Brigid watched as the demon spawns dissolved into black smoke, the remnants drawn into Cassian’s hands. He had killed them.
Almost without thinking, she whispered a chant she had learned in the cult:"When a lord’s child lies slain and blighted, its essence drifts, no longer free, to Lord Silias, womb of its sorcery. For from his shadowed breath they came, and to his endless night return the same."
It was a simple creed: when demon spawns died, they returned to their maker, Lord Silias, who had shaped them from his own body.
But now, watching Cassian take what should have gone to her god, the foundation of everything she believed began to fracture.
"Who is he?" she murmured, unable to reconcile what she was seeing. Cassian was holding what was meant to belong only to her great dark god, Silias.
When Cassian finished drawing in the last of the dark smoke, he settled back on the ground. Brigid stared at him, curiosity and disbelief crossing her face.
"How did you do that? They’re supposed to return to the lord," she asked. Follow current novels on NovᴇlFɪre.ɴet
Cassian only smirked, offering his hand to pull her up. "I have my way."
She took it, but as he pulled her up, he suddenly found a knife pressed against his neck. Instead of fear, it made him chuckle. Her eyes—deep purple, darker at the edges—watched him intently. There was no killing intent in them, just shock and a searching curiosity.
"Tell me," she said sharply, her other hand glowing with a dark green spell. "Or I’ll take your brains out through your nose. I doubt you can grow another one."
Cassian chuckled. "Fortunately, I’ve never needed to grow a new one. The one I’ve got works just fine."
That only seemed to push her further. Her eyes sharpened with anger, this time carrying real intent to kill. She pressed the knife harder, drawing a thin line of blood along his neck, while her mana-coated hand hovered close to his face.
"Shut up," she snapped, voice rising. "Tell me how someone like you—a speck compared to our lord—can take his essence?"
Cassian didn’t lose his smile. He raised one hand, showing a ring with a red stone. The gem pulsed with light as he spoke.
"Put your hands down. And keep them there."
Brigid’s arms dropped against her will. Shock washed over her as she tried to resist, veins straining as she forced every bit of strength into moving them. But they wouldn’t budge. Cassian only smirked, watching her struggle.
It was the first time he’d used the ring on her, and he was surprised at how effortlessly it worked.
Cassian tilted his head slightly, studying her with that same amused grin."Well," he said lightly, "seems the ring works better than I expected. You look furious enough to take a bite out of me—" he leaned just close enough to make her glare sharpen, "—but I’d rather not lose an ear today."
Her teeth clenched, jaw tight as though she really might sink them into him. The fury in her purple eyes burned, but her body refused to obey.
Cassian chuckled again. "Easy now. Save that temper for someone else."
The ring’s glow faded, and Brigid’s hands suddenly freed. She stumbled forward from the force she’d been straining with. Cassian steadied her with a glance and spoke, his tone casual.
"I don’t know the specifics," he said. "It’s tied to a mana-gathering technique I use. I could draw in that dark smoke... but I don’t really know what it’s for, or where it went. I just felt like I had to take it in."
It was a lie. He didn’t have to tell her anything—after all, for now, the ring kept her bound to him. But the mission ahead was dangerous, and having her trust might raise his chances of survival. From the way she reacted, absorbing that smoke—what the system had called Chaos—was no small matter.
If she thought he was hiding everything, she’d never cooperate. So lies, mixed with just enough truth, were safer than revealing the system outright.
Brigid’s suspicion didn’t fade. Her eyes narrowed, voice sharp. "What mana-gathering technique could take a god’s essence? Not even Domain Shapers can do that."
Cassian had already prepared an answer for this."It’s a secret technique of the Ven Dyke family," he said evenly. "I can’t explain the details, but... it’s thanks to that."
Brigid blinked, confusion flashing across her face. "Where would you get a Ven Dyke technique...?" Her voice caught as the thought struck her. "You’re a Ven Dyke?"
Cassian smirked and gave a slow nod. "Yeah. You could say I’m a direct descendant of the duke. Didn’t you figure it out from my domain?"
She hesitated. The dark red hue of his domain had caught her attention before, but she’d been too shocked by the way he used it to think it through. Now, hearing his words, the rumors came back to her—rumors that the Ven Dyke bloodline could awaken a rare domain once every generation.
Even the current matriarch was said to have opened it.
"You even have a Killing Domain..." Brigid whispered. She hadn’t heard of anyone else awakening it, yet when Cassian let the faint crimson aura flicker around him, the truth became harder to deny. Her voice trembled. "Then that mana-gathering technique... it’s real too, isn’t it? How? How?"
Her words turned into frantic murmurs, spilling over as her thoughts unraveled. "No... how can a mortal take a god’s essence? How? It’s impossible..."
Cassian let out a long sigh. Watching her mutter to herself like someone unraveling, he gave her shoulder a shake to snap her back.
"What’s the big deal?" he said casually. "I absorbed the black smoke, sure, but I don’t even know what it’ll do, or where it went in my body. If it matters that much to you, then stick with me. Maybe when I get stronger, I’ll have some answers you’re looking for."
Brigid finally blinked, Cassian’s words pulling her out of her spiral. Her grip on the knife loosened, though her eyes still carried a storm of doubt. She stared at him as if he were some impossible puzzle.
"You talk as if it’s nothing," she muttered, her voice lower now. "But if the cult learns of this... if the high priests hear you’ve taken even a sliver of Lord Silias’s essence... they’ll hunt you until nothing of you remains."
Cassian shrugged, brushing a spot of blood from his neck where her blade had nicked him earlier. "Wouldn’t be the first time someone wanted me dead." He met her gaze, steady and calm. "Besides, you don’t look like you’ll be running off to tell them anytime soon."
Her jaw tightened. The thought crossed her mind, but the ring’s faint gleam on his finger was reminder enough. She hated it—hated him—but there was no denying the control he held over her body.
Still, curiosity lingered stronger than fear. "If you’re lying, I’ll know. And if you’re telling the truth..." Her eyes narrowed. "Then you’re something this world shouldn’t even allow to exist."
Cassian smirked, unfazed. "Then stick around, Brigid. Maybe you’ll find out which one I am."