The world was a blur.
A cold haze of light and shadow.
Lyra's breath was shallow, her body weightless, as though she were drifting between dreams and reality.
Pain lingered in the distance—like a dull hum beneath her skin.
She could feel it, but it was muted, as if something was keeping it at bay.
Her eyes fluttered open.
The ceiling above her was unfamiliar. Dark stone, smooth and polished.
Not the archives.
Not the castle.
Not anywhere she recognized.
A wave of dread crawled up her spine.
Where was she?
She tried to move—
A sharp pain tore through her side.
She winced, biting back a gasp.
Memories of the attack came rushing back.
The shadow.
The dagger.
The stolen pages.
She should be dead.
So why was she still alive?
Her hand instinctively went to her wound, expecting to feel blood—
Instead, her fingers brushed against bandages.
Fresh ones.
Someone had treated her.
Her heartbeat quickened.
Who?
Her gaze darted around the dimly lit room.
There—
A figure sat in the corner, shrouded in shadows.
Watching her.
Waiting.
Lyra's body tensed.
Her voice came out hoarse.
"Who… are you?"
The figure didn't answer.
But in the faint candlelight, she could make out glowing silver eyes.
And then—a familiar voice.
"You were reckless."
The words were calm, but there was no kindness in them.
Lyra's breath hitched.
She knew that voice.
She had heard it before—in whispers, in rumours, in the battlefield's darkest moments.
The Shadow.
Her blood turned to ice.
The room felt smaller.
Or maybe it was just the weight of the Shadow's gaze.
Those silver eyes didn't blink, didn't waver—just watched.
Waiting.
"You."
The word left Lyra's lips like venom, her throat still raw from pain.
The Shadow didn't react.
No amusement. No malice.
Just calm observation, as if she were a puzzle it had yet to solve.
Lyra forced herself upright, biting back the pain in her side.
She needed to be alert. Needed answers.
"Why did you save me?"
The Shadow tilted its head, as if the question amused it.
Then—it spoke.
"Because you're not done yet."
A chill ran down Lyra's spine.
Not done?
The way it said it—like she was a piece in a game it was playing.
Like her survival had never been up to her in the first place.
She clenched her fists.
"What do you want?"
The Shadow leaned forward slightly, the dim candlelight flickering against its figure.
"A trade."
Lyra narrowed her eyes.
"For what?"
A pause.
Then, slowly, the Shadow spoke.
"Your loyalty."
Lyra froze.
She had expected threats. Interrogation. Maybe even silence.
But this?
The Shadow wanted her?
"You're joking."
She could barely stand.
She had nearly died.
And now this creature—this thing—was asking for her loyalty?
The Shadow chuckled. A low, empty sound.
"Do I look like someone who jokes?"
Lyra's breath came shallow.
She had spent her life chasing secrets, uncovering hidden truths.
And now one of the darkest forces in this war was offering her a place beside it.
Why?
She swallowed.
"Why me?"
The Shadow didn't answer immediately.
Instead, it leaned back against the chair, its gaze never leaving hers.
Then—a whisper of a smile.
"Because you understand."
Lyra's fingers curled against the bedsheets.
Understand?
Understand what?
The Shadow's voice was smooth. Almost gentle.
"You've seen the cracks in this world, haven't you?"
Its silver eyes gleamed.
"You've seen the truth behind kings and heroes."
"You know that no one is truly righteous."
Lyra's breath hitched.
It knew.
It knew she had been searching.
It knew about the things she had uncovered.
It knew about the missing records.
The lost history.
The Shadow tilted its head.
"You're different from the others. You don't just follow."
Its voice dropped lower.
"You question."
Silence stretched between them.
Lyra's heartbeat pounded in her ears.
"And if I refuse?" Lyra finally asked.
The Shadow shrugged.
"Then I let you go."
Her stomach twisted.
It was lying.
It had to be.
No one let their enemies walk away.
No one.
The Shadow stood up.
The room suddenly felt colder.
"Think it over."
It turned towards the door, silver eyes flashing one last time.
"You'll find the world much crueller without someone to guide you."
Then—it was gone.
Leaving only the question lingering in the air.
And the slow, creeping realization that Lyra wasn't sure she could say no.
Lyra sat in silence.
The Shadow's words lingered like poison in her mind.
"You're different from the others. You don't just follow. You question."
Her hands trembled slightly as she gripped the edge of the bed.
Loyalty.
That was the price the Shadow had set.
She should have laughed in its face.
She should have refused immediately.
And yet—
She hadn't.
Because a part of her understood.
The world wasn't as simple as heroes and villains.
She had seen too much, uncovered too many lies, and now—
Now she knew the truth.
And the truth was a dangerous thing.
She forced herself to stand, wincing as pain flared through her side.
Slowly, she crossed the dimly lit room, pressing her hands against the cold stone wall.
She needed to think.
Could she really trust the Shadow?
No.
But could she trust the so-called righteous?
Also no.
King Edric.
The Council.
The war itself.
All of them manipulated the truth to fit their needs.
But this—this was different.
The Shadow wasn't hiding what it was.
It had been blunt, direct, honest in a way no one else had been.
And that terrified her more than anything.
Because it meant that, somewhere deep inside her—
She was considering it.
* * * * *
A knock.
Light, almost hesitant.
Lyra turned sharply.
The Shadow?
Had it returned?
Slowly, she approached the door, hesitating before pulling it open.
And froze.
A young girl stood before her.
No more than fourteen, with long, straight hair as black as midnight and silver eyes that glowed faintly in the dim light.
Lyra's breath caught in her throat.
The Shadow.
But different.
It had changed.
Taken on a new form.
And it was smiling.
Not the eerie, knowing grin it usually wore—
But something softer. Almost innocent.
But Lyra wasn't fooled.
It was still the Shadow.
Still the same entity that had nearly killed her.
Still the same being that had stolen the lost records and threatened her life.
And now, it was standing in front of her, looking like a child.
Why?
The girl tilted her head.
"Have you decided?"
Lyra swallowed.
So that was it.
The Shadow had come for an answer.
Her answer.
But was she ready to give one?
Was she ready for what came next?
The young girl—the Shadow—stood motionless, her silver eyes reflecting the dim candlelight.
Lyra clenched her fists.
Everything in her screamed not to trust this thing.
But the fact remained—it had saved her.
And now it had come for an answer.
A choice.
Lyra exhaled slowly, forcing her voice to remain steady.
"Tell me why."
The girl blinked. "Why?"
Lyra took a step forward.
"Why me? Why make this offer? What do you get from my loyalty?"
The girl's lips curved slightly—not quite a smirk, not quite a smile.
"Because you see the cracks in the world, Lyra."
Her voice was light, playful even. But beneath it was something else.
Something cold.
"Most people are content living in ignorance. You aren't."
The Shadow's silver gaze darkened.
"You want to know the truth."
Lyra's fingers twitched.
She hated how much sense that made.
The Shadow tilted her head. "You're already standing at the edge, Lyra. You're just afraid to step forward."
Lyra gritted her teeth. "And if I do?"
The girl smiled. "Then you'll never be left in the dark again."
Lyra swallowed.
This was dangerous.
This was insanity.
But she couldn't deny it.
The Shadow had answers.
And she wanted them.
Needed them.
She could walk away.
Go back to the Crimson Vow.
Tell them what she'd uncovered.
But then what?
She already knew how this world worked.
Secrets were buried.
Truths were rewritten.
No one would believe her—not fully.
Even if they did, they would hesitate.
But the Shadow—
The Shadow wasn't offering hesitation.
It was offering certainty.
Lyra closed her eyes.
"…I'll listen."
The girl's smile widened.
"Good."
The air in the room shifted.
Lyra barely had time to react before everything darkened.
The candlelight flickered.
The walls seemed to pull away, stretching into an endless abyss.
And the girl—she was no longer a girl.
Her form twisted, shifting into something inhuman.
Shadows swirled around her like living tendrils, and her silver eyes glowed unnaturally bright.
Her voice was a whisper. A storm. A force.
"I exist to balance the scales, Lyra."
The words weren't a request.
They were a statement.
A truth.
Lyra's breath hitched.
Balance?
The Shadow's voice was calm.
"The world has been tipping too far in one direction for too long."
Its silver gaze locked onto hers.
"The heroes, the kingdoms—they claim to fight for peace."
A pause.
A shift in the air.
"But peace built on ignorance is not peace. It is a lie."
Lyra's blood ran cold.
The Shadow took a step forward, voice lowering.
"I don't care for war or power. I care for the truth."
The darkness swirled around them.
"And I believe you do too."
Lyra's heart pounded in her chest.
This was too much.
She needed time.
She needed—
CRACK.
The door exploded.
Lyra barely had time to react before she was thrown back, her ears ringing from the force of the blast.
Dust and debris clouded the air.
And through it—figures emerged.
Heavily armoured. Weapons drawn.
Lyra's eyes widened.
Knights.
The royal guard.
They had found her.
One of them stepped forward, blade gleaming.
"Seize her."
Lyra's blood went cold.
But as she turned to look at the Shadow—
It was already gone.
And she was alone.
*
*
*
The Shadow moved.
Silent. Effortless. A presence that was there and not.
The throne room of the Demon Lord loomed before it, bathed in the eerie glow of violet flames.
And waiting inside—two figures.
Envy.
Virion.
The moment it stepped into the chamber, both of them turned sharply.
Their eyes widened.
Not in fear.
But in shock.
Confusion.
Recognition.
Envy was the first to react.
Her violet gaze narrowed, her grip tightening around the scythe at her side.
"…You."
Virion said nothing at first, only staring with a rare flicker of uncertainty.
"…What happened to you?"
The Shadow tilted its head, amused.
It knew what they saw.
It was no longer just a swirling mass of darkness.
It had taken a form.
A shape eerily human.
Pale skin, dark hair that barely touched its shoulders, and silver eyes that gleamed unnaturally bright.
But the real difference—the one that set this form apart from its old existence—was its presence.
Before, it had been nothing more than a whisper in the dark.
Now?
Now, it stood before them as an equal.
Perhaps even something more.
The Shadow stepped past them.
Ignoring their questions.
Ignoring their curiosity.
It only had one interest at the moment.
The Demon Lord.
She sat lazily on her throne, watching.
And as the Shadow approached, she smirked.
"Well, well." She rested her chin against her hand. "It seems you've gone and changed."
The Shadow stopped before her and bowed slightly. "Change is inevitable."
The Demon Lord chuckled. "And what brings you here?"
The Shadow straightened.
"A name."
A flicker of amusement passed through the Demon Lord's crimson eyes.
She leaned forward slightly, tapping a single finger against the armrest of her throne.
"You wish to walk among them, then?"
The Shadow's lips twitched. "It would be easier to move my pieces that way."
A pause.
Then—
The Demon Lord smiled.
"Then take this name."
She leaned forward, her voice smooth.
"Velis."
The moment she spoke it, something shifted.
The name settled into the Shadow—no, into Velis.
It was not just a title.
It was a mark.
A confirmation.
An identity.
The Shadow had become Velis.
And Velis—Velis grinned.
Velis took a step back, rolling the name over in their mind.
Yes.
It would do.
Now—
Back to business.
"I came to give you an update," Velis said, voice smooth. "On Lyra."
Virion and Envy both stiffened at the name.
But Velis did not acknowledge them.
Only the Demon Lord.
She raised a brow. "Oh?"
"She is still alive," Velis said simply. "And I would like to continue working on my project with her."
A pause.
Then—the Demon Lord laughed.
Not just a chuckle.
A full, amused, genuine laugh.
Virion tensed slightly.
Envy scowled.
But Velis just waited.
When the laughter died down, the Demon Lord exhaled, still smiling.
"You always bring me such interesting games."
Her crimson eyes gleamed. "Fine. Do as you like."
Velis bowed slightly. "As you command."
And with that—
Velis disappeared back into the shadows.
Returning to the world.
Returning to the game.
With a new name.
And a new purpose.