Shadows. Everyone has 'em!... Well most people do, there are exceptions to just about everything in the cultivation world. In fact, some people even have more than one shadow but that's another matter. 'Till death do us part', a common marriage commitment but also somewhat of an apt slogan for a person's shadow. Shadows do not follow a person in death nor do they latch onto their soul and chase around after them. However, if a person is able to return from the land of the dead their shadow shall also return... Sometimes. Again, as with everything else, there are exceptions.
Depending on the location of death, it is entirely possible for a cultivator to 'lose their shadow'. This typically only happens in tremendously hot regions where a blazing sun is present but it can happen even in lower realms as it's a sort of ratio between cultivation base and heat level that decides whether such a thing can happen. When a cultivator dies under the right conditions their shadow will not disappear but it will not follow them either. The mana from the sun will anchor the shadow's existence to reality and it will then be free to roam as it pleases, unconstrained by the existence that it was tethered to prior. Put simply, it becomes a monster. In Xasca specifically, every five or so years the sun gets exceedingly close, during its orbit around Sheryashka, and anybody who dies in the desert during this time, be they mortal or cultivator, will usually lose their shadow in such a fashion.
As for what shadows can do... Not much, actually! That's not to say they aren't dangerous, they are, it's just that compared to anything else you could stumble across in the desert they rank relatively low on the danger scale. They have an affiliation for the darkness pillar, naturally, and excel at mental and movement magic. Thy are quite susceptible to magical attacks, though, and they're slow whenever magic isn't involved. Plus they become dormant at night and this is unavoidable under normal circumstances. Their real danger lies in the ability to blend in amongst other shadows and ambush those who let their guard down. Ares hadn't found any wondering shadows because they almost always reside in Oases under palm trees. When a potential victim comes along, desperate for peace and safety from the harsh desert, the shadows will wait until they fall asleep and then kill them to steal their body. Shadows are body snatchers. Albeit rather terrible ones. They don't blend in at all as the corpse is always zombie like and quite identifiable at a glance. They aren't ever really going to manage to sneak into a human settlement or anything without getting caught, that's impossible, but they do get a major combat boost. A shadow attached to a dead creature or human can control all its limbs perfectly and use it to cover for their innate weaknesses.
An attached shadow can now move properly without expending loads of magic, they have access to physical attacks, and they have a shield to use against magical attacks. Shadows, when attached to another creature, are invincible and function like regular shadows. You can use light on them but they'll simply return when the light vanishes. In order to kill an attached shadow you must first detach it which is rarely a complicated issue... Unless the shadow attaches itself to a powerful being or something a little more complicated. If a shadow wants to attach itself to a living creature there must be an accord from both parties. It is a two way street and a mutualism type strategy that benefits both the shadow and the attach-ee but there are risks involved for both parties too. Although both their cultivations will skyrocket, the shadow and the host, and they may freely share their powers with one another as though their strengths had combined, it's not all sunshine and rainbows. If the shadow wishes, they may forcefully take control of the host at any point in time and there is nothing that can be done to prevent this if they're already attached. Unless the shadow willingly lets go they will now have full control over the host until the end of time. On the flipside, the host may kill the shadow at any given moment provided they haven't lost control to it. After all, their own shadow still exists, it's just being willfully suppressed by the host to accommodate the monster shadow. If they stop suppressing it then their shadow will return and overwrite the monster, destroying it on the spot and stealing some of their strength permanently.
Essentially, it's one big game of chicken. Who will betray the other first for whatever gains they can muster of each other's corpse? Both the host and the shadow are stronger together, as they lose out on strength overall when the other dies, but 'can they trust one another' is the real question. For most pairings, the answer is no. There are many monsters in the desert that have been taken over by shadows and many shadows that no longer exist after being used and thrown away like a dirty napkin. Shadows are always searching for a stronger host and other creatures can endlessly gain benefits if they lure in multiple shadows and subsume them all one after another. There is one pairing that almost always works, and never results in betrayal, however... Shadow steppers. It's rather simple but steppers have no shadows, because they're invisible, and thus they literally can not betray or be betrayed by the monster shadow. They don't have their own shadow to subsume the monster shadow with and the monster needs the stepper's original shadow to hijack in order to take control.
It's a perfectly symbiotic and harmonious relationship! Nature is truly wonderful! Not! This is more of a cruel prank than anything because giving an invisible opponent even more tools is incredibly dangerous. A shadow stepper is a frightening existence, easily ranking in the top ten of all Xascan monsters. They aren't necessarily the strongest monsters in terms of combat prowess, and would lose to unique western monsters every time, but there are a lot of them comparatively and they have a long list of traits that make them annoying to deal with for regular humans. For starters, the shadow also becomes invisible and that's a considerable problem in and of itself because they are at their strongest when they are able to ambush people. Throw in the fact that steppers now gain access to mental magic, and the ability to shift around without leaving footprints thanks to movement magic... It's definitely not a good thing! Nature can take this invention back! Steppers are average monsters, and shadows are below average monsters, but combine the two and you have a stealthy assassin with multiple tricks up its sleeve that also becomes more aggressive in nature. Steppers are usually only really aggressive in packs and even then they'll frequently ignore people but when they take on a shadow they become more inclined to commit violent acts. It's not really understood why they become the way they do but over the years it is a detail that has been noticed and studied by scholars until they reached the conclusion that having a shadow definitely, unquestionably affects steppers mentally. There is no room for doubt on this.
So then, now we come to the modern day wherein Ares has just left the building, with the information broker inside it, after claiming the psychopathic stepper has a shadow friend. What's his basis for this claim? Absolutely nothing! Ares had no proof of such a thing but he understood well enough the stepper's personality and there were definitely some traits about it that led Ares to believe it was in possession of a shadow. First of all... It was a maniac. 'Aggression' was perhaps the understatement of the century and if having a shadow makes steppers more volatile and aggressive then this mutant stepper having a shadow for however many decades must have been at least partially the reason it was driven insane. It was too logical a conclusion to just ignore. Also, the stepper was powerful. Why on earth would it not seek even more power if doing so was a minor inconvenience to it at best? It just had to go out and pick up a shadow which, for steppers, was incredibly simple. As soon as a shadow realised there was a stepper in the vicinity they practically threw themselves at them like animals in heat, never mind the fact that this was a mutant stepper who could reign supreme above all others. The stepper would have its pick of the litter and could search high and low for an extraordinarily powerful shadow to make its own without much hassle. Also, and this was the real deal sealer, the stepper hadn't shown it. This might sound counterproductive in terms of reasoning, as that should mean it didn't have a shadow if anything, but knowing the stepper it wanted to save it as a reversal. When Ares thought he was winning, BAM, shadow out of nowhere and the steppers' power explodes on the spot. Ares falls into despair and the stepper tiptoes around his dying body, mocking Ares until his last breath. That was in line with the stepper's personality.
The stepper had been alive for too many years to not have found a shadow that took its fancy so Ares was 100% convinced the stepper had a shadow and was just keeping it hidden for now. What worried Ares was that whatever shadow it found must be a good one... A real good one... And, after attaching to the stepper, one that would only ever become more and more powerful as time passed by. It wasn't just that the stepper had lived for decades, the shadow will have lived for approximately that long too and its growth might have also mutated it too. A mutated stepper was bad enough but what kind of havoc was a mutated shadow capable of wreaking?! And then combined... Ares had said this would be a tough fight and this was precisely the reason why. The stepper had amazing physical strength, sharp body parts to swipe with, notable speed, and strange footwork given its spidery nature and multiple limbs to dance around on. It was highly intelligent, its reaction speed seemed great, and it was capable of rapid, twitch like movements that would make defending against it problematic. Its body seemed durable and light injuries wouldn't even cause it to falter. In terms of a physical fight, Ares was hard pressed to beat it and pretty outclassed thanks to his lacking cultivation base and adept trait hamstringing him.
Then what about this exact specimen of a stepper with a shadow? Access to mental magic, which Ares wasn't exactly proficient at dealing with, and movement magic to make it even more unpredictable and erratic. There was also a decent chance the stepper had become intimately familiar with tthe darkness pillar's more offensive magics so the stepper, when fused with the shadow, becomes a near perfect existence that wasn't lacking in any way when it came to combat. Nobody Ares knew, be it Enyo, Aejaz, or Sandy, was a match for this thing if his assumption about there being a shadow involved was correct. Put simply, it had to be Ares that put it down. There might not actually be a living creature in the entirety of Sheryashka that could do it other than maybe this mysterious Torchbearer individual as, knowing Ares' luck, he was probably a powerhouse and all. Ares had a massive advantage, compared to everyone else, with his Omniscience, as he could actually see the damn stepper, so he had a sort of obligation to kill this troublemaker and free Xasca from its terror... But it was going to be tough. Real tough. Ares could tell in his bones and gut that this was the closest he'd come to death since he was born and there was a nagging feeling of insecurity permeating through every fibre of his being. There was no time for hesitation, though, as it was finally time to settle the score with this thing and there was no turning back now. If Ares dared to turn around and try to walk away the stepper would inevitably go on a rampage and chase him down. It had been 'polite' and 'patient' but it would lose its mind and go berserk if Ares ran, he could tell. Not that he was going to but having the pressure to fight 'or else' was uncomfortable even if he was already going to do it.
Ares stood in the centre of the market, looking all around, and was tempted to just yell out to the stepper and demand it come and face him. Doing so would regrettably cause too much of a scene and attract people he didn't want coming over, however. If the guards rushed over then he would have to put up with them and maybe even try and save their lives which was a handicap Ares didn't exactly want right now. They might still come over after the fighting began but if they were at least aware there was a brawl as they headed over, and were on their toes from the get go, it would reduce the headache Ares had to go through as they might be able to fend for themselves or realise the situation was beyond their control. They'd catch on quicker if they weren't caught unaware, basically, and should be easier to convince to get lost.
None of this changed the fact that Ares had no idea where to go to find the stepper, though. He wanted to fight it in this relatively wide open square, and keep it away from narrow alleys where it could make use of its longer limbs and ability to climb walls, but it didn't seem like the stepper was going to come out and face him if he just patiently waited. It had the advantage, after all, and there were probably more 'toys' it had played with as of late that it wanted Ares to see. His best guess was to go down the alley he saw the stepper disappear into earlier and then, once the fight begun, drag it back to this square to make use of the chalk he'd set up... But that might give the game away. The stepper might be wary of the chalk but if Ares intentionally kept bating it towards it the suspicion levels would be off the charts. At ground level it was still pretty hard to tell what Ares had conjured up so he had the element of surprise with this runic formation and wanted to keep it that way. Hopefully the stepper would get cocky and assume it was some means of attack that Ares could only use once, or something of the sort, and not pay it too much mind. The more Ares tried to force it into this area the more obvious it would be that these chalky lines were a big deal.
Ares lifted his foot and gently, repeatedly, stubbed his toe into the floor as he took a deep sigh before finally venturing forward. No more delaying the inevitable, it was time to get this show on the road. He turned a few corners, moved away from the black market, and was instantly greeted by a corpse hung from a clothing line. Its head was tilted and a smile carved into its face as its hand was held up by string such that it pointed further down the alleyway. A quick glance in the direction revealed to Ares more corpses, all rolling out the welcome mat like a flesh puppet pantomime giving him a grand entrance. One of them was recognisable as the merchant Ares bought the bamboo off of so it seemed the stepper had been busy playing around while Ares was searching for information. It must have assumed Ares would care more than he did but Ares was pretty unmoved by this. He wasn't cold hearted but he didn't know this merchant other than via the most indirect of relations. Ares knew Onno, Onno's father was Cash, Cash betrayed the merchant. That was literally it. It's not like Ares liked seeing dead people, he just knew it was going to happen a lot now that he was deep into the path of cultivation and coming across entities like this stepper. It was better to treat strangers as precisely that and nothing more until he had a reason not to. Even still, Ares used two fingers to put the merchant to rest and close his eyes even though it was a relatively meaningless gesture. Like with the kid last time, it was technically Ares' fault the merchant got involved but there was nothing to be done about that now as Ares couldn't reverse time or undo what had already been done. All he could do was promise revenge and keep moving on.
Ares ducked under the numerous corpses, all of which were laid our very carefully like the set of a drama rehearsal. Some were leaning out of windows, others were crouched on the floor, and some were laying face down drunk on the floor. All of them had one thing in common, though, and that was that they were all pointing in the same direction. Ares didn't recognise any of these people so he just assumed the stepper picked random cultivators and that was the end of it... But was it really that simple? Ares shook his head and kept moving. At the very least, if he didn't immediately recognise these people, they couldn't have been too close to him. Maybe someone else suffered the loss of loved ones and Ares was making light of it but there were more important matters that needed dealing with than identifying these corpses. Ares made it to the end of the alley and turned another corner and what greeted him was, in no uncertain terms, hell.
Long blood splatters and stains laced the walls and a crimson twilight zone of maddening aura seeped into every brick, shrouding the place in a haze. This secluded area, away from prying eyes, was like an isolated bubble of rage and despair. There was a short narrow path leading to a small enclosed square, locked in between the large building surrounding and towering above it. The square was barely big enough to fit twenty or so people and served as a back entrance to the apartment complex in front of it. Three different doorways on the north, east, and west of the square all led up and into the building and a flight of stairs could be seen just above the three entrances but all of them were crooked and damaged. There was reddish grass underfoot in the square, tainted and dyed in the relatively fresh blood spewing from a small stone water fountain positioned dead centre in the middle of everything.
It was as if Ares had entered an entirely different world as even the moon was tinged in an ominous red aura. If Ares didn't know any better he would believe he'd descended into a primordial demonic dwelling as the thick stench of death, decay, and immorality was repulsive and ignited a kind of disgust in him he'd never felt before even upon first meeting the hideous stepper. He could hear maddening giggles softly tickling his ears and Ares couldn't help but wonder to what extent this stepper had butchered people throughout the years such that its mere aura could warp reality to this degree. This level of bloodlust-insanity was unthinkable. The cracks in the walls seemed to come alive and grin at Ares, snickering at him and threatening to lash out, but he was too busy keeping a wary eye out on the apartment floors above him. He could occasionally glimpse something, in the reflections of shattered glass windows, rummaging around on the second floor, darting through the building around him and circling him like a vulture. It didn't look like it was going to make a move just yet, though, as it was more than content to watch Ares feel squeamish inside the frenzied aura it was giving off passively now that it was no longer holding it back.
CRACK
Ares lifted two fingers and caught a Spike between them inches away from his face. The walls weren't just ominous, they were lethal if he let guard down. This wasn't even really the stepper attacking him, it was just that his aura was so hostile it was acting of its own accord to launch magic and follow its urges to kill the living. Ares had never even heard of such a thing. This stepper might be the only thing in these lower domains that had discovered such a trick and that was honestly impressive albeit deeply concerning. Its aura was so menacing it could act and think on its own? Maybe this had something to do with the shadow... Maybe the shadow had its own aura too and they combined into one? The sickening wheezing and echoing laughter was akin to that of a mental attack, leeching away at his sanity so Ares figured this was related.
CRACK CRACK CRACK
Three more spikes shot out in a bid to get Ares moving as he'd been standing completely still since he first bore witness to this nightmarish land. Ares swatted al three aside, as they were sharp and fast but nothing he couldn't handle, and started walking forward to see what else the stepper had in store for him. Nothing good, no doubt, but the fight wasn't going to start on Ares' terms, he knew that, so he had to play along for now. Stepping forward, deeper into the red mist and stagnant ait, was extremely unpleasant. Ares felt a prickling sensation in his skin like he was being stabbed by thousands of tiny needles. His own hair was shrinking and trying to retract itself under his skin to hide as his body was reacting unfavourably to these sights. His blood ran cold and he felt nauseous to boot. It wasn't fear, Ares wasn't so weak he would be afraid for his life before the fight had even begun, but this aura was definitely trying to inflict a feeling akin to it on him. If Ares was any less wilful his body would have turned around and ignored all his commands to push forward whether he liked it or not. He was right not to bring Aejaz or Sandy along as they might not even be able to lift a finger against this monster due to this aura alone. Ares took a deep breath, calmed his nerves, stabilised his heart, ran mana through his blood to warm it up, and used pressure to control the hairs on his body. This was all tiresome and difficult but if it meant regaining full control over himself then it was important no matter how minor as he couldn't afford to be in anything other than an optimal condition going forward. This might have been even worse than he was predicting...