Nexus (1)

In the Library of The Barton's mansion, a young man 18 years of age was seated at a desk reading seriously. This young man was Nexus Barton, he was now a dashing young man, possessing the beauty and grace of his mother and the resolute temperament of his father.

Currently, he was reading a book about the history of Shadow Walkers. Speaking of it, the origin of Shadow Walkers was slightly strange and unnatural. When studying it, the first thing to take into consideration is their bizarre relationship with humanity and another race called Sun Walkers.

One could say that Shadow Walkers were an evolution of regular human beings. In a way, they could be called mutated humans. Of course, calling one that would be nothing but an extreme insult that needed to be repaid in blood. As for the Sun Walkers, their origins were similarly tied to humanity as they too mutated from humans.

Five hundred thousand years ago, an apocalypse befell this world. The nature of this event wasn't clearly described in the history books. The only thing said about it was that it brought about the death of myriad living beings and made the world frailer. Some of the humans who didn't die in the apocalypse mutated into other races. The Sun and Shadow Walkers were those races.

The first thing these new races tried to do after the apocalypse, was to enslave humanity. They thought themselves superior to humans as they were free of age and sickness. Additionally, they had come to develop numerous supernatural abilities. These facts made them believe that enslaving humanity was a natural progression of things.

Humanity needed to bow their heads to their better. It was the simple law of natural selection. At first, things were going great, humans could do nothing against them. Unfortunately for the Walkers, even before the apocalypse, this world wasn't a simple one. Mages and knights came out of the veil of secrecy. With their revelations, came the swift and brutal defeat of the Sun and Shadow Walkers.

After all, they were just newborn races, their accumulation couldn't compare to the mages' society and the knights' brotherhood. Still, they weren't eliminated they hid in the crevices of human society under various disguises. Of course, they still attacked families and kingdoms at irregular frequencies over the millennia on the main continent.

The Oversea Islands never had to deal with them as they were the original sanctuaries of the mages and knights before the apocalypse. But as time passed, they became more and more deserted by them, which culminated in barely a couple small knights' families per island. As for the mages, almost none were left.

This gap was naturally exploited by the Shadow Walkers. On the continent, they needed to live in fear of being discovered and summarily disposed of. That's why the powers-that-be of the shadow walkers decided to move their operations to the Oversea Islands. The 36th branch was charged to accomplish this mission. Selim and his team as members of that branch were only one of the teams dispatched.

One could say that the most important lesson the shadow walkers had learned from humanity was cautiousness. Their arrogant demeanor was now hidden and only showcased when victory was grasped.

The previous Bartons were an ancient family of knights that used to be located on the mainland before a great betrayal forced the last human survivor, Dell Barton to migrate to the old sanctuary of their family: Brightmoon Island. In present times, the Barton family was nothing but a sham. An illusion maintained by Selim, to ensure that the fact that most of the noble families in Waterlow city and Brightmoon Island had been replaced by the Shadow Walkers, continues to remain a secret. Currently, the last two members of the Barton were both Shadow Walkers, three, if that man was to be included.

Knock.

The door of the library opened, and a tall man came inside. It was Selim Barton, he still looked like an eighteen years old, similar to twelve years ago when he first arrived in Waterlow city and caused the deaths of his twin and sister-in-law.

"Morning, Nexus. You should leave the library more often. Acquiring knowledge is good but staying secluded for long periods of time is unhealthy." Selim chided calmly.

Nexus simply closed the book he was reading and turned his gaze on his uncle. His eyes were placid and devoid of human emotions. In reality, he didn't have any hostility against this uncle of his. It was due to the memories that he inherited while turning into a Shadow Walker. He saw the agony Selim went through since he was turned against his will by Bertrand, the traitor of the Bartons.

Nevertheless, Nexus couldn't bring himself to become close to Selim either. This left them in an awkward relationship, they were family, but they weren't close. Selim was, after all, instrumental to the deaths of his parents.

"Although I am as strong as a Grand Knight, I still find the sun unpleasant." Nexus replied calmly.

And it was indeed true, Shadow Walkers disliked the sun. Not because they burned under its rays, it was purely an innate aversion. Additionally, when they were weaker than the Grand Knight level the sun made them lethargic and slightly weaker.

"You know what I meant. If it was purely because you disliked the sun, how do you explain the nights?" Selim spoke with exasperation.

"I know what you mean. Don't worry, I've already finished all the books in here. I will be forced to find other books. Outside." Nexus said finally.

Selim shrugged. "The true purpose of my visit is to give you a mission. You are now a young man strong enough to compare with the strongest young Shadow Walkers. I can hardly justify keeping you idle to those old monsters."

By old monsters, Nexus knew who his uncle was talking about. They were his superiors. Naturally among them, Bertrand Barton was the most preeminent. Thinking about the vermin responsible for the state of his family Nexus frowned distastefully.

"I know, I know. Hearing about them makes me want to puke too. Alas, we are but inconsequential pawns meant to follow orders." Selim stated calmly his face blank. Nexus knew that when his uncle affected this blank expression, he had murderous thoughts.

"Very well, what is the mission?" Nexus asked.

"You need to bring assistance to a team. They encountered difficulties in their silent conquest of Serlune Island. Apparently, it was the old sanctuary of a powerful mage family." Selim explained.

Nexus tapped his finger on the desk as he digested the information about the mission.

A mage sanctuary?

It seemed that contrary to my uncle's smooth conquest and destruction of every obstacle (knight families and noble families), that team encountered something troublesome.

He looked at his uncle after sorting his thoughts. "When?" He asked simply.

"Should be in 3 days. You will have to go to the port area, there you will find our contact, he will lead you to Serlune Islands 1700 km away." Selim explained succinctly,

"Understood."

"With the training regiment, I made you follow all these years. If you can't accomplish the mission, you can at least escape safely." Selim spoke with emphasis before leaving the room.

Nexus stood up and went to the bookcase putting the book he was reading back in place. He then left the library and headed toward his room. The room that saw the deaths of his parents. He paused at the entrance and stared dazedly before him.

Despite his uncle's insistence, he didn't take another room. He stayed as if to remind himself of what transpired here all those years ago. Although unconscious at the time, he was a witness of the scene through the lenses of Selim's memories.

He sighed softly before heading toward the grand mirror. The image shown to him was that of a beautiful slender youth with unbelievably dark hair and dark green eyes. Of course, the reality of things was being obscured. Such as his pointed ears, his silvery pale skin, and of course his obsidian inhuman eyes.

This was because of an ability called shadow cloak, this ability was used by most Shadow Walker to disguise themselves and blend in with human society. One could even argue that it was the most important ability to learn for a young Shadow Walker in modern times. His uncle contributed to his mastery of it, at the tender age of seven years old.

Knock.

"Enter."

A maid came into his room and helped him undress. She drew him a bath before leaving. This maid, as well as all the help in this mansion, was a shadow puppet and not a real human being. Speaking of this ability, it was one of the key factors in the covert Overseas Islands' invasion. With this ability they could replace any members of a noble family with shadow puppets, leaving the other forces and the general public unaware of the changes that took place.

Nexus slowly settled in the warm bath and entered into deep thoughts while starring at the ascending vapor.

A series of well-drafted compulsions kept his uncle in shackles, unable to rise against the traitor of their family or to even formulate his revenge. Normally, it wasn't necessary to pass on one's memory when siring a Shadow Walker.

His uncle did that purposefully. Because he knew that with the knowledge of the cause behind the downfall of their family, thoughts of revenge would inevitably fill Nexus' mind. Of course, it was a gamble too, there were numerous factors in consideration.

Nexus' intelligence, his personality, his emotions toward Selim, and his inner strength. Still, the gamble paid off, Nexus had eventually understood what his uncle expected of him.

*Find a way to remove the link between sire and turned.

Although Nexus' motto was: With enough Knowledge, Power inevitably follows. the principal reason for his avid thirst for knowledge was the forementioned goal, finding a way to remove Bertrand's dominion over his uncle.

Naturally, his uncle's dominion on him needed to be removed as well. Even if his uncle didn't abuse this power, the natural yearning of living beings was freedom.

*As expected, the only way to free uncle and me is spellcraft.

Nexus had come to this conclusion a while ago. He knew his uncle must have reached this conclusion as well. But since they couldn't talk about it as it would be considered scheming against Bertrand, Selim could only hope that Nexus attained this knowledge by himself.

Now that Selim mentioned a mage sanctuary while briefing him on the mission, Nexus knew that their chance was coming. The chance to free his uncle and himself, the chance to obtain revenge. After all, there's no better ally in revenge than one who shared your grudge. Even though both uncle and nephew never formulated or agreed to a plan together, the gears of revenge were already turning.

Thinking about all of this, Nexus closed his eyes and let his head sink into the hot water.