Blake saw it.
The shadow was extinguished by a brilliant light.
For one brief moment, the darkness around him was illuminated so completely that he couldn't even see the edges of his own vision.
Then—
Everything returned to darkness.
Blake's expression remained calm.
But inside...
His thoughts were racing.
That shadow...
Was it destroyed?
He didn't even know whose shadow it had been.
The little creature had followed him for so long that Blake had almost started treating it as part of their group.
He hoped it was still alive.
He had no idea why.
Perhaps because something about that strange shadow reminded him of a friend.
Someone he couldn't quite remember.
Before Blake could think further, the Mystic Jade continued moving.
Eventually, the creature reached the center of the enormous citadel.
There...
It placed Blake onto a gigantic stone platform.
Blake felt the cold surface beneath his back.
It looked disturbingly similar to a sacrificial altar.
His body remained bound by the creature's water.
The liquid had hardened around his arms and legs like chains.
Blake didn't struggle.
Not yet.
He slowly opened his eyes.
And froze.
A statue stood directly before him.
It was enormous.
The figure depicted a man wearing magnificent royal robes.
A crown rested upon his head.
But it wasn't an ordinary crown.
The crown was made entirely from stars.
Tiny points of light moved within it as though an entire night sky had been captured and forged into a royal symbol.
In one hand, the statue held a strange scepter.
A half-moon rested at its tip.
Blake stared at the figure.
Something about it made his soul uncomfortable.
Not because the statue looked frightening.
It didn't.
In fact...
It looked majestic.
Like a king who had ruled over countless worlds.
The Mystic Jade slowly lowered Blake onto the altar.
Then turned away.
It walked toward the entrance.
Blake watched it carefully.
The creature left the chamber.
The enormous doors closed behind it.
Silence returned.
Blake waited.
One second.
Two.
Three.
Then he immediately awakened his power.
Dark essence spread through his body.
His eyes sharpened.
He looked around.
"Where am I?"
A familiar voice answered from nearby.
"Bro..."
Blake turned his head.
A dead spirit floated beside the altar.
The spirit looked almost amused.
"I honestly didn't believe you'd make it this far."
Blake raised an eyebrow.
"That's comforting."
The spirit laughed.
"Anyway..."
"It looks like you've reached the Night God Citadel."
Blake's expression changed.
"Night God?"
The spirit pointed toward the enormous statue.
"That guy."
Blake looked back at it.
"The statue?"
The spirit nodded.
"That's Aura Weave."
Blake stared.
Then looked at the statue again.
Then back at the spirit.
"How is something that huge an Aura Weave?"
The spirit shrugged.
"I don't know."
"But I can feel the Aura Weave residing inside that statue."
Blake's expression became serious.
"You can feel it?"
"Yes."
"And..."
The spirit suddenly looked toward the entrance.
"I think the creature is coming back."
Blake immediately closed his eyes.
He returned to his previous position.
His breathing became slow.
His body relaxed.
He pretended to still be unconscious.
A few seconds later—
Footsteps echoed through the chamber.
The Mystic Jade had returned.
Blake remained motionless.
The creature approached the statue.
Then stopped.
For several seconds, nothing happened.
Finally...
The Mystic Jade lowered its enormous head.
And began speaking.
The language was ancient.
Completely unfamiliar.
No human should have been able to understand it.
Yet Blake could.
Every word entered his mind with perfect clarity.
The creature spoke reverently.
"Hail, Night God."
"Godfather of the Shadow God."
"First son of the Death God."
Blake's eyes almost opened.
First son...
The Mystic Jade continued.
"Conqueror of the Light Domain."
"Master of the Underworld."
"Great companion of the deceased Death Princess."
Blake's heart tightened.
One individual.
So many titles.
He had never heard of a being with such a history.
But one title stood above the rest in his mind.
First son of the Death God.
Blake suddenly felt uneasy.
The Mystic Jade lowered itself even further.
Its voice became almost worshipful.
"Great One..."
"Your loyal beast has brought forth the heir of the Death God."
Blake's blood ran cold.
Heir of the Death God?
Me?
His fingers tightened slightly against the altar.
Now he understood why the creature had brought him here.
But another question immediately appeared.
Why did it attack me in the first place?
Didn't it already know about my Flaw?
Didn't it know what I was?
The Mystic Jade continued.
Then it spoke words that made Blake's thoughts stop completely.
"Great One..."
"The Death Princess has returned."
A pause.
The creature's voice became colder.
"For the betrayal she committed in the past..."
"I severed her arms."
"I should have taken more."
"Forgive me for not doing so."
Blake's mind went blank.
Death Princess?
His eyes remained closed.
But his thoughts were moving rapidly.
How does this creature know Ella's true name?
And why is it speaking to a statue like this?
Is the statue actually listening?
Blake slowly realized something.
The Mystic Jade wasn't treating the statue like an ordinary monument.
It was treating it like someone who could hear.
Someone who could answer.
Someone who possessed authority.
Then—
A sound came from the statue.
Crack.
Blake's heart skipped a beat.
The enormous stone figure moved.
At first, it was barely noticeable.
One finger.
Then the head.
Then the shoulders.
Stone began falling from its body.
Cracks spread across the royal robes.
The starry crown flickered.
The half-moon scepter emitted a faint silver glow.
Blake's breathing nearly stopped.
The statue...
Was alive.
The stone covering its body began dissolving.
Piece by piece.
The ancient shell shattered away.
What had looked like a statue was gradually becoming something else.
A human figure emerged from within.
Tall.
Majestic.
Terrifyingly calm.
The starry crown remained above his head.
The half-moon scepter rested in his hand.
His eyes slowly opened.
Blake felt his entire existence freeze.
Darkness descended.
Not ordinary darkness.
This was something deeper.
Something that seemed to exist before light itself.
It spread across the chamber.
Across the altar.
Across Blake's body.
His senses disappeared.
His thoughts became distant.
His soul felt as though it had been submerged beneath an endless night.
Blake wanted to move.
He couldn't.
He wanted to breathe.
Even breathing felt difficult.
The dead spirit beside him had disappeared completely.
The Mystic Jade lowered its head.
It didn't dare look directly at the figure.
And Blake finally understood.
The statue had never been a statue.
It had been a prison.
Or perhaps...
A seal.
A vessel.
A sleeping existence.
And now—
It had awakened.
A voice finally echoed through the darkness.
Calm.
Ancient.
Almost emotionless.
"Death God..."
The figure looked directly at Blake.
"...has finally sent me his heir."
Blake's heart pounded.
The figure slowly raised his half-moon scepter.
The darkness around Blake tightened.
Then the ancient being spoke again.
"Come."
"You have inherited his blood."
"You carry his soul."
"And you possess the power of death."
His star-filled crown shimmered.
"Let me see..."
"...whether you truly deserve to inherit his legacy."
Blake's pupils contracted.
The darkness completely swallowed his vision.
And for the first time since entering the Ashen Cave...
Blake realized something terrifying.
He hadn't been brought here to be killed.
He had been brought here...
to be judged.