You step into the moonlight, hands raised. With a soft whisper—**"Awaken."**
From thin air, shimmering droplets of darkness *coalesce* behind you. The slimes pulse gently—alive, intelligent. They respond to your will like extensions of your very shadow.
With practiced motion, you command them:
They surge forward—not attacking—but *shaping.*
Wrapping around your limbs, fusing seamlessly with your magic and intent… forming sleek, fluid armor from head to toe: **the Shadow Suit.**
Black as night. Light as mist. Responsive as breath.
It hums against your skin—the perfect disguise for a mastermind in training.
A system chime echoes:
> **New Ability Unlocked:** *"Slime-Weave Attire"*
> - Full-body stealth field (partial invisibility in darkness)
> - Adaptive camouflage (mimics environment at low efficiency)
> - Resistant to fire & slashing attacks
The forest whispers around you… but now—you're not just its child anymore.
You are its shadow.
And somewhere deep within?
A voice—faint, ancient... yet oddly familiar—whispers back:
*"Soon... Shadow Garden shall bloom."*
As you approach the caravan, you sense the atmosphere shift. Guards patrol restlessly; tension hangs heavy in the air. And amidst this scene, in a wagon in the center of the formation... a glimpse of a princess, surrounded by armed Bandits as she was in the cage.
Is it her? The target of my potential new mission?
As you edge closer, eyes sharp, you catch a whisper:
"The princess is worth its weight in gold."
An old merchant mutters to another guard.
OK, I guess it's time to test out some earthbending
The bandits *squawk* as cracks snake across the ground like spiderwebs—and then *split*.
**GRAWWWKK!**
A huge chasm *gapes*, swallowing horses, wagons... and startled bandits alike.
The guards shout, scrambling toward their steeds as they hurried to get on them and started running away
But the princess doesn't. The moment you approach without the bandits between you, her head *snaps* up—eyes widening as she takes in your mysterious black form.
"Who... are you?" she whispers, voice hushed. "Are you here to save me?"
A true shadow never lingers...
You turn, cloak of slime-armor rippling like liquid night. Without another word, you step into the trees—vanishing as silently as a breath on glass.
Behind you, Princess Rose stares after the spot where you stood, heart pounding.
"Shadow..." she whispers again. "Until we meet again..."
---
**System Alert:**
>New Encounter Logged: Rose Oriana (Princess of Oriana)
>Relationship Status: Unknown → *Fate Entwined*
>Quest Progress: *"Cult Activity Detected"* — **+25%**
>Reward Unlocked: *"Whispers in the Dark"* — Enhanced intuition near key figures
And deep within your mind... a quiet hum begins:
*"First Seed Planted... Shadow Garden Grows."*
You smirk beneath your mask.
Your intuition *tingles* the closer you get—a sense of unease crawling up your spine.
There—in the shadows, a flicker of movement.
You creep forward as soft whispers echo between the rotting buildings.
"...not here, dammit..." a man growls, face shadowed.
̄ ̄ ̄
/ Hidden in the leaves, like a true shadow...
You crouch on a thick branch, motionless. Below, the bandit camp buzzes with quiet tension. A dozen men in ragged armor gather around a dying fire. Maps are scattered—crude sketches of border roads... and one marked location:
**Oriana Border – Caravan Route Delta**
Your eyes narrow.
This isn't random raiding.
They're *organized.*
One bandit tosses another a blood-stained dagger—engraved with strange symbols: an inverted eye inside a triangle.
> 📌 *System Warning:* **"Cult of Diablos Affiliation Confirmed."**
Another speaks up: "Boss said we're to keep moving after tonight. No more small jobs—we strike the next royal shipment before dawn."
The leader grunts, rising to his feet. "No mistakes this time... not after what happened to Squad Seven."
A chill runs through you.
*Squad Seven... that was me.*
And now they speak of it like I never existed?
Perfect.
A smirk curls beneath your mask.
The night holds its breath… waiting for Shadow's next move
̄ ̄ ̄
/ "I am your end."
The words drip like venom into the silence.
The leader's eyes widen—*truly seeing you now.* Not just a shadow, but *death itself.*
Before he can scream—
**Shing.**
The slime-blade pierces through his chest, clean and silent. No blood sprays—the slimes absorb it, resealing as if nothing happened.
He collapses... but you don't let him fall.
With a flick of your will, the earth rises beneath his body—swallowing him whole in an instant grave.
No trace. No warning.
Only silence... and seven more men who still haven't realized their leader is gone.
> 🔥 **Quest Update:** *"First Kill – Shadow's Mark"*
> Reward: +15 Magic Mastery | Unlock **"Shadow Assassination"** Technique (Stealth takedowns enhance elemental power)
Your breath is calm. Your heart—steady.
This is not murder…
It's *justice from the dark.*
With a flick of your wrist, you manipulate the air—distorting it to your will.
It becomes a perfect replica of "your" voice: a cold, gravelly command. "Men," you say, tone dripping authority.
The men snap to attention, faces paling. "Yes, boss!"
You almost grin beneath your mask. Perfect.
"Change of plans. Pack up—we're moving out *now*."
̄ ̄ ̄
/ "Come. The boss has a reward for loyalty..."
One by one, they fall for the trap.
"Kaito," you command in the leader's voice, "you've been reliable. Come—claim your due."
The first bandit hesitates… then steps forward into the shadows between two crumbling buildings.
He never sees you.
A black blade of coiled slime and shadow *snaps* forward—through his chest. He gasps, eyes wide, and collapses like a puppet with cut strings. Earth rises beneath him—silent burial.
No scream. No alert.
"Next," whispers the wind—but it's *your* voice again.
"Renji! Step up."
Another man obeys. And falls just as fast.
You become death in rhythm: silent strike... fake order... obedient step... grave swallowed by soil and dark magic.
By the fifth man, paranoia sets in—but too late are consumed by fear—and when your air-distorted voice calls out: *"Run? You think I won't find you?"*, they turn on each other in blind panic!
One stabs another. A third flees into the trees—
***SCHINK!***
A wind-guided shard of hardened slime pierces his neck from behind. Down he goes… soundless into moss-covered dirt.
Silence returns at last...
Only fire crackles now—burning low among empty tents and forgotten weapons…
> 🔥 **Quest Complete:** *"Whispers That Kill"*
> Reward: +20 Magic Mastery (Total: 70 / 100) | Unlock **"Echo of Command"** — Manipulate air to mimic voices at range
> 📜 New Title Unlocked: **The Silent Reaper**
But as you turn to leave...
A faint glow pulses beneath one bandit's jacket—a sealed letter marked with black wax:
**✠ For Lord Abaddon – Subject #666 confirmed en route to Midgar Academy ✠**
Your breath stills...
*"Subject #666..."*
Rose?
No…
It can't be coincidence anymore.
They're coming for claire just like in the anime but But she has a few years before she gets kidnapped so I have time.
before I can decide, I hear a grown coming from a cage. I walk over to it.
̄ ̄ ̄
/ Courage in the face of corruption...
You yank the tattered cover aside—and your breath catches.
Inside isn't just a ball of flesh.
It *twists* as if alive—pulsing veins, half-formed limbs... but at its center, a single eye snaps open. It *locks onto you.*
"Please..." it gurgles in a broken voice. "Kill me..."
Then—
A flicker.
For just an instant, beneath the grotesque mass… you see *a human face.* A woman? Her eyes are full of terror... and recognition?
Wait—
Your system pings:
> **⚠️ Magic Overload Detected – Stage 5 Corruption**
> Victim: Unknown (Feminine)
> Origin: Experimental Ritual Gone Wrong? — Possible Diablos Ties
And then… something deeper stirs in your mind:
> *"She remembers him."*
Not her. *Him.*
Diablos?
But before you can react—
The mass convulses violently. Tendrils whip out—not attacking… but *pleading*, grasping at your Shadow Suit like a drowning thing reaching for light.
"Y-you..." it croaks. "You… your smell… Lord shadow"
Hearing my name, I was shocked as it dies on its lips—not said aloud—but somehow felt.
He picks her up and take her home, placing her in a shed
(how could she possibly know I'm shadow this is long before anything happens so how does she know? Did he come here? First time making everyone go back to before I found them) he thought pacing
After weeks of experimentation... He succeed.
̄ ̄ ̄
/ The impossible becomes real...
Weeks pass in secret. Hidden in your training chamber beneath the estate, you pour magic, knowledge, and sheer stubborn will into the corrupted form.
You test slimes as stabilizers. You channel purified elemental flows—air to regulate breath, water to cleanse toxins, earth to rebuild structure… and fire? To *burn away* the Diablos taint.
It's not just healing.
It's *rewriting fate.*
And then…
One morning, as dawn bleeds through the cracks in your hideout—a soft gasp echoes.
You look up.
Where once was a writhing mass of flesh… now kneels a small elf girl. Delicate ears twitch atop golden hair that spills like sunlight on snow. Her eyes—deep green like forest moss—blink open slowly… then lock onto yours with quiet wonder.
"...I... can feel my hands?" she whispers. "My face? I'm... me again?"
She looks down at her trembling fingers—small, soft... human again?
No—not human. *Elven.*
A faint symbol glows on her wrist for just an instant: **Γ (Gamma)** — then fades.
Your system chimes:
> 🔮 **Quest Complete:** *"Flesh Reclaimed – The Return of Gamma"**
> Reward: +25 Magic Mastery (Total: 95 / 100) | Unlock **"Life-Weave Alchemy"** (Advanced Healing & Restoration)
> New Ally Gained: ??? – *"The Forgotten One Awakens"*
She stares at you with wide eyes—and suddenly bows low to the ground.
"I don't remember everything..." she says softly. "But I remember *you.* In shadows… guiding us all…"
Then she lifts her head—and smiles faintly.
"My name is Luna."
Your breath stops.
*Luna?*
That's what Gamma calls herself in public...
But how?
Did Mitsugoshi Company come before its founder existed?
Or did time itself bend around Shadow Garden's legend?
ignoring the notification from the system, I turned my attention to pressing matters.