I watched her carefully.
Zeyra stood rigid, her eyes locked on me like she was trying to dissect my soul with a glance. I couldn't tell if she was going to stab me or start asking questions, so I did the one thing that seemed to disarm people in novels.
I spoke first.
"Your name is Zeyra Vale, right?"
Her eyes narrowed - just slightly.
"Now," I continued, keeping my voice as calm as I could, "how would I possibly know that if I've lost all my memories?"
I let that hang for a beat before delivering the punchline.
"Simple - because we're bound now."
I didn't raise my voice. Didn't add drama or mysticism or some smug anime protagonist smirk. I just said it plainly. Confidently. Like I was stating a fact of nature. The way gravity doesn't need an explanation.
And that alone made it unsettling.
'If she doesn't buy the memory-loss angle, she might think I'm faking it - like I remembered her name somehow. Or worse, that I never forgot anything to begin with.'
I watched her like a hawk, scanning for any reaction. But she was hard to read - expression smooth, body still. A stone statue with a pulse.
Still, my mind was oddly clear. I wasn't panicking. I wasn't scared.
Not because I had any illusions about surviving a fight with her. That'd be like trying to box a tornado. But something deep inside told me I didn't need to fear her.
She wouldn't hurt me, or more correctly... she couldn't.
It was hard to explain, but I was certain. The system had marked her as my piece, my knight. And I… was her king.
I didn't fully understand what that entailed yet, but I felt it in my bones. Like a rule that existed before language.
'You can't attack your own pieces in chess, so that should apply here as well, right?' It was a reassuring thought as I continued my attempt to explain and ease the tension.
I kept my voice level, tilting my head just a little as if this was a casual conversation and not me gambling with my life. "I can even see your current rank."
That got a flicker of interest.
"I'm neither an Aurist nor an Arcanist, so don't ask me how I know," I said with a lazy shrug. "But somehow, I do. You've just advanced to the Elite rank in both."
No reaction.
But her gaze sharpened - like a blade turning in her hand.
"And…" I added, letting the word hang, "you've awakened a Special Trait."
Still nothing. No twitch. No gasp.
So I said the name out loud.
"Shadowbound."
That did it.
For just a moment, something flickered in her eyes. Not shock. But recognition. She knew what I was talking about, even if she didn't have a name for it yet. Hell, maybe she was still trying to make sense of it herself. The unique Special Trait. The sudden power. The shift in her body and soul.
She hadn't told me any of that.
And yet, I had named it. Given it form. Confirmed it was real.
That should be enough proof, and it seemed as though I had given her a lot to think about.
'Got you.'
I was sure I had done enough to convince her, at least not to slit my throat.
She didn't move. Not right away. Just stood there, silent.
But then...
She was gone!
One moment she was in front of me, the next... nothing.
"I believed you from the moment you said my surname. Vale, I haven't heard that in a long time," she whispered in my ear from behind.
A cold shiver raced down my spine.
I didn't see her move. No shift in the air. No sound. Nothing.
Slowly, I turned. Zeyra now stood at my back, calm and composed, arms loosely crossed like she'd been standing there the whole time.
My eyes flicked to where she'd just been.
Then back to her.
'…Did she just teleport?'
It hadn't looked like magic. There was no flash, no ripple. Just disappearance. Movement without sound or delay.
Then it clicked.
The shadow.
I followed it with my eyes - the shape stretching across the floor between us. That's how she'd moved. She'd melted into it. Flowed like water. Rushed through the darkness like it was a road only she could see.
She didn't walk across the room.
She passed through it and emerged from my shadow.
Honestly, if I didn't know her Special Trait, there was no way I would have been able to figure it out. I had no clue how it worked, and I wasn't about to try explaining it. Logic didn't apply here.
But I knew one thing for sure - I was impressed.
It was the first supernatural feat I'd witnessed in this world. And something told me it wouldn't be the last.
"Not bad," I muttered, turning fully to face her. I kept my tone light. Almost bored.
A lesser man would've flinched. Hell, a smarter man might have run.
But I just stood there, letting reality adjust to me instead of the other way around.
Zeyra stared at me for a long moment. And then, something unexpected happened.
She smiled.
Barely. A tiny, subtle curve of her lips. But coming from her, it was like seeing a statue blink.
"I guess you weren't a failure after all, young master," she said softly.
Her voice wasn't mocking. More like… curious. Thoughtful.
"To think you were hiding such an ability for so long… You truly are the son of the Drakenthorn."
I blinked. "Drakenwho?"
That earned me something even more unthinkable.
A laugh.
Just a breath. A quiet exhale of amusement. But still, a laugh from the cold assassin who worked as a personal attendant to a spoilt noble felt like an achievement.
She seemed to remember herself a second later and straightened, mask slipping back on.
But the damage was done.
Something had shifted between us. The distance that had once felt like a chasm now felt more like… a dangerous bridge.
She didn't trust me.
But she was intrigued.
And for now, that was enough.
Still, I had questions. A thousand of them. Who was the Drakenthorn? Who was she even? And what were the limits of the King System?
But I stayed silent, knowing the answers would come soon enough.
Meanwhile, Zeyra was looking at me differently now. Like a puzzle she hadn't expected to enjoy solving.
And the best move?
Was now to let her speak first...