All Chapters of My First Pet Is a Nightmare God : Chapter 21
- Chapter 30
32 chapters
Chapter 21: The Shadow Moves
The shadow moved before I consciously willed it.It was subtle at first a faint ripple at the edge of my vision during morning inventory in the beast supply wing. A thin tendril of darkness detached from the floor and slithered across the stone, invisible to human eyes but noticeable to every bonded beast in the room.A nearby student’s rock lizard froze mid-step, then backed away rapidly, tail tucked between its legs. Its tamer frowned, tugging at the harness. “What’s wrong with you today?”The lizard refused to advance, whimpering softly as it pressed itself against its owner’s leg.I continued stacking crates without looking up, but inside, Nyxar’s satisfaction bloomed like dark nectar.“They feel it even when you don’t command it,” he murmured, his voice rich with possessive pride. “The bond is deepening faster than I anticipated. Your will and mine are beginning to merge. Soon, the shadows will move with your thoughts alone.”I kept my expression neutral as the student dragged h
Chapter 22: Shock and Silence
The shock spread like cracks through glass.By the next morning, the entire academy had fallen into an uneasy hush. Students moved through the corridors in tight clusters, their voices lowered to whispers. Beasts stayed glued to their tamers’ sides, ears flattened and tails tucked. The usual buzz of morning drills and classes felt muted, as though the whole institution was holding its breath.I walked among it all carrying a crate of fresh restraints for the afternoon training sessions, my steps measured and silent. The weight felt insignificant now. My body had grown stronger with every passing day, the bond feeding me a steady stream of raw power that made ordinary effort feel almost quaint.The shadow moved with me.Not visibly not yet but I could feel it. A faint ripple at the edge of my vision. A subtle shift in the air when I passed a group of students. Their beasts reacted instantly: a flame sprite dimmed and retreated, a stone golem ground to a halt, a wind hawk screeched an
Chapter 23: Not So Weak After All
The silence in the academy had become a living thing.It followed me through the corridors like a second shadow heavy, watchful, and growing thicker with every passing hour. Students no longer whispered behind my back. They simply fell quiet when I appeared. Beasts that once strutted with arrogant confidence now lowered their heads or refused to advance when I passed. The usual buzz of morning drills and classes felt muted, as though the entire institution was holding its breath.I continued my duties without reaction sweeping halls, hauling supplies, cleaning the aftermath of other students’ training sessions. The work was monotonous, degrading by design. But every bucket of dirty water I emptied, every scorch mark I erased, felt like another layer of camouflage.The change was no longer quiet.It was undeniable.During midday inventory in the beast supply wing, the shadow moved again without conscious command.A thin tendril of darkness detached from the floor and slithered across t
Chapter 24: Suspicion Rises
Suspicion had taken root, and it was spreading like poison through the veins of the academy.By the following morning, the silence had evolved into something sharper a tense, watchful quiet that followed me everywhere. Students no longer simply avoided me; they studied me from a distance, their conversations dying the moment I entered a corridor. Beasts pressed themselves against their tamers or refused to move at all when I passed. Even the cleaning staff, who had once treated me with casual contempt, now finished their tasks in record time and disappeared whenever I appeared.I continued my duties as if nothing had changed sweeping halls, hauling supplies, scrubbing the aftermath of other students’ glory. But everything had changed.The shadow moved more freely now.During midday inventory in the beast supply wing, a single tendril of darkness detached from the floor without conscious command and slithered across the stone. It was invisible to human eyes, but every bonded beast in t
Chapter 25: The Beginning of Fear
The beginning of fear did not announce itself with screams or chaos.It arrived quietly, like the first frost on a windowpane subtle, creeping, and impossible to ignore once it had taken hold.By the end of the week, the academy had changed.Students no longer walked the corridors with the easy confidence of those who believed strength was their birthright. They moved in tighter groups, voices lowered, eyes darting nervously whenever I appeared. Beasts that once strutted proudly now stayed glued to their tamers’ sides, ears flattened and tails tucked. The usual buzz of drills, classes, and casual boasts had been replaced by a heavy, watchful silence that pressed down on every hallway and training hall.I continued my duties as if nothing had changed sweeping floors, hauling supplies, cleaning the aftermath of other students’ glory. But everything had changed.The shadow moved more freely now.During morning inventory in the beast supply wing, a single tendril of darkness detached from
Chapter 26: The Girl Who Didn’t Look Away
The academy had learned to breathe around me.Students moved in tighter clusters, their voices dropping to whispers the moment I entered a corridor. Beasts stayed glued to their tamers’ sides, ears flattened, tails tucked. Even the instructors, who had once dismissed me as another forgotten failure, now watched with narrowed eyes and careful distance. The fear I had planted in the arena had taken root and grown into something palpable, something the entire institution carried like a second skin.I continued my duties without reaction sweeping halls, hauling supplies, cleaning the aftermath of other students’ glory. The work was monotonous, but it had become useful camouflage. While they whispered and avoided me, I observed. I catalogued every fearful glance, every uneasy beast, every instructor’s lingering stare.The shadow moved more freely now, responding to thought rather than command. It no longer needed my conscious will. It simply existed with me, a living extension of the bond
Chapter 27: Elara Voss
She found me again the next morning.I was in the lower training annex, stacking crates of enchanted restraints after an early drill session, when the door opened behind me. The air shifted not with fear, but with something sharper. Alert. Unafraid.I didn’t need to turn to know it was her.Elara Voss stepped inside, her storm serpent coiled loosely around her shoulders, faint lightning crackling along its silver scales. She moved with the quiet confidence of someone who had never needed to prove her place in the world. Tall, sharp-eyed, dark hair tied back in a simple braid that spoke more of practicality than vanity. She carried no weapons, but the way she held herself made it clear she didn’t need any.Most people avoided me now. She walked straight toward me.“Lucien,” she said, her voice calm and direct. No hesitation. No fear. Just that same unflinching curiosity from the courtyard the day before. “You left before I could finish what I wanted to say yesterday.”I set the last c
Chapter 28: Curiosity Is Dangerous
Curiosity was a dangerous thing in a world built on power.I learned that the hard way the very next day.The academy corridors felt narrower than usual, as if the walls themselves were pressing in with the weight of a hundred unspoken questions. Students moved in tighter groups, their voices low and cautious. Beasts stayed close to their tamers, ears flattened, eyes darting nervously whenever I passed. The fear I had planted in the arena had taken deeper root overnight. Whispers followed me like shadows of their own, but no one dared speak directly to me.Except her.Elara Voss found me again in the late afternoon, this time in the quiet alcove near the rune-lit library annex where I had been assigned to reorganize old training manuals. The space was dim, lined with tall shelves of ancient texts and glowing holographic archives. Dust motes danced in the faint light filtering through the narrow windows that overlooked the New York skyline.I was stacking a heavy crate of scrolls when
Chapter 29: Nyxar Watches
Nyxar watched.He always watched now.His presence had become a constant, living weight inside my mind not just a voice, but a second set of eyes that saw everything I saw and felt everything I felt. The bond had deepened past the point of separation. Every breath I took, every shadow I moved, every uneasy glance from a student or beast carried his quiet approval or sharp irritation.And right now, his irritation burned like cold fire.“She is still thinking about you,” he murmured as I walked the dimly lit corridor toward the outer dorms after another long day of menial duties. His voice was smooth, velvet-wrapped steel. “That girl. Elara Voss. She does not fear the dark. She wants to understand it. To touch it. To pull you back from me.”I kept my pace steady, the crate of cleaning supplies light in my arms. The shadows at my feet moved with me, no longer needing conscious command. They simply existed as an extension of my will and his.“She is dangerous,” Nyxar continued, his ton
Chapter 30: Stay Away from Him
The warning spread faster than any rumor had before.“Stay away from him.”It started as a whisper among the second-years who had seen the storage room incident, then rippled outward through the academy like a cold current. By the next morning, it had become something close to law among the lower ranks.Stay away from Lucien Drax.Students who once laughed at the cracked egg now crossed to the other side of the corridor when they saw me coming. Groups parted like water around a stone. Beasts even the proudest lions and wolves lowered their heads or refused to advance, pressing themselves against their tamers with soft whimpers or uneasy growls.The fear had taken root.And it had a face.Mine.I moved through the academy as I always did carrying supplies, cleaning halls, performing the menial tasks assigned to F-rank failures. On the surface, nothing had changed. I was still the quiet janitor in the plain gray uniform.But the atmosphere around me had become thick with tension.Nyxar