Raven could still feel the words echoing in his skull, each syllable seared into his mind like a brand.
[Shadow System Bound.]
[Abilities Unlocked: Devour, Assimilate, Conceal.]
Even as the Awakening Ceremony continued behind him—cheers, applause, voices echoing in the great crystal hall—he sat alone on the academy's stone steps, hunched forward with trembling hands. His heart wouldn't calm down, his breaths shallow and uneven.
"Devour… Assimilate… Conceal…" he whispered, the words tasting alien on his tongue. "What does that even mean?"
The shadow beneath him stirred, shifting unnaturally, as if it were alive. The sun was already leaning west, long shadows stretching across the courtyard—yet his own moved against the light, bending wrong, twitching as though it had a will of its own. A chill raced down his spine.
Was this real? Or was he finally losing his mind, just like the whispers said he would?
He clenched his fists, nails digging into his palms. No… this wasn't just in his head. The crystal couldn't read him because this power wasn't meant to be read.
The sharp laughter of familiar voices yanked him back to reality.
"Well, well, if it isn't the talentless freak."
Marcus Veylan strutted out of the hall with his usual entourage. His freshly imprinted Priest badge glinted proudly on his chest, as though it made him untouchable. His face was smug, almost glowing with superiority.
"Did the crystal break again?" Marcus sneered. "Oh wait—forgot. It doesn't even bother measuring trash like you."
The two lackeys at his side snickered like trained hyenas. Raven's shoulders tensed, his pulse thundering in his ears.
He had been through this before. A thousand times. The same mockery, the same words. Normally, he would just grit his teeth and walk away.
But something inside him had shifted. His shadow pulsed in rhythm with his anger, stretching upward, whispering for violence.
Marcus shoved him hard in the chest. Raven staggered back but didn't fall. "Hey, I'm talking to you. What's wrong, mute freak?"
The laughter was louder now, crueler. Raven's blood boiled.
Something inside him snapped.
[Ability: Devour activated.]
The words didn't come from his mouth. They appeared—burning, undeniable—across his vision.
His shadow surged upward like liquid tar, wrapping around Marcus's arm in an instant.
"What the—?!" Marcus shouted, jerking back, but the shadow clung to him like a leech. His skin paled as if something unseen was being drained from his very core.
[Shadow Energy +5]
Raven gasped as a rush of foreign energy slammed into him, hot and alive. His fatigue melted away, replaced with a strange vigor. Marcus's knees buckled, his once-cocky expression twisting into horror.
"You… what did you do to me?!"
The lackeys froze. Their laughter died in their throats. Fear replaced mockery.
Raven panicked, heart pounding, and released the ability. The shadow slithered back beneath him like smoke retreating into the ground. Marcus collapsed, gasping, clutching his drained arm as though it no longer belonged to him.
The silence that followed was deafening.
Raven's chest heaved. He had attacked someone. No… worse. He had fed on someone. The sensation lingered inside him—power, raw and intoxicating. It felt… good. Too good.
But the fear in Marcus's eyes was worse than all the years of bullying combined. For the first time, Raven wasn't the victim.
He was the predator.
[Assimilate unlocked: Extracting energy signature.]
New text bloomed across his vision. A faint icon appeared, glowing with Marcus's outline.
[Temporary Skill Acquired: Minor Heal]
Raven's eyes widened. His hand glowed faintly, a warm light seeping over his skin. A small cut on his knuckle closed instantly.
His breath hitched. He could steal skills.
No wonder the crystal couldn't classify him.
He wasn't just talentless. He was something the system itself didn't understand.
Before he could process the implications, a siren blared across the city.
BZZZT! WARNING! Dungeon breach detected near District 12!
The academy erupted in chaos. Teachers shouted, herding students away from the gates. Some older Awakened staff began forming defensive lines, summoning mana shields and barrier wards.
Raven froze, blood running cold. He had read about dungeon breaches, but he'd never thought he'd see one.
Dungeons weren't caves or ruins. They were rifts—tears in the barrier between Earth and the Shadow Realm. When the curse spilled out, it brought horrors with it.
Screams erupted as the air nearby cracked and split. Shadows leaked like smoke, twisting, writhing—then shapes emerged. Humanoid figures, gray-skinned and eyeless, their limbs twitching unnaturally. Shadow Walkers.
"Everyone to the shelters! Now!" teachers bellowed.
But the rift was too close. The Walkers moved fast, attracted to the mana-rich crowd.
One of them screeched, locking onto the academy gates. It sprinted on all fours, faster than any human, its mouth opening impossibly wide.
Students scattered in panic. Some tried to use their new abilities, their attacks clumsy and weak. Marcus attempted to heal a wounded classmate, but his drained body betrayed him—he collapsed, useless.
The creature lunged. Straight toward Raven.
Time slowed.
Its hollow eyes locked with his. For an instant, Raven thought he saw himself reflected—something broken, something cursed.
Then instinct roared.
[Devour activated.]
His shadow surged like a beast unleashed, slamming into the Walker. The creature shrieked, its body convulsing as black essence was sucked out.
[Shadow Energy +15]
[Assimilating…]
[Skill Obtained: Shadow Claw]
Raven gasped as his right hand darkened, nails elongating into jagged claws of pure shadow. The hunger of his power howled in his veins.
Before fear could stop him, he slashed.
The Shadow Walker split apart in a spray of black mist, its form unraveling into nothingness.
Silence. Then gasps.
"Did… did he just kill that thing?!"
"With one strike?!"
Raven staggered back, staring at his trembling clawed hand. The shadow dissolved slowly, fading back into his skin. His chest heaved.
He had done it. He had killed a Walker—something that took trained Awakened squads to handle.
The taste of power still lingered, like fire in his blood.
[Warning: Shadow Eater ability classified as Forbidden. Concealment advised.]
The words cut deep. Forbidden.
His stomach twisted. What was he? Why was this power hidden?
The screams brought him back. More Walkers poured from the rift, their twisted forms spilling into the streets. Teachers fought desperately, but panic had broken the students' lines.
Raven turned—and saw Sister Mary. She was guiding a group of children from the orphanage toward the shelters, shielding them with her body. A Walker skittered along the rooftops, eyes locked on them.
His blood ran cold.
He could run. Nobody would blame him. He was just a talentless orphan.
But the thought of Sister Mary and the children torn apart—he couldn't.
His fists clenched. His shadow writhed, hungry, eager.
"Fine…" His voice was low, dark. He could feel the corners of his mouth curling upward. "If this power wants to eat shadows…"
His eyes gleamed, black fire flickering in their depths.
"…then let it eat."
The shadow beneath him surged outward like a living beast, ready to hunt.
Far above the chaos, in the floating towers of the Mage Council, monitors flared with unstable readings.
"New anomaly detected. Unknown mana signature—District 12."
"Pattern resembles… devouring shadow energy?"
"That's impossible. Shadow Eaters were eradicated centuries ago."
"Mark this individual. High priority. Potential threat."
The Council did not yet know his name.
But on that day, the cursed world stopped seeing Raven Silva as talentless.
He had become something far worse.