Elaine Virella was not like the other children.
She didn't laugh loudly or ask foolish questions.
She didn't stare at the cafeteria menu in awe or race down the hallways like most of the orphans did when released from class.
She sat. She observed.
She remembered.
And most importantly, she watched Ash.
From the moment she arrived in Halren's class, her eyes followed him with a quiet calculation that others mistook for curiosity.
Ash didn't react.
But he noticed.
Her gaze was too precise to be casual. Too direct to be innocent.
He saw no hostility in her — but something worse.
Purpose.
---
On the third day since Elaine's arrival, Instructor Halren called for a class demonstration.
They were in the open-field training dome now, under a sky of shifting artificial light, with lines of energy-carved stone platforms stretching toward the horizon.
"Today," Halren said, "we begin our first practical test of core sensitivity. You will attempt to circulate raw ambient mana through your body without the aid of technology or guides. A simple test — but one that shows talent."
Whispers circled the group. Nervous chatter. Excited eyes.
Halren turned toward Ash.
"You too," he said calmly.
Ash simply nodded.
He had no reason to refuse.
---
They stood in a line — ten children in all, barefoot on polished stone.
Each one was instructed to close their eyes and begin the beginner's practice: Breath Channeling.
Inhale. Pull in ambient mana through the skin. Guide it along the spine. Release.
Basic. Harmless. Meant for those just starting their journey.
One by one, the instructors checked the flow.
"Stable."
"Unsteady, but passable."
"Too fast — slow down."
"Good form."
When they reached Ash, the sensor crystal dimmed slightly.
The assistant instructor frowned. "Odd. Low reaction."
"Let me," Halren said quietly.
He placed a hand near Ash's back — not touching, just feeling.
And felt…
> Nothing.
No fluctuation. No rejection. No resistance.
But also no absorption.
It was like Ash's body did not exist to the energy system.
Halren's brow twitched.
"You're not circulating?" he asked.
"I am," Ash said.
"Try again."
Ash did.
This time, Halren reached out further — probing gently with his own sense.
He felt a void.
Not emptiness — but concealment.
Something within Ash was pulling in ambient energy… and killing it before it could reflect.
A perfect vacuum.
And yet Ash stood still. Calm. Composed.
Halren stepped back, voice carefully neutral. "Passable."
But Elaine… narrowed her eyes.
Because she had seen the same thing.
And unlike Halren, she understood the implications.
That wasn't a technique.
It was a field.
An aura that didn't exist.
---
After class, she approached Ash under the pretense of walking back together.
"Strange test," she said softly.
"Yes," Ash replied.
"You don't seem like the kind who struggles."
"I don't struggle."
She smiled faintly.
"Then why lie?"
Ash stopped walking.
Faced her.
"I didn't lie."
"Of course not," she said, turning her head to the side as if thinking. "But it's interesting. Most cultivators exude energy when they begin. Yours disappears. It's… elegant."
Ash said nothing.
She stepped closer.
"You're not from any known school. No markings. No cadence. Yet your breath is controlled, your pulse perfectly even. You're not an amateur."
Ash looked at her evenly.
"I woke up here with no memory. I do what feels natural."
Her eyes glittered.
"Instinct can be powerful. Or dangerous."
"Both," Ash replied.
Then turned away.
Elaine watched him go.
And for the first time since she was assigned this mission, she frowned.
Not out of frustration.
But because she couldn't place him.
---
In the observatory, far above the city, Watcher Sevina reviewed the latest data logs from the Seeker.
The report was brief.
> [Target Cultivation Detected: Unregistered Path]
[Energetic Reaction: Null Reflection]
[Witness: Elaine Virella]
[Prediction: Instability Event Within 30 Days]
She stared at the words.
Then opened a sealed archive, one buried beneath layers of Order encryption.
A name glowed at the top of the hidden file:
> ASH REAPER
[Designation: Unknown]
[Classification: Irregular]
[Origin: Null]
Status: Under Observation
Sevina leaned back, fingers steepled beneath her chin.
"If it awakens fully… the world will feel it," she whispered.
And perhaps, for the first time in ten thousand years…
> Something will die.
---
That night, Ash sat alone again.
But this time… not in silence.
Because he could feel Elaine's resonance — a finely tuned thread of curiosity brushing just outside his awareness.
She hadn't followed him.
But she had left a mark.
A question in the shape of a gaze.
He opened the black book again.
This time the page read:
> "When eyes linger, let them see only fog.
But when silence lingers…
Let it bloom."
Ash whispered the words to himself.
Then closed the book.
And sank deeper into cultivation.
This time, the scythe inside him did not sleep.
It grinned.