*Chapter 17: When Shadows Imitate Men*
*Part 1 — Complete*
The wind over the scorched valley carried no scent of life. Only the dry breath of a land rebuilding itself after centuries of fire and blood. Where stone once split from celestial wrath, green now returned—tentative, stubborn.
Pluto stood at the edge of a canyon that hadn't existed a hundred years ago. The earth had torn itself open, birthing this jagged wound during a battle no mortal remembered. But he remembered. Every scream. Every fracture. Every whisper from the stars that fell to silence.
Ilias knelt beside the canyon's rim, inspecting faded carvings etched in rock—old, forgotten script, etched long before even Deviants had names.
"These are human hands," he said. "Worn by time, but not by age. Someone preserved them."
Pluto said nothing. He didn't need to. His presence alone made the silence heavy, watchful.
Uruk sniffed the air, his nostrils flaring. "Something stirs beneath. It's not Deviant. It's... old. Like you."
"Then it's time," Pluto said.
They descended.
The canyon led them to a chamber hidden in folded stone. Its door had no key—only a mirror of obsidian, black as void, set in its center. When Pluto touched it, the surface rippled, and the stone parted.
Inside, sat a figure of living shadow.
It was not dead, nor alive. A form without fixed shape, flickering between bodies like a flame.
"Pluto," it spoke, its voice layered like overlapping echoes.
Pluto stepped forward. "You still remember."
"I forget nothing. You gave me a name once... Kareth."
*****
The shadow swirled as if uncertain, but its voice remained firm—etched in memory that stretched into darkness.
"I was cast out of form. Stripped of definition. A curse for disobedience. But you—" it turned toward Pluto, "—you granted me self during the wars of silence."
Ilias stood watchfully near the threshold, hand on the hilt of his blade. "You knew this... thing?"
Pluto nodded. "He was once a seer. A mortal whose soul became untethered after glimpsing something he should not have. In his madness, he walked into the Shadow Sea."
"I drowned," Kareth said softly. "And adapted."
Now, he hovered—not floating, but shifting in and out of space like a whisper never spoken.
Uruk growled low. "What use is a shadow who can't hold a blade?"
Kareth answered by unraveling.
The walls trembled. Every shadow in the room twisted toward him, pulled like ink into a storm. He reformed—not as a man, but a mirrored silhouette of Pluto himself. Perfectly still. Impossibly silent.
*[System Notice: Entity "Kareth" — Class: Phantom Sovereign]*
*Abilities: Shadowmorphing, Memory Drain, Echo Step, Soul Mirror*
*Status: Pledged to Pluto — Loyalty Binding Active*
Pluto raised a hand. "Enough."
Kareth returned to his flickering shape. "I am yours again... Monarch of Change."
"Then follow," Pluto said. "We have more to awaken."
As they exited, the chamber sealed behind them, and shadows clung to Pluto's cloak like loyal echoes.
****
*Chapter 17: When Shadows Imitate Men*
*Part 3 — Threads of Fate*
The journey back was silent, save for the crunch of sand beneath their feet. The desert had a way of swallowing noise, leaving only the whisper of time.
Ilias broke the quiet. "Kareth's loyalty—how certain is it? Shadows are known to deceive."
Pluto's silver eyes glinted cold. "He owes me his existence. His freedom. But trust is a currency I spend sparingly."
Uruk grunted. "What of others? This world is vast, with ancient beings lurking in the corners you have not yet seen."
"Then we shall find them," Pluto replied. "The power to shape a world is born from alliances and fear alike."
Ahead, the horizon burned with the first light of dawn—red and gold streaking across the sky like a promise. A promise that the days ahead would be hard, but filled with purpose.
As they walked, Pluto's mind drifted to the future—the subordinates yet to be found, the secrets yet unearthed, and the destiny that awaited him beyond this desert.
The cosmos was wide, but his adaptation was wider.
A/N: please don't forget my power stone and chapter 16 is the reason why this chapter is short
*if the power stone reach ten 1 extra chapter