After training with Jian, Vladislav and Athelstan walked back to the mansion bickering as always.
The night air was cool against their skin, carrying the faint smell of dew and freshly cut grass. Their footsteps echoed softly on the stone path, but Vladislav barely noticed—his body was still aching from the relentless drills, and his mind replayed Jian's strict corrections.
This time, Vladislav didn't dare skip dinner—he didn't want to wake up like some starved animal crawling out of hibernation.
When they arrived, the warm glow of lanterns spilled out of the mansion windows, welcoming them back. The dining hall smelled of roasted meat and bread, the kind of smell that instantly reminded him of home.
He sat with his family and ate.
During dinner, the siblings spoke eagerly about the iron stance and the sword techniques they had practiced that day. Their voices overlapped, full of excitement, even as their bodies slumped from exhaustion.
Vladislav still turned to Mary and apologized for skipping her training. Jian had already told him he had permission, that he shouldn't worry—but guilt still pressed against him.
Mary only shook her head with a calm smile. "It's fine. Today you were learning your first sword techniques, and that's crucial for a swordmaster."
But then her tone changed. A mischievous smirk tugged at her lips.
"However, you'll have to draw your katana two thousand times tomorrow."
Vladislav nearly choked on his food. He forced a smile, but in his mind, he was already groaning.
Two thousand times... that's going to be torture.
Dinner ended soon after. Everyone went to their rooms—except Vladislav.
He still had training with Lady Umbra.
He walked silently through the hallways. The black marble corridors reflected the dim torchlight, casting distorted shapes across the walls. His steps, though careful, made no sound. It wasn't intentional—it was as though the night itself swallowed his movements, making him vanish into the silence.
He felt alive. Warm. Safe.
Darkness embraced him like an old friend. Wherever he walked, the shadows seemed to shift and stretch, thickening as if they responded to his presence.
"Walking late at night... feels really comforting," he whispered to himself, the words almost lost in the quiet.
All the aches and pain from training faded. It was as if his body forgot the hours of sweat, the burning muscles, the soreness in his arms and legs.
"It's refreshing..."
He tilted his head back and looked up at the sky through a tall window in the corridor.
The moon was hidden, smothered by heavy clouds.
"How depressing..." he muttered, his chest sinking with disappointment.
Vladislav had always felt something toward the moon. He didn't know when it started, but the sight of it always stirred something deep within him—longing, comfort. Tonight, not seeing it left an emptiness inside him.
But truly—who wouldn't love the moon?
It was too beautiful. Too mysterious. Whoever created it had done so perfectly.
"Oh, brightest star in the night sky..." he whispered softly, raising his right hand toward the night sky. His pale fingers stretched as if to touch it.
"So close, and yet so far..."
He stood there for a moment longer, staring at the shifting clouds, before lowering his hand and continuing to the library.
When he pushed open the heavy wooden doors, the familiar smell of old paper and ink greeted him. The vast rows of shelves towered in silence, filled with ancient books whose spines glowed faintly under the dim lanterns.
Vladislav made his way through the shelves until he reached the reception counter.
His brows furrowed when he saw the empty chair.
Lady Umbra wasn't there.
That's strange... she's always here. Every time I've come, no matter the hour, she's always waiting. Did she leave tonight?
But in truth, she hadn't left.
Unseen, a pair of sharp amethyst eyes followed him from the shadows. Umbra was there, right behind him, hidden in a cocoon of darkness. She had been watching since the moment he stepped inside.
Is she hiding in the darkness...?
Most likely. She's probably testing me... to see if I can find her.
A faint smile tugged at his lips. Well then, let's see. I want to test something too.
Vladislav closed his eyes.
Umbra tilted her head in curiosity.
Hoh... he's trying to sense me. Clever boy.
She circled around him silently, her eyes gleaming with interest.
Vladislav focused harder. He reached into the shadows, trying to feel, not see.
How did he know he might sense someone this way?
Because he had read it.
Earlier, he had asked a servant to fetch him books about the darkness element. In one of them, he discovered the existence of an innate ability called Darkness Sense.
It was passive—always active, and it didn't consume mana.
With it, a darkness user could scan their surroundings through the shadows, sensing both living and non-living things hidden from normal sight.
But it required concentration—absolute focus.
Now, Vladislav was trying to awaken it.
At first, there was only emptiness. Then, slowly, the veil began to peel away. The darkness whispered to him, revealing what it concealed.
It'sworking...
He sensed the shelves around him. The stacks of books hidden in the corners. The faint hum of mana within the tomes.
And then—something living. Small, fragile. Crawling among the shadows of a bookshelf.
A rat...? Strange. This is the first time I've felt one here. The library's always so clean.
But suddenly, the presence vanished.
What? That's impossible.
No footsteps, no fading trail. It was just gone, like it had never existed.
Unbeknownst to him, Umbra had snapped her fingers—soundless—and killed the rat instantly. No body remained. Not even a trace.
"Damn rat sneaking into my library... courting death," she muttered quietly, her tongue clicking against her teeth.
Meanwhile, Vladislav ignored the rat's disappearance and pressed on, but his range was still too small. His Darkness Sense only spread about ten meters around him. The vast library was far larger, with multiple floors stretching beyond his reach.
He considered moving around, using his sense bit by bit. But he dismissed the thought—it would take too long.
No matter how hard he pushed, he couldn't feel Umbra. She was beyond his grasp.
With a click of his tongue, he opened his eyes.
The shelves and books greeted him once more—but this time, so did she.
Lady Umbra stood directly in front of him, smiling.
"Hi-hi, little Vlad," she said, giving him a playful wave even though they were already so close.
Vladislav didn't respond. He only stared, making her tilt her head.
"Oho? Don't you know it's rude not to reply when someone greets you?"
Still, silence.
She leaned closer, and that's when she saw his eyes.
They were blank. Unfocused.
Vladislav's soul had already slipped away.
He had been so startled by seeing her appear the instant he opened his eyes that he fainted—still standing, with his eyes wide open.
"Ah... I did it again. I wasn't even trying to scare you this time," Umbra muttered with a sigh, scratching the back of her neck.
She reached out and poked his chest lightly with one finger.
His body toppled backward without resistance.
Thud—
He hit the floor, the sound echoing through the silent library.
"Ouch... that's going to hurt when you wake up," Umbra said softly, wincing as if she could already feel the pain for him.