The sun had climbed even higher, glaring off the wet wood and broken metal around me. I stayed crouched behind a half-collapsed hull, watching the survivors move carefully through the wreckage. Every so often, a plank shifted, a crate tipped, and I could feel Zadrakos stirring within me, a low vibration that mirrored the tension in my chest.
You hesitate. That is… natural, the voice murmured, deep and resonant, threading through my mind like molten iron.
I clenched my teeth, gripping the sand with my good hand. "I… I'm not doing anything," I said aloud, though the sound barely reached the air. My voice felt foreign, heavy, intrusive even to myself.
Control is an illusion. Observation is necessity. Action will come when required.
I flinched.
Control is an illusion?
The words echoed, sharp, almost cutting. I pressed my palm to my chest, over the steady, alien heartbeat that had become part of me. I have to control it. I—
Do you? Zadrakos replied, calm but insistent. Or do you simply choose not to act?
I froze. His words… his questions dug deep, pressing into places I hadn't touched in hours.
"I…" I started, but couldn't finish. Every answer felt wrong. It was me. I did it. But the vibration beneath my ribs hummed in disagreement.
Exactly. Zadrakos' presence was insistent. You are alive. You survived. That is what matters. But survival alone is not enough. You are more than flesh and bone now. You are reflection, continuation, potential.
I swallowed hard. My tongue felt heavy. My thoughts scrambled against the intrusion.
Potential for what? I whispered, almost afraid of the answer.
For life. For survival. For mastery. For everything that comes next.
I shivered. The water, the void, the explosion in the monster's chest… all of it felt far away and close at once. My heart raced, but I forced it into control.
Mastery? Over what? Over you? Over myself?
Over both, the voice answered simply. You are the vessel. I am the pulse. Together, we are inevitability. You can resist, yes- but resistance is costly. Observation first, yes. Hesitation second. But the moment you act… act with understanding.
I clenched my fist, knuckles white. I didn't know if the trembling was mine or his. And if I refuse? If I don't… become what you want?
Then you will falter. You will fail. You will die. The vibration was calm, absolute, unshakable. But you do not want that. Do you, Gabriel Grayne?
I pressed my forehead against my palm. No. I did not want death. I wanted to survive. But survival alone… it had never been enough. Not when I had been trained to act, to protect, to lead. Not when my body and soul had been forged in fire before this.
Then understand, Zadrakos said. This is no longer only about survival. This is about what comes next. The threats are not yet here. And yet… everything is moving toward you. You cannot run. You cannot hide forever.
I flinched at that. My pulse quickened.
Everything is moving toward me? Threats?
My gaze swept the shore. The survivors were cautious but oblivious, tending to the injured, dragging debris, checking for trapped companions. Nothing had changed here because of me. And yet… his words planted a seed of unease.
You will act before they notice you, Zadrakos continued. Or they will act against you first. It is inevitable. The choice is not whether to survive- but how, and when, and under what terms.
I closed my eyes. How do I act without losing myself?
You already act.
The truth burned. Every movement I had made that morning had been layered. A hand moved the plank? A crate shifted? A fire smothered? It was me… and it was him. I was learning that each decision carried two voices, two pulses, two currents of power. I was both man and monster. Both hesitant and capable.
I opened my eyes. The survivors had moved further along the shoreline, now gathering supplies from the half-submerged wreckage. The younger boy carried a small bundle, struggling slightly. I resisted the urge to move, resisted the pull of Zadrakos beneath my ribs. Observation first. Control second.
You want to help. Zadrakos hummed, soft but insistent. Yes. That is human. That is what you were trained to do. That is part of your being. But note this. Assistance can be done without exposure. Intervention without revelation. There is strength in subtlety.
I exhaled slowly. Subtlety. Control. Observation. Words that sounded simple enough, but their execution was another matter entirely.
Soon, Zadrakos whispered, almost imperceptibly. Soon, you will need to act decisively. Before kingdoms, before armies, before threats that cannot yet be named. Today is observation. Tomorrow… will be choice.
I pressed my hand to my chest again, feeling the pulse, feeling him, feeling myself. I was not ready. I would never be ready in the traditional sense. But I could learn. I had survived the impossible before. I could survive this.
I took a slow step forward, keeping low, moving silently among the wreckage. No one noticed me. No one needed to. I was a shadow, a presence, a man hidden yet present. I tested my strength lightly on a loose beam, shifting it just enough to prevent it from tipping further into the shallow water. The vibration beneath my ribs confirmed it—he was pleased, or at least approving.
Good.
You will act when necessary.
"I will try…" I whispered. My voice barely carried. My words were for me, not him.
Try is not enough.
I froze, heart tightening. Then what is enough?
Acceptance. Understanding. Control. Observation. Action when required. And… patience.
Patience.
The word rolled through my mind, a strange anchor. I had been trained to act, to react, to survive, to fight. Yet now I was forced to wait, to observe, to measure every step, every breath. And all the while… the pulse, the hum, the weight of something older than the oceans beneath my skin.
I exhaled, pressing my palm to the stump of my left arm. Reminder. Limitation. Mortality. And to my chest. Pulse. Power. Responsibility. Something I could not yet name. Something I could not yet control.
We are one.
I swallowed. I wasn't sure I was ready to admit it fully. But I knew the truth.
I am something else.
Something beyond.
And Zadrakos would ensure I learned how to wield it.
Patience, he whispered. Observation today. Choice tomorrow. Survival always.
I nodded to the horizon. Silent. Hidden. Watching. Waiting.