SOULBOUND: THE ABYSS WITHIN

Chapter 74: The Shadow at Her Back

The Soul Academy's northern sector was quieter than most—less foot traffic, more open terraces shadowed by floating crystalline pylons that pulsed with Soul Energy. It was the perfect place to study, train... or hide in plain sight.

Cassandra Ikemba, now firmly in the 8th Spirit Cycle, sat beneath a spire of white auric quartz, reviewing her latest technique scroll. The air shimmered faintly around her—residual aftereffects of her Null Field Domain activating earlier in training. Alone, composed, and unbothered. Or so she appeared.

But she wasn't alone.

At the top of a nearby tower, cloaked behind a silent soul technique and wearing a veil of suppression, Mira Hawthorne crouched—eyes fixed on Cassandra.

It had become routine.

Follow her between lectures. Study her sparring routines. Memorize the rhythm of her footsteps, the subtle changes in her aura. Mira didn't think of it as stalking—she thought of it as preparation. A necessary obsession. Watching. Waiting. Proving.

Cassandra was a mystery Mira had to solve. Not out of revenge anymore. Not just to force a battle.

Now... it was deeper than that.

She smiled faintly as Cassandra flicked her hair back, lips moving silently as she rehearsed a chant.

"She's too perfect…" Mira murmured to herself. "Even her silence is sharp."

A gust of wind stirred the leaves near Cassandra, and her head turned slightly—brows twitching, eyes narrowing.

She sensed something.

Mira held her breath and sank lower into the shadow, aura condensed to the size of a coin.

Below, Cassandra scanned her surroundings with measured calm before standing and folding her scroll. She didn't speak, didn't look up.

"Come out, or stop wasting my time."

Mira blinked in surprise. A small thrill went through her. She knows.

But she didn't reveal herself.

Instead, she slipped further into the shadows, smirking to herself.

"Not yet," Mira whispered. "Soon."

As Cassandra walked off, the light shimmered behind her—casting a long shadow that seemed to stretch just a little too far, a little too unnaturally.

And Mira followed again.

Silent. Devoted. Watching.