Vespa sat at her desk, letting out a long sigh as she brought a hand to her aching shoulders. Despite the numerous ways to extend one’s lifespan by shedding the physical form, she had not done so. It was not that she was incapable of it, as there were many resources available to the ninjas. In fact, more than half of all ninjas had undergone this treatment.
Rather, there was a tradition among their people. No elder was qualified to possess eternal life. If such an elder came to power, they must immediately resign from their position or be removed by force. The reason for this was to prevent a single generation of elders from holding total power over the clans.
Instead, every time an elder passed away or retired, a new elder would be chosen by the various clans in a vote. This was how things had been for generations now, a method of holding back corruption by ensuring that the rulers did not stay in power for too long. At least, compared to their subordinates that could enjoy the perks of eternity.
Vespa herself had only been in this position for sixteen years, and she was feeling the weight of her years catching up to her. When she came into office, she found out about some of the more secretive projects conducted by the council of elders. The biggest of these projects were the Four Shadows.
The four shadow agents were each marked by a color, and carried with them a particular trait. The Red Shadow left a trail of blood through each of his missions, bodies completely unidentifiable after he passed. The Black Shadow wielded the power of the void to rewrite the laws of the world on a small scale, unleashing memetic horrors on his targets. The White Shadow was like a ghost, none ever seeing their face. Even the council had long forgotten anything about the White Shadow’s appearance.
However, the one that concerned Vespa the most was the Golden Shadow. As the only shadow agent to be fully focused on divinity, she was given the color gold. Her unique trait was her ability to become anyone, to such a perfect degree that not even the researcher James would notice if she were impersonating Chelsea next to him.
Despite the horrors of the Red and Black Shadows, or the mystery of White, it was Gold that made Vespa feel true dread. The power to become anyone, to replace anyone. As long as the Golden Shadow existed, she did not know who she could trust, even among her closest friends. Who among them could the Golden Shadow be impersonating? Who might have been replaced by a copy long ago?
When Vespa learned about this project, she tried to immediately have the Golden Shadow removed from the roster. The very concept was too dangerous to be allowed. However, the other fools on the elder council denied her vehement request. According to them the Golden Shadow had been nurtured from birth to be the perfect subordinate. So long as they did not betray her, she would never betray them.
No… perhaps some of them were replaced long ago? Vespa thought inwardly, clenching her teeth. When her proposal was rejected, she began to move behind the scenes, doing what she could to quietly increase the danger level of any mission assigned to the Golden Shadow. She even tasked the Red Shadow with causing a monster stampede through what was meant to be a peaceful delivery.
On paper, the Red Shadow’s mission was in order to eliminate a corrupt noble in a neighboring territory, but Vespa had timed everything perfectly. Yet, every time, the Golden Shadow emerged unscathed. She would gloss over the incidents in her report as inconsequential, treating it like nothing more than a minor setback.
Just thinking about her infuriated Vespa. And now… and now she wants to cut ties and hide in the service of the Keeper? No… what would happen if she actually managed to replace even him? Would she dare to try?
The thought made Vespa’s face go pale. The specifics behind how the Keeper served as the lynchpin for the world were unclear. If the Golden Shadow managed to perfectly replace him, could she even manage to take his place and maintain the worlds in his stead? Or would the mere attempt end reality as they knew it?
The risk is too great. Vespa thought to herself. She did not believe that someone with the power to become anyone would be satisfied taking orders. Not when they could easily replace those in power.
I’ve got to be careful, though… Monda is backing her. She thought of the elderly ursa man that had been there since the start of the Four Shadows project, perhaps the oldest on the council. If the Golden Shadow had indeed replaced anyone, it would most likely be him. After all, he had always encouraged her and stood up for her. Whenever she was in trouble with the rules, he was the one who sought leniency for her.
Additionally, it was he who proposed the mission of sending the Golden Shadow to work for the Keeper. Vespa knew that there was some interference from the Another World Research Group, but she had already replaced Chelsea once in the past.
The elder looked at their desk, before gritting their teeth and tapping on a hidden panel to bring up a screen. “Connect me to White.” She said in a serious tone.
A large, holographic screen appeared, and Vespa had to briefly cover her eyes, due to the bright, white light emitted from it. Afterwards, a voice came over like a whisper, too soft to make out even the gender. “Yes?”
“I have a mission for you. One of the highest priority.” She said, and there was a pause, before the whisper spoke again.
“You’re wanting me to kill Lena.” The voice said, as if certain of its deduction. Vespa paused, having to take a moment to remember that Lena was the name that the Golden Shadow had reported receiving from the Keeper.
“She is too dangerous to be allowed near the Keeper.” Vespa said, clenching her fists. “She could impersonate anyone, walk past even the most observant and strict targets as their best friends. If she decided to target the Keeper one day, would we even know?”
Another pause, before the whisper spoke. “Are you aware of what happened to the Black Shadow?”
“I heard that he was injured in an altercation with her.” Vespa nodded her head, though she hadn’t heard the specifics. She had arranged for the Black Shadow to respond to the request for a cleanup crew, but when he came back, he holed himself up in his room, screaming that he would kill anyone that bothered him.
“Lena removed both of his arms, using the powers and skills of Dana Jafer, and told him that they would not recover for one week. This was for the act of mocking her, and refusing to use the name that she had been granted by the Keeper.”
It didn’t surprise Vespa that the White Shadow knew about all of this. Since nobody knew where or who the White Shadow was, it was reasonable for them to know anything. “So, she is already mimicking the other servants of the Keeper?” Vespa asked, as if this only furthered her suspicions.
A long sigh came from the scream. “My point, Elder Vespa, was that Lena is not an easy target to assassinate. I am aware that you sent Black after her. If another Shadow appears before her, she will take it as a clear act of aggression by the clan. Do you want to take that risk?”
Vespa clenched her jaw, knowing that White Shadow wasn’t wrong. “Even so… I’ll pay the price if I have to. But letting someone that dangerous be near the Keeper… I have to weigh the risk to myself and the clan against the risk to all reality. It was dangerous enough when I thought that she might just be replacing my colleagues. She can’t be allowed to replace the Keeper.”
“Is that what you really think?” The voice asked, and there seemed to be just a hint of surprise. “Lena has never attempted to rebel against any elder, even knowing that you were targeting her. Her greatest desire, ever since she was a child, was merely to have a name. She was always forced into other identities, but never once was she valued as anything more than what or who she could become.”
Vespa knit her brow together as the White Shadow continued to talk. “The reason why she likes Monda so much is because he doesn’t simply treat her as a tool. Although he never gave her a name, he treated her almost as he would his own daughter. And despite how you have treated her, her only act of defiance was to distance herself from you, doing her best to sever the chains of authority you tried to tie her with.”
“How do you know all of this?” Vespa couldn’t help but ask. It was one thing for the White Shadow to know what physically happened in a place. However, they were now talking about the Golden Shadow’s innermost thoughts.
“I suppose it’s fine to tell you. We’ve already had this conversation twice before.” The White Shadow spoke, before sighing. “Four years after Elder Vespa rose to power, she secretly ordered the death of the Golden Shadow, entrusting the most secretive agent she knew of with the task, the White Shadow.”
Vespa’s eyes continued to widen as the White Shadow continued to speak. “For one week, there was no response, as she waited for a situation report. After that one week, something happened, and she forgot that the order had been made.”
“Six years later, Vespa once again made the same order of the White Shadow after she proved herself capable of impersonating the most high-profile targets that the council could find. This time, there was no delay. Elder Vespa had a long conversation with the White Shadow, and then forgot that she made the order.”
“Another three years passed, and Elder Vespa once again came to the conclusion that the Golden Shadow was too dangerous, this time after learning that they were spending time with one of the Keeper’s servants, Lifre. Once more, the order was made to White Shadow. And once again, the two had a long conversation, before Elder Vespa forgot the ordeal.”
“Now, another three years have passed, and Elder Vespa has made the same request.” The White Shadow finished its speech, and Vespa trembled.
“When… when did…”
“The first time you sent her to kill me.” The White Shadow… Lena answered, her voice still a whisper. “Every time, I try to reason with you, to assure you that I have no desire to betray my superiors, or to impersonate those in power. All I want is to be who I am. You are too important to the ninja clans, and I have no desire to cause chaos by removing you or any of the other elders. So, I sincerely hope that you don’t make the same request again soon, because he might be watching.”
“But how…” Vespa’s eyes trembled as she stared at the blindingly white screen. “My memories… I’ve never felt any sign of tampering.”
“Of course not. That’s what the White Shadow specializes in. Why else would even Monda not know what his adopted daughter looked like, after he raised her for twenty years for the program? He didn’t even know that the White Shadow was his daughter.”
“All it takes is a small exertion of her power, even accidentally, and anyone she is targeting will forget anything she wants them to forget. They will forget her face, her powers, even the fact that she is standing in front of them. All of it washed away with the color white.”
“Did you know? When I saw her, she looked so sad. Just like I wanted a name, she wanted someone that would love her and remember her. She wanted a friend, but all of you only saw her as a tool to do your dirty work. She was the purest of us, and you tried to stain that.”
“And you killed her.” Vespa hissed, but the voice chuckled.
“No… I didn’t kill her. I granted her request. I gave her what she always wanted. It might not have been how she planned… but she is now with someone who will look at her every day and love her for who she is, without ever forgetting her. He will never allow any harm to come to her, and will never let anyone take her from him.”
Vespa couldn’t help but gasp at that, immediately knowing what she was referring to. “You… you gave her to the Collector?”
“That’s right. Like I said, he will always cherish her. But don’t worry, you’ll be forgetting this conversation again. You see… the White Shadow doesn’t have to be present to use their power. There are two conditions to use their power. First, they must exist in the memory of their target. The White Shadow can’t remove the memory of a person that has never interacted with them in some way.”
“Secondly, they must show the target their signature white light. The moment the light leaves their view, so too do the memories that the White Shadow wished to extract. She was the most difficult opponent I had ever faced, and I only knew how long our battle had lasted after it was over. To me, it felt like an instant, just one strike and she fell to her knees. And then, I saw that a week had silently passed by, with scars appearing on my body that I couldn’t remember.”
“Her face was so sad, so lonely… goodbye, Elder Vespa. I hope we don’t meet like this again.” The whisper finished, before the screen went blank. Immediately, Vespa blinked, looking around the room and bringing a hand up to her sore shoulders.
“I really need a vacation.” She said with a sullen sigh.
