My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger

The Anarchy Mountains were a vast mountain range filled with hidden valleys and slopes drowned in fog. They stretched for countless miles, reaching from the territories of House Astranova to the radiant lands ruled by the Brightwaters.

The mountains extended even farther, touching distant regions, and near the Brightwater domain stood a place known as Anarchy City.

It was a lawless land.

A refuge for those who wished to escape the powers that ruled the world.

Over time, it had become a gathering place for some of the greatest evils in existence.

Because the city possessed a rank advancement limit imposed by some strange and abstruse law that covered the entire mountain range, it was exceedingly difficult for either the Imperial Army or the Grand Dukes to send anyone of true power.

However, the Imperial Family was far too proud to simply tolerate the existence of criminals.

Thus, every few years, they would gather large numbers of talented youths who had reached the Third Class Advancement and send them into the mountains alongside veteran soldiers to participate in what was known as the Pacification.

The goal was simple.

And brutal.

The empire operated under one assumption.

Everyone in Anarchy City was a criminal.

For the most part, they were correct.

Yet two truths could exist at the same time.

Many monsters hid there, but so too did people who had simply lost everything else.

Still, what did truth matter before power?

The Pacification was little more than a grand culling, even if the name itself implied peace.

In the world of Aetherus, peace could only be achieved through war.

That was merely one danger among many.

The mountains themselves were treacherous. The terrain was unforgiving, filled with jagged cliffs, narrow passes, and hidden caves. The air grew thin at higher elevations, strange anomalies appeared without warning, and monsters of terrifying ranks roamed the wilderness as the true masters of the mountains.

It was a place where death came easily.

Worse still, the longer one remained within the range, the more they were consumed by a peculiar madness that spread like a plague.

Damon raised his hand and caught the faint strands of mist drifting through the air. He took a slow breath, admiring the view of the mountains beneath the rising sun.

Truthfully, he had come here many times before.

He had sent shadows to scout the region, mapped countless valleys, and studied the terrain from every angle.

And after all that effort, he had found nothing.

Even if the Pillar of Conflict truly lay hidden somewhere within the Anarchy Mountains, locating it was almost impossible.

The place was a labyrinth of caves, hidden ravines, and cliffs sharp enough to split the earth itself.

Searching blindly would accomplish nothing.

Ideally, Damon wanted to narrow the search. If he could determine which section of the mountain housed the Pillar, then perhaps he could uncover clues from there.

Fortunately, he possessed someone capable of such things.

His eyes drifted to the coordinates Sylvia had sent him.

Even with her gifts, it had taken years to uncover this much.

A trace of guilt flickered across his face.

He hated asking Sylvia for help.

He knew she would never refuse him, no matter how dangerous the request was, and he knew she would never complain.

In truth, Sylvia had not met him even once during those seven years.

Their only contact had been through their pagers.

”I might have to make my way to the Verdant Continent.”

The thought lingered in his mind before he pushed it aside.

That problem could wait.

For now, he had a map, a destination, and perhaps the chance to find a clue.

He glanced down at the parchment in one hand and the strange object in the other.

It was a cursed doll Sylvia had crafted herself.

According to her, it would weaken the mysterious force surrounding the mountains.

Damon stepped forward and extended his hand.

He knew he stood close to the invisible boundary that separated the Anarchy Mountains from the rest of the world.

The moment his fingers brushed against it, a burning sensation shot through his arm.

It felt as though he had plunged his hand into a furnace.

Smoke rose from his skin.

Damon quickly pulled his hand back and frowned.

The barrier remained unseen, but its presence was undeniable.

He narrowed his eyes, silently weighing his options.

Before he could decide what to do next, hurried footsteps echoed behind him.

Ranar came running toward him, her golden hair bouncing with each step. Reaching him, she grabbed the edge of his cloak and tugged hard, forcing him to look down at her.

She crossed her arms and puffed out her cheeks.

”This isn’t really what I had in mind when you said you were going to find me a friend...”

”Well, it’s not my fault you’re antisocial. When I was your age, I was popular with the kids in my village.”

Damon spoke with no small amount of pride, despite the fact that he had technically wiped out that very village in a burning storm of death, leaving nothing but ash in his wake.

Ranar crossed her arms with a huff.

”It’s your fault, actually. Eva says I got my awkward and antisocial side from you. You didn’t even have any friends when you were a student.”

Damon grimaced.

”Wow, Eva really tore into me, didn’t she? Well, too bad. I chose that life.” He shrugged. ”Besides, I don’t see her with many friends either. In fact, she wasn’t very likable. She used to get into fights with this really handsome boy in her class all the time.”

He paused dramatically before adding,

”Oh, and she never won because he held back.”

Ranar rolled her eyes and shook her head.

”Isn’t calling yourself handsome a little shameless, Daddy? You shouldn’t toot your own horn, even if you are easy on the eyes.”

Damon immediately swept his hair to one side.

Hearing his ten-year-old daughter call him easy on the eyes admittedly made him happier than it should have.

”Ah, what can I say? I am...”

She pinched his arm before he could finish.

”Too much.”

Damon laughed softly and reached over, ruffling her golden hair until it became a tangled mess.

”You know, you’re adorable when you try to hide how you feel. You should be more straightforward.”

”Leave me alone,” she muttered under her breath, turning her head away.