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The Origin of Shadow

Chapter 8

(Attack On The Fallen Kingdom)

The moment I appeared in the Feline city, I was a little dizzy, but after a few moments to get my head together I looked around and my heart sank at what I saw. I slowly stood up and pulled the Harbinger out of the group whilst I stared in horror at the broken landscape. The entire city had been burned to the ground. This was home to about 8000 furries and now it was nothing more than ash and rubble. A number of emotions ran through me at this point, but all I could focus on was the fear I felt, I could see in the horizon that Aerix's Palace still stood, but that didn't mean Resdayn or Aerix would still be alive in there. I quickly ran towards the palace, through the destroyed city. My senses were being weakened by the smoke coming from this place. My eyes hurt and all I could smell was burnt wood and singed flesh. I had to rely on my hearing for an early warning. I soon came close to the Palace and my fears were correct, surrounding the Palace, standing on guard were about 1000 Wolven Soldiers, all armed to the teeth with thick, bulky armour and some of the strongest weapons the Canid Empire could forge. I hid out of their sight as I looked around the palace walls behind the soldiers there were more of them, archers mainly, they were made from smaller Canids like Jackals or Foxes. I managed to count atleast 100 stationed and ready, looks like they were expecting me. I kept looking around to see if there were any Dragons, I couldn't tell if these soldiers were loyal to me or to Jericho. They wore the Canid banner on their armour which didn't really help, but there seemed to be only one way of finding out, it was stupid, but it was better than nothing. I stepped out from behind my cover and fully exposed myself to the soldiers. It didn't take long for them to spot me.

Soldier: "HEY!!! THERE'S SOMEONE OVER THERE!!!!!"

12 Soldiers then came running towards me as I thought of a plan, if they became hostle then I could easily use my Dark Fire ability to burn them, or I could put the Harbinger to use, either way would work. I was about half a mile away from the soldiers so it took them a while to get to me, there was a clear area around the Palace that went on for about a mile, it use to be a garden, but now nothing grew here and I doubt anyhting ever would again, this land was beyond dead. When the Soldeirs were about 7 meters from me they stopped and gave me a look of dread before they slowly started walking backwards.

Soldier: "It's him.........IT'S NATHANIEL!!!!!!!!!!!! SOUND THE ALARM!!!!!!!!"

I tried to remain calm, and asked the soldiers a very important question.

Shadow: "Where is Resdayn and Aerix"

The soldiers looked at each other before speaking to me with a look of hatred across their damned faces.

Soldier: "Aerix fought bravely during the first attack, so Jericho ordered their execution. You're too late"

I was too late? I suddenly began to panic as my emotions and thoughts went wild.

'N-no, I can't be late, this has to be a dream, b-b-but maybe he's lying........he has to be.........HE JUST HAS TO BE!!!!!!!!!!!'

I suddenly lost control of my emotions as I was fully consumed by my rage and fear, making me increase my power to it's full potential, my entire body burst into black flames as I roared in anger and approached the soldiers, the 12 that came over to me had not yet run away, that mistake was about to cost them their lives as I stretched out my arm, pointed it towards them and fired an explosive ball of dark energy at them, blowing them inot millions of bloody pieces. I looked past the small dust cloud the explosion made to see the other soldiers getting ready to defend the palace, but they couldn't stop me, I cared nothing for them and I did not value their lives even slightly, they had no idea how much rage was building inside me, even if they had surrendered I doubt I would have spared their lives. At that point I felt like I had lost everything and that there was nothing else I could lose, so that's why I charged at the small army, sliceing them to pieces. I swung the Harbinger around as it cut through these soldiers like they were made of air. But something began to happen, the smell of blood and this lust to kill began to creep into my head as dark clouds suddenly began to choke the sky above my head, I had no idea what was going on at the time, one second it was the middle of the day and the next it was like the middle of the night, the battlefield was cloaked in the shadow of the clouds as I started to pant heavily, not out of exhaustion, but out of anger making me throw my arms back and roar as loud as I could. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, a fullmoon appeared and bathed me in it's light as I felt something sturring inside of me, it was the same feeling I got back then, when Resdayn was attacked by those Dragons, only this time I didn't pass out. My body started getting bigger and stronger as I grew to 14" tall, my claws and teeth became sharper and longer, my eyes shone red with the rage I felt, it was like I was becoming a feral beast as my clothes tore to pieces and I kept roaring, I lost the ability to talk, yet I could still understand the frightened screams of the soldiers. This transformation didn't hurt much compared to the other various forms of pain I'd felt over the past few days and once the transformation was complete, I felt so strong, so powerful..........so invincible. The remaining 130 soldiers began to fall back into the palace grounds and closed the gate behind them as the archers fired arrows at me, but it appeared that in this form, my hide is too thick for arrows to pierce as they just bounced off me. Although for some reason the archers made me even more angry, so angry that I felt a huge amount of energy building up in my stomach and forcing it's way through my throat as I fired a beam of dark energy from my mouth. I watched it race towards the palace walls and destroy the archers aswell as the palace gate and some of the wall. Now I had an easier way of getting inside. The moment I stepped foot on the palace grounds I was attacked by Dragon warriors, but their pathetic fighting abilities did not make them last long as I tore them to pieces with my claws and teeth. I even managed to grab one of the Wolven soldiers by the head as I lifted him upto my eyes, only to watch my massive claw crush his skull into a mixture of blood, broken bone fragments and his brain. I reached the entrance to the palace itself only I was too big, this form was powerful enough to take down the entire Canid army 10 times over, but there was no way I could get inside in this form, it was too big, so I tried turning back which is when the fullmoon dissapeared into thin air and the sun shone through the clouds again. I had no idea what was going on with the weather, but I had to push on. Once again in my normal-form and after my clothes were generated by black fire, I made my way through the palace and towards the throne room, Jericho was here, I could feel it, meaning one of 2 things, either Resdyan and Aerix are truely dead, or they were his slaves. I met heavy ressistance as all sorts of furries tried to stop me. Wolves, Dragons, Birds, Geckos, Snakes, amphibions and even a Bull, he was tough but did not last long, I was surprised how many factions had rallied to Jericho out of fear. The moment I reached the Throne room doors, I braced myself, this was it, this was the moment I had been waiting for, it was time to confront Jericho and put an end to this madness. I barged through the door with the Harbinger in my paw to see Jericho sitting on the throne with the Wolven Royal Guards protecting him. I then saw what I had been looking for, he was alive. Resdayn was still alive and so was Aerix, Resdayn had a collar around his neck with a chain connected to it. Aerix was the same, they were both chained to the throne, no doubt for Jericho's sick amusement. I was so gald to see them alive and hopefully unharmed. But then, I suddenly became the center of attention.

Jericho: "So you're finally here Nathaniel......although from what I heard you're not called Nathaniel anymore are you?"

I growled at him as Resdayn looked at me with tears in his eyes.

Resdayn: "M-master.........you're alive"

They weren't tears of sorrow, but tears of joy, they were both happy to see me as now I could save them from Jericho's grasp. But first I'd have to deal with these guards. They wouldn't attack me until Jericho gave the word, but perhaps there was another way.

Jericho: "It seems that you and I made the same deal didn't we? But tell me, why did you do it?"

He was angry as he glared at me, but I was in no mood for his games.

Shadow: "I'm not going to tell you anything, I've come here to kill you and that's what I'm going to do"

I had the Harbinger in my paw, ready to fight as Jericho ordered the Royal Guard to attack me.

Jericho: "Kill him"

But surprisingly they didn't attack me, instead they turned on Jericho.

Jericho: "What are you doing?!?! KILL HIM!!!!"

Royal Guard: "Lucien gave us strict instructions to obey Nathaniel over you if he died before an heir was named"

Jericho snarled as he stood up and extened his arm towards the guards. This wasn't going to end well.

Jericho:" I was sick of you useless mortals anyway"

Shadow: "NO!!!"

He then fired somekind of energy waved as it stripped the guards of everything until they were just skeletons. The remains collapsed to the ground as Resdayn had a look of fear and disgust on his face.

Jericho: "There, now we can fight in peace"

He fired another energy wave at me as it passed right through me, I wasn't effected even slightly.

Jericho: "What the?......."

Shadow: "I'm stronger than you think, that alone will cost you this fight"

Jericho had a look of pure hate on his face as he suddenly grabbed a golden sword from one of the fallen guards and leapt at me. I blocked his attack and tried to kick him, but he dodged it and almost landed a hit on me.

Jericho: "I'll cut you up so small the worms wont even have to chew"

Shadow: "I'm not afraid of you, you're just another psycho lusting for power"

But the truth was I did feel a little frightened, his insanity meant that he wasn't about to hold back, he would do anything it took to win and that made him more dangerous than anything else I've face. He came at me again like a wild animal, furiously swinging his sword at me, it was getting harder to keep up with his speed, but there was a weakness, his stance, if I could somehow throw his balance off then he might fall and I might have a chance of striking, but due to his constant attack I was forced to do nothing but defend. I needed to do something else. Our swords were then locked as he pushed his against mine, trying to break my blade in half leaving me defenceless.

Jericho: "Can you feel it, your inveitable defeat. Once you're dead your little slut is mine, and I'm going to peel the flesh off his bones and make him beg for death"

Shadow: "I wont let you lay a finger on him"

Something was wrong with Jericho's eyes, they weren't the usual light blue, they were twisted and pruple now. The eyes of a Demon. Jericho was gone now, lost forever to his insanity and Demonic powers.

Jericho: "You can't face me, you're weak, just like Lucien, that pathetic old man was too soft and weak to rule"

Shadow: "He was your father!!"

Jericho: "HE WAS A FOOL!! Just like you, and now you're going to die like a rabid dog, just like him.....I wonder if you'll beg for your worthless life"

He started laughing as I felt my rage coming back, along with a hidden strength I never knew I had, I was able to push Jericho back and shattered his blade with the Harbinger. He fell backwards onto the floor as I acted quickly and rammed my sword through his chest and into his heart. He screamed in pain as his body began to glow with a strange purple aura. He kept grunting whilst struggling and coughed up blood, but the Harbinger had him pinned, it had gone straight through his chest and gone through the floor. I let go of the handle and knelt next to Jericho's head.

Jericho: "N-NO, IT CAN'T END LIKE THIS!!!!"

Shadow: "Now hopefully you will find the peace in death that you could not find in life"

As I gazed into his eyes I saw them turn back to their original form. He was his old self again, but only for a short while.

Jericho: "B-brother.......I.........I'm s-sorry......I never........never meant f-for any.......*cough*........any of this, please...........f-forgive me"

Shadow: "I can never forgive what you've done, you've killed so many innocent including our father"

Jericho: "Th-then I ask........that you forget me.........wipe my name from history.........please"

I hesitated, was this really Jericho? The Jericho I grew up with?

Shadow: "Very well"

Jericho: "O-one more thing........be careful..........a D-Demon is after you......."

Shadow: "What Demon? What are you talking about?"

Jericho: "He w-wants you..........he wants your soul........."

Shadow: "Explain.....please"

Jericho then started thrashing around as he screamed whilst a bright light shone from his eyes and mouth. He was dead and his soul had been fed to the Harbinger. I lost my answer, but there was something I had to do before I could worry about that. I walked over to Resdayn and Aerix as I untied them. Once Resdayn was free, he leapt into my arms and started crying.

Resdayn: "MASTER.........I missed you"

I gently held in my arms as I felt so happy he was safe.

Shadow: "It's ok.......you're safe now"

Aerix: "I'm glad to see you're ok, but I thought you were dead?"

Shadow: "Take a seat, there's alot I've got to fill you in on"

I spent the next 3 hours explaining to them what I had been through over the past few days. They were shocked, especially Resdayn, but even though they knew I was a Demon, they still wanted to help me. The remaining Canid Soldiers gave their loyalt to me as all I wanted to do was rest. Aerix let me have his chambers for the night as I just laid down on his bed. That's when I had a visitor.

Shadow-Heart: "So you killed Jericho? Congradulations"

Shadow: "And yet I don't feel like I've achieved something"

Shadow-Heart: "I also saw your werewolf-form, a beautiful design don't you think?"

Shadow: "Maybe, but could you explain what happened? Why the whether changed?"

Shadow-Heart: "That's easy, you made it change. You're a very powerful Demon Shadow, strong enough to manipulate this world to make you stronger. But your control still needs work, you were very sloppy and......ameture"

Shadow: "*Sigh* Is there something you need?"

He chuckled and stepped out from the shadows before sitting down on the edge of the bed.

Shadow-Heart: "Whoa, this thing is pretty comfy, anyway, I heard something in hell from a few of my contacts about your brother's Demon dealer"

I sat up and had a serious look on my face.

Shadow: "You got a name?"

Shadow-Heart: "Yeah, and you're going to love it, the Demon that made a deal with Jericho......."

Shadow: "JUST TELL ME THE DAMN NAME!!!!"

Shadow-Heart: "It was Atrun"

To Be Continued........