Kastis sat hunched beside the fire, his breaths shallow and quick, sweat slicking his silver-white hair. Minutes passed before his lungs stopped burning. He wiped the blood from his lip, stood up with a grunt, and dragged himself over to the shattered corpse of the deer.
With trembling fingers, he pried the final antler from its mangled skull, then picked up the other one lying beside the jaguar. His legs were barely holding him up, but he made the walk—or rather the stagger—back to camp.
Two antlers. One vow.
He was going to find a way to bring both of those creatures back. Somehow.
After setting the antlers down beside the rock he'd claimed as his seat, he dropped onto it with a sigh and muttered, "Alright. Let's check the status window again."
"Open status."
Name: Krova Astris
Esper: 1
Pathway: ???
Sequence: 0/8
Soul Brightness: Dim
Soul Essence: 0/500
Skills:
– Water Manipulation [Locked]
– Soulfire [Locked]
– Gate to the Infinite Ignotus [Locked]
– Shadow Walker [Copied]
"…No soul essence?" Kastis frowned.
He'd killed a monster—a strong one—but the counter hadn't moved. Maybe it was because he got an Esper instead? Something to test later.
His eyes settled on the newest skill.
"Shadow Walker… interesting."
"Close system window. Open Shadow Walker skill description."
Skill: Shadow Walker
Grants storage capability within the user's own shadow and within any shadow they generate. Only items previously stored in the shadow may be retrieved. Shadow storage space currently equals two Shadow Jaguars in width and height.
It also allows the user to meld into their own shadow and teleport to nearby shadows.
Grants night vision.
As a copied skill, duration is limited to the user's available soul energy. Activation consumes soul energy; the consumption rate scales with the user's Soul Brightness.
"That's… actually amazing." He blinked in awe. "So my legacy skills don't need soul energy, but copied ones do. Still, with this I can retrieve the corpses."
"Close skill description. Open Esper."
Esper: Shadow Jaguar
Esper Description:
You may summon the creature from which the soul was taken. Requires soul energy to summon, but not to maintain. Recalling the creature allows for passive healing.
Partial transformation available: consumes soul energy on activation, but not to maintain.
"So I can transform… into a Shadow Jaguar?" Kastis grinned. "That's… kind of cool."
"Close, Esper. Shadow Jaguar—partial transformation."
The effect was instantaneous.
His hair darkened to pitch black. A whip-like tail slithered from his lower back. Human ears faded into nothing and were replaced by sharp, feline ones atop his head. His eyes narrowed, pupils stretching into slits—pure black, like the sky on a starless night.
"Whoa." Kastis flexed his fingers. He felt stronger. Faster.
He broke into a sprint, darting through the trees. The path that had taken him forty cautious minutes now melted under his feet in less than ten.
He reached the creek. Then the glade. Then the bodies.
He passed several beasts on the way—massive, hulking creatures unlike anything he'd seen before. His heart skipped a beat as he ducked into shadow form and slipped by undetected. The thought of encountering them before gaining these powers made his stomach turn.
Back in the clearing, he stood over the Shadow Jaguar's corpse.
"Shadow, store."
His shadow, already stretching toward the jaguar, rose like liquid and swallowed the body whole.
Then he did the same with the deer.
Back at camp…
"Alright. Made it back."
He looked down at himself.
"I should clean up. Let's get some water first…"
He circled the edge of the clearing, searching for thick branches. After a few minutes, he found one and smiled.
"Good thing I did Boy Scouts… or this would've been useless."
He sat down and began carving bottles. Despite the effort, his thoughts wandered.
"I'm alone. Stranded. Maybe I should just… end it. Maybe dying will bring me back home…"
The sharp rock paused in his hand.
"No." He shook his head hard. "No, I can't risk that. What if it doesn't work? What if this is all there is now?"
He exhaled.
"Ten bottles. Not bad."
He walked over to the pond to fill them, only to catch his reflection.
"…Oh. Right. I'm still transformed."
His reflection showed black hair, black eyes, and cat ears.
It looked… familiar.
"I really do look like my old self. Back in my twenties… all those girls swarming me like moths to a flame. They used to say I looked like something out of a fantasy novel."
He chuckled.
"What was I doing again—ah, bottles."
He filled them quickly, then created a shadow with his cupped hand and stored them away.
"Alright. Time to clean off."
He stripped, stepped into the water—
And then the world changed.
The moment his foot touched the pond, a towering splash exploded around him—spiraling a hundred feet into the air like a water cyclone. The splash didn't fall. It just spun, suspended, and then—
Vanished.
A second later, the same water reappeared and surged into him.
"What the hell?!"
The sensation was indescribable. His insides twisted—torn apart and rebuilt in an instant. His organs screamed. His blood boiled. Then… peace.
A voice echoed in his mind.
[Your skill has interacted with divine, corrupted, and unknown water.]
[Skill absorbed.]
[You have gained an unknown skill: Unknown's Legacy.]
"I… this is too fast." Kastis whispered. "There has to be a catch."
He called out,
"Status: open."
Nothing.
Confused, he frowned.
"…Maybe it's the new skill."
He closed his eyes and focused inward—toward his soul.
What he saw made him flinch.
It was shapeless, glowing faintly. Runes floated around it, intertwined with symbols that resembled ancient hieroglyphs. He couldn't explain how, but he understood them.
His thoughts tried to pull him deeper—into the soul itself—but something blocked him. A barrier. Invisible, immovable.
He stopped himself. For now.
Instead, he focused on the new skill.
Skill: Unknown's Legacy
This skill's abilities unlock when certain unknown conditions are met.
— Ability 1: Unknown
— Ability 2: Unknown
— Ability 3: Unknown
— Ability 4: Unknown
— Ability 5: Unknown
— Ability 6: Unknown
Your body and soul are now more fully integrated.
You gain increased soul essence from creatures with greater Soul Brightness or Soul Shape.
You may now access your status internally—no verbal command required.
"That's… pretty damn useful." Kastis smiled.
"This will help—"
Suddenly, the water beneath him began to churn.
"Wait… no… What the hell—"
A whirlpool formed beneath him. Before he could react, it dragged him down. Water spun with terrifying speed, and before he could escape—
Crack!
A stick slammed into the back of his head.
Everything went black.
He awoke minutes later.
Cold. Soaked. Disoriented.
"Ugh… Where—"
Darkness. Everywhere.
Not a single light. Not even the pond.
"Damn it. Where the hell am I?! And when the hell did the water get back into the dumb pond" Kastis! shouted in pain and irritation.
His voice echoed in every direction.
Then… a voice answered.
Smooth. Cold. Amused.
"Well, hello there."
"You must be Krova Astris… or Kastis."
"Welcome to the Illusory Island."