The Eternal Sketch

The chamber trembled as dark energy radiated from Professor Alden, the ink-like tendrils around him pulsating unnaturally. The once-learned scholar was now a puppet, bound by an unseen force that twisted his form like a marionette on fraying strings.

Callus, standing at the forefront, remained unmoved by the suffocating aura. His stance was firm, his expression unreadable, but the way his hand hovered near his sword showed he was prepared for whatever came next.

Ryo's grip on his brush tightened. He had studied ink, shaped it, given it form—but this was something different. This wasn't creation. It was corruption.

Elara's daggers were already in her hands, her stance light yet tense. "What's the plan, genius?"

Ryo exhaled, forcing himself to focus. "I need time to analyze the ink's connection to him. If I can sever it at the source, we might be able to free him."

"Then do it," Callus said without hesitation. "I'll keep him occupied."

Before Ryo could respond, Callus moved.

Faster than sight, he closed the distance between himself and Alden, his sword cutting through the air with lethal precision. The corrupted professor reacted unnaturally, his body jerking away as if yanked by invisible strings. Callus's blade narrowly missed, carving into the stone floor instead, sending a shockwave through the chamber.

Alden's head twisted unnaturally toward Callus, his mouth opening, but the voice that came out was not his own.

"Interference is futile."

Black tendrils shot forward, writhing toward Callus like living chains. He didn't flinch. With a single, precise slash, he severed them mid-air. The cut ink hissed, evaporating instantly, but more tendrils sprouted in their place.

Ryo barely had time to process the exchange before Elara pulled him back. "Work faster, or Callus is going to have to start taking this seriously."

Ryo didn't doubt it. Even while holding back, Callus's swordsmanship was overwhelming. But Ryo knew that wasn't a permanent solution. Alden wasn't an opponent to be cut down—he was someone who needed to be saved.

Ryo kneeled, pressing his hand against the cold stone floor. He let his ink flow freely from his brush, sketching a complex sigil in rapid strokes. He wasn't just drawing—he was creating a counterbalance to the corruption.

His instincts screamed at him as he felt the ink's structure. It was deeper than a simple possession. Something had rewritten Alden's essence itself, turning him into a conduit for a greater will. If Ryo was going to sever the connection, he needed to find the exact point where that corruption had taken hold.

He traced the ink's flow with his own, following its path through Alden's body. It was tangled, deeply embedded—but there. A single point where everything converged, right at the center of Alden's chest.

"There!" Ryo shouted. "The core of the corruption is just below his heart!"

Callus didn't acknowledge the words with speech—he simply acted.

With a single precise movement, he struck, his blade stopping an inch from Alden's chest. The force of his movement alone sent a shockwave through the air, distorting the ink. The corruption shrieked, the tendrils retreating slightly, their control momentarily weakened.

Ryo didn't waste the opportunity. He completed his sigil and slammed his hand into the ground. The ink surged forward, crawling up Alden's body like thousands of tiny threads, converging at the core of the corruption. He pulled, not with physical strength, but with control over the ink itself.

The effect was immediate.

Alden let out a strangled gasp, his body convulsing as the corruption tried to hold on. The entity inside him resisted, fighting to maintain its hold.

Callus's sword flashed again, severing the last tendrils that tried to reattach themselves.

Then, with a final surge of ink, Ryo pulled the corruption free.

The black mass writhed in the air, screeching as it lost its host. Without hesitation, Ryo sealed it within his ink, locking it inside a barrier of pure energy.

Alden collapsed.

Silence fell over the chamber, broken only by the professor's ragged breathing.

Elara exhaled sharply. "Tell me that's the last of it."

Ryo wasn't sure. He could feel the sealed corruption thrashing within his ink, like a caged beast unwilling to die. Whatever this entity was, it wasn't normal magic—it was something far worse.

Callus knelt beside Alden, checking his pulse. "He's alive." His gaze flicked to Ryo. "Good work."

The words were simple, but coming from Callus, they carried weight.

Ryo sat back, exhaustion hitting him all at once. He had succeeded, but this was only the beginning.

Something had created that corruption.

And now, it knew they existed.