The best fights are bloody, intense, and sometimes heartwarming. This one is no exception. ENJOY!
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“Awwooooo!!!”
A black and white plain of doom.
At that moment, a terrifyingly hectic scene could be seen. There were fallen and falling Ink wolves everywhere, their blood staining the world. They were facing an insane challenge!
The overhead Parkour of doom? It was worse.
The ground beneath? It was even deadlier.
Their leader? Even crazier.
“AGAIN! We go again!”
At the bottom of the course, Jack hollered, and the effect was instantaneous. As soon as he shouted, tons and tons of valiant warriors showed up, with their tails wagging endlessly.
“Awwooooo!!! Awwooooo!!! Awwooooo!!! Awwooooo!!! Awwooooo!!! Awwooooo!!! Awwooooo!!! Awwooooo!!! Awwooooo!!! Awwooooo!!!Awwooooo!!! Awwooooo!!!”
They were all raising their paws to high heaven, praying to be chosen. And as per usual, Jack didn’t waste any time. He went toward the nearest wolf, and then…
[Ding! Successfully Used Shadow Meld!]
[User Power Greatly Enhanced!]
[Ink Weaknesses Added!]
….
He felt himself change. A second before he had just been good old Jack, but now he was something else, the change almost fast enough to lose his sense of self, almost.
He could sense the Mana on his fur, feel his claws trembling in expectation, and even the anticipation of his brethren was palpable. All his senses were sharper, yet different.
To a wolf, everything was clearer, but also simpler.
“Let’s do this, shall we! Woooo!”
With a resolute howl, he went forth, scaling the Parkour of doom. Before he hadn’t been able to use it, his mere presence crushing it to oblivion, but now, it was different.
Tap! Tap! Tap! As he jumped from platform to platform, it wasn’t HIS body that was colliding with the ink surfaces, but the Shadow Armor enveloping him.
From that point on, he had the right to suffer alongside them!
As he faced what would yet again be another painful experience, he found himself smiling. He wasn’t a cowardly bastard hiding in the back anymore, but a true leader.
To anyone else, that probably wouldn’t have meant much, but to him, it was everything. How many times had he hated his powerlessness all his life? So many damn times!
His powerlessness to face the Blood Sovereign.
His powerlessness to save his mother.
His powerlessness to succeed.
…
He wasn’t just fighting to get a better hold of the “Shadow Meld” ability, he was fighting to better himself, and give everyone he loved a better future, and it freaking showed!
No matter how many times he bashed his head against the course and fell all the way back down, he kept going. Stabbed? Crushed? Slammed? No matter what, he kept going.
The wolves would watch it all, cheering nonstop as they followed in his footsteps. And every time one would pass him on the course, they’d give howls of encouragement.
If anyone could do it, then it was HIM!
In his weakness, they found hope.
Every time he failed, with entire pangs of the course shattering to oblivion, many would fall alongside him, but instead of showing any displeasure, they eagerly awaited the chance.
To them, this was the opportunity of a lifetime.
[Ding! Successfully Used Shadow Meld!]
[Ding! Successfully Used Shadow Meld!]
[Ding! Successfully Used Shadow Meld!]
….
The more he fused with wolves, the more they themselves learned about their own ability. But that wasn’t the only thing they were getting; there were also whiffs of humanity.
Every merger, they’d get to feel what it was like to be human. The weird “logical thinking”, a brain that was constantly overworking, and also that weird sense of the future?!
To them, it was absolutely baffling. The human didn’t just avoid the traps with reflexes, or by habit, even seeing a trap from a distance was enough for him to plan solutions.
To this, they only had one way to describe it…
Prophet! He was a goddamn prophet, how else could he do something like that?! As for the term itself, they had heard it from one of his innumerable stories during breaks.
“Prophet? There are people like that. There are Supers like that, too, that are even better at it. They can predict the future to an extent. To them, the world looks different, or so I heard.”
That’s what he had said about it, very casually so.
How humble! But they knew better from merging. That’s why they loved it so much. To them, it wasn’t just helping their savior; it was discovering an entirely new world!
Thus, Jack never lacked willing ink wolves.
He couldn’t have been gladder for this. Without them, without their sacrifice, he wouldn’t even be alive at that instant, and that was a thing he’d never forget, no matter what.
Precisely because of this, he had to do all he could…
“Shadow, this ain’t deadly enough. MORE!”
He had just fallen to his near death yet another time, Shadow barely catching him with his shadow tentacles, yet that wasn’t enough for him. He hurriedly shared his newest idea.
Then, a few seconds later, the Ink Wolves couldn’t help but tremble with dread at the scene that appeared. Was he for real?! How were they supposed to face that?!
[Shadow Overlord Copy Has Appeared!]
[Shadow Overlord Copy Has Appeared!]
[Shadow Overlord Copy Has Appeared!]
….
As a copy of the BOSS appeared, many howled in terror.
Sadly, there was no time for despair, as the creature was already rushing at them! In a matter of seconds, the creature was already upon them, devouring the wolves whole!
It crunched their shadow fur, meat, and bones, it devoured it all. The only thing that came out of it was the Shadow Cores, with traumatized Ink Wolves soon revived by Shadow.
“Woo?! Woooo!!!!!” All their limbs were seen shaking as they came back. This power was way too overwhelming, and the creature was faster than they could ever be!
But just as they were shaking in misery, Jack’s voice echoed over the training grounds, ever so calm as he jumped from platform to platform in the air.
“So what if it’s an enemy you don’t stand a chance against? Struggle even then! As long as one in the pack survives, there’s hope for revenge! As they say, as long as there’s life—”
His inspiring speech was cut short as countless spikes skewered the “Wolf Armor” he was wearing, sending him crashing to the ground. Crap, this thing was WAY too hard!
But he didn’t have time to curse that the Overlord Copy was upon him, the last thing he saw a gaping maw as his world disappeared and then— SHATTER!
It was merely an illusion.
It had shattered as it touched him.
It still meant that he would have died.
…
‘I have to do better. We all have to do better.’ He berated himself as Shadow re-summoned the creature, and just like that, the training from Hell resumed, with him suffering a lot.
Luckily, the more he suffered, the more changes he saw.
[Mastery of Shadow Meld Increased!]
[Mastery of Shadow Meld Increased!]
[Mastery of Shadow Meld Increased!]
….
At first, fusing had been hard.
It had taken him a bit of time, lots of focus, and nothing could have interrupted him or he would have failed. It had also been quite draining both mentally, and physically.
By now, all he had to do was jump toward a wolf and a second later he’d wear them as if a Quick-Change artist, one that would only get slightly more tired after every repetition.
[Successful Shadow Meld! Man? Wolf? Or more?]
It didn’t take him long to get the hang of it through repetition. It even reached the point where he started merging, un-merging, and merging once more just for the sake of it.
And just like kept going the craziest training as he switched between running the course, falling, and merging to get back on, with the abomination hunting him all the while.
Every time he’d get up there and evaded the creature, it would growl in indignation, only to chase him, and especially him, every time he screwed up. It was nonstop training.
But, he wasn’t the only training either…
In the corner of the white plain, a powerful Shadow Ruler could be seen struggling with problems of his own. After all, Jack had designed a training for him, too, a baffling one.
The latter couldn’t help but cry out so very often…
“Human, are you sure this will make me stronger? It just feels silly.”
“Sure? Nope! But hey, look on the bright side. Even if you don’t actually get stronger from this, I’m very entertained by it. Shouldn’t that count for something? Work hard!”
“…..”
“Wooo!”
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The wolf cheers did not help.
The domineering Shadow, who had gone toe to toe with the BOSS, looked quite ridiculous. He was akin to a clown making balloon animals, except he was the balloon.
One second he was a powerful-looking tentacle monster and the next he was a cute and clumsy-looking shadow giraffe. Then the next instant he was a chihuahua.
It was super embarrassing.
It was too much for the Eldritch Entity to take
It was seriously making it second-think everything
….
Yet, every time Shadow felt like giving up, he remembered Jack’s incredibly sharp observation, one that it couldn’t ignore even now.
“That Shadow appearance full of tentacles, am I crazy or does it look a bit like a Shadow Kraken? Is that you picturing something strong? What if your power’s flexible?”
It was, a whole lot! He, who had always spent his life either in a tiny Shadow version or his in Eldritch version, finally understood that his ability could do more, not that it helped.
“Human, what’s the use of this? Taking a cute animal's appearance won’t help us win fights. If anything, enemies will just laugh at us.”
“So? Let them laugh. Let them laugh as their attacks miss you cause you just shape-shifted. Let them laugh as you grow bigger once more in their bellies and make them explode. Let them laugh as—”
The more atrocities Jack had described, the more Shadow had put his pride aside. If all that made him more powerful in the end, then he’d be an idiot not to try it— so he did.
Thus appeared a very strange scene.
A shadow balloon-looking creature would wave its hand to summon nightmare-inducing deadly obstacles and even more nightmarish abominations, only to act cute a second later.
The intense gaze as he turned into a puppy was to die for! Yet, Jack had no time for that. Thus resumed a peaceful moment full of blood, blood, blood, and more blood.
Amidst that training came two types of breaks.
The first one was the most enjoyable. Jack recounted tales once more. Before, he had talked about the Blue Planet and then popular fables. This time, he had changed the topic.
“What makes a Super amazing isn’t their power, but how they use them. Are you all ready for a lecture? Today, we’ll cover
Jack shamelessly “taught” them using fiction.
How the Main Character faced various challenges. How he used his weak abilities to overcome every obstacle, and how they had to train as much as he did, for sure.
But recent stuff wasn’t all he talked about. He shared stories of old, too, stories that dated from even before the Supers. He told them of a man of iron, of a man more than super, and even of villains that they could probably relate to.
In fact, there was one that stood out…
“Woo?!!” The wolves’s howls meant ‘for real?!’ as he talked of a Super dressed in red to hide the blood, one with the same regenerative powers as them and who looked as nightmarish.
This one especially gathered Shadow’s attention. “Tell me more, human. How does he fight enemies if his only ability’s healing?! Doesn’t he get overwhelmed by better Supers?”
That’s when Jack had to share A LOT.
The lesson quickly turned into two and five, and before he knew it, that was the only thing Shadow wanted to talk about, even after he had admitted that it was fiction.
Not only did he not give up, but he even came up with a theory of his own.
“Human, don’t try to fool me! Fiction this, fiction that, obviously, it was all real and labeled as such to throw would-be troublemakers off. I’m sure that’s definitely the case!”
Even Jack didn’t manage to convince him otherwise. Still, it wasn’t all bad, as he redoubled his efforts in his own training, so much so that he made Jack look bad.
No matter the day or night, he was training!
He’d morph into various animals and always come back to his now default appearance: a tiny red shadow with a black cloak and a black staff, one that made him look regally silly.
“What’s with all the red? Also, since when can you use color?”
“H-Human, I’m not sure. It kinda just happened?!”
“What do you mean it just happened?! That—”
[Multiverse Chaos! Transformed a Plane!]
[Multiverse Chaos! Transformed a Plane!]
[Multiverse Chaos! Transformed a Plane!]
….
Jack wisely ignored it.
If he didn’t look at the message, it didn’t exist right?
From that point onward, the White Plane changed. Red streaks could be seen enlivening up the place all over. Red clouds, red mist, and even a red wind at times?! It was gorgeous.
The Ink Wolves would playfully chase the wind during the downtimes, as they howled at it as would dogs with fallen leaves in autumn. God they would have loved the outside world.
And that happy mood kept going even as they were forced to take another kind of break. That kind of break was mandatory, eventful, and even more colorful.
Oh, and it was always heralded by the same message.
[Next Raid Incoming! Get Ready!]
[Next Raid Incoming! Get Ready!]
[Next Raid Incoming! Get Ready!]
….
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“CRUSH THEM!”
Amidst the chaos of the battlefield, there was order.
First, the portals bloated the world. Sometimes there were a couple, sometimes there were a dozen. What had initially felt impossible soon became the terrifying new normal.
Second, the monsters. Goblins, orcs, some kind of angel-looking thing, some golden troll-looking bastards, and even stranger things. But they all shared the same reaction on arrival.
Third, the utter shock and disbelief. Was this really the White Plane? It sure didn’t look like it! Why was there so much red all over?! Also, what was up with that system Message?!
Jack could only speak for himself, but…
[Mission: Save the White Plane!]
[̴̧̧̥͚͑̈́̂̔͗̀̐M̸̥̿̆͗̉͘i̵̬͒̔̿͜s̴̮̩̤͓̝̔̈́s̴̢̨̝͇̗͓̦̀̔͌͐͑̈́̈́̅į̸̤͚̲͓͙̑o̷̜̻̝̖͐̈́̉̀͗n̸̲̜̹͎̬͈̩͔̩̅͋̑̅:̸̧̖̪̟̪͍̲̣̠̋ ̸̨̧̫͍͉̼͊͐̀̿́̓͝͝S̵̜̱͉͌́̒͂̕͘ả̶͖͓̩̲̮̠v̵̬̙̒̈́̔́e̶̫̦̮̓̔̏̃͂̀̂̽͛̀ ̷͉̭̖̖̘̺̮͇̰̰̃̀̂̎̊̃̕̚ṱ̶̞̹̙͔̮͎́̎̀͝h̷̺͖̣̮̹̻͍͉̮͂̈̍̐͜͝͠e̸͓̳͙̦̹̿̒͝ ̸̺̯͓̙̗͉̖͗̄̍̇̎͆̈̚͘͜ͅB̵̤́͆l̸̫͎͙̝̅̓͊̊̔̚ő̶̫͂̀͒̾̔̇͗́̚o̴͎̺̭̱̺̱̪̫̥̔̽̈́͒̓d̷̳̮̺̜̺͉͘͜ͅ ̷̜͚͇̫̪͂̇I̷̛͓̗̼̠͖̝̥͂́͐n̸̢̥͚͆͘k̶̢͎̲̳̗̤̥̹͋̿̿̈́ͅ ̵̺̙͕̱̾́̆̈̎͆̂̕͜P̶̨̳̺̘͇̀̽͘ļ̵̜̞͒ͅa̶͉̣̗̪̍͠n̷̥̰͇͇͔̮̩̖̱͐̀̏e̷̢̻̬̭̼̯̺̱͓͆͜!̷̨̛̘̖̐]̸̦̱̯̊̂̅͊͂͒
[Mission: Save the Blood Ink Plane!]
You know it’s bad when even the System starts to glitch. The invading creatures had to be seeing something similar judging by their shock, which brought the last point.
Finally, use the confusion to launch an all-out assault on them. Instead of hiding or defending, the Ink Wolves were the ones charging at the enemies!
At the forefront was their own “Shadow Overlord”.
Jack rode an Ink wolf, all the while merged with another, giving him a more than monstrous appearance. The way he cackled all the while charging sure didn’t help his case either.
“Ke-Ke-Ke! Everyone, new prey! Remember to thank them. As soon as they're dead, it’s back to more training. Also, remember, every thousand victims means more cheese!”
After that , wolves would grow rabid, howl like crazy, which the enemies would reply to with endless volleys of arrows that wouldn’t do anything at all except embolden them.
To them, this wasn’t war; this was a break!
“Woooooooo!!!!!!”
Jack was the first to crash into the enemy legion. They tried to get his head, they tried to especially target him, and sometimes they almost managed to do it.
An Orc about to smash him to a blood pulp? He’d jump off the wolf and use the sea of goblins as inhuman shields. Then, before they could catch up, he was back riding.
An angel launching a lightning-fast spell at him? Yes, cause those new ones could use magic for some reason. He’d merge IN his ride, the target they had locked on vanishing.
A gigantic “Shadow Overlord” appearing? He’d retreat while his troops played with it. A few would die, but for every wolf, there were 10,000 friendly fire casualties.
Then, a cape-wearing Shadow would show up to clean it all up…
“Hehe, attacking my white plane? Not on my watch!”
He’d transform to avoid attacks, then transform back into his battle form to tear them to pieces. If anything, his improvements were leagues above Jack’s own.
It wasn’t that they had grown that much stronger…
Actually, no. IT WAS!
It was only small improvements, but ones that stacked. The wolves were stronger, Shadow was stronger, he was stronger, and their teamwork had improved by leaps and bounds.
It was a case of 1 + 1 + 1 = 100. Just like that they kept slaughtering until the ground turned black from the enemies' blood, and red from their own advance. Yes, RED!
This new red energy Shadow could control? It beat the portal’s own. With it, they could follow and slaughter in the safe zone. With this, they could crush their enemies’s last hopes.
Of course, the difficulty would go up after every raid, but they were training THAT much faster. They were akin to RPG heroes grinding the tutorial until max level!
It even reached a point where “Shadow Overlords” became useless.
As Jack ran from five of them, he couldn’t help but laugh.
Behind him were nine armies, or rather the remnants of nine armies. The poor creatures had been trampled by their own troops while running after him. And just as they reached him—
“Human, need some foothold by any chance?”
“Would be nice, wouldn’t it?”
“There we go!”
As Shadow summoned floating platforms, the nightmarish enemies could only watch, shellshocked. Their strongest didn’t have any long-range attacks!
As for their mages? Well, they had already died from being trampled by said strongest. With this unfair advantage, it didn’t take long for a crazed outcome to happen.
[BOSS defeated: Shadow Abomination Defeated!]
[BOSS defeated: Shadow Abomination Defeated!]
[BOSS defeated: Shadow Abomination Defeated!]
….
“If only this was a game with XP and loot…”
But he knew that one had to earn one’s skills and power in the real world.
There were so many notifications that they filled his vision, not that he cared. For the first time he even chuckled at his own foolishness, at how much he had initially struggled.
“So much for invincible enemies. This place REALLY is a White Portal.”
“Not because there’s no challenge. Not because it’s safe either, cause it sure ain’t. It’s a white portal because even a complete nobody can complete it if they try enough.”
He was painfully aware that his Mission would have long been over had he not changed it from Survive to Save this plane, too. Yet, he didn’t regret it one bit, no matter what.
He had learned so much from this, albeit it was VERY situational knowledge. He had learned to ride, train, and merge with Ink Wolves? Amazing, but only in theory.
There were no Ink Wolves to be found back home…
As cries of agony of various races echoed from underneath him, he couldn’t help but chuckle as a red-winged elephant flew to meet him excitedly.
“Human, we did it! Look at them: they’re all retreating!”
“Hehe, that’s expected! But we gotta be ready for—”
[Ding! Your Enemies Swear Never to Return!]
[Successfully Caused Monster PTSD!]
[Mission Completed! Plane Saved!]
….
‘Ready for the next Raid…’
The words died in his throat. It was over, truly so?! It was so sudden that he lost focus, the merging ability ending and the platform under him collapsing mightily.
By the side, a grinning Shadow caught him, laughing nonstop. Even now, the human had been ready to restart their training, and yet it was already over?!
Jack stared at the message with dazed eyes…
[Mission Completed! Plane Saved!]
[Mission Completed! Plane Saved!]
[Mission Completed! Plane Saved!]
….
“It’s really over, eh?”
He let go of the breath he hadn’t been holding, relief washing over him. With this, he had succeeded his first mission. A weak mortal like him had managed to clear a portal?!
It felt strange. A few minutes ago, he had been laughing at enemies victoriously, and yet now that they had completely given up, he still felt like it was utterly unbelievable.
“I did it!”
“You did it, human!”
“We live! We all live!”
“We sure do. All thanks to you.”
All the Ink Wolves who had survived approached him, and suddenly swarmed around with extreme coordination. In a matter of seconds they were done, a touching scene appearing.
A clearing made of wolves. The floor was wolves, the sky was wolves, and the surroundings all turned to wolves, too. Yet, there was LOTS of empty space in the middle.
And two thrones…
< Shadow: Red-Wearing Super! >
< Jack Bright: The TRUE Shadow Overlord! >
As he saw it, he felt whole. This was for him? He had his own throne? Not only was it right next to Shadow’s own, but it was equally as regal, one meant for a true ruler.
The meaning was evident. So what if Shadow was the one who had summoned them? So what if he was a relatively powerless human in comparison? To them, he mattered!
Without him, they would probably all be dead.
Without him, their home would be gone.
Without him, all would have been lost.
….
“This… thanks.”
“No, we’re the thankful ones, Human!”
Endless howls full of gratitude echoed. But just as he was about to say some words, it happened all of a sudden. The very fabric of the world around him started twisting.
Then a ginormous red portal appeared, one the size of a house?! Wait, what was the meaning of this?! It didn’t feel dangerous, yet he could sense it had come for him.
“You’ve completed your mission; of course, it’s time to go.”
[Ding! Returning to the Blue Planet! Get Ready!]
[Ding! Returning to the Blue Planet! Get Ready!]
[Ding! Returning to the Blue Planet! Get Ready!]
….
“Pause. Wait a second. I’m not done!”
He hurriedly waved his hand, using everything he had. He even merged with an Ink Wolf out of his habit, his sharp claws uselessly passing through the holographic message.
This made Shadow by the side laugh once more.
“Don’t fight it, human. That’s how the Voice of the World works. You’ve accomplished your mission, and you’ll be rewarded for it. I’m sure you’ll get something nice in exchange.”
In Shadow’s black eyes, there was great happiness, one tinged with melancholy. He would miss the human, but it was better like this for everyone involved. He even added.
“No matter what. Your throne will always remain…”
“So what?! It’s nice, but who cares about that? Think you can get rid of me that easily? I’ll come back, you bastard, for sure, and with lots of cheese, just like I promised!”
It was such a ridiculous statement, but one that rang true. He really was crazy enough to do it, which only made the wolves in the background salivate. But then Shadow sighed.
“Human, this world’s weird. It can’t easily be found. I can only think of one way, but it’s not worth it. You’d have to make a contract with me, but our power would be useless outside.”
Hearing this, a crazy message suddenly appeared…
[Ding! Reached Max Affinity With Shadow!]
[New Option: Contract With Shadow!]
[Warning! Mission Reward is Better!]
…
As Jack saw the message, he instantly made up his mind. So freaking what?! Better? Better for who?! He wanted power to save his family. This wolf pack WAS his family, too!
“System! Reject the Mission Reward! Accept the—”
He didn’t finish that Shadow acted!
With a wave of his scepter, the portal behind him suddenly started rumbling, and he suddenly felt a powerful force drag him backward, one that he couldn’t fight against!
The last thing he heard was Shadow’s sorrowful voice.
“Believe me, human. It’s better like this….”
WHOOSH! VANISH!
A human disappeared in a red portal, along with sorrowful howls. The wolves didn’t understand what was happening, but they knew it was very sad but for the best.
This was the last time they’d see their favorite human. This was the last time he’d tell them stories. This was the last time he’d train them. This was the last time they’d fight together.
What should have been horrendous war memories were good because of him.
They’d never forget him. They’d always remember his—
[Shadow Merge Request. Accept?]
[Shadow Merge Request. Accept?]
[Shadow Merge Request. Accept?]
….
“…?!?”
Notifications appeared. They filled the wolves’ visions, so much so that they eclipsed the glowing portal. They didn’t know how to read, but they sure knew what this meant!
One after the other, Ink Wolves accepted the Merger with all their being. They were still confused, but to HIM, they would never say no.
That’s when a shadow appeared…
Jack came back. Even half in the portal, the ability still worked. And with it, his body came flying out of the portal. Was it meant to drag any human out? He was half-wolf now!
Sensing this, Shadow panicked, increasing the power of the force! Yet, it was nothing in the face of Jack repeatedly jumping from wolf to wolf as he merged with them.
Just like that, he even reached his eldritch friend…
“You want what’s good for me? You’ll forcibly send me away? You know what? FUCK YOU!” Never had an insult felt that warm, nor had a human shown that much resolve.
“Reject the Mission Reward! Accept the Contract!”
As Jack chose, the entire world trembled. It wasn’t just the plane, but the wolves, and Shadow himself, they all shook! That’s also when he instinctively understood it all.
This world was special, was it? It bloody was. As he felt an entire world warp upon itself and enter his shadow, he knew he had made the right choice: RIGHT FOR HIM!
[Hidden Path: Became a Contractor!]
[Congrats on a New beginning!]
[Path of the Shadow!]
….
He lost consciousness with the biggest grin…