Lord Shadow

GREECE

ATHENS

The winds of the city of Athens have always felt familiar for her. She remembers that when she was a child, her mother would take a trip down to Athens a few times in a year.

She comes from a relatively wealthy household.

When Greece suffers from bankruptcy her family emigrated to overseas and they live in Australia for a couple of years.

When the financial situation recovered, her father returned back, always loving the smell of the sea.

It was a simpler times back then. She smirks as her straw sandals stomp onto the ground in annoyance.

Her face is being shrouded by the purple hood. If one could see her eyes one would see her cloudy eyes that resembled the clouds that moves in the wind.

That eyes seems to see through Times and Destiny

Her oversized long purple robe does not touch the ground as it floated by an invisible power. She closes her eyes, and opens it again, the swirls of clouds in her eyes lessened.

She look in front of her and sighed before walking forward again.

Walking beside her, is a young man with curly hair and muscly physique wearing a glistening grey armor that seems to enhance the man valorous spirit

Even thought that man covered his face one could feel that the one beneath those cover is a valiant and a heroic person

The man golden hair flows elegantly as it being blown by the sea winds.

‘My Lady….should we continue? People seems to have noticed you. Is it not wiser to ask the others to come and secure your safety?’

The woman smiles and she smirks before she take a step forward not saying anything. The man did not press on the woman, following the woman with devotion.

The woman is the world famous Oracle Erika, the woman who sees the future, feared and revered and the man beside her is Antonius her loyal protector

‘Time has gone awry. I see Demons and Saints, a great war that split the Sky and divides Gods and Mortals. I need to seek the source and peer more through the Veil’ she said.

Antonius did not respond.

He knows that the Oracle mutterings and words couldn’t be understood not until the time came for her words to be understood.

Erika waves her sleeve and her energy rises up and in those cloudy eyes of her were two Disk spiraling through her pupils, showing her countless possibilities and paths of one’s life.

She walked, and walked, her steps did not waver, her heart refined with each steps, her eyes become clear as her heart is refined.

She needed to walk this journey even though she is afraid.

Because she wanted to know…why? She already knows what will about to happen so the only question is why?

Why she do it?

One might not understand her thinking but that is probably because they were not Erika…the famous Oracle.

She wanted to know who the person with ten rings…but most importantly she wanted to know why she will give her eyes to that person.

Why? This question haunted her at night…..and it was her own smile in her vision that haunted her the most.

She already almost completely sure that the person with ten rings is none other than The Death Monarch.

She already heard the news of what happened in Poland. Since she knows….now she knows where to go.

She keeps walking through the center of the city where a large gigantic portal twelve meter tall is set up in the middle of the large square.

When people noticed that it was the Oracle, they all drop down their eyes, their head is half bowed not daring to look into the eyes of the Oracle.

Antonius is vigilant, his eyes scans the surrounding if there is any suspicious person.

As she walk closer to the teleportation portal platform and as more people recognize her, the people created path for her to walk straight to the portal.

They all kneeled like giving way to a holy existence.

A guard was protecting the portal and was busy collecting the fees when he spotted the two people.

He was about to yell to queue but when he saw the floating robe that did not touch the ground and the color of the robe, and saw that tall muscly guard beside the woman, he immediately knows who the two person is.

Not to mention he could now see the sea of people kneeling below the ten feet platform

He kneeled

‘Great Oracle’ Erika only nodded slightly as she walk forward, climbing the steps and almost approaching the portal

She stand a few meters from the kneeling guard and then she ask

‘Do I need to pay?’ She said innocently but what comes out of her mouth was that calm and ancient voice.

The guard flinched a bit, his eyes look at the ground, fearing to watch that famous eyes of the Oracle.

‘Of course not great Oracle’ he replied with respect and a hint of fear.

Oracle smiles

‘Is the Teleportation Portals of the Island of Peace is still open?’ she ask. She saw a few symbols on the portals gate that has dimmed.

‘It is closed off Great oracle.’ The guard replies. Erika nodded. She expected it.

‘The Three Chain Islands?’ Erika asked

‘It is still open. But it will be closed in a few hours.’ The guard quickly explained

‘Is it because the matters of the Death Monarch?’ Erika ask with a smirk in her face.

The guard nodded

‘Then open the portal of Blue Island for me.’ She said

Antonius was anxious.

‘My Lady….will that be alright? We don’t know the situations in the Island. I fear…’

But Erika calmly said

‘I will find a way to enter the Island of Peace.’ Antonius could only nod when The Great Oracle insist.

The guard pretend he did not hear anything. The guard knows to survive in this harsh world sometimes one have to be deaf, blind and mute.

Erika then orders the guard

‘Open it for me’

The guard opens the portals.

Slowly she enters that liquid like substance that fills the portals. Feeling a bit nauseated as she enters, her right foot falls down and she was at the Blue Island

All around her was large tall trees that covered the land.

The branches with thick leaves obstruct the sunlight from coming down yet the flora of the forest was unaffected with this phenomena.

And blue stones could be found almost anywhere on the island. Behind her Antonius appeared almost a second later.

Erika then look left and right and said

‘We need to go to the Island. I guess I need to find a way’ She opens her eyes and her cloudy eyes turns completely white as she peers through the Veil and the Disk inside her eyes spirals.

She no longer overdraft her longevity and youth as easily as before now that she has enter Disk Formation.

Then she closes her eyes. She shift through the Visions of the future, making sure that she will not enter those future that involves those Seven Godly Beings.

Then she saw it. An opportunity. A path to reach the Island. She saw a shabby man wearing patched clothes collecting some crystal coral nearby the shores of the Blue Island.

She saw that is where her solution lies. Then she opens her eyes and her eyes returns to being cloudy.

‘Find a thirty year old shabby man wearing patched clothes collecting some crystal coral nearby the shores of the Blue Island. There lies our way to the Island’

Antonius nodded and began preparing. He has no reason to doubt the word of the Oracle. She has never been wrong before.

Now that Antonius began moving, Erika walked down the platform of the teleportation portal as she walk slowly and calmly.

She opens her hood as she let the wind breeze blows over her. The sea breeze reminds her of Athens….and a life which is so far away from her now.

Erika knows that if she were to seek Death Monarch in Poland, she would miss him.

Not to mention the space around Poland was sealed, by the moment she arrived, the Death Monarch would not be there anymore.

And how does she knows? Because she could see the future. She knows…he would be there.

On the Island. And he also saw the premonition of death.

‘Hirate….could you survive this calamity? It seems your time is slowly dwindling.’

And she laugh a bit before walking away.

***

SOMEWHERE ON THE ISLAND OF PEACE

A snake slithers the ground nearby the Field of Thunder belonging to the Thunder Monarch Oreki.

In the field, thunders strikes every second, and very effective training spot of the Thunder Monarch.

Yet, these thunder did not strike this one tiny small slithering snakes that keep moving forward to reach the ordinary hut on the end of the field.

Oreki was sitting cross legged absorbing the thunder energy around the field, his eyes shining golden thunder and his body was as sharp as a sword and his body seems to repel all negative energy.

He enters into state of conscious and unconsciousness every minutes. Everyone have their own way to strengthen their foundation.

Azief has his own way and Oreki have his own way.

Since he did not pursue the Perfection he did not possess Azief powerful physical body that could even sometimes ignore Laws infused power and normal attack.

To compete with Death Monarch in a battle of physical body is akin to throw a mountain into one own feet.

But while Oreki did not pursue the path of perfection…does it mean he could not reach the level where he could at least fight with Death Monarch with his physical body?

Oreki…in a way was lucky. In the two years of the absence of the Death Monarch, he went into many expedition hunting beast in the forbidden continent…Australia.

In one of his expedition he managed to kill a twelve Legged Thunder Spider.

Nowadays….monster did not drop gold or silver anymore. And the rate of things dropping form a slayed monster has dropped considerably.

But…this time Oreki truly hit the jackpot. The Spider dropped something

The Nine Thunder Body Refinement Method.

The method involves Oreki creating Nine Body made of Thunder Energy. In other words a clone of himself made of Thunder.

Usually a true clone body could only be made in Divine Comprehension realm. But with the technique it made it possible for Oreki to create true clone.

Of course while it is true clone it did not possess the uniqueness of the true clone of someone who attained the realm of Divine Comprehension.

The True Clone of the Divine Comprehension realm was made of Law. Oreki clone is made of energy essence.

The difference is like Heaven and Earth.

But, Oreki still practices it.

He will create Nine Body made of Thunder Essence and when all Nine Body reached Energy Disperse Stage, he would fuse them all inside his true body.

This is Oreki greatest secret.

Of all the powerhouse in the World Government, the least eye catching and relatively quiet in the past few years after the fall of Island of Peace in the Fake World was Oreki.

In that silence of his, lies an indomitable will.

Why did his body need all to reach Energy Disperse Stage? Because that is where the Perfection of Body starts

The Nine Thunder Body Refinement while was not as overbearing as the Perfection Path that Azief pursues, that is only true when compared to Azief.

If he manages to fuse all nine, other than Azief being number one in terms of physical body, no one could claim number two if Oreki manages to fuse the nine clones into his true body.

All over the world, his clone disguise themselves and slaying monsters and accumulating experience.

Two years is not enough…even four years is not enough.

But Oreki did not mind.

In a few years, there would nobody above him in terms of physical body other than Azief.

Even then, he would still be able to battle with the Death Monarch without being killed in one exchange like so many enemies of Death Monarch that is stupid enough to fight him face to face.

As he closes and opens his eyes, there was a humming from his body as he refines another lightning bolt that is swirling inside his body.

He was in a trance when suddenly his glare turns sharp and he look behind him as he jumped up and adopt a defensive posture

‘Who?!’ He said.

It was then he realizes a snake. A small green snake…slithering on the floor of his hut. But, Oreki did not trust relaxed.

Instead he is more vigilant.

Because he could feel a trace of power from that snake.

A powerful soul.

If not for his thunder attributes that could sense thing so acutely…he would not have realized that there is a slithering snake in his hut.

‘Who?!’ He asked again.

It was then green mist covered the hut and then at the place where there is the snake now there is a young man that seems handsome and fragile

Even though the face is different Oreki of course is familiar with this nauseating aura.

‘Loki!’ He said with derision

‘It has been a long time Oreki.’ Loki greeted with that annoying smile.

Oreki did not relax.

‘Do you not believe I would call upon the whole power of the World Government to capture you right now?’

Loki smirks as he sits on one of the chairs on the living room.

‘Ah, come on. We both know you won’t do that. You…owe me. And I always come to collect. Just like that someone.’ He said with a trace of reminiscent on his face.

Oreki takes a deep breath and then still standing he asked.

‘What do you want?’ Loki click his finger and a smog of green covers the hut, a barrier that prevents others from listening to their conversation.

Oreki notices it and his vigilance increased.

‘What is the meaning of this Loki?’

‘I come here…to resolve a misunderstanding…and prevent something from happening. All I need from you is simple. A front row seat’

‘A front row seat? For what?’

‘For the greatest farce in the world’ he said as a smirk etched on his face.

***

SOMEWHERE IN POLAND.

Morgana effort was futile. She arrived at Poland center Krakow only to hear that the Death Monarch is no longer there.

No one knows where he is now.

But Morgana …she could guess where the Death Monarch went. Especially when she heard the rumors on the capital.

It is said that the Fairy of Stars Somi come to talk about Wang Jian.

Morgana then heard that the White Witch said this might relate to Sofia. And she spoke of everything she knows to Morgana.

From what she told Morgana, Hirate sent an Executive Order ordering the capture of the Divine Archer.

And immediately something clicked. Morgana…knows the way her father works. Sometimes he doesn’t make sense and he did many weird things.

But if there is one thing that is constant with him…is that he protect his own.

‘Louise we are going.’ Morgana said as she got up from her bed packing her bag.

She slept in the inn in center Krakow yesterday to search for some news but when she got the news from the White Witch, she knows where the Death Monarch is going

‘Where are we going Madam?’

Smiling with deviousness Morgana replied

‘The Island of Peace.’

***

ISLAND OF PEACE

THE QUORUM COUNCIL ROOM

There was thirteen men in the room. They are all shrouded in the darkness of the room. Sitting on the ends of the long table is Admiral Pandikar.

The other twelve faces were a few politicians and military leaders of the World Government. They all came in holographic projection.

Pandikar open the lights and the twelve faces were revealed. They all look at each other. Most of them was frowning

Then one of them said

‘The Death Monarch has return’ the other faces darken. That name is something of a taboo in the World Government, a stain on their claim of superiority

‘Pandikar….are you sure about this?’

Pandikar who was the only one truly here in the room, nodded

‘We need to have insurance. We could not always acquiesce.’

‘This is no joking matter. The Death Monarch is powerful. He already brought down Poland. That is one of our territory we need to keep the Republic ambition in check’

Pandikar nodded and reply

‘We have Hikigaya and Oreki.’

One of the people in the room then said

‘They are unstable elements. Hikigaya is secluding himself to form his fourth disk. And Oreki….who knows where his thoughts lies?’

‘You think he would change side?’

The person did not say anything. But another person said nonchalantly

‘The Republic….is gaining traction. There will…..be people who will be tempted.’

Pandikar rub his beard.

‘I will send some of the Secret Guard to watch over him him.’ The other did not say anything only nodding.

For a while there is silence in the room until one of them began addressing the elephant in the room

‘Hirate…..is he still there?’ Pandikar eyes turns sharp. Then he reply with his gruff voice.

‘He is still there.’

‘No….problem?’ One of the other ask

‘I doubt that’ Pandikar replies with a devious smile on his face. The other people in the room decided to trust Pandikar words and did not say anything more on that matter

‘Fine….Then let us discuss the mobilization of the army’ one of the council members said

Pandikar nodded as the thirteen people inside the Quorum Council is making plans for the World Government

***

SOMEWHERE DEEP BELOW THE GOLDEN CAGE OF RAYMOND AND THE WIND CELL OF THE DIVINE ARCHER.

In a metal-like minerals room etched with vibrational runes and formation that links to the heart of the island, is a person, with sagged body and faces full of tiredness.

That person eyes is bloodshot. The man was tall if he stands and usually he looked dignified and majestic.

But now sprawling on the floor of this room, no trace of that dignity and majesty could be seen on this man body.

This man was the President of the World Government Ashikaga Hirate.

Hirate even though he was tired, he still looked at the room with hatred. His Psionic Force could not penetrate this weird metal, making him unable to send a message.

It also prevent him from being detected. If not maybe Hikigaya or the others would realize that he was being imprisoned here.

Hirate coughed blood as he felt the rebound of once again trying to use his Psionic Force.

‘Fuck this shit’ he cursed in frustration

‘Uhuk,uhuk’

Hirate then let his body rest, his body sprawl around the floor, tiredness fill his body. He still remembers it like it was yesterday.

And it all started with the discussion on how to deal with the Divine Archer.

Hirate knows in his previous encounter with the Prince that the Prince respond to kindness and gratitude more positively instead of strong arm tactics.

Knowing that he suggested to talk to Divine Archer and let her explain it to the Prince about the matter of the assassination.

However Pandikar and a few other high echelon members of the Quorum did not agree saying that the World Government is now able to stand equal with the Prince.

Even if that is so, Hirate and Raymond believes that it is better to seek friend than make enemies.

Who would have thought that Pandikar would use this matter to convince a few of the council members to stage a coup?

They were trapped in the Council Room, and fought a blood battle with the whole World Government not knowing he and Raymond was captured.

He didn’t know what happens after…. But Hirate truly regret that he created the Golden Cage and the Wind Cell.

He created it in secrecy in fear of Raymond betrayal and in fear that the Divine Archer might one day attack the Island.

He didn’t know it would be used against him.

Two of his supporters were captured. Hirate didn’t know what happens on the surface and how would the coup sustains itself.

But there was another thing Hirate was confused by?

Why was he spared?

Hirate closes his eyes as he sleeps. His only chance of escaping this is to breakthrough. He is prepared to borrow the power of the Psionic Force.

In the middle of the room, a faint aura that would disturb the mind and plunge people to a chattering and complexity of thousands of mind is slowly enveloping Hirate.

Like the day before and the day before it. Today, he once again trying to breakthrough.

***

All over the world people are gathering at the Island Of Peace. Some come openly, others are hiding in the dark.

But where is the main character of this event?

Everyone that knows the backstory knows that the Death Monarch will come to the Island to ask for explanation.

But where is he?

***

IN A CAVE SOMEWHERE IN THE LANCESTON REGION OF AUSTRALIA

Sitting on the ground is Azief. He was looking at something on his hand. It was a spear. Looking at the spear there is excitement on his face

He then said to himself with determination

‘I will form my fifth Disk using this spear as the base. A spear forged from the fragment of the All Source’

He then gripped the spear tightly and said in his mind

‘Refine!’

***