Nyxborn-The Forgotten Etherium

Renar forced his expression to remain neutral, but inside, a storm raged.

His shadow.

It wasn't his anymore.

The hunter was still watching, silent and unreadable. If Renar said the wrong thing, made the wrong move, this man could become his enemy.

He needed to end this conversation.

But before he could speak—

"You don't belong here."

Renar stiffened. The hunter's voice was quiet, but the weight behind it was undeniable.

He knew something. Not everything—but enough.

The tension between them thickened.

Then, the hunter did something Renar didn't expect.

He stepped back.

He didn't draw his bow. Didn't call for the guards. Didn't demand answers.

He simply turned.

"You should leave," the hunter murmured.

Renar narrowed his eyes. Why?

The man had caught something unnatural. If he truly thought Renar was a threat, shouldn't he act? Shouldn't he report him?

Instead, he was letting him go.

Why?

Before Renar could ask, the hunter was already moving, disappearing into the crowd.

Gone.

Renar remained still, heart pounding.

The hunter had let him go. But that didn't mean he was safe.

If the man knew—or even suspected—then someone else would, too.

He was being watched.

The Whisper

That night, Renar left the village.

He didn't trust inns. Not anymore. If the hunter had noticed something was wrong, who else might?

Instead, he found shelter in the forest, near an old ruined shrine. The stones were cracked, the symbols worn beyond recognition.

It felt forgotten.

Like him.

Renar exhaled and sat against the cold stone, his mind replaying everything.

The hunter. The bounty poster. His missing history. His wrong shadow.

Nothing made sense.

But one thing was clear.

If the world had erased him—why was he still here?

Renar ran a hand through his hair. Nyx Etherium. The power that should have killed him. What had it done instead?

And then—

A whisper.

Low. Ancient. Crawling into his bones.

"You still don't see it, do you?"

Renar's breath caught.

The voice wasn't coming from the forest.

It was coming from his own shadow.