Chapter 3 - One Year

Ryan lay in his bed that night staring at the wall, unable to sleep. "What is so damn bad about me that I couldn't even be granted some basic-ass talent? Generous goddess my ass." Ryan punched his wall and left a hole. He sat up and sighed. The moon was high in the sky, his house was silent. He walked towards June's room and cracked open the door. She was fast asleep. Ryan proceeded to sneak out of the house. Outside, the village was completely different at night. The forge fires were finally dead, the constant ringing of hammers replaced by insects and the river running somewhere beyond the trees.

He headed to the woods just behind his house. He found a tree and sat up against it. "What am I supposed to do now? A position anywhere requires some kind of talent or even a hint of mana."

As Ryan stared off into the sky, a bright light flashed and Ryan went unconscious. As he opened his eyes, he saw her. A woman with curly blonde hair that flowed down her back. Bright golden eyes, skin as white as clouds. A gown seemingly made of gold threads. Light poured off her like she was the sun itself. There was no ground beneath his feet, yet somehow he stood. Nothing surrounded them but an endless white expanse, with a small table and two chairs sitting impossibly in the middle of it.

His mind immediately went to the statue that stood in the church at the capital. "Vesh... Vesha?" he muttered.

The entity giggled and answered him. "Yes. I am Vesha."

"Wait... what the hell is going on here? Where am I? This is a dream, ain't it?" Ryan smacked himself, only to look back over to Vesha now giggling.

"It is not a dream, my dear Ryan." She snapped her fingers. Below them, an image appeared. Ryan looked down and saw his body slumped over by the tree he had sat down against. "Your body is okay, I just borrowed your soul for a moment. Would you care for some tea?"

"Wait... MY SOUL? YOU BORROWED MY SOUL?"

"I did, and once we are done here, I will return you to your body, so do not fret."

"Okay, well what did you need me for? You already screwed me, decided to not bless me with a talent. What could you possibly want from me?" Ryan leaned back in the chair with his arms crossed.

"As expected from you, straight to the point." Vesha leaned across the table and put her finger on Ryan's forehead, and with the other hand she snapped her fingers. Ryan was instantly transported into space. The two of them hovered over a planet.

"That looks like Earth." Ryan turned his head and saw the moon right behind him. "Holy shit, it is Earth. Are you sending me home?"

Vesha snapped her fingers again. This time they hovered above the White House located in Washington, D.C. "No, I'm not sending you home, but this is what happened shortly after you died."

Ryan looked at her confused. "This looks exactly like it di-"

The sky above Washington split apart. Something black descended through the clouds. It was so massive Ryan couldn't see where it ended. The tower slammed directly through the White House. Stone and debris exploded across the lawn as its base buried itself into the earth. It continued upward beyond the clouds, making everything around it look miniature. Monsters and other beings that looked like humans poured out of the towers.

Vesha snapped her fingers again. "This is 5 years after." Barricades surrounded the tower now. Military vehicles sat abandoned beside structures Ryan didn't recognize, while armed men and women moved in organized groups through the entrance.

She snapped again. "10 years later." The tower from Washington, D.C. stood tall. Humans looked tired and exhausted. Thousands poured through the entrance. Some walked in carrying weapons. Others came out on stretchers. The city around the tower had changed completely, built around feeding people into the impossible structure.

She snapped again. This time they hovered over the Kremlin in Russia. This tower stood strong. People were screaming in fear as beings and monsters were released from the towers and began to indiscriminately kill everything in sight. Soldiers fired back, others seemed to be casting spells. Buildings were on fire and something massive clung to the side of the black tower. Vesha snapped her fingers one last time, and they now both sat in chairs with a table between them and a teapot on the table.

"What the fuck did I just see? Is this some kind of joke?" Ryan asked as he slammed his fist on the table.

"There are ten towers on Earth. One has been conquered, five others have reached the threshold before humanity could conquer them and their gates have been opened." Vesha took a sip of tea. "That is also what awaits this world. You have one year, Ryan. One year to grow strong and help my world prevent what is happening to your world."

"Help your world? How the fuck am I supposed to do that with no talent and no mana pool? You gods sure are fucking delusional."

Vesha laughed and reached over and pointed at his chest. A bright light flashed as she touched him. "I couldn't give you a talent, Ryan. You already had one." Ryan felt a sharp pain in his chest. His arms wrapped around his chest as he doubled over. "Seriously? Wh...what did you... do to me?"

"I simply unlocked what was sealed from a long time ago."

"What are you talking about?"

"I know you have questions, but this is all I can do for you... for now. All your questions can be answered in the towers, Ryan."

"How much do you know about me, and why do you know so fucking much?"

"I know everything about you. Your power is called shadowmancy. Now go and train. Become strong. I can only hold them back for one year... nephew." Vesha snapped her fingers. Ryan's sight went dark. In an instant, his eyes opened as he gasped for air. He looked back and found himself back at the same tree. "No way, that had to be a dream." Ryan stuck his hand out and looked at it. "Right? I mean, shadowmancy sounds like it came from an anime."

Just then, a black tendril popped out from his shadow. Ryan screamed and jumped up. He took off running, but the tendril chased him. Finally, he realized the thing was coming from his own shadow and stopped. Ryan stared at it. The tendril stared back, or at least Ryan felt like it did. He slowly reached out and patted it. "Huh. So, you're like my pet."

He stopped and looked to the sky. "You could've fucking given me a clue or something about this." He turned and looked at the tendril. He imagined it slamming down on the ground, and it did. "Ohhh, well this is fucking cool."

Above, in the realm of Vesha, she sat and giggled as she watched Ryan run from his own shadow tendril. "Brother, I hope you made the right choice with him. I can't stop what's coming. Let's hope your intuition was right and he can."