That message hits me, and the raging sea within finally calms. As it does, the blue crystal flares with light, and I feel a sudden pull--about twenty percent of my pool is ripped away in an instant.

  My strength plummets. A heavy, bone-deep fatigue crashes into me. My breath quivers. The world around me dims, shadows swallowing the edges of my vision. Nico’s voice cuts through, muffled and distant, calling my name over and over.

  Wait. Does this mean that all this time… to awaken my dragon blood, I needed star ether?

  'Of course… that makes sense. Dragons are ancient, mythical. Ether was part of their being. Gaining access to the pool… it must have awakened it.'

  My head grows lighter, my thoughts slipping like sand through my fingers. It’s getting harder (so much harder) to hold onto focus. But if awakening a bloodline means…

  The thought dies in my mind. Darkness folds around me completely. I’m already asleep, and the world has gone utterly, impossibly silent.

  ***

  When I wake, I’m wrapped in a sleeping bag. My eyes crack open, and the odd, phosphorescent cave light stabs at my retinas. I squint, groaning softly.

  I feel weak, and my head spins like I’ve been spun around a dozen times and dropped. What the hell happened to me when I touched that Ether Pool?

  ‘Oh yeah. I got that message.’

  There’s a long pause in my mind before the weight of it sinks in.

  Oh… shit. I got that message.

  My arms feel like they’re made of damp cloth, but I force myself upright and summon the system window. It shimmers into existence instantly, but there’s nothing new. No shiny “bloodline awakened” announcement, no sudden boost in stats. Everything looks the same.

  At least… until I notice it. The crystal hanging from my chest, pulsing faintly with soft blue ether light, like it’s breathing.

  A touch brushes my shoulder. It's as light as a petal. My body stiffens instantly. I don’t like it. I don’t like anyone’s touch, and his especially makes my skin crawl.

  “Are you alright?”

  Really? I’m stranded on a mysterious planet, just went through bone-deep agony, I’m fifteen, and apparently incapable of dying. ‘Think again, genius.’

  “Not bad,” I say sweetly, like a harmless little girl. Can’t let him see what I’m thinking. Not yet. “What is this?”

  “Energy containment crystal,” Nico says. “You’ve got quite the pool. About… eighty percent.”

  “Is that a good thing?”

  “In most cases, yes. You’re quite the capable dormant human.”

  His eyes narrow behind his wire-rimmed glasses, the light glinting off the lenses. He looks cartoonish and curious. Definitely curious about my pool. Maybe even surprised.

  Crap. If this punk figures out anything, I’ll kill him. And if he kills me first… I’ll just rewind time and make sure he never gets the chance.

  “Is there, by any chance, you’re a star child?” he asks after a brief silence.

  The question is so absurd I can’t help but laugh. “What makes you think that, genius?” I scoff. “I’ve only just learned how to draw out my power.”

  He stares at me far longer than I’m comfortable with. His gaze is sharp, dissecting, as if trying to peel away every layer of me. One thing becomes painfully clear...this bastard doesn’t believe me.

  “You don’t believe me!” I snap.

  “Of course I don’t. You’re a psychopath.”

  “Well, I’m not the one who let my teammates die for the sake of research.”

  He freezes for just a heartbeat, then smirks. “What gave it off?”

  “We’ve known each other for fifteen years. I know you,” I argue, heat rising in my voice. “You’re cautious, calculative. You get rid of loose ends—and your teammates were loose ends.”

  He clicks his tongue. “I guess I underestimated you, Astrid. You’ve got me. Now tell me, are you a star child? Out of all of us here, you’re the one with the highest chance of survival.”

  “Me?” I jab a finger at my own chest just to make sure he’s talking about the same person. “Have you gone mad?”

  “Yes… and no,” he says, his tone unsettlingly calm. “Everyone here grew up relying on companionship. We were taught to lean on each other to survive. That means none of us can survive alone. You’re different. You wouldn’t just survive without a team—you’d thrive.”

  ‘Is this your way of telling me that being lonely is cool?’

  I get what he means. The only reason I’ve made it this far is because I’m used to being alone—therefore, I can survive alone.

  The others depended on each other. Indeed, people often say that humans thrive in groups. After all, space wasn’t colonized by a single person. But that’s bullshit to me. A person with enough power can colonize space. Entire civilizations would bend the knee to someone capable of bending reality. Why? Because of a tool called fear.

  “What I’m saying is, I think I finally understand why you were sent here alone,” he continues. “You’re Adam’s favorite toy, and he doesn’t trust any of us to keep you safe.”

  I grit my teeth the instant I hear that name. Calling me his favorite toy doesn’t bother me—almost everyone at the lab says it. I’m the only one with silver hair. That means something. But his name triggers something in me.

  “So tell me, do you have the Star Child blessing?” he asks again.

  He’s itching to know. But there’s no way to learn someone’s blessing or curse unless they tell you. My system window is invisible to everyone except me.

  He thinks I’m hiding something, like being a Star Child. Unfortunately for him…

  “I’m not,” I say. I take off the crystal and hand it back to him. “I feel different, though. What happened to me?”

  He smiles. It's an unsure, incomplete smile, but he takes my answer and replies.

  “You’ve awakened your ability to use Star Ether,” Nico says. “When you hold your breath, you can channel it into your body, whether into your fists or legs. You will strike harder, move faster. But since we’re both dormant, it eats a lot of energy. That’s why you should rely more on magic items.”

  I nod.

  “But I don’t have any magic items.”

  “It’s alright.”

  He extends his hand like he’s offering a handshake. My gut tells me to take it, so I do. The moment our hands meet, a sharp spark rips through me. It's hot and electric. My whole body jolts.

  [You have received two items]

  He releases my hand. “I’ve lent you two items. Use them wisely.”

  I call up the system window. Two new entries flash in the item list: [Trusted Dagger] and [Mirror Necklace].

  Light bursts into the air as I summon them. Ether pours out of me in a rush, and the Dagger solidifies in my right hand in less than five seconds, but the Mirror Necklace takes almost forty before it settles cold and heavy against my neck.

  Its centerpiece is a deep red gem, pulsing with energy. The pulse snakes into me, crawling under my skin until it shivers through my spine. I can feel it, something foreign has just invaded my body.

  [The Mirror has established a connection]

  I turn to Nico, eyes sharp. “What have you done to me?”

  “Nothing,” he says. “I just can’t use the Mirror. I don’t have the Ether for it.”

  “What does it do?”

  “Creates copies. Each one is as strong as you,” he says coldly, eyes never leaving me. He still has that look. He doesn’t believe me.

  “What’s the catch?”

  “You lose thirty percent of your pool every time you use it. And since you don’t know how to channel, you’ll lose thirty percent for each copy you make.”

  “I can only make two copies, since my pool is at eighty percent.”

  “Yes.”

  That’s good enough for me.

  I lift the dagger, giving it a few slow, deliberate swings. The black steel catches the cave light, the leather hilt warm in my grip. Intricate runes spiral along its length, waiting for Ether to flow through them.

  “Does it have special abilities?” I ask, scanning the weapon. It’s light, perfectly balanced, almost like it was made for my hand. “Can it create lightning? Tear through reality?”

  I’ve read about magic weapons before. I’ve seen them at the facility, watched what they can do in the hands of a Nexus being, cutting through starship hulls, collapsing colonies into black holes, transforming into beasts large enough to devour a city. All forged from rare ores mined on “Blessed Planets.”

  “The Trusted Dagger carries Ether,” Nico says, voice flat. “The more you feed it, the sharper it becomes.”

  A little disappointing. But honestly, I didn’t expect him to hand me a world-ending relic even if he had one.

  ‘A magic weapon is still a magic weapon, Astrid.’

  I stretch, muscles rolling beneath my skin. Something’s different. The cave feels warmer now, the air no longer clawing at my lungs. That constant prickle of danger, the one that’s been riding me since I arrived, is almost.

  It should feel like a perk of awakening my abilities. But the pessimist in me whispers otherwise. Nothing good comes from this. It just means I’m more valuable to Bloodhaul now. If I make it back, I’ll be their prized asset.

  Gods… I need to sever every tie to that facility. But without the skill to channel Ether properly, I’m still chained to them.

  “You should show me how to channel now,” I say. “I’ll be more useful then.”

  “You already know enough.” His gaze doesn’t waver. “Piece the rest together yourself. While you’re at it, I’ll check the perimeter. If it’s clear, we’ll proceed through the fog.”

  My voice jumps before I can stop it. “Are you kidding me? You’re planning to leave me here. Just like how you left your teammates to test something, aren’t you?”

  “We weren’t teammates. And yes… I want to see how far you’ll keep this lie. Adam’s finest project.”

  I bristle at the accusation, a flicker of offense tightening my jaw. He doesn’t believe me, fair. I’m lying through my teeth. I just need to sell it well enough to keep him playing along. I need him to think I’m weak, but not so weak that I’m useless.

  Nico’s letting me stay here alone for a reason. He wants to see if I can survive. He also wants to confirm I’m not a star child, which means he’s going to lead something my way, something that will force me to reveal my true strength.

  He leaves the cave without another word. Silence slithers in, curling around me like an ugly phantom. I summon my trusted dagger, the light blade vibrating as I feed ether into it. The hum cuts through the quiet. Power floods my veins like wildfire, but I force it back down before it burns me alive.

  I extinguish the flames, letting the darkness reclaim the cave. My eyes adjust to the shadows as I kneel beside the carcass. The blade sinks into flesh with a wet sound, slicing deep. The stench of blood and rot swells in the air as I work, pulling out slick, heavy guts. Steam rises from them, brushing my face like damp breath.

  I keep cutting, making enough space to wedge my body inside. The stench of rotting spider flesh clogs my lungs. I hold back the urge to vomit and settle between its warm organs and wait for what comes next.

  Time drags, each second stretching into eternity, and for nearly an hour, nothing stirs. I crouch in the shadows, dagger poised in my grip, the cold metal a constant reminder of what’s coming. Then, at last, my first visitor arrives.

  It slips through the gloom with predatory patience, each step measured, each breath a low growl that rumbles like distant thunder. The stench of rotting flesh pulls it forward, drawing it toward the spider’s carcass.

  I inhale once, then hold my breath, letting my ether pool surge into every fiber of my being. Power floods me like liquid fire, sharp and intoxicating, making my skin prickle and my heartbeat thunder in my ears. It’s the kind of high that makes you feel invincible, unstoppable—dangerously so. But I clamp down on it, teeth grinding, refusing to let it steer me. I wait, motionless, every nerve taut, ready to strike the moment it draws too close.

  screeehh!

  The sound of flesh tearing rips into my ears; it’s coming from directly ahead. My visitor has begun his meal. I don’t dare imagine his size, and I pray his appetite isn’t big enough to make me the side dish.

  I remain perfectly still, making not a single sound. The spider’s corpse shudders as the creature pulls, and I have no choice but to drown in body fluids that reek far worse than I ever imagined.

  Time stretches. The visitor keeps chewing through the flesh. The brittle crack of bones accompanies each bite, like glass shattering—every time his powerful teeth sink in and tear free a massive chunk.

  I inhale, and the rush begins. My body surges with energy, my pulse quickens. I see those yellowed teeth grinding down the flesh beside me, ripping it away in strips. And then I finally glimpse what I’m dealing with…

  A wolf. Or something close. Its shape matches what I’ve seen in the Earth encyclopedias, but twisted. My vision in the dark isn’t perfect, yet I can see its mismatched eyes. One is smoldering red, the other a gleaming gold.

  While it tears into the flesh, I claw my way out of the creature’s body, slick with blood and viscera. My lungs burn. It has now been two minutes since I last took a breath. I drag myself through the damp stone, weaving into deeper pockets of shadow until I spot a narrow opening, barely wide enough for me to squeeze through.

  But before I reach it, the system flares to life.

  [A Dark Species has noticed you]

  I don’t even have time to curse. The carcass I just escaped from lurches, then hurtles across the cave, smashing into the far wall with a sickening crunch.

  A wave of bloodlust slams into me, sharp and suffocating. A shadow drops from above, hitting the ground where I stood an instant ago. I roll hard, gravel biting into my arms.

  Its eyes ignite in the dark when they land on me. Then, the grin of jagged teeth glistens as it steps forward, hunger radiating off it like heat. Without thinking, I channel ether to my legs and bolt, blitzing for the mouth of the cave, seconds before its jaws snap shut behind me.

  However, just when I am about to leave the cave, my shoulder slams into something invisible yet unyielding. The air hums, and I bounce off a barrier. I'm trapped inside this thing. This is bad...very bad.

  I look ahead, and there he is. The one responsible for the barrier.

  Nico.

  He stands just beyond the cave mouth, close enough for me to see every detail of his face. Calm eyes. A smug curve to his lips. He’s watching me struggle against a beast twice my size like this is some kind of show… like he’s waiting for me to break and reveal my true power.

  I will kill him one day.

  My body trembles in fear, but I move before the wolf pounces again and slams into the invisible wall. I let go of my hold on the ether just long enough to breathe, then inhale sharply to seize it once more. I refuse to go down without a fight.

  The wolf turns toward me, and my blade is already in motion, aiming straight for one of its eyes. Its head is close enough that I can see the saliva stretching between its teeth. But instead of dodging, it lunges, slamming its skull into me with the force of a battering ram.

  The impact drives me into the wall. Bones scream. A white-hot explosion of pain forces a shout out of me, and the ether shatters from my grasp. It could’ve been worse… or maybe there’s nothing worse than this.

  When the wolf pulls back, I drop like a ragdoll to the stone floor. The taste of blood floods my mouth, metallic and bitter. My body won’t move. It feels like every muscle has been stripped of strength. My breathing turns frantic, adrenaline fighting to numb the pain. I drag myself toward the entrance; every inch is currently an equivalent of eternity.

  I lift my head. Nico is still there, at the boundary. He's watching me get closer to death.

  The wolf’s shadow stretches over me as it approaches from behind. Hot, damp breath brushes my neck. Its jaws part, lowering toward my head. My spine burns. I can’t move. Tears blur my vision, but I keep my eyes locked on Nico.

  He raises a hand and snaps his fingers. A sharp ringing detonates in my skull, driving needles through my ears. His voice follows, curling through my mind.

  [You are on the Dragon pathway, Astrid. That’s a problem for me… because it ruins all chances I have for freedom. You’re also a liability that will slow me down since you're not a star child.]

  The connection cuts.

  The wolf’s jaws snap shut.

  Everything goes black.

  I am dead… again.

  **Your Curse has been triggered by death**

  **You have died**

  —

  A second later, I’m alive again.

  It takes a moment for the shock to settle in before I scream and grab at my head. My hands sweep over my face, my jaw, my neck. I do this over and over just to confirm it’s all still connected. Who could blame me? A second ago, it had been bitten clean off… probably chewed.

  Dying for the second time isn’t any easier. And here I’d thought maybe I could get used to it.

  “Are you alright?”

  Nico’s voice ignites a spark of rage in my chest. I don’t even think. I seize him before he can take another step toward the cave entrance. He struggles, but I’m much stronger now. I throw him across the chamber.

  He slams into the far wall with a bone-jarring crack, the whole cave shuddering with the impact.

  I remember this moment--him stepping outside, activating the barrier, and leaving me to die at the jaws of a Dark Wolf. (That’s my name for it since the system called it a Dark Species.)

  “You’re much stronger now,” Nico laughs through gritted teeth as he pushes himself up. “How did you know?”

  My eyes drop to the small device in his hand. It's sparking and hissing from the force of his grip, broken.

  “I don’t trust you,” I say, my voice flat. “I know you’d kill me the second I’m no longer useful.”

  He wipes blood from his lip and chuckles low. “Hehe, I see.”

  I know what I have to do. Nico is searching for something—and I need to find it first. Killing him now would be easy. A single thrust of the Trusted Dagger into his jugular, and I could move on.

  But that would be a mistake. He has food. He knows of something that might free me from Bloodhaul.

  I need leverage. Something to make him think I’m worth keeping alive. Something he wants to believe.

  I look him dead in the eye.

  “I am a Star Child.”