I narrowed my eyes and let my thumb brush gently over his forearm. Something felt wrong beneath the skin—like something was alive inside, moving.
Without warning, I summoned a thin blade of hardened water and made a shallow cut just above his wrist. Black blood oozed out sluggishly. But it wasn't just the blood.
A wisp of black smoke curled out from the wound.
My eyes widened.
I leaned in and studied the smoke, my Psynapse stirring in interest. The mist was light but it carried a strange weight, like hunger. I reached into my channels and drew out a thin thread of violet Essence—barely a wisp—and guided it into the cut.
The moment it touched the blackness inside his arm, something snapped.
My Essence was attacked.
The black smoke surged forward like a starving predator, wrapping around my Essence and tearing into it. My bond with the violet thread pulsed with resistance, but the smoke was relentless—devouring everything.
I sat still, stunned.
It ate my Essence.
