Shadow Slave

The boy frowned, confused.

It seemed like he did not really understand the question.

“Uh... there are also Nightmare Creatures? Are you a Nightmare Creature, mister?”

Asterion smiled.

“What do you think, kid? Am I a god, a human, or a Nightmare Creature?”

His smile widened.

“If you guess right, I’ll give you a gift.”

The boy looked at him dubiously, then scratched his nose.

“You’re... you’re a human creature!” Asterion laughed.

“What a smart boy you are. Here’s your prize.”

Finished carving, he presented the wooden figurine to the boy.

It was a figurine of a little, pretty wolf. Effie tensed.

The boy reached for the little wolf with a wide smile, but before he could take it, Asterion moved his fingers slightly, and the figurine turned to dust.

Dropping the dust to the ground, he turned his head and glanced in the direction where Effie stood on the unfinished wall with a faint smile.

“Ah, what a pity.”

The boy froze and bit his lip, his eyes becoming teary.

Asterion sighed.

”Don’t feel bad. I’ll carve you a new one... however, good children should not talk to strangers. Hasn’t your mother taught you that? So, run along and find your mother. I’ll give you the gift when you bring her here. Actually, I’ll give her a gift as well”

He smiled.

”Tell her that my name is Asterion.”

Effie gritted her teeth.

‘Damn bastard.

Effie knew that Asterion was provoking her... or perhaps simply mocking her. The mundane child he had conversed with was obviously meant to remind her of Ling. The little wolf figurine served the same purpose, and the act of breaking it cruelly was a blatant threat. Sending the boy to fetch his mother widened the scope of that threat to include Effie herself.

She stared at the Dreamspawn for a few more moments, then turned away.

Her hands were itching to break something. However, she wasn’t provoked.

Effie would have felt far more concerned if not for the fact that they had anticipated Asterion’’s interest in her son already. That was why an incarnation of the Lord of Shadows was currently hiding in Little Ling’s shadow, having been assigned to be his personal guardian.

No matter what one thought about the Lord of Shadows — and if one knew of his continuous existence at all — one truth about him remained undeniable. There was barely a scarier human in existence, if any. So, even if the Dreamspawn wanted to harm Little Ling, he would find it difficult to do so.

For now.

Effie’s face hardened.

She continued the inspection in tense silence.

Some time later, she returned home and could finally take off the invisible mantle of Saint Athena, becoming just Effie again. A heavy sigh escaped from her lips.

”How did it go?”

Her husband emerged from the kitchen, greeting her with a hug. She hugged him back, controlling her strength carefully, and rested her head on his shoulder.

”I’m so hungry I can eat a Titan.”

He chuckled.

”I can’t offer you a Titan, but I did roast Monster. The table is set.”

She looked behind him, suddenly feeling anxious.

”Where’s Dumpling?”

He patted her on the back.

”He’s having a lesson with Teacher Julius. They lost track of time again, so I didn’t want to interrupt.”

She nodded slowly, suppressing another sigh.

Effie’s life seemed idyllic and carefree from a distance, but she had her own share of problems. It wasn’t simple to be a wife, a mother, a warrior, and a ruler of an enormous city all at the same time... but most of all, it wasn’t easy to be the mother of a Transcendent child. There had never been a boy like her Ling Ling before, so there was not exactly a manual on how to raise him well.

Currently, Little Ling was at the age when he wanted to socialize and make friends. Every time they passed a school, he looked at it with wistful eyes. However, Effie could not send him to a school that mundane children attended — no matter how good her son had become at controlling his strength, it was not to a degree that other kids could be allowed near him when he was excited.

Even his startling Aspect was not a guarantee that things would go well. Little Ling could save the children from being harmed by him, but he would not be able to save himself by being traumatized by having harmed them. So, his circle of acquaintances remained narrow, and all of them were adults.

There was the matter of education, as well. As a Saint, he possessed an incredibly sharp mind — the kind of mind that would leave any mundane prodigy in the dust. That mind of his constantly needed fuel, so it was Effie’s and his dad’s responsibility to make sure that their son received enough mental nourishment to develop into a healthy adult and realize his extraordinary potential.

They had homeschooled him themselves at first, then proceeded to invite a number of trustworthy and distinguished tutors. There had probably never been a child who received guidance from such a splendid group of esteemed individuals, Teacher Julius being the foremost educator among them.

Who knew that the Lord of Shadow was not only a maniac capable of unleashing a great flood of murderous dead upon his unfortunate enemies, but also a lunatic who was strangely reliable when it came to recommending amazing tutors?

Effie really couldn’t thank him enough.

The dinner her husband prepared disappeared in the blink of an eye. She

devoured the roasted Monster, not leaving even the bones. Ling’s Dad watched her eat with a faint smile, then spoke softly when she was finished.

”You didn’t answer my question. How did it go?”

He was only an Awakened, so Effie could not tell him much about Asterion. She did explain the general lay of the situation after the Dreamspawn settled in Bastion, though, knowing that there was no point in keeping it a secret anymore. So, he knew what was at stake.

He also knew that she had ventured to the Northern Gate today.

She remained silent for a few moments, then shrugged.

”Well, it was okay.”

His expression darkened.

“That bad?”

Effie blinked a couple of times.

”What do you mean, that bad? I told you, it was okay.”

He chuckled.

”Exactly. If things were really okay, you would have responded with a joke... probably an inappropriate joke. But you didn’t even smile”

Effie remained silent for a while, then sighed and looked down.

”..Yeah. Things are pretty grim.”