A being of shadow.

At first, I felt awful, horrible. It was unbearable. I wanted to go outside, to see the world around me, and try to remember my family, my name, or anything related to the past. I felt like I had lost a big chunk of myself, like I had become a shallow being, a container with nothing in it. I felt empty, hopeless... but maybe not entirely hopeless. The Angel of Key had said maybe I could regain my memories. It was just that maybe that gave me hope and the energy to do what was necessary.

After all, it is what it is. I could do nothing, and just thinking about it wouldn't solve anything. So instead, I focused on learning Lumiereian.

Sorcerer Kalos did something interesting, he would turn the translation device on and off while repeating something in both languages. I could see the difference: when the translation device was on, I could understand, but I didn't actually know the language. That method really helped me quickly grasp the basics.

Kalos was a good teacher. He was a kind and humble person. We talked about many different things, so I learned more about this world, how there were different powers, abilities, lives, cultures, many another things.

Thimos visited me once a week, sometimes once every two weeks. He was always silent, unlike his brother. On the other hand, his brother visited me at least once every two days and always made sure I lacked nothing.

The book that Thorus gave me, I had only read chapter one. It was about what a shadow was and the philosophy behind it, and how to reach the Disciple level. There was a ritual for becoming a Disciple of Shadow. You were supposed to go into the darkest cave possible and stay there for four days, trying to feel the shadows with your eyes closed. If you had the affinity, the shadows would cast a layer of shade on your soul after you officially became a Disciple. But if you didn't have an affinity, the shadows would cast a harmful shade on your soul, which would damage your mind and body.

It talked about understanding that a shadow is formless and flexible, and how it could be anything, it just depended on the person. There was something important I learned: the human body naturally rejects the powers of shadow. So, if you still wanted to continue on this path, there would be a lot of pain in the process.

So, I asked Thorus one day, "Do I have an affinity for shadow?"

Although it sounded like a stupid question, I still asked.

"Well, you don't need to worry about the affinity," he said. "He is sure that you have a shadow affinity, and it's stronger than normal."

I asked him how he knew.

"The Angel of Key told me that," he continued. "And you have to do a ritual once you are out of here, for you to get started on the path to power."

And that was how I spent the four months of my new life, stuck in the basement.

It was worth it. The results were quite good. Now I speak Lumiereian, and I can maintain my human transformation for three minutes, which is good progress compared to two minutes. Now, I have to wait for thirty-five minutes before I can transform again.

The custom I had was the same as Roulo's brother's, but mine had gloves and a kind of hat that covered my head. They gave me a mask too. It was a white mask with nothing but a green key drawn on it. My coat and turtleneck covered my neck. There was another set of clothes besides this one was all black and completely different from the first set. The best part was that both outfits would transform with me into my shadow form.

Thorus said they were gifts from the Angel of Key.

As for my color blindness, Thorus had bought me a device that looked like a circular object made of glass. The surprising thing was that I could see its color it was light blue and there was a slot for it in both masks. I could place it in either my right eye or my left.

It was magnificent. Colors are beautiful now that I can see them: red, blue, green, purple, pink, orange and many more. I could truly understand their value and appreciate them.

My teacher had already left after saying goodbye to me. That was around two days ago.

Today was the day I was going to get out of this place. I was excited, honestly, really, really excited. I was going to be an official member of the organization, but I didn't care much about that. I cared that I was getting out of here.

I have yet to become a Disciple, but today that will change, because Thimos and Thorus are coming to take me to a cave called Sarma Cave.

Sarma Cave is in the city of Tarith, which is where I am and have been.

I'm now wearing my set of clothes with the key drawn on the mask. The pieces of clothing were green, but the mask was white, though the key was green. Since I was in my shadow form, it looked like I was a green shadow with a bit of white in it. The glass that helps me see colors did not work in my shade form. I had asked Thorus about it the day he arrived with the device, and that's what he told me.

Knock, knock.

I quickly transformed and grabbed my bag, which was full of books and the black set of clothes.