Shadow

Chapter 2
Norton

“I am your shadow who has followed you since the day you were born!”
“I don’t understand you! Do you literally mean you are my shadow?!”

Shadow sighed. “Yes… that is how it is.”
“So does that mean my shadow is some kind of ghost? A demon?”

He looked at her with mild disdain, then, annoyed, defended himself. “I am not a ghost!” He tried again, more respectfully, as if she had insulted his true nature. “Forgive me, my lady! But it’s not like that. Let us say… you are now with me on the path to the Norton — the realm of the Dark Nymphs.”

Asma gasped. “Are all human shadows like you?!”
“No. Your situation is different.”
“How so?”
“You will understand everything later.”
“Am I being kidnapped?”

Shadow sounded weary of her many questions. He did not blame her; he knew her questions were natural and justified, yet he remained guarded.
“No. But I wager you don’t want to return to your previous life — the work, the people who don’t understand you. It’s exhausting, isn’t it?”
“How do you know about my life?”
“I am your shadow, as I told you… Also, I sense your inability to endure human deceit and lack of morals.”

She stared at him in silence. His explanations didn’t satisfy her fully, but she could not deny he understood her in a way other people never had. She hated her empty life; every day she suffocated in a place she didn’t belong — trapped in biased, stifling routines with no room for choice, creativity, or justice. Despite how strange everything was, she found herself looking at the city at night. The sight was arresting: night lights cutting through the sky’s darkness, a gentle breeze touching her in a clear, moonlit night. She gazed at her city as if bidding farewell, questions still spinning in her head.

“To be honest… I find you rather suspicious! But I want to run away… yes! Still, I don’t trust you.”
Shadow sighed and muttered, “Stubborn!”
“My lady! Rest assured… you have been here before. That is because you are — technically — the ruler of this realm.”
“Huh?!”
“You… you probably don’t remember because you were a child then! You named Norton ‘Florencia’ and I allowed it… Do you recall a red-haired, somewhat foolish young merman?”

Asma’s eyes widened.
“What?! You were real! I thought those were mere dreams and my grandfather used to tell me tales of nymphs and the like before I slept! Is this really happening? Or is my mind fabricating illusions? I don’t know!”
“This is not a dream, trust me! Now… close your eyes.”

Shadow rose up toward the heavens until they reached a cluster of star-like chandeliers. Then he accelerated, opening a wormhole-like tunnel whose core swirled with luminous colors as if it were a curtain of auroras.

“Where are we?”
“One of the Astar Gateways, my lady…”
“What does that mean?”
“These are the horizon gates — barriers between the dimension you live in and other dimensions!”
“Other dimensions?! I’ve heard of that scientifically, but never imagined it true. So, you’re from another dimension, Shadow?”
“Of course! And so are you.”

Shadow pulled her deeper into the Curtain Tunnel. The light intensified until she squeezed her eyes shut. Moments later, darkness fell so thick she could barely open them — and then she couldn’t see anything at all. Shadow spoke an incantation over her eyes and withdrew his hand. A breathtaking scene unfolded.

A great, advanced kingdom appeared — a civilization powered by strange energies unlike anything she had seen. Dark roads glowed with violet lamp and black plants; houses had peculiar architectural forms; a lofty palace with towers flew flags marked with a horse-like emblem, but slightly different. Its inhabitants looked like translucent spirits and phantoms: nymphs, ethereal beings, dark fairies — all showing signs of luxury and nobility beyond other creatures.

Most striking of all, at the summit of the kingdom’s highest tower, an object spun wildly — a brilliantly luminous purple sphere that seemed to be the realm’s energy source.

Shadow watched Asma from the corner of his eye, noting her fixation on that spinning object. Then, with a flicker of disgust and indifference, he sighed at her curiosity. He thought to himself “She will be a trouble! I must ensure her silence…”

Shadow unfolded his wings — two immense, powerful wings whose blackness resembled the darkest night, studded with tiny purple gleams. His presence was of royal bearing; there was no doubt he was the most powerful being in Norton.

Shadow led them straight to the palace entrance and pushed Asma forward.
“Hey You—! Why did you push me?!” she protested.
He gave her a cold look. Guards hurried to him; servants rushed forward, led by a most peculiar housemistress — gray-skinned, orange-reddish hair, wearing a black robe, and floating like a ghost with no feet.

Asma recoiled at the face lined with scars and stumbled into Shadow. He tapped her with a finger.
“Bow to the queen! Asma, Queen of Norton!”
All the guards and servants bowed in unison with deep respect.

Asma was flustered. “Q-Queen?”
The head servant stepped forward and whispered, “My lady! Your feet… are bare.”
Shadow noticed and conjured a strange, magical shoe for her at once.
“This is Lady Lichi, the head of household here. She will attend to all your desires and commands in the palace—Lady Lichi!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
“Care for the queen well.”
“As you command, Your Majesty.”

Asma stared at him in astonishment. “King?! You’re the king? You told me you were my servant and guardian! I don’t understand anything anymore!”
Shadow looked at her with cold eyes and turned away among his retinue.

Asma lunged at him from behind and grabbed his shoulder violently, stunning all the servants.
“I think I asked a clear question! I hate being ignored. Why am I here?”
“Please, do not raise your voice! That is against your position now… Also, there is no reason to worry — no one will dare harm you here. Spend some time enjoying the luxuries here, which do not exist in your world at all.”
“Do you think I’m stupid?”
“Of course not! Your grandfather told me before he died to keep you here, and I am merely fulfilling my promise to him.”
“My grandfather said that?! Haha, I must be losing my mind. I thought you were crazy. Now I’m certain — return me to my world at once!”
“You have no right to live that life any longer, my lady. I did not abduct you. I only accompanied you here… or rather I accompanied your shadow without your body.”
“What? What are you trying to say?”
“My lady! Your body is indeed in your world, lying in a hospital after an accident following your grandfather’s funeral… I brought only your shadow here — which means I brought your consciousness as well.”

For a moment despair consumed Asma as if she had plunged into darkness.
“I… I am now on the brink… of death!”
“In practice, you have not died yet… otherwise I could not have brought you here at all unless your shadow became a ghost — and that would never make you queen.”

Asma fell silent, her eyes locked on him.
“Then why do you risk making me a queen in the first place?!”
“My lady! I am the Shadow of the Dark — the former ruler of this valley! I promised your grandfather I would not abandon you while I lived, and I am keeping that promise. I have not left you since your childhood… as you know, or perhaps you remember… and for that reason I will never allow you to return. Never.”