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This is Shade. Shade isn’t anything special or at least wasn’t until about four years ago. He wasn’t talkative and was a loner growing up. Whether it was by choice or the fact that no one wanted anything to do with him was questionable. He didn’t have a job and had to struggle to get by constantly. It’s easy for someone like him to make mistakes with no real experience. He’d continue to assume that his existence in every capacity is a joke.
One-night Shade was walking home after not being able to find work. It was storming and he hadn’t brought an umbrella to deal with the rain. He liked rain, but he didn’t care for being soaked with water. On the way home he’d hear sounds of whimpering belonging to something seemingly small. He was going to ignore it entirely, but it’d continually bothered him. It’d bother him enough that’d he’d start looking around for the source of the noise until he’d find a box turned over and underneath that box was a puppy. Shade took the puppy from under the box, flipped the box over, and put the puppy in the box. He’d close the lid of the box to keep the Puppy from getting wet and took the box home with it in it.
Shade had taken the Puppy to the Veterinarian Clinic. The Puppy seemed to be in good health. She was a Husky. She wasn’t chipped nor did she have a collar. She seemed abandoned or forgotten. He thought about letting her get adopted. His current funds couldn’t support the husky. Hell, he had trouble supporting himself so, he’d leave her at the clinic hoping she’d get adopted into a good home though it seems that no one else had time for this Puppy. He’d eventually lose to his emotions after a few weeks and took her in even though this clearly wasn’t the logical choice. He’d name her Ciel.
At the end of spring, may of 2016, Shade had gotten attacked by a beast on a late night on his way home. He’d been out late finishing up still trying to find a basic way for him to make money. Shade walked through an unlit park during the night and as he passed by a fountain a large silhouette would come into view. Obscure noises would be heard coming from its direction until it noticed him.
Vicious snarling was heard, and fangs became visible. It was frothing. Any saliva that reached the grow would sizzle and leave black marks behind. Shade stopped in his tracks. Fear filled his mind, and in this moment, he wasn’t sure how to respond. It’d become a stare down between a predator and its prey.
The beast would start taking steps toward Shade. Shade dug into his pockets in a panic. He’d find a folding knife in his pocket that he’d usually kept for self-defense against sketchy characters.
In a flash the beast would bolt towards Shade. It’d leapt from the shadows then sunk its teeth into his left shoulder, fracturing his shoulder blade. Shade grit his teeth and almost fell back due to its weight. He’d forcibly keep his balance while groaning in pain. Then he’d take the folding knife and slam it into the Beast’s rib again and again until it released its grip. It’d wail in pain and took off, blood trailing.
Shade’s vision blurred, and he’d fall to his knees. He turned his head to the Beast to ensure that it left. It turned back for a moment to look at Shade then it’d leave. Shade was covered in his blood and the blood of the beast. He had plenty of holes in his shoulder from the bite. He’d black out from the pain and the blood loss, falling over flat on the park grounds.
Shade woke up in his house a few days later in the middle of his living room floor. The doorknob to his front door was busted. As he got up off the floor he’d sigh. His clothes were torn, and the bite mark and fracture had healed. It was strange that something like that would heal that quickly. What wasn’t noticed was that Ciel wasn’t home. She’d show up at his door a few days later. He’d assume she’d gotten out because the broken doorknob.
Later he’d get a knob replacement for his front door. His shopping priorities with whatever money he could scrounge up usually prioritized taking care of Ciel first then himself. During this time, missing persons had appeared in the news. The blooded park happening just before the disappearances would people living in the area on high alert. They’d stayed away from that park and authorities would be patrolling the area. Shade assumed it had to do with what attacked him, but his memory wasn’t faithful. He could only remember up until the point of being bitten, but everything else afterward seemed to be a blur. He couldn’t remember how he had gotten home either nor why he had passed out for as long as he did. Anytime he’d attempt to remember anything passed the moment of being bitten he’d get a severe headache, so he’d give up on it for the time being.
A few days later he’d wake up in the middle of the night feeling absolutely horrid. He’d go into his bathroom and stare in the mirror for a bit of time then he’d wash his face. After that he’d start heading towards the kitchen. As he walked down the hall an intense pain would fill his body. He’d fell to his knees, pressing his forehead against the floor clutching the back of his head. His eyes would open, bloodshot. He’d be clenching his teeth. His body would start to swell with size. His clothes would tear, his skin dimmed to black then surged with black fur. His ears would fade from the sides of his head and beast like ears would take their place on the top of head. His face would morph into a maw and his teeth into fangs. A tail would burst from his backside. The groans of his voice would become that of a monster. The pain would subside, but a strange urge arose. The Beast that is Shade would take a standing Howl. Ciel would soon follow in the howling session. Ciel howling pulled Shade out of what seemed like instinct and regained control of himself.
It was dark, but Shade could see clearly. This was a bit strange, but what was stranger were his hands. They were large and shaggy. He’d immediately head back into the bathroom, having to duck under the doorway to get in then turned on the light. “What… What the ********?!” Shade yelled loudly. He’d immediately notice his voice was rougher and much deeper. His body was much larger. He was covered in fur and had wolf features. He knew what this was but decided to look a little deeper. He’d head back to the computer in his bedroom. He was forced to sit on his knees, but still was higher than the monitor. He was also forced to type very slowly due to the sizes of his hands being much bigger than the keys. This was frustrating, but he’d found images and information that would only reconfirm what he was. Shade was a Werewolf.
This was strange. Even though he had already had information about werewolves from what he knew it wasn’t exactly the same. He wasn’t forced to transform during dark hours, nor was he forced to transform by the will of the moon. While he wasn’t forced to transform by the moon, he’d be slightly more powerful whenever the moon was visible. Anything that seemed like it would reject and cause pain to the undead didn’t affect him.
Eventually as he continued research information this would open another gateway of knowledge, Magic. This information was too easy to come by, so he’d find it to be absolute bullshit at first. He’d come across plenty of false information and questionable ideas or research. After trying all sorts of things, he figured he should be able to scare or handle anyone that showed up, so he started calling people out left and right. He started meeting anyone and everyone in Shimmer City that would claim they knew something about magic. He wasn’t a detective so doing things this way was a lot easier.
As Shade began calling people out and scaring most of them off, he started to learn how to “Isolate” his transformation. With Isolated Transformation he could change specific parts of his body instead of fully transforming. This led to some interesting scares and people would start reporting that there was a monster roaming around. This finally got someone who actually knew of magic to show up. An Elf would appear late at night in abandoned ruins on the city outskirts.
This time Shade brought Ciel with him. She had been making a mess in the house after being left alone for extended periods. He’d find arrows that would eventually lead him into a specific building. Upon entering set building the door would shut and spheres of light would flash into sight brightening up the room. She walk out from another room with a neutral expression. She was short with fair skin and cute. She had long curly lime green hair that almost reached the floor with blue eyes and long pointy ears.
“You the guy?”
“… The guy?” Shade said with a bit of a concerned expression.
“The guy digging around looking for magic and scaring people in Shimmer City? You know you have people looking for another monster right now?”
“And? I don’t give a damn about anyone else here. What are you by the way?”
She’d sigh. “You humans really live in your own little world, don’t you? I’m an Elf. To not bring too much attention to myself I hide my ears and dress in a similar attire to you humans.”
“What made you give me that information?”
“Well if you were going to learn about magic, you also might as well come to realize there are other sentient beings in this world that aren’t Humans.”
Shade set Ciel down on the floor and held out his right hand. “It’s become clear to me that humans aren’t the only thing in this world.” His hand and forearm morphed into a large and fuzzy claw.
The Elf would be taken aback. “Are you some sort of shapeshifter?”
“A Werewolf.”
“Last time I checked they couldn’t change one specific part of their body.”
“Ah so I’m definitely not a normal uh... type of then.”
“Most certainly not. Most are corrupted and driven by their instinct. Judging by the way you feel but, you don’t seem to be an undead either.”
Shade shake his hand transforming it back to human form. “Well I’m not the one. Anyway, about magic.”
The Elf walked up to Shade with her left hand on her chin and the other holding her elbow. She got really close to him and started inspecting him. Ciel was sitting down off to the side watching them, panting. The Elf would be circling Shade looking him up and down and eventually tip toe up to inspect his face closely.
Shade blushed slightly while leaning back from her face, “Yo, what are you doing?”
The Elf stepped back. “Hm… What’s your name?”
“Shade. Give me your name since you asked for mines.”
“Hmph.” She’d put her hand to her chest with a proud look on her face, “I am the Great Luella De’Audindus!”
“Yeah… So great that you’re out here meeting some suspicious character in the middle of the night in some abandoned ruins.”
“Hey!” Luella pouted.
“I could’ve eaten you.”
“You would do that?!” She gasped sarcastically.
“No, moron.”
“You’d have quite a few issues trying to defeat me without magic!” Luella cackled.
“Anyway, the entire reason I’m here now is to show you that magic does indeed exist.”
“Get to it.”
Luella sighed. She’d hold her hand up and the bright yellow lights that lit up the room travelled toward her and began circling her wrist. The lights would shatter, and the light faded from the room. As the yellow light faded aurora like lights would fill the room. “This is magic.” Luella said as she weaved her hands causing the aurora lights to fade out and the original spheres of light would return at their original position across the room. Another motion from her caused them to burst from light into torch like fires.
Shade gave Luella a golf clap.
“Thank you, thank you.” she’d bow twice.
“Now just showing you magic would be pointless. Would you like to maybe learn some from me?”
“If possible.”
Luella clapped her hands. “Okay so now we have to check if you have the ability to. Most uhm... humans don’t possess the ability to use magic. Time for something a little… embarrassing.”
“What?”
“Just sit in one of these old chairs and stay still.”
Shade sighed, “Fine.”
“This spell takes some time to cast and to obtain the bit of information needed to find it.”
“It?” Shade said while pulling out a dusty and ragged chair from underneath an old desk.
“The… force inside of you that allows you and any other beings to use magic.”
She walked and stood in front of Shade with a bit of an embarrassed face. “If I teach you magic, you’re going to help me.”
“Eh, I gue-”
Luella would sit in his lap and press her head against his chest.
Shade’s heart was pounding. It was hard to tell due to his dark skin, but he was definitely blushing. He had a panicked expression, “W-w-what?!”
Luella herself was blushing, but had her eyes shut. “J-just shut up and w-wait!”
She started glowing and an aura began emitting from her. The aura wrapped around Shade making him glow though he didn’t understand what was happening. A girl pressing up against him in his lap was a bit too distracting. The aura emitting off of Luella would start to dissipate and she’d hop off of his lap.
Shade seemed a bit burned out with his hand pressed against his hanging head.
“… A-alright so what was that about?”
Luella crossed her arms still blushing a bit herself. “It was simply to check if you had the ability to use magic.”
“That was… a lot.”
“I could’ve done it from further away, but the further I am from the one I’m casting that Scan Spell on the longer the time it takes to cast by a ridiculous amount so, I had to do it this way.”
“How could you trust me enough for something like... that?”
“I need to trust you for some of the things I’m going to ask you to do and based on your reaction you don’t have many interactions with people much less girls.”
Shade sighed with a dispirited look on his face, “Ugh…”
“Anyway, you seem to have it, the ability to cast magic.”
“So, I can just cast anything?”
Luella nodded, “But, you have to get a feel for it. It’s hard to describe and then there’s Crests.”
“Crests?”
“I’ll fill you in on Crests after you learn how to cast magic. This I will be teaching you while you help me with questing.”
“Oh so you’re a Quester. Surprised you don’t have any tech with you.”
“I do keep a cell phone and a few other things, but I rely mainly on my blade, spells, and crests.”
Shade took his phone out of his pocket and tossed it to Luella. “If we’re going to be sticking together, we should probably trade contact info.”
Luella put her number and email into his phone then tossed his phone back to him. “Text me and remind me of what your name is again.”
Shade texted Luella his name in that moment.
“Shade Nightz, huh.” She’d save his number.
“Okay Shade, I’ll text you in a few days to meet me at a guild board in the city and we can do some quests for some money together. I’ll teach you during and you’ll practice during some quests.”
“Aight.”
Shade got up, Ciel walked beside him and Luella then they’d both head outside. They’d say their farewells for the time being and split. Just as stated, Luella contacted Shade and they’d meet on the east side of town in a guild hall and quested together for a few weeks. Shade adapted quickly to magic and whenever things got too heated for practice, Luella would swiftly put an end to the quest with her skills. Most of the quest they took were simpler or seemingly easier ones and other times Luella would just call Shade to hangout instead of questing.
Eventually Luella would start checking his aptitude with all sorts of weaponry on each quest. Shade wouldn’t know why, but Luella would teach him some basic things though mostly with swords because it’s the main weapon she used. Ultimately, it’d seem Shade excelled with gauntlets and hand to hand. She’d let him learn with gauntlets, but still teach him basic swords skill on the side.
Things started looking better for Shade. He learned about and how to use magic, found a way to generate some income though it was based on how many quests he and Luella completed. After a few months Luella would come around to teaching Shade about Crests. Luella would call Shade during the morning to go into an empty dirt lot on the city outskirts.
Shade walked into the area, but not see Luella anywhere in sight. He’d brought Ciel with him and she’d be walking around sniffing the area. It was quiet, but then out of nowhere Luella would jump onto Shade’s back. He’d almost lose his balance, “Yo, you trying to get me dirty?”
“No, but it makes me happy that that my uh… student has done well. I couldn’t help myself.” She’d climb off of him.
Luella walked around to the front of him to face him. Ciel came running over and ran circles around Luella. Luella kneeled to pet Ciel and looked up at Shade while she pet the puppy, “I’m going to run you through a ton of spells today and we’ll see which ones seemingly feel ‘right’ to you. Next step comes after that.” Shade nodded in response. They’d spend the next few hours burning through all sorts of spells, exhausting themselves.
“Has anything we used so far stood out to you?”
“Eh… Not really. I do like a few of them, but nothing really hits.”
“Hm… I guess I should have you run through elementals then, but we’ll do that in a bit. I need to rest.”
Shade sat down on the ground. Luella used him as a seat.
“Oh, so I’m a chair now?”
“If I don’t have to sit on the dirt I won’t, I’ll just use you.”
Shade sighed and shrugged, “Whatever man.” This happened often enough during questing that it no longer phased him.
“Elemental Crests are rare y’know. It’s rarest of the rare which is why I haven’t run you through those yet. Figured we’d find something else first.”
“It’s already rare for any being born a human to have magical abilities. Not even everyone with the ability to use magic has a Crest and for those that do it normally isn’t elemental.” Luella said as she got up and straightened out her top and skirt.
She picked up some dirt from the ground. “I have a Nature Crest.”
Luella held the dirt out in her hand, “It’s a crest that evolved from an Earth Crest. So, I could use Earth spells as well as Plant and Wood spells. Of course, if I was raised here, it could’ve had a chance to become a Steel Crest.”
A flower grew from the dirt in her hand. “Crests also come with skills that still utilize spells but allows complex combinations to be simplified.”
Shade got up off the ground and dusted the backside of his pants off. “Ready?” Luella asked. Shade nodded in response. For the next thirty minutes they’d run through a few elements by casting a basic offensive spells side by side again random objects in the area. They’d cast Earth, Wind, Fire, and then Water. Obviously, there was no way he was going to match her earth cast, but Luella would immediately notice the difference in strength between her water cast and his.
“Hey uh… Shade. I think this might be one. Match with me on another cast of water.”
They’d both fire a water projectile into a sturdy wall. Shade’s would come out with less precision, but the damage to the wall was much more noticeable compared to Luella’s.
“Do you feel… well like… it’s easier to cast water compared any of the other spells we’ve cast?”
Shade stared at his hand for a few moments, “Uh… Yeah something is definitely there.”
Luella nodded, “Alright, so next step here would be to try anything basic with water. Just fire another projectile, but without casting.”
Shade held his right fist forward and opened it up as a finger gun.
“You look silly.”
Shade coughed. He’d get the odd feeling once again while holding his hand forward. After a few seconds, BANG! Water flew from his fingers in almost the exact same way they were firing earlier though bullet imaginary in his mind would make the projectile more precise. Shade brought his right hand over, palm open to look at it once more. Luella ran over and placed her hands around his right hand looking him in the face with an ecstatic expression. Shade hadn’t seen a face like this before, especially not aimed at him. He didn’t know how to feel.
“So that’s it?” he’d say slightly blushing and a bit taken aback by her action.
Luella nodded continuing that sparkling smile, “Mhm!!”
Shade rubbed the back of his head with his left hand, “Uh… Don’t I still have to check the other few elements?”
Luella released his right hand, “Oh, right-right. It is possible for someone to have more than one Crest.”
Before either of them could set up to check the few elements that were left Ciel would run to side of Shade. She’d bark to get his attention. He’d kneel down to pet her, but she’d turned away to face some debris and before he could put his hand down, she’d bark. A ring like water projectile would fly from Ciel’s mouth into the rubble she faced, and it’d be blown away.
Shade was a bit dumbstruck, “…Eh?”
Its startled Luella a bit, but she’d be mostly unphased by it. “Well… Crests are more common in animals than humanoid race.”
Luella picked up Ciel and pet her for a bit. “This puppy has a lot of potential power and coincidentally enough, shares an element with you. What is with your luck?”
“I’m not sure that this is luck.” Shade said as he shrugged.
Luella set Ciel down, “Alright let’s get these last three out of the way. Safe to assume that you don’t have another though.”
After a few minutes they’d stance up with open palms and started casting again. Electricity, Light, and Dark. Electricity and Light showed no real increase, but Shade’s Dark cast held an absurd amount of power compared to Luella’s. Luella’s dark cast was normal like every other cast aside from Earth. Shade blow a hole through a few walls with his cast. His cast scared the ever-living s**t out of Luella. ‘Why was their so much power?’ she thought to herself.
“I uh…”
Luella shook her head to clear who astonishment, “…Without even trying. That is definitely a Dark Crest. You must be really in tune with your de-uh… darkness.”
“I guess.” Shade said as he put his hand down.
It started getting darker outside. “Hey Shade.”
“Huh?”
“Let me stay over tonight. The place is pretty far on the other side of town.”
“That’s fine, warning though my house ain’t great.”
Luella nodded, “Regardless your house is much closer, and I’d rather not be outside at these hours.”
After a few more minutes they’d head to Shade’s house and Luella would spend the night.
As time went on Shade’s living situation would get much better. Questing would get easier for him and Luella as they completed them. Eventually they’d start taking tougher quests as Shade got use to his Crests. Sometimes on weaker quests Shade would bring along Ciel to assist them and help her grow stronger. Other times Luella and Shade would train against one another after Shade got use to his abilities making them even better though one day these acts would come to an end.
Luella had gotten contacted by her family and need to return to her hometown. She’d leave the country to handle business back home. She wanted to return to Shimmer City eventually. This is where she wanted to stay even if it meant being away from her family. Due to her country’s severe lack of technology she wouldn’t be able to contact him very often if at all. Shade completed quests with Ciel at times but spent most of his time soloing quests.
After a certain period of time Shade’s Water Crest would become an Ice Crest. Soon after the evolution of Shade’s Crest, Ciel’s Crest would evolve twice in a rather short time span. Her Water Crest would first become an Ice Crest then a few weeks later evolve again after experiencing tougher battles into a Fenrir Crest. Aside from being able to use both Water and Ice, Ciel could now transform into a large Dire Wolf. She could also create armor made from ice in this form. Animals sometimes had Crests specific to what they were if they had them. A Bird in possession of a Flame Crest could have its Crest evolve into a Phoenix Crest. A second example would be a Bird with a Wind Crest which could become a Griffin Crest.
After Ciel obtained the ability to transform, both her and Shade could freely change the color of their hair and fur between black or white. This particular ability was strange to Shade. ‘Why could I only do this only after Ciel obtained this ability?’ he thought though he didn’t think too much about it and just accepted it as is. It came in handy when trying to conceal one’s presence in certain situations similar to a predator on the prowl.
Three years later Shade and Ciel took a quest that’d land them in the Twilight Desert. Twilight Desert is mostly an unexplored continent. This massive desert was known for three things. Massive ruins, color shifting sands, and the fact that it’s hard to tell whether it’s day or night without a watch or clock on hand. This place had a twisted and mysterious field surrounding it making it switch between day and night at random intervals. There was another way to tell and that was by the current temperature. Even if it was dark, if it was hot it’d still be day. If it was light and it was cold it’d still be considered night. This place did not adhere to seasons or time of year. Unless there was an eclipse. Depending on the Eclipse type it’d be hot and sunny or cold and dark for the entire day.
Any quests that came from there paid pretty high, but they didn’t pop up often. This quest was a direct request from an unknown figure. Stuff like direct quests and anonymous employers weren’t new but were warily accepted. They’d meet their employer in a specific hotel in the only city in the Twilight Desert, Concord City. Concord City was dangerous. There wasn’t any real rules or regulations going on here and people could generally get away with anything. It was a town filled with predators and scavengers.
In order to get to the Twilight Desert, you’d have to find someone willing to warp you there. Essentially look for someone with powerful enough warp magic and had previously been to the Desert or the City. Most who have been had only been to the desert itself and not Concord. Those who have been to Concord had been sought after consistently and always had business. Eventually Shade would find one that could warp him to Concord. It was expensive, but the price was normally worth it if you had any sorts of Quest there. There were plenty of warp mages in Concord City that could get you back to your continent.
Shade and Ciel would finally be warped into Concord City. Shade took a bit of time to find the specified hotel. The name of the place was Gama Inn. Gama Inn was a bit dusty and seemed pretty old, but then again, a lot of the city itself seemed to be this way. They’d sit at a table inside and wait for the client to show up. Shade and Ciel had shown up a few hours early, so they’d be forced to wait a bit. Eventually the client would show up.
They’d be dressed in a tattered cloak and wore a silver mask. When they spoke, it was strange inhuman voice. Shade had assumed they had some sort of sound magic tied to the mask in order to disguise their voice.
They’d take a seat from across Shade at the same table. “Hello Adventurer.”
“Uh… Hi.”
“You’re here for the quest I presume.”
Shade nodded slowly, “Yes.”
“Ah so you’re Shade then.”
“I- Alright lets just get to the point already. I know what you’re paying, but what is you want me to do?”
“There are underground ruins northeast of this City and I want you to clear out any creatures lurking there. I wish to explore this place uninterrupted. There are a few things I could potentially acquire that are worth looking into.”
“So just an extermination.”
“I wouldn’t call it an extermination. It’d be more of… a cleansing.”
The client would slide cash towards Shade across the table. “An advance payment.”
Shade take the money. “I’ll head out for the clean up a few days from now. I’ll be here in Gama Inn if you need anything else.”
“Perfect.” The stranger would almost immediately vanish.
Shade thought it was strange that someone would pay in advance. It was rare, but usually it was a sign of trust that you wouldn’t just run off with their money without completing the request. It would also say that if you left with that money, they’d find you. Sometimes people who requested things on guild boards would do so to get people killed and obviously they’d never have to pay up if the quester or adventurer is dead.
After a few days at the hotel Shade would be forcibly awoken by a sharp pain bursting throughout his body for a short moment. He hadn’t noticed, but some of his hair would be highlighted red. Upon getting out of bed he’d notice Ciel was missing. He’d taken a few hours looking around for her in the hotel and outside then finally would be forced to speak to the Hotel Receptionist. The Hotel Receptionist didn’t divulge information easily so Shade would have to pay him to get him to speak.
“Eh… I think saw some mysterious man walk upstairs in the middle of the night. He claimed he knew a customer here, so I let him be. When he came back down your mutt was following him.”
“So, you thought it was a good idea not to tell me that before I spent all my time here wasting it on you?” Shade slammed his left fist into the counter losing a bit of himself to anger.
“Matter a fact, give me my money back or I’ll kill you myself…” his right arm transformed, and he held it up to the Hotel Receptionist’s throat. The Hotel Receptionist panicked and he’d swiftly hand Shade back his money. Shade noticed he still had more money in hand, so he swiped it, grabbed anything he had in his room and left, “Stupid b***h.”
Due to the time spent the scent was faint, but Shade picked it up. Shade found himself slowly being pulled towards the Client’s requested ruins by Ciel’s scent. “This is a joke.” he said with a stern expression. As Shade closed in on the ruins, he’d began to wonder why Ciel would willing follow anyone but, him. Upon reaching said ruins he’d notice zombies, skeletons, and undead animals roaming the outside. The desert was in a Dark Phase so the undead wouldn’t be burned out at the current moment.
Shade’s open right hand looked as though it’d grip something. Ice would build up creating a spell-sword in his hand that resembled one of Luella’s swords. From time to time Shade would create spell-swords to get a bit of extra range while melee. This allowed him to use some of the sword skills Luella taught him. He’d rush inside whilst cutting down any of the undead that got in his way or attempted catch him. Those he cut too swallow would be frozen in place so they couldn’t purse.
The deeper Shade travelled inside the thicker the amount of undead would get until he essentially reached a massive wall of them. “This is beginning to get on my nerves, and I can’t smell Ciel anymore with this disgusting smell overwhelming me.” he’d say while building a dark orb in his left hand. He’d crush the orb in his left hand. A black glowing shadow would expand from the center of the dead army. Anything in that shadow would slowly sink into it until they were entirely swallowed then it’d vanish.
He’d continued to do this repeatedly until the crowd had been heavily thinned out. He decided to slaughter anything remaining. He wasn’t outside anymore. It was dark inside the ruins and just them being frozen meant they’d just be a problem whenever he’d try leaving. He’d started tearing them apart. Sticking his hand into their mouths ripping off bottom jaws. Slicing them down the middle sticking his hand inside of them and causing dark implosions within them. Throwing the sword into some while outright tearing others in half. This and other similar actions continued until he’d cleared the leftovers then he head further inside. There’d be traps of all sorts littering the ruins rooms, halls, and corridors. The first few were jammed up and broken by the undead. Those he’d walked past or had to break down entirely to move forward. These traps definitely weren’t meant for someone with his power. As he got further the rooms began to spiral downward though as he got deeper his sense of smell would no longer be hindered by the odious aroma of undead.
Ciel’s scent was very clear now as he came into a circular room. Torches would automatically light upon him entering the room. He hadn’t noticed immediately, but the entire floor was a mirror. There wasn’t a clear way out of the room until a shadow appeared. It’d appear in the shape of Shade. “…” Shade stared at it in silence.
Shade caused his Ice Sword to dissipate then both him and the shadow rushed one another. Attacks would collide repeatedly in close quarters. At first it didn’t bother him, but he’d began to feel like this was a waste of time. Shade stepped back from the shadow and his rose his hand. The shadow as if it were bound struggled to move. Shade would puppet the shadow. He’d force it to create a black blade and drive it through its own neck. Shade’s Dark Crest would react. In that moment the torches would go out, the glass would crack, and the center of the mirror would shatter, opening a path. As Shade walked towards the hole in the floor, he’d feel a sharp pain in his chest. He’d clench his chest, and something would leave the shadow’s corpse and enter him. His Dark Crest reacted again. It wasn’t clear to him why this happened, but he didn’t care at the time. He’d jump down the hole into another room after the pain cleared.
It was a long drop from the ceiling to the ground, but during the fall he’d noticed light towers that sat in front of pillars lighting up the entire room. Shade fired a constant stream of water as he neared the ground to slow his descent. After landing Shade walked towards what seemed like a high wall. He’d stop in the middle of the room and took a look at his surroundings. Ciel’s scent was strong in this room. At the top of the wall was a pathway with two opening leading to other areas. Before shade would move again someone would come into the room from the right opening. They’d stop in the middle of the pathway and looked over the stone railing down towards Shade. It was the Client.
Shade was confused, “Why are you here? Wasn’t I supposed to be clearing this place out for you?”
“Why indeed.”
“… Where is Ciel?” he said with anger roughing his voice.
“Ciel? Oh… You must mean L-Beast No.06. It’s here.”
Ciel came out in puppy form, but her fur was matted and had strands of red littered her fur.
Shade called out to her, but she wouldn’t respond, “What did you do?”
“You see after consistently breeding and experimenting on people and animals alike I’d finally gotten something that held a plethora of potential. This required many more tests and creating things like No.06 here.”
Shade was getting visibly pissed and it’d become harder for Shade to focus.
“Eventually I’d turn people into monsters using creations like No.06 to find a suitable body worthy of possessing. You were one of many that would be used in this process. Eventually the rest from No.06’s group were eliminated by other adventurers like yourself. Anyone else who’d gotten infected didn’t survive. Either the pain was too immense, or their rage never allowed them to return to a human state. The beasts were dropped in different locations at inconsistent times to make it appear as though they were just another quest to be handled.”
“Your body has been transformed into a greater power you could only wish to understand.”
Shade’s stance would change, preparing himself to fight. “You’re going down!”
“No. 06… Kill him.” Ciel would jump down and transform into Fenrir Form then transform again into a much larger Dire Wolf. Her fur was entirely red, and she’d be frothing. As saliva hit the floor it’s sizzle, leaving burn marks on the ground. Shade had a short flashback, remembering a similar moment. “Ciel…”
The Red Wolf that is Ciel began charging. Shade would attempt to shield himself but would get batted across the room. He’d been sent hurling through a pillar and into the wall of the right side of the large room then fell to the ground. Shade wasn’t prepared to fight his puppy. He’d climb out of the rubble. The moment he was out of the rubble Ciel would be standing right in front of him. She’d catch him with her mouth and attempt to crush him in her jaws. Shade would struggle in an attempt to avoid being snapped into pieces.
The Stranger would remove his mask and cloak then gloated, “Don’t worry, Shade. It is I, Professor Rakaldra Brine Ixuless who will make full use out of your body!”
The body revealed was in grotesque shape, though its form looked human it wasn’t even close. His muscles were twisted. It’d have tubes connecting to some sort of battery. Large veins were visible throughout its skin. Its veins would glow purple whenever they’d pulsate. Stitches ran through its body. It had mouths with bare teeth in multiple places and inside each one was in eye staring in the same location as what most would refer to as a head. It’s head only held an eternally grinning lipless mouth.
“Soon those ARROGANT FOOLS that crossed me will suffer for eternity!” in that moment Ciel had seemed crushed Shade, shutting her mouth. Rakaldra cackled loudly.
A black light would flash from Ciel’s mouth then a burst, forcing her mouth open. Shade had transformed into a White Werewolf and landed on the floor. His white fur would be cover in Ciel’s blood. He had made his decision. “No. 06!” Rakaldra screamed out angrily. Ciel ignored the pain filling her mouth and brought a claw down over Shade. Shade deflected the strike grabbed that same leg and slammed the gigantic Ciel on her back. She’d fall to her side after the slam. Shade leapt towards her stomach and pierced her chest then retracted his claw just before reaching her heart.
Ciel would revert twice back down to her puppy state. Her fur was still red, but she could hardly even lift her head. Shade fell to his knees before Ciel. He’d pick her up, his eyes darting across each part of her. Ciel would whimper. The longer he looked at her, the more Grief would well up inside of him. He’d revert to human form and cradled the puppy. Tears started to roll. He’d press his face against her. Shade apologized profusely and loudly. She’d lick his face a bit when she could, but eventually passed in his arms. A strange white light would leave her body but be pulled into Shade’s.
After she passed something had broken in Shade. Something snapped. He’d transform again into a White Werewolf. Rakaldra didn’t expect him to have the ability to defeat No. 06 and would become rather ecstatic. Rakaldra believed he could capitalize on this. This evolution meant the body he was going to take was well worth whatever trials he had been put through. Rakaldra would come down from the pathway, morphed his hands into blades and attempted to impale Shade. Shade held up his right paw to be pierced, grabbed the blade and tore one of Rakaldra’s arms off entirely. Rakaldra would let out a blood curdling scream then it’d jump back and slowly regenerate an arm for the one that was just ripped from it. Rakaldra was confused. He’d assume that the Werewolf would’ve been weakened.
Shade’s fur would absorb any blood on him and pooled around him. His fur would slowly start to shift from white to red starting from his limbs until his entire coat had converted to red. His irises would shift into white. In this moment his Dark Crest would evolve into a Verse Crest. A majority of the tower lights still active in the area would shatter. Shade’s mind would be overwhelmed by hatred. A strange instinct would develop during this moment. Shade devoured Rakaldra’s arm then Ciel’s corpse. Nothing was left. Exoskeletal Bone Armor would begin erupted from his body as he had slowly gotten up off of the ground. His body would regenerate after the armor had finished constructing itself.
With his head held straight up toward the ceiling, Shade let out a terrifying howl loud enough to cause the ruins to rattle. The room would rapidly freeze over, dropping the room’s temperature by an immense amount. Rakaldra’s fear would increase drastically. Shade finished howling and was clearly no longer in control. He was frothing. Saliva would drip from his mouth to the floor as he breathed heavily, burning the ground underneath him like acid. Shade got down on his fours and rushed Rakaldra. Shade’s speed had increased by an extreme amount. Rakaldra didn’t have time to react and the arm he had just regenerated would be tore off a second time this time taking the battery attached to Rakaldra with it. Shade swallowed Rakaldra’s arm whole and the battery was destroyed. Rakaldra casted bolster on itself and began to regen another arm. Shade started charging again, but before he could get close, it’d cast Accel on itself and Dull on Shade. Rakaldra changed positions to the pathway and began firing bolts of electricity from the eyes on its body at Shade. The primal beast that is Shade was slowed but could sense something flying toward him from behind. Shade flashed purple and vanished. Rakaldra was confused and panicked, “What?!” It’d look and every direction. It was unclear where this monster vanished to so, Rakaldra start running down the right opening in the pathway. It was an underground laboratory filled with experimentation tubes and high tech.
Shade reappeared in a weak purple flash behind Rakaldra with a heavy claw strike to his back then landed. The dull had worn off. Shade burst past Rakaldra after clamping onto and ripping out its right side. This chase went on for an extended period. Rakaldra would get torn asunder and continue to try escape even as its body was torn up. It not loner had the time to attempt regeneration and the corrosive saliva had started to make it so it could not.
Eventually Rakaldra would be backed into a dead end. It wasn’t going to get past Shade here, but it’d thought of another idea to attempt to get out of its current situation. Shade bolted towards Rakaldra’s position. Rakaldra casted Swap, a spell that would switch the positions of the user and the target. Rakaldra thought Shade would slam into the wall, but he’d pivot. Just then in that moment a loud, echoing voice would come from Shade’s body even though his mouth hasn’t moved, “DARK STAR SINGULARITY.” A black orb would appear between the two of them and start pulling anything within distance into it. Rakaldra would be pulled in first and Shade ran into it afterwards. The black orb ceased its suction and vanished.
Rakaldra would stand up to see in an entirely black void. It seems as if this void had gone on forever. It started walking attempting to try and figure out how to escape from this place. It’d take the time to regenerate though at an extremely slow rate. Rakaldra had taken too much damage. It’d seem like he was walking on black water. A glowing figure walking his direction in the distance would appear. It was Shade. Rakaldra panicked and would turn in the other direction in attempt to run, but then he started to sink in the water. Its consistency would change from water to that of tar. Hands would form out of that tar and start to latch onto Rakaldra, slowing his movements even further until Shade caught him.
Shade began tearing its body apart and devouring each and every individual shred until eventually nothing was left. Shade would soon after being released from that world and had acquired an Electric Crest. Afterwards Shade went berserk. Tearing the laboratory and ruins apart until he’d eventually passed out.
Shade been out for two weeks straight. Later he’d awaken and had realized he was still in some unnamed ruins out in the Desert of Twilight. After about a day of struggling he’d find his way back to Concord. His clothes were torn to shreds, he was exhausted and had an empty expression. Some people in Concord City thought Shade was freebie upon his return. Quite a few would attempt to rob or kill him for whatever he had. He’d slaughter them and took whatever money they had. Eventually it was enough for him to pay a Warp Mage for fare back to Shimmer City.
After getting home Shade wouldn’t go back outside for months. Everything was ******** to him. He had lost Ciel, gained her memories, and a few other things. He’d also realized that the night he was attacked was by Ciel and the night of his first transformation. He slaughtered people that night. Some of the missing persons reports were because of Ciel and some because of him. He had lost a fraction of his sanity due to these events. Eventually he had to return to completing board quests to pay bills.
 Shade Nightz · Sun Apr 05, 2020 @ 11:07pm · 0 Comments |
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