The moment Kazimir pulled the hood over his head, he felt it, something shifting, something changing.
The shadows embraced him, sinking into his very being. It was not like wearing a cloak, but rather like becoming one with the shadows.
Kazimir turned to the mirror and froze.
Where his reflection should have been, there was only a black shadow. No face, no hands, no form, just a swirling void of black fabric. The hood swallowed all light, leaving behind nothing but a faceless silhouette.
It took him a moment to adjust to the sensation. His body no longer felt solid but weightless, like mist drifting through the night.
Selis, watching his reaction, spoke in her usual measured tone.
"This cloak will allow you to merge with the shadows and move unseen," she explained. "In darkness, you will vanish completely, embraced by it. Try stepping into that corner."
She gestured toward a shadowed area of the room.
Kazimir hesitated, then moved toward it. The closer he got, the more the darkness seemed to reach for him, welcoming him into its depths.
And then, he was gone.
He looked back at the mirror, but there was nothing. No shape, no outline. The shadows had claimed him entirely.
He felt light, as if his body had shed all weight, floating in an abyss.
He took a step, and to his astonishment, he glided.
It was like skating across ice, smooth and effortless. He moved swiftly, with barely a thought, the shadows carrying him faster than he had ever moved before.
Then something strange happened.
He could feel them. The shadows. Not just in this room, but all over the castle. They pulsed at the edges of his mind, waiting, listening.
Tentatively, he reached out to them.
The darkness stirred.
The shadows bent to his will, shifting and swirling as if answering a silent command. He was controlling them, shaping them.
And yet... they remained intangible. Incorporeal.
He also noticed that while he was in this shadow state he couldn't interact with objects.
After a while, Kazimir stepped out of the darkness, his form reappearing as he left the shadow's embrace.
Selis observed him carefully.
"Is it to your liking?" she asked.
Kazimir let out a breathless laugh.
"Like it? This is the greatest cloak I have ever worn! How did you even make something like this?"
Selis smiled, just a little.
"The fabric comes from a world of living shadows," she said. "Woven by a spider-like creature the size of a cathedral."
She ran her fingers along the hem of the cloak, her voice as smooth as silk.
"But fabric alone is not enough. Living fabric resist being used. I had to bind them to the castle with silver thread, thread spun from moonlight itself. Only then did they become obedient."
Kazimir's gaze dropped to the embroidered silver patterns.
"The cloak has more advantages than invisibility," Selis continued. "It will silence your footsteps, no matter where you tread. Your sight in darkness will sharpen, And, most importantly, the remnants of the creature's power still linger in the fabric."
She stepped back, studying him with quiet amusement.
"Try again. Shape the shadows."
Kazimir focused, reaching out with his mind.
At first, only a few strands moved. Then a dozen. Then all the shadows in the room twisted and danced around him in a mesmerizing display.
It was breathtaking.
Dark tendrils coiled around his hands like ribbons of smoke. He lifted one, attempting to shape it. He envisioned a sword, sleek and sharp.
The shadows obeyed.
A blade took form in his grasp, but when he tried to hold it, his fingers slipped through.
Still incorporeal... useless in battle.
Selis, who rarely displayed emotion, actually looked impressed.
"You have quite the affinity for shadows," she remarked.
Kazimir frowned.
"But what's the point?" he asked. "How does this help me if I can't even touch anything with it?"
Selis raised a white brow.
"You cannot see the usefulness?" she asked. "You can use shadows to deceive. To mislead your enemies. Strike from behind when they are distracted."
She folded her arms.
"Besides, the creature that wove this cloak could make shadows solid. If you learn to weave them properly, you may be able to do the same."
Kazimir's eyes flickered with understanding.
He tried again.
This time, instead of forcing the shadows into a shape, he envisioned threads, thin, delicate strands, weaving together like fabric. He layered them over and over, like a spider spinning silk, condensing the shadows.
After several minutes, something shifted.
A hilt.
For the first time, he felt something solid in his grasp.
It wasn't much, just the handle of the sword, but it was progress.
Kazimir sighed, but Selis gave an approving nod.
"Impressive," she admitted. "Better than I ever managed."
Then her expression hardened slightly.
"But you will need more than a cloak to survive beyond these walls."
She turned, making a subtle gesture for him to follow.
"Where are we going?" Kazimir asked.
"The cloak will hide you, but it will not protect you from the elements. Or from a blade." She glanced at him over her shoulder. "We are going to the armory. You'll need armor if you intend to survive outside."
Kazimir swallowed.
The idea of leaving the castle still filled him with unease. But he followed her nonetheless, their footsteps echoing as they walked past more paintings, paintings that, he swore, were changing the deeper they went.