Prelude

Inhale 

Exhale

Aldric breathed out the raging endorphins from the battle. Reaching down, he picked up the glimmering orb that came from the wraith. Completely black, with a red flame at its core.

He could feel a pool of darkness emanating from the orb. Raw and unrefined, there was no chance that he could absorb it. He did not have the physiology of a nightmare creature to assimilate the pure darkness. Even if he destroyed it, it would be a foreign force of darkness akin to the source that the Forsaken Knight manipulated. All in all, it was useless to him. Unless he saved it to use as an ingredient for a weapon. Which was not in his power to do so now. 

So there was the decision on what to do with it. Which could wait. After all, something was charging towards him. 

A clearly angry but conflicted Sunny. 

"Aldric! I told you, the final kill was mine!"

Sunny shouted in vehement.

His desire for revenge was not satiated. He had not repaid what the bastard did to him in blood before his demise.

Aldric gave him a sheepish smile. From an objective standpoint, what Sunny was saying made absolutely no sense and spoke of his immaturity. Expecting to have the final blow while fighting in a group against a nightmare creature two ranks above them. However, he could understand his grief. After all, anyone would have a vendetta if they were subject to the treatment that Sunny received from the Forsaken Knight. 

Sunny stared Aldric down and shook his head. Sunny was not emotional enough to blame Aldric for killing a nightmare creature. Vendetta or not. 

Revealing that he had received the echo of Sunny's nemesis would not be a wise thing to do right now. So he stayed quiet and looked at the rest of the group. 

Nephis was healing Caster and Effie of their injuries, and Cassie was helping Kai stand from his faintness. 

After checking the status of his group, Aldric viewed his runes in expected glee. He focused on the runes describing his new echo.

Echo: [Forsaken Knight]

Echo Type: Devil.

Echo Core: Fallen.

Echo Attributes: [Medium of Darkness][Paladin][Wraith]

Echo Abilities: [Devour][Darkness' Embrace][Possession]

Echo Description: ["I am your blade, your shield, and your eternal vow. Till the peace of death and beyond." The kneeling knight decreed.

The beautiful priestess stood in the face of such conviction and, with a resolute stare, asked. "Beyond?"

The young knight gave no response. Only a red light burned beneath his eyes.] 

Aldric was intrigued by what he read. Loyalty beyond the grips of death. 

'What sort of life must he have lived, to have promised so much.'

With his curiosity still piqued, he utilised a trick he had learned to go beyond the limits of his [All-Seeing Eye]. Typically, it only allowed him to view the attributes of memories that regular awakened could not see. It seemed that everyone could view the attributes of their echoes; however, he could not view their descriptions. He combined the [Underworld Armament] attribute with the [Synergy] attribute that allowed him to enhance the armour with his darkness.

The question was, which charm would the armour link with, should he have multiple charms equipped? It turns out it was something he could control. He could feel a small link from his armour to the charm on his ear. He could instinctively shift that link towards the ring on his finger. The [Red Spider Lily] that he gained during the battle on the builder's statue. This memory had the benefit of acting as a coagulant. Congealing his blood so that any wounds he received would bleed less. Forming a blackish-red solid that stopped the blood flow.

Now, this workaround allowed him to enhance the [All-Seeing Eye] with his darkness. Giving it the ability to view the descriptions of any attribute. 

With his earring gaining a dark hue, he looked at the runes again.

[Medium of Darkness] Attribute Description: [Foreign darkness are your allies.]

[Paladin] Attribute Description: [Unwavering, unbending, and uncompromising.]

[Wraith] Attribute Description: [ Nothing would stop him from fulfilling his vow. Not death itself.] 

Aldric was absorbing the information presented to him and was about to read the echo's ability description before a voice interrupted him.

"Oi! So did you gain anything from the freak?"

Effie asked.

Aldric looked at her and snuck a peek at Sunny, who was looking at him sharply. 

"I'll tell you about it later."

He chose not to ruin Sunny's mood any more than it already was. 

He felt a cold stare on the back of his neck. Turning around, he saw the stoic Shadow Saint staring at him. This was not that odd, as she usually looked at him as if she were studying him; however, this time she stared at his hand. Or what was in it. 

Given that he had plans for the stone, he silently placed the orb in his [Silk Pouch] and looked away. The empty stare was still lingering on him.

After the battle, the cohort went to look at Sunny's old room. It was as he imagined it. A cold room in the upper walls of the cathedral. With not much to see or say, Sunny collected what he needed, and the group left. 

Now, they were huddled around a small fire. Eating from a small hunt they made in the Dark City. There was a large air of silence in the group. 

Nephis broke it with no regard.

"So, we will be leaving tomorrow morning. Will you come with us?"

The question was aimed at Sunny; however, anyone could tell who the other recipient was. 

Nephis remembered what Aldric had said that night in the bonfire. His conviction to do whatever it took to achieve his goals. However, she wanted to reaffirm if he was willing to do it her way. 

Sunny seemed conflicted at the question.

"I have some stuff to finish in the Dark City. I will join you the day after tomorrow."

"Thank you. I have some preparations to make as well. We will return to the Bright Castle together."

Nephis then turned her eyes to Aldric.

He gave her a stare that clearly expressed his thoughts and the hidden meaning behind them.

"You know where I stand."

----------

Aldric returned home for the last two days before the battle. Since his home was not inside the outer settlement but on the outskirts, he could sneak in without catching anyone's attention. After all, if people saw that he returned, they would start their search for Effie again.

Spending a bit of time cleaning the space from the dust that took root in his absence was therapeutic. Just the silence, in a place that he felt comfortable, repeating a simple action. 

Later on, it was time to summon his new echo. Summoning the knight, he waited as the light formed a familiar shape. 

There he was. The creature was more than two meters tall, its gothic armour forged from a lustreless steel. The helmet of the Black Knight was crowned with curved horns that might have been the wings once. In the narrow fissure of his visor, two ghastly red flames were burning with indescribable menace.

The knight looked around while gripping his great sword. Noticing Aldric, it stood still before falling on one knee. As if it was swearing its allegiance and loyalty to him. 

"Get up."

With a nod, he accepted the gesture and recognised it as the start of the bond. Aldric ordered.

"Fight me. Should you have the chance to land a killing blow, don't. Anything else goes."

Coating his armour and blade in darkness, Aldric started his attack.

---------

For the rest of the day and the next, Aldric spent training with his echo. 

It was an absolute powerhouse. Even without being enhanced by its darkness, it was strong beyond measure. Each blow left shocks in his body well after he blocked it. It was faster and stronger than him, so it was the perfect opponent to grow his battle style with. 

Over the three-month journey, Aldric had trained against Nephis, Caster, and Sunny as they travelled. They did not have as much time as he would have liked; however, he had learned much about fighting humans. 

It was the reason behind Sunny's aversion to his darkness. While light could fight against the darkness, shadows had no way to battle it. Especially a Sunny who could not produce or manipulate shadows other than his own. Aldric's darkness had limited Sunny's shadow sense and reduced his presence, akin to the Forsaken Knight. It was here that Aldric learned something about his aspect. 

'It is not as strong as it should be. Darkness has way more effects and abilities than I could use.'

Abilities such as manipulating space like the Heart of Darkness, inhibiting connections to gateways and anchors, and much more came to mind. However, after he had gained his second core, he had noticed that his darkness was affecting the abilities of the nightmare creatures he fought against. Inhibiting them. Even when sparring against Nephis or Caster, his darkness would have a noticeable effect on their aspects. Turning the tide of the spars. 

'Maybe I develop my darkness' abilities as I increase my class.'

It made sense to him. After all, increasing your class as a nightmare creature correlated with the gain of a new ability or evolving them. 

'It's the least that I could get. Sunny gains a new shadow every time he increases his class.'

He reassured himself.

It was now the morning of the battle. He was ruminating to get his mind off what was about to happen. The slaughter.

Aldric was conflicted. He knew if Nephis took a more softer approach after dealing with Gunlaug, then there would not be so much strife and death. However, that is all these people respond to. All that they are conditioned to.

If she does not lay down the hammer on her enemies, those by her side would not join her in the final battle of the crimson spire. By putting them in that life-or-death civil war, they would prepare their hearts for what came next. 

It annoyed Aldric that Nephis had the power to make that choice, however so it was. He would have done the same. Burnt that castle to the ground and everything that it stood for. 

This was the first stage. He could not afford to stop now. 

He had returned to where they were meant to meet and was now waiting for Sunny to approach. 

After some time, Sunny had arrived and initiated a private conversation with Nephis. 

Watching them leave, Effie spoke up and asked Aldric.

"So what were you up to these last two days?"

He responded. 

"Just relaxing. Was training with my new echo."

"So you did get something from the fight. Let's see it."

Effie spoke with a teasing smile. As if she caught him eating out of a cookie jar.

The black knight shimmered into existence, casting a dark shadow around the area. 

Just as she was about to say something. A juvenile voice shouted.

"I knew it, you bastard!"

Sunny had returned with Nephis from their talk. 

With a look of amusement on her face, Nephis spoke. 

"That's good. It works well with you."

She complimented him. 

Seeing the bastard that gutted him boiled his blood, so he focused his mind on what he just learned. Caster's true motives. He thought back to what she said. About how she suspected himself and Aldric of being assassins as well. 

'Me? No way.'

He gave Aldric a lookover. 

'Nope. This bastard's too selfish to work for a legacy. He would get banished for being too self-centred.'

Comparing him to Caster showed all that could go wrong if he truly worked for a legacy.

He chuckled to himself.

Nephis continued speaking.

"It's time."

With that, they set out for the castle.

**********

Thank you for reading everyone. 

Hope all is well. 

Shout out to whoever made the shadow slave wiki. Very interactive and is updated regularly. Been my holy grail while writing this fanfic. It references everything to the chapter it came from so I can have a quick read.

The story is progressing people. Buckle up.

Enjoy the rest of your day, till next time.