Kai didn't remember the walk from the village square to the Elder Hall.
His legs moved on their own. His thoughts didn't.
The shattered sphere replayed in his mind—the cracks, the humming, the way the light had died instead of burst. Every whisper from the villagers scraped against him like a thorn.
"Never seen a sphere break…"
"Not even adults can do that…"
"Is it cursed?"
"Stay away from him—"
The Elders led him through the wooden doors of the hall and closed them behind him. The sound echoed like a verdict.
Lira tried to follow, but Elder Seran held her back gently. "Only him."
Kai didn't dare look over his shoulder. He knew she was worried. He wasn't sure if he deserved that worry.
Inside the hall, lanterns burned along the walls, casting long shadows over the carved stone inlays. A smaller crystal—far duller than the Path Sphere—rested atop a low pedestal at the center.
Kai stood before it while the Elders circled him like wary animals.
Elder Ranel cleared his throat. "Kai… we need you to be honest. Have you experienced anything unusual lately? Heat in your chest? Strange sensations? Unnatural dreams?"
Kai hesitated.
How could he even explain what happened in the forest? The pulse that rippled out of him? The whisper that didn't feel like his own thoughts?
"I… don't know," he said. "Something happened yesterday. But I don't understand it."
The Elders exchanged looks.
Seran spoke next. "We believe the sphere reacted to an energy you possess. But that energy does not match any of the Six recognized Paths."
His stomach twisted. "Then what is it?"
"We don't know," Ranel admitted. "That's what concerns us."
They gestured to the dim crystal. "Touch it. Slowly."
Kai raised a hand, hesitant.
His fingertips brushed the crystal—
It flashed.
Not with color. Not with light.
But with darkness.
A shadow pulsed through its surface, like ink blooming underwater. The lanterns in the hall flickered violently. The air grew thin, the same hush right before a storm tears the sky open.
Kai jerked his hand back, heart hammering. "I—I didn't do anything!"
The crystal dimmed to nothing.
The Elders stepped away from him as if distance alone could protect them.
Ranel whispered, horrified, "It drained the crystal… Kai drained it simply by touching it."
"That isn't possible," Seran whispered. "Not even Shadow Path adepts can do that. This is something else…"
Kai felt sick.
His hands shook. His breath stuttered. The tremor in his chest returned—like a heartbeat belonging to something not entirely human.
And then—
You hear me.
Kai froze.
The voice was soft. Distant. Echoing from somewhere inside him.
He swallowed hard, throat dry. "Did… did any of you hear that?"
The Elders exchanged uneasy looks. "Hear what?"
Kai's skin turned cold.
You hear me, the voice whispered again, clearer this time. Good.
Kai stumbled back until his shoulders pressed into the wall. "There's… there's something talking to me—inside my head."
The Elders stiffened.
"Is it a demon?"
"Or a curse?"
"No—he's too calm. Too coherent."
Kai's breath hitched. "I'm not calm."
Seran approached slowly. "Kai… what is it saying?"
Kai's voice shook. "I don't know. But it called me a… vessel."
The Elders stared in stunned silence.
A moment later, the doors slammed open.
Villagers rushed inside—panicked shouts filling the hall.
"Elders!"
"Something's wrong!"
"The forest—it's shaking!"
"The ground is splitting—right where the old temple ruins are!"
Elder Ranel's face drained of color. "The temple…?"
Seran turned back to Kai.
"Kai… stay here. Do not leave this hall."
The Elders ran out with the villagers.
Kai stood alone.
His heartbeat echoed in his ears.
Then—
You are waking, Vessel. And so am I.
A chill crawled down his spine.
He clenched his fists to stop them from shaking.
And for the first time in his life, he wasn't afraid of being empty.
He was afraid of what was trying to fill the emptiness inside him.