Chapter 265: No One Must Know
Liora could hear everything that echoed in Aeris’s mind—her thoughts, her panic, her fears—as clearly as if they were her own. She was beside her, but not just observing, but feeling everything like it ran in her blood.
And she knew... Aeris had already awakened her shadow-summoning ability by now.
But unlike Liora’s present self, Aeris had always believed this ability was a curse.
She had never told anyone. Aside from her brother.
Only he knew. And he had tried, gently and consistently, to persuade her that the ability wasn’t evil. That it could be good. That it could save her.
But Aeris never believed it.
Because the first time—when she had accidentally devoured someone’s soul—it had left behind a horror she couldn’t forget. That moment had etched itself into her like an open wound, and since then, she had never used the ability again.
The fear... the guilt... It haunted her like a shadow that never left.
So Atas—her brother—had given her advice. Quietly, patiently. He told her she should try using her ability on mutated or space-born monsters. At least then, she wouldn’t be hurting people. She could still train and learn to control it. Purge the fear with practice.
But civilians couldn’t just walk into space hunting zones. And they definitely didn’t have access to restricted fields or alien nest zones.
That was one of the reasons she had chosen the military in the first place.
So she could control her ability.