Location: The Battle Ruins near the Palace of Shadows
The mist still hangs above a land that has breathed in ash and blood. A heavy silence looms after Raizen's legions were wiped out in a single strike —
a strike not of this era…
nor this world.
Amid the wreckage, Sajibro stands.
His body, lifeless only moments before, rises slowly —
as if death itself feared to approach him again.
His eyes glow with a color that defies description —
a fusion of the abyss and forgotten light.
And when he speaks, it is not the voice of a man…
but the voice of an ancient oath reclaiming its name.
Sajibro (calm as the storm before it breaks):
"I lived among you as one of you… but the time has come to remember who I am."
From his body emanates an aura none of the commanders have ever known.
Even Igris, who once tasted the worst storms of shadow, takes two steps back — unknowingly.
Hana (in disbelief, whispering):
"This… isn't just power… it's sovereignty."
Sajibro raises his hand and conjures from the void a blade that is not a blade…
but a memory from a thousand years past —
a weapon etched in untold legends.
He strikes the ground before him.
The arena explodes, and Raizen's remaining army is erased —
as if it had never existed.
Zo-Ken (hoarsely):
"This isn't the Sajibro we fought beside…
This is the Sajibro whose name we once feared in the ancient days."
The sky trembles.
The Dark Throne in the nearby palace begins to echo —
as though calling its long-lost master.
Mousayuki kneels, silently, eyes flooded with a truth he had never seen.
Mousayuki (in a voice laced with regret):
"I was the shield… but you were the source.
I was the guardian… but you were the king."
One by one, the commanders follow,
eyes fixed upon Sajibro with a look reserved only for those who realize
they have been in the presence of a king returned from oblivion.
Igris:
"We swore by shadow to obey the one who wakes us…
And now you've returned, my king."
Kain:
"Our memories… were fractured.
Now I see them whole.
We were the ones who forgot…
and you were the one who kept silent to save us."
Sajibro (gazing at them, then up at the sky):
"I planted false memories in you…
not because I feared you —
but because I feared returning without you."
He walks toward the Hall of the Throne.
Every step he takes revives the dead marble.
Every ancient statue bows,
every torch lights itself from the glow of his shadow.
He reaches the Dark Throne,
places his hand upon its carved armrest —
and ancient inscriptions, long hidden by time, reappear.
Sajibro (speaking as though pronouncing an eternal decree):
"I am… the King of Shadows.
Not because I seek the throne…
but because the throne knows me."
He sits.
And in that moment,
the forgotten crown returns to his head —
not as a symbol of power,
but as a recognition from the shadows themselves that he is the chosen one.
The shadows around the palace stir —
as if rising once more to guard their sovereign.
Hana (whispering to Mousayuki):
"Do you feel it?
It's like the world itself just bowed down."
Mousayuki (with a quiet smile):
"No…
The world merely remembered who rules it."
End of Chapter Eighteen