Shadow 5: A Truth in the Darkness

The winds remained calm with only a light breeze that blew her dress. Only the barren dirt and small blades of grass covered the wastelands. Rolling hills and steepled mountains stood tall in the distance. Ryikaria looked around the Shadow Plains for any signs of the abandon castle that Ayna had told her about. She had spent nine years wondering the lands of Enfieria in hopes of finding the castle that Ayna had spoke of even if it was only just a rumour. Taking a second to look around, she noticed a piece of stone a few metres away from her that. Guess I’ll stop and take a break for a minute. I want to look back over all those notes he gave me, Ryikaria thought as she sat down one on the small pile of ruined stones.

Slipping off her shoes, she took a moment to feel the grass and dirt under her feet. Closing her eyes, the shadow world around her felt calm and relaxing – like she had finally returned home from a long journey. Taking out a few pieces of parchment, Ryikaria looked over the notes and map of the area. Okay, if I did all my mathematical equations right, the castle is somewhere within this area. The problem is just narrowing down this search radius. By my calculations, the Shadow Plains are about nine million square kilometres. The castle was said to be built at the centre of the plains. Just a matter of getting there and finding it, Ryikaria thought as she grabbed a cookie from her pouch.

Ryikaria had used her down time with Ayna to bake cookies as well as other types of rations with the different inventions that he had created in order to make food faster. He had even taught her how to use her magic in ways that she had never thought of. There was so much that she had managed to learn from him. She had answered many questions about her own world, yet, there was one question she couldn’t answer. Sorry, Ayna but that answer will have to wait, she thought as she took a small swallow of water from a shadow iron container that Ayna had given her. The container he had called it a flask that allow the storage of large amounts of water and able to stay cold. With the help of her magic, she could even get it to a bone chilling temperature that was refreshing to the throat. After putting away the papers, Ryikaria took a second to relax and stared up at the endless abyss.

In the distance, she could hear the sounds of a bellowing echo from behind her. The vibrations in the ground were impossible to miss as they grew in scale. Looking behind her, she could see a figure of massive height that towered above the sky. It continued to slowly lumber its way towards her position until she was forced to look straight up at the colossus before her. Turning back around without a care in the world, Ryikaria continued to sip on her water as an ear-piercing roar rang out.

“Yeah, yeah, I can hear you.”

The colossal titan reeled back its right arm while Ryikaria closed her flask. Closing her eyes, she recalled the various books she had read on the titans with what little information they provided. Okay, so the book claimed these creatures couldn’t see but were able to feel the vibrations of world around them. The shadow gem that is found at the centre of their heart is the weak area, just a matter of piercing through to it, Ryikaria thought as she felt the rushing of wind start to close on her position. Slipping her shoes back on and grabbing her instrument, she turned to see the massive boulder of a fist coming at her. Pointing the tip of the bowstring at the stone fist barrelling her way, the sound of stone crashing into the dirt roared out as dust gathered up around the place of impact.

“Could you at least try to put some power into that punch? It felt like a fly landed on me.”

Batting away the titan’s arm as if it was nothing, Ryikaria stared up at the creature that towered over her. As the fist landed into the ground with a thunderous blow, more dust and debris continued to kick up like a sandstorm.

“Saltus!”

Pushing off the ground with force, Ryikaria launched herself into the air ant onto the arm of the giant colossus. With haste, she made her way up the arm of the stone arm ensuring she kept her balance as it started to move. Using her magic to speed up her steps, the heart of the colossus was soon within her line-of-sight. Out of the corner of her eye she could see the creature’s other hand preparing to swat her like a dipterous insect. As the shadow of the hand fell over her, she used the force of her violin to bat it away without much effort. With the gem at the centre of the colossus’s heart coming into view, she leapt from where so was and readied her bowstring.

Cracking through the core of its heart, the titan reeled back and roared before it stopped attacking. In that moment, Ryikaria felt the giant start to fall backwards. Time to dismount, she thought as she removed her bowstring and slid down the stone surface. She continued downward until she was able to dismount from the titan’s body. Hitting the ground with a roll to break her fall, the loud crash of the titan’s body hit the ground as dirt and dust kicked up around the area. Now then, back to the search, she thought. Using the device that Ayna had given her to understand the sense of direction, she began heading north to where the abandon castle was likely to be.

The hours passed until Ryikaria could feel the ground shake under her feet. That’s is quite a lot of Jattilainens. One… two… three… four… five… and six. Is that all? I was hoping for more, she thought as she rested her chin against the bridge of her violin. Playing her violin in the Aeolian mode, she allowed the sadness of the music to drown out the outside world around her.

#

Ryikaria stood among the six slain titans. Her stare was still as hollow as her moniker. With a sigh, she continued her journey after gathering up the six shadow coins. Had I been with my unit, it is likely they would have died and I would have been the only survivor… again. I’m better off on my own as it is. I wonder how Yiania is doing. The last time I saw her was when I was sixteen and she could carry twelve coins. I remember she had grown so much and learned many things since I left, Ryikaria thought as she looked up at the sky. Hours passed before the winds started to pick up. Off in the distance, she could see a dark mass of black clouds moving beyond the horizon. While rain was not uncommon in the lands of Enfieria, a downpour was known to cause many problems. Visibility was greatly reduced by half, Ryiza became stronger and for unknown reasons, the rain caused half-Ryiza to become weaker.

Continuing on with her journey, Ryikaria noticed something in the distance horizon. A small red flag on a wooden stick blew in the opposite direction of the wind from the east. Making her way over to the flag, she could see a black emblem on it that indicated it belonged to the first primordial Ryiza that of sentient nature. They were the first to rise up and fight against the mindless Ryiza from what Ayna had told her. If there is a flag here that means the castle should be around here, she thought as she looked over the landscape. Taking note of a small pile of ruined debris, she noticed something that looked as if it was buried underneath the dirt.

Placing her hand on the ground, Ryikaria invoked her magic in order to see exactly what was below her feet. She could sense a large grand castle that still managed to remain completely intact. Getting a good grasp on the layout, she could feel that there was an opening into the castle that was just over the nearby hill. Over the hills and off in the distance, was a small tower that still managed to remain standing. After reaching the tower, Ryikaria noticed that there was a small window near the top that was just big enough for a person to fit through. It’s going to be a tight fit but I should be able to enter the castle from here, she thought as she started to climb up the small stone tower. Just managing to squeeze through the opening in the window, the inside of the room housed a simple stairwell that led down into the inner sanctum of castle.

The walls of the castle appeared in prime condition, much to Ryikaria’s surprise. Entering into the one of the hallways, she noticed the decor still appeared brand new as if it was unimpaired by the flow of time. There was little dust on the various objects that made her question just how strong magic could be in the lands of Enfieria could be. Opening up into a grand chamber, she noticed a vast amount of drawings on the walls. Why are all these walls painted with an assortment of objects? Some of these drawings don’t make any sense, Ryikaria thought as she looked around the room.

At the centre of the room was a black rune that was different then anything Ryikaria had ever seen. The rune was relatively large in size with two circles offset by a few millimetres. Inside the inner circle was a pentagram with runes that even she couldn’t recognise. Stepping into the circle, the force of a thousand bricks pushing her into the ground. What the hell is this? Some kind of trap, she wondered as the tried to keep herself up. After a few seconds of pain that seemed to last for hours, she started to feel the weight lifting from her body as a shadowy aura manifested within the circle. Before her eyes, she could see the aura form into a single mass before her eyes and from that, the sight of a beautiful girl who was tan in skin tone but still flawless, looking as if she had not aged – looking as youthful as a teenager.

Like many other Shadow Takers that Ryikaria had met, the girl was dressed in a unique outfit. A single white top with gold accent trimming covered her breast, if only slightly. Her stomach remained exposed enticing those with a weakness for that area of the body while her skirt left little to the eye – revealing her flawless legs and petite bare feet. The girl smiled in a non-threatening manner, her voice soft and cheerful.

“Greetings. If you are seeing this, it means you are a fellow Shadow Taker and you are able to break the seal. By the time you are seeing this, there is a chance that I, Arnyek the Undying, am in fact, dead.”

“Isn’t that ironic.”

Arnyek giggled and winked playfully.

“Ironic, I know. Now, I don’t have time to explain the full details of the life I’ve lived but I want to at least tell you about what we primordial Shadow Takers learned.”

My guess is the illustrations on these walls will tell me the full story, Ryikaria thought.

“Humans, as we all know, have no soul. Ryiza are different.”

“Wait, Ryiza are different?”

“Ryiza are of two different types. There are those that are sentient and the rest that we consider mindless. This does not make a difference though as all Ryiza have souls, even us half-Ryiza.”

Ryikaria was taken by surprise from these words.

“What I’m about to tell you may shock you, so please, sit down,” Arnyek said with a smile as she sat down hugging her knees to her chest.

If Ryiza have souls, this means we should have them in theory or at least a half-soul, if that is even possible, Ryikaria thought.

“Since a Ryiza has a soul, we half-Ryiza also have a soul. But here is what will make you question many things. Where does the soul go when a half-Ryiza dies?”

After pondering the question for a bit, Ryikaria realised she did not know the answer. Sitting down on the floor, she stared intently at Arnyek.

“You probably already figured it out but if you didn’t, I’ll ask you another question. Where did these Ryiza come from?”

“I’d like to know that myself.”

“I hope you know because not even the primordial Shadow Takers knew. How it started was lost in history What we do know, is this shadow realm exist and there is something big that I fear will be forgotten.”

Arnyek was silence for a moment. Her face was no longer cheerful.

“Ryiza, both the sentient and the mindless are in fact, born from our half-soul.”

“What!? That’s bullshit. There is no way that is a thing.”

Arnyek held out her hand forcing Ryikaria to remain silent.

“I am sure this is a shock to you but this is the truth. Ryiza are born from us. The mindless Ryiza obviously have no way of knowing. Sentient Ryiza seem to have a lapse in memory. They don’t remember, they just exist in that state and continue until their death.”

“So, what you’re telling me is that I and my brothers and sisters have been killing our own kind?”

“Regardless of what they once were, do not forget that they will kill you.”

Ryikaria couldn’t find the words to speak. Her brain continued to process all the information she had been given.

“Be aware that this rune will disappear after I am done talking here. This will be the last time you ever see me. If by some chance you meet my brother on this side, tell him I love him. Please. Also, I give you a small gift. In this castle is all the books and other knowledge collected throughout our time in this world, feel free to learn all that you can. Maybe one day we will meet.”

Arnyek smiled as Ryikaria watched the girl’s body fade out of existence. Once the circle was gone, Ryikaria closed her eyes.