Birth of a Shadow
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The world was still as dark and desolate as the last time she had been here; the still air was almost oppressive and a shudder skittered down her spine as she clenched her fists. Now that she had killed the master of this world there was little to fear but that didn’t stop the unwanted memories from assaulting her mind. The physical pain was long gone, but the psychological scars remained as fresh as the day they were inflicted on her. The clearing of a throat snapped her out of her thoughts, her eyes snapping to the Komodo shifter towering beside her. Taking a deep breath, she moved forward her hands still trembling as she pushed open the stone doors to the one place she swore she would never return. The palace in the otherworld was probably once grand, but under the previous master it had fallen into a state of ruin. Tapestries that once hung from the walls now lay crumpled on the floor, most were moth eaten and beyond any hope of saving, the ivory floors were chipped and even missing completely in some places revealing the dirt below. The walls which had once been polished obsidian were now dull with age and neglect, rough furrows littered the stone where some creature had dug its talons in and been pulled along the hallway. Raeni had not bothered to explore the upper levels when she had freed herself, her only thought had been of getting as far away from the place as possible. Following behind Bowser her eyes caught sight of the claw marks she had left behind, scorched imprints showing the desperate scramble of a newly emerged Cerberus in a panic. She had vowed when she made it home she would never again be the child who had cried out for someone to save her, and now as her fingers flexed nails turning into sharp talons; she would once again go into the place that had broken such an innocent part of her. 
 
 Why was she doing this? The real reason would be forever lost on the wind, only the universe would ever know why she was willingly submitting herself to this place once again. As they descended the stairs downwards, she felt the darkness around them growing thicker, this place had seen countless victims, and it was almost like she could still hear their screams and cries of agony. Her hands reached up and covered her ears as she stopped, kneeling down she tried hard to push back the urge to turn and run away; the urge to let fall the tears that even now threatened to fall from her ruby hues. Bowser had not stopped knowing he could do nothing for his charge while she got herself together. Instead, he continued on until he reached the steel door at the very bottom of the stairway. The darkness down there was so thick that even her heightened senses could not penetrate it, the screaming silence so loud that her brain continued to try and pick out even a solitary sound and make some sense of it. Once she felt she could continue she stood and continued down into the darkness, upon reaching the door the Komodo opened it revealing a sterile white room. The last time she had been here it had been covered in blood and gore from her emergence, now it looked like it had never been touched and that was a concerning thought. She had been sure her capture had been dead when she fled this place but here, in what should have been his tomb there was nothing to prove he ever existed.  
 
 Perhaps it was the way of this world, to wipe away the inferior or dead but she never knew as she had not come back since she left. Pushing those thoughts for another time she walked around the room taking note of all the chemicals and tools that lined the wall. The former master of this room had been a scientist of sorts from what she willingly remembered, and this had been his workroom so what she needed had to be in here. “Go to Hades and gather some Hellflame, also visit the goddess and get some of her blood, I won’t have this creature unbound when it comes into being...We will also need the Fates here...we need their power..” she said in a almost scared tone. Without a word Bowser left the room leaving her alone. The sudden feeling of claustrophobia set in almost immediately, she had not been left on her own since her return to the demonic plane either being around the few friends she managed to gather to her side or with Bowser and it now hit her how much she hated it. Taking a steadying breath, she gathered herself and moved to the table that had once held her body hostage. Reaching out a shaky had she touched the straps that held her down before pulling away quickly and moving to the sink on the side of the room and vomiting harshly, her body instinctively reacting to the thought of being strapped down again. She stood there shaking violently, her breathing harsh as silent fiery tears flowed down her face; the silent hiss of her tears hitting the former contents of her stomach should have made her pull away, but she found herself unable to move. Raeni had read about survivors of immense trauma reacting in such a way when they were near the cause of their suffering, but she had never felt it herself and it was a sobering experience. Since her emergence and return home she had tried her hardest to forget about what had occurred in this room, her mental walls built high against any memories. But a single look, a single touch of the strap and her walls crumbled, and she was right back where she was years ago.  
 
 It took her some time to gather herself enough for her to move away from the sink, her eyes avoiding the table as she moved to what seemed like a blank wall but when her hand shifted into a large claw and she pressed it against the metal the darkness that had been infused in her flowed through the metal lighting up the hidden runes that ran along the wall. A almost silent clicking sound could be heard as she stepped back looking into the dark recess that had appeared. Inside was a large golden cage, it was large enough to hold a fully grown human but when she had been inside it...shaking away those thoughts again she turned her back to the cage just as the door opened again. Her eyes instinctively dropped to the ground as she felt the flow of power suddenly radiating through the room. The sound of soft footsteps moved through the room, the soft clink of gold bangles accompanied by the swish of fabric circled the room. “Ah now I see, it is interesting to think this place was hidden from us...” the soft lilting voice came from nowhere and everywhere at the same time and yet Raeni dare not raise her head yet.   
 
 The figure continued to make her way around the room commenting on things here and there while Bowser moved to stand at her side once again. Eventually the woman moved to stand in front of Raeni, a almost silent laugh escaping her lips “So polite for one so violent...raise your head...” doing as she was told she was met with the vision before her. A robe lay open revealing the pale flesh of the woman, her body covered in strips of cloth that crisscrossed around her body preserving her modesty; a severely tattered skirt hung from generous hips as her long willowy arms reached out to touch the stains of tears on Raeni’s face. Suppressing a shudder Raeni didn’t move, instead her eyes were fixated on the womans eerie yet beautiful face, a red cloth covered her eyes even as tracks of bloody tears streamed down her face. Raeni’s ruby hues flicked to the deep, fresh-looking scars around the woman's wrists and ankles, making it look as if someone recently tried to chop off (and perhaps succeeded!) her hands and feet. This was the legendary and, in some places, feared Akira Darksoul, the embodiment of the Fates. As her sharp nails turned Raeni’s head side to side, seeing something that no mortal eye could she held her breath, all of her planning was dependent on this woman agreeing to help her. After what seemed like a century Akira stepped back nodding “We shall do as you asked, Even we are unsure of how this will end but help we shall” she said before turning to the cage behind her studying it with obvious interest “We don’t know how this got here, but we expect you to keep a better hold of it unlike its previous owner” stepping away Akira waved a single pale hand “Begin building the vessel” And with that she disappeared allowing Raeni to take a full deep breath. “You heard the Fates...bring the clay and blood” 
 
 It took time, so much time for Raeni to craft the golem, she had to pour her own magic into it as she shaped it into a vaguely humanoid shape. When the base body was complete she had to mold a second form, that of a Cerberus similar to her own; this is what took her the longest time and drained her the most. Even a being like herself was not meant to be able to work such magic yet she pushed herself to the brink of exhaustion, stopping only to consume some helpless shifter Bowser brought to her in order to keep her strength. Even with substance her body waned, she grew slimmer and her skin paler; she had trouble connecting to her own Cerberus after a few days of molding and shaping. Her hands shook as she put the final touched on the final head before falling to the ground panting hard, she was almost completely depleted of magic and she now understood why no one ever tried to create more than one golem at once.  Looking up at her creations she was pleased with what she had done, Bowser had to leave multiple times to collect more enchanted clay but the first golem stood tall, he was taller than her but it was to be expected. Runes long forgotten glowed softly along all chakra points that made a being alive, each glowed a deep red from the flames of Hades that had been infused with each creation. The beast that stood next to the male form was formidable, standing a good twenty feet on all fours and even taller if he reared up each head was carefully sculpted to portray the legendary ferocity of their kind. “Bring the blood” she whispered as she forced herself to stand up, taking the vial from Bowser she opened it and was immediately hit with the smells of night time deserts and ancient blood; she was sorely tempted to drink it herself and take the power but she did not want to be bound to some goddess. While the one she was creating this beast for was not a bad person, Raeni just held a deep distrust of any “divine” being but she had been asked by Hades to create another of her bloodline and if Raeni was to keep her access to the Underworld’s flames she had no choice but to do as she was asked.

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