The room sank into tense silence. I felt cold sweat streaming down my body. I didn't understand what I had said wrong to cause such a reaction.
Lowering my gaze, I saw that her hands were trembling slightly.
Expecting the worst outcome.
But time passed, and nothing happened—only silence. Neither of us started a conversation. We just looked into each other's eyes.
With all my strength, I pretended to be calm. But in my head there was a storm of thoughts.
Where did I make a mistake?
Why was she so surprised?
And is she holding back her anger right now so she doesn't kill me?
Maybe she didn't believe me? But I told the truth for the first time… Maybe I crossed all the boundaries of her trust, and now she doesn't believe a single word I say. But if that's so, what is she waiting for? Or is she hesitating, unsure whether to believe me or not?
But time kept passing, and nothing changed. Only her face changed—from surprise to neutral, and then to deep thoughtfulness. The trembling in her hands completely disappeared, as if it had never been there.
I don't know how much time passed—hours or just minutes. But I know one thing—how beautiful and hot she is. I'd totally fuck her.
"I see."
At her voice, I flinched, almost crying out, realizing it was useless.
"I see?"
I repeated, fully understanding what she meant. Kopii definitely wouldn't have figured it out—someone as dumb as him never could.
"Yes, I understand… I have one more question. And I want you to answer me honestly, Kopii."
Looking straight into my eyes, she said it. Her gaze sent shivers down my body.
"Of course, Aiz. What do you want to ask?"
"About the rumors. Is it true?"
"Rumors… What rumors?"
Of course, I knew what she meant, but I decided to play dumb, fully aware that this wouldn't end well.
…
Seeing her eyes narrow dangerously, I realized she understood that I was pretending.
"Ah!? I get what you mean."
So I decided to stop playing this game. That little game could destroy all the trust she had in me, and it was already barely alive.
"Is it true?"
"Well, how should I put it… There's truth in those rumors, and there are lies."
So I told her everything that had happened to me in the Dungeon, hiding nothing. Now all I could do was hope she would believe me, even though the story sounded strange. But it was the truth, so all that was left was to wait for her response.
"So you're saying a stranger attacked you, defeated you, and that wasn't enough—he stripped you and threw you into a park?"
"Yes… That's what happened."
The more I thought about it, the more ridiculous and made-up it sounded. But the truth was—it was the pure truth, no matter how absurd it sounded. It was the kind of truth no one would fucking believe. And I understood that perfectly, so I was already preparing for the worst outcome.
"I see."
Hearing her and looking at her face, it held the same expression as always. I could only sigh in relief, not understanding how she believed it. A smile hadn't even fully formed on my lips before she spoke again.
"Don't do that again."
She said it in a tone that sent a wave of shivers through my body. The pressure was so intense that I forgot how to breathe.
She didn't believe me.
The only thought spinning in my head.
Unable to lift my gaze to her, I sat there without moving, without breathing. I don't know how much time passed—minutes, hours, or even seconds.
"It's late."
She said, and all the pressure seemed to vanish, as if it had never existed, and I could finally breathe freely.
Looking at her face, it wore the same expression as before, but her eyes were slightly different—they were shrouded in darkness. But only for a moment, and then her eyes were filled with life again.
"Yes, it's late, Aiz."
Glancing at the clock and then back at her, I confirmed her words.
"Bye…"
"Bye."
I waved at her. But before leaving, she stopped.
"Be careful…"
"Of course. But you be careful too. Bye."
After Aiz left, my smile immediately vanished, and I dragged myself to the bed. Falling onto it, all I could think about was how lucky I had been today.
She'll come again tomorrow. Oh fuck… How do I get her into my bed? I thought about my next plan of action. But nothing came to mind.
Without thinking much more, I headed to the Dungeon to relax and distract myself. It was the perfect time to fully immerse myself in battle.
POV Aiz.
Third person.
After leaving Kopii's house, she headed straight home. Her face showed nothing—it was static, as almost always. But it was only a mask. Behind that mask, a storm of emotions raged.
She couldn't get Kopii's words out of her head.
"My changes are connected to my skill."
Recalling his words again, she understood that her hypotheses about Kopii's skill might be completely wrong. Her reasoning from the very beginning had been in the wrong direction.
She thought that immediately after hearing those words. But the more she thought, the more she doubted and built new hypotheses.
Yet all those thoughts led nowhere. His skill could copy physical traits or someone's personality. Or both. Every second spent thinking about it only pulled her deeper into doubt.
If his skill can copy both, then how does it work? Gathering all the information she had, she realized it happened accidentally. Which meant he couldn't control it.
That meant he could change at any second—for better or worse. Was it a curse or a gift? She didn't know what else to call Kopii's skill. If you look at it as a gift,
then he could copy the strengths of every race, or even monsters. His eyes were proof that he could copy monsters. But wouldn't that make him one as well? By copying monsters, wouldn't he become one himself?
Power—but at what cost? And worst of all, he couldn't control it. The skill copied everything indiscriminately.
Thinking about this, another question arose in Aiz's mind.
Can it be controlled?
She asked herself that. She fully understood that if the skill couldn't be controlled, then it was definitely a curse, not a gift.
But all this time he hadn't changed. He had always been the same—until now. Had his skill started activating? Or did it only copy the best traits?
She grew more and more tangled in her thoughts, and her head began to ache from the intensity of it.
With those thoughts, she reached home.
POV Kane.
First person.
"Hey, Naaza."
"Hey."
"As I can see, we don't have many customers again… Are there at least some?"
I looked around the shop, but there was no one. Well, as usual.
"Yes, there are."
She said in a tired voice.
"This month business is worse than before."
She continued without giving me a chance to speak.
"I see. Here, take this. There's even more than last time."
Placing the bag of money on the table, I said proudly, patting my chest.
When she saw the bag, her tail started swaying slightly back and forth, immediately catching my attention.
"No need to thank me—we're family."
I said before she could speak, not taking my eyes off her tail.
"Alright, enough about that, Naaza. Is Miach in?"
Not giving her a chance to speak again, I continued, staring into her tired eyes and trying with all my strength not to look at her tail.
"No."
"Out?"
I asked immediately.
"No."
"With friends?"
"No."
"Then where?"
"At a meeting."
"A meeting?"
Seeing my puzzled face, she sighed and continued.
"At the Denatus meeting, Kopii."
"Ahh!? For long?"
"I don't know."
"I see."
Fuck, just my luck. Why today? I thought, not taking my eyes off Naaza's face. Maybe I should ask what rumors are going around about me? Have they changed much since the last time I heard them? And what does she think about it?
What could Aiz have heard to want to beat me for it? Fuck, it must've been Tsubaki, that damn pointy-eared bitch—I'm sure of it. Who else could it be?
Ding.
Before I could even open my mouth, I heard the bell ring throughout the shop, signaling customers.
I glanced at them briefly.
Some old lady, I thought.
Alright, I'll go. I won't distract you from work, Naaza. Don't overwork yourself.
"Be careful, Kopii. Bye."
"Alright, bye."
I waved and left the shop.
The moment I stepped outside, my smile disappeared.
Just my luck. I thought again. Heading toward the Dungeon, I needed something to keep me busy in Miach's absence.
The sun was high in the sky, so there was plenty of time. He wouldn't stay there all day, right?
Some time later.
As expected, he still wasn't home. So I headed back, postponing the status update until tomorrow.
A sheet of paper?
While doing some cleaning out of boredom, I found a sheet written in a language I didn't understand. Without thinking much, I tried to tear it into pieces—but to my surprise, I couldn't.
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't tear it, cut it, or burn it—it didn't give a fuck. Whatever I did, it stayed intact.
Then a brilliant idea came to me: if I can't read it or destroy it, what's stopping me from using it as armor? Sure, it's not that big, but it could cover my chest.
And of course, another question crossed my mind. Who was Kopii's friend really… Raven? Who was he? How did he make this sheet? Was he a magician? Was he hiding his power? And why?
The more I thought about it, the more I realized I understood nothing. Absolutely nothing connected to Raven. Everything felt too complicated.
"Taking too long, don't you think?"
"It's normal."
"Yeah… Maybe I expect too much from him."
…
Even so, his soul keeps getting more and more interesting, I thought, casting a brief glance at my right hand. His face, as always, was static—it had always been like that, for as long as I could remember.
But when I looked at Kopii again, peacefully walking toward the Dungeon, my heart filled with excitement and curiosity.
His soul was new to me. And no matter how much I observed him, its mystery remained unsolved.
His soul was so strange that it only intensified my interest.
On the first day, I understood him clearly. Back then, he seemed ordinary—though handsome. His soul was neither the worst nor the best. It was neither bright nor dull.
So I quickly forgot about him. Outer beauty never interested me as much as inner beauty. But one day, his soul changed color—it became brighter.
That was when my interest awakened, and in a short time I learned everything I could about that boy.
That he belonged to Miach's familia. How he joined it, how he came to Orario—I learned everything possible about him.
But each day he became more and more interesting. Black eyes. The color of his soul turned completely black—the shine it once had disappeared entirely. But only for a while. Then it began shining again, like a small sun.
And every day of watching him, watching the fluctuations of his soul as it constantly changed—my interest only grew stronger. So strong that my thoughts were only about him.
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Hello everyone!
I wrote this chapter at the beginning of December, so the changes in writing style won't be noticeable right away. The next chapter was written recently, and the changes will already be visible there. (I hope)
Also, from now on, chapters will be released once a week, and they will be several times longer than before.