Chapter 32 – The Hunger Within

  Akari stood in the silence of the Trial Chamber, her heart pounding in her chest.

  The Overseer had knelt before her. The crowd whispered her name in hushed, uncertain tones.

  > Shadeborne Ascendant.

  The title pulsed within her mind, its weight pressing against her very soul.

  She clenched her fists.

  Her shadow was no longer just a shadow.

  It breathed. It writhed.

  It watched.

  Tsubaki remained at her side, golden eyes locked onto the Overseer. The fox spirit’s fur bristled, and Akari could sense her unease.

  But for now, there were no threats. No enemies lunging for her throat.

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  Just… uncertainty.

  > “Stand,” she commanded.

  The Overseer obeyed without hesitation, their gaze steady.

  “You have passed the Trial,” they said. “But this is only the beginning.”

  Akari didn’t respond. She was still processing what had happened—what she had become.

  A presence slithered beneath her skin, whispering in the depths of her mind.

  > Hunger.

  She gritted her teeth.

  No.

  She wouldn’t be controlled.

  She took a slow, steady breath.

  > Control it. Bend it to your will.

  If she allowed this… thing to take over, she would cease to be herself.

  She couldn’t let that happen.

  The Overseer studied her for a moment longer before stepping back.

  “The Elders will wish to speak with you,” they said. “Your… transformation has not gone unnoticed.”

  Akari nodded slowly.

  She could feel the weight of a thousand eyes on her, watching, waiting.

  Tsubaki flicked her tail, voice quiet.

  > “Master. We should leave.”

  Akari agreed. The longer she stood here, the more questions would arise.

  Without another word, she turned and strode toward the exit.

  And as she walked, the shadows followed.

  ---

  Echoes of Power

  The streets of the city were quieter than usual.

  Word had spread.

  By the time Akari returned to her small inn, she could feel the shift in the air.

  She was no longer just another nameless cultivator.

  She was something else.

  The Shadeborne Ascendant.

  She sat on the edge of her bed, staring at her hands.

  They looked the same.

  But they didn’t feel the same.

  Tsubaki leaped onto the windowsill, ears twitching. “You need to rest,” she murmured.

  Akari didn’t reply.

  She closed her eyes.

  > Hunger.

  The whisper was louder this time.

  More insistent.

  Akari clenched her jaw.

  > No.

  The whisper didn’t fade.

  But it didn’t consume her either.

  Not yet.

  She exhaled slowly.

  She would master this power.

  Or she would become it.

  Either way—

  She refused to be weak.