My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger

"You can drop me off here," Damon said in a calm tone, his gaze drifting lazily toward the passing streets beyond the carriage window.

Abellona did not answer.

Instead, without so much as glancing at him, she lifted one elegant hand and pressed the small enchanted button fixed beside her seat.

A sharp metallic click echoed softly.

The carriage doors locked completely.

Damon slowly turned his head toward her, one brow rising almost imperceptibly.

"Hm." He leaned back deeper into his seat, folding his arms behind his head in deliberate relaxation. "You do realize I can’t be your kept boy toy."

She didn’t react to the joke.

If anything, her expression only grew more serious.

Her crimson eyes remained fixed ahead, calm and unreadable, carrying that familiar imperial composure she wore so naturally.

"Are you aware..." she began quietly.

"Aware of what?" Damon asked, voice languid, almost bored.

Internally, however, he was already running through possibilities.

He was certain she had no dirt on him.

At least... none she should have.

Abellona exhaled softly through her nose.

"So you truly are unaware."

There was something close to disappointment in her voice.

"I assumed you would know. It seems they’ve managed to elude even you."

Damon’s brows creased faintly.

He had absolutely no idea what she was talking about.

She turned her face toward the carriage window, staring absentmindedly at the waking capital beyond the glass while sunlight brushed faintly against her pale features.

"Our society is vast," she said slowly, her voice carrying that measured tone she often used when discussing matters of state. "Complex. Filled with countless moving parts."

Her fingers traced idle circles against the polished wood beside her.

"On the surface, everything appears orderly. Prosperous. Beautiful."

She paused.

"But beneath that..."

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

"There are uglier things."

"Crime. Violence. Smuggling. Illegal trade."

Her gaze hardened.

"We call it the underworld."

Damon shifted slightly, crossing one leg over the other.

"Ah." He tilted his head lazily. "Is this a lecture on law and order? I certainly hope it’s not."

That earned the faintest smile from her.

A small shake of her beautiful dark head followed.

"No."

She leaned back now, folding her hands neatly on her lap.

"The Imperial government can reach into the underworld."

Her expression darkened.

"But not without consequences."

"We can regulate parts of it. Influence parts of it."

Her fingers tightened slightly.

"But we cannot control all of it."

Then her eyes shifted toward him again.

"And deeper than even that..."

The carriage suddenly felt quieter.

Far quieter.

"...something has been born."

Her words slowed.

Careful.

Measured.

"As elusive as darkness itself."

"As formless as shadow."

Damon felt something unpleasant crawl faintly down his spine.

"They have no known leadership structure."

"No public face."

"No official name."

"We do not know their numbers."

"We do not know where their funding comes from."

"We do not know where they acquire their weapons, their magical artifacts, their intelligence, or how they move so freely across national borders."

Her voice grew quieter.

"But they exist."

Damon’s fingers tapped once against his knee.

That chill in his spine deepened.

Since when had anyone noticed that much?

Abellona continued.

"They have agents everywhere."

Her gaze sharpened.

"Among humans."

"Elves."

"Dwarves."

"Beastkin."

She paused.

"Even demons."

A long silence stretched between them.

"They are everywhere," she said quietly.

"And they seem to know everything."

Damon remained perfectly still.

Outwardly calm.

Inwardly...

Very concerned.

Then Abellona delivered the final blow.

"We have reason to believe the unknown ruler Amon is the one leading such a force."

The moment those words left her mouth—

Damon subconsciously relaxed.

Ah.

So it was his people.

Well.

That changed things considerably.

Technically most of the actual work was done by Lilith and Renata.

Still.

Credit where credit was due.

Damon shifted slightly, forcing a skeptical expression onto his face.

"Do you have proof?"

His tone was dismissive now.

"Amon is elusive."

"He comes and goes as he pleases."

"Blaming every shadowy organization on him feels... convenient."

Abellona slowly shook her head.

"I don’t."

Her expression tightened.

"This information came from the dying words of one of their operatives."

Damon’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Operative?

One of his people got caught?

She hesitated.

And Damon noticed immediately.

"...who was discovered spying inside the temple by a..." she paused mid-sentence.

Her eyes shifted away.

A deliberate omission. She was hiding something or someone.

Interesting.

Damon’s curiosity sharpened instantly.

She was hiding something.

"Anyway," she continued after a brief pause, "before dying he whispered something."

Her crimson eyes met his directly now.

"Hail Lord Amon."

Damon kept his face neutral.

Inside, however, he was annoyed.

What idiot said that before dying?

He made a mental note.

Someone was getting demoted.

Immediately. Well hard to demote someone who was dead.

He leaned forward slightly.

"And who identified this spy?"

His voice remained casual.

"It would help if I knew what kind of ability was used."

Abellona studied him for several seconds.

Then smiled faintly.

"I suppose you could call it intuition."

That answer irritated Damon instantly.

"And who exactly was this person?"

She shook her head.

"That isn’t important."

Which naturally meant it was extremely important.

She folded her arms now.

"What matters is what we discovered."

Her eyes sharpened once more.

"We now know this organization exists."

"We know they have infiltrated major institutions."

"We know they operate beyond the reach of conventional intelligence."

She leaned slightly closer.

"But we know nothing else."

"No face."

"No structure."

"No origin."

"No identity."

A quiet pause later, her expression cold.

"So for now..."

She crossed one leg elegantly over the other.

"We are calling them..."

A slight dramatic pause later which honestly only made him unease.

"The Unknown Order."

Damon stared at her.

Then slowly leaned back into his seat.

"The Unknown Order..." he muttered under his breath.

Honestly...

He liked it.

Quite a lot, actually.

The only reason his organization never had an official name was because every name he came up with sounded terrible