*Four and a half years after the events of the previous chapter*

*4/19/83*

The Blue Forest was a truly wondrous place. A mountainous region where the trees always appear as if they are undergoing their autumn transformation. But the trees of the Blue Forest never seemed to run out of leaves, even in the winter months. Their branches shed and regrew leaves at an alarming rate. And unlike other forests, its trees only bore blue leaves, thus its name, the Blue Forest.

The Overlord held a single blue leaf and sniffed. It always enjoyed the unique scent unique to the Blue Forest. Even the animals had a special taste, making the local squirrels the Overlord's favorite snack. After countless years of falling to the forest floor, the blue leaves have turned even the grass blue. The only expanse of blueness is the brown tree trunks, scattered boulders, and the strange, bending path used by the Spirits metal snakes.

Such a snake was already on the move. Its black, boxy frame moved along the path with surprising speed, constantly making a bizarre chug-chug-chug noise and let loose a funny wail-like sound.

Despite being of Spirit make, the snakes were rarely bothered by Shadows. Their speed surpassed all, but the swiftest Shadow and its hard shell proved near impossible to penetrate. It was a waste of time and energy to try and attack such things. But today would be a different story.

The Spirits used these snakes to transport goods and Crystals over vast distances. They were strong, well-guarded, and fast. They were reliant on the path. So, the Shadows had destroyed sections of the path further ahead.

From a high-up cliff looking over the destroyed pathway, the Overlord and its hybrid heir watched and waited for the snake to arrive with several other Shadows behind them.

The Overlord looked down at its heir… its daughter, as she stood by its side, eagerly awaiting the coming carnage with a fanged smile. Silver had grown much over the past four and would continue to do so as time went on.

The empty tooth sockets of her mask had begun to grow teeth. Though they were nothing more than round nubs, time would change them into dagger-like teeth. Her claws had lengthened and grown sharper. They were now about the length of her fingers before her change and twice as thick. The bony stubs along her arms had lost their dull tips and had become small spikes like quills. But the most noteworthy change was her intellect. Silver was very cunning and smart, smarter than the oldest of Shadows. She seemed to absorb everything the Overlord taught her. She was inquisitive and curious and asked why the Shadows only attack Spirits and Great Wolves.

Several months ago, she asked the question after trying to pounce on a lone deer like she had seen Hounds do to Spirits. The Overlord caught her just as her feet left the ground, and her startled yelp spooked the deer into fleeing.

Silver had sensed the deer's soul and thought it similar to the Spirits and The Great Wolves, although to a lesser extent. The Overlord told her that this was both false and true.

It told her that while beasts did have souls, they were to be left alone. For it was the forms of the beasts that inspired the Overlord for many of the first Shadows, such as the Hounds, Bears, and Ravens.

As a reward for their unconscious contribution, the Overlord forbade killing any animal unless done so in self-defense. And over time, many animals became accustomed to the Shadows. Of course, they were still wary of them. Still, they would only become aggressive if the Shadows encroached on their territory.

Silver grew very depressed afterward, ashamed that she had almost struck down one who provided her father with the inspiration for the Shadows. She swore never to hurt an animal again.

The Overlord told her such an oath was naïve and stupid. It told her she was permitted to kill animals if they attacked her and that for many centuries Spirits used attack animals to hunt Shadows. If they or the Great Wolves learned of her existence and that she would never harm an animal, they would use it against her.

At this, Silver became enraged. Furious that their enemies would use those who aided her father to do their dirty work. Just another way for the Overlord to further plant the seeded desire to kill its enemies in her mind.

She put that desire to good use. After several months of observing the snakes moving back and forth, she concocted a plan to destroy the metal snake's path. Noting how one stopped when a herd of animals stood on the path, the Spirits had to scare them away with the snake's blaring whistle instead of just going around them.

Shadow Bears were used to destroy the metal frames of the path, while the Hounds positioned the ruined rails along the path to give the illusion they were still in working order.

That had been done an hour ago, and hundreds of Shadows were hidden in the forest below where they waited for the moment to strike.

The Overlord had sent a freshly spawned Raven ahead to spy upon the train and discern its contents. It took direct control of the Raven to see and hear what it did.

The snake on the path was one of the… less guarded variants, designed to carry Spirits between the main nest of the island to any of the smaller ones with extraordinary speed but lacked any true form of defense. The perfect target to test its daughter's new strategy.

Pleased with what it saw, the Overlord relinquished control of the Raven and continued to wait.

It would not need to wait long as the telltale sound of the snake grew louder and louder. Its heir ran up to the edge of the cliff as if to get a better view and was soon followed by the Overlord, who put a hand on her head.

They watched with anticipation as the snake drew closer and closer to the trap, completely unaware of what was truly waiting for it.

The following devastation brought forth a swelling feeling of pride from within the Overlord's chest. “Very good, little Silver, very good. You have done well.”

The snake did not simply roll over to the side or crash into the ground as expected. Instead, its head careened off to the side before being struck by the second. The third smashed into the second, which made it spiral off the tracks. The two behind the third sprang upward in a triangle before they all crashed back to the ground. One of the segments was torn completely in half when another segment pushed through its middle.

Finally, the last segments crashed, and the moment of destruction ended. It was a complete and utter mess down there. Screams and shouts made by the Spirits echoed throughout the forest. A military officer barked orders as soldiers and Huntsmen rushed from the train. The soldier's weapons were standard-issue bolt action rifles, SMGs, and LMGs. The Huntsmen's weapons vary more to the individual's taste, from medieval-style weapons to improved military firearms. Most of their blades were made of regular steel. The rest vary between several different colors.

The Overlord looked down at its giddy heir. “Give the command, Little Silver. Let them feast on our enemies.”

She looked up at it with grateful eyes, then turned toward the ruined remains of the snake and let loose a shrieking roar that rivaled the mighty trumpeting call of a mammoth.

“AAATTTAAACCCKKK!”

The Shadows shot out of the surrounding woods with howls and roars. They fell upon the wreck with savage ferocity, taking the Spirits completely by surprise. Soldiers formed a skirmish line and opened fire. The officer drew his pistol and blasted a Shadow Hound with light blue bullets, encasing its right half in ice. Immediately afterward, the officer was cut clean in half by another Shadow Hound.

One Huntsman slashed a Shadow Hound with a red-bladed sword. The beast's wounds were engulfed by flames from the crimson blade. The Huntsman slashed the ground in front of him, which created a wall of fire warding off the Shadows before him. A Shadow Bear grabbed the Huntsman from behind and pressed him against the burning land.

Screams intensified but were no longer ones of despair but of terror. A cacophony of sound echoed throughout the crash site. The Shadows clashed with the skirmish line as soldiers panicked and fell back, with others cut down inches behind them.

A giant Shadow Serpent slithered into a segment which flushed the Spirits out into the waiting jaws of the Hounds on the other end. Shadow Bears ripped open roofs and jumped inside segments, killing the Spirits within. Some tried to flee but were run down by Hounds, whose speed far surpassed their own.

The amount of fear and panic that flowed from the Spirits was invigorating. The Overlord was almost tempted to jump down there and join the slaughter. But it would wait till most of the Spirits were dead before descending to the site with its heir. It could not risk survivors seeing them and escaping with the knowledge of their existence.

Speaking of its heir, Silver was practically vibrating with excitement. The amount of negativity seemed almost too much for her to resist. She used all her will just to keep herself in one place. She would need to learn more restraint if it took her this much concentration to not succumb to her new instincts.

It placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently to remind her not to let her instincts get the better of her. It worked, but a little. Silver still radiated anticipation and excitement, but at least she wasn't vibrating.

The Shadows completely covered the wreckage now. Any Spirits left alive were barricaded in the few intact segments that had yet to be torn open. Satisfied, the Overlord motioned for them to make their way down and inspect the crash.

Its heir did not need much motivation and shot passed the Overlord like a bullet. It followed behind her at a much more leisurely pace. It wasn't like the snake would be leaving anywhere soon.

As it walked down to the wreckage, the Overlord couldn't help but think of how much it had changed since the day of appointing Silver its heir. Since the taking in of little Silver, it had become increasingly accustomed to her inherent Spirit nature.

The first year had been difficult for both sire and heir, as Silver was plagued by terrors in her sleep. She'd wake up, screaming at the top of her lungs, and bolt to the Overlord's side, crying her eyes out. At first, the Overlord ignored its heir's plight, assuming they'd disappear. But the terrors stayed. Every time she placed her head down to rest, she did so with reluctance. Every night she went to sleep, she was torn from her rest by nocturnal visions that confused and terrified her without end.

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One night, she refused to detach herself from the Overlord's body, clinging to it like a tick. Eventually, the Overlord gave up on removing her and waited for her to fall asleep. But when she finally succumbed to exhaustion, it noticed something. Not once did she stir from her slumber. Not even a murmur escaped her lips. Its presence seemed to bring her a sense of security that traveled into her dreams. This both mystified and confused the Overlord. Was it just its presence that prevented the terrors from encroaching on her sleeping mind, or was it simply having another being near her that did the trick?

It experimented, had her sleep with some Shadows, memorized the results, and came to a conclusion. When she slept with the Hounds, she did not wake with fear, nor was she quiet. She'd whimper and moan in her slumber, tossing and turning uncomfortably. The other Shadows had little effect on her. She'd only wake screaming as she had before.

Thankfully, she began to experience the terrors less frequently as months passed. She still slept mainly with the Overlord or the Hounds but, occasionally, would rest with the other Shadows. Through this, the Overlord found itself becoming more… gentle with her. It would still chastise her when she performed poorly but would always, as if by reflex, reassure her that she would do better next time.

It was odd, but seeing Silver hurt, be it physically or emotionally, always brought something out in the Overlord. Something it had never experienced before in its long life. And in time, it realized what the feeling was. It had grown attached to her.

At first, it was afraid of this. Had it grown soft because of her? Was it losing the killer edge that had kept it alive all these centuries? Was it a mistake to take her in as its heir? It didn't know. But one look at Silver's beautiful eyes destroyed the doubts and erased the fears the Overlord held.

No… this was not something to be fearful of. It was something else…

ARRRRRROOOOOOOOO!

The Overlord's reminiscence was brought to a grinding halt when the howl of a Hound echoed from the wreck. It knew that howl. It meant help was needed, and something was wrong.

The Overlord's fire-red eyes widened with horror.

“Silver!”

~o0o~

“It worked! It worked! It worked! It worked!” Silver thought, clapping her hands excitedly. Her plan was a success, and her father was very pleased with her. The Spirit’s metal snake hit the destroyed rails and crashed just as she planned. The Shadows slaughtered them with ruthless efficiency and were now enjoying their well-earned reward of flesh and emotion. Silver wanted to see the wreck up close, to witness the full extent of the damage caused by just a few out-of-place metal bars. But most of all, Silver wanted to make a kill. A real kill.

The deaths in the crash were her doing. Still, most of the casualties were inflicted by her father's Shadows, who swarmed the derailed transport like a horde of ravenous insects. And though it felt like she had killed, at the same time, it felt like she hadn't.

Besides, there were bound to be a few stragglers still alive. The Shadows work fast but tend to miss a few things in their initial rush to kill.

When Silver finally reached the bottom, she was greeted by a bloody scene. Overturned snake segments ripped open, puddles of blood staining the ground a deep crimson, the butchered bodies of Spirits strewn about the area, and the Shadows feasting on them. Silver always found it funny how, even though they didn't need to eat, they did so anyway. She asked her father why they did it, and it simply replied with: “They like the taste.”

Perhaps she should try some. After all, her Spirit half required that she eat, drink, and rest, although significantly less than a normal Spirit needed to survive. The only food she could find were berries, nuts, fruits, and the occasional dead animal. The Shadows would also loot whatever food they could retrieve from Spirit nests and caravans.

Silver loved her father. He was so very caring and generous to her. Not only would he make sure she was fed properly, but he would also soothe her when sleep terrors shook her from her slumber. When the clothes she had became too small, he wove for her a special outfit using its powers that would grow with her body. And just as a Shadow's appearance changed with time, so did the outfit.

Currently, it is colored black with a few red details here and there and several armor plates. A sleeveless black blouse with an armored plate around the chest covered the top half of her body, while a frilly black and red skirt took its place underneath the blouse and was held in place by a grey belt. Black leggings with shin and knee guards covered her legs, and blackened boots protected her feet.

The only article of clothing that Silver wore besides that was the old, tattered, red cloak and hood that she had been found with. The edges were frayed, holes riddled it, and the material was worn and matted, but it still served its purpose.

Her father had taught her much over the years as well. Where the six major Spirit nests were located, how to properly feed off negative emotions, where a Spirit's body's weakest points were, how to command Shadows… the list went on. And this devastation, this carnage inflicted upon the Spirits, was Silver's way of giving back.

She walked through the wreckage and bodies, her proud smile never leaving her face. She passed the feasting Shadows, who stopped to watch her pass before returning to their meals. A wailing Spirit baby could be heard from within one of the segments before a Hound ran inside and silenced it with an abrupt and wet crunch.

When she reached the disaster zone's center, she felt something underneath her feet. Silver was greeted by the upper half of a Spirit child. Its body had cleaved in half, and only one arm remained attached to the torso. She grabbed it by its remaining limb and raised it high for examination.

The expression on its face was of such dumbstruck shock that Silver couldn't help but giggle at it. It amazed her how easily they had been beaten, how they could only scream in terror as the Shadows descended on them. She almost pitied them. They were so much weaker than her father made them out to be. He portrayed them as tenacious and resourceful survivors who never gave in without a fight. But Silver had yet to see any evidence to support this clai-

"AAAHHHH!"

Silver jumped to the side, sprite body still in her grasp as she narrowly dodged the piece of metal that had been swung at her by a surviving Spirit. It was a male. It is covered with blood, bruises, and cuts, the clothes were in tatters, and its wheezed breaths betrayed its exhausted state. Yet it still stood there. Brown eyes angrily narrowed at Silver as she returned a glare, followed by a challenging hiss. It let loose a roar and charged her again, the metal club raised high.

She threw the sprite's corpse at the male. It fell to the ground, the makeshift weapon out of its hand. Not giving it a chance to recover, Silver leaped at the male with claws extended, only for it to kick her in the stomach and send her flying back by four feet.

She groaned in pain. One claw clutched her stomach as she stood back up. The male Spirit had retrieved its weapon during her recovery and circled her. Silver was cautious as she circled it in turn. The male Spirit seemed… off, different from the ones she had seen before. She shook her head. Now was not the time for pondering. A Spirit was a Spirit. Silver charged the male abruptly.

It smoothly sidestepped to the left and smashed the metal pipe against her head which slammed her into the ground.

Silver curled up in pain from the blow. Her oversized claws clasped over her ringing ears as she clutched her head. She could hardly feel the thick blue blood trickling down her head. She looked up to see the Spirit male standing over her prone form, mocking her with calm arrogant eyes.

Silver would not stand for this! She was the daughter and heir of the mighty Overlord! She refused to meet her end at the edge of Spirit's metal stick! After a second to muster her strength, Silver lashed out at the Spirit. It held a look of brief surprise as her blade-like claws sped toward its unprotected mid-section… Only to harmlessly bounce off some unseen force.

Silver's eyes went wide. She now knew why this Spirit felt so different. It was a Hunter. A breed of warrior trained to hunt and kill Shadows and Great Wolves. Hunters were powerful. They wielded mighty weapons, some powered by Crystals. They could manifest their life energy and use it as shields. They were the most hated of all Spirits. And Silver made the mistake of underestimating one and was now paying the price.

It raised the piece of metal high above its head when three Hounds leaped at the Spirit. The Hunter jumped back to avoid their claws. They placed themselves between Silver and the Hunter, growling and roaring angrily at their Mistress's attacker.

Two Hounds rushed the Hunter, while the third let out a howl, alerting all the Shadows to close in on its location. Within seconds, all the Shadows were converging on the scene, rushing towards the Hunter with complete disregard for their own lives.

The Serpent curled itself protectively around Silver, using its own body as a shield. As a result, Silver could not see what was happening, though she could still hear everything. The yells and grunts as the Hunter fought her father's creations.

It went on for a minute before the sounds of battle abruptly stopped. The Serpent uncurled its body to reveal Silver's father holding the Hunter high in the air by the throat. The evaporating bodies of Hounds and a Bear littered the ground around them, their essence being absorbed back into their Overlord for later creations.

The Hunter kicked its feet fruitlessly in the air and growled angrily at her father. Silver watched in awe as her father threw the Hunter hard against the ground. The sound of breaking bones reached her ears, followed by a short scream of pain. A scream that was silenced when the Overlord brought its mighty, bone-white mace down onto the Hunter's head.

It placed an armored boot on the still Spirit's shoulder and wrenched the weapon free. Then, it turned its gaze on Silver.

“What made you think you were ready to challenge a Hunter, Little Silver?” Its deep, commanding voice boomed in her head. ”Did you think its wounds would slow it down?”

“I-I did not know, Father,” Silver admitted timidly. “I thought it was just another Spirit-”

“Just another Spirit? Have you learned nothing from what I have taught you, child? Has this one victory made you think every Spirit is the same? That they are all so easy to kill?” It pointed its mace at the dead Spirit. “If this Hunter had its weapon, you'd be dead five times over by the time I arrived here, Little Silver!”

Silver looked down at her feet, ashamed that she had disappointed her father so much and that she had let the success of her plan go to her head.

“Hubris is a fatal flaw, Little Silver. One a leader must be free of if they are to lead properly.” It knelt down and gently tilted her chin up so she was looking into its eyes. “You are my heir, Silver, the inheritor of the Shadows. But you are still very young. Too young to attempt to kill an adult Spirit by yourself, Hunter or not.”

“Yes, Daddy. I won't do it again.”

“Good,” it let go of her chin and stood back up. “Now come, we're leaving.”

Dejected and depressed from disappointing her father, Silver followed after him with her head hung low. The Shadows returned to clearing out any remaining Spirits. However, a few Hounds heeled at Silver's flanks, nuzzling their heads against her to lift their young Mistress's spirits. One even took it upon itself to lick some blood off the side of her head with its slimy warm tongue.

Silver was very fond of the Hounds and, had it been any other time, would have welcomed the affection with a smile. But her failure to kill the Spirit had dampened her mood too great for even the Hounds to cheer her up. She pushed their muzzles away and followed her father back into the Forest.

But as she walked behind her father, head looking down at the soiled earth, Silver noticed something in a puddle of blood. A footprint. A Spirit footprint accompanied by many more footprints leading away from the crash.

“Father!” Silver called out urgently, prompting her father to look back. “Look! Look!” She pointed frantically at the bloody footprints. It calmly walked over and knelt down to examine them.

Silver was now completely ashamed and terrified. The possibility that one or more Spirits had escaped put her and her father at risk. If word got back to the Spirit's nests, they would send out countless Hunters to track them down and kill them. They would render the Shadows leaderless and unable to replenish their losses. Because of her, her entire species may face extinction.

Tears formed in her eyes as she envisioned her life after this moment. Her father would forbid her from leaving its sight. It would hide her away in some fortress guarded by thousands of Shadows, never to be let out until the Spirits forgot all about them…. Which could take centuries! She had failed. Failed to prove her worth. Failed the Shadows. And had failed her daddy!

*sniff* “I'm sorry, Daddy. I'm sorry I failed you.”

It swiftly turns its head toward Silver, startling her. “Do not say that, Silver.”

“But I-”

“Do not say that,” It repeated sternly. It turned completely to face her. “You have not failed me, little Silver.”

“But I failed to recognize a Hunter, I failed to kill a single Spirit, and I failed to ensure all the Spirits were killed! With all this, how can you say I have not failed you!?”

The Overlord embraced its crying child close to its chest. “You have never failed me, Little Silver,” It soothed as it tenderly stroked the back of her head. “You may have disappointed me for not recognizing the Hunter. These survivors might someday complicate things for us, but this does not deem you a failure. You must understand nothing goes exactly as desired. Mistakes are inevitable. They are an inescapable aspect of life. Learning from our mistakes grows stronger and wiser.”

It released her from its embrace and looked her in the eyes, its mighty hands on its shoulders. “Do not worry yourself with the Spirit strays. They’re young, and the entrance to their nearest nest is several days away by foot.”

It turned her around so that she could once more view the aftermath of her plan. “Look upon this sight, Silver. Look upon the death and destruction you have brought to the Spirits. Fear will spread through their nests like a plague when they learn of what happened here. Panic will grip their souls, and rage will cloud their judgment. I cannot see how such a beautiful display of cunning and brutality can be a failure.”

It wiped away the tears from her eyes. It stood up and extended its free hand to her. “Come, Little Silver. We have much to do.”

Silver sniffed one more time before she grasped his hand and headed back into the Blue Forest.

Father and daughter then entered the wooded confines of the Blue Forest. Behind them, they left the feasting Shadows in their wake.

~o0o~

"Breaking News! A train traveling to London was discovered today, derailed and destroyed on the tracks of the Autumn Forest railway. The train had been scheduled to arrive in London three days ago, but the station manager grew concerned when it hadn’t arrived. After several hours of waiting, the manager contacted the LPD, who sent out a search party, accompanied by a Huntsman, the following day."

"Soon after setting out, they came upon six young children. They were exhausted and dehydrated but otherwise alive. The Huntsman ordered members of the party to take the children back to be treated while the rest continued their search for the missing train. The children are now resting at London General Hospital, and doctors say they will fully recover."

"When the party arrived on the scene, they found a nightmarish sight. Destroyed train cars littered the area, bodies covered the ground, and Shadows Creatures were everywhere. One officer described it as a massacre, torn straight from the annuls of history. When mankind was completely helpless against the Shadow Creatures, without Stones or Huntsman to protect us."

"When the Shadow Creatures had been cleared out, LPD officers could determine the cause of the incident was that the train tracks had been somehow damaged. Bent and out-of-place rails along the track left little room for doubt in the minds of all present. Sadly, it appears all aboard the train were killed when-"

"Wait, hang on. I'm getting reports that similar accidents are happening all over Terrane! Several trains have been found derailed outside of Stockholm just hours after leaving the station."

"We are also getting reports that Shadow Creatures are being found in large numbers at each crash site. Leading some to speculate that they are responsible for these accidents. However, we are unable to confirm this at this time…”