Utter silence.
The entire conference room was drowned in it—thick, suffocating, and cold.
Inside the Umbral’s main base, not a single person spoke. Everyone was lost in thought.
Ever since they had returned from the site—one that had been under Umbral’s close surveillance for days—not a word had been exchanged.
The air was heavy, their minds still replaying what they had witnessed.
Finally, Jean broke the silence. Her voice was faint, uncertain. "Was... it just , or did that creature—"
Ariana let out a quiet sigh, cutting her off. "No... it wasn’t just you. We all saw it."
As she spoke, her eyes drifted toward Adrian. He wasn’t looking at anyone. His gaze was fixed on his own hand—motionless, trembling ever so slightly.
The mory of what happened an hour ago still clung to them like a shadow.
---
[An hour ago]
"Waaah!" Annabelle’s startled cry echoed through the clearing as the ground shook beneath them.
A massive shape burst out of the earth, soaring upward in an explosion of dust and debris.
The sunlight vanished in an instant, swallowed by the enormous shadow looming above. The being hovered there, its vast form blotting out the sky, and as it turned its head down toward them, a pair of cold blue eyes locked onto the group.
The creature looked like so twisted version of a dolphin—only colossal, terrifying, and wrong.
Its sleek, gray skin glead like polished tal. Two jagged fins rose from its back, each lined with sharp, protruding teeth. Its paddles weren’t soft or rounded—they were as sharp as blades, cutting through the air with every subtle movent.
And its body... its body radiated a heavy, sinister aura that made the air itself feel thicker.
It wasn’t just floating—it was levitating, as if defying the laws of nature itself.
The thing’s gaze swept over them, intelligent and nacing. And for the first ti in hours, even the most composed among them—Adrian included—felt the weight of true dread pressing down on their hearts.
"Stay alert," Ariana muttered, her voice low but firm. Despite every instinct in her body screaming at her to flee, she stood her ground and gripped her armant tightly, knuckles turning white.
Beside her, Annabelle crouched slightly, her muscles coiled like a spring. If the creature made even the slightest hostile move, she was ready to lunge—even if it ant leaping into the air itself. But deep down, a gnawing sense of dread crept through her chest.
Sothing about the creature... felt wrong.
No matter how she imagined the fight playing out, she knew—she wouldn’t win. Not this ti.
Adrian’s grip tightened around his teleportation staff, the faint runes on it glowing dimly. His mind raced, already preparing coordinates. If the creature attacked, he’d teleport Jean, Ariana, and Annabelle away before it was too late.
And yet, he couldn’t shake the feeling that even that might not be enough. The thing before them was *massive*—far larger than the dragon he had slain. The very air trembled as it descended.
The dolphin-like being began to lower itself, its sleek grey scales catching and scattering the sunlight. Each movent was slow, deliberate—almost graceful, yet terrifyingly heavy.
"Everyone... stay in position," Jean ordered in a calm, steady tone, her eyes never leaving the creature.
Her soldiers obeyed instantly. Even through the growing dread that pressed against their hearts, they raised their weapons, ready to fight if needed.
They all knew what they were standing against—what kind of threat this could be.
And still, not one of them took a step back.
Their unwavering stance wasn’t just courage—it was conviction.
Conviction in the na of Umbral.
Conviction in their Queen.
"Huh?" Adrian muttered, his eyes widening as the creature’s form began to shift.
The others noticed it too—its long, sharp fins began to smooth out, and the rows of teeth that had lined them disappeared entirely. The enormous body that had once blotted out the sun started to shrink, shrinking further and further until it was no larger than an ordinary dolphin.
It hovered there in front of Adrian, gliding effortlessly in the air, its once-nacing aura fading into sothing calm... almost gentle.
"Darling... please be careful," Annabelle whispered, stepping closer. Her tone was steady, but her fingers twitched on her weapon.
The creature might have looked harmless now, but appearances could deceive. For all they knew, it could be a lure—a trick to make them lower their guard.
Adrian’s eyes narrowed as he studied it. He didn’t sense hostility. Instead, sothing else pressed faintly at his mind—an emotion he couldn’t quite na.
Then it hit him.
That feeling. That gaze. He’d seen it before... sowhere.
Even though this was his first ti encountering an ancient creature, there was sothing *familiar* about it. A strange, inexplicable link—as though he understood exactly what it was feeling right now.
And that feeling was... elation.
"Adrian?!" Ariana’s panicked voice snapped through the silence as she saw him take a cautious step forward.
"Trust ," he said quietly, not taking his eyes off the creature.
He stepped closer, and the dolphin didn’t move. Its bright blue eyes followed him, shimring faintly, and the emotion he felt from it grew stronger. Excitent. Recognition. Joy.
Every single woman around him—Ariana, Annabelle, Jean—stood on edge, ready to strike at the slightest twitch of the creature’s fins.
But the mont Adrian reached it, he slowly raised his hand and laid it on its smooth head.
The creature let out a soft, rolling sound—
"Kru-kru..."
It wasn’t a growl. It wasn’t a warning.
It was a sound of contentnt. Of pleasure.
As if the ancient being was happy to see him.
....
[Present ti]
"Did that thing really purr while being petted by Darling?" Annabelle asked, still unable to believe what she had witnessed.
The others confird it, though their expressions were no less confused.
"Yes... it appeared so. That creature looked far too happy for sothing that was supposed to be the annihilator of humanity."
A colossal being that had once terrified them all had suddenly turned into a cute, pettable little thing, giggling and purring under Adrian’s touch.
"I... can’t seem to understand this," Jean muttered. "What exactly was it protecting?"
"No clue," Adrian replied. "And I can’t examine it, since that thing exists inside my body now."
Ariana’s worry deepened. "How did that even happen? The creature just broke out of the container and... seeped into your hand?"
Adrian nodded slowly. "I was too distracted by the approaching danger to notice it had escaped. And then, when I felt a small sting and looked down... it was gone—vanished, possibly into ."
Silence befell the room for a few monts before Ariana finally spoke, her voice cautious.
"Does it... feel any different? Like sothing moving inside you, or anything at all?"
Adrian shook his head. "It feels so... normal that I’m still not sure if it actually got absorbed into or not."
Annabelle lowered her gaze, her tone thoughtful. "Darling... maybe the reason that creature didn’t attack us—and even showed affection toward you—was because you already contain that thing... the black matter it was protecting."
Everyone fell silent again, the weight of her words settling over them. It made sense. It explained everything they’d seen.
That creature was, undoubtedly, angered by the fact that soone, the golem, has invaded its territory.
And even when it rose from the ground, it held the animosity and rage around it like a thick blanket.
However, the mont its eyes settled on Adrian, sothing changed. Its whole deanor shifted and it beca docile and ta. The anger vanished and all there was left was adoration.
And yet, one question still lingered in every mind—
what exactly *was* that thing?
....
"System... tell you feel sothing different about ."
A few hours later, after bringing the two ladies back to the academy, Adrian entered the Ti Chamber and posed the question aloud.
Jean had decided to stay behind, keeping watch over the site. Even though the dolphin had vanished after playing with Adrian for a while, she insisted on maintaining surveillance around the area—and even near the shore—just to be safe. The decision to report the matter to the Tower was left entirely in her hands.
[There is no detectable difference in the host. No physical or ntal changes have been observed.]
Adrian frowned slightly. "Can you not sense any foreign presence inside ?" he asked, goosebumps crawling up his arms at the re thought of that creature wriggling sowhere within him.
That parasite could be doing *anything.*
Even though he’d already shot himself with dismantling rounds and several other specialized bullets—thanks to Ariana and Annabelle’s relentless insistence—there was still a chance those bullets hadn’t affected the creature.
[No, host. The system cannot detect anything unfamiliar within the host’s body.]
Adrian exhaled deeply and sank into the chair, muttering under his breath, "I hope you’re right, bud..."
°°°°°°°°°
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