Shadowbane

"... I have an idea, I'm just not sure if it's safe after the Tengu tampered with this mans soul."

"Without hearing the rest, this already sounds like a bad idea." Tyra said.

"Yeah... But it could be eye opening. I have an ability I rarely use that could give us some answers about the Tengu. At the very least we'll know what the purpose of this man is and where he came from. I'm gonna take his soul in and read his memories. So long as his soul was only tampered with and not damaged, it should work."

"Why would you rarely use such an impressive sounding ability? Because Meizha'thul takes most of the souls?"

"No, there are... Drawbacks."

If I speak any more on it then I'll have to tell her it's because I can only read their memories if I completely devour their soul for sustenance. Which means no abilities, and no human soul as a backup for mana in a pinch. Seeing memories is cool in theory, and I'll have them forever in my soul realm, but soul energy as backup for when I'm about to die has proven far more useful.

"I see... Well, are you going to do it then?"

I'm worried about what might happen if I take in a soul connected to such a powerful Eldritch, but it's way too tempting to know what that creature is doing.

"Yeah, I am. Give me a second."

Pulling the soul out takes no time at all, it was obviously ready to go ages ago.

"Meizha'thul aside, it seems souls aren't even able to enter the cycle of reincarnation while under this sky."

"............."

As the soul nears my mouth, the core rips it out of my hand and devours it.

... I must have been nearing my limit. It has been awhile since I've eaten after all. While I wasn't allowed to feast to my hearts content, Viktor did have it on the books that I was allowed to take what I needed to survive, so souls were never an issue in Xelba. Thanks to that I can't remember how long one soul lasts me... My memories of the time in the other realm are so vague at this point. I should watch some of my past memories the next time I have nothing to do in one of our wagon rides. Even if the brain forgets, the soul rarely does.

"Alright, let's go upstairs, I need somewhere safe to enter my soul realm. Can you watch the entrance from up there for anything suspicious?"

"Of course, leave it to me."

I headed up the stairs again with Tyra behind me. This time both of us were keeping an eye on the door below. We ascended halfway up in silence when suddenly Tyra spoke to me in a hushed tone.

"... My twin brother had a lovely family. We were always together since birth, and that continued even after we joined the town guard. To our families surprise, we kept working our way up until one day we found ourselves joining the Kings Guard."

I think I know where she's going with this... There's only one reason she'd bring up the past right now.

"Life wasn't the greatest since we were always at war, but our family made it through together. That is, until the Crotia found a way past the fortress." Tyra said with a quiver in her voice.

"By the time we received the news it was too late. The village they appeared in was mostly devastated, which just so happened to be the village where both our family and extended families lived. I'll never forget the sight of my parents lying there in the dirt, decapitated. And my brother, he... He just sat there cradling what was left of his six year old daughter, not moving or saying anything for hours. They had dismem..." Tyra shook her head and slapped her cheeks. Clearing her throat she continued. "Apologies, it's still hard all these years later... Anyways, my brother buried himself in his duties. After his shift was over he'd head straight home, talking to nobody. Sometimes I could get him to chat like we used to, but then suddenly his face would cloud over and he'd go back to being completely silent."

Reaching the top of the stairs, we entered the crystal room again. I laid down nearby while she stayed near the door, keeping her eyes on the entrance below.

"It was a day like any other. The sun was bright outside, and it had been months since our last encounter with the Crotia, so the people were starting to smile a little again. When suddenly out of nowhere my brother cut down the prince who was set to take the crown a month from then. All hell broke loose as you can imagine, and it all ended with me punching him through the chest as he made his way towards the king. Seeing the light in his eyes go out was the death knell for the end of my old life. Ever since then I've been..."

I clasped my hands over my chest and closed my eyes, preparing to enter my soul realm.

"The Tengu?"

"... Yes. Before the cunt took his soul, our mages were able to find clear signs of corruption. Only the Tengu could hide corruption that deep from our usual scans, and they also found the same markers that were present in other Tengu spawn." Tyra sighed, then continued. "I've said enough. You understand now, so rest and I will make sure nothing interferes."

Focusing inwards, I dive deep into my soul, entering my own personal realm. Opening my eyes I find myself back in a desolate landscape mired with faceless creatures growing out of the ground.

"Really disappointing that I can't figure out how to switch this landscape to Terra'kas' moon permanently. I can change it, but it always reverts back to this on subsequent visits..."

Alright, enough of that, let's see if I can do this again. It's been ages since I read someones memories after all. I think the last time was when that noble burned down an entire village for a girl he wanted?

Focusing on the soul in my core, I completely absorb it, making sure not a single bit of it is misused or left out. All it takes is a little chunk of soul torn off and the memories will come out as a jumbled incoherent mess.

A few minutes later the soul is fully integrated into my core. Focusing around me, I try to draw forth the souls memories, replicating them onto the scenery around me. Slowly the area around me morphs from the faceless realm, into the village I was just in.

"Ahh, perfect..."

Pulling the view away from the mans eyes, I drag it about ten feet away, pointing it right at him. The man appears to be clutching his chest with a dead look in his eyes.

The last memory recorded is always when the person in question died. Looks like his tainted heart gave out? No surprises there.

Looking at the scene before me as if it were a video tape, I begin rewinding it at two-times speed. The man stumbles backwards for a little while before breaking out into a jog.

I wonder how I'd do this if I didn't know about televisions and video tapes? Imagining it as a movie makes controlling these scenes so easy. I'm not even sure how to move it otherwise.

Once the man reaches the outside of the village, he puts his back up to a nearby wall and stares at the darkness for at least five minutes. I speed the rewinding up to five times so Tyra isn't left waiting for me for too long. After that he jogs backwards towards the mountains west of the fortress. Once he reaches the mountains, he continues jogging backwards for several hours(at twenty times speed now) before stopping in the middle of nothing. Pausing it, I look around for anything of value, but come up empty.

Hmm... I can see bootprints going through the snow into the mountain? They also come out of the mountain, going in the other direction. It must be an illusion?

Restarting the 'video', it doesn't take me long to see that I was right. The man walks straight through the 'rock' and into a long dark tunnel.

Because this is the mans memories both the outside and this tunnel are still visible despite there being no light, so he must be using magic or an ability to see... He really didn't want anyone to spot him going towards that village huh? Spells like that take in the ambient lighting around them to brighten the area, the same way my eyes work, but what the man is currently doing is something else entirely. He had to be burning through mana just to see the world so clearly, which means that if something had attacked him, he'd of been at a large disadvantage. All that just so he could avoid using crystal lights to light his path.

The man walks through several long tunnels before coming out to a large underground cavern. On one side there is a lake that is both filled with and surrounded by fish-like monsters I have never seen before. However, what sticks out the most is the large whitish-black raven creature resting against the wall.

"Tengu... So there is a Lord here, and it's about a three hour jog away from Euphemia's manor. I wonder if her or Tyra know about this hidden cavern?"

When the man jogs back to the Tengu, he lays down as the Tengu points one of his clawed fingers at the mans torso. For a little less than an hour a blue light shimmers from the mans chest as the creature does something to him. Once it rewinds past this, the man appears to be looking around confused, clearly not sure where he is. When he spots the the monsters he freaks out, but the Tengu simply points at the man, which immediately makes him go limp.

"From this, it's obvious that he wasn't a willing participant. I bet if I rewind this a little, we'll see him walk---"

I'm struck by a wave of pain so intense I hit the ground screaming. The scene crashes around me into an erratic mess of colors before slowly reforming into my usual soul realm landscape, except something gigantic is looming nearby this time.

S-Shit... This is not good.

{CONNECTION ESTABLISHED...} The Tengu looks down at me with its two bright-golden eyes. It reaches out with its hands, grasping the ground around me.

{TAKING CONTROL...} Images of different scenes from my memories flash around me, before landing on a specific one that I have made an effort to never think about.

"T-This is..."

Most of my unit lay sprawled out on the ground, blue daggers jutting out of their bodies.

"Damn... It's been awhile since I did something in this town that I didn't want to do." Said a man who used to teach us combat.

He bent down, picking up a young adult male with bright blonde hair and a scar running across his cheek, tossing him down into the chasm. The man next to him does the same, choosing a girl with a long red ponytail.

Sam... Vei...

In the background I can see me, Simon, and Nera fighting a Satyr while Viktor's right-hand man Ash assists it.

No... No no no don't you dare play this fucking memory!

Focusing inwards I find the Tengu's connection to my soul. Scratching, ripping, tearing... Nothing I do damages it even a little bit.

{UNNECESSARY... POINTLESS...}

Pointless?! This fucking...!!

The scene suddenly stops and zooms in on the level above where the chasm is. The people up there slowly come into focus, revealing their features in greater detail. It pauses on a tall handsome elf in a long white elaborate suit and pants. His long blonde hair falls over his glasses as his sharp eyes watch the chaos below unfold.

He looks exactly as I remember him...

{THIS MAN...}

"... What about Viktor?"

{WHERE IS HE...?}

"Hell if I know! He fled through the damned portal deep underneath Xelba into Aetheria forty-two years ago. How do you not know this? In hindsight it's obvious that you were working with him. Back then I didn't figure it out, but now I know that you were the one who gave him those daggers that paralyzed people so we could feed them to the Broodling."

{TRUE... IT WAS NECESSARY... BUT A MISTAKE...}

"A mistake? Those daggers did exactly what they were supposed to though?"

{I LOOKED DOWN UPON THE SOUL CREATURES... VERY COSTLY... WON'T MAKE THAT MISTAKE AGAIN...}

Soul creatures? We all have souls including him, but I assume he's referring to Humans, Elves, Kitsune, Crotia, etc.

{I HAVE NO REACH IN AETHERIA... YOU GO... I AM LINKED NOW...}

He's saying that like it's permanent... Please don't let that be true.

"You're telling me to serve you? Why would I do that?"

The Tengu disappeared for a split second before returning in a slightly hazier form, looking like he's going to vanish into smoke any second now.

{DIFFICULT TO MAINTAIN... SUCH A STRANGE CREATURE... NEVER SEEN A SOUL LIKE THIS BEFORE...}

"... Is this why your Lord didn't kill me near Kikyou?"

{SAW THROUGH HIS EYES... I RECOGNIZED YOU... RARE MOMENT OF SHOCK... NOSTALGIA... TOLD HIM TO CAPTURE YOU... BUT FAILED... IMPRESSIVE...}

Thank you for the compliment...? Oh, hang on, I wonder if he'll answer this?

"Why are you trying to capture Aresa?"

{SHIVA... RAI'GA... TSUKIKO... ALL MUSH PERISH...}

"... I wanted to know why you're trying to capture her alive. It's already obvious that you want to kill all the other Eldritch."

{NO TIME... WAKE UP QUICKLY... ENEMIES OUTSIDE... REMOVING CONNECTION...}

At the mention of enemies I quickly shifted to a combat ready mindset. Once his connection was severed I exited my soul realm and immediately looked at the door, finding an empty space where Tyra was previously. Activating my aura I rushed to the door, seeing a pair of knights closing in on my location. I walked down a few steps and waited for the men to get close. When they were within a few feet of me I jumped down towards the bottom of the tower, removing my aura and enhancing my body right before I landed.

As expected, even I couldn't prevent noise from leaking out after landing from that height...

The men immediately turn and look down, but I had already reactivated my aura.

"Everything good in there Thompson?!" A man from outside yells.

"Nothing to report sir!" Thompson turned to the other knight and shrugged.

The two continued their climb into the crystal room.

I sidle up to the door and peek outside, finding Tyra on her knees with her arms locked by two knights standing at each side of her. Her face is a bloody mess and her armor is broken around her chest.

"Enough of this, you're obviously not going to talk and we don't have all day. We'll see how you feel after a few weeks in the dungeons." Said a fully-armored man I don't recognize. He then motioned to the men holding her down. "You two, drag her with us when Thompson comes back."

"Yes sir!"

A few minutes later Thompson comes out, shaking his head.

"Nothing? Are you sure? There is two sets of footprints in the snow going into the damned tower."

"Nothing sir, there is also no place for anyone to hide inside."

"... No matter, we have enough here. We're returning men, let us be off."

The men began walking towards the south side of town, dragging Tyra through the snow as they went. It was only then that I noticed her legs were broken. When they were out of sight I began to follow in their footsteps, but I stopped when I heard someone whisper 'Rei?' from behind me. Turning around I see Shana's head slightly poking above a pile of hay inside of a cart. Sneaking over to the other side of the cart behind the tower, I disable my aura and call out to Shana.

"I could see your clone following us earlier, but honestly, I forgot about you thanks to something that just happened in the tower... Good thing you called out for me."

Shana gives me a peace sign, making me chuckle.

"So what happened? Why did those men attack Tyra?"

"Because of you. They came from the south and immediately started yelling into the tower, demanding she come down. Apparently they knew she was here. Tyra came downstairs and stood in the doorway, refusing to leave, which was smart. That way she could funnel them if necessary, but then something weird happened. The commander of the knights 'activated' a medallion around his neck, causing Tyra to buckle at the knees. They dragged her out and proceeded to beat her until she told them where 'the white one' was."

"Strange... Why would they be trying to capture me? Also, Tyra told me that they bought information on me, so those men should know I can turn invisible, yet it didn't seem like they knew that at all. Does that make sense to you?"

"Hmm... Possibly the information was destroyed after certain people were able to read it? Certain people that Tyra has access to, like Euphemia." Shana said.

"Maybe? We don't have the whole picture, so for now I'm going to follow after Tyra to see where they are taking her. What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to tell everyone what just happened here, and then continue tracking you with this clone."

"I have a better idea, come into my soul realm for a second. I need to show you something."

"?"

I popped the mini-crystals off my back and crawled under the hay next to Shana. her hands while projecting my aura over both of us.

"Oooh...!!" Shana gazes at the wispy smoke emanating off of her.

"Thankfully there's no light in here, so my mana won't be drained. Now come on, close your eyes."

Shana purses her lips, closing her eyes shortly after. I immediately drag her into my soul realm and pull up the memory I was just looking at.

"The mountain and the man you found outside? Wait, is this...?" Shana said, studying the scene around her.

"Yes, it's his memory. Unfortunately I now have a connection to the Tengu because of this mans soul, but there was some silver lining, watch this." I said, putting the 'video' in fast forward again.

Shana's eyes go wide as we 'enter' the mountain, leading to her audibly growling when the Tengu Lord comes into view.

"... Thank you for showing this to me, I'll be sure to tell the others about this. But um... What did you mean by a connection with the Tengu?" Shana asked.

"To be honest I'm not entirely certain. After I reached this point in the memory, the Tengu god himself appeared in my realm, assuming control of my memories. We talked a little and then he told me about the 'enemies' outside, which led to me waking up just before those knights found me. Normally I activate my aura before entering my soul realm, but I left myself visible for Tyra's sake... That was almost a very costly mistake."

"Can I ask what you talked about? You have to understand Rei, the only people who have ever 'talked' with him, have all turned up later as spawn. None of his spawn ever speak a word about him, so this is..."

"Well I can guarantee you that he won't be able to turn me into anything, regardless of how powerful he is. All he has is some control over my soul realm, which is very troubling by itself..."

Shana pinched my cheek, "Why are you so positive he can't tamper with your soul?"

"Because Eremnon himself couldn't do anything to my soul. If he couldn't, there is no way the Tengu can, no matter how powerful of an Eldritch he may be. However, connections to me can be made, but they're flimsy at best unless I personally allow it."

"E-Eremnon?! You... No, that can't be true... You really met the god of Demons? Can you bring this memory up right now?!" Shana asked excitedly.

"... I can, but is that important right now? I don't mind showing you later."

"Right... Sorry. It's just... This is unreal. First the Tengu, and then Eremnon? I need to see it with my own eyes to believe the latter, but I'll trust you on the former. This way you'll have to show me later." Shana said, smirking.

We both pulled out of my realm after that.

"Okay, I'm gonna tell the others about what happened and follow your footsteps after I know for certain nobody else is around."

"Thank you Shana. I hope Euphie doesn't take the news too hard."

Shana sighed, "... She will. Tyra has been looking after her since she was a newborn. The king apparently put her as his daughters protector as a reward after she saved the previous king. But I was never told what she saved him from."

Probably when she killed her brother to save the current kings father.

I remove my aura from Shana and crawl out of the cart. I quickly follow the knights footsteps while avoiding the lights shining everywhere inside of the village now.

The tracks leave the village and appear to head for a location somewhere near the fortress, as expected. It was either there or the Tengu Lords hidden lair, I'm just glad it was the former. But the damned fortress is almost as far away as that lair was, did those knights really walk for hours to get here? They could have taken a wagon, but they chose not to... My threat assessment of them just shot up quite a bit.

The knights are somehow already out of eyesight, far past the villages lights. I break out into a sprint, following the tracks deeper into the lightless night.

~Ishar POV~

For the first time in our stay here, the princess looked like she was going to strangle someone.

"That knight is a man named Tyrell. What a sickening use of power. How dare he do that to Tyra... And for what purpose does he want Rei? My father needed only ask for a meeting with her, and I'm sure she would have approved of it. I would have as well, so this way of treating my head guard like a doll... I cannot believe he used the families medallion on her, my best friend in such a way. That is... That is!!!"

Euphemia began pacing back and forth, gripping her hands into fists in front of her over and over. I could see everyone else making plans in their heads on how to move forward while the princess stomps around grumbling to herself.

"Keh, so they were after the zombie girl eh? The only way the broodling could be involved is if the king was susceptible to its influence. With that said, I do not believe it would be so stupid as to use him in such a way. They're way too careful for that... So whatever the hell this is, is something else entirely." I said.

Alicia came running into the room, giving me a thumbs up.

"We brought one over Ishar! He turned into an egg with the help of one of the Eldritch. It's gonna take a few hours, but he'll eventually 'hatch' out of it as his old self and immediately begin his search."

Excellent! At least something is going our way.

{Should someone help Rei?}

"You kidding girl? We'd only get in the way. 'The white one' is all about stealth. If we show up to 'help' her, then any element of surprise is completely gone. It's best she works alone on this and reports to us later about what she found. Don't worry, she'll be fine."

Aresa nods meekly, returning to her meal.

... Well, I can't blame her for worrying. I didn't find a damn thing in my search, and Rei's was cut short by friendly fire. Alicia is the only one here with actual good news. Although Rei finding that 'Tengu' creature's location can be considered a lucky boon.

Cera sighed. "I'm glad Reimia found the Tengu, but I'm not quite sure what we can do about it. It'll know if we approach, and worse case scenario it'll just drop the cavern on top of us if we're about to kill it."

Sadly true. We received confirmation it's here which is nice, and knowing that it's apparently turning villagers into something is also good to know. Past that however, it's hard to actually do anything with the information she collected for us.

{Say, isn't the Tengu's location near Keith's group?}

"It is, which makes me wonder if we should all move there. That way they can help us kill it when it comes for you." Cera replied.

The doors burst open, revealing a tired looking Seifer.

"We have another problem. The village west of Keith's village has just been discovered as a pile of ash."

Eupemia whipped around. "How?! We had citizens, guardsmen, and knights keeping watch on every single village. It should be impossible for it to be 'discovered' as ash! Did they not see it burning?"

"That is the strange part. They claim everything was fine one moment, and then a second later the entire village was gone. Quite literally they saw children playing, music blaring from the town center, lights lit-up everywhere... And then it was all gone."

Euphemia stared at Seifer, unsure of how to respond.

What in the hell is going on here...? I've never heard of such a phenomena in my life, and I've been to dozens of different worlds during our invasions. The amount of bizarre shit I've seen is endless, but this one might be in the top three.