Well, I decided to bring it back. I won't post all of my chapters here, however, since it is quite long.

Born of Shadow is a fanfiction that involves both game characters and original characters, so turn away if you can't stand that kind of thing, but from reviews and such, people do tell me that I have done a good job so far, so you could always give it a shot as well.

Links to the past 20 chapters (or just the whole story, collectively):
- The DeviantArt Gallery Folder
- Born of Shadow on FanFiction.Net

So, to start with here, I will post Chapters 21 & 22


Born of Shadow
Chapter 21: Light Intervention


Born of Fear: To a mother that feared the consequences of having another child.
Born of Pain: To a father that physically and emotionally hurt the ones he loved.
Born of Shadow: To a land ruled by a Dark leader with a thirst for power.

Life in Fear: From being afraid of loving anyone, because of all those he's hurt before.
Life in Pain: From always suffering the afflictions of others due to an inability to move on.
Life in Shadow: From seeking revenge and becoming Dark himself.

Death by Fear: By being left behind by his company, all of whom feared his magic.
Death by Pain: By being hurt by who he once considered his closest friend.
Death by Shadow: By the hand of the I, the Shadow Keeper, for treason.


~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Phoenixan wasn't sure where he was. This didn't feel like the same place he was before all those years ago after dying by Zaroff's hand. He couldn't feel cold or warmth. His vision was black. The only thing he could hear was the chant that ushered in his final demise, repeating over and over in the back of his skull.

I know you're still breathing.

The Shadow Keeper's voice was first and foremost in his mind. His chant continued, even as he spoke these words.

You're a traitor. Sound familiar? You said it often. You worked for my side all this time, even defending your choice to fight for me to the extent of your life, only to turn against me now. Why is that?

Phoenixan's own umbilical cord was being chewed away. He could feel the Shadow Keeper's fingers there. His long, sharp fingernails were like claws, and the sharp cuts made upon his tether radiated out to all parts of his body. It felt as though his entire body was passing through a meat grinder. It felt on the same level as Zaroff's own devices, though, this was worse: the Shadow Keeper was still going to be able to get to him, even after he's passed through to the other side.

It was all his fault for starting this. He doomed the world. He deserved it.

He tried to scream in pain, but nothing came out. All he could hear still was the chant that played over and over in his head. His skin still burned; it was being torn off of him layer by layer. His vision was still dark, and he couldn't tell where he was, or where he was going, and he was afraid of how it would all continue even after he was gone.

Out of the dark, another voice came. It was unlike the Shadow Keeper's; this voice was bright and full of hope. He couldn't tell what it said, or who it even came from, but it was here to fight for him.

The light fought with the Shadow Keeper's sharp claws, trying to keep him from cutting away his tether. The Shadow Keeper made an attempt to continue to cut him away from his lifeline.

The pain was still unbearable. The darkness was still there, trying to tear him apart as the light fought to rescue him.

Suddenly, there was a sensation of free fall, and the pain disappeared. Was this what how it felt when you were cut off, or was this the same exact thing that happened to him when he came back to the living world that day, so many years ago?

Phoenixan's vision slowly began to clear. His sight was blurry at first, but he was able to finally place where he was. He was in the living world again. The earth below him was dusty and rocky. The air was so cold. Pyra's face and warm hands were there on his chest. He was safe. She was safe – just what he fought the beast for to begin with.

Somehow, she had managed to dry the blanket he had given to her and the coat he had taken for himself. This time, he had the blanket wrapped around his naked body. She didn't seem to be wearing anything under the coat either, which she had buttoned up to cover her. Pyra was shorter than he was, so the coat covered more of her than it would him.

Pyra had her eyes closed, but when Phoenixan stirred and she realized that he was awake, she wrapped her arms around him in a warm embrace.

“Did you do that?” Phoenixan asked her, speaking slowly because it hurt to speak. His flesh still felt swollen from the cold water.

She didn't answer, and she didn't have to. He knew that she must have had something to do with that light that interrupted the Shadow Keeper. She laid down on top of him, resting her head on his chest once more, and he held her lower back with his ungloved right hand.

There was a dim orange glow behind her. Smoke wafted up from a fire she somehow managed to create without him. The scent of burning sulfur was mixed in. As his eyesight improved further, he could see the rest of their clothing and their boots set out on the ground next to the fire pit. They were inside yet another cavern, or a tunnel rather, near the mouth. It wasn't dug out, but rather formed over the course of time's savage treatment toward the earth.

Outside, rain was pouring heavily from above, disturbing the banks of collected snow. It was dark, with not even the Twin Sisters to pierce the black sky.

Pyra was asleep, but her company made him feel warm again. Without her there, his life would feel incredibly empty, and his mind would be barren if she wasn't there to fill the gaping hole the Shadow Keeper had left behind.

Slowly, feeling her warmth all over, he drifted off into a deep, uninterrupted, sleep.

Dreams only came near the end of his slumber, in what only seemed to be a few seconds. All he could catch was a glimpse of a grassy field he was standing in, and a tower in the distance with the Twin Brothers behind it. The tower's shadow stretched across the field and ended where he stood. The scent of wet grass and flowering plants filled his nostrils, and then it was gone.

Phoenixan's eyes shot open. He felt like he hadn't slept for anymore than five minutes.

Pyra wasn't laying on top of him anymore. She was instead by the still-burning fire, cooking fish that she skewered upon a couple of sticks. The fish's smell filled the air, overpowering the strange brimstone scent coming from the rock and the wet ground outside. He found the smell and taste of fish to be almost sickening, but it was something he'd just have to bear with this time.

He could still hear the rain, but the sky seemed to be a little brighter.

Phoenixan rubbed his scratchy eyes and slowly sat up with the blanket still over him. His skin felt a little better; at least it wasn't swollen anymore. His back did ache, but it was most-likely just from sleeping on the ground. “I'm not a big fan of fish, but I'll do my best,” he said to Pyra.

Pyra still had the coat buttoned up over her. The rest of their clothes seemed to be dried out by now, and they were moved a little further from the fire, toward one of the walls of the tunnel. “Me neither,” she confessed with a soft voice and smile.

“A beggar will always have to settle or starve, I guess.” Where's our delivery men now? Phoenixan thought bitterly as he spoke. His thoughts felt clearer in his own mind without the shadow there. He slowly sat up, gripping the blanket around him with his left hand.

When she handed him his share of two fish, and he took the offering in his right hand, Pyra admitted, in her still shy and quiet manner, “They actually came up out of the water with you, inside your coat.”

“I guess I make pretty good bait then. I should take dips in lakes more often,” Phoenixan joked.

After a brief moment, Pyra looked down to his chest and asked in her usual shy and soft manner, “Are you going to be able to fix it?”

Phoenixan didn't have any feeling there. He wouldn't have even been able to tell if his hand was completely gone, but he did feel his blanket tighten around his body when he intended to grip the fabric around him, so he figured all was well.

When he looked down, all of the fingers besides his index were smashed. He couldn't move any of the others at all. The thumb seemed to be fine, even though the end was also partially dented. Two of the three retractable spikes were torn out, along with some of the surface metal, exposing some of the sensitive gold circuitry underneath. Only partially remembering what exactly happened, he assumed that the spikes must have come off when he was flung from the floating ice.

“I can't fix it myself, but-” Phoenixan took a deep breath and wondered what he could do, deciding in the end that there wasn't really anything he could try to fix it. “Only chips and metal, I guess.” He then looked up to Pyra and grinned, despite still being at least slightly bothered in the back of his mind. The technicians back home weren't going to do anything for him now. Well, it wasn't home anymore. He'd have to find someone else to help him if he wanted it fixed.

While Pyra nibbled on her fish, being careful of bones, Phoenixan looked down and just wanted his own gone. He the skewer up, sniffing the fish and nearly gagging in the process.

“You don't have to if you can't stomach it, Phoenixan.” She looked to him and smiled once more.

“If you're sure,” he replied, throwing the stick he held into the fire. His stomach growled with hunger, but it wasn't going to help if he was just going to upchuck his food.

Pyra followed suit after taking a couple more bites from her own fish. She then gathered up her own and Phoenixan's clothing, handing a pile to him. “Turn around so you can have your coat back,” Pyra requested with a shy smile.

Phoenixan was glad that she at least didn't take offense to his taste in food. “Sure.” He turned around, facing the outside. He could see part of the lake, though he didn't really care to see it again. “Looks like we're going to have to get wet again anyway,” he noted, observing the still-falling rain. He cursed under his breath, saying something about how he wished the rain gods would burn in a tragic accident involving aircraft fuel.

Pyra was at first shocked by hearing his words, mostly due to how harsh they were, only to find herself chuckling softly about it later.

He pulled on the underwear first before dropping the blanket from him to pull on the rest of the clothing he had stolen. It wasn't as cold as it was in the mountains, but he couldn't help but shiver from the cold air. The view of the lake didn't help either.

“Good enough, yet?” he asked after he was complete dressed once again, minus the coat, of course.

“Mmhmm,” Pyra replied simply.

When they turned, their eyes met, and Pyra held out the jacket while Phoenixan held the blanket, intending to drape it over her again first. Pyra smiled and allowed him to pull the blanket over her before he took the coat and slipped it over his body.

Thunder rumbled in the distance, and Phoenixan took another glance outside. “It's a long road to nowhere, and I guess we better get started.”

“You know,” Pyra started shyly, “I think that there could be another end to this tunnel, leading outside.” Really, she was more certain that there was than anything. She just knew.

“Well, I guess we can't get into any worse shape, so why not find out?” He looked back down to this mangled left hand, and bent the pinky finger just slightly, wondering how bad the damage was. It snapped off.

He growled in frustration, just inside his head, rather than in front of Pyra, and tossed the metal pinky finger into the flames before kicking dirt, dust, and rocks over the fire to douse it out. Pyra could tell, he really was upset about it.

Making a failed attempt at covering up his woes, Phoenixan held out his right hand to Pyra, asking her with a smile, “You want to lead the way?” The glove never did survive either. Instead, he could feel her skin against his, which was a good feeling; however, he was almost ashamed of how his right hand appeared to be: covered with scars and now many recent, small cuts.

She took his hand and smiled back. “Let's just go together.” She rubbed his fingers slightly with her own to comfort him, just as he had managed to do with her before.

Phoenixan nodded, and side-by-side, they walked down the tunnel. There was a difference in his step this time. He moved forward a little more confidently. Not only was the Shadow Keeper gone, but he knew for certain that Pyra was always going to be there to protect him, just as he'd be there to protect her. He still somehow wished that it hadn't come to this. He didn't ever want to put her in danger.

Pyra still didn't feel that she had made up for the simple actions he had taken to rescue her. Maybe there was just something more to it now? She didn't think she knew; she just knew that she was going to watch over him to the best of her efforts, always.


Born of Shadow
Chapter 22: Woods of Light


“Ly? How will we find him again?” Globox asked as he steered the ship back across the waters toward the Fairy Council. The storm clouds were still there, but it had stopped raining for now. The ocean waves still churned, heaving the ship up and down. He could tell that they were getting closer to the shore; the waves were getting worse.

Murfy usually had a knack for finding Rayman or Globox when they were on the ground, but he didn't know how he'd get to him this time. There was no telling if Rayman was even alive right now.

At first, Murfy could understand why Rayman would have been so afraid; he was facing his own kind, after all. Now, he felt betrayed by Rayman's fear. It was like he was running away all this time, rather than standing up and fighting for his beliefs. Maybe others of his kind would have understood then. Now, it was too late.

Though, if what he said about his past was true, he spared all of their lives at that time, but with the way things were now, did he just prolong the inevitable? Maybe their fate now was worse than just going out with a flash.

Still, that depended upon if the story he mentioned was true. Did they really have any reason to doubt Rayman's word?

“I don't know,” Ly finally replied to Globox after a few long moments of silence. “When I close my eyes and try to see him, he's overshadowed, just as you were before.”

“So it's just him again,” Murfy grunted. “Next time I see him, I'll tear those eyes out of his head if I have to.”

Globox seemed shocked.

“It's about sometime someone crushed some heads around here. Enough failed attempts at hiding.”

“Murfy?” Ly began to ask. “Do you think that you can return to the crow's nest and look out for land again? We might be almost home.”

“Sure. Alright,” Murfy begrudgingly agreed.

Another one of Globox's children was waiting for Murfy when he arrived. There was a certain air of sadness about them as well. Usually, on trips like this, they played with each other, pretending to be on their very own adventures, playing as either heroes or villains, hoping to be as strong as the grown-ups they knew. Instead, right now, none of them felt like playing around as they mourned the loss of some of their fellow siblings and Rayman.

A black and white Globox child held a telescope, which he handed off to Murfy when he flew up to him. They were almost to land.

Murfy still felt betrayed. Why didn't Rayman just roll right into their bases and strike right where it hurt the most like he's done before!?

There was something else approaching the ship.

At first, it was the baby Globox that pointed it out to him as he hopped up and down whilst screaming, “Fish! Shark! Fish!”

Murfy brought the telescope to his eye, holding onto the wall of the crow's nest with his other hand as he hovered in the air. He homed in onto the small object dead ahead of them. It definitely wasn't any fish. It was something metal. He began to panic. He had to let Globox know before they crashed into it or even tapped against it.

“MINES!! GLOBOX! MINES!” He flew back down, still screaming. “MINES!!”

Ly rushed down below to fetch Uglette and the other children in case they were to make contact.

“Which way?! WHICH WAY!!?” Globox began to shout.

“Any way! IT DOESN'T MATTER!!”

The ship began to turn sharply to the left as Globox frantically spun the wheel, but it was too late.

The children rushed upwards to the deck, ushered along by both Ly and Uglette, when a loud explosion rocked the whole ship. Much of the crew and passengers were thrown aside, crashing to the floor.

A hole was torn into the underbelly of the ship, allowing water to rush in.

Ly, looking toward the exit from the stairway, witnessed the clouds seemingly shift before them as wood splinters flew into the air. Screams shrilled with panic all around her. The clouds shifted back into place. No, they shifted the other way and past where they once were. There was a frightening splash, and they were all thrown back upward.

She couldn't remember what happened after that. Ly only heard another crash as their ship hit the shoreline. Raising her head, everyone seemed to be fine. She rubbed her own head. No blood, but she felt achy and sore.

“Ly?!” It was Globox.

She couldn't see the children anywhere around her, so she assumed that they had gotten out of the way at least, completely safe or not.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes, I believe I'm fine,” she replied to him as she got back up on her feet. His face appeared beyond the doorway.

“We've touched the shore, but the ship is an absolute wreck,” he frowned.

“Just as long as everyone and everything else is unharmed.” She slowly climbed the rest of the way up the stairs without help.

Trees were all around them once again. The curling vines and bright green leaves of the trees swayed in the wind. It was raining again. Puddles of water had already formed within small depressions in the dirt and mud.

“I can't believe no one got hurt in that,” Murfy panted as he zoomed in to check on Ly.

She stood still, looking on toward the Fairy Council. The clouds bothered her for some reason. The rain almost sounded heavier than it really was as it came down once again. Wait, as she listened more carefully, she could hear it: drums. Loud steadily beating drums, beyond her range of sight somewhere, maybe even beyond the Glade, echoing in the cold, damp air.

“Drums,” she said, whispering to herself.

Globox shivered; he had a chill from both the eerie sounds and the weather.

By the time that Ly made her way down the net along the left side of the ship, she noticed that Uglette and her children were already waiting on solid ground with Murfy hovering beside them. Globox was quick to follow Ly down the net once she was a safe enough distance down.

“I think I know exactly where we are. It isn't much of a walk home now,” Murfy observed.

After a short pause, Ly replied, “Yes, I believe I know where we are too. It isn't far from the old fishing lake.”

To the west, through a system of caves and tunnels, there was a large lake that the teensies occasionally used for fishing every spring and summer. Due to the myth of a monster that resided down below, the teensies rarely dared to stray far from its shore, so none ever bothered to try ice fishing or boating upon it. Streams and small rivers flowed out from it to the ocean, and fish often returned to the lake to breed, so spring and summer were the best times to visit to hook a meal anyway.

Eventually, they left the ship behind and began to walk through the dirt, puddles, and mud to make the rest of the way to the Fairy Council. As they left, Ly turned for a moment and witnessed the hole that was torn into the right side of the ship. The ship wasn't ever going to sail again – not without being totally rebuilt.

The drums continued, even marching them on with a degree of determination.

Murfy still felt infuriated, hoping he'd be able to pay Phoenixan back somehow. Wait, there were two more sets of footsteps ahead of them? They stopped. Whoever it was, he or she must have heard them coming, catching up to them. Still hoping for some kind of payback, hoping it was somehow him, Murfy rushed forward ahead of the group. He zipped through every twist and turn on the trail, disappearing into the rain forest trees.

“Murfy! Wait!” Globox cried.

The drums seemed to be evermore threatening as time passed. Ly could swear that the drums were only a few miles away now.

She took off after Murfy. They couldn't afford another loss. Using both her hands and her feet, she ran as fast as she could. Ly was often described as taking the appearance of a cat-woman when she took this posture.

Incomprehensible yelling came from Murfy. If it was out of anger or fear, Ly couldn't tell straight away, but then, as she got closer, there he was: Phoenixan himself. Murfy got his wish, but at the same time, he didn't ever stand a chance.

He held one of Murfy's wings with his right hand, pinching it tightly between two fingers, but not enough to harm him. Phoenixan's left hand was mangled, his coat was torn, and just his overall appearance was much more disheveled than before.

He had someone with him this time: a girl with colorful hair and bright blue eyes. She clutched a blanket around her body while hiding behind him.

Besides his appearance, there was something else different about him that Ly could sense. It was as though he had a cloud hovering over his head before the whole time, and now, that storm cloud was gone.

“PUT ME DOWN SO I CAN TEAR THOSE EYES OUT OF YOUR HEAD!!” Murfy screamed, struggling to get away from Phoenixan's grip.

“You're not here to kill any of us, are you? Not anymore.”

“No,” Phoenixan replied to her in his own language. He had no choice but to speak only by word of mouth now. Without the Shadow Keeper there in his head, he didn't have that ability any longer.

“Don't tell me you're trying to REASON with him!” Murfy screamed, still attempting to fly away and pry apart the fingers of his captor. He couldn't hear what was being said, since Ly only projected her voice into Phoenixan's head this time.

“Just calm down. He'll let you go as long as you don't try to kill him again,” Ly reassured him. The key word was try. She highly doubted he even had a chance to lay a single tooth or fingernail on him yet.

“CALM DOWN?!”

“Murfy? Please?” Globox pleaded with him as he cautiously approached. Uglette was still far behind with their children.

Murfy quit struggling, then crossing his arms. He used one wing to hover, keeping himself from flopping upside-down.

“You should be able to let him go now.”

Phoenixan released his grip, and Murfy flew back only a few feet away. He snarled, trying to resist the urge to keep going.

“I can tell. You're here to fix what you've done. You've even been betrayed by them now, haven't you?”

Phoenixan closed his eyes for a few moments before responding to her. Yeah, thanks for bringing that up too, he thought. He hoped she wouldn't hear all of his thoughts. “I can't promise anything,” he said again in Rintu's language.

Ly smiled. “If the Fairy Council is still intact, we'll at least show you some hospitality in return.”

“I think we'll accept that much.” Phoenixan looked to Pyra and took her hand once more. He could only hope that there weren't anymore on a quest for vengeance, though, he couldn't exactly blame them, considering he already tried the same thing.

“Ask if he knows where they took Rayman,” Globox broke in.

Phoenixan still couldn't understand their dialect. He wondered if Pyra understood at all. She already knew his own language when they met, after all.

“Do you know where they took Rayman?” Ly then asked him.

“They took him? No, I don't know what plans there were for him besides my own..,” Phoenixan voice began to drift. What did Alucian have in mind for Rayman besides killing him? That was unless he was still doing favors for the Lady Knaaren.

“Let's not let ourselves be bothered with that now then.” Ly shook her head, looking to Globox, showing him that Phoenixan didn't even know. “Let's go home.”