Where Shadows Walk

The purple mist dissipated, leaving behind an eerie silence.

 Kaori breathed heavily as she surveyed the battlefield, her eyes scanning for any remaining threats among the now-motionless statues.

The aftermath of channeling so much power from his mark left Leo feeling drained but he remained alert. The shadow beings' final moments played through his mind. They seemed so desperate when retreating, the way their cores had glowed with that strange purple light before being drawn back into their stone form.

"We should move," Neo said, retrieving her knife from where it had landed during the battle. From her voice you could tell she was exhausted, but her movements remained normal. "Whatever drove those things back might not keep them contained for long."

Kaori approached one of the newly-formed statues, studying the scared expression frozen on its face. The being's expression was contorted in what looked like a mixture of rage and terror, its stone hands raised as if trying to shield itself from something only it could see.

"These weren't always statues," she said quietly, running her fingers along the cold stone surface. "Look at their faces, the detail, the emotion. These were living beings once."

Leo joined her, noting how the statue's pose matched perfectly with the creature's final moments before being turned back to stone. "The shadow beings weren't possessing the statues. They were trapped inside them."

"Imprisoned," Neo corrected, already processing the implications. 

"Same thing, isn't it?" Leo asked, slightly annoyed.

Neo ignored him and continued. "Question is, by whom? And why?"

Not sticking around to find out, they moved deeper into the valley, their footsteps echoing in the vast emptiness of the valley.

The blue crystals on the walls and floor were scarce here, leaving larger parts of darkness between their light. The temperature continued to drop and their breaths formed small clouds in the air when they would breath.

While they walked, Leo felt something pulling at him, a small tugging sensation. Under Neo and Kaori's questioning gaze, he found himself adjusting their course slightly, following this invisible thread without fully understanding why, leaving the other two with no choice but to follow him.

After what felt like hours of walking, they emerged into a wider section of the valley. The space opened up into a roughly circular chamber. 

They stopped in their tracks staring at what stood at the chamber's center.

A massive stone tablet rose from the ground, its surface covered in odd symbols and writing. At its center, carved deep into the stone, was a large symbol that looked exactly like the one that had appeared on his arm when his powers first manifested.

"That's not possible," Leo whispered, but even as the words left his mouth, he knew they were meaningless. In this realm, the impossible seemed to be the norm.

Suddenly, the symbol began to pulse with a faint light. Each pulse sent a wave of energy through Leo's body, making his shadow twist and turn at his feet.

"The vessel has arrived."

A raspy voice sounded in Leo's head. "Did you all hear that?" He asked the other two.

"The cycle begins anew."

"Hear what?" Neo question, having heard nothing.

Kaori's fingers tightened around her knife, her body instinctively shifting into a defensive stance. "I don't like what I'm sensing."

"The Warden awakens."

The ground beneath them trembled, small stones skittering across the floor. A pulse of dark energy rippled outward from the tablet, sending cracks spreading through the stone beneath their feet. The temperature plummeted further, their breath now forming thick clouds in the air.

Leo's shadow stretched toward the tablet, drawn by some unseen force. He could feel something inside the stone, something that felt both familiar and terrifying.

"Leo..." Neo called out to him, but he barely heard her.

His feet moved on their own, carrying him toward the tablet. The marking on his arm began to shine in a purple light, sending waves of sensation through his body.

"Wait!" Kaori called out, but her voice seemed to fade in the background.

Leo's hand reached for the glowing symbol, his fingers trembling from the power coming of the stone. 

The moment his skin made contact a strange energy surged through him, turning his vision white. 

—---

When his sight returned, he found himself in a vast, empty space that unlike the shadow realm which you could see the slight purple hue of the shadows which swirled around, this place was completely black. 

Images began to flash before him, each lasting only a fraction of a second then being stored in his memories, as if he had experienced them himself. 

He saw humanoid figures moving through shadow. He watched as they performed rituals in old chambers.

One figure appeared more frequently than the others, its presence dominating each scene it appeared in. 

Covered in a dark red cloak, the figure released powerful energy from his body. Though its face remained hidden, Leo could feel its attention focused in his direction.

"The vessel must endure."

The figure spoke, which was followed by images flashing in Leo's head. Countless others who had stood where he now stood, each bearing a marking similar to his own. He saw them struggle, fight, and ultimately...

"Balance must be restored."

The vision changed, showing him something powerful hiding in a shadow. Leo felt its hunger, its rage, its desire to unmake everything that existed.

"The First Shadow cannot be allowed to return."

Leo's head hurt as visions flooded his mind. He saw epic battles being fought, victories paid for with terrible sacrifices. He watched as the cloaked figure fought to capture something that could not be destroyed.

"You are not the first," the whisper sounded in his head, "nor will you be the last."

The vision shattered, reality rushing back leaving Leo on his knees. His marking burned fiercer than ever, and he could feel something different about his connection to the shadow energy flowing through him. It felt more focused, he had more control over it, but it had also gotten much more stronger.

"Leo!" Neo's voice pulled him fully back to the present. She and Kaori had rushed to his side, their faces showing a mixture of concern and wariness.

"I'm okay," he managed, though his voice sounded strange to his own ears. "I saw... I saw something. Many things."

"Your shadow," Kaori said quietly, pointing to the ground.

Leo looked down and saw that his shadow had changed. It no longer simply mimicked his movements but seemed to move with its own purpose, reaching out to touch the tablet.

"What happened?" Neo demanded, trying to assess any new threats. "What did you see?"

Before Leo could answer, a deep rumble shook the ground. The cracks in the floor began to spread faster, and the temperature dropped so low it hurt to breathe. The symbol on the tablet flared with brilliant light, then went completely dark.

In the sudden silence that followed, they heard something – a sound like massive chains moving far below their feet. The same sound Leo had heard in his dream of the Warden.

"We need to move," Kaori said urgently, pulling Leo to his feet. "Whatever's happening, we don't want to be here when it's finished."

But as they turned to leave, they found their path blocked. The Watchers stood in a semicircle around them, their empty smiles wider than ever. Elias stepped forward, his movements unnaturally smooth.

"On the contrary," he said, his voice carrying none of its previous warmth. "You are exactly where you need to be. The vessel has been marked, the Warden stirs, and the First Shadow's bindings grow weaker by the moment." His smile widened impossibly further. 

"Now, the real test begins."