Lith watched in amazement as enormous amounts of energies moved from one crystal to another with Life Vision. They would course through the buildings and then into the ground before returning to the spire stronger than before and be passed to the next crystal.
The castle hosted only a small number of spires, but they were the tallest and the magic gemstones they contained were as big as horses. The noble district had more spires, but their size was significantly smaller.
The farther from the castle, the greater the number of spires became and the smaller the crystals’ size. It was some sort of cascade effect that made no sense to Lith, yet it filled his mind with wonder.
He called his handler to to ensure he was in the right place.
“Are you there already?” Kamila’s voice was surprised. “The good news is that at this pace you’ll finish your first patrol in no time. The bad news is that I have to report you for not giving out your position earlier.
“Remember, at least three calls a day. It’s of the utmost importance for us to be able to follow your movements and to know where you camp.”
‘There’s no way I’m going to gift the Kingdom the location of mana geysers.’ Lith inwardly cursed. ‘I’ll have to set a fake camp every time to not arouse suspicions.’
“Sorry, with all that happened yesterday, I forgot to give my daily reports.” He lied through his teeth.
“Don’t worry. I’ll cover for you this time.”
“What kind of city is Kaduria? Why is it sealed?”
“Every one of the lost cities is unique. Kaduria is classified as ‘the Shadow City’. Judging by your relaxed tone it must be in its light phase. Working people, smiling children, gorgeous architecture. Am I right?”
One of the farmers had noticed Lith. The man waved at him while saying something that the array blocked out.
“Yes.” Lith waved back.
“Well, don’t get used to it. In a while it will turn into the shadow phase and things will get nasty.”
“It will be hours before sundown. What am I supposed to do until then?”
“I said shadow phase, not night phase. The city constantly switches between two different states regardless of the sun.” Lieutenant Yehval assumed a lecturing tone that irked Lith.
Suddenly the sun inside Kaduria disappeared and it started to rain. The phenomenon left Lith in a daze since the sky outside was clear. He saw the city walls crumble while all the buildings fell apart as if a meteor shower was coming down instead of water.
The soil inside boiled and sizzled like each raindrop was a powerful acid. The friendly farmer melted in front of his eyes, like a wax figurine left too close to a fire. His eyes popped in bloody tears while his mouth screamed in pain.
Lith stared at the man’s jaw which elongated until it reached the stomach level. In a few seconds, all that was left of the farmer was a black puddle. The sky inside the array was now pitch black.
The energy of the internal array was now amassed into a small black star made of smoke that was trying to escape from the golden dome surrounding the city by spreading toxic fumes.
“I guess it has just switched to the shadow phase.” Lith said while watching the black pool on the other side of the array rise up, taking a humanoid form. It was a pitch black three-dimensional shadow.
It had no features outside red glowing eyes and a wide open mouth that revealed a white space inside. The shadow farmer’s eyes were filled with pain and hatred, a mix that Lith knew all too well.
It rammed against the array, punching at the barrier to reach the other side. The golden surface produced sparks at every hit, but it didn’t falter. The shadow farmer’s hands shattered instead, bleeding what looked like black blood.
The shadow opened its mouth, emitting a screeching sound strong enough for Lith to hear despite the array. All the nearby shadows swarmed towards their companion, who had started hitting the barrier again with the stumps and his head.
“What are these things? Undead?” Lith asked while the crowd in front of him hammered the array with growing force until it started to ripple.
“Negative. Undead we know how to dispose of. These things do not die, no matter what you do. We call them Shadows.”
‘Sounds like a load of bullsh*t.’ Lith thought. ‘Solus, what kind of mana core do these guys have?’
‘They have no core.’
‘What? It’s impossible! All sentient things have a mana core.’
‘Well, the Shadows don’t. They have no mana flow, no life force, nothing. They are just a black mass of unknown energy.’
Lith activated Life Vision just to discover that Solus was right. Life Vision would show him the world in greyscale, while the stronger the energy of a being, the lighter the colors with which they would appear.
Even undead would manifest an aura in a scale of colors, while the things in front of him were just black spots.
“How do I assess the threat level?” Lith noticed a small crack appearing on the barrier. The number of creatures was increasing with each passing second and so was the pressure they exerted on the array.
“Never stand in front of the Shadows. Even if the threat level to the Kingdom is low, a big enough group can crack the barrier and pass through it. If that happens, an emergency squad will be summoned and you will be held accountable.
Just move outside their line of sight, they have almost no memory.”
Lith raised an earth wall, watching through it with Life Vision.
As soon as he ‘disappeared’, the Shadows stopped attacking the array and dispersed.
“As for the threat level…” Kamila continued. “…you have to check the black star. Tell me when you have visual.”
Lith flew above the very top of the barrier, until the black star was right below his feet.
“Whatever it is, it looks like bad news.”
“Because it is. Unlike the shadows that mind their own business unless provoked, the black star constantly assaults the array. It gets stronger over time, so I need you to stay there and call me if during the shadow phase you notice cracks.”
As soon as Kamila completed the phrase, a small crack appeared on the dome.
“Consider yourself called.” Lith replied while a cold shiver ran down his spine. The leak was barely visible, yet the black star’s aura made him feel small and irrelevant. Not even while facing Scarlett or the Small World had he experienced such pressure.
“Are you sure? Let me check.” The army’s amulet scanned the surroundings, highlighting the crack while it kept expanding.
“Bad news it is. You need to get inside Kaduria and cull the numbers of the Shadows.”
‘Not such bad news.’ Lith thought. ‘I was going to explore the city anyway. This gives me the perfect excuse to stick my nose where it doesn’t belong.’
“How do I do that?”
“It’s simple, you just need to kill every one of them twice. Once during the light phase and once more during the shadow phase. The recommended protocol is to enter during the light phase, kill everyone on sight, retreat and then get back in during the shadow phase.
“The Shadow of someone whose human form has been recently killed will be weaker and dumber, making it easy to wipe them out.”
“Is the opposite true too?” Lith’s curiosity was piqued.
“Yes, but while Shadows are aggressive and have unusual abilities, humans are just humans. They’ll run rather than fight.”
