The forest fell eerily silent after the beast's retreat—no birds, no insects, not even the whisper of wind. Just the fading echo of its scream, and the lingering scent of ash and sulfur where it had vanished through the veil.
Alaric stood in the center of the scorched glade, the epicenter of his Eclipse Pulse, light and shadow still faintly coiling around his limbs like mist reluctant to leave him. The others gathered cautiously, their expressions strained and confused.
Clem's voice broke the silence. "That wasn't just any beast... it knew you."
Elara nodded, her voice quieter. "It looked at you like it was summoned."
Darian, ever the skeptic, crossed his arms. "I don't like this. This isn't what we trained for. That thing wasn't natural."
"No," Alaric muttered, still staring at the spot where the beast disappeared. "It wasn't."
A new notification flashed in his mind:
"Corrupted Rift Beast: Escaped.""Rift Signature Latched. Tracking Enabled.""Status: Linked to Player. Warning: Vessel designation confirmed."
Vessel.
He didn't need anyone to explain what that meant. Somehow, the thing inside the stone—the embryo—wasn't just feeding on mana anymore. It was acting as a beacon. Drawing something to him. And he had a sinking suspicion... it wasn't just beasts.
As if on cue, his stone pulsed again. He pulled it out slowly.
The embryo inside had grown larger. Clearer. Still embryonic, but no longer indistinct. Its form was more humanoid now—skeletal limbs beginning to take shape, its eyes shut as though dreaming.
And its hunger had deepened.
"Mana Feed Required."Available sources: Beast Core (1), Atmospheric Mana (Low), Self (Warning: Fatigue Imminent).
He used the last core they had taken from the earlier skirmish.
The stone absorbed it instantly, and the glow of the embryo settled into a steady pulse. It was satisfied—for now.
"Alaric," Clem said more sternly, "you need to tell us what's going on. That power... it's not just some awakening."
"I know," he said. "And I can't explain all of it. But that thing, it's connected to me somehow. It called me the 'vessel.'"
Darian's eyes narrowed. "So we're hunting monsters that are hunting you?"
"No," Elara corrected grimly. "We're not hunting them. They're being sent for him."
Kael arrived at the glade moments later, followed by two robed recorders from the Academy's Division of Beastiology. His gaze swept the battlefield, noting the ruined trees, the cracked ground, the unusual lack of residual mana from the beast itself.
"You didn't kill it," he said bluntly.
"No," Alaric replied, "but we made it run."
Kael frowned. "That's worse."
One of the recorders approached him with a shaking crystal embedded in a long scepter. "Master Kael, this reading… this beast's signature—it's folded. Not native. Not even from a mutated strain. We've never recorded this."
Kael looked to Alaric. "This confirms it. You've attracted something beyond this world's veil."
"Something… or someone?" Alaric asked, his voice low.
Kael nodded grimly. "A Hunt has begun, Alaric. And you're not the hunter."
That night, the students returned to the academy under tighter guard. Alaric was summoned alone to the Obsidian Hall, a forbidden wing deep beneath the central tower, where ancient relics and cursed items were kept under twenty-four-hour watch.
There, Kael waited with a woman dressed in deep crimson armor, etched with sigils that burned with silent fire. Her hair was obsidian black, and her eyes held the weight of centuries.
"This is High Inquisitor Revaria," Kael said. "She specializes in external anomalies."
She stepped forward and without asking, placed a gloved hand over Alaric's heart.
The stone in his pocket burned, but didn't resist.
Her eyes widened. "Two pulses. One mortal. One forming."
"Forming?" Kael asked sharply.
Revaria nodded. "He's hosting a Seed."
Alaric blinked. "A what?"
She turned her gaze to him. "Not a parasite. A larva. A pre-soul. A fragment of a higher power, bound to mortal essence before its hatching. Most would die from the strain. But you... you're feeding it. Accepting it."
Alaric felt his mouth go dry. "What happens when it hatches?"
Revaria's voice dropped to a whisper.
"That depends on what it becomes."
Kael stepped in, hands behind his back. "The Academy Council will want to restrict your participation in public duels. We can't risk the wrong eyes noticing what's growing inside you."
"But the Council didn't send that beast," Alaric said. "And you know it."
Kael met his gaze. "Which is why you must learn to defend yourself before it comes back. Because it will. And next time, it won't run."
Revaria turned away, her voice already fading into the shadows. "The child of the eclipse walks a fragile thread. Tread carefully, vessel. Lest what lies within forgets who its shell belongs to."
Back in his room, Alaric stared into the stone one last time before sleep.
And for the first time...
The embryo opened its eyes.
They were his eyes.