Secrets Of The Forbidden Archives

The air grew more colder, while the shadows secretly moves around us as we moved deeper into the Forbidden Archives. I could feel the darkness pulling, alive, as if the walls themselves were watching us. My pendant grew heavier around my neck, its whispers merging with the low voices echoing through the chamber.

"What else is hidden here?" Yue Ling murmured, flames from her sword helping in illuminating shelves lined with ancient scrolls, and cursed tomes.

"This place feels… wrong." She was right. The shadows were too thick, too powerful. I could feel them seeping into my skin, their power resonating with mine. But I couldn't leave. Not yet.

We reached the heart of the Archives, a circular hall filled with towering pillars covered in celestial runes. At the center stood an altar, its surface carved with the same dragon symbol as my pendant.

Above it hovered a sphere of darkness, its light swirling like a black sun.

I stepped closer, my breath quickens.

"That's… a Celestial Artifact."

Yue Ling's eyes widened. "You mean… like the treasures from the legends? The ones that hold the power of the gods?"I nodded my head, while the shadows pulls me toward it.

"Yes… this is the Orb of Eternal Night. It's said to contain a fragment of the God of Shadows' power… his very soul."

Slowly I reached out, my fingers trembling as I touched the orb. Suddenly cold surged through me, shadows pouring from the sphere, wrapping around my body. The pendant on my neck burned, its light merging with the orb's darkness.

Like a flash, the chamber vanished, while my vision gets blurring. It felt like I was falling, or spinning through a void.

********

I landed on a barren plain, the sky a swirling mass of shadows. Lightning crackled above, striking the earth, leaving trails of black flames. The air was heavy, and the darkness alive, writhing like serpents.

At the center of the wasteland stood a throne carved from bones, in a twisted, and jagged shape. Upon it sat a figure, his entire body wrapped in shadows, his eyes empty, and hollow. Around his neck hung a pendant identical to mine, its light devouring the darkness.

I knew who he was. The God of Shadows. The one whose curse I bore… whose power flowed through me.

He looked at me, his face void of emotion.

"So… my descendant has come at last." His voice was cold, echoing through the darkness. "You carry my blood… my curse."

I stepped back, my heart pounding. "I'm nothing like you. I didn't choose this."

He laughed, it was a hollow sound. "Neither did I. But fate does not care for choice." He stood, and as he did, shadows swirling around him.

"You carry the Mark of Shadows… the legacy of my sins. You cannot escape it."

I clenched my fists, anger rising. "I don't want your legacy. I don't want your power!"

His eyes glowed, with his shadows suddenly expanding, blotting out the sky. "You have no choice. The shadows have chosen you. And they will consume you… just as they did me."

I raised my hands, summoning my inner Qi energy. The shadows around me stirred, answering my call, and merging with my power. I could feel his influence, his malice, and despair.

"I won't let that happen!" I shouted, my energy going up. "I will decide my own fate!"

The God of Shadows smiled, his form shifting rapidly, and at will, growing larger, darker.

"Then prove it." He raised his hand, and the shadows condensed, forming a sword blade of pure darkness.

"Face the sins of our bloodline… or be devoured by them."

He attacked, his speed so fast, that his sword tears through the void. I blocked with a barrier of shadows, but his power crashed against mine, the force shaked the realm. Terrible pain shot through me, my body trembling under the weight of his power.

"You are weak," he hissed, his blade pressing against mine. "You deny your own power. You fear the darkness… and that is why you will fall." I think I have heard this word before!.

Gritting my teeth, the pendant on my neck started burning. The shadows wanted to obey me, or they wanted to consume me. But I couldn't let them. If I lost control… I'd become like him.

"I'm not afraid!" I roared, pushing back, my own shadows expanding, and merging with his. "I will master this power my own way!"

The God of Shadows laughed, his form flickering as he laughed. "Foolish child. You are the shadows. You are my heir. You will never escape me."

Then, his form started splitting, and multiplying. And a hundred shadows attack me from all directions. I spun around, my energy soaring up, and my own shadows formd a thick barrier.

But his shadows were more powerful, they keep on crashing against my defenses, and tearing through my spirit.

I screamed loudly, as pain ripped through me when his shadows successful invaded my mind, with his memories flooding my thoughts.

Then I saw his past. His rise as the strongest celestial god, the ruler of shadows, revered, and feared by all. And I saw his fall too! His ambition was to defy fate, to rewrite destiny itself. I saw the Primordial War, his betrayal, and the heavens being destroyed, the world torn apart.

Yet I felt his despair, his anger, his madness as his soul was shattered, his power scattered across the realms. I felt his curse! His hatred for the gods, his desire for revenge, as well as his loneliness.

I staggered forward, when his emotions keeps on consuming me. "No… this isn't me… I'm not you!"

The shadows laughed, his voice echoing in my head. "You are me. My blood flows in your veins. My power is yours. And my curse, is your destiny."

Slowly I fell to my knees, the darkness overwhelming me, and my spirit breaking. The shadows closed in, their whispers deafening.

Then, a voice cut through the darkness, this time more loudly.

"Li Tian!"

Yue Ling's sword energy flames burst through the shadows, her light piercing the void. She stood before me, her eyes blazing.

"Fight it! Don't let him win!"

The sword energy started to wrap around me, burning away the darkness. I felt her warmth, and her determination. She was risking her own soul to save me… to save me from myself.

I took a deep breath, my heart steadying. I wasn't alone. I had Yue Ling… I had friends… I had my own will.

I stood, my shadows responding to my resolve. I faced the God of Shadows, my eyes turned fierce. "You're right… I am your heir. I carry your power… your curse. But I also carry my own will… my own destiny."

I raised my hands, my shadows merging with Yue Ling's sword energy flames, forming a light darker than darkness itself. "And I will forge my own path!"

I attacked, my power colliding with his, light and darkness intertwining together. The realm shattered, and his form begin to breaking, slowly his shadows dissolved into the air.

I saw his face softened, a hint of sorrow in his eyes. "Perhaps… you can succeed where I failed…" His form faded, and his voice turned to a whisper. "But remember… the shadows always linger."

The vision broke, and the darkness released me. I collapsed, but Yue Ling catching me, her eyes filled with worry. "Li Tian! Are you okay?"

I looked down at my pendant, its light steady, quiet. "Yeah… but the shadows… they're still with me. And they always will be."

I stood, my resolve stronger than ever. "But I won't let them control me. I am the heir of the God of Shadows… i am no longer his puppet.