Cassius surveyed his surroundings with a grim expression. The landscape grew progressively darker, shifting toward the Shadowfell—deep black, eerie stillness, dominated by a monotonous palette of black and white. The withered branches of the trees were twisted and grotesque, the sky shrouded in endless shadows like a pitch-black vault, while in the distance remained the indistinct silhouettes of black mountains.
A dreadful thought suddenly arose in the red dragon's mind.
The space across this entire region had been warped!
Which meant that this Twilight Forest, spanning only a few li, was impossible to leave.
Every living soul was trapped here!
Cassius looked toward the projection of the colossal dragon in the air and said, "Shadow dragon, you have cursed this forest."
"You speak truly. This is my shadow domain. My pitiful contractor expended over a thousand lives just so I could wield such power on the Material Plane, fashioning this insignificant place for my true body to descend into the mortal realm."
"Behold..."
"Dead, quiet, dark, and profound—free from the clamor of those vile mortals on the Material Plane. What exquisite scenery; truly intoxicating."
"If only the wails of undead shadows could be heard, it would be all the more magnificent."
Mortifer's eyes narrowed slightly as he slowly beat his wings. His expression was relaxed and at ease, as though genuinely savoring the unique aesthetic of this darkness, even though his transformation was not yet fully complete and his true body still lingered in the Shadowfell.
The atmosphere lacked any apparent hostility, yet this did not grant Cassius the slightest relief; rather, he felt a creeping terror.
This only proved that the shadow dragon possessed absolute confidence.
"Mouthpiece of the Night, was it you who offered Brad Lakeman his so-called Ascension?"
"Indeed. Mortals are ever so short-sighted, and the same holds true even after they are transformed into so-called vampires. But you are different, my former kin. Still... I did not deceive him. For such an inferior creature, ascension truly was a fine path; he simply failed on his own accord. Thus, adhering to the contract, I had no choice but to turn him into nourishment for myself."
"What a despicable creature."
Mortifer opened his eyes, his pale, ashen pupils fixing directly upon Cassius as if seeking to swallow him whole.
"Red dragon, we will have plenty of time to catch up. However, I once promised my contractor that I would take your life. I have always kept my promises, and this time will be no exception."
"Do not fret, my dear kinsman, for that is merely literal. Once I truly descend into the Material Plane, you will indeed lose your life, but you shall perpetuate your existence in a far grander form."
His words were polite and measured, like those of a courteous scholar, yet they struck Cassius with a chill from the depths of his soul—an infinite malice directed at the living.
"I fancy the quietest darkness."
"Therefore... please do not resist, do not make a fuss, and wait quietly for my descent."
"Understood?"
Mortifer's phantom parted its jaws, revealing a grotesque grin as dense black mist slowly spilled from the corners of its mouth.
"Shadow dragon, keep dreaming!"
"I will reduce you to ash!"
The red dragon unleashed a roar and spewed roaring flames at the transitioning, defenseless projection.
Yet the flames—hot enough to melt stone—blasted onto Mortifer's colossal phantom and passed straight through, failing to inflict the slightest trace of harm.
"Has anyone ever told you..."
"Never attempt to strike a shadow."
Mortifer's phantom bathed nonchalantly in the flames, chuckling with evident mockery.
Though the fire passed through his body, the phantom continued to solidify at a steady pace, entirely unaffected by the blaze.
"It really doesn't work..."
The horned scales above Cassius's eyes furrowed slightly as he muttered to himself.
He had already half-expected that his proud Maximized Fire Breath might prove ineffective.
"Then how about this?"
Surrounded by crackling, leaping thunder and lightning, the red dragon slammed directly into Mortifer's phantom.
It was Body of Storm's Echo!
Yet Cassius's draconic form passed right through as expected. Even the arcs of lightning provoked no reaction, continuing to dance and coil around the red dragon.
Instead, the attack caused Cassius's body to turn icy cold, as if plunged into a frozen abyss, and he felt a sliver of his vitality drained by the shadow phantom.
"Is this what a shadow creature is?"
"Fire, physical force, lightning—none of them work. Then... what about force?"
Magic Missile.
Orbs infused with force energy struck outward.
These lowest-tier magic missiles, which even an apprentice wizard could cast, did not pass through. Instead, they struck solidly against the phantom, inflicting a minuscule amount of damage.
Yet this was a drop in the bucket, falling far short of keeping pace with the shadow dragon's manifestation.
New information refreshed on the status panel:
Living Shadow
[In dim light or darkness, the shadow dragon is immune to all damage except force, psychic, and radiant.]
Cassius was instantly appalled. To think such a trait existed!
This meant that once the shadow dragon descended, virtually all of his arsenal would be rendered useless!
"Dim light or darkness..."
Cassius looked up at the lightless sky and the eclipsed moon. He did not believe he possessed the power to create bright light in this dark domain formed by tens of thousands of shadows; the only trick he had, the Light cantrip, was practically a joke within this shadow domain.
All living things would fall into weakness, and all spells here would be suppressed; only the night and shadows endured eternal.
This was a realm of shadows, Mortifer's absolute home ground.
When he completed his descent—
Wherever shadows fell, there was the shadow dragon's body.
"Struggle no longer. I shall hold a grand funeral for you."
"To mourn the death of a true dragon, and to celebrate the birth of a magnificent, immortal shadow red dragon."
The shadow dragon raised its head and let loose a roar.
The sound seemed to emanate from primeval darkness, mingling the grating wails of thousands of undead shadows, freighted with the shadow dragon's boundless malice toward light and life, as well as an insatiable greed.
This was a 9th-tier spell unique to the shadow dragon:
—Mortifer's Shadow Descent.
His phantom had grown increasingly solid, and the pitch-black vault in the sky was even slowly descending.
The shadowed mountains in the distance crept closer, enclosing the area where the red dragon stood like a cage, steadily contracting.
The tens of thousands of shadow creatures throughout the Twilight Forest wailed, surging forward like a tide; within them, even the black mist left behind by Duke Brad could be seen.
"What terrifying power..."
"Am I truly to be trapped here, merely waiting for this shadow dragon to descend?"
Beating his wings, Cassius looked up at the slowly descending black canopy. Feeling the ever-mounting pressure, he could not help but grow anxious.
Chapter 142