Chapter 18. Everfrost

[Kill it of course, then turn it into a shadow creature] 

Kailen ruminated over the system's words. This was the only possible alternative or rather, it seemed this had been the reason why the system wanted him to steal the egg.

To kill and it turn it into a shadow creature. However what the system had not expected was that not only would Kailen steal the egg, he would also kill the wyvern's mother in addition.

''Hard shell " Kailen said with an amused expression. Just the hardness of the shell would be enough to crack the skulls of some awakened.

Quickly, he summoned the Shadow wyvern. If there was one creature that could break open the shell, it was Vengeful.

''Crack the shell'' A bolt of black lightning shot out of the obsidian monstrosity's mouth, landing on the egg.

Cracks formed on the exterior of the egg, then a tiny clawed limb emerged, followed by squeaking sounds, accompanied with a small dark draconic head that looked around curiously.

The benighted baby wyvern was covered in some sort of slime, accompanied by squeaky sounds. It's wingless and tailless body was fully revealed.

Kailen's gaze lingered on Vengeful, noticing the subtle fluctuation of emotion in it's deep dark abyss like eyes. ''Of course... shadow necromancy has weaved in her an unwavering sense of loyalty towards me, ensuring that she poses no ill will towards me. However, she still recognized her child. I should send her to the shadow expanse and kill the baby wyvern myself. That's the best kindness I can show her. She's now my shadow creature after all, not my enemy. Having her kill her own kin, even with her unwavering loyalty to me, would be heartless, even for me '' 

As if Vengeful had figured out her master's train of thought, she gestured to Kailen her eagerness to have her kin turn into a shadow creature, claiming that becoming a shadow creature was the best thing that happened to her. She even volunteered to kill the hatchling herself.

''Very well, I suppose you could do us the honors''

Another lightning bolt, albeit weaker compared to the previous one, shot out of Vengeful's mouth toward the hatchling at Kailen's approval, causing the squeaking sounds of the baby wyvern to dwindle down. 

Kailen approached the lifeless creature sprawled in the cracked eggshell.

[Agglomerate]. Tenebrous, ethereal energy loomed atop the eggshell, weaving a magnificent creation into existence.

The shadow creature was a perfect reflection of the Vengeful, thick obsidian draconic build, a long shadowy tail with an arrow tip that seemed to absorb the light of the sun, and a towering height of 6 meters, abyss, tenebrously hollow eyes.

''Bone of your bone, flesh of your flesh ?, blood is thicker than water or something. what's the saying?... Ah forget it... '' Kailen's gaze fluctuated between the duo as he mused, surprised, they were completely alike.

The temperature however, seemed to plummet into shrill coldness.

Kailen's gaze remained on the hatchling, the source of the sudden occurrence.

A canvas of ice kept spreading across its body, causing the temperature to further plummet. Finally, it roared, then shot into the skies, trails of frozen environs being left in its wake.

It flapped its wings in the skies for a few seconds, and roared again, perhaps it wanted to announce it's birth or something to the world.

Kailen and Vengeful watched the hatchling descend, performing a bowing gesture before Kailen.

''From now on, your name is Everfrost. You are an ice wyvern after all"

Everfrost gestured that he loved his name, then turned to look at the shadow wyvern he sensed an unusual sense of closeness to. He knew that Kailen was his master, his creator. It was a primal, unusual instinctive feeling that welled deeply from his very being the moment he woke up as a shadow creature.

However, where was this feeling he was experiencing when he looked at Vengeful from?

Kailen could figure out what was happening; however, he watched the duo in interest.

Vengeful moved towards Everfrost, then started making gestures with her head, explaining everything based on her retained memories from before she became a shadow creature to Everfrost . Everfrost rubbed his head against Vengeful's affectionately, then looked at Kailen with a gesture of gratitude.

He was thanking Kailen for giving him the chance to leave the pitiful life of being an ordinary wyvern behind, for himself and his mother. 

''These shadow creatures are extremely loyal to me. Under normal circumstances they should have been mad and angry at me for everything that happened, however, just like the rest of my shadow creatures, their loyalty to me has directed them to interpret the happenings in a different, fanatic light.'' Kailen mused, his memories tracing back to the time he had encountered the wyvern.

'' Well, one thing's certain. Had I encountered the wyvern even if I had not destroyed one of its eggs, I would have still been dead meat after all. The strong preys on the weak''

Kailen's eyes darted back to the duo. He had seen his shadow creatures demonstrate a certain level of intellect. However, he never really saw them demonstrate that much emotion.

''It seems the more they increase in ranks the more intelligent they become. I'm sure that by the time any of my shadow creatures reach S rank, they can verbalize words'' Kailen correctly deduced, then sent the duo to the shadow expanse.

''Could have made use of one of the shadow wyverns for flight, however they will draw too much attention. I'm too tired to handle paparazzi'' Shadow whirlwind swirled beneath his feet, propelling him to the skies.

Kailen moved through the air, his dark hair fluttering through the wind. The forest seemed to become smaller as he ascended the skies.

That was when he encountered a group of people two men and one woman, staring at him through the transparent windows of a private jet not far away from him.

The women among the trio, a dainty woman with blue eyes and smooth white hair in the private jet, opened the window through which she stared at Kailen with an amused expression, then shouted enough for him to hear, her soft voice mesmerizing and pleasing to the ear.

"You managed to survive, and you grew stronger'' 

For a second, Kailen stared at the young woman incredulously, not making sense out of the dramatic situation and her vague statement. However, a second later a thought occurred to him ''Was she the one who saved me in that cave?''