"WE will serve you until the Night of the Conqueror comes."
Saiya remembered Variche's words before she turned her into a Shadow Soldier right after she died in their battle against the Light Oracles. Sitting on top of a large rock, she stared at the Maelie Castle's silhouette, filled with hatred as the last words of the Kardama Tribe's Chieftain echoed in her mind.
Everything that happened before her eyes when she was returned by Azul in the realms of humans was so clear to her like it just happened yesterday even though it happened six months ago.bAnd she will never forget the cruelty of the Maelie Kingdom to their tribe.
It was because of her that the village was attacked but she will never forget the words that she heard from one of the Light Oracles who approached her after the remaining people that surrounded her were killed protecting her.
"Don't hesitate to kill her. Remember his highness' order. Whether the Lord of Shadows is here or not, we must clean this place of all the ungifted. They don't deserve to live in this place. They are useless."
Saiya clenched her teeth as her nails dug into her palms because of the hate she feels for herself and for the Royal Family who is living in the castle that she's looking at the moment.
No one deserves to be treated like trash just because they are ungifted people. They are still born as humans and they have their own lives and dreams. They breathe the same as any Horalees who are gifted. It was already too much when all those who are born as Necromancers are ordered to be killed. But the ungifted doesn't carry any threats. They deserve to live.
Her breathing became rugged and that is when she felt a presence behind her. It was too familiar for her not to know who it is.
"Yes, Greyn?"
"My lad-"
Greyn stopped midway when Saiya looked at him like she was going to kill him. Soon after, he felt her overwhelming presence and that made him kneel. He felt like he was looking at the darkest side of his former lord, Azul.
"How many times do I have to tell you, I no longer hold a gender. Let them think who the Lord of Shadows is until the day those people will learn her true identity right before they die," she reminded him with authority in her voice.
"Greatest apologies, my lord."
"It's okay. Just be sure to keep that in your mind... If ever you still have one after becoming a shadow soldier," Saiya said before she returned her attention to the castle.
"Yes, my lord," Greyn answered.
Six months changed Saiya. She changed for the worst. She was no longer the joyful and positive girl he served for the past six years. She was no longer the girl who smiled brightly at her even if the world was rejecting her. His lady was already a part of the past and even if he is just a shadow, that makes him sad.
He's supposed to not feel any human emotions but if it is not a human emotion, he doesn't know how to call it.
"Anyway, what news do you have? Is it safe to approach the next village from here?" Saiya asks, making him return his attention to her.
"Yes, my lad-... My lord. Though, you will
here some rumors about you but I think it will not get into you."
"Baseless rumors are just lies. That won't affect me," She sighed before she stood up and walked towards the biggest tree she can find in that forest, "For now, keep monitoring the knights as they gather information about the Maelies. I'll stay here and rest for a bit. After all, controlling a hundred shadows can easily exhaust me."
"Then I will stand guard beside you."
"No. Watch the knights in the city. I have Zure here to watch over me," Saiya replied before she laid down between the tree's roots and covered her face with the hood of her dark green cloak.
Soon after, Zure, one of the former Light Oracles that she turned into her Shadow Knight, appeared beside her retaining his former appearance with full black gear armor, horned helmet, a black and red round shield with a height that is just a few inches smaller than his length and an ax hanging on his back.
Greyn's white blank eyes with blue linings looked at Zure, "Ensure the lord's safety," he ordered before leaving Saiya to Zure's protection.
Zure bowed and positioned himself just a few meters from Saiya before he cast his power. In a few seconds, hundred blue dots surrounded them before those dots connected to build an enclosure.
The former Light Oracle was the Shield Bearer of the Maelie Empire. It was his power that protected the whole Empire since the day he was turned to a Light Oracle. But his power had a weakness. There is a certain point just below the caster where the dots don't connect because of the caster's shadow. That is where Greyn attacked him when he killed Zure in their duel back at Chaaya Village.
After he was killed, the protection that has been cast to the other Light Oracles disappeared. Using Azul's power that he lent to Saiya, she was able to cast the "Land of Death" immediately after the Shield Bearer died, killing the other five Light Oracles and their dragons with shadow spikes that emerged from the ground. They could not react immediately because they were confused when the Shield Bearer's power disappeared from them.
She could not remember anymore what transpired after she released Azul's technique because she was filled with grief from the death of her tribe. Aimlessly, she walked around the village looking and calling for survivors while Greyn and the other Shadow Soldiers she extracted from the dead villagers fought behind her but in the end, she did not see anyone. She even saw Erie's body pierced by a broken tree branch in the heart. It was the moment that made her lose herself that night.
All she remembered after seeing his corpse is her scream that echoed throughout the village.
Saiya closed her eyes to forget that painful night and to get some rest. But then again, she saw herself in Azul's prison. She could not help but smile bitterly when she saw an empty throne.
They may not have a good relationship but he was still the person who stopped her from killing herself. He was still the person who taught him how to be brave and to fight for herself. He is still the person who gave her the strength to keep going on despite everything.
And lastly, he's the person who kept her alive during the attack from the Maelie Empire and it cost him to lose his existence in both realms.
Her tribe is gone as well as Azul. They were all gone from her. All that is left is her hatred for those who took them from her.
And with that, she summoned her bow from her shadow and aimed it on the shield that she once cracked; pouring all her built-up emotions into destroying the shield.
EXHAUSTED from traveling from one point to another because of all the different rumors he heard about the Lord of Shadows, Kane decided to rest and sit between the roots of a big tree he found in the forest where he ended up while following the information from the villagers.
After the meeting he attended on the Royal Family's castle and knowing the location of the Lord of Shadows, he immediately took off to find the said lord. Even if Carmine begged him not to go, he cannot cast his hatred aside just to live a peaceful life with her.
Because even if he tried casting his plans aside, he is hunted by his family's death in his dreams. He must kill the Lord of Shadows to be able to free himself with his hatred.
He also doesn't want Carmine to sacrifice herself for him. She might be ready to cast her royalty aside but his conscience cannot accept that. If he wanted to live with Carmine, he must earn his rights properly.
But finding the Lord of Shadows is hard because when he finally reached the place he heard from the villagers, the lord was no longer there.
Sighing, he took off his traveling bag and brown cloak so that his body could rest a bit from his long walk through the woods. He opened his bag and took out his journal to study the details he gathered from the villagers and travelers he met along the way.
Rumors might be helpful if someone is looking for another person but it seems to him that it is not that helpful for searching the Lord of Shadows.
One fact is, no one knows if the Lord of Shadows is a lady or a man. Some say that she is a lady and others say he is a man. Even if the "lord" is supposed to be a title for a man, there were some rumors that say otherwise.
While investigating and interviewing some villagers or other travelers, he got confused about the lord's gender and that made his search troublesome and difficult.
"Even his appearance is confusing if I will consider all their answers," Kane whispered while reading his notes, "Wearing a dark cloak, a tunic and some even says that he is traveling riding a horse. If I consider all of this-"
Kane suddenly went still when he heard something move. Thinking that he just heard the wind as it blows, he ignored what he heard and went back to what he was reading. But then, he heard it again.
Slowly, he closed his journal and put it back in the pocket of his bag while staying alert to his surrounding. As he searched where the rustle is coming from, he slowly stood up while holding his bow with his right hand and leaned on the trunk before he silently peeked on his left side.
What he saw stunned him; a silhouette of a person double his height, wearing an armor and holding a shield submerged in the earth and disappeared. Then after a while, a person wearing a dark green cloak step into his view while stretching like it has just woken up.
Holding his breath, he continued watching the person as it stands still while looking up in the sky; like it was waiting for something to happen. But then, Kane immediately hid when he noticed someone who approached the person.
"My lord, there seem to be no Maelie soldiers who were stationed on the village at the moment. It is the best time to replenish the things you need for your travel to your next destination. I have also instructed some of the knights to station themselves on the possible exits if ever we encounter unnecessary problems along the way."
"Good. Let's move then," the person ordered in a sweet voice.
"Yes, my lord."
Kane's brows furrowed because the voice of the person is far from being a "lord". Before Kane could react, the person had already vanished from his sight.
A devilish smile started tracing on his lips as the realization hits him. There and then, he had this feeling that the person he was just listening to at the moment is the same person he was looking for.
TO BE CONTINUED