**Chapter 28: The Grave of the First Drifters**
*(Or How Shen Awakened His Dark Mage Form 2)*
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### **Scene 1: The Blood-Soil Map
The ground beneath Shen's boots was alive.
Not metaphorically—**literally**.
The soil of the final island pulsed like a dying heart, its crimson surface shifting, rearranging itself into a grotesque **map of North America**. Rivers of black ichor snaked between jagged bone fragments that marked cities. Chicago was a gaping wound, its edges crusted with dried magic.
Shen wiped the remnants of the leech's memory from his lips, the metallic taste still thick on his tongue. His vision had been too brief, too fragmented—just a glimpse of the Arcane General bowing before a hooded figure, a whispered warning: *"The Mediator must never awaken."*
He turned to Ryulga. "You said this was a shortcut. Not a *prophecy*."
Ryulga didn't answer immediately. Instead, he crouched, pressing his palm flat against the bleeding earth. The moment his skin made contact, the map *reacted*. The rivers of shadow surged, converging toward the center—toward **Chicago**. The land split open further, revealing something beneath the soil.
Not dirt.
Not stone.
**Teeth.**
Shen took an involuntary step back. "What the hell is this?"
Ryulga stood, his expression unreadable. "First lesson's over. Now, the *real* training begins."
Before Shen could demand answers, the ground beneath them **erupted**. A black obelisk, slick with something that wasn't quite liquid, shot upward, swallowing them whole.
The last thing Shen saw before the darkness took him was Ryulga's smirk.
**"Welcome to the Grave of the First Drifters."**
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### **Scene 2: The Trial of the Forgotten
Consciousness returned in fragments.
Shen opened his eyes to **endless void**, a space without light, without sound—until the whispers started.
Not one voice.
**Thousands.**
Chains materialized from the darkness, each link etched with names Shen didn't recognize. No—not names. **Legacies.** The weight of every mage who had walked this path before him, every soul that had tried and **failed** to become what he was meant to be.
Ryulga's voice echoed, disembodied. *"Every Mediator inherits the weight of their predecessors. You've been borrowing power. Now, **earn it**."*
The chains lunged.
They didn't wrap around Shen's limbs to restrain him. No—they **judged**.
**First Chain's Whisper:** *"You fear your own darkness."*
Shen's **Dark Mage Form 1** flickered to life instinctively, shadows coiling around his arms like serpents. But the moment the chain spoke, the shadows **hesitated**.
He snarled. "I *use* it. That's enough."
**Second Chain's Whisper:** *"Liar. You're still that orphan clinging to scraps of power."*
Images **flashed** behind his eyes—
- *The night his village burned, the scent of charred flesh filling his lungs.*
- *The first time he killed a man, the way the blood felt warm on his hands.*
- *Every battle since, every victory hollow because no matter how strong he got, the past never loosened its grip.*
Shen **roared**, tearing at the chains, but for every one he ripped away, **three more took its place**.
Ryulga watched from the void, arms crossed. "They'll crush you unless you accept *why* you fight."
Shen spat blood. "I fight to *win*."
**Final Chain's Whisper:** *"Then you'll die like the rest."*
The pressure **intensified**.
A rib **cracked**.
Another.
**Dark Mage Form 1 collapsed.**
For the first time in years—**Shen felt powerless.**
...
...
And then, he **laughed**.
A raw, broken sound.
**Shen:** "Fine. You want the truth? *I fight because it's all I have left.* No destiny. No justice. Just **me** and the **enemy**."
The chains **trembled**.
**Shen's shadow *split open***—not from fear, but **acceptance**.
A new voice spoke—his own, but **deeper**, resonating from the abyss itself.
***"Then let us begin."***
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### **Scene 3: The Awakening
The chains **shattered**.
Not by force.
By **recognition**.
The void twisted, folding in on itself, and Shen felt something **unlock** inside him. Not just power—**understanding**.
His shadows, once wild and reactive, now moved like an extension of his will. They didn't just cling to him—they **breathed** with him.
Ryulga stepped forward, the void parting around him. "Took you long enough."
Shen flexed his fingers, watching as the darkness coiled around them, **solidifying** into something new. Not just energy. **Matter.**
**Dark Mage Form 2.**
No longer just a cloak of shadows—now, **armor**. Jagged plates of condensed darkness wrapped around his limbs, his torso, a helmet forming like a predator's maw over his face.
**Shen:** "What *is* this?"
Ryulga smirked. "The difference between **borrowing** power and **owning** it."
A sound like **breaking glass** echoed through the void.
The vision fractured.
Reality rushed back in.
Shen found himself kneeling on the blood-soaked earth of the island, Ryulga standing over him.
But something was different.
The map of North America was **changing**.
Chicago's wound wasn't just a mark anymore.
It was a **door**.
And it was **opening**.
**Ryulga's grin widened.** "Ready for the next step?"
**TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER 30: *THE GENERAL'S GAMBIT***
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### **Author's Notes:**
- **Dark Mage Form 2** isn't just a power-up—it's Shen finally embracing his role as Mediator, shadows becoming a part of him rather than just a tool.
- The **Grave of the First Drifters** is a pocket dimension where past Mediators are "buried," their power left behind for the next to claim.
- The hooded figure from the leech's memory will be **critical** in the next arc.