Black mist began to seep from Zhu's body, curling around her like living smoke. Her crimson eyes glowed unnaturally, and a chilling aura spread through the clearing, causing the air itself to feel heavier.
Mara and Herkid exchanged uneasy glances.
Neither needed to say a word.
Their minds immediately drifted back to the nightmare they had witnessed only days ago—the blood-soaked campsite, the mangled corpses, and the agonizing screams that had echoed through the darkness. The image of the "Monster in the Mist" still haunted their dreams.
And now that same terrifying presence sat before them.
The two Nyxari cubs sensed Zhu's rising emotions. Letting out soft whines, they pressed themselves against her body and nuzzled her affectionately.
Gradually, the black mist began to fade.
The suffocating pressure lifted.
The crimson glow in Zhu's eyes softened until they returned to normal.
She blinked several times before shaking her head as though waking from a strange dream.
"Oh..." she muttered. "I forgot I had awakened."
Rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly, she offered Mara and Herkid an awkward smile.
The contrast was so absurd that both adults stared for a moment.
One second she looked like a calamity capable of wiping out an army.
The next she looked like a child caught doing something embarrassing.
Mara snorted.
Then Herkid chuckled.
A moment later both adults burst into laughter.
After a few seconds, Zhu found herself laughing as well.
"The last few days have been so chaotic," Zhu said between laughs. "I was half dead for most of it..."
"Correction."
Faral's voice suddenly echoed through the clearing, amplified so Mara and Herkid could hear him clearly.
"You were approximately 85.6% dead. I was personally maintaining the remaining 14.4% of your life functions."
The laughter stopped.
Zhu, Mara and Herkid blinked.
Then Zhu slowly turned toward the sky with a twitching eyebrow.
"...You."
Faral continued as if completely oblivious to her irritation.
"For the record, my calculations were extremely accurate."
Zhu's eye twitched harder.
"This stinky voice..."
"An immensely powerful and ancient guardian spirit."
"Stinky voice."
"North Guardian."
"Stinky voice."
"I saved your life."
"Still stinky."
Mara doubled over laughing while Herkid had to turn away to hide his grin.
Faral released a long suffering sigh.
"Children truly have no respect for their elders."
She wanted to continue cursing him, but no suitable words came to mind. After opening and closing her mouth twice, she simply gave up and ignored him entirely.
"Anyways," Zhu said with a sigh, "the last few days have been so crazy that I completely forgot to check anything related to this awakened ability of mine."
Mara nodded sympathetically.
"That's understandable. You were a little busy trying not to die." She smiled. "Let's check now."
Herkid's eyes brightened immediately.
"Oh! I remember when I first awakened." A nostalgic grin spread across his face. "I thought the status window was the coolest thing ever."
Mara laughed.
"I know, right? Mine was this beautiful salmon color."
"Really?" Herkid chuckled. "Mine was pale green."
For a moment, both adults were swept away by old memories.
The excitement.
The wonder.
The feeling that the world had suddenly become bigger than they had ever imagined.
Herkid remembered staring at his status screen for hours, opening and closing it repeatedly just because he could.
Mara remembered running through the streets showing anyone willing to look that she had awakened an elemental affinity.
Back then they had been children standing at the beginning of their journeys.
Before the disappointments.
Before the failures.
Before life had worn away so much of that youthful excitement.
Looking at Zhu now, they saw a reflection of who they once were.
A child standing at the threshold of something extraordinary.
"Go on," Mara encouraged gently. "Open it."
Zhu remembered how Faral had taught her to open her status window.
Open Screen, she whispered in her mind.
A translucent purple screen immediately appeared before her.
Name: Lin Zhu
Mana Type: Mutation Mana
Potential Tier: SSS
System: Twin Blood
Status: Unregistered
Skills: Blood Drain, Blood Shift (partially locked), Blood Read (Locked), Blood Mist (Locked)
Mana Core Stability: 38% — Unstable Core Evolution
Bonded Entity: Nyxari Cubs — Hollowvail Beast (Rare)
Bond Skill: Active — Veilcloak
ALERT:Host in critical condition. Emergency medical treatment required. Recommended: Mana meditation to stabilize core. Recommended: Register awakening at nearest mana center.
Zhu silently skimmed through the information before looking up.
"Does the color matter?"
Herkid thought for a moment before answering.
"Not in most cases. Everyone's screen usually turns red when they're in danger, but outside of that, nobody really knows why status windows have different colors."
He scratched his chin thoughtfully.
"Some people believe the color reflects a person's personality. Yellow is said to belong to cheerful and optimistic people. Blue supposedly means the person is calm and level-headed."
"Hmm..." Zhu nodded thoughtfully.
Mara leaned forward with obvious curiosity. "What color is yours, young miss?"
"Purple."
"Oh!" A youthful smile bloomed across Mara's face.
For a brief moment, she looked nothing like the weary woman who had endured years of hardship.
She looked like a carefree girl again—running barefoot through the hills of her hometown.
At that moment, Mara didn't realize that the bitterness she had carried for so long was slowly beginning to fade. Day by day, she was becoming the person she had always wished she could be.
"You know, young miss," Mara said with a grin, "they say purple is the color of royalty."
Seeing the excitement on her face, Zhu couldn't help but laugh.
"Well then, I suppose it's best that you start calling me Princess Zhu."
For a second there was silence.
Then Mara burst out laughing.
Herkid laughed too, nearly falling over from how seriously Zhu had delivered the statement.
Even the Nyxari cubs barked excitedly, as if supporting their newly declared princess.
Zhu lifted her chin proudly.
"That's right. Know your place, peasants."
The laughter only grew louder.
Watching the scene unfold, Faral remained silent.
Despite knowing one another for only a handful of days, the three had already formed a surprising bond. Mara and Herkid had lost everything but their personalities were not bad at all. Zhu had never truly belonged anywhere.
Yet somehow, these wounded souls had found comfort in each other's company. Faral's ancient eyes softened. This little ruffian truly has a talent for finding people.
Smiling at Mara's little joke, Zhu continued examining her status screen.
"Alright, team members," she announced. "Help me figure out the rest of this stuff. First of all, can you two see my status window?"
"No," Herkid answered immediately. "Status windows are completely internal. Only the owner can see them."
He paused before adding, "Well, under normal circumstances. There are advanced techniques that allow someone to project their status for others to see, but that's a skill most awakened don't learn until much later."
"I see."
Zhu returned her attention to the floating purple screen.
The first thing that caught her attention was the section labeled Mana Type.
"What's a mana type?"
Instinctively, Zhu omitted the words displayed on her own screen.
She had no idea what Mutation Mana was, but one thing she did know was that recklessly sharing information with people she had only known for a few days was a terrible idea.
Trust was earned.
And while she liked Mara and Herkid, she wasn't foolish enough to reveal all her secrets.
Herkid nodded as if accepting the role of lecturer.
"Mana types are essentially classifications that describe the nature of a person's mana and the kinds of abilities they can develop."
He held up a finger.
"The most common type is Elemental Mana. These awakeners control natural elements such as fire, ice, wind, earth, lightning, water, and similar forces. They're generally straightforward and easy to identify."
A second finger rose.
"Next is Spiritual Mana. These abilities are less physical and more connected to higher concepts. Light, shadow, souls, purification, curses, blessings—those kinds of powers fall into the spiritual category."
A third finger.
"Then there's Arcane Mana."
Even Mara's expression became serious at the mention of it.
"Arcane users are rare," Herkid explained. "Their abilities often affect the laws of reality itself. Things like time manipulation, gravity control, dimensional travel, spatial storage, and other bizarre abilities usually fall into the Arcane category."
Zhu nodded thoughtfully.
Those already sounded frightening enough.
Then Herkid raised a fourth finger.
"Finally, there's Mutation Mana."
His expression became noticeably more complicated.
"Mutation types are extremely rare. Unlike the others, they don't follow predictable rules. Their powers can evolve in unexpected ways, mutate into entirely new abilities, or develop characteristics that nobody has ever seen before."
"They're powerful?" Zhu asked casually.
"Sometimes."
Herkid shrugged.
"Sometimes they're nothing more than enhanced bodily functions—super strength, tougher skin, faster reflexes. Other times... they're disasters."
Mara nodded in agreement.
"The problem with mutation users is that nobody knows what they're going to become. Some awaken weak abilities that slowly evolve into something extraordinary. Others awaken powerful abilities that become unstable and eventually destroy them."
"Most researchers hate studying mutation types," Herkid added with a laugh. "Every time they think they've discovered a rule, a mutation awakener comes along and breaks it."
Zhu quietly absorbed the information.
Unpredictable evolution of powers...
For some reason, that description made her very uncomfortable.
Especially when combined with the words displayed elsewhere on her screen.
Mana Core Stability: 38% — Unstable Core Evolution.
She suddenly had a feeling that her awakening was going to bring her far more trouble than benefits.
Unfortunately, experience told her that whenever she had a bad feeling...
It usually turned out to be correct.