A TELLER'S TELL
Eh, just eat the fresh fruit, thus rendering your assailant harmless :)
The Shadow seemed lost at the words from Meri's mouth. His speech at least gained a measure of calm, but it was still hushed, rather than the normal voice he had ever used before. "You are not dreaming. We only spoke briefly in your dreams once, and that was because you were still focused upon the portal room, and I had had not yet come back...here."
The Shadow looked around then back to "Where are you? You are where I once resided, from the first moment the gods created me, to the day the gods banished me. And where I again reside, thanks to you. You have entered a place I have no wish for the gods to look. This is the Nexus of the Arcane, the meeting point of magic in the whole multiverse. It glowed so brightly before I was formed, and was darkened the day of my creation."
The Shadow gestured to the black expanse, yet despite Meri's sensitivity to the arcane, she could feel... nothing. There did feel as if there was a vast space around her, it just felt as if it was filled with nothing. Perhaps that was the point.
The Shadow continued, sadly, quietly, in a speech quick but lacking the haste of earlier. "On that day were the powers of mortals limited, magic lessened, and each possibility was cut off and bound only to the the lesser possibilities residing close by. Yet I can hold the strands of all those possibilities, all those universes. And through me I can give mortals back their true potential. It is here that I was supposed to be the arbiter and wall to mortal will. And when I was too lenient, they banished me. That is where you are, Meri."
The Shadow seemed to give his full focus to Meri, clearly confused but determined to understand and be understood. "So you see, I know because I would feel it if anything within your power had pulled you here. To subvert the natural order of the universe like this can only be the hand of the divine. Or something truly, terribly demonic, something so powerful they are like a god. That is why the question is not so strange. That was why I warned you of the thin walls of reality in the portal room. It means the gods - or at least one of them - knows what I did not wish them to, and that I have returned."
A deep sigh. "At best I will feel their boot upon my neck to have the power of mortal limited once more, perhaps worse than before for they will fear what you accomplished. And at worst I will be banished once more. Or destroyed utterly."
The Shadow then focused on Meri. "No, that is not the worst that could happen, for it has already happened. The worst is that the gods will see you, when I tried to hide you, and who knows how they will react. Whatever found you, and sent you here, was not gloating. They were forcing the hand of the gods, and focusing the attention of the gods on us rather than themselves."
The Shadow felt as if he stood upright. "Whatever found you, it was not my twin. I have no twin, how could I? It is most likely some demonlord, though I know of none that would have such power. I doubt any of the true pantheon would.... wait..."
Something seemed to occur to The Shadow. And then the fear came back. "Meri, listen very closely. I am a chain by the gods put upon mortals, to replace the magic mortals once possessed. I am the balance between fear and yearning. If I had a twin, it would be a chain that mortals put on the gods. Perhaps something the gods unwittingly formed the day they created me. Or perhaps even something formed when I was freed, something that took my place, filled the void I formed perfectly. A shadow self, if you will. If it were that, though, Meri... it would have the powers of a god. No, the powers of all the gods. And it would hate mortals. It would be the resentment of the god's need for faith, multiplied by the countless number of mortals the gods have ever had to rely upon. It would be the extremes of fear and the extremes of yearning, and it would stop at nothing to free itself. After all, what is all of creation to a god?"
The Shadow seemed crushed at even the thought of such a counterpart. "There is no help for it. To mitigate the plans of ... whatever this is... I must make myself known to the gods. The quicker it happens, and if upon my own terms, perhaps the quicker they can be focused on this rogue power, whatever it is. Though I may be banished once more, or even destroyed."
He looked to Meri with determination. "And you must go. Now. Though I fear it too late, and you will be visible to the gods now. Still, at least if the gods are focused on you, this powerful foe won't be able to act in secret against you. Though it is a thin hope that this is a change in your fortune. Seek my followers, if you can, to protect you. I have moved so slow to avoid detection, and I have barely made any even aware of my potential presence. And yet they exist, and they will aid you if they are true."
Is this a bluff, or is this really the true Shadow, and he feels forced in to showing himself, even though he may be destroyed or re-imprisoned. And who knows what effect that would have on the world, and your magic.
So... there you go? This shadow is claiming to be the one from the portal room, and then from your first dream (which was also in the portal room). The other shadow claimed to have only spoken to you when you touched the stone (and of course in the portal room).
So basically the dream one seems to say they had no twin they knew of, and claims that if they did, it would be the chain of mortals on the gods, and the extremes of fear and yearning. And hasn't really stated what he might know to what his twin might know. Also, he seems to be all 'we can't talk anymore, seek my followers'
The stone one seemed to say it knew it had a twin, and claims that both of them were the chains of mortals and demons respectively. That he was more the 'fear' part, the mortal thoughts, and the other was more 'yearning', the lusts of demons. And that he could read thoughts, and his counterpart their hearts, and that's how you could know the difference. Except there's nothing he and his twin didn't not know about each other when confined, so only deep knowledge from your own mind (or of course something new that has happened that would be missed) would be a way to tell them apart. Oh, and the stone one was all 'don't trust my followers, they might be evil guys or tricked, only listen to me when I contact you again'.
Anyway, so that's enoughto be going on with :) Have fun reacting whatever that reaction might be. And then you might finally get to chapter 4, since this shadow doens't seem inclined to keep you.