The Shadow Behind Her

The crown shattered on the floor as I watched in horror. The tourmaline broke into several pieces while the engraved jades scattered around the floor. I looked, horrified, frozen in my place.

I shouldn’t have entered this room. This was yet another mistake.

I was currently at the museum that had recently opened at the southern edge of the City of Ellan, nestled within the Xuanian mountains. I came here to see the ancient objects kept for exhibition after two years of not leaving my room. I couldn’t leave my room, and I couldn’t tell anyone the reason. Not that anyone asked me why I hadn’t left the room or why didn’t I talk to people anymore. They stopped talking to me when I couldn’t do it anymore.

What I went through, didn’t let me act like a normal person anymore.

I took a step back. As my eyes took in the horror, I realized perhaps this was why this room was closed and empty.

There was no one near this room, and I wanted to be alone for some reason. So, I entered this room.

But I shouldn’t have.

Immediately after the crown shattered, darkness filled the room. I stepped further back until my back touched the wall. I could practically hear my heart beating erratically.

What was going on? Why did the light suddenly go out? I couldn’t see anything in front of me. And I didn’t know which direction was the exit.

I gulped and clutched my racing heart when a dim illumination filled the room and the source of it was a tall man that had appeared in front of me out of thin air. There was a terrifying aura around him.

He had a pair of black and golden horns on his head, his eyes were golden, a smirk playing on his lips, his chest was bare showing off his defined muscles underneath the long robe he was wearing.

I blinked several times as the man cracked his head side to side and raised one of his gloved hands toward me.

“Who managed to free me from this damn crown?”

My lips parted but no sound came out at first.

Then I remembered the dark legend of Ellan. There was a dark being named Xazgon, a demon imprisoned in this ancient crown for a long time by the firstborn princess of King Drekkan, her name was Aarein Anael Cerr. According to legend, this demon serves its master throughout his life.

I blinked again.

Did I just free an ancient demon from its prison? No. This wasn’t good.

The demon raised his index finger at me and smirked.

I choked out. “Me.”

The demon’s golden eyes narrowed as he took a step closer. The air inside the empty room crackled with dark energy emitting from the dark being standing in front of me.

“Oh? So... a mere mortal girl broke the seal? How... unexpected.” He tilted his head while studying me with a mix of annoyance and curiosity. “You have no idea what you’ve just unleashed, do you?”

His deep voice dropped to a growl. “I’ve been trapped in that cursed crown for three hundred years. And now...” he paused for an excruciatingly long moment before adding, “I belong to you. A mere human.”

A dark chuckle rumbled in his chest. “How utterly humiliating. But rules are rules. I serve the one who frees me.”

Lifting a gloved hand, he gestured toward me. “Well then, little mistress. May I know your name?”

“My-my name is Arda. Arda Asen Ragnail.”

“Very well, my mistress. What is your first command for me?”

Was it real? Or was I just dreaming? An ancient demon was calling me his mistress and asking for a command? From me? I took a deep breath and stood straight before him.

“What is your name?” I asked quietly.

“Me?” he chuckled. “So, you don’t even know who am I and still managed to free me from that prison? Interesting.” He chuckled darkly. “My name is Xazgon.”

“Xazgon,” I repeated his name then added without any hesitation. “Stay beside me until the very end. I don’t have much time left.”

Xazgon’s expression shifted for a moment. “Is that all? Very well, if it pleases you, I will stay at your side.”

He moved closer to me as his dark figure loomed over me. “But did you really think that I will obey all of your commands without a question? I am a powerful demon after all, not some lowly servant.” He paused. “I need a trade to serve you.” He paused again, as if deciding on something before continuing, “You mentioned you don’t have much time left. Care to elaborate?”

“I have a history,” I quietly answered.

Xazgon crossed his arms. His eyes were glowing faintly in that dim illumination he was emitting from his body.

“Ah. History. How vague… and painfully human.”

He leaned in slightly. His voice was low, almost teasing when he added, “So you’re not just a foolish girl who shattered a cursed crown by accident—you also have a past. What could it be? Did you fight? Bleed? Survive something unspeakable?”

His smirk sharpened, but there was something different than the curiosity beneath it which I couldn’t understand.

He continued, “Then let me rephrase. I’ll stay by your side until the end of your days… but only if you promise not to bore me with silence, my mistress.” He leaned down further. “Tell me one thing—just one—about this history of yours that made you strong enough to break my seal.”

“It was just an accident.” My face reddened. I couldn’t tell him my history. At least, not now.

Xazgon stared into my eyes for a few seconds until my eyes wavered and I averted my gaze.

A heavy silence followed. Xazgon’s expression remained unreadable, his golden eyes never leaving my face. It was as if he was trying to absorb everything about my life—the suffering, the pain, the loneliness which I was desperately trying to hide. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he spoke, “You’ve endured… more than any human should.”

There was no doubt in his voice, no pity, just a quiet acknowledgment of my reality.

My eyes snapped toward him. I blinked but didn’t respond immediately.

Then, when Xazgon straightened and stood in front of me, looking down, I spoke quietly, “I know. When I see other people having a normal life, meeting people, having fun, smiling, laughing, getting excited over small things —I feel weighed, constricted. I don’t have much time left. So just stay with me till then.”

Xazgon’s gaze darkened, and he approached closer. His presence was dominating the space around me. “Till the end.”

His voice was soft, an almost soothing timbre that belied the power lurking beneath. He moved like liquid darkness, coming to stand just a few inches away from me. “I can sense the weariness in you.”

Then he slowly started circling around me, studying me like a predator would its prey. “I can smell the pain, the despair, the loneliness—what is your history, little mistress? It’s making me too curious.”

“I can’t tell you.” I felt too scared to look at him when I noticed the long black tail behind him, the tip of it looked terrifying which was adorned with sharp countless spikes.

“Hmm.” Xazgon paused in his circling, coming to a stop directly behind me. Without warning, he leaned in, his breath warm against the bare skin of my neck. Like a slow, deliberate caress in the dark. It was an unexpectedly intimate gesture from this ancient, powerful creature.

I flinched at the closeness.

“You’ve borne this weight alone for too long,” he whispered in his low thick voice. “You shouldn’t have to bear it alone anymore.”

His gloved hand reached out and gently landed on the nape of my neck.

I froze.

His gloved hand was a heavy, electrifying weight against my skin—a touch that felt like both a rescue and a tether.

I didn’t know if Xazgon was testing the waters of my resolve or if I was simply falling deeper into a dark, bottomless ocean.