Yan Luo ducked into a narrow alley, the neon of Shencheng refracting off puddles like shattered glass. His chest heaved, every step echoing in the night.
"Stop," Master Su's calm voice said behind him. Yan Luo skidded to a halt, heart hammering. The monk emerged from the shadows as if he had always been there. No fear, no urgency—just the quiet certainty of someone who had faced worse.
"The Syndicate won't forgive mistakes," Su said, eyes glinting under the streetlight. "They track borrowed souls. Every time you use that talisman, you leave a signature. One slip… and they'll take your body, mind, and soul."
Yan Luo swallowed hard. "I—I didn't ask for this. I just wanted to deliver a package."
Su's gaze softened slightly. "No one asks for power. Power asks for them."
He knelt, drawing a circle on the wet pavement. Symbols glowed faintly as he traced them. "You'll need to learn control. First step: understand the soul you carry. Feel its weight. Its fears. Its hunger."
Yan Luo held the talisman tightly. He could still sense the woman's memories—the panic, the fleeting hope, the final breath. The talisman pulsed in response, impatient, almost demanding.
"Close your eyes," Su instructed. "Don't think. Don't act. Feel."
He obeyed, and the city around him dissolved. He was in the red dress woman's memories now—running through a sunlit courtyard, laughing once, then screaming as shadows closed in. Every heartbeat, every breath, every panic-stricken thought burned into him.
And then—the calm. A whisper: You are borrowing me, but I am also watching. Respect this, or you die.
Yan Luo gasped. He opened his eyes. Sweat streamed down his face. "I—I can feel her… inside me."
"Yes," Su said. "Borrowing a soul is not theft. It is trust. And trust comes with a price."
Yan Luo's stomach sank. "What price?"
Su's eyes narrowed. "Your choices. Your nights. Your sanity. Every borrowed soul you keep leaves a mark. Some never fade."
Behind them, a shadow moved. A figure in a tailored suit paused at the alley's mouth, watching. The Syndicate had found them again.
Yan Luo gripped the talisman. "Then I guess… I'll pay."