Prince Shikuza placed the book back onto the table with a slow, deliberate motion.
His gaze shifted toward Haru, his eyes filled with a quiet but steady confidence.
"I hope you will make this the symbol of who we are," Shikuza said, his voice calm yet firm. "I believe in you, Haru."
Haru looked down at the book resting on the wooden surface.
The weight of the Prince's words seemed to hang in the air between them.
After a moment of silence, he gave a small, respectful nod, acknowledging the trust that had just been placed in his hands.
Do you see that forest?" Shikuza asked, gesturing toward the dense, dark trees visible through the window across from the table.
His eyes remained fixed on the shadows of the woods as he continued.
"I don't know what hides within those trees. I don't know who was there, who is there now, or who might appear next. But I promise you, I will uncover every secret and expose the truth behind it all. I will always protect my people, no matter what it takes."
He turned away from the window and placed a hand firmly on Haru's shoulder, a gesture of deep trust.
"And in this mission, you all will stand by my side as my friends—just like you guys always do"
Suddenly, a heavy thud echoed through the room as someone hammered loudly on the door.
Before anyone could answer, the door swung open and a castle guard burst inside, his chest heaving as if he had been running.
"Prince Shikuza!" he exclaimed, his voice tight with urgency.
The guard didn't even wait for permission to enter, stumbling a few steps into the room.
He bowed his head quickly, the panic clear in his eyes.
"I am so sorry for intruding like this, your highness," he panted, "but—"
He cut himself off, struggling to find the words for the news he had brought.
"A soldier has arrived with an urgent message from the King of the Drakos Kingdom," the guard managed to say between shallow breaths. "His men carried it across the border themselves."
Shikuza didn't hesitate. He stepped toward the guard, his voice sharp with focus.
"Where is he? Where is the messenger?"
"In the main hall of the castle, Your Highness," the guard replied, bowing low.
Without a word to Haru, Shikuza turned and hurried out of the room.
He navigated the long, torch-lit corridors, his cape trailing behind him as he moved from Haru's quarters toward the opposite wing of the fortress.
As he entered the hall, a dust-covered soldier stood waiting.
The man pressed his fist against his chest in a formal salute.
"Prince Shikuza, I bring you the greetings and a grave word from King Inis."
"I am relieved to hear from him," Shikuza said, though a shadow of concern crossed his face.
"But how did you get here so quickly? Is King Inis well? Has his health finally improved?"
The soldier looked down, his expression grim and weary.
"No, Prince Shikuza. His Majesty's condition remains unchanged".
he admitted, his voice heavy. "But that is not why I have come.
There is a much greater problem at hand—something far more urgent. Please, see for yourself.
With trembling hands, the soldier reached into his uniform and pulled out a rolled parchment.
He handed the message to Shikuza, the paper worn from the speed of the journey, waiting in silence as the Prince began to read.
Prince Shikuza unfurled the parchment, the crisp sound of the paper echoing in the sudden silence of the hall.
His eyes moved rapidly across the lines, his expression hardening with every word he read:
"To Prince Shikuza,
My health is a flickering candle in a storm, but it is not the reason I send this plea.
A shadow has fallen over the borders of the Drakos Kingdom—one that we cannot fight with swords alone. The seals of the old ruins have been disturbed, and something ancient has begun to stir in the silence.
I fear the peace we fought so hard for is nothing more than a memory. My time is running short, and there is a truth about the Shino Yami that only you can uncover. You must come at once, for the sake of both our kingdoms. The darkness does not wait for a king to recover."
As Shikuza reached the end of the letter, his grip tightened, crinkling the edges of the paper. The calm he usually maintained was replaced by a sharp, cold realization. He looked up at the soldier, his gaze piercing.
"When did this start?" he asked, his voice barely a whisper, yet filled with a new, dangerous intensity.
"This nightmare began only a few days ago," the soldier explained, his voice trembling as he spoke. "The barrier between our world and the dimension of the ghosts—the one that was sealed away so long ago—is cracking open. The gate is failing."
He looked around the hall, as if afraid the shadows themselves were listening. "The spirits are pouring into our world. They wander through the streets, haunting the living and searching for something... though we do not know what. The people are paralyzed by a terror unlike anything we have ever seen. No one dares to step outside anymore. Not at night, and not even in the bright light of day. They remain huddled in their homes, listening to the whispers from the other side."
"But the King of Ghosts is sealed right here," the Prince said, his brow furrowed in confusion.
"He is trapped within our own lands. How can they be rising there?"
"We know that, Your Highness," the soldier replied, his voice dropping to a fearful whisper.
"But those spirits... they do not care, or perhaps they do not know. Their world is bleeding into ours once again, and their dimension is forcing itself open. They are searching, and they are hungry."
The soldier looked toward the floor, a cold shiver running down his spine.
"My greatest fear, Prince Shikuza, is that this is only the beginning. If the dimensions continue to merge, I fear the seal holding the King of Ghosts himself might finally shatter. If he wakes while the gates are open, there will be no stopping the darkness."
That seal was designed to last for eternity," Shikuza said, his voice dropping to a low, icy tone. "It is impossible for it to open. The only person who held the key to that secret was my father, King Zhal, and he is no longer in this world."
He began to pace the hall, the weight of the mystery pressing down on him.
"Even the ancient scrolls—the historical records that contained the hidden truths of the seal—have vanished. They were lost to time long ago. If the knowledge died with my father and the pages are gone, then how is this happening?"
He stopped and looked back at the soldier, his eyes narrowing with a sharp, dark realization.
"Unless... someone didn't lose those pages. Unless someone has been holding onto that power in secret, waiting for the right moment to tear the worlds apart."
Shikuza turned to the guard standing at attention behind him, his voice cutting through the tension of the room like a blade.
"Go," he commanded, "Find Keifer and Sumin immediately. Tell them Prince Shikuza has issued an urgent summons to the castle. They are to drop everything and report to me at once."
The guard bowed deeply, the metal of his armor clinking in the silent hall, before turning on his heel and sprinting toward the exit. Shikuza watched him go, his mind already racing through the names and the skills his allies would need for the darkness that was unfolding.