Author's Preface
Ryan stood staring at the demon, who now sat on his log eating a piece of meat he retrieved from the fire. "I'm not gonna make it, am I? We are going to die here." He looked back at Thirty-Seven. "The least I can do is protect her." He thought. He looked back at his shadow. "I am sorry, guys." His mind immediately went back home to Isvale, his parents, Junebug.
His thoughts were interrupted by a deep voice that echoed through the cave.
"Sit."
Ryan stared at him. "What?"
The being gestured toward the fire. "Sit."
Ryan glanced at Thirty-Seven. Thirty-Seven walked past him and sat beside the fire.
Ryan threw his hands up. "Oh, sure. Let's have a fucking picnic with the demon."
Thirty-Seven looked back. "He could've killed us one hundred times over already."
Ryan sighed as he reluctantly sat on the log opposite this being and next to Thirty-Seven.
The being reached across the fire with its arm. Ryan flinched. The being chuckled. "Meat?"
"No thanks," Ryan said.
The being looked at Thirty-Seven. "Meat?"
Thirty-Seven nodded and took the stick from him and then took a bite of the meat. Ryan looked at her with his eyes wide. She looked back with her mouth full and shrugged her shoulders. "I'm hungry."
Ryan's hand reached the bridge of his nose as his fingers squeezed together. "Fuck me."
The being stared at Ryan. His eyes looked like they were piercing his very soul. Then it spoke again. "Those beings. They live within you?"
"Kind of, I guess." Ryan's body tensed.
"Interesting."
Ryan stared at the being across from him. "This thing knows something." Ryan cleared his throat. "You're a demon, right?"
The being stopped chewing and laughed. "What? A demon?"
"You look pretty damn demonic to me."
Thirty-Seven nodded in agreement as she took another bite of the meat.
"I am no more of a demon than those that live within you."
"What the hell does that mean?"
"Let me tell you a story, little one."
"I am a 37-year-old grown-ass man. Trapped in a 15-year-old body. I am not a fucking little one!" Ryan thought to himself as the being reached down to the fire and put more meat into it.
"Long ago there was a great and powerful being. A god. A man who commanded millions. He was respected in the cosmos and feared by other gods." The being leaned back on the log and looked at the ceiling. "I was once a servant in that army. A battle between gods took place. Hundreds of gods opposed my god and his allies. The battle raged for centuries. Eventually my king was defeated. We servants wandered the cosmos searching for him or a remnant of him at least. While I awaited his call back to the shadow realm, one day I thought a miracle had happened. A portal opened and I stepped through, only to be deceived by these pointy-eared annoying creatures of this world. They worshipped me, but began to demand things from me, which annoyed me, so I corrupted them and turned them into my servants." The being grabbed a stick of meat from the fire and took a bite as he stared at Ryan. "Then you showed up with the same feeling, same authority as my master. That is no coincidence. I felt your power months ago, and have been waiting for you. If you didn't come find me. I was going to come find you."
Ryan put his hand in the air. "Wait. Are you telling me."
"I am." The being interrupted.
"Can't any of you let me finish a statement? Damn. Look, I am not who or what you think I am."
"Maybe you are, maybe you aren't. The fact remains, you carry a power that only one power being that i know of in the entire cosmos can control. I don't know why or how you have it, but you have it nonetheless." The being stood and walked in front of Ryan. It stood 9 feet tall. The being took off its helmet and stared at Ryan with his purple eyes glistening.
"Now, try."
Ryan's hand shook nervously. Thirty-Seven reached over and grabbed his hand and nodded. Ryan sighed and stood. "Try what exactly?"
"Take control."
"You mean?"
"Yes."
"Seriously, one day I will make everyone regret not letting me speak full sentences." Ryan reached his hand out to the being. "Serve me." His system pinged.
[Ancient Shadow Detected]
[Evolution Tier: VI]
[Attempting to Transfer Ownership... ... ...]
[Insufficient mana]
[Mana Required: 250,000]
Ryan stared at his screen. "Two... two hundred and fifty thousand? What the fuck?"
The being laughed loudly, enough to shake a few rocks loose. "You are still weak. No matter." The being snapped his fingers and fifty sets of purple eyes lined the rim of the room. "I will offer these to you. But first summon your shadows. If you don't have enough mana for me, you surely don't have enough to heal them in the shadow realm."
Ryan sighed and snapped his fingers. Bubba, Fido, Meatloaf, Veyra and Thimble all appeared behind him. The ancient shadow walked past Ryan and inspected the shadows. "Good, very good."
Thimble stared at Ryan, then the being, then back to Ryan. Ryan nodded. Thimble cast her spell to heal her companions from their wounds.
The being snapped his fingers as the fifty sets of eyes fell into lines. Each of Ryan's shadows now had elves standing in front of each of them. "Let me teach you something about how your power works. When you summon a shadow for the first time, you control it. You are their master, but if you name it. It will evolve faster, take more shadow mana from you, and it will have its own will, their soul intact, and a piece of your shadow magic. They can also create their own shadows that are only subordinate to them and to you."
"You mean like squads?"
"I have no reference for what a squad is, but each of your shadows here possess the strength and will to raise their own shadows. So long as they're named."
"They all have names."
Thirty-Seven chuckled slightly. "Terrible names."
Ryan quickly turned his head and flipped her off. The being placed a hand on Bubba's shoulder. Bubba flinched. "Do not worry. I am not your enemy. We are the same. Now take control of these annoying pointy-eared beings in front of you."
One by one, 21 elves stood in front of Bubba as he uttered the words Ryan first said to him. "Serve me." One by one, the elves disappeared into Bubba's shadow. Bubba looked at Ryan with a huge grin as Ryan smiled back and nodded. Ryan watched his mana go down with each new shadow, but not as much as he thought it would. The rest of Ryan's shadows did the same. Thimble commanded four elves. Fido commanded seven. Meatloaf commanded ten. Veyra commanded the remaining eight.
The ancient shadow looked at Ryan. "I have given each of your shadows, subordinates that will go well with their abilities and styles in combat. They will make effective teams for you going forward." He walked over to Ryan and put his helmet on. "Do not forget about me. When you become strong enough, I will be here waiting for your summons. Until then I will cleanse these mountains of the annoying pointy-eared beings who disturb me. By the time you return, I will have amassed a small army." The being laughed loudly. The shadow walked back to his log. "You should go now. Light is about to break over the horizon."
Ryan sighed as he looked at Thirty-Seven who shrugged her shoulders. They both turned to walk out of the cave with his system window open. "Fifty elves and it only cost me 500 mana. Wait... am I the protagonist?"
[Mana reserves: 475/∞]
[Shadows Available]
[Bubba - Orc King - 6 Star - Subordinates: 21]
[Fido - Shadow Assassin - 5 Star -Subordinates: 7]
[Meatloaf - Heavy Knight - 4 Star -Subordinates: 10]
[Thimble - Fairy Priest - 5 Star -Subordinates: 4]
[Veyra - Dark Elf Wind Ranger - 6 Star -Subordinates: 8]
[Total Shadows: 55]