The night air was cool against Talia's skin as she sat cross-legged on the sandy beach, her glaive laid across her lap. The moon illuminated the scattered remains of the Slashing Crusters she and Keanu had defeated earlier.

Talia closed her eyes, focusing her attention on the weapon before her.

The Star Glaive, a gift from her mother and unlocked by her father, vibrated with energy in her hands as she started channeling vitality inside of it.

The tide of vitality she was pulling on turned into a crimson river that flowed from her core, to her arms, pumping into the Star Glaive. Even though at first nothing happened, soon, the air around the weapon started to shimmer.

The shimmering got stronger and stronger as the vitality made the Star Glaive react, getting warmer and warmer at the touch. Talia began to feel a strange connection forming between her and the glaive. It was as if the boundary between her body and the weapon was blurring, the two becoming one entity.

After a while, Talia began to feel the strain of her efforts.

Her muscles ached from sitting in the same position for so long, but just when she thought she was too tired to continue, something within the glaive seemed to click into place.

The vibration ceased abruptly, and a red glow appeared around the weapon for a few seconds before fading away completely.

Slowly, cautiously, she opened her eyes.

As she examined the weapon more closely, Talia noticed subtle changes in its appearance. The blade seemed sharper, and the shaft felt smoother, as if it had been polished to perfection.

And there, near the base of the blade, a small symbol had appeared - a red star.

"Did it work?" Keanu startled Talia with his question.

She had almost forgotten he was there, so focused had she been on the glaive. Talia turned to face her friend, who was sitting a short distance away.

"I think so," Talia replied, her voice hoarse from disuse. "It feels... different. More... alive?."

"You were at it for an hour. I was starting to worry I would have to drag you back while you were unconscious."

Talia blinked in surprise.

Had it really been that long?

The sky was noticeably lighter now, the first hints of dawn coloring the horizon.

"I didn't realize," she murmured, then shook her head to clear it.

Keanu stood up, brushing sand from his clothes.

"We should head back now. We don't want to be too exhausted for whatever Professor Iakopo has planned for us."

Talia nodded absently, her attention still mostly on the glaive.

She rose to her feet, surprised to find that despite the long hours of immobility, her body felt energized rather than stiff.

"You're right," she said. "We should go back. But first, I want to try something."

Before Keanu could respond, Talia took a stance, holding the glaive out in front of her.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

She closed her eyes, reaching for that new connection she felt with the weapon.

"Talia," Keanu said, his voice carrying a note of warning. "Maybe we should save the experimenting for later. When we're rested and have backup. Please, let’s go."

But Talia wasn't listening.

The power thrumming through the glaive was intoxicating.

She wanted - no, needed - to see what this new connection could do.

"It's fine," she assured Keanu, though her eyes remained fixed on the glowing blade. "I just want to try one thing. To see how it works now."

Before Keanu could protest further, Talia cut herself and coated the weapon, then swinging the glaive in a wide arc.

The blade left a trail of crimson light in its wake, the energy coalescing into a crescent-shaped projectile that shot towards a nearby boulder. The impact was far more intense than Talia had anticipated. The boulder didn't just crack - it exploded, sending shards of rock flying in all directions.

Talia and Keanu ducked instinctively, shielding their faces from the debris.

I couldn’t do that before, Talia reasoned. It seems like the glaive can now extract more power from my blood.

As the dust settled, Talia stared at the place where the boulder had been, now nothing more than rubble in the sand.

"That was... impressive," Keanu said, his voice tight with poorly concealed alarm.

"Let’s go now," she relented. "I got carried away. Let's just head back."

As they turned to leave, Talia caught sight of something that made her pause. One of the rock shards from the exploded boulder had cut a shallow gash on Keanu's arm. A thin line of blood was visible against his skin. Without thinking, her mind muddled by the new power the glaive had unlocked, Talia reached out, her fingers brushing against the wound.

As soon as she made contact, she felt a surge of energy unlike anything she had experienced before and a new Skill apperaed in her mind.

[Star Glaive has unlocked a new Skill!]

[Ravenous Wounds has been unlocked!]

The world around Talia seemed to fade away, her entire being focused on the blood seeping from Keanu's cut.

She could feel its vitality, its potential, calling out to her.

Before she could even realize what she was doing, she activated the new skill.

The effect was instantaneous and terrifying.

Keanu's eyes widened in shock and pain as the small cut on his arm suddenly deepened and widened.

Blood began to flow more freely, and Talia could sense the life force being drained from her friend's body.

"Talia!" Keanu's voice sounded distant and distorted. "What are you doing? Stop!"

But Talia couldn't stop.

The power flowing into her was overwhelming, clouding her judgment and pushing all other thoughts aside. She could feel herself growing stronger with each passing second, her own vitality swelling as she drained Keanu's.

It wasn't until Keanu tried really hard to pull away from her, that the gravity of what was happening finally broke through Talia's trance.

With a tremendous effort of will, she wrenched her hand away from his arm, severing the connection.

Keanu collapsed to his knees, breathing heavily.

The cut on his arm had grown to an angry, gaping wound, blood still flowing freely onto the sand.

"Keanu!" Talia cried, horror and guilt washing over her as she realized what she had done.

She reached out to help him, but Keanu flinched away from her touch.

"Stay back," he gasped, his voice weak but firm. "Just... stay away from me right now."

Talia felt as if she had been slapped.

She stared at her hands, which moments ago had been instruments of such terrifying power.

What had she done?

How could she have lost control like that?

"I'm sorry," she whispered, though the words felt woefully inadequate. "I didn't mean to... I didn't know what the Skill was… I…"

Keanu didn't respond, focused on tearing a strip of cloth from his shirt to bind his wounded arm.

Talia felt a wave of nausea wash over her.

She might have killed Keanu like this.

All because she couldn't control this new, terrible Skill.

"We need to get you help," Talia said, fighting to keep her voice steady. "We should go back to the city, find someone-"

"No," Keanu cut her off, his voice stronger now but still laced with pain. "I’m fine. But you need to go. Now."

"What? I can't just leave you here like this. You're hurt-"

"Because of you," Keanu interrupted, his eyes meeting hers for the first time since the incident.

"Keanu, please," she began, but he shook his head firmly.

"Listen to me, Talia," he said, his voice low and urgent. "What just happened - it's not… Just… I’ll make my way back in a moment. Just go, please."

Talia wanted to argue, to insist that she could control it, that it wouldn't happen again.

But the memory of that overwhelming hunger, the intoxicating rush of stolen vitality, was still too fresh in her mind.

She couldn't trust herself, not right now.

“I’ll see you back at the base, you go first,” she muttered, sitting on the sand, distraught, as she watched Keanu slowly walk away from her.