Kael woke to the damp, musty air of the attic, his body aching in ways he hadn't felt in centuries. The thin mattress beneath him was lumpy and worn, the wood beneath creaking as he shifted. Sunlight filtered through the cracks in the roof, casting uneven patterns across his hands—pale and unmarked, so different from the necrotic power he'd once wielded. He flexed his fingers slowly, testing the limits of this weak, mortal form. A fly buzzed near his face, and he caught it absently between his fingers, crushing it without thought.
[Soul Embers +0.001]
The dark text flickered at the edge of his vision, confirming what he already knew. He had regressed. The memories came flooding back—his disciple's betrayal, the Soulforge breaking apart, the agony of his lich-body unraveling. And now here he was, trapped in the frail vessel of his younger self, starving and powerless.
He pushed himself up, ignoring the protest of his muscles. A spider skittered across the floorboards, and he crushed it underfoot.
[Soul Embers +0.003]
It wasn't enough. He needed more.
The scent of blood led him to the alley behind the apothecary. Moonlight glinted off the wet cobblestones, illuminating the scene before him—a noble boy, no older than sixteen, pressing a dagger to the throat of a trembling urchin. The noble's fine clothes marked him as a Vrosyn, one of the twelve great houses. Kael remembered them well. They had been instrumental in founding the Obsidian Conclave, though now they were little more than arrogant children playing at power.
"Please—" the urchin gasped, his voice choked with fear.
"Shut up," the noble sneered, pressing the blade harder. "You should've stayed in the gutter where you belong."
[Contract: First Harvest]
[Claim a soul (0/1). Reward: Soulforge Unlocked]
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Kael stepped forward, his shadow stretching long across the alley walls. The noble didn't notice him at first, too engrossed in his petty cruelty.
"A Vrosyn," Kael said, his voice rough from disuse, "reduced to slaughtering beggars in back alleys. I expected more from your bloodline."
The noble stiffened, then whirled around, eyes wide with surprise and indignation. "Who the hell are you?"
Kael didn't answer. He moved faster than his frail body should have allowed, closing the distance between them in an instant. His hand shot out, gripping the noble's wrist and twisting until the dagger clattered to the ground. The boy gasped, pain flashing across his face.
Kael pressed his other hand against the noble's chest. A pulse of dark energy flared beneath his palm—Soultap. The noble's soul shimmered in his vision, tarnished and frayed at the edges, a reflection of his cruelty. The urchin's, by contrast, burned brighter, fragile but pure.
For a moment, Kael hesitated.
Then he tightened his grip.
"Your name," he demanded.
"T-Tevryn Vrosyn," the noble stammered, his bravado crumbling.
Kael leaned in, his voice dropping to a whisper. "Listen carefully, Tevryn. You're going home. You'll forget this alley. And in three days, a man in a red hood will come to your estate. You'll give him your mother's locket—the one with the pearl. If you disobey, if you speak of this to anyone, I'll know."
The noble's breath hitched. "How do you—"
Kael didn't let him finish. His fingers curled, and with a sharp pull, he wrenched something free—not the boy's soul, but a fragment of it, the malice that had fueled his cruelty. The noble screamed as the shadowy essence peeled away, writhing like smoke in Kael's grasp.
[Harvested: "Vrosyn's Malice" (Tier 1)]
[Soul Embers +15]
[Soulforge Unlocked]
The urchin scrambled back, eyes wide with terror. "W-what are you?"
Kael ignored him. The stolen malice swirled in his hand, coalescing into a jagged, knife-like shape.
[Crafting Options:]
[1. Shade Stalker (Minion)]
[2. Veilblade (Weapon)]
[3. Soul Anchor (Utility)]
He chose the first.
The shadow dissolved, then reformed at his feet—a wolf-sized creature of pure darkness, its eyes glowing like dying embers. It circled him once, then settled at his side, silent and waiting.
[Shade Stalker Created]
[Loyalty: 45% (Feed it souls to increase bond)]
Tevryn lay unconscious on the ground, his chest rising and falling weakly. The urchin stared at the Shade, then back at Kael.
"You spared him," the boy whispered.
Kael flexed his hand, still warm with stolen power. "Dead nobles attract attention. Broken ones are more useful."
The urchin opened his mouth to speak, but Kael was already walking away, the Shade Stalker slinking after him into the shadows.