Lord Shadow

Chapter 1334 The Subconscious Mind

　　The Tavern Keeper look at the old man and the young girl. 

　　The tavern keeper is a middle age man wearing a shirt with an overcoat and a brown khaki. 

　　He is tall, around six feet five. his hair is neatly combed. And he wears glasses but that glass had been destroyed during the blast

　　There are holes in his overcoat and signs of being scratched by glass. He is the Tavern Keeper. 

　　He looks at that old man and takes a breath. Everything felt slow in his mind

　　This is him trying to calm himself down. Time did not slow down nor did he moves faster than time.

　　It is just his perception is being so fast that everything appears slow. It is his way to try to calm himself down

　　In this state, there is many thoughts in his mind and contemplation that rises up from thoughts he had suppresses.

　　And his mind wanders and in this wandering, he needs to find back his focus. 

　　'I'm a Tavern Keeper'

　　This title is not merely a simple title. 

　　Hanging Head is a famous tavern. 

　　Not because of their drinks. 

　　Not because of their fine food. 

　　It is because even before the Multiversal Convergence, the Hanging Head has been one of the information gathering intelligence hub for criminals

　　The criminal world after the Fall had evolved greatly. In the past, conglomerate and criminal enterprises runs the world. 

　　Organized crime had their lives protected by politician who is inside their pocket. Politics and the crime world intersect very closely with each other.

　　But then the Fall happens. You would think with all of that chaos, with all of that darkness, that criminal elements would shine and it would be a golden age of crime.

　　But, it was the opposite. 

　　What the Fall brought to the criminal world was a world of deities, of exceptional men and women who could bring down the Heavens and render the world apart. 

　　Laws like Karma, Equivalent Exchange, magic and mystical elements is not something that the criminal world was ready to accept.

　　But like they always did, they adapt

　　in the beginning, there was a sign of resurgence. The crime family managed to survive the tide and become even more prosperous. 

　　In the beginning, as there is light, there is darkness. It is only because the darkness is so black, that the light shines so brightly.

　　When people thought that the world would be overrun by monsters and zombies, great powerful men and women rose.

　　There is Death Monarch, the Earthshaker Raymond, the Illusionist Archmage Hikigaya, the Thunder Monarch Oreki, Will the Speedster, Katarina the Ice Queen, Hirate the Mind Monarch, Sofia, Sina, the Trickster, all of these names rose together.

　　In their regions where they operate, their name resounded and before long these names echo all over the world

　　The Battle between Lord Shadow and the World Government is still talked about till this day. The battle between the heavens and Death Monarch, the Earthshaker amazing feat of moving mountains, the battles between Oreki and Hikigaya, all of these stories turns into part of the tapestry of history at the turning point of humanity

　　Many people thought of them as the light, the pillar that keep humanity together.

　　  Regardless of the evil and even cruel things that they have done in the past, it must be acknowledged that these great men and women had maintain order and make sure that humanity continue to survive.

　　But amidst this blinding light, many people forgot that for such bright light to shines the world, there must be darkness for this light to illuminate. 

　　That darkness is the darkness is every human's hearts. 

　　Some people did not want to revisit the fact that in the beginning, there is also many atrocities and evil that was done by people that have survived to this day. 

　　Some people thought the world was ending and so they unleash their bestial desire upon other people. 

　　There were killers, rapist, thieves, robber, torturer, all manners of evil and depraved act were committed in the first few hours of the Fall

　　There were warlords that eats people. There were warlords that rapes people. And then there were warlords that just likes to kill.

　　The world was dog eat dog. 

　　Only this time it is not in some figurative sense. 

　　And even in this darkness, this cruelty, the crime family brought order to this madness, for even madness need some order to function. 

　　These beast, these monsters could only be tamed by a bigger and more terrifying beast. 

　　And for a time, that owner of the leash of these monsters were the criminal organization that have survived and adapt.

　　There was order. There is one in the light and there is one in the dark. And for a period of time, this two side of the same coin did not meet each other and did not enroach upon each other domains

　　But, then comes Death Monarch. At that time, nobody thought that a person, a lonely man could overwhelm the world by himself

　　All the crime lords had been accustomed of killing their enemies. 

　　If one could not be killed one on one, then send a dozen. If a dozen could not work, send more people and give more guns.

　　If guns are not enough, throw some grenade at it. 

　　killing has never been easier

　　Buy a gun, shot the gun and the deed is done. Killing a person is easy. And even killing a few dozen people is easy.

　　This is the power of the crime families all over the world. Of course, these crime families did not just wily nily killing people like some kind of deranged psychopathic killer.

　　The way criminal organization work and how they maintain control has always been with fear and benefit, with carrot and stick, 

　　There was never a person that the cartel or the crime families could not extort, could not threaten and could not kill. 

　　But how could you kill someone that is basically like a God?

　　In the beginning, before he is called Death Monarch, "that person" styled himself as Lord Shadow. 

　　It is funny in the beginning how he called himself Lord Shadow. Some storytellers even tell a story where Earthshaker Raymond was laughing when it was revealed someone styled himself by the name of Lord Shadow. 

　　But, then it is not so funny anymore. 

　　Lord Shadow is a man who became a legend. And there is weight to that name. 

　　There is not one or two people that mastered the ability to use shadow but none of them dares to use the name Lord Shadow to called themselves for that would seem like a disrespect to him

　　Even after he had no longer use that name, there was nobody that had the courage to take that title

　　When 'that person" changed his title to Death Monarch, no one felt that it was inappropriate. Instead, many people felt that it is more fitting than his old title of Lord Shadow

　　Death Monarch had many abilities but when he fights he rarely uses any shadow related abilities. From those who walk that same path of using shadows, their defining feature had always been stealthy and darkness.

　　None of them would be as flamboyant as Death Monarch who fights like an undefeatable overlord in the battlefield. 

　　But, of course, nobody dares pointed this out to Him. 

　　This is a man that courted destruction and survive everything from the Fall, to the schemes of the World Government, to an alien invasion and then to an immortal alien being and even survive the attack from the Heavens. 

　　Those who dares fought him would always be stomp under his feet. 

　　This is a man that rules over the death and life of the people of the world. 

　　With his hand he could cover up the Heaven and the Earth and with one order from his mouth he could set the world on fire. 

　　There was nothing that could stop him. And every one knows the passion he had for killing people of the organized crime is very hot.

　　Death Monarch. 

　　When he took that title, the whole world follows him like he is some kind of a trendsetter. 

　　People began making a ranking of sorts. 

　　Those who sat on the highest throne in the world like Jean also called himself Time Monarch. So, people began giving themselves a title. 

　　For example, someone who have learned and proficient in the element of fire and have some reputation in the world would style himself as Fire Lord. 

　　If he somehow styled himself as Fire Monarch, then he must at least have the same kind of reputation or strength like that of Death Monarch of Time Monarch, the two top of the world power ranking

　　If no, styling yourself in such title would bring calamity.

　　The tavern Keeper once heard that there was someone who called himself the Emperor of the Sea. 

　　A Disk Formation leveler that was passing that place heard that there was someone that called himself the Emperor of the Sea 

　　Even "that person" did not style himself as Emperor but there is someone who pull up their own basket so that Disk Formation leveler wanted to see what kind of person this is that dare to styled himself like that.

　　That person who claims himself the Emperor of the Sea would then be killed by that Disk Formation leveler. 

　　The Tavern Keeper does not know why his mind suddenly tangent off to Death Monarch. He was thinking about his title but then his mind wander off. 

　　But he also knows something. 

　　That this is his subconscious mind telling him something.

　　  'What is it that you are trying to tell me?' he thought to himself 

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