The Voice

The first thing he felt was silk.

Not scratchy linen. Not blood-soaked rags. But smooth, cool sheets that clung to his skin like water. Then came the scent—sandalwood and burning incense, not smoke and death. Light filtered through sheer drapes above him, gold-tinged and soft, like sunlight after rain.

He wasn't dead.

Not yet.

Shijinko opened his eyes.

The ceiling was carved marble, painted with constellations he didn't recognize. He turned his head slowly, and pain bloomed in his neck, dull and deep. Beside the bed, a polished bronze basin steamed gently. A servant sat silently near the wall, eyes downcast, holding a folded towel with trembling hands.

His voice came out rough. Barely a whisper.

"…Where am I?"

The servant flinched, stood too quickly, and vanished behind the wooden doors before answering. Shijinko blinked, confused. Every sound, every movement felt distant—like the world was underwater. Then the door opened again.

This time, a tall man entered.

Robes of deep indigo. Rings of pearl and jet on every finger. A beard sculpted like it was chiseled from midnight. He smiled—not warmly, but politely.

"Ah," the man said. "The boy awakens."

Shijinko sat up, but his body rebelled. Muscles screamed. Scars burned. Something inside him shifted—souls stirring like caged animals at the scent of something unfamiliar.

The man noticed.

"You don't need to speak," he said, walking closer. "You were found collapsed at the edge of the Sable Valley. Burn wounds. Dehydrated. Raving in your sleep. I brought you to the capital—for healing. For safety."

Shijinko studied him. "Why?"

The man laughed lightly. "Because mercy, boy, is its own currency. And I'm very rich."

He sat beside the bed and lowered his voice.

"My name is Lord Veylan Reth, master of this estate, owner of seven merchant fleets, and... collector of rare things. You, I suspect, are one of them."

Shijinko didn't answer.

"Don't worry," Veylan continued, leaning forward. "I've no interest in harming you. Quite the opposite. You'll find my household is one of peace. You may recover here. Eat. Read. Learn. I've arranged for tutors and physicians. No cost. No debt."

He paused.

"But there will come a time, young one, when I ask you who you truly are."

Shijinko looked him in the eye for the first time. There was something ancient behind the merchant's gaze—something that saw past broken skin and ragged breath. A knowing.

Veylan smiled again, this time thinner.

"For now, rest."

He stood and left the room as quietly as he came in.

3 Days Later

Shijinko walked the estate's garden alone, his pace slow, his body still adjusting to movement after days in bed. He wasn't sure how long he had been unconscious, only that he had awoken in a world that smelled too sweet and looked too pristine to be real.

The House of Reth was not built for someone like him.

The stone pathways were spotless, as if they had never known dirt. The flower beds were arranged in precise patterns, vines curling around trellises with unnatural symmetry. Even the koi pond shimmered with unnatural clarity, the fish beneath its glass-like surface moving as if choreographed.

It was a cage. A beautiful one, but a cage nonetheless.

Shijinko stopped by the pond, staring at his reflection.

The face that looked back at him was pale, the hollows beneath his eyes deepened by exhaustion. The faint scars along his neck and jawline were reminders of something he couldn't yet name—marks of a past that felt distant, yet impossibly close. His fingertips twitched. For a moment, he thought he heard something beneath the water.

A whisper.

"He's watching."

Shijinko's gaze snapped upward.

There was no one there.

Only the slow rustle of the wind through the golden-leaved trees and the distant murmur of voices drifting from the estate's open halls.

His stomach tightened. The unease hadn't left him since the moment he had woken up in that silk-draped bed.

He was being watched. He was sure of it.

A quiet presence made itself known behind him.

Shijinko turned.

A girl stood a few feet away, clad in fine emerald robes, her hands folded neatly in front of her. She was young, no older than ten, but there was something unsettling in her stillness, in the way her silver eyes studied him without blinking.

"Master Shijinko," she said, her voice light, measured. "Lord Veylan requests your presence this evening. He wishes for you to attend the gathering in the west library. He says your health has improved."

Shijinko frowned. "Who are you?"

The girl smiled, but it was a hollow expression, practiced. "I was like you. Once."

Before he could ask anything else, she bowed and disappeared down the garden path, her footsteps unnaturally quiet.

Shijinko exhaled slowly, flexing his fingers.

[Hos please view your stats]

"What" Shijinko exclaimed seeing a pitch black floating prompt glowing ominously. After careful consideration he tried moving his fingers through the interface resulting in a different panel displaying.

Name:] Shijinko

[Tier:] Ashen Tier (I)

[Anima Core Capacity:] 23/50 (Absorbed Souls)

[Soul Stability:] 76%

[Corruption Index:] 19%

[System Status:] Stable | Whispering Active

Attributes

• Strength: 7

• Agility: 8

• Endurance: 7

• Intelligence: 9

• Anima Reserves: 7

• Anima Control: 9

• Instinct: 90

Abilities

1. Memory Devourer – Absorbs knowledge, experiences, and abilities from devoured memories. Overuse leads to identity erosion.

2. Whispered Echoes – Extracts the lingering consciousness of absorbed souls, allowing him to hear their whispers.

3. Shadow Veil – Erases his presence from weaker minds and makes him harder to detect in dimly lit areas.

4. Anima Adaptation – The more Anima he absorbs, the stronger his body and abilities become.

5. Echo of the Lost – Can relive devoured memories as if they were his own, even experiencing the emotions tied to them.

"Memory Devourer?" Shijinko sat confused as he analyzed the interfaces. It highlighted his supposed abilities and attributes which didn't make sense to.

As he kept looking at the abilities, what left him profoundly surprised was the way the abilities where described, they were exactly similar to what he's experiencing.

He previously kept hearing the voices of his peers and other dead people from his raided village, yet he never heard his mother's for some reason.

It even got worse as he saw through the deads memories and experiences of others but only glimpses. He was further shocked when he saw his Anima Core Capacity.

He had already knew what Anima was and what it entails, but why does his have a Capacity and 23 out of 50 absorbed souls.

He thought back to the occupants of his village and for sure, there were 23 people, out that number were 5 families including the chiefs Family, his was the smallest consisting of him and his mother.

"What...h-how did I absorbed their souls" Shijinko questioned as his beliefs were set ablaze. From what he knew, those who died, their souls would go to the Veil beyond, where they shall be confronted by the Courts of Ashen, 4 divine being caring out judgement for the dead on the behalf of the Goddess Serelune.

He left the matter for later and handed to where he had been summoned, the west library, Fortunately for him one of the maids passing by showed him the way.

Shijinko entered the west wing of the estate just as the sun had set, casting long shadows across the towering bookshelves that stretched to the ceiling. The room was vast, illuminated by golden lanterns hanging from intricately carved wooden beams.

At the center of the library sat a low table of black stone, around which five figures were gathered. Some were dressed in fine robes, others in more practical clothing suited for warriors. None of them looked particularly friendly.

Lord Veylan stood at the head of the gathering, pouring wine into crystal goblets with an easy, practiced grace. He did not look up as Shijinko entered, but his voice carried effortlessly through the room.

"You've met some of your peers now," he said. "They, like you, were once lost. But here, they have found purpose."

Shijinko said nothing, his gaze drifting across the assembled figures.

A red-haired girl in chainmail leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. "Purpose?" she echoed, her tone skeptical. "What kind of purpose?"

Veylan smiled, finally looking up. "The kind that only the strong may claim."

The others murmured among themselves, but Shijinko remained silent. He didn't trust any of them—not yet. He could feel their eyes on him, measuring, weighing.

One of the young men, a boy with a stitched-shut left eye and a cold, expressionless face, studied him for a long moment before speaking.

"What about him?" the boy asked, tilting his chin toward Shijinko. "What's he good at?"

Shijinko met his gaze without flinching.

"I survive." He replied matching his energy, it almost felt like it wasn't really him answering but someone else.

The boy only scoffed before shifting his gaze. Shijinko couldn't help but clutch his head as he felt a surging headache suddenly attack his mind, certain memories flooded his mind.

He had to brush it off as to not draw attention to himself. He wanted to learn more about this place and the world beyond as the education he had received was considerably limited.

He spent the next few hours knowing more about Lord Veylan and the stitched eyed boy, he also wanted to know more about Anima and why Lord Veylan apparently adopted Anima users from traumatic backgrounds.

But he withheld himself from asking that question, the basics of Anima was set in stone, Anima—a unique soul signature that grants powers based on one's identity and experiences.

Here's a brief overview of the knowledge Shijinko obtained when studying the rankings.

In this world, power is measured by one's progress along the Path of Ascendance, a metaphysical ladder that connects mortals to the divine realm.

It is divided into 7 Tiers, each with sub-levels called Steps. Ascension is not just about strength, but enlightenment, control over essence, and mastering one's Anima

Tiers of Ascendance:

• Wakers (Steps 1–5) – Those who have awakened their Anima. Powers are basic, unstable, and personal. Can barely manipulate external forces.

• Imprinters (Steps 6–10) – They imprint their Anima onto the world. Begin controlling elements or forces related to their soul. (e.g. fire, shadow, memory)

• Resonants (Steps 11–15) – Their power begins to affect others passively. Resonants exude pressure, alter environments, and influence weaker minds.

• Binders (Steps 16–20) – Can bind concepts to their essence (e.g. bind "lightning" to their body or "fear" to their voice). Highly dangerous.

• Shapers (Steps 21–25) – Reality bends in their presence. They can twist physics, warp nature, and rewrite small truths.

• Eidolons (Steps 26–30) – Nearly godlike. Time, death, memory—Eidolons can challenge fate itself, though at a great cost.

• Ascendants (Step 31) – Mythical beings. Only legends remain. It's said an Ascendant becomes part of the world's very fabric—turning into stars, laws, or gods.

Every person's Anima is unique and evolves with their personal journey. For example:

• A man scarred by betrayal may manifest a blade that grows sharper with every lie he hears.

• A mother grieving her child might gain powers of resurrection at the cost of her memories.

All this was basic knowledge that Shijinko had to cover, he hadn't even noticed as night crept in and Lord Velyn and the boy had already left the library hours ago. He was to focused on understanding his current situation.

Throughout his research he had never come across any information about an Anima User who can absorb souls or anything in that nature.

There were only common Anima users with abilities like Pyrokinesis, spectral divergence, elemental manipulation, or even mind alteration.

One of the most powerful he had read about was an ability called spatial Erosion possessed by a Anima User in Eidolon Tier. She could literally melt Reality using white flames that had a spark of Divinity in them.

But Shijinko wasn't interested in that,he was only concerned about his own situation even though the idea of distorting space with flames fascinated him.

Upon concluding that there was nothing related to his power, he had already began to assume that maybe his ability was rare or unheard of.

"Time will tell" Shijinko said as he packed the last stack of books he had consumed

That night, as he crept into bed the whispers returned.

They came not from the estate's halls, but from within him.

"This place is rotten.You were not saved. You were taken. Shijinko, aren't you forget something?"

The Voice was deep, almost thunderous yet covered in silence, almost demonic. The way it spoke sounded so malevolent yet compelling, like it knew everything and nothing about him.

"Your memories are so fragile, so...delicious, and all that pain and suffering..mhmm" the whisper groaned is pleasure as it savoured a piece of him he had yet to remember what it was. Shijinko flinched as he felt a cold breath near his ears.

Yet he knew very well there was no one else in the room but him, this was only his mind playing tricks on him.

"Shut up, leave me alone" Shijinko whispered as he turned his body over facing the other side of the bed.

He lay awake in his bed, staring at the window beside him, tracing the constellations he still did not recognize.

Eventually he ignored the whispers that came from all directions like they were right next to his ears yet far away from him