Chapter 30 – A Blade Forged in Darkness

  The Shadeborn lunged.

  Its claws, still dripping with the remnants of Akari’s soul, carved through the air like streaks of black lightning.

  But this time—

  She didn’t dodge.

  Instead, she raised her newly formed blades—twin obsidian weapons that pulsed with an unnatural energy. The moment the Shadeborn’s talons clashed against them, a shockwave rippled through the battlefield, sending fractured energy spiraling outward.

  Akari’s feet dug into the ruined ground, cracks splintering beneath her as she held her ground.

  And then—

  She pushed forward.

  A sharp, clean slash.

  The first blade severed the creature’s arm. The second followed, carving straight through its torso.

  A soundless scream filled the void as the Shadeborn’s body split apart, dissolving into mist-like fragments.

  Yet…

  Akari felt it.

  The creature wasn’t dead.

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  Not truly.

  It was rebuilding.

  The Arbiter watched from a distance, their amusement barely concealed.

  “You are learning.”

  Akari ignored them. Her eyes remained locked on the writhing mist reforming itself.

  Tsubaki stepped closer, the spectral flames of her fur dimming.

  > Master, this thing… it is not of this world.

  Akari didn’t need to be told. She could feel the truth of it.

  Something had changed when the Shadeborn touched her. A connection had been forged—one she hadn’t asked for. One she couldn’t sever.

  Her grip tightened on the twin blades.

  For the first time, she wasn’t sure if she was the hunter… or the hunted.

  The Power of the Abyss

  A notification flashed before her eyes.

  > UNCLASSIFIED ENTITY DEFEATED.

  ABSORB Y/N?

  She hesitated.

  Something about this felt wrong.

  She had absorbed creatures before. Beasts. Monsters. Things that made sense.

  But this?

  This was different.

  The Shadeborn was still reforming, its severed pieces reaching for each other like desperate, grasping hands.

  If she absorbed it now…

  Would she become like it?

  The thought sent a chill through her bones.

  The Arbiter stepped closer.

  “You hesitate.”

  Their voice was smooth, knowing.

  “You were so eager to take power before. Why stop now?”

  Akari’s jaw clenched.

  This was her choice.

  Not theirs.

  But…

  What if she didn’t have a choice?

  The Shadeborn lunged again.

  But this time, Akari didn’t strike back.

  She reached out.

  The moment her hand touched its shifting form, a shockwave tore through her.

  Pain.

  Not physical. Not even magical.

  Something deeper. Something that rattled her very existence.

  And then—

  She saw.

  A world of nothing. A world consumed.

  A world where everything and everyone was erased.

  > This is where the Shadeborn comes from.

  > This is what it is.

  It was hunger incarnate. A force that devoured endlessly.

  And it had been trying to consume her.

  But now, the connection had reversed.

  It was hers to take.

  A Choice That Cannot Be Undone

  The Arbiter’s voice cut through the vision.

  “What will you do, little warrior?”

  Akari took a slow, shuddering breath.

  Then, she whispered—

  “Absorb.”

  The darkness rushed into her.

  The Shadeborn let out a final, wordless shriek as it was pulled apart, its very essence merging with Akari’s being.

  Her body burned.

  Her veins turned to shadows.

  And then—

  Silence.

  Tsubaki took a hesitant step back, her eyes glowing with uncertainty.

  The Arbiter simply smiled.

  And Akari?

  She opened her eyes.

  A deep, abyssal black swallowed the whites of her gaze.

  Her shadow twisted unnaturally beneath her feet.

  And deep within her soul—

  Something whispered.

  Something that wasn’t human.