I'm tired. Proofreading is tiring, but it makes the story better. I try.

Please enjoy.

Chapter 15: Emiri’s Champion

Frost entered an area similar to the room with the golem in it, complete with the two rings of torches on the ceiling. In fact, the only difference was the size of the room, which was twice the size of the golem’s room. In the back of the room was a tall throne made of rusting iron, occupied by a tall man in a red robe. He just sat there looking in Frost’s direction, an evil grin on his face.

Frost put his staff away and drew his sword as he walked further into the room. The man didn’t budge until Frost reached the center of the room. He raised his hand off of the armrest and motioned for Frost to stop where he was. Frost took a few more steps before he stopped walking, curious rather than submissive. He wanted to know what the man on the throne would say.

“Are you prepared to die, foolish boy?”

“Are you?”

The man’s arm moved in pointless gestures as he spoke, seemingly unconcerned, “I suppose it is impressive that you have reached me, when no one else has after all this time. However, your life ends here. You may speak your last words. Be grateful that I, Lord Enzan will remember them for as long is it entertains me. Tell me, what does a youth with a draconic bloodline think about when he knows he is about to die?”

“I’m thinking about what will happen.”

“So you wonder about what comes after death. How…mundane.”

“That’s not what I meant. I’m thinking about what will happen after I devour your shadow.” Frost smiled and walked forward, gripping his sword in both hands. The man in the chair chanted a spell and then began to float up into the air and out of reach. He was a mage or some sort of spell caster. Frost tried, but he was unable to get to him before the man was too high up to even leave a shadow.

A mage that could fly was the worst possible enemy for him, considering he had no long-range attacks. At best, he could wait until the flight or the mage’s mana ran out. If he could survive until then, the man would be as good as dead. The problem was actually surviving whatever the mage had up his sleeve. He didn’t know what types of spells and abilities spell casters had, considering he had never run into one and the information on them was limited.

It appeared that there was a short charge up time in the form of a chant before a spell could be used. Frost dove into the shadow realm to avoid a large fireball falling down from above. When he left after twenty seconds, he was nearly hit by a fiery ray that scorched the ground behind him as he twisted to avoid it. He continued to attempt to survive the onslaught of magical attacks that followed, using Shadow Dive to avoid the more dangerous spells when he felt it was necessary.

He couldn’t dodge everything though, and his health decreased more and more as the fight went on. ‘These trials are seriously sadistic and so damn unfair.’

“Don’t think you can float up there forever, asshole. When you come down here…”

“Hmm. Ha! Hahahahahaaa!” He pulled a vial out of his robes and shook it as if to mock Frost. “Mana potion.” He drank it and tossed the vial. They both watched it fall and saw it shatter as it struck the floor. The mage began to chant another spell and Frost snapped. This was all so ridiculous, and he was sick of the bullshit mage playing around with him. He furiously pulled out a dagger and threw it as hard as he could at the lord Enzan.

The small blade struck him in the chest, cancelling the chant as the man cried out in pain and began to fall. He caught himself before he crashed into the floor but he wasn’t far above it when he began to rise again. Frost had begun to run the moment he realized that Enzan was falling. He jumped high into the air and impaled the mage, bringing them both to the ground. Frost pulled his sword out of the man’s body and slammed it through Enzan’s leg, lodging the blade in the ground.

Enraged, he mounted the wizard and used his heavy gauntlets to punch the mage continuously. The mage was unable to cast spells as Frost hit his face over and over, while the sword in his leg sapped his health. Frost could see his enemy’s health bar quickly falling to a dangerous level. Lord Enzan threw his hands up at Frost and a white light repulsed him, sending him flying backwards.

Frost landed on his back and rolled to his feet. Enzan was hovering thirty feet in the air again by the time he even looked up. The sword and dagger clattered to the ground as the mage pulled them out of his body and threw them away. Frost pulled out an axe and a dagger from his bag. He threw the axe at the mage, who watched the axe pass by as he dodged.

“The first time was unexpected. It won’t work agagh!” Frost’s dagger, infused with dark energy, slashed the man’s face, binding his shadow since he had neglected to do that earlier. Frost ran and picked up his sword with a smile as he dove into the shadow realm. Enzan frowned as he watched him disappear, then began to prepare a spell for when Frost returned to the normal realm.

Enzan felt a pain near his spine and lost the mana and the spell he was preparing. He spun around but there was nothing behind him and there wasn’t even a wound on his back. It felt like a blade was stabbed into him, but he couldn’t see anything. He spun around trying to find the source of the pain, trying to find Frost.

“Where are you!?”

Frost fell into the shadow realm and ran behind the self-proclaimed lord. He pulled out a third dagger and threw it, spinning end over end as he counted to twenty. He realized something a moment earlier after he calmed down. Each test rewarded him with something that he could use in the next test, but he couldn’t figure out how to use shadow jump. There wasn’t a single shadow in the room other than his own, so there was nothing he could Shadow Jump to.

However, he had realized something that he saw earlier, but didn’t fully realize until a few moments ago when he had brought down the wizard. There was a reason there were no shadows in the room, and the mage had mana potions to stay afloat and cast his spells. These trials were more than just a test to see if he was worthy. They were also a lesson, a way of teaching him how to use his abilities one at a time.

This test was a lesson in using his abilities together, as well as teaching him how to most effectively use shadow jump. He had figured out what he needed to do, so he tethered the mage’s shadow with Dark Infusion and a thrown dagger. So he stood there, counting, waiting for the skill to end as he gripped his sword, his heart racing in anticipation. In the shadow realm, it appeared that everyone had a shadow the same size and shape as themselves, if a little fuzzy and unclear. The last second before the skill ended, he activated Shadow Jump, teleporting to the one other shadow that he could see.

The teleportation was instantaneous as Frost appeared next to the shadow and drew back his arm. The shadow turned to face him as he reappeared in the mortal realm, his countdown perfectly timed. He thrust forward, impaling Enzan with his sword. They tumbled out of the air and crashed into the ground, both of them taking damage from the fall. Frost recovered first, grabbing onto the mage tightly to prevent him from flying up again.

He pulled out his last dagger and rammed it into the man’s eyes, his heart, his lungs, and every vital area he could think of. Critical hits helped reduce lord Enzan’s health as he screamed in pain. He tried to repel Frost again, but this time, he was holding on, and they both went flying from the force of the magic pulse. They crashed into a wall and Frost’s dagger went skittering across the floor. It didn’t matter though, because frost still had his fists. Holding on tightly with his left, he punched Lord Enzan again and again, ignoring the terror in the man’s eyes and his screams for mercy as his health reached zero.

Frost stood up, looking down on the corpse in front of him and ate the shadow that was left behind. “For someone so arrogant, you weren’t even that tough.”

*Ding, Ding*

You have devoured the shadow of a powerful mage.

+10 Wisdom

+10 Intelligence

Ability gained: Shadow Hook

Enemies can now be tethered three times. An enemy tethered three times can be affected by shadow hook.

Effect: Enemies weaker than you are pulled towards you.

Effect: Enemies stronger or significantly larger and heavier act as an anchor for you to pull yourself to.

Effect: You can use shadow hook as a grappling hook to reach high or distant places.

Range: 20 meters

Duration: 10 seconds

Cost: 10 shadow energy

Frost collected his weapons and watched as the mage began to burn, his body spontaneously igniting. Within moments, there was nothing left but ash where the mage had been. On top of the pile of ash was a single gold coin that Frost picked up. It didn’t have the usual design of Dunari, so he put it in his pocket rather than put it in his bag with the rest of the coins.

Frost waited for Emiri to appear again, but this time she didn’t. Behind the throne was an iron door that was similar to the chair, rusted and beaten. After waiting until he was at full strength, he tried to open the door, but it was rusted shut. He kicked it a few times until the hinges broke, revealing a pitch-black room. He walked in and felt the darkness physically pressing in on him. He continued to press onward until the pressure released, causing him to stumble and nearly fall on his face. The darkness began to pull away, starting from directly in front of him.

He stood facing an army of tens of thousands, banners flapping in the wind as they looked at him from afar. Their dark armor seemed to absorb the light and the army itself seemed to suck the life out of the area around them, making everything appear dull and grey around them. They had the shape of humans, but even from three hundred meters away, he could tell they were anything but.

The darkness had receded to the point that Frost could see to the sides. On his right were five people, each standing a pace apart: Three men and two women. They stood in a line and he had to lean forward to see all of them. They appeared resolved to die as they faced the army in front of them with grim faces. Frost looked down at himself and realized that he was not himself. He was in someone else’s body, and as he thought about it, he realized that it was probably Emiri’s champion from long ago. He frowned, trying to figure out what was happening to him, and where he was.

The darkness that was slowly dissipating vanished all at once, revealing an army behind him. They weren’t a single uniform force like the one in front of him, but had different groups scattered about. Many different races, factions, and kingdoms had all sent forces to join the coalition army that stood behind him.

“Getting nervous before the fight, Rorin?” asked the man dressed in bright green robes standing next to him.

“Not really, just looking at the troops to see if they’re still behind us.” He grinned. ‘I didn’t say that. I’m not in control of this guy’s mouth.’

“Are we going to stand here all day, or are we going to just stare at each other?” one of the five further down the line said irritably.

“Very well.” The man in the middle, wearing blue, spoke. “We move now.” He raised his hand and motioned the army forward. The five stepped forward at the same time and Frost did his best to keep pace with them to stay in formation. The men and women tried to rouse their own spirits with war calls and chants. They joked to ease the tension and fear they felt at facing a foe that felt nothing.

The opposing army also began to march towards them, silent and imposing. From within their midst appeared a simple looking man in leather armor at the front of the army. He looked plain, but his appearance caused the others to react in a multitude of ways. Some reacted with fear while others reacted with disgust or hatred.

The man in the green robes whispered, “The demon king.” He had hatred in his eyes, and Frost could see that every fiber of his being wanted to run forward and destroy that man. ‘That guy is the demon king?’ Frost didn’t see anything special or particularly noticeable about the man, but everyone seemed to be able to identify him. Frost had to wonder how such a normal looking person could become the monster he had read about in the lore.

The demon king stopped moving and was swallowed up by his own army as arrows flew and the armies crashed into one another. He could hear the screams of people dying as he stabbed at the enemy with a short spear. He had full control of the body so he had to fight through the ranks of what seemed to be demons at a closer look. He fought towards the center where he had seen the demon king disappear. It seemed as if he was supposed to join the others and take down the demon king as part of a group.

Frost reached a large open area where the demon king stood with a glowing red sword. He stood with a twisted grin on his face as he waited for all the heroes to gather and fight him. The last of the six entered the open area and they were all completely ignored by the surrounding soldiers.

“Thank you for coming. I’m glad you’re all here.”

“You’ll pay for your crimes, you monster!” The female warrior in white screamed as she charged forward. Frost and the others sprung into motion, some of them casting spells while others attacked with weapons. The demon king laughed as he raised his sword to fend off the attacks. His sword moved too fast for him to see as he began to fight the heroes.

They used spells, weapons, and abilities to try to take him down, but the heroes weren’t capable when it came to working together. They were uncoordinated as a team, sometimes getting in each other’s way. The demon king took advantage of that weakness, and they were no match for him. He was everywhere, and the heroes fell one by one. Soon, only Frost and the female warrior in white were still alive, and they were both on their knees before the demon king.

“And so, your pitiful rebellion ends. Don’t worry though, because your deaths will make me stronger.”

“Not yet,” the person whose body Frost was inside said.

Frost lost control of that body as the woman activated a skill that turned her into a blinding light. Frost was covered in shadow as some skill unknown to him was activated. The two of them attacked the demon king in one last attempt to do more than the little damage they had already done to him. Frost and the demon king impaled each other through the gut at the same time. The woman attempted to behead the demon king as Frost held him in place. He instantly appeared behind her and decapitated her instead.

Frost fell to his knees, a single tear rolling down his face. ‘This guy must have had strong feelings for her.’ The demon king stabbed him through the heart with a smile, ending his life, and he was once again back in the darkness. He was still on his knees, and he felt the deep sorrow of whoever that man had been.

*Ding*

Ability gained: Shadow armor

Cover your body in dark energy.

+20% physical resistance

+20% magic resistance

+20% damage (Dark) when using your body to attack.

Duration: 120 seconds

Cost: 40 Shadow Energy

Emiri stood in front of him, a somber look on her face.

“The Demon King was a monster and he was also a man. A human. He was a creature that defied the logic in this world and became a monster unlike any other before him or after. As a human, he destroyed the champions we had, turning them against one another or killing them. He rampaged through the lands, with his armies of monsters and humanoids in tow as he slaughtered everyone who would not serve him.

Even the gods did not understand how he could be so powerful after such a short amount of time and they did not understand why he was so twisted and evil. We sent new champions against him, but he was unstoppable, and eventually, his power became too great. That day, he took the power we had given our champions when he killed them, a little piece of each of us gods. With that, he was able to ascend to godhood himself and challenge us.

That was a mistake on his part. He had yet to fully and completely conquer the world at that point. There were still areas of the world that held out against him and there was still resistance in the hearts of many of the conquered. His control, and his powers were far from complete.

The demon king did not fully comprehend godhood, and a war between gods occurred. Some of the minor gods joined the demon king while others fought against him, but in the end he was destroyed. Some of the minor gods were slain, but he was utterly destroyed, never to arise again. His destruction had little impact on the world, though, and it remained broken for some time. It still is in many ways.”

“I get it now. That’s what you meant when you said if the champions weren’t good enough, they would fail when it mattered most.”

“I lost so many friends and followers to that madman. When we choose a champion, it isn’t just picking someone out of the crowd and giving them weapons to fight for you. It is a deep bond that we share, and one that will grow over time. You will become close to me as the others did before me. You will be my hands in the mortal realm and my crutch to lean on. I will need you soon, and I hope that you can become a friend as well as an ally.”

Frost looked at her with pity as he saw the deep grief in her expression. She wasn’t hiding anything from him anymore. She had accepted him as her champion, and laid her heart bare before him. He could tell that she was lonely, and still grieving for the friends she had lost.

He stood and said nothing for a moment as he walked up to her. He gave her a hug, “You can count on me.”

She hugged him back. “Thank you.” She then pushed him back to arms length and an impassive look returned to her face.

She took a black ring off of her ring finger and handed it to him. “Wear this on your left ring finger. It will bind to you so that it can never be stolen.”

“Is this a proposal?” Frost joked with a smirk on his face.

“No,” Emiri smiled, “but you should see it as a reminder that you are bound to me, the same as marriage binds you to another.” Frost put the black ring on his finger and it shrunk, melding into his skin and leaving a black band behind. A window popped up describing the ring.

Emiri’s Champion Ring

+1 to all stats

+50 shadow energy

Champion’s bond

“You can wear another ring on that finger, if you want.” She looked at him with a probing gaze, trying to figure out if he had someone in mind.

“Yeah, okay.” Frost didn’t realize what she was doing and he was preoccupied with the ring.

“I will call on you soon. For now, I need you to get stronger.” She pushed him lightly and he fell backwards, unable to control his body. “Until next time.”

Frost fell into the darkness and sunk, as if he was sinking into a deep lake. ‘Get stronger? Just wait and see.’