Chapter Four
A fierce snowstorm strikes the gates of the Ice Kingdom.
Shura stands firmly, unshaken in the face of the biting cold.
From inside the palace, the voice of the Ice King echoes:
"Let him enter… let him freeze."
From the mist emerges a massive ice dragon, its breath forming deadly ice shards.
Shura raises his head, expressionless.
The Ice King smiles from his high throne:
"Show me how you will die this time."
The dragon lunges forward at terrifying speed.
Shura calmly spreads his arms, without any defense.
Wide shot — an icy explosion engulfs the scene.
Shura is surrounded by a massive ice block, completely frozen.
The Ice King turns and leaves mockingly:
"What childish behavior… you can't even fight properly."
Silence…
Then a small crack appears in the ice.
Another…
Then — boom!
The ice shatters into pieces.
Shura emerges slowly, surrounded by a dark aura so cold it shatters the surrounding ice.
The blades of his bone weapon swirl around his hands like a storm.
The dragon, terrified for the first time, retreats.
Shura whispers:
"Your time is over."
A sudden attack — the blades tear through the dragon's wings.
The dragon falls.
Shura steps on its neck, raises his hand, and tears its head off without hesitation.
The Ice King is shocked.
Shura disappears from his position and appears directly in front of him.
The first clash — blades collide with a sturdy ice wall.
A fast battle ensues, just rapid, fragmented movements.
The Ice King smiles confidently:
"Do you think you are like the others?"
He raises his hand…
Time stops.
The world freezes.
The Ice King stands behind Shura and stabs him in the chest with a pure ice shard, piercing flesh and bone.
Shura's blood freezes before hitting the ground.
He stumbles to the ground for the first time.
Darkness…
Shura opens his eyes inside a pure white world.
His father and mother stand before him.
Shura collapses to his knees and cries.
Mother:
"Don't let him consume you… don't lose yourself, my son."
Suddenly, the white ground cracks.
From the darkness, the Serpent Entity emerges, its glowing eyes piercing the void.
It places its hand on Shura's wounds — they heal, then reopen immediately.
Serpent Entity:
"Weak… those you loved betrayed you, your family is dead… and you are crying?"
Shura's expression changes completely.
The serpent coils around his body and invades his soul.
Final shot — Shura's human eyes extinguish, replaced by the red glowing gaze of the Serpent.
Back in the real world,
Shura's body rises suddenly.
His wound heals with the blades, as if sewn from within.
A dark aura melts the ice around him for several meters.
The Ice King retreats for the first time.
Shura walks slowly toward him… each step shaking the ground.
Ice King:
"Didn't I kill you?"
Shura, emotionless:
"No."
He launches the blades toward the king.
The king barely stops time to defend.
He moves behind Shura to stab him,
but Shura's body is now covered in impenetrable serpent scales.
Time returns to normal…
Shura spins and kicks the king with immense force, cracking the ice itself.
Ice King:
"What… happened to your power?!"
Shura:
"Your time is over."
He traps the king in a super-strong ice wall.
Shura smiles for the first time — a terrifying smile.
The blades form a complete shield around him.
Shura:
"I know your limits… only four seconds."
The king is forced to stop time again to face the blades.
But Shura had already prepared his shield.
When the four seconds pass…
The blades return to Shura at light speed, piercing the king's back and exiting through his chest.
The king falls to his knees, overcome with fear.
Shura approaches, grabbing his head with one hand and his spine with the other.
Shura:
"You are nothing but another miserable victim."
He pulls the spine forcefully, black blood splattering.
Shura stands amidst a snowstorm, his dark aura extinguishing everything around him.
Shura was outside the Ice Kingdom, his body covered in blood, panting heavily after his battle with the Ice King. The sound of the icy winds accompanied his heavy steps. Suddenly, a magical dagger cut through the air at incredible speed, almost piercing his neck, but Shura stopped it with his hand. He studied it and said: "This… is the same fighting style."
He shouted angrily and confused: "Who did this?! Show yourself!" The dagger trembled, then flew back to its owner at astonishing speed. On a high rock, a cloaked woman appeared, only her shadow visible, her eyes glinting behind the mask.
She spoke in a calm, cold voice: "I've been watching you… from afar. Come here, Vessel." Shura narrowed his eyes: "Who are you?!" At that moment, five daggers flew simultaneously toward his face, but Shura raised his Blade Shield and blocked them all.
She stepped forward, her voice rising challengingly: "Let me… test your strength." Shura attacked with massive, relentless blades, but she dodged all his strikes with frightening ease, as if she knew exactly what he was thinking. He stepped back, clearly frustrated: "What is happening?! Who is this woman?!" Suddenly, she appeared behind him and stabbed him three times in the back. He fell to his knees, blood pouring.
She stood in front of him, then lifted her hand to her mask… revealing her face. Shura froze, eyes wide with shock: "How did you survive…?!"
She looked at him coldly and emotionlessly: "I have always been watching you… from the beginning." She added: "Yuki… did not betray you because she wanted to. She was forced."
He opened his eyes in surprise and worry. She stepped back, looking at him with a superior gaze, as if seeing a weak child: "You are still the same crying child… as you were." Shura pressed against the ground and tried to rise, shouting in anger: "I will kill you… and Mika!" She smiled mockingly, revealing nothing about her connection to Mika's plans.
She turned, preparing to leave, and said: "Train well… then face me." Before disappearing into the snowstorm, she turned her head and said one last line: "And remember… your transformation was part of my plan."
Shura collapsed to the ground, staring at the sky, blood freezing around him. He said in a broken voice: "I understand… why Yuki apologized…" His wounds began to heal automatically from the Serpent Blades. He rose slowly, his eyes turning black with a red glow, speaking calmly: "Ira… I will reach you."
Shura rises from the ground after facing Ira, his wounds slowly healing as his aura ignites. He says, "I must free Yuki… kill Mika… and find out what Ira meant by her words." He steps heavily into the unknown.
He enters the borders of the Wind Kingdom — the fifth kingdom. Fierce winds blow, strange shadows swirl around him. Whispering echoes: "The Vessel… the Vessel has arrived…" Shura narrows his eyes as he moves forward.
A violent storm strikes him, throwing him against a stone wall. He rises, breathing angrily, and sees a beautiful woman with white wings descending from the sky. Her voice is angelic… her singing melodic. She is the Queen of Winds — the Sacred Angel.
The singing gradually turns into a terrifying scream, shaking the kingdom. Shura covers his ears, blood streaming from his nose, and falls to his knees in pain. She stops singing and looks at him with a cold smile.
Suddenly, he rises and attacks without warning: "Tear her apart!" He unleashes a barrage of blades, cutting the queen in half. Her body falls… then disappears. Shura says: "...What is this ease?"
Her voice comes from behind him: "You have fallen into my illusion." Dozens of copies of the Sacred Angel appear, all attacking him with deadly strikes. He screams in pain… while his body remains stationary within the illusion.
Inside the illusion, he wounds himself deeply to wake up. Suddenly, he awakens, panting heavily… and sees her standing before him with a calm smile. She says: "So… you've discovered the way to escape."
She raises her hand and begins singing again. The melodies turn into sonic waves that pierce the ground. He covers his ears… then screams and tears his eardrums to block the sound. The queen trembles in shock.
He attacks with insane speed. She shouts: "Do not underestimate me!" She raises her hand to the sky: "O my God… grant me your blessing!" A lightning strike in the form of a sword hits him — she transforms into the Goddess of Lightning.
The queen accelerates, becoming streaks of lightning. Her explosive attacks hit Shura and blast the ground around him. He staggers… feeling weak… his aura weakens.
We enter Shura's consciousness… the Serpent Entity approaches: "Prepare to sacrifice everything you have…" The blades inside his body begin to vibrate… then explode around him.
He transforms further. The blades become faster, heavier, more precise. His aura turns into a deadly black. He says: "The Serpent will ignite me forever… as long as it seeks its power." The blades spread across both hands… no longer using one, but both fully armed with bones.
A cinematic battle erupts: lightning strikes, explosions, bone blades, supernatural speed. The queen says: "You are weak!" Shura vanishes like a serpent, releasing blades that hit her wings… she falls to the ground.
He appears behind her, cuts her leg, then wings, then right hand… then left… she falls, terrified for the first time. He lifts her with the blades and hangs her on the palace gate. Blood gushes. He hangs her limbs beside her. Shura says: "The price of power… is high."
He leaves the kingdom… blood still flowing. His eyes show no mercy. The hissing echoes in his head… the entire kingdom trembles in fear.
The scene ends.