Chapter 143: The Voice of Night (Part Two)

  Cassius surveyed his surroundings, his expression grim. The ndscape was growing darker, transf into the Shadowfell—a realm of pitch-bck silence, monotone bd white. Trees twisted into grotesque forms, and the sky was enshrouded in endless shadow, like a bed dome, while distant bck mountains loomed indistinctly.

  A terrifying thought suddenly crossed the red dragon’s mind.

  The spatial fabric of this entire region was ed!

  This meant that the Twilight Forest, spanning only a few miles, had bee inescapable.

  All living beings were trapped here!

  Cassius addressed the dragon proje h in the sky, "Shadon, you’ve cursed this forest."

  "You’re correct. This is my shadow domain. My pitiable tractor expehousands of lives to grahe power to create this insignifit p the Material Pne, preparing the way for my true form to desd."

  "Behold..."

  "Stillness, silence, darkness, depth—free of the Material Pne’s vulgar rabble. What a beautiful sight, so intoxig."

  "It would be even more marvelous with the wails of undead shadows as apa."

  Mortifer narrowed his gray eyes and leisurely fpped his wings. His rexed demeangested he was truly sav the unique beauty of the darkness, even though his transformation was inplete, with his true body still residing in the Shadowfell.

  The atmosphere cked tensiohis only deepened Cassius’s unease.

  This absolute fidence was far more chilling.

  "Voice of Night, was it you who provided Brad La with this so-called assion?"

  "Indeed. Mortals always have such short-sighted views, even after being vampires. But you, my kin, are different. However, I did not deceive him. For such a lowly being, assion was indeed a viable path. His failure is his own fault, and by tract, his essence bees my nourishment."

  "You despicable creature."

  Mortifer opened his eyes, his gray gaze fixed on Cassius as if to e him whole.

  "Red dragon, we have ample time to reminisce, but I promised my tractor to take your life. I always honor my promises, and this time will be no different."

  "Don’t worry, my dear kin. That promise is literal. Once I fully desd, you will lose your life, but you will persist in a greater form."

  His tone was gentle, like that of a polite schor, but it chilled Cassius to his core—a hatred for the living emanated from Mortifer’s very being.

  "I enjoy the quietest darkness."

  "So… do not resist. Do not make noise. Simply wait for my arrival."

  "Alright?"

  Mortifer’s shadowy visage twisted into a grotesque smile, with dense bck mist trig from the ers of his mouth.

  "Shadon, you’re delusional!"

  "I’ll turn you to ash!"

  The red dragon roared and unleashed a torrent of fire upon the proje, still in its transformative state and uo retaliate.

  Yet the fmes, hot enough to melt stone, passed through Mortifer’s massive proje without leaving a trace.

  "Has no one ever told you—"

  "ry to attack a shadow."

  Mortifer’s proje stood unscathed amidst the fmes, mog ughter in his voice.

  The fire passed harmlessly through him, and his shadowy form tio solidify, untouched by the bzing inferno.

  "As expected."

  Cassius furrowed the scaly ridge of his brow, murmuring to himself.

  He had anticipated that even his most potent fire breath would be iive.

  "What about this, then?"

  Cassius’s body crackled with lightning as he charged directly into Mortifer’s proje.

  It was the Storm Resonance Body!

  But as he had feared, his massive dragon body passed right through, even the arcs of lightning boung harmlessly against the shadow’s form.

  Instead, a chill enveloped Cassius’s body, sapping his life force—a touch of the shadon’s essence.

  "So, this is the nature of shadow beings?"

  "Fire, physical attacks, and lightning fail. What about force?"

  【Magic Missile. 】

  Are projectiles streaked toward Mortifer’s form.

  Uhe other attacks, these basic force missiles actually struck Mortifer’s shadowy body, causing faint damage.

  But it was negligible—far too weak to slow the shadon’s dest.

  Cassius’s interface updated with new information:

  【Living Shadow. 】

  [In dim light or darkness, the shadon is immuo all damage except force, psychid radiant energy.]

  Cassius was stunned. Such traits were terrifying in scope!

  If the shadon fully desded, most of Cassius’s arsenal would bee useless.

  "Dim light or darkness…"

  He looked up at the pitch-bck sky and the obscured moon. In this domain of shadows, eveing light seemed impossible. His minht trip was ughably ie here.

  All living creatures were weakened, all magic suppressed. Only shadow and darkness reigned supreme.

  This was the Shadowfell’s world—Mortifer’s absolute stronghold.

  Once his full form desded—

  The shadow would beortifer’s entire body.

  "Do not resist. I will host a grand funeral for you."

  "To mourn the death of a true dragon and celebrate the birth of an immortal shadow red dragon."

  Mortifer raised his head and roared.

  The sound was a, blending the wails of tless shadow undead with Mortifer’s boundless hatred fht and life and his insatiable greed.

  This was the shadon’s unique ninth-tier spell—

  【Mortifer’s Shadow Dest. 】

  His proje solidified further, the be overhead slowly desding.

  Distant shadowy mountains closed in, like the bars of a cage, sealing the red dragon’s domain and shrinking it.

  Thousands of shadow creatures iwilight Forest wailed as they surged toward him, a tide of darkhat even included the bck mist left behind by Brad La.

  "Such terrifying power…"

  "Am I truly doomed to remain trapped here, awaiting the shadon’s full dest?"

  Cassius fpped his wings and gazed at the desding be, feeling the oppressive weight grow unbearable.

  FAL