Shadow Slave: Night Haunter

As Konrad drifted in a semi conscious state, suddenly his senses began to shift. The river stopped the pressure on his consciousness. He started to slowly coming back to his senses.

The weight of the water pressing down on him became lighter, the cold less biting. Slowly, he began to feel a change in the current, a pull in a different direction. His body, guided by instinct alone, responded, adjusting to the new flow of the river.

Then, as suddenly as he had entered, the water began to recede.

He could feel the pressure lifting, his body rising toward the surface. His muscles tensed, ready for whatever waited on the other side. The ghost, still with him, pulsed softly, its presence a constant reminder of the journey they had shared.

And then, with a final pull, he broke through the surface of the water.

He gasped for air, the cold fog clinging to his skin as he emerged from the river. His senses, though blind in the river, still tried to adjust to the strange new sensation that seemed to fill the air. The fog was thinner here, not dense enough to obscure his surrounding .

Konrad couldn't tell where the river had taken him, but the ground beneath his feet was firm, solid. He stood, water dripping from his body, his muscles tense and ready.

The air was colder than before, but it carried with it a strange, almost unnatural feeling. He could feel it in the ground beneath him, in the fog that swirled around his ankles.

Konrad had left the labyrinth behind, but whatever this place was, it wasn't freedom.

The river flowed silently behind him, its surface calm and unbroken. Before him lay the unknown, shrouded in mist and.... a human skeleton.

His instincts, sharper than ever, guided him forward. He knew there was something ahead, something waiting for him on the skeleton.

He took a step forward, the cold earth crunching beneath his feet...

"A human skeleton! Finally, I have reached a place where human foots have stepped on. And I saw you... First Bright Lord."

Although his heart remained still, he felt a siliver of joy. He observed the skeleton.

The skeleton was strangely well-preserved. It was sitting with its legs crossed, back straight, its hands resting on the hips, as if meditating. The skull of the lonesome skeleton gazed at the river with the dark chams of its empty eyes, strangely calm and at peace.

What he noticed, though, was not the whiteness of the bone nor the eternal grin of the bare skull, but a thin strip of light metal resting on it like a humble crown.

There was a single bright gemstone on the metal band, placed right above the middle of the skull's forehead.

Konrad really wanted to take that insignificant metal band from the skeleton. But he couldn't. His flaw wouldn't allow it. It is a shard memory, the Dawn Shard.

Konrad sighed and sat down beside the skeleton.

"Oh, Bright Lord! I do not know your name, your story. All I know is your destiny...

I want to pity you, pity your fate, pity your destiny. You were always meant to be a stepping stone for the Star of Ruin. It was your destiny. But I won't! I won't pity you. If I do, you will become an insignificant character in someone else's story. Your struggles, joy, love, hatred, sorrows and success will become meaningless. I won't deny you of that.

And in time I will be the same as you...."

Konrad stood up and looked at the lonesome skeleton. He to write something in the sand in the runic language.

[Ave Decimus Nox.(We were here)]

"You deserve better. You made your choice, but the world threw everything to make you fail. You are protagonist of your own story.

You have fulfilled your destiny. Stand proud! You are strong!"

Konrad started walking away.

"Sigh! Find peace and solice wherever you are."

Konrad stopped for a moment then said,

"Though, pity me. Neither I am strong, nor I am the Protagonist.... I am Night Haunter... Just an... insignificant character."

He didn't look back. Though he muttered something like,

"Dang! I am starting to talk like the Deamon of Destiny."

---

Konrad stood on the shore of the nameless river. He has two paths in front of him. One was a bridge stretching into the unknown fog and a path going deeper into the underworld. Knowing what to do and how get out of the hollow mountains, Konrad made his choice while drinking water from his chalice.

"I will cross the bridge."

---

Konrad closed his eyes. Now he can no longer see the present. Now he only sees the future. He started walking no the bridge. Soon, he crossed the river and standing on the other shore. In front of him was a dark tunnel.

A few seconds later, Konrad disappeared into the tunnel, leaving the shore of the silent river behind.

As soon as Konrad stepped into the tunnel, he felt cold shivers running down his spine. Although he couldn't tell anything about it, he could tell that it was different from the ones he had traversed earlier.

This one still felt like it had been cut through the flesh of the mountains by someone — or something — as opposed to being formed by a natural process. However, its creators were unmistakably different from the humans that had created the mine and the quarry outside

Konrad followed his visions and intuition to navigate through the cavern. While navigating through the cavern, Konrad found several ownerless shadows, forlorn and lonesome. He sent a silent salute towards them.

Konrad felt a sense of melancholy while walking through the labyrinth. He started thinking about his previous life... His old family and friends... His current family and clan... What will become of him? What will become of his old parents? Will he be able to stop the destruction of his clan?...

Hours later...

Konrad found the exit of the tunnels and he could hear distant sounds of flowing water. The fog grew more dense as well.

Soon, he found himself at the shore of another river. He opened his eyes after hours. There were stone pillars and a wooden boat was stranded on the shore. He pushed the boat back into the river.

He found a row and climbed onto the boat. He started rowing towards the other shore. He couldn't really see anything through his Clairvoyance. He relied on his intuition to cross the river.

Sometime later...

His clairvoyance saw something. He saw the other shore. He guided his boat towards the shore.

As the bottom of the boat scraped against stone, Konrad jumped to the pier and tied a rope around a stone pillar.

Finally he has crossed the boundaries of the Underworld. Konrad was exhausted and tired from the journey. He sat down at entrance of the ancient mine. He summoned his [Black Box], [Burning Amber] and [Marble Chalice]. He took out monster meat from [Black Box] and started roasting it on the [Burning Amber]. He ate the meat and drank water.

Then he closed his eyes. Soon, he was in the sweet embrace of sleep.

Next day, Konrad started making his way through the narrow tunnels of the ancient mine. After hours of navigating the ancient mine, he stumbled upon an abandoned campsite.

A makeshift firepit was built on the rock floor, with five large stones surrounding it for the humans to sit on. A bit further, a low barricade was constructed out of the rubble, protecting the camp from unwelcomed visitors.

The lost expedition had been here. Not far from that place Konrad found another thing.

A few meters away from him, the remains of a giant skeletal creature lay broken on the ground. It resembled a snake with hundreds of tiny claws growing from its belly and a terrifying, round maw. Glancing up, he judged that the length of the dead abomination was enough to coil around the whole shaft of the mine at least several times.

Konrad looked up and saw his way out of this hellhole. After resting, he climbing up the well. Climbing the well was beyond hard and dangerous. It took him hours to climb the well. It was a tough ordeal

But Konrad finally reached the top of the well. He laid down on the cold stone and started laughing. Although he is exhausted, he felt elated. He has survived. He has escaped the dreaded Underworld.

"Bye! Bey! Underworld!"