Ch 34: The Leader of Altera Veritas

Confronting Alastor once more, Grey has come far, but will it be enough? In this dire moment, his long awaited battle with the leader of Altera Veritas, Grey suddenly is unable to use the True Edge.

            Standing there patiently as Grey charged at him, Alastor casually stepped aside as Grey struck. As Grey managed to bring himself to a halt, Alastor dodged effortlessly again as Grey turned around and lashed out with a spinning kick. Dodging a swipe of one of Grey’s swords, Alastor said, “Do try to calm down. You have little enough chance against me as it is. Fighting me in a blind rage will only make things worse…” Glaring at him, Grey struck out again, but his blades met with Alastor’s pressure barrier. Then Alastor struck Grey in the chin with a rising knee kick that he enhanced with a blast of air pressure, popping him into the air. Sailing high like a rag doll, before Grey could recover Alastor had leaped up after him, and with a falling kick he sent Grey crashing back down into the floor. Floating away from where he laid in shame, riding through the air on the wind itself, Alastor landed gracefully and looked over at Grey sprawled out on his back as he said, “I told you Mr. Greyson. Had you been calm, you might have had the presence of mind to remember my air pressure barrier and use your EDE Dissipation…”

Having dropped his blades, Grey called them to his hands with telekinesis as he got up, and trying to keep calm, he faced Alastor and said, “I don’t need help from you!” Forming his own twin swords, Alastor said, “Is that so? Well, just make sure you get serious from here on then. I can retrieve Deus Amictus even if you die, but there’s something I’d like to confirm before I kill you…” An aura of darkness erupted around Alastor as he added, “I want to know… Just what is this ‘strength of the heart’?” With a glow in his determined eyes, Grey said, “Void Energy, Level 2!” Activating his Void Energy, as his aura surged around him, Grey shouted, “Accelerate!” As Grey came at him as a blur of speed, Alastor simply said, “Haste.” Alastor turned into a blur of speed as well as he charged directly towards Grey. Meeting each other halfway, they collided and began to clash. Striking and blocking again and again and again, at last Alastor knocked Grey off balance and blew him away with an air pressure enhanced thrust kick. Watching him bounce and roll across the floor, Alastor leaped back as Grey began to pick himself up, quickly putting distance between them as he called out, “You just keep improving Mr. Greyson. I remember the days when you couldn’t stand against me even in my weakened condition. I deemed you a failed prospect, unable to utilize the power within you.” Panting, Grey muttered, “Since when has he been able to use Accelerate too?!” With a faint smile, Alastor said, “You’ll find we both have more in common than you think Mr. Greyson…” As he released them, wind surrounded Alastor’s blades, and they floated beside him as he channeled Corrupted EDE into his hand.

            As Alastor raised his hand and unleashed the Corrupted EDE, it formed into sword after sword made of solidified Corrupted EDE, forming in a spiral from the palm of his hand. Beginning to gather around him as they formed, soon a legion of hundreds of swords hung around Alastor, all suspended by the wind itself. Holding his hand before him, Alastor said, “A fun trick wouldn’t you say Mr. Greyson? I call it my Blades of the Night Sky.” Staring in shock, Grey thought, “That’s crazy!” Alastor snapped his fingers and the corrupted swords flew up high above the room and then rained down over the entire area. Thinking quickly, Grey chanted, “Ego Voco Vos, Ventus Acies!” Rushing through the hail of swords, Grey spun his wind swords so fast they served as shields, swirling winds deflecting the swords that came down at him. Deflecting continuously as he charged at Alastor, Grey chanted, “Tripudio, Quinque Gladius Lux Delere Hostes Hostium!” Hearing this incantation, Alastor muttered, “That’s…” Five swords of light formed around Grey and shot towards Alastor. Taking hold of his own blades, as the swords of light gathered around Alastor, surrounding him, Alastor muttered, “Haste.” Moving as a blur of speed, Alastor avoided just as the swords stabbed themselves into the ground where he had stood and exploded in a blast of light. 

Appearing before Alastor suddenly, having rushed into range using his own Accelerate ability, Grey activated EDE Dissipation and used the momentum of his speed to strike powerfully at Alastor. Sidestepping his attack, as Grey whirled about with more strikes Alastor simply dodged again and again with ease. Raising a blade, Alastor unleashed a burst of wind from the tip of his sword and blew Grey away. Still aiming at Grey, dark rune circles surrounded Alastor’s sword as he channeled Corrupted EDE into his blade. Managing to land on his feet, Grey realized a dangerous attack was coming, and he raised his own blade and channeled EDE into it as he swung it, shouting, “Ein Soph Aur!” In turn, Alastor said, “Deathsoul Summoning.” Alastor’s swirling storm of Corrupted EDE shot out, and from Grey’s blade a mighty energy wave burst forth to meet it. The attacks exploded violently, and as Grey shielded his eyes from the blast, he sensed a strange fluctuation of EDE and turned as Alastor came out of a dark vortex behind him with a powerful slash of his EDE charged blade.

            Grey barely managed to block, but was knocked off balance and staggered back. Striking while his opponent was open, Alastor launched an air pressure enhanced kick into Grey’s gut and sent him flying, then swung his charged sword and fired the EDE stored in it after him as a storm of arc shaped wind blades. As Grey bounced across the ground, he finally flipped back onto his feet and channeled EDE into his blades, deflecting wind blades with the power of his own wind swords as he chanted, “Cesso, Certamen Quod Nisi Vestri Aeterna Vires Super Totus Pro Vos, Valde Infinitus Mico!” Then Grey raised his swords and used Void Charge, unleashing a dozen orbs of light and guiding them at Alastor with telekinesis. Opening a dark vortex, Alastor moved behind the light energy orbs as they got close and raised his own blade to attack, but quickly moved away as the orbs came around and bombarded the ground where he’d stood. Then as Grey moved as a blur of speed and got behind him, Alastor spun with a horizontal strike, but Grey blocked and raised his foot, launching a powerful kick that knocked Alastor away. Taking aim at Alastor as he sailed away from him, Grey raised his sword and shouted, “Iacio!” White rune circles formed, combined, and merged, and a massive orb of light shot at Alastor, power crackling all around it. 

Landing on his feet, as the massive energy orb came at him, Alastor as relinquished his swords to the winds once more and raised a single hand to stop the orb in its tracks. Holding the orb off, Alastor called out, “Impressive, you’ve created your own incantations out of your battle with the Professor. A difficult task considering the delicate balance of Rune Swordsmanship’s spell composition.” Then Alastor flung the orb away as though it were a beach ball and raised his other hand to fire a beam of Corrupted EDE from his finger at Grey. Deflecting it, Grey leaped high in the air and came down on Alastor with his blades. Grabbing hold of his own swords again, Alastor blocked and shoved Grey away, but Grey rushed back at him with another strike. Alastor locked blades with him once more and said, “You’ve finally unlocked Void Energy on your own, but you’ve far from mastered its full capacities.” Alastor gathered massive amounts of EDE, and sensing this, Grey leaped away as a massive cyclone of wind erupted around Alastor, countless wind blades bouncing around within it. 

Finally the cyclone faded, and letting his blades become masses of EDE once more, Alastor said, “You’ve certainly improved. However Mr. Greyson, I have yet to see anything truly interesting. If you are to beat me, you will need more than brute strength and the Professor’s old incantations…” The mass of EDE formed into the wicked Scythe of Destruction, Acerbitas Desiderium. Taking hold of it, Alastor added, “Much more…” Raising a sword at Alastor challengingly, Grey retorted, “I’ve still got a few more new tricks up my sleeve! Spend a little less time preaching and maybe I’ll show you!” Rising into the air on the wind itself, as his dark power surged, Alastor replied, “Please, go right ahead…” Smirking, Grey thought to himself, “He’s getting serious now. Time for me to use the True Edge!” Yet just as he was about to gather the light and darkness within him and recite the incantation, Grey stopped. An inexplicable feeling of fear running through him, it was as though every fiber of his being was telling him not to cast the spell.

Grey had little time to sort out the unexplainable feelings preventing him from using the True Edge. Getting impatient, Alastor called out, “Well? Weren’t you about to show me these ‘tricks’ of yours?” Raising his free hand, Alastor formed more spirals upon spirals of swords as he said, “If you’re going to keep me waiting, I think I’ll show you my Vortexes of the Night Sky.” Dark vortexes began forming around Alastor, and the swords began flying into them. Watching Alastor pouring hundreds of swords into the vortexes, Grey thought, “That can’t be good…” Suddenly dark vortexes formed in the air above Grey, and out of them the corrupted swords rained down at him. Grey quickly leaped away, but no sooner had he touched back on the ground did more vortexes form and rain blades at him. Spinning his wind swords quickly, Grey began deflecting the endless rain of swords as he thought, “Definitely not good!” 

Watching him deflecting the swords, Alastor said, “Same strategy Mr. Greyson? I’m disappointed.” Thinking quickly, Grey chanted, “Angelica Eques, Attollere Sanctum Tuum Clypeus!” A radiant shell of transparent hexagons formed from solid light quickly phased into being around Grey, and as the swords hailed down against it, Grey called out, “You wanna see what I can do?! Fine!” Opening even more vortexes, Alastor began forming wind blades as well, sending them through the vortexes as he said, “If you’re going to get serious, do it already…” Throughout the room, swords and wind blades rained down against the light shell, which slowly began to crack under the strain. Raising a sword before him, Grey chanted, “Geminus Cesso, Susicivus, Septimo Spiritus Glacies Quod Fulmen.” Then he raised his second blade and chanted, “Geminus Secundus Cesso, Porta Gladiis!” Just as it seemed the barrier would shatter, Grey stabbed a sword into the floor and swiftly chanted, “Labantis Terram, Devolvat Vocem Mundi!” As the barrier shattered and the swords and wind blades rained down, a powerful sonic boom emanated from around Grey in all directions and blew away all the swords and wind blades that had broken through with powerful force. 

The way cleared for a brief moment, Grey ignored the ringing in his ears and shouted, “Accelerate!” Grey quickly sped off in Alastor’s direction just as the swords and wind blades peppered the ground where he had stood. Again and again, Alastor opened more dark vortexes around Grey as he charged, and time after time Grey swerved and deflected with his wind swords. Then raising Acerbitas Desiderium, Alastor said, “It won’t be that easy…” Grey’s charge was halted as a great black rune circle appeared beneath him and tall black walls rose up all around him. Then forming on the summoned walls all around him, the dark vortexes appeared to rain destruction on him once again. Forming his wings of light at his heels, Grey soared into the air as swords and wind blades hailed out of the vortexes all around him. Clearing the top of the wall, dark vortexes opened all around him as Alastor called out, “Too predictable.”

Unshaken, Grey raised a sword up and shouted, “Iacio!” As the dark swords and wind blades rained out at Grey from all sides, a blinding blizzard radiated from his sword, sweeping through the air all around him. As it washed over the oncoming projectiles they were stopped in the air, frozen solid with enchanted ice. As the ice seeped into the solidified EDE of all the frozen swords and even into the EDE of the wind blades, they all became brittle and shattered, creating a shower of ice fragments. From within blizzard, Grey hurled one of his swords at Alastor. Drifting aside in the air to evade, as Grey’s sword sailed past him the blizzard around Grey quickly faded, and Alastor said, “Nice try.” Then the secondary effects of Grey’s Susicivus spell activated, and all of the falling ice fragments from Alastor’s frozen projectiles crackled with electricity and transformed into arrows of lightning that all shot up at Alastor. As the arrows came at him, Alastor flew high to avoid, but Grey used telekinesis and guided them after him. Opening a dark vortex, as he simply slipped inside it to escape Grey’s attack, Alastor muttered, “Well well…” But as Grey saw him escape into the dark vortex, he quickly chanted, “Secundus Iacio!” 

His second delayed spell activated just as Alastor appeared from a dark vortex to swing his wicked scythe at him. As Alastor brought his scythe down, Grey suddenly vanished, having teleported over to the sword he had hurled at Alastor, which had stabbed into the floor below. Activating his Accelerate under his breath, Grey flew up at Alastor and reached him before he could realize what had happened, quickly cutting the arm with which Alastor held Acerbitas Desiderium clean off as he zipped past his opponent. The arm and scythe tumbled to the ground, and turning around in the air to fly back at Alastor and deal the final blow, Grey shouted, “How do you like me now?!” Raising his remaining arm, Alastor channeled EDE into it and wind blades danced around his hand. Dodging Grey’s strike, Alastor sliced through one of Grey’s light wings with his hand as he said, “Not quite enough Mr. Greyson…” Grey quickly went tumbling to the ground, and Alastor’s arm evaporated into black mist and floated up to reattach itself to the rest of his body. As Grey struggled to his feet, his remaining light wing fading away, he turned just in time to watch Alastor reform his arm and summon his scythe back into his hand. Getting to his feet, Grey leaped away as Alastor raised a finger and fired a beam of Corrupted EDE at him. Looking down at Grey, Alastor said, “You were overconfident of your victory Mr. Greyson. Even if I had not been able to regenerate, you still left me with an arm to attack with.” Taking his battle stance, Grey said, “You really don’t have anything better to do than piss me off do you?!”

            Raising Acerbitas Desiderium at Grey, Alastor said, “Sorrow’s Grasp.” Shadows formed around the blade of the scythe, and suddenly they shot out at Grey and formed into an enormous clawed hand. Just in time, Grey leaped away as it grasped at him, its claws digging into the ground where he’d stood. Gathering EDE into one of his blades, as it came at him again Grey swung his sword and unleashed a wave of light energy at the hand, but the wave passed right through. Rolling aside as it grasped at him, Grey broke into a run towards Alastor, but just as he prepared to leap at him another hand formed from the darkness in the scythe. Leaping away as it tried to grab him as well, then running as the other one came crawling up behind him, Grey thought, “What the hell is with that creepy ability?!” Quickly Grey tried to formulate a plan, continuing to flee while thinking, “The hands don’t seem to take damage from energy, and I’m not getting close enough to test my strength against them! They defended Alastor though, so he’s still vulnerable I think. I’ve gotta hit him hard!” Grey stopped as one of the hands suddenly leaped over him, and Grey leaped up high as both hands clapped themselves together as though they were squashing a fly. Landing on top of the hands, Grey leaped at Alastor. Raising his free hand, Alastor unleashed a sphere of swirling wind that struck Grey in the air and exploded into a localized storm of wind blades. The wind blades drawing cuts in his skin as they struck, Grey quickly activated his EDE Dissipation to free himself, but as he fell back down Alastor caught him in one of the spectral hands and flung him hard into the wall of the room.

             As Grey staggered to his feet and determinedly walked forward to face him, Alastor channeled EDE into his scythe and said, “I grow tired of this…” As the scythe’s blade glowed with power, a dark wind surrounded it and Alastor dove at Grey. Gathering his strength as he saw Alastor coming straight for him, as the villain swung down with massive power, Grey raised his blades to block. Grey’s blades shattered and the scythe blade drew a gash in Grey’s chest, and as he staggered back, Alastor swung his blade through the air and the dark wind around Alastor’s scythe shot out and surrounded him. Blades of dark wind danced around Grey, ripping through his clothes and drawing wounds across his body. Grey finally unleashed a shockwave of psychic power, blowing the blades away, but the damage had been done already. Blood seeping from the wound in his chest, his body covered in lesser wounds as well, and his blades shattered, it seemed as though Grey was defeated.

Touching down gracefully, Alastor said, “I’m more than a little disappointed Mr. Greyson. Just where is this power of yours I keep hearing so much about? Where is your ‘strength of the heart’?” Watching Grey as he stood there for a moment, staring at the ground struggling to breathe, Alastor saw a grin suddenly cross Grey’s face. The silence was broken as he heard Grey weakly say, “You wanna see it that bad…? Gee, guess I have no choice!” Looking up at Alastor with determination, even though something within him tried to hold him back, Grey chanted, “Ego Voco Vos, Verus Acies!” His shattered blades glowed with the power of an unknown element, and quickly reformed into the same True Blade form they had taken during his battle against the golem. As Grey took his battle stance again, Alastor fixed his eyes upon him intently as he thought, “Just what incantation was that? This power… What is that power within those blades?” His strength returning, his wounds starting to heal more rapidly than even his regeneration ability should have made them, Grey thought, “I don’t know what this feeling is trying to tell me, but I do know I’m sure as hell not gonna lose! It’s time to end this!”

            Aiming his scythe at Grey, Alastor once again summoned out the hands of his Sorrow’s Grasp. Yet as one came down on him, Grey leaped at it and swung his blades down, cutting it in half. Quickly the other grabbed hold of him and started to crush him, but quickly channeling EDE into his swords, Grey unleashed twin blasts of an unknown element from his blades that blew it apart. His attack easily defeated, a shocked Alastor thought, “For him to cut through my Sorrows Grasp like it was mere paper, it’s just unheard of! I must know what power is within those blades…” Grey charged at Alastor, shouting, “Accelerate!” Turning his scythe in his hand a moment, Alastor said, “Haste.” Matching Grey’s speed, Alastor charged as well. As Alastor swung his scythe down and unleashed a Corrupted EDE wave, Grey veered off to the side, and turning as he skidded past Alastor, he rushed to attack from behind. Quickly Alastor turned and raised his hand, firing a barrage of Corrupted EDE spheres, but leaping over them Grey came down with his blades. 

Ripping Acerbitas Desiderium from the ground, Alastor swung up powerfully and knocked Grey into the air. Flipping in the air, Grey came down on his feet and charged back into range, striking out. Blocking his attack, as Grey continued to strike, Alastor struggled to keep up with his furious movements. Knocking Alastor off balance, Grey caught him in the face with a spinning kick. Alastor staggered back, but he recovered just as Grey lunged at him and quickly sidestepped, then raised a hand and quickly summoned more dark swords. Leaping away as the swords stabbed into the ground, Grey fired spheres of light energy at Alastor, who quickly rose into the air on the wind itself. Guided by Grey’s telekinesis the spheres chased Alastor, but raising his hand, Alastor cut the spheres to pieces as he unleashed a storm of wind blades. Hovering above the battlefield, Alastor raised his hand above his head and all the corrupted swords and shattered sword fragments strewn throughout the room quickly flew up around Alastor. Transforming into bits of Corrupted EDE, they began gathering into Alastor’s hand until he had a giant gathering of Corrupted EDE. As Alastor poured more Corrupted EDE into it the gathering grew even more, and he called out, “Take a good look Mr. Greyson. Do you honestly believe your ‘strength of the heart’ can ever match such a level of power? If so, I suggest you ready yourself to prove it…”

As he swung his hand down, Alastor’s enormous gathering of Corrupted EDE began to descend at Grey as Alastor said, “… against my Nemesis Star.” With determination in his eyes, Grey charged his legs with Void Charge and used it to leap straight into the oncoming mass of power, shouting, “I’m not giving up!” Gathering all the power he could into his swords, the blades began to shine with otherworldly light as power of an unknown element coursed through them. Raising his blades before him, that power surrounded and protected Grey as he cut straight through the energy mass, and as Grey broke through, he shouted, “Today’s the day I KICK YOUR A*S!” As the Corrupted EDE broke apart and dispersed behind him, Grey continued up to peak just above Alastor in the air and came down at him with his blades. His eyes wide, Alastor’s face showed clear disbelief as he said, “How can this be…?” Alastor raised Acerbitas Desiderium to block him, but as Grey swung with all his strength, his shining blades sliced through the handle and severed both Alastor’s arms at the shoulder. Falling away from his disarmed opponent, Grey thought, “Is it… finally over?” Landing back on the ground, Grey turned to watch as Alastor landed face down on the ground. Raising his head up, there was utter disbelief in Alastor’s eyes as he thought, “Why?! Why can’t I regenerate my arms?! What is the power within those blades?! Is this the power of the heart?!” Hearing Grey’s footsteps approaching him, Alastor struggled to compose himself as he called out with his thoughts, “Shadow! Come to me, quickly!”

            As the barrier of rune circles shattered and the spikes rained through, Alexander seemed to have disappeared. Lunging from out of a dark vortex behind Shadow, showing the fruits of his training to control the power of the Nameless One, Alexander swung his frostfire blade to deal the killing blow as he chanted, “Signum Vulnus!” His blade became filled with power, but floating into the air with a backwards flip, Shadow sailed over Alexander’s head as he lunged at him, coming out behind him. Grunting in frustration as his spell faded, Alexander whirled about and leveled his sword at Shadow, chanting, “Pluvia Eversio, Vultus Ignis Gelu!” Pouring from the tip of Alexander’s blade, arrows of frostfire poured out at Shadow. Raising his strange black sword, Shadow released his grip on it and it floated before him. As the barrage was about to strike, the red lines of the sword glowed as Shadow channeled EDE into it and said, “Repel…” The arrows changed course, streaming past Shadow as though drawn along by an unseen air current, and then the tip of the sword tilted down to point at Alexander. 

Alexander raised his sword to block with the flat of the blade as Shadow’s black sword shot at him of its own accord with incredible speed, red energy crackling all around it. As it struck his blade, Alexander was carried backwards by it, sliding backwards on his feet as it pushed him further and further back. Quickly pinned against the wall, pushing against the blade of his sword with his free hand as he held tightly to his sword’s handle with the other, Alexander struggled against the black blade’s strength as he chanted, “Septimo Spiritus Terra!” A rumbling blast of sonic power from Alexander’s sword knocked the black blade sailing into the air. Dropping out of the ceiling, Shadow grabbed hold of his black sword and came down with his other hand transformed into a large hammer. Alexander quickly moved away, and with crushing power Shadow slammed his hammer arm into the wall he’d been standing against. It was an impact that shook the entire room, clouds of dust spewing into the air from the crater the attack had made in the wall. Struggling to catch his breath, Alexander watched for his foe through the dust as he thought, “There’s no question he’s an ancient demonfolk lord! I must stay focused, concentrate on exploiting his weakness…” Bursting out of the dust cloud, a rain of spikes shot out at Alexander once more. Raising his hand, Alexander chanted as fast as he could, “Magistri Obex!” The spikes met with the barrier of rune circles that Alexander created, but despite getting stuck, a single spike made it far enough through the barrier to pierce a hole straight through Alexander’s palm. Alexander’s barrier faded and the spikes caught in it dropped to the ground. At the same time, his frostfire enchant on his sword faded away. Ripping the spike from his hand with a muffled cry of pain, Alexander stared at the destroyed runes on the back of it and thought, “This could be a problem…”

            The dust cloud settled, and as he floated there staring at Alexander a moment, Shadow once more released his black sword and let it hover before him. Channeling energy into it briefly, the demon lord said, “Dual…” With a crackle of energy, the sword split into two identical swords, and taking hold of them both Shadow sped at Alexander and lashed out. As Alexander blocked strike after strike, Shadow taunted “A soul? Such misfortune it has endured, time and again it has failed to protect that which is most important to it. How… sad…” A wave of anger rushed over Alexander. Despite the risk, Alexander unleashed the power of the Nameless One in a level he could not yet safely control. Grasping his sword with both hands, oblivious to the pain in his injured hand, Alexander parried powerfully and knocked the sword from one of Shadow’s hands as he said, “My past…” Then with a powerful strike, Alexander shouted, “IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!” Shadow tried to block the strike, but the incredible power behind it sent him crashing into the far wall. Quickly chasing after him, Alexander leaped into the air and came down with his sword, but as the dust cleared Shadow seemed to have miraculously disappeared, replaced by a woman with short pink hair and cat ears. 

Alexander could not believe his eyes, and stopped his attack. Landing next to her, he said in disbelief, “Amelia?” Amelia thrust the strange black blade through Alexander’s chest, and quickly reverted form back to Shadow. Alexander could not believe his stupidity, and thought, “He used that which I held most dear against me… It’s the oldest trick in the book… and I fell for it…” As Shadow withdrew the sword, Alexander staggered away and struggled to heal himself as blood seeped through his clothes. Yet he felt something strange, a crippling pain and extreme exhaustion was quickly spreading through his body, and quickly he said, “Just what have you done to me…?” Floating there as though he’d been waiting for this very question, Shadow said, “Our blood is poison, it causes great pain and slowly destroys the body. The pain… So long we suffered from the pain, but father found a way to make it all go away… First they used large amounts of metal with special spells in them, all melted down and mixed into our blood. It stopped the poison’s damage to our body, but it still remained within our bloodstream, causing great pain.” 

Raising the black sword, Shadow absorbed it back into his body as he said, “With the help of a human sorcerer, father created a sword. A sword called Blood King, which drew in and filtered our metallic blood, coating itself with the poison in the process. If the blade of Blood King cuts you, you’ll be injected with the poison. We can already see it… The pretty lines are spreading up your neck and across your face…” Reaching up and feeling at his neck with the fingers of his injured hand, glowing red lines already appearing on his neck and cheeks, Alexander sank to his knees and thought, “This could be the end…” Looming over him, Shadow said, “A soul…? It’s time for a soul…” Just as he was about to begin the process of devouring Alexander’s essence though, Shadow heard Alastor’s voice call, “Shadow! Come to me, quickly!” Shadow’s eyes narrowed in anger, but he did not refuse his master’s call, sinking quickly into the floor and speeding out of the room in his shadow form. Struggling up with the help of his sword, Alexander thought, “There can be only one reason he would have stopped. Alastor’s call. No matter what happens to me, I must get up!” As Alexander rushed after Shadow, he thought, “Grey, wait for me! I cannot and will not fail to protect the most important thing I have left in this world!”