Queen of the Shadows

3. To Gain his Trust

2 days had passed, more than half spent on sleeping.

[ Are you awake? ]

[ Are you awake? ]

[ Are you awake? ]

[ Are you awake? ]

Cale groaned, covering his ears with his pillows. 'Will you shut up?!'

[ Can we do something? ]

[ Can we do something? ]

[ Can we do some—-

Cale threw his pillow at the screen, using the most energy he's ever done in one attack. "Shut up!"

[ :( ]

'What do you want?' Cale gave up.

[ :D ]

[ Let's go on a walk ]

'A walk...?' "Alright." Cale got up from bed, dressing up in normal and thin wear, then headed out onto the streets.

[ :))) ]

'It's acting strange...' Cale thought as he walked. 'Nothing bad will happen on a walk, right...?'

The system didn't answer.

"Cale?" A voice called out his name.

Cale turned around, only to see Sung Jinwoo, 'shit. I knew I shouldn't have trusted this damned system!' Cale cursed quietly. "Hello, mr. Sung."

Jinwoo smiled, "you can drop the formalities, call me by my first name."

Cale stared at him, he knew he was just acting to be friendly. "Alright." He still agreed.

"How have you been? It's been awhile, hasn't it?" Jinwoo tried initiating a conversation.

"I've been fine, what about you?" Cale asked back, also acting friendly.

Jinwoo didn't suspect a thing, "I'm fine. Are you heading somewhere?"

"No, just on a walk." Cale smiled.

Jinwoo flinched, a bit taken aback, "I.. see..." His gaze averted from Cale for a moment then returned, "why don't we go get something to drink? My treat." He offered.

'So sudden? Just what does he want...' "Alright."

Both the System and the shadows were quiet at the time.

Ding!

They entered a nearby cafe and sat down at an empty table.

The place seemed to have gotten louder, but wasn't that the problem with all cafes?

"It's hunter Sung Jinwoo!"

"What's he doing here? Is he on a date?!"

"Who's that person next to him?"

"They look like a couple!"

"They're quite the lookers!"

Cale sweated, unsure what to think about the rumors already going on. This Jinwoo must've been popular.

"Ignore them, it's not good to listen to rumors." Jinwoo told Cale. "Anyways, what would you like?"

Cale nodded.

They ordered their drinks.

Cale had a sweet drink, while Jinwoo had a bitter one. Quite the opposite.

'How could he drink something so bitter?' Cale thought, eyeing his drink.

"Is this drink more appealing than me?" Jinwoo asked, teasing him.

Cale flinched, then looked up at Jinwoo, "sorry." He apologized. "What did you want to talk about?"

"You're not from here are you?"

His sudden question caught Cale off guard.

"Don't worry, I put up a sound barrier between us. No one will hear us, it'll just be a mutter to them." Jinwoo smiled.

Cale sweated, "how did you know?"

"The shadows told me, wife of the previous Shadow Monarch."

'I heard that before.. from the system... it said I met the Monarch of Shadows... is that him?' Cale wondered. 'But what did he mean "wife"?!'

Jinwoo moved on, "you must be here to test me to see if I'm fit to become the true Shadow Monarch."

Cale watched him blankly, not understanding a thing, 'what is he saying?'

[ The System is sweating heavily ]

Cale looked at the blue screen in front of him. Then he asked it, 'am I the wife of the Shadow Monarch...?'

[ The System shakes their head "yes" anxiously ]

'....' Cale suddenly had the urge to throw knives. "Yes..." Cale answered Jinwoo's question, playing along with the conversation.

"Then what must I do?" Jinwoo asked, seriously, very seriously...

'Bellion.' Jinwoo called out.

"What is it, my liege?" Bellion answered.

'What did you mean when I haven't completed my "title" before?'

"My liege.. the thing is... you may have inherited Ashborn's heritage, but a large portion of the shadow army follows the queen, not the king. So to become the complete Monarch of Shadows title, you need the queen's approval." Bellion explained.

'The shadow army I received was just a small portion?!'

"Yes, the shadow army is much larger than that."

Jinwoo clenched his jaw. He decided, he had to gain the queen's trust.

Cale kept silent.

Jinwoo sighed, "I guess I can't just ask you, can I?" He smiled sadly.

Cale didn't say anything, not like he could, he didn't know what to say. "I think I should be heading out now." Cale stood up from his chair. "Thank you for the drinks."

"Wait!" Jinwoo jolted up, holding onto Cale's wrist to prevent him from escaping. "You don't know this world very well, do you? Why don't I show you around?"

Cale frowned, "if you want something, just say so."

Jinwoo was left speechless. He couldn't just say so, he'll look greedy, and that wasn't going to look good.

"Uh oh, he's angry." Beru stated.

The shadows finally spoke up.

"I'm sorry.." Jinwoo apologized, letting go of him.

Cale stormed out.

Jinwoo stood there, watching him leave. 'Why am I getting emotional? No, I just feel guilty about it.' He shook the thoughts out of his head. 'I need to grow more powerful.'

Why?

Why did he need to grow stronger?

The world was coming to an end, by the other monarchs and the heavenly beings and every other who was after his home.

[ Quest - Save the World From the End ]

He looked at the screen in front of him. At first, he didn't care, but now, he couldn't let the bonds he had built die.

Beings from other worlds kept invading his home, where he and his family lived. They wanted to destroy it, control it, use it, and Jinwoo couldn't let them do that.

He was given this one chance, another chance. When the gods of this world allowed him to reverse time backwards to the beginning one more time, he had to protect it this time.

But his powers hit a wall, again.

Was it power he needed? Or was it something else?