Kael lay perfectly still, staring at the ceiling as the echoes of Dark Smiler's aborted explanation hung in the air.
"Do you have any magical power?" he had asked.
Dark Smiler had looked at him, his gaze unreadable. "Listen, Kael…"
But the sentence died there. A heavy, absolute silence flooded the room, dragging Kael down into a dreamless, hollow sleep.
### 4:00 AM
Kael's eyes snapped open. He didn't move. He didn't even breathe.
The room wasn't just dark—it was *void*. It felt as if the light itself had been digested by the walls. The air was a physical weight on his chest, cold and unnatural.
Slowly, Kael sat up, his joints feeling like rusted iron. "…What is this?"
A primal chill raced down his spine. Dark Smiler manifested in his soul form, his ethereal outline flickering with agitation. "Kael… what's wrong?"
No response. Kael was staring into a corner of the room that seemed darker than the rest.
"Kael?" Dark Smiler called again, his voice sharpening.
Still nothing. Then, Kael's jaw moved, his voice cracking as he whispered in a tongue that sounded like grinding stone:
*"हे परमेश्वर, अस्माकं रक्षणं—"* (*"O Supreme God, protect—"*)
"Kh—kh—!"
Suddenly, Kael began to cough violently, as if the very words were burning his throat.
"Kael!" Dark Smiler shifted into his physical form instantly, his solid weight hitting the floor as he grabbed a glass of water from the nightstand. "Drink this. Now!"
Kael took the glass with trembling hands, the water spilling onto his shirt as he gulped it down. His breathing slowly leveled out, but his eyes remained wide and glassy.
Dark Smiler gripped his shoulder. "What just happened? What did you see?"
Kael looked down at his hands, watching them shake. "…A girl," he whispered. "Green eyes… green hair. And when she turned…" His fingers tightened until his knuckles turned white. "…something came from behind her. Something completely black. It swallowed me."
Dark Smiler's expression turned grim. "…That wasn't a dream, Kael."
Kael looked up, his face pale. "What?"
Before he could process the answer, Kael winced, his hand flying to his neck. "…Why does it hurt? It feels like it's burning." He looked at Dark Smiler with a desperate intensity. "That chant… what was I using?"
Dark Smiler's eyes flashed with a rare, heavy seriousness. "It was an ancient ward. But right now, you shouldn't be touching those things. You aren't ready."
### The Watchers in the Rain
Kael didn't sleep for the rest of the night. He sat on the edge of his bed, a silent sentry.
Then, he felt it. The prickle of eyes on the back of his neck.
He slowly turned his head. A figure stood in the corner of the room, draped in shadow. Its eyes were two burning pits of crimson. It had been standing there, watching him breathe, for minutes.
Kael's body locked up. A wide, jagged smile spread across the shadow's dark face.
And then, it lunged.
Kael squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for a cold impact—but it never came. He opened his eyes to find the room empty.
*"What was that?"* he gasped internally.
A hand touched his shoulder. Kael jumped, spinning around to see a hand that was pitch-black. His heart hammered against his ribs like a trapped bird.
"…Mom?"
It was his mother. She was smiling gently, but the moonlight hit her face in a way that made her features look sharp, almost alien. "Did something happen, son?"
Kael's face was ashen. "C… can I stay home today? Please…"
She nodded slowly, her gaze lingering on him. "Alright… but tell me something." Her voice dropped an octave, turning cold. "Did you… see something?"
Kael didn't answer. He turned his gaze toward the window.
Two figures were standing in the yard. They didn't move. They didn't blink. They were just… watching.
"…Mom." Kael's voice trembled. "They're still there."
His mother's expression shifted instantly. She stepped toward the glass and froze. "…Those aren't humans," she whispered.
Suddenly, one of the figures moved. It began walking toward the house with a rhythmic, unsettling gait. *Step… step… step…*
As it got closer, its form became clearer—it looked like a person, but the proportions were slightly off, the skin too smooth, like polished obsidian.
"Mom… it's coming closer…"
The figure reached the glass, its face inches from Kael's—and then it simply vanished. Like a candle being blown out.
The second figure, the one that hadn't moved, slowly raised a hand toward the sky. The atmosphere in the room shifted. A sudden, crushing pressure filled the air. Outside, the clear night sky was swallowed by thick, roiling clouds.
*CRACK!*
A bolt of violet lightning tore through the sky, striking the spot where the figure stood. For a split second, its form twisted and distorted into something monstrous—then it vanished completely.
The clouds melted away. The sky returned to normal.
"…That wasn't normal," Kael breathed. He reached out to Dark Smiler via telepathy. "…Who are they?"
Silence.
"…Dark Smiler? Why aren't you saying anything?"
He turned to see Dark Smiler standing by the window. For the first time, there was hesitation in the Cursed soul's eyes. "…Now is the right time," Dark Smiler finally spoke.
"What are you talking about?" Kael asked, taking a step back. "Are you with them?"
Dark Smiler sighed. "No… it just means we *know* them. You were never supposed to see them this early."
"What does that—"
Kael didn't finish. The figure appeared again. Not outside.
**Inside.**
The temperature in the room plummeted. Kael's breath misted in the air. The two figures stood at the foot of his bed. They began to chant, their voices overlapping in a distorted, mechanical drone that made the air vibrate.
A glowing circle formed on the floor, intricate symbols rotating and shifting like gears in a clock.
"…A teleportation circle," Dark Smiler hissed.
The circle flared with a burst of dark light. In the next instant, they were gone—only to reappear inches from Kael's face.
Instinctively, Kael scrambled back. At that moment, his mother walked toward the kitchen, humming softly. She passed right through the spot where the entities stood as if they were made of air.
"…Mom?"
No response.
*"She can't see them,"* Dark Smiler's voice echoed in his head. *"And she has already forgotten what happened outside. Their presence erases the memories of the uninitiated."*
Kael's eyes widened. "…So they can erase minds?"
Before Dark Smiler could reply, a distorted voice filled the room.
"…So… you already understand what we are."
The shadows stood perfectly still, their crimson eyes fixed on Kael.
"…We are **Shadows**. We are here to present you with the truth, Kael. By order of—"
Kael crossed his arms, his golden eyes flashing with a sudden, defiant spark. "So someone is pulling your strings from the wings. Who sent you?"
The shadows didn't answer. Instead, they slowly sat on Kael's bed, their weight seemingly nonexistent.
"Very well… take the steps we tell you, and we will reveal everything." A pause. "…Including the identity of that girl."
Silence fell, heavy and expectant. One of the shadows leaned forward, the darkness of its face inches from Kael's.
"…She is—"