Beyond SSS-Rank: My Defective Shadow Devours the World

"Next! Zorian Nightshade!"

The High Inquisitor’s voice sliced through the Crystal Hall like a cold blade. I took a deep breath. The air here was heavy, thick with the scent of expensive incense and the suffocating arrogance of the nobility. I stepped forward. Every step I took was followed by a wave of sharp, venomous whispers from the circular balconies above.

"Look at him. The trash of the Nightshade family."

"I heard his father died a traitor. This boy should be in the slave mines, not here."

"Don't worry. With a mana core as cracked as his, he will probably summon a sewer rat if he’s lucky."

I clenched my fists until my nails bit into my palms. I didn't look back. My focus was on one thing only: the Soul Pillar at the center of the stage. In the world of Neo-Arcadia, today was everything. You awaken a powerful Beast, and you become a god. You fail, and you become a piece of trash ready to be stepped on.

"Hurry up, boy," the Inquisitor barked. His wrinkled face showed blatant disgust. "I don't have all day to witness your failure."

I stood before the ancient stone pillar. Its surface vibrated with pure blue energy. I placed my palm on it.

Please, give me something. Anything, I pleaded in my mind.

Suddenly, a bone-chilling cold crawled from my palm toward my chest. It felt as if an icy blade were carving through my heart. I coughed, fresh blood splattering onto the white marble floor.

"Look! He can’t even handle the resonance!" someone shouted from the VIP district.

That was Lucian Sterling’s voice. I recognized it. He was the city’s genius, the owner of a Rank-S Golden Dragon. He sat there with Elena, my former childhood friend who now turned her head away as if I were a pile of filth.

The pillar began to vibrate violently. A flash of deep violet light erupted, but it died out instantly. A dull thud followed, like a deflating balloon.

Splat.

Something appeared on the marble floor. Everyone leaned forward, eager to see what legendary Beast would come from that dark light.

Silence gripped the hall for three seconds. Then, laughter erupted like a storm.

"What is that? That’s a Beast?"

"It’s just a puddle of ink!"

I looked down. My heart felt like it had stopped beating. There was no dragon. No wolf. Not even a rat. There was only a small, fist-sized glob of black shadow quivering on the floor. It had no form. It was just a soft, helpless black stain.

The High Inquisitor approached and checked the crystal screen beside the pillar. His eyes widened, then he let out a mocking laugh.

"Zorian Nightshade. Summon Name: Formless Blob. Rank: Defective."

He turned to the crowd and shouted with a booming voice.

"Combat Potential: Zero! Magic Capacity: Zero! This Beast has no evolution path. It is the failed product of a broken mana core!"

"Just destroy it!" someone screamed from above.

"Throw him outside the city walls! We don't need trash wasting our resources!"

I fell to my knees. My hands trembled as I touched the floor near the black glob. This was the end for me. Without a proper Beast, I would lose my citizenship. I would become a fugitive or a slave.

"Zorian," a cold voice came from above. It was Lucian. He walked down to the stage with arrogant strides. "You know the law, don't you? Defective Beasts are considered energy pollution. They must be destroyed on the spot so they don't contaminate the mana ecosystem."

"This isn't pollution," I replied hoarsely.

"It’s trash," Lucian cut me off. He signaled the armed guards beside the stage. "Get rid of this disgusting thing. Don't let its stain dirty the hall floor any longer."

Two guards in heavy armor approached. One of them carried a fire spear. He looked at me with sheer contempt.

"Move aside, kid. Let me finish this stain," the guard said.

He raised his heavy, iron-shod boot. He intended to crush the black glob into nothingness.

"Don't do it," I said.

The guard didn't care. He slammed his foot down with full force.

CRACK.

The sound wasn't the sound of crushed flesh. It was the sound of bending metal.

The guard screamed suddenly. His voice was high-pitched, filled with agonizing pain. Everyone fell silent.

The guard’s foot didn't hit the floor. It was suspended in the air, or rather, it was sinking into the black glob that was now expanding rapidly. The shadow that was once the size of a fist had turned into a giant mouth filled with jagged, deep purple teeth.

Hungry...

The voice echoed in my head. It wasn't a human voice. It was the sound of a void that was starving.

"My leg! It’s eating my leg!" the guard shrieked hysterically.

In seconds, the black glob crawled up the guard’s body like lightning. The thick armor melted like butter before a flame. No blood came out because the shadow devoured everything, including the pain.

"Attack! Kill that creature!" the High Inquisitor ordered in a panic.

The second guard lunged with his fire spear. But the moment the spear tip touched the shadow, the fire was sucked into the darkness. The glob actually grew larger after consuming the fire energy.

"Thank you for the meal," I whispered. I could feel a strange, foreign power flowing into my body. My cracked mana core began to throb with energy I had never felt before.

The shadow leaped. It was no longer a puddle. It transformed into a faceless humanoid form with long arms ending in sharp claws. With one motion, it decapitated the second guard and swallowed his head whole in mid-air.

The hall that was once full of laughter turned into a living hell. People scrambled toward the exits. The nobles who were mocking me were now climbing over seats to save themselves.

"Zorian! What are you doing?" Lucian screamed, his face deathly pale. He summoned his Golden Dragon. The golden dragon appeared in the air, growling at my shadow.

I stood up slowly. I looked at my shadow, which was now standing two meters tall beside me. It had no eyes, but I knew it was staring at Lucian.

"You called it defective, Lucian?" I asked.

"It’s a monster! It’s not a Beast! It’s a Demon from the Abyss!" Lucian yelled, his voice trembling. "Dragon, destroy it! Breath of Light!"

The golden dragon opened its mouth, gathering a blindingly bright light energy. The beam shot toward me, strong enough to level this entire stage.

My shadow stepped in front of me. It opened its dark chest, creating a small black hole in the air. The beam of light entered the hole and vanished without a trace.

Gulp.

My shadow made a sound like someone swallowing a refreshing drink. Its body began to change color, gold streaks appearing on its dark back.

"Dragon flavor," I muttered, a cold smile spreading on my face. "He says it’s a bit too sweet, but it’s decent enough."

Lucian fell to his buttocks. His dragon, a powerful Rank-S Beast, looked terrified. The legendary creature retreated, its wings trembling.

"Now," I stepped toward Lucian. My shadow followed, its black claws dragging on the marble floor, leaving deep gouges. "Who was it that wanted to throw me into the sewers?"

The High Inquisitor tried to flee, but my shadow moved faster. With one flick, the shadow elongated and wrapped around the Inquisitor’s neck, lifting him high into the air.

"Please... Zorian... Mercy..." the Inquisitor whimpered.

"The Law of Purity, right?" I said, echoing his earlier words. "Everything defective must be destroyed. According to my Beast, you’re the defective one here. Your morals are defective. Your soul is rotten."

The shadow began to pull the Inquisitor into its darkness.

"Zorian, stop! You will be the enemy of the whole city!" Elena screamed from a distance.

I turned to look at her. The woman who left me when I was at my lowest. I didn't feel hate. I only felt the same hunger as my Beast.

"Enemy of the city?" I laughed softly. "This city threw me away a long time ago. Now, I’m just taking back what should have been mine."

Suddenly, the hall doors exploded. Royal elite troops with their flying Beasts surrounded the place. Hundreds of bows with mana-tipped arrows were aimed at me.

"Zorian Nightshade! Release the Inquisitor and surrender, or we will eliminate you!" the troop commander shouted.

I looked at my shadow. It vibrated with excitement. It wasn't afraid. It was happy to see so many 'meals' gathered in one place.

I looked at the besiegers with a sharp gaze.

"You brought a lot of food today," I told my shadow.

The shadow split itself into ten black soldiers identical to me, each holding a shadow sword that emitted an aura of death.

"Let’s see," I said, stepping toward the royal troops. "If you are strong enough to make my Beast feel full."

I was no longer afraid of the world that hated me. Because today, I realized one thing.

Ranks mean nothing to those who have no limits.

One by one, the lights in the hall began to go out, swallowed by the expanding darkness. The first scream echoed as my shadow lunged toward the elite troops.

The real battle had just begun. And I didn't plan on leaving a single person alive to tell this story.

Just as Zorian’s shadow was about to devour the troop commander, a silver light stronger than Lucian’s dragon descended from the ceiling, crashing into the floor between Zorian and the soldiers. A woman in pure white armor emerged from the light, holding a sword that radiated a divine aura.

"Enough, Child of Darkness," the woman said.

Her eyes locked onto mine, and for the first time, my shadow stopped growling. It didn't retreat, but it stood still, as if it had finally found a prey worthy of its true form.