The rain had stopped, but the streets of the outer district remained slick and stained. Smog drifted over cracked concrete, neon lights reflecting off puddles like the city itself was bleeding.
Gabriel stood at the top of his new base.
The six-story building loomed silently in the dark — once abandoned, now pulsing with hidden life. Inside, his shadows worked in silence. The walls had been reinforced, surveillance blackouts activated, and three shell corporations now operated legally under stolen identities.
It wasn't just a hideout anymore.
It was the foundation of something far greater.
A kingdom, still unseen.
[System Update][Shadows: 6/10][Domain Radius: 7.2 meters][System Sync: 36%][Reputation: Localized – Unknown Threat]
Inside, Aedan's shadow gave a quiet report.
"Five new dungeon teams under our payroll. Each unaware of the others. They're collecting rare materials and unregistered cores from E to C-class gates."
"Routes?" Gabriel asked.
"Three through industrial zones. Two disguised as medical research drop-offs."
"Cut one. Burn the trail. I want them paranoid."
"Yes, my Lord."
Gabriel turned away. He didn't need loyalty from pawns — just fear and efficiency.
Only his shadows would be his true followers.
Later that evening, Gabriel walked alone through the lower merchant district.
It was loud and crowded — traders yelling prices, Awakeners showing off glowing weapons, performers casting cheap illusions for coin.
But what caught his eye was a stand tucked away in a back alley. A black curtain, mana-inscribed. Smoke drifted from inside.
He felt the presence before he entered.
Someone old. Powerful.
He stepped in.
The interior was far larger than the outside. Shelves lined with ancient relics, runes flickering faintly. Behind the counter stood a man with silver hair, eyes blindfolded by enchanted silk.
An elf.
One of the older kind.
"You don't belong here," the man said.
"Neither do you," Gabriel replied.
The man chuckled, sensing something.
"Your aura… it lies."
"I know."
Gabriel didn't need to hide it. This man was no fool. And clearly no citizen.
"You're the one pulling strings in the east," the elf murmured. "The one whose shadows don't disappear."
Gabriel said nothing.
The elf nodded slowly. "You want knowledge."
"I want access."
"Alchemy?" he guessed.
Gabriel's eyes narrowed.
"How do you know?"
The man raised a pale hand. "Because you reek of potential. And corruption. No one with your presence walks the earth without seeking to reshape it."
He offered Gabriel a book — thick, bound in scaled leather.
"Rudiments of Elemental Transmutation."
Real alchemy. Not the cheap formulas sold to nobles' sons.
But Gabriel didn't take it.
"Not unless there's more."
The elf laughed. "Of course. That's why I'm offering a trade."
He gestured behind him. A humanoid figure stood in the shadows — pale, tall, with long fingers, and golden eyes.
A vampire.
"You give me a rift crystal. I give you him."
Gabriel raised a brow. "He's yours?"
"No. He's bound to my debt. But he's… underused."
The vampire stepped forward silently.
"I know poisons, elixirs, battle-boosting concoctions," the vampire said in a cold, elegant voice. "But I won't serve cowards."
Gabriel stared at him.
Then slowly smiled.
"Good."
[Shadow Acquired: Varn – Alchemist-Class]Abilities: Advanced Alchemy, Poison Knowledge, Shadow-Based InfusionShadow Count: 7/10
Gabriel left the tent with the book and a new shadow trailing him.
He'd paid with a stolen crystal — nothing of value.
But what he gained?
Priceless.
A true alchemist. One who would help evolve his Domain.
And poison kingdoms if needed.
Back at base, Gabriel assembled his shadows for the first time in days.
Seven in total now.
Each knelt before him.
Each humanoid. Silent. Black-cloaked, their forms adapting more to his will by the day.
He began issuing new orders:
Ravyr would train the others in defensive coordination.
Aedan would expand the shell companies into city politics.
The Chimera and Vorgas would be rotated into dungeon cleanups for aura testing.
Varn would begin preparing personalized potions — for both battle and Domain expansion.
No other Awakened had an army like this.
And no one knew he had it.
The next few days passed in focused progression.
Gabriel trained from dawn till dusk — sword drills with Eclipse, body enhancement through rare elixirs, combat tests inside his Domain.
He could now trigger the beginning of his Domain manually — a flicker of that future godhood.
Inside it, he could slightly manipulate air currents. Bend sound. Thicken shadows.
Minor — but growing.
And when it grew…
He'd be untouchable inside it.
He also began watching the city closer.
Factions were forming. The elite guilds were growing nervous. Dungeon breaks were becoming more frequent — and soon, one of them would crack open into something worse.
He saw it in their eyes.
Desperation.
Fear.
Power-hunger.
And Gabriel?
He planned to feed them exactly what they wanted — just enough to chain them to him.
On the seventh night, an envoy arrived.
Not to Gabriel directly — but to one of the shell companies he'd quietly absorbed.
The message was simple:
"The Obsidian Throne would like to speak with the new player."
Gabriel read it carefully.
The Obsidian Throne — one of the secretive inner circle guilds of the capital. Mostly elves and long-lived beings. Dangerous. Influential.
Not enemies to make lightly.
Nor pawns to ignore.
He folded the note.
The world was watching now.
Good.
Let them.
Let them all see a false monarch rise.