Kevin stared at the transparent screen in front of him, the glowing options hovering above Celize's limp form.
SoulLink: Perform? Yes / No.
His throat tightened.
He looked at Celize—pale, unconscious, breaths thin and fragile like a candle flickering in the wind. Blood soaked the fabric around her wound; he kept one hand pressed firmly against it, but she was losing too much.
Too fast.
His finger hovered over the "Yes."
Just one tap. One confirmation, and she would live. But then… would she still be her? Would she wake up like the Black Rabbit—silent, expressionless, empty-eyed? A weapon instead of a woman?
Kevin's eyes drifted to the shadows.
Black Rabbit was still gnawing loudly on a corpse's shredded leg, its red eyes glinting with that eerie detachment. The thing ate without hesitation, as though hunger and violence were the only languages it understood.
Kevin swallowed hard.
If Celize became like that…
He clenched his jaw and pulled his hand away from the screen.
"No," he muttered under his breath. "Not her. Never her."
He turned back to Celize, brushing stray strands of hair from her forehead. Her skin felt cold. Too cold.
"Come on…" Kevin whispered. "Don't do this to me."
He had no reason to care this much. He barely knew her. Yet something about her—her smile, her stubbornness, the way she looked at him like he was someone worth believing in—had carved itself into him faster than he thought possible.
He wasn't ready to lose her. Not like this. Not bleeding out in the dirt.
She needed healing.
And then it hit him.
A memory flashed—Sallie. The Druid.
Kevin's breath snagged. "Sallie… she can heal."
He jolted upright. "Rabbit!"
Black Rabbit paused mid-bite, blinking slowly at him.
"Bring me Sallie's body. Now."
The rabbit hesitated only a moment before hopping backward into the darkness, vanishing like ink into water.
Kevin pressed both hands to Celize's wound. The blood seeped between his fingers, warm and worrying. His heart pounded so loudly it drowned out everything else.
Minutes passed.
Painfully slow minutes.
Kevin's arms began to tremble. Sweat dripped from his jaw onto Celize's dress. Every few seconds he checked her pulse. Still there, but faint.
"Damn it," he whispered. "Don't die."
He didn't know her story fully. Only fragments Brandon had shared as they traveled. A woman with beauty fit for a song, raised like a treasure locked in a mansion. Promised off to some wealthy son in Que'tol. A life planned by others, not chosen by her.
"A nightingale in a cage," Kevin murmured.
Maybe he didn't love her, not yet—not truly. But he wanted her alive. Wanted the chance to know her. Wanted her laughter again. Her blush. Her gentle scolding tones. Everything.
The bushes rustled.
Kevin jerked his head up.
A dark streak tore from between the trees, skidding to a stop. Black Rabbit spat something wet and heavy onto the ground.
Sallie's corpse.
Kevin almost gagged. Her body was limp, lifeless, her back brutalized by the sword that had pierced her. But her face—her calm, serene features—still looked almost alive. Almost peaceful.
Celize first. Check her pulse. Still breathing.
Kevin exhaled, then rose shakily to his feet and extended his hand toward Sallie.
He didn't know if this would work.
"Please…" he whispered. "If there's anything out there listening—just let this work."
He took a breath, forced the doubt down, and shouted:
"SoulLink—ACTIVATE!"
The world seemed to take a breath.
Then a ring of black fire erupted around Sallie's body.
Kevin stepped back in shock. The flames weren't hot—they were cold, chilling the air around him, swallowing light and sound. They consumed Sallie's corpse within seconds, turning her entire body into drifting black ash.
Kevin stared, stunned and horrified. "Did… did I fail? Did it not—?"
Before he could finish the thought, the ashes stirred.
A dark figure lifted itself from the pile. Head rising first, then the shoulder, then the rest—like a puppet pulled up by invisible strings.
Sallie—or what used to be Sallie—stood there in front of him.
Her eyes were dead. Blank. Her green robe had turned a muted shade of grayish-black, its hem stained with shadow.
She bowed her head slightly, expression unmoving.
A faint chime echoed in Kevin's ears.
Congratulations. SoulLink successful.
You have obtained a Shadow.
Kevin swallowed, a cocktail of relief and terror mixing in his chest.
Sallie moved on her own, stepping toward Kevin. She lifted her hands and cast a healing spell—soft green light glowing from her palms—but Kevin pushed her hands aside.
"Not me," he said quickly. "Her. Heal her first."
Sallie obeyed instantly.
She knelt beside Celize and pressed her hands over the wound. Light pulsed from her palms, warmer, brighter than Kevin expected from a Shadow. Celize's body twitched, her face tightening in pain—but the bleeding began to slow.
Kevin stepped back, suddenly unsteady. He sank onto a nearby stone, watching them both—watching Sallie's dead, obedient form heal the woman he didn't want to lose.
He exhaled slowly.
Maybe… maybe she had a chance after all.
Kevin felt relief, not just because he had a way to save Celize, but also a way to get Soul fragments for himself.
That is to kill Humans.
You crappy system, you really did good to me. You not only give me a strange skill set, but now you want me to become Psycho.
Kevin's eyes then drifted to Celize's left hand, where he noticed a small ring—silver, delicate, with a faint crest inscribed on the inside of the band.
Her fiancé's family crest, or....
An idea sparked in Kevin's mind.
He turned to Black Rabbit. "Go get me rings from the bodies," he ordered.
The rabbit blinked, then hopped off into the shadows once more.
Two minutes later, it returned—dragging a small pile of rings.
With fingers still attached.
Kevin recoiled. "Damn it—why did you bring the fingers too?!"
Black Rabbit stared at him blankly, like the answer should've been obvious.
Kevin sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Fine. Whatever."
He sat back down and started pulling the rings off the severed fingers, trying not to think too hard about the crunching noises. He hoped to find a storage ring. In the end, he gathered nine rings—a lot for simple attackers.
Once finished, he let out another long sigh.
"They had families…" he muttered to himself. "Kids, maybe. Wives. And they're dead now. Fed to the ground because of some rich bastard's command."
He looked up at Sallie.
"Probably just like you," he added quietly.
He opened Sallie's status screen.
Name: Sallie Greyfort
Age: 24
Gender: Female
Mark: Two-Faced Mage
Core Soul: 3/10
Soul Fragments: 40/400
Soul Origin: Essence's Manipulator
Kevin frowned.
"Two-Faced Mage? What the hell is that?"
He tapped it.
A description popped up:
A traitorous mage who sold her loyalty for gold. Driven by jealousy and selfish desire.
She betrayed her lady for coin and envy.
Kevin blinked.
Then he burst into laughter—loud, hysterical, borderline unhinged from everything he'd been through.
"Sallie? This Sallie?" he cackled. "The gentle, quiet one? The shy little healer? Was actually a damn viper?"
He wiped a tear from the corner of his eye and looked at Sallie again, still healing Celize with that dead, emotionless face.
"Well," he murmured, smirking, "looks like you didn't know you were just another pawn in someone else's game."
He leaned back against the tree trunk, legs finally giving out.