-Day 2-

What was this kid on about? He looked like someone right out of some lord of the rings fantasy convention. Horns, weird pinkish skin color, something that looks like lizard scales all over him... I've been calling out to him all morning with no luck.

What was more alarming though, was that I couldn't move. I was stuck here. Why was I stuck, you ask? I didn't know. It's like I was glued to the ground. I could look up and in all other directions, but down? Not a chance. He should better have an explanation to why I was stuck.

(Draven) «Hey. You! Wake up!»

Well, no response. The boy... or girl? Well, the kid was soundly asleep. It didn't really look like they should be in a condition to sleep in the middle of what seems to be some kind of forest. A simple pair of trousers and a shirt that covered her upper body. And all of it kind of bland too. Just your typical brown, boring clothes. Not even socks or shoes.

So was this kid really responsible for why I couldn't move...? It felt like it's a bit more complicated than that, actually. Bah, what do I care.

(Draven) «Hey! Are you deaf or something?»

Yep, totally deaf. Get your lazy ass up!

(Draven) «Oi!»

Oh? Finally a response? Their eyes perked up at least.

(Draven) «Kid! Do you even have ears?»

The kid practically hopped up into standing position after having slept, suddenly on high alert. For some reason I got propelled further away from her as they stood up. Were they controlling my movements?

But if they are on this high alert, they probably wouldn't even know I was here. Speaking of me being here... Hey, the kid's totally not noticing me.

(Draven) «Look down!»

It's almost as if they were completely dumbfounded that someone may be here. But they didn't get the hint at all. Still searching for people in all other directions than down.

(Draven) «Do you have issues or something?! Just look down already!»

Ah yes, finally. A glance my way. Albeit a terrified glance for some reason.

(Demon kid) "Hu-Huh?!"

My initial assumption of this being a boy was wrong, when she spoke it was clearly the voice of a small girl. But why was she so terrified? Was I lying down in some totally indecent position? I wouldn't ever dream of doing anything inappropriate to a kid.

(Draven) «You can see me? Finally. Now tell me what the hell is going on here!»

Okay, maybe not the nicest way of initiating conversation, but she was clearly part of the reason why I couldn't move. The moment she moved, I suddenly move. And I couldn't get away from her at all. Actually, I couldn't move myself at all.

(Demon kid) "Wh- Why does my sh- shadow speak to me...?"

...Huh?

(Demon kid) "Is this...?"

...Shadow? Hold on, what?

(Draven) «What are you talking about?»

Normally I'd take a time-out here and question the sanity of this free-roaming cosplayer, but she sounded genuine and was almost entirely petrified as she held out her hands towards me, as if dumbfounded.

(Draven) «Let's just... both calm down, okay? What do you mean 'shadow'?»

Well at least that statement made her less tense, as she did calm down just a bit, but she still looked at me with some really afraid eyes.

(Demon kid) "You're... You're not an evil shadow?"

(Draven) «I'm not an evil shadow, what is that even supposed to mean?»

(Demon kid) "Isn't it you speaking inside my shadow?"

(Draven) «Inside your shadow? What?»

What was she going on about? I know of "shadows", they typically didn't talk. But for some reason I feel like I've heard the word "shadow" in my head a lot recently. And... something about contracts?

This was really making my brain hurt.

(Draven) «I'm just a regular man who is like glued to the ground. Are you saying I'm your, like, actual shadow?»

(Demon kid) "You're a human...?"

(Draven) «Of course I am. Do I not look like it?»

(Demon kid) "But- But humans can't use magic, can they?"

I couldn't help but notice some sort of red flag in that sentence of hers.

(Draven) «Uhh... What? Magic? You mean like that Houdini guy?»

(Demon kid) "Then how did you enter my shadow?"

(Draven) «I don't fucking know. I woke up and suddenly I was here. And now why am I in a forest all of a sudden?»

The girl had to suddenly gulp as if she realized something. A detail I hadn't noticed before was that her palms were slightly glowing, as if she had some cool self-illuminating gloves on, but judging from her attire, that wasn't the case.

(Demon kid) "You were the one who saved me?"

(Draven) «Saved you? From what?»

She jumped down onto her knees looking directly at me all of a sudden, with an apparent idolization in her voice.

(Demon kid) "The summoners! When I woke up after their ritual, two of them were dead."

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(Draven) «Oh, right. That happened. I had to let one of those people go tho-»

(Demon kid) "Yes! They were three! They said something about summoning a shadow beast. Are you a shadow beast? Guardian said shadow beasts are really strong, so you must have blasted them into the wall!"

(Draven) «Hey, hey, hey, I'm a human, not some beast. Get it? Besides, what are you? You look all purple and pink with horns. Is that some kind of costume?»

(Demon kid) "I am a demon, obviously! Do I not look like it?"

She pouted with her hands to her hips. That terror she held earlier was completely gone. Maybe it was one of the benefits of being a kid to be able to get distracted so easily. If she even is a kid.

Wait, demon?

(Demon kid) "And I think this is the Lycai Forest."

(Draven) «You're a demon?»

(Demon kid) "Uh-huh."

(Draven) «A real actual demon?»

She nodded.

(Draven) «And... you say you can use magic?»

(Demon kid) "Can't you too?"

This was starting to give me a headache. I didn't know why, but she sounded genuine. Sounded? Wait, did she? It's more like she felt genuine.

(Draven) «I can do a card trick or two but it sounds like you mean actual real magic... Is this some sort of elaborate psychological scam?»

(Demon kid) "You never used magic before? Just ask yourself if you can use magic, dummy."

Oh yeah, of course, if anyone knows about me being able to use literal magic, I'd be the first one to ask. Okay, self, really serious question: Do you know magic? Oh, I don't know, how about you ask myself? My, what a great Ide-

-

{ Current status: Shadow Beast species.

Name: Saria

Shadow proficiency at 99%.

Racial skills: (Symbiote), (Shadow Substitute).

Symbiote skills: (Soul Unity), (Take Over), (Soul Telepathy), (Null Evolution).

Custom spells: None.

Evolution requirement: Unknown. }

-

...What? Why did I hear my own voice saying those things? Am I going crazy? Haha.

(Draven) «What the hell just happened?!»

(Demon kid) "Eek! Don't shout like that!"

(Draven) «I just heard my own voice telling me all kinds of insane things! How am I supposed to not shout at that?!»

(Demon kid) "You never checked your status before?"

(Draven) «My what?»

(Demon kid) "Could you really be a human then? Guardian told me that humans do not understand the inner voice."

(Draven) «Okay. Timeout. You're going to have a lot of explaining to do, because I do not know anything anymore.»

...

And so I met with this alleged demon. Granted, not the most usual meeting. Probably the most unusual meeting with anyone I've ever had in my life. I mean, this was an alleged demon.

And it didn't look like a sham. I was undoubtedly her "shadow", even though it sounded bizarre. If you want some sort of smart analogy to explain how it feels to be an intangible lack of light, then I'm going to have to disappoint you. The closest I can get to describing it is that it feels like being dragged along the ground without really feeling the touch of the ground.

I could still move myself slightly back and forth, like wobbly black pudding. The sun was currently my number one enemy when it came to movement, but if I wanted to, I could move a slight bit back and forth and defy the rules of nature that were apparently binding me. With some practice, it might even become easy to do move around freely in the future.

In the future, huh? One thing was clear. If I could prevent it, I wouldn't be staying here like this. There had to be a way for me to just grab a pair of scissors or something and snip myself free, right? Although that is probably easier said than done.

That aside, the demon girl showed me her supposed light magic just earlier.

(Demon kid) "My magic is really weak, but I can warm myself and make healing faster."

It sounded like she kind of hated showing me this magic, but she was able to make her hand glow. Being able to produce light like that would in itself be something I should be awestruck by, but the fact that this light she created was... Well, a light source just like the sun, we discovered another thing.

I was her shadow for some reason. We already know that fact now, but what exactly happens when you have two light sources again? Two shadows appear, naturally! Albeit weaker shadows, I kid you not, I was in two places at once. Just imagine being in a large stadium filled with strong lights from all sides. That way, she cast a shadow on herself through her own light source. It felt like some sort of otherworldly experience, as if being two places at once.

If I were still a regular human, I wouldn't be able to handle that information of being two places at once. I was used to two eyes which formed one straight line of sight. But seeing things from the perspective of two angles was the most trippy thing I had ever done. And believe me, I've been in the trippy business for a long time. I've dealt with drugs that could give you dreams of flight if the demand was there. Strong drugs can induce weird hallucinations. Even tried it once out of curiosity, but what I was experiencing now was a league in it's own.

But going back to the more supernatural magic she showed me, she had an explanation on how to use this magic that totally fit the explanation that a kid would try to use.

(Demon kid) "I can make this light by using the juice in my body. I think that it has something to do with passing through something inside of me that makes it light magic."

I've played games and seen movies before, and typically the resource of magicians and wizards is something akin to "magic power" or "mana". But her terminology wasn't any of those. The resource was called "juice", which made me wonder if she's ever tasted actual juice before or if someone told her a bad joke when she grew up.

I had time to think things through as the demon was walking through this forest. She had said that she didn't have a home anymore and decided on just living here for now. Even so, for whatever reason, I could feel a strong thirst in her. Is this a part of my skills or something? Something about unity, if I recall correctly.

...

{ Symbiote skill: (Soul Unity).

Explanation: Symbiote skill Soul Unity grants the ability to share sensations and vitality with a symbiote soul. }

...

Huh, would you look at that. Just asking myself about this in my head gives me the answers. Alright then, what do all of my skills do?

...

{ Racial skill: (Symbiote).

Explanation: Racial skill Symbiote opens up symbiote exclusive skills when attached to a spiritual and / or physical form to both the symbiote and the host. Abilities given depend on the status of the relationship and racial traits.

Certain racial skills can be empowered if compatible with the symbiote's race. }

{ Symbiote skill: (Take Over).

Explanation: Symbiote skill Take Over grants the symbiote the ability to take control of the host body. The degree of control can be adjusted. Take Over overwrites the host affinity and replaces it with the symbiote's affinity.

Limiters of the physical body can be broken for a burst of power. Bursts of power can be further enhanced. }

{ Symbiote skill: (Soul Telepathy).

Explanation: Symbiote skill Soul Telepathy grants the symbiote the ability to telepathically communicate with the mind of the host. This connection is exclusive to the symbiote only. }

{ Symbiote skill: (Null Evolution).

No explanation available. }

{ Racial Skill: (Shadow Substitute).

Explanation: Racial skill Shadow Substitute allows the substitution of matter. The user cannot substitute what the host does not own. }

...

Way too much information! What the hell, dude! You didn't even let me comment or think about these individually! My thought just completely shut off while I was being schooled about all of this right there. So I better not ask for this while talking with someone else.

So is this some sort of video-game I somehow wormholed my way through to? The two dubious ones of these skills I had were clear to me. Take Over and Null Evolution. This skill allows me to take control of her? Like, some sort of parasite? Not like I know how to do that though, or that I really want to.

And Null Evolution... Did something break here? No explanation? The name itself didn't sound very dangerous though, and aren't skills supposed to be positives? Like, naturally you don't have a skill at being bad. That's just you being bad. Maybe I'm just taking the word "skill" a bit too literal here. Even then, having learned about Darwin in school a long time ago made it seem weird to have something called "evolution" as anything... usable, I suppose. Evolution works by survival of the fittest and changing genes and stuff, so how this would be something I can use was beyond me. Literally, because no explanation.

If I could actually use all of this stuff, then I know for sure that this isn't my ordinary world. No way something like a demon and a "shadow beast", whatever I am now, is able to roam freely in a forest on earth. Either this is some hidden world, a parallel universe, or I just happened to die and go to a screwed version of heaven.