Shadow Slave: Prince of Darkness

'So this is where they live....' thought a blacked haired girl, who looks to be in her teen.

Her name is Nephis, Nephis of the Immortal flame clan, but people like to add fallen before Immortal, as her clan which was once mighty and powerful is now nothing but a fragment of the past.

Her grey eyes glowed with strange white flame, as she stared at the Towering Dark Castle in front of her.

The Dark Castle belongs to only one family in the whole world, a family who everyone's is afraid off, a family that has been in the world for Ten of thousands of years, a family that has seen both the ancient era, the rise and fall of the Great kingdoms, and the mordent era too, a family so old that they hold all of the secrets of the ancient Earth. 

'The Royal Dark Solomon.'

Their Castle stood mighty as a testament to the passage of eons, its towering spires piercing the sky like some sharped teeth. Shrouded in perpetual gloom, the Castle gives an Dark and cold aura of timelessness and dread. Above, she could see some big dark creatures circling around the Castle. 

Looking at them as her gaze hardened, Nephis know exactly what those creatures were.....

'Dragons...'

Their massive forms silhouetted against the night, their guttural growls vibrating the very air.

Dragons. Creatures she had only ever read in stories or seen on the glowing screens. And yet, here they were here—real, majestic and... Terrifying!!.

Nephis has always heard rumors or read stories about Dark Solomon family having dragons as their pet or their power to control the Dragons, but seeing those creatures with her own eyes, is really something else.

She was standing outside of the castle gates, her heart pounding against her ribcage. Despite the piecing cold, and the darkness surrounding her that seems to want to consume her very soul. Her palms were clammy as she clutched the small black box containing the token—a dark phoenix made with the symbol of Dark fire and ash.

While looking at the Tall Dark Castle, her grandmother's final words echoed in her mind: 

"If you truly seek the truth, go to them. Show them this token, and they will listen. But tread carefully, child, for the Dark Solomon family is as ancient as the world itself, and they owe loyalty to no one."

'This is the key, for my questions.' thought Nephis as she clenched the box tightly in her palms, knowing fully well that is only thing that can give her answers she want.

Taking a deep breath, Nephis stepped forward, her boots crunching against the frost-covered ground. The gates were wrought iron, twisting and curving like some vines, yet they had an aura of a unnatural sharpness, as though they might tear apart anyone foolish enough to touch them. 

SWISH!!

"!!!"

She had barely even raised a hand when three shadowy figures materialized around her.

They moved as if they were one with the darkness, their forms flickering like candlelight in the wind. Nephis froze, her breath catching in her throat. The figures were tall and cloaked, in dark robes, their faces were also hidden beneath deep hoods, and if one were to look closely they could see nothing but deep and cold darkness in it, looking at their figure one could not even identify their gender.

"State your purpose," one of them hissed, it voice sounded cold, emotionless, and also a mixture of men and women.

Gulp!

Swallowing her fear, Nephis took out the token from the box and held it up. Its polished surface gleamed faintly in the dim light. 

"I seek an audience with the Royal Dark Solomon family. I come with this token as proof of my intent."

The figures exchanged glances—or so she thought, though their faces remained obscured. Then, without a word, one of them vanished, dissolving into the darkness as though it had never been there.

Nephis felt her pulse quicken. She knew he had gone to inform someone within the castle. Moments passed in silence, each second stretching like an eternity, the tension in the air was heavy, as Nephis could feel the gazes of the two figure locked on her, looking at her very core.

Avoiding their gazes, Nephis was thinking of what rank these shadow figure were.

'These three must be of atleast a Master rank.' thought Nephis as she couldn't help but feel something, fear perhaps, the only feeling she felt when she was just a child.

Suddenly the figure returned and gave a subtle nod to the others.

"!!!!"

Before Nephis could react, the world around her shifted. One moment, she stood before the gates; the next, she found herself in a vast grand hall.

"!!!"

Her breath caught in her throat as she spun around, trying to make sense of what had just happened. The air was thick and heavy, carrying the faint scent of incense and something metallic—blood, perhaps?

"W-what h-happend!!!" Nephis looked around her, she saw the hall was cavernous, with vaulted ceilings that seemed to stretch into infinity. Chandeliers of black crystal hung above, their flickering flames casting distorted shadows that danced like specters on the polished obsidian floor.

Panic clawed at her chest. How had she gotten here? What sort of sorcery was this?

'Teleportation, but how!!' as she was thinking about this when a soft voice spoke from behind her, that seems to have startled her

"Do not be alarmed."

Nephis turned sharply to see a maid standing beside her. The woman was impossibly beautiful, her long white hair cascading down her back like a waterfall of moonlight. Her dark black eyes held a depth that made Nephis feel as though she were being drawn into an endless abyss. The maid's figure was elegant and flawless, but her expression was devoid of warmth, her features as cold and unyielding as the castle itself.

"Follow me," the maid said, her voice calm but devoid of emotion.

Nephis nodded silently, unable to find her voice. She followed the maid through the grand hall, her footsteps echoing ominously in the vast space. The walls were lined with massive paintings, each one depicting scenes of war and carnage.

In one, a monstrous beast with too many eyes and too many limbs tore through a battlefield, its maw dripping with blood. In another, a purple haired figure socked in red, stood amidst a sea of corpses, holding aloft a banner bearing the sigil of the Dark Solomon family—a phoenix engulfed in black flames.

The paintings unnerved her. Nephis couldn't help but think that the eyes of the figures in the paintings within seemed to follow her as she walked, their gazes heavy with accusation, as she was looking at the painting closely, Nephis eyes were widden in shocked and a deep fear as she backed away.

'T-The e-eyes moved!!' shocked and startled, she quickly averted her gazes, her hands clenching into fists at her sides, she looked at the maid who was walking in front of her, unknown to the her surrounding.

"Are they... alive?" she murmured in a low voice, she was trying her hardest to not looked at the painting again in fear that the beings in the painting might come out of them, she looked at the maid expecting for some answers.

The maid however did not answer her question, as she just walked ahead.

They ascended a winding staircase, its steps carved from the same black stone as the floor. The air grew colder as they climbed, and Nephis felt the weight of the castle pressing down on her. She wanted to ask where they were going, she wanted to know where the maid was leading her, but the words refused to come out of her mouth.

At last, they reached a massive door carved with intricate runes that seemed to shimmer and writhe in the dim light. The maid turned to her.

"Wait here," she said before disappearing into the room.

Nephis stood in silence, her heart racing. Her reflection stared back at her from the polished black surface of the door. She looked small and fragile, a far cry from the image of strength she had tried to project.

Then suddenly her gaze landed at the words written on the door.

'What is this....' 

The words were written in an ancient language, the letters she has not read in any text book or seen anywhere, and this was not the runes language of the spell too, yet it seems she could understand their meaning very clearly.

She then tried to read the words, as she read them, she come to know that it is a poem.

It said that.....

'In ancient halls where no time flows, 

A family dark and secret grows. 

No one knows from where they came, 

Their blood and name a sacred flame.

Hair like night with purple gleam, 

Eyes that hold a starry dream. 

Their beauty chills, their faces cold, 

A tale of shadows, ageless, old.

A phoenix dark, their crest of pride, 

With dragons tamed at every side. 

Brother to sister, they are bound, 

To keep their blood pure and profound.

No love they show, no hearts they share, 

Just beauty fierce, beyond compare. 

The Solomon's stand, both feared and known, 

The oldest house, upon a throne.'

As she finish reading the poem, she was just about to think of the meaning of this ancient poem, when the door open as the maid returned, Nephis tired to see who was inside the room, but was not able too, as the maid has closed it. 

"The prince is waiting for you," said the maid as she simply stepped aside the door, Nephis looked at her for a movement before shifting her gaze back to the door.

Nephis stared at the door, her palms slick with sweat despite the chill. This was it. Beyond this door lay the answers she had sought for so long. Why had her father's allies betrayed them? Why had the Royal Dark Solomon family, with all their power, done nothing to help?

'Well this is it.'

Taking a deep breath, she pushed the door open and stepped inside.