The silhouette did not move for an entire day.
The black smoke-like aura surrounding it stopped shifting and began to shrink.
It was as if time itself had frozen around it.
Koharu watched from a distance —
hidden between the rocks, barely daring to breathe.
The aura around the silhouette was no longer ordinary darkness.
Its density had grown so immense that it bent the air, crushed stones into dust.
It wasn't smoke anymore… it was matter.
Then suddenly, the silence shattered.
The dark aura surrounding the silhouette exploded outward —
and from within that darkness, a pair of bone-like black wings unfolded.
The wings had no feathers — they were darkness itself.
Its cloak no longer fluttered.
It moved not by the wind, but by will alone.
With every step, the ground dimmed, and its aura devoured every glimmer of light around it.
Then, above its head, a shape formed from shadow.
At first, it was a ring.
Then it twisted, locking upon itself —
and became a crown.
In that instant…
even the wind knelt.
Koharu realized she couldn't breathe.
What stood before her was no longer a "being."
It was the judgment of the Void.
It felt as though the world itself bowed before it.
The silhouette raised its head.
When its eyes opened, the black clouds in the sky began to scatter.
And then —
the heavens filled with countless lights, glowing like a swarm of fireflies.
Koharu saw the stars for the first time.
The sight was… beyond words.
Unintentionally, a whisper escaped her thoughts:
> "That's no longer human…"
On the other side of the Golden Shield, the army stood in formation.
The soldiers prayed, their voices cracking.
No one dared to speak.
Then… the air itself warped.
Shinju slowly lifted his head.
He made no gesture, no movement.
Yet the darkness around him trembled.
Before him, the aura solidified — a scythe of shadow —
and he hurled it toward the Golden Shield.
BOOM!
A massive crack split the shield's surface.
The sacred barrier that had stood unbroken for a thousand years…
was fractured for the first time.
The King leapt to his feet.
Prince Kaito shouted:
> "Attack! Raise the light!"
Hundreds of arrows of light filled the sky.
Sacred spears, flames, prayers—
all struck Shinju at once.
But nothing happened.
The silhouette didn't move.
Not even a single step back.
The attacks didn't leave so much as a scratch.
Then it unleashed another wave of darkness.
The air ripped apart; the shield shook again.
This time, the crack ran deeper.
Golden light leaked from within.
Cries of panic spread through the army.
> "The shield isn't healing!"
"The crack won't close!"
The prayers dissolved into chaos.
Some fled. Others dropped their swords in terror.
But the silhouette remained silent.
No rage. No triumph.
Only absolute certainty.
It took one step forward.
The ground darkened.
The shadows rippled like an ocean.
Koharu held her breath.
Her knees gave way beneath her.
> "This power…" she whispered.
"Even the gods must be afraid."