The silhouette hadn't moved for an entire day.
The black, smoke-like aura around it had stopped swirling, shrinking bit by bit.
It felt as if time itself had frozen around it.
Koharu watched from afar —
hidden among the rocks, holding her breath.
The aura around the silhouette was no longer ordinary darkness.
Its density bent the air, crushed stones into dust.
It was no longer smoke… it was matter.
Then, without warning, the silence shattered.
The ground cracked open.
The dark aura surrounding the silhouette exploded outward —
and from within that storm, a pair of massive, bone-like black wings unfolded.
They weren't feathers… they were darkness itself.
Its cloak no longer fluttered.
It moved not with the wind — but with will.
Each step it took dimmed the earth, swallowing every trace of light nearby.
Then, above its head, a shape began to form.
At first, just a ring of shadow.
Then it twisted, interlocked —
and became a crown.
In that instant…
even the wind bowed.
Koharu realized she couldn't breathe.
What stood before her was no longer a being.
It was the will of the void.
It felt as if the world itself was kneeling.
The silhouette raised its head.
When it opened its eyes, the black clouds above began to drift apart.
And then—
the sky filled with billions of tiny lights,
like fireflies scattered across the heavens.
Koharu saw the stars for the first time.
The sight was… beyond words.
A thought slipped from her lips before she could stop it:
> "This… is no longer human."
---
Across the golden barrier, the army stood in formation.
The angels prayed — their voices trembling.
No one dared to speak.
Then… the air bent.
Shinju slowly lifted his head.
He didn't move a muscle.
But the darkness around him trembled.
In front of him, the aura condensed — sharp and heavy,
shaped like a scythe of shadow —
and hurled itself toward the golden barrier.
BOOM!
A massive crack tore through its surface.
The sacred wall that had stood untouched for a thousand years…
was broken for the first time.
The king rose to his feet.
Commanders shouted:
> "Attack! Raise the light!"
Hundreds of radiant arrows filled the sky.
Holy spears, flames, prayers—
they all struck Shinju at once.
Nothing happened.
The silhouette didn't flinch.
Not even a centimeter.
The attacks left not a single mark.
Another wave of darkness erupted.
The air split open, and the barrier shook again.
This time, the crack spread wider.
Light began to leak out instead of in.
Panic swept through the army.
> "The barrier isn't healing!"
"The crack— it's not closing!"
Their voices tangled with desperate prayers.
Some fled. Others dropped their weapons in fear.
But the silhouette remained silent.
No rage. No triumph.
Only certainty.
It took a single step.
The ground darkened.
The void rippled like the surface of an endless sea.
Koharu couldn't breathe.
Her knees gave out.
> "This power…" she whispered.
"Even the gods must be afraid."