Soren did not sleep.
Not because he didn't try.
Not because he wasn't tired.
Not because he wasn't emotionally, spiritually, and physically destroyed.
But because every time he closed his eyes, the symbol on his chest pulsed.
Not painfully.
Not violently.
Just… insistently.
Like a knock on a door he didn't want to open.
Soren lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. "I hate this place."
The fox curled on his stomach, glowing faintly, chirping in soft, sleepy reassurance.
Kael slept in the bunk across from him, perfectly still, like a man who had never known fear.
Lira slept curled under a blanket, frost‑wolf at her feet.
Aldric snored loudly enough to shake the windows.
Soren whispered, "Why am I the only one awake. Why am I the only one cursed. Why am I the only one glowing."
The fox chirped.
Soren sighed. "Okay. You're glowing too. But you're cute. I'm just stressed."
The symbol pulsed again.
Soren screamed into his pillow.
The Whisper Returns
It started faintly.
A hum.
A vibration.
A soft tug in his chest.
Soren froze. "No. No no no. Not again. I'm off the clock. I'm not doing corruption things at night."
The hum grew stronger.
The fox lifted its head, ears twitching.
Soren whispered, "Buddy… do you hear that."
The fox chirped uneasily.
Then—
A whisper.
"Awake."
Soren screamed silently. "NO. NO. I'M ASLEEP. I'M VERY ASLEEP. I'M THE MOST ASLEEP ANYONE HAS EVER BEEN."
The whisper continued.
"Listen."
Soren shook his head violently. "NO THANK YOU."
"Listen."
"NO."
"LISTEN."
Soren sat upright in bed. "OKAY. FINE. I'M LISTENING. STOP YELLING IN MY SOUL."
Kael stirred. "Soren…?"
Soren froze. "NOTHING. I'M FINE. I'M NORMAL. I'M NOT TALKING TO ANYONE."
Aldric snorted in his sleep.
Lira mumbled something about snowflakes.
The fox climbed onto Soren's shoulder, glowing brighter.
The whisper deepened.
"You carry me."
Soren whispered back, "I DIDN'T ASK TO."
"You touched me."
"I PANICKED."
"You chose me."
"I DID NOT."
"You did."
Soren grabbed his hair. "I HATE THIS PLACE."
The Vision That Isn't a Vision
The room dissolved.
Not physically.
Not magically.
But in that strange, dream‑adjacent way where reality flickered like a candle.
Soren found himself standing in a forest.
Not the corrupted forest.
Not the academy forest.
A different one.
Older.
Darker.
Alive.
The trees whispered.
The ground pulsed.
The air shimmered with red and white light.
Soren whispered, "No. No no no. I don't want to be here. I want to be in bed. I want to be unconscious."
The fox appeared beside him, glowing brighter than ever.
Soren grabbed him. "Buddy, what is happening."
The whisper echoed around them.
"You are mine."
Soren screamed. "NO I'M NOT. I BELONG TO ME. AND MY FOX. AND MAYBE KAEL A LITTLE BIT. BUT NOT YOU."
The forest pulsed.
A figure appeared.
Not fully.
Not clearly.
Just a silhouette — tall, cloaked, shifting like smoke.
Soren froze. "No. No. No. No. NO."
The figure raised a hand.
The symbol on Soren's chest burned.
Soren screamed. "STOP TOUCHING MY SOUL."
The figure spoke.
"Find me."
Soren screamed louder. "NO. I DON'T WANT TO FIND YOU. I WANT TO AVOID YOU FOREVER."
The figure stepped closer.
The fox leapt between them, tails flaring with blinding light.
The vision shattered.
Back in the Dorm (Soren Panics)
Soren jolted awake with a scream.
Kael was already out of bed, spear in hand. "What happened."
Lira sat up, eyes wide. "Soren?"
Aldric groaned. "If he exploded, I'm going back to sleep."
Soren clutched the fox. "I SAW HIM."
Kael frowned. "Who."
"The whisper man. The corruption man. The 'find me' man. THE MAN WHO LIVES IN MY SOUL."
Lira gasped. "You had another vision?"
Soren nodded violently. "YES. AND I HATED IT."
Aldric rubbed his face. "Describe him."
"I CAN'T. HE WAS SMOKE. AND CLOAKS. AND EVIL. AND TALL."
Kael sat beside him. "What did he say."
Soren swallowed. "He said… 'find me.'"
Silence.
Heavy.
Cold.
Uncomfortable.
Lira whispered, "That means he's alive."
Aldric muttered, "And connected."
Kael's jaw tightened. "And watching."
Soren screamed. "I HATE THIS PLACE."
The fox chirped, pressing its head to Soren's cheek.
The symbol on Soren's chest pulsed again.
Once.
Twice.
Stronger.
Something was changing.
Something was waking.
Something was calling him.
And Soren wanted absolutely nothing to do with it.