SHADOW KING'S RETURN

Chapter 3

"Command me, my king."

The deep, resonant voice echoed off the cracked walls of the dungeon. Silence crept in slowly, leaving behind a chill that shook Kai's bones.

Kai stood frozen in place. His back was pressed tightly against the cold stone pillar. His fingers, stained with dirt and dried blood, scraped the rough cement floor, searching for purchase to convince himself that all this was real.

The knight in black armor remained kneeling before him, without the slightest movement. A black mist swirled gently around his imposing form, radiating an aura of authority and menace beyond ordinary comprehension.

Kai swallowed hard. His throat felt stiff and raw.

"Are... are you talking to me?" he whispered softly, pointing at his own chest with a trembling finger.

He rubbed his stinging eyes, hoping the figure was just a hallucination caused by hunger and exhaustion after a full day’s work. But the figure in iron armor stood firmly before him.

The knight slowly raised his head. The sound of the iron armor's hinges grinding against each other echoed loudly in the silent room. Through the slits in his iron helmet, two red points of light glowed softly yet intensely.

"Apart from Your Majesty," the knight replied in a deep voice, "no one else is entitled to receive this surrender of my soul."

Kai took a step back, pulling his legs away; they felt as if they had almost no bones. "I’m not your king. I’m just Kai. I'm just an ordinary courier who delivers boxes on the streets."

“A name is but a temporary garment,” the knight replied calmly. "Your Majesty's soul is our home."

As soon as those words were spoken, a transparent black screen suddenly flashed before Kai’s eyes.

[Shadow Soldier #001]

[Name: Darius]

[Rank: Commander]

[Loyalty: Absolute (cannot betray the Shadow King)]

Kai wiped his face, drenched in cold sweat. It had all happened too fast and made no sense: First, a giant monster with a crystal piercing its chest; then, a mysterious floating screen; and now, a knight kneeling before him, claiming to be his subordinate.

"If this is just a dream," Kai muttered, clenching his fists tightly, "please wake me up right now."

Booom!

Before Kai could finish complaining, a massive tremor shook the building’s foundation. Thick dust and chunks of concrete rained down from the basement ceiling, covering his shoulders and head.

Darius sprang to his feet in one fluid motion. The stones beneath his feet cracked. The hilt of the giant sword on his back screeched as it was drawn.

“The enemy is approaching,” Darius said tersely.

Outside the old building, the sky over Arcadia suddenly turned pitch black. Black clouds swirled into a massive vortex, obscuring the moonlight. The city’s emergency sirens wailed faintly through the night air, echoing the sound of the Hunter Association’s helicopter rotors.

"Attention! A high-level energy anomaly has been detected in the Eastern District!” the city’s loudspeakers announced. The announcement echoed into the hallway. “All residents are urged to remain indoors!”

Several Hunter Association tactical vehicles sped down the main highway, their engines roaring anxiously.

Meanwhile, inside the isolated basement, a new crack appeared in the stone floor. Thick, black mist gushed from the fissure, carrying a pungent, putrid stench.

Three black-scaled monsters crawled out of the darkness. Their eyes glowed red, and their fangs dripped acidic saliva that corroded the concrete. They growled low, ready to pounce.

Kai froze. His breath caught in his throat and his eyes widened at the sight of the three new threats before him.

Darius, however, stepped forward calmly and placed his sturdy frame directly in front of Kai.

"Your Highness, allow me to clear the way," whispered Darius.

"Wait, there are three of them..."

Without waiting for Kai to finish, Darius's body shot forward and vanished.

Whoosh!

A black blur sliced through the night air in the blink of an eye.

The movement was so fast that the air whistled loudly. Before Kai could see how the giant sword had been swung, three monster heads were flying through the air. Their scaly bodies collapsed to the floor and crumbled into thick ash before hitting the ground.

Silence descended once more. Darius stood amid the pile of ash, sheathing his sword on his back without so much as a gasp for breath.

The transparent black screen flickered back to life before Kai’s eyes.

[Three targets successfully eliminated.] [Mana successfully absorbed.] [Shadow Core synchronization increased to 3%.]

Kai stared at the screen, holding his breath. As the text faded, a warm wave coursed through his veins. The fatigue in his body slowly dissipated, replaced by an energy surge unlike anything he had ever felt before.

He looked at his fingers, which were no longer trembling.

"The more monsters that die..." Kai whispered to himself. "The stronger I become?"

Suddenly, the dungeon went completely dark.

The air turned much colder. It was so cold that Kai’s breath instantly condensed into thick white vapor. A thin layer of ice spread rapidly across the stone walls around them.

Darius, who had been standing tall, suddenly dropped to one knee on the stone floor. He drove the tip of his greatsword deep into the concrete to withstand the heavy pressure bearing down on his shoulders.

Kai stared at the screen, holding his breath. As the text disappeared, a warm wave coursed through his veins. The fatigue in his body slowly faded, replaced by an energy surge unlike anything he had ever felt before.

He looked at his fingers, which were no longer trembling.

"The more monsters that die..." Kai whispered to himself. "The stronger I become?"

Suddenly, all the light in the dungeon went out completely.

The air instantly grew much colder so cold that Kai’s breath immediately condensed into thick white vapor. A thin layer of ice spread rapidly across the stone walls around them.

Darius, who had been standing tall, suddenly dropped to one knee on the stone floor. He drove the tip of his greatsword deep into the concrete to withstand the heavy pressure bearing down on his shoulders.

"Your Majesty..." Darius whispered, his usually steady voice sounding tense. "There is something far more dangerous."

The sound of heavy, steady footsteps could be heard from within the large crack in the ice-covered floor.

Tok ...

Tok ...

Tok ...

The thick, black fog slowly parted as if making way for a figure walking leisurely.

A tall man in a black cloak emerged from the darkness. His skin was as pale as a corpse that had never seen the sun. His eyes glowed cold red, and a silver thread woven into the chest of his cloak formed the symbol of a black crescent moon.

The man stopped a few meters in front of Kai. A faint smile played on his pale lips as he locked his gaze onto Kai’s face.

"I've finally found you," the man said. His voice was soft yet carried a vibration that made Kai’s chest feel as if it had been struck by a heavy stone.

The man in the black cloak bowed, offering a respectful greeting with a gesture far too graceful for such a dilapidated place.

“My respects to the Shadow King...”

But when he looked up again, his gentle smile had turned into a chilling, terrifying grin.

"...or should I call you an imperfect vessel?"

Kai furrowed his brow and clenched his teeth, enduring the increasingly suffocating pressure of the aura. "What do you mean?"

The man in the black robe slowly raised his right hand into the air. The black mist surrounding him erupted wildly, sealing every gap in the air and blocking all exits from the dungeon.

"I have come..." The man widened his grin, revealing a cruel glint in his eyes. "...to reclaim the Shadow Core from your worthless body."