In the darkest depths of the dungeons, down countless elevators and through a cave that still bore the mark of demonic spiders, lay the second most secured gate within the Watcher's hold. Only the entrance was more tightly knit in terms of spells and just like the one above it was a circular gate with the mural of an owl carved into its wood. This was where the corpse of Illidan had been kept not too long ago and where they had stored the only weapon that had survived the sacrifice of its power in the pursuit of stopping Sargeras' sword from poisoning their very world.
Even cum-drunk, the Watchers that accompanied him down here were uncomfortable with his decision to go here. However, their leader had spoken her final warning earlier and her master wanted to do this anyhow. Maiev raised her hand, a silver glow surrounding it as she spoke a chant in her native tongue. The door slid open without any sound.
"Stay here," Anduin told everyone and set out to cross the bridge. The darkness here had transformed into a pitch-black Abyss since the new captive had been set into her confinement. It grew above even the drop beyond the path and hid everything beyond a few metres around Anduin in complete black. Looking over his shoulder, Maiev had already vanished from view.
There was no ledge between him and the edge. Despite this, the High King stepped forwards without hesitation. Not even the Light, he called upon, for the one in his heart was the only one he needed to guide him. He had achieved an equilibrium between the forces and as such, this Shadow was nothing to fear.
Ahead of him a single, dark blue light appeared. The surroundings made it impossible to gage how far away it was, but the snake-like pupil left no doubt that she was watching him approach. 'The boy king,' a seductive voice spoke into his mind. She sounded weakened, but that didn't stop her from trying to manipulate Anduin, as the voidborne always wanted to. 'Have you come to serve at the master's table?'
"The only master I serve is myself," Anduin's resolute voice answered. In nothing but the brown robes, he used to obscure his identity during travels, and wielding Shalamayne he reached the source. Upon a stone pedestal hovered, held up by invisible forces, a dagger. Together, the back of the black, rune-beset blade and the spike-covered guard formed a flowing S-shape. The dark blue eye sat above the grip and stared. Despite it's inorganic state, the will within the blade was perfectly capable of sensing what was around it.
'You... have changed since I last gazed upon your soul,' Xal'atath, Blade of the Black Empire, sounded honestly surprised. A snicker, attractive and composed, like that of a noblewoman who had been using only her charisma to rise to prominence. 'How peculiar. This is not the fate he foresaw.'
"Nobody foresaw what I would do for this world," Anduin stated and gripped the blade's handle. He shared of his Shadow with her, filled her with the energy she needed to recover. Before his eyes, liquid flesh began ooze from the metal.
From dark blue, it changed into a deep purple, new spikes growing from the back of the blade as membranes spanned between the ones already there. The runes transformed into bags of liquid shadow and the edge sat upon flesh. The eye widened in delight, suddenly capable of moving. Xal'atath blinked, the blade stretching within the High King's hand like a cat after a long nap.
She tried to pull more from Anduin's power, but he cut the flow once she was restored to this degree. 'A most gracious gift, your highness,' she purred, in a much stronger tone now. 'I see now what you intend with me.' Along with the power, the recent history of his deeds had been flooding the blade's consciousness. She knew his plans and intentions now. 'I am honoured by your trust in me.'
The abyss around Anduin crept back, the cave suddenly visible in its entirety. The owned of the darkness was no longer hostile towards him, and Shalamayne spent golden light for him anyhow. Now that the High King possessed another weapon as the outlet of his Shadow, there was no need for Shalamayne to represent his balance on its own.
"It is not with trust that I gave these memories to you, it is with certainty that this is the quickest way to get you to play along," the king stated and turned around. He was playing with something far more dangerous than fire, he knew. However, if he wanted to master the Shadow, he needed a teacher and a focus. The Blade of the Black Empire fulfilled both of these conditions at once.
Yes, he had been able to use his powers freely already to accomplish things, Vanessa was the greatest proof of this, but the Shadow sometimes leaked out when he didn't mean to. So far that had only caused accidental orgasms on the part of his slaves, but it was only a question of time before something vile would happen.
Furthermore, the blade possessed knowledge outside of what any library of this world could hold. The risk in taking her out of this confinement was enormous, but the returns would hopefully make it worth it.
'I will make it worth your while,' Xal'atath promised, the sensual voice not at all fitting with the eldritch blade in his left hand. 'Let me show you a simple trick, as thanks,' she stated and the light-eating aura of void magic appeared around her. A moment later, she was gone. 'Take a step backwards, if you would, your highness,' she said in a voice as smooth as butter one a honey bread. He did and a moment later Xal'atath reappeared in his hand. 'A spell that lets you shift an object into the void and tether it to a soul, carrying it with you without any hassle,' she explained.
The legends about Xal'atath often stated that the blade appeared only where it could wreak the most havoc and seemingly out of nowhere. This explained how she got around. 'On my own, this spell is quite draining...' she sighed in exhaustion, a veiled ploy to get Anduin to feed her yet more of his power. Seeing through this, he still obliged. She was in no position to overtake him. Even if he were to feed her all of the darkness within him, he would still have access to the Light. That would make it an even fight between just the two of them and Anduin was rarely on his own. 'Just a bit more...' she gasped in a lustful tone, a spectre suddenly appearing at Anduin's side.
He immediately pointed Shalamayne at the translucent shape. "Be at ease, your majesty," the more tangible voice of Xal'Atath echoed from the ghost. The dark outline of a body became more defined by the second, Anduin simply staying ready to react.
An elf of light, greyish-blue skin and wavy, midnight blue hair appeared. She had a body much closer to that of a blood than of a night elf and was completely naked. Her frame was slender, long legs rising into wide hips, a narrow waist and then firm, decently large breasts. She had clearly taken a form to be as pleasing to Anduin as was possible within her dark nature and succeeded in doing so.
