The Villain's Story

Chapter 789: You, I, and Me.

There was a long period of silence between the two, both of them simply focused on the sea in front of them, the sea of endless stars and the marvelous view of the cosmos, underneath the black sky.

Alan didn’t look at the child shadow, and neither did the shadow. Both of them spent a long time glued to the stars.

The sands of the realm of shadows grew still, the wind stopped, and it seemed with every passing second, the sea of stars expanded, overtaking the realm of shadows.

It encompassed them, and soon it was like they were floating in space, there was a sea of stars beneath them, The cliff was long gone.

Everywhere he could see, a universe slowly expanded. Alan focused on every part of it, perhaps in amusement, thrill, or even silent gratification. The beauty of it all was mesmerizing.

And just when it felt like it would consume the black sun as well, it stopped. The slowly moving universe stopped, the endless dots in the ground, the stars dimmed until they vanished, and the galaxies were plucked out.

They were back in the realm of shadows, the realm where only black sand, black skies, and the black sun existed.

[What are we?]

The shadow said, its gaze stuck where the sea would have been. Alan was the same, even his own eyes were locked onto that place, silently hoping for it to emerge again.

And he could see, a very small blue grain, trying and trying to overcome the forces of this world, to sprout a new sea of stars again, but it just couldn’t.

The small dot of blue couldn’t overcome the countless grains of black sand. It just... couldn’t. No matter how hard it struggled.

Alan didn’t answer, and so the shadow repeated.

[What are we?]

He turned his head to the little kid, and sighed.

"I don’t know, a Dragon?"

[I have a bad dream.]

’A dream?’

[We lose, no matter what we try to do.]

Alan silently listened, waiting for the shadow to finish. He was eager to know what this bad dream really was. Was it like his own?

The countless memories of previous iterations that came at odd intervals, ruining his sleep? Making him run for life.

[We lose. No matter what. Spend years in crazed madness.]

[Or forget ourselves, while everyone remembers.]

[We lose, no matter what. We were never meant to win.]

Even though it was but a mere black mass, Alan could see it have emotions, the endless amount of lines in its face, which ultimately showed... nothing.

Hopelessness, despair. The shadow had given up. Everything was hollow.

[We always lose.]

The child stood up, finally looking at Alan as an equal, and asked.

[What are we?]

Alan hesitated, unsure of what to say. But he missed his chance, as the shadow of the child did not wait long. It dissolved into the black sand, and from the same place, another shadow emerged.

Even before it could fully materialize, even before Alan could see it, He could feel his blood boil. His veins popped out in pure rage, and he stood up.

The shadow materialized fully, a man wearing what appeared to be a suit. Alan towered over him, of course, but even then, the shadow was not afraid as it muttered.

[What are we?]

It wasn’t asking, it was answering it.

[My masterpiece. That’s what you are.]

He didn’t waste a single second as he moved his hand at a blinding speed, splitting the shadow in half. He had not even coated it in an absurd amount of mana, just the normal amount always present on his body.

The shadow was cleaved in half, and yet Alan still saw it look him right in the eyes, muttering the same phrase.

[The greatest masterpiece.]

The shadow dissolved into the black sand, as Alan calmed his rage down. Even his very name, his very sight, made him lose total control.

’Masterpiece my ass.’

He controlled the rampant energies, Mana and Aura from running wild, His loss of temper really was dangerous. His control of Aura and Mana had run rampant, had he allowed those two energies to collide...

He shuddered to even think about it.

Even though he had vanquished the shadow, he could still hear the damn word again and again, ringing in his mind.

What kind of Masterpiece was he even supposed to be? Honestly, he didn’t even want to know. He’d rather it be never revealed.

Even hearing that word made him lose his temper.

Alan clutched his fists, closing his eyes in thought.

’Huuu...’

And then he sensed it. His muscles tensed up, and he moved back by reflex, The sand beneath had turned into a black liquid.

It stuck to his feet, and rose to grab his hands. But no matter how much strength it possessed, Alan could easily shake it off.

The black mass expanded into a large circle, with Alan a few meters away from the center.

’Right, if those two popped up.’

If his own soul, and the abominable bastard popped up, He would too.

No wonder it took so long for his own shadows to confront him. No wonder, he constantly felt as if something was being torn away.

He had met his own shadow. He had cleaved Jame’s shadow in half, but what would happen now that he was meeting the shadow of the one that started it all? The one at the center of everything?

The air seemed to grow heavier, and The Black Sun above felt like it was getting closer, watching everything with a piercing gaze. Alan felt heavy, a weight unlike any other was placed on his shoulders.

He grunted, and shook it off. Extending his hand, he materialized the AME-No-Sakahoko and took on the standard stance as a golden armor enveloped him.

The black circle coalesced at the point it all began, and Alan saw Him rise.

A man no shorter than him, with long flowing hair and donned in devilish armor composed of shadows, emerged.

His grip on the Ame-No-Sakahoko tensed as beads of sweat rolled down his face.

He came face to face with Aranus’s Shadow.