The Diamond Shadow Case

  With the Shadow Serpent gone, The Teeth of the Blue Moon's darkness was no longer all encompassing. For Yana, it was like stepping out of a dimly lit alley into a full-blown sunset. Her eyes adjusted quickly, and she moved forward—the Diamond Shadow Case calling.

  Yana moved through the darkness with sublime calm, a small smile creasing her lips. She could not remember the Diamond Shadow Case, but as she neared it, the sensation of intense power flooded her being. It caused her to literally itch the closer she got.

  She moved to the back wall and stared at a spot that seemed completely innocuous and benign. She cocked her head to the side as she worked to understand how to access the space she clearly felt behind—or within—the rock.

  Her black eyes began to glow like burning coals as she strained to open the space. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead, her heart began to thump in her chest, and her body trembled. She stopped, her breaths coming ragged and painful.

  Rage rose within her as the diamond shadow case called out to her and she could not figure out how to reach it. She refused to ask Almawa for help—her eyes narrowed as she began to scan the rock wall before her.

  As she calmed, she realized the rock seemed to pulse... as if it breathed. Could she use this rhythmic breathing to access the space? She moved along the wall, examining every inch of it down to the most minute detail.

  She found nothing.

  She sighed in frustration as her eyes tracked a single, hairline crack that ran along the wall. She paused, finally noticing that the crack ran right to the space holding her diamond shadow case.

  Did it mean something? She slid her perceptions into the crack, and her mind was dazzled by brilliance. She blinked several times, as if to clear both her vision and her mind.

  She began using her [Spell Weave] with [Shadow Manipulate] to enter and expand the crack. The invisible pearl embedded in her forehead pulsed as the shadows from the Dune Domain became eager to help her mistress.

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  Yana used the surrounding shadows to infiltrate the tiny crack—never drawing on her own reserves. Her [Spell Weave] wove around and within [Shadow Manipulate], driving the host shadows forward, into the crack, and forcing them to widen it.

  As she worked, a memory flowed through her soul, triggered by the action itself. She nodded, understanding the technique. Her corporeal form wavered and began to dissolve into shadow-smoke. The smoke plumed forward and entered into the crack.

  Once she sensed the space was large enough, she reformed into her corporeal form—deep shadow engulfing her like a defensive shield. The Diamond Shadow Case quickly flew toward her. It was a huge crystalline rock hovering high above the space.

  The closer it came to her, the smaller it became until it was a two-carat diamond on a thin black gold band. It hovered before her for a moment—she watched it spin before her—then it appeared on her right ring finger, twinkling and sparkling with a unique vibrancy.

  The shadows surged to the ring, and the bright, white, crystal-clear stone instantly became black as night.

  Yana felt the immense power strumming through the ring and into her being. She nodded in understanding but frowned; she was not fully clear about the diamond shadow case’s full range of abilities or functions.

  She used [Shadow Step] to return to DD and Alisha. They quietly moved to her, and they all looked to the Teeth of the Blue Moon.

  Yana sat down and began exploring the diamond shadow case, DD and Alisha quietly waiting.

  Her mind entered the stone and saw that each facet was a different ability. She began initiating the ones she did not understand. A black dome rose around the trio as she initiated the Guard Dome facet. She nodded in approval. A thick black beam shot from the ring and struck a distant point on the mountain. That was the Black Torch.

  Every time Yana used a facet, the crystal went clear, losing its black color and charging potential. She focused, drawing surrounding shadows into it. The ancient stone once again filled with darkness and was as black as a starless night, recharging the facet’s ability.

  Yana nodded her head in satisfaction. The diamond shadow case was becoming more than expected.

  ‘Starlight, have you found Sisma?’

  ‘No, Mistress. The Shadow Lark must be asleep. The shadows do not stir like a Shadow Lark is in Orb Dimension.’

  ‘Keep looking. If you can not find her by the end of the day, we will need to think of another way.’

  ‘Yes, Mistress.’

  Yana looked to DD and Alisha. “Let’s go to Gra Continent and find the White Star Staff.” Her two familiars nodded, and they all initiated [Shadow Walk] to Gra Continent.