The dining hall remained frozen, suspended in the kind of shocked silence that could shatter at the slightest breath. Candle flames flickered nervously, painting the Baron's stern face with long shadows—shadows that eagerly crawled toward me like loyal hounds greeting their master.
Baron Ulric Nightcrest, once a proud noble with a reputation for strict discipline and cold efficiency, now stared at me as if he'd seen a ghost.
Perhaps he had.
I stepped forward, my small boots tapping on the marble floor. Gareth and the two other shadow thralls followed silently behind me. The faint aura of necrotic energy radiating from their bodies made the noble family flinch collectively.
Lady Nightcrest's trembling voice broke the tension."Ulric… he's—he's controlling the dead…"
Baron Ulric clenched his jaw, eyes narrowing toward me. "Azeroth. Whatever you have done, you will undo it. Immediately."
He spoke with authority—an authority I no longer recognized.
I met his glare with a slight smile. "Father, I'm afraid you misunderstand something."
"And what," he spat, "might that be?"
"That you are still in control."
Murmurs rippled through the hall.
Before he could bark another order, I raised my hand. The torches dimmed as shadows pooled at my feet, rising like dark smoke.
A noble daughter sitting near the end of the table gasped. "W–What is that magic? That… that's not allowed—!"
"No," I agreed, "but neither is beating your own child half to death for entertainment. Yet here we are."
Lady Nightcrest stiffened, paling. "You ungrateful little—"
"Quiet."
I didn't shout. I didn't glare. I simply spoke. But the word carried power—Shadow Authority—and the entire room felt a sudden pressure as if the air itself were being crushed.
The Baron tried to stand, palms slamming against the table. "This insolence—!"
Shadows erupted under his chair, binding his ankles and wrists to the wooden frame.
"Sit," I commanded.
He sat.
His eyes widened in terror. "W–W-What are you… what are you?"
"A child you should have treated better," I replied, strolling toward the long dining table. "But don't worry. I'm not here to kill you."
Lady Nightcrest exhaled in visible relief.
"Yet."
She inhaled her relief violently.
My three shadow thralls moved behind the noble family, forming a silent, eerie semicircle. Purple flames flickered faintly in their dead eyes.
The Baron glared at me with barely contained fury. "What do you want?"
Ah. A beautiful question.
I rested my hands behind my back. "Simple. I want the Nightcrest Estate."
"Never," he hissed.
"You misunderstand." My smile sharpened. "It wasn't a request."
The nobles stiffened. The Baron's eldest son shot to his feet, slamming a fist onto the table. "You bastard! You think you can come in here with some parlor trick and—"
Gareth's hand appeared from behind him, grabbing his hair and slamming his face into a bowl of soup.
The impact rattled the table.
Screams erupted.
Lady Nightcrest shrieked, leaping to her feet. "W–What are you DOING?! Release my son this instant!"
"He needed to cool off," I said, waving dismissively. "His temper's atrocious."
The system chimed approvingly.
[Minor Fear Aura +1][Shadow Presence increased][Nightcrest Family morale: Shattered]
I casually walked toward the Baron, who was still bound to his chair. He struggled, veins bulging, but the shadows held him in place.
"Listen closely, Father," I said softly, kneeling so our eyes were level. "This is the part where we negotiate."
"There is nothing," he growled, "to negotiate."
"Oh, but there is. A great deal, actually."
I tapped the table gently.
"By right of blood, I am an heir. By natural talent, I'm superior to both your legitimate sons. And by power…"
The shadows beneath me exploded upward, swirling around the room like a storm of black mist. Everyone except me was forced down by the weight of the aura.
"My power eclipses this entire house."
Lady Nightcrest clutched her dress, sweating profusely. "This isn't normal! Someone—someone stop him!"
The guard at the dining hall door reached for his sword.
Without turning, I flicked my finger.
A shadow spear shot from the floor and stopped an inch from his throat.
He froze—barely daring to breathe.
"Sit," I ordered.
He sat.
"…understood," he squeaked.
Good.
Now we were getting somewhere.
The Baron tried to keep his pride intact, though fear twisted his expression. "What do you want, monster?"
"Monster?" I echoed. "How rude. I prefer the term future Emperor, but I suppose we'll work on the vocabulary later."
The Baron's jaw tightened.
I continued:
"I want the following:
Recognition as the first heir.
Control over the estate's finances.
Access to the armory, library, and training grounds.
Full authority over the private Knights of Nightcrest."
The eldest son, face still dripping soup, sputtered, "T–That's insane! You're not the heir—!"
I raised an eyebrow. "Do you want to argue about that again?"
He swallowed hard. "…no."
Good boy.
The Baron shook his head. "You're asking for the entire estate's authority. This house—this family—has lasted for centuries. You expect me to hand it over to a child?"
"Not a child," I corrected him gently. "A conqueror."
The torches flickered violently as shadows danced across the walls, twisting into monstrous, shifting beasts.
A few nobles screamed. One fainted. Another wet himself.
It was all very inspirational.
The Baron's breathing grew heavy. His heartbeat thundered like a trapped animal's. Yet he held onto his pride with white-knuckled desperation.
"I will… never agree…"
I sighed. "Then you leave me no choice."
I snapped my fingers.
The shadow thralls lifted the Baron's two sons into the air by their collars. They dangled helplessly, kicking and choking.
Lady Nightcrest shrieked. "STOP! STOP THIS AT ONCE!"
"Mother… help!" one son choked.
"He… he's insane!" the other gasped.
I stepped closer to the Baron, who was visibly trembling now.
"You will sign a decree," I said softly. "Making me heir."I glanced at my restrained half-brothers. "Or your bloodline ends tonight."
The Baron broke.
"FINE!" he roared. "I'll sign it! Just—just leave my sons alive!"
I clapped. "Excellent!"
The system chimed triumphantly.
[Quest Complete: Establish Control Over Nightcrest]Reward Unlocked: Shadow Evolution (Tier I)][Congratulations! You have completed your first political conquest!]
My shadow thralls released the boys, who collapsed onto the marble floor, gasping desperately for breath.
I took my seat at the dining table—at the head, of course. A servant scrambled to pour me a drink with shaking hands.
I lifted the glass.
"Let this be the beginning," I declared, "of the rise of the Nightcrest Shadow House."
The torches dimmed once more.
Lady Nightcrest whimpered. The Baron silently sobbed in humiliation. The nobles stared in horrified awe.
And I?
I sipped my wine.
A new empire had begun.