The Sovereign’s Shadow: Awakening the Primordial Void

The Silent Years

Kaelen woke up on the hard ground. He didn't know how long he had been asleep, but his body felt like it had been crushed under a mountain. Every time he moved, his skin felt like it was being pulled apart. The black veins on his arms were still there, pulsing with a dim, dark light.

"Get up," a voice said.

It wasn't a sound in the room. It was Erebos, speaking directly into the back of Kaelen's mind. The voice was cold and had no pity.

"I can't," Kaelen wheezed. He tried to push himself up, but his arms shook and he fell back down. "Everything hurts. I think I'm dying."

"You already died," Erebos said with a dry laugh. "I brought you back. Now, stand on your feet. There is a beast coming from the shadows. If you don't kill it, it will eat what is left of you, and I will have to find a new host."

Kaelen forced his eyes open. The dungeon was different now. The walls were wet and covered in a thick moss. The air felt heavy. He could hear a scratching sound coming from the dark tunnels ahead.

He gritted his teeth and pushed. His muscles screamed, but he finally managed to stand. He felt lightheaded. He reached into the small pouch at his belt and pulled out a cheap copper ring. It was the ring he had bought for Mila with his last few coins.

"I’m coming home," he whispered to the ring. "I just have to get out of here."

"Stop talking to bits of metal," Erebos snapped. "Focus. The beast is here."

A creature that looked like a giant, hairless dog with six legs stepped into the light. Its skin was pale and translucent, showing the black organs inside. It growled, showing rows of sharp teeth. Kaelen didn't have his dagger anymore. He looked at his hands. They were pale and scarred.

"How do I fight that?" Kaelen asked. "I don't have a weapon."

"You are the weapon," Erebos said. "Stop thinking like a weak human. Reach into your chest. Feel the cold spot near your heart. Push it into your fist."

Kaelen closed his eyes for a split second. He felt a spot of ice deep inside him. He tried to grab it, to shove it down his arm. Suddenly, his right hand was wrapped in a mist of black smoke. It felt freezing, but also powerful.

The beast lunged. Kaelen swung his fist. He didn't have any training, but he was faster than he used to be. His hand slammed into the beast's head. Instantly, he snapped its neck and the creature flew across the room, hitting the wall and falling limp.

Kaelen stared at his hand. The black mist was fading. "Is it dead?"

"Go and see," Erebos commanded. "And when you reach it, cut open its chest. Eat the core inside. You need the mana to keep your body from falling apart."

Kaelen felt sick. "You want me to eat that?"

"Do you want to see your sister again?" Erebos asked. "Do you want to see the girl who wears that ring? Or do you want to die in the dirt like Caspian said you would?"

Kaelen didn't say anything. He walked over to the beast. He used his fingernails—which were now sharp and hard—to tear into the creature's chest. He found a small, glowing purple stone. It was covered in slime. He closed his eyes and swallowed it whole.

A rush of heat flowed through his stomach. The pain in his muscles eased just a little bit.

"Good," Erebos said. "Now, do it again. And again. For as long as it takes."

Kaelen stood dumbstruck. "What do you mean, as long as it takes? I have a family waiting for me outside. I can’t just play house. You saw what I can do. I think I’m okay now. I can walk out of here."

Erebos said nothing for a moment, then laughed out loud in his head. The sound was like two stones grinding together.

"You think you’re okay?" Erebos mocked. "You can barely use a tiny bit of my power. Your body is a house made of dry grass, Kaelen. If you step out now, Caspian won't even need to use his lion. He will snap you like a twig."

"I don't care," Kaelen shouted, his voice echoing off the wet walls. "I have to get back. Elara is sick. Mila is waiting. I can't stay in this hole!"

"You love being a failure, don't you?" Erebos’s voice turned sharp and cold. "You want to go back there and beg for scraps again? You want to see the look on their faces when they realize you’re still just a scumbag with a fancy trick? If you walk out now, you are a dead man walking."

Kaelen looked down at his feet. His chest felt tight. "I just... I can't leave them alone."

"You already left them," Erebos said. "The moment you stepped into this red portal, you left that world. If you want to go back and actually protect them, you have to become something else. You have to be a monster, Kaelen. A monster that eats other monsters."

Kaelen felt a tear roll down his cheek. He wiped it away with his scarred hand.

"Cry now," Erebos whispered, and for once, the voice wasn't mocking. It was almost a warning. "Let the tears out now. Because after today, you won't have any left. You are about to spend four years in this hell. Four years of pain. Four years of hunger. By the time we leave, you won't even remember how to cry."

Kaelen's breath hitched. "Four years?"

"To rebuild you from the bone up," Erebos said. "To make your flesh strong enough to hold my darkness. It is the only way."

Kaelen sat back down on the hard ground. He looked at the ring in his palm. He thought of Mila’s smile and Elara’s cough. He closed his fist around the metal until it bit into his skin.

"Fine," Kaelen whispered. "Do whatever you have to do."

"That’s the spirit," Erebos said. "Now, get up. There are three more beasts in the next tunnel. And they haven't eaten in a very long time."

The years that followed were a blur of red blood and black smoke. Kaelen didn't sleep much. When he did, he dreamed of the sun, but the dreams always ended with the Bone Crusher demon standing over him.

He hunted every day. He ate hundreds of purple cores until the taste of slime didn't even bother him anymore. He learned to move without making a sound. He learned to strike before the beasts even knew he was there.

Erebos was a cruel teacher. He would wait until Kaelen was exhausted, then force him to fight even more. He would mock Kaelen’s slow movements and his human weakness.

"Your legs are heavy!" Erebos would yell. "A snail moves faster than you! If you don't move, I will let the next one bite your arm off!"

Kaelen didn't argue anymore. He just moved. He pushed his body until his muscles felt like they were made of steel. The black veins on his arms grew thicker, spreading across his chest and back like a map of the dark.

"How long?" Kaelen asked. His voice was deeper now. It didn't sound like the voice of a boy.

"Four years," Erebos replied. "The boy who walked in here is dead."

Kaelen looked at his hand. He tucked the ring safely into his pouch and looked towards nothing

"Let's bring them to their knees with a little blood," Kaelen said.