The ten bandits laughed.The leader, a man with an unkempt beard and a scar running across his left eyebrow, stepped forward. His sword reflected the last light of the afternoon sun. At his side, a large, bald brute with faded tattoos on his forearms swung a chipped axe. Further back, a thin, nervous man with an old scar on his cheek toyed with a rusted dagger. The rest flanked them—a mass of hungry faces and improvised weapons."Just you?" the leader laughed. "Don't make us laugh, boy. There are ten of us. You're one. And scrawny, at that."The others laughed with him. The bald man struck his axe against a crude shield. The one with the dagger whistled.Darian watched them in silence. His hand rested on Lumine's hilt."You have a choice," he said. His voice was steady, but something else lingered beneath it—a faint echo. "Accept your fate, and you'll die quickly. Without pain."Lumine whispered in his mind: The thread can be cut gently."Or fight," Darian continued. "And you will suffer."Nox laughed—a hungry sound only Darian could hear. Choose to fight. Please, choose to fight.The leader looked at him with contempt."Die quickly? Suffer?" He spat on the ground. "The one dying here is you, boy. And we're going to have some fun with you before we finish the job. Right, boys?"The bandits laughed again. Weapons rose. The bald man spun his axe. The one with the dagger licked his lips. None of them accepted.Darian closed his eyes for a moment. In his mind, Lumine spoke with calm certainty.They have chosen. Nox… have your fun.Nox let out a low, hungry laugh. At last. The crows will feast.Darian sheathed Lumine at his waist with a slow, deliberate motion. Only Nox remained in his hand."I leave them to you," he murmured. "Just this once."A sudden cold spread through his chest, as if something was pulling him inward. Then nothing. The inner clearing tilted. Shadow devoured the light. Darian watched from the depths of a well.
When Darian opened his eyes, they were no longer his own.His irises had turned white, like two cold moons. His teeth sharpened—fangs slipping past his lips in a crooked, hungry grin. His posture shifted. He hunched forward, like a panther before a leap. A dark energy burst from his body, and shadows crawled at his feet like living serpents."At last…" he whispered. But the voice was not only Darian's. It carried a deep, rasping echo, heavy with hunger. "At last… blood."The leader paled. The bald man with the axe took a step back without realizing it."W-what… what are you?" the leader managed.Nox did not answer. He lunged.
The first bandit never saw him coming. Nox passed him like a dark breath. The short blade traced an arc, and the man's leg separated from his body at the thigh. He fell screaming, blood pouring from the stump. He was the first to die, bleeding out within seconds.Nox spun, low and feline. The blade sliced through another man's tendon. He collapsed with a scream. The second fell soon after, blood soaking the gravel.The bald man tried to react. He raised his axe with both hands, a brutal swing that would have split any man in half. But Nox was already gone. He slipped beneath the arc like liquid shadow. The blade sank into the man's side, just below the ribs. Not fatal—but enough. The axe dropped. The brute fell to his knees, gasping."Get him! Surround him!" the leader shouted, retreating.Three more bandits charged at once. The dagger-wielder was fastest, striking from behind. But Nox turned his head, grinned with his fangs, and moved with something unnatural. The dagger cut air. Nox's blade found the attacker's shoulder. The man screamed and dropped his weapon.The others met the same fate. The blade danced. A slash across a thigh. A deep cut along a forearm. Screams. Blood. The air turned thick and metallic. Shadows at Nox's feet stretched hungrily, as if they too wanted to drink.The third fell. A wound too deep in the thigh. The bleeding wouldn't stop."More!" Nox roared, his voice doubled. "I want more!"
Inside, Darian watched. The clearing was almost completely dark. Only a small circle of golden light surrounded Lumine. Through a bright window, he saw his body moving with a violence he hadn't known he possessed."This is…" he murmured."This is Nox without chains," Lumine said, her light dim in the darkness. "This is what you carry within you."Nox tore through another bandit's arm. The man screamed, dropped his weapon, tried to crawl away. Nox let him move a few steps, then leapt, driving the blade into his shoulder and pinning him to the ground. The bandit sobbed. Begged. Nox tilted his head, watching him like a cat watches a wounded mouse."I don't want to be like this," Darian said."You are not. But you must know it. Only then can you tame it."In the real world, Nox straightened slowly. He left the man pinned and turned toward the rest. Three lay dead. The remaining seven—including the leader—were wounded. Some lay on the ground, groaning. Others knelt, terrified. The bald brute clutched his side. The dagger-wielder trembled against a rock.Nox spread his arms. Blood dripped from the blade."No one else wants to play?"The leader looked at his men. The bald man shook his head, pale. The dagger-wielder couldn't even lift his gaze. The rest dropped their weapons."We surrender…" the leader said, voice breaking. "Please…"Nox tilted his head. His fanged grin widened."Surrender? Too late. You chose to fight. You chose to suffer."He stepped forward."Enough!"The voice didn't come from the physical world. It came from within.Darian stood. His fists were clenched."That's enough, Nox. Stop. Give me back my body."Nox froze. His grin twisted."Already? There are still seven left…""Enough," Darian repeated, stronger now. "You made your point. This isn't what I want to be."A tense silence stretched between them. Finally, Nox growled."Fine. But next time… you let me finish."Darian's body relaxed. The predatory posture vanished. His eyes returned to normal. The fangs receded. The dark energy dissolved like mist at dawn.Darian blinked. The weight of his body returned. Sweat on his brow. чуж blood on his hands. A metallic taste in his mouth. Nox still dripped crimson.
Then it hit him.His legs trembled. Exhaustion crashed over him, as if he had run for hours without stopping. He leaned against the cart to keep from falling. The world spun. It wasn't just physical fatigue. It was deeper. As if something had been torn from inside him."Darian." Varkas stepped closer, gripping his shoulder. "Are you alright?""I… don't know." His voice was weak. "It's like something emptied me out."Kára handed him a waterskin. He drank greedily, but it barely helped. He was still shaking. His hands barely obeyed him.Vael flew from the compartment and landed on his shoulder, pressing his head against his cheek with a worried sound."I'm fine," Darian lied, stroking his scales. "Just… tired."The human body is fragile, Nox whispered in his mind. His voice sounded satisfied—but also strangely serious. It is not made to hold me.That is why you must strengthen it, Lumine added. The thread frays with each use. If you do not reinforce it, it will break.What does that mean? Darian asked mentally, barely forming the thought.Possession consumes your mana, Lumine explained. It is like a fire that burns fast. As long as there is mana, it burns. But when the mana runs out…It burns something else, Nox finished. Your life.A chill ran through Darian—one that had nothing to do with exhaustion.Today I used almost all your mana, Nox continued. That's why you feel like this. If you had let me continue…I would have started burning my life, Darian finished.Exactly, Lumine said. That is why possession must be a last resort. It cannot be taken lightly.But it was worth it, Nox insisted. Did you see their faces? Did you see how they ran?I can barely breathe, Darian replied. And you almost killed me.I didn't kill you. I just… left you drained. There's a difference.A small one.Rest, Lumine said. Tomorrow will hurt more. But that is the price. All power has one.Darian nodded weakly. He looked at the seven remaining bandits. Pale. Broken."I won't kill you," he said, his own voice returning, though still exhausted. "But you will answer for what you've done. We'll turn you in at Puerto Nimbus."The leader nodded, not daring to speak.
Darian turned. Vael remained on his shoulder, pressing against him."I'm fine," he repeated, more convincingly this time.He walked back to the cart, leaning on Varkas. The giant helped him climb up."What happened back there? For a moment… that wasn't you.""It was Nox. I gave him control."Varkas nodded slowly. "And now you have him under control?"Darian ran a hand over his face. He could still hear Nox's laughter echoing in his mind. And the exhaustion in every muscle."I don't know. It was just this once. To understand him. To see how far it goes. But… it has a cost."Kára watched him from the cart, eyes wide."Your swords are incredible. And so are you. But be careful. That power… it can consume you.""I know," Darian repeated. He leaned back against the barrels, closing his eyes. "I know."Elias, pale, pointed at the wounded bandits."What do we do with them?""Bind them," Varkas said. "Take them to Puerto Nimbus. Let the authorities decide."Varkas climbed down and began tying the bandits with ropes from the cart. The bald man and the dagger-wielder were loaded like sacks. The rest were forced to walk behind.Darian remained at the back of the cart, resting against the barrels. Vael curled in his lap. Lumine and Nox rested at his waist. He could feel them there—one warm, one cold.Not bad, Nox whispered. For a first time.You learned something today, Lumine said. That's what matters.That it hurts, Darian replied.Yes, Nox admitted. But it's a good kind of pain.Darian couldn't help a faint smile. He looked up at the sky. The sun had already sunk behind the mountains. The road to Puerto Nimbus was still long.Aria was to the west, across the Sea of Mists. Captured. Waiting.And he would not fail her again.
Varkas took the reins. The cart moved once more, leaving behind the ravine—and the bodies.Behind them, the crows descended upon the feast, just as Nox had promised.