Chapter 9: The Unraveling
The change in Whiskers was not just statistical; it was fundamental. In the [Beast Nexus], the newly evolved Shadow-Stalker was a phantom, its form blurring at the edges, its presence a chill whisper against Leo's consciousness. The simple loyalty of the Dire Rat was now layered with a cunning, predatory intelligence. It understood complex commands, and the [Shadow Blend] ability made it a perfect scout.
Leo spent the next day in a state of heightened alertness, his empathic senses stretched thin. The Aviary was abuzz with the caravan's presence, but beneath the surface, he felt a new, sharp tension. It emanated from Kaelen, a constant, simmering anger that spiked every time he looked at Leo. The failed humiliation in the cellar had festered, and the quiet confidence Leo now carried—a subtle shift invisible to most, but glaringly obvious to a bully—was like a red flag.
It was the gryphlet that finally broke the tension.
During a public feeding demonstration for the visiting tamers, Borin led the group past the isolated enclosure. He intended to showcase the Aviary's "prize," a beast so fierce it required the strongest chains. But the gryphlet didn't snarl or throw itself against the bars. It was perched calmly, preening a wing. Its golden feathers, once dull, seemed to carry a healthier sheen. And most damning of all, when it saw Leo shuffling past with a bucket of feed for the Rocs, its head didn't jerk up in hatred. It simply watched him, and its tail gave that same, deliberate, acknowledging flick.
The visiting tamers murmured, impressed by its majestic bearing. But Borin's face went stony. He saw what they did not: the lack of fury, the focus, the specific, quiet acknowledgment of the lowest apprentice.
Kaelen saw it too. His jealousy and suspicion curdled into certainty.
That evening, as Leo returned from his duties, Kaelen and two of his lackeys intercepted him in a narrow, deserted corridor between the feed sheds.
"No more games, dreg," Kaelen spat, shoving Leo hard against the rough stone wall. "What did you do to it?"
Leo kept his face a mask of confused fear, his [Whisperer's Cloak] pulled tight around his spirit. "Do to what, Kaelen? I just do my chores."
"Don't play stupid!" Kaelen backhanded him across the face. The blow was sharp and stinging. Leo tasted blood. "The gryphlet. It's different. You're different. You go into that cellar and come out unscathed. You look at that monster and it doesn't try to kill you. What are you? Some kind of witch?"
The word hung in the air, charged and dangerous. In a world of codified affinities, unexplained powers were not just strange; they were heretical.
"I got lucky," Leo insisted, his mind racing. He could feel the Pack Leader's aggressive energy straining at the bond in the Nexus. He could summon it, unleash it on Kaelen. But that would reveal everything. It would mark him as a monster.
"Luck doesn't explain this," Kaelen snarled, grabbing the front of Leo's tunic. "I think you've stolen something. A charm. A forbidden talisman. I think I need to search you."
This was the real danger. If they found the [Empathic Catalyst] or anything else linking him to the Whisperer's path, he was dead.
As Kaelen's lackey moved to pat him down, Leo made a decision. He couldn't fight them physically. But he could fight them another way.
He dropped his mental shields completely.
He didn't push his [Calming Aura]. He did the opposite. He took the roiling storm of his own fear, anger, and the gryphlet's chronic pain that was still etched into his soul, and he amplified it. Using the [Soul-Link] not on a beast, but on the three boys in front of him, he unleashed a raw, unfiltered blast of empathic terror.
It wasn't a controlled skill. It was a psychic scream.
Kaelen, whose mind was a simple landscape of pride and aggression, recoiled as if struck by a physical force. A wave of primal, inexplicable fear washed over him—the fear of being small, of being weak, of being trapped in a dark place with something much, much larger than himself. He gasped, stumbling back, his face pale.
His lackeys fared worse. One clutched his head, a whimper escaping his lips. The other turned and vomited onto the stones, overwhelmed by the sudden, visceral sensation of another's agony.
Leo stood panting, the backlash making his own head spin. He hadn't known he could do that. The system flashed a warning.
[Unsanctioned Empathic Attack Detected. High Risk of Mental Contamination. Skill [Empathic Dissonance] unlocked at Proficiency 0%.]
Kaelen stared at him, his eyes wide with a terror that was rapidly being replaced by a deeper, more superstitious horror. "What... what are you?" he whispered, his voice trembling.
This was his chance. Leo let his own fear show, layering it with genuine, trembling exhaustion. "I... I don't know what happened," he stammered, slumping against the wall. "I just felt so scared... please, Kaelen, just leave me alone."
He was playing the only card he had left: making them doubt their own senses. Was it a trick? A curse? Or had they just imagined it?
Kaelen, shaken to his core, looked from Leo's seemingly broken form to his retching friend. The logic of his world was breaking. He pointed a shaking finger at Leo. "Stay away from me, witch. Stay away from the gryphlet. If I see you near it again, I'll tell Borin everything."
He and his lackeys fled down the corridor, not looking back.
Leo slid down the wall to the ground, his body trembling not from act, but from reaction. That had been too close. He had revealed a weapon he didn't fully understand, and he had made a dangerous enemy even more desperate.
The fragile peace was shattered. Kaelen wouldn't let this go. He would be watching, waiting for any excuse.
Leo needed to move faster. The gryphlet's wing was only 5% healed. It wasn't enough. If Borin decided to move it, or sell it, or if Kaelen forced a confrontation, all his work would be for nothing.
He had 515 SP. He could evolve another rat, strengthening his swarm. Or he could risk it all on something else.
He pulled up the [System Shop] and navigated to the [Whisperer's Exclusive] section. There, below [Spectral Mend], was a new, expensive entry that had appeared after his evolution of Whiskers.
[Synaptic Overdrive (Lv. 1)]: Temporarily supercharges the [Soul-Link] with a bonded beast, allowing for a massive, short-term surge in a single attribute (Speed, Strength, Perception) or skill potency. Cost: 400 SP. (Warning: Causes severe strain on both user and beast. Cooldown: 72 hours.)
It was a gamble. A huge one. But if he used it on the gryphlet, focused on [Spectral Mend]... he could potentially heal the wing by a significant margin in one, desperate push. It would leave them both vulnerable, but it might buy him the time he needed.
Or, it could break them both.
Back in his cot, the sounds of the sleeping dormitory around him, Leo made his choice. He couldn't wait. The walls were closing in.
He purchased the skill.
[System Points: 115]
New Skill Learned: [Synaptic Overdrive (Lv. 1)]
He had his swarm. He had his new, dangerous psychic weapon. And he had a Hail Mary pass for the gryphlet.
The Unassuming dreg was gone. In his place was a cornered Whisperer, ready to unleash a storm to protect the single, precious bond that made this brutal new world worth living in. Tomorrow night, he would not just heal the gryphlet. He would try to perform a miracle.
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