CHAPTER 3: THE SHADOW AND THE SUN
[Scene 1 – Veil Realm: The Abyss Citadel]
The air here didn't move.It watched.
Ryo Kurogane stood at the edge of the Citadel balcony, staring into the endless black ocean beneath him.Each wave shimmered with trapped memories — faces screaming, fading into the mist.
Behind him, cloaked figures knelt.Their leader's voice echoed through the chamber, low and commanding.
"You met him again… didn't you?"
Ryo didn't turn.
"Yes. He's alive."
"And the flame?"
"…Awakening."
A slow, cruel smile spread beneath the leader's mask.
"Then the prophecy holds true. When the Sun burns again, the Shadow must rise to balance it."
Ryo's hand clenched. The dark aura around him pulsed like a heartbeat.
"You want me to kill him."
"No," said the voice. "Not yet. Make him stronger. Let him remember what that flame truly is."
Ryo's eyes glowed scarlet. "And when he does?"
"Then… he'll beg for the darkness."
[Scene 2 – Veil Academy, Training Yard]
Kaen collapsed on the ground, steam rising from his body.Every breath burned. His aura core pulsed violently beneath his ribs.
Rei's voice echoed from above.
"Not bad for a rookie. You lasted thirty seconds longer before losing control."
Kaen groaned. "That's supposed to be a compliment?"
Rei tossed him a towel. "You're improving. But your power still fights you."
Kaen sat up, staring at his hands — faint gold light flickering across his fingertips.
"Feels like there's someone else inside me. When I fight… it's like my soul isn't mine anymore."
Rei nodded. "That's the curse of dual aura. Few can hold both light and void. The last one who tried…"
He paused.
"…was your father."
Kaen's head snapped up. "My what?"
[Scene 3 – Memory Fragment: Fifteen Years Ago]
Flames.Screams.A man holding a baby, standing against a tide of shadows. His aura—pure gold—flickering into black.
"If this flame survives… maybe hope does too."
He placed the infant on the steps of an orphanage, turned, and vanished into the fire.
[Scene 4 – Present Day]
Kaen jolted upright, gasping.Rei sighed. "That memory's sealed deep. The Academy's archives don't speak of him—but the name Arata… once belonged to the Veil Knights."
Kaen stared at his reflection in the training glass. "Then I'll finish what he started."
Rei smirked. "Careful, kid. That fire of yours—might burn more than the shadows."
[Scene 5 – Night: Veil Academy Rooftop]
Kaen sat alone under the city lights, wind tugging at his uniform.The world felt both massive and small.He whispered,
"Ryo… what happened to you?"
Lightning split the clouds.From the corner of his eye—he saw a figure standing at the opposite end of the roof.
Ryo.
"Still chasing light you can't control?"
Kaen stood up, aura flickering.
"Still hiding behind your darkness?"
They faced each other across the rooftop, the city glittering below like a battlefield waiting to begin.
Ryo's expression softened—just for a second.
"You don't understand yet. The flame inside you… it doesn't belong to the world of light."
"Then I'll make it mine," Kaen snapped. "No matter what it takes."
The wind roared.Gold and black fire met shadow and crimson aura — the clash lighting up the Tokyo skyline.
[Scene 6 – Narration]
Two forces born from the same fire.One to protect the light.One to preserve the dark.And between them — the truth waiting in the ashes.
End of Chapter 3: "The Shadow and the Sun."