The Eminence of a True Monarch of the Shadows

[Third Person's PoV] 

Shadow strode through the snow-covered wasteland, his hands clasped behind his back. His black hood concealed most of his face, leaving only his sharp smile and glowing purple eyes visible.

Behind him, Igris followed with his sword at his side, one hand resting casually on the hilt. On either side of Shadow, Zeta and Beta walked in step, flanking him as he advanced.

"My dear lordly husband, if I may ask—what exactly do you have in mind?" Beta inquired, already poised with a pen and notebook in hand, her eyes gleaming with feverish excitement.

"For now, I'm simply observing," Shadow replied. "My shadow soldiers and all these girls have been working tirelessly, growing stronger so they can be of use to me. It would be a disgrace to their efforts if I simply stormed in and took care of everything myself."

Beta covered her mouth, tears welling in her eyes. "As expected of my lord—so magnanimous," she murmured, hastily scribbling his words into her notebook.

Shadow rolled his eyes in amused exasperation, shaking his head. As he passed by an ice sculpture shaped like a drake—its flames frozen solid by Beta's magic—he playfully ran a finger along its surface. The sculpture shattered instantly, collapsing into glimmering shards.

"Whoops," he said, completely unsympathetic.

"Worry not, my lord. If it pleases you, feel free to shatter them all to your heart's content," Beta said with an exaggerated bow.

Shadow was about to retort when his expression suddenly darkened. Without a word, he took a single step forward—and vanished.

As he moved, the rows of ice sculptures shattered in his wake, crumbling like fragile glass.

When Shadow reappeared, he found a grim sight—several girls wearing Shadow Garden uniforms lay scattered across the battlefield, some with grievous wounds, others torn apart entirely.

A deep frown settled on his face as he clenched his fists. He had expected casualties—it was war, after all—but seeing them like this unsettled him far more than he had anticipated.

Letting out a quiet sigh, Shadow extended his hands toward the fallen.

"Your fate does not end here…"

Harnessing his newfound authority over Aether, he manipulated the threads of destiny itself. Blood flowed back into their bodies, wounds sealed shut, and their torn limbs reattached as though time had rewound.

Their eyes snapped open in unison, gasping as their hands instinctively flew to where their injuries had been just moments ago. They looked up to see Shadow standing above them, lowering his hands, trails of vibrant purple light fading into the air.

Realization struck them all at once. They had died—there was no mistaking it. And yet, their lord had brought them back.

Overcome with reverence, they knelt before him, but before they could voice their gratitude, Shadow gave them a carefree smile.

"On this battlefield, worry not about death—it cannot claim you in my presence."

Their eyes burned with zealous devotion as Shadow disappeared into the darkness. Igris, Zeta, and Beta followed in his wake.

As Shadow moved through the battlefield, he silently observed his subordinates in action.

Lightning and black flames stormed across the battlefield. Monsters, dragons, and demonic beings were engulfed in inextinguishable fire, their bodies strewn across the landscape.

In the midst of the chaos, Claire stood with a crazed grin, arcs of lightning crackling around her body. Her sword blazed with black flames as she zigzagged across the battlefield, lightning bolts striking down from the heavens in her wake.

Shadow smirked and continued onward.

Soon, he spotted Alexia, Rose, and Sherry soaring through the air, their angelic wings propelling them forward.

Alexia radiated a golden aura, her sword glowing brilliantly. Every swing of her blade carved massive fissures into the ground. With her authority over Justice, her power surged whenever she fought against darkness and evil, or for a just cause.

Rose, meanwhile, wielded a blade glowing with a blistering red light. She charged headlong into a horde of towering trolls, gripping her sword tightly before unleashing a flurry of rapid slashes. As she landed, she extended one leg to slow her descent before smoothly sheathing her weapon. A moment later, the trolls' bodies split cleanly in two, falling apart as if sliced by a molten blade.

Then, to Shadow's surprise, he spotted Sherry—not with her usual instruments or gadgets, but wielding a spear. She kept her distance from the monstrous abominations, striking precisely at their weakest points with deadly efficiency.

A quiet chuckle escaped Shadow's lips—not one of mockery, but of endearment. It was amusing, in a way, to see her working so hard.

And so, with a satisfied smirk, he continued forward, vanishing once more into the battlefield's shadows and soon found Aurora and Elisabeth. 

Aurora soared through the air, wielding a scythe with effortless grace. She weaved between incoming attacks, dodging them with expert precision. Each movement was fluid, each strike lethal. With a single, sweeping slash, she decapitated her foes, seamlessly following up by driving her blade through the heart of the next monster.

Then, in one swift motion, she swung her scythe in a wide arc. A second later, everything within the vicinity was sliced apart, reduced to a storm of severed limbs and broken bodies. The Fate of everything in her path had been cut and erased in a single strike.

Not far away, Elisabeth moved with eerie composure, manipulating the blood of those around her. She merely raised a hand, and in an instant, ogres, trolls, demons, and giants froze in place. Then, with a casual snap of her fingers, they all erupted in a violent spray of blood.

With a slow, deliberate gesture, she commanded the rising blood to coalesce into deadly, crimson spears. With a flick of her wrist, the spears shot into the sky, piercing through dragons and wyverns, bringing them crashing down.

Shadow observed them in silence for a brief moment before continuing his walk through the blood-soaked battlefield. His presence was subdued, his aura almost nonexistent. Yet, as he moved forward, he noticed something strange—an absence of bodies. The blood remained, yet the corpses were missing, as if they had been dragged away.

A small smirk formed on his lips as he sensed a familiar aura nearby.

"Delta…" he muttered, shaking his head with amusement as he followed the trail of blood.

After a few minutes of walking, Shadow and his companions suddenly stopped, frozen at the sight before them.

Zeta sighed and covered her face in exasperation. "That damn mutt…"

Before them stood a massive mountain—a grotesque monument built entirely from the bodies of slain enemies. Giants, dragons, demonic specters, abominations, monsters of all kinds piled atop one another, their blood flowing down like rivers. The mountain was so tall that it obscured the moon's light, casting a dark shadow over the battlefield.

A faint grunting sound echoed from the top. They looked up to see a massive white wolf climbing the mountain, dragging the corpse of a giant behind it. With a final heave, the wolf dropped the body at the peak and then turned its gaze toward the moon.

Then, it howled.

"AAAAWOOOOOOOO!!"

For a fleeting moment, Shadow couldn't help but think that Delta resembled the legendary Fenrir itself.

The wolf began to shrink, its fur retreating as it transformed. Soon, in its place stood a muscular, bare-skinned woman with long, flowing white hair. Her body was drenched in blood, her claws still sharp, and her mouth curled into a crazed grin.

She threw her head back and howled once more, laughing wildly.

"AAAAAWOOOOOOO!! HAHAHAHAHA!! DELTA IS THE APEX PREDATOR!! ALL BOW BEFORE MY MIGHT! HAHAHAHAHA!!! DELTA IS INVINCIBLE!!"

Her voice rang out over the battlefield, dripping with manic glee.

Then, she froze. Her nose twitched as she sniffed the air.

Her head snapped in Shadow's direction.

With a snarl, she vanished from where she stood, blurring toward him at breakneck speed. She landed with such force that the ground cracked beneath her feet before she shot forward again, closing the distance in an instant.

She skidded to a stop, crouched on all fours, panting with her tongue hanging out. Her tail wagged excitedly.

"BOSSU!!" Delta cheered.

Before anyone could react, she tackled Shadow to the ground, nuzzling her cheek against his with an almost childlike affection.

"DELTA MISSED YOU, BOSSU!!" she cried happily.

Shadow merely chuckled, patting her head. "Although I was only gone for a few hours from your perspective, I've actually been away for a few days. So, I probably missed you more."

Delta tilted her head, blinking up at him with wide eyes. "Really? Did Bossu miss Delta?"

Shadow let out another amused chuckle. "Definitely."

Zeta groaned in the background. "Ugh. She's hopeless."

Shadow ignored her, helping Delta up. "Come along now. This will likely be the last time I ever use my 'Arise' ability for a long time. The girls have proven themselves. They've done a wonderful job."

And with that, he turned, his shadow stretching beneath him as he moved forward, disappearing into the battlefield once more.