Ashar lay awake that night, staring up at the flickering fire as shadows crept along the edges of the campsite. The same eerie feeling he had been experiencing all day gnawed at him. It was as though the shadows themselves were alive, twisting and shifting just out of sight, but right before his eyes. His mind kept circling back to the strange pull he felt deep inside him. It was something dark, something... unnatural.

He couldn't explain it, but the sensation was more tangible than it had been before. His body seemed to hum with energy, a force that wanted to be released. Ashar could feel the shadows respond to him, to his presence, but only he could see it. The rest of the camp was oblivious.

Trying to calm himself, Ashar closed his eyes and let the silence of the night settle over him. He could still feel the shadows twitching, moving around him, and he tried to push them back, focusing on breathing slowly.

"Elara," he whispered in the still night.

She shifted beside him, barely audible in the dark.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think I have shadow powers?"

His voice was hesitant, unsure. The strange sensation was growing stronger with each passing minute.

There was a pause before Elara's voice came back, surprised but thoughtful.

"You... always had shadows around you, Ashar. I thought it was just something... an anomaly, but I guess you do. Now that you mention it, it's been there from the start."

Ashar stared at her in the dim firelight. "You knew about this?"

"I didn't know exactly what it was,"

Elara said, sitting up slightly.

"But I've been noticing the way the shadows react to you, how they move. It's not normal, Ashar."

Her gaze softened a little, as if she were seeing him differently now.

Kaelen, who had been silent, finally spoke up, his voice calm but with a note of concern.

"I didn't want to worry you. But shadow abilities are... rare. I've only ever heard rumors about them."

He leaned forward, his eyes narrowing with thought.

"Blood abilities, like mine, are dangerous enough and rare. But shadows? That's different. I've never seen someone with those powers."

Ashar felt the weight of Kaelen's words settle heavily on him.

"But... what does it mean? What do I do?"

Kaelen exhaled slowly, his gaze shifting to the fire, as though considering his next words carefully.

"It means you have to learn to control it before it controls you. These powers, especially shadow ones, are unpredictable."

Later that night, Ashar lay on his back, staring at the canopy of trees above. His thoughts swirled, the feeling of the shadows so close that he could almost touch them. His mind raced back to the first time he had felt them—the first time the darkness had responded to him, when he had been at the stone circle with Kaelen.

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He could still remember how it had felt like the shadows had a life of their own, but now they were calling to him more than ever. He reached out a hand, his fingers trembling slightly as he concentrated, trying to understand what he was feeling. He could sense the shadows, just beyond his reach.

Then, the mark on his arm began to glow softly.

The strange writing appeared above it, like symbols shifting into focus.

Veil Shift

the words stood out clearly, but their meaning was a mystery. Then

Shadow Clone

Appeared beside it, the words just as foreign to him.

Ashar frowned, confusion clouding his mind. He reached out again, but this time, he thought of the words. Veil Shift, he thought to himself. The shadows around him seemed to flicker at the command. But nothing happened.

"Kaelen,"

Ashar whispered into the night, his voice still uncertain.

"What are these? Veil Shift and Shadow Clone?"

Kaelen, who had been watching quietly from across the fire, stood up and moved toward Ashar. His gaze was unreadable as he crouched beside him.

"Those are your abilities, Ashar. At least, the first two. Focus on the names. Let the power respond to them."

Ashar stared at the glowing mark on his arm. Veil Shift... Shadow Clone...

He tried to concentrate on the names, and as he did, the shadows around him seemed to stir, but they remained out of reach.

"The description will come when you concentrate," Kaelen said.

"It takes time. The more you focus, the clearer it becomes. But you won't be able to use them yet, not fully. That comes later, when the mark has truly settled."

Ashar nodded, but confusion still clouded his mind.

"It's not working," he muttered, frustration creeping in.

Kaelen smiled faintly, his tone softening.

"It's okay. You'll get there. But right now, don't push yourself. Understand the power before you try to wield it. The shadows won't just obey because you want them to."

The next morning, after they had broken camp and resumed their journey, Ashar walked beside Elara, his mind still lingering on the night before. The shadows inside him felt like an untamed force, but now he was beginning to understand that there was more to it. He was starting to sense how they might work, but control still eluded him.

It was then that he turned to Elara, his curiosity piqued.

"Elara," he said,

"do you have abilities, too?"

She glanced at him, her expression a little guarded at first, but she nodded.

"Yeah, I have some. But they're not... spectacular. I don't really talk about them."

Ashar tilted his head, sensing that there was more to it than just her words.

"What kind of abilities do you have?"

Elara hesitated for a moment, and then shrugged as if dismissing her own powers.

"I have Spectral abilities. They're not as impressive as yours or Kaelen's, though."

Ashar frowned.

"That's not useless. It could be useful in the right situation."

She gave him a wry smile.

"It's not the kind of thing I'd depend on. And it's definitely not going to save me if we run into real trouble."

He felt a pang of empathy for her.

"Don't sell yourself short."

Elara didn't respond to that, but the exchange left Ashar with more questions. If the others had abilities, did that mean there were more like him—marked with powers that went beyond just the Seekers? The thought made his stomach churn. What did this all mean for them?

The next few days passed uneventfully, but Ashar couldn't shake the sense that something was coming. They traveled deeper into unknown lands, the terrain growing more dangerous with each step. As much as he tried to push it from his mind, he couldn't ignore the shadows. They were always there, just beneath the surface, waiting.

Then came the day when Kaelen announced it was time for his final lesson. The others didn't know yet, but Kaelen had made up his mind—he would be leaving soon.

"There's a place I need to go,"

Kaelen said, his voice heavy.

"But before I go, I'll make sure you're prepared. You've got a long road ahead of you, Ashar."

Ashar's eyes narrowed.

"Where are you going?"

Kaelen hesitated, and then said,

"It's better if you don't know. But I'll leave you with a warning. The threats you're about to face aren't just Seekers. There's something more dangerous out there, something you'll need to learn to fight."

And with that, Kaelen took Ashar through one final lesson, pushing him harder than ever before, forcing him to tap into the power he had only begun to understand.

The shadows responded to him this time.