My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger

It smelled truly horrible here.

The conditions inside this prison were beyond disgusting. Lysithara was known for its absurdly high standards even criminals were usually treated with some level of dignity, yet this place felt as though it did not belong within the city at all but inside some forgotten hellhole buried beneath the world.

Damon could barely breathe without feeling the urge to vomit.

The cell was tiny, damp, and overflowing with filth. Human waste stained the corners while giant rats as large as cats shuffled through the darkness, their red eyes gleaming faintly whenever they moved. At night they crawled over the prisoners, nibbling at their feet whenever they tried to sleep.

In this place they were treated as less than human.

The darkness was suffocating.

Damon could not see even the faintest trace of light. Usually darkness comforted him. After all, he possessed a shadow attribute. Shadows knew him. They welcomed him.

But not here.

Not in this body.

The darkness did not know him.

Neither did the shadows care for him.

For the first time in a very long while Damon felt truly alone, and somehow the darkness itself became terrifying.

Lilith was not far from him.

She was chained to a rusted iron rail like an animal, her wrists bruised raw from struggling against the restraints.

Soft rattling noises echoed through the corridor.

Then suddenly a blinding light flooded the room.

It was merely a lamp.

Nothing more.

Yet after so many hours trapped in darkness it felt unbearable.

A man stepped into the cell before raising the lamp toward them. The flickering glow illuminated his cold face.

“What do you think of the specimens this time?” he asked casually. “We can have them as vessels.”

Another voice answered from behind him.

The tone sounded detached, almost bored, as though they were discussing livestock instead of living people.

“Hmmm. I would reason they deserve a trial. However their crimes are too heinous.” The second man chuckled faintly. “Well at least on paper. Killing those brats was honestly a kindness. Getting rid of the jinx and the witch was a stroke of genius. I would expect no less from the master.”

The second man slowly stepped into view.

“Do you think they would work as vessels?” he asked.

The first man remained silent for a moment before shrugging.

“Who knows. If they fail to assimilate they become corrupted and we can toss them into the pit. If they succeed…” his lips curled slightly, “they become vessels for the outsiders.”

The moment Damon heard those words his blood ran cold.

So this was the truth.

But he was weak.

Starved.

Chained.

His body ached constantly from infection and blood loss while the restraints around his wrists suppressed even the faintest trace of strength he possessed.

The cell doors creaked open.

Without warning rough hands grabbed both Damon and Lilith. Blindfolds were wrapped tightly around their eyes before they were dragged out of the prison.

Damon clenched his jaw.

He was certain they were about to be taken somewhere horrible.

They were dragged through endless hallways while the sounds of heavy doors opening and closing echoed repeatedly around them. Gradually the air became cleaner. Softer.

The stench vanished entirely.

“Where are you taking them? It is time for their trial.”

A woman’s voice suddenly echoed out through the corridor.

The group escorting them stopped immediately.

The man leading them turned toward her with visible irritation.

“Maltusa, I hope you understand their crimes. A trial is pointless. They will be executed regardless… we have orders from the top.”

The woman named Maltusa remained quiet for a brief moment before speaking firmly.

“Nevertheless the right to trial is given to all. They may be monsters masquerading as humans and I may personally wish them a gruesome demise, but it is not our place to be judge, jury, and executioner.”

Her voice hardened.

“That is for the law to decide.”

There was no hesitation in her words.

She reminded Damon painfully of Evangeline. Stubborn. Unyielding. Someone obsessed with small principles like justice even when the world itself was rotten.

For the first time since being imprisoned Damon felt the slightest spark of hope.

“Very well,” the man said coldly. “Then their trial will be brief.”

Soon Damon and Lilith were dragged into a courtroom.

Their blindfolds were finally removed.

Damon slowly raised his head toward the judge—

And his blood instantly ran cold.

It was him.

The half-sage.

The same man conducting experiments on children.

The same man responsible for this nightmare.

And now he sat upon the judge’s seat.

“Hahaha… haha…”

Damon suddenly laughed.

The irony was almost unbearable.

Lysithara truly was already walking toward its destruction.

The judge stared down at him coldly.

“You stand accused of child trafficking, illegal experimentation, murder, and crimes against humanity.”

His eyes narrowed slightly.

“How do you plead?”

Damon remained silent for several seconds.

Truthfully in this moment he wished more than anything that he possessed his real power. If he did he would shatter these restraints and slaughter everyone in the room without hesitation.

Finally he spoke.

“Does it matter?” he asked quietly. “Even if I said I wasn’t guilty the odds are already against us.”

He laughed again before staring directly at the judge.

“This whole place is filled with people from your faction, isn’t it? You’re collaborating with another group of outsiders. Different from the ones the city’s leadership works with.”

The judge’s brows twitched faintly.

Damon continued calmly.

“They must have tempted you with interesting magic.”

The courtroom fell silent.

The judge frowned but maintained his composure.

Even if Damon was correct it changed nothing.

He held all authority here.

“Is this an admission of guilt?” the judge asked coldly, already prepared to pass sentence.

“No,” Damon replied. “Just an honest observation of your character.”

His eyes sharpened.

“And I can see you’re a fool blinded by ambition. You don’t even realize you’ve been deceived.”

The judge’s expression darkened immediately.

“I find you both guilty on all counts,” he declared. “Sentence will be carried out immediately.”