Germaine's steps were unsteady.
Not because her legs were weak—they weren't. The warmth lingering in her core from the creature's touch steadied her physically.
It was her mind that trembled.
Elric walked half a step ahead of her, tense and hyper-aware, his senses stretched wide for threats. The training grounds behind them still shimmered faintly with the remnants of mana she had released.
Every few seconds, Elric glanced back to make sure she was still breathing.
Germaine kept her expression controlled, but inside—
Her core was still humming.
Not loudly… but insistently. A soft, rhythmic pulse. Like the creature had left behind a tiny echo, a signature she couldn't shake off.
She pressed a hand lightly to her sternum.
"The Shard within you."
That phrase had rooted itself in her thoughts like a splinter.
What shard? Why her? Marked before birth?
None of it made sense.
And yet… something deep inside her understood that this wasn't a mistake. Whatever had happened inside her mana core was not an accident, an error, or a fluke of awakening.
It was deliberate.
It was destiny she had never agreed to.
The corridors of the mansion stretched into quiet hallways, shadows flickering from the light crystals embedded in the walls. Portraits of past Blade ancestors watched them pass—faces stern, regal, full of power.
Germaine's family.
A family she loved… and feared disappointing.
How would they look at her if they learned what she now carried?
Hide your light.
Her fingers curled inward.
She didn't plan to tell anyone. Not yet.
Elric stopped at a heavy door carved with runes older than the estate itself.
The entrance to the Inner Library.
He raised a hand and pressed his palm to the seal. The runes flared, swirling in circles before spinning apart. Three layers of barriers peeled away—sound, mana, and perception shields—until the thick door finally groaned open.
A rush of cool, ancient air slipped out.
Germaine instinctively stepped closer, drawn by an inexplicable tug from her core.
Elric caught the movement and frowned. "Don't go in alone. The Inner Library reacts to unstable cores. It scans for anomalies."
Her breath hitched.
Anomalies.
Like the Shard inside her?
Elric placed his hand lightly on her shoulder. "You're safe with me. I'll block the scan's direct impact. But you must stay close."
She nodded quickly, not trusting her voice.
They stepped in.
The Inner Library was nothing like the regular one. This chamber felt alive. The shelves towered like ancient pillars, stretching far beyond what the room's physical dimensions should allow. Mana thickened the air, making every breath dense with age and knowledge.
Floating lanterns drifted overhead, glowing faint gold, illuminating the carved sigils on the floor.
Germaine swallowed hard.
Her core responded instantly.
A faint vibration rippled through her body, echoing down her limbs. The golden glow from the lanterns intensified—not in the room, but in her perception. As if her awakened senses were seeing a layer of mana others could not.
Elric noticed her stiffening. "Slow breaths," he murmured. "The Library amplifies mana flow. Don't fight it—let it pass through you."
She tried… but the vibration only deepened.
Because the Library wasn't reacting to her mana.
It was reacting to the Shard inside her.
Low chimes resonated from deeper within the chamber. Elric's head snapped up. "That's the Core Registry. It's already scanning."
He grabbed her wrist and led her quickly between rows of floating scrolls and ancient books wrapped in mana seals.
Germaine felt the scan like a brush against her skin—soft, searching, inquisitive. It skimmed the surface of her core…
…and slid right past.
The Shard inside her dimmed itself.
It hid.
She nearly stumbled from the shock of it.
Elric didn't notice—he was too focused, pulling her into a smaller chamber off to the side.
The Core Registry room.
A circular space with a crystalline pedestal at the center, where a large orb floated—transparent but filled with spiraling gold and white streams of mana.
The Core Registry orb.
A truth-detecting artifact.
It could see inside a person's mana core.
Germaine's heart slammed painfully against her ribs.
"Elric— wait—"
He turned to her, misinterpreting her fear. "I know you're scared. But the Registry will show us what's wrong. If your core was damaged, we need to see the severity."
It's not damaged. It's occupied.
She opened her mouth—
The orb flared.
A deep, resonant hum filled the room.
Germaine's body locked in place.
The Registry was already reading her.
Light spilled from the orb, splitting into dozens of thin beams that floated toward her like strands of silk. They touched her skin, spread across her arms, her chest, her face—sliding into her mana pathways.
Elric stepped between her and the orb, raising a barrier of white mana. "Careful! Her core is unstable—don't overload—"
Germaine sucked in a breath—
Because the Shard pulsed.
A small, single beat.
But the pulse wasn't a flare.
It wasn't power.
It was concealment.
A quiet folding of its presence—like a creature curling into itself, masking its glow. The pulse spread across her core, cloaking it in a thin veil that mimicked normal mana flow.
The Registry's threads probed deeper…
…and found nothing unusual.
Not a trace.
Elric frowned at the orb. "Strange. It's not detecting the disturbance. But I saw the strike hit your core, Germaine. I know something entered you."
She stared at him, lips parted slightly, unable to speak.
The Shard pulsed again.
A faint whisper of meaning washed through her mind:
Hidden.
Safe.
Not yet.
Germaine inhaled shakily.
Elric lowered his barrier, scanning her face. "You're pale. Sit, before your mana destabilizes again."
She obeyed, sinking to the floor near the Registry pedestal.
Her pulse raced. Not from fear alone.
From confirmation.
The creature had been right.
She had something inside her that even an ancient artifact could not detect.
Elric crouched in front of her. "Germaine… I need to ask you something."
Her stomach dropped.
"Did you feel anything before you collapsed? A pull? A sensation? Any signs of distortion?"
She opened her mouth—then stopped.
Lying to Elric felt wrong.
But revealing everything was dangerous.
She chose the safest truth she could.
"…I saw something," she whispered. "Inside my core. But it wasn't clear."
Elric stiffened. "A manifestation?"
Germaine nodded slowly.
He exhaled sharply. "Then your core may be trying to awaken a secondary trait. That could explain the instability."
She didn't correct him.
Didn't dare.
Elric stood, pacing briefly. "We'll monitor your core daily. And until we understand what caused the Rift Echo to react to you, you will not be left alone during outdoor training."
Germaine blinked. "…Why? You think something's after me?"
Elric's jaw tightened.
"I don't think, Germaine. I know."
Her breath hitched.
Elric looked up at the registry orb, its light dimming back into calm spirals.
"There was a presence," he said quietly. "When the Rift Echo struck you. A pressure I've never felt before. Like something was searching."
Her entire body went cold.
The watcher.
Not of this world.
Drawn by the Shard.
Germaine's voice was barely audible. "Searching… for me?"
Elric didn't answer immediately.
He looked at her—really looked. Eyes sharp, protective, and deeply unsettled.
"Yes," he said at last. "And we need to make sure it never finds you again."
Her heart thudded painfully in her chest.
Because the creature had said the same thing.
Hide your light.
Before Germaine could speak, a sharp vibration pulsed through the Library floor. The lanterns flickered.
Both of them turned toward the corridor.
A librarian sprinted in, face pale.
"Second Young Master! There's an anomaly near the southern barrier—something is trying to break through!"
Germaine's blood chilled.
Elric stepped forward immediately. "What kind of anomaly?"
"It's… it's not a beast. Or a person." The librarian's voice trembled. "It's a distortion. A void-like tear. It's… resonating with something inside the estate."
Germaine's breath stopped completely.
A tear. Resonating.
With her.
Elric's eyes widened faintly—a realization dawning.
Then he grabbed Germaine's wrist.
"Stay behind me. And don't use your mana unless I tell you."
She nodded numbly.
Because deep in her core…
The Shard pulsed once.
Slow.
Warning.
Something was coming.
Something that had noticed the resonance.
Something that was trying—again—to reach her.