Shadow Slave novel Chapter 3173

The world moved on.

Tatal settled into her married life, and the shadow settled into his usual aloof existence. He felt the land around him change slowly. The trees reached desperately for the sky. the beasts prowled the forest, hunting those who were weaker than them while being hunted by those who were stronger.

Tatal became much busier as she matured and built her family. Her young husband proved to be a hunter of great skill and talent, effortlessly demonstrating his worth to the men of the Shadow Tribe and eventually becoming their leader. The old shaman who had officiated the wedding, meanwhile, was beginning to succumb to her age.

As a result, it was decided that Tatal would become her successor. She began her training not long after the wedding, and it consumed most of her time.

Her visits to the dark cave where the shadow dwelled slowly grew less frequent. Still, she made an effort to come at least once a month, bringing news of the outside world and chatting with him about nonsensical things that only a human could find engaging.

Then, the number of her visits reduced to once every few months or when something important happened.

That was because Tatal was with child.

Soon enough, she came to the dark cave carrying a small bundle of cloth. Nestled within the bundle was a tiny infant, its face red and wrinkly.

Tatal's own face shone with a subtle light that the shadow had not seen before, and a soft, unfamiliar smile played on her lips.

"Look, Shadow."

She presented the bundle to the darkness, then gently pressed it to her chest.

"This is my son. Isn't he lovely?"

To the shadow, the infant looked like a strangely shaped lump of uncooked dough — ugly, to say the least. Even Snuggle had more charm than it.

However, inexplicably, he could not help but feel that the tiny human was, indeed, lovely. It was so lovely that the shadow could not express it with words.

Perhaps because the infant was a part of Tatal.

Eventually, his cold voice resounded from the darkness.

“Yes. He is beautiful.”

After becoming a mother and assuming some of the duties from the faltering old shaman, Tatal rarely had time to escape all her responsibilities and venture into the mountains to visit her reclusive friend. However, she still came once a year, every year — on the day they had first met.

The world was slowly changing. The village expanded, the forest around it replaced by fields. A master from a neighboring tribe came to build a crude stone mill. The humans learned something new every month, swiftly developing in all manner of crafts.

One year, Tatal brought with her a sharp blade. She showed it to the shadow, full of reverence.

“Look, Shadow. This is called copper. It comes from the earth, like stone... however, unlike flint, it never breaks. It never chips, never crumbles. It can pierce the toughest hide while remaining whole. Is it not a miracle?"

Even though Tatal was performing the role of a shaman now, in her heart, she was still a hunter. So, her eyes shone with wonder as she looked at the copper knife.

Another time, Tatal brought a pile of bricks. Her voice sounded excited.

“Look, Shadow! This is called clay. I saw it when I visited the Crow Tribe — their chieftain's home is built from these things. He called them bricks. And you can get clay easily, too! My husband has been digging clay for a week now. I told him that if that haughty Crow has a brick home, then we must have one, too!"

And yet another time, the shadow was disturbed by the sound of panicked bleating and saw Tatal dragging a skinny sheep with a red coat into the cave, holding it by the horns.

"Shadow! Shadow, look!"

The shadow felt the desire to palm his face, even though he had none.

‘Gods, what is it now?’

“What is that... thing?"

Tatal smiled.

“It's called a sheep! My grandfather used to hunt these beasts for meat and hide. However... they shed their coats every year. So, if you look after them a little, you can weave as much cloth as you want. Wool, Shadow! Don't you see my dress? It's so much lighter than hide — and softer, too. No one else in the village has one yet!"

She paused for a moment, and then laughed ominously.

“Those arrogant Crows will die of envy the next time we meet."

The shadow... was impressed.

Tatal's people seemed to be developing faster than he had expected. Perhaps it was because War God, the goddess of life — as well as technology and progress — was the divine patron of all humans. Maybe it was because they were descendants of the First Humans, who had wielded mythical power and had been creatures of myriad talents.

But, of course, not all of Tatal's visits were happy ones.

Life was a constant struggle, after all, and it was especially so for the ancient people who lived in the Age of Gods.

The shadow's presence might have scared off most of the Creatures of Corruption, but there were still some who failed to perceive him or were too mad to be turned away. There was no peace between humans and mystical beasts that dwelled in the untamed expanse of existence, either.

Even mundane predators were a deadly threat to them, at times, fighting desperately for ownership over the wild land.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify