"Focus."
Kien stood behind Christian, her fingers glowing with soft, golden light. The quiet rooftop of an old dojo—long abandoned—had become their hidden training ground.
Christian sat cross-legged, sweat dripping down his neck, trying to control the energy surging through him.
"Again," she said.
He exhaled slowly, channeling spirit energy through his meridians, as the black mist of his evolving core slithered along his arms. He didn't fear it anymore—not like before.
But it was wild.
Too wild.
Suddenly the mist lashed out, cracking a tile behind him.
"Dammit." He winced, breathing hard.
Kien knelt beside him. "You're not losing control. It's testing you. Your power isn't just yours—it's watching you too."
Christian looked at her, confused.
She smiled slightly. "My mom used to say spirit energy is alive in its own way. It reacts to who we are. What we want. What we've lost."
"What if I don't know who I am yet?"
"Then we'll figure it out together."
That Afternoon – The Unexpected Mentor
As they walked back from training, a man leaned against the alley gate near the school.
Tall. Worn cloak. Gray beard, but sharp eyes. He looked like a forgotten monk or an old merc.
"You're the kid with the shadow core," the man said. "Christian Vale."
Christian tensed. Kien instinctively stepped forward.
"I'm not here to fight," the man said, lifting his hands. "Name's Garran. Used to teach at the old Zenith Temple before it fell."
"Never heard of it," Christian muttered.
"You wouldn't. The city buried it—and everyone who trained in Void Techniques—after the Incident twenty years ago."
Christian froze. "You trained Void users?"
"I trained survivors. And if you keep awakening like this without guidance, you won't last the month."
Kien narrowed her eyes. "Why help us?"
Garran's face turned serious. "Because I know what you're becoming. And because something has already noticed you."
That Night – Alone Again
Christian couldn't sleep. The energy in his veins pulsed too hard. The shadows in his room felt longer. Deeper.
Then… something whispered.
He sat up.
In the reflection of his window, he saw a shape behind him.
Tall.
Cloaked in black smoke.
Eyes spinning like galaxies made of void.
He turned—nothing there.
But the pressure remained. Cold. Hungry.
It had found him.
Far Away – In the Depths of Spirit Space
The creature crouched atop a cracked altar in the void. Its voice echoed across the dimension like wind over bones.
"The child has awakened the Evolving Core… and it breathes the scent of the Abyss."
"The time is near."
Christian didn't know what was coming.
But for the first time in his life, he didn't feel alone.
And that would make all the difference.