"Everything you see possesses a potential for a true affinity. This little spark might be hidden deep inside ay's soul, but trust me, it is there, waiting to be awakened. Now I know, I know. You will ask me, 'If everyone awaken a true affinity, then why do some people pursue false ones?'

  The answer is simple and be summed up into two words. Inpetend impatience."

  ~ tral Academy, Ger

  Leo tightened his grip around the shadow bde, letting the soft texture flow over his skie being nothing more than a semi-transparent material and weighing almost nothing, the on fit perfectly in Leo's hand.

  No surprise there. It is my shadow, after all. Still, it does feel a bit weird... Leo mused, cutting the air in front of him with the bde. I doubt it is as powerful as a standard on, but maybe it will help against those damned cats...

  Dismissing the bde, Leo let the shadows flow down his body and once agaile on the floor. His affinity-filled Essence fizzled out like a fme before disappearing pletely. Really easy to trol. I wonder…

  Leo g the darkhat covered almost the entire room and reached out with his hand toward the shadow. Essence sparked underh his skin and slowly flowed out, mingling with the fn shadow.

  And now to ect with... FUCK! Snapping his hand away, Leo almost colpsed as the air was knocked out of his lungs.

  For a moment, Leo had seen it all. Every room, every monster ihe building, nothing was hidden. Truly it was almost like every single shadow ihe warehouse was within his grasp, showiheir secrets. Yet... As fast as the limited omnipresence came, it went away just as quickly, taking most of Leo's Essence along the ride.

  Shit, he groaned, grabbing his head in hopes of stopping the stant pounding. That was a dumb idea... Maybe it could work if I tried to focus my affinity on one spot because letting it spread everywhere definitely isn't it. Not when my Essence is so limited.

  eg to a broader work of shadows held a lot of potential, that was for sure. However, even though the e sted no lohan a millised, Leo's insides felt like they would spill out at any moment. And the less said about his Essehe better.

  "Maybe in a month or two..." Leo murmured, gently dropping his True Stealth. With his reserves almost dry, every bit of Essence saved could turide of a battle. Besides, he didn't doubt for a sed that Shadow Tails kly where Leo was hiding. Especially with the trick he had performed a moment ago.

  If what I saw is correct, then at least two or three dozens of them are ihe warehouse. Leo nodded, eyes closed. If I find a way to fight them in small groups, then clearing this shouldn't be too hard. Buut, if they all e, then I'm fucked.

  Leo shook his head. His family and evolutiohe priorities. After that, he could think about quering the . I have to wohough. What will I get for destroying the core or quering this pce?

  Destroying a Rift passage didn't really give him much by itself alone, but this was a . There had to be some special rewards for destroying such a blight on the world, right?

  Maybe a title, some Ether, or an item, if I'm lucky. Leo hummed, tapping his fingers against the ground. And for quering? Who knows, maybe this is how you get a safe zo for sure would be ironic if we had to hide in a …

  Shrugging, Leo let his thoughts drift. There was so much to think about, so much to sider. Yet, those random subjeever remai the forefront of his mind for too long. No, no matter what, images of his family took their pce, reminding Leo of what was truly important.

  Tomorrow. Tomorrow I will find you.

  -ke up. Wake up. Wake up!

  Fuck! I fell asleep. A gasp escaped Leo's lips as his eyes snapped open. He quickly rolled to the side, one of his knives instantly jumping into his hand.

  Pulling to a crouch, Leo let his gaze wander over the darkroom. Nothing seemed out of pce, but with mohat possessed the ability to jump out of shadows, one could never be too sure.

  "e on, kitty," Leo murmured as he circled the room. "Don't be scared."

  A loud hiss was the only answer Leo received right before he had to jump to the side. A small bck body sailed past him, never giving him a ce to react as it disappeared in the surrounding shadows.

  Alright the's kick it up a notch. Separate. Just like earlier this night, a bit of Leo's shadow slithered up his body aled down in his palm. He flipped the bowie ko his cursed hand a a short bde form iher.

  A moment ter, more hissing filled the room, and Leo quickly bathed the walls in the glow ing from his cursed arm. At owo Shadow Tails jumped out of the darkness, their crimsorying to drill through Leo's skull.

  Not wasting a moment, he hurled the bde of shadows at the beast.

  The monster's eyes widened just as its body twisted to the right. Another hiss escaped its snout, and Leo couldn't hold his grihe cat spriowards him, jumping over various fallen objects.

  And back. Tugging on a thin string of shadow ected to the flying bde, Leo swung it back with more power than necessary. The on sailed true, cutting across the monster's side right through the mass of dark fur.

  The cat released a wail, loud and angry, as it tumbled across the floor. Bingo. 't hide from one shadow with ahis just got a lot easier.

  Smiling lightly, Leo caught the bde of shadows mid-air and leao the side when the sed beast got tired of waiting.

  Leo's cursed hairely covered in shadows, shot forward and grabbed the flying feline by the tail. The monster wiggled in his grasp, hissing and biting at the offending limb, yet it never burst into a cloud of shadows like those before.

  Not from the ck , Leo she beast's body stantly vulsed, its shadowy fur trying to expand outward, only to be stopped by a single squeeze from Leo's hand.

  The beast hissed again, filing its limbs. Alright, that's enough. One swing was all it took to embed the bde of shadows into the cat's skull. Unsurprisingly, the beast went limb, and Leo quickly draihe corpse before doing the same to the half-dead Shadow Tail lying on the floor.

  Thanks, by the way. Leo voiced internally. I'd probably be walking away with some nasty scratches if it hadn't been for you.

  Only silenswered him, and Leo's shoulders slumped just a bit. He really should have expected nothing else. Well, I tried... Hopefully, you will answer me soon, Nikra, or whoever the hell you are.

  As the b of silence tio enpass the room, Leo shook his head with a sigh. Whatever, I have other things to worry about…

  You mao survive the Night outside a safe zohree Voidlings killed. gratutions!

  End of Night bonus: Additional experience awarded. 4 Ether awarded.

  Huh, the night has already ended. Leo's gaze jumped to the empty walls, a frown spreading on his face. Maybe resting in a room without windows wasn't the wisest of my ideas.

  Shadow Tail x2 sin | Experience awarded | 4 Ether gained

  Level 10 reached. Css attributes added. Please assign your 2 free attributes.

  Leo's eyebrow raised at the notification. He expected a level to appear soon, but not this soon. Evidently, the Guarding Rock Eater gave him much more experiehan Leo initially thought.

  Alright then, add both to Soul. He anded. If what happened during the night is anything to go by, then I need as much Essence as possible. I have no doubt that the stret, the more energy my abilities will cost.

  Due to achieving the seilestone on your journey, your e with the System has improved from "Average" to "Strong". Ether menu unlocked.

  Already? There is no way this was meant to happen this fast. Leo attaihe first milestone when he reached level five. It seemed strange — Easy? — for the e to improve again after only another five levels.

  Yeah, easy is defihe right word here. I bet Nikra's shard has something to do with this. Scratg his head, Leo dug through his memories for the correformation. Didn't it say something about strengthening the standard e? Ye, that must be it…

  With a shrug, Leo pushed the notification away. It wasn't anything bad, so there was no reason to worry about it. Hell, he just gained access to another menu. But before that.

  Assassin level ten skill granted: Decoy

  Decoy (Unon)Illusions, one of many tools avaible to an assassin. Deceive your enemies, lead them astray. And when you have them where you want, strike. Fast and deadly. Effects:Grants the ability to create an Essence decoy, a perfect illusion e of your body. As the name implies, a decoy ot i with the real world but will follow basiands given by the user.

  The moment those words appeared, Leo grimaced as strings of knowledge rushed into his mind. Almost about this new ability was hidden. From the formation of the illusion to giving it simple ands, the System expi all.

  Although, Leo mused as he massaged his throbbing brow. It doesn't really expin how my Essence is ged into an illusion. All I know is to focus on the image of the decoy and then push it out while feeding enough Essence. Is the System responsible for the rest?

  Leo shook his head. Doesn't matter now. Decoy would have to wait for ter. The scale of this ability aloold Leo enough about its Essence requirements. I bet it would suck me half dry…

  Warning! You have reached the raw potential of your current race. Experience will no longer be gained. Boher will be awarded instead. To disable the lo your level, please evolve as soon as possible. Number of Evolutions unlocked: 3

  Leo frowned as he read through the message. Here it is. I finally got locked... Shit. Gng at the st sentence, Leo's frown deepened. Wait. Three?

  Reended Requirements: 75 Ether (78/75), 50 Voidlings Killed (79/50), 24 hours of Sated Status (81/24), 2 Crystalized EssenceEvolution Unlocked: Fallen

  Doesn't sound ominous at all, but okay, let's see it.

  Fallen (Stage II)You embraced the taint of the Void upon your soul and made it your own. This new path might have taken another part of your humanity away, but you know what is necessary to survive. Go forth and bee oh your new life.Effects:Tairait ged into Void's Child. Physical evolution involved. +5% to All Attributes. +7 Free Attribute points per css level. Natural Mutations: Unlocked.

  Not bad, but worse than my Void evolution. Leo quickly brought up the rait and nodded. Void's Child is pretty much a sed version of Tainted. Same bonuses but without the drawback. Oh, and it grants e. Once again, almost the same shit, but without the ability to get stronger…

  Dropping onto a fallen shelf, Leo dismissed the window and brought up his Void evolution again. So this is really my path, hmm? It would be suicide to evolve into Risen Human, and the Apex requirements are just way too high for me to wait.

  Prime Void Walker (Stage II)

  Leo gred at the single line of text, gritting his teeth as the evolution taunted him again and again. I might have accepted my fate, but I never really had a choice, did I? His gaze fell to his cursed arm.

  The moment I became a Tainted Human, my fate was sealed. The Void became too ingrained inside my soul for the System to offer me more normal choices. Leo shook his head lightly. Choosing Risen Human would be like taking oep forward and two steps back. An idiocy sidering the world I now live in.

  Jumping to his feet, Leo rolled his shoulders. Okay then, System. You wanted me to bee a Legacy of Nikra, a true walker of the Void? Well, that's precisely what yon. Soon.

  But first, Nick, Ava, and Adam. I'm ing.