"Rise and shine. . ." a low, clicking voice hissed, dragging Kage back from the comforting darkness of sleep.

"Who--?" he mumbled drowsily, shifting slightly as his faded red cape rustled against the stone floor. He hesitantly opened an inky black eye, instantly regretting it. The whole world seemed to spin wildly, blurring and dipping in and out of focus. . . It made him feel dizzy just looking at it. He winced and let the eye slide shut, wanting nothing more than to just go back to sleep. . . To forget about Leon, and the elders, and every other thing that seemed to have gone wrong with his life. . . "Go away." he muttered.

The voice gave a cruel, mocking laugh. "Not feeling our best, are we?"

Suddenly Kage was yanked upwards by his cape and dropped back down, nearly falling flat on his face before managing to flip over and land in a clumsy crouch. He forced his blurry eyes open a crack, and glanced upwards at the source of the voice: Envy. The Krill's massive form took up most of the room, the top of her head nearly brushing the stone ceiling high above. Her single blue eye shone with twisted humor as she loomed over the Child of Darkness.

Kage stared up at her for a moment, then turned away, his bronze mask glinting in the dim red light that seeped through the doorway behind Envy. For a long moment, the only sound was the soft clicking of the Krill's legs and the faint howl of the wind somewhere outside. . . Finally, he broke the tense silence, shooting the creature a wary look. "What do you want?"

"Not even a 'hello' for your old friend?" Envy sneered.

Kage's dark eyes narrowed slightly, and he glared up at the creature. "Last time I checked, friends don't try to kill each other." he flinched, remembering all too clearly the Krill's hate-filled red eye as she flung him against the rocks. . . He absently reached a hand up to rub his side. Even now, it still throbbed painfully from the impact.

"Oh, don't be childish." Envy snarled, then paused for a moment, lowering her head slightly to study the child, an almost bored look plastered across her distorted face. "If I'd been aiming to kill you, you'd already be dead." before Kage could respond, the creature continued. "As to why I'm here. . ." she leaned forward slightly, her single bright eye watching him closely. "Well, it's quite a funny story, that. . . It just so happens that the elder wants to see you."

Kage hesitated, momentarily confused. "The elder. . ." he repeated softly, but he trailed off, his dark eyes widening as he realized the Krill's meaning. His heart gave a frightened leap, and he quickly averted his gaze, struggling not to let the fear show on his masked face. "Elder Nero."

"Who else?" Envy snapped, her eye momentarily flickering purple before fading back to its passive blue. "Certainly not that blundering old fool, Sage, or that oaf of an elder, Orion!" her tail lashed out in irritation, crashing into the towering doorframe and sending small chunks of stone clattering to the floor.

Kage slowly lowered his gaze, staring silently at a crack that ran along the floor, hardly even noticing the Krill's annoyance. The Dark Elder wanted to see him. . . But, why? Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. . .

Could he have found out about Leon. . .?

The child squeezed his eyes shut tight and shook his head slightly, trying his best to restrain a shiver. If Elder Nero had found out that Leon was still alive. . . That Kage had helped a Child of Light. . . Well. . . The Dark Elder wasn't exactly known for his forgiveness.

Envy tilted her head slightly as she stared down at the child, watching him curiously. "Tell me, Kage." she hissed, leaning forward until she hovered directly above him, her shadow pooling around him like a shifting puddle of ink. "Why would the elder want to see you?"

"I--" Kage started in a shaky voice, then stopped, his eyes narrowing slightly. No. He couldn't panic. . . Not now. . . Not in front of Envy. He raised his head and met the creature's gaze, his bronze mask reflecting the cold blue light of her eye. "I don't know." he said flatly, holding the Krill's piercing stare.

Envy studied him for a moment longer, then gave a small, almost disappointed shrug. "Of course you don't." she growled, turning towards the gaping doorway, her twisted legs clicking as she went. "What did I expect from a useless shadow." without looking back to see if the child followed, she drifted back out into the hall, ducking her massive head beneath the arching stone doorway as she went.

Useless shadow. . .

Kage winced and hung his head, absentmindedly rubbing his wrist as he studied the ground by his feet. He knew that he should just ignore her. . . She was a Krill, after all. She'd do anything to make his life miserable. . . But her words still stung. . .

And they were still true.

His eyes darkened, and he clenched his hand into a fist as he glared down at the ground.

That's all he'd ever be. . . Leon's shadow. Just the unwanted half of a brighter, cheerful whole. . .

He gave a soft, barely audible sigh and turned his dark eyes away from the ground, watching as the end of Envy's tail rounded a corner and disappeared from view. He paused a moment longer, shooting one last look around the dull, empty room, before sliding to his feet and hurrying after the creature's retreating form. He might not know how Leon had survived the fall from Eden, or why the Dark Elder wanted to see him. . . But if there was one thing he was sure of, it was that keeping a Krill waiting was never a good idea.

Crumbling stone walls rose up from the ground, casting looming shadows across the stone floor as Kage silently followed Envy's floating form, nearly running to keep up with her quick pace. He'd long since given up on trying to keep track of the winding maze of passages that branched out through Eden's temple, and had decided to simply follow the dark dragon down the narrow halls. As they turned a corner, he lifted his head slightly and glanced around.

The hallway they walked down looked like every other one they'd passed through: stone floor, stone walls, stone roof. . . And not even the faintest sliver of light. This far into the building, there were no windows to let in the eerie red glow of the sky outside, and Eden's lanterns hadn't been lit in a long time. . . But that was fine with Kage. He'd never had any trouble seeing in the dark.

Suddenly, Envy came to a sharp halt, snapping Kage back to reality and nearly sending the child stumbling into her back. "We're here." the Krill growled, clicking in anticipation as she slid out of the way, revealing two towering doors sealed shut by a large red gemstone, smooth and spotless except for a simple four pointed star engraved in the center of the jewel.

Kage gulped down his fear and forced an expressionless look across his masked face as he stepped up to the entrance. The shimmering red gem embedded into the center of the double doors hung above his head, and he had to tilt his face up to see it. Silently cursing his short height, the Child of Darkness reached up and rested both hands on the bottom half of the jewel--as far as he could get by himself. He hesitated, glancing back over his shoulder at Envy.

"Well?" the Krill hissed, her eye narrowing slightly. "Is there a problem?"

Not trusting himself to speak, Kage gave a small shake of his head and turned his attention back to the gemstone. It's smooth surface was unnaturally cold in his hands, and, though he could have sworn that the crystal seemed to be glowing, it gave off no light. He suppressed a shudder and closed his inky black eyes, plunging the world into darkness. . .

He frowned in concentration, blocking out everything except for the task at hand. Envy's hissing clicks slowly faded into a quiet hum and then, after a moment, seemed to disappear entirely. The incessant whine of the wind rushing through the temple's distant halls suddenly seemed like little more than background noise. . . And then all was silent.

Without loosing his focus on the door, Kage took a shuddering breath and drew on the darkness around him, bending shadows from the floor and walls and gathering them together, forcing them towards the center of the glittering gem. The star shaped mark carved into the jewel's face sparkled for a moment, then went dark as the shadows pooled inside of it, blocking out its chilling gleam. A loud click echoed through the quiet hall, and Kage's eyes fluttered open.

He quickly released the gemstone and took a step back from the double doors, folding his arms behind his back. He hesitantly looked down at the reaching tendrils of shadow that snaked across the floor and walls, meeting in the star-like center of the gem--which had turned from red to glistening black--then lowered his head slightly and let go of his hold on the darkness. For a long moment, nothing happened, then the inky strands of shadow began to melt back down the door and walls. In seconds, they had slipped back into place, still and silent as if they had never left. . .

A soft hiss brought Kage's attention back to the door. A dark line had appeared down the center of the two slabs of stone, and it grew wider as the doors pulled apart, sliding back to reveal a faint red glow coming from the room beyond.

"Hurry up!" Envy snapped, roughly shoving the child forward through the open doorway. "I've wasted enough time waiting around for you!"

Kage shot a defiant glance back at the Krill, then, deciding that arguing with the creature was hopeless, hung his head and hurried through the gaping doorway.

After the overwhelming darkness of the temples' halls, it took the child a moment to adjust to the dim red light inside of the room. He blinked a few times to clear his vision, then raised his masked face slightly to take in his surroundings.

He'd only been here once before, but it was exactly the same as he remembered it.

The sloping walls rose high above the massive chamber, ending only when they reached a large hole in the center of the roof that let dim light stream inside. The stone bricks that made up the floor ran in a circular pattern, spiraling further inwards. Kage followed the spiral with his eyes, stopping as they came to a jagged black throne that erupted from the patterned floor right in the middle of the room. And sitting on the throne. . .

Kage hurriedly dropped to one knee, and Envy bowed her giant head respectfully as the Dark Elder stared back at them from his seat on the throne.

Unlike the other seven elders, Elder Nero wore no mask, but even without one, his face was devoid of any emotion or feeling. His spectral body was tinted the same red color as the sky outside, and the faint light that filtered through the ceiling caught on the shimmering black crown that rested around his head.

The elder watched the newcomers with silent distaste, leaning forward slightly to rest his elbows against his knees. After a long moment of silence, the elder spoke. "Well, Kage. . ." he remarked sarcastically, his voice like ice. "I see you've finally decided to grace us with your presence."

Unable to move or respond, Kage stared down at the ground in front of him with wide eyes, trying unsuccessfully to stop himself from trembling.

The elder tilted his head to the side and smirked down at the child, an amused look momentarily flashing across his face. "Do you know why I've called you here, Kage. . .?"

The dark haired child gave a weak shake of his head.

"Pity. . ." the elder mumbled, lacing his fingers as he contemplated the Child of Darkness before him. "I thought I created you to be smarter than this. . ." he paused, letting his words hang in the air for a moment before continuing. "Last night, a Creature of Light entered the Nightmare realm. . ." he fixed his piercing gaze on the child's masked face. "Do you know anything about this?"

Once again, Kage shook his head.

Elder Nero paused, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Are you lying to me, Kage?"

The child shifted anxiously, his heart hammering so hard he was sure it would burst out of his chest. Without lifting his gaze from the ground, he mumbled a soft reply: "No."

"Hmm. . ." the elder mused to himself, leaning back into his throne as he watched the young boy curiously. After a moment, he shrugged and continued. "All the better, I suppose. . . It would be a shame to have to kill you so soon. Besides. . ." he drew a small, reflective object from the folds of his robes and tossed it to Kage. "I have another task for you."

Kage reached up and easily snatched the object out of the air, catching it just before it hit the ground. He hesitated for a moment, casting the elder an uncertain glance before opening his clenched fist and peering down at the item. His dark eyes went wide, and he looked up. "This is--" he started, but Elder Nero cut him off with a slight shake of his head.

"You'll need it. Elder Valkyrie won't be nearly as easy to catch as the other two. . ." he drawled as the child clasped the object in both hands, hiding it from view. "As it is, drawing her out during the festival is the best option we have. . ." the elder gave a small sigh, his gaze wandering towards the ceiling far above as he lost interest in the Child of Darkness. "It's a simple task, Kage. Try not to mess it up. . ." he waved a hand towards the door. "Now, go. I have no more use for you."

Kage gave a weak nod and carefully stood up, keeping his eyes locked on the stone floor as he turned his back on the dark throne and hurried towards the doorway. He passed by Envy, missing the strange, knowing look that she gave him as he slipped back through the doorway and out into the corridor.

As he paced back down the narrow hall, the faint red glow of the room slowly fading from view, the child gave a small sigh of relief.

The Dark Elder didn't know about Leon. . .

And maybe, just maybe, if he could keep his secret for long enough. . . Then he could warn the Child of Light about what was to come.