The underground chamber reeked of damp stone and iron. Torches flickered against the walls, their glow struggling to pierce the depth of the shadows. Reiji stood at the center, his eyes locked on the group of masked figures gathered around a worn map etched onto the table. Their voices, sharp and conflicting, echoed across the chamber.
The council of the Forgotten Veil—once unified by secrecy—was breaking apart.
"We cannot continue like this," one of the elders spat, slamming his fist against the table. "Our trust in Shinomiya Reiji was misplaced. He brings war to our doorstep."
"War was already here," another answered coldly. "He is merely the mirror showing us what we refused to face."
Reiji remained silent, but every word cut into him. He could feel the tension like a blade against his throat. Some wanted him as their weapon, others wanted him gone. And beneath it all, the weight of his own past decisions clawed at his conscience.
---
A sudden crash interrupted the argument. The doors to the chamber burst open, and a younger member stumbled in, gasping. His cloak was torn, blood streaking across his arm.
"They've found us…" he choked out. "The Black Sun operatives—they know this place."
The council erupted into chaos.
One figure turned toward Reiji, pointing a trembling finger. "This is because of you! They followed your shadow!"
Reiji clenched his fists. He wanted to deny it, but deep down, he couldn't. Every move he made left ripples, and his enemies had grown skilled at tracking those ripples back to him.
---
The chamber descended into shouting—accusations, fear, betrayal. Then came the silence. A single voice, colder than the rest, cut through.
"If he is truly the cause," the elder in the far corner said, "then the solution is simple. Remove him."
The words hung in the air.
Some nodded. Others looked away, torn between fear and loyalty. Reiji scanned their faces, searching for even one ally, one thread of trust still unbroken. But the silence told him more than words could.
For the first time since joining them, he realized the Forgotten Veil was not united—it never had been. It was fragments bound by convenience, and now those bonds were unraveling.
---
Footsteps echoed in the corridor beyond. The Black Sun had arrived.
Shadows poured into the chamber like a tide—armored assassins moving with mechanical precision. Steel clashed, torches were extinguished, and the room plunged into half-darkness.
Reiji moved instinctively. His blade cut through the first wave, sparks lighting the gloom. He could hear the screams of the council as betrayal turned into slaughter. Some fought. Others fled. A few, Reiji noticed bitterly, used the chaos to strike at him instead of their true enemy.
One masked member lunged at his back. Reiji turned sharply, parrying the strike and driving his blade into the attacker's chest. As the mask fell away, he saw the face of someone who once swore loyalty to him.
"Why…" the man whispered before collapsing.
Reiji froze for a heartbeat, his grip trembling. The battlefield around him blurred. Every enemy felt the same now—ally, foe, traitor.
And in that moment of hesitation, a blade cut across his side.
---
Pain surged, but Reiji forced himself to move. He wasn't fighting for trust anymore—he was fighting to survive.
The chamber walls cracked as explosives detonated. Rubble fell, crushing both Black Sun operatives and council members alike. Reiji leapt through the dust, dragging his injured body toward the exit.
Behind him, the Forgotten Veil tore itself apart, consumed by its own fractures.
---
Outside, the night air was thick with smoke. Reiji staggered against the ruined walls, his vision swimming. He could still hear the clash of steel echoing from within, but the cries of the dying were already fading.
A figure emerged from the shadows—a woman cloaked in black, her mask glinting faintly. Unlike the others, her movements carried no hesitation.
"You survived," she said softly. Her voice was calm, almost… admiring.
Reiji tightened his grip on his blade. "Who are you?"
The woman stepped closer, her mask tilting as though studying him. "Someone who watched your world shatter tonight. You have no allies left, Shinomiya Reiji. Only enemies—and choices."
Her words pierced deeper than her blade could have. For the first time, Reiji understood the true isolation of his path.
He was no longer part of the Veil. No longer trusted.
Alone again—carrying shadows heavier than ever.
---
The night swallowed the ruins of the council chamber. Flames flickered against the collapsing stone, but the trust once built there was gone forever.
And in its place, a new chapter of Reiji's journey began—one where every step would be marked not by loyalty, but by shattered allegiances.