The prognosis wasn't looking hopeful whatsoever. The experts had said that Al's condition looked to be quite grim and that containment was the best choice until they received an extermination order from command.

  With the realm under the control of the containment team, Pietro could finally stop maintaining it himself. Despite knowing there was nothing he could do at that moment he still couldn't find a way to relax. Something had changed in him and it meant he would never be the same.

  He hadn't been emotional for so very long, but it had been happening more frequently as of late. However it wasn't just because of his current circumstances. He had begun growing weary of it all for quite some time, and during the last few days he had even displayed signs of physical aging.

  While he had always thought he was one of those mages that could live forever and remain unchanged, time had proven him wrong. His twilight years were approaching faster than he could have ever expected and his body was beginning to reflect the age of his mind.

  Most likely he only had a few years left in him, two decades at best. He could stave off the decline if he returned to what he had once been, but that would mean losing his newfound humanity. Seeing Al turn into what he had once been had made him start changing his ways, and the thought of his son becoming a monster far worse than what he once was made his heart ache.

  There was still one way to save Al, but it meant leaving his loved ones behind. He was dying and if he called on the favor it would strip him of whatever years he still had left in him. It would mean his end, yet Al would live for a good many years in his stead. With growing determination he reached for the phone.

  As the call connected he could hear chanting on the other end, "Is it you, Pietro? Have you finally made up your mind?"

  The voice on the other side was coarse and had an unmistakable accent that spoke of languages long since dead. They were ancient and had seen countless kingdoms rise and fall over the centuries if not millennia.

  "Yes, I want you to send someone to save my son."

  "Grown a heart have you? This means never seeing him again you know," they croaked.

  "I am well aware of that fact, but saving him takes precedence over any other concerns."

  "You're dying aren't you? You finally reached your limit and you're planning renege on our promise the moment we save your son," they cackled.

  "If you're aware of that fact, how come you haven't just turned me away?"

  "Because we know you're only breaking the spirit of the contract and not the letter."

  So this was it. He was actually throwing his life away for the sake of his son. Sure his time was growing shorter, but he was willing to turn years into days for his family.

  "I swear to abide by the terms of the contract and to uphold my promises to you and yours," he said.

  "And you shall hold no allegiance to anyone but yourself and our sect?"

  "So I swear until the day I breathe my last."

  "Then the contract is struck and you are one of us, immortal."

  There would be no going back. His life was over the moment he had promised to break all former allegiances. Now he was living on borrowed time and it wouldn't be long until overseer decided to strike him down.

  He looked over at the team keeping the realm contained. Lola was there to oversee the team and communicate with the rest of the organization if any changes occurred. Slowly he walked over to her and tapped her on the shoulder.

  "I've called in another specialist to deal with this so I'm going to need you to stall any possible extermination orders from command."

  "What? But I thought there was no way to stabilize his sense of self or prevent the transfiguration!" she exclaimed.

  "I called in a very special favor so I'm going to need you to keep them occupied until they get here."

  "Pietro, I don't have the authority to make them do anything!"

  "Yes you do, because as the lead investigator they have to answer to you."

  Her eyes went wide with disbelief. She had been promoted to a position with real authority and could finally make her wishes come true. Now she was the one in control and others would no longer be able to push her down. Yet there was also worry in her eyes because she knew it meant he had cut ties with the organization.

  "Lola, I will send a message to you before the day is over and I will need you to personally forward it to Al and the rest of my family."

  "What exactly are you planning, Pietro?"

  "The Autumn clan is not currently protected by our laws and someone has to answer for what happened to my son," he said as he began walking away.

  He heard loud footsteps coming from somewhere behind him. There was someone chasing after him, but they couldn't stop him. If they tried they would learn the hard way what it meant to challenge a warlock bearing the title of immortal.

  "You can't just leave overseer behind! This means you're both a warlock and a deserter, which means I will have to bring you in myself."

  Of course it had to be James. The kid had been all but consumed by overseer propaganda and was little more than an obedient zealot working for the cause. He had never particularly liked James so what had to happen next wouldn't bother him in the slightest.

  "Tell me your name..."

  "You already know it! Now surrender yourself to overseer custody at once!"

  He began drawing upon his power. Making it quick was far too kind, but he was already in a hurry and couldn't give the Autumn clan any time to surrender themselves.

  "Serpente della notte, decapitare!"

  A massive serpent of solidified darkness burst from his shadow and shot towards James' throat. Its fangs found their mark and in one swift motion his head was torn from his shoulders turning his lifeless body into fountain spewing forth a ceaseless shower of crimson.

  "If you have no name, then you're clearly just an animal waiting to be slaughtered," Pietro muttered as he left James' corpse behind him.

  The main autumn household wasn't that far away, but going by foot would still take far longer than was acceptable. He would reach it much faster if he traveled through the shadows.

  "Sentiero delle ombre."

  He let himself fall backwards, but instead of hitting the ground he just fell right through his own shadow. Time almost stood still within the gloomy world contained within the dark mirror created by the spell.

  The world of shadows was always bathed in a colorless twilight and every shadow was a yawning doorway back into reality. While it wasn't a true realm, it did somewhat act like it was. One could enter it and even bring things into it, but once the spell ended it would simply cease to be.

  "It's been a while since the last time you entered this place," the shadowy serpent whispered as it slithered up his body.

  "Some part of me thought I would never return, but it seems the serpent shade still dwells within me," he sighed.

  "So this is it then? This is how it all ends?" it said in almost somber tone.

  "I didn't expect it to end this way specifically, but I always knew it would one day come to an end."

  "It was a good eighty or so years, Pietro, but the last twenty years were my favorite."

  "They were somewhat awkward, but they were still the best years of my life," he chuckled.

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  "Rebellious young warlock, overseer investigator, boring old family man, and now a dying immortal, what haven't we been in this life?"

  "There is still one thing left on the list before I'm ready to face my death."

  The serpent already knew what he was thinking. They had considered it once before, but they hadn't been ready for it back then. The attempt had almost cost them their life. The only question was if they were ready for it now.

  "There is a very real chance it fails..."

  "I'm well aware, but even if it does we'll still have plenty of time to kill some witches before the darkness claims us."

  "Now you're speaking my language my friend!"

  His relationship with his soul had always been odd. To some extent he fundamentally rejected it as being truly him. For so many years he had ignored certain parts of himself, but now was the time that he would finally accept them as being a part of him.

  "Are you going to miss me, friend?"

  "We both know you're not going anywhere, but I might just miss hearing all your backtalk," he said before bursting into laughter.

  "So we'll finally be what we were always meant to be then?"

  "Yes, it's really about time I stop denying who I really am."

  Many had said that he had many of the qualities of a savant, but he had always lacked one defining quality. There was a fundamental rejection within that kept him from ever truly stepping across the threshold. He had never fully reconciled the differences between the self and the soul, but now he was finally ready to accept that they had always been one and the same.

  "I suppose even the cold heart of a snake desires the warmth only found underneath the light of the sun," he whispered.

  The illusion was fading and soon they would be as one. But even if he would never hear their voice again he wouldn't be alone. Because they would always be together from now on.

  No longer was there any question about his magic. All that it encompassed was plain as day to him. No longer would he have to rely on spells when he could achieve much greater magic without them. Spells were for those that denied their true place in the world, and he would never reject his place in creation again.

  "I almost thought I would refer to myself in the plural as I used to do before, but I guess it's really just me now," he said to himself.

  The journey through the shadows felt like it had taken almost an hour, but in reality it would have been no more than a few moments. To an outside observer it would look like teleportation when he had really just taken a stroll through the connections that bound all shadows.

  It felt like the world had flipped upside down when he finally stepped back into the real world through a shadow underneath a lonely tree atop a hill overlooking the Autumn household. It always caused him some momentary nausea when he left the shadows, but this time the sensation was far more muted than before.

  Through his will he commanded the darkness around him to shroud his body and form a protective shell. Before he had always used a spell to do so, but this time he actually did it on his own. All the spells and magic he had learned over the years felt pointless now that he had complete mastery of the power that had always dwelled inside of him. He had well and truly become the perilous night.

  There was really no need to vault the wall surrounding the property when he could simply walk up to the gate and knock. After all, no immortal would storm a castle without announcing themselves.

  "I know you can sense my presence so I'm just going to let myself in!" he called out before raising his hand towards the gate.

  Countless tendrils of darkness shot out of his shadow and tore the gate open in the blink of an eye. Once the gate was reduced to nothing but a heap of scrap he finally stepped onto the property.

  He could feel countless spirits heading towards him as he walked, but they wouldn't be able to stop him. They began manifesting around him ready to strike only to be torn asunder by their treacherous shadows. Their cries of terror brought a smile to his face, but he was far from done.

  His real opponents had yet to reveal themselves, but if they tried to hide they would learn the folly of seeking sanctuary within the darkness when faced with the one that all darkness paid respect to.

  Someone in the mansion before him stepped out on the balcony and looked down at him. He could sense that they were powerful, but they weren't nearly powerful enough to be the matriarch of the clan. They were most likely the next in line if the matriarch ever decided to bite the dust.

  "Why are you here? Our matriarch is negotiating with overseer as we speak," the woman said.

  "I'm not associated with the organization, but I do have business with your clan."

  "The deal may be struck any minute so you will surely be put to death if you don't turn around and leave!"

  He wasn't particularly enjoying all the shouting, so he slipped into the shadows and emerged from her own, then stepped up behind her. Not even his future rampage would keep him from following his principles surrounding how to hold a proper conversation.

  "No need to shout," he whispered in her ear.

  She almost fell off the balcony as she stepped back only for the railing to save her from such an ironic fate. It would have been far too convenient if had she slipped and broken her neck when she hit the ground, but he wouldn't hold her lucky break against her when she would die either way.

  "Are you going to be acting all shocked or are you going to give me your name already?"

  "It's Ponderosa," she said once she had regained her composure.

  "How many of your clan are present, Ponderosa?"

  "I'm not going to tell you that."

  He called upon his magic and peered through the darkness within the mansion. In an instant he knew how many dwelled within, but he really would have preferred it if she had just told him.

  "Around twenty in total, but there's also a few hiding behind a ward somewhere," he said to himself.

  "How did you!?"

  With a swift motion he conjured up a tendril of darkness that erupted from her own shadow and coiled around her leg. With a wave of his hand he sent her body flying off the balcony and hurtling towards the ground. There was no point in dragging it out when he only had so much time before the matriarch returned to protect her descendants, so he had to make it quick.

  "Serpente della notte, schiacciare," he said as he invoked his power.

  The shadowy serpent burst out of her shadow before she could even hit the ground and wrapped itself around her body. She screamed in agony as her bones were ground to dust by its coils. By the time it let go of her only the skin held the pulp that was her innards in place.

  "For an heir apparent you were quite weak..."

  He could hear shouts coming from inside the mansion. They were most likely preparing to face off against him, but he wouldn't give them a chance to form any plans of action so he slipped inside his own shadow once more.

  As he entered the grand hall within the other world he could hear sounds coming from multiple shadowy sillhouettes on the floor. About five of them had gathered near the door to the balcony, but little did they know he was hiding within their own shadows.

  He slipped back into the real world through the shadow underneath a nearby table and burst into motion. If he conserved his power he would have a chance of dealing a decisive blow to the matriarch once she returned. Al would never again have to fight for his future if he laid waste to them then and there.

  "He's inside the mansion!" one of them called out right before his hand closed around their throat and crushed their windpipe in one swift motion.

  Quickly he drove his other hand through their stomach and disemboweled them before anyone could so much as consider attempting to heal them. The rest spread out and he could sense their power surging. They would try to attack him from all angles hoping that one of them would manage to land a blow on him. It was a foolish notion considering the fact that they were within his domain, the darkness.

  "Serpente della notte, danzare."

  The corpse in front of him stood up as strings of darkness turned it into a puppet under his control. He pointed towards one of the witches surrounding him and it threw itself at them. The panic made them hesitate long enough for the puppet to tear their throat out with its teeth. With that only three witches were left in the hall, but soon there would be none left.

  As spells came flying towards him he slipped back into the shadow and slithered out of the shadow behind one of them. His fingers broke the skin and his hand tightened around their spine. With a quick twist and a yank he pulled the spine from their body, then raised the corpse in front of him to shield himself from the next barrage of spells.

  They had reduced his puppet to a pile of smoldering meat while he had traveled through the shadows so his formerly human shield wouldn't last for very long, but he needed only a moment.

  While they were focused on attacking him he began invoking his power once more. They didn't even notice the shadowy limbs crawling out of their shadows behind them. Their screams echoed throughout the mansion as the shadows tore them to pieces where they stood.

  He was detecting a theme. Without any spirits to call upon they resorted to the simplistic elemental magic that was the standard nowadays. They had most likely gone through basic training with overseer at some point in their lives and that meant he already knew their every trick when it came to combat.

  Footsteps echoed from the stairs leading up to the hall. By the sound he reckoned there were about three people coming towards him. The shell of darkness he wore granted him quite significant strength, so facing them with his hands would be no more difficult than killing them with magic.

  He charged towards them the moment they reached the top of the stairs. Just as they threw their spells at him he slipped into the shadow once more and emerged in their midst only a moment later. In the blink of an eye he carved them open with his bare hands. Blood and guts spilled onto the steps behind them as he made short work of them with nothing but his hands.

  "Nine so far, but I don't think it'll take long before she returns," he said to himself.

  Killing them with his hands had been efficient when it came to conserving his power, but it also took more time than necessary. So he changed his approach. Slowly he began channeling his power into the darkness around him.

  "Serpente della notte, caccia"

  Countless jet black serpents erupted from the shadows within the mansion. He could hear the distant screams as they hunted down the witches hiding within their rooms. One after the other they fell to the snakes, but his time was up. There was a great power emanating from the courtyard and there was no point in making them wait.

  "Took you long enough," he said as he stepped out on the balcony.

  The woman standing in the courtyard had long brown hair that went below her waist. Her clothing was distinctly victorian and fashioned out of shiny black silk. While she looked to be in her early twenties at most, he knew she was well and truly ancient.

  "An agreement has been reached, but I doubt that would deter you," she scoffed.

  "Morgan, how lovely of you to finally show up," he said as his face split into a wide grin.

  "Of all the people I never expected it to be you, Pietro, and I must say you're looking awful these days."

  "Well thank you, and might I say you always looked better without the dress," he chuckled.

  "I see that hobby family of yours certainly hasn't made you any less childish," she muttered as she inspected her nails.

  "At least it was more fulfilling than constantly jumping between you and Valerie."

  He jumped off the balcony and landed on the ground in front of her. She was far more powerful than he once were, but now that he had realized his potential there was a very real chance he could win. He couldn't waste any time thinking about the wounds she would no doubt inflict on him. All he had to do was focus on making sure his attacks would land.

  "Really Pietro? Is this about old times?"

  "No, I'm just here to put you down for good you old relic."