Chapter 183 - 183)A Guardian Ascends

"Okay now...you can't continue to behave this way.....I understand why you feel like this but holding onto the past won't help....so please," Night said as he tried lifting Noctis off his head. The small one barely reacted the whole time, of course, he had one eye open but now that Shade was with them, he completely fell into a deep slumber.

'I guess the shock was too much?'

Noctis was still a kid, all his life he had simply remained with Nyx or in an egg. During his comfortable stay with Nyx, he was trained to fight and survive but shock and grief were mainly human feelings, experiencing something like that was hard and brutal for a child to process. He was a creature of the Chaos, so there was no saying how he actually worked, how long would it actually take for him to mature into an adult or even a teen.

"Haah...he just won't move...." Night sighed after he gave up on trying to move Noctis, at some point he had to make a decision between his hair and the minuscule probability of his pet not sulking.

"Perhaps giving him some space would help? My Lord," Shade said as he leaned forward and looked at Night's face. His hair flowed gently, it took even Night some getting used to, after all, he wasn't around Shade too much, at least after he evolved.

"That makes sense IF he wasn't literally stuck to my head. There's practically nothing I can do, and I don't want to force him awake....." Night complained as he looked at Shade. "Anyway, you're really close to ascending huh? I can't wait,"

"T-thank you for the praise My Lord....." Shade said as he looked down at his feet. Getting praised by Night was always the best feeling for him.

"But it looks the Forest is really empty huh?? This is going to be our future territory. Are you sure you're completely fine with that? If you aren't you can still tell me or any one of us, I hope you know that,"

"My Lord..." Shade said as he stopped walking, which made Night take a few steps and look back at his own subject. "We guardians have no real purpose other than slaughtering those that invade our lands. All we hear is a voice in our head to kill, it's just constant. But it's not as if we kill every single person that crosses our land, there are situations, or sometimes it may be completely random. Every time I look at this place, it reminds me of a time when I wasn't your subject, and I truly despise such that...."

"I see....I'm glad you're here Shade. I want you to know that," Night said as he shot his subject a pure smile that portrayed his feelings.

'I guess those situations he spoke of is nothing but luck?'

After walking for multiple hours, the Trio finally made it out of the forest, although, Noctis was quite literally carried, Night patted his head just to make him feel included. The last time he crossed this place was when Noel first took him to Vraun. Currently, Night and Shade were standing right outside a tropical region that brought back many memories. It was the place where Night first witnessed his Master's power.

"Verdin..." Night muttered as he looked the trees up and down.

*ROOOOAAARRRR*

"Hoh? I figured it would come out again," Night said as he raised his eyebrow. He wasn't afraid anymore, even if the opponent was stronger than him, he wouldn't run away without a fight. "This one's all yours Shade. You need it more than I do so...go for it," he pointed to the forest, as the roaring only continued to grow louder.

"I think it should be more than enough to help you ascend," Night looked at a familiar abomination. The monster's lower body resembled that of a cobra whereas its upper body was more of a scorpion. Venom oozed out of its mouth and melted the thick grass as it fell onto it.

"Uhm....as you wish My Lord....." Shade gulped, he wasn't particularly afraid of the creature but it looked weird and fugly to him. Without a hint of hesitation, he jumped at the Guardian of Verdin. Unlike most of them, this one was around 2 feet taller than Shade making it easier for him to calculate his attacks.

"Wow, I really can learn a lot from him," Night commented as he looked at the two Guardians go at it. "I guess they really just grow over time huh?"

Guardian of Verdin

Level 80

Grade: Uncommon

Hp:80,000 

Skills:

Poison Aura(passive): All creatures within a 2-meter radius will take constant poison damage of 600Hp until the user is killed or the enemy's hp drops to 0. (Every 2 seconds)

Creature of Poison(passive): All poison damage dealt with the user is absorbed s Hp.

Blessing of Toxicity: When Hp drops to 10% user heals back 50% of total Hp.

Toxic waste: Spits a huge chunk of substance which is surrounded by a toxic aura, deals a fixed damage of 3000 when hit and deals constant AOE damage within a 1-meter radius, AOE damage dealt is equal to 1.5% of enemies health. The toxic waste disappears after 1 minute. Cooldown 10seconds.

"Hmmm is that all? Other than the health, which is probably because of the level, and the 0.5% increase in the damage over time, I don't see anything. It's kinda sad honestly, but I guess it's more suited to fight a lot of enemies than one. Unfortunately, it's just going to have to suffer again,"

After roughly 5 minutes, Shade thrust his hand into the Guardian instantly ending its sad respawnable life. Night looked at his subject who was covered in green liquid. Although the fight was relatively one-sided, Shade lost an unusual amount of health due to the Guardians nearly broken passive.

It was at that moment that Night wondered what would happen to Shade. Would he respawn as well? If somehow someday the worst becomes reality then would Night's subject simply materialize after a certain amount of time?

[Your subject, Shade has leveled up!]

[Your subject, Shade has reached level 100!]

[Preparing for Ascension....]

[Preparing for Ascension....]

[Preparing for Ascension....]

[Grade of subject increased from Uncommon to Rare!]

[Umbrakinesis(degraded)---> Umbrakinesis(limited)]

[Frost touch(degraded)---> Frost touch(limited)]

[Shadow veil buffed!]

[Retaliation strike buffed!]

[Shadow create buffed!]

[The Prince of Darkness and his Subject title detected on the Lord! Both the parties involved have certain skills strengthen!]

"Hoh? This is interesting," Night said as he realized the notifications had come to a stop. Shade was kneeling down in front of His Lord. He was covered in a thin black layer of darkness that slowly grew stronger. 

Night's Shade

level 90

Grade: Uncommon

Hp: 200,000

Skills:

Being of Nyx(passive): +40% resistance to dark attacks, has a 50% chance of converting 10% of the damage dealt by skill into users Hp. Triggers once every 1 minute.

Shadow veil: Can hide in any shadow within the reach of the user. User can hide in the shadow of one being for a maximum of 7 seconds.

Retaliation Strike: A strike that deals 200% of PhyDmg. If used within 5 seconds of taking damage increases to 500%. Cooldown: 5 minutes.

Shadow Create: Summons Shadows of the Night. In a place where there is an abundance of shade, MP requirement drops to 0, Cooldown: 20 seconds.

My Prince(passive): When the user is fighting alongside his Lord all damage is increased by 20%. 

It is I, Your Subject: Switch positions with your Lord. Range 15 meters. Cooldown: 30 seconds.

Umbrakinesis(Limited): "You are a subject of Darkness"

The user has authority and control over darkness and shadows. 

Frost Touch(Limited): Grants the user to manipulate Ice, for manipulating higher tiers of ice skill proficiency must be increased. 

**Skill status Limited: The level of the skill is always 0.5 of a level lower than the Lords**

"I see.." Night commented, the upgrades weren't anything absurd, but at the same time, they weren't weak as well. Overall it was definitely worth the wait. 

[Analyzing variables....]

[Analyzing variables....]

[Analyzing variables....]

"Huh?? What now?" Night noticed that the dark layer covering Shade was still present, meaning there was still something left for the system to pick up on.

[Variables detected!]

[Error! Variables already detected! A significant change has already occurred!]

"Is this because of what happened in the forest??" Night muttered as he recalled the change his subject went through, which in turn gave him the title, The Prince of Darkness and his Subject. However, that wasn't the end either, one last notification, one enough to shock even The Anomaly.

[Do you wish to teach your subject, Shade, your skill tree, Poetry that Personifies The Night?

Disclaimer: Time taken to fully learn and grasp the skill tree depends upon the individual's talent and difficulty of the skill tree. Do you still wish to continue?]