Umbra's cry was no warning.It was a signal. A fracture.
And right after that howl,he changed.
His form—usually humanoid and shifting—warped violently.His body bent.His jaw stretched.And in a flash, he became a maw.
A gaping maw. Vast.Wide enough to engulf.
The D-rank Devourer didn't even have time to react.The jaws snapped shut with a dry crack—and the upper half of its body vanished.
In a single bite.
The irony was brutal.A Spirit Devourer… devoured.
Kael, sprawled on the ground, stared blankly.He hadn't imagined this.He had hoped… for a miracle, maybe.But his battered mind had already braced for the worst.
Was it fatigue? Shock?He didn't know.But one thing was certain in that instant:he was no longer alone.At Thana's side,he now had another ally. Of a different kind.
Silence fell after the strike.Not heavy. Not oppressive.A silence… almost reverent.
Umbra didn't move.
His body, half-fluid once more, rose slowly,balancing somewhere between instinct and mastery.
He stared at the corpse—or what remained of it—as if expecting something more.
Thana, still holding back, watched tensely.Not afraid.But taut.
She knew.This wasn't victory.It was a summons.Something had been awakened.
Umbra turned his head slowly toward Kael.No longer just predator.Not quite ally either.But… something in between.
His eyes—or at least, their shapeless glow—settled on him,then on the Devourer's remains.He raised a dark claw, slender but sharp,and pointed at the corpse.
— Gyah.
A guttural sound.Not violent. Not hostile.Just… questioning.
Kael frowned.
Umbra pointed again at the body.— Gyah. Gyah.
As if, in that primitive noise,there was language.A need.A request.
And Kael understood.
He nodded slowly.
— Go ahead.
He didn't know if he held authority over him.But Umbra seemed to take it as consent.And without pause, he leapt.
But not toward the corpse.
Toward Kael.
The shadow lunged in a swift blur,and Kael felt a sudden weight on his shoulders.
He staggered back, startled—but Umbra's density was greater than expected.Almost tangible. Almost heavy.
He swayed, but didn't fall.
Umbra wasn't biting.Wasn't attacking.He was coiling around him.
Almost like an animal…no.Almost like a child.
A child that had just been seen.Accepted.
And who, for once,only wanted to show he was there.
After that brief exchange, Umbra gently detached from Kael.Then, without another word—without another Gyah—he turned back to the Devourer's remains.
He approached.Not with hunger.With… intent.
He raised his hand.
⟡ [ Thana System – Unique Ability Detected ] ⟡Activation: PredationEntity: Umbra
Effect: Assimilation of a spiritual or physical prey.Extraction of a stable fragment of power or essence.Target: Spirit Devourer – Rank D [weakened – status: terminated]Condition met.
Kael watched the shadow stoop.
But this time, it wasn't a meal.It was fusion.
Umbra pressed his palm against what remained of the monster's torso.And slowly,the carcass was absorbed.
Not devoured.Drawn in.
Nerves melted.Bones dissolved.Residual essence vibrated,as though pulled by a will older than the Devourer itself.
Kael felt the air shift.A spiritual tension coiled in the chamber,then vanished.
⟡ [ Partial Assimilation: Validated ] ⟡Endurance Core acquired – Primary Fragment of RecoveryUmbra: accelerated energy regenerationTemporary passive bonus – increased resistance to entities of same rank
Umbra lifted his head.
And this time… he said nothing.
He was sated.
Yet he did not leave.
He remained there,facing the spot where the carcass had vanished.Then, without sound, he dipped a hand into his own shadow,and drew something forth.
Three fragments.
Three small pulsating spheres,like hearts of solidified mist.Essences.
He let them float a moment between his claws,then extended them gently toward Kael.
Not violently.Not by duty.
But…like a cat bringing a mouse to its master.
Not for food.But to be seen. Acknowledged.
Kael, still on his knees, blinked.
He understood.And reached out in turn.
The three essences settled into his palm,light yet throbbing.Each beat to its own rhythm.
⟡ [ Acquisition validated ] ⟡→ Spiritual Essence – Rank E ×2→ Spiritual Essence – Rank D ×1
Umbra lifted his gaze to him.
A simple look.No words.
But in that silence…he waited for something.
Kael hesitated.Then he raised his free hand,and laid it gently on Umbra's head.
— …Thank you.
The shadow didn't stir.But a soft pulse rippled through the air.
It was enough.
Kael hadn't moved.His hand still rested on Umbra's head,and for once,the silence wasn't heavy.
Then, a voice rose softly behind him.
— What you just did…
He turned his head.
Thana was approaching slowly.Her gaze steady.Not cold.But measured.
— …you know what this means, don't you?
Kael stayed silent a moment.Then nodded. Halfway.
Thana stopped a few steps away.Her eyes shifted from Kael to Umbra,then to the three essences glowing in his palm.
— An entity capable of devouring the soul of a D-rank Devourer…— …and offering you part of it, as a gift…That's not something I can ignore.
She paused.
— It isn't a summon.It isn't a familiar.It isn't even just a shadow anymore.
Her gaze lowered slightly.
— It's someone.
Kael frowned.
— Someone?
— Yes, she said.— Someone who chooses to be with you.
Silence.
Then, softer:
— So don't treat him like a weapon.Or he'll end up acting like a beast.
She stepped back a pace.
— Only you can decide what he becomes.
Kael lowered his head slightly.His fingers brushed the warm essences in his palm.Then, without lifting his eyes, he asked:
— You told me Umbra…was your familiar, once.That he followed you, as he follows me now.
He raised his gaze to her, more direct.
— Wasn't he like this with you, too?Attached. Instinctive.Loyal?
Thana froze for an instant.
Kael pressed, lower.
— And didn't he also lose his strength…by being sealed in the temple?Like you, when you were sealed in me?
A tremor.
Not a yes.
But not a no either.
Thana looked away slightly.Her arms stayed crossed, but her shoulders had stiffened.
— What Umbra was…and what he is becoming again…aren't exactly the same.
She inhaled.
— But yes.There was a time when he was like this.Loyal. Silent.And… dangerously affectionate.
Her eyes locked on Kael's.
— I loved him, you know.But even I never understood him fully.
Silence thickened. More intimate. Heavier.
Then, in a soft ripple, a pulse ran through the ground.
⟡ [ Interface – Thana System ] ⟡Stable emotional anchor detected→ Partial synchronization between:› Entity Umbra [Status: awakened, post-evolution]› Host Kael
Link type: Conscious affinity / Emotional connectionRisks: unassessedPotential benefits: enhanced stability – harmonic channelling – voluntary transfer of essence & fragments
Kael narrowed his eyes.
He had read such lines before, but this time…they sounded different.
He raised his gaze to Umbra.
The shadow, still at his side, had nearly melted into the ground.But his eyes—or what passed for them—were fixed on him.Calm. Present.
He understood.
Umbra was no longer an extension.He was a will.And he had just chosen a new anchor.
Kael hadn't even caught his breath when—
A dry crackle split the air.The Orb of Revelation, fastened at his belt,began to vibrate softly.
Thana frowned.Even Umbra lifted his head,as though a presence had crossed the mist.
Then…a laugh slipped from the orb.
Not loud.Not erratic.But perfectly measured.
A slow, crystalline laugh, tinged with wonder.A dissonant note in the silence still warm with violence.
Kael's stomach clenched.He recognized that voice.Not in its tone…But in its presence.
The laughter ceased.
And a soft, precise voice rose in the frozen air.
— …I must admit.You keep surprising me, Kael.
It was him.That damned Guide.