Cain crouched beside the village's only stream, a small crystal vial spinning lazily between his fingers.
A wicked grin spread across his face.
"I know exactly what to use..." he whispered. "The Silent Torment Poison."
He let out a low, sinister chuckle.
"They'll drink it without suspecting a thing. Then, one by one, they'll fall asleep... never realizing death has already claimed them."
"I'm a genius." His laughter echoed softly through the quiet forest.
Silent Torment Poison was one of the most insidious toxins ever created. Tasteless, odorless, and colorless, it silently spread through the victim's body after ingestion. It slowly consumed the internal organs while the victim slept, leaving no visible signs of poisoning. Several days later, the accumulated damage would cause the heart to fail, making the death appear completely natural.
Removing the cork from the vial, Cain poured every last drop into the village well.
The poison dissolved instantly into the crystal-clear water, leaving no trace behind.
"Perfect," he muttered, "No one will ever know."
The Next Morning
Shadow stood guard outside the village where Lucia and baby Silva rested peacefully inside.
A familiar presence approached from the forest.
Shadow frowned.
"...Cain?"
The newcomer smiled warmly, as though greeting an old friend.
"Brother."
"Aren't you happy to see me?"
Shadow remained expressionless.
"What are you doing here, Cain?"
Shadow's eyes narrowed with suspicion. Something about Cain's presence felt wrong.
Cain merely shrugged.
"Lord Raven ordered me to stay behind and protect Lady Lucia and Young Master Silva."
Shadow continued staring at him, unconvinced.
For a moment, Cain remained silent.
Then he sighed dramatically and shook his head.
"You're as slow as ever."
A laugh suddenly escaped him.
"Hahaha!"
Shadow's expression hardened.
Cain looked at him as though he couldn't believe Shadow still hadn't figured it out.
"You idiot."
The friendly expression disappeared from Cain's face, replaced by a cruel smile.
"Don't you understand why I'm here?"
Shadow's hand slowly moved toward his weapon.
Cain's smile widened.
"I wasn't sent here to protect them."
He slowly unsheathed a black dagger.
"My mission..."
"...is to kill the woman and the child."
A murderous aura erupted from Shadow.
"You dare betray Lord Raven?"
"If he discovers what you've done, he won't show you even a shred of mercy."
Cain shrugged, completely unfazed.
"I'm not afraid of Raven."
Cain spoke without the slightest hesitation.
"Lady Zara promised me wealth, status, and power—more than the Zi Family could ever offer me."
A smug grin spread across his face.
Shadow's expression darkened.
"You betrayed Lord Raven... for that?"
"Betrayed?" Cain chuckled. "I simply chose the side that rewards me better."
His eyes gleamed with amusement.
"As for Raven..."
Cain paused, allowing the silence between them to linger.
"He'll never learn what happened here."
His smirk widened.
"After all... dead men tell no tales."
Shadow stepped forward.
His hand tightened around his weapon as his aura began to stir.
"As long as I stand..."
His gaze locked onto Cain.
"...you will never touch them."
Cain simply shook his head, almost disappointed.
"You still don't understand, do you?"
He slowly raised a single finger.
"I don't need to touch them."
Shadow froze.
Cain's smile grew wider.
"Everyone in this village has already been poisoned."
"The villagers."
He lowered another finger.
"The woman."
Another.
"The child."
His gaze finally settled upon Shadow.
"And even you."
For the first time, Shadow's composure faltered.
Cain leaned closer.
"The water everyone drank yesterday..."
He paused, savoring the revelation.
"...was laced with Silent Torment Poison."
Cain's smile widened.
" And that's the beauty of Silent Torment."
Shadow's expression hardened as Cain continued.
"After seven days, the poison completely disappears , not only from its victims, but from the water itself."
He gave a quiet, satisfied laugh.
"No residue. No evidence. Nothing left behind to prove it was ever there."
Cain spread his arms.
"By the time anyone comes searching for answers, there won't be a single trace of foul play."
His eyes settled on Shadow.
"It'll be as though the poison never existed."
"We're friends, aren't we, Shadow?"
Cain placed a mocking emphasis on the word friends.
A vicious smile slowly spread across his face.
"So I thought I'd do you one final favor."
His fingers tightened around the hilt of his dagger.
"I came here to spare you the agony of waiting for the poison to finish its work."
Cain's eyes turned cold.
"I'll grant you a quicker death."
Without another word, he lunged.
His dagger flashed forward, aimed straight for Shadow's heart.Then—
The blade pierced nothing.
"...What?"
Shadow had vanished.
Cain stumbled forward before spinning around wildly.
"Impossible!"
"Where are you?!"
"Show yourself!"
A cold voice whispered beside his ear.
"I'm behind you."
Before Cain could react, a hand formed entirely of black mist pierced straight through his chest.
His body froze. Terror written upon his face
"H-How..."
He looked down in horror at the shadowy arm protruding from his chest.
"You..."
"...you're a Shade?"
A Shade was a being born entirely from Dark Mana—the lingering spirit of a deceased soul given physical form.
Shadow slowly withdrew his hand.
"I am."
His golden eyes blazed through the darkness, their unnatural glow making the shadows around him seem deeper."
"My name is Shadow."
Cain collapsed to one knee, gasping for air.
"How..."
"How could Lord Raven command a Shade?"
"And why would a creature like you obey him?"
Shadow looked down at the dying man.
His usually emotionless face softened, if only slightly.
"Because…"
Shadow fell silent for a moment, memories from a life long gone resurfacing within him.
"He saved me."
His gaze lowered.
"I was human once."
The words carried a weight few would ever understand.
"I was betrayed by my own people. That betrayal cost me everything… even my family."
After my death, I have been unable to move on. I wandered the world as a restless spirit, carrying nothing but anger, grief, and resentment.
"And the longer I wandered, the stronger that resentment became."
Until Raven found him.
"When I had nothing left, he gave me purpose."
Raven had calmed the tormented spirit that Shadow had become. Rather than destroying him or abandoning him to his suffering, Raven gave him another chance—a new existence and a reason to continue forward.
"He made me anew."
Shadow slowly raised his eyes.
"So don't mistake my loyalty for fear, Cain."
His expression became firm once more.
He tightened his grip on his weapon.
"I follow him because I'm grateful."
"For the life I lost, he gave me another."
"And that is a debt I will never forget."
Cain's eyes widened.
A moment later...
Life left them forever.
As Shadow turned toward the village, intending to save Lucia from the poison before it was too late , an overwhelming pressure suddenly descended upon the surrounding forest.
The ground trembled.The trees bent.Even the air itself became unbearably heavy.
Shadow's body locked in place.
His senses faded one by one.
A calm feminine voice broke the silence.
"So..."
"That foolish boy left a Shade to guard the village."
She stepped from between the trees.
Shadow's body suddenly locked in place.
He tried to move, but his limbs refused to obey.
Then his senses began to fade.
His hearing dulled.
His vision blurred.
Shadow collapsed to the ground.
By the time his body struck the earth, he had already lost consciousness.
Even the presence of the world around him seemed to disappear into an unnatural silence.
And through that silence came a calm, feminine voice.
"So..."
There was a hint of amusement in her tone.
"That foolish boy left a Shade to guard the village."
A flowing crimson robe covered her figure, moving gently with each step. Her beauty seemed almost otherworldly, possessing an elegance that immediately separated her from an ordinary traveler.
Yet her appearance was hardly the most frightening thing about her.
It was her aura.
The overwhelming presence surrounding the mysterious woman made one thing immediately clear—
She was no ordinary individual.
Two young girls followed silently behind her, both dressed in matching red robes. Their faces were so alike that there could be no mistaking their relationship.
Twins.
The woman stopped a short distance from the unconscious Shadow before casually turning her attention toward Cain's lifeless body.
She stared at him for only a moment.
"June."
"Julie."
The twins immediately replied.
"Yes, Master."
"Burn his body."
"It would be troublesome if someone discovered it."
The twins bowed.
"As you command."
One of them pointed toward the Shade.
"What about him, Master?"
The woman spared Shadow no more than a passing glance.
"Leave him."
Her voice was soft, almost indifferent.
"He is beneath our concern."
Then she turned away.
A faint smile graced her otherworldly face as she looked toward the quiet village in the distance. The coldness in her expression disappeared, replaced by something unexpectedly gentle.
She began walking.
The two crimson-robed twins followed silently behind her.
With every step toward the village, a single thought echoed within her heart.
After all these years...
I'm finally going to see my precious daughter again.
Her smile softened.
I only hope she'll forgive her foolish mother for disappearing without a word.
The three figures continued toward the village until the darkness swallowed them whole.
And then—
When morning came.
Every person who had once lived there.
Gone.
No abandoned belongings.
Not even the faintest sign that a settlement had ever stood upon that land.
The entire village had simply... vanished.
By sunrise, all that remained was an empty stretch of silent earth.
As though an unseen hand had reached down during the night and erased the village from the face of the world.