Dave clung to the shimmering, silver-blue strands of unlife as long as he could, his mind churning in the turbulent ocean of foreign memories and emotions. The experience was overwhelming, like diving headfirst into a maelstrom of thoughts that were not his own.

[Level 5 Phantomancy reached!]

A message flashed over his wrist.

"Be gone, accursed artifact," he hissed, quickly unclasping the bracelet from his arm and shoving it into his pocket. He turned to face Remicra, who was staring at him with a look of concern.

"Are you done?" the dragoness asked, her voice filled with worry and scales tinged with orange tones. She held the massive shield-box up with one hand, the barrier deflecting another incoming brick with a resonant gong that echoed through the catacombs of the abandoned Estate.

"For now," her companion said, wiping the perspiration from his face.

. . .

In another ten minutes, Dave found himself standing on the green grass outside the catacombs, his breathing labored as he tried to keep his head from splitting in two.

A dark-furred vixen approached him, her silver-blue eyes shining with curiosity.

The weary dungeon-delver turned to face her, wiping the sweat from his face once more.

"My Empress," he said in Shadow-tongue, dropping to one knee in a gesture of devotion.

Cedez raised an eyebrow, clearly amused by his sudden formality.

"What? I didn't understand those words," Remicra blinked.

"I have been waiting for my entire life to meet you," Dave declared to Cedez, his voice filled with awe.

"Since when are you so eloquent in Shadow-speak?" The foxgirl tilted her head, a playful smile dancing on her lips.

"Gods' damn it. I think he's Archmage Rim again," Remicra sighed, shaking her head. "I told him not to push himself so hard, and yet he keeps doing it!"

"Ah," Cedez's smile broadened, her gaze locked onto Dave's. "Alaster Rim, I presume?"

"Yes, my Empress," Dave said, his voice reverent. "Rimzadria Estate is at your service, as decrepit as it may be at the current moment."

"But you will uplift it for me, won't you, darling?" Cedez purred.

"I shall do my best, Empress," he acquiesced. "Thank you for providing me with skilled warrior craftsmen to help rebuild my domain."

"Svenn is a good boy," Cedez nodded, a touch of affection in her voice. "And your Estate is a nice base of operations, even if it is a bit decrepit. Do you recall all of the ward keys? I'd like all of us properly tied into the ward."

"I... forgive me, Empress, I don't remember all of the ward passwords," the old ghost spoke through Dave's body, his tone apologetic. "I will need to recover more of me from the dungeon core."

"Fair enough," Cedez smiled, her silver-blue eyes softening. "Now, can you pull back so I can speak to Sir Dave?"

The ginger-haired adventurer in front of her blinked for a few moments, as if clearing an invisible, bothersome eyelash from his vision. His regal posture changed, becoming that of a man who spent far too much time sitting behind a computer chair. Dave rubbed the back of his head.

"Seems like you're losing yourself to your skill," Cedez commented with a sigh.

"Only a little," Dave admitted, feeling embarrassed.

"The dungeon core is a lot stronger than you," she warned. "The dark-gray, steel skyship circling your soul is gaining power. It is not my intention for you to drown in your Quest, my little hero."

"As if you're not losing yourself to her Divine Shadow," Dave shot back.

"That is my destiny," Cedez sighed. "I cannot step away from it. I cannot control what the Ward does, no Sovereign of the Shadow Empire is free when darkness falls. All nine are bound to Serve their cities."

Dave frowned, his sympathy for Cedez evident as he struggled with the complexity of their intertwined fates. They were both caught in a web of their power.

"Dave, I want you to take it easy on absorbing that dungeon core," Remicra implored, her eyes filled with concern. "Is there no other way for you to level up your skill?"

"I could kill things in the wilds... I suppose," Dave shrugged, the weight of their situation evident in his voice. "But that will take too much time. The dungeon core is right here. I've got it under control."

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"I don't think you do," Remicra countered, her worry for him palpable. "You're literally turning into Lord Rim. Each time we come out of there, you're more like him and less like my Dave."

Dave sighed.

"Lord Rim didn't break my chain, you did," the dragoness pointed out, her voice soft but firm.

"We have less than three months before Shandria falls," Dave argued, a sense of urgency in his tone.

"Shandria will not fall," Cedez shook her head, her silver-blue eyes filled with conviction. "Do you think that the Dragon God-Emperor is the first abomination that sent armies against the Shadow Empire? The ward of Shandria can wrap this entire city in darkness, making it completely invisible to invaders. Any spell fired at the city will bounce off. Any invader that walks into the cloud will be devoured by the smaller shadows. They won't be playing around."

"What if he creates a black hole that sucks the cloud away from the city?" Dave countered, his expression grave. "I get it, the wards of the nine cities of the Shadow Empire are fed by their population, but the Dragon God-Emperor can summon limitless heroes into being and grind their souls to power himself thanks to this damn bracelet."

As he spoke, Dave lifted the dark bracelet from his pocket, presenting it to the foxgirl. The ominous artifact glinted in the sunlight, a sinister reminder of the power that lay within it, and the potential danger it posed to them all.

"You're speaking Shadow and Shandrian without that on," Cedez observed, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Curious."

"Huh, I guess I've got enough of Alaster in me for that now," Dave said. He noted that the foxgirl wasn't wearing a black bracelet on her hands either.

"Cedez, do you have a focus tool?" He inquired.

The foxgirl pointed at the blue gemstone hanging from her neck. "When I was fifteen, I recalled enough of Nox to craft this one myself. It connects me to the ward of Shandria, allows me to do Shadow and Charisma magic during the day."

"And if someone rips it off you?" Dave questioned. "Seems like a weak point to lose your focus tool."

"Do I look like the kind of idiot that would have only one focus tool on herself?" Cedez raised an eyebrow, her tone teasing. "Even if I were standing fully naked before you, you wouldn't be able to find where the rest of them are on my person."

"Fair enough," Dave conceded. "Seems like I need to make myself a focus tool. How do I make a focus tool? Is that blue gem on your necklace... crystallized mana?"

"Yep, you'll need to figure out how to focus your mana to crystallize outside of your body to make a focus tool," Cedez explained.

"Is that hard?" Dave asked.

"Exceptionally hard, especially if you have no idea how to do it," the foxgirl nodded, her expression serious.

"But if I do... Maybe I'll be able to push Alaster into an artifact on my person or something so he doesn't take over my entire personality," Dave mused, the idea taking root in his mind.

"An interesting plan," Cedez agreed, her expression thoughtful. "In fact... if you figure out how to put the souls floating around you into crystalline artifacts, then you could become a mage without limits. One who can do... any kind of magic, completely unbound by specialization."

Remicra's eyes bulged. "I've never heard of someone having more than one skill," she said.

"Well, I have two skills myself - Charisma and Shadow. However, I think that Dave is the only Phantomancer in the Shadow Empire," Cedez said, her gaze locked on Dave. "The ability to manipulate souls is an incredibly versatile skill."

"I see why you're obsessing over him," the dragoness squinted at the fox.

"Who wouldn't be? He's a precious cutie," Cedez teased, sticking her tongue out at Remicra. She gracefully stepped closer to Dave, her dark, bushy tail momentarily wrapping around him in a playful embrace. "Don't tell me you want him all to yourself. Sharing is important."

The dragoness's eyes flashed with a gold hue as she let out a dangerous growl. The air around them seemed to crackle with tension. Cedez, however, appeared unfazed by the display, her eyes twinkling with mischief.

Dave, sensing the building animosity between the two, intervened with a nervous chuckle. "Ladies, let's not turn this into a competition," he said, his hands raised in a placating gesture. "We're all on the same side here, right?"

Both Cedez and Remicra hesitated, their gazes locked onto each other before reluctantly shifting to Dave. His calm demeanor seemed to diffuse the tension somewhat.

With a sigh, Remicra relented, her fierce expression softening. "You're right, Dave. We need to focus on the tasks at hand and work together," she said.

"Yes. We may have our differences," Cedez smiled, her tail unwinding from around Dave as she stepped away with a sigh. "But we are united in our purpose."

"What's your purpose, Sovereign?" Remicra asked.

"Protecting Shandria… obviously," Cedez replied briskly.

"Well, I personally don’t give a damn about Shandria. It looks to me that you're the one pushing him to level up faster," the dragoness accused, crossing her arms as her scales flashed red. "You drew him in with your charms, became his secretary, got him this Estate, arranged for hundreds of Bakelite orders, and gave us Svenn. All of your moves are tying Dave to Shandria and to you."

"And you'd rather run away from here with your sparkly tail between your legs?" Cedez raised an eyebrow, her silver-blue eyes gleaming with challenge. "Where would you even go, hrrrmmmmm?"

Remicra hesitated, her gaze flickering towards Dave, who stood silently between the two girls. It was clear that the dragoness didn’t have an answer or a plan of action.

"I don't want to necessarily run away," Remicra finally admitted, her voice softening. "I want to be sure that we're doing what's best for Dave, and for all of us. I don't want him to lose himself - don't want him to become Alaster Rim."

"Neither do I," Cedez regarded her thoughtfully for a moment before nodding. "I'm the one who pulled Dave forward when Alaster took over. You've missed that part since we were speaking Shadow-tongue."

"Thanks," Remicra said briskly.

“Hang on... Alaster knows how to make focus artifacts,” Dave said. “I think… maybe I can get his soul-shard entirely into a ring or something. How about I lay off leeching power from the dungeon core until I succeed at making a focus artefact for myself?"

Remicra nodded in approval.

“I’ll help,” Cedez clapped her hands. “I’ve made a whole bunch for myself of all shapes and sizes!”

“Fine,” Remicra said, shooting Cedez a dangerous glare.

“Stop melting me with your passionate gaze, darling,” Cedez winked at Remicra. “I know that you’re skilled enough to forge a focus artifact of great power, my lovely blacksmith. You can make the perfect container for the ring out of one of the arcane magisteel arrowheads, yes?”

“Yes,” the dragoness gritted her teeth.

“Perfect,” Cedez purred. “If this works, if the ring can function akin to a miniature dungeon core.... then maybe Dave can actually control an unlimited amount of skills via these rings. That'll make him the greatest archmage in all of Shandria!”

Dave blinked.

“Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,

Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,

Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,

One for Lord Dave on his dark throne

In the Land of Shandria where lovely Shadows lie.

One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,

One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them!”

Cedez sang into his ear in English before breaking out into a fit of giggles.