The Enigma Who Devours Power
Chapter 1 — The One You Don’t Touch
Strategic Division Group Chat
Council Soldier
He’s back.
Technician
Council ordered his return this morning.
Null Member
Why would they bring him here again?
Student 5
Maybe they’re tired of pretending he doesn’t exist.
Anonymous Forum Post – Internal Board
Lucien Vale spotted entering campus at 08:42.
Black gloves. No escort.
Same expression as three years ago.
Student 5
I thought he left the Academy.
Council Soldier
He didn’t leave.
He was removed.
Technician
There’s a difference?
Hallway chatter spreads fast.
Footsteps echo.
People move aside without being asked.
No one wants to stand too close.
Alpha A
(Direct Message to Friend)
He just walked past me.
Alpha A
It felt like my aura dipped for a second.
Medic
You’re imagining things.
A collision.
Accidental.
Bare skin against wrist.
Alpha A
Watch where you’re—
Student 2
Why is he not moving?
Null Member
His energy levels are dropping.
Alpha A collapses.
Hard.
Silence spreads before panic does.
Student 2
Don’t go near him!
Council Soldier
Did Vale touch him?
Technician
He always does.
Lucien Vale stands still.
Black gloves back on.
No apology. No reaction. No explanation.
Just watching.
Dominic Ryder [DA][MC bff]
Move aside!
Dominic Ryder [DA][MC bff]
Vale. Step back.
Lucien doesn’t argue.
He doesn’t defend himself either.
He simply steps away.
Medic
Subject stabilized.
Temporary suppression of Alpha ability detected.
Student 2
So the rumors are real.
Council Soldier
He drains them.
Student 5
That’s why they call him The Devourer.
Whispers spread faster than truth.
No one asks what he feels.
No one asks if it was intentional.
Monsters don’t get that privilege.
Then—
A system notification interrupts everything.
System Announcement:
Council Representative entering campus grounds.
Strategic Division assemble immediately.
Technician
A Council rep? For this?
Null Member
This isn’t random.
Pause.
Then another message.
System Update:
Alpha Prime Adrian Ashcroft has arrived.
The hallway shifts again.
Different pressure this time.
Controlled. Measured. Steady.
Null Member
The Crown Strategist?
Technician
Why would someone like him come here?
Student 5
Unless he’s here for Vale.
Across the hall—
Lucien Vale finally looks up.
For the first time since he arrived.
Not afraid. Not defensive.
Just… interested.
If The Devourer is a weapon—
Then why send a strategist?
Vale of Shadows[I'm author]
Welcome to The Enigma Who Devours Power.
Vale of Shadows[I'm author]
This is not a soft romance.
It’s a story about power, control, and the consequences of touching what shouldn’t be touched.
Vale of Shadows[I'm author]
Slow burn. Psychological tension. Strategic minds.
Vale of Shadows[I'm author]
If you’re ready, stay.
Chapter 2 — Prime Alpha
Don’t believe in coincidences.
Especially not council-level ones.
Adrian Ashcroft arriving the same day I return?
That’s strategy.
And I’ve studied strategists.
Elias Ward [B][ML bff]
He’s already reviewing incident footage.
Lucien Vale [E]
Of course he is.
Elias Ward [B][ML bff]
You’re trending on internal boards again.
Lucien Vale [E]
I never stopped.
The academy feels different today.
Quieter.
Measured.
Like something is observing me.
Good.
Let it.
Strategic Division Channel
System Notice:
Alpha Prime Adrian Ashcroft will conduct evaluation interviews starting 14:00.
Attendance mandatory.
Evaluation.
Interesting choice of word.
Not containment.
Not investigation.
Evaluation.
Caelum Noir [E][ML bff]
He’s starting with high-risk classifications.
Lucien Vale [E]
Naturally.
Orion Graves [E][ML bff]
If he tries anything—
Because men like Adrian Ashcroft don’t act without certainty.
And certainty requires data.
Which means…
He’ll want to see me.
14:07.
Door to Strategic Interview Room opens.
Inside — controlled lighting. Neutral walls.
Calculated environment.
He’s already there.
Adrian Ashcroft.
Seated.
Back straight.
Hands folded.
Watching the door — not me.
Not yet.
Good discipline.
Adrian Ashcroft (MC) [DA][MC]
Lucien Vale.
His voice is calm.
No hostility.
No forced dominance.
Just control.
I step inside.
Close the door.
Leave distance between us.
Always distance.
Adrian Ashcroft (MC) [DA][MC]
You caused an ability suppression event this morning.
Lucien Vale [E]
Accidental contact.
Adrian Ashcroft (MC) [DA][MC]
You expect me to believe that?
Lucien Vale [E]
It doesn’t matter what you believe.
Silence.
He studies me openly.
Not fearfully.
Not aggressively.
He’s measuring reaction time.
Breathing shifts.
Eye movement.
Microexpressions.
He’s good.
Adrian Ashcroft (MC) [DA][MC]
You left the Academy three years ago.
Lucien Vale [E]
I was removed.
Adrian Ashcroft (MC) [DA][MC]
For instability.
Lucien Vale [E]
For efficiency.
A flicker.
Barely visible.
Interest.
He stands.
Slowly.
Not to intimidate.
To reduce angle difference.
Smart.
He stops one step closer than necessary.
Testing proximity.
I don’t move.
But my pulse adjusts.
Adrian Ashcroft (MC) [DA][MC]
You absorb through skin contact.
Lucien Vale [E]
You’ve read the file.
Adrian Ashcroft (MC) [DA][MC]
Files are incomplete.
He extends his hand.
Not touching.
Just offering space.
Provocation without force.
Adrian Ashcroft (MC) [DA][MC]
Show me.
The room feels smaller.
Most Alphas demand control.
He requests proof.
That’s more dangerous.
I remove one glove.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
His eyes don’t leave my hand.
Not even for a second.
The surge comes instantly.
Energy rising—
And then—
Resistance.
Not a block.
Not a shield.
Stability.
His aura doesn’t collapse.
It doesn’t weaken.
It absorbs the pressure.
Balances it.
For the first time in years—
My ability doesn’t devour.
It stalls.
Our hands are still connected.
Neither of us moves.
His voice lowers.
Almost thoughtful.
Adrian Ashcroft (MC) [DA][MC]
Interesting.
My heartbeat shifts.
Not from fear.
From unfamiliarity.
I pull away first.
Glove back on.
Lucien Vale [E]
You prepared for this.
Adrian Ashcroft (MC) [DA][MC]
I prepare for everything.
He steps back.
Restoring distance.
Not claiming victory.
Not gloating.
Just… observing.
Adrian Ashcroft (MC) [DA][MC]
You’re not unstable, Lucien.
Adrian Ashcroft (MC) [DA][MC]
You’re evolving.
That word lingers.
Evolving.
Lucien Vale [E]
Careful, Ashcroft.
Lucien Vale [E]
Evolution disrupts systems.
Adrian Ashcroft (MC) [DA][MC]
*faint smile*
Adrian Ashcroft (MC) [DA][MC]
*Controlled*
Then perhaps the system needs disruption.
Silence again.
Charged.
Measured.
He turns slightly toward the window.
But I can feel it.
His focus hasn’t left me.
Adrian Ashcroft (MC) [DA][MC]
This isn’t containment.
Adrian Ashcroft (MC) [DA][MC]
It’s assessment.
Adrian Ashcroft (MC) [DA][MC]
And I intend to pass you.
That’s new.
Not control.
Not elimination.
Approval.
As I leave the room—
One thought follows me.
He wasn’t immune.
He was stabilizing me.
And that means—
He’s more dangerous than I expected.
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Chapter 3 — Fracture Lines
I don’t like variables.
Adrian Ashcroft is becoming one.
Caelum Noir [E][ML bff]
You touched him.
Caelum Noir [E][ML bff]
And?
Typing…
Stops.
Typing again.
Caelum Noir [E][ML bff]
Define “nothing.”
Lucien Vale [E]
No suppression.
No drain.
No collapse.
Three seconds of silence.
For Caelum, that’s equivalent to shouting.
Caelum Noir [E][ML bff]
That’s not possible.
Lucien Vale [E]
It happened.
Orion Graves [E][ML bff]
Tell me you didn’t test him.
Orion Graves [E][ML bff]
You’re reckless.
Lucien Vale [E]
I was controlled.
Orion calls immediately.
I decline.
He messages instead.
Orion Graves [E][ML bff]
Alphas don’t walk into fire unless they’re confident it won’t burn them.
Lucien Vale [E]
He wasn’t immune.
Orion Graves [E][ML bff]
Then what?
I pause.
Because I don’t like the answer.
Lucien Vale [E]
He stabilized the surge.
Three dots appear in both chats.
Then disappear.
Then reappear.
Caelum Noir [E][ML bff]
That means—
Orion Graves [E][ML bff]
He adjusted to you.
[Three of them chatting in group chat]
💭 Yes.
He didn’t block my ability.
He balanced it.
Which means his control isn’t defensive.
It’s adaptive.
Elias Ward [B][ML bff]
You triggered something bigger than you think.
Elias Ward [B][ML bff]
Internal council data spike.
Ashcroft family clearance override.
Your file was accessed at Level Zero.
Level Zero.
That’s not monitoring.
That’s origin records.
Elias Ward [B][ML bff]
Adrian Ashcroft.
Interesting.
He’s not studying containment.
He’s studying my beginning.
Across campus—
Whispers haven’t stopped.
Technician
They were in there for 17 minutes.
Council Soldier
No damage report.
Null Member
So Ashcroft survived.
Student 5
No one “survives” Vale.
On the other side—
Adrian’s circle isn’t quiet either.
Dominic Ryder [DA][MC bff]
You’re getting too close.
Adrian Ashcroft (MC) [DA][MC]
Define close.
Dominic Ryder [DA][MC bff]
You don’t test Enigmas physically.
Adrian Ashcroft (MC) [DA][MC]
Correction.
You don’t.
That shuts him up.
For now.
Later that evening.
Rooftop.
Cold air.
Distance.
Safe.
Caelum Noir [E][ML bff]
You felt it, didn’t you?
Caelum Noir [E][ML bff]
Different?
Lucien Vale [E]
Not weaker.
Lucien Vale [E]
Not stronger.
Orion Graves [E][ML bff]
*voice is low*
*Serious*
Orion Graves [E][ML bff]
That’s not balance.
Orion Graves [E][ML bff]
That’s compatibility.
I don’t answer.
Because I refuse to label something I don’t understand.
Elias Ward [B][ML bff]
There’s more.
Elias Ward [B][ML bff]
I intercepted something.
Elias Ward [B][ML bff]
It was encrypted under Ashcroft clearance.
Elias Ward [B][ML bff]
But it referenced you.
Pause.
Then a file attachment appears.
Title:
PROJECT: SYMMETRY
My chest tightens slightly.
Not fear.
Recognition.
Three seconds.
Five.
Ten.
Elias Ward [B][ML bff]
It’s incomplete.
Elias Ward [B][ML bff]
Most of it’s wiped.
Elias Ward [B][ML bff]
But I recovered one line.
Elias Ward [B][ML bff]
“Subject Vale displays unstable absorption variance.
Recommend pairing with Adaptive Alpha Candidate.”
Caelum Noir [E][ML bff]
Adaptive Alpha Candidate?
Orion Graves [E][ML bff]
They designed him.
No.
Not designed.
Prepared.
Another message appears.
Unknown sender.
No ID.
Encrypted routing.
💬 Stop digging into Symmetry.
The next suppression won’t be temporary.
All three of them go quiet.
Orion Graves [E][ML bff]
Trace it.
Elias Ward [B][ML bff]
Trying.
The message disappears.
Self-erased.
Wind moves across the rooftop.
For the first time—
This doesn’t feel like coincidence.
Project Symmetry.
Adaptive Alpha.
Pairing recommendation.
They didn’t send Adrian here to monitor me.
They sent him because something is changing.
And if Symmetry is real—
Then this isn’t containment.
It’s activation.
If I’m the Devourer—
Then what exactly were they preparing him to become?
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![Dominic Ryder [DA][MC bff]](https://up-pic.mangatoon.mobi/contribute/fiction/12444455/avatar/44613355/17719466769.jpeg-s200webp?sign=17206c8dc09e3435a20cb1a7a3728051&t=69de0441)
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