The earth still trembled from the collapse of the Vanaheim seal, and the air was thick with the scent of ash.
But that moment wasn't an ending — it was the beginning of a new fall.
Deep within the abyss left by the volcano, a long-forgotten entity rose.
Not a god.
Not a human.
Something in between.
Xiao sensed it first… as if an echo from his unknown past was calling to him.
Aster, struggling to keep her footing, said:
> "Do you feel that? This… isn't natural."
Xiao slowly shook his head:
> "No. It's far too familiar."
In the heart of the abyss, beneath layers of petrified magma, the ground split open — and from it, a shadow emerged, walking… without a body.
It looked like a shattered gray image, like the memory of a man who had died centuries ago. But its gaze… was fixed solely on Xiao.
---
*Echo of Memory*
As the shadow drew near, it whispered without voice:
> "You who carry my blood… you've arrived far too late."
Xiao flinched, instinctively drawing his sword — but the shadow didn't attack. It stepped back.
Then images flooded Xiao's mind — memories he'd never lived.
A child born amid blood rituals.
Men kneeling before a broken idol.
And a woman's voice screaming, _"Don't take him!"_
Xiao clutched his head and shouted:
> "Who are you?! Why do I see you in my blood?!"
The shadow replied in a ghostly tone:
> "I am the one who fell before you…
And the one you were created to surpass."
> "I am the sin your seal was born from."
---
*The Revelation of Origin*
Truth began to surface. Xiao was not the first to bear the blood seal… but he was the sole survivor.
The shadow knew all who had come before — all had perished.
Except for Xiao, born from a curse that refused to die.
The shadow said:
> "You are no heir… you're a distorted version of an ancient promise."
> "The gods made you to break them… but you will not leave this fate alive."
Xiao stood his ground and replied:
> "If I was born to break them… I'll start with you."
---
*The Confrontation – The True Birth of Shadow*
The shadow suddenly transformed into a physical form — an ancient warrior clad in black armor, wielding a sword carved from the ashes of stars.
The battle ignited.
Each of Xiao's strikes tore at the past… but each blow from his enemy revived an old pain.
> Aster watched in silence, knowing this wasn't a clash of muscle… but a war of identity.
Xiao shouted:
> "I won't be the shadow of someone who fell!
I am not another man's legend!"
At the critical moment, he unleashed his new ability:
> *"Chainbreaker – Wave of Oblivion!"*
A power unlike any before.
Time froze for a breath — then the strike pierced the enemy's chest,
and the shadow shattered,
as if time itself refused his existence.
---
*After the Shadow*
When the battle ended, Xiao dropped to his knees — not from exhaustion, but from shock.
Who am I? Who were they? Am I truly just the legacy of the dead?
Aster stepped toward him, placing her hand on his shoulder:
> "You are not what you were born as…
You are what you choose to become."
In that moment, a new mark burned across Xiao's chest — shaped like a broken sword with light emerging from it.
*The Fifth Seal… was released.*