008 | The Man Without Shadow

The weather in Umbravale was bright this afternoon, prompting Lord Xavian to invite everyone to enjoy the sunlight in the backyard. Knights practiced swordplay while servants lounged and chatted. This was the Nyxshade couple's desired homecoming celebration.

After Lord Xavian returned from a brief swordfight with their family's best knights, Kieran said to him, "You owe me a lot of explanations, Father."

Arlo, sitting leisurely with Lady Chandie, simply sipped his lemonade. Silent and observant, he pondered what Kieran's upbringing in this family was truly like. Surely it wasn't as flawless as depicted in paintings or recounted by the servants. There must be untold stories, not all of them pleasant.

"About what?" replied Lord Xavian as he joined them, taking his glass of lemonade and sipping it. With every movement, there was a dense magical aura that moved with him, indicating that the power he possessed far surpassed Kieran's.

However, unlike Kieran, Arlo felt no fear towards the man at all. He knew that the man could control every aspect of his power, while Kieran could not.

"About Morana," Kieran finally answered. "Elios said you were friends with her."

"Oh, about that," Lord Xavian exchanged a smile with his wife. "As you know, Elios's father and General Griffin, was your mother's childhood friend, Kieran. As for Morana... she is the niece of my old friend Rowan. Does that explanation suffice?"

Kieran shook his head. "You, Rowan, Morana, even I are revenants," he muttered. "We were created to live eternally and return from death. But why are there those who can kill you and Rowan?"

Lord Xavian clenched his fist, though it relaxed as he noticed Arlo observing. "We are wizards blessed by the gods to be their invincible army," he explained. "If someone can kill us, it must be connected to those gods."

"Perhaps you're right."

"No, I don't know either," muttered Xavian. "But what I do know for sure is to enjoy every second of this life."

Kieran chuckled softly. "You're lying," he muttered. "You're thinking about Rowan."

"Who is this Rowan we're talking about?" protested Arlo.

"Of course, I'm worried about him!" said Xavian, offended. "I'm not afraid of something out there threatening our immortality, my son. But I worry about those who want to kill us. Questioning their true intentions."

Arlo raised both hands. "I think I'll head to my room," he grumbled as he stood. "Your conversation is too heavy for me."

"Yeah, but you'll be a revenant one day too," Xavian muttered. "My grandson who can't handle heavy conversations."

"Excuse me?" Arlo turned back. "I thought magical powers were passed down genetically."

"If that were the case, they wouldn't call it a curse," Xavian smiled. "You've grown up around many revenants, Arlo. I bet next year, on your seventeenth birthday, you'll inherit those magical powers."

Arlo moistened his lips, unsure how to process the information. Becoming a revenant meant eternal life and the blessed ability to absorb power from slain enemies or fallen comrades. But carrying that power also meant a life of loneliness and threat.

Finally, he responded, "I don't know, maybe it's better than not having magical powers at all."

He quickly left the pavilion area and headed straight towards the Manor. Some servants greeted him, to which he replied with a brief smile. However, as his eyes caught something odd about one of the servants, Arlo halted in his tracks.

The female servant was very young, cradling a small baby snugly in her arms. But it wasn't the baby that startled Arlo. It was the figure of a man standing nearby.

The man wore tattered clothes touched by the essence of dead souls. His pale body showed no sign of life. His eyes glowed red, and his lips curled into a sinister smile as he looked at the baby.

"Is there a problem, Young Master?" the servant asked gently and cheerfully.

Arlo continued to stare at the man, then turned back to the servant. He forced a thin smile. "No, I'm just surprised by, uh, how beautiful your baby is," he said.

The servant immediately beamed. "Yeah, her name is Moly," she explained. "Do you like babies, Young Master?"

"Of course!" Arlo immediately crouched down and extended his pinky finger towards the baby girl. She gripped his finger tightly, while the shadowless man approached them.

"Cursed baby," the man muttered with bitterness.

Arlo smiled. It seemed he could now see a creature that shouldn't exist in the world of the living.