"The call of shadows is stronger than any light. But isn't the shadow born from the light?"
These moments felt like a dream from the past, or an illusion teetering between truth and lies. In this vision, Sajibro walked heavily on ground that had yet to bear the weight of his steps. He crossed distant mountains and dark deserts, leaving behind questions with no answers.
In this illusion, he met a man named Genir, who seemed like a "Master of Shadows" from stories that never happened, with a face marked by battles that never truly existed, and eyes radiating a wisdom that was only imagined.
Sajibro approached Genir one night, while a faint fire burned without illuminating anything, and asked:
"What are you seeking in these shadows?"
Genir replied, as if emerging from the depths of a mirage:
"I am seeking myself, and the secret of submission that makes us all kneel in the end."
The words seeped into Sajibro's heart, but they were an echo of illusion, repeating the question that would never be answered: was he fleeing from the shadows, or searching for himself within them?
After long contemplation, Sajibro said:
"I find myself in the end. I want to be the strongest, because then I will know my purpose."
Genir smiled a misty smile, as if he were a shadow that could never be grasped:
"Power is not what you think, Sajibro. Power is merely endless submission."
The next morning, vague memories crept into him, phantom voices whispering:
"Your strength comes from where you least expect it. But are you ready to pay its price?"
Genir, before vanishing as if he had never existed, said:
"Each of us is tested in a single moment, Sajibro. And when you fail your trial… you will know that shadows are the only truth that remains."
Thus, Sajibro stood alone, surrounded by the shadow of illusion, realizing that this moment was nothing but a false memory, a past phantom ready to consume him entirely.
End of Chapter Fifty-Three.