A boy with silver hair shining like moonlight in the semi-darkness, and hands dignifiedly crossed on his chest.
Damian Von Taurus.
He was waiting there. Not like a cowardly ambusher, but like a king standing in his own territory. As if he knew exactly when and where Maria would pass.
Maria gripped the tray tighter. Her body went into defensive mode, but she kept her face cool.
Seeing Maria, Damian pushed off the wall and came forward.
His gaze slid from Maria's face to the food tray. raised an eyebrow.
"Developed quite an appetite, Maria."
His tone was neither friendly nor hostile; cold, polite, and slightly sarcastic.
Maria answered coolly:
"Brains need fuel to work, Damian. Unlike some who feed on arrogance."
Damian smirked. He didn't dislike her quick wit.
He stood beside Maria but didn't block her way.
"Heard Varon fell. His lab's sealed. His reputation's gone with it."
Damian flicked invisible dust off his sleeve.
"Clean work. Although... using the 'Disciplinary Council' and 'Rules' to eliminate an enemy was a cowardly move. A true warrior crushes his enemy with his own hands, not paperwork."
He fixed his gaze on Maria.
"But effective. Didn't expect you to enter political games. Thought you were a soldier, not a politician."
Maria looked straight into his emerald eyes.
"I didn't enter a game, Damian. Just defended myself. When someone draws a dagger, I don't ask if the dagger is legal or not. I just break their hand."
Damian nodded, as if accepting this answer.
He pivoted toward the corridor. Maria breathed a sigh of relief and wanted to pass.
But Damian paused just as he reached Maria's ear.
His presence was heavy. The faint mana pressure always around him pricked Maria's skin.
Damian's voice became quieter, deeper, and more dangerous:
"You won in the strategy simulator... because I sacrificed my soldiers. Because I relied on lifeless pieces."
He turned his head slightly to see Maria's profile.
"But in a month and a half... the End-of-Year Tournament begins."
Maria swallowed. Combat tournament. Where there were no golems or maps.
Damian whispered:
"There, no more hiding behind rocks or using Council rules. There, it's just me, you, and magic."
His emerald eyes flashed; a flash of the promise to avenge his defeat.
"There, I will show you that 'Absolute Power'... is still the only truth in this world. Be ready, little strategist. Because this time... I won't hold back."
Maria felt a tremor in her heart but didn't let it reach her hands and shake the tray.
She turned to Damian and said with a voice trying to be as cold as his:
" I'll be there."
Damian gave a satisfied smile, as if he got the answer he wanted. Then, without another word, he walked away into the darkness of the corridor.
Maria remained in the empty corridor.
The pressure of the hot food tray was on her hands, but the pressure of Damian's cold threat weighed on her heart.
A month and a half...
Short time to prepare against a genius who wanted to prove "Absolute Power."
She steadied herself and headed back to the dormitory.
The next battle had already begun.
The room door opened, and Maria entered with the heavy food tray.
Her face was a bit troubled and disturbed; the lingering effect of Damian's poisonous words. But as soon as the room's warmth hit her face and she smelled the strawberry shampoo (which was now the creature's natural scent), her frowns unfurrowed.
The black creature, lounging on Sarah's bed, perked up its ears seeing Maria and smelling the meat, and came down with a high jump.
It circled Maria's legs and rubbed its tails against her shin.
"Hungry? Sorry I'm late. Small obstacle on the way."
Maria put the tray on the carpet.
Sarah also got off the bed and sat next to the tray.
"Wow! What a feast! How did you manage to take all this meat without the cooks skinning you alive?"
Maria smiled.
"Stealth skills."
She put a large piece of lamb meat in front of the creature.
The creature was drooling, and its ruby eyes were locked on the meat, but... it didn't eat.
It sat. Wrapped its tails neatly around itself and looked at Maria. Waiting.
Sarah said with surprise:
"Why isn't it eating? Maybe it doesn't like it?"
Maria picked up a piece of bread and put it in her mouth.
"No... it's a pack creature. In a pack, the 'Alpha' eats first, then the rest. It's showing respect."
As soon as Maria swallowed the first bite, the creature attacked the meat voraciously and started eating.
Sarah laughed.
"How polite! Wish Brook had half these manners."
Sarah wanted to participate in the feeding. She picked up a piece of cooked broccoli and put it in front of the creature.
"Come on, little one... eat vegetables too. Good for your skin."
The creature stopped eating meat. stared at the broccoli. Then looked at Sarah. A look that seemed to say: Are you serious?
Then, with a very calm and cool movement, with the tip of its tail, it pushed the broccoli and flicked it neatly under Sarah's bed.
Then it went back to eating meat, as if no broccoli ever existed.
Maria burst out laughing. Sarah's mouth hung open.
"Hey! Did you see what it did? It totally hid it! Who is this guy!"
The sound of the two girls' laughter echoed in the room. The heaviness of Damian's threat faded amidst this small moment of happiness.
Dinner was over. The black creature, now with a full stomach, lay on the carpet licking its paws.
Sarah had put her chin on her hand and was looking at it with affection.
"Maria... we can't keep calling it 'it' or 'the creature'. It needs a name. Now that it's going to stay with us, it must have an identity."
Maria closed her book.
"You're right. Any suggestions?"
Sarah's eyes sparkled. As if she was waiting for this moment.
"Well... since it's black and fluffy, how about 'Puffy'?"
She called to the creature:
"Puffy... Puffy..."
The creature's ears flattened and went back upon hearing this name. It made a faint hissing sound.
Maria raised an eyebrow.
"Think it didn't like it."
"Well... 'Choco'? 'Blackie'? 'Mr. Whiskers'?"
With each name, the creature buried its head further into its fur and turned away. Clearly, these cutesy names were an insult to the dignity of a Shadow Hunter.
Maria laughed.
"Sarah, it's a magical monster, not a teddy bear. It needs something stronger."
Maria stood up from the chair and knelt in front of the creature.
She stared into its deep ruby eyes.
"It's silent... always in the shadows... and merges with darkness."
She remembered a book she had read in the library about the ancient languages of Alverin. A word meaning "Black" or "Absolute Night."
She whispered quietly:
"Nero."
The creature suddenly raised its head. Its ears perked up, and it turned toward Maria.
Its eyes shone. It made a short sound, something like a deep, affirming "Meow."
Sarah clapped with delight.
"Nero... it's beautiful! Classy. Suits him."
Maria stroked the creature's head.
"Hello, Nero. Welcome to the family."
Nero wagged his tail and pressed his head against Maria's hand. The name fit.
The lights were out. The cold, blue moonlight shone through the window, plunging the room into chiaroscuro.
Maria was under the blanket but still awake. Listening to Sarah's breathing and the wind outside.
On the carpet, a black mass moved.
Nero woke up. Stretched.
First, he went to Sarah's bed. Stood on his hind legs and looked at Sarah's sleeping face.
With a rough tongue, he gave a short lick to Sarah's hand hanging from the bed. A short "Goodnight" to the one who had cared for him.
Then, silently, he came toward Maria's bed.
With a light jump, he landed at the foot of Maria's bed.
He circled a few times to find a comfortable spot, and then curled up on the blanket over Maria's legs.
Maria felt his warm, pleasant weight.
She raised her head slightly.
In the darkness of the room, Nero's two ruby eyes were open, staring at the entrance door. They were no longer scary and wild; they shone like two small, alert guard lights.
Maria put her head on the pillow. A quiet smile settled on her lips.
She remembered Damian's words: "Absolute Power is the only truth."
Remembered the deadly loneliness of the past weeks.
But now... Sarah was across the room, and Nero at her feet.
She whispered in her heart:
Maybe you're right, Damian... but I have my own power too. Now I'm not really alone anymore. This is my family now.
Her eyes closed, and for the first time, without fear of tomorrow, she went to sleep.