What I’m after

I waded my way through shallow water, trees on all sides, the tag along right behind me, and as promised I left her entirely on her own, she followed me at her own discretion.

that was fine and all, but it was more of a dampener than it was anything else, and here's why, I don't know what she knows about me, or if she even knows what I am in the first place, and because of that I have to be careful with what I do in front of her, it's why I told her that she was on her own, I'm no hero and I'm not risking anything, especially to an unknown.

which allowed me to do something I had never really messed with before, purposefully limiting myself.

it had never really been an idea I'd allowed myself to toy with, what given all the near constant displays of power I'd been doing up until hell, it just wasn't an option, but here, now, with someone I don't know, for some reason, it was.

at that point I didn't care why it was happening, just that it was, see, hell showed me something, I rely on my power quite a bit, I mean, who wouldn't?

but that's quite the weakness, especially when there exist places that can steal your power, I remember nearly dying at least once or twice on the first levels, only able to hold my own after getting some of my power back, I mean sure I remembered all of my hand-to-hand stuff, but it wasn't much use, as it relies rather heavily on the explosive force of my body, which comes from my power.

I guess you could say I'm here for two things.

one of which was much more straightforward, that one of course being the self-limit, my other goal, my goal that brought me here, that one, that one was much more complicated.

see, the cult leader has an unnatural way of staying alive, one that more closely mirrors an undead lich king than it does anything else, as he literally places his soul within a hidden and sealed container, a container unable to be pierced and destroyed by normal or magical means, its why I sought the angel first and not last.

I NEEDED a way to destroy the vessel, and it just so happened that a dagger fashioned out of angel feathers, could do just that.

and that very weapon had found itself stashed within my shadow, in part thanks to the angel, mostly in part to me, to even be able to make the dagger the angel has to have abandoned life as an angel entirely, they need to fall, but they can't become fallen angels, that's an entirely different dagger altogether, one I already have and don't need.

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tag along pov...

he was quiet, more so than I thought anybody could be, not only in his unwillingness to even acknowledge me, but quite literally, his steps made no sound as they almost seemed to melt into the shadows on the ground, each one almost being pulled up by his foot every step.

I could've sworn at one point I saw him fading from existence, as if he wasn't even there, but he seemed to notice that, the shadows around his feet going back to normal, his steps not at all silent.

I couldn't even begin to help the perplexed expression on my face, an expression he noticed and chuckled to himself at, I mean, if he was gonna laugh at me, he might as well talk to me.

"you're really powerful, aren't you?"(tagalong) I asked, the first question in mind really, one he seemed to actually think on, taking a moment to really consider his answer.

"I can hold my own against most things."(dark-haired man) answered doubtfully, as his voice held a strong confidence, it was odd, it was contradicting.

"that's not what I meant!"(tagalong) I found myself blurting out in minor frustration.

he didn't even really respond to that, only giving a slight shrug before continuing on walking as if nothing even happened, as if I wasn't even here or talking to him.

great guy.

I thought to myself, fully intending it to be sarcastic.

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I would've engaged more in conversation with the girl, had my senses not been blaring at me, ever since she opened her mouth my mind had been subjected to every flavor of danger warning it had at its disposal.

something here wasn't right, it was distorting the forest, quite literally too, as my shadows reported, their usual habits being forced in new directions, something they weren't happy about.

see, shadows are quite relaxed by nature, only ever really serving to slow or disorient, unless you're me, who they serve unconditionally, and because of their strong nature, more often than not, they can be quite stubborn, so to change how they act, how they behave, would require a lot of power, power that could possibly rival my own.

if not exceed it, as even top-level dark mages without an affinity for shadow have more than a tough time getting them to do anything against their will.

there was really only one explanation for this, that damned cult leader and his soul.

I know I removed my essence from him, did I? did he have a store of it somewhere that he had been growing?.......no....this, this doesn't feel like darkness, it feels like chaos.

I didn't think any human would ever even survive wielding such a power, not even the elves possess the ability to do so, nor demon or angel, not even god could wield the power without severe difficulty and effort.

and even then, it would be sloppy and inefficient at best, not even worth the energy.

could it actually be possible? a human, possessing the power within their soul, maybe, it would explain the ease at which he gathered my essence, and the ease at which he opened those initial realm portals, it's probably even the reason he's still alive in the first place.

if it's true then this is bad, really bad, my self limit plan had to be tossed out the window, NOW!

I thought at just the right time, my senses kicking into high gear as my body moved and time almost seemed to slow to a crawl.

BOOOOOOOOOM