. It felt like... like I was eating it."
Reign turned to face him, the moonlight reflecting in her opal-colored eyes. She reached out and took his hand. Her skin was warm, a sharp contrast to the chill Leib felt inside.
"Leib," she said firmly. "Maybe this is what the Bátis gave you. Everyone else gets a friend to walk beside them. But maybe... maybe you were meant to be the spirit yourself. Maybe you are the first of something completely new."
Leib looked at his hand in hers. "Is that a good thing? Or am I a monster?"
"You're Leib," she said with a small smile. "And tomorrow, we're going to tell King Batlaha. If anyone knows what this 'Skill System' is, it's him. Don't be afraid. We'll find the answer together."
Leib looked out at the horizon, where the first faint line of dawn was beginning to crack the darkness. For the first time, he didn't just feel the hollow. He felt the hunger. And he realized that whatever he was becoming, he couldn't stop it.
What is happening to his body? Is this a blessing from the well? What did the shadow do to him?