You have entered the 18th floor.] 𝘦𝑎.𝒸ℴ

Elijah, completely exhausted, entered the 18th floor of the tower.

It was not as he expected. He had thought that maybe he would enter castle grounds…But it was a laboratory?

A ruined laboratory. It was quite expansive and seemed to possess a lot of grandeur originally…But none of that grandeur was found.

The obsidian ground lay cracked, rotting flesh littered the laboratory, and several columns crumbled down and lay destroyed. The various apparatus, magic circles, and crystals all lay ruined.

“..?”

Elijah was confused, he surveyed the laboratory. But found no trace of anything.

The laboratory lay decimated, there was nothing here…nothing!

*Tuk*Tuk*

Elijah grew alarmed at the sudden noise behind him, he turned around to see the skeleton of a mage walking towards him with the help of a staff.

[Are you tired?]

Its hollow voice echoed directly in Elijah’s mind.

‘Telepathy?!’

Elijah was shocked. The skeleton was using such high-ranked magic!

[Yes, I have been reduced to such…]

His voice contained lament. He walked ahead of Elijah and gestured for Elijah to take a seat. He used magic to conjure two chairs and a table.

Elijah took a seat opposite the skeleton, but he was still cautious.

[I have no intention of harming our savior.]

Said the mage. He calmly took a seat.

“…Where is this place?”

Asked Elijah. He didn’t sense any lie or killing intent from the skeleton so he relaxed.

[The ruined home of a mage.]

Answered the Skeleton.

Elijah looked at the laboratory and then at the skeleton.

Even though the skin was gone, there was still a beard and an air of wisdom around the Skeletal mage.

[What were Ryan’s last words?]

Suddenly, the mage asked a question as he conjured up a cup of tea that he gave to Elijah.

“Ryan?”

Asked Elijah. He didn’t know who this Ryan was.

[The knight guarding the palace outside.]

The mage informed Elijah. He looked eager to hear his answer.

“…thank you. He said, ” Thank you.”

“I see.”

The mage stroked his beard with his skeletal hands and cast a rejuvenation spell on Elijah.

[Do not be alarmed.]

Elijah found his exhaustion fading. He regained his vigor and mana and asked.

“Why?”

Why would he do that? Why would he heal his enemy? The Challenger?

[Why not?]

The mage laughed.

[I was but an old corpse before…Well, I am no different now. Why not do what I want to do?]

Explained the mage.

[My home is already ruined…I would like to help the savior who will end our legacy.]

Elijah remained silent. The voice of the mage was filled with sorrow. He observed the skeleton closely.

Tattered robes, a useless staff…Truly, nothing was left.

[Pathetic… isn’t it?]

Laughed the mage at his own state. Elijah felt sorry.

[Do not be sorry…We Invited this on ourselves.]

The mage’s words piqued his curiosity…Invited it upon themselves?

“What happened…How did it happen?”

Asked Elijah. He truly wanted to know how this shadow disease came to be…and how it ate an entire empire.

[It all began with the death of a Creature of a Night.]

Creature of the night? Elijah tilted his head in confusion. The name was unknown to him. The mage sensed his confusion and explained.

[The Shadowborn, a creature of the night that wields shadows, is a chilling and enigmatic entity, born from the depths of darkness and mystery. This supernatural being emerges under the shroud of night, wielding the very shadows themselves as its arsenal. That was what caused it…Would you like a vivid description?]

Explained the Mage. He inquired whether Elijah would like a more detailed description of the Shadowborne.

Elijah nodded, and the mage cast a strange magic which created a small figure of the Shadow Borne.

A terrifying wave of power burst forth. Elijah felt his entire body tell him to run away…or accept death.

[ Fret not, if the real one was here we would all be dead in the blink of a heartbeat. The Shadowborne appears as a tall, slender figure, its form cloaked entirely in inky darkness. Its body seems to shift and ripple as if it is made of living shadows. Glowing, piercing eyes burn like two orbs of cold, silver fire within the depths of its obsidian visage, their unsettling luminance casting an eerie, otherworldly glow upon its surroundings.

Its limbs extend into elongated, sinewy appendages that terminate in clawed, shadowy hands, capable of grasping and manipulating the darkness around it. A flowing, shadowy cloak envelops its form, billowing and writhing as though it has a mind of its own, further obscuring its true shape. It can take on many forms…but this is the one we encountered.]

Explained the mage as the figure took on various forms…each terrifying Elijah.

This was just a damn figure…made of mana but even then it caused him to almost piss himself?

[It is a creature made entirely of shadows…It has an attribute that allows it to traverse through the fabrics of space itself…That is how it came here. At first, we thought it was but a mere monster of the darkness but we were terribly wrong. It possessed a strength so great even I could not defeat it.

Even though I could topple kingdoms in hours…I was unable to fend off this beast. No one in the empire could.

Except for the Emperor. He himself fought the Shadow-borne for 8 days and 7 nights. And emerged victorious. But the shadow-borne was truly tenacious. It had already altered the rules of this world. It caused this, it spread its malicious intent all over the empire… What was most surprising was that it entered our world severely injured. It had definitely fought with a being of great power before running away here.

The emperor failed to realize that the being had cursed him and locked himself up in his throne even though I warned him…the place where the shadow borne died gave birth to this disease.

Our emperor was stuck in his throne, fighting against the main essence of the shadow borne whilst we dealt with the by-products…

And even then we failed…]

Elijah gulped…He wanted to ask something.

“Was it truly this terrifying?”

What kind of beast was it?

The mage smiled and cast a spell on Elijah.

[See for yourself Saviour.]

𝑖.𝘤ℴ𝘮