"Hey, don't touch that."

  Crash.

  "I already told you not to touch it. What is wrong with you?"

  From the shadow cast at Gregory's feet, a figure rose as though emerging from a pool of darkness. It took the shape of a shadow demon, its form tall and ominous, with a pair of black wings spread behind its back like those of a silent harbinger.

  Yet the creature's behavior was strangely at odds with its fearsome appearance. Instead of standing in solemn stillness, it busied itself rummaging through the desk where Gregory worked, scattering papers and objects as if driven by childish curiosity.

  When Gregory called out, the shadow demon immediately approached him. It stopped before him and dropped to one knee, bowing its head in a gesture of complete obedience.

  "Yes, this is how the Demons are supposed to behave." Gregory said, nodding to himself with quiet satisfaction.

  But without warning, the demon reached forward and placed its hands on his cheeks. It did not merely touch them. It pinched and rubbed them with odd fascination, as though studying a curious object.

  "Please, stop. You're ruining my demon fantasy." Gregory protested, trying to push its hands away as he blocked them with his own.

  The shadow demon tilted its head slightly, as if confused by his reaction.

  "What are you doing? Can you even understand what I'm saying?"

  The shadow demon continued to stare at Gregory, its head still tilted at an unnatural angle, black wings twitching ever so slightly behind its back. Its violet eyes fixed upon him without a single blink, as though time itself had no hold over its gaze.

  Gregory narrowed his eyes.

  "Don't tell me you're just pretending not to understand."

  The creature suddenly straightened. With surprising seriousness, it placed one hand over its chest and gave a slow, deliberate nod.

  Gregory froze.

  "You… you do understand?"

  The demon nodded again, this time more enthusiastically. Its wings fluttered, sending a restless gust across the room. The scattered papers that had fallen earlier lifted gently into the air, as if caught in an invisible current, before drifting down once more to rest quietly upon the floor.

  Gregory looked around his study. What had once been neat and orderly now resembled the aftermath of a storm, as though a violent wind had passed through only moments ago, carried upon the black wings before him.

  "You truly know how to test a man's patience."

  The shadow demon responded by puffing out its chest in pride.

  "That wasn't a compliment." Gregory muttered.

  He rubbed his temple, a faint ache beginning to settle behind his eyes, then spoke again, his tone more measured.

  "If you truly understand what I'm saying, then answer this. Who are you?"

  The shadow demon fell silent, as though absorbing the question. Its glowing eyes lowered, and slowly, it lifted one hand and pointed downward.

  At his shadow.

  Gregory followed the gesture. "You're… my shadow?"

  The demon nodded once. Gregory's own shadow, cast upon the floor, seemed to waver and ripple, its shape growing faint and unstable, unlike the steady darkness he had always known.

  "How did you come to exist in my shadow?"

  The demon stopped moving and tilted its head again, the question clearly beyond what it could convey. Gregory quickly realized the mistake and exhaled.

  "Let me ask it another way. Are you here because of the system?"

  At once, the shadow demon nodded several times, almost eagerly. The movement reminded Gregory of a child who had yet to learn how to speak.

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  Taking the hint, he continued his quiet interrogation.

  "Then what can you do?"

  The demon's eyes widened at once.

  In the next instant, its body melted into a dark liquid form and slipped soundlessly into Gregory's shadow. Gregory instinctively stepped back, but before he could react further, the shadows beneath him stretched unnaturally across the floor, climbing up along the walls of the room.

  They twisted and shifted like living ink, crawling in silence. It all happened in a breath.

  Then Gregory felt something behind him. A faint movement brushed near his ear.

  He turned.

  The shadow demon had reappeared directly at his back.

  "…You can move through shadows."

  The demon gave a few soft claps, clearly pleased that Gregory had understood what it had just demonstrated. Gregory turned to face it fully. The creature's form was pitch black, so dark that only its pair of violet eyes could be seen clearly. From its silhouette, it seemed almost as though it wore a helmet. Around its neck hung a faintly glowing purple scarf, the only trace of color upon its body.

  "You truly look like a soldier from hell."

  At those words, the shadow demon shook silently, its shoulders rising and falling as though laughing without sound.

  "What else can you do?"

  At once, the shadow demon turned its back and spread its wings as though preparing to present a grand trick. It raised its right hand slowly, lifting one finger. Then a second. When the third finger rose, its wings shifted at the same moment, folding and reshaping until they transformed into a long black cloak that draped fully down its back, dark and smooth like a curtain falling into place.

  The creature then turned again to face Gregory. With a graceful motion, it bowed its head, one hand resting upon its chest while the other moved behind its back, like a performer concluding a well rehearsed act.

  Gregory responded with a light applause, a faint smile tugging at his lips.

  "Bravo, bravo. That was very, very impressive."

  Afterward, he stepped back a few paces in a steady, cautious rhythm, his eyes never leaving the demon's violet gaze. When he felt the distance between them was safe enough, he briefly glanced toward the side of the room, quietly measuring the path in case he needed to run should anything go wrong.

  Gregory's expression sharpened, the faint trace of amusement from moments earlier fading into something far more serious. The study seemed to grow quieter, the steady ticking of the clock retreating beneath the weight of his thoughts.

  Before him stood the shadow demon, cloaked in black, its violet eyes gleaming softly in the dim light.

  Gregory said in a calm voice edged with command. "Answer me honestly, what is your connection to the Demon King?"

  The shadow demon did not respond at once. Its glowing eyes flickered as it slowly raised a hand to its chest, then after a brief pause, it shook its head once.

  Gregory studied the gesture and asked. "So you are not part of his core army?"

  The demon tilted its head slightly, as if to say not exactly.

  Gregory narrowed his gaze and continued. "Then what about the system? Is it tied to the Demon King?"

  At the mention of the system, the demon's posture shifted. It raised one hand and pointed upward, then lowered a finger to tap lightly against Gregory's chest.

  Gregory frowned in confusion and murmured. "Hmm? What do you mean? The system was given to me by a god?"

  At the word god, the shadow demon's eyes turned visibly sharp and cold, a trace of anger passing through its gaze. Gregory paused, then spoke again, more carefully this time.

  "So… not that. Was it given by the Demon King himself? I did receive the title, 'The Heir of the Demon King.'"

  At this, the demon nodded once. Gregory folded his arms as his thoughts began to turn. After a moment he said,

  "So the system was granted to me by the Demon King himself… but for what purpose? Why would he choose me as his heir?"

  The shadow demon stared at him for a few seconds, then scratched the side of its head and opened its hands while lifting both shoulders in a helpless shrug.

  Gregory let out a quiet breath. "So you do not know either?"

  The shadow demon nodded. Gregory raised a hand to his chin, thinking, then asked,

  "Then tell me… do you serve the Demon King?"

  At once the shadow demon nodded repeatedly, almost violently, as if the answer was beyond question. Gregory continued, his voice steady but probing,

  "And do you serve me as well, as the heir of the Demon King?"

  The violet eyes burned brighter for a moment.

  Slowly and deliberately, the shadow demon sank to one knee. The movement was smooth and solemn. It lowered its head, one hand resting over its chest and the other placed behind its back in a gesture of formal allegiance. The black cloak pooled around it like still water at midnight.

  It then lifted its gaze slightly, its glowing eyes fixed only on him.

  Gregory gave a quiet nod and said, "I see… so you serve me as well."

  The shadow demon bowed its head even deeper.

  Gregory studied the figure kneeling before him. A creature emerge from his own shadow. A shadow demon that once served the Demon King now knelt before him because he had been chosen as the heir. The weight of that realization pressed heavily upon his chest.

  Suddenly, a faint shimmer appeared before his eyes.

  [ System Notice ]

  He who wanders beyond the shadow desires a name.

  Gregory blinked once, then looked down at the kneeling figure and asked, "Hmm? Do you wish to be given a name?"

  The shadow demon lifted its head and looked at him, then nodded slowly and with certainty.

  Gregory fell silent for a moment, considering. His gaze softened as he searched for a name that would fit the being before him. A word from old literature surfaced in his mind, one that felt strangely fitting for the creature cloaked in darkness.

  At last he spoke. "From this moment on, your name is Legam."

  The shadow demon lowered its head once more. The words within the system shifted.

  [ Demon Shadow Bodyguard ]

  Name: Legam

  Title: He who wanders beyond the shadow

  With Gregory giving that name, a pact was formed. A pact made without a single drop of blood.

  The two figures stood within the quiet study, caught in the pale stream of sunlight entering from the window behind Legam and falling directly upon Gregory.

  Thus, beneath the light, a bond of darkness was sealed between the human heir of the Demon King and his first companion.

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