Soulless-Sonadow: Prologue

Soulless

Prologue

Endless white mist encircled the ebony male as he lay in seemingly air, mist swirling around his body in a disorientating way, yet it made him look all the more peaceful. Though, if you saw him up close you would see a dark ebony colored male with opened crimson eyes with the smallest slits for pupils-His long lizard-like tail wrapping around nothingness, swaying in the air with an air of peacefulness. Crimson stripes ran all over his body, and rows of sharp teeth lined his elongated maw. Claws sharper then most knives adorned all his feet and golden bands were strapped onto his arms.

"Ah…Shadow…Lord of the Demons. Your brother is King, is he not? Are you resentful of him? Because he is older…wiser…stronger…better in every way compared to you. To always hold second place-it must be…difficult for you-mustn't it? I pity you, Shadow the Hedgehog Lord of Demons and son of Black Doom also Brother to the King of Demons. What a long dreary title…do you bore of it? I bore of it…" The voice echoed through the white mist of a million dreams-Where reality…was a world away.

"Enough of your talk, Karran-You know why I am here-I require you to bestow upon me another form…a mobian form…many things have caught my attention in their world-a world I won't be able to take part in if you continue to banter about stupid things." The ebony male-Lord Shadow-spoke in a hissing raspy snake-like voice with annoyance tinted in it even though he was in the presence of the only other in the world that held powers more then his brother-King Mephiles of the Demons. He was tired of being called "Second Best"-even his mother saw him as a failure and his brother as a perfect little demon. Though…his father saw past most things, and was turning Shadow into a killing, power filled machine. Shadow had spent many thousands of years with his father-Former King of Demons, Black Doom- learning all the things he should need to be a…perfect demon-if there was such a thing. Chaos control, a power only some demons posses, was in Shadow's possession-that made him a threat. Being a threat could be a good or bad thing-depending on where you wanted to be in the Demon World.

"Ah, you are as snappy as your mother, and brother-but the viciousness of your father lurks in you and your soulless body, Lord Shadow. Why has your interest taken you to the Mobians? They have nothing of great gold-except for the blasted royals-and nothing that might be valuable to you, Shadow. Are you afraid? Afraid that you will spend your life being the "monster" your mother calls you? Well-no matter how many forms you take, you will always be a demon, Lord Shadow, never forget that." The voice echoed from the-now gray-mist floating around Shadow's body, flitting around with a silence almost eerie. Then again-mist can make no noise. So I guess it was fitting as ever that someone such as Karran should live in a place where the hassles of normal life fade…just as everything does in the mist.

"Quit it and help me! I do not need to explain my reasoning to the likes of you. Especially since you are such a formidable person bringing up my life like opening a book and reading it aloud to me-won't you just allow me to forget all the terrors of my now dead mother? I do not miss her-if you were wondering-though my brother mourns for her." Shadow answered without a second though. Karran was not the Demon of Every Knowledge for no reason. He knew everything about anything. And that was the fact of life. And Shadow needed this knowledge-Karran was the only one who had the power and knowledge to grant him another form.

"If I don't know your reasoning, what is to say I will help you?" Was Karran's simple answer, as the mist swirled around forming a golden cat with glowing green eyes, an elongated muzzle and two rather large teeth coming from his top jaw. A glowing green necklace hung from his neck, and his clothes were made up of long white misty robes-A Demon, in fact. His bare feet had chains coming out of his ankles, leading into the mist. He was imprisoned here-for all eternity.

"Please, Karran, I need this. Mephiles has requested me to join him in the over-world and I need this new form. Disobeying my brother's request is like disobeying the King himself." Shadow snapped, finding he was unable to move at all-His muscled body seeming to be glued to the misty air somehow. He growled in frustration, knowing that Karran would probably pursue the subject until Shadow bent to his will and answered his question.

"Hm, as you wish, Lord Shadow. Though, understand-The King has no power over me, and you cannot threaten me with his words." And then everything went black…

***

Shadow's eyes snapped open; must he always have the same nightmare about when Karran gave him his mobian form? That happened well over two thousand years ago-will he never forget?  

He noticed the crimson colored blankets strewn across the floor, and he was hanging half on and half off the bed. Though, it wasn't too uncomfortable. He even managed to look up at the ceiling where elaborate carvings were carved into the plaster that made up the gleaming white ceiling. The bed he slept in cost about as much as the house he lived in-and that wasn't saying he was poor.

Being a demon-he hoarded gold and other things of value. That was more then enough to buy him a nice mansion and some good servants. He could hear his bed creak as he even slightly shifted, stifling a yawn.

He pulled himself completely onto the bed, looking around his somewhat clean room. He looked to the left corner of his room, where the things he valued most lay strewn about the wooden floor in complete disarray. Gold, jewelry, goblets of fine copper or silver-he had all of those things simply piled up near his bed, hidden in the shadows of his room.

His muscles stiffened as the large elaborate door to his room was opened-he was wary about who was aloud into his room. Though, it was only Scourge, a normally large green demon-but he was in his mobian form, which Karran had granted to him many years before Shadow had gained his own mobian form. It angered Shadow to think someone so low in rank-such as Scourge-should receive such a gift.

"Good morning, Lord Shadow. How did you rest…?" Then Scourge chuckled, seeing the red sheets scattered across the room, "Having more nightmares…are we?" He asked, giving Shadow a smirk.

Shadow growled, "That is none of your concern." He muttered. Why was Scourge so nosy? Sometimes he wondered why he let Scourge stay. He then remembered that it was his brother's orders that Scourge was to watch Shadow. Did his brother fear him? Or just want him to stay out of the way? Either way-Shadow hated to be watched. Even if his brother was King, there wasn't much his brother could do about Shadow joining him in the over-world. He could… "Strongly disagree" with Shadow's joining him, but that wouldn't get Shadow back to the under-world, now would it?

Scourge snorted, "Whatever you say, Lord Shadow." He grumbled. He began to pick the blankets up, knowing that he was lower then Shadow and sort of like…a slave to him. He didn't want to cross Shadow, especially since he had received training from the Former King, Black Doom. He'd also received rumors that Shadow had the power of Chaos Control-and that even scared the King Mephiles a bit. That was only one of the reasons he had sent Scourge to Lord Shadow's mansion-there were many other reasons…but those are to be revealed with time.

"…Where be my other servants?" Shadow asked-normally they were the first to enter his chambers and wake him. He had about sixteen servants-all of them…bran washed by himself. He didn't care that they probably had families, or children-they belonged to him, and no one else now.

"I…disposed of them-they were unnecessary and you need to live without them…especially since your brother is coming to visit you…"

TBC...