White sky.
Black water.
Silence.
Alex stood alone in a world that felt like it had forgotten what warmth was. The ocean beneath him rippled like ink, stretching endlessly. In the middle of that oily darkness sat a shadow shaped like a man, shoulders shaking—crying.
Alex slowly stepped forward.
"Hey… are you okay?" he asked gently.
The shadow froze.
Then its head twisted—too slowly, too far—and a wide, crooked smile cut across the darkness.
Alex's breath stopped.
And the world snapped apart.
---
Alex woke up with a violent gasp.
"OH! You're awake! Finally!!"
Tabitha's loud, cheerful voice exploded right next to him.
She sat on the floor, knees bouncing, violet hair messy but sparkling like magic dust. Her eyes glowed with dangerous amounts of energy—as if she drank five cups of coffee at once.
Alex blinked. "W-Where—Where are Regis and Jessica?"
"Oh! Those two? They went back to the capital~" she said, swinging her legs playfully. "Capitals are boring, but whatever."
Alex sat up instantly. "Wait—Regis has a curse. How can he even enter the capital?!"
Tabitha grinned like she was revealing a secret.
"I gave him one of my super-rare, mega-expensive magical items! It hides curses so well that even the temple priests can't smell it. So relax, kiddo."
Alex stared. "…You gave him something that powerful?"
"Mhmm! Because he's my brother. And because he gets in trouble. A lot."
She poked Alex's forehead. "And you don't stress about it! Auntie Tabitha is handling everything!"
Alex rubbed his forehead, frowning. "Auntie… Tabitha?"
She flashed a peace sign. "Yup! You're my new nephew now. No refunds."
---
Alex hesitated, then asked:
"Tabitha… Regis is a Spirit Knight, you're a Witch… how did that even happen?"
For the first time, Tabitha slowed down. Her smile softened—not sad, but nostalgic.
"Me and Regis… we were born in the capital," she began. "Our father was a low-ranking noble—nice guy, super broke. Our mother? She was a Witch."
Alex blinked. "A Witch? But witches… aren't allowed in the capital."
"Exactly!" she snapped her fingers. "She didn't stay. She left us right after we were born. Classic mom move, right?"
Alex's eyes widened. "Wait—she abandoned you two?"
Tabitha shrugged with a bright, careless smile that didn't match the story at all.
"It's fine. Regis raised me. He cooked, fed me, washed my face, protected me, scolded me—basically mother, father, brother, babysitter, everything."
She puffed her cheeks. "I was a chaotic gremlin child, you know?"
Alex smiled weakly. "…Yeah, I can imagine."
"At age fifteen," she continued, "The Witch Forest called me. When a witch awakens fully, they must go to the Forest or their magic goes boom and melts the house."
"Melts… the house?"
She nodded proudly. "I melted SIX houses during puberty."
Alex: "…"
Tabitha waved dramatically.
"So yeah! I left for Witch Forest. Regis stayed in the capital and became a Spirit Knight. And we grew separately. End of sad family arc! Yay!"
She clapped her hands loudly.
"ANYWAY! Enough emotional stuff. NOW we talk about YOU."
---
Alex cleared his throat.
"Well… about the spirit I got… It's… Shadow."
The reaction was immediate.
Tabitha froze.
Her eyes widened so far Alex thought they might fall out.
She leaned so close her nose almost touched his.
"…Shadow?" she whispered.
Alex nodded slowly. "Y-Yes… the spirit said its name is Soma."
A tiny, trembling voice echoed beside him.
"S-sorry… for existing…"
A small blob of darkness peeked from Alex's shoulder like a scared kitten.
Tabitha flung her arms in the air.
"I KNEW IT! I flipping KNEW IT! That was a newborn shell spirit! Kid, do you understand how CRAZY THIS IS?!"
Alex: "N-No???"
Soma hid behind Alex's neck.
"P-please don't shout… I'm fragile…"
Tabitha ignored the shyness completely.
"Shadow-type spirits are INSANELY rare! They come from spiritual distortion zones! And they only choose someone with a weird soul— I mean—uh—someone special."
She coughed aggressively.
Alex squinted. "What did you almost say just now?"
"NOTHING!" she said too fast. "Auntie Tabitha never lies!"
She definitely lied.
---
She suddenly grabbed Alex's shoulders.
"Alright nephew! LET'S TRAIN."
"W-Wait, already?!"
"Yup! You slept for two days! I was SO scared you'd never wake up—like seriously, I almost cried. But now you're up so TRAINING TRAINING TRAINING."
Alex blinked. "Two days…?"
"Yes! I thought you died!" she said with way too much energy.
"That doesn't make me feel better!"
"Good! Means you're awake!"
---
Tabitha clapped.
"Okay! First lesson: Spirit Zone! This is super high-level stuff, so try not to die!"
Alex paled. "W-WHAT?!"
"It's fine!" she said cheerfully. "Probably!"
Soma trembled violently on Alex's shoulder.
"P-please reconsider…"
Tabitha drew a glowing circle in the air, violet sparks dancing.
"Spirit Zone is when you and your spirit sync your energies, multiply them, and release a ton of spiritual pressure. It boosts your attacks, senses, magic, everything."
Alex whispered, "I've never done anything like that…"
"Exactly! That's why we're doing it right now!"
She grinned like a madwoman.
"Kid! Summon your spirit fully! Show me what you can do!"
Alex inhaled sharply.
Then extended his hand.
"Dark of the world… white sky… falling stars…
Soma, come to me."
A ripple of darkness spread around him.
The air froze.
The shadows deepened.
Tabitha whistled.
"Daaamn, nephew. You're cooking."
Soma materialized beside Alex—shaking.
"H-hi… please don't kill me…"
---
And training began.
Tabitha moved like lightning.
Alex barely kept up.
But he didn't fall behind.
Instead, each strike he dodged made her grin wider.
"Ohooo~ You're not like Regis at all! He was a disaster at your age!"
"WHY ARE YOU COMPARING ME RIGHT NOW?!"
"BECAUSE IT'S FUN!"
Three days passed.
Training became torture.
Then it became growth.
And Tabitha, despite being insane, never stopped encouraging him.
"Good job nephew!"
"Fix your stance nephew!"
"You almost died but that's improvement!"
And Soma, despite being scared of everything, stayed near Alex.
"I-I'm sorry… I'll try harder…"
"Alex… please don't let her kill us…"
And Alex…
For the first time in his life…
He felt stronger.