Chapter 6
"They erased my name from memory. Now I wear shadow not as armor, but as a truth they cannot silence."
The moon was high.
But Bai Shen didn't see it.
He sat by the lake, eyes closed, breath steady. His body rested, but his mind churned.
His reflection on the water's surface didn't move.
Didn't blink.
And it wasn't his.
Mara stood behind him in silence, her eyes never leaving his back. She hadn't slept. Not since the Shadow Hunter was swallowed by Shen's domain.
"Say something," she said softly.
He opened his eyes.
And still, the reflection did not match.
Not fully.
"It's happening again," he said, voice hollow. "Pieces returning. Things I never lived—memories I never had."
"You're saying that wasn't your reflection?"
"No. It looked like me. But older. Different eyes."
Mara stepped beside him.
"You're sure?"
"I don't forget a face I've worn."
The forest remained still around them, unnaturally so.
Even the creatures hiding in the dark had gone quiet.
Mara knelt beside him and drew the Eclipse symbol again—the three triangles nested within a spiral.
"You said you saw this in your vision."
Shen nodded.
"On the robe of a man… no, a shadow of a man. His face was hidden, but I remember his hand touching my forehead. Then… nothing."
Mara's jaw clenched.
"They don't erase people by killing them. They erase their meaning. Memory, name, emotion."
"You think they did that to me?"
"I think they did worse."
Shen stood slowly, his limbs now pulsing with Shadow Qi through Shade Veins. He could feel the shift—it didn't just enhance him. It altered how he moved, how he breathed.
But beneath the power, there was now doubt.
Not about his mission.
About his origin.
"Why me?" he asked aloud. "Why would a ghost sect take an interest in a Qi-less boy?"
Mara's answer was quiet.
"Because maybe you weren't always Qi-less."
The air tensed suddenly.
Shen turned sharply.
Movement—near the trees.
He extended his hand, shadow condensing into his palm.
But what emerged wasn't another assassin.
It was an old man.
Unarmed.
Hunched, in tattered gray robes. His eyes glowed faintly, not with malice—but recognition.
"I've come to speak," he said.
Shen raised his guard. "Who are you?"
The man bowed low.
"I am called Arik. I served your father."
The words slammed into him like a storm.
"You're lying," Shen said.
Arik stepped forward slowly, palms open. "I knew him when he commanded the Shadow Legion."
Mara's eyes widened. "That's impossible. The Legion was destroyed before Shen was born."
"That's what they made you believe," Arik whispered. "But Bai Zhen survived the purge. And he didn't die a traitor."
Shen's hand trembled.
"Say it again."
"Your father didn't betray the clan. He betrayed the Eclipse Sect."
Shen's breath caught.
Arik continued. "He was one of them once. A Shadowborn raised by the Eclipse. But he defected… when he found out what they were doing."
"What were they doing?"
Arik hesitated.
"They were building something. A weapon. Not a sword. Not a technique. A child."
Shen stared at him.
"Me."
Arik nodded. "Your mother was chosen. Your birth was not chance. It was ritual."
Mara whispered, "They made you?"
Shen said nothing.
The Core inside him stirred—almost like it remembered too.
Arik reached into his robe and drew a broken shard of obsidian, etched with runes.
"Your father shattered this before his death. It was part of the original memory seal. If you touch it… more will return."
Shen took it slowly.
The moment his fingers closed around the shard—
Flashes exploded across his vision.
A cold room.
A woman crying.
Shen, younger. Five. Locked in a metal circle, shadows pulsing into him.
A man in crimson robes speaking to a crowd.
"This child will become the vessel. The Shadow King reborn."
Then darkness.
Then his father's voice.
"Forgive me, my son. I had no choice but to hide you… from yourself."
Shen dropped to his knees.
Blood leaked from his nose.
His Core surged—faster than ever.
Too fast.
He gritted his teeth.
Control it.
Or it will consume you.
The forest shook.
Mara moved to help, but Arik held her back.
"He has to stabilize it alone. Or he dies."
Shen's eyes turned black.
Veins across his arms flared violet.
His shadow writhed beneath him.
And then—
He stood.
The surge stopped.
A voice echoed from within him, low and familiar.
"Welcome back… Shadow Vessel."
Tier 2 Complete: Shadow Infusion Stabilized
Veins now fully adapted to Shadow Qi
New skill unlocked: Shadow Clone – Lesser
He breathed slowly.
The air settled.
But the silence remained heavier than before.
Mara stared at him.
"You're… not just Bai Shen, are you?"
"I don't know," he said honestly. "But I intend to find out."
Arik's time was short.
"I risked everything coming here. Bloodroot has aligned with outer sects. They've sent envoys to awaken the Obsidian Blade."
Shen frowned. "What's that?"
"A champion. Built by the Eclipse Sect. Not born. Raised in pure void."
Mara swore.
"If they awaken it, they'll hunt you across every province."
"They already are," Shen said.
"But this time," Arik said, "they'll send something you can't beat."
Shen's eyes narrowed.
"Then I'll have to stop being beatable."
That night, Mara woke to find Shen gone.
She followed his shadow trail to the same lake.
He stood on the water.
Eyes closed.
And behind him—
A figure of pure darkness, identical to him, stepped from his shadow.
Silent.
Breathing.
Watching him.