> A/N: From now on I'll just call Darky "he" rather than "it"
***
"Did you just… eat the shadow?" Luna asked with a confused look on her face.
"Honestly, I am just as clueless as you," Lucien replied. "Let me check my Mindscape."
He brought his left hand's dorsal up to his forehead and entered his Mindscape.
The Mark lit up and his perception shifted deeper.
'It all looks the same, but something feels… different,' Lucien thought with a confused look on his face.
He felt it. A subtle change had occurred below him—the glass-like floor of his Mindscape had cracked. Sure, it was a small crack, but it was a crack nonetheless. The crack had been leaking some sort of power.
And the power had just grown stronger.
'Please don't tell me I'm cultivating some eldritch horror in my mind.'
He sighed and exited his Mindscape.
Luna—sensing his tension—asked, "Did you figure it out?"
"It probably has something to do with my Fragment," he grumbled.
"How so?"
"It's just… different."
Luna wanted to press for more answers but decided against it.
"Did you get the armor from stealing my kill?"
"Yes," he mused. "Wait, no! I mean—" He stammered for a moment, struggling to gather his bearings.
Lucien could've sworn he heard a satisfied chuckle from somewhere below him but chose to ignore it.
"I didn't steal your kill, okay? I just finished it off for you."
"If you want it, I can return it to you. I'm sure you would love to feast your—"
"No!" she spat. "You can keep it. I don't need it."
An awkward silence followed suit…
'I'm done with you two,' Darky grumbled. 'No seriously, how is it that every time you talk, you just… Bah.'
Lucien stared at his shadow, stunned.
"Did I do something wrong?" he shrugged before facing Luna.
"Now what?" he asked.
"It's still early. We can cover sizable ground," she responded.
"Where to, though?"
"Probably towards the mountains," she spoke as she turned to face the mountains in the distance. "It is the only defendable place in this barren land."
She pondered for a moment before continuing, "That is probably the only place with a sanctum."
"Fine," Lucien sighed. "I'll send Darky to scout ahead."
While walking through the tundra—the vast, desolate landscape broken only by the occasional spruce tree—Luna turned her head partially towards Lucien, who was walking beside her, focused on sharing his senses with Darky.
"What's that thing on your palm?" she ventured, pointing towards his hand. "It absorbed the Echo's shadow, right?"
"Remember the Relic I mentioned back at the Academy? I think it has something to do with that," he responded. "Why?"
"Your Fragment," she spoke, hesitant. "It's Void, right?"
Lucien's breath hitched. He thought for a second before responding.
"Yes."
"So, like, are you from some secret Void faction?" she said, unsure.
Lucien tilted his head, confused by the question.
"What makes you say that?"
"It just seems like that," she replied.
What makes you say that?
Secret faction? Seriously?
"No one has gotten a Mark from the Void Fragment before, so it was assumed that the Void Faction was some secret faction that worked from the darkness. Kind of fitting, no?"
Lucien sighed. "If I really was from some secret hidden faction, then I wouldn't have lived a life of poverty."
He thought for a moment before asking, "What about you? I mean—are you from some great faction?" in a sarcastic tone.
As soon as the words left his mouth, he saw Luna's expression darken. Had he hit a nerve? He was going to say something, but Luna spoke first.
"Yes."
"What?!" Lucien nearly stumbled.
"How come you never told anyone? Which faction are you from?"
"I guess it's because our faction is not what it used to be."
Her expression turned wistful.
"I am from the Radiant Pillar faction. My father was its progenitor and leader."
She took a deep breath before continuing.
"Almost seven years ago, after a Category 4 Vestige formed in the Northern Sector, my father, along with the leaders of Black Banner and Formwrights, sought to enter and conquer it."
Her voice faltered. "He didn't make it back."
Lucien tried to say something but chose to stay quiet in the end.
Cold wind brushed against Lucien's face, causing him to shiver.
"How much longer do you think it'll take for us to reach the mountains?" Lucien asked.
"At least a few days," she thought for a moment, then spoke. "We should've taken some meat from the Echo."
Then, as if decided by fate, Darky's voice resounded in Lucien's mind.
'There seems to be another one of those bastards—something different.'
"What?"
'It looks weaker, doesn't have the same metal carapace, and is shorter… probably an Ash,' he said coldly.
A grin found its way onto Lucien's face. "Hey Luna," he voiced out.
"Hm?" She turned her head towards him.
"I found lunch…" he quipped, "and dinner."
She tilted her head, waiting for him to explain.
"It's a Whispering Ash. You'll have to get it though, since I'm unarmed."
"Where is it?" she asked.
"On our path, about half a kilometer away," he replied.
Lucien tasked Darky to keep an eye on the Echo.
"So what's the plan?" he prompted.
"Same as before. You distract it with your shadow, and I'll finish it off."
They cautiously walked towards where Darky had spotted the Echo. Lucien knelt behind a half-frozen log. The wind whistled across the tundra, dragging snow along with it. He shared senses with Darky, who slithered close to the Echo.
"It's standing still," Lucien whispered to Luna.
They approached the Echo from behind, the snow muffling their steps.
"Don't look at it directly," Luna whispered. "Some Echoes can sense a gaze."
Lucien paused. "You just now mention this?"
"I thought you knew," she said, shrugging.
He scoffed and raised three fingers.
"Alright. Get ready."
Three.
Two.
One.
"Now."
Luna ran in—her strides graceful, the snow barely hindering her—her blade angled behind her.
She brought up her katana, preparing to slash downwards. The creature held its scythes out to counter.
Before it even happened, Lucien saw it in her shadow. A subtle hint.
It was a feint. Pivoting on her heel, she instantly snapped to a horizontal attack.
The Echo twitched, but it was too late.
Her blade carved a horizontal arc, slicing through the joint of its leading scythe.
Black ichor splashed across the snow. The Echo screeched.
It retaliated, slashing its other scythe downward in a vicious arc.
Again, Lucien saw it in the shadows—the scythe's path, Luna's reaction.
But Luna had already moved, now behind it. She struck once again, this time just above the joint on its hind leg. Her sword bit deep, but not clean through.
"Now!" Lucien shouted.
Darky slithered up the Echo and wrapped himself around its eyes.
Temporarily dazed, the creature swayed.
Offering no reprieve, Luna stepped to its other side and brought her katana up in a clean diagonal slash. The remaining scythe clattered into the snow.
The Echo staggered, unarmed and disoriented.
She gracefully stepped in front of it.
Her grip reversed.
The blade pierced the mask.
The Echo let out a suppressed hiss, then collapsed into silence.
"Nicely done!" Lucien's voice cut through the air as he walked up to her. "I was gonna ask this before but—where'd you learn to fight?"
"My dad taught me," she replied, crouching next to the corpse. "Now, time to butcher it."
Luna gripped the Echo's limb with her boot and drove her katana down into its hide with practiced force. The blade sank in deep, then carved slowly—methodically. She twisted it, wedging out a chunk of flesh. It wasn't clean, but it was effective.
"If you keep staring like that, I'll make you help," she quipped.
"I'd rather fight the Echo, thanks," he retorted.
Lucien muttered as he watched with a hint of discomfort, "Do you mind if I take the shadow?"
"Sure," she replied coolly. "Not like I can eat it."
Lucien walked around to the carcass—making sure to avoid the blood and ichor stained on the snow—and touched it. Just like before, the shadow quivered and entered the mass of darkness on his palm.
This time, however, he did not need to enter his Mindscape. He could feel the difference. Although its purpose was unclear, the difference could be felt.
Something vast and incomprehensible was growing.
"Guess we're eating well tonight," she said.
"Assuming you don't mind a little post-apocalyptic spice."
She chuckled softly, barely audible.
Lucien sighed and turned back to Luna.
"Isn't this weird?" he asked.
"How so?" she replied, still in the process of using her katana to extract some monster meat from the Echo.
"Usually Echoes are in groups. Weaker ones like these, even more so."
"What are you getting at?" she asked, skeptical.
"What I'm trying to say is—what if there are only a few weak Echoes here because a stronger Echo is hunting them down?"
She shook her head. "Unlikely."
"And why is that?" he questioned.
"Because we would've heard it. An Echo like that would be actively hunting."
The wind picked up then—sharp, cutting, hollow. Cold and empty.
Lucien's shoulders shuddered.
"We should leave," he spoke quietly.
She turned, tossing the meat into her pack. "Why?"
He hesitated. "It's quiet. Too quiet."
Luna sighed, then knelt and pressed her hand to the snow. "No tremors. Nothing's walking nearby. You're just paranoid."
'You might wanna see this,' Darky spoke.
Lucien focused on what Darky was seeing—sharing their senses.
He tensed.
"Then who did that?"
"What?" Luna asked, tilting her head.
"There's a half-eaten corpse up ahead," he spoke, his voice raspy.
Luna stood, brushing the snow from her armor. "Echo?"
"Can't tell, but it looks… too clean. Something fed, then left the rest on purpose."
She raised an eyebrow. "Is it trying to lure other Echoes?"
Lucien didn't answer. His eyes were locked. "Come see."
They moved silently—Luna thanks to her training, and Lucien because of his affinity to darkness. The corpse came into view.
Luna narrowed her gaze on the corpse. "How long has it been dead?"
Lucien crouched near the remains. "The blood still hasn't dried. Something killed it recently. Ten, maybe fifteen minutes ago."
A second passed—silent. Still.
Crack
Somewhere in the distance, a large branch broke.
Lucien muttered, almost to himself, "You still think I'm paranoid?"
"Let's not linger," she said.
Lucien gave a light chuckle. "Good. I was getting bored."
Another crack echoed, carried by the wind.
Lucien glanced around. "We passed a small cave on the way, half-buried in a ridge. Let's head back."
They didn't need to say anything else.
The ridge came into view, the cave's opening just beneath it.
Luna ducked in first. Lucien followed suit.
Lucien leaned against the wall, his breath steady.
"Still think I'm paranoid?"
Luna smirked faintly. "Yes, but I'll take paranoid over dead."