It was hovering in the yellow sky.
At first, Kyle's brain tried to label it as a normal bird.
But then he realized how wrong he was. Its size was not normal.
It was massive. Big enough that, if it dropped from the sky, it could swallow Kyle in one bite whole without even slowing down.
Black feathers covered it from crown to tail—a deep, raven-black that drank the pale yellow light instead of reflecting it.
Its long feathered tail hangs down beneath it, rippling in the sky.
And its wings... It had four.
Two in the usual place and two more set higher behind them. They were large enough to cover its entire body.
The wings were spread wide, holding it perfectly still in the air—each wing beat in a slow rhythm.
The feathers along those wings didn't look soft. They looked like blades. Black, sharp-edged, glossy in places—just like obsidian.
Kyle's breath turned shallow.
He saw the eyes... Not on its face.
But along the inside roots of its wings. The eyes... No, the eyeballs were scattered randomly, stuck there as if someone had pressed them in.
They had no lids. They weren't blinking. Just wide, white globes with black pupils staring motionless.
Some of them were enormous—as big as Kyle's head—and others were smaller, human-sized.
Their appearance gave Kyle a frightening feeling.
Their frightening appearance made Kyle feel uncomfortable. He looked away from them, then saw its head.
The creature's head was round, like an owl... but the beak was long, like a crow, and sharp enough to cut metal.
On its face... there were three eyes.
Two of them were where they should be. And the third was set vertically in its forehead, like a slit.
All three were white and gave off a faint glow that made the whites look... wrong. Not holy. Not pure.
The three were white and emitted a faint glow that made their whiteness seem... strange. Not sacred, not pure. Just empty.
Kyle realized his hands were trembling.
He hadn't moved, but his body reacted like it was trying to crawl out of itself.
The creature's eyes—every single one of them—were fixed on him. Even the eyeballs on his wings.
Kyle's throat tightened.
`That words...`
The words that had appeared in his head before.
He didn't need to ask. He knew.
`You're the one who dragged me here.`
A slow, sick understanding settled in his stomach, heavy and cold.
The creature didn't flap harder. Didn't rush. Didn't show effort.
It simply hovered, suspended in the pale yellow sky as if the sky itself was holding it up.
And then—
Kyle heard it again.
It wasn't a voice, but a thought that wasn't his.
`Found you.`
His blood went colder.
Kyle tried to step back, but his foot didn't move. Tried to raise his arms... nothing.
His muscles froze completely, not out of sheer terror. Despite the terrifying situation, Kyle wasn't so faint-hearted that he would freeze completely.
But it was as if the world was preventing him from moving. As if this place just wanted him to stay still.
The creature's four wings shifted. Not to fly away... but to swoop down.
The black feathers slid and aligned. The eyeballs didn't blink. They watched.
Kyle's heart hammered so hard he thought it would tear his ribs open.
He tried to move, but his body refused.
The creature angled downward. For a fraction of a second, it held that position—perfectly still, perfectly sure—
Then it dove.
There was no roar of wind. No rushing air.
Just the impossible sight of it closing the distance in a blink, wings slicing the pale light, blade-feathers flashing—
Kyle's vision filled with black.
He couldn't even scream.
He couldn't even breathe.
And right before it reached him—
Kyle jolted upright with a sharp shout. "Ah!"
His breath came in hard pulls. His heart was pounding so violently it felt like it was trying to climb out of his chest.
A soft bed, a familiar ceiling, and sunlight streaming through the window.
Alara's room... and he was alone.
For a few seconds, he didn't move—just sat there, staring ahead, forcing his lungs to work normally.
`A dream... No. It was a nightmare.`
Kyle swallowed, then dragged a hand down his face.
That was when he noticed it. A faint glow on his hand.
Kyle's gaze snapped to it—and his throat tightened again.
The mark. The tattoo the system had given him as a reward was pulsing with a dim, steady light.
He stared at it, frozen between caution and curiosity.
`...Now of all times?` His stomach turned slightly.
After what he'd just seen, the last thing he wanted was anything mysterious happening to him.
But the glow didn't stop. It almost felt like it was calling.
Kyle hesitated—then exhaled slowly.
"Alright," he muttered. "Let's see."
He focused, and the sensation under the back of his hand shifted.
Slowly, as if being pulled from somewhere deeper, the black egg emerged from the mark. The tattoo faded and the egg rested in his hands.
It was black, decorated with golden stripes... and those stripes were glowing too now, faintly.
Kyle stared at it, his heartbeat slowing just a little.
Then—
Crack.
A tiny fracture appeared near the top.
Kyle went still.
Crack... Crack.
The line crawled outward, branching like lightning. The glow pulsed once, stronger—
And the shell split.
Kyle's hands tensed automatically, instinct screaming at him to throw it away, to get it out. But the egg broke apart in a sudden, clean burst.
Pieces fell onto the bed and something small unfolded from within.
A hatchling.
Black feathers, clinging to a tiny body no bigger than a chick's. Its body shook slightly, then it spread his wings.
Kyle saw the wings... There were four.
Two on each side—small, folded tight, but unmistakably there.
Kyle's breath caught. "...Four wings?"
The hatchling lifted its head.
Kyle's blood went cold.
Three eyes looked back at him at the same time. Not glowing white like the nightmare creature.
These were gold—rich, warm gold—with black pupils that actually focused.
But for one heartbeat, Kyle didn't care. All he saw was the memory. That sky. Those wings. That nightmare.
His body moved before his mind decided anything. He scooted back instinctively, trying to put distance between them—
And the bed edge caught him.
He slipped and fell hard onto the floor. "Agh!"
The hatchling reacted instantly.
It hopped forward—fast, too fast for something that had just been born—and dropped right into his lap.
Kyle froze.
It stared up at him, head slightly tilted, as if it was examining him with calm curiosity.
Kyle's breath shuddered out.
Up close, it looked... different.
No scattered eyeballs at the roots of its wings. No blade-like feathers. Its beak was small, still forming, not the cruel spear he remembered.
Just a strange little creature with too many wings and too many eyes.
Kyle stayed perfectly still.
The hatchling stayed perfectly still too.
Then, slowly, Kyle raised one hand. He hesitated inches above its head.
The hatchling leaned into his palm, as if it understood.
Kyle's fingers brushed the soft feathers.
It didn't attack. Didn't flinch. Didn't feel hostile.
Kyle's shoulders loosened by a fraction. `It's harmless... At least for now.`
A weak laugh almost escaped him, but it died in his throat.
The hatchling blinked—once, slowly—then tilted its head again.
And for the first time since waking up, Kyle felt something other than fear. He felt a faint connection.
Then, suddenly, the hatchling dissolved into golden sparks—shimmering motes that scattered like fireflies for half a second before folding into the back of his hand.
And in the same moment, the tattoo reappeared on the back of Kyle's hand.
He stared. "...So I can still summon you."
Kyle sighed deeply, as if he had lived several years in those few minutes.
His gaze snapped back to the bed.
The broken shell was still there. Black fragments with golden lines glowed softly.
Kyle pushed himself up, watching—
Then the shell fragments turned to sparks too.
They lifted off the bed like dust caught in sunlight and drifted toward him.
"What now?!" Kyle flinched and stepped back, but it was too late.
The sparks surged forward and slipped straight into his forehead.
Kyle's eyes widened and his body went rigid.
Information flooded his mind in a rush so intense it felt like someone had cracked his skull open and poured a storm inside.
Its name, its faction, its abilities.
Rules he hadn't known he'd agreed to—how to summon, how to dismiss, what it needed, what it could become.
And beneath all of it, one clear understanding that settled into his bones like a truth he couldn't unlearn.
That hatchling wasn't just some reward. It was connected to that nightmare. Connected to that place.
Kyle's breathing slowed—forced, controlled—while the last of the information clicked into place.
He lowered his hand, staring at the tattoo again as it dimmed back to normal.
The room was quiet. Too quiet.
Kyle tried to swallow, but his mouth dry.
"...What the hell did I just contract with?"