Ada moved some wood to keep the fire alive. "Go ahead."
"Why do you think I'm stronger than you?"
A few seconds of silence followed before the Blendbreed answered, "In my short life, I never imagined I'd meet a Blendbreed who could control aether. My mother always said I was special because I could see it and manipulate it through mana… but you can even create creatures with it," she thought back to the smile of the masked goddess. "I wonder if it was fate that brought us together."
Shirei remained silent. Rutia's daughter turned to look at him and couldn't help but be captivated by his violet eyes, which, lit by the flickering flame of the fireplace, shimmered with marvelous shades of purple.
"Did I say something strange? I gave you my explanation. You're powerful because you can do something that's never even been an option for others."
Shirei shook his head slightly, then met her gaze and asked, "What is aether?"
"You don't…" Ada blinked. "Okay, follow me, I'll explain."
Shirei stood up and just stared at her.
Ada grabbed a little notebook from her backpack that she kept for such occasions, then saw him and frowned. "What are you doing?"
"You told me to follow you."
She stifled a laugh. "I meant with your mind. You really are stupid."
The Blendbreed didn't reply and sat down next to her again.
"Aether and mana are two types of energy that permeate our world in very different amounts. All Blendbreeds possess the Divine Core, an organ that stores mana, which we use to activate our powers."
"What happens if it runs out?"
"Well… you faint or, in worse cases, you die," she quickly added, "but that almost never happens because we're able to absorb it from the environment. Usually, exhaustion sets in before the core is completely emptied. That's when you know to be careful—your powers start to fail."
As she explained, Rutia's daughter began sketching diagrams about the topic.
"I have another question," the Blendbreed interrupted.
"Go ahead."
"How were mana and aether born?"
Ada fell silent, the question caught her off guard. "Truth is, no one really knows. According to the books from Lilies Park, everything began with Thebribe during the dance of creation."
Shirei didn't seem convinced, but he asked no further questions.
Rutia's daughter decided to continue with the original topic. "Anyway, in the Underworld, there's very little mana, which is why the Blendbreeds who venture there usually end up dying," she explained. "They struggle to absorb it and don't know how to ration it."
"The children of Cragar don't."
"Exactly," she nodded, "that's because we, the children of Rutia, and you, the children of Cragar, are able to convert small amounts of aether into mana. In class, the children of Mardi even explain how—something about an enzyme or something like that, I honestly don't remember."
Shirei's eyes lit up—the talk of medical lessons seemed to intrigue him. "What does that have to do with me?"
"From what I've seen, know that I can look through the Interworld or see the aether in the environment thanks to my powers," she clarified for the boy. "I believe your core contains a mixture of aether and mana," Ada drew a vertical line down the oval sketch, "as if you had two particles instead of one. I think that you're the first Blendbreed in history with this trait."
"Why me?"
The girl raised her hands. "How should I know? You're a freak of nature. If you ask me and Havel, there are things you do that you're not even aware of."
"Like what?"
"For starters, you're able to channel mana into your body to enhance your strength. On top of that, your mana expenditure is basically perfect. You don't even leak it by accident."
Ada tapped her notebook with her fingers. "It took me two years to figure out how to channel mana to strengthen myself—just because Darryl talked about it. Without him, I doubt we would've ever discovered that ability."
Shirei stroked his cheek with his index finger but kept his expression apathetic. Finally, he asked, "Why did you observe me so closely?"
"During the fight with Havel, Marina had me gaze into the Interworld. There, I saw how the aether moved around you and your dark creatures. Since then, I've just been paying attention," explained Rutia's daughter, before adding, "I believe that if you learned to manipulate darkness like I do, you could also channel the aether and further enhance your body. At that point… you'd become unstoppable in battle."
Shirei made a mental note of the advice and decided he'd try it once he returned to Lilies Park.
"Is there anything else that could help me?"
Ada stood up and glanced outside. The night was quiet, the starry sky above them looked like an endless carpet of sparkling gems. In the apparent calm, the two remained sitting by the fire, the crackling of flames the only sound breaking the eerie silence.
With a gentle smile, she turned to Shirei. "I think I should also tell you about the Imperiac Apparatus," she began. "It's fundamental for us Blendbreeds—a unique system that allows us to channel and use mana, the celestial essence."
Shirei listened intently, his violet eyes reflecting the flames.
Ada continued, her tone now more didactic. "This apparatus is made up of the Divine Core and the Silver Vessels. Imagine the Divine Core as a metaphysical heart. It doesn't pump blood, but mana. That's what allows us to wield our powers. The Divine Core stores and distributes this energy throughout the body via the Silver Vessels, just like a heart distributes blood."
She paused, watching Shirei to make sure he was following.
"The core is located at the center of our chest, roughly around here," she pointed to a spot on her torso, just behind the upper part of the sternum. "It's protected by a capsule and nourished by ichor—the divine blood that flows through us via the System of Mardi and the Golden Micro-channels."
"The Silver Vessels," Ada continued, trying to recall as much as she could from Elaine's explanations, "are called that because of their color. They branch out like the roots of a tree, carrying mana to every corner of the body. On our skin, there are cells that absorb mana from the environment and channel it into the Silver Vessels. This process allows us to maintain a stable reserve of celestial energy and avoid fatigue."
Shirei nodded, impressed by the system's complexity and elegance. He wanted to know more, to understand how everything worked in the smallest detail.
Ada smiled, noticing his expression. "It's a wonderful system," she said. "It sets us apart from all other mortal spiecies. However, it requires a delicate balance. Mana must flow freely, and the Divine Core has to manage the energy reserves without overloading."
Shirei reflected on her last words and recalled the day he arrived at Lake Averno, when he first encountered the Equinox Flowers.
"Yes, just like what happened to you," confirmed the Blendbreed, before slowly getting to her feet.
She stretched and spoke to the boy with a warning tone. "It's late now. Tomorrow will be another day full of battles. If your dark creatures are going to protect us, then we'd better get as much rest as possible—especially you."
Ada smiled at him once more. "If you're interested, when we return to the park, I can ask Lyceum to include you in the classes taught by the children of Mardi."
The son of Cragar nodded. "Thank you."
"Goodnight, Shirei… and let's hope these monsters are gone soon." Then she turned and headed to the upper floors.
The Blendbreed remained still for a moment longer, reflecting on everything he had learned. Then, with a sigh, he looked toward the window, feeling the flow of mana through his body, aware of the responsibility awaiting him the next morning.
After the dark-haired Blendbreed closed her door, Shirei longed to explore the subject further with his father. Since he couldn't leave the outpost to go to the Underworld, he had no choice but to postpone the discussion to another day. However, a second idea came to him.
At the moment I only have five Tenebrae… I should try to create more…
With that thought in mind, he let himself be enveloped by the darkness and returned once more to the battlefield.
── ⋆⋅❂⋅⋆ ──
The son of Cragar reappeared among the ruins and corpses on the battlefield from the previous day. His black hair, falling like a flowing shadow across his face, swayed gently in the funereal breeze. His violet eyes shimmered with an unsettling light, reflecting the surrounding desolation. With slow steps, he approached the body of the fallen enemy Blendbreed.
Shirei knelt beside the corpse and closed his eyes, trying to concentrate. The world around him seemed to fade, and with a wave of spectral energy, the son of Cragar was catapulted into the Interworld. The realm in between stretched before him like a vast seabed, but devoid of the serenity of the deep. The sky above became a vortex of green, white, and black—colors dancing and blending in chaotic patterns, devoid of apparent meaning. Everything was in perpetual motion; nothing ever remained still. In that dimension, Shirei saw the ghost he was looking for. The ethereal figure floated as if trapped between two worlds. Its face, once marked by mortal beauty, was now veiled in sorrow and resignation. Its eyes were bottomless wells of melancholy, framed by transparent skin that revealed the spectral essence within. Torn robes, reduced to shreds of pale light, drifted around the body like cold flames.
Shirei rose to his feet, feeling the chill of the Interworld seep into the spirit of the fallen Blendbreed.
"I need your help," he whispered, his voice an echo among the waves of that spectral sea. "There's information I need."
The ghost lifted its gaze and seemed to recognize him. A flicker of life passed through its vacant eyes, waking it from the post-mortem stasis it had been trapped in.
"What did you come back for? I know this is the fate I deserve—don't bother preaching to me."
The ghost bent forward and closed its eyes, desperate to distance itself from its own body.
"You know me?"
The Blendbreed nodded. "Only by name. We soldiers don't get the privilege of meeting someone of your rank, but I knew who you were the moment I saw you."
Shirei stepped back to give the specter space. "I'm sorry. I don't know anything."
"You've lost your memory, haven't you? How lucky."
"I… I want to remember," he managed to say, before asking the fated question. "Who am I?"
The ghost opened its mouth, but only a distorted sound came out. "—, the ——. I'm Reno. Nice to meet you."
Shirei gave a confused look. "Reno… can you repeat that?"
"You are —."
The ghost's voice was again drowned out, and Shirei couldn't understand the name, not even by reading his lips. The high-pitched ringing in his ears forced him to change the subject.
"If we're soldiers, who do we serve?"
"The Severe's army, obviously."
The boy was puzzled. "You mean Rakion, but he's supposed to be in eternal rest since the Passage of the Masks."
"Exactly," the ghost pointed at him, "that's precisely why he'll attack you."
"That makes no sense. The former king of the gods would attack his own son and the Blendbreeds, causing needless bloodshed, just because—for some unknown reason—he's awakened? Are you even sure he's awake?"
"Do you really think that's the reason?" Reno laughed. "It doesn't matter. Yes, he's awakened. Yes, he will attack you. Yes, he already has a plan to deal with all of you, starting with you and ending with the Flame Hero."
"Can you tell me more?" asked the son of Cragar.
"I only know that my old boss will handle you. He's even got someone the Flame Hero can't fight, and I think I overheard him mocking that idiot god-king."
Shirei fell silent. He connected the title of Flame Hero to Darryl Fyreborn and pondered the identity of this 'boss'—there was a general commanding the troops. The fact that the enemy knew who Shirei was meant his power had to pose a real threat. He brushed off the insult—after all, he didn't particularly care about Emion—but he still wondered why Aor's son was part of a faction prepared to rise up against the Celestials.
He was more confused than ever.
Did I… want to attack the Highworld?
Reno noticed his dazed look and, assuming it was a reaction to his words, tried to justify himself. "Don't look at me like that. I'm dead now—whether I keep wandering here as a ghost or get summoned before Cragar, it won't change much. These are places where the god of the sky holds no jurisdiction."
Shirei assessed the situation. He had immediately believed the ghost's words, though he didn't even know why. "The gods can't just stand by and watch."
"Oh, they will," the ghost contradicted him. "And don't count on the divine army or the heroes of the Great War. There's no way Emion would risk all his hard work."
The Blendbreed with violet eyes made a mental note of that last point—he had no idea what the ghost was referring to. "Is this another diversion? Are the monsters on his side?"
"Of course! What did you think?" the dead boy laughed in his face. "The monsters are sealed in Temporal Rifts scattered all over Italy. They were opened solely to keep the strongest Blendbreeds far away and divided."
"Then we need to return to Lilies Park immediately and warn Aena about the imminent attack. That way we can prepare."
"The big boss won't attack you yet—he's not ready," the ghost's ethereal cloak fluttered in the Interworld wind. "It's pointless. You have to stay here and stop the monsters, at least until you close the rift. Any enemy you kill will just be revived inside it. The real trouble starts when the rift vanishes—that's the sign the Ancient has moved on to the next phase."
"Attack us," Shirei concluded.
He still didn't understand why a third-generation god would declare war on his own son, but for some strange reason, it all felt perfectly logical in his mind.
"Bingo! You're just wasting precious time. The monsters come out in waves to hold you off as long as possible—and to drain both your body and your mind. Then the rift revives them with every rewind."
"I'm still not sure why he doesn't launch his attack now."
"You really don't remember anything, huh? After what happened, he needs to reclaim his power first."
The son of Cragar was weighing the best course of action, also wondering what event the ghost had alluded to. "If we clear out all the monsters in the rifts, how much time do we have left before the attack?"
An idea was already forming in his mind—a sense of how this mysterious enemy operated. The only missing piece was understanding the motive that pushed an ancient deity, one who had once abdicated in favor of the new generation, to seek war. Truthfully, the boy was questioning all the inconsistencies between what he had learned and what Reno had just revealed.
Speaking of the unknown god felt strangely easy, as if the thought of him was almost familiar.
Aor's son counted on his fingers before replying. "I can't say for sure, but definitely no more than a month. He'll strike before the new year—that's the last thing I heard before I was sent here."
As the two continued speaking, the air around them began to vibrate with strange energy. The swirling colors of the Interworld intensified, and a strange blot in midair alerted them to what was happening beyond the veil. The temporal rift—the one the orcs came from—had opened, like a wound torn through the very fabric of reality. From that rupture, new monsters began to pour out.
With a single glance, Shirei grasped the gravity of the situation.
"Here they come… damned orcs," said the dead Blendbreed with disgust.
Shirei turned to him and extended a hand. "I can give you the vengeance you deserve, if you want it."
"I'm supposed to join the gods' faction?"
"No. Side with me."
Aor's son narrowed his eyes. "The way you say that is scary. What are you planning?"
"I'll grant you a body that can regenerate, immune to pain and free from fatigue."
"You'll make me one of your dark creatures."
As a ghost, Reno couldn't swallow or sweat, but if he were alive, he certainly would have.
"A-aand what do you…" The offer seemed too good to be true. "What do you want in return?"
The Blendbreed's violet eyes glimmered with a sinister light. Reno felt he stood on the edge of a new life—an eternal journey he definitely wasn't ready for. He was afraid but, at the same time, deeply drawn to those outstretched fingers.
"Fight by my side."
Aor's son stared silently at the hand.
He was dead—killed by the very creatures he had once fought. He had battled all his life just to see another day. The alternative wasn't so bad. After all, as a ghost, he could wander anywhere and see anything.
But eternity was empty without purpose.
Yet Shirei's outstretched hand called to him, almost magnetically. He wanted to fight—he needed to be on his side.
"One condition," he managed to say, just before touching the son of Cragar, "when the battle is over and I've had my revenge on these cursed orcs, I want to be set free. I'll never serve the gods."
Shirei didn't reply. He simply nodded and extended his fingers further toward the ghost. The monsters were closing in on them—time for deliberation had ended. Reno lifted his vacant gaze toward Shirei. There was no hesitation in his eyes now, only a renewed resolve.
"Make me one of your shadows," the ghost whispered, his voice echoing through the Interworld. "I accept."
Shirei reached toward Reno, and the ghost did the same. As their fingers touched, a deep darkness surged from the void—like liquid shadow crawling and coiling around the spectral body of the Blendbreed. The darkness, alive and pulsing, wrapped itself around the ghost in smooth, deliberate movements, enclosing him in a cocoon of shadow. As it grew denser, Reno's ethereal form began to change. The spectral light that once composed him fused with the darkness, and from the shadows, a new shape was born.
The skin of the new Blendbreed turned a deep, starless black. His eyes ignited with intense light, like burning embers in the night. A pitch-colored cloak formed over his shoulders, flowing and undulating like black smoke in the wind. When the darkness dispersed, Reno was no longer the ghost of a Blendbreed slain by orcs, but something reborn—something forged from shadow.
A Tenebrae.
His presence was now alive, charged with dark power. Shirei regarded his creation with a mix of satisfaction and sorrow, knowing that the boy's new form would never again be free of his will.
"Reno," said Shirei, his tone solemn. "Are you ready to fight?"
The shadow inclined his head in respect, the light in his eyes gleaming with emptiness. The Interworld seemed to whisper in approval as the two Blendbreeds—now bound by darkness—departed that spectral realm.
The former son of Aor, wrapped in shadow, looked upon his lord with new eyes—eyes that admired what they had never known. Within, the Tenebrae struggled to comprehend his new existence. The transformation had been swift and powerful, but its consequences unraveled slowly, like shadows stretching through an endless twilight. He felt an unshakable compulsion to follow his sovereign's will.
Shirei, with his bearing and clear mind, commanded an authority Reno couldn't ignore. He had heard tales of the dark general's terrifying power—legends whispered in the Overworld—of how he had summoned darkness to annihilate entire armies. Never had he imagined that such power would be used on him, to raise him from death and reshape him into something entirely new.
He was no longer human, nor a Blendbreed. He had become a minuscule piece of something far greater.
The skin black as night and the burning eyes were a constant reminder of his metamorphosis. He had retained his consciousness and will, but something fundamental had been lost—something that had once been intimately his own. Perhaps it was his humanity, or maybe that vital spark now smothered by shadow. His mind was a storm of conflicting thoughts. On one hand, he felt gratitude toward the son of Cragar for granting him a second chance—a new purpose. On the other, a deep melancholy gnawed at him, regret for the life he would never know again.
Memories of challenges faced with courage, of emotions, of fear… all seemed distant now, wrapped in an impenetrable fog. And yet, a new strength coursed through him—an alien power he had never dreamed possible. He felt the magic respond to his will. He heard the murmurs of the Interworld whispering in his ears. That power, though foreign, gave him a sense of invincibility. Reno knew he had changed forever. There was no turning back. He could never again be the Blendbreed he once was. He had to accept this new identity—and find a way to live with it.
He wanted vengeance for his death. He would slaughter the orcs.
With one last glance at Shirei, the Tenebrae prepared to embrace his destiny.
The shadows around the son of Cragar began to swirl. Shirei summoned his spectral harpies with a decisive sweep of his hand. The five creatures materialized with a shrill screech, ready to hurl themselves at the new wave of enemies.
The Blendbreed hurled himself into the fray, a whirlwind of movement and darkness. The harpies, obeying his will, swooped down on the monsters, rending flesh and bone with their lethal talons. The creatures' screams merged with the sounds of battle, forming a cacophony of terror and destruction.
Seeing more orcs emerge from the portal, Shirei rolled his shoulders and drew a deep breath. He knew this battle would be long and grueling—but the divine blood coursing through his veins was proof he was made for it.
Every fiber of his being was shaped for combat, every muscle taut, his mind completely focused on the objective.
His final thought, before charging into the chaos, was of Marina. Her image formed sharply in his mind: her bright blue eyes, her gentle smile, the promise he had made to return as soon as possible. With that vision as his guide, he launched into battle, wielding his dark power with unshakable calm.
A war was coming—and he would make sure they won it.