A lot of the shadow continent was covered in a thick blanket of snow due to how far north it was. It was a mountainous terrain which also had rivers flowing in the valleys.

The rivers were more often than not rivers of boiling lava, which would melt the surrounding snow so that the dark black ground underneath was visible and could be seen slowly being infected by the shadow.

It was a strange sight to behold but what was most impressive of all, was the grand fortress named Tenebris. Tenebris fortress was the largest and head fortress where the ones behind the Shadow resided.

From behind the lava rivers flowed into the fortress, making a large pool of lava. From above, clouds of shadow seemed to constantly float towards the fortress, seeping through the walls to an unknown destination. This was the shadow from the land and those that were infected.

Once the infected were killed, they would release a smog of smoke that would appear to travel away from the body. No one dared follow where it would lead. There were rumors that if one was to follow the shadow, they would find the cause of the infection in the first place.

After successfully completing his task, Harry had delivered Van to the fortress. The grand castle had spires upon spires, and at the very top of the tallest spire, a meeting was being held. There was a body covered in dark black armour, although once in a while it was as if the armour could be seen moving slightly as if it was alive.

"Has anyone been able to contact the Dark Guild or that boy Monk?

" The shadow man asked.

"They have not replied to any of the messages we have sent, and when we checked the Dark Guild members' bases, it appears that they have already started to move.

" The grand mage Wiz replied.

Immediately after this exchange a loud bang was heard as a fist was slammed onto the crudely made table.

"I knew we should have never trusted those humans in the first place. They were bound to betray us!

" A voice said.

The hand and voice came from one of the female Shadow guard members who had wings and a hen sticking out from her head.

"Calm down Sena, the humans were only aiding us to make the process easier, we are able to do this with or without them. Besides, Wiz is still an ally of ours, although it is hard to say he is still human.

" The Shadow man replied.

"You say we are safe but look at this room, there are now only four of us here, and Wiz had already run away with his tail between his legs once before.

" These words were spoken by another member of the Shadow guard, one who was far larger than anyone in the rooms and unlike his companion who at a glance looked human, he did not.

Instead, his whole body seemed to be made from a black rock substance and running through his whole body from the top of his head, were red lines that looked similar to the lava that flowed in the rivers.

"It will be fine.

" The Shadow man replied.

"I have just gotten news that we have achieved our task. Not only have we ridden them of one of their most powerful weapons against us, now we will be able to call on the support we need.

" He clenched his fist and soon started to walk towards the doors to leave the room.

Soon after, the other three participants stood up and each followed. Inside the fortress there was a tower that was slightly smaller than the spire they had just had their meeting in. On top of that tower in the open air, there were two humans. One had been tied up and placed on a black moulding stuck out from the ground, only a little higher than the person himself, and another was seen kneeling.

"You have done a good job, Harry. Thanks to you we will finally be able to achieve our goal.

" The Shadow man spoke.

"I'm sure the Redwing army won't give up here, no I'm positive about that. For now you shall take guidance under Wiz.

"

Harry didn't say anything, he bowed down and then quickly moved over to Wiz's side as if he had always been working for him. The one tied up was none other than Van.

Walking up, the shadow man moved his hand over Van's mouth, and the tape that held his mouth closed disappeared. It was finally Van's chance to speak, he wanted to say many things to Harry when he was being tied up.

He wanted to shout at him that he was a traitor, how he had hurt those that believed in him, Jack and Ray. Now that he was staring at the shadow man in front of him, he fell completely silent. The person looked like a true infected but different to the others at the same time.

The armour he wore had a solid form, although it looked more like a solid form of the shadows. His face also appeared to have no eyes, just a moving shadow. As he looked deep down he thought he could see a single eye staring back at him, one that could see through his very soul.

"You Van, have a very powerful God inside you. One that is able to control mana completely. You are a dangerous human with tremendous power, but with you that power is useless, so let me put it to good use.

" The shadow man insisted.

Wiz walked over to Van and tapped his cane on the floor a few times to reveal a giant magic circle underneath them. It was as if the dust rose up when the cain touched the floor. It was clear by the detail in the magic circle that it was something that had taken a long time, it was something they had been preparing for years.

"Van, I must thank you. Finally, because of you we can open up the gate and bring back all the dragons to this world.

"

*******

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