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Chapter 60: Stay At Home (III)
That was when it happened.
Her loose shirt shifted, dipping low enough to reveal the soft curves of her cleavage.
The candlelight in the room cast delicate shadows against her skin since the outside was darkened by clouds, and for a moment, Zayn’s gaze lingered before he quickly averted his eyes.
’Shit.’
Elisse, completely unaware of what she had just done, scoffed, standing upright with the tray in her hands.
"Hmph," she huffed, giving him a look that felt more like a challenge than anything else.
Then, without another word, she turned on her heel and made her way to the door.
The tray balanced in one hand, her other reaching for the handle.
Zayn watched as she exited, the door clicking shut behind her.
A long sigh escaped his lips.
He leaned his head back, staring at the ceiling, his body sinking into the mattress.
It was strange — these moments with her. They were unpredictable.
Sometimes she acted like an older sister, other times like a brat, and then there were times like this, where she made him question what exactly their relationship was becoming.
Shaking his head, he exhaled deeply and refocused his thoughts.
’Alright, enough distractions.’
He straightened his posture and closed his eyes, inhaling deeply before slowly exhaling.
His mind shifted back to what truly mattered — his soul energy.
It was a force he was only beginning to understand.
It felt like a part of him, yet at the same time, it was something vast and untamed, waiting to be mastered.
He guided it carefully, letting it flow through his body.
It moved like a current, warm and powerful, yet delicate enough to be shaped by his will.
He could feel it coursing through his limbs, pooling in his fingertips, coiling in his core.
But then, a thought occurred to him.
What if I directed this energy somewhere else?
Slowly, his focus shifted to the witch mark on his skin.
The system had explained its purpose, but if it was connected to him, to his very being, then surely, it too could respond to his soul energy.
It was just a test after all.
With careful precision, he guided the energy toward the mark.
At first, nothing happened.
Then —
A spark.
The moment the spark ignited,
it wasn’t just a small flicker.
No, this was something entirely different — something that rattled his very core.
A sharp pain shot through his body like lightning, raw and unrestrained.
His breath hitched, his muscles tensed, and before he could suppress it, a strangled sound escaped his lips.
Then it happened.
His soul energy, the very essence he had been carefully channeling, suddenly turned against him.
It was as if the witch mark had rejected it — no, not just rejected it. It forced it back.
The backlash was violent.
A surge of energy spiraled out of his control, tearing away from him in an instant.
It blasted outward, taking the form of a wild, untamed beam of light.
CRACK!
The force slammed into the wall opposite him, leaving a dent — a deep, scorched impression where his energy had struck.
Zayn stumbled, his hand instinctively flying to his chest, gripping the mark as a searing pain pulsed through him.
His breathing was ragged, beads of sweat rolling down his temple.
For a moment, he thought the pain wouldn’t stop, that it would consume him entirely.
But then —
It faded.
Slowly, the burning sensation ebbed away, leaving behind only a dull ache.
His fingers traced over the witch mark, his touch hesitant, cautious.
A sigh left his lips.
"Off limits, I get it," he muttered to himself, shaking his head.
He had no idea why the mark had reacted that way, but one thing was clear — it wasn’t something he could toy with freely.
The next time he saw the witch princess, he was definitely asking her what the hell had just happened.
But for now...
His gaze drifted toward the damaged wall.
The dent was deep, solid proof of what had just occurred.
He hadn’t even been trying to attack anything — he had simply lost control, and yet, the force of his soul energy had been enough to cause real damage.
Zayn swallowed, stepping closer, running his fingers over the mark on the wall.
"I can shape my soul energy to beams outwards?" he murmured, eyes narrowing slightly.
That was new.
Up until now, he had been focusing on controlling his soul energy internally, molding it within his body, using it to enhance his movements, his senses and maybe try to amalgamate it into his fighting style.
But this... this was different.
If he could project his energy outward, if he could shape it into something tangible —
His mind raced.
That meant ranged attacks. That meant precision.
That meant —
His lips curled into a grin.
"Shit... if I can learn this properly..." He exhaled, his excitement rising. "I’d be on that Naruto timing."
The thought made him chuckle.
He could already picture it — spamming energy-based attacks like rasengans and rasenshurikens, raining down destruction on his enemies.
The sheer potential of it sent a thrill through his veins.
Of course, he wasn’t there yet.
He had barely managed to keep his soul energy in check, let alone shape it into something controlled.
But still...
He was sure he could.
Zayn stretched his arms, shaking out the lingering tension in his muscles.
After a few more hours of deep meditation, Zayn finally stood up.
His limbs felt stiff from sitting in one position for so long, but there was a sense of accomplishment settling in his chest.
He had been making progress, little by little, in controlling his soul energy.
Still, a part of him felt restless.
Elisse hadn’t come back.
He glanced toward the door, half-expecting her to suddenly barge in with some sarcastic remark, but there was only silence.
The room felt emptier without her usual presence, though he wasn’t about to admit that out loud.
The sky outside had grown even darker. The sun was nowhere to be seen, swallowed by thick, rolling clouds.
The wind howled through the cracks in the building, rattling the wooden walls and making the air inside feel colder.
A sudden creak broke the silence.
Zayn’s eyes flicked toward the source of the sound — his window.
The wind had pushed it open slightly, allowing a thin, chilly breeze to seep into the room.
He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.
He hadn’t spent these past hours meditating for nothing.
Stepping forward, he extended his hand.
He could feel it — the soul energy flowing through him, shifting at his command.
It was easier now, more natural. He focused, guiding the energy outward, shaping it — not into something complex, but into something useful.
A thin strand of energy stretched from his palm, like a glowing rope.
