"Mistress!”

Echo skipped into the room, her hair bobbing in the air like a flaming python, the majestic throne cast an azure glow in the room. The room was cavernous held up only by a single column that was perfectly centred, it was twelve feet across, and had a numerous protrusion sticking from it in a symmetrical order that looked suspiciously like a spine of a colossal beast.

Affixed to the black walls were gems of various colours that shone like scattered stars in the galaxy, it looped around the entire walls and extended throughout the floors of the room, some were bigger more like suns, walking inside the room was akin to walking in a bright field of stars.

“you look lovely as always, is that a new dress?”. Echo ran to the throne and climbed the legs of the lady, who looked on in amused interest. She sat on her thighs and hugged her arm, running fingers through the clothes “ odd it still looks the same, but it feels different".

The lady looked at her fondly, as she ran her hand down her flaming hair

“Have you been well Echo?”

“oh me?” she smirked “of course, I did many fun things in the shadow realm mistress,”

“is that so?” the lady smiled..

“of course, I alone rule the first labyrinth in the shadow realm, both giants and dragons serve me" she sniffed, absolutely vibrating with pride “and I did it" she raised a single finger “in one year, a single year my lady, I broke every record imaginable, am I not awesome?”. Not waiting for a reply, Echo drew in a breath from excitement and continued.

She spent the next several minutes regaling her stories in a vivid manner, making funny postures and exaggerated facial expressions. The lady looked on and smiled and said

“have you been well, Echo?”

“feels like I am speaking to a broken orisha here”, Echo muttered with tongue sticking out. ‘of course my lady, I had fun just throwing the Lords of the labyrinth around, seeing their shocked faces as they wonder why I still don’t leave the first levels, why should I?, I get to make those big lizards cry for their momma, and I think that’s my lady’s will.”’

Still the lady smiled and repeated, “have you been well, Echo?”

Echo was finally silent, she suddenly burst into tears, she wailed and dug her face into the lady’s bosom “I...I did all that, but its not real, I can tell, the Reght cries of pain was a little too loud, the taste of the dragons blood too sweet and.... and... my subjects cries of adoration was deafening but I could feel beneath that it was not true, not......enough.”

The lady arched an eyebrow “ not true?, if they are your subjects won by your might, why is their supplications to you not true enough?”.

Echo snorted and in an impish manner said “ Oh at first, it was okay, the first few thousand was loyal, but as they increased, I must have missed something for the voices were louder but the adoration was less, shouldn'tit be the other way around?" Echo looked confused."because they are not enough."

Gesturing with waving hands she continued "The first labyrinth even with weaker monsters, have the most numbers, but still why is their cries so low?” she said softly “ shadow does many things right, but the light is where the will of the conquered resides, I want to champion the light my lady.” New tears burst anew from her eyes.

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“there there Echo, this is a good thing, you can now tell the difference between light and shadows, but your definition of reality is still very nascent", The lady softly said.

“I don’t care, I want the real thing my lady, I want to walk the planes... I don’t want to return back to the brood, they are all.....dumb!”.

“your wishes may be granted sooner than you think”, the lady frowned, then looked at the sniffling girl with a gentle gaze “why would you want to leave the safety of the shadows, to the light where every wounds cut deep and do not heal”.

Echo stopped crying and squeezed her face, seemingly deep in thought as she considered the question, abruptly she raised her hands to her ears and fell down to the floor screaming in pain.

Regorld stepped forward and twisted his monocle, a ripple emanated from it, and a screen of golden sand covered all the surface of the room. Echo stopped screaming and lay down shuddering “damn lizard", she spat out blood, “one day I shall flay the skin from your bones"

The lady on the throne, laid back. “another?”

Regorld looked at his lady, she nodded, he turned away, plans needed to be drawn. His clenched fist betraying his anxiety...oh mother of shadows his thought churned, was that fear in his lady eyes. Something was wrong , the tides of fates were changing too rapidly, his lady webs were fraying, he needed to be prepared.

My mind was amid the maelstrom of memories, I was lost but for the two spots of brightness shining through it all, my mother’s voice and my home, two spot of warmth and order amidst the chaos. I held on to that but for how long?, that I cannot tell.

My mind whirled trying to find the next step, I could not hold this maelstrom forever... Zarathul words pierced my mind. “My golden blood is jealous!”

Of course!, it hit me like lightening, my shedding requires memories... and I had a host of them, though without the suction I don’t know where to direct them towards, I looked around in panic, pieces of memories drifting away, the maelstrom was becoming unstable, it seemed likely to explode soon, and I feared I won’t be able to keep hold of the last of my memories if it did.

I fought for calm amidst the chaos of the whirling memories, my mind was at war, but my body was at peace__ dead peace, I fought to enter that stillness for clarity, a sudden thought that saddened me, that I could find peace only in death.

My perception shifted to my heart and serenity embraced me... the six drops of golden blood felt heavy and needed something to survive, they were calm, life and death, were blurred concepts for them, for they felt more like machines. Which they should be, I did not know if I would be able to process the thought of my blood being sentient. This did not stop the knowledge that they were dying and needed....

I pushed the maelstrom at them. And they tore it apart, I noticed one of the heart drew a bigger piece than the rest, indeed the golden blood drop inside it was bigger, and shone a little brighter.

The blood drops drew the maelstrom inside them, they flashed with a golden glow, mysterious chants in whispers emanating from the blood, and with a surge of power the drops of blood threw vitality into my body, my seventh shedding was completed.

The surge of power did not end however even after the shedding was completed, my body regrew stronger, my bones holding hints of gold and my blood though still red, now contained numerous specks of gold that fed on the immense vitality running through my body.

My body creaked and groaned as it was perfected, my hair grew out, each strand of white hair containing specks of silver, yet the power did not end, my body was filled to the brim, and the power sought a new pathway to fill, but I was already brimming with the damn thing.

It turned to my soul, and flooded it, at the moment my soul was raged and weak, the struggles I had, drew a lot from my reserves, and I was at the brink of collapse, like a patched land welcoming rains after a drought my soul welcomed the surge of life force, and pleasure I thought I forgot filled me... the pleasure of consumption...

of $&#$@*”*

In the farthest reaches of my soul, covered in scales and shifting amorphous shadows, a spot of darkness opened like an eye it rotated slowly and dispersed leaving wisp of dying shadows, an endless space was revealed inside the fading darkness, dull sparks shot off as the embers of a silver flame glowed.

I needed more memories. My soul cried.

The universe heard me, a new spot of that mysterious suction was born in my soul, and another.

My soul quivered in greed.