The Arks 81 The Ark Of Understanding Umbras

Mavislin perked her ears up.

"The Element of Existence, it would just be too overpowering, right?"

"Yes, that's why they got food-poisoned. Let me finish my account," said Mavislin, ostensibly annoyed at Gab.

"Sorry, you may continue."

"As I was saying, the Umbras ate the food, thus getting food-poisoned. They then went mad and took a voyage across the Universe. Unfortunately, Earth happens to be one of their pitstops," explained the Valkyrie, looking at the world map.

"One of their pitstops? You are telling me there are more of them out there?" asked Earl Yan.

"Well, of course. It's called a family for a reason."

The Earl shrugged his shoulders.

"And when they do get food-poisoned, they consume any being without limits."

"Like a starving madman," said Gab.

"The only safe bet for us is their physical form. Once they have taken a physical victim, they are stuck with it for the next hundred years."

"That's something worth working on," said Earl Yan.

The room was silent before the Earl decided to break it.

"You say as if the Umbra family are taking a vacation here. A happy family reunion," said the man, holding his feather pen up.

"I did not mention anything about the whole family coming here at once."

"Wait, what?" asked the two men.

"Holy c.r.a.p, if the whole family was here, we would be doomed. Earth wouldn't even be able to see the sun. All 10 of them would be able to take out the whole Solar system," said Mavislin, almost cracking a smile.

"So how many are there?" asked Earl Yan.

"Four of them. One for each domain."

The two men looked at the Valkyrie as if she had lost her mind.

"So how are they able to take over so many victims' ident.i.ties?" asked Earl Yan, with a confused look.

"They are forced to be in a physical form, but they are mired to that body for a hundred years. This does not mean they can't manifest in other ways. The flesh is just a husk for them to move around or use as a disguise."

"How do they manifest in other forms?" asked Gab.

Mavislin could eye at the poor man in dubiety before answering his question.

"They can appear as a voice in someone's head to kill themselves or do their evil bidding. They could even use the flesh's shadows to capture others. Customarily, they use their shadow form to taunt or play with their meal."
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"So you mean to say, they only take the Mage's powers and leave the flesh walking about?" asked Earl Yan.

"An Umbra could manage an army of flesh if it wanted to. For this moment, the Umbras are merely playing safe by taking the Mage's powers and replacing the victims with extra humans. They act like humans, but with no memories."

"So, lost puppies?" asked Gab.

"To a certain degree."

"Taking away a Mage's power...Is it the same as taking away a soul?" asked the Earl, looking at Mavislin earnestly.

The Valkyrie closed her eyes as she remembered how Metria asked the same question. She then opened her eyes and looked at the two humans in front of her. She got up and sprouted her wings. Gab gawked at the sight of her wings, which was at its full grandeur.

"A Mage is the generic term for beings that have come from other worlds. We were called that due to only one reason, our Elemental Core. Once a Mage has their Elemental Core taken away or damaged, the Mage will die."

She then playfully flapped her wings, causing the room's dust to plunge towards the triumvirate.

"A Valkyrie's Elemental Core lies in the wings. Our wings can be interchanged with fake ones, but I'm showing you guys my true wings. Believe it or not, it has not fully grown yet."

"It is comparable to a human's heart, then," replied the Earl, pointing at where his heart was located.

"Yes, but it differs from each Mage. Of course, the area around the Elemental Core for each individual is heavily safeguarded. For some, even the fella's head could roll off and he'd still be able to fight."

"Morbid way of saying Mages are nearly immortals."

"Some do die of old age. Counterparts of humans are out there."

The Earl looked at the scattered pieces of notes strewn all over the table. His mind tried to wrap around the information dump that the Valkyrie has given them. Gab had a better time adjusting. Not only the situation was more than the underworld's purview, but it was far more complex than any human could imagine.

The world, 'complex', was not good for trying to solve this case of the shadows eating people. It would mean that the underworld had to fully rely on the Arks for help.