Chapter 24: The Beginning of a New Journey
Darkness.
There was no sky.
No earth.
No sound.
Only an endless void stretching beyond imagination.
Shen slowly opened his eyes.
His body felt weightless as cold mist drifted around him.
"...Where am I?"
His voice echoed into the emptiness, but no answer came.
He took a cautious step forward.
Each footstep rippled across the darkness as though he were walking on invisible water.
Suddenly—
A presence.
Someone was standing ahead.
Motionless.
Silent.
Shen narrowed his eyes.
"Who's there?"
The figure slowly turned.
Shen's heartbeat stopped.
It looked exactly like him.
The same face.
The same hair.
The same sword.
But its eyes were completely black, surrounded by faint violet light, and an unsettling smile stretched across its face.
Shen instinctively reached for his weapon.
"...Who are you?"
The figure chuckled.
"I'm not someone else."
"I'm you."
"The part you abandoned."
"The rage."
"The hatred."
"The despair hidden deep inside your heart."
Shen stepped back.
"No..."
"You're the monster that tried to kill my friends."
The figure laughed.
"A monster?"
"I protected you."
"When you begged for power..."
"I answered."
Darkness gathered around the figure, forming countless shadowy hands.
"You were weak."
"You feared losing everyone."
"So I gave you strength."
Shen clenched his fists.
"I never wanted power like yours."
The figure's smile widened.
"Yet you accepted it."
Without warning—
The shadows surged forward.
BOOM!
An overwhelming force slammed into Shen, throwing him to his knees.
The pressure was unbearable.
His body refused to move.
The shadow walked closer.
"You are exhausted."
"You've lost your Commander."
"You've watched your friends suffer."
"Why keep fighting?"
It knelt before Shen.
"Sleep."
"Leave everything to me."
"I'll protect them."
"I'll destroy anyone who stands in our way."
Shen lowered his head.
His breathing became heavier.
For a brief moment...
Silence.
Then—
A distant voice echoed through the void.
"SHEN!!"
The darkness trembled.
Another voice followed.
"PLEASE!"
"COME BACK TO US!"
It was Kenya.
Warmth spread through Shen's chest.
Then another voice.
Ruke.
"We're not leaving without you!"
Another.
Eliz.
"You promised we'd return together!"
The shadow frowned.
"They're only slowing you down."
"They'll abandon you eventually."
Shen slowly stood.
"No."
His voice was calm.
"They never abandoned me."
The pressure around him began to weaken.
The shadow's expression darkened.
"You need me."
Shen shook his head.
"I don't."
"I don't need hatred."
"I don't need revenge."
"I don't need endless power."
He looked directly into the shadow's eyes.
"If becoming stronger means losing myself..."
"...then I'd rather remain imperfect."
The shadow roared as darkness consumed the entire void.
"You are NOTHING without me!"
Shen smiled for the first time.
"Then I'll become stronger as myself."
He raised his hand.
A brilliant golden light burst from his heart.
The darkness cracked.
Light spread across the endless void.
The shadow reached toward him.
"No!"
"You cannot reject me!"
Shen took one final step forward.
"I won't reject you."
"I'll overcome you."
The golden light completely engulfed the darkness.
CRACK!
The entire void shattered like glass.
As the world around him collapsed, Shen heard the voices of his friends calling his name once more.
He slowly opened his eyes.
The journey was far from over.
It had only just begun.