Cain mounted his horse, leaving behind the pit that had embraced his memories and past.
There were no tears in his heart... no peace.
Only a heavy silence, and beats filled with echoes and hopes of a new world.
He returned to his village, not as the child who once left, but as a knight hidden in a black cloak, coming back to bid his last farewell to what remained for him.
His destination was the place he once called home: the orphanage where he had lived with his friends, and the headmistress who was like a mother to him.
But when he arrived, the scene struck him. She was gone. Instead, there was a new headmaster of the orphanage.
Cain approached and asked about her. The man replied that the headmistress had died two years ago.
The words struck him like lightning. A wave of bitterness and grief engulfed the boy who had been thrown into the pit just because he possessed dark mana.
Cain asked about her grave, and the director guided him. Before the man even finished speaking, Cain had vanished silently, appearing before the grave.
He knelt there, eyes brimming with tears as memories resurfaced.
Duane appeared behind him, patting his hand, saying:
"At least, there was someone who remembered you, my lord."
Cain smiled with a sorrowful face, touched the grave with his right arm, while placing red flowers with his left, saying:
"Yes... there was someone who remembered me. But no longer."
After offering his condolences to the departed headmistress, he continued his journey on horseback. This time, with a different goal: vengeance against the vile knights who had tried to get rid of him.
He remembered they belonged to the city guard under the rule of a noble family called "Argant." His village and the other nearby villages were subject to that city.
Cain fixed his path: to take revenge on them, one by one.
By now, he had already reached the rank of Intermediate Knight – First Stage.
He recalled the knightly ranking system:
Novice Knight.
Intermediate Knight.
Expert Knight.
Legendary Knight.
And each rank was divided into three stages: third, second, and first.
But what truly separated knights was not only mana or rank, but skill.
When he reached the city center where the three knights lived, he dismounted far from sight, as his horse's beauty attracted more attention than he did.
Cain hid the horse within his shadow, then summoned Duane and ordered him to send shadow soldiers to identify the knights using his memory.
"As you command, my lord."
Cain entered the city after paying the entrance fee. He was displeased—it was extremely high: two silver coins.
Once inside, he was struck by its beauty, having only ever seen his rural village. Yet what caught his eye more was the poverty and miserable districts.
He wondered to himself:
"Does the city's ruler truly deserve to be called one? He swore to protect the people... but it seems he protects only those with gold."
He entered a nearby tavern and sat to listen to people's conversations.
From their words, he realized the Argant family was not just simple nobles, but arrogant and corrupt to the core.
Its head, Robert, was a greedy old man. His status had risen after marrying his daughter to the emperor, making him grandfather to a young prince.
Soon, a message from Duane reached him: the knights had been found. They were traveling with seven others.
Cain ordered Duane to track them, then followed himself.
He arrived at their camp. Duane asked:
"My lord, what are you waiting for?"
"I want to see what they will do first."
Cain ordered the shadow knights to surround the camp in preparation for the strike, adding:
"The other seven have nothing to do with my vengeance. If they don't resist, do not kill them. Wait for my signal."
Night fell, and Cain kept watch. Soon he was shocked by what he heard.
The ten knights were cooperating with slave traders. They sold men, women, and children from the poor districts.
They laughed and boasted of their crimes. One spoke of killing a child in front of his mother. Another of slaughtering children as if they were dolls. A third of butchering a grandfather before his grandchildren, just to relish their screams.
Cain shouted in a muffled rage:
"Seize them... these deserve a painful retribution!"
The shadow knights burst forth from nowhere. None sensed them, except for one high-ranking knight who felt danger and tried to draw his sword to warn the rest.
But in a flash, Duane lunged with his massive blade and severed his hand.
The knight fell, screaming in agony, while the others were dragged away like cattle.
They were taken to a secluded place. One shouted:
"We are from the Argant family! If you dare harm us, you will regret it!"
Cain replied with cold fury:
"Your deeds deserve death a thousand times. No matter... we shall see who regrets."
He forced them to kneel.
"Your actions have brought you to your end. Today, judgment has come."
One screamed:
"Why are you doing this? We never harmed you!"
Cain answered, his voice dripping with wrath:
"You are nothing but scum... you don't deserve life. Kill them!"
The shadow knights began cutting off their limbs, one by one, slowly, to make them taste agony.
When only their leader remained, he asked:
"Who are you? At least tell me."
Cain answered:
"I am the one you cast into the pit two years ago... and now I have returned to deliver justice."
He then drew their souls into his blade, to suffer eternally.
Afterward, Cain departed and settled in another camp for the night. Sleep eluded him, for this was his first time killing humans.
He summoned Duane to talk and pass the time. He asked:
"What is your rank?"
"At the peak of Expert Knight."
"Is there a higher rank?"
"Yes... the Legendary rank. I am on its threshold."
Cain asked:
"Can shadows who reach Legendary rank speak?"
"Yes."
Then he asked:
"I want to become a knight. What do I need?"
"You must swear allegiance to a noble or a king, or become a king yourself."
Cain reflected and said:
"Swearing means lifelong commitment. Who guarantees the one I swear to won't be consumed by greed? How do I find the right person?"
Duane replied:
"Fate will show you yourself."
Cain lifted his gaze to the sky:
"Then... how do I become a king in your view?"
"You need an army, a castle, and a name that inspires fear."
Cain smiled with resolve:
"Then from now on, I will hide my face and name, and call myself the Black Knight. I will build my own army."
He recalled what he had gathered about the world:
In the past, it had been divided into seven continents, but over thousands of years they merged into five.
Each continent held several kingdoms.
The Western Continent: where he was now, ruled by the Empire.
The Northern Continent: covered in snow, inhabited by barbarians, strongest among them the "Logo" tribe.
The Central Continent: home to seven kingdoms, some allied, some not.
The Eastern Continent: ruled by the Holy Kingdom, followers of light who considered dark mana heresy and the embodiment of monsters.
Cain's anger flared at the thought of dark power being called heresy, yet he couldn't deny that nearly all monsters indeed wielded dark mana.
The Far South: land of demons, teeming with powerful beasts.
At present, there were no wars between kingdoms, only diplomatic tensions and disputes.
The strongest was the Empire, followed by the Holy Kingdom, then the rest.
Cain then decided, his face stern:
"I will build my army and carve my name through wars and deeds. Then I shall seize a castle and become a king."
Duane smiled with surprise:
"A foolish plan... but a logical one as well."
Cain asked:
"What's the best way to build an army of shadows?"
"The old battlefields. There lie souls that never found peace, still yearning to fight: for glory, homeland, or loyalty. The best are skeletons whose souls still cling. Many of them seek to atone for their sins... like me."
Cain was surprised:
"You were one of them?"
"Yes. I was once a human, turned into a skeleton, killing without awareness. Until I was slain by the previous sword master. Then, I swore to atone for my sins. When the King of the Sword decided to leave his legacy, I and the other soldiers volunteered to guard the blade and await the next master."
Cain bowed his head slightly, speaking softly:
"You have endured much... thank you for staying by my side."
And the day ended in silence, under the veil of night.