Shadow Slave: Shadow of Blood

Two months earlier, far from the Chained Isles, in the first Citadel ever conquered by humanity in the Dream Realm, the most important figures of the Great Clan Valor discussed the future given the incident in the Night Temple.

With the death of Cormac and the abomination's escape, it was important to plan their next steps.

Especially considering that Song was behind the current situation.

"This is all, My Sovereign."

The young man, witness to the incident in the Citadel, bowed to the King of Swords respectfully, no mistake in his posture or in his static face, with an ever-present artificial stoic expression. He had been the witness to all of the Night Temple's incidents, but not even the Undying Blade was able to notice his presence.

Anvil took in the man's report, no reaction visible, as if he had heard nothing, yet all knew that was not the case.

He was sitting on the grandest chair on the round table, large, with several sword engravings plastered on the wood, clearly made specifically for the King. The others sitting on the table had humbler chairs, not nearly as luxurious considering their status.

Madoc, the Whispering Blade, ever present on his brother's right. Anvil's right hand, and the one that would never fail him, he wasn't the perfect sword, but one that would never hesitate.

He turned to Anvil with his steely blue eyes.

"We shouldn't take this lightly, if the Queen of Worms really has Mordret on her side, we need to eliminate him as soon as possible."

Anvil once again didn't react, his posture still sharp as a sword while he sat on the chair, his sharp eyes looking front, not even daring to look at his brother.

A subtle, female laugh reached all their ears as the woman sitting on Anvil's left smiled widely.

She was a young woman with dark wavy hair and alabaster skin. She wore an intricate suit of lusterless, black armor and a red cape, which was the same color as the banner of her clan. Her eyes were as cold as the sharpest of swords. They were also of a strange, vibrant color, bright red, the same as her full lips and vermilion cape.

She was beautiful and daunting, like a lethal blade. Just as his father intended.

Morgan, the Daughter of the King of Swords.

She had potential, she was an excellent sword, focused and was capable despite still being a Master, her battle tactics and strategy were worthy. But she was far from being perfect.

"If he really allied himself with Changing Star and the Hollow Death, then my dear brother must be challenging the Second Nightmare together with them, and I doubt the Nightmare will kill him."

"Your point, Morgan?"

Her smile dampered as she turned to her uncle.

"Considering how hard it is to catch him as a simple Awakened, how hard do you think it will be to kill him as a Master, with the protection of the Queen of Worms no less?"

"All humans make mistakes, lower their guard, especially those blinded by vengeance."

Morgan was about to rebuttal, but someone else spoke, someone unexpected…

"That thing is not human. It is an abomination."

The sudden words of the King of Swords made all go quiet.

"And he will be dealt with as such. He will come for us, and we'll trap him, just as before."

Anvil's presence and will were as sharp as a sword, a mere whisper was enough to make all listen to him, his gaze to make his soldiers bow, and his power was enough to make the world change according to his own wishes. His word was law, all under his command knew that, and all that went against him were destined to know the edge of his endless swords.

Including his own family members, as the King did not distinguish between his own daughter from a footsoldier, all were swords that had certain value.

Madoc hesitated for a moment, but was able to ask something.

"What about the son of Ki Song?"

The King of Swords slowly looked to Madoc with his cold eyes, then turned to another Saint on the table, an older man, with grizzled hair and beard, who was currently murmuring to himself something.

As Anvil turned to Saint Jest, the rest of the room turned to look at him, only to be disappointed upon hearing what he was mumbling to himself.

"Hollow Death… Hollow Death… There is a joke somewhere… Something with the girl's name too? Like pointless star or hollowness…."

The man looked up suddenly with a bright smile.

"I got it! Hey brat, do you know why we shouldn't go after that Song boy?"

Anvil stared at Jest humorlessly.

"Because it is hollowness! Get it? Pointless, hollowness… Because he is Hollow Death…?"

No one laughed.

"Out of all your so-called 'jokes', that was the worst one, by far."

"Ah shut it little Morgan, it's you that don't have any sense of humor. Plus, what kind of name is Hollow Death? Was the Spell out of ideas when it named the boy?"

Anvil ignored the failed attempt of a joke and spoke over Saint Jest.

"It doesn't matter. What happened to the agents that went to investigate the family tied to Song?"

"Huh? Oh, they didn't come back, but the family is dead, I think they died after completing the mission. Well, at least the girl is dead, if you ask me, the Queen of Worms wanted to groom her into another weapon."

Anvil didn't react, as if accepting a law of the world he couldn't change and asked something else.

"Did you deal with the elder that sent the assassins after the boy?"

"Hm? Yeah, yeah, he is dead, such a shame too, all those guys died for nothing, even wasted a Transcendent Echo…"

Morgan's smile widened a little, she was not amused, but instead, she was completely baffled.

"Excuse me? He destroyed a Transcendent Echo?"

Jest just kept nodding along.

"Hmmhm, he has Echoes himself, girl, didn't you hear the reports from the Sleepers of the Forgotten Shore? The boy had multiple Echoes… Ironically, all of them are some kind of shadowspawn."

Madoc raised his brow.

"What do you mean? I knew he had Echoes, but are shadowspawns?"

At the moment, all in the room turned to Jest, even the other Saint that was sitting in the last seat and the Master that reported on the Night Temple's incident.

"Hey, hey! Stop staring! Look, according to the Sleepers of the Shore and the spies that were able to report back, the boy of Song has multiple really strong Echoes, all of them have some sort of connection to shadows. He apparently got four on the Death Zone."

"All of them are from shadows? So it is part of his Aspect? A shadowspawn is rare as it is, to have multiple Echoes is borderline impossible, it must be his creations…"

Jest shook his head.

"No Madoc, from what we have, his Aspect Abilities are utility based, and nothing to do with creating anything. Either way, most of the Echoes are just Awakened anyway, so he must have acquired some Memory that was able to destroy the Echo, or killed the Master first."

"Awakened…? I doubt it."

Jest widened his eyes and turned to the Master that had just spoken.

"What is it brat? You think I'm wrong?"

The Master turned to him with a blank expression, his light eyes almost bored as his flat voice came out of his robotic body.

"Yes."

The Saint's expression cracked.

"Brat!"

"Let him speak Uncle Jest."

Jest snapped to look at Madoc, pointing at him as if accused of a crime.

"Don't be soft just because he is your son!"

Whispering Blade sighed.

"You are being unreasonable. Sinclair saw Hollow Death firsthand, let him speak."

Jest frowned and lazily sat back on his chair.

Sinclair took a step forward, he was the blood son of Madoc, theoreticly, the brother of Motza… If he even knew Motza existed in the first place.

With raven-black hair and alabaster skin, he was almost a carbon copy of Mordret and Morgan even with the different parents, however, having light blue eyes that almost seemed white. And from a glance, you could tell he was not like his cousins, being much more cordial and quiet.

He bowed to his supposed uncle.

"Lord Anvil…"

"Speak."

The voice as sharp and cold as a sword didn't seem to bother the boy as he straightened.

"If we are speaking of what we know as fact, Saint Jest would be right."

"It's uncle to you, brat."

"Keep quiet old man."

"Morgan! You little!-"

"Silence."

They all obeyed the Sovereign, letting a tense silence creep in as Jest and Morgan looked aside in something akin to embarrassment.

Seeing the dreadful gaze of his Sovereign on him, Sinclair continued.

"Those are not normal Echoes, they cannot be ones he received through the Spell, and he does not have an enchantment Aspect. And considering none of the other members of the Clan have anything like it, it is safe to say it is not something Undying Blade made. It is something wholly unique to him…"

He took a deep breath before continuing.

"I also believe they grow stronger, and are alive, in a way."

Anvil sharpened his eyes even more at the young man, Sinclair felt the weight of the King of Swords bearing on him, and not only that, all Saints stared at him with unreadable gazes.

Morgan's smile froze, and she raised an eyebrow.

"What are you insinuating?"

The King's supposedly simple question was like a mountain to the humble Master.

"That… Saint Jest is right, the reports did clarify the ranks of two of the Echoes of the son of Song. Two knights, called Stone Saints, they were among the strongest creatures on the Dark City despite being mere Awakened Monsters… However, one of those Saints changed."

Morgan suddenly got more interested, leaning in closer on the table as Sinclair continued.

"One of them was owned by someone else, one of his allies, and one of our recruits fought it. But in the siege of the castle, the same person saw the Stone Saint again, only it was covered in shadows, as if it was changed. And most importantly, it was stronger, more alive."

He looked at Anvil and finished.

"And in the Night Temple, both of the Stone Saints were able to kill Master Pierce and Welthe with relative ease. No Awakened Echo would be able to do that… But an Ascended one…"

A silence began, unspoken understanding settled into the room, somehow, their enemy had a powerful weapon.

Madoc on the other hand covered his mouth and beard with his hand, thinking deeply.

"Sinclair, from what you've seen, is the Hollow Death as strong as Mordret?"

He hesitated for a moment, thinking back to everything he saw and witnessed at the Night Temple.

"Yes."

An unseen pressure in the room began, the idea of someone being as strong as the abomination…

"Do you have proof?"

Sinclair looked down in shame, but eventually looked back to his father.

"No, only my eyewitness and extrapolations…"

"Then your mission now is to discover that proof."

The son of Whispering Blade nodded, putting his hands behind his back in quiet acceptance while Madoc sighed.

"If that is indeed true…"

Madoc turned to Anvil.

"I fear we really do need that girl on our side. Even if she killed our soldiers, it must have been because of Pierce's decision."

Morgan scoffed.

"Oh please, she'll never join us, from the little Sinclair saw, she was the one that let Mordret free. Moreover, haven't you heard the rumors? She is dating Sunless Song."

Anvil sharpened his eyes. That simple gesture was enough for all to look at him, expecting.

"That is of little consequence. The only thing that matters is her presence on our side. The talent under her and all the supporters of the Immortal Flame. That will be enough, if her strength proves to be a boon as well, so be it."

Madoc absorbed everything that Anvil said, and asked something important.

"And how will we get her to join us?"

Anvil turned his gaze back at him.

"By making Song deny her."

— — —

Two months later, in the freezing lands of Ravenheart, a Queen carefully held a baby toddler, small enough for her to squish.

Of course she wouldn't do that, he was way too adorable. White skin, small hands, short black hair… And two adorable eyes that looked at her like she was his entire world…

Ki Song smiled as she held the little baby, caressing the little head and sitting on the sofa of her personal room.

Even after adopting eight children, she never had this particular experience of raising a toddler, only adopting children old enough to talk and learn. The little boy on the other hand was barely seven months old, not even being able to walk alone, so the experience of raising him was as novel as it was precious.

'Night', that was the name of the little boy in her hands… His parents named him as such in homage to Sunny and Rainy's mother, who named her children after how the weather was on their birth, Sunless in an eclipse, Rain in a torrent of rain. Night was born in the dead of midnight, when no cloud or moon was present…

The little boy reached out for Ki Song, already accustomed to the sword embedded on the chest of his new mother, she let her boy touch her face.

She wasn't supposed to do this, to use her main body close to him, the sword could hurt him. But Ki Song couldn't resist, she wanted Night to see the true face of his foster mother, even if she was long dead.

It was times like these Ki Song was grateful of her Aspect, after years of using it, she was a master at controlling multiple puppets, making thousands of things, and commanding entire armies. All at the same time.

One of those puppets was looking at Rain, she was also at Ravenheart, a precaution now that the waking world was no longer safe, and that Valor now thinks she is dead.

The situation of the girl was… Far from pleasant, Frostblade's training was as brutal as ever. Rain was currently freezing on the mountains of Ravenheart, training survival in practice, making a fireplace, dealing with animals, keeping her body warm…

All the while cursing the whole family of the Saint.

Ki Song couldn't help but chuckle.

"Hmm, should I tell her that Frostblade can hear her?"

Turning to the little Night, all she could see was a blank stare, followed by a innocent smile… And a shook of the head, as if he understood anything she said.

"You little gremling, she is your sister! But then again, she has to learn to respect her elders… Who knows? Maybe one day she disrespects me, and you know you can't disrespect…"

Her words died as she noticed what she was doing.

'Ah… When did I start…?'

She was already calling them family…

Sighing loudly, Ki Song got up and carried Night to his little space in the corner, where a bunch of kids toys were present, from superheroes to building blocks, only the best of quality. There was also a chessboard, no matter how many times Jin tried to get the boy to play chess, he was just too young.

She sat back back at the couch and brought her hand to her head.

'I wonder how Sunny and Shan are doing…'

Revel did say how Sunny spent most of his time just rebuilding his body, but all she knew about Shan was that she was alive.

It wasn't a strange for her, she felt that way every time one of her daughters went into a Nightmare, even knowing full well they were more than capable of conquering them, but a mother always has to worry…

Even with her daughter surviving a Death Zone for years, and her son being the wielder of a Divine Aspect, she still worried.

After a while of pondering and focusing on her tasks through the other puppets, a knock came to her ears.

"Come in."

The door opened to reveal a tall man, whose presence seemed like that of a living forge. Undying Blade got in the room and looked around, his gaze meeting little Night, and Ki Song.

"Ki, are you alright? You are not worrying about Sunless and Seishan, are you?"

She straightened her posture and put on a sweet smile.

"Of course not, why would I?"

"... You can't lie to me, It may work on others, but not on me."

She sighed, crossing her arms and frowning slightly.

"How can you read me so well?"

"Call it intuition."

Charon approached and sat beside her, leaning on his knees then turning to the little child on the corner that was currently playing with some toys.

He sighed, without looking at his Sovereign, he spoke to her.

"Valor requested a meeting."

Ravensong squinted her red eyes a little.

"Any idea why?"

"The Night Temple."

Upon hearing this, Ki Song couldn't help but chuckle, the line on her lips curving into a sweet smile.

"Of course… It is about time he reacted."

"I fear they will use it as somekind of bargening chip."

"They will, Anvil is not the type to let things go. And if Madoc really is as paranoid as I think he is, there must have been someone watching. Maybe stalk Changing Star… Or Sunny."

Blade turned to Ki Song with his brows furrowed.

"Why didn't you…?"

She chuckled.

"Please Charon, I am merely theoryzing. The Heir of Weaver and Hel's plan to free Mordret relied on Valor's greed to get little Nephis, it stands to reason Madoc or Jest would hear of this, and send someone to watch."

Charon looked down, thinking.

"If that is the case, then the… 'Observer', has enough skill to escape my perception, and he was able to witness-"

"Sunny's power."

The frown on Charon's face deepened.

"Ki… Currently, even without considering Mordret's weakened state, I wouldn't put Sunless beneath him. If Anvil really knows everything that happened…"

Ki Song's smile completely disappeared, turning into a blank stare.

"He will want Nephis even more."

That made Charon pause.

"You don't want that…"

After some moments staring at each other, Ki Song sighed.

"It is just as I said before, everything we planned was in the prospect that Nephis would want to join them herself. I accepted it at first, but after seeing Sunny so happy with her… I wished she change her mind."

She rested her hand on her head, her posture falturing a little.

"But if Anvil really does know, he'll use the incident as a bargening chip, just as you said. Probaly threatening war if we don't give up on her… We can't go to war right now, especially not with the Chain of Nightmares so soon."

Charon put his hand on her shoulder, making her look up at him.

"As you said, it is a theory, a possibility… Even if a probable one."

She didn't say anything, merely nodding.

With this, they stood silent, understanding what needed to happen.

Ki Song sighed once again and stood up, her face changing to the mask of the Raven Queen. A mysterious smile creeping onto her face.

"No matter, Anvil wants little Nephis? Let him, he'll regret it all once I complete everything."

She walked to the corner where the little baby was playing, dropping the toy once his moth– Foster mother approached, reaching his little hands to her.

Ki Song grabbed him and easily began carrying the boy.

"Call Eunbin, let her meet with their emmisary, I will be on Godgrave with Revel and her little boyfriend, speaking of Vessel of Ice… Such an interesting True Name, and he is powerful too."

After Undying Blade's unconscious nod, Ki Song left her room.

Blade stood still for a few seconds…

Then widened his eyes in pure panic.

"WAIT, KI! You are not taking a baby into a Death–"

"Quiet Bladie, no need to shout, I'm merely taking Night to Moon, you still need to work on Terra's gauntlets, remember? I can't let you with a baby."

Charon let out a breath of relief upon hearing Ki Song's words on his ear, a hint of irritation upon the reminder of the need to build new weapons for Lonesome Howl after her childish 'spar' with Dire Fang.

"Alright… Wait, isn't she on a date with that Government Master?"

"That girl is always on a date with him, moreover, it will be good pratice once they have their own children."

"... Right…"

Charon rolled his eyes and proceeded to return to his forge.

But one thing keep nagging him… The way Ki Song called him.

'Bladie?'