Creatures of Endless Shadow

“Adelyn? Edward? Teddie? Are you guys okay?” Cozy shouted from the other side of the wall.

“We’re… okay!” Teddie responded, through the crack in the wall.

“We’re going to try and get you out!” Cozy said. “Just hang tight!”

“Okay!” Teddie said.

Cozy then turned around to the other two, who were watching her converse from the back. She crossed her arms and looked at them, though particularly Custos.

“So, do you want to explain what just happened to my party?” Cozy asked.

“I was about to say,” Custos said. “I recognized the metal. It’s Aegisian, which is a special ancient metal that absorbs the properties of magic and nullifies it.”

“That’s great, but what’s on the other side?” Cozy asked. “Hurry up and speak!”

“It’s a creature that has been trapped within this orb for thousands of years,” Custos said. “I built the prison on top of it to keep a better eye on him. His name is Kaos, and he’s the most dangerous thing in my containment.”

“Well clearly you have a massive security breach!” Cozy responded. “Both of you, help me get them out of there.”

Cozy’s hands began to glow, preparing to cast a spell that would open the crack so that they could drag the rest out.

“Hold it,” Custos said. “If you open it completely then Kaos will take a chance to escape and wreak havoc. We’re going to need a way to keep him in.”

“And we also need to find a way to patch up the hole,” Liana added. “Obviously plugging it up normally isn’t going to work.”

“Right, we need something that repels magic,” Custos said. “Or at least, repels him.”

“Well, does he have any notable weaknesses?” Cozy asked.

“Pitifully under-researched, he’s been stuck in this ball for as long as I can remember.”

“Eurgh,” Cozy groaned. She had to think of something to do here. Time was definitely limited if they were dealing with one of the most dangerous creatures in the world.

Though, as she was thinking, they heard a large rumbling in the tunnels. The three of them looked around as the world shook around them.

Suddenly, multiple dark creatures with glowing eyes burst out of the walls of the tunnel! A horde of strange shadow creatures formed, of varying shapes and sizes. Some were shaped like beasts, some were shaped like people.

But if there’s one thing that was certain, it was that they were hostile.

“We can think and fight at the same time,” Custos said. “Seems like Kaos’ power is leaking out of his cell at a rapid pace.”

“Luckily, someone knows how to take care of messy business,” Liana responded. She clutched her hands together and three massive roots broke through the tunnels, crushing multiple dark spirits with a single hand motion.

“Which means you can’t handle things cleanly, right?” Custos said, also waving his hand. A burst of spectral wolves came out of his hand and lept towards multiple shadow creatures, and they began to tear apart said creatures.

“I can handle problems without eternal imprisonment,” Liana responded. She formed many vines in her hands and struck at more creatures with them like a whip.

Cozy, on the other hand, was struggling. This location was not her ideal place to fight. She couldn’t spread her wings to easily fly around in this cramped tunnel. There just wasn’t enough space. She stood behind the two adults for now, preparing some magic in her hands.

Then, from above, a massive humanoid shadow crashed from the ceiling. Cozy reacted fast, summoning multiple crystals to directly impale the monster. It pierced through its head, and it eventually dissipated after a short while.

“Guys! Do either of you have any powers or something that can hold the thing inside there off? We need to go faster!” Cozy shouted.

“I’m confident I could seal it with my abilities,” Custos responded. “The only issue is getting your friends out without Kaos immediately bursting past and escaping.”

Cozy then turned to Liana.

“Are you looking at me for a secondary solution? I’m not familiar with how this prison works as is,” Liana said. “My knowledge here is incredibly limited.”

“Ugh,” Cozy was getting visibly more frustrated. So much so that she forgot that they were currently under attack, and she just managed to move out of the way of a man-sized shadow beetle charging at her!

Liana with another hand motion, grabbed the shadow beetle and crushed it with roots once more.

“Gah-!” Cozy tripped over herself as she landed near the cell wall. Close to it, she heard a voice come from it.

“COZY! WHAT’S THE SITUATION?”

It was Ed’s voice. Cozy knew she needed to provide an update, even if she wasn’t sure at all on what to do.

“We’re working on something! As I said, we should be able to drag you out and patch this hole up,” Cozy replied. “We just had… some other issues to deal with! I know you’re dealing with someone crazy in there, just hold on for a bit longer… AGH!”

Another beast landed on Cozy’s back, before biting at one of her arms. That hurt, really badly. Cozy could feel the sharp teeth digging into the skin of her right arm, before she channeled a pink energy glow towards the creature. Then, she activated her Love Magic! The creature’s eyes began to slowly fade as it dissipated entirely.

“Huh…?” Cozy did not expect the creature to disappear completely. Her Love Magic normally only pacified enemies, not outright destroyed them. Regardless, her arm was still bitten, and it hurt a lot.

“Agh… aagh…” Cozy laid against the wall, groaning for a moment. She saw Liana walk up towards her and hold her steady.

“Stay still,” she said, as she began to sing a song. Cozy felt her wound begin to patch itself up. The blood on her arm started to fade away.

“You can sing too?” Cozy said, in a whisper.

“Of course I can,” Liana responded. “I presume Teddie didn’t tell you much about me, then.”

“She’s famous for her concerts,” Custos said, back facing towards them. He fended off even more shadow beasts by summoning forth his own flora, trapping and crushing them under entangling vines. “It’s her one specialty, and the one thing we can agree on.”

“Being happy isn’t a luxury, Custos, it’s a necessity,” Liana responded.

“Stop arguing for a second,” Cozy said. She was leaning against the wall and near the crack. However, she could just faintly hear a conversation on the other side.

“We just need to trust in her. Teddie! We’re counting on you! That song is what’s going to keep us in this!” Adelyn’s voice was heard.

“Me? I’ve never… used this like this before… it’s the song I used when calming the hydra…” Teddie responded.

A song?

Cozy thought, and looked back at Liana.

“Okay! I have it,” Cozy said. “Liana. Can you copy a melody well?”

“Hm? I suppose I could,” Liana responded, though she briefly turned to crush another shadow monster under some roots. “I would need some focus though, which is hard with all of these monsters attacking.”

“Teddie seems to have figured out a song that can repel Kaos. I don’t know how he did it… but it seems useful to copy,” Cozy said. “If you need time, then Custos. We need to guard her!”

“Depends on how fast she can work her magic,” Custos responded. “I can’t cover everything, you know.”

“Like I’d trust you to watch my back,” Liana responded.

Cozy was sick of this.

“Okay, look. I get that you two have your differences, and you two have entirely different people you cater to. But, as a merchant there’s a few things I’ve learned.”

Cozy replied.

“Both of you have power, but clearly you’re more into isolationism than I’d expect. There’s aggression, neutrality, and cooperation. You guys are only on stage two right now.”

The young girl crossed her arms, looking at the two of them.

“But even still, haven’t you two been working together right now? I wouldn’t say it’s the peak of teamwork or anything, but helping us at all has already gotten both of you closer to solving this mess. Instead of arguing about policy, how about you two compromise for now. A good deal always comes from that kind of discussion.”

Cozy wasn’t much of a politician, but with her aspirations, she had to know a few things. She knew that negotiation and compromise was a key part of getting what you want. Plus, she just wanted the two of them to focus for a moment.

“So, can you PLEASE help my friends? Focus on what you two can do now, and then maybe in the future you two can get along better.”

The two paused for a moment, and looked at Cozy, before looking at each other.

“You’re right,” Custos sighed. “I suppose I’ve been treating you unfairly for now. After this, you can sit down and have a proper discussion. No history, no whatever. Just pure policy.”

“Right,” Liana said. “Let's focus on the primary issue then.”

“Great!” Cozy clapped her hands. “Now, Liana, stay by the crack and focus. We’ll cover your back.”

Liana nodded, and she began to focus on the wall. Cozy and Custos stood behind her, as multiple shadow creatures formed. One of them seemed to be a smaller version of the hydra… which was still massive. It filled the entire tunnel.

“Back in the day, Liana did mention that this one was her favorite,” Custos said. “Her research on it was incredible.”

“Really now?” Cozy said. “You should show me.”

Custos’ hands glowed, as a spiral of water flooded down the tunnel. It evaporated into steam, before burning away at the beast. Cozy was not as strong, but she attempted to do her best to hinder the beast’s movements with her crystals.

However, she saw shadow beasts appear behind them as well, and within that second she called forth a plethora of crystals to form around Liana. Allowing her to keep her focus as the beasts jumped towards her!

The creatures began to scratch and tear at the crystals, but Cozy formed her wings and through the narrow paths she flew by each beast. She grabbed their forehead and inflicted them with Love Magic, as she came by!

Each beast had a pink energy come out of their minds, before dissipating. She never expected Love Magic to come in handy in this kind of situation. But, she figured it worked this way because of their strange physiology.

There wasn’t a lot of Love to take from these monsters, after all.

Shortly afterwards, she had finished off all of the smaller beasts. She turned to Custos, who was battling the hydra. The shadow hydra was lying on the ground, with mushrooms sprouted through its head.

“It might have copied the tough skin, but luckily this mushroom’s poison is way worse than even the hydra’s own acid breath,” Custos sighed, turning back to Cozy.

Cozy was still quite impressed at the sheer power of these two. After this, she ought to keep in touch. She may be able to learn a few things.

Then, she heard hooves running behind her as another shadow beast rammed into Cozy’s back while she was distracted! At this position, she wasn’t able to grab the beast’s head to inflict Love Magic, leaving her stuck against the wall.

Custos raised his hands to assist, but then out of the ground sprouted a shadow-plant. Then another, then another, and then another. All of them struck him at the same time, briefly distracting him!

Cozy felt the beast’s horns push her against the wall, crushing her. She felt like her bones were just about to give out until…

“AaaaaAAAAH-!”

A female voice echoed throughout the tunnel. The notes of a song vibrated throughout the entire space, and the harmony struck the beasts attacking both Custos and Cozy. They turned into dust, and were completely wiped from sight.

Cozy dropped to the ground, glad to get some reprieve. The crushing weight was almost too much for her to bear.

“What a nice melody, that boy learned. It was surprisingly similar to mine,” Liana said. “Cozy. We’re ready to save your friends.”