The Veridian estate was quiet when Kael returned.
Too quiet.
Large stone walls surrounded a luxurious manor, banners hanging from iron poles, servants moving in orderly lines. It looked like something pulled straight out of a fantasy novel.
Yet none of it belonged to him.
No one noticed when he slipped through the servant's entrance. His small body, soaked and filthy, blended perfectly with the background of ignored things.
A maid finally saw him and recoiled.
"By the gods— you're still alive?"
That told him everything.
Kael was brought before his family that same evening.
His father sat at the head of the table, dressed in noble robes. A man in his forties, sharp features, cold eyes.
His mother didn't even look at him.
The silence was heavier than the rain.
"The spirit test," his father said flatly. "Again."
A crystal orb was placed in front of Kael.
He already knew the result.
He placed his hand on it.
Nothing happened.
No glow. No reaction.
The servants whispered.
The noble's expression hardened.
"…Still defective."
Kael felt the original child's emotions surge — fear, shame, desperation. He suppressed them.
"I see," Kael said calmly.
That earned him startled looks.
Children like him were supposed to cry.
Not speak.
"You will be sent to the outer orphan district," his father continued. "The family will not waste further resources."
No anger. No regret.
A business decision.
Kael bowed slightly.
"Understood."
That was the last time he ever saw them.
The orphan district was a different world.
Wooden buildings, broken roads, starving children, and the smell of sickness. This was where mana-less and aura-less kids were dumped.
Trash among trash.
Kael was given a thin blanket, stale bread, and a corner of a shared room.
No one spoke to him.
At night, as others slept, Kael sat cross-legged and focused inward.
On the Hollow.
Still empty.
Still silent.
"How do I even use you?"
No answer.
He remembered the information.
Magic required mana.Aura required life force and will.
So what did Hollow require?
Kael experimented.
Breathing. Meditation. Visualization.
Hours passed.
Then, faintly…
A sensation.
Not energy.
Absence.
The Hollow responded.
Not by filling — but by pulling.
Kael felt something drain from his body. Not physical strength. Not mana.
Something deeper.
Memories. Thoughts. Emotional residue.
The Hollow was feeding on him.
Kael's eyes widened.
"So you eat the soul itself…"
Dangerous.
But necessary.
He continued.
Slowly, painfully, the black sphere gained shape.
Not power — capacity.
It grew.
And for the first time…
It wasn't empty.