In a trance, Chen Yu’s springy consciousness felt as if it had been pulled into an ancient, fragmented memory.
He saw a colossal, pitch-black dragon, its body so vast it could blot out the sky, wailing in sorrow as it plummeted from a sacred, brilliant, and unknown kingdom.
Its body tore through the roiling black clouds, scales peeling away and scattering a rain of shadow-blood like ink. Finally, with endless resentment and fury, it crashed thunderously into a pitch-black mountain range.
The dragon’s carcass rapidly decayed and disintegrated, merging with the mountain range until it finally transformed into a pool of constantly churning, viscous shadow liquid.
In the long ages that followed, this pool seemed to become the source and breeding ground for Shadow Creatures, giving birth to countless bizarre and grotesque shadow lifeforms of all shapes and sizes.
And the heroic shadow spirit he had devoured had emerged from this very pool of shadow.
In truth, the spirit’s power came not only from a hero’s unyielding will; on a deeper level, it had also inherited a portion of the essence and boons left behind by that Ancient Shadow Dragon.
And now, all of this had become a part of his power.
"Your Majesty? Your Majesty! Are... are you feeling unwell?" Count Brand tilted his head, cautiously looking at Chen Yu, whose gaze seemed distant. The Count’s small, bean-like eyes were filled with worry.
"I’m fine."
Chen Yu shook his Gel body, snapping back from the brief memory. He hopped forward onto a wide stretch of frozen ground.
With a thought, the faint shadows cast upon the frosty ground by the glowing gravel-crystals began to boil like ink.
[Create Umbral Soul]
The boiling shadows rose swiftly from the ground, gradually coalescing into more than ten stooped, humanoid figures. They then slowly approached him and, like loyal guards, knelt on one knee in unison.
With their heads bowed, they uttered low whispers that seemed to come from a faraway place. The words were unintelligible, but their will to submit was palpable.
Chen Yu realized that these umbral souls were not simple Magic summons.
They possessed a degree of self-awareness. As long as he didn’t actively dismiss them or they weren’t harmed, they could exist indefinitely, just like true living beings.
Nili was stunned for a moment, but then she too saw the true nature of these umbral souls. Her eyes lit up as if she had discovered a treasure.
"These... are all Shadow Creatures?!"
Counting on her fingers, she swept her burning gaze over each umbral soul, as if calculating how many excellent Shadow Assassins these ready-made prospects could be trained into for the Belmont family.
’Creating shadow life... This talent is certainly unique and has enormous potential, but the boon from the Ancient Shadow Dragon can’t be this simple.’
"SQUAWK! Your Majesty," the eager Count Brand proposed from the side, "I believe this is essentially a form of Magic for creating shadow life, but the ’raw material’ used to shape it is too common."
"If we could use ’raw material’ dropped from a High Tier Shadow Creature, or something even better, to shape the shadow life... we might be able to create even more exceptional umbral souls."
Count Brand’s words served as a reminder for Chen Yu.
He carefully observed the umbral souls before him, which had been shaped from ordinary shadows.
’It’s true. Although they have consciousness, they possess no special powers, nor do they show any of the traits a High Tier Shadow Creature should have.’
’If I could use higher-tier shadow material to create life... I might truly be able to create something incredible.’
’But where would I find high-tier shadow material?’
A few thought bubbles floated up from within Chen Yu’s round, rolling body. Suddenly, he remembered something. During the battle in the Eternal Night Territory in the Dark Land, after he had devoured the mysterious shadow controlling the Blood Race, he had obtained a talent he had barely used: Shadow Splitting.
A bold idea popped into Chen Yu’s Gel head.
’What if I used a shadow split from my own body to create life?’
’My shadow should be special, too. What kind of creature would that create?’
’A Shadow Slime?’
[Shadow Splitting]
Chen Yu decided to give it a try. With a concentrated effort, his entire body trembled slightly. The plump, round shadow cast behind him on the frosty ground by the light of the gravel-crystals began to squirm as if it were alive.
Then, as Nili and Count Brand watched, the shadow split right down the middle, turning into two slightly smaller, round shadows.
"SQUAWK!" Upon seeing this, Count Brand’s small eyes went wide, his beak gaping open.
"Your Majesty, where did you learn that?"
Puzzled by Count Brand’s strong reaction, Chen Yu briefly told him about the battle that had taken place in the Eternal Night Territory.
To his surprise, Count Brand’s reaction was even more dramatic. The entire bird looked as if its feathers were about to stand on end, its wings flapping about chaotically.
"SQUAWK! Your Majesty... you devoured those pesky ’Shadow Descendants’?!"
"Shadow Descendants?" Hearing the term, Nili, who was standing nearby, also got a strange look in her eyes.
She folded her arms, trying hard to recall something before explaining, "It is said that in an age so ancient it’s difficult to trace, after the ’Dragon of Shadow,’ Erin, fell from the Divine Kingdom into the Shadow Mountain Range, Its massive body decayed and disintegrated, becoming the source of the shadow that envelops the continent... And from Its decaying body and dissipating divinity, countless ’Shadow Descendants’ were born..."
"They are lifeforms born from the remains of a god, innately possessing the power of shadow and of Erin. But they are also filled with chaos and madness. Over the long ages, they have fought and devoured one another, vying for the power Erin left behind... As of now, truly powerful or active Shadow Descendants rarely appear openly on the continent."