Shinku woke up and found himself lost somewhere in the shadow realm. Having been used to the realm's distinctive aura, the assassin of shadows was able to quickly realize the place. For some reason, the pain that he felt earlier was gone. He made sure by touching his left shoulder but alas, the wound that his opponent caused was nowhere to be found. It wasn't that long however, when his tranquility was disturbed by an eerie presence. He felt the same ominous feeling as the time when he was forcefully detained by the stranger, who gave him the shadowsteed.
"We met at last," a hissing voice echoed, causing Shinku to raise his guard. He quickly lowered his hand to draw his sword but to his disappointment, he realized that he was weaponless. "Since you're here, that means you're ready to partake in my trial," the voice continued as the shadow of what looked like an enormous black snake appeared on the dark mist in front of the assassin of shadows. Gradually, the shape of the shadow morphed into the form of a human until the figure finally emerged from the mist. In front of Shinku appeared a human-like being, covered in black scales from its neck downwards. The being's face resembled that of a lady except for its eyes that contained amber reptilian-like irises. Its deep hissing voice however, signified that the being was of a male gender. Its bare skin was almost purplish black, and its long hair which almost resembled thin dried vines were pure pitch black. As he spoke, his mouth revealed two sharp fangs and a dark crimson reptilian tongue. The being had a huge snake tail where its legs were supposed to be, causing it to slither rather than walk.
"I'm afraid I have no idea of this trial that you speak of. Nor do I know who you are," Shinku replied in a composed manner, concealing the fact that he was still wary of the being before him.
"Now that's quite amusing, shadow weaver. You have been feeding me all these years with the blood of your victims and yet, you're telling me that you have no idea of who I am," the being mocked, followed by a loud guffaw.
"Hold on, does that mean that you're the shadow demon that was sealed in my sword?" Shinku exclaimed, seemingly more relaxed, realizing that the being before him was connected to his sword.
"You are correct that I am a shadow demon and Orochi is the name. Now, about being sealed, I'd rather say that I am the sword and the sword is I." Orochi, as the being introduced itself, clarified as he slithered closer to Shinku.
"So, what is this trial that you were talking about? And how did I get here?" Shinku inquired, keeping his calm although a bit uncomfortable at the demon's proximity.
"Well you've unlocked the door to my realm, the moment you've fed me with the last blood I needed to finally unleash my power. Now about the trial.." The demon quickly slithered back then dispelled the dark mist before Shinku.
With the dark mist dispelled, Shinku found himself standing on a piece of black muddy land surrounded by shallow waters. He surveyed the marsh-like territory as the shadow demon waded through the waters which submerged it up to its waist. Shinku witnessed an islet rise from the spot where the shadow demon stopped after moving a couple of feet away. The appearance of the islet was followed by the formation of two gigantic trees that both rose from each of the islet's edges. Then, at the center of the islet rose a small obelisk made of mudrock, and stopped at the height of the shadow demon's hip before forming a flat oval disk. The shadow demon slithered towards the obelisk and effortlessly climbed to sit on its flat surface. As it rested and coiled its snake tail on the surface of the disk, spikes shot out from the disk's edges except for a few spaces on its front. The spikes then arched upward, and continuously grew till they stopped just a little above the demon's head.
"So shadow weaver, I have but a simple task for you," Orochi hissed, then raised his hand forward as if for an invitation to come close. Instantly, a small portion of the black mud rose just a few feet in front of Shinku and formed a crude figure of a human being. Intricately, the figure shifted and morphed, forming fingers, joints, face figure and muscle shapes, as if being molded by an invisible being. Finally, the figure was covered in scales from it's torso up to its arms and legs similar to that of the snake demon's. What greatly surprised Shinku however, was that the figure's face was formed as an exact copy of his.
"So this is the boy is it? The one who's parents and friends got killed boohoohoo…," as if the surprise ended at the figure's face, it did start to talk in a high pitched and distorted voice. The awakened figure or rather, creature looked over its shoulder, at the snake demon who summoned him.
"Silence, I summoned you here to test him not to mock him," Orochi hissed, turning the summoned being's attention back at Shinku.
"Well, you heard him boy. I'm here to give you some hard action!" Before his statement could even fully end, the summoned being shot forward, summoning a sword on its hand and pulling it back in a head on slash, meant to behead the assassin of shadows.
Being attacked, Shinku attempted to step into his shadows but realized that he was already inside the shadow realm. Still, with his quick reflexes, the assassin of shadows was able to slide out of his opponent's sword path.
Even without the snake demon's instructions, defeating the being in front of him appeared to be the task at hand. However, how would the assassin of shadows be able to accomplish such a feat without his sword?
Shinku's opponent was quickly able to pivot itself to attempt another attack against the assassin of shadows. Shinku however, was lucky enough to have hopped back before the sword's blade could reach his chest.
"Now I wonder, till when are you deciding to fight me with your sword sheathed," the summoned creature mocked, throwing a barrage of strikes right at Shinku who was quick enough to evade every blow.
"Ah of course I almost forgot. The test is for you to be able to summon your blade. You've wielded it for so long, you should have had the connection with it by now." The snake demon's voice now seemed to connect directly to Shinku's head. He could hear Orochi's voice ring inside his ears like a hissing noise. Having zero clue about the connection that the snake demon was talking about, the assassin of shadows could only be lost in confusion while attempting to run away and dodge each of his opponent's attacks.
"Now come on lad. This ain't fun. Draw your sword already!" The summoned creature snarled, while harassing Shinku with its relentless strikes.
"So that's it? Not even a single clue of how I can bring out my sword," the assassin of shadows complained, as he unfalteringly evaded each of his opponent's attacks. He expected an answer but the snake demon seemed to have kept its silence since after its last statement.
Cuts and wounds have started to appear one by one at Shinku's body. He was able to dodge several fatal strikes but unfortunately, he could not fully prevent himself from being cut. He tried to form his hand as if holding his sword but no matter how hard he tried to materialize the sword even in his head, nothing happened. The battle all seemed like a repetition of running, sliding and evading for Shinku who still appeared weaponless.
"You're getting slow!" Shinku flinched upon suddenly hearing his opponent's voice behind him. He could not see the creature's action but his senses compelled him to simply get out of the way. True enough, his opponent's blade hit the ground where the assassin of shadows was targeted. Finally, Shinku was able to find an opening which he used to kick the creature away. The strength of the kick however, wasn't strong enough to push his opponent to a safe distance. With the failed attack, the cycle of evasion continued.
Such a desperate state indeed for the assassin of shadows, who could not do anything other than run and avoid his opponent's attacks. Having fought with the sword his whole life, he suddenly found himself powerless without it in his hand.
As the battle went on, Shinku just grew more fatigued and messed up as more wounds appeared on his skin, one after another. Desperately, he needed to summon his weapon or find a way to somehow counter his opponent's attacks. He wanted to give up, but as he remembered the promise he made before the charred bodies of his townsmates, he could not simply accept defeat without avenging the lives of those that he once held dear. Then, with a sudden stroke of luck, he was able to grab his opponent's wrist and guide the blade away. Quickly, he followed up with a strike at his opponent's abdomen using his knee. Having his opponent disoriented, he was able to strike a blow using his right hand and not wanting to give up on the advantage, he kept on pressing with his fist blows, now pushing his opponent back.
The luck however, ended when his opponent was able to stab Shinku through his stomach. The best he could do was to gather at least his determination to pull himself back and away from his opponent. The rush of strength was only short-lived, for as soon as he was able to walk a few inches back, all the fatigue and pain came to him like a raging water that was poured to him all at once.
"Well for a second there I thought this was going to be fun. But i guess this is it." The figure disappeared in front of Shinku then quickly reappeared above him, aiming for a straight slash. He wanted to move his legs but the pain and fatigue made them so heavy that he couldn't even lift them off the ground. Rapidly, his opponent drew closer, the blade approaching him like a comet falling from the sky. Out of desperation, he reached up with his right hand as if holding a sword. His eyes were blurred by his sweat that he couldn't even wipe out. It would have been better, for at least his death wouldn't be as sharp or that's how he could imagine it to be. He must have been at the last seconds of his life for everything just faded into a slow motion as the blurred figure of the creature grew even closer and closer and…
The sound of massive clangs of metal rang inside the shadow realm dispelling more of the dark mist that still surrounded the area around Shinku. The assassin of shadows instinctively tightened his grip, upon sensing a solid object that suddenly formed in his raised hand. He could feel the heaviness of the opponent's blade clashing against whatever he held in his hands. The excruciating pain that punished his body slowly faded along with the sharpness of his vision that slowly made him see the dark blade that he held.
"So that's all it takes for you to draw your sword eh. I guess the real fun starts now." Shinku's opponent hopped back, crediting the assassin of shadows for finally being able to gain his weapon. His mouth opened into a wide grin, his eyes widened out of excitement. With the assassin of shadow's summoned weapon, the tension in the battlefield now grew even stronger.
Shinku was startled by black chains that protruded from his sword's hilt and suddenly coiled themselves on his wrist. It made him feel like the sword has made itself as a part of himself. He waved the sword, making a feel of its lighter weight. Moreover, the stab wound he got earlier along with the other cuts he received have all been miraculously healed.
"Enjoying our new blade aren't we? Now, why not test it in battle?" Shinku was still marveling at his sword when his opponent rushed towards him in a head-on attack.
Shinku however, was quick enough to move his blade and clash with his opponent's weapon. The summoned being again followed up with several strikes but the assassin of shadows was able to fairly defend himself this time, rather than pathetically running like earlier.
"Hah at last a worthy opponent. But don't think this is all I could do," the summoned being exclaimed, then leapt back away from Shinku. He pointed his sword towards the assassin of shadows and murmured some chants before releasing snake-like shadow energies that rushed towards Shinku.
The assassin of shadows was able to avoid the attack in an insanely rapid escape that even Shinku himself got surprised at. His opponent however, seemed to move as fast, as he felt a sudden rush of wind that was caused by a blade that slid over his shoulders, and into his unguarded neck. Crazily enough, Shinku was able to turn his body to avoid being beheaded and even counter an attack at the summoned being.
Again blades clashed, as the sound of the colliding metals resonated throughout the shadow demon's territory. Outburst of battle cries echoed, mixed with the summoned being's maniacal laughter.