The morning after the Shadow vanished felt heavier than the one before it.
Not darker.Not colder.Just… heavier.
Like the air itself remembered what happened.
Rafe woke before everyone else. He sat on the cottage floor with his knees drawn loosely up, staring at his hands. They looked the same — small, scraped, childish — but the warmth from the Shadow's touch lingered faintly beneath his skin.
He flexed his fingers slowly.
Nothing changed.
And yet everything had.
Mara stirred awake beside him, rubbing her eyes before noticing how still he was. Her expression softened immediately.
"Rafe," she whispered, still half-asleep, "you're doing that thing again."
"What thing?"
"That thing where you pretend you're fine but look like you're holding a mountain."
Rafe blinked, caught off guard. "…Is it that obvious?"
"To me? Yes."
Before he could respond, Mara scooted closer and wrapped her arms around him from the side, resting her chin on his shoulder.
"Don't carry it alone."
Rafe's breath caught — not because of embarrassment. Because she meant it in a way only Mara could. Fiercely. Quietly. Completely.
He didn't hug back, but he didn't pull away either.
Selene walked in at that exact moment and stopped mid-step, watching the two of them in silence.
"You're both awake early," she said softly.
Mara finally let go, clearing her throat and sitting straighter.
Rafe shrugged. "Hard to sleep."
"I imagine so," Selene replied. "Fate doesn't brush past someone without leaving pressure behind."
Her tone wasn't judgmental — it was matter-of-fact, almost gentle.
Lyn woke next, blinking herself back into consciousness as she stretched.
"Mm… morning…"
Mara instantly softened again. "Hey. How are you feeling?"
Lyn rubbed her eyes. "Tired. But the scary feeling is gone."
Rafe sat beside her. "You didn't do anything wrong."
"I know," Lyn said quietly. "But I still feel like someone… used me."
Selene stepped closer. "That's because someone did. Your mana acted as a beacon. The Shadow followed it."
Lyn's small shoulders tensed, guilt flickering across her face.
"I didn't mean to."
Rafe reached over and squeezed her hand gently.
"No one blames you."
Lyn nodded, leaning a little against him.
Mara watched silently, then looked away with a tiny frown she didn't understand.
Selene clapped her hands once.
"We start training slower today. No distortion circles."
Mara looked relieved. "Good."
Rafe raised an eyebrow. "You sounded disappointed yesterday."
"That was before my body discovered what dying feels like without dying," she muttered.
Selene smiled faintly.
"But before training… we need to talk about your Shadow."
Rafe stiffened.
"He said everything that was supposed to hunt him will come after me," Rafe said.
"Correct," Selene replied. "And I know what some of those things are."
The cottage fell silent.
Lyn scooted closer to Rafe instinctively.
Mara grabbed his wrist.
"What are they?" Rafe asked quietly.
Selene sat down across from them with a controlled, patient posture.
"There are three kinds of entities tied to fate," she began. "Three that react when someone defies death."
Mara swallowed. "Three?"
Selene nodded.
"The first: Fate Hunters. Beings that chase anomalies. They appear rarely, and only if fate itself feels… threatened."
Rafe exhaled slowly. "So I'm a threat."
"Not yet. But you could become one."
Lyn leaned into Mara, trembling.
"And the second?" Rafe asked.
Selene's eyes narrowed slightly.
"The second group is the Outer Circle. They already want you — they just don't know why yet."
Rafe's stomach tightened.
"And the third?" Mara asked, voice tight.
Selene hesitated.
"The third is… unnamed. Because no one living has seen one and stayed sane."
Silence thickened.
Rafe swallowed hard. "Will one come after me?"
Selene studied him carefully.
"…No. Not unless you awaken wrong."
Mara practically lunged toward Rafe. "He won't. I'll make sure he doesn't. He can't."
Selene smiled warmly for once.
"That's precisely why he has a chance."
Rafe was caught between relief and dread.
"Selene," he said, "the Shadow said everything meant for him would come to me. Why?"
"Because he was you," Selene said. "Or rather… a version of you that was supposed to exist. Meaning everything prepared for him will now be redirected toward you."
Mara's grip tightened again.
"That's not fair," she whispered.
Selene raised a brow. "Fate never is."
Rafe breathed out slowly.
"…Then what do I do?"
Selene stood.
"You get stronger. All of you."
She pointed at his chest.
"You have multiple affinities. That means potential. But also instability. So we will begin the Awakened Foundations."
Mara blinked. "What's that?"
"Training for those destined to awaken," Selene said. "Mental control. Breath control. Mana stimulation. And—"
She flicked her staff lightly.
The air rippled.
"—your first test."
Rafe braced instinctively.
But instead of distortion or pressure, something soft settled over the room.
A gentle, even warmth.
Lyn gasped. "It feels… nice."
Selene nodded.
"This is healing mana. Close your eyes."
Rafe did.
"Now," Selene said, "tell me what you feel."
Rafe breathed in.And something stirred in him — not light, not dark, but something in-between.
"…It's calm."
"Good. Now follow it."
Rafe reached deeper. Mara watched nervously, biting her lip. Lyn held his sleeve.
He pushed gently with his awareness — and felt a spark.
Inside him.Waiting.Dormant.Alive.
Selene smiled.
"There it is," she said softly. "Your core. Once awakened… everything changes."
Rafe opened his eyes.
"And until then?"
Selene's expression sharpened.
"Until then… we must make sure nothing — and no one — reaches it first."
Outside, the forest rustled again.
Too deliberate.Too quiet.
Something was watching.
Something that arrived after the Shadow disappeared.
And it wasn't human.