Shenlong slammed into the party, blasting everyone with a white wave of freezing rime. As the crystallized water fell off the party like shed scales, everyone's world went white.

  Show me the contents of your hearts, young ones. Those who impress me, can match blades with me.

  Sylphie blinked as she got up from a soft bed. Warm sunlight was streaming through a window that Maggie sat in front of outside the house they were apparently in.

  She put a hand down to steady herself as she got out of bed, only for her hand not to touch fabric, but warm flesh. She looked down to see a shirtless Ondun still sleeping with a smile, his black and blue hair tousled against the white of their sheets. She felt herself go red. Since when were we...this close?

  Sylphie got up, and slipped out of her nightclothes into more standard traveling attire. She put her hair up into a simple ponytail, and had Wispy act as a second light source so she could apply some light makeup. She smiled at her much happier expression...was I always this cheerful? She asked herself.

  She bumped into Ondun on the way out of the bathroom.

  "Morning, he said." He'd put on a shirt, unfortunately for the young monster coach, but she could see his rippling muscles, especially around his mighty shoulders. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek, which he returned. Wait a minute, this is off. Ondun's not really the kissing type, as far as I know.

  He began his morning routine, quickly washing up, brushing his teeth, and putting on some Monastrian travel clothes of his own. Wait, the Knowledge Gems aren't on his neck anymore! She noticed.

  "Ondun, honey...why aren't you wearing your Knowledge Gems?" she asked cautiously.

  "Oh, those? Yeah, I don't need them anymore. I've decided, my wandering days are mostly over. I think I want to stay with you...forever." Sylphie felt her heart quicken at the words; they were everything she'd wanted to hear the man say to her for who-knows-how-long. He scooped her up into his arms, and they kissed a long, deep kiss. "I'm yours now, Sylphie."

  Sylphie gave her boyfriend a second kiss, but drew it short. "Wait a minute. Ondun...your dream is to see the two worlds, to make a world where we can go wherever, to see new horizons, with our Mons at our side. Why do you want to settle down?"

  "Because I love you, obviously."

  Sylphie narrowed her eyes. Something's not right here. Why can't I remember going to bed with him? She felt a blast of chill wind about her for some reason, but Ondun's warmth was all about her as he held the coach in his arms.

  "I love you too, Ondun. I thought for a moment my love for you was just because of my daddy issues..." she rolled her eyes. "But I think I really fell in love with you back in Xinling, when I saw how bad things got for you after you lost your friend. That's why, I don't want even my love to hold you back."

  Ondun's face froze, not in confusion or any emotion whatsoever. It just froze. Something's definitely off. She looked around the...log cabin?...they were living in. When she looked around, she saw nothing purple, her favorite color, other than Ondun himself. I always buy purple toothbrushes, she thought to herself. Looking around, more things were off.

  "I don't think this is real, Ondun." She laid her head against her boyfriend's chest. "I wish it were...but it's not. Ondun loves me more platonically than I'd like. I wish he were like this, with the kissing, and the shirtless sleeping...but if he were, it wouldn't be him." She sighed. "Ondun, let's go on a journey. I will not tie you down. That's not love, that's possession. Once, I wanted to possess you, but that was childish, and foolish, and a result of my pain. I want you to spread your wings, even as I spread mine."

  The false Ondun nodded. "Then...know that the real Ondun is lucky to have you. I'm an illusion based in a fundamental truth: Your love has a dark side to it, just as you do. The arts of the Shadow Knight are dangerous to wield, because they amplify the darkness within the wielder. Think of me...as your ego."

  The false Ondun melted into a puddle of black, from which a familiar feminine shape reformed. Sylphie immediately knew what she would look like. She was utterly unsurprised when she saw her own face, her own body, in the black armor that pulsed with brilliant red power.

  "You know, Shenlong is trying to mess with your mind right now. It's not so much that I'm blocking him, as I'm redirecting it. We need to have some girl talk." Ego gestured to the bed she'd shared with Ondun, and the two sides of Sylphie sat.

  "You can have Ondun," Ego said with confidence. "You can have it all. Hiro wouldn't mind a woman like you either. Think of it: A reverse harem! Attention to make your father's lackluster 'effort' at parenting completely irrelevant." Sylphie felt herself go red at having a thought she'd had once or twice voiced. Ego smirked sinisterly.

  Sylphie brought herself out of her reverie, and immediately closed her eyes. "That's the thing, though. I'd have them...but it wouldn't be what I really want." Ego grinned. "So...tell me what you want...what you really, really want."

  Sylphie thought for a moment, but only a moment. "I want to be loved...and I have that. Ondun loves me. I don't need more than that, emotionally. What I do want, is to be strong in and of myself, though. I don't want to rely on the Knowledge Gem's power to be able to stand at anyone's side, or protect what I love...or who I love. I want my daddy to be okay. I want my world to be okay. I want Ondun to heal from what ails him."

  Ego nodded knowingly. "But you also want more. You're holding yourself back."

  Sylphie nodded. "It can't be helped. I don't control Ondun. I will not compel love or lust from him. I will not manipulate him. Maybe I could...but I would hate myself even if it all worked out." She shuddered. "I fear what I would become if I went down that path."

  Ego nodded. "We agree on that. We follow our own path. We belong to no one but us. We love who we love, and how we love." Sylphie nodded in agreement.

  "Then, it seems our mind and heart are aligned." Ego stood up and held out one hand. "Put your hand in mind, then start breathing slowly."

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  Sylphie did.

  The Light in the Dark is the basis of all the Shadow Knight's arts. The brightest lights cast the darkest shadow, and no light is so powerful as love. Yet, even as a flame casts warmth and light about a darkened room, so too can the fire consume you. Care becomes possession. Attraction becomes base lust. Attention becomes a drug that consumes you from the inside out.

  Sylphie nodded at her own wisdom, and that of the Knowledge Gem. She felt the cold winds and the battle about her, but continued breathing.

  The Darkside is the other you, the you that keeps you honest. The Darkside is what you are all alone, in the dark, with no parades, or medals, or cities to celebrate your name. To fight your Darkside is impossible; to confront the darkness within with a spirit of love for yourself and others will give you the power to harness the fullness of your passion...and thus, the fullness of a Shadow Knight's power.

  Sylphie opened her eyes. The log cabin faded to the white of the snowy mountainside, where Shenlong was staring at her appraisingly.

  She closed her eyes and breathed out. "Ego, let us defend what we love. Darkside."

  A pool of shadow bubbled up at Sylphie's side, and the other her appeared, armor, greatsword, and all. "I didn't expect you to call so soon. Shall we give the wizard lizard a demonstration of our power?"

  Sylphie nodded. Shenlong grinned.

  You choose love over possession. You choose the bonds you have over supremacy. You are indeed worthy, Sylphie Lee. Don't disappoint me with a Shadow Knight's power.

  Hiro opened his eyes, and smoothed out the black suit he was wearing. He pulled out his cellphone to see picture perfect hair, as an attractive aide fussed over him. "Minister Kaminari, your press conference is in five minutes. Could you not take naps all the time?"

  He grinned to the woman. She was his personal aide, but for some reason he couldn't remember her name. "No promises. Naps help me clear my head, when they're naps. Sometimes they're meditation."

  She raised an eyebrow. "No, they're naps. I'm a master of meditation. I know the difference."

  He laughed. "Right...that was on your resume," he said, testing the unfamiliar woman. She nodded, and neither confirmed nor denied it.

  Hiro got up, and made sure he had his Palasamurai out to handle translation, and also as a bodyguard just in case. He walked out to a veritable wall of journalists who snapped photos, had microphones out, and were waiting for the Minister to speak. Wait, what nation am I the minister of again?

  He looked at the podium, only to see a sheet of paper with the words, "Shoji called out sick; you're a good public speaker. Wing it." He resisted the urge to sigh.

  "First, thank you all for coming here. In the wake of the attacks from the Dark Ones of Arcanis, we've had a rough few years, but I'd like to think the programs I've put into place have been helpful for us all. The anticorruption measures I proposed have helped the Yamato government stabilize itself from some of the worse infighting. Guardian Alice has had a hard time, but I decided not to take over Guardianship of Kongming, because she does a good enough job. Our diplomatic ties are strong, and even Mericaria has to show us respect. Simply put, it seems like the ideas I was put into office to achieve have helped everyone - yes, even the rich, no matter how much you grumble about taxes." He said with a nod to a stone-faced elder in one corner of the room.

  "Any questions or remarks?" he asked.

  "Susan Ichimura, Kyoto Daily News. What is your position on the diplomatic missions between Arcanis and Monastria? The Vroskan Emissary is said to have been trying to get at top-secret weapon data and Mon training programs."

  He thought about that. Wait, we haven't connected the worlds yet. Shenlong just told us to shut the gate. He pretended to think for a moment, and whipped up a fine pile of horsecrap for what was very clearly a situation that wasn't real.

  "While I don't know the details, I do know people from Arcanis. I was wary of Ondun at first. His friend Aenora is a lot easier to get to know. Easier on the eyes too." His aide rolled her eyes off to one side; it was too perfect.

  "Espionage is part and parcel of diplomacy. It's no surprise that some dubious people come across the Yongqi Gate. However, there's good an honorable people over there too. I won't lie: I mistrust the idea of people from another world, with no accountability to Monastria having the run of our world. That being said, if my journeys with Ondun so far have taught me anything, it's that perspective matters. I pledged to myself when I took this post I would do more good than harm. I'll let the public be the judge on my success or failure."

  The reporter thanked him and sat, then everything went still, and he felt an odd presence behind him. He turned to see a very old man in a silver suit nodding approvingly.

  "Heh. You've got the lying skills to make a good politician, that's for sure." Something about the presence made Hiro lower his head, but for a wrinkled finger keeping his head up. "Lord Shenlong," he said.

  The old man smirked. "It's your head. There's no need to bow here." Hiro nodded. "Then...why this?"

  The old man tapped his lip. "I wanted to see what was on your mind. Oh, it's clear you want power. You have it with your Mon teams. I've been keeping an eye on you for a while." He paused. "Why human anticorruption? Don't you trust us Legendaries to not let human excesses get out of hand?"

  Hiro nodded. "Because resources need to be shared, and not hoarded. Aenora also makes me think knowledge is a resource. Wealthy people - and some Mons - like keeping an ever-expanding reserve, which makes sense on one level...until you see how much has been hoarded." He frowned. "That's what I don't like about Alice or Ondun. She's like a dragon from the old tales, hoarding gold and treasure and influence. I'd like to take over Kongming to try out my ideas before I apply them back home. Ondun...why does anyone need to be that powerful!?"

  Shenlong's human guise nodded. "A fine question, that. Let me ask it of you. Why do you need power? You could be the man behind the man. You could have proxies that do everything for you. You could delegate and have more time for your Mons and the stuff you like."

  Hiro nodded. "I could...but my journey across Yamato showed me just how uneven things are. I've also seen how rich some people are, while others limp from day to day. The first time I saw how different Hakone was to Izu...I couldn't let it go. I had to have power to set it right."

  Shenlong merely looked at him. Hiro sighed. "I...I want to change the world. I want there to be some justice." Something shifted in Hiro as he said that; he hadn't known Ondun long, but a spark of kinship took in Hiro's mind. Maybe that's why I can't hate Ondun...and why I do. Maybe we're more alike than I'd like to admit.

  The old man walked to Hiro's side. "That's what Hellzeph once said, very long ago. Father Olympus warned him that great ideas must be tempered with small actions, lest kind intentions give way to cruel reality." Hiro tilted his head.

  "Another way to think of it: We move mountains, one pebble at a time. Some problems are too big to tackle in one sitting, so we chip away at them. Your ideas for anti-corruption could help many humans and Mons. They need to happen. However, to get the power to realize that quickly, you'd need to get power the way the people you oppose would do it. In so doing, you'd become them. Is that really what you want?"

  Hiro shook his head, and instantly shouted, "No!" In response, Shenlong grinned.

  "Then, heed me: Don't make that journey alone. Let others help you, and help figure out how best to share. Hiro, you are worthy. Perhaps take a page from Ondun's book: Find a vision to realize. He wants a world he and his friends can travel in. It's a fine dream. You want a world where there's enough for everyone, if we share. It's also a fine dream. You'll find your dream comes about more quickly if you take a moment to cultivate it, and join hands with others to realize it." The old man tapped his lip thoughtfully. "As we Dragons say: Anything worth doing, is worth taking the time to do right."

  Hiro nodded, his mind in overdrive as his plans for the future came into clearer focus. "When we get out of this dream, my Mons are going to hit you."

  Shenlong laughed, a hale, hearty laugh. "I can take it. I've had worse. Do you feel better now?" Hiro nodded. "I do...about me, yes, but also the world...and the Arcanians."

  Shenlong nodded happily. "Then, you'd better wake up and command your Mons. Sylphie and her Darkside are pounding on me while you slumber. Your team needs some training yet before you stand a chance against Alice...let alone Ondun."