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Chapter 4 - Chapter Four: The True Shadow Sword

After Raizen's retreat, and a silence that blanketed the city,

Musayuki stood upon the temple's ruins, his staff gleaming, black blood evaporating beneath his feet.

But Hana trembled—not from fear, but from a strange energy rising in the center of the battlefield.

Hana:

"My lord... this is not the light's energy, nor remnants of the fight... it's an ancient power... very ancient."

Musayuki turned his face toward the thickening smoke—

and there he appeared.

His steps were steady, his shadow long, and his sword dragged behind him, emitting a faint hiss like a death rattle.

The true Egris — the eternal Shadow Commander

He had been missing since the throne's fall, imprisoned in a dark dimension after Kara's betrayal.

But Musayuki's power, his staff, and the throne's return had awakened him all at once.

Egris knelt on one knee before Musayuki, thrust his sword into the ground, and said in a rough, hoarse voice:

"My lord... I was late, but I never betrayed you."

Musayuki (calmly):

"I never doubted you... but through which gate did you come? From what hell have you returned?"

Egris raised his head, his crimson eyes shining:

"The Gate of Betrayal... the same gate Raizen entered—and I followed him... to stop his escape."

Hana gasped loudly and looked behind Musayuki:

"My lord... that means the other commanders... may return as well!"

Musayuki gazed toward the horizon,

a broken flame of fire burning in his eyes, mixed with a thousand years of hatred.

"The throne will not be rebuilt... it will be born anew from the traitors' ruin."

Far away... in a castle of black glass...

A mysterious figure watched everything through a darkened mirror, smiling:

"If Egris has returned... the rest will follow... but they will not be as they once were."

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