Fairy tale: Little Red Riding Hood's wolf mentor

In the Shadow King City, deep within the towering palace, candles flickered with wavering light along the surrounding walls.

Under the candlelight, the shadow of the figure on the throne stretched long and fragmented across the palace floor, swaying like a pendulum.

Princess Marlene took a deep breath and slowly began to speak:

"Respected ancestor, I..."

But before she could finish, the Shadow King's voice echoed:

"Child, I already know your purpose—you wish to leave the shadows and return to the mortal realm, is that not so?"

Princess Marlene's eyes widened instantly, but she quickly realized that it was to be expected, and nodded in agreement:

"Yes, Great Ancestor, I... I wish to leave this place."

The young man on the throne, who appeared to be no older than a youth, did not seem displeased or angry. His tone was calm, more like a refined scholar than a king:

"What is your reason for wanting to leave?"

"I am still concerned about the Kingdom of Xarthy, just like my Shadow Capital. My people revere me for protecting them and call me Princess. I am the last princess of the Kingdom of Xarthy. My country has not yet fallen. In the real world, my people are calling out to me, so I wish to return."

Princess Marlene said with her head bowed. Upon hearing this, the young man on the throne smiled and nodded:

"Good, driven by kindness and the way of the king, you have mustered the courage to choose to leave.

It is like gazing at the sun, moon, and stars from within the shadows—I grant you my approval for your departure.

Of course, this is not complete, after all, I am not the King, merely a scholar."

"Hmm?"

Leake and Polo exchanged puzzled glances upon hearing the young man on the throne.

He... is not the King?

And the approval is not complete? What does that mean?

But immediately, the answer to their question arrived.

The young man's body began to fade rapidly, turning into a three-dimensional shadow that flowed like water into the shadows beneath his feet. At the same time, the shadow that was originally under his feet peeled away from the ground and spontaneously rose, straightened, and expanded, taking on a human form.

Or rather, his body and shadow exchanged positions, and another person identical to the young man appeared on the throne in the same posture.

The only difference was that he was wearing a pure black king's robe and cloak, including his boots.

And the expression on his face was completely different.

If the young man's expression was amiable at first, the current Shadow King was expressionless, his eyes deep and devoid of light—

More importantly, Polo felt a sense of majesty and oppression emanating from him.

It was as if this one was the true Shadow King!

"The shadows of the world are growing ever deeper. If you wish to leave this place now and become the king of a nation—in my opinion, your growth is far from sufficient."

The second Shadow Old King spoke. As he spoke, the candlelight in the hall began to contract spontaneously.

It was not due to wind or burning out, but as if tangible shadows were suppressing the virtual light like veils, and more shadows were interwoven above the palace.

In the palaces, houses, streets, and alleys, countless figures whispered.

Those shadows conspired furtively, emitting low laughter.

Then, another familiar scene appeared. The capital city of the Kingdom of Xarthy was besieged by the army of the Kingdom of Vesa. In the sky, airships dropped deadly explosives, and people scattered and fled.

"If you become king, do you believe you can prevent such a thing from happening again?"

The Shadow Old King said, looking at Princess Marlene, his voice rising another degree. He raised a hand, and the shadows above the hall became more refined.

This time, Princess Marlene's eyes widened.

This time, the shadows that appeared were the members of the Xarthy royal family. The larger the kingdom, the more numerous the royal family. The people in the shadows were fleeing the city.

If they escaped the Xarthy capital, the bloodline of the royal family would not be easily severed.

But at that moment, a secret guard leading the royal family members stopped. He turned the spear in his hand and thrust it at the members of the Xarthy royal family.

This was a carefully planned rebellion.

"Conspiracies and rebellions, what is revealed in the light is merely an illusory bubble. What happens in the shadows is the pulse that governs this world."

"I..."

Princess Marlene bit her lip. She looked at the shadows above the palace. In the assassination by the guards, the remaining bloodline of the Xarthy royal family in the mortal realm was also severed.

Including the elderly and children.

The rebellious knight walked to the high-ranking official of another country and knelt on one knee. They laughed in the shadows, surrounded by dark clouds, not knowing where they were.

"I will control the shadows and use what I have learned from you to rule this kingdom again and defeat those hostile conspirators."

Princess Marlene took a deep breath and then answered.

"That is not the answer I want to hear."

The Shadow Old King shook his head. Under Princess Marlene's trembling gaze, the expression on his face remained unchanged. His lifeless eyes seemed to be thinking. No one knew what he saw.

"But, I also agree to your departure."

But the next moment, he suddenly said and then stood up:

"Remember, everyone is composed of the part under the sunlight and their shadow.

Only knowing how to act for the sake of those illusory truths, goodness, and beauty, those empty philosophies and ideals, will only make you like that guy, a poor and unsuccessful scholar."

The Shadow Old King slowly said, his words seemingly alluding to something. His face was still immersed in the shadows, not clearly visible, but his words carried a hint of inexplicable arrogance:

"Only when you stand on the roof like me, looking out at the endless distance, and grasp those base, filthy, secret-laden shadows that occur among men, women, parents, and 'loving' children—"

The Shadow King in the black robe raised a hand and slowly tightened it. The shadows that permeated the entire hall, like encountering a black hole, rotated and contracted, held in his palm,

"Then, you can truly control everything. Those people will be coerced by their own shadows and willingly submit to you, understand?

The people will not necessarily support you because of your kindness or wisdom, but they will definitely fear and be afraid of you because their secrets are in your grasp!"

"Control... secrets, shadows..."

Princess Marlene said softly. She looked at her feet. Like the Xarthy people in her Shadow Capital, she had no shadow.

"I understand, Great Ancestor."

"Do you really understand?"

But when the Shadow King heard Princess Marlene's words, he spoke the next sentence, or rather, a question, in a calm voice, "Before this, I would never have agreed to your departure just like that, but if you understand—

Then, child, please answer me.

Why did I change my mind and agree to your departure?"

"Why change my mind..."

Princess Marlene was stunned for a moment. Immediately, her figure began to become transparent, and the surrounding shadows began to appear as lines in her eyes.

If my abilities have not been recognized by my ancestors, then why...

Suddenly, her expression paused, and her originally scattered eyes focused, turning to look at Leake and Polo standing behind her.

"Great Ancestor, it's the secrets, right?"

"Yes, I can see the secrets in the shadows. Although I am not a scholar, I can discover secrets—"

The Shadow Old King stepped down from the throne. For the first time, his head turned, looking at Leake, and also looking at Polo.

Leake and Polo shuddered under his gaze.

Especially Polo, he could feel the Shadow Old King's gaze coming from all directions, from within all the shadows, as if any secret was undisguised in his eyes.

However, it did not last long. The Shadow Old King shifted his gaze, and the discomfort of being窥视 disappeared at the same time.

"Your two friends carry more secrets than you, even... myself."

As he spoke, the Shadow Old King had already stood in front of Princess Marlene. He raised a hand and touched Princess Marlene's forehead. The next moment, the shadows surged like a storm, and the image of the palace instantly turned into fragments and disappeared.

The place where they were became a pitch-black plain, and the ground was covered with gray nettle leaves.

In the gaps of the nettle leaves lay countless human bodies.

They were all wearing the clothing of the Kingdom of Xarthy, and the closest one—was Princess Marlene herself!

She lay flat on the ground, her eyes closed, as if in slumber.

"Since you are preparing to leave the shadows, then take your people with you. You can eke out an existence in the shadows, but when you decide to return to the sunlight, bring those you brought with you."

In the Shadow Old King's voice, Princess Marlene knelt down and pressed her hands on the chest of the "self" lying flat on the ground.

The next moment, she turned into a shadow and merged into the body of the "self".

After that, the sleeping Princess Marlene's fingertips twitched, and she opened her eyes, her eyes flashing with a dark light. She stood up, and beneath her, her shadow enveloped the nettle leaves on the ground.

"Thank you, Ancestor."

She bowed again, and at her ancestor, the Shadow Old King's feet, the jumping shadow stood upright, transforming into the appearance of the young scholar she first saw beside him.

"No need to thank us, child. For those beautiful beliefs, you were able to muster the courage to step out of the shadows and return to reality. You are already much more powerful than I am.

Just like... what is said in those plays and books."

The young scholar said with a smile.

"Don't think about those useless beauties, those superficial qualities. That's not what a king needs."

But the Shadow Old King in the black robe sneered, "Child, I sincerely hope—I will not see your death in the shadows of the mortal realm."

After that, the Shadow Old King pressed the young scholar's head and pushed him into the shadow beneath his feet. He took a step back and disappeared into the dark and incomprehensible shadows.

At the same time, a single-plank bridge appeared in front of the gray plain covered with nettle leaves, leading to a black door.

"Among your ancestors, the one who looked like a scholar and the one wearing black clothes... are they the same person?"

Seeing the Xarthy ancestor with a sense of oppression leave, Leake could not help but ask.

"My ancestor, he is one person, but not one person..."

Princess Marlene silently looked around at the plain filled with nettle leaves and answered, "They are shadows, and the relationship with people."

"Shadow... and people?"

Leake was stunned for a moment. She thought of the action just now, where the black-clothed ancestor pressed the scholar-like ancestor into the shadows, "Is that scholar the shadow?"

"No, in the beginning, the black-clothed ancestor was the shadow."

Princess Marlene hesitated for a moment and explained, "But later, he became a human and became king."

As Princess Marlene spoke, in the rolling shadows not far away, the intact Xarthy capital appeared on the horizon.

From within the city gate, one after another Xarthy people slowly walked out.

The first to come out were soldiers, followed by civilians.

They saluted Princess Marlene and then walked towards their own bodies.

"My people, the Kingdom of Xarthy needs us. Now, perhaps it is time to return from the shadows."

Princess Marlene's voice was not loud, but every Xarthy citizen heard her voice.

"Yes, Your Highness."

Watching those people who had regained their shadows stand up from the grass leaves, Princess Marlene turned to look at Leake and Polo and smiled:

"Thank you, at the tower in the Xarthy capital—you can wait for me there. See you in a while."

Saying that, Princess Marlene's finger gently tapped Leake and Polo again.

Behind Leake and Polo, the shadows surged like a tide on the ground, engulfing the vision and sound.

At the last moment when the vision disappeared, Leake and Polo saw on the plain a vast crowd of people, led by Princess Marlene, walking towards the single-plank bridge erected above the shadow space.

Black dissipated, and they opened their eyes.

It was not yet morning. Leake and Polo opened their eyes, walked out of the room, and headed towards the black tower in the center of the ruined city not far away.

In the sky, the layer of inexplicable shadow had become thin at some point, revealing the light of the stars.

"Stop, who are you?! This is the forbidden area of the Kingdom of Xarthy. By order of the Regent, no one is allowed to pass!"

Two Xarthy people guarding the tower, having just discovered Leake and Polo standing in front of the tower, stepped forward with spears in hand.

But when they saw the appearance of the tower, they were stunned, their eyes widened.

They saw that on the surface of the black tower with no doors or windows, liquid-like black shadows were emerging from all the brick seams.

These shadows formed a black door on the wall below the tower.

After that, a hand stretched out from within the shadow black door. Leake stepped forward, grasped the pale, slender hand, and gently pulled it outward.

Princess Marlene, wearing a silver crown, borrowed the force and walked out.

"Thank you, Miss Leake."

"You're welcome, Your Highness. It is what I should do."

Princess Marlene smiled and nodded, revealing her fair face from the shadows.

The two Shadi guards who had originally been standing watch stared wide-eyed at the girl walking out of the door.

They were originally surviving Shadi royal guards, and at this moment, some things that were about to be forgotten in their memories resurfaced:

"You are... Princess Marlene?"

Their trembling hands could no longer hold their spears, and their bodies lowered as they slowly knelt down.

Behind them, in the ruins of the Shadi capital, countless shadows contained humanoid figures, emerging from within.

The Shadi people who survived Wither's massacre returned to their homeland in the mortal realm.