The man would die unremembered.  For her clan there was little worse in life than to pass into the next life unremembered.  Her people lived in the shadows with the hope that their flames and memories would last well beyond their deaths.  Each committed themselves to greatness in stealth so that their names could be etched with pride on their family grave stones.  Yurei had already seen her name engraved, a feat for one so young as herself.  Yet there was more to be done and more to be accomplished.  For this man he would pass into the next world in a closest, never to be known for the legacy he might leave behind.  Yurei felt no pity.<br/><br/>Eyes stared down at him from above.  The breast of her companion revealed before her eyes.  He paws on her like a beast, fumbled at her clothes like a man with no dignity.  Lust was apparent on his face and the secrets he betrayed in his thoughts came easily.  Yurei watched while he worked.  She always watched.<br/><br/>The sweet cake had been a present.  Stolen from the private reserves of the Masters here, Yurei had given a gift made from her own effort.  No greater gift could be given in her lands.  Riches of wealth compared naught to the price of the soul and flesh for her kind.  So with anticipation she stood among the shadows, draped in the touch of her own dark passenger.  Not a single shift of light or darkness was made by her presence.  The art of stealth long ago mastered by her.  Chunyang prided herself on feeling for Yurei, but this night there was another distraction.  A smile crept forward beneath her mask.  Fingers moved to part the veil of shadows so that she could surprise her friend.  Yet more moved into the room, others not even she had seen.<br/><br/>From her place she watched the Masters of the Ghost Blade do their work.  Fear gripped her hands, indecision wracked her body.  Part of her wanted to thrust open the veil, to push past the hidden world and strike at the foes of her companion.  Yet here were the Masters of another Clan that she could not touch.  Here in the Hidden Temple their word was without reproach.  They had called this a test.  A trial for her friend to endure so that she might ascend to greatness.  The though gave her comfort while the sound of her cries gave her remorse.  Yurei stayed by her side though, just as Chunyang had stayed during her first consumption.<br/><br/>The sounds grew more still with each man passing.  Screams had faded into wet slaps of flesh.  Each man gave a grunt before he moved on so that another might take his place.  Coldness guided their movements.  Yurei felt her own limits tested as she saw the beautiful face of her friend buried in the sheets.  Hands bound in chains, her face wracked with pain and deeper than that shame.  Eyes turned to look over the naked body of her friend, to see the flesh that had once been untouched now lay bruised and broken on the bed.  A hand fell to the side while the last man left.  Revulsion for their kind touched her heart just as her fingers touched the palm.<br/><br/>“I am your shadow still Chunyang.  Always at your side.”<br/><br/>A mess was left in her wake, but Yurei never questioned.  Instead she only stepped forward from the dark recesses of the room.  The door closed so that another might open.  Slowly she let her hands touch the still warm body.  Ice spread beneath her palms while below the man the darkness opened to admit his physical flesh.  Hungry shadows reached for him, clawed fingers tearing at the body to drag the flesh below.  A shiver raced down her own spine while the inhabitants of the Shadow Realm feed off her gesture.  Her offering was received with glee and she felt the lifting of her own power.  Green light flashed from beneath the mask of her own shadow before she too slipped down into the other realm.  Not even a single cloth was disturbed when she left, the closest now empty of the trio.<br/><br/>The throne was a vain gesture her mind mused.  Shadows provided her a window to the world beyond.  Flames flickered and the darkness continued to grow while the bodies intertwined and sought each other’s satisfaction.  Yurei could feel the bile rise in her throat while she watched men thrust themselves into others.  The women even fought for the privilege to taste and lick those same men that took from them.  Beside Chunyang a whisper touched her ear.<br/><br/>“We would do their souls a service in releasing them.  First our duty.”<br/>