Chapter 41: Depths of the Shadow Realm

The lecture had ended.

As expected, Baun once again secured the first position in the exam.

He advanced by tearing through the shadows of other students, claiming his victory.

None of the magic wielded by other shadows could penetrate his shadow’s body.

Ultimately, the person whose shadow died the latest became the successful candidate.

It wasn’t someone particularly strong.

They had been an average performer, ranking around the middle in previous exams.

The reason for their survival this time must have been their ability to hide well.

Of course, all of this had little to do with me.

I rested deeply while they took their exams, only coming to my senses as the lecture was about to end.

Upon waking, I felt the disparity between my body and mind had almost disappeared, blending naturally into one.

It was a rare sense of unity, one that would allow me to endure for at least another month.

I knew there would be a pile of work waiting for me back at the Tower.

It would take two days to return, which meant I had three days’ worth of tasks lined up.

If I didn’t hurry back, the workload would only increase.

But I still hadn’t returned to the Tower.

***

Instead, I entered the black sphere and had been wandering inside it for six hours now.

In that time, I discovered a considerable number of pools.

I studied the pool I found this time.

Someone’s magic lingered within it.

Did this one also have an owner? Slowly, I turned back the way I had come.

In this world, there were various pools like these.

They were connected to the Towers in the real world.

Students would use these pools to enter the depths of the Tower, claiming areas as their territory to continue training.

The easily accessible and power-laden pools had already been taken by top-ranking students.

Even the remote chambers had been claimed by those just below them.

Lower-ranking students often shared pools to train.

As I retraced my steps, I arrived back at the initial location, in front of the black sphere.

Nearby, a few shadows had settled along one side of the corridor, absorbing magic.

They were students who hadn’t been able to claim a room, instead feeding their shadows on the world’s magic.

The magic of this world was quite unique.

Only shadows could manipulate and absorb it.

For those students, nurturing their shadows was the only way to grow stronger.

I carefully passed by them.

I, too, had fed my shadow magic a few times in the past.

But ever since my shadow had taken its full form, I stopped doing so.

There was no point in feeding it more; it was destined to be eliminated first anyway.

That’s why it had been a long time since I’d explored this place.

Usually, I only used it as a passage to the lecture halls.

My responsibilities left little time to wander here.

But Myra had suggested otherwise.

[Explore this world more deeply,] she had said.

‘Her suggestion must have had a reason,’ I thought.

That’s why I had spent the past six hours exploring various zones.

Yet, I found nothing of note, only shadows wandering along the walls greeting me.

‘Does this mean I must go there?’

***

Beneath the sphere, I noticed a massive hole.

It was the only place I hadn’t ventured into.

There was nothing left but that place.

Slowly, I approached the hole.

As I got closer, I saw it filled with dense shadows.

There was a path leading downward.

I stepped onto the path.

It descended steeply, and the deeper I went, the murkier the magic became.

This was why I had previously avoided descending here.

The magic in the upper layers was the purest.

The deeper I went, the more inefficient the magic became.

I continued downward for what seemed like an eternity.

At some point, I realized my surroundings had grown significantly darker.

The darkness stemmed from the magic itself.

The once-murky magic had grown viscous, staining the environment.

In this thickened magic, shadows flickered and stirred.

They protruded halfway out of the darkness, drifting aimlessly.

It seemed this unpleasant magic granted them the power to move.

I approached to observe them closely.

But they were far from normal.

These shadows, directionless and scattered like dust in the wind, appeared on the verge of disappearing.

Their faint forms looked as if they might vanish at any moment.

Professor Heisen’s explanation resurfaced in my mind.

[This place is where the shadows of the dead gather,] he had said.

The shadows I had seen in the upper layers were active and vibrant.

Until now, I had assumed all shadows in this world shared those traits.

But as I watched these shadows, I realized my assumption was wrong.

These were the true remnants of the dead.

Shadows that had lost their masters were trapped in this world for an extended time, forgetting even the meaning of their existence.

Eventually, they reached this ultimate fate.

They didn’t even notice as my shadow passed right beside them.

Carefully avoiding them, I began to descend deeper.

More shadows came into view, and the magic now clung to my shadow like a viscous substance.

Deeper, and even deeper, I went.

Eventually, the clear path disappeared.

I lost all sense of direction and couldn’t tell where I was.

No shadows were visible anymore.

The farther I moved, the stronger the sensation that I was melting into the deep darkness around me.

***

‘How long had I been walking like this?’ Suddenly, within this still darkness, a massive current began to form. It exerted enormous pressure, pulling me along with it.

I was swept away, dragged into an even deeper abyss by an overwhelming force I couldn’t resist.

I didn’t know how much time had passed as I was carried along, but eventually, I reached the end of the current.

There, a man stood waiting.

He pulled me out of the flow of darkness.

“Hey there! First time seeing you outside!”

He smiled as he held me in his hand.

It was a familiar voice—Baun.

He stood as if holding back the massive flow with his entire body.

Dangling in his grasp, I lowered my head.

“Thank you for helping me.”

“Don’t mention it. I should be the one apologizing. I didn’t realize someone was here and ended up absorbing magic so recklessly that it dragged you all the way here.”

I cautiously observed my surroundings.

Thanks to him blocking the flow entirely, the surrounding darkness had cleared.

Looking closer, I realized why this current had formed.

It was because he had exposed his living body outside.

The magic drawn to it had become a massive current that engulfed this area.

All that magic was being devoured by his shadow, consuming the entire flow.

The fact that such a thing was possible made me swallow hard.

I now understood why his shadow was so strong.

He gently placed me on the ground and looked at me while stroking his short beard.

“So, what brings you down here? All the facilities are up above, and there’s nothing here but murky magic.”

“I received advice from Lady Myra to explore the depths of this world.”

“Oh? From Lady Myra, you say? Interesting. So, what do you think now that you’ve seen it?”

I slowly got to my feet and surveyed my surroundings.

What I saw with my physical eyes was vastly different from what I’d perceived through the eyes of my shadow.

What I had assumed to be a flow of magic turned out to be an enormous shadow.

These were shadows of the dead, having lost their purpose and mixed with magic, now intertwined to form one massive shadow.

“I never imagined it would look like this…”

‘Was this what Myra wanted me to see?’ I couldn’t take my eyes off the bizarre sight.

Staring at it, countless ideas began to form in my mind.

“I haven’t been here long myself,” Baun said, puffing out his chest. “The magic in the upper layers isn’t enough to temper my shadow anymore. While searching for stronger magic, I ended up here.”

His shadow continued to absorb magic endlessly, as if it knew no limits.

“I see. Thanks to you, I managed to reach this place. If I had come alone, I wouldn’t have been able to witness any of this.”

“Don’t sweat it. You’ve done plenty for me in the past. This is nothing.”

I gave a bitter smile.

Memories of my shadow being shredded in previous exams by him surfaced.

Without a care, my shadow tentatively followed his shadow and sampled some of the magic.

It smacked its lips briefly before spitting the magic back out.

Baun burst into laughter at the sight.

“Looks like it doesn’t suit its taste. Not surprising, really. In a way, it’s like consuming the remains of dead shadows. Even my shadow took a long time to get used to it. It’s not easy to absorb at first.”

“That makes sense.”

***

My shadow continued to gag, glancing at me.

Through our connection, it conveyed its need for magic to cleanse itself.

I offered it some magic, which it used to rinse its mouth.

It stared at Baun’s shadow with trembling eyes.

I could feel its deep fear.

It was understandable—watching what seemed like a cannibalistic act among its own kind.

Baun and I silently watched as his shadow continued to feast.

‘Why could shadows blend together in such a way?’ The question naturally occupied my mind, and time passed unnoticed.

Witnessing this scene stirred something faint within me, though I wasn’t sure if it was an epiphany or just a fleeting sensation.

For now, I’d use this sight as a guide for further research.

Accumulating more experiences and experiments like this would eventually yield results.

Eventually, Baun’s shadow finished absorbing the magic.

It reattached itself to his body, wrapping around it like a second skin.

With its source gone, the magical current began to subside.

I could feel the massive shadow searching the area, but it failed to locate Baun’s hidden form beneath his shadow.

The surroundings grew dark once again.

In the silence, Baun’s voice echoed.

“Well, I’m heading back now. Care to join me?”

“No, I’ll stay here a bit longer.”

I shook my head.

There were still things I needed to confirm.

I wanted to study the nature of these shadows further.

In the darkness, Baun’s laughter rang out.

“Just don’t go too deep. Things even more ominous than this lie further below.”

With that, he disappeared, leaving behind only a faint breeze.

As the darkness thickened and everything fell silent again, I closed my eyes and pondered.

Perhaps because of what I had just witnessed, I could sense the shadows moving within the darkness.

Though they had lost their forms and melted away, they still persisted within the collective whole.

This darkness wasn’t just disorganized magic; it was a space where individual shadows came together in harmony.

This realization, though fragile and fragmented like shards of glass, lingered within me.

To piece it together and make it whole, I submerged myself further into the endless darkness.