My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger

The voice behind him was deep and dreadful, carrying a faint echo that rolled through the mountains. Yet beneath that ominous tone was a hint of exasperation.

”Ric, do not touch that. It’s a poisonous monster vine.”

That warning did nothing to stop the little boy with brown hair from stepping forward and poking the creature with the tip of his sword.

As expected, the vine suddenly lashed out, its thorn-covered tendrils shooting toward him.

Before it could even come close, black flames erupted from the shadows and reduced it to ash.

Ric turned around to look at the figure behind him.

A faceless entity stood there, his features concealed beneath a shifting veil of darkness.

The boy sighed and shook his head.

”Master, you really shouldn’t stress yourself. It’s not good for people your age. You’ll get wrinkles.”

Damon rolled his eyes.

As if he were old.

His lifespan stretched into the thousands of years, and he was not even properly thirty yet.

He was still young.

Ric looked around at the endless mountains before turning back toward Damon. Walking over, he grabbed the edge of his cloak and tugged on it.

”Master, this place is boring. Nothing is happening.”

Damon rubbed his forehead.

”I regret the day I asked for you as compensation from your father. You’re too much trouble.”

Ric grimaced before scoffing and jabbing a finger accusingly at Damon.

”That’s not a very nice thing to say to an eight-year-old. Words can be hurtful, you know.”

Damon folded his arms.

”You know, a normal child would ask me to take him to his mother.” He chuckled softly. ”I still remember when I first kidnapped you. Your father practically handed you over, but your mother was furious. She charged straight at me.”

His grin widened.

”Hehehe. But I still took you anyway.”

Ric stared at him with a serious expression before shaking his head.

”That is evil. You shouldn’t mock people weaker than you, even if they are total bums.”

Damon stood there in silence.

He genuinely did not know how to respond.

”Why are you calling your own mother a bum?”

”Is that really the right thing to say about your mother, you brat?”

He smacked the back of Ric’s head.

”Ouch!”

Godric stumbled forward and clutched his head.

”Why did you hit me?!”

Damon grabbed him by the ear and pulled him closer.

”Apologize to your mother. You don’t understand a mother’s love for her child.”

”Okay, okay! I’m sorry!”

This time, the apology sounded genuine.

Damon let him go.

”Good. After all, you spent the first nine months after I took you crying for your mama.”

Ric frowned.

He honestly found the whole thing unfair.

This was the man who had taken him away, yet somehow he was also the one insisting that he miss parents he had never known.

Still, his life had not been bad.

Lilith and Renata had raised him with all the love any mother could give, while Damon had become something very close to a father.

Children had a simple way of viewing the world.

They loved those who loved them.

And Godric had been loved.

He was the little prince of the Tomb of Lesser Gods, and everyone there knew it.

Ric kicked a pebble aside and looked back up at Damon.

”So, what’s the mission? Are we going to fight monsters? Attack the bad guys from the temple?”

Damon smiled faintly.

It was hardly surprising.

The boy had grown up surrounded by people who despised the temple.

”The world isn’t so black and white, Ric.” Damon crouched down slightly and looked him in the eye. ”Good and evil can both be truths that exist at the same time. In the end, it’s the choices you make that matter.”

Ric nodded solemnly, taking those words to heart.

Then, a second later, his eyes lit up again.

”So what’s my mission?”

Damon stroked his chin.

”Hmm. I think I have an idea.”

He glanced toward the distant mountains.

”There’s been a disturbance around here. I want you to investigate it covertly and report back if you find anything.”

Reaching into his cloak, he handed the boy a pager.

”There’s a lot of money linked to that pager, so you can buy whatever you need. Spend it wisely.”

Ric accepted it with both hands before placing one fist over his chest.

”I shall fulfill this mission faithfully.”

His voice was filled with excitement.

Without another word, he turned and ran off, the oversized sword on his back bouncing with every step.

Damon sighed and called out into the shadows.

”Follow him.”

Two powerful shadows rose silently from the ground before flashing after the boy. One slipped into Godric’s own shadow, disappearing completely.

The moment they left, Lilith stepped out from behind a nearby tree.

Her emerald eyes followed the direction Godric had gone.

”Are you sure this is a good idea?” she asked softly. ”What if someone sees him and recognizes him?”

Damon remained silent for a moment.

”Yes, that’s possible.” His voice grew quieter. ”But I can’t keep a child locked inside a tomb forever. That just isn’t fair.”

He lowered his gaze.

”Besides, all the risk falls on me.”

A small smile appeared on his face.

”Ric has really grown up. He gets bigger every day. He’s such a smart-mouthed rascal.”

For a moment, his expression softened.

”I’m glad.”

He leaned back against the tree.

”When I was his age, I was pretty gloomy. My parents had left to fight a war, and they never came back.”

His eyes drifted toward the distant horizon.

”The world felt like hell.”

He exhaled slowly.

”I hope no child ever has to become... me.”

Lilith walked over and slipped her hand into his.

”I think we did a pretty good job.”

She squeezed his fingers gently.

”I might finally be ready to have a child.”

Damon glanced at her.

”Didn’t you put that off because you didn’t want to risk bringing a child into a world that’s about to end?”

Lilith smiled.

”Yes.”

Then she looked toward the mountains where Godric had disappeared.

”But I’ve been raising one nonetheless.”

She leaned forward and kissed him.

”Come on. We still have work to do.”

She tugged him along, but Damon lingered for a moment, his gaze fixed on the path Godric had taken.

After a brief silence, his shadow spread outward, slipping across the mountains like an invisible tide.

No matter where Ric wandered, Damon intended to see everything he did.