Scene: "Steps Between Shadows" — Zans Tests Umbral Blink and Veil Step
Location: A twilight-drenched cliffside forest. The sky is overcast, the trees casting long shadows that stretch like claws across the mossy ground. Distant thunder rumbles — not loud, but ever-present.
Zans stands alone on a high ridge, eyes closed, coat fluttering gently in the wind. Kuro watches nearby, sitting atop a crooked tree branch like a silent guardian.
Zans (murmuring to himself):
"Alright. Let's see what all those migraines unlocked."
He opens his hand. His HUD flickers — and for a moment, two ability names appear in soft violet light:
[Unlocked]: Umbral Blink
[Unlocked]: Veil Step
First Test — Umbral Blink
Zans exhales.
He lowers his body into a stance, then vanishes.
No flash. No sound. Just a wisp — like smoke getting sucked into a vacuum.
WHOOMF—
He reappears 20 meters away behind a tree, crouched low in its shadow. The leaves sway like something just passed through reality itself.
Kuro (blinking):
"...You didn't even leave an afterimage."
Zans smirks faintly, flicking his fingers as if the air still remembered him.
Zans:
"It's not teleportation. It's like... slipping between the cracks of light."
He tries again.
This time, he blinks between four trees in rapid succession — forming a zig-zag pattern that looks chaotic to the eye, but to Zans, it's a perfectly choreographed rhythm of vanishing and reappearing.
Passive Observations:
▸ Movement invisible unless target has heat or sound-based detection.
▸ Leaves behind a faint cold spot for 0.2 seconds.
Second Test — Veil Step
Zans focuses again, channeling his VYTHRA into his legs.
His body is suddenly coated in a subtle, hazy shimmer — like his skin is covered in smoke and oil.
He moves forward.
With each step, his body becomes more translucent — his physical form flickering like a bad transmission, light bending around him.
The air chills slightly.
Then he stops and vanishes completely into a standing shadow — a tall rock's silhouette.
Kuro (now frowning):
"…Zans?"
A heartbeat passes.
Then Zans slides out of the shadow behind Kuro, silently.
Zans (grinning):
"Veil Step. Lets me phase into shadows temporarily. Camouflaged. Untouchable."
Bonus Trait Detected:
While phased, next attack is guaranteed critical hit if the target is unaware.
Zans stands fully upright now, looking at his palm as tendrils of dark vapor curl from his fingertips.
Zans (smirking):
"Not bad for a guy who used to trip over his own scarf."
Kuro raises a brow.
Kuro (deadpan):
"You still do."
Zans (grinning):
"Yeah, but now I vanish right after. So no one sees it."
They both chuckle. Thunder rolls again.
In the distance, the forest begins to darken — not from the clouds, but from the gathering shadows Zans unintentionally left behind.
Scene: "Kuro's Echo" — She's Still Here
Setting:
A clearing at dusk. Mist curls low across the forest floor. The others are off training, leaving Zans alone in a circle of chalked runes and candlelight. He's shirtless, his shadow long and still behind him. The air feels colder than usual.
Zans (muttering):
"Alright… Kuro's Echo."
(reading his HUD)
Ability: Kuro's Echo
Description: Unknown.
Warning: Synchronization anomaly detected.
He squints.
"Synchronization what now?"
Suddenly, his shadow twitches.
A pulse of black mist ripples out from his feet, and then—
A hand reaches up.
A girl's hand. Clawed. Familiar.
Zans stumbles back just in time to see Kuro emerge from his shadow — not as her usual spectral companion, but wearing his body like a cloak.
Her eyes glow faint violet. She flexes his fingers. Twists his neck. Smirks with his own mouth.
Zans (horrified):
"K-Kuro?! What the hell are you doing—why am I still awake?!"
His voice comes out, but he didn't say it.
Kuro (inside him, teasing):
"Oh…? You're still conscious? That's new~"
Zans:
"This isn't possession — I can feel everything! You're moving me like a damn puppet!"
Kuro (playfully):
"Correction. We're moving you.
This is… Echo State."
She shifts his stance, slides his fingers across a dagger hilt, performs a flurry of fluid slashes.
Zans (internally):
"You didn't ask for this."
Kuro (calmly):
"You didn't stop me either."
She steps back into the shadow — melting into his feet like smoke returning to a fire — but her voice stays in his head.
Kuro (whispering now):
"I'm not invading you, Zans.
I'm… a part of you now.
You kept me alive when I should've faded.
This is what that bond looks like."
Zans falls to one knee, sweating.
His hands tremble. Not from fear — from clarity.
His body remembers what she did — the exact movements, the stances, the speed.
Zans (quietly):
"You weren't just my shadow…
You were my sword hand I was too afraid to raise."
No reply.
But he swears he feels her smiling inside his bones.
Scene: "Two Shadows, One Blade" — Zans & Kuro Awaken
Setting:
A pitch-dark forest clearing, barely lit by flickers of moonlight seeping through twisted branches. A chilling stillness hangs in the air. The others sleep miles away.
Zans stands alone, sweat dripping down his brow. His shadow pools unnaturally beneath him — darker than the rest of the night.
Zans (breathing slowly):
"Alright, Kuro… let's try this."
His fingers twitch — not from fear, but anticipation. His VYTHRA begins to rise, and the shadow under his boots shudders.
Then it rips open.
From it… Kuro steps out — not crawling, not slithering — but walking upright like a ghost made real.
Glowing white irises. Hair floating as if underwater. She bears no weapon… but doesn't need one.
Zans staggers back instinctively.
Zans (wide-eyed):
"Kuro?! That's— you're not just a projection—"
Kuro (smirking):
"Not a clone, Zan-Zan. Not a memory. A counterpart."
[Skill Unlocked]: Shadow Clone
VYTHRA Drain: 1% every 30 seconds
Function: Kuro manifests as a semi-independent fighter
Traits: Phases through physical matter, targets soul structure
Failsafe: If either half is destroyed, the other may reabsorb to survive — at 50% max power
Zans circles her slowly, stunned.
Kuro mimics none of his movements.
She's alive. Herself.
Kuro (softly):
"Let's test how in sync we really are."
She launches forward in silence — Zans follows.
They split at the same target: a tree-sized boulder.
Zans goes high — blade slashing down.
Kuro phases through the stone — attacking its soul, not its shell.
The boulder doesn't crack. It implodes, collapsing inward, like its center was erased.
Zans lands, panting — then grinning.
Zans:
"Holy hell… we're broken."
Kuro (floating beside him):
"You're welcome."
But then… something stirs in his chest.
A strange burn.
An itch beneath his skin.
Zans (grimacing):
"What the—"
His shadow begins to twist, wrapping around both him and Kuro.
They look at each other once.
Kuro (serious now):
"...You're feeding me everything. All your fear. All your grief."
Zans:
"Yeah. So what do we do with it?"
She smiles.
Kuro:
"We devour it."
The ground splits wide as their shadows merge again — this time not as two beings, but into a single massive silhouette.
From it rises a colossal beast of shadow — Zans and Kuro fused into a hulking four-armed specter with glowing white eyes, ember-lined smoke tendrils swirling around its spine.
[Ultimate Finisher Unlocked]: Shadow Feast
Duration: 20 seconds
Traits:
– Quadruple slashes with teleportation
– VYTHRA leech per strike
– Soul rift bypass (ignores resistances)
– Phase-swapping mid-attack
Zans & Kuro (unison, distorted voice):
"You fed me your fear.
Let me return the favor."
They lunge at the empty air — teleporting once, twice, thrice — a shadowy execution dance, carving glowing lines through the ground.
When the form fades, Zans drops to one knee, panting hard — Kuro slowly materializes beside him again, calm as ever.
Zans (wiping sweat):
"…Okay. That was way too much for a midnight jog."
Kuro:
"And that was only 30% of my appetite."
Zans (smirking):
"I'm scared of you… and it's hot."
Scene: " Shadow Feast Ascension"
Location: A windswept, sunless plateau. The ground here is cracked like a dried wound. No trees, no echoes — just silence and space. Zans stands alone, the last rays of daylight cutting shadows across his face.
Zans (rolling his shoulders):
"Alright, Kuro. No holding back this time."
From beneath him, his shadow twists unnaturally — coiling like a serpent in slow motion.
Then—
Kuro's Echo: active
Shadow Clone: active
Shadow Feast: engaged
New Configuration Detected:
[Shadow Feast] + [Kuro's Echo] + [Shadow Clone]
Activating TRIPLE FEAST FORMATION
The plateau erupts.
Three titanic shadow beasts crawl out from the seams of the world like gods birthed from oblivion:
Each one 50 feet tall, shaped like armored demons made of smoke and darkness
Each one 100 meters wide, lined with writhing tendrils and four muscular arms
Their faces? Blank masks glowing with soul fire, mouths splitting open vertically
Their steps send out echo booms — each movement distorts the air like warped glass
Zans' voice rumbles from within the central beast — still completely conscious and in control.
Zans (grinning with shock):
"This… isn't a skill anymore. This is a massacre waiting to happen."
Kuro (emerging as a ghostly form inside one of the beasts):
"Three bodies. One will. Yours."
Each of the three titans moves as an extension of Zans' will — coordinated like a symphony of destruction.
Shadow Feast Traits (Final Version)
No Time Limit. No Cooldown.
Zans can use this form as often as his VYTHRA allows.
Extended use risks total mental burnout or unconsciousness — but he doesn't care.
Each Beast Has Unique Properties:
Ruin – Heavy melee, punches collapse terrain and deflect energy blasts
Silence – Phases through attacks, targets enemy souls directly
Oblivion – Fires tendrils that tear apart the VYTHRA grid around enemies, disabling powers temporarily
Quad-Strike Mechanics:
All three can teleport mid-combo, perform four-hit finishers in sync, and perform group-level soul drains.
Mass VYTHRA Bleed:
Every enemy hit fuels Zans' regeneration and powers up Kuro's aggression.
Cost:
30–70% of total VYTHRA depending on formation duration
If Zans loses control, the beasts go berserk and attack indiscriminately
Repeated usage in a day will fracture his mind, causing hallucinations of Kuro even when she's not active
Zans (as the shadows fade and he returns to normal):
"…Okay. That's definitely a problem for later me."
Kuro (playfully resting her chin on his shoulder):
"Or maybe… we just don't stop."