Location: The Valley of Dead Mirrors – a forsaken land where the faces of traitors are reflected, and every betrayal is retold in the voice of the victim.
---
In the temporary throne chamber,
the shadows sat in heavy silence,
as Hana laid down a burnt message...
partially scorched, but one name remained engraved in black ink: Kara.
---
Hana (sorrowfully):
"He's alive... but he's no longer one of us."
---
Musayuki (gazing at a carved portrait on the wall):
"He was the first to call for unity… and the first to stab it."
"Sajibro... Jinro... go."
---
Sajibro (head lowered):
"He was my brother before he became a traitor."
Jinro (wiping the edge of his spear):
"And I'll make that name weigh on his soul… before I silence him forever."
---
The two commanders departed toward The Valley of Dead Mirrors,
and with every step closer, the earth began to reflect twisted versions of themselves.
Sajibro saw himself handing his scepter to Raizen.
Jinro saw himself stabbed in the back… by Kara himself.
---
Kara awaited them, perched upon a gray stone,
wearing Raizen's cloak, and a breastplate studded with closed eyes.
In his hand, he held the Stolen Shadowblade –
a weapon once given in loyalty… and taken in betrayal.
---
Kara (smiling calmly):
"So, you've come… Two against one? Or do you still doubt your own strength?"
---
Sajibro (his eyes glowing):
"We did not come to shame you… but to end you."
Jinro:
"Trust? I buried it the day you broke my spine."
---
The battle begins.
Kara wields "The Shadows of Exile" –
a power that lets him vanish from the minds of his enemies temporarily,
striking unseen… attacking memory itself.
---
Sajibro forges a new blade from The Pain of Betrayal –
a sword pulsing in a deep crimson hue.
Jinro summons The Storm of Truth –
a skill that rips through manifested lies.
---
At the peak of the clash,
Kara wounds Sajibro in the shoulder.
But Jinro slams his spear into the ground,
creating a cage of past energy –
preventing Kara from disappearing again.
---
Kara (laughing, bleeding):
"You fools… Raizen gave me immortality… gave me freedom!"
Sajibro (standing, bloodied):
"No… He gave you your curse."
---
Sajibro drives his memory-forged blade straight into Kara's chest.
The Stolen Shadowblade shatters.
---
Kara (in a final whisper):
"I dreamed... of building something with you… but dreams are fragile..."
He dies. His body melts into dust. Only black ashes remain.
---
Jinro (softly):
"The first traitor… has fallen."
Sajibro (gazing skyward):
"Let us return… and tell the King a page of pain has been closed."
---
But before they could leave,
the ground cracked open…
and from its depths rose Kara's Second Shadow –
a copy born of Kara's essence, forged by Raizen, devoid of mercy.
---
The Shadow (with a hollow voice):
"You won't finish me… You'll become me, unless you kill me twice."
---
End of Chapter Twelve