Shadow Slave: Shadow of Blood

Lycon had truly disappeared.

His Ascended Ability must have been some type of acceleration of his own time, making him fast enough for the Watchers to not catch.

Case and point, Kin, Lan and Merlin were not able to find him on the perimeter. Nor did Lauma's butterflies once she finished blocking all of Lycon's access to Song's systems.

With the Song Sisters alerted, Nix joined the search, together with the Blood Sisters.

Kira was in the Dream Realm, patiently waiting if the traitor chose to go into it, his sword already in hand.

The search continued, but eventually it became clear Lycon was nowhere near Song's territory, he had escaped to somewhere… In hindsight, it was obvious, too obvious, so Kira wanted to make sure by making the Watchers search the perimeter.

But in the end, Lycon said where he would go, back to his family, The Pillaris Household.

Mei and Motza, together with Kira himself, were the most skilled and powerful members of the Shadow Watchers. Despite Mei's essence exhaustion, her skill was still next to none.

Together, they would infiltrate Pillaris and find out what exactly happened with Lycon, the true story of the Clan.

— —

The Pillaris mansion was on the very edge of NQSC, on a private land where not many passed. In fact, none did, it was hidden from the public eye, even many members of Clan Valor had no idea where it was.

Even if it was large and expensive, it couldn't even compare to the residence of either Song or Valor, but it stood as a mansion that many would kill to live in, having an architecture resembling the old world, in a time long before the Nightmare Spell, even before world war three.

Even the inside resembled the old world, utilizing seemingly simple white wood to the walls and marble floor, together with a grand and beautiful design on the chandeliers and pillars. All the while having clear technology of the current world, projectors, a dojo, and many automatic mobilia.

There were relatively few employees in the serviço of the Clan, a few maids to make food, some to clear the house once a week, and mainly security guards who were on the whole Awakened, with only one Ascended who served as the chief of security. All knights of Valor, a gift of the King of Swords due to Pillaris' being a dependable confidant, even if they were solitary.

The mansion was surrounded by a forest relatively dense, with a straight path to the gates of the household, an entrance made of enchanted metal.

There were four security guards wearing intricate armor, clearly indicating their status as Knights of Valor. They were in position, as they were ordered, but inside their disciplined postures, they were beyond bored, one of them was even holding back a yawn. Their job was boring most of the time.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, for them, it was about to become much more… Interesting…

A figure appeared through the woods, and the knights immediately snapped into position, raising their swords and pointing at it, who seemed to have made no effort to hide himself.

The figure was tall, with broad shoulders and wearing a dark overcoat with golden details. Long golden hair that cascaded until his shoulders, and amber eyes that glowed in the light. He walked slowly, a pleasant smile that seemed almost arrogant, plastered on his face.

"Good afternoon. May I have an audience with the head of the household?"

One of the guards stepped forward, lowering his guard but maintaining a strong posture.

"Identify yourself."

The smile on the man faltered a little.

"You didn't answer my question."

"Identify yourself, otherwise you will be asked to leave."

The man sighed, an unpleasant expression infected his face, but eventually he answered.

"Lycon Pillaris, a member of this household."

The guards immediately hesitated, an uncomfortable feeling passed through them… Lycon Pillaris was supposed to be a traitor, a dishonorable wretch that turned against his own family.

Yet here he was, as if nothing happened.

The guards looked around each other, then one of them turned around and picked his communicator, contacting his Ascended captain.

Lycon had to wait for several minutes while the guard kept talking to his superior, crossing his arms and growing a smile. He wondered what would be the reactions of his family, how would his mother react? What about his elder sister? And that pest of a younger brother, will his jaw drop to the floor?

Lycon's memories were in a state that could only be described as an orderly chaos, it was trying to fill in severe gaps by extrapolating certain events.

When in truth didn't even remember what his family looked like.

Eventually, the guard turned around, looked at Lycon with a heavy gaze, then went to the control panel to open the gates.

Heavy iron moved as the grand gates opened, revealing the house of Pillaris in its whole glory.

"Home sweet home… I forgot what it looked like."

The guard stepped forward and declared.

"Follow me."

Lycon followed the man without a care in the world, he was confident that he was fine, that his family would welcome him with open arms.

They walked through the gravel path of the state, circling around it to eventually leading into the courtyard, where a grand garden of flowers stayed.

And in the center, two figures were inside a cover that hid them from the sun, one standing while the other was sitting down, leaning on an elegant coffee table that was more ornate than practical.

The one standing was a fully armored tall man, bearing the crest of Valor in his chest and wearing his helmet, posture straight, not letting an emotion leak.

The one sitting… Was a beautiful middle aged woman, wearing a navy business suit with a long skirt that went to her knees, bousting a big hat that covered her whole figure from above. She had beautiful blond hair that cascaded on her left shoulder, the deep lines on her face expressed her age and experience. But most importantly…

Once she took note of Lycon's presence, she finally looked at his direction, revealing her clear, blue eyes. Eyes that were filled with the most motherly love someone could give to their child.

Her pale lips curved, and a bright smile illuminated her face.

"Lycon, welcome home."

He smiled as well, after all, he had no reason to hate his mother, she was the best person in the whole world…

For some reason, he once had a feeling of hatred for her, but that was washed away as soon as it came.

"Good to be back, mother."

She raised herself from the seat and approached him, lifting her hands.

"It is time to remember everything, my dear."

Lycon froze for a second, completely confused, but he couldn't react, his mother had already touched his head, and memories began flooding inside his head.

— —

Hours later, on the same courtyard, on the same little coffee table, five people were now sitting on the table.

They were talking and laughing, catching up with each other, like a normal family, a family of Awakened.

The younger child, a boy that had Ascended around a month ago, was complaining about how his brother took too long, almost like he didn't care.

The middle child smiled innocently, the brother in question just said he didn't know anything, like he had forgotten the whole history of his family, ironically, he did.

The oldest child, a young woman with blond braids, just sighed at the petty squabble, wondering if it was even worth skipping work to arrive at this family reunion. It was.

The mother chuckled as she raised her cup of coffee to her lips and drank the liquid, glad the family was once again together.

And the father…

For hours, they talked, for various reasons they were separated for years, be it for the cursed Nightmare Spell, plans and schemes of the Great Clans, or even the flaw of one of their family members, but it was all over now…

Lycon… He was happy, the hole in his heart had finally been filled. The memories he had long lost were replenished by his mother's Aspect, and he no longer had any more questions.

Eventually, night came, and with it, Lycon would have his first night in his home after a long time. It was nostalgic, it was right as he left it.

It was wonderful, to remember, to know how things worked, to remember how his father was, the fights with his siblings, his home…

He was so focused on what he gained he didn't notice when a subtle mist creeped into his room.

It was the dead of night, his family was preparing to sleep, and had left him alone to reminisce, tomorrow he would tell them all of the secrets he remembered of Song, then, their Lord would know as well.

He was staring at an old action figure of a television show he watched as a kid, it brought so many memories…

It reminded him of a blade piercing his jugular.

Blood flowed through his neck as his entire windpipe was blocked by a sharp dagger strong enough to swiftly pierce the skin of a Master and meet almost no resistance.

Lycon had little time, he gritted his teeth and immediately began using his Aspect to rewind the time of his own body, then grabbed the hand of his attacker that was holding the knife, pushing it out of his neck.

As his neck was healing, Lycon turned around expecting to see his attacker only to face a wall of impenetrable mist that seemed dark, as if a part of it was made of shadows. His eyes widened in absolute confusion, making him hesitate and lower his guard.

That was enough for him to receive a wound on his chest, blood splashing on the ground.

The dark mist moved, opening to reveal a man around his height, hidden by a familiar dark hood, the mist moved with him, as if it was a part of him…

A ghost made of mist.

Lycon's neck was grabbed by the assassin's hand, forcing him down, pushing Lycon into his own bed and looming on top of the son of Pillaris.

Lycon struggled, but as he tried to saturate his body with essence to empower himself, he noticed how it was being affected, the power of an Ascended was being interrupted by the mist.

Even then, he grew a smile, arrogant and amused.

"O-h? Sorry, I forgot your name, could you remind me?"

The assassin didn't respond, instead, he raised his dagger and brought it down, aiming at Lycon's head.

He blocked it with his free hand, turning into a struggle of strength, as the assassin tried to pierce his head with his dark dagger or stop Lycon from breathing. However, since Lycon had his essence flow interfered, he was losing badly.

But being interfered doesn't mean it was gone.

So Lycon focused on one thing, his Ascended Ability. The Ability to increase his own time to become faster, so much so he could create sonic booms by moving if he infused enough essence. He could use his time regression, but it wouldn't be fast enough to save him.

It would be a gamble, if he wasn't fast enough, the dagger would pierce his skull. But Lycon always gambled, the only difference would be that he would now gamble with his life instead of his memories…

It was worth it.

His focus switched from his muscles to his Ability, beginning his struggle to activate his Aspect. And making the dagger fall stronger and faster.

The assassin must have noticed what he was doing, because he intensified the interruption of his Aspect and put more strength into his arms.

But Lycon's determination to succeed was too strong, even without much essence, he struggled still, moments away from activating his Aspect…

The assassin seemed to be fed up. Something moved beneath his skin, and something came out of his arm.

An ebony snake was moments away from biting Lycon's neck.

But by then, it was too late.

—

The wall of Lycon's room blew up, exploding from the inside as wood and stone fell from the structure, opening a passageway to the main hall.

Two security guards snapped their heads to the sudden explosion and raised their weapons, only to get startled as someone fell from the air and landed beside them.

His long blond hair made it obvious who it was, Lycon Pillaris, the returning member of Pillaris.

"Lord Lycon! What is happening?"

The one in question raised his head and smiled with a certain uncertainty.

"W-Well, I think my ex-teammates are here to kill me…"

Like clockwork, mist immediately leaked out of the hole on the wall, falling into the ground as if it was an infection.

Lycon stood up and summoned his weapon, a long glaive made of silver metal appeared on his hand through white sparks.

"I wouldn't blame them, I'm more impressed they found this place."

Through the dark mist, a figure appeared, a woman wearing a dark outfit that seemed like a dress made for combat revealed herself, her long purple hair made her stand out. Wielding a katana that complemented her in every way.

The son of Pillaris smile widened, raising his guard and activating his Awakened Ability.

Mei didn't linger a second longer, she jumped down, her feet barely hitting the ground as she dashed towards Lycon with cold bloodlust.

She slashed the air, destroying space and his body along with it.

The second the arc of her slash ended and Lycon's body was split in two, it immediately returned to the state it was when she dashed against him.

That gave Lycon the ideal position to attack Mei, thrusting his glaive towards her in a downwards trajectory aimed at her shoulder.

She expected that, that was why she hadn't stopped moving after slashing his body, she kept moving forward, past Lycon.

As a result, he pierced nothing but the ground made of marble, and Mei went against one of the Awakened guards. With her more than destructive Aspect, she would kill the guard in one blow.

But in the middle of her attack, she had to stop. She felt the shadows warn her about something dangerous coming in her direction… A projectile.

Mei stopped and activated her Aspect, turning sideways to cut through a golden arrow that shined like the sun, disintegrating it after cutting it in two.

She looked up to see the culprit, a woman on the top of the hall's stairs, with braided golden hair and strange amber eyes, wearing an armor that had just appeared through white sparks, most striking of all: her face was eerily similar to Lycon's.

That was because that was his sister, Victoria Pillaris. She was wielding a bow and was knotting the next arrow that was aimed at Mei's heart.

But Mei couldn't focus on her as the enemies around were already attacking. The Awakened soldier she was going to kill was thrusting his sword at her and Lycon also twisted his body and slashed at Mei, having already taken the glaive out of the ground.

So Mei unleashed her little pet: Miko.

A snake tattoo moved through her body until it reached the exposed part of her back, turning it in the Awakened guard's direction. The ebony snake released out of her body and went towards her enemy.

The serpent known as Miko slowly grew until it became 10 feet long, strong enough to crush a human. The snake opened its mouth and swallowed half of the Awakened's body in one bite, the sharp fangs tearing through the body.

Mei on the other hand raised her katana to parry Lycon's glaive and begin an exchange, trying to get rid of his length advantage by getting close. Deciding not to use her Aspect yet and wait for the right moment.

That made things difficult for Lycon, who had to constantly keep his Time Anchor activated in fear of Mei's Aspect tearing him apart, constantly wasting essence and the newly acquired memories, although with his mother, the second part wasn't that worrying.

Miko was done with the first guard and was already moving to the second, before noticing that Victoria Pillaris had already finished knotting the second arrow, infusing it with a strange golden glow that seemed like a glowing essence.

So the serpent went to protect its master by throwing its body on the trajectory of the shot, blocking the bowwoman's view and turning to her with a dark gaze before slithering itself onto the stairs to catch her.

Victoria seemed to curse as she began aiming at the snake's eye. That task proved to be difficult as the snake was too fast.

Without a clear line of sight, she decided to shoot the arrow anyway, aiming it at the ceiling, almost as if she got desperate because of the serpent that was about to swallow her.

But as soon as it hit the ceiling, the arrow changed, it expanded, it elongated, a thread line of golden energy quickly wrapped around the head of the snake, trapping it and pulling the ebony snake to the ceiling, to the place the arrow was shot.

However, Victoria couldn't celebrate, Mei wasn't the only one that was attacking Pillaris.

A sharp pain triggered her nervous system as her gut was pierced by a dagger. Along with it, a dark mist suddenly appeared in her vision.

Motza said nothing as he infused his mist onto his dagger and disrupted the essence flow of her body. Victoria could only turn to see the face of her murderer…

Or she would have, if her younger brother hadn't appeared.

Motza felt his body being shoved aside by a strong force.

He rolled down the stairs before he was able to get a fitting, cursing, he looked up to see someone helping Victoria Pillaris get up.

A man almost as tall as Lycon, with short golden hair and celestial blue eyes, wearing silver armor with big shoulder pads and a strong build.

The youngest of the family, Hugo Pillaris.

The man looked at Motza with hate in his eyes before turning to Lycon.

"Lycon! Forget about her, Victoria needs you!"

Lycon was in the middle of fighting Mei, the Awakened guard having been eliminated in the middle of the fight. He snapped his head towards the top of the stairs of the hall, seeing his sister wounded made him snap.

Pouring essence into his body, he focused once again into his Ascended Ability.

Mei widened his eyes, stepping back as she expected another sonic boom, a consequence of the speed Lycon's is going in his Ascended Ability.

But it never came, Lycon simply disappeared in the blink of an eye, reappearing the next second on the side of his siblings. Kneeling beside Victoria and activating his Aspect and regressing her body.

Motza sharpened his eye and reached behind his back pocket, grabbing a knife on his Memory and launching it to the ceiling, realising Mei's serpent and letting it fall to the ground as Mei herself walked to stand next to her companion in the center of the hall.

The serpent Miko turned to its master and went into her body once again, turning into a tattoo.

With his sister healed, Lycon got up and glared at the two Shadow Watchers that were once his teammates.

"You'll pay for that."

Motza didn't bother answering him as he unleashed more of his mist and Mei concentrated on her sword, both unbothered by being outnumbered.

With this, the battle would begin once again.

Of course, it would happen if a powerful pressure didn't make the Shadow Watchers kneel suddenly.

Motza and Mei felt their legs give up, a power made them kneel, made them understand that they were powerless, taking their arrogance from ascending away in an instant.

A tall man slowly entered the main hall through the side entrance of the stairs, right beside the siblings of Pillaris with his hands behind his back.

Him merely walking made the world rumble, his gaze made everything seem meaningless against him, as if something could do anything against a natural phenomenon.

With golden hair and a thick beard, with his hair held back as if it was suspended with a gel. Broad shoulders, strong build, wearing a uniform that made his muscles highlighted.

Most importantly, he had strange amber eyes, exuding power.

Motza couldn't help but laugh, they wondered what had happened to Lycon's father, what made his mother kill him so suddenly despite the loyalty the family had to each other…

'Our mistake was trusting Lycon's memories to begin with.'

The man that was slowly descending the stairs was none other than the original patriarch of Clan Pillaris himself…

Valerius Pillaris.

The Saint that was presumed dead revealed himself, passing through his children with a passive stare.

The siblings simply lowered their heads, especially Lycon, it was his fault that they were here in the first place.

Valerius reached the bottom of the stairs, looking down at the assassins of Song with a scrutinizing gaze.

"You dare come into my home, and expect to get away with it?"

His voice was oppressive, dominating, gravity became even heavier around Motza and Mei, it became almost impossible to breathe, let alone move.

Mei cursed her flaw as she couldn't brandish her sword to activate her Aspect.

"But… It is good, in a way, now, I can eliminate not only the traitorous son of Madoc, but also the disappointing daughter of Ayakashi."

Gravity became even stronger. He was crushing them both.

Motza reached out for his mist… But it was useless, the Aspect oppressing him was too harrowing, he wasn't able to do anything, he would die…

'Nix… Sunless… I'm sorry…'

He would die, fitting for the dagger of the Heir of Death…

That is, if the Heir of Death even allowed that to happen at all.

The pressure suddenly vanished, Motza could finally breathe as his muscles weren't hurting anymore.

The reason was clear: he was inside the shadows, he was being transported through them and after a moment, he reemerged far from the Saint that was almost killing him.

Valerius sighed as he looked up to see the person behind it all, someone who was supposed to be in their Second Nightmare.

The Hollow Death, Sunless Song, now a Master, stood in front of his two subordinates, a crimson odachi in his hand. The second he arrived, the shadows got deeper, stronger, revering him almost as a God.

His skin got even paler, and his hollow eyes, even deeper. The imperfections of his body were almost gone, and his mere presence carried death.

The Prince of Song glared at the Saint, then looked at Lycon, a tired expression took over his face, as understanding was forced upon him.

"Lycon… I would be lying if I say I'm surprised."

Lycon sharpened his eyes, scoffing.

"As if I would ever be loyal to you."

Sunless sighed, shaking his head.

"I'm sorry then."

Valerius raised his hand towards Sunless and unleashed his power, pressuring the area around him.

But the very moment he did so, a green shield made of essence wrapped around the three targets. As if a green carapace protected them.

The one behind it appeared behind Sunless.

A figure wearing a dark tunic with green details entered the room without a care in the world, bearing a lance that was as dark as his clothes, green eyes glaring at Valerius.

Permensor Lunae stood beside Sunless, his gaze not leaving Valerius.

"So you were alive then, I don't expect you to explain anything, will you?"

"As expected of the scholar of the Queen of Worms… Get out of my home."

The next moment, both Transcendents traveled the distance between them and clashed on the center of the hall, breaking the structure of the home and making it tremble.

Upon this, Valerius grabbed Lunae's lance and threw him out of the building, aiming it at the side of the wall, making the Saint of Song crash into multiple walls until he reached the outside, only for Valerius to appear right beside him, continuing the fight there.

On the inside, the siblings of Pillaris wielded their weapons, and moved to face the Watchers. From the same entrance Valerius came from, two people appeared, a middle-aged woman and a tall armored man.

The mother of Pillaris and the one who took Valerius' place, a Saint. But they weren't a problem, he had contingency for them.

Sunless… He needed to face Lycon alone.

Entering the shadows, he traveled through them until he appeared behind his target, slashing his sword and forcing Lycon to block.

But by doing so, he was left wide open for a shadow below him to emerge, a manifested shadow in the form of a tentacle, grabbed the waist of Lycon and threw him back to his own room by the way of the hole made by the son of Pillaris.

—

Lycon got up after being launched, quickly recovering after using his Aspect.

From the shadows, Sunless emerged, right in front of him.

Lycon looked at Sunless with a glare, then flashed an arrogant smile.

"You… What a show off."

Sunless looked at his past subordinate, memories of the months on the Forgotten Shore flashed before him, the evening's training, the morning's hunting powerful nightmare creatures… Lycon healing Sunless whenever he had a serious injury.

The laughs and the headaches, the mistakes and the good times…

And Lycon forgot about it all.

So he had only one last question to his traitorous subordinate.

"Do you remember anything we went through?"

A part of him hoped Lycon would say yes, that he would be able to do anything to help him, even if he didn't need help.

Lycon merely laughed, answering with a simple, yet painful phrase.

"No, I have no idea who you are."

Sunless looked down, then breathed in, taking a deep breath…

He knew what he needed to do.

"There is nothing left to say then."

Sunless raised his odachi in a close guard, shadowing the style of Saint Frostblade.

Lycon raised his glaive with a smile.

And after a few heartbeats, they moved.

Their duel was swift, clashing in the bedroom of the son of Pillaris.

Sunless used the shadows to wound Lycon, entering them once he was about to be wounded and reemerging once he could, manifesting the shadows to keep Lycon off his feet. Attacks from the shadows, spikes and even shields.

Lycon had to constantly use his Aspect to heal himself. He would have used his Ascended Ability, but his essence was already on their last reserves, he only had one more use of it, so he saved it.

Unfortunately for Pillaris, Sunless had plenty of essence, not to mention various augmentations to his body and weapon.

Lycon was losing, Sunless was stronger, faster, more skilled, not even Lycon's Aspect had any hope to save him.

Eventually, Lycon stopped reversing time on his body, having to save essence for his trump card. That cost him a lot, the wounds were piling up, compounding again and again as Sunless completely overwhelmed him.

Lycon couldn't protect himself anymore, his glaive broke from the pressure of the odachi.

He kneeled, bloodied, exhausted. His dark overcoat was tattered and ruined.

Looking up, he saw the leader he didn't know, his gaze lowered and filled with regret, sorrow, and sadness, yet it had no hesitation.

Lycon merely laughed.

"Don't be sorry for me, you bastard!"

He couldn't die here, he just got his life back, he won't let a pathetic softy ruin everything.

Lycon would live…

He activated his Ascended Ability and accelerated his body's time, summoning a dagger between white sparks.

Sunless suddenly slowed down as time seemed to stop, Lycon's body began exuding powerful energy, destructive energy, he got up and thrusted his dagger, aiming it at Sunless' skull.

He would kill the so-called son of Song, and then…

His body gave in, dropping to the floor.

All the energy evaporated as time returned to normal.

Sunless returned to move normally, and his gaze became even more hollow.

"Your Ability… It seems to accelerate the time of your own body to become faster, like sending your body to the future faster… But, if your body is wounded and gets accelerated… You bleed out faster."

Lycon cursed himself for the mistake. He had no essence left, not even being able to use his Dormant Ability…

He reached out to grab the dagger again, gritting his teeth to ignore the pain…

The crimson odachi of the Prince of Song was stabbed on the floor, in the way of Lycon.

Kneeling, Sunny said his last goodbye to his old subordinate.

"You can let it go now Lycon, your Nightmare is over…"

He was only met with a gaze full of hatred.

Until that gaze showed nothing at all.

[You have slain an Ascended human, Lost in Time.]

[Your shadow grows stronger.]

End of Volume 2, Mirror of Shadow.