Chapter 26 — The Bite of Power
The campfire was low, embers pulsing faintly under the canopy. The nobles slept in scattered bedrolls, the forest still thick with silence.
Kael sat apart, sword across his knees, eyes on the dark. In his palm, black mist swirled — the condensed energy he'd claimed from the corrupted beasts earlier. It pulsed like a heartbeat.
SIDE's voice slid in, almost too quiet. —You're playing with poison.
Kael turned the mist between his fingers. "Feels more like a weapon."
—You're not wrong. But poison can be a weapon too. The catch is, it doesn't always kill the target first.
Kael let the mist sink into his palm. Darkness threaded up his veins, vanishing beneath the skin. Immediately, he felt it — a rush like icewater and fire at once, his muscles humming with tension, his thoughts sharper.
[SIDE SYSTEM ALERT]
Predator's Claim activated.
+2 Strength (temporary)
+3% Shadow Affinity (permanent)
He stood, rolling his shoulders. His shadow spilled wider than the firelight should allow, tendrils twitching at the edges.
A twig snapped behind him. He didn't turn — he could feel the creature moving through the dark now, its weight bending the air.
The corrupted stag leapt from the treeline. Kael stepped sideways through space — one blink he was there, the next he was at the beast's flank, sword severing its neck in a single stroke.
The head hit the ground without a sound. Black mist rose again, eager.
SIDE cut in, sharper now. —Don't take too much. Every drop makes his mark stronger.
Kael let the mist hover, then clenched his fist. The energy bled into the earth instead, sinking away. "I'll decide what's mine."
The shadow at his feet shivered, as if displeased.
From across the camp, one of the nobles stirred, eyes catching the last flicker of the darkness curling back into Kael's outline. He looked away quickly, pretending he'd seen nothing.
Kael sat again, sword in hand. He didn't sleep.
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