Night fell heavy over Kollar Palace.
Moonlight spilled across polished marble floors, turning gold into silver. Most nobles had retreated to their chambers.
But James Hader remained awake.
He stood before a tall mirror once again.
The same mirror.
The same unfamiliar face.
Yet now—
He felt less like a stranger.
And more like an owner.
"Explain the limits," he said internally.
"The Infinite Vault has three functions," the voice replied.
"Observation. Extraction. Assimilation."
James leaned back against his desk.
"Observation — I can see Desire Cores."
"Yes."
"Extraction — I can pull from them."
"Yes."
"And Assimilation?"
Silence lingered for a moment.
"Assimilation allows you to permanently integrate stolen desire into your own core."
James' eyes sharpened.
"So the fragment from the baron…"
"Has already begun blending."
He closed his eyes.
He could feel it now.
A faint secondary pulse inside his chest.
Not hunger.
Confidence.
Ambition for recognition.
It wasn't overwhelming.
But it was there.
"And the risk?"
The voice grew quieter.
"Every desire you take leaves an imprint."
"Imprint?"
"You do not merely steal power. You steal intention. Motivation. Instinct."
James opened his eyes slowly.
"So if I take from a coward…"
"You may become cautious."
"If I take from a tyrant?"
"You may crave domination."
A faint smile formed on his lips.
"So greed corrupts."
"No," the voice corrected.
"Greed amplifies."
That was more dangerous.
James walked toward the balcony doors.
Outside, palace guards rotated shifts.
One guard caught his attention.
Young.
Nervous.
His Desire Core flickered erratically.
Fear.
Insecurity.
Desire to prove himself.
Perfect.
James left his chamber quietly.
The corridors were mostly empty.
He walked past servants, past quiet torchlight, until he reached the outer training courtyard.
The young guard stiffened immediately.
"Y-Your Highness!"
James studied him.
The glow was stronger up close.
"What is your name?" James asked calmly.
"L-Lorian, Your Highness."
His voice shook.
Fear.
Desire for approval.
James stepped closer.
"Are you afraid of me, Lorian?"
The guard swallowed.
"…No, Your Highness."
A lie.
The glow flickered violently.
James tilted his head slightly.
"Relax. I'm not here to punish you."
Lorian's shoulders lowered slightly.
James focused.
This time—
He did not rush.
He did not pull blindly.
He narrowed his awareness.
The thread appeared again.
Thin.
Blue-tinted.
Fear mixed with ambition.
He reached carefully.
Just a strand.
He tugged gently.
Lorian inhaled sharply.
Not pain.
Disorientation.
James felt it enter him.
Cold.
Sharp.
A spike of alertness surged through his mind.
His senses heightened.
The courtyard seemed clearer.
Sharper.
The world slowed slightly.
Interesting.
He released immediately.
Lorian blinked.
"Your Highness…?"
"You seem steadier," James observed.
The guard looked confused.
He stood straighter.
The trembling was gone.
"Yes… I feel… clearer."
James' eyes flickered.
The boy's core dimmed slightly but stabilized.
He had not hollowed him.
Good.
"What did I take?" James asked internally.
"Self-doubt," the voice replied.
James stilled.
"Explain."
"You extracted a portion of his insecurity. Without it, his mind steadied."
James looked at Lorian carefully.
The young guard now stood firm.
Less nervous.
More grounded.
"I helped him," James murmured.
"For now," the voice replied.
James' lips twitched.
So theft could also refine.
Not just weaken.
Fascinating.
He dismissed the guard and returned to his chamber.
Once inside, he locked the door.
He placed his hand over his chest.
Two foreign pulses now existed within him.
Ambition for recognition.
Absence of self-doubt.
They didn't fight.
They layered.
But beneath them—
His original core pulsed darker.
Hungrier.
"What is my natural Desire Core?" he asked.
Silence.
Then—
"Greed without object."
He frowned.
"What does that mean?"
"You desire everything. But nothing specifically."
James stared at his reflection.
Everything.
Control. Power. Knowledge. People.
Not for pleasure.
Not for justice.
But because he could.
The Vault stirred again.
Stronger this time.
He felt something else—
A deeper compartment within it.
Locked.
"What is that?" he asked sharply.
"The Second Gate."
"How do I open it?"
"Consume a complete core."
The air in the room felt heavier.
"Meaning I must hollow someone."
"Yes."
James' reflection looked back at him.
The boy in the mirror did not look shocked.
He looked thoughtful.
A complete core.
That would mean erasing someone's desire entirely.
Turning them into an empty shell.
He walked to the window.
In the distance, he saw the faint tower of Duke Varhen's estate within the capital.
Crimson ambition.
Violent.
Massive.
Tempting.
The Vault pulsed.
Not like hunger.
Like anticipation.
But then—
A soft knock interrupted his thoughts.
Gentle.
Familiar.
"Brother?"
Elia.
James closed his eyes briefly.
Two paths.
One pure light.
One crimson flame.
He turned toward the door.
"Come in."
As she entered, smiling softly, he felt it again—
That pure golden glow within her.
Brighter than anyone else's.
Stronger than a noble's ambition.
Different.
Untouched.
The Vault reacted violently.
Hungry.
For the first time—
James felt fear.
Not of others.
But of himself.