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He had been called many names – Shadow Summoner, Darkling, Starless Saint, Black Heretic.
Only one had ever called him by his true name.
There had been legends of those born with power. Those that could do miraculous things – controlling the elements, healing the sick, alchemy – however there had only ever been one Shadow Summoner. He could control the shadows, bending them to his will, making them wisps to knives in mere seconds. It was rumored that his powers were so great, that the strength of his power gave him health, that it allowed him to have eternal life. One could have used this power for good, but there only one thing this man wanted – power.
He spent centuries attaining that one thing; toppling kingdoms, amassing wealth, and just like his powers, he stayed in the shadows, remaining a legend, all the while changing the course of history with no one the wiser.
He thought that was all he ever wanted, his ambition and greed spurring him through the years, never feeling satisfied.
It all changed when he met her.
The moment he saw her bending the light to her will, glowing like a sun in a blistering afternoon, he could not help but turn to her – like calls to like after all. He thought he wanted to attain her power, as he did everything else, to manipulate her will to his own, and combined, they could amass power no one person could have alone.
But he was wrong.
With her, it was like learning everything all over again. With her, he felt young, naïve, like he did not know anything about what he wanted till he wanted her. Every time he fought her, she fought back, every time he gave, she gave back in tenfold. He tried to teach her to love power, she taught him that he could walk away from his past.
He fell in love.
With her, she was worth more than any power in the world, more than life itself. He realized, and it took him a long time to admit this to himself, that she was worth growing old for.
So, they both gave up their powers. Decided that the love they had for each other was greater than any riches, gold, or kingdoms and they could have attained together. He realized that in all the time he was searching for power, he was really searching for something to fill the void loneliness left inside of him.
The years with her would never be enough, even if he had to deal with the humanness of aging, whether that meant having a grey hair or two, or looking at the smile lines on his wife’s face.
He was happy, content, and nothing he ever conquered in his long life had compared to the feeling of being conquered by the one who loved him.
But then they took her away from him.
A spiteful enemy long forgotten in his memory, seeking revenge on the great Black Heretic while he was at his weakest.
She called his name while she died in his arms – the only one to ever know it, the only one to ever know his heart.
Too many emotions swirled inside him – sadness, anger, regret, guilt – his soul a bottomless pit of despair.
Why could he not have protected her more? how could he have stopped this? Why did his past have to come back to haunt him?
It all came down to this – if he had still used his powers, none would have dared to lay a hand on her.
He stood up, summoning the shadows to his beck and call, feeling the strength summoning gave him as shadows burst from his body, encompassing everything around them.
He would never be weak again.
And if the world was enveloped with his shadows? Then so be it.
They took away his light, after all, they did not deserve to have any either.