My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger

Damon fell to his knees, blood dripping from his nose as a violent headache tore through his skull.

For that brief second he had held the Book of Shadows with Ashergon sealed inside before casting it into his shadow storage, the dragon had nearly broken free and Damon had nearly blacked out on the spot. His vision blurred. His head felt unbearably heavy. Each breath came in shallow, strained pulls as if his lungs had forgotten how to work.

Ashergon was captured, just as he had planned.

And it had only been possible because of a single tool.

A tool he now dared not use again without the risk of freeing the dragon.

That tool was:

[Book of Shadows]

Type: Transcendent

[Description]

Every little thing about this new world filled him with wonder. He beheld colors no mind had ever shaped, felt sensations that once had no name, and breathed an air thick with quiet, ambient power.

This life was a blessing, even though the flesh he wore was a grievance against the heavens themselves. And so he recorded all that drew his gaze. In time, his writing no longer followed creation, it kept pace with it. He wrote of all that was, all that would be, and in doing so, his tome came to hold infinity.

All who gaze into the abyss of knowledge must remember:

the abyss will always gaze back.

What was once merely the journal of a child would one day be known across the omniverse,

not as a diary,

but as the Tome of the Unknown God.

[Effect]

Unknown captured a wandering shadow and folded it upon infinity, creating this wondrous tome.

No book compares to that original tome. Yet this volume remains noteworthy. Though it does not contain infinite knowledge within its pages, it instead stores infinity itself. Whatever creature’s shadow is cast upon the book shall be sealed within, bound forever among its pages. Be wary, its power is only limited by its user.

This was the most powerful magical artifact Damon possessed in both rank and origin. A tome created by the Unknown God who captured a shadow and folded it into infinity.

Damon was certain there was far more to it than this description suggested. Even this much already sounded impossible.

Then again, Unknown was a god.

Though Damon saw him in a far more demonic light than anything else.

A being who believed all possibilities were evil and therefore everything must be brought to an end, even the concept of the end itself. The thought that an all powerful entity desired the collapse of existence was deeply unsettling.

The Book of Shadows was terrifyingly effective. As long as Damon used it to touch someone’s shadow, he could seal them inside. The true weakness was Damon himself. However, once the book was thrown into his shadow storage, it was no longer powered by him but by the unfathomable depths of his shadow space and whatever realm it connected to.

Ashcroft had theorized it was the abyss itself, or a fragment of it moving independently from the whole.

Damon would be a fool to dismiss that theory.

There was also his skill, Shadow Prison. By combining both effects, he could keep Ashergon imprisoned indefinitely. Over time, Shadow Prison would erode the dragon’s will until he no longer desired to leave.

That would take many, many years.

Evangeline and Leona rushed over to him, both staring at the empty space where a great dragon had just existed moments ago.

Leona’s face carried a trace of horror. Ashergon had been terrifying. Whatever had made him vanish so completely was somehow even more frightening.

“What just happened. What did you do?” she asked, eyes locked onto Damon.

Damon wiped the blood from his nose with the back of his hand. His eyelids felt heavy.

“A lady never reveals her secrets,” he said with a faint smile.

“You’re a grown man,” Evangeline replied, irritation flashing across her face.

“I’m a young maiden at heart,” Damon muttered as the world tilted around him. His shadow energy was dangerously low. Trapping Ashergon had cost far more than it appeared.

Evangeline stepped closer and grabbed his arm, pulling him toward her to steady him. She knew he would not explain. Not because he did not trust them, but because some secrets were burdens meant to protect others from the weight they carried.

Damon had always been like that. Guarded. Mysterious.

Leona scanned the surroundings while Damon focused on steadying his breathing. After a few minutes, he forced himself upright and shook his head to drive away the dizziness.

“Let’s go report to High Command. The great dragon is gone,” Damon said, pressing his fingers to his temple.

Leona crossed her arms slowly.

“And how are we supposed to explain that?”

Damon gave her a knowing look.

“Tell them exactly what you saw. Ashergon consumed by shadows. As for the rest, they can take it up with me. You know nothing.”

Leona shrugged, satisfied with that. She didn’t have a problem with it at all.

Evangeline pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Why are both of you being so casual about this? We are talking about one of the seven great dragons. None of them have ever been slain or captured before. This is the first time in this world’s history. And you are acting like you just snuck out of the dorm and are coming up with a story to tell the dorm mother.”

Damon nodded.

“Yeah. You’re right. She’s right.”

He glanced at Leona. She glanced back at him.

Then they both spoke at the same time.

“The dorm mother would never believe this type of story.”

Evangeline stared at them, suddenly reminded of their academy days when the two of them constantly snuck out together.

Damon had been the one who taught Leona how.

“Forget it. Just forget it. Let’s go tell them whatever you want.”

She did not even have the energy left to scold them.