After the two had sealed their deal, a bounce had found its way into Sonic's step - his line of inquiries at Shadow seemingly forgotten. This shift in demeanor was odd to Shadow; it was a rather one-sided deal as far as he was concerned. Sonic now seemed to want nothing more than to go about the castle and "introduce him to his friends." However, Shadow wasn't exactly in the mood for a grand tour. He had other plans in mind.

"I don't have time for that," he said. "I have to contact my teammate and let her know the situation."

"Oh, right. That makes sense." Sonic didn't miss a beat, but still chuckled and scratched his cheek awkwardly. "How about you join us for dinner later, then? Do you need me to show you—"

Sonic cut himself off as he realized Shadow was no longer behind him, or anywhere to be seen for that matter. He gazed down the empty hallway, expression sinking into an irritated scowl.

"I guess not," he grumbled to himself.

—-

Shadow made a bee-line to the bedside table in his room, unwilling to waste any more time. He snatched the transceiver off of his clothes and examined it. Thankfully, it didn't appear to be damaged. When he switched the device on, he was met with a blinking icon: no signal. He frowned. It wasn't all that surprising; he had no idea just how deep inside this structure he was. It must have been a miracle Rouge was even able to contact him in the first place. Shadow bolted out the door, device in hand. All he had to do was locate an area with better service.

As Shadow began to weave his way around the different halls and chambers, it became obvious to him just how labyrinthian the place really was. For a brief moment, Shadow almost regretted not sticking around to ask Sonic to show him the way out.

It didn't matter–if Shadow couldn't find the exit, he would head upwards instead. He drifted around corners and bounded up any staircase he came in contact with, searching for a spot as high as possible and preferably out in open air. After flying up at least three levels, a flash of sunlight caught Shadow's eye and he halted in front of a set of glass doors.

He peered through the panes—a collection of potted plants lined every square inch of a balcony. A structure loomed above them, covering most of the space. It appeared to be a greenhouse of some kind. On the far wall of the overhead structure, Shadow could see a doorway poking out onto a railing overlooking the forest beyond.

Shadow cautiously opened the doors with a creak and stepped out onto the terrace. All different kinds of fruit-bearing trees and shrubs were growing in pots and raised beds of all shapes and sizes. He maneuvered between them and through the doorway out onto the balcony. From this viewpoint, Shadow finally had an inkling of just how massive this place was. Far below him, courtyards decorated the palace grounds and the iron gate stood firm around the perimeter of the castle. It was difficult to tell exactly how high up he was, but the visible smatterings of balconies and terraces connected to other towers below him gave him a rough idea. But as high as he was, the canopies of the trees remained even taller still. Shadow found he had to crane his head back just to see the tops of them.

Shadow leaned his weight over the railing onto his elbows, head just poking out over the edge. Now out in the open, he whipped out the device and switched it on, pleased to see the blinking icon had disappeared. When he made the call, it rang only once before Shadow heard the "click" indicating it had been received.

"Rouge, it's me." Shadow identified himself as soon as the call connected, immediately letting the bat know that he had not been compromised.

"And just where the hell have you been?!" Rouge shouted over the line. The note of panic in her tone made Shadow's chest twinge with guilt.

"It's a long story." He grumbled, sinking further onto the railing.

—-

Considering how insane the circumstances were, Rouge had taken the news of his situation surprisingly well. At least, as well as Shadow could have reasonably expected. It certainly helped that she was already familiar with the fantastical secret of the forest.

She had, of course, yelled his ear off in the process, even when he revealed that had been unconscious for the majority of the past few days. Shadow wouldn't apologize for trying to handle the bounty hunters on his own, but he also said little to try to defend himself. He was already asking a lot of her—he didn't need to give her any other reason to hang up on him.

"I regret that I have to ask you to do this again." He murmured, and Rouge fell silent.

"Oh, Shadow. Everything's gonna work out, alright?" She sighed. "What do you need me to do?"

"What about HQ?" Shadow questioned. "I imagine you can't afford to stay in this country for much longer." He knew Rouge had used vacation time to come here, and knowing how stringent GUN was, Shadow couldn't imagine she was given much more than a week off.

"Well, I may have told HQ I was visiting my dear old aunt—I could always tell them auntie's health took a turn for the worse."

"Do you really expect that to work?"

"It would probably buy me another week, at least!" Rouge insisted.

Shadow allowed himself an audible sigh of exasperation. He would rather not bank this operation on the compassion of the GUN HR department, but it seemed like there was little other choice. "How soon can you come here?"

"Depends on what you want from me."

Shadow's gaze meandered over the forest before him. "New paperwork and a passport, ideally. A travel encyclopedia on some major cities in the continent would be helpful as well."

"I suppose small town living didn't work out in the end?"

"I do detest cities, but it's much easier to stay anonymous that way." Shadow tapped the rail with his fingers incessantly. All the stress of the past few days had given rise to a familiar urge he thought he had gotten over ages ago.

"Also, I could use a smoke."

Rouge stifled a laugh. "That bad, huh? I'll see what I can do. But Shadow," her voice turned steely, "are you sure you're going to be alright there? I mean, can you really trust those guys?"

"They're century old beings living in a haunted castle, Rouge. I'm sure they have more pressing things to think about than whether or not they should betray me," he snorted. "Besides, we have an arrangement that benefits both of us, and this is the best option I have right now. So I'll keep my guard up for as long as it takes."

Rouge huffed, unwilling to argue any further. "Fine. I trust your judgment. I'll look into the stuff you need, alright?

"Keep me updated. And Rouge?"

"What is it?"

Shadow swallowed, and opened his mouth to say something. He lost the nerve at the last second.

"Don't go near my apartment, whatever you do," He responded. "In fact, steer clear of the entire town. We have no idea who could be lurking around."

"Sure thing, hun."

A minute later, Shadow ended the call. The two had agreed to come up with a meeting plan when they corresponded next. Rouge had assured Shadow these things took time. He was aware, as it was a process he had gone through before. Rouge had plenty of contacts, but actually getting in contact with them was easier said than done. It could take anywhere from days to weeks to get what he required from her.

Shadow leaned his forehead into his crossed arms, soaking in the ambient sounds of nature on the balcony. In many ways, he was still baffled that he had escaped the debacle from days prior. It was certainly the closest call yet during his life on the run. But for the time being, he remained free, or at least as free as he could be. Perhaps he should be more grateful than he currently felt.

He inhaled deeply, and then let out a sigh. It would be fine. After all, this was a temporary arrangement. He would just have to deal with whatever nonsense the beast and his brute of a companion threw at him. Since the short time Shadow had been awake, the beast's fear factor had only continued to dwindle. Truth be told, Shadow was having a hard time believing he had been a prince in the first place. His appearance aside, nothing about his demeanor seemed regal in any regard.

Shadow's eyes lazily peered over the spires and chambers of the palace below him. It was eerie, seeing a structure so vast be completely vacant save for a handful of occupants. That being said, Shadow had still not seen any other soul besides Sonic and Knuckles in these walls.

The creaking of a door snapped Shadow back to attention. He turned around, half expecting to see a certain beast before him ready with some smart-ass remark.

Narrowed eyes scanned between potted trees and plants. There was nothing before him but a slightly ajar door. Shadow frowned, tangentially worried about what so many close calls were doing to his psyche. He leaned back against the railing, and an instant later, his eyes snapped to the source of the neon glow in his peripherals. A sharp pair of garden shears loomed just inches from his face.

"Get away from the railing. It could fall if you lean on it like that." A sharp voice chastised.

Shadow's eyes shifted beyond the shears to their wielder. She was a hair shorter than Shadow, but the look she was giving him was more uncanny than anything Shadow had seen since he first stepped foot in this godforsaken castle. Normally in a situation like this, he would have reacted immediately. But with those eyes on him, Shadow bizarrely found himself unable to do much but blink at the blades pointed at his face. He shifted his weight off of the railing.

Yellow eyes gazed into him quizzically, and then, the girl dropped the shears into the pocket of her apron. Like Knuckles, she had spines along her head and body. But rather than horns, appendages reminiscent of insect antennae dangled above her head. She also sported the same black sclera and glowing irises Shadow had grown uncomfortably used to by this point.

Shadow simply stared at her, too stunned to say anything.

Her cold stare melted and she clasped her hands together. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you—I just didn't want you to fall! This place is so old!"

Shadow's eye twitched. "I wasn't scared." He finally managed, "I just don't understand how you were able to sneak up on me."

"Huh? I just walked over to you? I guess I must move quieter than most folk. That's what happens when you spend so long in a place like this, I suppose."

She turned on a heel. "Shadow—right? Sonic told me you might be wandering around the palace right now. Well, since you're going to be living here now, you can help me with dinner tonight." She approached one of the beds and began plucking an assortment of items from various plants, placing them into a basket near the door. Shadow just watched her, still processing her arrival seemingly out of nowhere.

"I'm not coming to dinner." He stated dryly, having no idea how else to respond.

"Can you pick some of those over there?" She pointed at a plant crawling up a lattice in the corner of the greenhouse.

Irritation flared in Shadow's chest. "Did you not hear me?" He snapped. "Just because we currently exist in the same living space does not mean I have to engage with you."

The girl turned to face him slowly, her expression blank. Then, she giggled, placing a hand to her mouth. "Where are my manners—I guess that's something else centuries of solitude will do to you. My name is Lady Amy Rose," she curtsied, "and I'm Prince Sonic's fiancée. Well, I was at one point, anyway."

"That's nice," Shadow deadpanned, "but I do not eat with those who brandish weapons at me." Without another glance, Shadow brushed past her and back into the palace. The stomping of footsteps followed close behind him.

"That's how you greeted us earlier. I was just returning the favor." Amy fell into step besides Shadow, the basket of produce in her arms. "I was there in the bedroom when you woke up."

Shadow kept his gaze level. "I don't remember that."

"Well, you were pretty scary back there. But now, you don't seem so bad. Whatever you did to fix yourself has Sonic convinced you're the key to all of this. Though personally, I don't think you're our savior or anything like that."

Now, Shadow gave her the side-eye. She stared back at him with a miffed expression. But then, her eyes softened.

"You must understand, it's been ages since any of us have last seen another person. Sonic always got bored so easily, yknow, even before we got trapped here."

Amy sprang forward and with a half turn, was now facing Shadow, causing him to stop in his tracks.

"You made quite the impression on him. So I think we would all appreciate it if you dropped the cold shoulder, Sonic more than anyone. You're not a prisoner here—you're our guest. So please, won't you help me with dinner?"

She was smiling at him, but a hint of annoyance was evident in her tone. Shadow knew he was probably being stubborn, but the antics of this girl were starting to get on his nerves. But then again, something told Shadow she would not so easily stop her attempts no matter how many times he rejected her offer.

"Fine." Shadow scoffed, pointing a finger at her. "I will assist you, but only because I do not expect to be served while I stay here. I will do my part."

Amy shoved the basket into his arms and twirled around. "Wonderful! I'll show you where the kitchen is!"

—

Amy led Shadow down to the kitchen on the first floor. While the space was about as large as Shadow expected, it was teeming with signs of disuse. He supposed most of the equipment had become obsolete when there was no longer an entire court to feed. Shadow was not much of a cook, but Amy assured him it was alright, insisting she had little experience with the practice as well.

"I've learned some tricks over the years, but I'm definitely the worst cook here. Well, except for Sonic. You should see him try to run the stove!"

She continued to ramble on as Shadow chopped an assortment of vegetables. He passed them to her on a tray and she dropped the medley into a pot of boiling water. Then, she snagged up a bundle of herbs and added them to the broth as well.

The room eventually fell into a silence, save for the bubbling of the stew over the woodstove. Amy stood on a stool and stirred the pot while Shadow discarded the vegetable scraps and tidied up the workspace. He snuck a glance at the girl. Truthfully, there were plenty of things he wanted to ask her, but he maintained his silence for the concern it would send her on yet another tangent.

She tried a spoonful from the pot, smacking her lips. "It's just about ready! Do you want a taste?"

Shadow shook his head. "No, I'll wait."

"Suit yourself!" She lifted the pot off the stove effortlessly, catching Shadow slightly off guard with both her strength and her resistance to the heat. "Can you grab those bowls and get the door?"

Shadow allowed Amy to pass by him into a long and ornate dining hall. A dining table fit for a king stood in the center, but there was no one else in the room. Amy walked right by the table without a glance.

"We usually eat in Tails' workshop or the courtyards, well, when we do eat anyways—this place hasn't been used in ages." She explained.

"'When you eat?'" Shadow questioned.

"Yes." Amy nodded. "We can eat, but Prince Sonic is the only one of us who actually needs to eat anymore, and even then, he doesn't eat that much. Nowadays we only really eat to spend time together. But since you'll be staying here I guess we'll all have to get used to cooking more!"

Shadow had to hold back a scoff. How ironic–as the ultimate lifeform, he very rarely had to consume food, yet here he was preparing meals with others who also didn't need to eat to sustain themselves. Shadow remained silent. She had no business knowing that now, anyways.

The two made their way through several more corridors until they finally happened upon what Shadow assumed was the west wing. "The others should be waiting for us there!" Amy flicked her chin up at an unassuming wooden door at the end of the hallway.

"Hold on. I said I would help with dinner, not that I would be eating with you."

Amy rolled her eyes at him. "Oh c'mon, don't you want to—" she started, but was cut off by the sound of commotion coming from behind the door. Shadow could hear what sounded like an intense argument. The two of them exchanged a tense glance, and then Shadow promptly opened the door into a scene of chaos.

Before them, Sonic and Knuckles were practically butting their foreheads with teeth bared. They leaned across a wooden table in the center of the room. Between them was someone Shadow hadn't seen before, a fox-like creature who was seemingly acting like some kind of mediator and failing spectacularly. All three faces homed in directly on Shadow when he opened the door, and Shadow decided at that moment that coming to dinner had, in fact, been a huge mistake.

Knuckles slowly fell back into his seat at the sight of him while Sonic rose to his feet, a fanged smile plastering his face like he hadn't just been head-to-head with Knuckles. "Oh hi, you guys! Glad you found your way here. I was wondering if you were going to join us." Sonic greeted them with feigned normalcy, stealing a glade at Knuckles while the fox's eyes darted rapidly between the both of them and Shadow.

Tension lingered in the room; all three were looking at Shadow now, like they expected him to say something. He kept his expression blank and allowed Amy to pass into the room behind him. Thankfully, she was the one to break the silence. "Hope you guys are hungry!" She beamed, slamming the pot down onto the table with a rattle.

—-

The table was too small for five people, especially with the relatively massive frames of two members of the party. Despite Sonic's protests, Shadow elected to eat at a work counter adjacent to them.

Once everyone had been served, Sonic immediately tried to engage in small talk. He turned to face Shadow. "Oh by the way, this is Tails, and this is Knuckles! Well, I guess you've already met Knuckles..." Tails raised a bashful hand in greeting while Knuckles narrowed his eyes at Shadow from across the table. Shadow paid him no mind, and offered only a brief nod to Tails. The room fell silent.

"So were you able to reach that bat girl?" Sonic continued, once again attempting to break the air of awkwardness.

His mistake was evident when Knuckle's eyes reactively flared up at the mention of Rouge. "Hold on—you never said anything about that!" He jerked his head towards Sonic, who only blinked in response. Knuckles let out a snarl and stood up with a screech of his chair.

"You," He barked at Shadow, hands rattling dishes as he slammed them onto the table. "You staying here is one thing, but I will not allow that thief to just waltz back in here!"

Shadow clenched the edge of the counter, preparing to retaliate if the brute came any closer. Sonic was also standing now, hand against Knuckle's shoulder. "Relax, Knuckles." He urged, voice low and warning. "She won't be coming to the castle, right Shadow?"

Shadow's eyes remained glued onto Knuckles. "No. I'll be meeting her beyond the wall of vines."

"I'm sorry, who is this 'bat girl'?" Amy interjected.

The fox boy echoed her sentiment. "Sonic, what's he talking about?"

Sonic shrugged. "She's a friend of his. You just need to get some things from her, right?"

"This 'friend' also happens to be the one who attempted to steal a chaos emerald from us." Knuckles growled. "Do you take us for fools to be swindled, hedgehog?!"

"I have no interest in that rock of yours." Shadow replied coldly as he rose from his chair. "If my presence here is so irksome for you, I'll gladly be on my way."

"Come on, there's no need for that!" Sonic insisted.

Shadow approached the exit, but Knuckles stepped away from the table to block his path. Both Amy and Tails were out of their seats now too, distressed by the sudden hostility in the room.

"I will respect the prince's wishes in letting you reside here, but I'm keeping my eye on you. Remember that, hedgehog." Knuckles scowled down at him with fists clenched.

Shadow's gaze was cold and intense as he studied Knuckles. And then, he spoke, words slow and deliberate.

"I'll be retiring for the night, now."

In the blink of an eye, Shadow darted around Knuckles and was out the door with a sharp slam, leaving the four remaining occupants of the room behind in stunned silence.

Sonic stared at the door. Knuckles angrily slumped back into his chair.

"That went well." Tails finally piped up with a grumble.

Amy smacked her forehead.

—-

The oil lamp burned weakly on the dresser, lighting up the room with a dull golden glow. Shadow stared straight up at his ceiling. Laying on top of the covers, he placed a forearm to his brow and allowed the pent up rage and stress from the last few days to wash over him.

That was too close of a call. He had almost lost his temper back there. Shadow exhaled a shaky breath when the emotions passed. His arm slid back to a resting position at his side and his eyelids fluttered shut.

Shadow was an outsider in a place like this. That much was already obvious to him. He had certainly learned his lesson—he would have to keep his distance from the inhabitants of this place. The last thing he wanted was to get into another fight.

A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts just as Shadow found himself regaining his composure. He cursed under his breath and turned to one side, feigning sleep in an attempt to ignore whoever it was. Another knock moments later told Shadow that his tactics probably weren't working. Or at least that whoever was knocking didn't care if he was asleep or not. By the third round of knocking, Shadow had had enough. Furiously, he marched over to the door and yanked it open.

Taking up nearly the entire door frame before him was none other than the beast. He looked terribly out of place standing there at attention, blinking down at Shadow with an apprehensive expression. Clearly, Sonic was unsure how to handle the look of malice plastered on Shadow's face.

"What do you want?" Shadow growled with a curl of his lip.

Sonic lifted his hand, a roll of bandages twirling around his finger. "Sorry to disturb you, I just—well, your bandages need to be changed." He flicked the wrappings off of his finger and held them out to Shadow in the palm of his hand.

Shadow's death stare softened ever so slightly, but his demeanor remained obviously perturbed nonetheless. He swiped the bandages from Sonic's hand. "I can change them myself."

He smirked. "That was the idea. I know I don't have the coordination to do something like that." Sonic let out a snicker, which promptly collapsed into a wary huff. "Hey—I'm sorry about what happened at dinner. Knuckles can be a little overprotective sometimes. He's the guardian of the crown, after all."

A guardian, indeed. Shadow wondered if it was normal for guardians to literally butt heads with their princes at the dinner table, but elected to not bring it up. He chalked it up to yet another instance of this royal beast's strange way of managing his "friends."

"He is right to be suspicious. Frankly, I'm more surprised about how trusting the rest of you are." Shadow responded dryly.

Sonic rubbed the back of his head with a clawed hand. "What can I say? I don't think you're trying to trick us. I saw with my own eyes what you're dealing with right now. Plus, even if you wanted to steal the chaos emeralds, they'd be useless to you."

"Useless?" Shadow narrowed his eyes.

Sonic chuckled. "Chaos emeralds aren't valuable in the way normal gems are. They are artifacts that have been in my family for generations. We used to call them the "gems of miracles," because that's what they were. They turned our thoughts and desires into power, and the stronger your connection to the emeralds, the stronger that power manifested." His gaze grew distant, mind clearly somewhere else as he spoke. "But now, that power is gone. I haven't been able to form a connection with the emeralds in centuries."

Sonic turned away from the doorway, arms crossed. "They're as useless as rocks now. But duty is everything to Knuckles, so he guards them anyways. So on the off chance this is all an elaborate plan to steal from us, now you know the truth."

The beast was staring off into space, eyes seeming to glaze over as if he was lost in a deep memory. Shadow closed his eyes and gave a curt nod. "I appreciate the bandages."

Sonic flicked his head up, Shadow's voice snapping him out of his trace. He flashed a smile and a thumbs up. "No problem. Oh, and since you bailed on me this afternoon, tomorrow I'll actually show you around the castle. So you don't get lost again."

"I wasn't lost." Shadow snapped.

Sonic waved a hand. "Well, it'll be good for you anyways. If you need anything else before then, just run around the halls for a while and I'm sure someone will find you. We don't do a lot of sleeping these days."

Shadow rolled his eyes. With that, Sonic disappeared into the darkness of the hallway, once again leaving Shadow alone. Shadow stared into the void after him for a moment, and then shut the door and settled onto the edge of the bed, placing the new roll of bandages down next to him. Slowly, he removed the old bandages from his hand and observed his now uncovered palm. Shadow was unsurprised to find that his body's enhanced healing had taken effect; all that remained of the wound was a faded scar stretching across his palm where the glass had cut him. The cut on his leg showed similar signs: the wound had closed over the course of the day and all that remained of the injury that had incapacitated him three days ago was an unassuming blemish of the skin.

He ran his fingers over the nearly-healed cut. Over the course of his military career, Shadow had learned he could brush off injuries that would have debilitated a normal life form. Not only that, he could bounce back much quicker from traumatic injuries that would usually incapacitate someone for extended periods of time. He had been engineered to be the ultimate lifeform, after all. And after decades of failed attempts to replicate a lifeform comparable to him, this resilience was just one aspect of his biology that had made him such a valuable weapon to GUN.

His training had included testing his resilience to a variety of forms of chemical warfare with decent results. But in the end, neither he or GUN had anticipated poisoning, and for that, he felt rather foolish.

Shadow moved the new bandages Sonic had given him to his bedside table and crawled back into bed, hands splayed at his sides. Too much had happened this week, and Shadow felt himself growing more fatigued by the moment. Before he realized it, he had drifted off.

When Shadow regained lucidity, he found that he was somewhere very familiar.

Space Colony Ark. It was a place Shadow hadn't stepped foot in over fifty years, yet he knew its halls like the back of his hand. But there was no laughter in this place. There were no excited whispers and no one ran gleefully down the halls and there were no games of tag or hide and seek to harass the adults with.

But what caught Shadow off guard more about this scene was that there were no sirens, no screams, and no gunshots either. There was no blind panic of lives soon to be snuffed out. The memory that Shadow had re-lived hundreds of times now was nowhere to be seen. Instead, this Ark simply existed in a quiet sterility.

Scientists and personnel drifted through the halls like ghosts. They paid no mind to Shadow and Shadow paid no mind to them. His legs had a destination in mind, and he let them take him there.

The corridor opened up into a room filled with test tubes and complex machinery. Shadow approached the console. There, seven vials containing free-flowing energy of all different colors stood before him. A low buzz penetrated into his skull, and he found himself staring at the door he had entered through. His eyes wavered at the sight before him: a man entered the room, and Shadow recognized him instantly as none other than Gerald Robotnik. Gerald Robotnik: humankind's most brilliant mind, Maria's grandfather, and the closest thing Shadow had ever had to a guardian.

He practically walked through Shadow, who followed after him as he approached a large spiral tube in the corner. Over Gerald's shoulder, Shadow observed the being suspended in animation—a small black embryo floated in a bright orange liquid, all kinds of IVs and wires connected to its small form.

Shadow mirrored Gerald's actions as he spun around, something catching his attention. His eyes widened as he saw a girl no older than eight step into the room. Unmistakably, it was Maria, but she appeared even paler and sicker than Shadow had remembered her.

"There you are, my girl. Come here, I want to show you something."

Shadow stood still as Maria passed right through him and halted at Gerald's side in front of the pod.

"Maria, this is my greatest creation. He's still incomplete, but one day, I hope he will be able to help you and all of mankind."

Shadow could see Maria's reflection in the pod, eyes wide with wonder and excitement. She placed a hand to the glass.

"He's amazing." She whispered.

Gerald beamed at her. "That he is." He returned his gaze to the tank. "Do you hear that, Shadow? You're going to save so many lives."

Shadow's breath caught in his throat as he saw Gerald was no longer looking at the lifeform in the tank, but at Shadow's reflection from where he stood behind them.

Is this…a memory? What is this? Shadow's mind raced, trying to make sense of what he was witnessing.

Suddenly, the walls of the room faded to black. Maria was gone. Gerald was gone. The structures around him descended into darkness until all that remained was the suspended lifeform and the seven energy capsules now pulsating with bright flashes.

Shadow watched as the energy ran along tubes and wires connecting the pod. The buzzing sound returned, and Shadow realized the noise was the sound of the fluid vibrating around the embryo. The lifeform convulsed and the glass strained from the pressure building in the tank. A shockwave traveled through the structure in a blinding display of alternating colors, speeding up until finally a white light consumed all.

"Chaos is power."

A sinister tone echoed in Shadow's mind as his eyes shot open. The Ark had disappeared, again now no more than a memory. "Chaos…" Shadow whispered as he returned to the world of the living. He blinked, eyes adjusting to the darkness of the room, the burnt out oil lamp now leaving him in pitch black. Shadow raised his hand until he could just make out the details of his open palm.

Not a trace of the scar remained.