The following morning, Jade slowly opened his eyes.
Golden sunlight filtered through the curtains of his room, illuminating the Government Residential Center with a gentle warmth. For several seconds, he simply lay there, staring at the white ceiling.
Silence.
Complete silence.
He turned his head.
Aaron was gone.
Henry wasn't there.
Neither were Ella nor Blake.
It seemed everyone had already left to continue their own lives.
A faint smile appeared on Jade's face.
"They really left without saying goodbye..."
He wasn't upset.
He understood.
They all had families waiting for them.
People who remembered them.
Unlike him, they had somewhere to return.
Jade slowly climbed out of bed and stretched his body. Every muscle responded perfectly. The wounds from yesterday's battle had completely disappeared. Even the soreness from the trial had vanished, leaving him feeling lighter than ever.
After taking a quick shower, he changed into a clean set of casual clothes and dried his shoulder-length black hair with a towel. Standing before the mirror, he studied his reflection.
Nothing seemed different.
Yet somehow...
Everything felt different.
He had inherited the Beast God's legacy.
He possessed a God Body.
His Soul Sea had awakened.
Even his Fate had returned.
Despite all of that, he still knew almost nothing about his own abilities.
He sighed before sitting cross-legged on the edge of the bed.
"I've been so busy surviving..."
"...I haven't even tested my powers."
Jade closed his eyes.
He slowly circulated his essence throughout his body.
The crimson energy flowed peacefully through every pathway before returning to his core.
Nothing unusual.
Then...
A strange feeling caught his attention.
His shadow.
Jade slowly opened his eyes.
His shadow, cast across the floor by the morning sunlight, seemed...
Wrong.
It rippled.
Very slightly.
Jade frowned.
"...Did it just move?"
He blinked.
For a moment, everything remained perfectly still.
"...Maybe I'm imagining things."
Just as he finished speaking—
His shadow suddenly stretched.
It lifted itself from the floor as though it were made of liquid darkness.
Then...
It stood up.
Jade's mouth slowly fell open.
The shadow had no face.
No eyes.
No mouth.
It was merely a pitch-black silhouette shaped exactly like him.
Yet somehow...
Jade could clearly tell it was looking around the room.
It tilted its head toward the wardrobe.
Walked over curiously.
Touched it.
Its hand simply passed through the wood.
It looked at the bed.
Touched the blanket.
Again...
Its hand passed through effortlessly.
The strange little creature wandered around the room like a child discovering the world for the very first time.
Jade remained completely frozen.
"...What..."
The shadow suddenly stopped.
It slowly turned toward Jade.
Although it possessed no eyes, Jade instinctively knew...
It was staring directly at him.
An awkward silence filled the room.
Jade scratched his cheek.
"So..."
"...can you hurt me?"
The shadow tilted its head.
Then...
It casually shook its head from side to side.
Almost as though it were saying...
"Don't worry."
Jade blinked twice.
"Did..."
"...did you just answer me?"
The shadow simply continued walking around the room.
Curiosity overcame Jade.
He slowly stood up before walking toward it.
"Let's test something."
Without hesitation, he threw a punch.
His fist passed straight through the shadow.
There wasn't even resistance.
It felt like punching empty air.
The shadow looked at him.
Slowly folded its arms.
Then shook its head again.
This time...
It almost looked disappointed.
As though silently saying,
"Really? You thought that would work?"
Jade couldn't help laughing.
"You've got personality."
The shadow proudly placed both hands on its waist.
Jade laughed even harder.
"What exactly are you?"
Before he could think further, another strange sensation spread throughout his body.
Warm.
Gentle.
It began inside his heart.
Then flowed through every blood vessel.
He could actually feel his own blood moving.
Every drop.
Every pulse.
Every heartbeat.
The sensation gathered inside his right hand.
A soft crimson flame slowly appeared above his palm.
Jade stared at it.
It resembled fire.
Yet...
It wasn't fire.
It looked as though liquid blood had become a flame without losing its fluid nature.
The beautiful crimson light illuminated the room.
Unlike ordinary fire...
It emitted no heat.
Only warmth.
Comfortable warmth.
The longer Jade looked at it, the calmer he felt.
He instinctively understood something.
"This..."
"...can heal."
The realization appeared naturally inside his mind.
Not because someone told him.
He simply knew.
Just then—
His left hand suddenly grew hot.
Far hotter.
Another crimson flame erupted into existence.
This one was completely different.
The gentle warmth vanished.
Instead...
An overwhelming heat spread throughout the room.
The air distorted.
The floor beneath him began darkening.
The flame crackled violently like a hungry beast.
Jade's eyes widened.
"This one..."
"...is dangerous."
The blood-red fire seemed eager to burn everything around it.
Even Jade himself felt slightly uneasy holding it.
Without hesitation, he shook both hands.
The two flames instantly disappeared.
Silence returned.
Jade looked down at his palms.
His heart was beating rapidly.
One flame carried life.
The other...
Death.
Two completely opposite powers.
Both born from the same blood.
He hadn't even finished processing that discovery when another unbelievable feeling invaded his mind.
His vision blurred.
For a split second...
He was no longer seeing through his own eyes.
He was looking at himself.
From across the room.
Jade immediately turned.
The shadow was standing near the window.
Then realization struck him.
"I'm..."
"I'm seeing through your eyes."
His breathing became heavier.
He focused again.
His vision instantly shifted between his own eyes and the shadow's perspective.
It felt strange.
Almost dizzying.
But incredibly useful.
Then the ability expanded.
Suddenly...
He sensed another shadow.
Not inside his room.
Beyond the wall.
Someone was walking through the hallway outside.
Jade couldn't see the person.
Yet he could clearly sense their shadow.
Then another.
Another.
Another.
Within moments, dozens of shadows appeared inside his perception.
Rooms beside his.
People downstairs.
Workers cleaning the hallway.
Everything within roughly twenty meters became surprisingly clear.
Jade slowly stood.
His heartbeat quickened.
"...I can sense every shadow nearby."
He closed his eyes once more.
The shadows became brighter within his perception.
Each one was like a silent beacon revealing someone's location.
A slow smile spread across Jade's face.
He had finally begun understanding his powers.
And somehow...
He had the feeling that this was only the beginning.