Lord Shadow

HOWL!

The sound of the wolf howling could be heard in this forest.

Large creatures roamed the night as the tall trees that reached the clouds provide shelters for many creatures of this forest from predatory monsters.

Somewhere in this large and vast forest there is someone setting up a campfire. A flash on lightning and the campfire was set up.

The fire attracts the attention of the monsters around the forest

A few beasts that roam the forest at night wanted to eat the people around the campfire. Their paws and claws readied as they moved silently in the dark but peaceful night.

Creeping silently they approach the area.

Yet when these beast and monsters arrived near the campfire they quickly retreated as fast as they can.

The person on the campfire area looks toward the running beast and monster and only smirk.

The beast felt the energy coming out from the person who built the campfire and it scared them away.

The person who built the campfire is a man and finished building it he relaxes as he sits on a large bark of wood from a fallen tree.

The wind was breezy and the forest was peaceful

‘Huu’ He breathed the clear night air as he takes another sip at the hot chocolate.

He nodded thinking to himself. “It has been a long time since I tasted chocolate. Lily would have liked this’

Then he sighed.

The cold air turns his breath to be like mist being spewed out from his mouth.

The cold invade his body and electricity swirls all around his body rotating once dispelling all the cold.

‘The world has truly changed. I don’t know if that is a good thing or a bad thing’ He thought to himself as he takes another sip feeling the warmth filing his body as he smiles.

He notices a small beast looking at him inside from a bush in the distance. He smirks as he pointed his finger and a bolt of red lightning shoots towards that creatures.

The creatures immediately got shot down. It convulsed for a while before foaming on its mouth and die shortly afterwards.

That man took another sip treating what just happened as not a big deal whatsoever.

‘Simple pleasures’ and he look at the moon and nodded

‘Isn’t that right brother?’ As he wistfully smiles, thinking of his brother.

He notices that while humans are becoming stronger, the world is also becoming stronger.

If before the cold could not do anything to him now the cold is magnified, amplified, strengthened so much so that even he could feel the cold.

It was like Earth is getting stronger too. So much so it forces people to cultivate and gain higher levels.

This kind of level of cold is nothing for him but for Pillar Forming cultivators they would probably be cold and need items to make sure they are not affected from the cold.

In the end, Pillar Forming who used to be so strong in the beginning is now akin to mortals compared to Disk Forming or Seed Forming cultivators.

That man shakes his head.

‘Azief assumptions that the World Orb objective is to make us stronger may not be that farfetched.’ He then sighed.

This man is none other than the Purple Speedster Will, the sworn brother of Azief the Death Monarch.

Will was resting after the taxing experience he felt just a few hours ago. Thinking about it he still could feel goosebumps recalling the close call.

And then he heard a noise opposite of him.

He was not startled so he just raises his eyebrows.

He looks at that person, sitting on a large bark opposite him, her plate is already finished.

She too is warming herself around the campfire. But more importantly she rubs a few plant based herbs on her wounds.

Her blood forms a pool before but now it has considerably decreased

‘That was a jarring experience’ he said to the woman trying to make some conversation. The woman is still bloodied in many places and her broken bones are slowly healing.

The woman just nodded, her body is leaning to the large tree, clearly exhausted, her face is slightly pale and one could see the trembling on her hand.

Her fingers also have many cuts and slices.

Maybe because of that she is eating more than usual. She brought out all kinds of beast meat from her storage pouch.

She hunted many beasts in her journey all across the world.

She took the meat and sprinkles it with spices and black pepper, the smell was inviting.

She even put cheese on top some of the meat making it look even more appetizing as the meat was put on top of the grill.

Even Will don’t know how she could find cheese.

Then she started grilling it and putting it over the fire, as she is slowly gaining energy with each bite of the food she consumes.

The woman also looks toward Will but there is caution in her eyes only awkwardness.

Thinking about what she had to experience today, she truly felt it is weirder than her usual adventure.

If not for the Purple Speedster, she would probably be dead. The thing she encountered, that thing is definitely not just some mere monsters.

Will take a look once again at that woman and he shakes his head.

‘Azief was not wrong’ he said to himself without anyone hearing it.

This woman is beautiful, with black silky hair, perfect figure, beautiful clear eyes and a flawless cute face which is the result of her astounding level as a Disk Forming Middle Realm cultivator.

Her entire being emanated an aura of valiant power and forceful nature

But Will did not save the woman because she was beautiful thus delaying his meeting with his brother.

It is her identity.

Of course when you are traveling in a speed closer to the speed of light it is not hard to mistake someone thus he halted at that place, breaking the flows of Time and rips space around him to make sure he is not mistaken

He thought he was mistaken at first but what makes her identity clear to Will who saved this woman was that bow sling on her back.

That bow is the famous Houyi Bow and that woman is undoubtedly the famous Divine Archer Sofia.

And he knew he had to save her at that moment.

They look at each other for a while and then like in the beginning they smile awkwardly at each other.

‘What is that creature you reckon?’ She said to Will cautiously as she too tried to make a conversation

Will shake his head, indicating he also didn’t know.

He did try to think of any monster he ever encountered but that creature is so humanlike that even Will thought that creature is human.

But he knew that thing was not human. He is not even sure if that thing is alive. There is no life force in that creature.

‘I don’t know. Whatever that thing whether it is a really a female or a woman or something else she is weird’ Will still remembers how that woman looked.

She has five horizontal triangle shaped marked on her forehead that seems to be nullifying any magic attack.

Not to mention that thing physical prowess is also formidable.

And that thing has eyes that fill Will with unease. There seems to be runes, matrixes equations that don’t make sense to Will in her eyes.

Sofia nodded in agreement. She touches her wound and winces in pain and remembers how close she was to death this time.

If not for her Bow then she was sure she would have died.

Whatever that thing is whether he is a he or a she, it is an undeniable fact that thing is very powerful.

But she did not regret she went chasing for that thing. Because, she could not stand too see what that thing has done to the population of the world.

Sofia heard that many villages across the world are being attacked by some mysterious person as that person buried villages and towns into nothingness.

All that is left after that person left is a sand area.

She heard this story when she was crossing Rajput from some informant and from her contact in the World Government.

So she investigated.

When she heard that there is a sighting in Delhi, she immediately went with a few other people before all of them get wiped out.

If not for her using one of the arrows of the Houyi Bow and created a large explosion that melted the area around 300 kilometers radius of the city of Delhi that thing would also kill her.

When she tries to teleport away during the battle, the space around her solidified making her unable to teleport using Teleportation Crystal.

At that time Sofia was out of moves. She was desperate, bloodied, beaten and weak.

Most of her bones was broken, her finger have cuts everywhere as she keep shooting rains of arrows unceasingly toward that thing

She was at the edge of life and death at that time. She was standing on the very edge of the cliff.

One push and she would have fallen. Since she becomes the renowned Divine Archer she was never that close to death

It was at that time she understands something for a moment but that moment passes by her in an instant.

And it was then that Will appear breaking the Space around her with his sudden stopping motion.

He then in a flash took her away from that scene as she was protected from the force of moving in a speed close to light speed by the Speed Source Shield

From what Will told her the Speed Source shield is a shield constructed form the Speed Source energy, enshrouding someone and protecting them from the impact of the fast speed of a Speedster when they are running

They both then stop at this forest somewhere in the world.

Sofia sometimes took a peek at Will when he is not looking. She did not interact many times with the Purple Speedster but she knew Will is a close person to Azief.

Someone he regarded as his brother.

But she doesn’t know that much about Will personally thus they are very awkward.

Will also only know that Sofia is his brother girl so that is why he stops and saved her. He believes if he brought her with him to meet Azief, that he would be very happy.

Sofia on the other hand of course could see that Will is about to bring her to Azief. But she still need more time to think.

She wanted to really know what Azief feeling for her. This is because she knows her feeling for him.

She knows Azief love her….at least in his own way, in his own clumsy and sometimes stupid way…but why does it feel so painful for her?

They then unconsciously look at each other and once again smiles awkwardly at each other. The fire on the pit crackles as Sofia thrown another piece of wood to feed the fire.

Both of them are resting after clashing with that thing, and both of them are thinking about two different matters.

Will then sensing it was too quiet is trying to make another conversation. Unlike Azief that like quiet environment, Will sometimes felt stifled especially when he is with strangers.

‘How is Azief? Did he recover his power back? He look pretty bad last time I saw him’ Sofia was startled hearing his name and then she bitterly smiles.

‘He is fine. One could argue he is better than before.’

‘Tell me more. I am out of loop’ Will said.

The last time he met Azief was when he broke his training time for a while and went out from the Speed Source for a while before returning back.

At that time, Azief has just broken out from the Ice Mountain. Sofia then ask in puzzlement