The Tales of the Shadows

12. _arm

As Clement walked in that dark hallway, the cold seeping in from everywhere, he couldn't forget the image of those two kids. His daughter and Galen sat together, everything silent other than the melody she played. Clement couldn't help but feel a little pride, though it was far suppressed by the fear and confusion he felt for the two.

Clement would indeed look after him for as long as he could, but something didn't feel right. For as long as he could? What if something were to happen to him the next day? The next month? The next five years? They were too small.

He couldn't protect him for as long as he could because there was no telling when his time would come to an end. He had to leave something.

Clement took a deep breath as he came to a stop, wishing he had walked slower. With a slow, excruciating exhale he opened his eyes, the blinding artificial light providing a needed pause before he faced the otherwise dark room.

The eight shadow-trappers sat in a cold, closed room and Clement silently entered to be seated, making nine. All heads hung low, each face being a shell of its usual energy struggling to think or feel. The absence of a tenth felt sharp with the reduced size of their circle, the gloom that pervaded the space, the absence of her delightful aura.

Jay raised his eyes as he scanned the room, the motion minimal and quiet as he didn't wish to disturb anyone yet. Kenji maintained his neutral expression; perhaps with his heightened age he had already suffered many losses, but Jay could see hers still stung him. His own sister had never worn such a lost expression ever before.

Does Pranetra think about the same things as me? Why are we so attached to the Shadow-Trappers despite not being one of them? I do consider all of them as friends...

"What happened?" Zeno asked monotonously without shifting his position as he leaned on a wall, his chin lifting enough so that he could see Jay. The leader parted his lips but closed them immediately, falling short of words.

What indeed had happened? Jay knew many things were possible, but this was not one of them.

"I have never seen Ila do something so rash before," Zeno began, his voice unnaturally gruff. "She has always treated Demonic Creatures with as much care as possible, she never took upon so many of them at once. She used a suicidal technique of Solis to wipe out that group of Demonic Creatures. Why?" Zeno sat straight now, seemingly ready to stand up.

"I don't think it's easy to answer that..." Umbra said softly, regretting speaking up immediately.

"Since she isn't here to tell me herself I need one of you to answer before I lose my mind," Zeno's voice withered with exhaustion as he fell back on the wall.

"I may have an answer," Clement started softly, catching everyone's attention. The reaction caused the shadow some hesitation - he knew he would have to speak very carefully - and took a deep breath before continuing.

"I'm not sure if anyone other than Kenji and Pranetra knows this: Ehren is my father, in a so-called "biological" sense. Quite some time ago he had sensed a very odd disturbance in the Land of Chaos - or he was told about it, I'm not sure exactly. He went and encountered the creatures Ila did and realised the danger of their existence immediately. I'll come to that in a bit."

Clement slightly turned to Jay, earning a smile from the leader. Clement was unsurprised that Jay already knew. After all, what one of those two siblings knew would be conveyed to the other as quickly as possible. Talking about Ehren led to that tiny nuisance of a question come up again: What would it have been like if he had lived with Ehren instead of Jay and Pranetra? Or with those two? Why did Ehren give him to Kenji? It was something Clement had stopped wondering about a long time ago. To him it mattered no more, but it remained as a tiny speck of curiosity.