My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger

Since the day she was born, Ranar had been protected. She had been raised and trained in a carefully controlled environment. Her father, great-uncle, and great grandfather were all powerful figures, each of them having left their mark upon the world.

Even Eva, who was practically her mother, was a force to be reckoned with, an Ascendant with vast power.

Ranar had never needed to fear anything. Her family was powerful, wealthy, and influential.

In a sense, she was a princess, one who could not be touched by anyone. One would need to be either a god or a monster to even think of harming her.

Not that anyone was foolish enough to try.

In the end, one of her many titles was the girl who had everything.

Ranar truly had everything one could desire.

Though she was still young, she was already beautiful and would one day bloom into a glorious flower.

Her talent surpassed that of anyone in the world. No one had ever witnessed gifts like hers. Not even the prodigy Seras Blade, who had heralded the new era, came close to her brilliance. Even her father, himself a great prodigy, had been astonished by her potential.

Yet there was one thing she lacked, and perhaps it was because of that that she was lonely.

She was the girl who had almost everything.

Never in her life had she truly known fear, but today, for the first time, she could feel her heart pounding violently against her chest. Her limbs refused to move, and cold sweat trickled down her back.

The creature before them was horrifying to behold.

Its skin was pale gray, almost corpse-like even in the darkness. Long strands of hair hung from its head like wet seaweed. Its arms were grotesquely elongated, stretching all the way to its feet, each finger ending in filthy claws. Its eyes rested unnaturally on its bony cheeks, beside a long smiling mouth lined with rows of serrated teeth.

An aura of terror saturated the entire area.

It felt like a nightmare made real. No matter how desperately one wished to run, scream, or move, the body simply refused to obey.

Ric was no better. He, too, found himself frozen in place.

The only difference was that he had experienced something like this before.

In the tomb where he had grown up, strange horrors occasionally slipped in from places unknown. More than once, he had encountered them wandering the endless halls.

”Ahhh!”

With a frightened yell, Ric drew his sword and slashed downward at the creature’s stomach.

Sparks erupted.

The blade scraped across its flesh as though he had struck solid stone.

Nothing happened.

Yet his reckless attack bought Ranar the moment she needed.

Grinding her teeth, she thrust her hand forward and unleashed a brilliant blast of golden light that shot into the sky.

”Hjsssssiiig!”

The creature recoiled with a terrified hiss, retreating several steps.

”Lalkkal... hiiiuuuu... divinity... divinity... hiiiiiiii!”

It shrieked madly before scrambling into the shadows, disappearing behind a boulder on all fours.

Ranar could finally breathe.

Unfortunately, it had not left.

Movement stirred all around them.

Branches shifted.

Leaves rustled.

Something was circling them within the darkness.

Without realizing it, Ranar grabbed Ric’s hand. Keeping his sword raised, Ric slowly stepped backward with her.

Then the whispers began.

”Come, come, children. Are you hungry? Let us have a feast...”

”Come, come, children. Turn off the light...”

”Speak to me... let me come in... I’m cold...”

Voices drifted through the forest from every direction.

”Ranaaar... I’m home. It’s your mother. Don’t you recognize my voice? Come to me.”

A woman’s silhouette emerged from the darkness, opening its arms as though inviting her into an embrace.

Ric felt a chill run down his spine.

”Whatever you do, don’t turn off your magic,” he whispered, keeping his eyes fixed on the darkness around them, which somehow seemed to grow thicker with every passing second.

Ranar nodded.

She was not stupid. Whatever these things were, her magic was their bane.

Eva possessed an attribute that burned creatures of darkness as well. In fact, her father had once told her a horror story about being trapped within a mountain.

”Is this place like the Duhu Mountains?” she whispered, tightening her grip on Ric’s hand as they slowly backed toward the edge of the forest.

Then, in the distance, they saw a light.

Someone carrying a lamp stepped forward from between the trees.

”Begone, foul creatures of the Anarchy Mountains. Leave. Shoo, shoo.”

The figure raised its lamp, and the creatures retreated like drifting shadows.

”Children... children...”

The stranger approached, holding the old lantern before him.

”Are you alright? It’s not safe here.”

The closer he came, the stranger the scene became.

Even after entering the radius of Ranar’s golden light, his face remained hidden. They could see only the flickering lamp and the hem of his tattered clothes.

”Are you alright?” the man asked gently. ”You are safe now. I’m a hunter from these parts. You can turn off your light. You’ll only attract more of these dangerous entities.”

His voice was warm and reassuring.

Slowly, the tension in Ranar’s shoulders eased.

The golden radiance around her began to dim as the man extended a hand toward them.

Then, suddenly, Ric moved.

His sword, still glowing with traces of Ranar’s magic, flashed through the air.

Slash!

”SCREEEEVVHH!”

The lamp-bearing man let out a horrifying shriek.

His arm twisted and stretched, the flesh peeling away to reveal black, elongated bones beneath.

Neither child stayed to look.

They bolted from the forest and sprinted into the open mountains.

Only after putting some distance between themselves and the trees did they dare turn around.

The creature stood at the forest’s edge, staring at them.

Its face was half-rotted away. One eye socket was empty, while the other had become a narrow slit that wept blood. Maggots writhed between rows of jagged teeth as it stretched out a skeletal hand toward them.

But just before it could leave the treeline, something invisible pressed down upon it.

The creature screeched and staggered backward.

This was the power of the barrier.

Ranar watched in shock as the monster was forced back into the shadows.

Ric narrowed his eyes, finally understanding.

”Ah... so that’s what it is.”

He glanced at the dark forest beyond.

”There are places in this mountain range where the barrier’s power is weaker... or almost gone.”

As the realization settled in, his expression darkened.

If that was true, then there were regions where creatures far stronger than this could roam freely.

And there were places where the barrier could no longer protect them at all.

Ranar bit her lip.

”Let’s go. We can’t stay here.”

Ric nodded immediately.

Together, the two children broke into a run across the mountains.

”Let’s find higher ground. We need to figure out where we are and get back to the area outside the barrier,” Ranar said between breaths.

After all, if they ran around like headless chickens, they would only be throwing themselves deeper into danger.