Chapter 1: Resurrection of Shadows
Scene 1: The City Drowned in Darkness
A cold wind howled through the night, cutting through the towering skyline like a phantom's whisper. At the edge of one of the tallest buildings, a lone figure stood unmoving.
Ryoma.
Below him, the city stretched endlessly, a chaotic sea of lights and movement. People rushed about their lives, oblivious to the presence of the young man above them—unaware that, at this very moment, he stood there, empty, emotionless.
The sky was cloaked in thick, rolling clouds, devouring the moonlight. The world refused to shine upon him. As if it, too, had abandoned him.
His right hand clenched into a fist, so tight that his nails dug into his palm. The pain was distant, meaningless. His mind was elsewhere.
Lost in memories he wished he could erase.
Scene 2: A Memory That Refuses to Fade
> "Ryoma! Run!"
The voice echoed inside his head, distant yet vivid—an old wound torn open again.
The scene played before his eyes like a cruel hallucination.
A small house. A warm room. The familiar scent of tea…
Then—
Blood. Screams. Darkness.
His mother stood in front of him, shielding him with her frail body. But she was trembling.
Three men in black masks stood before her, their faces obscured. The tallest of them held a long blade, its edge gleaming in the dim light of their home.
> "Please… don't hurt him!"
Her voice was desperate, pleading.
The masked man chuckled.
> "A mother willing to die for her son… how touching."
Slowly, deliberately, he raised his sword.
Ryoma tried to move, tried to scream—but his body refused to obey.
And then—
The blade flashed.
A sickening sound of flesh being torn.
A warm spray of crimson.
> "MOTHER!!"
She fell.
Her long black hair spread across the bloodstained floor. Her once warm, gentle eyes now stared into nothingness.
At that moment, something inside Ryoma broke.
Scene 3: Returning to the Present
Back on the rooftop, Ryoma's body shuddered.
His breath came in ragged gasps, his fist clenched even tighter—blood now dripping between his fingers. But he barely noticed.
The wind continued to howl around him. Yet all he could hear was the sound of her final breath.
Then—
A voice.
> "Ryoma."
He didn't need to turn around. He knew who it was.
> "You're late," Ryoma murmured.
A few feet behind him stood a man clad in a long white coat, his silver hair billowing in the wind. His eyes, sharp and unreadable, studied Ryoma carefully.
Saito.
> "I needed time," Ryoma whispered, his voice barely audible. But deep within, a storm raged.
Slowly, he raised his gaze to the sky.
The clouds had begun to part. A sliver of pale moonlight shone through.
> "But now… I know what I must do."
Scene 4: Awakening of Power
Then, without warning—
The shadows moved.
At first, they were just ripples at his feet. But within moments, they began to swirl, twisting and coiling around him like a living entity.
A strange pressure built in his chest. A sensation he had never felt before—yet somehow, it felt like it had always been a part of him, waiting.
> "Oh?" Saito raised an eyebrow, watching intently. "So… you're finally waking up."
Ryoma didn't understand what was happening. But he wasn't afraid.
Because for the first
time in years—
He felt something.
And in that moment, he realized one undeniable truth:
This was only the beginning.