Noah couldn’t wrap his mind around the invisible figure.

It was perhaps the strongest entity he had ever encountered.

Not even the entity dwelling within him, nor the hooded being from the shop, had ever made Noah feel this way.

The thought of what that figure could be, and the significance behind its existence, continued to weigh on Noah’s mind until he suddenly felt Ailetta’s presence brush against his soul.

The familiar sensation immediately grounded him enough to return his attention to Dobby.

Because right now, Dobby was the only thing capable of giving him answers.

Yet Dobby still hadn’t moved.

The markings now covering his body revealed nothing meaningful to Noah.

Atleast not yet.

For now, they merely resembled strange sigils that he had never seen before.

Noah looked around at everyone else. From their expressions, it seemed that no one else but he had even noticed its presence.

No, not everyone. Ailetta sensed the changes happening within the time she linked with him, just in time to barely register the presence.

’Noah? What in the world was that? What did you do?’ Ailetta spoke to him through their connection in their soul.

Noah’s eyes remained fixed on Dobby.

’I-’ Noah was about to answer, but then he stopped himself; the pressure from what just happened nearly disappeared.

’Why are you saying it like I was the one who brought it here?’

Ailetta didn’t even hesitate.

’Because if something this unnatural happens, you are almost always the cause. Or at least part of it.’

Noah opened his mouth to argue before slowly closing it again.

Unfortunately, she had enough evidence to support that claim. And it was true that this had happened after he gave Dobby his blood.

A brief silence passed before Ailetta spoke again; her tone was noticeably more cautious this time.

’...Please tell me you didn’t accidentally awaken some ancient horror monster inside that cat. I thought you liked him.’

Noah’s gaze shifted toward Dobby’s motionless body and the markings spread across his skin.

The worst part was that he genuinely wasn’t sure.

’Calling him a cat feels inaccurate now,’ Noah answered a bit sarcastically.

’Noah.’

’I’m trying to stay optimistic here.’

Ailetta sounded entirely unconvinced. But Noah had already moved on, because now there was finally movement.

Dobby’s fingers twitched first. Moments later, his eyes quivered faintly.

Alexandria, who was now standing directly over his body, immediately leaned forward.

When Dobby’s eyes finally opened, she nearly gasped.

Noah’s attention sharpened even further the moment he saw them.

His eyes hadn’t healed. If anything, they looked worse than before.

The cloudiness coating them had thickened into a pale silver haze that swallowed nearly all traces of his original pupils.

Only the faintest shadows of dark coloration remained buried beneath, barely visible unless someone looked closely.

Even the little focus his damaged eyes once possessed seemed completely gone now.

Alexandria’s chest tightened painfully.

Noah’s warning echoed in the back of her mind.

The possibility that his blood could negatively affect someone had already shaken her when she consumed it herself. Now, she couldn’t stop herself from believing Dobby experienced that worst possibility.

Words refused to come out. Panicking wouldn’t change anything either.

So Alexandria simply sat there while waiting for Dobby to move again.

His gaze remained fixed upward toward the sky while his body stayed completely motionless.

It was hard to tell if he was awake or even conscious, for that matter.

Then, finally, he blinked. Even that motion felt unnaturally slow.

His eyelids lowered and rose with such little urgency that Alexandria nearly lost her composure watching it.

Without making a sound, Dobby slowly lifted himself into a more comfortable sitting position.

Somehow, that only made Alexandria feel worse.

He had looked as though he was dying moments ago, yet now he moved with the same calmness as someone waking from an evening nap.

And throughout that time, he had yet to address her.

For a brief moment, Alexandria genuinely felt herself becoming angry.

Then, as if sensing her frustration building, Dobby finally turned towards her.

His clouded eyes settled directly onto her despite the fact that he shouldn’t have been capable of seeing her at all.

And yet Alexandria felt seen completely.

"It seemed I caused you much worry." His voice was clearer than before.

Too clear.

Alexandria disliked that immediately, too.

Even his tone sounded unconcerned with what had just happened to him. The unconsciousness, his transformation, how she was feeling... none of it seemed to disturb him at all.

And somehow that only made her fear worse.

"Dobby?"

The shaking in her voice was noticed by everyone present. The fear within it was impossible to hide.

She wasn’t afraid of the transformation itself. She was afraid that the person sitting in front of her was no longer truly Dobby. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Opposite her, Dobby smiled softly.

Yet there was sadness within that smile.

Without even trying, he could already feel the fear and confusion inside Alexandria. But what saddened him wasn’t the fact that she doubted him.

It was the fact that he was the cause of her pain.

"A river remains the same river even if its flow has changed," he said, again, his voice was as soft and unhurried as before. "Change doesn’t always mean something has been lost."

His silver-clouded gaze slowly drifted toward the others around him before eventually returning toward Alexandria once more.

"My body has changed, my senses have changed, but I’m still me... in the same way you have changed, yet you are still Alexandria the 3rd, and our leader."

Every word struck deep. At first, Alexandria had nothing to say; her eyes were glossy with emotion.

And even after trying to rein in her emotions, words still didn’t come out.

Instead, as a sign of her affection and her heartache, she headbutted Dobby squarely in the chest.

The blow knocked him onto his back, leaving him to stare back up into the trees.

Alexandria had forgotten how much stronger she became. The speed that he hit the ground shook her, causing her to go into a flurry of apologies. Yet Dobby simply looked back at her calmly.

His clouded eyes could no longer express emotion the way they once had, but the faint smile resting on his face carried enough warmth to say everything for him.

Noah found himself quietly affected by the atmosphere between them, allowing the two to interact without interruption.

While he waited, Noah analyzed Dobby’s new changes.

Again, Dobby’s mana had nearly doubled. This time, however, with the reserves he already possessed, the increase was far more substantial than before. His physical strength still lagged behind the others, but Noah understood that Dobby’s physique had never been the cat’s greatest concern.

Despite this, Noah didn’t allow even the smallest detail to escape his scrutiny while analyzing the transformation. This was the first creature he had changed using his infused blood. Every reaction mattered.

The physical and mana changes remained within acceptable ranges.

However, one thing still confused him.

After witnessing Alexandria’s transformation through his regular blood, Noah had assumed his infused blood would produce a true mutation. A metamorphosis that reshaped the body to better accommodate a creature’s abilities while evolving the abilities themselves into something entirely new.

But besides Dobby’s physical growth and the strange tattoos etched across his flesh, there was little that matched Noah’s expectations.

That shifted nearly all of Noah’s attention toward Dobby’s abilities instead.

As his Nexus Eye peeled back the layers surrounding Dobby’s existence, the answers finally revealed themselves.

Dobby had become one of the few monsters within Noah’s territory whose existence was made up of three abilities.

The first was Burden Eater: his original ability that he’s always had.

Dobby could sense negative emotions within those around him and slowly absorb them into himself. The stronger the emotion became, the clearer he perceived it. Absorbing them temporarily increased his magic reserves and strengthened his spirit, while also easing the emotional burden carried by others.

And of course, it was at the expense of potentially being driven mad by those emotions.

The second ability was Omen of Malice.

Any existence harboring strong killing intent, hatred, or destructive intentions toward Dobby would appear within his senses, no matter how far away they were. Distance held no meaning before the ability. The stronger the negative intent became, the more vividly Dobby perceived it.

Noah’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Neither ability focused on combat directly. Instead, both revolved entirely around negativity itself.

Only then did his gaze drift toward the dark markings spread across Dobby’s skin.

The markings had nothing to do with the other two abilities. So that meant his third ability would help lead him to the answers he desired.

As Noah’s Nexus Eye continued unraveling the changes within Dobby’s soul, the answer gradually became clearer.

The third ability was Calamity Vessel.

At first glance, it appeared deceptively simple. Dobby absorbed negativity itself and converted it into power.

The more negativity Dobby carried, the stronger he became.

His mana grew denser, whilst his senses sharpened. Even his spiritual presence grew heavier beneath the accumulated weight of those emotions.

But there was a limit to how much the mind and body could withstand.

If too much negativity accumulated inside him, the absorbed emotions would slowly begin corrupting his mind, and his body would corrode under the negative energy until it became an empty husk.

The ability was a double-edged sword.

However, Noah didn’t see it that way. It only made Dobby more perfect for the soul he had.