The prison was cold and damp for the two Otherworlders trapped within its confines. The stone floors were made of the same blue rock the walls were made of; cold and solid. The only light that illuminated the small room was through a small barred window directly overhead. Even a regular-sized rat would have a hard time getting through the opening, let alone fully grown adults.

There was no door to the cell, only walls. They had the wall removed to put them in there, sealing it back up once they were inside. They took no chances.

The two of them were left in the metal egg, disallowed to move a single inch. Rupert's mana was sucked out of him constantly and Veronica's strength was dampened. Not only were their movements restricted, but a shimmering blue barrier was erected around them.

Within this field, their thoughts turned sluggish and disoriented. Every few moments, a stabbing headache would shatter any train of thought flowing in their minds.

Even so, Rupert thought of his wife, back-to-back with him. He was unable to see her face, so he held it in what little memory he had.

"Veronica...still...good?"

"Yes. Are...Rupert...well?"

"Mhmm."

The standard interaction between them was 3-4 words at a time and only twice a day. All other moments were spent in either agony or disorientation. Between the minimal light and the thought degradation, time became fluid.

Some moments stretched into eternity while sometimes multiple weeks passed in an instant. Neither knew how long they spent in the prison. Neither knew much of anything right now, only their name and a few other words. Neither could tell time. Neither could express the pain they were in.

It was fourteen weeks into their prison stay that they were moved. 45 guards walked into their circular cell. Each man and woman were standing at exactly 8 degrees from each other, forming an impenetrable circle.

The 46th person in the room was Novak Krratc, the prison guard. He was a slim man, barely 70 kilograms and standing 1.98 meters tall. Though he was thin and weak-looking, every person in the city respected him, well, except those he was warden over.

His magical ability allowed him to easily imprison and sedate rouge elements, leading to the city having the lowest crime rates in the kingdom; excluding the capital of course.

"Otherworlders," Novak addressed them, "You have been imprisoned here for 14 weeks. This is the minimum sentence, under such conditions, set by the city founder before the transportation of your kind to the capital dungeons. The Great Accountant Arrimm designed it as so, entrusted by the late king of this great kingdom, rest his eternal soul. You have been deemed sufficiently neutralized for this transport."

He nodded towards two additional men behind him. One held scribe tools, recording Novak's every word. The other was a man in a stunning mage robe. Lights twinkled on the robe like stars, forming many constellations of impressive detail.

"Let the record show, here, on the date of 15-10-646-12{Day, Month, Year, Era}, I, Novak Krratc, am relinquishing authority over Otherworlders prisoner 1 and 2. This authority is being transferred to Space Mage Yuit of the Captial Guards. This authority is temporary, as he will only be the transporter. Should he fail his duties, this will be seen as a threat to the kingdom and reported directly to his majesty Polle; as well, he will be hunted down with extreme prejudice. May his magic flow and the system guide him."

Novak stepped backward and allowed the space mage to approach the prisoners. The mage began to activate his teleportation skill, attempting to directly deposit the pair into the capital's dungeon. There they would remain until they could be properly subjugated and reconfigured for proper use.

The spell took over a dozen seconds to prepare, being medium-grade space gate magic. All the guards watched in awe, and Novak nodded his head in affirmation. Everyone was stunned by this extraordinarily rare skill.

But while everyone was busy being awed, no one saw their shadows twitch. It was only for a fraction of a second so none caught it. This marked their doom.

At the exact midpoint of Yuit's casting, 48 shadows burst open, and out popped 48 cloaked men. The scribe, as well as every guard, was decapitated instantly. Only Novak and Yuit survived the initial attack.

The man that popped out of Yuit's shadows was covered in liquid darkness; dripping off of him in thick globules, only to be reabsorbed for a continuing cycle. The man spoke with a light and flowy voice.

"You are too late brother. The power to move anywhere in moments, yet ALWAYS LATE."

Yuit had only just canceled his casting to deflect the attack when fifteen hands made of the inky blackness stabbed him. [Hands of Shadow]. The moment before they made contact, Yuit disappeared from his spot and appeared ten meters away. [Flash].

He thought that he bought a second to regroup his thoughts, but the same 15 darkness hands were already in his face.

"No matter how fast you are, you will always have a shadow. And where there is shadow, there is I."

Yuit tried to defend and escape the attack at the same time, but the hands arrived before his near-instantaneous skills activated.

The hands mercilessly destroyed his brain, heart, liver, kidneys, and lungs. Any attempt to heal was thoroughly cut off.

The shadow man used his own version of [Flash] to move to his brother's body. [Shadow Travel].

"You stood in the light, while I festered in darkness. Good riddance."

He spat on his body before turning to Novak. Even though the man had survived the initial assassination attempt, he was quickly subdued by the shadow man's right-hand man. He tried to struggle against the physical prowess of his captor, but it was no use.

Even his magic was disarmed. The same barrier that sucked away Rupert's mana was concentrated around him via a ring the assassin placed on his finger. It put all his mana into the brilliant green gemstone, causing it to shine splendidly.

"And you, I've always wanted to try this on a capable mage. [Offering To The Depths]."

Novak's own shadow grew thin tendrils. They attached themselves to every fiber of his being. The assassin backed up and stood by his master's side to watch the display.

"AHHHHHHH!"

Novak's body was digested by the tendrils, his flesh melting right off the bone. Without the and muscles to hold in the organs, they splattered onto the ground. But that was only for a few seconds before the tendrils consumed those as well, sucking up every last drop of blood that fell on the grass.

One of the 45 lesser assassins quickly grabbed the ring before it was accidentally assimilated as well. He lost a finger to the darkness but felt it entirely worth it for the reward his master would give him. He had saved a precious item after all. He bowed and quickly fell back into formation.

The shadows had finally finished their meal, now gurgling, folding in on itself, and bubbling incessantly. This went on for five minutes until the shadow seemed to figure something out and stop moving entirely.

The puddle of liquid darkness exploded upwards, reaching 30 meters tall. A massive beast of shadow emerged from this geyser of black, standing 3 meters tall. It was as thins as a lampost and built like a pincushion. Razor-sharp needles formed its entire body, making anything that touched it feel regret. Its eyes were spheres of purple energy, holding in them dark red made from Novak's refined blood. Its arms were very long, nearly scraping the ground as it stood.

It didn't speak, but the shadow man could hear its thoughts.

"Master. I am your servant, answering the call from your offer. That man was far. To. Delicious. Delectable, his flesh was sweeter than anything I have ever had before. I will serve you for as long as I hold physical form in this realm. Your will is mine."

"Good. Are you able to follow me in my shadow?"

"As you wish..."

The giant creature turned into gas and invaded every shadow on the man's body, not just the one cast on the ground.

"Interesting... Well back to the task at hand."

With a wave of his hand, the lower assassins under his command arranged themselves around the still active formations. Using small shards of green-colored crystals, they absorbed the mana that made up the array, destabilizing the skill and shattering the barriers that sapped the Otherworlders' strength and mana.

With the restrictions gone, the assassins moved onto the egg. They used something close to a magically powered blowtorch to cut it in half and extricate the entrapped individuals. As everything that held them back was removed, they quickly regained their thinking ability and powers.

"What the hell? What is going on?"

"Who are you people? What happened here?"

"So many questions, so little time. My name is Yual, I am a man who believes in your peculiar circumstance and wishes to help. You can come with me, or you can leave, both are alright in my book. Just know, I can give you safety until you mature your power, teaching you a thing or two along the way."

Rupert was the first to catch the hidden context in his words, "So you are saying we won't be safe once we leave? We'll just be hunted and imprisoned again?"

Yual smiled, "Smart man, you catch on quick; vital in this world. Yes, you will continuously be hunted, but I can protect you, as I said."

"What do you get out of this transaction? Protection never comes free."

"Nothing ever comes free, everything has strings attached; spider threads that catch the unsuspecting. You gain protection while you are weak, and I gain allies once you are strong. This ensures I keep you safe, healthy, and most importantly, trained. You won't go far without some REAL fighting skills; the kind of stuff you cannot get with skills alone."

Rupert thought it over. Veronica just watched the two go back and forth. She was the brawn, and he was the brains. She let him deal with this cunning and mystical individual.

"Alright. We can go with you, but no promises about the future. We've only made it to level 2 after a week of fighting."

Yual smiled, "Unbeknownst to you, level 2 in a week is VERY impressive. As the legends said about you Otherworlders, you appear from nowhere and grow to be everywhere. I think this future you are thinking of is much closer than you think. But enough chit-chat. We need to leave now or else the literal armies of people coming this way will stop us. Please step into my shadow."

Veronica and Rupert apprehensively walked over to Yual's shadow and took a cautious step into it. They couldn't tell where shadow ended and man began, as he was one with it.

People's shadows shouldn't move like that.

What they were referring to was the natural undulation of his shadow, a visual effect brought about by his powerful shadow magic. In reality, it wasn't moving at all, but the couple's senses yelled at them about the danger.

Once they were inside, the world went black and there was no longer a shred of light. It was very disorienting. And just as fast as it began, it ended. They were now standing in an entirely new location, a training field.

"Well then, allow me to officially welcome you to the Harbingers."