Blood dripped from his broken nose. The hate he felt from every blow left him with an emptiness he couldn’t shake. A loss consumed by darkness. Never to return. He gave up everything for her, and she hated him for it. Nasir hated himself for it. All he had were his new powers and a master who controlled him. The memories of the dead still haunted him. Faces he couldn’t look away from. How he wished he could fall asleep and pretend none of this had ever happened. Change the unchangeable.


    “Pathetic. You let your nose get smashed. A stab in your chest that nearly killed you. You are a dark mage with power that rivals all but the truly powerful such as I, and you can’t kill a few measly elves? Why do I bother with such filth? Don’t just stand there. Get over here so I can put you back together…again,” said Kiressin. His every word was dripping with promised malice and pain.


    Too tired to keep walking, Nasir let the shadows embrace him again and teleported to his master. Kiressin gripped his throat and lifted him into the air. Struggling to breathe, Nasir flailed his limbs, then screamed when the master forced his body to heal. Dropped to the ground, Nasir sat there struggling to catch his breath. A roar from far off in the distance sent birds into the air, flying away from the beast his master had sent to test the elves.


    Bowing his head, he said, “Thank you, master.”


    Pain erupted in his side, and Nasir went tumbling to the ground. Walking toward him to kick Nasir again, Kiressin said, “Don’t thank me. Do what you are told.” Nasir felt something break inside when his master smashed his boot into his chest again. Close to passing out from the pain, Kiressin slammed his foot into Nasir’s gut, causing him to gasp.


    Shadows enveloped him, and his bones snapped back together, eliciting another cry of pain from Nasir. He was powerless against such control over the shadows. A lesson he believed his master wanted him to know with every ounce of his very being.


    Kiressin stood over him, shaking his head, and asked, “What will I ever do with you?”


    “Give him to me.”


    Eyes bleary from the tears of pain, Nasir recognized the voice and saw his shadow. The dead bear cub was still bleeding from where Nasir had driven a spike of earth through its chest. His shadow said, “We only need his body. Give him to me.”


    Confused, he looked up at Kiressin and asked, “Master?”


    Clapping his hands, Kiressin smiled and said, “You are due for an upgrade. Say thanks to our dark god. He will bless you with his strength today.”


    “Thank you-”


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    “Louder, you fool,” Kiressin interrupted him. His expression promised more pain.


    “Thank you, dark god, for this gift,” said Nasir with all the energy he could muster.


    His shadow danced around him and said, “Thank the dark. Shadowy dark. Lovely dark. Power to you. Power for me. Body no longer. Mind I shall have.”


    Confused, Nasir watched Kiressin reach out, and his shadow coalesced into a ball of swirling mist in his master''s palm. He glared at Nasir and said, “Stand.”


    Forcing himself up, he stood before his master.


    Without warning, Kiressin slammed the ball of shadows into Nasir’s chest, and he fell into pure darkness. He didn’t even feel his head hit the ground. Looking around, all he saw was an empty, shapeless void.


    Appearing in front of him was a pair of eyes floating in the air. Red, bloodshot eyes that seemed to grin.


    “Where am I?” asked Nasir. He spoke, but all he heard was his thoughts projected. Reaching for his throat, he found he couldn’t. He had no body. Panicking, he looked at the floating eyes and begged, “What happened to me?”


    “Inside your mind, of course. You had the chance to prove yourself, but you failed.”


    Its voice rattled inside his mind. One familiar to him. “Shadow?”


    The floating eyes danced around him and said, “Yes, your shadow. Now my shadow. It’s my turn to take a ride in your body. Maybe have a taste of Lyra after I capture her, then kill her. I told you to kill her. Did you listen? No. This is what you get for ignoring me.”


    Anger boiled within him, and Nasir roared within his mind, projecting all the hate he could toward his shadow. With nothing to move and no access to his powers, he could do little else. His shadow laughed as it faded away, leaving him alone in the void. Trapped in his mind. Cut off from the outside world. He never felt so isolated.


    “You aren’t alone. You have me, and now I have you,” said his shadow directly into his thoughts.


    Rubbing the back of his head, Shadow settled into Nasir’s body and stood up. Though all his injuries were gone, dirt and blood still coated him. He looked at Kiressin, who stood there watching him, and he waved. Using his new voice for the first time, Shadow said, “It is done.”


    With a grunt, Kiressin eyed him up and down and said, “Prove it to me, Nasir.”


    Moving around to get a feel for his new body, Shadow said, “Call me Shade. I have no desire to share his name.”


    “Fine. Shade, show me what you can do,” Kiressin said, shrugging his shoulders.


    Raising his hand, Shade commanded the ground to rise, bringing forth a spike of earth. He then brought down a bolt of black lightning that struck the tip of the spike, shattering it. Reaching for the shadows, Shade wrapped them around himself and teleported around.


    Shade unsheathed the sword strapped to his hip and performed a few swings and thrusts, imitating what he had watched Nasir do. Satisfied, he returned it to his hip, teleported before his master, bowed, and asked, “Are you pleased?” He glanced up, unable to hide his glee at the new body. It had been so long since he had flesh and bone. So long, he couldn’t recall what his name had been before the darkness took him for itself.


    “For now,” Kiressin said. His tone was neither pleased nor upset. “Listen closely, Shade. I expect results. You will train and grow stronger before killing those pesky elves who chase me. You will come back to me victorious or not at all.”


    Gliding his hand over his new face, Shade grinned and said, “With pleasure, master.”


    A voice locked inside his head cried and begged for someone, anyone, to save him. With a thought, Shade asked, “Who would ever save you?”