My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger
Chapter 403 - 404: Knowledge In The Dark

"Tsk. At least be happy people actually talk to you…"

The voice came from Damon's side again—Back-to-Back.

Damon didn't react. It wasn't actually back-to-back. Just another figment of his unraveling mind.

His insanity was at Level 2 now. He used to ignore these hallucinations. Now? He talked back to them. Argued. Fought. Fully aware it was all in his head.

"Screw off," he muttered.

Evangeline approached, biting her lips as she looked at him.

'Seriously, Evangeline… what do you want?'

Damon wondered, but didn't say it aloud.

"He's grown. Wasn't this the girl he used to tell to screw off?" came Carmen Vale's voice, off to the side, sitting on nothing, sipping tea from a cup that probably didn't exist.

Or at least, Damon hoped it was tea.

He sighed and ignored the second phantom of his madness.

"Eva… what's on your mind?"

Evangeline nodded, rubbing her palms together—a small habit reacting to the bite of the cold night air.

She'd been quite far from the fire, sharing first watch with Damon.

"Are you cold?"

He asked again. She shook her head slowly and sat down beside him.

Back-to-Back sighed.

"She's quite beautiful, isn't she? Hmm. I can see why Xander was so smitten with her… too bad you stole his girl. So much for being brothers in arms. With a friend like you, who needs enemies…"

"Shut up," Damon muttered.

Evangeline blinked, startled. "Hmmm? What—I… I didn't say anything…"

Damon forced a smile. "It's fine. Wasn't talking to you. You were saying…?"

Evangeline glanced at him, worry rising behind her eyes.

"I haven't said anything yet…"

Damon could see the anxiety written on her face. He had died and come back. Her concern wasn't misplaced.

Somehow, her expression warmed his heart.

"I wonder why I didn't focus on these two when Sylvia was here…" Carmen mused, sipping his imaginary tea with a smug smile.

"You were too busy undressing her in your mind. There was no room for us…"

Damon lifted his hand to call forth Ashborn, then stopped.

Right. They weren't real.

Evangeline caught the gesture, her gaze locking onto his. Without a word, he reached into his shadow storage. His fingers brushed through the darkness and pulled out a blanket—soft and warm, woven from finer materials than most would afford.

He offered it to her.

"Here. It's cold."

Evangeline's smile lit her face. She opened the blanket and gently draped it over them both, snuggling closer to share the warmth.

"You're cold too."

Damon glanced down at the blanket now covering his legs.

"Don't do anything erotic, you bastard. Her father and grandfather will destroy you. Hey—just remember the story. What does she even want?"

He shot a glare at Back-to-Back, who casually gestured to Damon's shadow.

'Mind your business…' That one, he kept to himself.

Evangeline's gaze drifted to Damon's neck, where his mother's locket lay.

"I… I wanted to ask you something… erm, your… mo—village. What was it like…?"

Damon tilted his head back. He could already hear Back-to-Back whispering that something was off, but not without slipping in some insult first.

"Why?"

She looked away. "Erm, you told Matia about… your past. I mean, you don't have to tell me anything…"

Damon sighed. There wasn't any real reason not to. So… he told her.

He spoke about his village—not the parts he hated, not the pain—but the fragments of joy. The laughter. The warm days when his parents were still alive.

Evangeline opened up too. She spoke of her father. She didn't mention much about her grandfather—the way she avoided the subject made it clear that part of her life was strained.

Somehow, the topic shifted to Valtheron.

Evangeline laughed at Damon's casual, borderline disrespectful commentary about some of the empire's most powerful nobles.

"I don't know… you don't get called Abellona of Destruction for being a peaceful person."

Evangeline sighed. "The Valtheron imperial princess is a powerhouse. She's only a few years older than us…"

Damon chuckled. "Have you ever seen her face? I mean, she's supposedly always wearing a veil…"

"She must be really ugly…"

Evangeline elbowed him sharply.

"You'd definitely get executed. No doubt. She wears a veil because she's beautiful. The Jewel of the Empire."

Damon sneered. "Or it's shame. Hey, you can't know—you've never seen her face."

Evangeline couldn't argue with that logic.

She huffed, arms crossing as they sat there beneath the blanket, the cold air unable to reach them.

Back-to-Back yawned.

"Alright, we've indulged her enough. Are you actually an idiot, or did you get dropped on your head as a baby? It's obvious what's going on here…"

Carmen nodded at the hallucination of Back-to-Back.

"She was gathering information… seems Sylvia wasn't the only one that learned from his no-good methods…"

Back-to-Back gestured toward Damon's shadow.

"Imagine the audacity to use his own tricks against him…"

"Damon, you little shit… I raised you better than this. Don't let her go. You know you're curious…"

Damon narrowed his eyes. Insanity aside… they were right.

'I see… so this is the power of Insanity Mastery. Each mastery actually has an effect on me. I just never noticed… because I was already strong. For Swordsmanship, the effect was techniques—like Dark Blade. For Insanity… it's different.'

Carmen tilted his head at Back-to-Back.

"What's this fool doing?"

"Wasting time, that's what."

Evangeline started to stand—or tried to.

Damon reached out and pulled her gently into his arms.

She fell against him, cheeks flushed as he leaned closer.

Her face reddened deeper, her head shifting slightly.

"Erhmm… not here…"

Damon didn't stop. His face was so close their noses nearly touched.

"Eva… did you get what you wanted? This whole thing… was because you wanted information on… my mother, didn't you?"

Evangeline blinked. Her eyes widened. She bit her lip.

He continued, softly, "My mother's locket's been with you this past month. And you opened it. Curious, Evangeline…"

Her gaze met his.

"I… I was just curious…"

Damon grinned, then placed a playful kiss on her cheek.

"Hehehe. What are you so freaked out about? Jeez, I was just teasing…"

Evangeline touched her cheek, then glared, punching him in the gut before storming off.

Back-to-Back leaned in close to Damon's face.

"What is wrong with you? Are you an idiot? She knows something. Hell, she might even know about your mother… you idiot…"

Damon nodded.

"That's fine. If she doesn't want to tell me now, it's probably because she thinks she's protecting me…"

He glanced at Back-to-Back.

"I'm sorry I'm not the same person you raised… why would I risk hurting someone I care about for knowledge that might not even serve me? Mom is dead… I don't have to know everything about her life."

Carmen smiled gently.

"But we have a clue. A very glaring clue. Just don't let your thoughts spiral too far…"

Damon turned toward the ruined city.

"We'll be home soon."