SHADOW SLAVE: CROWN OF HOLLOW SCORN

Chapter 2: New chapter?



Yo gang, this is chapter 1 but i wrote it in a diff writing style. i wanna know what type of style should i go for so can you guys tell me which chapter you mess with more? the direction and aspects of the story might also get affected?

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Another headache that felt like it would kill him. The crown acted again, forcing its will upon him, but this time, Valen didn't kneel. He clenched his jaw, forcing himself to endure, multiplying the pain tenfold.

The crown's whispers clawed at his mind, molten gold searing his veins. Gritting his teeth, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and muttered,

"When will this damn Winter Solstice thing even start?"

According to his original plan, he should've been at the Academy by now. Instead… Well, instead, he was lost. Lost in a place far from the NSQC, far from his grand palace-like room. Here, he was forced to live like a rat—rummaging through garbage, choking down synthpaste, barely scraping by. Ah, the humiliation. But if eating synthpaste and sleeping in a cardboard box meant staying alive and free, he would gladly accept it and so would his brother....only if he had the choice

"Pfft—"

Shaking his head, Valen trudged towards his 'home.' Calling it a home was generous—it was a half-collapsed cardboard shelter with square holes cut into the sides so he could keep watch and avoid getting jumped, truly a place fit for a king.

The air smelled of rot, and kids scurried about, eyeing his domain with greedy looks. On the way to his royal cardboard palace, he spotted a frail-looking boy—pale skin, dark circles under his eyes and most importantly....short. The boy was short. Absurdly so. Valen might've pitied him once—before the crown turned empathy into a liability.

Valen stared down at the boy—so tiny he could've tripped over a pebble—and snorted. "Ah, the tragedy," he drawled, lips curling into a smirk.

The boy just stared, his lips curling into a strange, unsettling grin. Valen's fingers twitched as the crown's pulse echoed in his skull—a drumbeat of chaos

. The boy stood there, small enough to vanish under a shadow. Valen's chest tightened, a flicker of… something…

Dare look at...

The crown screamed.

Molten gold flooded Valen's veins. His vision fractured

Insolence. Disrespect.

Valen tried to resist, but he couldn't fight it. He smirked, the words spilling out like poison. "Aww, look at you. Did someone steal your growth spurt? Smile, short stack. Maybe the turrets will mistake you for a target dummy.

He chuckled, though his ribs ached.

Sunny's eyes narrowed. "You talk a lot for someone who reeks of garbage." Valen's laugh rang hollow, his ribs aching.

Shut up, shut up, why won't you shut—

The boy turned to leave. Valen's hand shot out, gripping Sunny's shoulder. "Hey, I wasn't do—"

CRACK.

Pain lanced through Valen's body, sharp and metallic. The crown's chains constricted his throat.

Regret is weakness.

Regret is punishment.

He stumbled back, veins spiderwebbing across his neck. Sunny stared, his shadow stretching unnaturally long. "You… okay?" Sunny's voice was flat, but his eyes flickered—calculating.

Valen grinned, blood tingeing his teeth gold. "Peachy. Just… admiring the scenery." He waved at the trash-strewn alley. Sunny left without another word.

Alone, Valen slumped against the wall. His crown hummed.

The taste of copper filled his mouth. His chest burned where the pang of… whatever that was… had flickered.

Never again.

Valen scoffed. This damned flaw of his. Shaking his head, he kept walking. When he reached his 'palace,' he pulled out a crumpled synthpaste packet and forced himself to eat. Disgusting. Now all he had to do was find this bum ass academy. How hard could it be? Another mouthful of the synthpaste and it was finished.

Now it was the glorious time to hunt for resources!!! Valen ran towards the nearest garbage bin.

If only his sister could see him right now.

Across the Outskirts,

What was that guy's deal? The petite boy walked briskly toward the nearest police station, He glanced over his shoulder, half-expecting the strange man to be following him. The man had been dressed like a beggar but carried himself with an odd sense of pride. And then there was that feeling— what was that presence?

For a moment, he felt like he was going to be squished to death, like a bug beneath someone's boot. It started as a subtle pressure, like the air itself was thickening around him, it felt like the air had thickened, pressing down on his shoulders. Then it grew worse, suffocating, crushing.

Like he was about to be stepped on.

At the end, though… it looked like the guy was forcing himself.

Weird.

Ah well it doesn't matter, he was gonna die anyways today so it was better to risk it then get mugged. But if he was gonna die today then what would it matter if he got mugged or not??

[Your burden grows heavier.]

Dang who would've thought I would have to end a life today? Valen thought, wiping his hands on the dead kid's clothes, Another street rat, He should've known that this cardboard was his. Stupid Idiot, now he died for a piece of cardboard.

"Guess he musta hated me a lot for me to receive a fragment tho" , Valen muttered, a wry smile tugging at his lips, "hehe, Thanks kid."

With that he walked out of the alley with his grand prize between His arms. Just a few steps away, he ran into someone familiar.

It was the shortie from before. But something was different. His clothes were cleaner, his posture sharper, his presence more… refined. He survived a Seed. "You lived through a Nightmare?" Valen asked abruptly.

Sunny opened his mouth—to mock, to prod—but froze. Valen's shadow stretched behind him, not black but radiant, a corona of light shaped like a king's mantle. For a moment, the alley seemed to bow.

The boy's gaze dropped to Valen's golden-veined hands. "You didn't."

Valen's grin felt like a crack in porcelain. "Dramatic. I just… need your help, You know where the Academy is?"

KILL YOURSELF

The boy tossed him a canteen. "Academy's northeast. A day's walk." Valen caught it, fingers trembling. The crown burned.

The boy hesitated, "Hey", He needed people to survive the nightmare. Maybe this guy would be of help to him. Even though he was clearly unstable, "Come with me."

Valen clapped the boy's shoulder, blood smearing his filthy shirt.

AGONY

He grinned through the pain. "Thanks."

And they had an amazing road trip with Master Jet, hooray!

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Valen was standing before a massive, seemingly indestructible red gates of the Awakened Academy. The Academy was like a city inside a city, built on a fortress, with a high wall made of hard alloy, deep moat and numerous large caliber turrets which were placed in certain positions to create a deadly air -suppression dome. No Nightmare Creature, not even colossal titans ,were supposed to be able to break through its defenses.

"Ahhh real freedom is truly close", Valen shuddered with anticipation In the Dream Realm., Valen would swiftly seek out the nearest Song citadel and be under their protection. Wouldn't that be great?, He thought to himself," Away from that stinking and crude cardboard house of his."

Sunny's shadow coiled. "You reek of desperation."

At the gates, he hesitated. "Why help me?"

Sunny shrugged. "You just looked so pathetic "

KILL 

The crown urged. Valen's veins pulsed. "Tell Jet I'll cut her throat first."

Sunny's eyes narrowed. "Try it."


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