The tunnels stretched endlessly, jagged stone dripping with cold moisture.
Three broken figures stumbled through them — a knight, a rogue, and a mage. Their armor cracked, weapons shattered, faces pale. They had come as a raid party, a team of hunters. Now, they fled like prey.
The mage's breath hitched, sobs escaping despite her effort to hold them back. Her hands shook violently, scorched from channeling too much fire.
"H-he could have killed us. Why didn't he? Why—"
"Silence,"
the captain rasped. His shield arm dangled uselessly, bones shattered beneath the skin. His voice, once steady, trembled despite his command.
"Do not… speak of him lightly. That thing…"
He trailed off, the words choking in his throat.
The rogue leaned against the wall, her lip split, ribs aching with every breath. Yet even through the pain, her eyes darted nervously behind them — as if expecting the shadows themselves to rise and swallow them whole.
"He let us live,"
she whispered, voice bitter.
"That's the worst part. He chose it. We weren't spared. We were… dismissed."
Silence pressed in. The drip of water echoed too loudly in their ears.
At last, the captain spoke again, voice barely above a whisper
"He named himself. The… Shadow Sovereign."
The title rolled through the cavern, heavier than the sound of any sword or spell. The three froze, hearts sinking with the weight of it.
Far behind them, deep in the cavern, laughter still echoed.
Sora stood among the ruins of battle, shadows curling and settling like a cloak about his shoulders.
They'll tell the tale. They'll tremble when they speak my name. Oh, this is delicious. For thirty years, I was invisible. But now? Even the smallest whisper of me will shake their bones.
I extended a hand, shadows coiling into claws that scraped against the cavern wall. My voice carried, though no one remained to hear it.
"Go then, messengers of fear. Carry my truth to the world above. And let them know… the Sovereign rises."
The shadows thickened, swallowing the remnants of flame, the blood, the broken steel. Soon, nothing would remain of the battle except memory.
And memory would become legend.