Chapter 81

Training an 8-year-old child to suppress his own light, to create an internal void that mimicked the enemy's domain, felt inherently wrong to Elara. But the alternative – leaving him a vulnerable beacon for the hunting grey – was worse. So, the difficult practice of 'becoming the grey' began.

Kael would sit with Elara in his guarded room, clutching his smooth stone, trying to force a stillness upon his chaotic inner world. Elara guided him, her voice soft, trying to explain the concept in terms a child could grasp – like pulling a blanket over a bright lamp, making its light softer from the outside.

It was a struggle. Kael's mind, already fractured by the Bedel, resisted this forced suppression. His emotions, dulled in some areas by loss, were raw and volatile in others, particularly his fear and the ever-present weight of Helplessness. Trying to push them all down, to become 'grey' inside, was like trying to hold back a tide.

He would tremble with the effort, his small brow furrowed in concentration. He felt the internal pressure, the conflict between the vibrant pulse of Vispera and the forced inertia he tried to impose. Sometimes, the effort would trigger a jolt of the familiar cold, a ghost of the Bedel's price, making him gasp.

Elara watched him, a knot of worry in her stomach. Was this practice causing damage? Was it interacting with the Bedel in unforeseen, harmful ways? The lore was silent on the long-term effects of deliberately creating psychic stillness, especially in a developing mind already marked by loss.

She continued her research in parallel, desperately seeking answers about the risks. Did 'becoming the grey' invite a different kind of attention? Was the Void drawn to this forced emptiness in a way that was perhaps more insidious than its draw to the Light?

Captain checked on their progress regularly, his expression a mask of controlled concern. He trusted Elara's judgment, but the sight of Kael struggling with this unnatural practice was unsettling. He represented the cold, strategic necessity of their situation – Kael was a target, and they had to find a way to make him less so, whatever the cost to the child.

A few days into the training, Kael was sitting alone, practicing, trying to find that elusive stillness. He felt the distant hum of the sanctuary, the faint ripples of fear and resilience. He felt the oppressive presence of the external grey.

He focused inward, trying to suppress Vispera's glow, trying to flatten the peaks and valleys of his emotional landscape. He felt the internal resistance, the familiar ache of the Bedel's presence.

Then, a subtle change in his sensing. Not the sharp, targeted probe of the 'seeker', but a fainter, less directed curiosity from the grey outside. It felt like a hesitant glance, a momentary pause in the pervasive flow.

It was near the outer perimeter, in a sector different from the 'seeker' breach.

The feeling from the grey was one of 'Curiosity. Different. Why?'

Kael gasped softly. His attempt at suppression, however imperfect, had changed his 'signal'. He wasn't broadcasting 'Found! Light! Here!' in the same way. He was broadcasting something... unusual. Unusual enough to attract a different kind of attention.

It wasn't the targeted hunting of the 'seeker', but a passive, observational interest. It confirmed that 'becoming the grey' had an effect, but it also raised a new, terrifying question: Was a muted, unusual signal just another way for the Void to find him? Was there truly no way for his light to exist without drawing the darkness?

The chapter ends with Kael struggling with the difficult practice of 'becoming the grey', experiencing physical and emotional resistance. Elara worries about the long-term effects and risks. Kael attempts the practice alone and senses a subtle, different kind of Void attention (curiosity) near the perimeter, suggesting that his suppression is changing his signal but potentially still attracting unwanted interest, albeit of a different nature.