《Glory's Shadow (Rough Draft)》 Chapter One A young woman stood grudgingly restocking cereal boxes, the fluorescent light gleaming off of her chipped nails. The dark bags under her eyes matched surprisingly well with her hair, which had been dyed a darkest black. She grumbled connivingly while continuing her mind numbing work. An untimely interruption, only half-welcomed, soon barged onto her doorstep metaphorically. ¡°Hey, hey, hey, Glenny! So, a lot of us are meeting up at Luckell¡¯s after work and I was wondering if you would like to tag along!¡± ¡°Not really.¡± ¡°Aww, why not?¡± ¡°Too tired, just got done working the graveyard shift.¡± ¡°And you have another shift scheduled?! Is that even legal?¡± The woman shook her head, ¡°Need the money.¡± ¡°Oh, well in that case I¡¯ll leave you to it. Let me know if you need someone to talk to.¡± If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Mm.¡± Haa, so tired. Gonna take an early lunch after I¡¯m done with this aisle. THUMP When did I get on the floor? So tired, everything¡¯s dark. Sorry Mom, guess I can¡¯t get you that cake you wanted. [Welcome, Player. Please select a Starting Gift. Available Starting Gifts: Handkerchief Tuft of Fur Birthmark.] Hmm, none of these sound good, so let¡¯s just pick one randomly. Maybe then I¡¯ll actually get to pick my class. [Chosen Starting Gift: Birthmark. Description: A Birthmark is a remnant of your heritage. Maybe one day it might have an effect.] Bruh. [Character Creation complete, initializing Game.] Wait, what happened to making a character?! Upper Strazia, Elgen Estate, 7:38 pm. A great philosopher once said, ¡®Tragedy sometimes begets Opportunity¡¯ This isn¡¯t one of those times. A tall man made his way authoritatively into the room. His back was as straight as a ramrod, while his hawk-like eyes beheld everything beneath him. This was Viscount Elgen. Not so much as a hint of emotion flashed across his eyes as he beheld his dead wife. She had died during childbirth, leaving behind a healthy daughter. When his eyes swept across his child, however, there was a slight stirring of emotion in his eyes, disappointment. Even without tests he could tell how average this child would be. The doctor approached nervously, knowing that he would absolutely be fired after the lord¡¯s wife died. ¡°Viscount, there is still the matter of bestowing a name upon the girl.¡± Lord Elgen carefully examined his newborn daughter¡¯s face, comparing it with his wife¡¯s. ¡°Hmm. Synthia.¡± ¡°Understood, from now on she will be known as Cynthia Elgen.¡± ¡°No, Synthia, with an S.¡± Chapter Two Everything is fuzzy. I would imagine this is what it¡¯s like to be nearsighted. New-borns aren¡¯t known for their excellent vision, so I hope that this is something I¡¯ll outgrow. That man who was in here not too long ago was presumably my father. He seemed surprisingly calm, but when he looked at me he tasted resentful. Dunno how that works. It¡¯s pretty boring being a baby, honestly. Not needing to do anything seems nice, but this is not being able to do anything. Just completely helpless and vulnerable. It reminds me too much of my last life to be comfortable with. The thing bothering me the most is how¡­ heavy the air feels. I know that as a baby my muscles are extremely feeble, but something tells me there¡¯s more to it. There¡¯s a constant pressure being forced upon me, although it¡¯s very weak. Huh, interesting. The pressure is actually making its way into my body, specifically the heart. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Once it breached the skin barrier, I noticed how delicious the pressure is. It¡¯s like my body was made to consume, I muse as the pressure is now instead being sucked into my body. Just as the pressure gets too much and my vision slowly turns to black, I can barely make out a blurry figure entering the room. Feeding time again. I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s goat¡¯s milk like I had that one time at a friend¡¯s aunt¡¯s farm. Back when I had friends. Wonder how they¡¯re doing? Probably happily married with 2.5 kids, having completely forgotten about me. Anyway, my older brother visited me. He¡¯s about five, I would say? Seems like a cute kid, as far as my blurry vision would let me see. He towered over me, his blondish hair and piercing blue eyes just like Father¡¯s. Unlike his father, his eyes had actual emotions behind them, a deeper hatred than I would think possible for one so young. But then again, I never interacted much with children, other than the bratty ones that customers were fine with letting loose in the store. Speaking of brats, apparently this one is too, because he just hit me! It really hurts, too. I like to think that it hurts a lot because I¡¯m just a baby. I got back at him by screaming as loud as I could right in his general direction. I kept at it until the maid in charge of me ran in and ushered the brat out of the room. After the pest was removed, I was left to my own devices again. Kinda neglectful, to be honest. Helpful for me, though. I can keep absorbing the pressure more since I¡¯m alone. Something tells me I shouldn¡¯t do this in front of anyone. They don¡¯t deserve to know. The maid will occasionally talk to herself, but I can¡¯t tell what she¡¯s saying. I probably won¡¯t learn the language anytime soon either, based on how well I did in my highschool Spanish. Chapter Three It¡¯s been half a year, and both my sight and my absorption have gotten better. I can absorb for about twice as long before passing out. I say about because there isn¡¯t anything like a clock in here so I have to eyeball it. What is in here is a mirror. Apparently I have an average-looking face and brown hair, which is weird for a newborn to have. Don¡¯t all babies have blond, before growing into their hair color? This isn¡¯t Earth after all, so why get caught up in details? My family is as neglectful as ever. My ¡®Father¡¯ has not visited me once, but I think I¡¯ve tasted the brat¡¯s hate from behind the door a couple times, couldn¡¯t tell with my sight though. My maid also doesn¡¯t seem to care about how many times I¡¯ve passed out either. Waking up once more after absorbing, I¡¯m startled to find that there is now some strange growth in my chest, right by my heart. There aren¡¯t any signs of it from the outside (I checked), but I can sense it very deeply. My cry only caused the maid to peek her head into the room before she left again. Fortunate, since I was busy examining my new body part. It tastes like a crystal, and seems to be a vessel for the pressure. Not very much, but enough to be a good start. It¡¯s probably like a muscle, where using it makes it bigger, right? Let¡¯s see what happens when I pull the pressure out of my crystal. ¡­ Nothing, it just dissipates. Laame. I tried a few more times and all I managed to do was empty it out, leading to another blackout. By the time I came to, it was dark out, like so dark I couldn¡¯t see. Strange, why is the room smaller? Wait a minute, I can move again. With just a thought, I could get out of the crib I¡¯d been stuck in all my life. Well, all my new life. I appear to be adult-sized again, but looking at my hands freaked me out. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. I¡¯m nothing but shadow!!! WHat?! The mirror on the wall doesn¡¯t even show me at all, creepy. Something is telling me to walk into it, to just throw myself into it, forcefully. I¡¯m not that dumb, so I cautiously stick my hand on the mirror. Or, I tried to, since my hand just went right through it. I could see my hand inside what should have been the reflection, starting where my arm went through. The other side just feels more warm, more real, just¡­ more. Not hesitating at all, the rest of me phases through the mirror as well, leaving me in a strange, reversed version of my room. The room is almost the same, except I don¡¯t feel the pressure, and upon closer inspection I notice that the darkness outside the window actually seems to be solid? My musings are cut short by a very intense feeling that there¡¯s somewhere I need to go to. And I know where to go, but not where I¡¯ll go, if that makes sense. No, it doesn¡¯t. Anyway, out of the room I go, following my urges in a well-thought out masterful strategy that definitely has no flaws in its logic. Hmm, sarcasm¡¯s a little strong now, I must be really nervous. Making my way through a strangely dark, strangely quiet and strangerfully empty hallway doesn¡¯t help. Fortunately, my journey is rather short as I stop just two doors down, now in a room that seems vaguely familiar. Wait, wait, wait. Aha, this was where I was born.(In this world at least.) This room is also strangely dark, but decidedly not empty. In the middle of the room is a cloth draped over a distinctly human-shaped object. On the feminine side, too, so probably my birth-mother¡¯s. Not a pleasant thought. On top of the body is an oddly shaped lantern, the only source of light in this world. Two paces forward, I abruptly stop. The parts of my body that were touched by the light started to burn. A scream of pain ripped its way out of my throat, but mine wasn¡¯t the only scream. The lantern itself was screaming too. Or rather, something inside was. A being composed entirely of flame was crawling out of the lantern while trying to claw at me. One claw managed to leave a mark on my face, the pain breaking me out of my shock. I turned to flee and somehow tripped on my own feet, falling to the ground. I caught myself with my hands now on the floor, covered by the shadow the flame-being was giving me. In the shadow I felt something strangely solid, and I know it wasn¡¯t there before since I would have stepped on it walking in. Hurriedly grasping it, I brought it up to my face and beheld a knife. A knife made out of shadow, but solid. With a weapon now in my hands, I turned around ready to do battle with this foe. Problem: its reach is greater than mine, even with the knife. Solution: throw the knife at it. Problem: the knife went right through it. Solution: the knife hit the lantern somehow and caused it to crack. The flame¡¯s scream grew more distorted, as did the room itself as the lantern fell to pieces. The world itself exploded, with some of the shrapnel making its way into my body. It hurts, it hurts, it hurts. I wake up screaming back in my room. The screams brought my maid over, who just checked my diaper before putting me back into the crib and leaving the room, decidedly grumpy too. That was weird, I managed to think before passing out again. Chapter Four This time, I woke up to sunlight. Somehow, this is worse. The light is so irritating, more so than usual; and that¡¯s with such a dinky little window, too. My body is really¡­ sore(?) for some reason. A closer look gives me the feeling that there are shards of something embedded in my body. Not in a physical way though, if that makes sense? No, it doesn¡¯t. I can¡¯t really do anything with most of them, but the one in my right wrist has some sort of pathway that connects to my heart crystal. I push the pressure (which I now know is Mana, somehow) gently through the pathway into my wrist. A terrible pressure fills my arm as the mana flows downward. As it reached the end of the pathway, my wrist, a quite strange thing happened. The space above my hand is filled with darkness, an absence of light. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. The absence is protruding from my wrist and is in the shape of an elongated triangle. Before I could marvel further, I was oh so rudely interrupted. I was barely able to disperse the newly-dubbed shadow blade before my brother barged in again. He once again makes his way over to my crib and my cheek is filled with pain. THIS BRAT DARES?! HE DARES TO STRIKE ONE SUCH AS I?! I HATE HIM, I HATE HIM, I HATE HIM!! HE SHOULD JUST DIE!!! A smell of ammonia, as well as a pain in my arm, broke me out of my hatred. He let out a scream and ran out of the room faster than I thought he could move on those stubby legs. The maid who was in the next room apparently chases after him, leaving me alone. I¡¯m too busy to give it much notice, however. My arm and crystal ache something crazy, I probably tried to use the blade while filled with hate. Hmm, this is concerning. Why on earth(Or on not earth, I guess) would I have such a strong reaction to the brat? Sure, he is everything I dislike in little children, but not enough to want to kill anyone. Something tells me it has something to do with the shard. Or the mana. Or my new body. Or¡­ You get the idea, too many variables makes the equation unsolvable. Chapter Five Chapter Five Today is the day I get my first tutor. If you can call them a tutor, that is. All in all, she¡¯s more of a glorified babysitter, the same as my maid, but this one will actually talk at me. Quite a strange woman. I thought she was a Dwarf at first, she is so short and stocky. It was the lack of a beard that told me she was human. I must say, though, that those are very impressive sideburns. As she barreled into the room, she kept gesticulating while exclaiming something. ¡°Bevan Athrawes!¡± You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. ¡°Bevin athe-waws?¡± The woman chuckled as she clapped a bit. ¡°ie, Bevan Athrawes!¡± Bustling around, the woman, Bevan I guess not certain if that¡¯s her first name or a title; reached into her satchel and pulled out an excessively plain wooden box. Kinda anti-climactic. ¡°Amser dygsu!¡± Thus proclaiming, she opened the disappointing box and drew out various slates of wood. One of the slates had a somewhat crude burn-drawing of a very familiar animal, a cow. ¡°Gwartheg¡± ¡°gwawthed¡± ¡°ie¡± ¡°Gwartheg yn dweud?¡± I tilted my adorable little head so cutely as my pretty eyes looked on questioningly. ¡°Moo¡± Oh, she was asking what a cow says. ¡°moo.¡± I thank any deity in this world that cameras haven¡¯t been invented yet, because I¡¯m pretty sure that the lady would have gladly recorded me. Chapter Six ¡®The young lady¡­ is a right terror¡¯ This is Maud¡¯s opinion and she¡¯s sticking with it. Synthia doesn¡¯t quite get it. She felt like she was being a perfect little girl. After all, she didn¡¯t cry, she ate her meals quietly without any fuss (even though the food sucks), and never once made a mess of her crude toys. That little bit about sneaking out as much as she can to explore the mansion was more than made up for by her obedience, she felt. At the moment, Synthia was making her way through one of the many identical hallways. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Would it kill them to at least clean a little? There is dust all over the floor, except in that one spot near the wall. Wait a minute. Yep, hidden door. Hmm, where to press? Ah, the wallpaper here is a bit faded. Click. The smell appeared before anything else, a sharp metallic smell mixed with hot wax. The door opened just a smidge, enough to poke her head around. Before her was a young woman chained to the wall, gashes and cuts all over her exposed arms. Next to the woman was a teenage boy, holding aloft a bloodied dagger. He grinned madly at the blood trailing down his arms from the dagger, not having noticed the intruder. As he finally noticed and his face adopted a more neutral look, Synthia finally noticed why he was so similar. He looked just like her ¡®Father¡¯. The silence looming between them was broken by a gentle voice. ¡°mrawd?¡± Chapter Seven Chapter Seven ¡®Come on, just one more push, one more push¡¯ Synthia was once again actively absorbing Mana, trying to reach one of the other shards in her body. The easiest would be the one in her mouth, but she was reluctant to mess around near her brain anytime soon. Therefore, the goal was the one in her upper arm, the left arm. With a few one more pushes she managed to barely connect the Mana stream. Her vision would have been plunged into absolute darkness if it wasn¡¯t already. Cold dark encased her wrists as she peered down the dizzying height. And yet, her feet touched the floor. The ground was not far away, she was tall. As tall as she was before. The room she was in had not a single light source, the only light came from the partially opened door on the opposite wall. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Synthia made it exactly one-and-a-half steps before her arms were yanked back, hurting her wrists. Rusty chains led from her wrists all the way back to the center of the wall behind her. Before she could do anything about that, the room¡¯s light level increased with a grinding sound. She quickly turned and beheld a shadowy being approaching her. It was about a head shorter than she currently was, and held a long thin bit of darkness. It flicked its wrist and her arm was filled with pain. Just as quickly as a scream tore itself from her mouth, the being flicked again and her other arm was struck. Its hollow eyes seemed to gleam darkly as one of her legs was struck. A mockery of mercy appeared, as its next blow was directly to her head, causing her vision to turn black. Synthia awoke in her bed drenched in sweat and with a sore throat that promised to last at least a day. But most of all, she was more tired than she had ever been. For the third time that night, her sight turned to black. Chapter Eight Chapter Eight Synthia¡¯s maid Maud was getting worried, which is unusual for her. She only took this job as the Lady¡¯s Nursemaid because it got her out of other duties. Which is why she¡¯s worried. The Lady is taking a turn for the worse, for the last few days she¡¯s been waking up screaming and covered in sweat. And of course she would need a bath so she didn¡¯t catch cold. All of this was Maud¡¯s responsibility. Even then, it was better than going back to scrubbing the halls with the other maids. Especially since they had parted on such bad terms. Namely, Maud rubbing her lack of work in the others¡¯ faces as vigorously as she could. Their faces probably still hurt. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. So, Maud was worried more for herself than for the young Lady¡¯s life. This was what Synthia had gathered, anyway. This was fortunate for Synthia, because it meant that her maid was quite stupid. If she gave it even a little thought, she would have realized that once a noble passed away, their servants would too. If Synthia was in her place, she would be clamoring for a doctor immediately, since both their lives were at stake. Her thoughts went down this inconsequential route in a bid to distract herself from what she¡¯s been going through. Any help it did was canceled out by the need to pore over every try in order to work out a way to beat the shadow being. Maud was too preoccupied with her lack of sympathy from the maids to notice Synthia¡¯s sigh as she once again ¡®slept¡¯.