Roland's heart threatened to burst from his chest as the footsteps drew closer. His new shadow-self thrummed with unfamiliar energy, and the holographic message still hung in the air like some cosmic joke. The door's security panel chirped its warning – someone was about to enter.
Pure instinct took over. Roland launched himself toward the window, his transformed body moving with impossible fluidity. The instant before the door opened, he slipped through the narrow gap of his third-floor window like smoke through a keyhole.
He expected to fall. Instead, shadows gathered beneath him like living cushions, guiding his descent. Behind him, he heard Cole's voice drift through the window: "Roland? You in here?"
"His book's on the floor," Ian's voice followed. "Something feels... off."
Roland didn't stick around to hear more. He bolted across the grounds, darkness seeming to bend around him as he ran. The few students still out at this hour walked right past him, their eyes sliding over his location as if he wasn't even there. The shadows weren't just hiding him – they were actively misdirecting attention away from him.
After what felt like an eternity of running, Roland found himself deep in the military school's forested area. Ancient trees loomed overhead, their branches creating a natural canopy that blocked most of the moonlight. Here, finally, he allowed himself to stop.
That's when the pain hit.
It started as a tingling sensation, like static electricity dancing across his skin. Within seconds, it escalated into white-hot agony. Roland collapsed against a massive oak tree, watching in horror as his shadow-form began to dissipate. It felt like every cell in his body was being torn apart and reassembled.
"What's... happening..." he gasped through clenched teeth. The markings on his skin pulsed with that same otherworldly light, creating patterns that seemed to sink beneath his flesh. He could feel something ancient and powerful integrating itself into his very being, rewriting him at a fundamental level.
Time lost all meaning. Roland lay there, curled against the tree's massive roots, as wave after wave of transformation wracked his body. The shadows around him writhed and twisted, responding to his pain. After what could have been minutes or hours, the agony finally began to subside.
When Roland managed to push himself to his knees, he felt... different. His body had returned to its normal appearance, but there was a new awareness humming beneath his skin. The shadows no longer felt like separate entities – they were extensions of himself, as natural as breathing.
A familiar electronic chirp drew his attention. Another holographic message materialized before his eyes:
[Legacy successfully integrated]
[Shadow Manipulation - Level 1 Unlocked]
[Light Manipulation - Level 0 (Locked)]
"Great," Roland muttered sarcastically, brushing dirt from his clothes. "Because my life wasn't complicated enough already." Despite his sarcasm, he couldn't deny the curiosity and thrill of excitement coursing through him. He could feel the potential in his newfound abilities, like a door had been opened to something vast and powerful.
The walk back to his room was surprisingly uneventful. The few people he passed barely glanced at him, though he noticed their shadows seemed to reach toward him ever so slightly. He entered the dorm rooms to see Cole and Ian sleeping. By the time he collapsed into bed, exhaustion had overtaken his fear and excitement. He fell into a dreamless sleep, his last conscious thought wondering how he'd explain his absence to Cole and Ian.
Morning came far too quickly. Roland dragged himself to Well's office, his body still aching from the previous night's transformation. He wasn't surprised to find Eva already there, her usual confidence tempered by obvious concern.
Well's office was exactly what you'd expect from a veteran essence instructor – utilitarian furniture, walls lined with monitoring equipment, and a massive screen displaying essence activity readings. The instructor himself stood at his window, hands clasped behind his back.
"Sit," Well commanded without turning around. Once they were seated, he finally faced them. "What I'm about to tell you doesn't leave this room." He tapped his desk, and a holographic display materialized, showing familiar symbols – the same ones that had appeared during their training session.
"These markings," Well continued, "were first documented during what historians call Monstrosity's Dawn. They appear at sites of significant essence disruption, particularly around monster hotspots." He paused, his gaze settling on Eva. "Including the Frost estate."
Eva's sharp intake of breath was the only sound in the room. Roland watched her fingers curl into fists, knuckles white with tension. He knew the basics – that Eva and Ava's family estate had been destroyed in some kind of incident – but clearly there was more to the story.
"The symbols we saw yesterday," Well's voice grew grave, "match those found in the wreckage of your home, Miss Frost. The essence disruption patterns are nearly identical."
"That's impossible," Eva whispered, but Roland could hear the uncertainty in her voice. "The estate's destruction was caused by a monster breach. Unless..." She turned to Roland, her eyes widening with realization.
Well nodded. "Unless the breach wasn't the cause, but rather an effect of something else. Something that's now manifesting here."
Roland's new abilities thrummed beneath his skin, responding to his rising anxiety. The shadows in Well's office seemed to deepen, though neither of them appeared to notice.
"What do you want us to do?" Roland asked, trying to keep his voice steady.
"Train. Learn to control whatever's happening between you two. And most importantly," Well's expression hardened, "keep it contained. If word gets out about essence disruption patterns matching the Frost incident, panic will spread faster than we can control it."
"Roland.. is not an empty, but until you figure out what it is you have in you and how to control it, you'll continue to pose as one"
They left Well's office with more questions than answers. Eva walked beside Roland in silence until they reached the dormitory junction.
"Roland," she said finally, "whatever's happening... whatever you're becoming..." She paused, choosing her words carefully. "Just know you're not alone in this." Before he could respond, she turned and walked away, leaving Roland to wonder exactly what she meant.
Back in his room, towards the dusk of day Roland sat cross-legged on his bed, examining his newfound abilities. He reached out with his consciousness, feeling the shadows respond to his will. They moved like liquid darkness, bending and flowing at his command. With concentration, he could even feel the potential for something more – the ability to manipulate light itself, though that power remained frustratingly out of reach.
The holographic interface appeared again, responding to his experimentation:
[Shadow Manipulation skill increased]
[Light Manipulation remains locked - Requires Legacy advancement]
A flicker of movement caught Roland's peripheral vision – his shadow, cast against the dormitory wall by the setting sun, was definitely not following his movements. He whipped around to face it directly, heart hammering against his ribs, but the dark silhouette snapped back to mimicking his stance, appearing perfectly innocent. Too innocent.
Roland narrowed his eyes, studying the shadow with the same intensity he usually reserved for complex essence patterns. He raised his right hand deliberately, watching as the shadow mirrored him with mechanical precision. A slow wave brought the same response. Left hand up, shadow followed. A slight head tilt, and there it was again – perfect synchronization.
"Cut the act," Roland said, feeling slightly ridiculous for talking to his own shadow. "I saw you moving on your own."
For a moment, nothing happened. Then, as if his words had broken some cosmic seal, the shadow detached itself from its proper position. It began to slide backwards across the wall in a perfect moonwalk that would have made any dance instructor proud. The dark silhouette spun on its heel, continuing its smooth backward glide in a complete circle around Roland, its movements carrying a distinctly smug quality.
"Unbelievable," Roland breathed, a startled laugh escaping him. The absurdity of the situation hit him full force – here he was, watching his own shadow show off like a street performer. His new powers were potentially world-changing, possibly dangerous, and definitely connected to some ancient legacy that had something to do with Eva's destroyed home... and his shadow was moonwalking.
A grin spread across his face as an idea struck him. "Alright then," he said, shifting his weight to the balls of his feet. "Let's see how you handle this." Roland launched into his own moonwalk, matching his shadow's movements. The shadow seemed to pause for a split second, as if surprised, before accelerating its dance. Together, human and shadow glided across the room in perfect reverse synchronization, their movements growing more elaborate with each pass.
For just a moment, Roland felt the weight of everything – the grimoire's mysteries, Well's warnings, Eva's troubled past – lift from his shoulders. He was just a guy, dancing with his shadow, discovering that maybe these new powers didn't have to be all doom and gloom.
After some time of experimenting what his shadow could do he lay down on his bed and watched the shadows dance across his wall, forming patterns that seemed almost alive. Whatever he was becoming, whatever power the grimoire had awakened in him, one thing was certain – his life at the military academy would never be the same.
As darkness fell outside his window, Roland couldn't shake the feeling that he was standing on the edge of something massive. The power thrumming through his veins, the ancient symbols, Eva's family history – it was all connected somehow. And something told him he was just beginning to scratch the surface of what the Kuiper Legacy truly meant.