Rumors spread like wildfire, igniting fear in every corner of the city. Whispers of an unseen force—something dark, malicious, and inhuman—circulated through the streets.
Some speculated it was a rogue faction of awakened beings, operating in the shadows.
Others believed it was something far worse, something that defied explanation.
Whatever it was, the city was on edge, its people glancing over their shoulders, wondering where the next attack would come from—or if they could stop it at all.
Kael watched the chaos unfold from the shadows, his invisible form blending seamlessly with the darkness.
Fear was a powerful tool, and the city's unease worked perfectly to his advantage. With each attack, his power grew, his soul solidifying, becoming more tangible, more real.
The city would never suspect the true source of their destruction. They would only fear the unknown, the invisible enemy that struck without warning.
And all the while, Kael would continue to feed, growing stronger with every white mist he absolved.
A month had passed since the killing incident, and the city had settled into an eerie, unnatural quiet.
Though the deaths continued—victims found with their flesh devoured—there had been progress.
Two of the rats had been eradicated, leaving only two more to be hunted. Yet, the remaining rats had gone into hiding, their movements elusive and unpredictable....
Tracking them had become a frustrating challenge.
Kael floated near a black-haired boy, his pale skin and piercing gray eyes marking him as striking, almost otherworldly. Kael had already decided: this boy's body would be his.
He would wait for the boy's death, and when the time came, he'd possess him, claiming his body as his own...
At least that was what his intuition told him.
But Kael's thoughts were clouded with frustration. The loss of two rats weighed on him, a rare setback in his carefully laid plans...
Still, the virus they carried had spread with ease, infecting the humans in the area.
Through his manipulation of the virus in the infected, they died swiftly, though the virus's reach remained limited.
It was a small victory, but Kael couldn't shake the irritation gnawing at him.
As the boy walked toward the awakened academy, Kael decided to leave for the nearby forest. He needed new creatures to control—something faster, stronger.
His invisible form drifted through the air, unnoticed by the boy, as he made his way to the dense woods.
The crimson forest was unnaturally quiet, the towering trees casting long shadows that seemed to stretch endlessly.
Kael soon came across a dead body, its wounds gruesome and fatal. A group of crows had gathered, their beaks pecking at the remains.
Kael's interest piqued. Crows were intelligent, adaptable—perfect candidates for his experiments. He focused on one, extending his invisible threads to take control.
But the crow leapt away, its wings flapping with a speed and urgency that caught Kael off guard.
"Did it sense me?" Kael muttered, his voice low and tinged with disbelief.
The crow's reaction was unlike anything he'd encountered.
He was invisible to most creatures, but this bird had noticed him. Intrigued, Kael hovered closer, his form flickering as he tried to sense any abnormalities.
He attempted to control the crow again, but the bird darted away, its eyes wide with a strange, almost knowing awareness.
Kael's frustration grew. He had no time for distractions, but this wasn't just a simple animal. This crow was… aware, in a way that no other creature had been.
The other crows continued to feed, indifferent to the disturbance, but Kael couldn't shake the feeling that something was amiss.
There was a resistance here—a connection between the bird and something beyond his reach.
For a moment, Kael hesitated. He could no longer focus on this insignificant creature.
But as he floated away, his thoughts lingered on the unsettling sensation. Could the crow sense the presence of the dead? Or was something else at work here?
"Could it be?" Kael mused, a spark of realization igniting within him. "Is there more to this than I understand?"
He drifted further away from the scene, the nagging thought lingering. If this bird could sense him, what else was out there?
How many more creatures could expose him? The uncertainty gnawed at him as he turned his focus back to his quest.
There were still bodies to possess, still souls to claim—but now, he'd have to tread carefully, knowing that there were forces out there that could detect him, that could interfere with his plans.
And that, for Kael, was a problem.
Kael hovered, stunned for a moment, watching the crow flutter away with a speed and awareness he hadn't anticipated.
His initial shock quickly turned to intrigue. He was invisible to nearly all creatures, especially those without heightened senses.
This crow, however, had somehow sensed his presence.
Could it be that the crow had some sort of heightened awareness, or was it something else entirely?
Kael floated closer, narrowing his focus on the bird, trying to assess its reaction more carefully.
The other crows continued their pecking, oblivious to the strange disturbance in the air.
"What's going on?" Kael muttered, his ethereal form flickering slightly as his curiosity deepened.
He had no reason to waste time on something as trivial as a crow, but this unexpected reaction stirred something within him.
He floated around the periphery of the bird, testing the limits of his presence.
He tried to manipulate the invisible threads, the same way he had with the rats, but every time he did, the crow would shift slightly, its eyes glinting with an unnatural awareness.
The more he observed, the more he realized something wasn't quite right. This wasn't simply a bird acting on instinct—it was as if it knew something was there, something hidden, something not of this world.
"Could it be…?" Kael thought, a disturbing realization creeping in. Could the crow have developed some sort of resistance or sensitivity to the forces of the dead, of souls like him? It was unlikely, but his instincts told him this wasn't just coincidence.
He had to know more. If this crow could sense his presence, there might be more like it—other creatures that could potentially expose him.
If his invisibility could be undone, even by something as simple as a bird, his entire plan might be at risk.
With a quiet, unvoiced curse, Kael decided to stop wasting time with the crow.
He needed to shift his focus back to his main objective: finding a suitable host. But as he reluctantly turned away from the bird, the question gnawed at him.
Just how many others, like this crow, were out there? How many creatures in this world could potentially see him, know he existed, and interfere with his carefully laid plans?
His mind buzzed with possibilities, the weight of the uncertainty pressing down on him. For now, he would leave the crows and their mysterious awareness behind, but he made a silent promise to himself: the next time he encountered such a creature, he would be ready.