Location: The Kingdom of Renval – a fractured land between light and shadow, where secrets are buried… but never forgotten.
---
After Musayuki reclaimed the third commander, Sajibro—
and before the wounds of their reunion could begin to heal—
Raizen's herald came down from the heavens, proclaiming:
"The fourth commander… will not return, because he is the one who shall come to break you."
---
In the Hall of Shadows, where the three commanders had gathered,
Musayuki sat in silence,
the royal staff pulsing in his hands like a living heart.
Igris stood beside him, while Sajibro's eyes remained burdened by the bitterness of memory.
---
Hana (as she undid the seal on the Grand Mirror):
"The name of the fourth commander… was never spoken after the fall. He was the closest to Raizen before the betrayal."
Sajibro (with restrained anger):
"Because he never betrayed us… he chose to stay."
Igris:
"No. He chose silence… while we were being shattered."
---
Musayuki (raising his head):
"His name… is Kain – the Heart of Silent Betrayal."
---
Kain wasn't just a commander.
He was Musayuki's left hand,
the only one who knew the secret of the "Gate of Beginnings"—
the place where the curse of shadows was born.
---
Hana:
"If Raizen has corrupted him… there may still be fragments of truth within him—or pain."
Musayuki:
"Or guilt… and even that guilt, I will force to speak."
---
Location: The banks of the River Artil, where Kain once prayed to the ancient shadows.
The sky was overcast, and the river still—
as if it had died.
Upon a white stone sat Kain,
draped in a gray cloak, holding a book with no words.
---
Kain (without lifting his gaze):
"You came at last? You took your time, Musayuki."
Musayuki (approaching alone):
"And you said nothing when hearts were breaking…
as if silence was more sacred than blood."
---
Kain:
"I didn't betray you… I simply didn't fight you.
I chose neutrality while you were dying in a war I never understood."
Musayuki:
"Neutrality in the face of injustice… is betrayal."
---
Kain rose and opened his palms.
From each hand emerged a symbolic blade—
one forged from light, the other from shadow.
---
Kain:
"Come. Either kill me, or let me convince you that peace was always possible…
had you chosen me over war."
Musayuki (with a steely voice):
"Peace without justice… is surrender wrapped in silk."
---
The battle begins…
Kain wielded the powers of balance—
freezing time, splitting each strike in two.
Musayuki responded with his staff, now pulsing with the strength of the three commanders.
---
Each blow wasn't just a clash…
It was a trial.
Each shared memory burst forth like flashes of lightning across the riverbank—
a laugh, a promise, a betrayal, a tear… and silence.
---
In the final moment,
Kain cried out:
"I only wanted us not to lose ourselves!"
To which Musayuki replied, striking the ground with his staff:
"But we lost each other… because you weren't there to stop me from falling!"
---
Musayuki stepped closer,
and reached into Kain's chest,
pulling from within him the "Seal of Silence"—a gray crystal pulsing with an old heartbeat.
And he said:
"Hear me now… even silence must stand trial."
---
Kain collapsed to his knees,
his eyes brimming with tears.
Kain:
"Is it possible… to begin again?"
Musayuki:
"If we cannot forgive the silent… then whom can we forgive?"
---
Hana whispered:
"The fourth commander… has returned."
---
But then…
From beneath the River Artil,
a colossal stone hand rose, gripping the very neck of time itself—
and a voice, source unknown, thundered:
"The fifth… cannot be reclaimed.
For he did not betray—he chose to become a pure shadow!"
---
End of Chapter Ten