《Twin Rulers of Light and Shadows》


 Prologue

    Tom felt strange like he was free falling through an endless dark void.


    There was no light, sound, all there was is complete emptiness, time felt numb with him having no idea the length of time passing.


    Tom began to feel this is what his remaining existence will be, experiencing utter nothingness until the person he was eventually became extinguished from existence.


    His memories were already beginning to fade, he had already forgotten his parents, childhood, friends, he even felt his own name starting to slip from his mind, only pure stubbornness to hold onto his identity kept that from going.


    However, that was when he noticed it, he felt for the first time a presence, something other than him and he knew it was angry.


    It was impatient, it did not expect him to last this long and it disliked that he was resisting stubbornly.


    Yet the existence did not expect this to trigger something in Tom, the will to not give it the satisfaction of winning.


    Thus from that moment onwards Tom felt himself constantly fighting the unknown being.


    Now that he had noticed it, Tom began to feel the oddity of the numbness in his entire being, he realised whatever the existence was, it was a predator, one that had been targeting him from the beginning.


    Whatever it was doing before had seemed to dull his feelings, making him far too easily let go of elements that he recognised were essential parts that made up his soul, his very being.


    Elements of his being that he would have previously held onto at all costs. Nonetheless, he now felt a strange detachment of these concepts, that his family, friends, loved ones, his likes, dislikes, hobbies, that none of it mattered, that it never did mean anything to him, that he should just let it all go and give it to the existence that continues to loom all around him.


    Yet this only seemed to let off a hidden spark in Tom, a deep seated anger, he wanted to feel a sense of loss for what it had stolen from him, but there was just nothing.


    He felt hollow, but that was wrong, his existence just felt so empty, like he was the strange one for even thinking to care about this.


    That was when he heard it for the first time.


    ¡°You cannot win.¡± A screech of whispers filled his mind over and over, he held little recollection of his life but recognised this was the most disturbing chorus of noise he had ever heard.


    ¡°I know. But you won¡¯t either¡­¡± Tom found himself responding with determination.


    The existence seemed incensed by this, like it was the first time it had been defied in such a way.


    And that was when the tug of war between the creature and Tom continued, with Tom playing defence and the entity continuing to take more and more away from Tom.


    At first Tom tried to defend all of his remaining memories fiercely, fighting every bit of action from the entity.


    Yet, he soon learned this was not viable, there was simply too much of the entity to contend against, it felt similar to being outnumbered on all sides whilst having to defend from numerous fronts.


    Whenever Tom would split his attention to focus on defending against the entity in one area, the existence would launch pincher attacks towards the unguarded areas leading him to lose and more and more of himself to the entity as he struggled to hold onto what he had left.


    Tom realised he did not have the means to fight the entity in an equal battle, or rather he never did, even when he was at his strongest never mind after the entity had taken so much from him.


    Knowing it was hopeless to try and beat the entity at its own game, Tom instead adopted a new strategy, born out of pure stubbornness to delay and frustrate the entity as much as possible.


    Tom knew to do that he had to willingly sacrifice parts of himself to the entity, he could not hold onto everything, so instead evaluated what he felt was most to least important, he would leave the least important memories less guarded to tempt the entity to focus on them.


    And it did. Thus, an unknown amount of time continued as Tom was whittled down more and more but remained in a constant fight with the entity, through the constant battles against the entity Tom gained experience and a depthness to his being that wasn¡¯t there before.


    He did not know how to explain it, but he felt that he was more solid somehow, that despite having less quantity than before due to losing parts of himself to the entity through constantly tempering himself against the entity, Tom felt that the quality of his self has experienced a qualitative change.


    He felt that he could do more with less of himself than before, and this ended up prolonging his struggle against the entity even more.


    The entity grew more and more frustrated as time went on, it felt irritated that this time its prey was proving to be so bothersome to consume.


    Tom felt satisfied from being able to detect this from the entity, finding himself a husk of the person he once was, he found he lacked a direction, a purpose, yet the day he discovered the entity that was consuming him that spark was reignited.


    He had no idea where or what the entity even was.


    Tom memories were beginning to grow blurry, fragmented but he had a strong precognition there was nothing like this strange entity in his world.


    He had no idea how he ended up in this situation but he became even further intent on frustrating the entity.


    Like this the stand off between the entity and Tom continued, with the entity consuming more and more of Tom but growing more and more dissatisfied, impatient, that was when the entity finally made a mistake and suddenly Tom found he wasn¡¯t as alone as he had thought.


    Tom was focusing on defending himself from the entity when he abruptly felt something different.


    A gap, a breach, a hole that the entity had briefly left open and with it an opportunity.


    Tom saw a light, he felt the presence of something, a feeling similar to himself, at that moment Tom didn¡¯t mind sacrificing more pieces of himself, he just had to reach that light.


    That was when the entity noticed where his attention was, and for the first time Tom felt an emotion he thought was foreign to the entity.


    Fear.


    ¡°No¡­ impossible¡­ how does another remain?¡± The whispers grew more and more intense as the chilling voice of the entity once again made itself known, but Tom was already zoning out as he desperately focused on the light, trying to reach it.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    The entity tried to stop him, seemingly deeply distressed at the thought of him reaching the light.


    However, Tom used all the tricks he had learned from fighting against the entity, he distracted, separated, sacrificed parts of himself, utilising all of his capabilities to delay the entity as he battled hard against the entity to reach that light, and just as he thought he may not make it, suddenly he found a voice in his mind.


    One unfamiliar. One that was not the entity.


    ¡°Hello is anyone there?¡± An unfamiliar feminine voice entered his mind.


    ¡°Yes¡­ are you real?¡± Tom couldn¡¯t help but voice aloud, even now he couldn¡¯t quite believe in meeting another existence other than the entity.


    For all he knew this was another one of the schemes that the entity employed for him to lower his guard so that it can consume him.


    Yet, for some reason he did not think this was the case.


    Why was the entity afraid?


    ¡°Huh¡­ so I am not imagining things? May I ask your name, my name is Zoe I think¡­ I can¡¯t remember much¡­¡± The voice continued, the gentle feminine voice seemed to have a calming affect on him as he felt the most relaxed he had since arriving in this dark, void of nothingness.


    ¡°My name is Tom¡­ do you know how we got¡­¡± Tom was about to continue when he felt it again, and somehow this time it felt more, but less at the same time.


    The whispers grew louder and louder, disturbing both him and Zoe, ¡°How did you let this one disturb the consumption of this one¡­¡±


    Another chorus of voices arrived in retaliation, ¡°This one is not dealt with either, the others are digesting whilst they remain whole¡­¡±


    The screeching, horrifying sounding whispers continued, despite him suspecting to not even have eardrums, or even a body anymore, Tom felt a splitting headache from the noise, or at least he felt what the feeling of one was like.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter¡­ we share¡­ consume together¡­¡± The entities whispers finally sounded in sync seeming to compromise.


    Tom felt fear but trusting in his instincts he knew something was off, was I mistaken?


    He thought the entity sounded concerned, afraid even at the thought of him going to the light¡­


    Yet, why¡­ unless, it was not afraid of them alone, but what if¡­ they were together¡­


    ¡°Zoe listen to me¡­ you know how that strange thing has been eating away at us? I know you must have experienced the same thing¡­ I think we can beat it, but only together¡­¡± Tom found himself quickly voicing, worried that Zoe would not trust him as he tried to come up with a reasonable sounding explanation.


    Yet it seemed Zoe was far more adaptable than he thought, or rather was forced too, probably after suffering through a similar hopeless experience like him for an unknown period of time.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to explain¡­ I was ready to give up soon before hearing your voice, I have lost so much, I feel I have nothing left but my name, Tom, please just make this worthwhile, all the pain, all the emptiness of losing myself, was it worth it to stubbornly hold on so long? To not just give in¡­¡± Zoe voice grew lighter and lighter as she continued, almost sounding like sobs at the end but Tom knew it was just an illusion.


    She felt just an empty as him, she just wanted to try to feel something, to know what they were doing was going to matter.


    ¡°Alright then so I think we need too¡­¡± Tom tried to explain but Zoe, him instinctively already knew what needed to be done, and before Tom could word out how they would approach this, he felt a power, energy pour into him like nothing before.


    It felt foreign, strange, it was a different kind of feeling than the one he felt of his being growing more dense, stronger, if that was quality, then this was pure quantity, and for the first time he felt an abundance of energy, to the point he felt that he could tear apart the entity right now, but he knew this was merely an illusion brought about the sudden increase of power.


    Tom felt emotion for the first time in a long time, excitement, that quickly turned into confusion when he felt a sudden surge of memories.


    He suddenly felt different. There was more to him, to them than before.


    He was Tom. She was Zoe. He quickly figured it out, Zoe has poured her very being into him, but that didn¡¯t mean she had disappeared.


    On the contrary he felt they were both alive, like they had become something more, something unique.


    It was when he felt the sudden feeling of pain as he realised they were not alone.


    The entity, or is now the entities, were again trying to continue devouring their beings, only now it felt far less subtle, blatant even, Tom was resisting before but not on anger or hatred but more a stubbornness in his very soul, he felt numb to negative emotions such as anger but for the first time he felt the very wrongness, invasive meaning behind the entities actions, like whatever power it used to manipulate him had become ineffective.


    And it led to a foreign feeling, one he never had since arriving in this strange space of nothingness, pure abhorrence towards the entity.


    Therefore for the first time in their meeting, he did not play defensive, feeling the weight of Zoe¡¯s soul supporting him instead he did what the entity had been doing to them, he felt himself figuratively opening wide and preceding to take a big bite out of the entity, and for the first time he encountered the entity he heard a scream.


    It was a horrifying, guttural sound that sent shivers through his very being, however despite him figuratively not even having a body anymore he felt himself smiling.


    ¡°So you do feel pain¡­¡± Tom muttered ignoring the threats from the entity as he found the fear he felt for it suddenly dissipating.


    He continued to bask in the warm feeling that was from Zoe¡¯s soul, she was different from him and he knew it, her soul felt bright and full of energy, power that drove him forward.


    Though he knew despite the strength and power from her soul it would up to him to do the dirty work.


    ¡°Is it over? Can I go home now?¡± A weak soft voice suddenly emerged in his mind as he felt Zoe weakly murmur.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine you can rest now¡­ I will handle this.¡± Tom found himself replying, he did not why he felt such strong feelings to a person he just met but the sudden intimate, protective feelings he felt over Zoe seemed similar to a brothers urge to defend his little sister.


    It seemed his words were all that was needed for Zoe to finally relax and drift off to a type of slumber, allowing herself to be protectively embraced by his soul.


    ¡°Now where were we¡­¡± Tom found himself voicing as the entities felt a sudden chill from his words.


    Despite Zoe withdrawal into her soul, the strange connection they formed remained and with it the bursts of vitality and power that it represented.


    One the entities seemed unable to match, one they seemed utterly befuddled about.


    ¡°You represent opposites¡­ an impossibility¡­ how can one of light and dark combine?¡± The entities shrieked in anger and disbelief.


    ¡°Who knows? I got to admit my curiosity of whatever it is happening but I despise the very presence of whatever you are and leaving you things alive for a second longer is taking every fibre of my being¡­¡± Tom found himself monologuing as he snapped out of it.


    He was curious about whatever this light and dark nonsense was, he didn¡¯t even know how he found himself here but what he did know was that the entities have now locked themselves in an inescapable battle.


    A battle he wanted to take every bit of advantage of whilst he had the chance.


    The entities continued to put up a struggle, and Tom clearly felt its superiority whether it came to both quality and how they utilised its strange energy, he found himself tricked, trapped and outwitted constantly in the way they manipulated their energy to take bites out of his soul and defend against him trying to do the same.


    Yet he found this all proved utterly worthless, simply because whatever energy Zoe contributed provided a constant source of nourishment and healing that repaired the damage the entities caused and seemed to bolster his defences significantly.


    He quickly discovered that the entity required far more effort to devour Zoe¡¯s energy and the properties of her energy seemed to combine, merge with his own, covering up both of their weaknesses.


    If before Zoe was able to defend well against the entities onslaught, she seemed to lack a means of taking the fight back and could only slowly be devoured, however he clearly did not lack these problems at all, he was able to do exactly what the entity did to him and with Zoe¡¯s support replenishing his reserves he finally could take the opportunity to bring the fight to the entity.


    Thus no matter how deadly, conniving, cunning the entity was, it found itself slowly devoured until nothing was left.


    It continued to threaten him in the beginning, trying to strike fear into his very soul like it did previously but eventually when it found these threats ignored, with it continuing to lose more and more of itself, these threats turned into pleads of mercy and Tom found even a creature of darkness is afraid of death.


    He had no idea how he suddenly knew what it was, but he felt a sudden invigoration in his being, like he grew stronger, much stronger, and then a click happened as patches of memories of the entities filled his soul and then his mind went black.

 Chapter 1 - Awakening

    When he woke up Tom found his mind felt scrambled making him think he was hallucinating, if he had to find a word to describe what was happening, it was as if his vision was cut in half and each one had a different view.


    After experiencing such a peculiar problem he quickly summarised that his memories were still patchy, in fact even more so since he found they seemed to be jumbled with another, a noble boy named Aldric Westerling as he continued to experience movie like dreams as he viewed the perspective of Aldric¡¯s life causing his mind to drift aimlessly.


    Aldric¡¯s memories were strange, seeming completely foreign to the viewpoint of Tom that allowed him to identify that he was definitely not on Earth anymore.


    However, this shockingly did not feel that big of a deal to him as to the Aldric¡¯s part of his mind this world was a home that he had spent his life growing up in.


    Deciding to put this to the back of his mind for now, he went ahead to go to the more pressing issue, the reason why he felt so strange with an uncomfortable amount of limbs he felt the need to stretch, and having decided to sit up to get more comfortable he craned his neck in order to properly observe his surroundings.


    The first thing that entered his view was the room that he was in that resembled a medieval prison, it was dark, gloomy with a cramped tight space that was enclosed with stone-bricks with the entrance being thick bars made of iron.


    A heavy layer of dirt and gruel covered the stone-walls and floor making him twitch his nose in disgust.


    His senses felt overwhelmed with the damp, cold feeling of the cell finding the clothes he was wearing were rough, ragged with numerous patches exposing his delicate skin with the clothing doing little to protect him from the harsh conditions.


    Tom, now Aldric let out a sigh as he suddenly heard an unmistakable soft tone sigh in sync with him as he turned his face with a look of shock towards the second occupant in the cell with him.


    Presented in front of his eyes, was a young woman in her early twenties at most, she had a head of long blonde hair cascading straight down, and beautiful bright blue eyes that seemed to twinkle with spots of gold.


    The young woman was unmistakably beautiful, with delicate features, and smooth flawless skin that any women would envy.


    However, despite her being the type of girl that would have made the Tom back on Earth swoon, Aldric felt not a smidge of desire towards her, rather the moment he laid eyes on her an aura of familiarity and protectiveness filled him as he found the other end of his perspective shift as he saw a young mans reflection in the gaze of the girl, bearing features that bore a striking resemblance to her.


    The young man seemed almost equally as delicate as the girl with beautiful features, though his sharp jawline gave him a hint of ruggedness.


    Aldric would say the main difference to the young women, however was his eyes, whereas hers seemed to hold the clarity, brightness of the universe his cold blue eyes was the opposite, seeming to hold an unmistakable darkness.


    ¡°What has happened to me?¡± The both of them said simultaneously.


    The two of them looked at each other with gazes of confusion, mouths wide open as the sudden realisation and influx of memories came crashing in.


    Zoe, now Anastasia Westerling memories consisted up to now were similar to Tom, her time on Earth being now patchy due to the entity but her circumstances up to where Tom found her and how they somehow ended up conjoining in an effort to vanquish the creatures has led to this.


    Before this moment they were somehow suppressing each other, subconsciously operating two separate bodies with their distinctive personalities however despite retaining themselves they knew that they were now one in soul completely.


    They had no idea how these terms seemed to float into their minds, but since devouring the entities more and more information about souls, how they ended up in their clutches started appearing in their mind.


    ¡°Incredible.¡± Both found themselves voicing in perfect unison, matching each other so flawlessly in timing as if they had rehearsed this over and over numerous times before syncing so faultlessly.


    Yet even then they found themselves matching each other with such a degree of perfect accuracy, that even tireless practice with another person would find it impossible to replicate, with the two of them seemingly matched in spirit making even the tone of voice as they utter these words sound identical.


    ¡°This is something¡­¡± Both of them found themselves smiling dumbly at each other, their eerily similar features matching in unison.


    Aldric found similar to him, that Zoe now Anastasia has adopted her new identify extremely readily, it was strange, befuddling that they have adapted so quickly but Aldric and Anastasia both already knew the reasoning.


    The entities memories were filled with knowledge about the soul, including what it means to throughly assimilate one like they have done with the nobles twins they have found themselves possessing.


    They have perfectly integrated into their bodies and have found their memories overlapping with the ones from Earth, however whereas their memories of their lives on Earth were disjointed, seeming to resemble a movie that jumped all over the place with clear missing parts, the memories belonging to the Westerling twins they found themselves in remained in perfect clarity.


    And from this they have already learned they are currently in a precarious situation, the Westerling twins were both minor nobility, being the twin son and daughter of Baron Clayton Westerling, who most recently hosted a small gathering that ended in complete bloodshed.


    Clayton Westerling held a small feast as per usual after returning from a hunt out in the wilderness in his territory, however upon his return he soon found himself poisoned and abruptly besieged as a gang of marauders have not only infiltrated his fief, but went on to slaughter every able bodied guard that could pose a threat to them.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Despite their Father Clayton being among the first to be killed, Aldric and Anastasia found themselves among the few survivors and since they were deemed valuable hostages both were soon thrown into their own families prison to be secured.


    Nonetheless, before they could think further about their situation the sound of loud foot steps were heard, as the clunking of boots indicated a pair of men were nearing them as a rough voice sounded.


    ¡°So where are those noble brats?¡± The voice stated.


    ¡°They are just down there, we have put them in the worst conditions as requested. You said our contractor wanted them as broken as possible before they arrived so I know you said the girl was off limits though¡­¡± A smarmy voice said with a pleading tone.


    ¡°No the girl is off limits as ordered, we are not savages, just because we have to play the part of marauders does not make us have to act like it.¡± The gruff voice responded firmly.


    ¡°The boy then? He¡¯s as pretty as the girl anyways, I promise to make him a good obedient puppet for your superiors if you leave him alone with me for a few days.¡± The smarmy voice replied with the rough voice seeming to pause for a period causing them to unconsciously shiver from the silence.


    However, the rough voice soon replied removing these worries as he said, ¡°Denied. If you need to satisfy those urges there is a brothel in the Town, and make sure your boys don''t disturb the townsfolk, we¡¯re not here to pillage, the contractor wants everything left in one piece. Also for the last time do not mention or even think of doing anything to those noble brats outside of what I order, or I¡¯ll snap your neck myself and hang your corpse along the front gate for insubordination.¡±


    The smarmy voice seemed to go meek after that, as all his previous bravado seemed to vanish as he replied, ¡°Yes boss.¡±


    ¡°Good. Now I¡¯ll return in a few days, reduce their intake to the minimum amount of water needed to keep them alive. I want them starved, desperate and pleading for their worthless lives.¡± The rough voice said before the heavy sound of footsteps seemed to grow distant seeming to indicate him leaving.


    Yet just when they thought the two men have left, the sounds of keys jingling was heard as shifting of a lock sounded as the locked wooden door opposite their cell shook slightly, before opening to reveal a man of average height, fully decked in tough leather armour that had a red skull symbol painted on the right sleeve.


    A long-sword was sheathed at his waist as his rat-like face icily searched the room before landing on them.


    Aldric and Anatasia felt a degree of familiarity as they caught sight of the man, and the chilling-feeling they have felt since he entered the room was only amplified as the rat-faced man eyes roamed hungrily over them like a predator, especially seeming to linger on Aldric as he licked his lips revealing his dirty, rotten yellow teeth.


    ¡°Greetings your lord, lady-ships¡± The rat-faced man smarmy voice drawled out in a sarcastic tone.


    Being met with silence did not seem to hinder the man at all as he continued to talk loudly in the gloomy, silent room.


    ¡°Unfortunately¡­ no gruel on the house for you today. But good thing we still have plenty of fresh water graciously sourced from the Towns well, unfortunately your Father can no longer play the role of the gracious host but no worries, I can make do. And since the two of you stink like shit there will be no shame in a quick wash.¡± Rat-face drawled in a mocking tonne as he reached for a large bucket filled to the brim of freezing cold water.


    The evil glint in his eyes lit up as he regarded their disheveled state, a mocking smile filled his lips as he lugged the bucket forward and stood in front of them as if searching for a reaction.


    He was soon disappointed as Aldric and Anatasia stared at him blankly as if unimpressed by his antics, only seeking to irritate rat-face further.


    ¡°Broken already huh? Worthless, weak cretins, the two of you were so full of hope, so much arrogance promising your Uncle will send his Knights to cut me up to bits to avenge Daddy... Where is your pride now?¡± Rat-face muttered in disgust as he spat towards them before he threw the large bucket of cold water over them.


    Aldric and Anastasia involuntary found themselves gasping as the freezing cold water hit their bodies, sending uncontrably shivers down their bodies, the noble youths they have now become were incredibly weak as if they had not been outdoors a day in their life, therefore it was only natural they did not seem to cope well under such treatment.


    The rat-face man seemed to enjoy this heavily as loud bursts of laughter filled the room.


    Yet whilst the rat-faced man was gasping for breath in amusement he did not notice the dark, chilling look that filled the twins eyes as the shadows in the room seemed to shift towards him as if reaching out to devour him.


    The rat-faced man did not seem notice this as he continued, ¡°If you think that''s the worst you¡¯ll get, just you wait for what else I have in store for you, now drink this up, boss orders, or don''t, not like I give a shit, just means I¡¯ll have to come in their and force-feed you¡­¡±


    And with that he turned around locking the wooden door he entered from behind him as he went, leaving behind two small cups of water near them that he obviously filled from the bucket before he decided to throw the rest of its contents over them.


    Aldric and Anastia quickly retrieved the cups to take small sips before gulping it all down, feeling the relief from their dry, cracked lips as their soaking wet bodies continued to shiver from the cold in the damp cell.


    Both of them needed to act fast, find a plan to get out of here.


    Aldric who was always not the most optimistic person in life, even when he was Tom on Earth quickly found himself comforted by Anatasia as the entwined nature of their souls allowed them to feed of each others strength, and Anatasia who seemed to shine with a light that brightened his soul encouraged him to close his eyes as he relaxed and searched his mind for a solution.


    And that was then a weird ding happened as a notification sounded in their mind.


    [Class system activating...]


    [Compatible user found¡­ error, multiple compatabilities found¡­]


    [Determining paths¡­]


    Aldric and Anatasia thoughts were filled with wonder as the mysterious text continued to fill their vision.


    [Paths selected. Unique life form detected, soul compabilities allows the selection of two seperate paths.]


    [Please select your separate paths for both of your avatars.]


    Hearing the mechanical voice continue to sound in their minds, they couldn''t help but look around as if to search for anything that could be the source of the voice, as if to discover anything that can explain the situation.


    However, knowing the rat-faced man seemed long gone, and with it sounding like nothing that a bunch of marauders from some primitive world could come up with, they continued to try and listen to the mysterious voice, a blossom of hope that this could be a way out of their seemingly hopeless situation.


    Avatars? Does it consider both Aldric and Anastasia two separate bodies of the same being?


    Just as they abruptly thought that they soon found their vision changing as a number of paths begin to be listed.


    [Available paths¡­]


    [Path of the Warrior]


    [Path of the Rogue]


    [Path of the Mage]


    ¡­.


    Aldric and Anatasia quickly found the path options to be typical that of a fantasy game, with the basic classes available however that was when they found two paths that seemed to call out to them.


    Staring at the two paths they soon found them flickering before them, with it offering to show the description of the paths.


    [Ruler of the Shadows]


    [Ruler of the Light]


    With a grin, they activated the notification seeing the description of classes appear.


    ¡®Now that could work¡­¡¯ they found themselves smiling, the cold, wet feeling of their soaked bodies forgotten.