Lord Shadow

SOUTH OF POLAND

PIENINY MOUNTAINS

DUNAJEC RIVER GORGE

The sound of the water was the first thing she heard the moment she appeared from the torn space.

Her red robe floats slightly as it did not touch the pebbles on the ground. She take a deep breath, her eyes look vigilantly.

Her long black hair was combed neatly, her hair reaches her shoulders. The wind blew and her hair ruffles a bit as red aura merged itself with the wind.

The wind blows and it scans everything around her. The surrounding, the heat, anything that could harm her.

She held a book that she held tightly. Silver metal chains chaining a mouth. She contains her dark aura as the space around her distorted.

Her Disk was in the shape of a flaming wheel tattoo on the middle of her forehead. The moment she contains her aura, the tattoo disappeared from her forehead.

‘Come out, Giselle’ the girl said and coming out of the torn space was a girl exuding holy aura. Her white flawless skin was enhanced with the white robe that seems to shine with holiness

With one waves of her hand a white aura washed over the Gorge scanning anything that has evil intention.

This is a different than a Divine Sense. This is something that gauge the emotions of people. It is known in the world, dark magic belongs to the Wicked Witch and white magic belongs to the Holy Lady of the World Government

She slowly come out after ensuring there is nothing that has evil intention against her.

‘Is he here?’ Giselle asked the moment she comes out, her voice trembling.

She seems shaken by the experience. She could feel her body was split into two before reassembling back.

It is not an experience she would like to repeat. Coming out behind Giselle was Louise. He wears a hood that covers his handsome face but his signature gourd is hanging on his right hip.

‘He is in this country. I could sense him for a while.’ Morgana answer. Her forehead is frowning. She sense it before that sense disappeared.

She senses it only at a certain time.

‘What do we do then?’ Giselle asked as she walked towards Morgana. She also look towards the nearby river, admiring the scenery.

Poland doesn’t have many Apex rank monster so Giselle is not that worried. Other than the Krakow Dragon, Poland doesn’t have that many dangerous monster.

Which makes it one of the most peaceful country in Europe right now considering the other Europe nations that is filled with monster.

But as there is two sides to everything, the lack of powerful monster in Poland also contribute to the resulting lack of powerful heroes coming out of Poland.

Then if that is not enough, it is beset by external pressure by the Republic and the World Government.

The Republic holds sway in many European nation. After all Boris controls all of Eastern Europe and Jean was once the overlord of Europe.

As Giselle thinks of this she hears the sound of birds chirping and she smiles

‘This place is beautiful’ she thought to herself. She should come here with Arno next time when he is not busy.

Morgana on the other hand closes her eyes, trying to sense that energy again. But after a while she abandon that effort as she could not sense anything.

‘We have to camp out here for a while until we found a clue.’ Louise look left and right before he said to Morgana.

‘I will check the perimeter of anything suspicious.’ Morgana nodded.

Louise walked a few feet away from Morgana and Giselle before opening the cork on his golden gourd and coming out of his gourds were centipedes, scorpions, toads, and some earth burrowing worm.

They all spread out as Louise sit down and closes his eyes, his Divine Sense were amplified with the insect he cultivated using his gourds running around.

Meanwhile Morgana only waves her hand and the pebbles constructed itself into a large beautiful looking stone hut.

Giselle uses her enchantment powers to ward and make the hut invisible to anyone but their people.

Of course if someone were a level higher than Giselle they could easily see through the illusions and break the warding but Morgana also cloak the hut with her dark magic.

And Morgana was not too concerned that some experts will be here. Those who were experts are either the heroes of the Republic or the World Government.

There is also some that came from League of Freedom belonging to Narleod and Warp but they rarely venture here where World Government has its influence.

The other batch of experts on the other hand is of course from the Prince faction. But they were mostly scattered and divided after the Weronian War aftermath.

Wang Jian and Somi is in China. The Divine Archer is in the Island of Peace. Sina is at Spain though if the news from the Syndicate could be trusted they are moving out.

Sasha the Nightingale has disappeared from public view. Loki….on the other hand must be preparing for Time Crisis.

So the probability of her meeting any experts that could threaten her right now is almost nil.

‘It is finished’ Morgana said before she enters the stone hut. She laid out her bed and conjure up a chair before sitting inside it.

Giselle enter not long after she finishes her barrier erecting on the outside of the hut. The moment she enters she frowns at Morgana.

‘Morgana, how much longer?’ she begins. Morgana nodded

‘I understand. You getting tired of this’ Giselle nodded

‘It will not be long now.’ She answer

‘That’s what you said last time. You said you would be able to kill him. Now he has returned. If he finds out that it was us that plotted against him, do you think he will let go of me?’

Everybody knows while he is not evil, he is not really what you call a forgiving man and he surely would not forgive those who tried to assassinate him.

‘You fear for Arno safety?’ Morgana asked. Giselle did not affirm but her expression said it for her.

Morgana wanted to say even if she did not protect Arno, there is someone else that will protect Arno.

The Steel God that managed to restrain the God of Death for one second during the last battle. That man would surely not let that chess piece to be thrown out of the game so early.

‘He will be fine.’

‘Is this worth it?’ Giselle said as she also conjured a chair and sit opposite Morgana, her beautiful innocent eyes stares at Morgana eyes.

Giselle after the assassination attempt returns to the World Government and continue her blissful and peaceful life with Arno.

Arno is now one of the Commander in the World Government.

And he is on the track of becoming nominated to be crowned as Duke of Africa region below the Emperor of Africa.

The World Government wanted the whole of Africa under them but they met resistance from the locals.

Not to mention the Republic support them with artifacts and manpower and resources like pills, skill books and experts

And she thought she could finally settle down.

She really thought the Prince has died. And she did not believe when Morgana said the Prince would appear again.

Nobody could survive that spear. She convinced herself of that fact last time.

And for this two and half years she did not maintain contact with Morgana. Not because she didn’t want to but because the situation did not allow her to.

With the whole world and companions of the Prince were combing the whole world searching for the culprit she did not want to attract attention to herself.

If the fact that the Holy Lady of the World Government was found out to conspire with the infamous Wicked Witch to assassinate one of the most greatest heroes under the sky during the Weronian War, she will not only put a target on her back by the Prince companion, the whole world will condemn her.

The only thing that keep her strong was the fact that her memory was sealed by Loki and she managed to unseal a fragment of her memory.

Not to mention the self-drawing tattoos on her skins that seems to draw the future for her. She must admit if not for the tattoos on her body she would have been in many terrible situations

She only manages to unseal part of her memory with the help of Morgana. It was a memory of the future.

She didn’t understand how she has that memory and why it is sealed inside her mind. The first memory she unsealed was a memory of her and Arno running away from a legion of wolves.

The second memory was the scene of Arno death and she looking at the visage of the Prince floating on a red sky with red and black lightning showering Earth

This Prince on the other hand seems a lot different than the Prince she knew.

The Prince in her memory was a godly figure, the Laws of the Universe revolves around him, and with one grasp of his hand he brought down countless Universe into the Chaotic Void.

The Prince in her memory seems to be the Harbinger of All Destruction.

It was a grim dark future.

A future she wanted to avoid. Which is why she agree with Morgana plans. But there is another lock.

A more complicated seal that from Morgana explanation holds the most important memory.

Now, that the Prince has returned, Morgana and Giselle had no other choice but to finish the job they failed to do two and a half years ago.

Outside Louise has finished his surveillance and finding nothing out of the ordinary he enters the hut and rested in one of the other rooms.

Giselle brew some tea for herself while Morgana was closing her eyes, muttering something under her breath.

Soon, evening came, and the sun sets. Night came and the sound of owl hooting and monsters prowling through the nearby forest is picked up by their ears.

Louise without saying anything comes out of his room and went out.

Morgana and Giselle find this behavior normal for Louise. Louise lost a lot of levels after his captivity with Loki.

What Morgana was enraged about was the fact when Louise return he did not remembers anything that happens in the days where he is with Loki.

Like the memory was erased. But the Karma she had with Loki was also erased.

Morgana finish her mutterings as she opens her eyes. Her eyes glints red for a second before it returns to her normal colors.

She patted her book and think to herself

‘Maybe this is enough. I could unseal the last seal on her mind. I hope I’m right.’ She thought to herself.

It was a happy occasion. At least it was supposed to be. But Morgana always felt that Loki is always hiding something.

He is after all a deep profound schemer.

To underestimate him would be a folly. Even Sovereign underestimate him but in the end, of all the many Sovereign who survive the last battle. He was still standing.

Other than Jean and him, the other all fall in battle that spans Universes.

She of course as his teacher, and as his wife, knows him better than anyone. Loki…..was a Trickster.

Essentially that is who he is. He likes to play pranks on people. His solution is a trick, his question is a design to trap you.

The only one he never manage to outwit was the God of Death. And that is simply because the God of Death has never views Loki as his equal.

But she still has to try.

‘Giselle’ she called.

Giselle who was inside her room after hearing Morgana calling for her, went to her room.

The closer she came into Morgana room, she could felt it deep inside her heart and her being that a magic beyond her comprehension is being prepared.

But she did not stop walking. The more fear she felt, the more she knows that this is the magic which will unseal her memory.

Morgana once said, that it requires a Price from her.

A Price for this magic.

Even Morgana did not know what the Dark Price will demand from Giselle. After all, while this magic is from morgana, it is Gisselle that wanted to experience this magic.

She enters the room and she was shocked to see the layout of the room.

Inside the room, there is a large drawing resembling ancient murals that fills from the ceiling of the room to the floorboard of the room.

There is also a combinations of shapes drawing and at the edge of every shapes is a runic symbols that seems to glow dark red.

‘What is this?’ Giselle said, clearly freaking out seeing the glowing dark red mist at the edges of the shapes drawing.

It invoke the feeling of unease in Giselle heart, maybe because of the alignment of their magic power that run counter to each other.

‘The Diagram of Unsealing Curses’ Morgana answered as she looked at her drawing with a satisfied look on her face.

‘Is this..?’

Morgana nodded

‘Let us see the last memory’ Morgana declared. Determination flashes inside Giselle eyes and she nodded

She agreed.

Morgana gesture for her to sit in the center of the Diagram.

She walk step by step crossing the shapes with her feet, as she could see the dark red mist was attracted to her.

Arriving at the center she sit down on the floorboard

‘Close your eyes. This will be a little painful. Bear it’

Closing her eyes, Giselle let Morgana do her magic. Morgana begins the operation of the Diagram.

She took a dark obsidian daggers that seems to be enveloped with misty reddish mist.

‘Let see what you are trying to hide, Loki’

Strengthening her will, Morgana slits her left hand palm and blood gushes out falling into the Diagram.

The moment the blood falls, the Diagram hummed as they hungrily absorbed Morgana blood like a starving leech.

The blood flows following the shapes of the drawing, powering up the Diagram. The blood rushes crazily like the shapes were veins in human body and the center of that diagram is the heart.

The blood is needed to pump the heart

And in a matter of seconds, the blood pooled into the center. Still closing her eyes, Giselle could only feel she was thrust into a dark world inside her consciousness.

Meanwhile inside the room, the diagram, thrummed with dark aura as the warding outside and the barrier of protection cracked.

An image of Holy Maiden with silver wings appears like an Angel in storybook, restraining the dark aura with her Light Energy.

The Holy Maiden have the same face like Giselle. This is the manifestation of self in protection magic which shows how adept the White Witch in protection magic.

The image of this Holy Angel was powered by the warding Giselle put earlier.

The Holy energy imbued in Giselle warding managed to keep the dark magic in Morgana spell contained.

If it get out from the warding, the clouds will change colors and it will alert all monster in this Gorge.

In the room, the blood enveloped Giselle and solidify forming a cocoon encasing Giselle inside the blood cocoon.

Meanwhile Giselle in her conciseness, is floating in an utter darkness world. There is no light. No sense of self. It took her like an eternity to assert to herself that she exist.

She keep asserting that inside her mind as she felt herself floating in the darkness.

As she floats inside the unending darkness, she heard something cracked. Then a painful sensations fills her entire body.

She felt like she was being cut in half as she screams as hard as she can. Then she felt her skin is being peeled of slowly, like she was an onion.

The pain was overwhelming and tortuous. She fainted.

Then she got up in what feels like an eternity of slumbering…and she is still in the darkness. As she look left she see darkness.

She look right and she saw darkness. She tries to look back and she sees darkness. She look forward and she sees darkness.

And in this darkness, direction has no meanings.

Since there is only darkness. It was then as she keep floating aimlessly she suddenly felt something.

She felt a path.

The moment her foot tries to step onto that path, a light shines on her from above and a blood soaked path appears in front of her.

It was full of blood and mutilated flesh.

‘This is the Path’ Giselle said. The reason she said this is because she saw what is at the end of that Path.

A Giant Blood Red Gate with a huge keyhole. And in front of that Gate is a large green key in the shape of an intertwining serpent.

Giselle smiles as she walks forward. As she keep walking she come closer, the more she could hear something.

When she was really in front of the Gate she finally understand where that sound comes from. It comes from the gate.

It was the sound of wailing, screams and pleading.

The world beyond the gate was full of dark emotions, of killing intent and destruction. Giselle take a deep breath

She took the key and she was about to put it inside the key hole when she suddenly hesitated. What if what she saw is something worse?

For a moment she hesitated. But then she remember Arno. She remember his kindness. And she loves the way he makes love seems easy.

And she stopped hesitating. She put the key in the keyhole and the Gate opens. Light rushes into her as she closes her eyes.

The memory rushed into her mind. She stand there for a second that felt like an eternity. And when she finally gains that unsealed memory, she opens her eyes.

‘I…finally understand. And I finally know what I supposed to do.’ She then laughs but as she laughs tears falls down from her face.

She finally understand what Loki did to her and why she erase her own memories.

She understand.

And she knows.

‘So, that was your plan, Trickster. It was the same then, it was the same now. I am still just a pawn in your chessboard.’

She said to herself before she closes her eyes and the darkness fade away

***

Inside the room, it has been three hours since Giselle is inside the cocoon. Morgana waited patiently adjusting the diagram and providing it with her blood to keep it running.

Then as Morgana was about to supply the diagram with more blood, the cocoon cracked and Morgana eyes shines.

It cracked for a second before it finally melted into a pool of blood as Giselle who was sitting down falls down.

She was fatigued but still conscious.

Morgana quickly swish her sleeves and the diagram deconstructed itself and turns into a symbol. That symbol floated in the air before it rushed into Morgana forehead.

Morgana rushed to Giselle and then asked her

‘Did it succeed?’ Giselle nodded weakly

‘I remember now’

And Morgana smiles that malicious grin. But, she did not see the complicated expression on Giselle face as she look at Morgana.

She knows the Price that magic demanded of her. Her innocence. And Morgana did not hear it but Giselle whisper

‘Return to Origin’

***

Outside the invisible hut, there is a black serpent. It slither around the grass. But it did not approach the hut even though it is invisible and should not be noticed.

Not to mention the hut has a phasing warding so that anything would pass through the hut if they did not recognize or break the restrictions and formation around the hut.

It was like the serpent knew there is a hut in front of it. It slithers and then it stopped. Only its hissing sound comes out from its mouth. Then after a while, it slithers away

On top of a branch of a nearby tree, a black raven perched on that branch. Then suddenly like it gains sentience, it eyes glint mischievously green

The serpent slither back into the darkness of night and the black raven flew off to the sky, the moonlight shines upon its green eyes.

***

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