The Arachnoform slammed against the trunk of the Senti-Sequoia with a hollow, final sound, a symphony of shattering bones. It slid to the ground, a tangle of legs twisted at impossible angles, and lay motionless. A heavy, unnatural silence descended upon the clearing, broken only by the low, vibrating hum that now emanated from Alex's chains.
He stood there, breathless, his ethereal body trembling with phantom adrenaline. The chain on his left arm detached from the tree with a dry snap and retracted, coiling loosely around his wrist like a slumbering serpent. The other, still firmly attached to the creature's leg, felt heavy, a physical link to the visceral violence he had just committed. The black metal seemed to drink in the surrounding gloom.
"You… you killed it," stammered Borin, the stocky hunter. He slowly got to his feet, shield still in hand, and stared from Alex to the dead creature with an expression of pure disbelief. "With… with a whip? What kind of Soul Weapon does that?"
Fendrel, the taller hunter, approached cautiously, his spear still poised, but no longer pointed at Alex. His jade eyes examined the chains with a mixture of fear and analytical fascination. He ignored his partner's question.
"That is not a Soul Weapon," Fendrel said, his voice low and serious, cutting through the air. "There's no Tenebris being emitted from it. It's… empty. Cold as the Threshold stone. What are you, Newborn?"
Alex had no answer. He looked at his own hands, at the chains that seemed a profane extension of himself. "I don't know," he said, his voice hoarse. "I just… arrived here. I was thrown into this place."
Fendrel narrowed his eyes, his expression hardening. "No one 'just arrives' marked. The chains don't lie. You made a pact at the Tribunal, didn't you? What kind of desperate promise does a soul make to bear the very shackles of the Judicature?" It wasn't a question. It was an accusation.
Before Alex could attempt to formulate a lie or stammer the truth, the Arachnoform's body began to behave strangely. It began to unravel, not like decaying flesh, but like dissipating smoke in a non-existent breeze. Particles of black light, like glittering soot, began to rise from the carcass. A dense, palpable energy filled the air.
"Stand back, boy! The Tenebris will disperse!" Borin warned, taking an instinctive step backward. "It's too volatile after a violent death!"
But Alex couldn't. The chain was still attached to the creature. And, to his horror and fascination, he felt a pull. Not a physical pull, but a drawing in his soul, a hunger he didn't know he possessed. The Tenebris particles were not dispersing into the air. They were being drawn in, forming a thin, dark stream that flowed along the black metal chain, directly into him.
"By the Seven Kings…," Fendrel whispered, eyes wide. "It's not dispersing. It's being drained."
Alex felt the cold, alien energy invade his arm. It wasn't painful. On the contrary, it was like drinking ice-cold water after a day of excruciating thirst. He felt his ethereal form, previously weak and wavering, become more solid, more defined. The sky-blue color of his soul deepened, gaining a rich shade of cobalt. The exhaustion that had weighed on him since he arrived dissipated, replaced by a thrum of raw, pulsing power. He felt… complete.
In seconds, the Arachnoform's body dissolved completely, leaving behind only a few bone fragments that soon turned to dust and were carried away by the forest's phantom breeze. The chain detached and retracted. Alex looked at his arm, feeling stronger. More real.
"What… what happened to me?" he asked, genuinely confused and a little scared by the pleasurable sensation the absorption had brought him.
"You devoured its Tenebris," Fendrel said, the distrust on his face now tinged with reluctant respect. "Your chains… they don't just bind. They drain. It's a Predator's ability. An ability that shouldn't belong to a Conscious one."
Borin approached, the fear in his face replaced by a cautious curiosity. "I've never seen anything like it. Not even the Natural Wanderers the old ones tell tales of do that. Fendrel, what do we do with him? Do we turn him over to the Vigilants of Vargus?"
Fendrel was silent for a long moment, studying Alex from head to toe. He saw the genuine confusion on the Newborn's face, the way he looked at his own hands as if they were strangers. He didn't look like a cunning monster. He looked like a lost cub.
"No," Fendrel said finally. "Turning him over to the Vigilants would be a death sentence or dissection. He knows nothing. He's as ignorant as a swamp larva about the laws of this realm." He ran a hand over his spectral face. "Besides, if we leave him here, his Newborn emanation, now amplified by the Tenebris he's absorbed, will attract everything that crawls and flies within a day's walk. It would be a disaster." He sighed, a weary sound. "And, may the Kings forgive me for admitting it, he saved your thick hide, Borin."
Borin scratched his spectral nape, looking at the ground. "Well, yes. That thing was going to split me in half. That's true."
Fendrel turned to Alex, his posture shifting from inquisitor to that of a reluctant leader. "Listen, Newborn. I don't care who you were or what stupid deal you made to end up with these chains. But now you owe us one. The creature you… disintegrated… was our quarry. We tracked it for two cycles."
"Its core," Borin added, bitterly. "The condensed Tenebris. The creature's heart. There should have been a fist-sized crystal there. It would have paid for our passage and supplies for half a year."
"Crystal that you conveniently inhaled," Fendrel concluded, with a touch of irritation. "So, here's the deal. You come with us to Vargus Citadel. There, you can learn not to be a walking danger to yourself and others. In return, you work for us until you pay off your debt. Hunt with us. Your ability, however bizarre and profane it may be, is undeniably useful."
Go with them. To a city. It was the first spark of real hope Alex felt since he awoke on that boat. A place with… people. A place to understand what was happening to him.
"I accept," Alex said without hesitation.
"Good," Fendrel said dryly. He pointed his spear eastward, where the sky's purple light seemed a little less oppressive. "Vargus is a two-day walk, if we're lucky and don't encounter that thing's mother. Stay close and try not to absorb anything else without permission. And, by the Kings, try to control that glow. You're lit up like a lighthouse in a storm."
Alex looked at himself. Fendrel was right. His bluish form was pulsing with a soft light, a result of the Tenebris he had absorbed. It was a glow that made him feel exposed. He focused, remembering the sensation of relaxing a tense muscle, and tried to apply that to the energy within him. Slowly, painstakingly, the glow diminished, returning to his original translucent hue. The power was still there, but now it was contained.
Fendrel nodded, visibly impressed despite himself. "Quick learner. Perhaps you're not a total lost cause. Now, let's go. The Whispering Forest doesn't like those who stand still for too long."
As he followed the two hunters among the titanic trees, Alex felt the weight of the chains in a different way. They were no longer just a symbol of his pact or an inexplicable burden. They were a tool, a weapon, and a means to survive. He had a destination, a debt, and a long road ahead, through a world that wanted to devour him.