It was lean and flexible, built to move silently.
He added barbed tendrils along its back and shaped its feet into pointed claws for climbing or running.
It crouched low, twitching slightly.
Kael nodded.
"A perfect predator."
Step Four: Bind It With a Name
He placed a hand on the creature's chest.
"I name you… Gnash."
The creature froze. Its body locked into shape.
It was now real.
Solid. Alive.
Step Five: Release or Bond
Kael looked at another body—twisted remains from the earlier fight.
"Use that," he said. "Make it your body."
Gnash moved immediately—like a shadow in water. It wrapped itself around the bones and ash. The air buzzed as the pieces fused.
In seconds, a new form stood—dark armor, glowing red eyes, sharp and ready.
It dropped to one knee.
"I hear, and obey."
Kael smiled.
"It works."
He raised his hand again. More blackness flowed out.
"Let's make another."
"This time… I want a soldier," Kael said. "Something tough. Strong. Unshakable."
He repeated the process:
Channel. Will. Shape. Name.
From the shadows rose a massive creature. Wide shoulders. Thick armor. Heavy limbs with jagged claws. It looked like a walking tank.
"I name you… Graveborn."
The creature growled, then crawled over to a second corpse and fused with it.
Once it stood, it looked like a beast of war—ready to crush anything.
It knelt beside Gnash.
Kael walked to the last body.
"Alright," he said. "Let's go for stealth."
He shaped this one thinner, with long arms that ended in curved blades. It moved like a spider, flexible and twitchy.
Its back had spines, and its body bent in ways that weren't normal.
"I name you… Slipfang."
The creature clicked its jaw and bonded to the final corpse.
Once it stood, it was hunched, ready to crawl, run, or vanish into the dark.
It took its place beside the others.
Now, three creatures stood before Kael.
Gnash – The silent hunter. Fast. Deadly. Precise.
Graveborn – The armored soldier. Strong. Durable. Brutal.
Slipfang – The sneaky scout. Flexible. Quiet. Sharp.
Kael stood back, arms crossed.
His silver eyes glowed faintly.
Pride.
The villagers? Silent. Shaking. One boy whispered:
"He made demons from the void…"
Kael didn't deny it.
He stepped forward and raised his hand.
The symbiotes dropped to one knee.
"Father."
Kael chuckled.
"Good."
He pointed to the woods beyond the village.
"Patrol the area. Hunt anyone who might come. Do not harm any villagers—unless I say so."
"As you command, Lord."
The three creatures melted into the ground like shadows—gone without a sound.
Kael rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck.
He turned to the villagers, who were still frozen in place.
"Well…" he said casually, "now that we've got security—who's ready to build a village?"
No one spoke.
Then, a child's voice broke the silence:
"Kami no Kage…"
Whispers followed.
"Kami no Kage… The God in Shadow…"
Kael smiled, just a little.
He didn't argue.
Let them call him whatever they wanted.
He had work to do.
[Two Weeks Later – Village of Black Hollow]
The village had changed.
Where there had once been cracked earth and rotting wood, there now stood stone pathways and clean wells.
The air, once thick with decay and silence, now carried the scent of fresh bread, burning wood, and something sharper—hope.
Children ran barefoot across the moss-lined paths. Women hauled water from a newly-dug well that never ran dry.
Men worked with tools sharper than anything they'd owned in years, fixing roofs and laying bricks under the silent gaze of dark beasts that watched from rooftops and tree branches—Kael's symbiotes.
Peace had returned.
But it came with shadows.
[Central Square – Kael's "Throne"]
It wasn't really a throne. Just a stone bench he shaped himself, sitting beneath an old tree at the heart of the village.
He sat there most days—barefoot, loose black pants, no shirt. The villagers had tried to offer him robes. He declined.
Beside him, Slipfang hung upside-down from a tree branch, unmoving, its eyes blinking every now and then like a cat watching prey.
Graveborn stood like a statue near the well. Gnash was nowhere visible—but Kael knew it was out there. Always.
"Water's clean now," a young man said, standing nervously a few steps away. "The well hasn't run dry once. Even during mid-day."
Kael nodded.
"I had Wretch dig it out," he said.
The villagers hadn't seen Wretch yet. A newly formed digger-symbiote Kael made on the second day. Built for tunneling. It loved digging so much it giggled whenever Kael gave it an order.
Kael waved it off. "You don't wanna meet him. He laughs too much."
An awkward silence.
Kael leaned back against the tree trunk, eyes scanning the square. His tone shifted—more curious now. Focused.
"Alright. who's in charge of this land?"
The villager tilted his head. "You mean… besides you, Lord?"
"Before me."
"Oh. Uh… the Land of Rivers is where we are, technically. We were under Daimyō rule, but they stopped sending aid months ago. Bandits came. Ninja too sometimes, from small clans. Said we weren't protected anymore."
Kael's eyes narrowed.
Land of Rivers. That matched up. A buffer zone between big powers. A forgotten space.
He tapped his finger on the bench.
"Any mention of Konoha? Hidden Leaf? The Hokage?"
The man nodded quickly. "Yes, Lord. The Hokage is… Naruto Uzumaki, right? Seventh of his name."
Kael's fingers paused.
Bingo.
Boruto timeline confirmed.
Kael stood up from the stone bench, stretching like someone who had just woken up—not like a god getting ready to leave.
His silver eyes looked out toward the trees.
"Alright," he said softly, cracking his neck. "Time to take a little walk."
Slipfang dropped quietly from the tree above, landing beside him on all fours. Its claws sank into the moss.
Kael looked at the beast and nodded.
"You're in charge while I'm gone. Watch the woods. If anyone comes near, stop them. Unless I say it's okay, no one gets close."
Slipfang hissed softly. It wasn't a threat. Just a yes.
High above, a shadow blinked. It was Gnash, always watching from the rooftops.