Chapter 7: The legacy of shadows.

'come. Oh inheritor of the legacy of shadows'.

"What!" Levi thought out loud. He was already shocked by the existence of a voice which only he could hear and the vague words which followed only served to confuse Levi further.

His sudden shout startled quite a lot of passerbys, causing them to keep even more distance from Levi. Some even thought that he was a full blown madman.

"Mommy, is that kid okay". Said a random boy to his mother, whom held him by his hand. He was pointing at Levi.

"No. He is not, it's best you stay away from people like him, okay?" The mother replied her son.

"Mhm". The boy nodded.

'i need to find the source of this voice'. Levi thought. His curiosity had peaked from the vague statement made by the mysterious voice.

He started walking. He didn't know how or why, but he suddenly knew where to go. The voice guided him. He walked and walked towards wherever the mysterious voice as coming from and during his walk, the voice called out to him a few more times.

After about seven minutes of walking. He arrived at a book store.

'a book store?' Levi thought to himself.

"This can't be the place". Leone determined and tried to walk away from the book store's entrance, but he was stopped in his tracks by the voice's call.

'come. I am here!' the voice called out to Levi, and the sudden shout prompted him to turn back towards the book store.

'huh! Here?!' Levi internally asked and the voice replied this time.

'yes! Here!' the voice shouted. Levi could sense a bit of excitement from the voice and it made him a bit suspicious.

He had his doubts about the mysterious voice, but his instinct was telling him that if he ignored it, he would miss out on something and might never get such a chance again, ever. His curiosity was also eating away at him.

'ah f*ck it. What's the worst that could happen? If I die, I'll probably just reincarnate again'.

The only reason why Levi hadn't killed himself to get reincarnated again was because of his father's wealth and position. He didn't mind his mother and sister's insults much, he had already suffered worse throughout his entire former life. He didn't like it though, and still despised his parents and twin but the money was the only saving grace.

He didn't have such a guarantee if he reincarnated again and with his luck, the chances are that he'd still be an untalented bum.

Taking a deep breath, he walked into the book store. The voice continued guiding him and he walked down the center aisle. He walked until he reached the fictional books aisle.

'fictional books in a world of magic, that's ironic'. He thought. The voice guide him to a particular counter, and that's where it was.

In between two fictional books about princesses, there was a small book with a plain jet black cover. The book had a hard plain black cover, but the paper inside was as small as a pamphlet.

'i-is this....' Levi sought confirmation.

'yes! Yes, this is it!' the voice exclaimed excitedly.

Levi picked the book off the shelf and opened it. He discovered that there were only three papers inside it and even those were completely blank with nothing written on them. Nothing at all.

'what the hell..... Is this some kind of prank?' Levi thought while looking around for the prankster, but was stopped by the voice.

'No it's not! Just give me a bit of your blood and you'll see.' the voice said.

'what! Hey, I don't want nothing to do with the occult got that'. Levi said back to the voice.

'i understand! This isn't any occult thing, just a bit of your blood quickly, I don't have much time left, just a single drop will suffice!' the voice shouted, it was practically begging Levi for his blood.

He was still a bit skeptical, but decided to follow through with the books request. He bit his thumb and opened up a small wound, he then hanged it directly over the book and a single drop of blood fell onto it.

After a few seconds of waiting, nothing happened.

'd-do you need more blood?' Levi asked.

'....yes'. the voice replied, awkwardly.

'alright, I'll only give one more drop but that's it. Got it?' said Levi.

'yes'.

Levi hung his bleeding thumb over the book again, and yet another drop of blood fell onto it. Almost immediately afterwards, the book started shaking violently. A dark energy covered it as it floated out of Levi's hands and levitated in the air.

The dark energy of the book shone, quite ironically, brightly. Alerting a few customers in the store.

"W-what's that?" A random customer asked his fellow customers, who either shook their heads or simply shrugged.

Levi was looking at the book, dumbfounded, as it was literally transforming right before his eyes. The book's pages began increasing in number and the plain black cover somehow started gaining very intricate designs. The book was giving off a powerful feel as it floated in the air, and Levi was mesmerized by it.

'What....are you?" Levi asked.

'i will explain, but it's better if we don't discuss such matters in this public place'. The book said. Immediately afterwards, tendrils of darkness extended towards him and completely engulfed him in one fell swoop.

Levi as well as the book had disappeared into thin air right before the other customers and store owner arrived at the scene.

****

'huh! W-where am I?' Levi asked.

He was currently drifting in a pitch black space. There were no sources of light as the area was completely black, but somehow Levi could see clearly.

'how is that even possible?' he asked himself, while simultaneously recalling all that happened to lead up to this point.

'the book. It was the book! Where is that thing?!' Levi thought as he turned his neck around in search of the black book that had called out to him.

'i am right here'. A voice replied. Levi immediately recognized the voice, it was the book's but it sounded louder than before.

Levi turned around and saw a medium sized book hovering in what seemed like the middle of this infinitely black space. It was the same one that brought him into this place.

'what is this place?' Levi asked, still a bit panicked.

'do not be afraid. This is merely a shadow realm'. The book replied.

'huh? What's a shadow realm?' Levi asked, still quite confused.

'it is merely a subspace created by shadow magic. The spell was embedded in me for a one time use by my creator in the event that something like this happened'. The floating book responded.

'i.... didn't understand a word you just said'. Levi said.

'dont worry. It will make some measure of sense by the end of all this'. The book responded.

'you asked what I was, correct?' asked the book. Levi nodded in an affirmative response.

'i am the legacy of shadows'. The book replied.

'the legacy of what now?' Levi asked. The confusion was painfully obvious on his face.

'explain..' he added.

'i shall. But instead of feeling you, why don't I show it to you'. The book said.

'what?! How?!' Levi asked, still confused.

The book didn't reply. A purple energy surged from it and charged straight at Levi. The energy entered him and memories which weren't his own flooded back.

It was like a tape. It was the thoughts of the person who wrote the book.

In it he saw an old man. The man was definitely around death's door as he lay on the bed while in deep thought.

'if only the clan wasn't destroyed then. If only we were stronger, if only I was stronger. If only we made the right decisions then. Maybe things would have been different. All of those people wouldn't have needed to die, even I the last survivor is at death's door.

The only thing I have left is the book, the shadow grimoire. Hopefully, some one would inherit the legacy and revive the shadow arts. They may not be much, but if even only a single person manages to inherit the legacy in the coming generations, then I speak for the entire clan when I say that we would be glad.

At the very least, our life's work wouldn't disappear forever. At least one more person would get to experience the genius of myself and all of my brethren. At least... I will use this as a memory fragment for the book. Oh inheritor, if you can hear this then please.....learn our shadow techniques and use it to avenge us. May the blessing of the shadow god, be with you'.

The tape ended and Levi understood. There were still a lot of questions in his mind like who the shadow clan actually were and who was responsible for destroying them and why.

There were still a lot of mysteries surrounding the shadow grimoire, but at that moment, Levi understood what he needed to do.

'so inheritor. Do you accept....the shadow grimoire, me and he burdens that come with?' the book asked.

'....I do' Levi said resolutely. He stretched forth his hand and grabbed hold of the book.

'good. Congratulations Levi Swordhearth, starting from today, you will be learning.....shadow magic.'