The underground passage beneath the ruined temple seemed endless, twisting through narrow stone corridors whose walls were slick with moisture and time. Reiji's footsteps echoed in the darkness, each one swallowed quickly by the oppressive silence. The faint glow of his lantern revealed jagged carvings—symbols older than any written record, their meanings lost to history but still radiating a cold authority.
At the end of the corridor, the air grew heavy, carrying the faint metallic scent of old blood and incense. A massive obsidian door awaited him, its surface engraved with a crest he had seen only once before—on the pendant his mother had hidden away before she disappeared. The memory of her voice surfaced for an instant, urging him not to enter, but his hand moved anyway, pressing against the ancient seal.
The door groaned open, revealing a cavernous hall bathed in shadows. There was no throne, no grand banners, no sign of living royalty—only thirteen empty seats arranged in a perfect semicircle around a stone altar. Above them, suspended in the darkness, hung dozens of pale masks carved into the shapes of serene, expressionless faces. Their hollow eyes followed him as he stepped inside.
Then, without warning, the seats filled—not with flesh and blood, but with flickering silhouettes, human in form yet impossibly still. The air seemed to vibrate with a soundless voice that spoke directly into his thoughts.
"Shinomiya Reiji," the presence whispered, each syllable vibrating like cold metal striking stone. "You have stepped into the Silent Court. Speak your purpose, or be unmade."
Reiji's throat tightened. His instincts screamed to lie, but something about this place made deception feel dangerous. "I seek the truth of my bloodline… and the reason the shadows follow me."
For a long moment, nothing answered—until the central figure leaned forward. The mask it wore split in the middle, revealing nothing but darkness beneath.
"Your blood is cursed with a memory older than the world itself. The shadows do not follow you… they obey you."
Reiji's heartbeat thundered. He wanted to deny it, but the air around him began to ripple, and shapes emerged—shadowy forms bending low, as though recognizing a master.
"Prove yourself," the Court demanded. "Or your name will be erased from every whisper, every memory, every trace of this world."
Before he could react, the stone altar split open, revealing a staircase plunging into a deeper abyss. A cold wind rose from below, carrying the sound of distant chains and something breathing in the dark.
Reiji swallowed his fear and stepped forward, knowing that whatever lay beneath would either forge him into something new—or consume him completely.
The Silent Court (Final Part
The chamber grew colder, as if the shadows themselves exhaled. Reiji stood at the center of the marble floor, surrounded by twelve masked figures seated in a perfect crescent. Each mask bore a different expression — joy, grief, wrath, serenity — yet none betrayed the true intent of the ones behind them.
A voice, deep and brittle as fractured stone, broke the silence.
"Shinomiya Reiji… son of the forgotten war. Do you come seeking judgment, or alliance?"
He said nothing. His eyes scanned the Court, memorizing the rhythm of their breaths, the faint twitch of their fingers. Every detail mattered here.
The figure with the mask of eternal sorrow leaned forward.
"Your shadow is not your own. We see what you carry… and what hunts you."
Reiji's jaw tightened. So they know.
Then came the decree.
"By the will of the Silent Court, you are granted one night's sanctuary. In return… you will hunt for us."
The marble floor beneath him shifted, revealing a map etched in silver — a labyrinth sprawling beyond comprehension, pulsing faintly as though alive.
"Within lies the Whispering Key. Without it, the war you fear cannot be stopped."
Reiji felt the weight of their stares. This was not a request. It was a leash.
Still, he bowed slightly, hiding the storm behind his eyes. One night… and then I move on my terms.
As the torches dimmed, the voice returned, colder than before:
"Do not lose yourself in the labyrinth, Shinomiya. Not every shadow in there will be yours."
The doors opened, spilling him back into the moonlit streets. Somewhere deep in the Court's walls, a dozen pairs of eyes followed him until he was gone.