Past the small fluster, YuJu decided to look into the little Dreonate who managed to regress back into its small form, which wasn't possible for the rest of his race

"Little one, have the Dreonate take its full form"

He ordered, something Anput managed to understand as she commanded the small fellow to turn into a dragon

Obeying the Dreonate seemed to clench its shadowy body all of a sudden, looking a little off, like it was trying to force something out, and after a while of doing so the little fellow popped, returning to Anput's shadow only to be reconstructed moments later

'It's a good thing war shadows are immortal like normal shadows'

Without killing the keeper it was impossible to end the shadow's lives, at most they could destroy them over and over until the keeper's energy was exhausted, which was the usual case since no one could sustain that much energy for long

Looking at the small black and red thing YuJu remained undecided whether or not to give it the burial gem and risk losing it at such critical times

"Have it try again"

He ordered, which Anput conveyed only to watch as the war shadow exploded like a balloon seconds later

"Again"

He said, but she showed a tired expression, two revivals were her limit in this short span of time, only because she wasn't used to reconstructing shadows yet, else it would take tenth of the energy she used each time

"Well, I was going to have you hold onto this for a while anyway, use it to practice your control"

Handing her the burial gem he then added

"And don't let anything eat it"

"Awuwu"

Anput nodded and clutched the item in her mouth, rubbing against his thigh in a thankful manner

Before leaving with it she called out the Dreonate one last time to try and take full form

Her shadow expanded outward, similar to every time she called out one of her followers, only this time it was longer than it should be for a Dreonate

'Could it be?'

Under his expectant gaze the shadow morphed into the dragon from earlier, without the need to eat the gem at all

'Hmm'

Glancing at the puzzled hound he asked for them gem back momentarily, unsurprisingly causing the dragon to turn into a cute little Dreonate moments later

'So it can turn into a dragon by just being supplied with enough energy'

That was a proven fact, as for why it could do so now and not before he could only assume

'Perhaps the gem triggered the change but couldn't take permanent effect because it's a war shadow now? Or it could be caused by the fact that it couldn't exactly consume the gem with all the power the item held"

Either way this only meant one thing

'Permanent or not, it proves that war shadows are susceptible to change"

And that was quite the discovery in itself, shadows were naturally things that would remain unchanged throughout their serving time, power and form decided from the moment they were called forth

With the first inkling to the difference between shadows and war shadows YuJu felt good about the class Anput had chosen for herself, in hindsight it would be of great use after charging up the burial gems, and in the far future her followers would grow strong enough to become an undying elite army

"Good girl, now go off to play"

Giving the hound some heavy pats he allowed her to return to the tea party, dragon following behind, recking the place as it moved

"Ika, get someone to clean this place"

"Yes my Lord"

While she got busy YuJu found another couch to sit, resuming the rest he needed

'Master…'

Or so he wished, Subrina''s echoing thoughts dissuaded him from doing so however, not with how lonesome they felt

Heaving a tired breath he got up and informed Ellis of his departure

Exiting the den in stealth he made way toward the tall mist, unafraid as he entered alone

Journeying through it was not as hard or dangerous as many would find it to be, the mist itself might be a production of many wraith's combined presence but it held no special purpose beyond strengthening them and weakening living beings inside, barring any unforeseen circumstances where he is discovered

The somewhat short run brought him before a dense smoke in the middle of the dark mist, one crowded around by wraiths of many shapes, none daring to get too close lest they get lost in it as their comrades once had

Bypassing the curious crowed he made way through his own turf's confusing smoke and appeared by the entrance of the villa

Its doors were wide open, Subrina already standing in wait for his arrival

"Anything the matter Subrina?"

"Master, I apologize if I am being a bother, it's just that I needed to be by Master's side, perhaps it is the mist playing with my mind"

She bowed, knowing that she might have overstepped by wanting him near for no real reason

"I had wanted to pay a visit and drop you the materials needed for those energy explosive reagents soon anyway"

Walking into the villa he comforted in his own way, knowing that her claims weren't baseless, the mist, even when blocked somewhat by his house's dominion, did indeed corrupt one's mind, some were driven crazy, some killed themselves, and some became entirely new beings under its concentrated dark energy, given enough decades of time

"How has Iânus faired"

"Pretty well Master, whether they were weak wraiths or a few elites they were all handled by it with ease, same cant be said when a giant tried to step on us….but we got out unscathed one way or another, ever since not many would try and bother us"

The root of many forms had tremendous vitality, as a forest born it would naturally restrain those things with ease, given nothing out of its league came

"I have also extracted some interesting samples from them, with some extra time on my hands I might be able to create a phenomenon similar to the mist"

"Could be something worth investing in, the explosives remain priority however"

"Yes Master...oh, that flightless bird is not getting under control at all no matter how good I treat it, and then there is the blood of the Thunder Mammoth, after careful observation I noticed the plants that came to be after imprinting that blood had slight lightning energy, also, also.."

Combing through her thoughts for any information that might catch his attention she stuttered at the sudden feeling of his hands patting her head

"I'll stay a day, alright?"

"...Thank you Master"

Relieved that she wouldn't be left alone Subrina lowered her head to hide the tears, god knows how unbearable her loneliness got, with no one to converse to but the sentient trees, flowers, and grass her mind started to doubt its own sanity

'At least it's quieter here'

YuJu thought, it was just as well that he came here since it was an even better place to rest, with Subrina eager to cater to his wellbeing he could just enjoy the day, keeping her company while he was at it

The two spent the rest of the day relaxing, a small lunch, hot bath, some tea time, during all of it Subrina mostly stood to the side, voicing her thought out as he listened quietly, chipping in his own opinion every now and then

By evening they could be seen reclining against a tree in the back garden of the villa, enjoying the cold breeze under the canopy of leaves

"Such a wonderful evening, doesn't Master agree?"

He nodded, truly it was nice having some time off like this every once in a while

"I hope such days become more common as we progressively grow stronger"

She wished, in his mind however he disagreed, things would only get worse the more the world realizes their existence, slowly but surely they would be robbed of their leisure time, wars would be fought every waking minute, even in their dreams….would also...be filled with…

Before he knew it slumber took over, his head sliding off in a dosing manner till it settled on Subrina's thighs, making the maid profusely blush, all manner of loneliness flying away at that moment

....

Yes, he gave it his all

…

He never bowed to his enemy, not once, never gave in, never stopped fighting for what was right

…..

But in the end? It was the crueler one's who won, the one's who readily gave everything they sought to protect in exchange for power, more power, and then some more

.....

It was then he realized, failure stemmed not from his weakness, no, it was those lofty goals, the desire to save everyone, to have a perfect ending….such happiness did no exist

.....

So if he couldn't save them all why were they kept alive? Sacrifice them! Let them be buried under the earth and become the soil for his growth!!

...

Under the cold breeze YuJu slowly opened his eyes, viewing the shy face of Subrina from underneath

"Anything bothering Master?"

While not as intuitive to his feelings as the others she did sense something off, continuing to slide her fingers through his hair in a calming manner

Along with her the grass around him seemed to be tickling his body, Iânus seemed to want to comfort him too, in its own way

"No...nothing, just a nightmare of the past"

A nightmare indeed, one of his past kindness, a time where his heart was soft and spirit hopeful, just before he woke up to reality

Despairing thoughts? Maybe, but when you watch everything you fended for end, wiped off the face of the earth, you would arrive at the same conclusion, the only way to truly climb out this pit is, even if you become what humans once deemed 'evil', to become a heartless ruler, a path he set on with steeled will