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SHADOW AND LIGHT (CHIAROSCURO) KARMA'S A BITCH
Penelope was very perplexed by my statement, so she curiously questioned, “But how? Why? From what I'd heard about Will's Inn it wasn't going through any rough times since its establishment a year ago.”I insensately stated, “For how? It's pretty simple actually, poisonous mushrooms and a lot was greed.”“Poisonous mushrooms, sire? You don't mean to say that she... Fed her husband poisonous mushrooms, did you!?” Penelope said with a shocked expression.I replied with a disagreeing gesture, “Oh no no no, that would be too obvious and people would have caught her somehow. No... She poisoned him much more discreetly, you could even say she did it under his nose. Hahaha...” I chuckled.“Then... How?” she asked again with a tilt of her cute head.With a gesture, pointing to my nose, I said, “Just like I said, she did it right under his nose specifically under his work desk, it was an eight-drawer cedar desk, probably imported because Gladia isn't known for growing those types of wood. Just
SHADOW AND LIGHT (CHIAROSCURO) SECRETS IN THE MANOR?
Everything seemed to be in place now, there wasn't any more time to waste, I finished my meal and promptly had Penelope help me bathe as I was in a hurry.I knew I usually didn't allow any maid to bathe me and would just bathe myself otherwise. However, my current situation called for assistance because even though I was healed without many scars, I could still feel the pain from the injuries and that prevented efficient movement of my limbs.So to correct that and lessen my pain, I strolled to my bathroom which was immediately next to my bedroom chamber, it had a bathtub, large mirrors against the bathroom walls and a couple of wooden buckets filled with warm water lying around the bathtub, probably filled up by the live-in maids.I went into the half-filled bathtub and slowly soaked my aching body in there, waiting for Penelope to take over and bathe me.As she scrubbed my body and hair, the gold dye that kept my hair blonde slowly washed off, l
SHADOW AND LIGHT (CHIAROSCURO) MANOR HOUSE
I couldn't help myself, I wanted to see the contents of her drawer.“I'll just... Take a quick peek, let's call it an inspection of sorts. I'm not hurting anyone.” I convinced myself in my thoughts, and a naughty smirk escaped my face.I pulled out the top compartment, it slid out easily to reveal; a few folded maid uniforms and thigh stockings.“She's an organized individual, just look at her neatly folded wears. Impressively done, Penelope," I praised her organization skills in my thoughts as I carefully searched through her wears, making sure not to scatter anything or leave any signs of rummaging.Once I was satisfied with my search, I proceeded to open the bottom compartment.“Oh well, now for the second one~!” I was a bit excited about the second one but once I pulled on the second compartment, it refused to slide out.“Damn it! It's locked," I thought as I kept pulling the bottom drawer compartment but it didn't budge.“I wonder why she locked it? It couldn't be underwear, coul
SHADOW AND LIGHT (CHIAROSCURO) THE SECRET CALL
Once I scurried out of the kitchen, I took a quick peek in the kitchen and noticed a familiar face busy with the cooks, waiters and maids. Penelope was there, probably getting dinner ready for the afternoon as she should, after all, she is the head maid of the manor.I left before she would notice me, I was a bit unsure about meeting her so soon, especially after the last conversation we had. I didn't want to bother her, and I still had something important to do, something urgent.“Then again, a little exploring wouldn't hurt anyone, I still have time.” I thought to myself as I wandered the great hall.To the right of the great hall was the living room, it was just as big as the great kitchen and it consisted of luxurious decors like beautiful wallpapers all across the walls, different colours of crystal lanterns for traditional lighting, three different bronze wall arts, rich wood cupboard, armchairs, stools, an octagon table and a leather sofa.I walked in and closely inspected the
SHADOW AND LIGHT (CHIAROSCURO) WITCH OF THE AVES
Over the past five years, Night's Eye has always been an anonymous guild that worked extensively in the shadows. Staying in the shadows, truly unknown to the public.However, one of the founders as well as a valued member of the guild kept making waves in the ears of the people of Gladia. It was Crystal Moon.Crystal had achieved a certain famous reputation for saving an incredible number of Gladia's commoners from assassins, evil nobles and crime bosses. She had become so widely known and yet even she, herself, didn't seem to know about it.I couldn't remember when exactly but her fame seemed to grow exponentially when she saved a group of poor innocent 14-year-olds, that were being sold as slaves and pleasure makers for evil nobles.I believe she was just 12 years old at the time when she took down a notorious slave merchant called 'The Virgin Trapper'.The virgin trapper would lure and kidnap certain young innocent girls, preferably 14-year-olds, to sell them in the black market au
SHADOW AND LIGHT (CHIAROSCURO) A WITCH THAT KILLS
Although the hanging of the virgin trapper at the town centre was the start of her fame as the witch of the aves, it wasn't like that was the only reason she was familiarized with witches.Over the years, people caught glimpses of her and many more reasons for her being witch-like emerged that would cement that title of hers, like the fact that she dresses in all black, wears crystal earrings, black heels and a pointy hat, just like the ones a witch in fairy tales would wear. Even with all that menacing clothing, Crystal still had this image of cuteness to her.And oh, if you were wondering about the girls that were sent off to the auction, don't worry. Every time they sent one off for auction, Crystal would inform me as a bird as she always does, and I would go in as an anonymous guest and purchase every single one of them. I already had the money, so why not. It was one of the advantages of being a royal, I had a lot of allowance money.Then again, Cryst
SHADOW AND LIGHT (CHIAROSCURO) SILVER KNIGHT
Once I was done stating the plan with Crystal, she was ready to fly off on her way...“I believe that you understand the plan, ghost?”“Yes, boss. I've got to say, this might just be your sneakiest plan yet, Hoot...!” Crystal was ecstatic when she said that.She was about to fly off when I asked, “Ah, ah, ah! What about the other thing? I'm sure you must have heard about them already...”She looked at me confused for a moment before she finally realized, “Oh! Of course, I almost forgot about that! Silly me, here you go, boss.”From deep beneath her wing, she took out a tiny folded piece of paper. Then she added, “I wanted to 'deal' with those dogs myself but I'd have to ask that you do it my stead, boss.”I nodded, “I'll find a way.” I took the piece of paper from her and placed it into my vest pocket.Her voice menacingly deepened when she replied to my answer, “No, boss. Really mess them up...! They should know not to mess
SHADOW AND LIGHT (CHIAROSCURO) BLOOD KNIGHT
“I... I... I'm not,” Sir Dustin was speechless and demoralized by my questions. He couldn't even muster any rebuttals. His expression had become that of a defeated man, utterly sad.I left his head to fall, and his other knee fell with it. He was quiet after that, it made me think, “It seems that I may have broken his will and pride. That's unfortunate. I'd have thought he was stronger than that.”I pocketed my hands and began to step away from the fallen silver knight. As I did, I also thought, “No matter! If he wasn't able to handle a little criticism, then he would never be able to handle the burden of staying by my side. My path, after all, is a treacherous one.”As I slowly walked away, my ears caught some noise from behind me, it sounded like a deep inhale and...“Is he... Still...?” I turned back only to witness Sir Dustin, still on his knees inhaling the cold air around him.“What is he...?” I couldn't finish my thoughts.With
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- SHADOW AND LIGHT (CHIAROSCURO)
AURA ABSORBER
The illusionist had us trapped in between walls of the garden labyrinth; two walls blocking the paths towards the outer layers of the labyrinth and one wall, blocking the very centre of the labyrinth where the source of all the aura illusions, the illusionist dwelled. I observed the two other walls, and I raged, "Damn it! They're solid illusions as well. That bastard's got us just where he wants us!"*BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG*A resounding clash of fists against the centre wall was heard, over and over and over. It was Sir Dustin.He was using all of his might to punch that illusion wall, however, no matter how many times he punched the wall, he couldn't even make a dent on the wall. It was made stronger than any other illusions so far.After a few minutes of non-stop punching, he finally stopped. His knuckles were cut with some of the skin peeled off, the edges of the fingers were bruised and the cut areas were bleeding a bit.Feel
- SHADOW AND LIGHT (CHIAROSCURO)
TRAPPED, TRAPPED LIKE RATS
I reached for Sir Dustin's arm and yelled, "Run!" And we sped away from the area, speeding through a few corners.Once we came to a stop at a dead end along a long path, we took a long moment to catch our breaths. I was on the hard floor, with my knees on the floor and my back to the wall. Sir Dustin was still standing tall, his excalibur still in his hand and his other hand on his waist.We were now sweating, dehydrated, starving and exhausted from the long run. We made sure to run through five different corners and changed paths a few times to get to where we were.While gasping for air, Sir Dustin questioned, "Do...Ha...! Do you think they'll appear again, I mean the lightmen, sire?""I...I couldn't say. But I think...Ha...! Ha...! I think we lost them for now. Right now, we need to recover what little strength we have left."The moment we dropped our guards, a flash of blue light struck the unsuspecting Sir Dustin on the back and he f
- SHADOW AND LIGHT (CHIAROSCURO)
AMONGST THE HUMANS
Sir Dustin's eyes widened at the truth that I exposed his ears to. Conflicted, he stood up from my side on the wall and took a moment to think to himself. He walked aimlessly around me which was annoying and somewhat dizzying to watch.I thought as I watched him stressing, "Where does he get the energy? I'm gasping for air down here and he's busy speed-walking left to right repeatedly!"He even began scratching his head and rubbing his chin in deep thought as he speed-walked around me.While moving erratically, Sir Dustin muttered to himself silently, "Poison to humans, life to aura benders... How? Why?"I could see it all from his body language, he was very intrigued, curious and maybe a bit afraid."Is it too much information to handle?" I said, stopping his random erratic movements."But sire, that...just doesn't make any sense," he stated with doubt in his eyes.I sighed for a bit then rubbed my eyes, I felt like telling this truth to someone as dimwitted as Sir Dustin was coming
- SHADOW AND LIGHT (CHIAROSCURO)
THE POWER OF ILLUSIONS
Sir Dustin and I ventured back into the labyrinth abandoning any thoughts of escaping the labyrinth but instead, finding the culprit that trapped us here.As we followed the illusion deeper and deeper into the maze-like labyrinth, we found ourselves being attacked, psychologically."Hmm... We're getting closer to the source of the illusions, I can feel it." I said.Sir Dustin mentioned, "Sire, from the looks of it we seem to be going to the very centre of the labyrinth.""Indeed," I replied.Navigating our way back into the labyrinth was not as difficult as finding a way out, we were making good time as well. But then..."Sire, look out!" A sword made completely of just aura appeared and tried to strike me down.I fell to the floor, weaved and dodged the attack, accidentally hitting my back on the labyrinth wall that was behind me, I was a bit injured from the impact.As I looked up, I saw the aura sword that struck
- SHADOW AND LIGHT (CHIAROSCURO)
LABYRINTH MIRAGE
At the garden labyrinth, Sir Dustin and I were navigating the path of the garden labyrinth with haste for hours on end...I caught sight of an opening. “Over there! There's Come on, man! Pick up the speed!”Sir Dustin was right behind me, we ran as quickly as we could speeding through all the corners to reach the exit.As we sped through the labyrinth, the paths behind us began to exponentially grow in vegetation, closing up the paths we came from.Some may have wondered, why couldn't we just climb over the wall of the labyrinth? And they wouldn't be wrong for asking such, but there were three problems to even attempting to climb the walls; First of all, the walls were at least 9 ft tall, which would be difficult to climb in the first place.Secondly, even if we tried to climb the tall walls of thick vegetation, there were sleeping vines growing in between the walls. These were thick strong vines that had prickles all over them and each prickl
- SHADOW AND LIGHT (CHIAROSCURO)
RATS IN THE MANOR
Sir Dustin stood there, dumbfounded and somewhat confused as to what I meant. I turned to him and gave him the rose, instructing him to hold onto it. His brows immediately furrowed with confusion when I gave it to him.He just kept staring at the peculiar wild rose as if he was trying to solve a puzzle with his eyes. I, on the other hand, was trying to solve a bigger puzzle.Once the rose was in his hand, I turned away from him once again and marched along another path away from the dead end.As I marched along the new path, I ordered the confused silver knight, “Follow.” And he did with the rose delicately in his hand.As he obediently followed me, Sir Dustin's expression changed from confused to intrigued...“Sire—"I immediately interrupted him, “—Quiet! Just follow.” Once we got to a corner, I stopped and ordered, “Pull out a petal from the rose.”“Pardon, sire? I don't understand.”I sighed, scratching my head i
- SHADOW AND LIGHT (CHIAROSCURO)
SURVIVAL AND PROTECTION
Sir Dustin looked at me with a confused expression.“Excalibur?” he uttered a question.I answered, “Yes, that shall be the name of your sword from this henceforth.”He retrieved his 'Excalibur' and sheath it. He stood up to me and asked, “But what exactly IS Excalibur? I don't think I've ever heard of such a sword before.”I tucked my hands behind my back, holding that stance as I walked away and gestured for the silver knight to follow me. As we strolled through the winding labyrinth of the garden I began to explain the origins of the name, Excalibur...“The sword known as Excalibur is an old tale of a medieval time”“Medieval time, sire?”“Yes, well... It's a time long before the great world war, a time of simpler time kind of like this one but less... Evolved.“Evolved? Sire?"“Well... We're not savages, we do have some knowledge of science and technology."“Why yes, sire. You do have a point, but didn't we lose all that during the great world war?”“Haha, you would think...”“Pard
- SHADOW AND LIGHT (CHIAROSCURO)
EXCALIBUR
I stood there dumbfounded by Sir Dustin's request, no, his life wish. This wasn't a game, this was life or death. And he was betting it all on me. I was seriously stressing out. so much that I began to retreat from the scene.“Master?” Sir Dustin looked at me slowly retreating with such sincere eyes.I was perturbed, I stopped myself and stood still. I began to think but no matter how I thought about the situation I couldn't reach a better conclusion.The more I saw him on his knee with his bleeding hand, it made it even more difficult to decide if this was the right course of action or not, I couldn't just trust him but...his conviction to serve me made me think otherwise.At the moment, all I could do was...“Fine...!” Menacingly, I rolled back my golden-dyed curly bangs back as I said that. My expression had suddenly changed from calm to thrilling.“Pardon, sire!? Did you say...?"“I said I'll do it but you're going to have to
- SHADOW AND LIGHT (CHIAROSCURO)
BLOOD KNIGHT
“I... I... I'm not,” Sir Dustin was speechless and demoralized by my questions. He couldn't even muster any rebuttals. His expression had become that of a defeated man, utterly sad.I left his head to fall, and his other knee fell with it. He was quiet after that, it made me think, “It seems that I may have broken his will and pride. That's unfortunate. I'd have thought he was stronger than that.”I pocketed my hands and began to step away from the fallen silver knight. As I did, I also thought, “No matter! If he wasn't able to handle a little criticism, then he would never be able to handle the burden of staying by my side. My path, after all, is a treacherous one.”As I slowly walked away, my ears caught some noise from behind me, it sounded like a deep inhale and...“Is he... Still...?” I turned back only to witness Sir Dustin, still on his knees inhaling the cold air around him.“What is he...?” I couldn't finish my thoughts.With
