Chương 83: Chapter 81: The City Without Shadows

The shattered remains of Ashen Pass disappeared behind the Continental Alliance as dawn painted the western horizon in crimson and gold. No one celebrated surviving the mountain collapse. Kael hadn't tried to destroy them. He had delayed them. And that realization unsettled Rayan more than the ambush itself. He rode at the head of the army, the silver compass hanging around his neck. Since leaving Ayanor, its needle had never pointed north again.

It remained fixed toward the west, vibrating faintly as if responding to something beyond ordinary perception. The Guardian studied it with narrowed eyes.

"The compass is reacting to the Dharma Legacies." Rayan glanced down.

"Or Kael."

"Perhaps both." The old spirit's answer lingered in the cold morning air. Three days later... The Alliance reached the city of Noctis. Once known as the Gateway of the West, Noctis had been famous for its bustling markets, towering libraries, and black marble architecture. Now... It was silent. The city gates stood open. Merchants' carts remained abandoned in the streets. Fresh bread still rested on bakery shelves. Tea continued steaming inside untouched cups.

It looked as though every citizen had simply vanished in the middle of an ordinary day. Cassian looked around uneasily.

"I hate places like this."

"You've never been here," Siena said.

"I know."

"That's why I hate it." His joke earned no laughter. The silence swallowed every sound. Even the wind refused to enter the city. King Dasrath raised his hand.

"No one separates."

"Search in teams."

"If anything feels wrong..." He looked directly at his commanders.

"... retreat immediately." The soldiers nodded before spreading through the empty streets. Rayan, Siena, Cassian, and the Guardian headed toward the city's central plaza. The deeper they walked... The stranger everything became. Not a single corpse. Not a single bloodstain. Not even signs of battle. Only... The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Shadows. Or rather... The lack of them. Rayan suddenly stopped.

"Siena." She looked back.

"What is it?" He pointed toward her feet. She frowned.

"My shadow..." It was gone. Cassian immediately looked down.

"So is mine." The Guardian's expression changed instantly.

"Everyone back." His voice carried an urgency none of them had heard before.

"This city is a prison." The moment those words left his mouth... The church bell rang. Once. Twice. Three times. The sound echoed through every street. Every window. Every rooftop. Then... Footsteps. Thousands of them. Figures slowly emerged from houses, alleyways, and abandoned shops. Men. Women. Children. All walking calmly. All wearing peaceful smiles. Their eyes... Were completely black. One little girl stopped in the middle of the road. She held a worn cloth doll against her chest.

"Mister..." She looked directly at Rayan.

"Have you seen my shadow?" Silence. Before anyone could answer... The girl smiled wider. Her jaw stretched impossibly far. Black smoke poured from her mouth. The citizens surrounding them stopped walking. Together... They turned toward Rayan. And smiled.

"Formation!" King Dasrath's voice thundered across the city. The Alliance soldiers immediately locked shields together as thousands of silent citizens approached from every direction. No one attacked. No one spoke. They simply walked. Closer. Closer. Closer. Cassian tightened his grip on his spear.

"This feels worse than monsters." The Guardian nodded grimly.

"Because they aren't monsters."

"They're victims." One elderly man slowly stepped out of the crowd. Unlike the others, his eyes still retained traces of blue. He struggled against the darkness consuming him.

"Run..." His voice cracked.

"P-please..." His body convulsed violently.

"They're..." Black smoke burst from his mouth.

"... inside us." The darkness completely consumed him. His eyes turned black. The last trace of humanity disappeared. The Guardian closed his eyes.

"We're too late." Suddenly— A scream echoed from the eastern district. One of the scouting squads. Rayan sprinted toward the sound. The others followed close behind. They found a squad of twenty knights surrounded by dozens of smiling citizens. None of the civilians carried weapons. None appeared threatening. Yet the knights were collapsing one after another. Not from wounds. From fear. Black smoke seeped from the civilians' shadows—or where their shadows should have been.

The smoke wrapped around the soldiers like living chains. One young knight dropped his sword.

"I..."

"I can't move..." The darkness whispered into his ear.

"You don't deserve to live." Another soldier fell. Then another. The Guardian shouted.

"They feed on despair!" Rayan understood instantly. They weren't attacking bodies. They were attacking hearts. Golden flames erupted around Shadowbreaker. Rayan stepped between the civilians and the fallen soldiers. The Dharma Astra answered his resolve.

"Lionheart Dominion." A brilliant golden aura expanded across the street. The whispers stopped. The black smoke recoiled violently. The soldiers slowly regained control of their bodies. One by one... They stood. The citizens staggered backward for the first time. Their peaceful smiles vanished. A single voice echoed through all of them simultaneously.

"So..."

"You truly inherited Courage." The words came from every mouth at once. Thousands of voices speaking as one. The sound chilled the blood of every warrior present. The crowd slowly parted. A path opened through the center of the street. At its end stood a lone figure wearing a long black coat. Golden hair. Calm crimson eyes. A black sword rested across his shoulder. Kael. He looked exactly as he had appeared within the crystal. Young. Composed. Almost... kind. He smiled as Rayan approached.

"I've wanted to meet you properly." Cassian immediately raised his spear.

"Say one more word and I'll—" Kael casually lifted one finger. Cassian froze. Not because he was restrained. Because every shadow beneath his feet suddenly reached upward, gripping his legs like invisible hands. Kael never looked at him. His attention remained on Rayan.

"You've inherited Valen's courage." He nodded approvingly.

"Better than I expected." Rayan gripped Shadowbreaker.

"What have you done to these people?" Kael looked around the empty city.

"They're sleeping."

"You call this sleeping?"

"I call it mercy." His expression remained calm.

"They no longer fear."

"They no longer grieve."

"They no longer suffer." Rayan's voice hardened.

"They no longer live." For the first time... Kael's smile disappeared. The silence between them became heavier than any battlefield. Then Kael spoke quietly.

"The difference between us..."

"... is that you still believe humanity can save itself." He turned away.

"I stopped believing that long ago." A massive bell rang from somewhere deep within the city. The ground trembled. Beneath Noctis... Something ancient awakened. Kael looked back one final time.

"If you want to save them..." He pointed toward the cathedral standing at the center of the city.

"... come find me." His body dissolved into black mist. At that exact moment... The cathedral doors slowly opened by themselves. A wave of ancient darkness poured into the streets. The Guardian stared at the towering cathedral. His face lost all color.

"No..." Rayan looked at him.

"What is it?" The old spirit whispered only three words.

"The Shadow Sanctuary." To Be Continue....