Episode 17: Shadow Bodies
A week after the contracts were signed, it became clear that the new Abyssal Knights rumors were spreading successfully. One of the biggest places information was being exchanged was in the cafeteria. Deeno and four of his men walked in for breakfast. While most ate, Deeno was on a mission and he decided that today, he was going to make everyone aware that this new group also had two incredibly important figures. The one thing about all of this was that nobody knew if anyone was actually taking the rumors seriously. It hadn't been long since the first bit of information made its way around the bustling lunchroom.
Ren, one of Deeno's men, made his way over to a table with a group of about four guys and two girls. As he approached, everyone waved and smiled because he knew these people well. They used to be his old squad and, oh boy, did he have some crazy rumors to tell them. One of the girls leaned in and almost whispered to Ren, "Hey, is there any more info on the new Abyssal Knights? I'm a sucker for potential drama." Shawna winked at him. Ren leaned in towards the center of the table, "Yeah, I got a bit more today that fell through the grapevine. Apparently this new squad is insanely strong. The rumor is they even gave Thanatos a beating and it was one of the weaker members who sparred with him."
Looking at all their faces, Ren could tell that either they were confused or didn't believe the words that just left his lips. One of the guys spoke up in defiance, "Yeah okay. No way that happened. I fought Thanatos personally and there is only one person in the world who would be able to beat him and that's the king. If you're going to tell rumors, tell me something that isn't a fairytale." Ren shrugged, but continued, "Taylow, I don't know what to tell you, but that's one of the rumors that I heard." The second girl at the table named Dee asked, "Only one? You mean you heard more? What else is there?" Clearing his throat, Ren explained what Deeno's group was told to leak. "This next thing I'm about to tell you guys might sound even more ridiculous, but it also might back up the first rumor I just told you. From what I've heard, two of these Abyssal Knights are set to become new leaders of The Order. One is supposedly called 'The Abyssal King'. He is said to have unimaginable power and is terrifying to look at. The other is 'The Abyssal Queen'. Not really too much to say about her, but I have been told that she doesn't have a face. The other thing was she is some type of sorceress." Ren looked at each person at the table and then finished what he wanted to get out. "Like I said yesterday, believe what you want to believe. I don't know exactly how much of this is true, exaggerated, or just made up, but the fact is, this stuff is being spread from the top down and at least some of it has to be real right?"
Nearly the same back and forth conversation was happening all over the room. One guy sitting with Deeno, who named himself Axe, stood up and slammed his hands down on the table. Just by looking at him, one could tell he wasn't very happy and it most likely was caused by these supposed rumors. He spread his arms out viciously and addressed everyone in the room. "All of this make-believe bull crap being talked about needs to stop! Everyone knows that it's impossible to beat Thanatos except for one man alone. Now what? We just magically happen to have four people that walk in here that can take him down? If that's the case, where are they? In fact, where is Thanatos? We can just ask him ourselves!" Axe's eyes were growing wider and wider with every word, which made him look insane.
Deeno tried to calm him down, but it was useless. "All of you know that I am supposed to be next in line to become one of the leaders for The Order. After James was found out to be dead, I know for a fact that you guys knew it was only a matter of time. Some of you even told me so. Now we have some imaginary friends coming to play with us, isn't that nice?" Across the room Taylow stood up and joined in. "Yeah, none of this could be real. How is it that just a week ago, nobody knew about these Abyssal Knights and now they are going to be our leaders? Make it make sense." Axe gave Taylow a thumbs up and was about to start up again when the doors flew open to the cafeteria.
When everyone looked, black flames were streaking across the doors. A large figure could be seen approaching the doorway. "Thanatos?" Axe whispered under his breath. Sure enough, Thanatos walked into the room and stared down both of the people standing. "Do we have some kind of problem here?" His presence was just as menacing as always, however, something was just a little different this time. On the left side of his face, Thanatos had a small fist sized bruise. "No sir we don't have a problem, but what happened to you?" Taylow asked respectfully.
Thanatos took a moment to breathe. In his head, he was laughing so hard that a smirk was trying to force itself onto his face, but he knew this was the perfect moment to get them on board instantly if he executed this perfectly. He looked around at all the faces gearing themselves towards him, "I know there have been rumors flying around this place like flies. I don't really know what has or hasn't been said, but I am here to talk to you all and clear the air." These few words forced everyone out of their seats and they got close enough to hear every little word he was about to say. He knew that he wanted to take the bull by the horns so that there wasn't much babbling in the background. "First off, I will double down. I don't know exactly what's been said so I will explain as if all of you know nothing. Everyone knows what has happened to James, right?" Most of the people nodded while others barely muttered yeses and yeahs. "The thing about James that nobody knows is that he didn't just die for no reason. He knew what was happening and made a way for us to end the evil that hunted him down."
A few people in the crowd began to tear up thinking about James. "There are a few more things that I want to tell you all, but for now, I'm only going to tell you one. The rest will come later. Raise your hand if you have heard of a mysterious group of people called 'The Abyssal Knights'?" Slowly, every hand ended up in the air. The worry on their faces was obvious. These people had been told that new leaders were coming out of that specific group of people and now Thanatos was asking them about 'The Abyssal Knights' unprompted. They just didn't know how to feel about it. "Well, I'm here to tell you all that they are very real. Two things about these people. One is that you have absolutely nothing to worry about from them, especially if you have nothing to hide. Two is more than likely, everything you all might have heard about them up until now is true." Everyone dropped their jaws to the floor and stood shocked in front of their organization head. "To be honest, one of them gave me this bruise." As he said this, Thanatos held his hand up to the nasty marking on his face. "Before I tell you all anything else, I want to introduce you to them. Gather your things and meet me in the hallway in six minutes. If that gives you enough time to finish your breakfast then great, but after six minutes, we will march to the arena where they are waiting for us." The cafeteria was in shambles as people scrambled to hurry and swallow their eggs, bacon, grits, and pancakes as well as inhale their beverages. Not everyone could eat though. Their nerves were getting the best of some of them and it was obvious.
After the six minutes was up, every last soul stood in the hallway with Thanatos and they began to walk in a double file line. This was normally how the squads marched from place to place. The thing is, this walk was eerily quiet as the group anticipated seeing the people that, only half an hour ago, they thought were just hoaxes. Thanatos and the crowd behind him walked for about fifteen minutes before reaching the large black iron double doors. "Remember, no matter how they look to you all, they truly mean you no harm." That was the last encouraging message he had for them before effortlessly swinging the doors open. It took a moment for their eyes to adjust to the lighting as they walked in, but when they did, most froze almost immediately. Their insides went cold because of what was in front of them.
Two days before the big reveal of 'The Abyssal Knights' was to happen, Liam asked the group to meet up and when they did, he had something incredibly special in mind. "Hey Travis, I want to do something and don't want you to say no. Just let me finish before you say anything so I don't forget what I want to say, okay? I was able to give Paisley more power and even forced her ability to work early. To help you guys, I want to boost both you and Brittany's power levels." Brittany and Travis were stunned and, if they were being honest with themselves, they were getting a little bit excited. They wondered what a boost would do to their abilities. "Oh, and I want to make us some disguises. Thanatos said we should keep ourselves hidden right? I don't know what you want your disguises to be, but I want to see if I can make it permanent." The group got a little worried hearing the words 'permanent' and 'disguises' together. Liam snapped his fingers only a second later and absolutely nothing was different.
They glanced around and became severely confused. "Lil bro, what the heck did you do?" Paisley said as she started laughing. Liam joined in her laughter, because now he realized how silly he looked. "Wait, I can explain! I gave everyone another ability. Well actually it's more of a skill. Thanatos kind of gave me the idea. The best part is, you guys can choose the shape your disguise is in. The only thing is whatever you choose, it will be in a cool looking shadow form." Everyone's anxiety of being stuck in some weird form disappeared and excitement set in for them yet again. "Last thing we should keep in mind is that all you have to do to disguise yourself is to think it. Also, think about what you want to look like and it will end up that way. Once you make your disguise, it won't be able to be redone unless you ask me to change it for you."
After the long winded explanation was over, they all took turns creating their new forms in front of each other. Travis went first. He closed his eyes and pictured what he wanted his shadow form to look like and followed up with wanting it to activate. Shadow swirled around him in a fiery cloud of darkness until the others were met with a tall and slender shadow man that had a huge set of antlers. To the three watching, it was weird and creepy, but somehow, it all didn't look bad. Brittany was next. She thought about it for a minute or two and then she closed her eyes. Shadow poured out from her pores and swarmed her, closing off the others' view of her physical body. The dark flame-like abyssal matter condensed until what was left shocked even Liam. A shadow dire wolf stood there as tall as Brittany was when she was in her human form. It growled as it breathed in and exhaled with a gurgling ferocity that would send chills down the spines of hardened killers.
Seeing his wife's shadow form Travis asked for a redo because now he was a little jealous and he thought he could pick a form that would complement his ability better than some deer man. Liam snapped his fingers and nodded to him and Travis closed his eyes to perfect his shadow form. When thinking, he kept the idea of speed and smarts in mind. Shadows erupted from his body and swirled like it did previously. When they subsided, what was seen could only be described as a male harpy from the neck down. From the jawline upwards was a totally different story. The mouth of Travis's shadow form broke wider than humanly possible and teeth thinner, longer, and sharper than normal lined his gums. Beady eyes that could pierce your soul darted back and forth seemingly looking for its next prey. The top of his head had the brain exposed and it was larger than his skull by a few inches on all sides. Both Brittany and now Travis's shadow bodies were so terrifying, they didn't know how the people of The Order would take to them.
Feeling satisfied now, Travis deactivated his shadow and told Paisley it was her turn. Excited that she could show off the form she had already been thinking of the whole time, Paisley closed her eyes and focused. Shadows encased her body and disappeared to reveal the figure of a grown woman with a shadow staff in her hand and a crown clearly displayed across her head. The odd thing about her shadow form was that there were no facial features whatsoever. It kind of creeped the others out. Someone without a face was something that was only seen in horror movies. She expelled her shadow and waited for a reaction. "That was definitely something else." Travis said as he started a small round of applause for his little girl. There wasn't much else to say in any of their eyes. Her form was simple and unsettling.
Travis, Brittany, and Paisley got bundled up together to witness what Liam had in store for his shadow form. "I'm ready!" is all that he said before shutting his eyes. An explosion of shadows left his body and they were so dark that they seemed to swallow all of the light around them. Streaks and lines of shadows orbited a large orb of blackness in the middle where Liam should have been. A second explosion erupted from the large orb and burst outward in small shards. After the three regained their composure, they quickly looked for Liam, but what they saw was not Liam at all. A man that easily was the size of two Thanatos's was at the center of that explosion on a knee. A moment later and the giant shadow specter stood up reaching heights of twelve feet tall. At the top of his head was a crown of thorns that stretched upwards. Each thorn reached around a foot long. In his hand was a shadow enveloped long sword that could be five to six feet long. Like Paisley there were no facial features except for his eyes and they matched his real eye color. The figure looked to be decked out in armor starting with shoulder guards and it worked its way down to metal looking boots. Lastly, a cape was draped down his back that connected to the shoulder guards. The cape was colored entirely in an iridescent glow, but it had the design of a black dragon in the middle of it. The dragon was an exact copy of the Black Dragons insignia.
The rest of 'The Abyssal Knights' stared up at the shadow giant feeling nothing but despair. His presence screamed utter authority. While looking at this horrifying scene, every second seemed like an eternity. Hearts were skipping their normal beats and breaths were being taken from each of them. In the fraction of a second, the shadows vanished as if it was never there and the little boy they all knew and loved stood there with a very large smile on his face. Brittany dropped off the couch and fell to her knees before stating, "Liam… you have to warn us before you show your shadow form again. I don't think I could ever get used to it. That was straight out of a nightmare I never had." Seeing his aunt's reaction made him satisfied that this whole thing went perfectly. To him, there was just one more idea he wanted to implement.
Liam, without giving his family a heads up, he snapped his fingers once again. "What was that? Did you just make something else happen?" Travis anxiously blurted out. Liam gave one solid nod and explained. "I made it to where your shadow forms give you a boost to your powers by ten times. Also, you are able to use your shadow form to do whatever you think it's able to do." Liam looked at their faces and disbelief was written all over them. "The last thing I want to do is boost both of your power levels. Let me just do this real quick." He activated the visuals that only he could see to be able to read someone's power levels and quickly adjusted both of their base stats. When he was done, the numbers sat at one hundred thousand a piece. Liam grinned cheekily, then clicked 'save' on both at the same time. Just like when Paisley had her increase in power, energy appeared all around them and absorbed into their pores rapidly.
Liam gave them so much more power than they had before that it just overtook them. Physical manipulation of their appearance occurred and it was drastic.Travis doubled over as his body transformed itself. Muscles grew, limbs lengthened, and his voice even deepened. He stood straight up and faced the ceiling as his hair grew a bit longer and changed into a very bright red color that looked like it would glow in the dark. Brittany's body tightened as if she was losing body fat by the second. She took care of herself before now, and never let herself go, which explains the severity of leanness she was obtaining right in front of Liam and Paisley's eyes. Her face shined brighter than before and her hair shifted into almost a neon light pink color. It was very different for her kids to see, but even they had to admit that it suited her well. After both of them simultaneously opened their eyes, it was obvious that their eye colors changed to match their hair and it made all of the Sanely family look like celestial beings.
End of Episode 17: Shadow Bodies
Author's Name
ClodiasManga