Soul stood in the middle of his dormitory room, the familiar space feeling suddenly foreign in the late-night stillness. His other roommates slept soundly, their steady breathing granting him the freedom to do what he needed. He closed his eyes slowly and concentrated, drawing inward to that place of power he'd only recently discovered. Sweat built on his forehead as his body trembled with the effort of holding two realities at once. Then he was gone.
"Did I—did I do it?" Soul spun around, disoriented by the sudden shift. He found himself in a dark area, a completely black void that seemed to stretch infinitely in all directions. The absence of sound pressed against his ears like cotton.
He spotted someone sitting cross-legged on the ground nearly twenty feet away—a young girl who appeared to be around ten years old. Black hair framed her pale face, and her green eyes remained closed as if in meditation. Blood stained her clothes, which were torn in several places, telling stories of recent violence. Soul walked toward her, each step echoing strangely in the void, and looked down with what he hoped was a calm expression. His heart hammered despite his outward composure.
The girl lifted her head slowly, and when her eyes opened, they held a wariness that no child should possess. "Where am I? Who are you?" Her voice cracked with fear, but underneath lay something harder—suspicion born of survival.
Soul smiled, though the expression lacked genuine warmth. He merely hoped to calm her, to ease the tension radiating from her small frame. "My name is Soul, and from here forward, I will be your caretaker. I took you in because after you finished fighting the skeleton boss on the first floor dungeon, you had nowhere else to go." The words sounded rehearsed even to his own ears, but he pressed on. "You were dying, and I couldn't just leave you there."
"Take me in?" The girl's eyes narrowed with suspicion, her posture shifting subtly into something more defensive. "Why me? Why do you want to take care of me? I owe you nothing." Each word came out clipped, precise—the speech of someone who had learned early that trust was a luxury.
Soul's smile hardened, a flicker of something raw crossing his features before he could stop it. "I already have a little sister at home, but now I'm at the academy, so I can't see her." The admission cost him more than he expected, and he felt the familiar ache of homesickness twist in his chest. "You'll fill that void. I have experience caring for younger siblings—you'll be no different." Even as he said it, he knew it was a lie. This girl, with her blood-stained clothes and ancient eyes, was nothing like his innocent sister back home.
"May I introduce myself then?" the girl asked, standing from her cross-legged position with deliberate slowness. Every movement spoke of careful calculation, as if she were constantly assessing threats and escape routes.
"Of course," Soul said, crossing his arms and waiting. He tried to appear relaxed, but his muscles remained tense, ready.
"My name is Ellie, and I specialize in blood magic." She stated it flatly, without pride or shame, as if announcing she preferred tea over coffee.
*Blood magic? Interesting.* Soul's mind raced despite his carefully neutral expression. *I wasn't there to see any of the fight, but blood magic is extremely rare—forbidden in most kingdoms. What has this child been through to master such dark arts?* His interest grew despite the warning bells clanging in his head.
"Oh, also—" Ellie's voice took on a challenging edge, her chin lifting slightly in defiance. "I have something to show you." She lifted her hand, and blood began to coalesce into a person, drawn from the stains on her clothes and seemingly from the air itself. Concentration etched itself across her young features as sweat poured down her forehead, her breathing becoming labored. Soul could only imagine how much energy such a feat required, the toll it must take on her small body. The figure gained features—black hair, red eyes that gleamed with intelligence, a frame taller and older than the young girl. The process took nearly a minute, and Soul watched in fascinated horror as the blood solidified into flesh, bone, and sinew. Soon, a man stood before them, as real as Soul himself.
"This is Vil." Ellie's voice carried a note of pride now, though exhaustion dulled her eyes.
Vil stepped forward with fluid grace, pulling out a blood sword with a sharp, deliberate motion that spoke of countless battles. "Nice to meet you, Soul. My name is Vil. I am Ellie's construct, and I shall protect her with all of my being." His eyes flashed with warning, and Soul noticed how they tracked his every movement with predatory focus. "I feel emotions like any other human would, and it surprises me how strong she is to create someone like me. Most blood mages can barely manage mindless puppets, yet here I stand—thinking, feeling, choosing."
Soul stared in shock, his mind struggling to process the impossible. How could she possess so much power to create a construct—a living one with emotions, memories, feelings? And she was only a child. The implications terrified him. What other powers did she possess? What had she endured to develop such abilities?
Vil's smile turned predatory, revealing teeth that seemed just slightly too sharp. "You're shocked. I would be as well, knowing her age. How she brought me to life is beyond even me—some mysteries she keeps even from her creations." He glanced back at Ellie with something that looked like genuine affection. "I've been with her and fought beside her through many journeys, but I have a timer for how long I can remain active. Of course, turning back into blood isn't like death—it's more like sleep, a nice restful sleep where I dream of our battles and victories." His expression darkened, the warmth evaporating. "I'll explain all the variables that come with me later, but right now, I'm tired. The summoning took more from her than she'll admit." He turned back into blood with a wet, unsettling sound, the crimson liquid flowing back into Ellie like water finding its source.
*This is insane.* Soul could find no words to describe what he had just witnessed, no frame of reference in all his studies to explain it. A young girl creating a construct—and not just any construct, but one that was alive, thinking, feeling. One that cared for her and she for him. The bond between them had been palpable, almost tangible in the void.
This was impossible. And yet he had seen it with his own eyes.
Before any more could be said, the void disappeared like smoke dispersing in wind. Soul's eyes snapped open, and he saw the door to the dorm room where Arthur and Kai slept, their forms barely visible in the darkness. But where was his fourth roommate? She should have been in her bed, sleeping with her blades as usual, her paranoid habits keeping her weapons close. Instead, she was completely gone, her bed empty and cold.
Soul turned around to find Ellie standing right behind him, so close he could feel the chill radiating from her small body. He jumped in surprise, his heart racing like a trapped bird against his ribs. He had known she would emerge when the void disappeared, had prepared himself for her arrival, but the reality of her presence—hostile and unpredictable, a child who wielded forbidden magic and commanded living constructs—sent a chill down his spine that had nothing to do with the night air.
Her green eyes studied him in the darkness, and Soul realized with sudden clarity that he had no idea what he'd gotten himself into.