CHAPTER 1

FIVE YEARS LATER

AS the dawn breaks, Saiya at her 17th year, dashed through the bush, slid down on the edge of the hill then climbed on the tree that serves to be her ladder in and out of the Chaaya Village where the whole Kardama Tribe lives.

Slowly and quietly, she sneaked into the chieftain's house through the window of her room and took off her cloak. She placed it under her bed before she slid inside her blanket and closed her eyes.

She has to be there before the sun comes up or else, she will be bombarded by the chieftain's unending talk about how every child of the tribe practiced discipline to be a notable warrior of their tribe. And yet, the prophecied child is like a tomboy who does not know the meaning of discipline.

Grinning, she closed her eyes, and not long after, she fell asleep. A few moments later, she woke up again in the dark room where the only light is from the candles on the wall; she was in Azul's castle once again.

She sighed before she walked towards the throne where the king of that castle sits.

Like all of those mornings of her life since she woke up 5 years ago, as long as she fell asleep in the realms of humanity, her eyes in the realms of darkness opens.

And like her every day in that realm, she'd always be greeted by the Azul's cold gaze.

Azul Refirtaum was known as the Lord of Shadows when he was still free. He was the longest living Conqueror of the Dead. According to the chieftain who took care of her since the day she woke up from a long time coma, Azul was the strongest and most intelligent among all the Lord of Shadows that conquered the dead. He was also a kind, sympathetic and loving person that is why a lot of people idolizes him and believes in him.

He won all of his battles with the Light of Oracles while betting his life on the line and his scars are the proof of it. Listening to the chieftain's story makes her want to disagree on a few things. After all, Azul is only a legend to the chieftain and to all of those who believe in the Lord of Shadows. They have never met him.

But not her.

She did not just met him. They guy almost took her life. 

Azul Nefirtaum who was the former Lord of Shadows is the very person who was sitting on the throne in front of her. According to the legends, after his lover died in the hands of the Light Oracles, he vanished. Some says that he took his own life and some says that he was finally taken over by his power. But truth is, he was imprisoned in that castle by the Light Oracles because they cannot defeat him even when they took advantage of his sorrow and grief on their last battle. 

But he did not tell him about his last battle. It just seems like everytime he turns over a shadow to her being his successor, a couple of his memories are being transferred as well.

She cannot agree with the chieftain as well when she said that Azul is a kind, loving ang sympathetic person. Growing and training with him had given her a chance to know him more.

He is cruel and ruthless. His words was never kind to her. During her sword and archery training with him, he was never lenient. He makes sure that in a few hours they are together in that realm, she will learn something.

But even though he was strict and all, she couldn't help treating him like a brother. After all, he was the only one who listens to all her frustration especially when it comes to controlling her powers. Especially that she cannot show her powers in the human realm.

Even though she was chosen as the next Lord of Shadows, as Azul said, and even though they both know that the whole village will protect her because of their belief about Necromancers, she cannot risk the village's safety. She has to keep her ability to herself for a while. Just until the day Azul could turn over all of his power to her. Because if he gives it whole, her body would not take it. She will die in an instant.

As of the moment, 40% of Azul's power was already transferred to her. She still has 60% to train for.

She pouted and crossed her arms in front of her chest as she lift up her chin when Azul just looks at her for a second then closed his eyes again.

"Why do I feel like you know when will I come back?" She asked but did not get a response. Instead, he summoned an arrow and threw it at her.

Right before it hits her face, she immediately grabbed it, summoned her bow from her shadow and aimed at the farthest target she saw as she turned around. She released it and voila! It hit the center of the shield held by one of the statues in the throne room.

Again and again, Azul kept summoning arrows for her to use on her training. Later on, he stopped. She then summoned her own arrows from her own shadows.

Summoning her bow and arrow from her shadow was a technique Azul taught her on the first month since they met in that realm five years ago; when he finally accepted her as his successor.

While aiming again on the shield that she kept on practicing on, memories of their first battle flooded her mind. It was the day she almost got killed and the day Azul acknowledged her as the next Lord of Shadows.

5 YEARS AGO

After crying for a long time, Saiya stayed cooped up in far corner of the throne room. 

When she woke up in that castle, she cannot remember anything. She cannot even remember how she got inside that castle or who is with her or why is she there. When she saw a guy who was full of scars, sitting on the throne, she felt goosebumps all over her.

It was like her body has it's own mind; telling her to stay where she was sitting or else, she will die. Her mind keeps telling her to keep quiet if she wants to live.

But as a kid, confused and aching all over without knowing the reason, she can't help but cry. Her silent cry became louder and louder until her mind just broke.

"Sir, please tell me. Where am I? Why am here? Who... Who am I? I'm begging you. Please tell me," she begged again and again and again but she could get a response.

She just cried and when she felt getting weaker, she stood up and went to the corner of the throne room. But she started mumbling; words that she couldn't comprehend. For some reason, the scarred guy got annoyed. When he started talking with his deep baritone voice, all her nerves froze.

"It seems that the hell you've been through made you this annoying. You even called me idiot and trash, huh? Let's see where that filthy mouth of yours will take you."

Saiya slowly turned her gaze to the scarred person. Thrilling chills ran down her spine whe she saw him grinning like a devil before he straightened up and pointed at her.

"I will give you one chance. Before I get too bored, you need to land a punch at any part of my body. If you win, I will let you live. If you lose, I will cut your soul to millions of pieces. You won't be able to go back to your own body and will suffer eternal hell here in this room. Again and again, you will feel the pain of my power in every bit of your being."

She got scared. She could not even think straight because she was engulf by her fear for the scarred guy. She wanted to run away or turn back the time to before she insulted him but she knows that it is impossible.

Saiya was about to kneel and bow down to beg for her life but she stopped midway.

"Live," A whisper echoed in her head, "Fight for your life. Don't beg for it."

Breathing hard, she focused her wavering eyes to Azul who was so serious of killing her. With his body and muscles alone, she knows that she can easily wring her neck. She can see it in his eyes that he is dead serious on taking her life.

She closed her eyes and focused on making herself calm.

"You will live. Just trust yourself," the voice echoed in her mind once again.

"I will win," she whispered but the scarred guy heard it. As if mocking her, he started laughing so loud. Then he stopped and grinned at her.

"Come!" He uttered.

Biting her lower lips, she attacked him. Again and again; countless of times during the course of their battle, she blindly attacked him with a punch and a kick but she always ends up being thrown to the wall. What could she even do? She is just a kid without any experience of hurting anyone physically?

But she stood up; never gave up. She stood up for her life; attack for her life; shout for her life. And yet, she could not land a punch on him. With her remaining strength, she stood up and dragged her self towards him.

"I won't lose. I will live."

The guy's brow twitched; as if what she said was the only thing that cut the last straw of his leniency. He was about to grab her but she suddenly vanished from his sight only to find out that she slipped on her blood scattered on the floor. As she fell on the ground, her fist landed on his foot.

Weakly, she turned and looked up to him. With battered face and body, she smiled.

"I won."

"Your just lucky," he whispered before he ungentlemanly picked her up before he went back to the throne.

The next thing she knew, he was already casting a medical spell on her.

"Prove to me for the next months that you are the next rightful owner of my title. For now, I acknowledge your will to live. I am Azul Refirtaum, the Lord of Shadows and the Conqueror of the Dead. Welcome to my eternal prison."

-----

It was so nostalgic that the memory made her grin as she pulled the string of her bow for the last shot. She aimed it on the center of the shield. As she release the arrow with a loud whistle, the shield she'd been practicing with for five years cracked.

Stunned, she squinted her eyes to make sure that it really cracked. And it really did. Astonished, she looked back at Azul.

"Azul! Look! It cracked!" she excitingly exclaimed.

Azul's brows furrowed as she looks at the crack where the arrow landed. For a thousand years of struggling and trying to escape that realm, even his full power is not enough to make a dent on anything in the room. It may crack but it will always return to how it use to be.

But right now, looking at what Saiya did, the crack remained.

"Did the power of the Light Oracles got weakened or is Saiya's hidden power finally exceeds?" He whispered to himself.

Thinking what might be the cause, a scary grin appeared on his lips because at last, he saw a glimpse of hope to be free from that prison.

Saiya saw his reaction and that made her step back. She knows that she is not afraid of Azul because he saw him grin a couple times but the expression she's seeing right now is different. It seems like her body is afraid from his expression like it knows something terrifying about him; like how he felt five years ago. It was nostalgic and scary.

"Azul?" She called out. 

His eyes turned to her before his expression turned to his usual demeanor.

Sighing, he returned to his position; cheeks on top of his right hand while leaning on his throne.

"If you manage to destroy that shield, I will grant you one wish."

"One wish," she whispered while looking at the shield, "are you sure you can grant my wish?"

"Whatever it is. As long as it is within my power," he promised.

Saiya sighed before she looked back at him, "Okay. Let me try."

She was about to draw more arrows from her shadow when her eyesight suddenly turned dark. The moment she opened her eyes once again, she's already back in the realms of human; and Cicilla, her roommate is already looking down at her with her right eyebrow raised up.

"What the?!" She exclaimed.

"So, you're finally awake?" she sarcastically asked with hands on her hips.

"Y-Yeah," she whispered with an awkward smile.

"Oh come on, Saiya! Did you went out again last night? How many times do I have to tell you not to go out on your own during the night! Are you not afraid of the Light Oracles? They have there eyes on our village because of the rumors that the Lord of Shadows is hiding here," She exclaimed.

She remembered the golden knights that she saw flying with there dragons last nights when she was practicing with her arrows on the forest. She was with her shadow knight, Greyn, who hid her the moment the golden nights flew just above her that time.

"They will not find me at night. I have Greyn."

"That's not my point, Saiya. The fact that you have Greyn could make them believe that you are the necromancer they have been looking for even if you are not. Just think of what will happen to the village if they caught you. They will kill as all like what they did to the Akashians," she said as her face became clouded with pain.

Saiya remembered then that Cicila's father is an Akashian. She was about to say sorry when Cicila stood up to leave but stopped midway, "Please think of your actions first, Saiya," she said without looking back before she left her alone.

Saiya heaved a heavy sigh before she stood up and looked out the window. Thinking back, she was really reckless. Thoughts of her being captured could really bring misfortune to the Kardama Tribe; the tribe that adopted her. The tribe that took care of hee while she was in coma.

Right then, she remembered what happened with the Akashian Tribe just a few months ago just because of some rumors about them hiding a Necromancer, which was believed to be the one who is responsible of almost wiping out the Horalees at the Maelie Empire five years ago. And that rumor spread throughout the kingdom until it reached the Maelie Empire. It became a threat to the Royal Bloodline. 

Ever since the beginning of time, Necromancers are being killed because it was believed that the Lord of Shadows; the Destoyer of the World will be born as a Necromancer. By Royal Decree, Necromancers should be killed as soon as they are born. She didn't know how she was spared even though she is a Necromancer but she knew to her self that she had never been to the Akashia Village. She's also sure that the was not the one who was hiding in Cicila's previous village.

After receiving a proof that a necromancer was indeed hidden on the Akashia Village, the Maelies gave an order to twenty Light Oracles to kill the whole tribe.

These Light Oracles are the personal Army of the Royal Bloodline, consisting of people who can manipulate two to three elements and combine them to make a new element of their own. One Light Oracle's strength is always leveled 10 times more than a normal element user so wiping the Akashians is of no difficulty for them.

The Akashians are one of the four great tribes. They are the tribe that uses Wind Manipulation. The other three tribes are also Manipulators of the Main Elements of the earth such as Water, Earth and Fire. And to keep the balance between their powers, lands had been given equally to each of them except for the center of the Great Horalian Kingdom.

The one who owns the center of the kingdom are the Maelies; the Royal Bloodline and the only clan that can use Blood Manipulation.

But aside from the four tribes and the Maelies, there is a tribe that doesn't use an element as their power source; the Kardama Tribe which consist of ungifted or non-powered people. All of them came from different tribes that exiled them. These ungifted people grouped together and settled on an island outside the kingdom which is now called Chaaya Village; where they are living at the moment.

Because of the death of the Akashian Tribe, the balance of power fell. Rebellion against the Maelie Empire started and the Tribal Wars also erupted within the kingdom. But aside from that, the Necromancer Hunt was also established.

A massive amount of gold, silver and properties are promised to the one who will be able to kill the Necromancer all because the one who is being hunted is the only Necromancer alive in the whole kingdom.

Saiya raised her hand and as soon as it cast a shadow on the floor, Greyn appeared beside her.

"I'm the only necromancer alive, right?"

Greyn answered with a nod.

"Then who might be the necromancer hiding at Akashia Village a month ago?"

TO BE CONTINUED