Shadow

Chapter 18: Shadow

"Princess.. My princess.."

Dylan badly wanted to ask if he could kiss her. His heart raced, every fiber of his being aching to kiss her. But fear held him back. What if she said no?

"D-Dylan.."

The Dylan in front of her right now looked like an open book to her. His emotions lay bare in his eyes for her to read.

She saw a myriad of emotions in those black eyes. Care, concern, faith, joy, fear, love and above all, devotion.

She wasn't that dense to not understand what Dylan felt towards her even after all this. But he could still hold himself back. Only because she came first to him. She has always been his priority.

"Dylan. I want to kiss you" Isabella whispered.

THUD

Dylan and Isabella were once again startled. They both sat up quickly and were shocked to see the door thrown off it's hinges.

"What the hell?" Dylan got up to see who it was. He was so pissed right now. Isabella walked behind him.

The corridor was empty again. Not a trace of anyone. Even if someone broke their door, it was impossible to run away so quickly, unless they jumped off the building.

Dylan looked at the door as he buttoned his shirt. Some crazy bastard destroyed the most beautiful moment of his life. He wanted to curse in 69 different languages.

"The door looks like it was pushed from inside" Isabella commented and pursed her lips.

Indeed the door was thrown out of the room. It wasn't pushed into the room. How is that even possible?

"Let's go and check with the security. This is not good." Dylan said. They both rushed down to inform and check the cameras in the corridor.Even if someone played a prank before, it went too far this time.

The security guard on duty was sleeping, and Dylan had to harshly wake him up to show him the recordings.

"It is clearly you. Even if you want to lie, come prepared." the security guard mocked.

Dylan and Isabella looked at each other in confusion. There was no one in the corridor. And their door suddenly fell open just like that. The door never had any problems before.

Though no one would believe them, they know that they didn't do anything. They were both busy in a corner of the room. But it did look like someone kicked it out from inside.

Much to their irritation, the manager even asked them to pay for the door repair charges. They had no choice but to split it into half and pay.

The carpenter would only come after 9 in the morning. Neither of them could sleep with a open door.

"Sigh. What do you think happened?" Isabella asked as she covered herself with a blanket.

There was no third person in the room. All the windows were closed to blame any ridiculously strong wind.

"Might be the door was already damaged." Dylan replied as he scratched his head. The door was fine. He knew. He was the last one to close it.

Isabella rolled on her bed for a while before getting up to start her day. Dylan still sat there on his mattress.

It must be the ring. The first time, he had a chest pain, as if something burst out from his chest. The second time this. But Isabella seemed completely fine.

In all this fiasco, none noticed Dylan's shadow.

Dylan was simply sitting on his mattress, doing nothing. But his shadow was madly searching for something in his backpack. The zips were closed, but it was shadow. The shadow's hand finally got something and it kept holding it till Isabella came out of the washroom.

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[Mythiopia]

Aliza was pale as she collapsed on her chair. Lawrence was no better than her. But his excitement overshadowed his exhaustion.

They were almost there. He clearly felt the magical portal to the human realm. A little more effort, and he would be able to bring back his daughter.

"Lawrence. Why is the coin active so frequently? Who is trying to harm her repeatedly?" Aliza was worried about her daughter.

Lawrence pursed his lips. This was indeed not good. What kind of trouble is she in?

"Let's try again"

"No. You are tired. We both need to rest before we try again." Lawrence suggested. He also wanted to keep trying. But it will be useless.

"Then let's ask Dexter for help. Where is he?" Dexter would usually hurry to the king's chamber whenever he felt the coin's energy fluctuate. He didn't come today, which Aliza felt was weird.

"Dexter said he might have found some leads regarding other artifacts. He went to check." Lawrence informed. But he knew, even with Dexter, the result would still be the same.

The space inside the coin will resist them no matter what. They need to use the same magic to tackle it.

Meanwhile, Stella was in the western borders to inspect the landslide area. Though she wasn't the heir, she was still a princess and had duties to perform.

The previous landslide was almost cleared out when another landslide occurred. The officials were clueless as to what was causing the landslides. They thought it was a the damaged base of the mountain earlier. They fixed it. But there was another landslide again.

"The waves seemed to have to spread all the way to the snowblood mountains. Did anyone check the areas at the foot of mountains?" Stella questioned her subordinates.

Being born to Lawrence and Aliza, she was naturally more powerful in magic compared to other wizards. She could sense the impact range just by standing in the field.

The mages around looked at each other. They didn't think the impact range was that wide. But they didn't doubt their eldest princess's conclusion. Stella was never wrong when it came to things like this.

"I will send someone to check the places immediately, your highness. But no one stays in those regions. There won't be any major damage." Sir Devin answered.

Stella nodded. "Let's find the source. Or else the landslides will not stop." The princess instructed.

A messenger rushed into the camp with a letter.

"Your highness. There is a message from Lord Dexter."

"What does it say?" Stella asked. Dexter was highly regarded by everyone. One, because is the elf prince and that alone is enough to command respect.

Second, because Lawrence himself trained Dexter to be the unbeatable warrior he was today. No one had ever enjoyed that privilege ever. Not even Stella.

Many wondered if Lawrence would teach Isabella, but then again, there was nothing for her to learn without magic.

"Lord Dexter says that the source is located in the snow blood mountains. He went to there to investigate. Meanwhile, he want all the nearby towns to be evacuated for safety" The messenger said.

Stella and others were a bit taken aback. Snowblood mountains. It was a mystery for most people. Only a few can go and come back safely from that place.

The princess simply nodded and gave further instructions.

Stella thought of going into the ice mountains too. How difficult can it be? Her father went. Dexter went too. Can she not?

She had her griffin. She can just fly there and see. If it was really dangerous, she would simply return before getting into anything.

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[Snowblood mountains]

Calhoun was dead tired after climbing two peaks, his legs burning with exhaustion. Yet, he couldn't afford to stop for too long—there were many more snow peaks he needed to cross before stepping into the treacherous Snowblood region.

Leaning against a gnarled, frost-covered tree, he waited impatiently for the heat capsules to warm the water he had collected in a large wooden barrel.

The icy cold was relentless, seeping into his very bones despite his efforts to stay warm. He was surprised, truly, that he had made it this far without collapsing.

Unlike the other beast men, he wasn't equipped to handle extreme temperatures. His blood offered only a slightly better tolerance to cold than a regular human. The freezing winds here, however, made even that small advantage seem trivial.

When vapor began to rise from the barrel, Calhoun didn't waste a second. Stripping off his damp, frost-crusted clothes, he shivered violently as the icy wind bit into his skin before he submerged himself into the steaming water.

A sigh of relief escaped his lips as the warmth embraced him like a lifeline. For the first time in days, he felt a sliver of comfort.

He closed his eyes, his head leaning back against the edge of the barrel. His mind drifted for a moment to Vandrad. But he quickly pushed those thoughts aside. This was a rare moment of peace, and he wouldn't let it be ruined by memories of palace.

As the heat began to soothe his aching muscles, the weight of his exhaustion overtook him, and his eyelids grew heavy. He slipped into a deep sleep, lulled by the warmth and the faint crackle of ice in the distance.

Hours later, he awoke with a start. His breath hitched as an unnatural stillness greeted him. The sun was setting, bathing the snow in hues of orange and gold, but the scene around him made his blood run cold.

Dozens of wild animals surrounded him in a silent circle. Snow leopards lounged lazily near the trees, their piercing eyes fixed on him.

Mountain lions, eagles, vultures, snakes, and even a massive bear stood among them, their sheer numbers forming an overwhelming presence. The icy wind carried no sound other than his own shallow breaths.

For a moment, Calhoun's mind screamed at him to run. But his body refused to move. He swallowed hard, scanning the creatures for any signs of aggression. Yet they remained eerily still, their postures calm and unthreatening.

"What the hell…" he muttered under his breath, his heart pounding in his chest. The tension was unbearable as he tried to make sense of the bizarre scene. Were they waiting for him to make the first move? Or worse, were they here to feast on him?

The silence was broken by the crunch of snow under heavy paws. The massive bear lumbered closer, carrying something in its jaws.

Calhoun stiffened, his muscles tensing as the beast approached. To his astonishment, the bear dropped a thick black fur coat onto the ground near his folded clothes and backed away, its dark eyes meeting his.

He blinked in disbelief, the gesture too deliberate to be a coincidence. Slowly, cautiously, he moved to test the animals' reaction. None of them flinched or moved to attack. Their steady gazes followed him, but their stances remained peaceful.

Taking a risk, Calhoun stepped out of the barrel, his damp skin prickling in the cold. He dressed as quickly as he could, donning the fur coat the bear had brought him.

The warmth was immediate, the material far thicker and more insulating than anything he'd worn before. It clung to him as if made for his frame.

His tension eased slightly, but his confusion only deepened. Who—or what—had sent these creatures? Why weren't they attacking him? And where had the coat come from? The animals' stillness felt more like a watchful reverence than anything predatory.

Curiosity got the better of him as he knelt beside a snow leopard sitting close by. He extended a hand, hesitating for a moment before stroking its head gently.

To his surprise, the leopard purred, leaning into his touch like a content housecat. A rare smile graced his usually stoic face as he watched the creature's docile behavior.

"Thank you," he said softly, directing his words toward the bear, though he knew it couldn't understand him. The creature gave a slow nod, almost as if acknowledging his gratitude.

With no more time to waste, Calhoun adjusted the coat and prepared to continue his journey. He cast one last glance at the gathered animals before heading deeper into the Snowblood Mountains.

Whatever mysterious force had sent them, it seemed he wasn't walking this path entirely alone.