"Not all shadows serve the enemy
."
Journey into the Bloodwood
The path to the Temple of Orun led through the Bloodwood — a cursed place where the trees live, and the blood of warriors runs in their roots.
The shadow army stayed behind. Shadow rode alone.
Whispering voices lured him. Figures from his past.
The Mirror Knight
Suddenly — a black knight, identical to Shadow, stepped into his path.
His eyes were hollow. His voice:
"You are unworthy."
It was the Mirror Knight, a trial of
the demon realm.
A battle erupted — wild, brutal. Every strike felt like fighting his own soul.
In the end — with a shattered helm and bleeding hands — Shadow struck down the Mirror Knight.
"I am no longer who I was.
I am rage itself."
The Light
At the edge of the Bloodwood, hidden in mist, the white tower of the temple appeared.
And from within, a voice whispered:
"Brother…?"
"Light is not always good.
And darkness not always evil.
But both… kill."
The mist was thin, but cold. It clung to his skin like the fingers of a dead god.
Shadow stood at the base of the white tower. The entrance to the Temple of Orun lay half-buried beneath vines and bones.
Once a sacred place, now a fragment — covered in snow, guarded by shadows.
Behind him: no one.
The demon army had stayed back.
This path, he had to walk alone.
He stepped through the broken gate.
The Temple
Inside — silence. No birdsong. No wind. Only the dripping of water, the groan of ancient stone.
Runes glowed on the walls. Strange. Old. Alive.
Shadow walked slowly, demonblade in hand — ready.
"Shadow…?"
A voice — barely audible. Fragile. Human.
He froze.
From the shadows stepped a girl — torn clothes, dirt-smeared skin, but the eyes…
He knew those eyes.
"Saphira…?"
She ran to him — hesitant, like a frightened animal. Then she collapsed into his arms, weeping.
He stood still. Rigid. Then slowly, he wrapped his arms around her.
"I thought you were dead," she whispered. "They all said you… had fallen."
"I did," he replied quietly.
"Just… not the way they meant."
The Guardians
But before she could answer, the ground trembled. The runes on the walls turned blood red.
"Intruder detected."
The voice was not human.
It came from the stone itself.
Two colossal stone guardians burst from the pillars. Their faces were masklike, their bodies like melted marble.
"The temple has not forgotten you, child of shadow," one boomed.
"You bear the taint. You are corrupted."
Shadow pushed Saphira behind him.
"I won't explain what I am…"
He raised his blade.
"…I'll show you."
The Battle
The guardians attacked — like walking mountains. Their fists hit like catapults, their steps shattered the floor.
Shadow did not retreat.
He charged.
His blade was faster than stone. It blazed with demonic fire, slicing through runes like flesh.
Bloodless — but deadly.
The first guardian fell with a choking noise, its body exploding into light.
The second struck Shadow's side — sent him crashing into the wall. His ribs cracked.
But he stood again.
"I survived death," he growled.
"I won't fear you."
He leapt — one final, perfect strike — and the second guardian shattered in a scream of dust and flame.
Reunion
Saphira cowered on the ground, hands over her head. Shadow approached, knelt beside her.
"Are you hurt?"
She shook her head.
Then she truly looked at him — the dark skin, the runes, the burning eyes.
"Brother… what have you become?"
Shadow didn't answer at first.
Then:
"I became what I had to.
So no one else loses what we lost."
They sat by the fire. The cold of the temple gave way to the flicker of flames.
Her voice trembled as she spoke:
"The king never wept for you. He sacrificed you… for power."
Shadow said nothing. His fist clenched.
Saphira spoke of a hidden ritual — the king had sacrificed his own bloodline in a pact with the Void.
"He never loved you. He was preparing you."
Ruins of Norkhad
There lies the Heart of War, a legendary artifact. Shadow travels there with a few warriors.
Saphira stays behind.
In Norkhad, he faces a high priest of the Cult — charred skin, whispering:
"Your soul is not yours.
It bears an ancient name."
In the battle, Shadow's blade ignites blood-red — a new level of his demonic power.
General Black
In his fortress, Black sits before a mirror, speaking to his reflection:
"I created the boy…
And I will destroy him."
He sends Rend Hound, his cruelest warrior — once a man, now more beast than flesh.
Black knows Shadow's weakness:
Saphira.