"Very interesting…"
said Vladmir, crossing his arms while keeping his eyes fixed on Nikolai.
"To see a novice sustain such a spell for so long and still remain standing… Honestly, few in this tower would be capable of such a feat, boy."
At first glance, Vladmir seemed the most sober of the eccentric group. But it took only a few seconds for Nikolai to understand why he was the leader. With a calm, almost casual gesture, Vladmir pulled something from his back: an object wrapped in leather straps and engraved with ancient runes. And then he revealed it: a human head, shriveled, with stitched eyes and a half-open mouth, as if still whispering secrets from beyond death.
"Look, mother…"
he murmured, raising the head toward Nikolai.
"What do you think of this boy? He has potential, doesn't he?"
The silence that followed was cold as metal on a moonless night. But before the atmosphere could sink into something worse, Ekaterina stepped forward, firm as only an old master could be.
"Lords of the Blood Seekers group,"
her voice rang clear,
"I rented this space. I am training my pupil for our next incursion. If you desire some sort of partnership, I suggest you contact Kuzma, our group's leader."
Vladmir still seemed immersed in a silent dialogue with the head in his hands. But upon hearing Ekaterina, he looked at her for the first time — and the gaze was like a blade scraping stone.
"Ah… so you're from Kuzma's group."
"I've heard of your group."
He smiled, without humor.
"You don't fight for honor, you don't seek discovery. You only gather the crumbs we leave behind. Who are you… to speak to me… while I'm introducing someone to my mother?"
His eyes — once merely intense — now glowed deep red, like coals about to erupt into embers. Ekaterina turned pale. She, who had faced unspeakable horrors in Vybor, now stepped back.
Nikolai did not hesitate.
"Master Vladmir…"
he said, voice steady,
"as you must know, I'm part of Kuzma's group. Ekaterina is my mentor, and we're the ones who rented this training field, at least for the morning period. As far as I know, even the strongest still follow rules… don't they, Alexandra?"
At the mention of that name, the air seemed to freeze. At the top of the tower, high above the enchanted peak, a gigantic, ethereal Eye, made of pure blue light, floated — watching. It was rare for it to react. Rarer still to interfere. But this time… the Eye turned.
And when Alexandra focused her gaze on the group, a wave of invisible energy descended like a silent thunderclap. Everyone present — even Vladmir — staggered. Muscles weakened. Legs trembled. The pressure was so intense that even the air seemed to grow heavy. All… except for Nikolai and Ekaterina. The energy bypassed them, as if recognizing them. As if protecting them was intentional.
Vladmir dropped to his knees, the mummified head still in his hands.
"How dare you…"
he hissed through clenched teeth, veins throbbing in his red eyes.
Vladmir still seemed about to say something, but before he could open his mouth, he was yanked forcefully by the giant with disheveled hair and an almost comical appearance who accompanied him. In silence, the rest of the group withdrew, as if obeying an invisible call. Within seconds, the red cloaks and stifling presences vanished into the tower's misty horizon.
Only then did Alexandra's great Eye withdraw its crushing presence.
"Thank you very much, Miss Alexandra…"
Nikolai murmured, relieved. The response came straight to his mind, cold as the touch of an ice needle:
"No problem, Nikolai. But I won't do this again."
The words echoed in his consciousness with unyielding firmness. That had been his only card. His only defense against what was clearly a threat far beyond his current level. Even so, he had no regrets. Vladmir would never have backed down from a polite request. That had been necessary.
Turning around, he saw Ekaterina still standing, her eyes lost in the horizon where the group had disappeared. Her expression, usually calm, was now somber.
"Are you alright, Master?"
he asked, approaching with genuine concern.
Ekaterina let out a bitter sigh.
"Of all the possible witnesses… it had to be those lunatics…"
Nikolai remained silent. He didn't exactly know who they were. And to be honest, he'd never cared much about other groups. What he wanted most was to train. To grow stronger. And often, he didn't even know where that drive came from. Maybe because of what he had already lived through… Maybe because he knew no one would come to save him if something went wrong.
"Master… who are they?"
he finally asked.
Ekaterina turned her eyes from the horizon and looked at him for several long seconds. There was hesitation in her gaze, as if weighing how much she should reveal. But in the end, she spoke:
"They are the Blood Seekers… One of the most powerful groups in Vybor. In fact, although they've been here for a long time, the group formed shortly before you arrived. What was known about them was little more than whispers: that they were unstable. Unclassifiable. That they descended into the depths alone, each on their own."
Nikolai raised an eyebrow.
"They went down… alone? Is that even possible? I mean… allowed?"
Ekaterina nodded, slowly.
"There have always been those who preferred to act alone. Like the brothers Prokhor and Rodion."
Nikolai remembered the two — Kuzma had hired them for support during his first incursion. Bounty hunters. They rejected any kind of summons or alliance. They only stepped in for payment — direct, high, and upfront. At the time, Nikolai had found it odd, but he had never thought too deeply about it. Now it made sense. If something went wrong, it would be only those two who showed up.
"The difference…"
Ekaterina continued,
"is that while the brothers sought profit and calculated risk, there were others who dove into Vybor out of a pure desire to embrace chaos. These, we called the Outcasts."
"Outcasts…?"
Nikolai repeated.
"And are they strong?"
Ekaterina let out a dry, humorless laugh.
"Extremely. Groups tried to recruit them over the years. Some even succeeded for brief periods. But most were simply… uncontrollable. Unstable. Some with dangerous compulsions, others with desires so dark that even the strongest groups didn't want them around. Over time, they were cast aside. Removed from search records. Ignored."
Nikolai frowned, trying to piece it all together.
"But… what does that have to do with Vladmir? The Outcasts didn't operate in groups, right?"
Ekaterina looked at him seriously. The kind of look that precedes uncomfortable truths.
"Exactly. They didn't operate in groups,"
she said, slowly.
"Until Vladmir showed up."
"What do you mean…?"
She looked at the ground for a moment. Then her eyes met his again, with a gleam that mixed respect and fear.
"Vladmir didn't gather just any group, Nikolai. He… united the worst of the Outcasts. Summoned, convinced, or controlled them… no one knows for sure. But every member of the Blood Seekers was once considered the most unfit to be part of any team. Expelled, ignored, or abandoned. Now… they fight together. And they follow Vladmir like a dog follows its master."
Silence. The weight of that revelation fell on Nikolai like a boulder. Those lunatics were, in truth, the remnants of the impossible. And Vladmir… was the man who had made the impossible work.
"He turned them into a group?"
Nikolai whispered.
"Not just that,"
Ekaterina replied.
"He turned them into a weapon. Vladmir also started out as an Outcast,"
she continued, crossing her arms as she gazed at the horizon, her eyes heavy with memory.
"And somehow… or with some goal no one has understood to this day, he managed to gather the most dangerous and unstable individuals I've ever met. Honestly… at first, I thought it would end in blood, with someone dismembered in the first week."
She paused briefly, as if trying to organize the absurdity of her own recollection.
"But, to everyone's surprise… not only did it work, they actually improved. They began to cover each other's flaws with a mastery that rivals veteran groups. Vladmir made the impossible look easy."
Nikolai absorbed that in silence. It was clear that Ekaterina didn't like the group — but neither did she disrespect them. On the contrary. Her respect came from the rarest kind: the kind born of fear.
"The formation of that group,"
she continued,
"is the reason the rankings change almost every week. Officially, they're listed as the fifth-best group in Vybor…"
She hesitated, then added:
"But honestly? I'd place them at least third."
Nikolai's eyes widened. The ranking was updated based on efficiency, raw power, mission success rate, and survival. Making it into the top 10 was already an enormous achievement. The top 3? Practically untouchable.
"But it's strange… they came to the training field without their domas,"
Nikolai commented, still processing it all.
"That's not as unusual as it seems,"
Ekaterina responded with a heavy sigh.
"There are many tamers in Vybor who see their domas as tools. Some even go so far as to lock them up for "protection"… but deep down, they're people who don't trust even their own shadow."
Nikolai frowned. The idea of walking without Ashen at his side was almost absurd. He and his bear had been through so much together that any distance felt like a fatal mistake.
"But where do they keep them?"
Ekaterina hesitated. Her eyes landed on Nikolai with that same silent, weighing look, as if deciding whether to reveal a truth or spare her pupil a burden. At last, she relented:
"What they say… is that the Blood Seekers keep their domas locked away. In reinforced cells. Like weapons at rest… or like dogs waiting for the signal to attack."
It felt like a punch to the gut. Even Ashen, who had been listening closely from the shadows behind Nikolai, let out a low, guttural growl. A sound of disgust.
"I know what you're thinking,"
murmured Ekaterina, serious.
"They are peculiar. But here in Vybor, strength is currency. And those who have enough… can do whatever they want. Even disrespect the creature that accepted to protect them."
Her tone shifted now, growing more curious.
"Nikolai…"
she called, more gently now.
"Since when do you know how to use Raz-Kai?"
the question came firm, but not aggressive.
"I've never even seen you practice that spell."
Nikolai hesitated. He was still shaken by everything he had heard, but Ekaterina was his master — the last person he would hide anything from.
"Actually…"
he began, adjusting his tone,
"I was testing some spells from Marya's notebook. That one seemed to be one of the simplest in structure, so I thought it would be safe to try. But… the effect demanded much more than I expected. It didn't seem like just a difficult technique, so I wanted to train it."
Ekaterina looked around. People were still peeking from the upper windows, whispering. She stepped closer to Nikolai and whispered, barely audibly:
"Raz-Kai is a spell that only Brown Bears are capable of channeling. And not just any of them… only those of superior lineage. The ones that carry rare mutations, warlike instincts, and ancient blood."
Nikolai swallowed hard. Ekaterina looked at Ashen with intensity.
"Maybe…"
she continued,
"you've found which mutation Ashen belongs to."
Ekaterina was the tamer of a Blue Bear, an elemental creature whose affinity was with the forces of flow, rune structure, offensive layers, and massive channeled attacks — like volcanoes erupting forward. It was a type of precision and power magic, built for destruction. Her style was calculated, almost mathematical. That's why learning spells linked to Brown Bears — known for their savage rites of bodily fusion, physical metamorphosis, transmutation of claws, teeth, flesh, and weapon — was not only discouraged, but incompatible with her magical nature.
In the magical world of the northern folk, each conjurer and their doma had very well-defined cognitive limits. It was possible for a Brown Bear to attempt spells of ice or light, for example — but they would never do so with the same power, speed, efficiency, or cost as a White or Blue Bear. It was like trying to cut stone with a blade meant to pierce: it could work, but with significant loss.
In practice, casting a spell outside one's affinity wasn't just a mistake… it was madness. It consumed too much energy, demanded disproportionate mental effort, and often caused internal conflict in the bond between tamer and creature.
And yet… Raz-Kai, one of the Brown Bears' most brutal spells — a temporary metamorphosis where the tamer channels the essence of their doma into a living weapon — had emerged with ease in Nikolai's hands. Real ease. As if that spell recognized him.
Ekaterina knew: if he had more field experience, he would have noticed something that still eluded him. The amount of time he had managed to sustain the scythe form — just over a minute — was exactly the average for veteran Brown Masters. No preparation. No training. No rune reinforcement. He just… did it.
"Vladmir wasn't exaggerating…"
thought Ekaterina.
"He was stating a fact. Nikolai really was a rare exception, even in Vybor."
But that was only part of the puzzle. Because Nikolai wasn't just good at metamorphosis. In previous training sessions, Ekaterina had already seen him execute spell sequences with refined control — something typical of Blue affinity conjurers. And once, she had seen him help Daria heal wounds from her group with a green light that floated like liquid plasma — a light spell, rare and demanding, compatible only with White Bears. And in direct combat… There were moments when Nikolai struck like a Black Bear: brute strength, direct impact, unrelenting violence.
It was… too much. Too good. In a way that didn't make sense.
Ekaterina, with all her experience and knowledge, had cataloged over 30 deviants, each with their rare and exotic peculiarities. And even so… Nikolai was an anomaly far beyond a mere singularity.
He carries too many traits.
Channels spells of opposing affinities as if they were variations of the same technique.
He… defies the logic of doma, far beyond someone mediocre in many areas.
She glanced at Ashen, who now watched the sky with his single eye — alert, aware. The bear didn't seem merely protective. He seemed conscious. As if he, too, were listening to her thoughts.
Ekaterina narrowed her eyes. She felt more questions than answers.
Maybe Ashen… doesn't belong to any known lineage.
But if he doesn't…
Then what is he?