A mother hid inside a small wooden cabin, her infant son cradled tightly in her arms. Her breath was ragged, her tears endless, as she whispered, "My dear son, I'm sorry I can't stay with you any longer. Please forgive this foolish mother of yours."
She began to chant a spell, her voice trembling but resolute. "-Tezfarxio-..."
Azure, her son, began to shimmer, surrounded by a faint glow as the teleportation spell took hold. Her heart clenched as she thought, *Just a few more seconds, and you'll be safe, my son.* But her hope shattered when, in a cruel instant, an arrow pierced her chest.
Pain spread through her body, but she smiled faintly, her gaze softening as she looked at her child. *I've lived for 26 years, but the two months I spent raising you were the most meaningful moments of my life. I wish I could've seen your first steps, heard your first words. Would you have said "mother" or "mom" first?* Her vision blurred. *I'll never know... but I pray you'll live a long and happy life, Azure.*
As the spell completed, the boy disappeared, safe from harm. The mother collapsed, lifeless, her final smile frozen in place.
>
Azure reappeared in the midst of a vast, shadowy forest. Though too young to fully comprehend what had happened, an innate sense of loss overwhelmed him, and he began to cry. His cries echoed through the trees, cutting through the eerie silence.
A voice, ethereal and curious, spoke nearby. "What's a child doing here? No one enters this forest. How is this possible?"
The child quieted, his teary eyes shifting toward the sound. A glowing, translucent figure floated nearby, tilting its head in confusion. "Wait... Can you see me? That shouldn't be possible. Souls are invisible to the living. Maybe it's looking at the tree behind me?"
The spirit moved to another tree, but the child's gaze followed. The process repeated until the spirit stopped, realization dawning. "Could it be? Are you a soulweaver? But just having the sight isn't enough. You'd need to forge a contract with a soul first."
Azure began crying again, his small sobs filling the air. The spirit sighed. "Alright, alright. You're hungry, aren't you? Let's see what I can do. How about an apple?"
The spirit plucked an apple from a nearby tree and tossed it near the child. "Come to think of it~~, you're still too small, so I guess I'll just provide you with someth—"
Before the spirit could finish, Azure raised his tiny hand. A thin string of black particles emerged from his index fingernail, connecting to the apple. For a moment, nothing seemed to happen.
"What was that?" the spirit asked, intrigued. "I thought you might drink it like a straw, but the apple looks the same. Hmm, let me check."
Picking up the apple, the spirit felt its weight. "Feels heavier, somehow?"
The child began crying again, interrupting the spirit's inspection. "Alright, alright, I get it! How about some juggling to cheer you up?"
The spirit tossed the apple into the air but fumbled, letting it drop. It hit the ground and broke open, revealing a pitch-black interior.
The spirit stared. "Ah, so that's what you did! You drained it from the inside. Guess I wasn't imagining things." Turning back to Azure, the spirit chuckled. "You're going to keep me on my toes, aren't you?"
The spirit gathered more apples and placed them in front of the child. Azure repeated the process, consuming them one by one, leaving behind only blackened husks. Once full, the child looked up at the spirit with an expression of gratitude—though to the spirit, it felt more like an expectant, *"You're feeding me from now on, right?"*
"So I guess I've got a new job," the spirit muttered, shaking its head with a smile. "What's your name, little one? Not like you can tell me…" The spirit glanced at the cloth wrapped around the baby and noticed a folded letter tucked inside.
Unfolding it, the spirit read:
>
-To the one who finds my son,
His name is Azure, and he carries the power of the dark lineage. He can absorb Ryu from living beings—animals, plants, even humans—using his black strings. Please, raise him to be kind and righteous. Teach him language, ethics, and how to socialize with people. If you do, you shall be granted a Shiyu. If not, you will gain nothing. This letter, written with Ryu as ink, serves as a contract, but since you are not a living being so, to accept, say:*
"I agree to the contents of this contract provided to me by Terashia Asmor."-
>
The spirit sighed, closing the letter. "She really cared about you, little guy. Don't worry, Terashia. I'll take good care of your son."
Looking down at Azure, the spirit noticed the child's eyelids drooping, his tiny body succumbing to exhaustion. "Alright, little one. Let's get you somewhere warm. I had a house nearby when I was alive. It should still be standing."
The spirit gently wrapped Azure in the blanket, picked him up, and began to float through the forest. "Rest easy, Azure. You're safe with me now."
With that, they disappeared into the shadows of the trees, beginning their unlikely journey together.