~Warning, Blood and Gore ahead.~
Aaron's POV
The halls were loud today.
Louder than usual.
Footsteps, laughter, idle chatter. It all felt like static, like someone scraping stone against my ears. But maybe that was just because of the thing whispering in my head again.
^Aaron… I'm hungry.^
I sighed, keeping my hands in my pockets as I walked down the long hallway toward the southern wing.
Some students moved out of the way, either because they knew me… or because of my mood. I looked like I'd bite off their head if they said anything to me.
"Didn't I feed you the day before yesterday?" I muttered under my breath. A few passing students looked at me, confused.
One noble even scoffed and whispered something about me being crazy.
I didn't care. I was used to people thinking I talked to myself.
^You did,^ it replied in a voice like oil dripping from a blade. ^But something's changed. I need more.^
"Not my problem," I said, still walking.
^It will be if you want to keep using my power,^ it threatened.
I stopped for just a second, the hallway empty now but still echoing behind me. My eyes narrowed.
"You used to only need to feed every five to seven days. Now it's every other? What's going on?" I asked.
There was a pause. A stillness. Then, something I didn't expect.
^Something is wrong with that boy,^ the shadow said.
"…What boy?" I asked, curious, knowing the answer.
^Jackson,^ it said.
I blinked and took another step forward, then another. "What do you mean something's wrong with him?"
The voice in my head went silent.
Then pain bloomed in my chest like fire catching dry grass. I doubled over, hand braced against the wall, breathing sharp and shallow.
"—gh… damn it… Why?" I said through the pain.
^Feed me,^ it hissed. ^Then I'll tell you what I know.^
I gritted my teeth. "…Fine."
I pushed off the wall and walked. My pace was faster now, almost storming. I turned a corner and headed down the hall that led to the main courtyard.
The sky was a clear blue above me, the grass catching little flecks of sunlight as I moved. I didn't stop to admire it, but I did like the feeling of the cool breeze running through my mane.
"Over here! In the tree!" Jack's voice called out from somewhere to my left.
I glanced over and saw a tree just beyond the stone benches. I couldn't see him, but I did notice the others standing by another door.
I shifted slightly, turned my eyes forward again, and kept walking. I didn't have time for whatever mischief he was planning.
^Avoid him,^ the shadow whispered. ^Or better yet, never speak to him again.^
I clenched my jaw. I almost asked what its problem with Jack was—but I stopped myself. I didn't want another pain spike right now.
I kept walking.
~~~~~~
Thirty minutes later, I was deep into the forest.
I moved quietly, sticking to the shadows, my steps muffled by instinct and magic alike. An old trail, almost overgrown, lay ahead. I crouched behind a bush and watched.
Tents. Four of them. A fire pit long since burned out. And a cage.
Inside, two elven women, dressed in little more than rags, huddled together.
Outside the cage were two half-orcs, speaking in a guttural, barking language I didn't recognize. It sounded like Orcish, but I don't speak that, so I had no idea what they were saying.
I narrowed my eyes. Bandits?
^I'm hungry,^ the shadow said again, this time its raspy and echoey voice being deeper than normal.
"I heard you," I hissed back. "Shut up."
^I'm hungry. I'm hungry. I'm hungry…^ it repeated like a broken record, its voice getting deeper and more whispered every time.
I let out a low growl. "Fine."
I circled around, moving behind one of the half-orcs. The other turned to the cage, banging on the bars and barking something at the elves. Probably to get them to stop crying.
The second he turned, I moved.
I placed my dagger around his throat and slashed it, causing a splash of blood to sprawl out. I caught his body as he fell over.
Before the second one even realized something was wrong, I darted forward and buried my dagger in his throat.
He stared in shock at me before going limp as a gurgled noise escaped from him.
I looked toward the cage. The elves were still crying, not noticing me. I stepped toward the lock.
^No.^
I froze.
^Feed me first.^
"…Tch."
I sighed and walked back behind the tent. The corpse was still warm. I knelt beside it, pulled another dagger from my belt, and began to cut his chest open with practiced precision.
When the heart was exposed, I placed my hand over it.
One of my eyes turned pitch black as something dark and swirling slithered from the heart to my palm. It entered me like smoke through a crack.
I shuddered.
…Something felt off.
I turned quickly.
One of the elves stood behind me, crossbow aimed at my head. Her expression was no longer scared. It was cold. Focused. Rage burned in her eyes.
She pulled the trigger, and a bolt flew out at me.
I dove to the right as the bolt flew past me and disappeared into the trees.
I threw my dagger.
It hit her square in the chest, and she dropped, lifeless, stunned, but her furious expression never left her face.
I noticed the crossbow made no noise when it fired. I figured the crossbow had a silencing enchantment.
I looked to the cage and saw the second elf, still inside, bent over and chanting. A fire spell is typically used as a long-range signal to alarm.
(It's essentially a firework or signal flare spell)
I walked over and drove my blade through the back of her skull. She collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.
^You could've killed them all at the start,^ the shadow said.
"I don't kill innocent people," I said coldly. "Bandits, criminals… anyone who attacks me? Fair game."
I paused, staring at the bodies. "…Though, how did she get the crossbow? And how'd they open the cage? I didn't sense any mana from them before."
My brow furrowed.
"Wait... Was that always my rule?" I muttered. "I could've sworn it was bandits only…"
I tried to figure out the odd memory, but then the shadow said, ^You have better things to do. Like feeding me.^
I sighed and shrugged off the matter for now.
I moved quickly, cutting open each body and drawing the shadow from each one. When I reached the first elf, the shadow was weaker.
^You damaged the heart,^ it said, almost annoyed. ^Some of it escaped.^
"Right. My bad," I said dryly.
Once I finished, I walked down to a stream and washed the blood from my hands and forearms. The water was cold, and it helped keep my mind sharp.
But I couldn't shake the words it had said earlier.
^Something is wrong with Jack.^
What the hell did that mean?
And why did that idea bother me so much?
'At least it will tell me now,' I thought.
I started walking back to the academy once I got all the blood cleaned off.
~~~~~~
Omnipotent POV
~2 hours later~
*Crack*
A crack echoed through the clearing—sharp and sudden, like a warning.
The midday sun should've filtered gently through the canopy, but here, beneath these trees, the forest was drenched in shadow. It was unnaturally dark—like the light had forgotten how to reach this place.
From between the trees, something stepped into view.
It was tall and lanky. Its form was in a vaguely humanoid shape but was also made entirely of shadows and ichor. Its head was a large wolf's skull, ancient and bleached, with two glowing yellow rings swirling in its sockets.
The creature 'smiled'—if the slight tilt of its head could be called that—looking at the 4 bodies in front of it and dropped to all fours, its limbs cracking as it contorted into a beast-like stance.
Slowly, deliberately, it crept toward one of the corpses.
It opened its maw wide. A long, low hiss escaped it. The bones inside its throat looked sharp.
Then it stopped.
The rings in its skull-eyes began to tremble.
Tremble in fear.
A second later, a flash of blue fire slammed into its side.
The creature screeched, thrown back across the clearing, ichor splashing the ground where it landed.
The rustling of grass was heard as a new figure emerged.
A small person, barely a foot tall, in a black cloak. their hood was on and the shadow cast by city hid their face, but two glowing blue dots shimmered where their eyes should have been.
In one hand, they held a lantern suspended from the end of a long pole. Inside the lantern danced a blue flame, gentle but powerful.
"I told you not to wander off... or do that," the figure said in a calm, almost playful voice. "Your master gave me authority over you. Or did you forget already?"
The creature snarled. It slowly rose back to its feet and turned to face the lantern-bearer.
"Wisp," it growled in a low, gravely and unnatural sounding voice, "I wa—"
It flinched suddenly, spasming in place as though shocked.
Wisp tilted their head. "Did you forget you can't lie to me, hound?" they said, amused. "Tsk, tsk."
The hound lowered its head for a minute before answering, growling low. "…I thought I could sneak a bite before you found me."
Wisp laughed. "You are new, huh? But fine—why don't you try?"
The hound 'blinked', confused.
"I won't stop you," Wisp said, waving the lantern gently. "In fact, I promise to give up my lantern if I do interfere."
A pause. The hound tilted its skull.
It knew. Fae can't lie.
Slowly, a wide grin spread across its bony mouth, and it lunged at the body of a nearby elf.
It didn't even get within an inch.
The moment its mouth hovered over the corpse, its entire body exploded.
A blast of shadows and ichor exploded in all directions. The creature's limbs dissolved into sludge and shadow.
The Wisp stood still, watching with quiet amusement.
The skull hit the ground with a hollow *clunk* and rolled a short distance before stopping at Wisp's feet.
"Didn't think a recently converted Skull Hound would be this stupid," Wisp said mockingly, looking into one of its eyes. "Then again… you've only been in the dark since last month."
The glowing yellow rings were still inside the skull. They stared up at Wisp, wide and shaking.
"…What...happened?" the Skull Hound whispered, its voice ragged and fading.
Wisp leaned down. A sliver of shadow shifted where their mouth would be. "Your curse," they said softly. "Did the Reaper not explain it to you?"
"Why… do you know so much…" the hound asked, its voice trembling. "About us…"
The light in its eyes flickered. Then died.
All the shadows and ichor around almost instantly dissolved and disappeared the moment it died.
Wisp sighed and casually kicked the skull aside. "I'll deal with you later."
They turned to the corpses, lifting the lantern.
A pulse of blue flame burst from within, spilling out over the bodies and engulfing them in light.
Nothing burned; instead, it was purified and set free.
And then… silence.
After a full minute, the fire vanished, leaving the bodies alone and untouched.
Wisp stepped forward, inspecting the remains. Their brows furrowed.
"No souls…" they muttered. "Strange. I thought they were still here."
They walked around and studied the bodies: 2 half-orcs and 2 Elves. No weapons on the elves. No defensive wounds on any. No signs of resistance. Just surprise and slaughter.
"Why kill people who couldn't fight back? This wasn't a murder, yet the bodies are dedicated like this..." they whispered.
Then something caught their attention.
A wisp of shadow, thin and curling, drifted from a set of footprints nearby.
They stood, following it. The veil between life and death had been brushed here. Someone had passed too close to the edge. Or maybe slipped through... or... no it's more like the dead are dragged along... or assimilated?.
The Wisp narrowed their eyes.
"…This isn't right."
They turned, glancing back into the forest.
"I should find someone who can look into this," they muttered. "Maybe that summoner I heard about…"
And with that, Wisp vanished into the trees.