Shadow Author

Just as had been so when I unlocked the ability to use Aether I knew what to call out when using the curse's power.

"Puppeteer."

Immediately after saying the word a change in the surroundings began.

The red foggy substance transformed into smoke as it moved around with a passion.

Rather than laying on the ground building up, it was as if the mist had come to life.

It moved with a goal as I watched the red seep into the nostrils and mouths of the hundreds of birds.

When they breathed in the mist it didn't take long for a change to occur.

The first to be affected was the bird in my hands as I felt it squirm around.

Then the others that were grounded began to recover.

When they came out of their coma or awoke from a deep sleep the birds started tussling around trying to make sense of what happened.

It was clear that they were disoriented but after a minute they began to crawl and walk on the ground.

Looking down at the creature in my hands it looked back up at me to reflect my image.

I smiled as I came to understand what I stumbled upon.

The bird's eyes matched mine as a red glint sparkled deep inside of it.

Feeling a strong connection to the bird unlike anything I had ever experienced before I gave out a mental command:

'Fly!'

Immediately the bird began to shuffle in my arms until its wings were free.

Then it slowly rose them up and down as a current was established.

Using my hands to push up the bird I tossed it into the air.

A sudden burst of energy exploded around me as the bird responded by spreading its wings to catch the air.

Watching it soar higher and higher into the sky I couldn't help but be amazed.

I could only watch in awe as it circled around where I stood a few feet into the air above me.

Its feather glistened in the sunlight, while the bird let out a piercing cry, signaling its counterparts to join it.

All around me the hundreds of birds all at once started flapping their wings while slowly lifting themselves into the sky.

While they continued to ascend, the bird I released scanned the terrain, with its sharp eyes.

The others rose to meet it as they effortlessly twisted and turned in the air, as the wind carried them wherever they desired.

At that moment I had created, formed, and became the owner of a new swarm of Terror Birds.

Creating another scene of chaos it didn't take long before a new slightly smaller shadow blocked out the sun.

However, this time rather than feeling fear I was euphoric and intoxicated by the power I now had in my grasp.

"I see what you mean now, if I can control thousands of murderous dinosaur birds that cause A-rankers to run, what else can I control?"

It was a question I wouldn't get an answer to but I was excited to test the limits of my ability.

Yet before I could there was a mission I had to complete and calling upon a subset of the power I checked how close I was to the target.

The flames that still covered my eyes burnt with a higher intensity until my vision completely shifted.

Once everything went black a second later I was looking down on the world from above.

As if I was looking down from the heavens, the world appeared small and insignificant.

I could make out every little detail thanks to the enhanced vision of the Terror Bird.

Overwhelmed by the sight I took a few moments to get adjusted.

Being about to see all around me in a much wider field of range made things uncomfortable but also helpful.

Looking side to side and straight ahead at the same time was not something I was accustomed to but it didn't take long to figure out.

Making use of my newfound sight I commanded the bird to break free from the pack so that I could get a full view of the surroundings.

Once the bird was high enough and I could make out everything I began scanning up and down the mountain.

Almost immediately I caught sight of Miss Smith making her way up. She was moving incredibly fast while carrying something large on her back.

I made note of her position in regard to mine and deduced that I had at most a few seconds before she arrived.

Turning my attention back to the top of the mountain I looked in between every crevice and crack until I finally found what I was looking for.

Still, a ways ahead of where I stood was a cave carved into the mountainside.

Knowing that I had found where we needed to go I relinquished control of the bird.

Just like last time my vision darkened before lighting up again showing me in the middle of a forest.

While I was slowly getting used to being back in my own body Miss Smith came to an abrupt stop next to me.

Without looking at her I could tell that she wasn't in the best condition.

Her breathing was incredibly rigged and I could make out that she was quivering which most likely resulted from her pushing herself more than she could.

"Your back."

Trying to buy time as I slowly blinked my eyes I started up a conversation with her.

After all, I was still pissed off that she left me to die.

"Where are the Terror Birds?"

'So that's what they are called, I'll have to look up information about them when we make it back to the city.'

I pointed up at the sky.

Turning her head to follow Miss Smith squinted as she tried to make them out.

By now they were quite a ways away as I gave out a command to flee the area.

This meant the shadow was long gone making it much harder to see where they were especially so because I had them flying toward the sun.

Once Miss Smith made them out she quickly took out whatever was slung around her shoulders and placed it on the ground.

"What's that?"

Miss Smith didn't respond but the most probable reason was that she was still out of breath.

What she ended up dropping to the ground was some kind of long case.

When she opened it up I immediately understood what it was because it was something that should have never been added to the novel.

Something that I wrote about but cut out later before publishing due to the absurdity of it.

A gun… specifically… a sniper rifle.