The sun hung low in the sky, casting long shadows across the training grounds where Katakuichi had found a new home. Taken in by Masaki, he had quickly become the favored son, overshadowing his stepbrother, Kuzi Endo. While Katakuichi possessed a unique shadow style inherited from the Kou lineage, Kuzi struggled to find his own identity, his powers feeling bland and unfinished in comparison.
"Papa, I can do better, right? Look what I made!" Kuzi exclaimed one afternoon, his voice filled with hope as he presented a small shadow dog, its form flickering in and out of existence.
Masaki knelt down, a proud smile on his face as he patted Kuzi's head. "Great job, Kuzi! Keep going!" But even as he praised his son, his gaze drifted toward Katakuichi, who effortlessly manipulated shadows into intricate forms. The admiration in Masaki's eyes was unmistakable, and Kuzi felt the familiar sting of being overshadowed.
Days turned into weeks, and the tension between the brothers grew. Kuzi, frustrated and desperate for recognition, often found himself alone in the woods, whispering to the shadows that danced around him. "Look what I made, Dad…" he murmured, conjuring a little shadow demon to keep him company. "I can surpass Gaki, Papa. I just need you to look at me, please… please…" His voice cracked, and he sobbed quietly, muttering, "Why isn't he more like Mom?"
In a fit of rage, he punched a nearby tree, his shadow powers flaring as he cut through the bark. "Why don't you believe me?" he screamed into the forest, his voice echoing back at him. "I'm not just a shadow!"
Katakuichi, oblivious to his brother's turmoil, continued to train, while Masaki remained focused on his adopted son, hoping he would surpass Gaki, a name that hung over them like a dark cloud.
One fateful day, Kuzi returned home to find his mother being threatened by a group of Yami villagers. "Hey! You stand back, or I will kill her!" one of the thieves shouted, brandishing a weapon.
"Don't you dare touch her!" Kuzi shouted, his heart racing as he activated his shadow powers.
The thief laughed, mocking him. "Huh? What's the little baby gonna do with his little shadowy powers? Bet you're not even rank 1!"
"Who cares?" Kuzi replied, his eyes glowing red with determination. "Don't mess with my mom or my family!"
The thieves exchanged nervous glances as Kuzi summoned a massive shadow demon, its form looming ominously behind him. "Let's go, Mama. You okay?" he asked, his voice steady despite the chaos.
After a fierce confrontation, Kuzi managed to drive the thieves away, saving his mother. Once they were safe at home, she praised him, her eyes filled with tears of gratitude. "You were so brave, Kuzi! I'm so proud of you!"
Masaki entered the room, his expression softening as he saw the relief on his wife's face. He gently patted Kuzi on the shoulder. "Good job, son," he said, his voice warm but distant.
Katakuichi offered a low thumbs-up, but inside, he felt a chasm of loneliness. He had no friends, and he didn't accept Katakuichi as a brother. The weight of his father's indifference pressed heavily on him, while his mother's love felt like a fragile lifeline.
One evening, he approached his mother, desperation in his voice. "Mama, let's run away from this place. We can find a better life together."
Tears filled her eyes as she shook her head. "I'm sorry, Kuzi, but I can't… I can't leave. You can go."
"It's okay, Mama. Just remember, when I come back, I'll still love you, whatever happens. I LOVE YOU!" he declared, his voice breaking as he turned to leave.
At the tender age of twelve, Kuzi set out into the world, determined to find purpose and power. As he walked away, he felt a mix of hope and sorrow, unaware of the guilt that would soon weigh heavily on the hearts of those he left behind.
In the years that followed, Masaki and Katakuichi would often reflect on their choices, haunted by the memory of a boy who had only wanted to be seen. The shadows of regret loomed large, a constant reminder of the brother they had failed to understand.
Kuzi stood alone in the heart of the shadowy forest, the silence broken only by the rustling leaves. A dim glow surrounded him as spectral figures emerged, their eyes piercing.
Spirit 1: "Kuzi Endo. To master the shadows, you must first master yourself. What weighs on your heart?"
Kuzi clenched his fists, his voice shaking. "I feel abandoned… unseen. Even my own family overlooks me."
Spirit 2: "Pain festers when left unspoken. Do you carry bitterness?"
Kuzi's eyes hardened. "Yes. I'm angry. Angry that I'm not enough—for my father, for my brother."
The shadows swirled around him, whispering his doubts, his fears.
Spirit 3: "To reclaim your true power, you must forgive yourself before forgiving others."
Kuzi's breath hitched as tears formed. "I... I don't know if I can."
A sudden warmth enveloped him, a shadow hand reaching out—not to threaten, but to guide.
Spirit 1: "Courage is not the absence of fear, but the will to stand despite it. Rise, Kuzi. Embrace the shadows within."
Kuzi straightened, nodding slowly. "I will. Not for them… for me."
Shadow converged as Kuzi's form became enveloped in glowing darkness—the beginning of his true awakening.
The years that followed forged Kuzi into something the family never anticipated. Alone in the depths of the Yami District's darkest alleys, he honed his shadow powers, pushing past the limits set by his lineage. In the shadows, he found freedom—a place where his abilities could flourish beyond Masaki's judgment and the cold distance of his stepbrother Katakuichi.
In the beginning, Kuzi wandered from one shadowed corner to another, learning to bend darkness to his will. His scars ran deep: from betrayal, abandonment, and the hunger for acceptance. But his resolve never faltered. He was no longer the boy overshadowed by a brother's inherited gifts; he was becoming something far greater.
Years passed. Kuzi gathered lost souls like himself—outcasts who had been discarded by society and family alike. Together, they forged the Shadow Organization, a covert force bound by a singular purpose: to free the ancient Shadow Demon King, imprisoned beyond the veils between worlds. Kuzi's vision was clear—to usher in an era where shadows were no longer feared but revered.
Under his command, the organization grew in both strength and influence. The cloaked figures who followed him revered his strategic genius and unyielding conviction. His presence was commanding—a dark monarch cloaked not only in shadow but in the weight of his past.
Yet the path to power was not without sacrifice. The final rupture came with Sensei Shidou, once Kuzi's mentor and protector of the academy his brother attended. Shidou had stood as a bastion against the very darkness Kuzi embraced.
Their confrontation was inevitable and he escaped Gaki's Void Pulse as Gaki has been thinking he had killed him.
"I will surpass Gaki" Kuzi saying that to himself in silence
FLASHBACK: Around a Fire — The Outcasts Tell Their Stories
Darkness blankets the ruined temple. A fire crackles in the center, casting shadows against cracked stone walls. Outside, rain taps gently on broken roof tiles. Inside, the Outcasts gather, seated in a circle — each face lit by flickering flame.
Kuzi Endo sits cross-legged, silent and composed. His white hair glows in the firelight, his gaze steady — waiting. One by one, they speak.
1. Riko (the mute bladesmith)
She doesn't speak. Instead, she pulls up the sleeve of her ragged tunic, revealing a brand seared into her skin — the crest of a warlord who enslaved her village.
She tosses a shard of her old master's sword into the flames. It hisses.
Kuzi nods. He doesn't ask her to speak. She's already said enough.
2. Toma (the deserter from the holy army)
"I watched them burn a child alive," he mutters, staring into the fire. "Said she was a witch. All she did was cry when her mother died."
He clenches his jaw.
"They told me it was holy justice. I told them to go to hell."
Silence follows. Only the rain dares to answer.
3. Yae (the exiled shadow-thief)
A grin dances across her lips, but her eyes are dead.
"I stole from the wrong noble. Not gold — secrets. I exposed them. They branded me a traitor to the court."
She flicks a coin into the flames. It sizzles red before vanishing in ash.
"I used to hide in the shadows. Now I live in them."
4. Garo (the broken monk)
He holds prayer beads, worn and frayed.
"I served peace. Chanted mantras while the world bled outside the monastery walls."
His hand trembles as he stares into the fire.
"When the raiders came, my brothers chose death over action. I broke my vow. Killed them all — raiders, monks, everyone. I no longer pray."
Kuzi watches him with quiet understanding.
The fire burns lower now, glowing embers illuminating their tired faces. The rain has stopped. Steam rises from the cracked stone as the storm passes.
The silence is heavy. Until Kuzi finally rises.
No longer a boy.
He stands tall, shoulders square, cloaked in ash-gray robes with black thread embroidery — the sigil of the forgotten god now sewn at his back.
His white eyes reflect the dying firelight as he speaks — low, deep, but full of command.
KUZI ENDO (age 20):
"You were cast out not because you were weak — but because you saw the truth. That this world was never meant to be fair. The kings rule with cruelty. The priests lie in the name of false light. The people suffer, waiting for salvation that will never come."
He steps toward the center of the fire circle, his voice rising like a sermon from the edge of the abyss.
KUZI ENDO (quiet, but resolute):
"The Shadow God does not wake tonight."
The others look to one another — surprised. Expecting something grander. But Kuzi lifts a hand, calm and sure.
KUZI ENDO:
"Even a god needs a door to walk through. A vessel."
He steps forward, pulling a scroll from within his robe. It unfurls slowly, revealing a hand-drawn map — and a name inked in dark crimson:
HARU
Age: 9. Location: Yami. Status: Sealed.
KUZI ENDO:
"They sealed the Shadow God's soul inside a child. A boy born under a dead moon, destined to bring balance — or annihilation."
"They hide him behind gold walls and false saints. Guarded by blades, prayers, and lies."
He pauses, looking into each of their eyes. One by one, they meet his gaze — and nod.
KUZI ENDO (firm, but wise):
"We were made to suffer so that we would know how to end suffering."
"To awaken Chernobog, we must first reclaim his heart — the child they stole from the void and caged in light."
He looks to the horizon beyond the ruined walls, his voice a vow.
KUZI ENDO:
"We will not beg for justice. We will take it."
"We find Haru."
"We break the seals."
"And then… we free this world."
Resurrection of Shidou – The First Apostle of Chernobog
Location: A forgotten battlefield under a blood-red sky. Charred remains of bamboo and banners flutter in the wind. At the center lies a weathered grave, marked by a broken katana half-buried in the dirt.
Kuzi Endo stands alone.
The Outcasts wait in a wide circle behind him, silent, wary — they've heard rumors of what he intends, but none believe it's truly possible.
Kuzi kneels by the grave. His pale fingers touch the cracked steel of the katana. The wind stills. Even the crows hold their breath.
He slowly lifts the sword, black veins crawling across its surface as if responding to his touch.
KUZI ENDO:
"Now you will be. Not as man. Not as mentor. But as the first sword of the Shadow God."
He slices his own palm, letting blood drip onto the grave.
The earth trembles. The sky cracks open — not with lightning, but with shadow.
From the grave, black tendrils burst forth, writhing like serpents of pure despair. Bones clatter in the soil. A scream not from the mouth but from the soul echoes across the wasteland.
Suddenly, it stops.
Then — a hand, rotten but reforged in black flame, punches through the dirt.
SHIDOU (reborn):
"Kuzi… my… what… have you done?"
He rises — taller than before, wrapped in living shadows that shift like armor. His once-honorable face is now carved with glowing runes. His eyes burn violet, devoid of humanity. Yet somewhere — a trace of the old master lingers.
KUZI ENDO (softly):
"I have made you eternal. You will not decay. You will not doubt."
"You will lead the slaughter that awakens Chernobog."
Kuzi turns to the Outcasts.
KUZI ENDO:
"The temples will fall. The golden shrines will drown in silence. And when Haru stands before the gates of the void — it will be Shidou who cuts them open."
SHIDOU (kneeling):
"Then let this world remember: the first who raised me... will be the last to bury me again."
A black banner unfurls in the sky — the symbol of Chernobog burns across the clouds.