Two months ago...
In one of the forbidden training arenas at the heart of the Shadow Palace, Leon Azur stood drenched in sweat, panting, his body covered in bruises.
In front of him stood Arthur—firm, silent—wielding a wooden blade, striking mercilessly.
"Do you think the enemy will give you time to breathe?" Arthur shouted, attacking again.
Leon blocked the blow but collapsed to his knees.
"Enough!" he yelled.
But Arthur didn't stop. He stepped closer and whispered harshly:
"Shadows are not born strong... they are broken first, then reforged."
Then he stepped behind him and held out a small box. Leon opened it cautiously… inside was a black fragment of an ancient blade, pulsing with strange energy.
"This… is a remnant of the 'Twin Night' blade. Part of it is yours, and the rest will grow within you. But beware… power does not spare those who cannot control it."
Leon lifted his head, determination gleaming in his eyes.
"I won't let you down, Arthur."
Now – In the fractured dimension that separates light from shadow...
Leon stood in a shattered battlefield, facing a mass of pure evil: a demonic commander with four arms, each wielding clusters of flame, his laughter shaking the heavens.
"You? Arthur's sword? You look fragile," he mocked.
Leon didn't answer. He simply drew a silver dagger and launched into a fierce fight.
The battle raged on, the ground transforming into a collision of fire and ice.
Leon was wounded, burned, but he endured.
"I won't fall… not now," he said, stepping back twice, then drew the black blade.
"Twin Blades..." he whispered softly.
A shadow emerged from him—his dark reflection, identical in form but void of a heart.
"Moon Shadows!"
Both Leons attacked together, a synchronized death dance—one strike from the right… and another from beyond reality.
The demonic commander couldn't keep up. He tried to unleash his flames, but the shadow wasn't from this world.
And in a single moment… the twin blades pierced his heart from two different dimensions, and time froze.
The flaming body disintegrated, turning to ash that vanished into the air of battle.
Leon then sat on the ground, placing a hand on his chest, breathing heavily.
He looked at the blade, and said in an exhausted voice:
"I'm still not used to wielding the full power of this ability..."
Then he closed his eyes, surrendering to the peace of a temporary end.
End of Chapter Forty-Three.