The soot-covered sky slowly unveiled itself as the group of six stood before the blackened Furnace, its immense structure like a crown of charred stone in the city's heart. But any awe they might have felt faded quickly as the furnace roared faintly with corrupted energy. Shadowy figures crawled along the walls, like remnants of fear itself made flesh.
It was K who broke the silence, sword resting lightly on his shoulder. "What is this mess, exactly?"
Before anyone could raise a weapon, EJ stepped forward, palm up as if warding off a fight. "Wait. Don't hurt them. They're not enemies. Those people… they used to be villagers. They were cursed."
Harua frowned, blade glinting in the dim light. "Cursed?"
"The furnace was once a celestial flame," EJ continued, eyes locked on the circling shadows. "But now it's become the source of the curse. They're not trying to attack us. They're guarding it... as if bound to it."
Jo and Harua exchanged glances, and without another word, Jo moved with precise elegance, dispatching one shadow with a sweep of his arm. Harua followed, spinning through the gloom, every movement efficient and quiet. Maki watched, momentarily stunned by the coordination between them. He and Taki lifted their swords but hung back.
"You know them?" Taki asked, eyeing EJ. "Wait... we already know K. But I didn't know he was a Shadower?"
EJ lowered his gaze, lips pressed into a thin line. "There's a lot you don't know yet."
Maki clenched his jaw, obviously wanting to press further, but held back. The battle still raged around them.
The shadow flames from their coats shimmered as they fought, their celestial energy burning brighter with each strike. But even so, the city's aura sapped their strength. Every swing of the sword felt heavier, every movement slower. Fighting these cursed villagers wasn't just a battle of might, but a test of resolve.
As if sensing their struggle, K surged forward. With a single sweep, he cut through the thickest cluster of shadows, letting out a frustrated huff. "They're getting stronger."
Suddenly, K paused mid-strike, eyes narrowing at EJ. "Wait a second. Why do you smell like... my grandmother?"
EJ blinked. "Gretha is your grandmother?"
K gave a sharp nod. "Yes."
Taki looked between the two, stunned. "You have Gretha's bloodline? That explains the shadows."
Just as the last of the shadows collapsed under Jo's silent curse spell, Harua strode over to Maki and, without asking, conjured another layer of shadow flame around his coat.
Maki flinched, furious. "I don't need a Shadower's help."
Harua only smirked, arms crossed. "Quite ironic when you're already covered in shadow energy."
Taki snorted at that, but quickly looked away when Maki glared.
EJ stepped between them before things got worse. "Stop. We're on the same side. Gretha asked for their help. These three are her backup."
Jo, who had been crouching by the furnace, finally stood. "There's something under this structure. The curse is being anchored from below. I recognize some of the symbols – this is old magic. Ancient. I need more time to study it."
The others glanced around. The fight was over, but a thick fog of unease remained.
"Let's return to Gretha's," EJ said, brushing off the ash clinging to his coat. "We'll plan our next step there."
Though Harua and Jo were visibly hesitant, their silence wasn't born from fear but instinct, the instinct to follow only one leader: Nicholas. Still, when K gave a single, deliberate nod, they relented. That was all the permission they needed. If K trusted EJ, that was enough for now.
As they trailed behind the group, Harua leaned slightly toward Jo and muttered, "So this is the infamous EJ."
Jo raised a brow but didn't respond immediately. He remembered seeing EJ once – during the raid on Arthur's lair—but there had been no time for pleasantries back then. Just blood, steel, and shadows.
"With that kind of self-righteous aura," Harua continued in a low voice, "no wonder he always ends up in trouble."
K chuckled under his breath, the sound dry and knowing. "Reminds me of someone else we know."
Harua rolled his eyes.
Jo narrowed his gaze at EJ's back as he walked ahead, his coat still glowing faintly from the remnants of shadowflame. "Are we sure they're just old friends?" he murmured.
No one answered, but the silence itself carried weight.
—----
Back in Gretha's warm and flickering cottage, the group gathered around a map spread over the wooden table. Gretha sat by the window, cradling a cup of steaming tea, her tired eyes watching the embers.
"So, you met them," she murmured when K stepped inside.
"You could have told me I had family involved in celestial business," K muttered.
"Would it have changed anything?" Gretha raised an eyebrow. "You still would have gone."
Jo placed a piece of charcoal on the table and began sketching the ruins he saw beneath the furnace. The lines were delicate, precise symbols none of them had seen in their lifetimes.
"These ruins… they're remnants of an old sealing ritual," Jo explained, crouching beside the scorched markings on the floor. "But the seal—someone broke it."
Taki's brows furrowed. "You mean this isn't just a random curse? Someone actually sealed the flame goddess?"
Jo gave a grim nod. "More likely, she sealed herself… or was sealed by her own kind. Either way, something sealed her. And whatever it was, the true curse lies beneath the furnace. That's where it's rooted."
K leaned against the wall, arms folded, eyes sharp. "The shadows are feeding off the fragments of celestial energy. The longer we let this on, the harder it will be to pull the flame from the rot."
Maki, ever restless, paced near the stone archway. "So just undoing the ruins won't be enough?"
"No," Jo replied flatly. "This isn't just some minor spell. It's layered. Twisted. We'll need all six of us—maybe even more to undo the seal,"
Gretha calmly lifted her teacup, sipping as though none of this surprised her. "Then you prepare. You have until tomorrow night. That's when the furnace will pulse again. When it does, the curse will expand. And next time, it won't stop at the city's edge."
EJ stood by Jo, eyes narrowing as he studied the symbols etched into the ground, the same ones Jo had been sketching in his notebook. One of them tugged at a memory. The sharp lines. The broken circle. The intersecting flame patterns. He pointed. "This mark. I've seen it before. Do you know what it is?"
Jo's expression darkened. Slowly, he nodded. "It's an ancient sign. It means Onyx."
A heavy silence settled over the group.
K stiffened. The name stirred something Nicholas had mentioned it more than once, always with caution. It was the reason they had sought Gretha in the first place, because she knew more than any of them.
Taki and Maki exchanged glances. They, too, remembered what Gretha had said earlier: This is the Onyx's doing.
"You came to me for the Onyx, didn't you?" Gretha asked, her eyes resting on her grandson.
K nodded. "Nicholas was looking for answers. About its origins. About its reach."
Gretha stood, setting her cup aside. Her voice was calm, but laced with warning. "Then you will see it for yourself. You'll see what the Onyx truly is... because tomorrow, you won't just fight a curse. You'll face one of its creations."
K looked to his grandmother. "And if we fail?"
Gretha gave a small, sad smile. "Then there will be no city left to save."
—--
They sat cross-legged on the floor, weary bodies pressed against the warmth of old rugs, letting the silence refill their strength. For the celestials, it was more than fatigue, it was the frost of the cursed city, a cold so unnatural that even light could barely escape it. Their breaths steadied, but tension remained.
EJ noticed Maki and Taki exchanging glances, their gazes darting toward him. There was a weight in their eyes, not suspicion, but something more pressing. A question waiting for a confession.
"You knew about K being a Shadower, didn't you?" Taki finally asked, voice low but firm.
"And you knew him personally? That guy you call K?" Maki added, glancing from Taki to EJ, as if trying to piece together something left unsaid.
Taki nodded in confirmation. "We met him once in the mortal realm. There was a case, someone murdered under strange circumstances. We thought it was a simple crime, but it turned out to be a curse. K helped us solve it."
EJ lowered his gaze. He hadn't wanted to talk about it, hadn't even known how. But now that they were all bound to the same mission, facing the same ancient malice, hiding the truth would only bring more harm.
So he spoke.
"I had a childhood friend," EJ began quietly, "His name was Nicholas. We were inseparable, back when the world still made sense. But then... the invasion happened. I thought he died that night."
A silence fell over the room as he continued.
"I moved on. I joined the Celestials. Fought for justice. Fought to stop the same invasion that took everything. And then, on a mission... I saw him again. Alive. Changed. A Shadower."
He looked at each of them, not trying to hide the flicker of pain in his voice.
"That's when I met the three with us now, Jo, Harua, and K. I don't know them personally," he admitted. "But I saw them with Nicholas. They fought beside him, protected him. From that alone, I knew they must be important to him."
His gaze drifted to the shadows dancing on the walls, as if the past played there too.
"I didn't ask questions then. I was still reeling from the fact that he was alive and standing on the other side of everything I thought I understood. But they didn't strike me as enemies. Just... people who made different choices. Just like Nicholas."
Taki's brows furrowed, his expression unreadable.
"And now?" Maki asked.
EJ met her eyes. "Now? They're here. On our side. And if Nicholas trusts them, I have to believe we can, too."