Soul of a Human

This new sleeping arrangement seemed to work quite well, even if there were a few hiccups and fights between the girls, and some additional "rules" had to be added by Clare. One of those was "No sneaking out at night. Even if it's only a room over." courtesy of Tiara trying. It wouldn't have worked, as Mor was even more paranoid after the Shadow-kin letter incident and, as always, kept his door locked. He reasoned that he was strong enough to kick through it if he had to leave in an emergency.

Also, Mor's magic didn't take three days to resume recovering but did so the very next day. The guess was that because he only dipped into the power and did not "overload" it, it took less time for his body to readjust. Because of this, he got impatient and refilled it with the "Soul-kin" method. He went to the training room, leaving Tiara with the rest of the gang. Mostly because nobody wanted to join Mor in his boring tests. Instead, they wanted to study for the upcoming tests, which Mor didn't need to work that hard for. Having a second person to keep attention on subjects and an already sharp mind cut down on his required study time.

°I have a good feeling about this! I'm sure your reservoir is bigger now.° The human said.

°I hope so. This also has a feeling of a last chance.° Mor contemplated.

°Don't worry, it will be fine!° The human stated.

°But didn't you forget something? I promised Orth not to use that technique again.° Mor reminded the human.

°Right! Fuck! I said it was a hard ask.° The human complained. °And as far as I know you, you won't break that promise…°

°Right. I will not.° Mor affirmed, and the human sighed.

°Then I hope it achieved a big improvement!° The human grumbled. At least Mor shared that sentiment.

After preparing himself, Mor started his usual practice and shot one Stone projectile after the next towards the target while the human counted. From the training room the rhythmic plock, plock, plock was audible.

°One. Two. Three… Forty-Four… Two-hundred-eighty-nein…Three-hundred…° The human counted and then cursed.

°Yes, that’s it I’m done.° Mor confirmed, disappointed.

°Still the same! Magic is bullshit! How does this stupid thing work?° The human complained.

°Maybe the elders are correct, and only age raises your capacity.° Mor stated.

°There has to be some method! This doesn't make sense!° The human continued their tantrum.

°Well, neither you nor I know it. But at least we can fill it quickly because my reservoir is so small.° Mor tried to see the silver lining.

°Yeah, but… Ah, Mor? Turn around, please.° The human went on murmuring but then sounded a bit scared.

Mor turned around, and that's when he saw the figure leaning on the training room's wall. At 1,7 m, it was just as tall as Mor and had a similar figure. But instead of the typical Soul-kin robes, it wore a full-body fabric suit and a belt, where the sheath of a short sword was situated. But that wasn't all. Its skin was of a dark blueish-black complexity, the mouth hidden behind more fabric and eyes like the darkest abyss.

"Shadow-kin." Mor hissed and cursed himself for not paying attention and depleting all his magic.

He instantly got to work replenishing as fast as possible, but then he noticed something strange. If the Shadow-kin wanted him gone, he would be dead, so why was it standing there? This still didn't stop him from replenishing, but his panic was replaced by curiosity.

°When did he come in?° The human asked.

°I don't know!° Mor answered just as the Shadow-kin spoke up.

"What are you?" It asked.

"What do you want?" Mor growled, his hand slowly crawling to his baton.

"We want to talk, we want information. You killed our student." The Shadow-kin stated, making no hostile movement.

"And you think I'll just answer you?" Mor asked incredulously.

"Yes, for we offer a deal." The dark figure calmly said.

"What deal?"

"Information, for information." It offered.

°Yeah, right. That fucker wants to get you to trust it and then fuck off when he knows what he wants.° The human objected.

"And if I decline? Also, how would I know you aren't lying to me!" Mor growled.

"If you decline, we will fulfill our mission right now and kill everyone in our way," the Shadow-kin said confidently. You are the outlier. You are the honorable enemy, and an honorable enemy must be respected. This is the Shadow way."

Mor thought about this for a second before taking the risk. This one felt different, more refined, and more dangerous.

"Who wants the princess kidnapped?" Mor asked, and even though he couldn't see the mouth, the Shadow-kin smiled.

"We have a deal, then. The princess will be captured and brought to the man in the red dungeon, a Soul-kin of heated demeanor," it answered cryptically.

°That’s incredibly unhelpful…° The human grumbled.

°No, I think I understood. He's not straightforward, but it's close enough.° Mor answered thoughtfully.

°You know who he ment?° The human asked.

°Yes, and it should have been obvious… The Rubys…° Mor stated, and the human had to agree.

"What are you?" The Shadow-kin repeated its question.

"I'm a Soul-kin," Mor answered, and he thought he saw an amused flicker in his opponent's dark eyes.

"Yes, you are. But you're more. We can see… You are… two, no three." It said, and Mor shuddered.

°Yeah, not creepy at all. Also, it miscounted.° The human added.

"We can smell Soul, Ice, and even a bit of Shadow." It said while taking a deep whiff.

Mor would have been impressed if that strange encounter hadn't weirded him out. Then he realized what the Shadow-kin had implied.

"I don't have a connection to you! You're monsters, trying to kidnap a girl!" Mor denied the accusation, but the Shadow-kin shrugged.

"Don't just shrug! How did you get that stupid idea?" Mor asked.

"We simply know one another. You do what's necessary, no matter the costs. You do as we do and fulfill the mission." It said.

"I don't have such missions!" Mor retorted.

°Well, I don't think that's the point. You could say goal or belief instead of mission, ' ° The human said, and at this point, Mor had to concede.

"We see, you understand," it said. "In respect of our pupil and an honorable enemy, we will give you until your year ends, then we will come for the princess, and you will not stop us." The Shadow-kin promised, then threw something towards Mor, whose eyes followed the flash of silver, stopping at the slightly vibrating single Sai between his feet. He instantly raised his head to get the Shadow-kin back into his field of vision, but it was simply gone.

°Yeah, not creepy at all…° The human said, and Mor agreed.

Still, no matter what the Shadow-kin promised, Mor ran to talk with the headmaster about this encounter, and while doing so, he contacted Dino to inform him of the new developments.

Dino instantly went to work. His investigations now had a supposed target. Still, Mor was surprised when Dino stated that Tiara could stay because the Shadow-kin would remain true to their words, and at the school, she was at least out of reach from that noble family. Mor had questioned this wisdom, but in the end, he had to trust Dino's judgment.

On the other hand, the headmaster saw it more like Mor, and the teachers' nightly patrols were intensified in the hope of flushing the Shadow-kin out, but this would lead to no success. The intruder was untraceable.