My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger

Damon found a spatial rift, and the moment he entered, the entire space seemed to shake.

He slowly raised his head.

A brilliant light illuminated a world of darkness.

The shadows stretching across the chamber felt familiar.

They weren’t strange shadows.

They were his.

Damon’s own shadow had spread across the enormous chamber, darkening the walls and floor. The space itself seemed to have been wrapped and expanded beneath the overwhelming amount of shadow energy.

Damon narrowed his eyes as he studied the darkness surrounding him.

”How much shadow energy is this causing me?”

His expression remained calm, but there was a faint glimmer in his eyes.

He was certain he was also recovering shadow energy from this.

But there was something else in the chamber.

Strange magical seals covered the walls and floor, each one filled with dense divine energy.

At the center of it all stood Aetherus.

Golden light radiated from his body, illuminating the entire chamber.

His hands were buried in Damon’s chest.

”Ahhh.”

Damon looked down at the hands inside his chest before glancing back at Aetherus.

”I can’t believe I’m being molested by a god. And they wonder why I don’t pray anymore.”

Evangeline and Sylvia exchanged a glance.

Neither of them knew how to respond.

Lilith pressed two fingers against her temple, already developing a headache.

”We have more serious things to worry about.”

”Me being violated is a serious matter, but I assume you mean what’s happening with these magic seals.”

Damon walked forward, completely ignoring the fact that Aetherus’s hands were still inside his chest.

He glanced at the god.

”If you’re done having your way with me, turn yourself in, you bastard. I’m going to seal you away for another three hundred thousand years.”

Aetherus completely ignored him.

Dantalion looked around the chamber, his expression slowly becoming grim.

He let out a quiet sigh.

”It seems we are too late.”

The moment he said those words, Aetherus withdrew his hands from Damon’s chest.

Golden light flickered around his fingers.

”You are a strange creature, Damon Grey. I couldn’t understand why my brother would give himself to you.”

”Whoa, whoa. No need to make it sound weird.”

Damon immediately raised a hand.

”He didn’t give himself to me. He gave me his divine spark. No need to create misunderstandings. My sister is watching.”

He deliberately pushed his hand toward Aetherus, clearly trying to provoke him.

The god didn’t even react.

”How do people even tolerate you and all that hubris?”

Aetherus’s eyes narrowed.

”I find it repugnant that my brother’s divine spark, a culmination of his divinity, would exist inside one such as you. There is nothing alike about you. More than anything...”

His gaze fell upon Damon.

”You possess that abominable seed in your heart.”

”Seed?”

Iris muttered under her breath, her brows furrowing as she looked between them.

She clearly had no idea what they were talking about.

”Whatever the case, hand over my body or else.”

Damon’s expression hardened.

”Or else what?”

Aetherus looked at him with utter indifference.

”You would kill me? You don’t have the means. Even if you did, you wouldn’t risk it. The moment I die, this world loses its god and falls into ruin.”

Aetherus’s arrogance wasn’t without reason.

They couldn’t kill him.

They couldn’t simply do anything they wanted.

Damon glanced toward his original body.

Then Aetherus looked in the same direction.

The entire world suddenly began to rumble.

Something was rising.

Damon’s eyes narrowed.

Then, from his own chest, a brilliant spark slowly began to emerge.

Lilith’s expression changed.

”Let me guess. You think you can revive Lazarak?”

She glared at Aetherus, her hands trembling slightly.

”Revive him?”

Aetherus shook his head.

”No. I cannot, and I do not intend to. My brother and I never agreed on how things should be done.”

Renata watched him carefully, her eyes constantly searching for an opening.

”Then you acted like you confused Damon for your brother as part of a scheme?”

Aetherus’s gaze shifted toward her.

”I never mistook him for my brother.”

His eyes returned to Damon.

”I had heard of his arrogance, and I actually expected him to pretend to be my brother. Who would have thought you would do the opposite?”

Damon merely shrugged.

”Yep. Called it.”

He folded his arms.

”I knew something was off. So you heard of me as soon as you woke up? Those Temple guys must really have it out for me.”

”Don’t flatter yourself.”

Aetherus’s expression remained cold.

”I only heard of you because you drained the Goddess’s pool, and those fools thought you were some holy son. Wretched lot, all of them.”

His eyes moved toward Dantalion.

”After all, they have a demon in their midst.”

Dantalion’s expression remained unchanged.

”When all this is over, the first thing I am going to do is wipe out the lowly filth of the demon races.”

The entire world rumbled even harder.

Damon’s expression changed.

”What are you doing?”

He didn’t wait for an answer.

”Oh, enough of this talk. Attack him already!”

Damon’s body flashed forward.

Lilith and Renata followed immediately.

Evangeline transformed into a streak of golden light and shot forward as well.

Sylvia, however, didn’t move.

Instead, she stepped in front of Luna and Iris.

A violent wave of magic erupted from the clash ahead.

Luna and Iris instinctively ducked.

Sylvia raised one hand.

Countless runes appeared around her body, weaving together into an incomprehensibly complex formation. The runes overlapped and connected at impossible angles, forming a combination so sophisticated that merely looking at it made the mind ache.

The runes suddenly transformed into a massive white bubble that enclosed Luna and Iris.

”Stay here.”

Sylvia’s voice remained calm.

”The barrier I created is self-sustaining and can withstand attacks from anyone in this room. As long as you stay inside, you are safe.”

Luna looked at her in surprise.

Sylvia didn’t wait for a response.

She turned around.

But instead of attacking Aetherus, she moved toward the shadows covering the walls.

Her eyes followed the strange marks Aetherus had used to channel his magic.

Sylvia reached out and placed her palm against one of the runes.

White runes immediately spread from her hand, racing across the walls and connecting with every other mark in the chamber.

White light began mixing with Aetherus’s golden power.

Sylvia suddenly stopped.

Her eyes trembled.

”This is the only way...”

She raised her hand.

Then she cast the final rune.

The moment it was completed, the entire world flashed white.

The glow spread throughout Aetherus’s world.