What I felt when crossing the shadow for the second time was completely different from the first.
I still felt like I was one with it, yet I retained my sense of self.
I was the darkness, but I was also Cain.
And more than anything, I could see everything — as if it were broad daylight.
Maybe I had truly gained more than I thought?
I realized that between the cave's exit and the palace, there were only a few steps.
But how was that possible?
I thought I had walked for days, even weeks, before completely losing track of myself.
But just twenty steps?
I was dying to know just how vast and ancient that shadow really was.
The red sky greeted me as I stepped out of the cavern. I had never felt so relieved to see the light again.
"You sure took your time."
I turned my head. A young man with white hair and a massive wolf black as night stood a few meters away, watching me up and down.
The wolf stepped closer. I couldn't move — I felt like prey before its natural predator.
It stared down at me. I was just an ant in its eyes. It could tear me apart in a second, and it knew it. Its lips curled back, revealing countless teeth the size of a grown man. It was the most terrifying creature I had ever seen. It could eat that damn crow in a single bite.
But its fur looked so soft... so silky...
It sniffed me several times.
Was it going to eat me?
"I'm probably not to your taste… I'm all skin and bones."
It stopped, locking its glowing obsidian eyes onto mine for a moment, then turned toward the other man.
"He's not possessed. It really is a human… But he smells strange. An unpleasant smell."
True, I hadn't bathed since a while, but this oversized mutt was a bit rude.
The man with the white hair nodded, then turned to me.
"How did you get into that place?"
"I don't know."
I definitely wasn't going to tell him something had called me. That would be a disaster. What if he decided to study me?
The man frowned, clearly questioning the truth of my answer.
Still, I lied as easily as I breathed. There's no way he could guess that—
"Don't lie to me."
Shit.
Did I really have to tell the truth? What if they locked me up again like before? What if they used me as an experiment once more? Would I survive it?
"I really don't know. I was just walking, and suddenly I found myself in front of the cave."
The man sighed at my stubbornness.
"No matter. If you don't want to tell me, that's fine. However…"
His voice deepened, even more than the wolf's, carrying a power beyond imagining.
"If you harm my Tower, you will suffer the consequences. I'll be watching you."
His Tower? Was he the director that woman had mentioned?
They vanished the next moment, leaving no trace of their presence.
Shame, I really wanted to ask if I could pet that dog.
He looked so soft…
I'll ask him next time.C
*
"Don't tell me that bastard disappeared again."
Hundreds of youths were gathered in a semicircle outside the main building, facing a dozen stern-looking adults.
"Bella, don't tell me we're waiting for just one of your students?"
"You know the order didn't come from me, Mia. Don't bother me."
Mia was the only other female instructor besides Bella in the camp. She had pale skin and long blonde hair that reached down to her knees. Towering at six-foot-three, she overshadowed everyone else — except one.
"She's right. We have no say in the matter."
The man whose voice cracked like a gunshot was Julius. He was easily recognized by his fiery red hair that hung to his shoulders, his freckled face giving him a boyish appearance — a stark contrast to his body, made of nothing but muscle and standing over two meters tall.
They had been waiting in silence for several minutes. The order came from the Guardian himself. No one dared defy it.
Nearly an hour had passed. Still no sign of the one they were waiting for, frustrating many present — their time was incredibly valuable.
And after a few more minutes…
"Oh~ Looks like I'm right on time after all!"
All heads turned toward the voice.
A skinny boy with black hair and eyes was waving at them, a smile nearly reaching his ears printed permanently on his face.
But the most shocking part was that this kid was covered in blood — from head to toe.
Everyone shivered at the sight. He looked like a demon returning from a massacre of unimaginable scale.
But only Cain knew the truth.
It had rained on the way back.
Veins bulged on the instructors' faces. They had waited all this time for a mere boy — and he even had the nerve to joke about it?
As Amelia and her three friends sighed in exasperation, Mia was fuming.
The orders forced her to wait for this kid, but nothing stopped her from making his life a living hell.
Bella sighed as she saw her colleague approach the crazy boy, but part of her was already enjoying the show that was about to unfold.
The blonde's sharp voice rang in every ear present:
"I hope you have a good reason for being this late."
She gave him a severe look, but Cain still wore the same smile, staring at her shamelessly.
"I never asked you to wait. On the contrary, it will be an honor for you to witness the performance of the future great sorcerer Cain!"
A simple response, but it made every instructor's ears burn — except Bella, who was amused.
"This kid's got balls… Or he just has no idea who he's talking to."
Mia first wondered if she had misheard him. But looking around, she realized this brat had really dared say those words to her. Her eyes fell on the thin black collar around his neck like a chain.
The corner of her lips curled.
"I see. You're just a dog from Earth. I'll forgive your ignorance this time, but next time, I'll blow that little collar off your neck. Let's see if you can still speak with your head separated from your body."
Cain tilted his head in confusion. He hadn't said anything offensive — just the plain truth. What was this blonde's problem?
His smile widened, giving him an even more macabre look.
He liked playing these little games, especially when he was the one in control.
"Go ahead. Do it."
The blonde raised her eyebrows, clearly not understanding what he'd just said.
"Blow up the collar! Let's see if I can still talk!"
A long silence followed. No one said a word, waiting for the instructor's response — whose face was now red with anger.
"What are you waiting for? Can't do it?"
Cain understood. He didn't know why, but someone had ordered them to wait for him — probably the man with the white hair. That meant he had their attention. This impulsive woman wouldn't dare harm him. Or at least not kill him.
Besides, he was bored.
"Fucking brat, I'll show you who you're talking to!"
The instructors frowned. Was she really going to kill him? Well, it wasn't really their problem, but they were in a hurry.
Mia raised her hand. A cube of pure darkness formed and shot straight at Cain — whose smile hadn't changed.
He didn't move. He wouldn't have been fast enough to dodge it anyway, so he just waited.
The cube stretched, now three meters wide, engulfing Cain — who hadn't reacted from start to finish.
Bella stepped in.
"Of all the things you could've done, that was the slowest."
Mia scoffed.
"Hmph, anything else would've killed him instantly."
Bella fell silent. She was right — even a flick of her finger could've crushed the arrogant boy.
Still, this prison of darkness wasn't much better. It corrupted the mind slowly.
But nothing, absolutely nothing, could've prepared her for what came next.
"HAHAHA…"
Was this maniac laughing?
That was everyone's thought in that moment.
Mia was especially shocked. She knew better than anyone the effects of the Tenebris Claustra glyph. Someone at this kid's level shouldn't even be able to speak from inside it.
"That's what you call darkness?"
A foot stepped out of the cube. The young man walked calmly toward the instructor, stopping just inches from her, raising his eyes to meet hers.
"You don't understand it. Not at all."
He couldn't even compare the shadow he'd crossed in that cave to this little cube. It was like darkness imagined by a child… No, even that would insult the power of that being.
Everyone stood speechless — especially the instructors, who knew just how vast the power gap was between them and these kids. Not even in their wildest dreams would they have expected to witness such a display.
Bella was in shock. She knew this boy's capabilities. He shouldn't have been able to do something like that unless…
She pulled out her holographic screen and checked the file containing Cain's name.
What she saw next left her speechless for a long time.