Chapter 39: Sacha Nekros.
{Take it outside.}
I frowned. ’Outside?’
{Yes, outside your body, genius. Unless you’d prefer it hatching in your chest cavity. Messy, but your choice.}
I rolled my eyes. ’You could just say that instead of sounding like a cursed instruction manual.’
{Where’s the fun in that? Now, focus.}
I drew a slow breath and pressed my palm against my sternum. My skin was cool at first, then hot, like touching metal left under the sun. The warmth grew until it throbbed with my pulse, and light began to bleed through my fingers.
A sharp tug ran through me, deep in my gut, not painful, but wrong, like something was being gently unstitched from inside. I grit my teeth and pulled.
The air shimmered.
Something heavy slipped through my hand, and suddenly I was holding it a small white egg, smooth and cold, its surface webbed with delicate blue veins that pulsed in time with my heartbeat.
For a moment, I just stared. It was beautiful in a strange, unnerving way, like it didn’t belong in this world at all.
’You were inside me all this time,’ I murmured. ’But its time to wake up.’
{Now put it down before it decides you look edible.}
I set the egg on the bed. The sheets rustled softly beneath it, and for a second, everything was still — too still.
Then the light started to build.
Thin cracks traced across the shell, glowing blue from within. The veins pulsed faster, brighter, the light spilling through like water breaking through glass.
’Bastard?’
{Don’t blink.}
The egg gave a soft, almost wet sound, and then—
CRACK.
The shell split, spiderweb fractures racing across its surface. Blue light poured out, flooding the room, so bright it burned through my vision. The air trembled, my mana surging on its own as if responding to a silent call.
And then it burst.
A blinding explosion of light filled the space, radiant, pure, alive. My breath caught as the force slammed into me, hurling back my hair and rattling the window panes.
Somewhere beneath the roar of magic, I could swear I heard something breathe for the first time.
The light faded slowly, folding back into itself until the air stopped trembling. Blue motes drifted lazily like fireflies, settling over the bed and vanishing into the sheets.
I blinked through the haze, lungs burning, ears ringing. My hands were trembling — not from fear, just... something else. Something I couldn’t name.
And then I saw it.
Curled in my lap was a small shape, pure white, its fur glistening faintly under the fading light. It was no bigger than a cat, its tail flicking once before curling against my leg. The shell it had burst from lay in fragments around us, each piece fading into nothing before it even hit the ground.
A tiger.
A white tiger.
Its coat shimmered faintly with threads of blue light running through the fur like veins of crystal. When it breathed, the glow pulsed softly, steady, rhythmic in perfect sync with the beat in my chest.
Then its eyes opened.
Two perfect orbs of blue light, cold and alive all at once, stared up at me. My throat went dry.
I didn’t say a word.
Even Bastard stayed quiet.
Then—
CRASH!
The door burst inward, splinters flying across the room.
"Sebastian!"
Belle stumbled through the cloud of dust, her expression sharp with alarm. Her mana still flared faintly around her hands, bright and ready. "What happened? Are you okay—"
Her voice caught.
She stopped mid-step, head tilting slightly as if she’d walked into an invisible wall. The air around us still hummed faintly, vibrating with leftover energy.
Her blindfold hid her eyes, but I could feel her stare fixed on the small creature sitting on my lap.
"...Sebastian," she said quietly, her tone uncertain. "There’s... something else here."
The tiger turned its head toward her, unblinking. The blue in its eyes deepened, like liquid light rippling through glass.
Belle drew in a slow breath. "That... thing... it’s alive."
I swallowed hard, unable to look away from it, from her. The creature just stared back at me, calm, silent, as if it had been waiting for this exact moment.
{Well,} Bastard finally murmured, voice low and strangely subdued. {Congratulations, Sebastian. You’ve just become a father.}
Belle stayed frozen for a long moment, her mana still flickering faintly around her fingers. Then, slowly, she lowered her hands and crossed the room. The sound of her footsteps was careful, almost hesitant, like she was approaching a wild thing that might bolt at any second.
The bed creaked slightly as she sat beside me.
Her shoulder brushed mine, and for a while, neither of us spoke. The faint hum in the air still lingered, soft and steady, pulsing from the white tiger curled on my lap. It blinked once, blue eyes gleaming like twin shards of crystal, then nestled its head against my knee with a soft, rumbling breath.
Belle tilted her head slightly. "What... is that?" she asked finally, voice low but edged with curiosity. "It feels alive. And... familiar."
I forced my expression to stay neutral. "It’s my spirit," I said evenly. "Just... manifested in physical form."
The lie came easily. Too easily.
Belle turned her face toward me, blindfold hiding her eyes, but not the faint curve of disbelief tugging at her lips. She didn’t need sight to see through it.
"Your spirit," she repeated. "Right."
Her tone was calm, not mocking, but there was something underneath a quiet amusement that told me she knew exactly how much I was not saying.
I looked down at the tiger again, pretending not to notice. Its tail flicked once, brushing my wrist.
"Yeah," I said after a moment. "My spirit."
An awkward silence followed. The kind that fills a room when neither person wants to ask the next question.
Belle finally exhaled, leaning forward slightly, elbows on her knees. The faintest smile touched her lips. "It’s beautiful," she murmured. "But strange. Its presence... it’s not like any spirit I’ve ever felt before."
I didn’t respond. I couldn’t.
The tiger blinked up at her, unbothered, its chest rising and falling in quiet rhythm. Belle’s mana brushed against it tentative, curious, and for a moment, the air between them shimmered. Then she pulled back, thoughtful.
"I’ll pretend to believe you," she said softly. "For now."
I smirked faintly. "Appreciate the generosity."
Belle didn’t answer, just kept watching the tiger, that faint crease between her brows betraying her confusion, or maybe something deeper.
The creature shifted again, settling its head more comfortably on my lap. Its fur was cool to the touch, faintly pulsing with light beneath the surface, alive in a way no spirit had ever been.
And as Belle sat beside me, silent and suspicious, I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was watching both of us.
Belle leaned a little closer, still staring at the tiger as it breathed softly on my lap. Its fur shimmered faintly in the dim light, each pulse of blue running through it like quiet lightning beneath snow.
After a moment, she broke the silence. "So," she said, voice casual, "what are you going to name it?"
I glanced at her. "Name it?"
"Obviously," she said, like it was the most natural thing in the world. "You can’t just call it ’my spirit’ forever. That’s boring."
I raised a brow. "And what would you name it?"
Belle pursed her lips in thought. "Hmm... Snowball."
I stared at her. "...You’re kidding."
"Or maybe Mister Meowgic."
I blinked once, slowly. "You’re actually serious."
She shrugged, trying and failing to hide her grin. "It fits! Look at it. Fluffy. Mysterious. Magical."
"I’m not calling it Mister Meowgic."
"You could shorten it to Meow—"
"No."
Belle laughed quietly, leaning back on her hands, clearly pleased with herself. "Fine. Then what are you going to name her?"
I looked down at the tiger again. Her eyes met mine deep, calm, and impossibly blue. Something flickered there, faint but unmistakable. Recognition.
A small smile tugged at my lips. "Sacha," I said quietly. "Sacha Nekros."
Belle tilted her head. "That’s... nice. Sounds a little dramatic, though."
I reached down, brushing my fingers through Sacha’s fur. "She’s the newest member of the family."
At that, the tiger made a soft sound a quiet, rumbling purr that vibrated through my lap. The faint blue light along her fur brightened for a moment, wrapping the room in a soft, ethereal glow.
Belle smiled, and even through the blindfold, I could tell her expression had softened.
"Welcome to the family, Sacha," she said gently.
The tiger blinked once, then leaned her head against my hand, still purring.