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Chapter 143: Whisper of the Night (II)
Kai Xiusu’s expression hardened as he swept his gaze across the surroundings. The landscape was deepening into an ever-more oppressive darkness, gradually transforming into the Shadowmire Abyss—utterly black and silent, dominated by a monochrome void of gray and white. Twisted, skeletal branches clawed at the sky, and the heavens were shrouded beneath an endless veil of shadow, a vast, inky dome stretching endlessly overhead. In the distance, indistinct mountain silhouettes loomed, blurred by the darkness.
A chilling thought struck the Red Dragon’s mind.
The entire space here has been warped.
This meant the Twilight Forest—though only a few miles across—was an inescapable prison. All living beings were trapped, sealed within this endless night.
Kai Xiusu turned toward the floating Dragon Projection above, voice sharp with accusation.
“Shadow Dragon… you cursed this forest.”
“Indeed,” the creature purred, eyes gleaming with eerie calm. “This is my Shadow Domain. My poor Contractee sacrificed over a thousand lives to grant me the strength to manifest in the Prime Material Plane. This pitiful little realm was born from that sacrifice—just a stage for my True Form to descend into the world of mortals.”
“Behold…”
A slow, almost reverent smile curled across its form. “Silence. Stillness. Darkness. Depth. No vulgar clamor of petty mortals. What beauty—so intoxicating, so… divine.”
“If only the wails of the undead echoes could be heard… it would be perfect.”
Mortifer’s eyes narrowed slightly. With a languid motion of his wings, he exhaled, as if savoring the very essence of this abyssal stillness. Though his True Form had not yet fully materialized—still tethered to the Shadowmire Abyss—his presence exuded a serene, almost contemplative aura. Yet beneath the calm, there was something ancient, cold, and utterly merciless.
The atmosphere felt unnervingly calm—no tension, no hostility. But that only made Kai Xiusu more alert. He felt not relief, but dread. This silence was not peace. It was the quiet of absolute confidence.
“Whisper of the Night… you gave Brad Lakanman the so-called Ascension?”
“Precisely,” Mortifer replied, voice like velvet over ice. “Mortals are so blind. Even those transformed into so-called vampires remain no different. But you… you are different. One of my own kind. Yet I did not lie to him. For such lowly creatures, Ascension is a worthy path. He simply failed. And so, by the Pact, he shall become my sustenance.”
“Cowardly bastard,” Kai Xiusu growled.
Mortifer’s eyes snapped open—pale gray, like ash and bone—locking onto the Red Dragon with a gaze so piercing it felt like it could peel flesh from bone.
“Red Dragon… we have all the time in the world to catch up. But I made a promise to my Contractee—to take your life. And I always keep my word. This time will be no exception.”
He paused, voice softening, almost tender.
“Do not fear, my beloved kin. It is merely a literal truth. When I fully descend, yes, your life will end. But you will not die. You will endure—reborn into a far greater form.”
His words were gentle, courteous, like those of a scholar reciting poetry. Yet beneath them, Kai Xiusu felt a chilling ripple in his very soul—a deep, eternal hatred, born of the living and directed at all who still drew breath.
“I love the quietest darkness.”
“So… please. Do not resist. Do not struggle. Just… wait. Quietly.”
“Will you?”
The shadowy form split into a grotesque grin, its mouth widening like a wound in the night. Thick, inky smoke seeped from its lips, curling like tendrils of death.
“Shadow Dragon… you’re delusional!”
“I will turn you to ash!”
With a roar that shook the very air, the Red Dragon unleashed a torrent of searing flame—his Extreme Efficiency Flame Breath—directed at the looming, formless projection.
Yet the fire passed through Mortifer’s shadowy form as if it were mist. Not a single spark touched the entity. No damage. No reaction.
“Has no one ever told you,” Mortifer murmured, his voice dripping with mockery, “that you should never attack a shadow?”
The flames raked through his silhouette, yet the form remained unharmed—indeed, it grew more solid with each passing second, as if the fire itself fed its solidity.
“Of course… it wouldn’t work,” Kai Xiusu muttered, his scales tightening with frustration. He had expected this. The Flame Breath—his greatest weapon—had failed.
“Then… how about this?”
Lightning crackled around Kai Xiusu’s body. His form surged forward, a living storm—Storm Resonance Body—striking directly into the shadow.
But again, the Red Dragon passed through the illusion. The lightning danced harmlessly around him, trapped in an endless loop, crackling against his flesh like a cage of fire.
Worse still, as the energy struck, a cold wave surged through his body—like being plunged into an eternal glacier. A sliver of his life force was siphoned away, drained by the shadow’s form.
So this is what a Shadow Creature feels like…
Fire. Physical. Lightning. All useless.
Then… what about Force Field?
【Magic Missile】
A volley of low-level spell orbs, each imbued with raw Force Field energy, launched toward the shadow.
Even the most basic of spells, the kind any Wizard Apprentice could cast, struck true—impacting the form and leaving behind a tiny, barely noticeable dent.
But it was meaningless. A drop in the ocean. The damage was negligible, far too slow to keep pace with the Shadow Dragon’s relentless descent.
A new notification flashed in Kai Xiusu’s Character Sheet.
【Living Shadow】
[Immune to all damage in dim light or darkness, except Force Field, Mind, and Luminous effects.]
Kai Xiusu’s breath caught. This was the extent of the trait?
It meant that once Mortifer fully manifested, every ability Kai Xiusu possessed—fire, strength, lightning, even his most refined magic—would be rendered useless.
“Dim light… or darkness…” Kai Xiusu looked up at the sky—completely dark, the moon hidden behind a veil of endless shadow. He knew he had no chance of creating light here. His meager Light Spell Cantrips were laughable in this domain.
Here, light was a myth.
All life withered.
All magic was suppressed.
Only darkness and shadow endured.
This was the realm of the shadow.
Mortifer’s absolute dominion.
When he arrived…
Where shadow lies, there shall be the Shadow Dragon’s body.
“Stop struggling,” Mortifer whispered, his voice echoing from the depths of time. “I shall grant you a grand funeral. A celebration—of a True Dragon’s death… and the birth of a new, immortal Shadow Red Dragon.”
With a roar that seemed to rise from the heart of eternity, the Shadow Dragon lifted his head.
The sound was not merely a cry—it was the chorus of a thousand undead wails, the mournful groans of forgotten souls, the endless hatred of a being who had known only darkness, the greed that had consumed eons.
This was the Nine-Ring Spell, unique to the Shadow Dragon.
—【Mortifer’s Shadow Descent Ritual】
The shadowy form grew denser, more real. The inky dome above began to descend slowly, like a lid sealing a tomb. The distant mountains—shrouded in black mist—crept forward, closing in like the walls of a prison, shrinking the space around the Red Dragon.
All around, the countless Shadow Creatures of the Twilight Forest howled in unison, a tide of darkness surging forward. Even Duke Brad, now nothing more than a swirling mass of black mist, joined the horde.
What kind of power is this…?
Is it truly impossible to escape?
Are we doomed to wait here… for this monster to descend?
Kai Xiusu beat his wings, rising into the air, staring up at the slowly descending dome. The weight of oppression pressed down on him—thick, suffocating, unbearable. For the first time in his long life, doubt flickered in his heart.
(End of Chapter)
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