...
That same night, somewhere on Blue Star, deep within the earth where the light of human civilization could not reach.
This was the core nest of "Shadow."
Deep within a palace so magnificent it was almost absurd, twelve high-backed chairs were arranged in a massive metal ring.
Seated in the chairs were not physical people, but twelve hazy figures of light, projections formed by advanced virtual imaging technology.
Their forms varied, but their faces were completely hidden by the animal masks of the twelve zodiac signs they each wore—Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig.
These twelve figures were the highest echelon of power in the Shadow organization—the leaders of the twelve divisions.
They were a vast, shadowy collective of traitors who had abandoned the Human Race to serve under the wing of the Demon Race.
