The air at Murrchel Academy felt heavy and gray, the kind that lingers after a storm yet before things calm down. The lamps across the flagstone walkways cast a dim glow, glimmering on the rain-soaked terrain resembling shadows. A scent that blended metal and soil was pungent everywhere—clear but disturbing.
Abraham went across the yard walking slowly, his leather boots making a splash in the puddles. The bond made his body in unimaginable pain, that he can't even describe in word to hi soul. His blood felt charged, like a low resonating note, moreover his soul core pulsed weakly, as though he possessed a secondary heart to beat.
He had tamed it — him.
But the word "tame" felt hollow. What happened beneath the academy wasn't control. It was coexistence — a merging. A deal signed in spirit and shadow.
The echo of the beast lingered deep within him, almost as if something breathed with him. He felt the entity's life force, a continuous prompting of the fact that he was not unaccompanied.
The Hollow Cry's resonance had changed too. It used to sound like distant whispers — now it was a low hum that rolled like thunder beneath his thoughts. Every emotion sharpened it. Every flicker of doubt made it stir.
Maria had warned him earlier that morning — her voice softer than usual, carrying something close to concern.
"The Hollow Cry reacts to emotion, Abraham. Be careful. When you lose focus… it doesn't just answer. It amplifies."
He attempted a smile, but the look in her eyes told him she seemed serious. Standing in the rain, he now understood she spoke the truth.
He reached the ancient fountain located in the courtyard, the place of Oboros' initial appearance from the fog. The stone fountain had been fractured and covered in moss. Spatters of rain formed tiny ripples in the surface. Abraham looked into it, and instead of his own reflection, he briefly saw the vague shape of something else. A wolf's shadow.
It hung there briefly before fading into the water.
He breathed out slowly. "Still watching me, huh?"
The voice that answered was not one he could hear — but one he could feel. A low vibration within his chest. A growl that wasn't threatening — only aware.
He smirked faintly. "I guess we are really trapped in each other soul."
Abraham experienced a sense of peace, a feeling he lacked for a long while.
But peace, in Murrchel, never lasted.
The academy was quieter than usual. Even with Lucias Hiemer's visit behind them, a strange energy lingered. People whispered his name like a myth reborn. The students who'd attended his lecture carried themselves differently — proud, shaken, reverent.
"Did you see his aura?" someone murmured as Abraham passed the hall. "It wasn't even visible, but it was."
"He talked like a king," another said.
"Not like a king," someone whispered back. "Like something above that."
Abraham didn't comment. He just kept walking, the words brushing past him like wind. He didn't need to hear them to remember Lucias's eyes — calm, unblinking, as if they'd seen through him completely.
And the way Lucias had said it:
"Some among you carry something inside that should not exist."
He couldn't shake it. The line burned into him, replaying with every breath.
Did Lucias know about Oboros? About the Hollow Cry? Or worse — had he caused it somehow?
Abraham's fists tightened. He felt his heart race and a tremor ran through him again. The entrance lights blinked briefly before returning to normal.
He inhaled, forcing his thoughts to quiet.
Jennifer would've told him to stop overthinking. She always did.
Her name hit him like a soft blade.
Jennifer.
He last saw her the night before Lucias's lecture. She was smiling a bit, pushing her hair back as rain started to fall, and joking about him being late. Her smile was always joyful, banishing his negative thought like the sunlight disappearing into the morning mist.
He could still draw her in his mind how she would lowered her head when she spoke his name.
"Abraham."
Soft. Certain. Like she knew something he didn't.
He smiled faintly at the memory — then frowned. Something felt off tonight.
The halls were too quiet. The courtyards too empty.
The quiet broke with the sound of hurried footsteps.
Abraham turned at the sound. Joel was seen approaching across the courtyard. His cloak appeared wet, and his breathing was rapid.
"Abraham!" Joel called out, his voice strained. "Abe—wait!"
Abraham moved toward him. "What happened?"
Joel paused, not responding instantly. He leaned ahead, with his hands clutching his knees, trying to catch his breath, breathing heavily . His expression showing the clear panic on his face. Finally, he managed, "It's Jennifer."
That name.
It dropped like a stone in Abraham's chest.
He grabbed Joel by the shoulders. "What about her?"
Joel looked up, his face pale, rainwater dripping from his Blonde long hair. "She's missing."
Abraham blinked. "…What?"
"She didn't show up for her class, or her dorm. They searched the training wing and the east dormitories—nothing. She was last seen near the east courtyard before sunset."
Abraham ceased moving as his blood flow accelerated. Rain sounded more intense, not due to the fact that of force, but because all surrounding sounds been silenced.
"She's missing?" he asked, his tone quiet and almost expressionless.
Joel nodded helplessly. "The faculty's sending search teams at dawn. They said it might just be—"
But Abraham wasn't listening anymore. The Hollow Cry had begun to hum.
Deep, low, rhythmic — not like before. This wasn't awakening. This was response.
A black shimmer ran across his eyes — just a flicker, quick as lightning. His pulsewave began to rise.
Joel stepped back. "Abe… your eyes—"
Abraham's breath came heavy. His body trembled with pressure he couldn't hold down. The energy crawled up his spine, burning, twisting — like fire beneath his skin.
"I can feel her," he muttered, voice low, strained. "She's… somewhere."
The rain hissed as faint vapor began to rise around him. His aura flared, faint at first — then violently. The courtyard lamps burst, one after another, as if reacting to the pressure.
Joel stumbled backward, shielding his face. "Abraham, stop! You're gonna—"
Too late.
The Hollow Cry ignited.
The air around Abraham bent inward — a force collapsing, then expanding. A shockwave rippled out, minor but sharp enough to scatter the mist. The ground cracked beneath his boots, shallow fissures crawling through the wet stone.
And from the fissures — shadows rose.
They weren't solid, not yet. They rippled like smoke, forming the vague shape of something vast, quadruped, alive. The silhouette of a wolf — larger than a man, its form outlined in silver light. Eyes burned faintly gold in the fog behind him.
Oboros.
The beast did not fully manifest — only the echo of its spirit. Even so, the change was enough to distort the air around them.
Joel witnessed, immobilized consumed by the space awe and fear.
He tried to speak, but his voice were absorbed in the vibrating rhythm.
Abraham's aura became more pronounced, untamed and powerful. His eyes burned with a brighter light, a molten color between gold and shadow. The Hollow Cry pulsed like a living organ, sustained by his will.
Then — the System awoke.
[System Update: Emotional Threshold Exceeded]
[Tracking Target: Jennifer]
[Synchronization Amplified – 47%]
[Tracking Target Initialized.]
A digital flicker crossed Abraham's vision — faint blue text overlaid against the dark rain. He didn't question it. He didn't need to.
His jaw tightened. His voice came out low, almost inhuman.
"Find her."
The shadow behind him moved — obeyed.
A faint rumble rolled through the ground. Oboros's form blurred, spreading like smoke across the courtyard, vanishing into the rain.
Abraham stood up slowly, his gold eyes fading slightly. Rain ran down his face, dropping from his jaw. His hands shook at his sides.
Joel moved forward a step. "Abe… what did you just do?"
Abraham turned slightly — his expression distant, unreadable. "I'm tracking her."
"How?"
He didn't answer. His eyes seemed distant, fixed on something past Joel's view—something beyond what one could see or understand.
The rain picked up, hitting hard on the courtyard stones. The sky flashed once — brief lightning revealing the ghost of the wolf's shape far above the academy towers before fading.
Joel swallowed, stepping back again. The air felt different — heavier.
He could tell this wasn't the same Abraham he'd known days ago.
Abraham's lips parted, voice steady but low.
"No one takes what's mine."
And somewhere in the distance — faint, half-buried beneath the storm — a howl rose.
It wasn't loud. It wasn't violent.
It was patient. Ancient.
A vow made between tamer and beast — sealed not by contract, but by blood and purpose.
The rain swallowed the sound. The lights of Murrchel flickered once more, then steadied.
Abraham gazed eastward, the last direction where Jennifer had been seen by joel words. He breathed, his breath showing in the cold air. The Hollow Cry inside him pulsed once, a strong beat, then quieted.
Oboros was already hunting.
[System Notice: Tracking Target Active]
[Warning: Emotional Instability Detected]
[Synchronization Rising — 49%]
The text faded. The sound of the rain was all that remained.
Abraham stood alone in the courtyard — drenched, silent, resolute.
The academy held no interest for him at that moment. His entire focus was on the subtle resonance he sensed within the darkness—an unfamiliar heartbeat, a faint plea originating from beyond the downpour.
He lowered his eyes. The world blurred into pulse and shadow. "Hold on, Jennifer," he whispered.
Then, the Hollow Cry stirred again — and the hunt began.