Noctem

The particles swirled together, forming the figure of a tall entity emanating motes of shadows as he stood eerily still in front of Nox and Eren. His body — A rather slim, athletic build with precise body definition beneath the pitch black robes he wore — was pulsing with an otherworldly energy, similar to Nox after he had been imbued with the blood of the shadow god.

His eyes, like twin obsidian orbs, fell on Nox, his face remained impassive and unmoving as he stared at the effeminate kid with an intense concentration. It was as though he could see past the physical body of the kid, going beyond his flesh and into his soul.

A moment of silence befell them and Eren stood in front of Nox, shielding him from the unknown entity.

" This is strange, a first for me I must admit, despite having lived a very long life according to human standards." The shadow entity muttered thoughtfully, clearly speaking to himself, his brows furrowed, not in irritation or disdain but intrigue.

He continued, not minding their wariness of him.

" A spawn of darkness, bearing the lineage of shadows and a hybrid of both accursed races, your existence is an anomaly, one which the deities won't dare overlook."

Eren stood still, his breath was heavy for the mana he had expended, meanwhile Nox gazed coldly at the shadow entity with a subtle, curious glint in his eyes.

Since his body had been altered by the ichor of the shadow deity, visible changes seemed to be present in him, for starters, his body had become much more defined, his slim frame had perfectly sculpted muscles while the black edges of his silver hair had taken a much darker hue.

His facial appearance seemed to be the one with the most changes. If before his looks could rival some of the most beautiful maidens the mystic realm had to offer, now there was no word to describe it, he was breathtakingly beautiful , his eyes were like those of an ice phoenix, an extremely rare mythical race of the hidden realms, his face had a strange allure to it, and his plush lips were small and soft with a subtle pinkish hue, he looked... Divine but the biggest change of all was his lack of certain emotions —No.. it wasn't that he didn't have emotions, it was the fact that he had an extremely high control over them.

With a distrust laced tone, Eren calmly questioned, his playful demeanor was nowhere to be found.

" That scroll, while safeguarding the secrets of the shadow god battle art, was never meant to bring forth an entity, it was a collection of battle arts and their instructions, which was meant to be placed into the mind space of the wielder."

He paused and his voice grew grim

" So why did a being with the shadow nether similar to that of the shadow god appear out of the scroll instead?"

The shadow entity calmly gazed at Eren, showing no agitation nor any emotions of any sort towards Eren's threatening tone.

" Do forgive my rather crass manner, Eren Von Michælson, I should have introduced myself sooner but I let my curiosity wander a bit."

The shadow entity stepped forward, walking slowly and gracefully , the shadow nether around him shifted, wrapping him like smoke before disappearing into him.

He continued walking, only coming to a stop in front of the wizard who – in turn, gave a leveled stare to the shadow entity.

Standing a few inches from Eren, the shadow entity spoke, his voice devoid of any emotion but it didn't sound threatening.

" I am a fragment of the child of shadows, Aries, he who was spawned by the shadow god. Aries indeed meant to make the scroll one whose contents could be registered into the mind, only placing me as a guide in there."

He paused, then brought his attention to Nox.

" And the scroll served its original purpose as it should."

Eren's brow rose slightly in confusion.

"That doesn't explain why you're standing in front of us."

The fragment of Aries smiled for the first time since he appeared and it was hollow, a shudder ran through Eren as he tensed but didn't show his reaction outwardly, besides him, Nox remained unmoving the only sign of his discomfort was the small bead of sweat that graced his face.

The fragment of Aries seemed to remind Nox of the mist wraith and anger bubbled up within him but after a moment, he was as cold as ice,

From beside, Eren could hear the gears in Nox's head turning, he, of course knew his student well enough to know that the kid was thinking of a way to kill the shadow entity and the shadow seemed to have noticed it too.

The voice of the shadow entity sounded once again as he looked up to meet Eren's gaze.

" But it does explain, you see... Most things work in strange patterns, especially the one we call life. The answers we seek are not what we're truly given, we're only given a part of it — a hint of sorts, to draw a conclusion then arrive at our answers."

" Speak clearly fragment of Aries, I do not have time to entertain you in a game of guess."

" A shame truly, had you been the real one then you would have already drawn the connection... Nevertheless I must guide you and provide adequate answers to your questions." The shadow entity said, his voice, even, as he spoke."

" I suspect it has something to do with the lesser realm we're currently residing in, a plane created from the concept of time and imagination. The spell from the scroll served its purpose well, registering itself into the mind of the young one known as Nox, under the influence of the concept of imagination in this plane. His thoughts were what gave me form to exist outside his mind and the process was almost instantaneous... Much so to the point that you wouldn't have noticed it when it happened."

" So you're a form.. a fragment of a deity that can only exist within this plane because of the concept of imagination and my thoughts?" Nox who had been quiet since the fragment of Aries appeared — finally decided to ask.

The shadow looked at Nox before answering.

" Yes I suppose."

He lingered for a moment then added.

" But it is indeed a good thing, because now I can teach you the shadow god battle art with ease."

He stretched out his hands, openings his flawless palms without uttering a single word.

" What is this?" Nox asked in a calm but cold voice, indicating his distrust towards the fragment.

The fragment of Aries raised a brow at Nox — like the kid was asking an obvious question.

Letting out a sigh, he replied.

" Your training!"