Hellish Shadows

Chapter 1 - Purpose of the Void (Updated)

Darkness, that was all Shade could see once he had begun waking up. He wasn't able to remember what had happened.. his memories felt corrupted. A searing pain radiated from the back of his neck. "What's happening?" he attempted to ask, his voice reverberating through the oppressive gloom that surrounded him, met only by an unsettling silence. Panic surged within him, and he felt tears prick at his eyes. "Is anyone there?!" he shouted, his voice tinged with desperation as he yearned to break free from this nightmarish prison. Soon enough his fear turned into anger, very reminiscent of his mothers rage. As he struggled, a strange cold enveloped his arm, which began to darken and twist as he clawed at the suffocating shadows. The odd transformation took place, his arm elongated and sharpened, a swirling mist of purple enveloping it, and the shadows began to unravel around him. "Let me out!" He roared, too angry to take notice of his changing arm until he finally slashed through the dark cloud. "What the fuck-? What happened to my arm..?" As he finally broke free from the shadowy confines, he was confronted by the very Shadow that had ensnared him, though he had no recollection of that encounter. His arm reverted to its original form as he processed the bizarre shift. "What the fuck is going on?! Who are you?!" He spoke with anger and fear laced in his voice.

The Shadow wrapped the boy with shadow tendrils, forcing him to his knees on the slick tile floor. It took a moment of silence before they let the dark mist dissipate, revealing a more human-like appearance. This being vibrant, cascading gray hair, slender eyebrows with a distinctive slit, and piercing emerald eyes that seemed to cut through the air. Their long red gloves contrasted sharply with a loose-fitting dark button-up shirt that cloaked the rest of their skin, while a few piercings adorned their lips and nose, adding an edge to their look. "You may address me as Ash, your saving grace," they said in a gentle tone, yet the weight of their words were entwined with undeniable strength.

Shade took a moment to analyze the person in front of him, unsure of who they were, but they were the only other being in this room with him so far. "Where.. How did I end up here?" the boy asked, "What happened to me?"

"I pulled you back from the brink of death, demon," Ash began, their voice shifting from gentle to a more gravelly tone as they continued. "You were destined to meet your end if I hadn't intervened to save your soul. I'm here to instill purpose in your existence; your potential is remarkable, yet your form needs some work, you're basically a dust branch with how your body is built." They explain briefly while finally retracting the restraints they had tied him with. "I will help guide you into creating a newer, better form for your new-found purpose."

Shade was taken aback. 'Purpose?? What purpose do I even serve here, I wanna go home..' He paused, absorbing the weight of those words, glancing down at his arms again. The memory of a searing darkness flowing through him surged back, and he questioned, "What am I.. this is no power of a simple demon. What did you do to me?" His last question sounded more angry as his red eyes looked to the other.

Ash had a smirk on their face when answering, "You're no longer some mere demon, dear child, you are now, a Shadow Demon. You are reborn with new immense power, and will help me bring back the Shadow people."

His eyes widen as he hears that, a Shadow, he was part Shadow. Shade had always heard rumors and stories of the Shadow assassins, killer of worlds. They were supposed to be extinct from what he had heard his mother say. Never would he expect to become one with them, he hated death, even as a demon who was surrounded by it daily. "No.. no, I don't want any part of this- I want to go back to my home, my parents. Take me back to my parents!"

Ash could feel the fear and anger radiating from the other. Perhaps altering memories could soothe the tension and ensure complete control over him. While Shade was momentarily distracted, Ash seized the opportunity, gripping the back of his neck and activating his mark, rendering him unconscious once more. "Let's make you whole again, my dear child~" Dark orbs surged into the boy's mind, suppressing his past memories even more to help prevent any recollection. Ash then infused new memories into Shade's consciousness, crafting a false narrative where Ash had been his loving parent all along, with the Shadow Code woven into the fabric of those memories. "I will mold you into the finest of them all, I will resurrect my kin, and you shall be the instrument of my ambition, sweet Shade Kage, my puppet." Ash then carelessly placed Shade's body in one of the Shadow rooms, allowing him to rest for a few days as the new memories settled into his mind.

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At least a week of dark time had passed by before the new made Shadow Demon began waking up, a splitting headache emanating as he rose up from bed, looking around his dark room. He rubbed his eyes before fully getting up and leaving his room, his 'memories' giving him a layout of a normal routine after waking up. He makes his way to the dressing room to dress in a sort of training uniform, which consists of a dark cloak and all black clothing, relatively comfortable and stretchy. He cleans himself up before heading to the dome, a place where all the new Shadows used to train, before they disappeared.

Ash stood there, waiting for their new child to appear, a smile on their face as he approached. "Had a good rest dear?" They ask, back to a very soft spoken voice.

"Yes, I have." Shade responded emotionlessly, as if most of his emotions were fully suppressed or even no longer existed. "I'm ready to train my abilities now."

"Good, let's get started, shall we?" Ash removed their sleeve to reveal their pale arm with a snake symbol engraved on it, to better demonstrate how the powers work, "As you call upon the shadows, the darkness will feel like searing lava going through your veins, this is a good thing and will need to get used to the feeling."

Shade nods, concentrating in his arm as he could feel the darkness coursing through him. He can see his arm growing darker in color, but the feeling wasn't hot at all, instead it was a cold feeling, freezing even. "Is it alright if it's cold? I don't feel any heat."

Ash furrow their brows, this was definitely something new. 'He is a demon.. Perhaps that's why?' Ash thinks to themself. "Can you concentrate harder? Heat allows for the shadows to flow more smoothly, as for cold, it may be much more difficult to control."

Shade nods while attempting for a stronger connection to the darkness, trying to access it all, but his body suppresses such attempts.

'Demons grew within the fire, so they could be immune to any sort of heat, and instead it could just grow cold instead of hot?' Ash kept thinking, trying to figure out if they needed to make an entirely new training plan for a hybrid Shadow. "Hmm, perhaps we can try it while it's cold, see how your abilities react to it. Try to create a tendril and immobilize me."

Once again, the teen nodded, his arm growing darker as small tendrils began to form from his upper arm, the back of his neck began heating up as he tried to grow them larger to capture Ash, but instead the shadows had their own ideas. Shade's eyes grow black with red glowing pupils rather than the white kind Ash had, a grin now on his face as the tendrils began to spawn from his back, he was now levitating off the ground while looking down at Ash, "My my Ashy~ have you truly found a new companion for us to host? Perhaps a more fun snack, or even better, a new playtoy for me~" A new, straining sounding voice echoed from Shades mouth, he was not in control..

"Void, this is my new goal I was enlightened with, I am trying to rebuild what you allowed to be torn apart. You know I can control your gift very well, my lord."

"Ah yes, but this measly child? Your heart grows darker Ash, subjecting a kid to the void, hmm? I do, however, sense great potential in this one, is this your reason for bringing him here?"

Ash nods as a response before kneeling to the void, "Allow me to prove to you that I can rebuild my people, starting with Shade, I know I can do this, to show my power and purpose to you. I wish for our people to return again."

The Void seemed amused at Ash, they were young when the genocide happened, yet they remained the strongest killer they had in the species, no wonder they survived the Light wipeout. Void wanted to break free from their limitations, live as their own being just like before, before they were drained and used by the Shadow people, now though... Things are very different, they can break free from restraint if they can simply convince Shade to merge with them, then they could finally be free. "I'll allow it, but be warned Ash," a dark tendril wraps itself around Ash immediately, fairly tightly too, "If you fail, or use me for your own selfish needs, I will not hesitate to kill you myself." The Void smirks before allowing control back to Shade, making him believe he has done the entrapment instead of the Void. "Have I done it correctly, Ash?"

Ash nods before breaking out of the hold themselves, they clear their throat before speaking, "Well done Shade, let's try for a moving target this time."