The silence after battle always lingered too long.
Not for Adexander but for the world around him.
Birds didn't return to the trees. Wind didn't move through the ruined fields. The earth itself seemed to listen… in fear.
Velessia wiped dried blood from her cheek, kneeling beside one of the children to check for injuries. "They didn't even bleed right," she muttered, glancing at the twisted corpses of the cultists. "Their bodies… weren't normal."
"They weren't bodies," Raik said grimly. "They were mana puppets. Living graves."
Kaien stared at Adexander, then turned his gaze to the horizon. "That name they said. Ashbreaker. You knew it."
Adexander didn't respond.
Not yet.
Because something else was coming.
The sky began to pulse. Not darken—pulse. Like the world was a heartbeat and someone was clenching it tighter.
Then, from the shadows of a broken temple ahead, a figure stepped out.
Armor forged from night itself.
Eyes like black suns.
And behind him… a trail of withered flowers, each turning to dust in his wake.
Velessia's hand tightened on her staff.
But Adexander lifted his.
"Wait."
The figure stopped at the edge of the cliff above them.
And from the darkness behind him… stepped Igris.
Cloaked. Silent. Alive.
Kaien blinked. "No way"
"Igris," Adexander said, voice low but firm.
The shadow knight knelt instantly.
"My King."
Raik tilted his head. "Took your time, shadow boy."
Igris didn't respond. But for a flicker, Raik could've sworn the shadows curled upward—like a grin.
The armored being beside Igris finally spoke. His voice rumbled like mountains shifting.
"Igris spoke of your return. I came to see if it was true."
Adexander nodded slowly. "And?"
The figure bowed his head.
"…Then the silence is over."
Kaien frowned. "Who is that?"
"An old debt," Adexander replied. "One that's paid in storms, not gold."
Later, by a rebuilt fire, the children finally laughed again—Kaien and Raik taking turns doing impressions of terrified cultists.
Velessia watched the stars. Her hand, unconsciously, reached toward Adexander's. He didn't notice.
Or maybe he pretended not to.
Igris stood guard, unmoving—his blade humming faintly, as if whispering warnings only he could hear.
Naru sat close to Adexander again, but quieter this time.
"Your friend... the knight in black," Naru said.
"He's not my friend," Adexander replied.
"He's more?"
Adexander's eyes glinted in the firelight. "He's my sword. And my silence."
> [System Notice: Shadowbound Guardian: Igris — Reintegrated.]
[Loyalty: Absolute.]
[Ashbreaker Influence: Expanding.]
[Warning: Mortal Vessel Limiter Cracking 13%...]
Far away, beneath the surface of a long-dead continent…
A god chained in salt opened one eye.
And whispered:
"…The Ashbreaker lives."