"Hmm..."
Sollivan’s eyelids trembled slowly, then he opened his black eyes. But all he saw was complete darkness. He didn’t move, remaining stretched out in place, turning his head slowly to look around. After a short while, his eyes began to adjust to the darkness, allowing him to vaguely make out the outlines of the room, thanks to a faint light seeping in from under the door and through the keyhole. He stretched his arms and body, then let out a long, relaxed yawn.
Unlike someone who had endured dozens of problems, his face looked calm and lazy, as if he didn’t care about everything that had happened. After licking his dry mouth with his tongue, he muttered in a sleepy tone.
"Finally, some peace and quiet. These savages made me suffer for the past two days without any rest or food. Damn it, they’re monsters in human form. I envy their strength." After expressing his frustration, he stretched out again and relaxed his stiff body due to the uncomfortable bed. Then he removed the rough blanket that was irritating his skin.
After sitting up, he slowly felt his bedding and realized he was sleeping on a straw mattress. He furrowed his brows and felt some resentment.
’I’m being treated like a slave.’
He wanted to curse out loud, but he stopped, and a complex look appeared in his eyes.
’But things have taken a really strange turn.’
Even though he had just woken up, he felt something vague around him. He had a faint idea about his strange feelings, so he decided not to think too much about it.
He looked at a cold spot on the floor for a moment, then sighed.
"No need to bother myself now. I’ve finally gotten some peace, and I should make the best use of it." He fell silent and raised his head to look at the light seeping through the keyhole. "I should organize the information I’ve gathered first."
His thoughts wandered for a moment, then his gaze changed. After a short while. ’This is a different world ruled by the kornavar race, and humans here are considered vile and outcast. There must be a reason for that, but it’s not important now. If my mind is working correctly, I’m currently in a tribe living in these plains.
And it’s clear that this tribe’s status and strength are very low compared to what they call the noble clans with primal blood. I don’t understand what these clans are, but what bothers me the most is how I became a half-human hybrid. I’m sure this is my body. My height, skin color, weight, and facial features are all consistent, except for the color of my eyes and those scales on my forehead.’ He shook his hand and touched his forehead, feeling the slightly rough texture.
’It’s clear that the leader is wary of my actual status, so he won’t take any harsh actions against me. If this is true, my life won’t be in danger as long as he’s around. But as for that priest...’
His eyes narrowed, and he muttered suspiciously. "He’s up to something. The look of malice is evident on his dark face. I don’t know if the leader is overlooking his actions for some reason, but that priest hates the leader intensely, and he doesn’t seem to be trying to hide it."
He shook his head slowly. "Their personal relationships don’t concern me. All that matters is staying alive." He raised his hand and clenched it tightly, smiling strangely.
A faint laugh!
He chuckled faintly when he remembered what he had done before passing out. Without hiding his smile, he muttered in a mysterious tone full of happiness.
"You can appear."
There was no one in the room, so his slightly raised voice echoed through the dark, cold walls.
But the darkness in the room rippled strangely, and the air around him grew colder. From the spot he had been staring at earlier, a dark blackness emerged and began to rise, forming a humanoid figure with bright red eyes like jewels. Despite the darkness of the room, the red eyes seemed to glow faintly, illuminating the space. But that glow lasted only a moment before disappearing, along with the cold that had accompanied its appearance.
The shadow stared at Sollivan, and Sollivan did the same. After a minute of silence, Sollivan asked in a voice full of curiosity, his face not hiding his strange happiness, "Who are you?"
The shadow didn’t move or respond, remaining standing in place like a statue. If it weren’t for its dark body, which rippled faintly and mysteriously from time to time, Sollivan wouldn’t have been able to distinguish its presence due to the room’s darkness.
Sigh!
After waiting silently for a long time, Sollivan sighed and dismissed the idea of communicating with the shadow from his mind. He raised his hand and scratched his chin, thinking deeply. After a few seconds, he said skeptically.
"Jump."
Without any delay, and contrary to his expectations, the shadow jumped high and hit the stone ceiling of the room. But it didn’t make any sound of impact. Strangely, its body deformed and scattered like dense fog. The lower part of the shadow fell to the ground, followed by the black cloud that quickly gathered, reforming its humanoid body again.
Sollivan’s eyes widened, as he became able to discern everything happening in front of him despite the darkness. He opened his mouth, then closed it and furrowed his astonished brows. After a brief moment of hesitation, he sneered.
"You’re good at receiving orders, but bad at executing them. You seem stupid to me, but that’s not a problem." The shadow tilted its head slightly and stared into his eyes, as if understanding his sarcasm, which made Sollivan drop his mocking smile.
He raised his hand and shook it, saying in a strange tone, "Alright, stop looking at me with that weird gaze."
His words were just sarcasm, but the shadow turned its crimson eyes and began looking in the other direction.
Sollivan’s waving hand stopped, and he was speechless for a moment. "You’re really stupid." He chuckled faintly, ’As I expected, the contract we formed together was successful.’
His thoughts stopped, and he furrowed his brows with slight displeasure.
’Everything seems normal with the contracted beast. So, what’s this strange feeling that won’t leave me?’ A vague idea crossed his mind, but he couldn’t grasp it. It lingered in his head, unwilling to leave or reveal itself.
He slowly closed his eyes and shook his head slightly, clearing all the chaos from his mind and ignoring his vague feeling. After clearing his mind and organizing his thoughts, he opened his eyes again and stared at the shadow, which hadn’t moved from its spot. After a brief moment of hesitation, he ordered.
"Go through the small gap under the door without making any noise." This time, his orders were clearer to avoid any annoying mistakes from the shadow. Still, he didn’t feel at ease and continued to watch the shadow with wide eyes.
The shadow moved silently, and with each step it took toward the door, it grew shorter, until it disappeared into the ground beneath it, blending in like a real shadow. When it reached the door, it was just a dark black shadow clinging to the ground, moving like a shallow pool of water a few millimeters high.
Sigh!
Sollivan exhaled the anticipation and anxiety he had held in his chest and eagerly watched the shadow clinging to the ground approach the door and slip under it into the outer corridor.
But as soon as the shadow touched the floor of the door, sparks of light spread in the area, and the shadow was struck forcefully, causing its body to deform and turn into a black cloud with semi-human limbs, flying backward as smoke and sparks scattered from it.
As for Sollivan, who was sitting, he didn’t have time to react to the matter, because he suddenly felt intense pain spreading through his body, making him bend forward and hug himself in pain. He groaned silently and resisted the urge to scream.
"Ah..."
"A barrier?" He gritted his teeth and spat out these few words with intense anger and bloodshot eyes.
The dark cloud writhed in place for a moment before gathering and reforming into the shadow’s usual shape. But this time, its body was significantly smaller than before.
"Huff..."
Sollivan gasped in pain. After freezing in his position for a moment, the pain that had spread through his body subsided, and his usual calm returned. He adjusted his posture and wiped the cold sweat that had seeped from his forehead, then sighed.
"I didn’t expect to receive such a reaction from the shadow’s damage. But the truly unexpected thing is the presence of a strong barrier around this room."
He twisted his lips in regret, then looked at the shadow, which had returned to standing steadily in front of him like a motionless statue. His black eyes met the crimson eyes, which seemed to glow brighter and brighter, drawing his gaze like a black hole making everything around it disappear.
Because of this, he continued to stare at them and ponder them absently. Before he realized it, his body entered a very strange state, even his breathing, which hadn’t calmed down after the previous reaction, became extremely calm and relaxed.
"What is this?" he asked in confusion and bewilderment. He furrowed his brows, regained his clarity, and became able to see his surroundings again, but they were tinged with a faint red. He was greatly surprised by this, but he didn’t have time to react to the matter, because his thoughts froze when he saw the human boy sitting in front of him staring at him with empty, lifeless eyes, even though he was breathing.
"Is that me?" He uttered a few words in disbelief, but he didn’t hear any sound. He raised his hand and wanted to touch his frozen body, but he froze in place and stared at his dark hand, which swayed mysteriously. His eyes widened, and he took a step back in shock, shaking his head vigorously. Suddenly, his vision changed, the red disappeared from his eyes, and everything returned to normal. But he didn’t stop retreating.
Thud!
"Ah..."
His head hit the wall behind him hard, making him quickly raise his hands and hold his head, groaning.
"Damn it." He shook his aching head and calmed himself. Without waiting for the pain to subside, he looked at the black shadow, which had retreated a few steps and stood silently, looking at him. "Was I just seeing through your eyes?"
Even after asking his question loudly, the shadow didn’t answer him, remaining standing silently in place as usual.
He scratched his head slightly and lowered his hands, and then he realized and asked in even more astonishment, "My broken hand has healed."
But he didn’t think much about it due to the existence of advanced healing techniques and sophisticated medicines, so he focused again on the shadow and muttered in displeasure.
"There’s no use talking to you." But his displeasure suddenly disappeared, turning into a strange excitement. He smiled faintly, suppressing his desire to laugh, so his lips continued to tremble.
After resisting the urge for a moment, he gave in to his strong desire to try it again. "Come, stand in front of me." He spoke eagerly, his eyes fixed on the shadow, which moved to stand in front of him.
"Hmm..."
He removed his smile and calmed his excitement. He shook his head slightly and cleared his mind.
After regaining his composure, he closed his eyes and began to meditate silently. Unlike the first time, he didn’t stare into the shadow’s eyes but instead felt the faint link that connected them, recalling his previous sensation before transferring his vision to the shadow.
As soon as he had woken up earlier, he had been aware of a vague link connecting him to the shadow, allowing him to sense its presence and, faintly, its emotions and thoughts, though they were vague and obscure. But the shadow seemed excited too.
Time passed slowly. And although the link between them became clearer, he couldn’t transfer his vision to the shadow again.
"The first time was just a stroke of luck, perhaps caused by the reaction we had to the barrier." He opened his eyes and looked at the shadow with a gentle gaze. Although he couldn’t transfer his vision during his meditation, he didn’t come out empty-handed. And because of his enhanced awareness of the link between them, he understood the shadow better. "So, you contracted with me because you wanted my blood."
"Why do you need it?" Even though his communication with the shadow was almost nonexistent, he was able to sense its desire. But the information he obtained was very limited. All he understood was that he had gained some privileges from his contract with the shadow.
He didn’t know exactly what kind of privileges they were, but he was sure he could exploit them when the opportunity and right conditions arose.
And the shadow, in turn, gained some privileges; it fed on Sollivan’s primal blood and silently grew its training and strength. Although it was severely restricted and couldn’t freely take it without Sollivan’s permission, who had complete control over their contract.
’But even so, the amount of information I can get is very limited. Even if its goal is clear, I’m still unable to know its nature and the nature of the place it came from. And even if I ask it, it won’t answer me, and I won’t deduce anything from the vague feelings I sense from it.’
"Forget it." Sollivan no longer thought about it, clearing his mind again, and assumed the lotus position, beginning to meditate once more. Then, very calmly, he ordered. "Let me see through your eyes."
He felt the link between them without feeling any resistance from the other party. And unlike the first time, the second time was smoother due to the experience he had gained.
After two minutes of meditation, he opened his eyes to be greeted by the familiar view of the room and the humanoid figure sitting. He slowly turned his head, looking at the clear details in the rocks in amazement and excitement.
"Everything is so clear, even though I see everything tinged with a faint red. But I can still distinguish colors well, even though they look slightly different. But the truly amazing thing is my ability to see in the dark."
"Hmm... What’s this?" He suddenly felt something strange, so he turned toward the door of his room, but he found nothing.
"Am I imagining it?" He didn’t understand why, but he felt someone approaching.
Step!
Clang!
The sound of strong footsteps accompanied by the clashing of keys echoed behind the stone door, reverberating in the empty corridor. Someone was coming! His eyes widened in surprise, ’Did I sense his presence before I heard his footsteps?’
Despite his curiosity, he didn’t waste time thinking, instead looking at his sitting body.
Thanks to his ability to see in the dark, he saw the details of his body clearly, but he was surprised to notice that all his wounds had disappeared without a trace, not just the fracture in his hand.
Step!
He didn’t have time to examine himself further, as the footsteps approached his room’s door. Quickly, he returned to his body, and his vision returned to normal, then he whispered softly.
"Hide."
The black shadow disappeared into the ground, blending with the darkness of the room, making the place seem completely empty.
Step!
The newcomer reached the threshold of the door, but the sound of his footsteps was lighter than before.
’My hearing becomes sharper when I transfer my senses to the shadow!’ He thought excitedly, without showing any change in his expression.
And he didn’t have to wait long, as the light seeping under the door grew brighter, before suddenly disappearing from the keyhole, followed by the sound of the door opening.
Creak!
The door swung open, and bright light entered the dark room, making him narrow his eyes in discomfort. He raised his hand to block the light for a moment, but he didn’t neglect to observe the person stepping inside.