Theo's POV
1
Darkness didn't feel empty.
It felt… heavy.
Not like sleep.
Not like unconsciousness.
It pressed in from all sides—
Quiet.
Endless.
And yet—
I was aware.
Not fully.
But enough to know—
I wasn't awake.
Fragments of memory surfaced.
The gate.
The pressure.
The monster.
My attack—
Breaking.
Then—
Something else.
That moment.
When its power hit me.
Not just impact—
Something deeper.
Something that didn't just hurt—
Something that entered.
My chest tightened slightly at the memory.
Even here—
I could feel it.
That same sensation.
Faint.
But there.
Like something resting where it shouldn't.
"…What was that…" I muttered.
No answer came.
Only silence.
But the silence wasn't still.
It shifted.
Subtly.
Like something responding.
My awareness sharpened slightly.
And that's when I felt it.
Two flows.
Not one.
Two.
At first, I thought I was mistaken.
Because that didn't make sense.
It couldn't.
But the more I focused—
The clearer it became.
The first was familiar.
Calm.
Fluid.
Steady.
Water.
It moved the way it always had.
Responsive.
Natural.
Mine.
But the second—
Was different.
It didn't flow.
It pulled.
Slow.
Heavy.
Like a presence instead of energy.
It didn't spread outward.
It drew everything inward.
Even the space around it felt… distorted.
My breath hitched slightly.
"…That's not…"
It didn't feel like any magic I had studied.
Not elemental.
Not structured.
Not something that should exist inside a mage.
And yet—
It was there.
Close.
Too close.
Like it had always been there.
Waiting.
I instinctively focused on my water.
Letting it move.
Letting it respond.
It obeyed immediately.
Flowing smoothly.
Stable.
Normal.
But—
The moment it passed near that other presence—
It changed.
Not drastically.
Not violently.
Just—
Slightly.
The flow became heavier.
Sharper.
More… defined.
Like it had been refined without my input.
I froze.
"…Why…"
That shouldn't happen.
Water didn't change like that on its own.
Not without control.
Not without intent.
But I hadn't done anything.
I hadn't tried to alter it.
And yet—
It had changed.
Because of that thing.
That presence.
The pull.
I shifted my focus toward it slowly.
Carefully.
The moment my awareness touched it—
Everything tightened.
The space around me felt like it folded inward for a split second.
My chest compressed—
Pain flickered—
And instinctively—
I pulled back.
Hard.
The pressure vanished instantly.
Like nothing had happened.
But my breathing wasn't steady anymore.
"…No…"
That wasn't normal.
That wasn't safe.
That wasn't something I understood.
Which meant—
I couldn't touch it.
Not yet.
Not like that.
I steadied myself.
Forced my focus back to what I knew.
Water.
Control.
Structure.
The familiar flow settled again.
Calm.
Responsive.
Safe.
But even then—
I could still feel it.
In the background.
That second presence.
Quiet.
Waiting.
Not interfering.
Not acting.
Just—
There.
Like it didn't need to move.
Like it knew—
Eventually—
I would.
"…I don't have time for this…" I muttered.
Because right now—
I couldn't afford to get lost in something I didn't understand.
Not when I was still trying to stand.
Still trying to keep up.
Still trying to survive.
I exhaled slowly.
Then made a decision.
Ignore it.
For now.
Focus on what I can control.
Grow stronger first.
Understand later.
That was the only logical choice.
Because whatever that thing was—
It wasn't something I could handle yet.
And the moment I tried—
I knew—
It wouldn't end well.
The darkness around me began to shift again.
Fading.
Breaking apart.
My awareness pulled upward.
Back.
Toward something lighter.
Toward reality.
But even as everything faded—
Even as the sensation of that space disappeared—
One thing remained clear.
There was something inside me now.
Something that shouldn't exist.
Something no one had told me about.
Something no one would believe.
And whether I ignored it or not—
It wasn't going anywhere.
The last thing I felt—
Before everything went white—
Was that same quiet pull.
Still.
Patient.
Waiting.