As night draped its velvety cloak over the camp, Alea navigated through the ruins that had become their temporary shelter.

She moved with purpose, her mind preoccupied with the weight of the secret she carried. That newfound ability of hers.

[Don't back out,] Alea told herself. [Just tell her. She... and everyone else, I guess, deserves to know.]

It didn't take long for Alea to locate Maria among the shadows, her features partially illuminated by the glow of distant embers.

What she stumbled upon, however, caught her off guard.

In a slightly hidden corner, Cara's arms were wrapped around Maria, and the two's lips danced in the shadows.

[Oh...]

Embarrassment tinged her cheeks as Alea instinctively began to withdraw, her gaze dropping to the ground.

[My bad.]

However, one of them must have noticed her as Alea soon heard:

"Alea?" Maria's voice called out, breaking the silence of the night. Her tone held a hint of surprise but remained composed.

Alea paused, glancing back uncertainly, her discomfort evident despite Maria's attempt to downplay the situation.

Maria had a little blush on her own face, though she looked like she was doing her best to ignore the unfortunate circumstance.

"I, uh, didn't mean to interrupt," Alea stumbled over her words, cheeks still flushed with embarrassment.

Maria offered a reassuring smile, a silent acknowledgment passing between them before she spoke again.

"No need to worry, Alea. What's on your mind?"

The invitation to confide in Maria lifted a weight off Alea's shoulders, prompting her to speak up.

Specifically, she wanted to tell Maria about the mysterious book and its cryptic contents.

With a sense of urgency, Alea relayed her discovery and the subsequent ability to perceive those strange magical entities lurking in the shadows.

Listening intently, Maria absorbed the information, her expression growing more serious as Alea finished her account.

The gravity of the situation was not lost on either of them, especially considering the past encounters with the shadowy assailants.

"Do you sense any immediate danger?" Maria inquired, her concern evident in the furrow of her brow.

Alea shook her head, her eyes scanning the darkened forest beyond their campsite.

"No, not right now. They seem... I dunno, adrift? Almost lost," she remarked, struggling to articulate the ethereal nature of her newfound awareness.

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Maria nodded thoughtfully, her mind already processing the implications.

"Keep track of them as best as you can. Note their movements, patterns, if they have any. We need to stay vigilant."

"Uh, alright. I'll do that."

As Maria turned to head back into the ruins, Alea lingered outside, her senses attuned to the subtle shifts in the night.

She pulled out the black book, its pages whispering ancient secrets under the moonlight.

Continuing to read it was probably not the wisest decision, Alea knew that, but now that she'd started, she genuinely felt like she couldn't stop.

[The more I read this... The more I can feel something. A strange power coming into me.]

In that moment, a certain someone's face popped up into view.

[Rin...] Alea sighed. [She's completely overtaken me recently.]

She couldn't deny it. Sometime last year, Rin's attitude had completely shifted. Seemingly overnight, the woman began taking her adventuring career so much more seriously. Most of her time, as far as Alea could tell, had been spent either training, studying, or going on real missions.

Before, Alea could say with absolute certainty she was one of the academy's top talents. Now, she wasn't so sure.

[This thing,] she thought, looking down at the book she'd taken, [could this help me close that gap?]

If the answer to that question was "yes" then what Alea needed to do felt obvious.

She had to take advantage of the opportunity.

Only then, possibly, could Alea retake her position among the class as an actual talent.

Only then, could Alea shift her idol's attention onto her.

As Alea delved into the cryptic pages of the ancient book once more, a sense of determination and curiosity drove her forward.

The symbols and characters, once baffling and enigmatic, seemed to shift and rearrange themselves as she focused on them, gradually becoming legible.

The text spoke of an era long past, a time before the Split that obscured so much of humanity's history.

Alea's mind raced as she absorbed tales of lost cultures, forgotten magics, and the intricacies of a world that existed beyond her wildest imagination.

Her finger traced over more unfamiliar words. Another incantation of sorts.

Given that she hadn't pushed any Essence through her body when she'd said the last one, Alea understood that these incantations were different.

[Could the magic be in the words? Can sound produce Essence? Is such a thing possible?]

She wanted to give this next one a shot.

"Mir co tanura plei."

Instantly, the air around her shimmered faintly, a subtle energy tingling against her skin as if responding to the sentence.

In that moment, Alea's perception shifted.

No longer did she see mere shadows lurking in the distance. She didn't see much at all for a while.

Until she turned her attention to the camp behind her, the ruin everyone was staying in. Now, her vision unveiled that same golden outline surrounding the people in the camp.

Each individual emitted a soft, radiant light, their auras pulsing with a tranquil yet vibrant energy.

However, one figure remained untouched by this luminous transformation. One person, who was walking up to Alea now with a concerned look on her face, was the same, with no outline at all.

Rin.

"Alea?" The girl asked. "You, uh... Doing okay?"

Caught in a mixture of awe and bewilderment, Alea gazed at Rin.

[She's... not glowing,] Alea blinked. [But, why?]

"I... I'm not sure," Alea stammered, torn between sharing her discovery and maintaining a sense of caution.

Before she could gather her thoughts further, Maria appeared beside them, having noticed what was happening.

"Alea, how are you doing? Did you see anything unusual?" Maria's voice held a mix of concern and professional curiosity, her eyes scanning their surroundings for any signs of danger.

At that precise moment, Alea's focus shifted, her eyes widening as she noticed something peculiar.

In the faint moonlight filtering through the trees, she saw Maria's Essence, a shimmering thread of energy, slowly seeping into Rin's form.

It was an almost imperceptible movement, a subtle merging that seemed to be happening without either of them noticing.

[Is she... Absorbing her Essence?]

"Maria... Do you feel anything?" Alea couldn't help but ask.

Maria's brow furrowed in concern, her gaze shifting to Rin, who stood nearby, seemingly unaware of the energy transfer occurring within her.

"What do you mean, Alea? What's happening?"

Alea struggled to find the right words, her mind racing to articulate the inexplicable phenomenon she had just witnessed.

"I... I saw your Essence," she started, choosing her words carefully. "It was... merging with Rin's."