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Six years had passed since the forest first swallowed them.
The Abyssais Forest, once filled with deathly silence, now bowed to the five who had conquered it.
No beast dared approach their stronghold, no spirit dared whisper without their leave.
They were no longer children.
They were assassins reborn in the image of the night.
---
The Last Night in the Abyss
Mist hung thick around the ruins of the Vault.
Ryu stood alone on a cliff, staring at the fading moon. The wind played through his silver hair, streaked now with faint lines of black and crimson — traces of the two powers in his veins.
Behind him, footsteps approached.
> "You're awake again," Lyra said softly.
"You haven't slept in three days."
Ryu's voice was low.
> "Sleep… feels like a luxury of peace. And peace is not meant for us."
Lyra stepped beside him, her dark eyes reflecting the forest's pale glow.
> "You sound like your father."
He turned slightly, a faint smirk on his lips.
> "Then maybe I'm finally becoming the leader he wanted me to be."
Lyra hesitated, then asked quietly, "Do you ever think of them? The ones we lost?"
Ryu's gaze hardened. "Every night. That's why I can't rest. Every face I remember… every scream I heard that night…"
He looked up at the crimson moon.
> "They'll all be avenged."
---
The March from the Abyss
By dawn, the five stood before the forest gate — now broken and lifeless.
Their training was complete. The Vault had given all it could.
Kane adjusted his black mantle. "Where do we begin, Ryu?"
Ryu's eyes glowed faintly in the morning mist.
> "With the ruins of our clan. Every piece of shadow we left behind will rise again."
They walked out of the forest — not as wanderers, but as executioners of destiny.
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The City of Thorns
Their journey led them to Tirnvale, a city ruled by corruption — where nobles hunted peasants for sport and assassins were either enslaved or executed.
The perfect place for shadows to bloom.
From the rooftops, Ryu observed the city lights below, eyes cold as winter.
> "This city feeds on blood," Rei said. "Reminds me of home."
Ryu nodded. "Then let's give it new prey."
That night, the city saw death move without sound.
Five shadows tore through the noble quarter — blades flashing, illusions dancing, screams vanishing before they began.
By dawn, five corpses hung from the royal walls — each marked with the Crest of the Reaper, burned into their chests.
The mark was simple: a black flame wrapped around a dagger — the sigil of the lost Assassin Clan.
And beneath it, written in blood:
> "We have returned."
---
The Birth of the New Clan
Rumors spread like wildfire.
Assassins, thieves, mercenaries — all began whispering the same name again.
The Reaper Clan.
In the slums, in taverns, in the underworld — those who had once lived by the blade sought the one who had defied death.
A week later, in the catacombs beneath Tirnvale, hundreds gathered.
Men and women cloaked in shadow knelt before a throne of stone, lit by flickering torches.
Ryu stepped forward, wearing the mantle of black flame, the Crest glowing faintly across his chest. His aura filled the hall — calm, suffocating, divine.
> "Once, we were called traitors," he began, his voice echoing.
"Once, they burned our homes and called it justice."
"But tonight, I name us once more. We are not ghosts of the past."
"We are the hand of vengeance — the blades in the dark."
He drew his dagger, slicing his palm and letting the blood drip onto the stone floor.
The drops hissed, burning like molten fire.
> "By blood, shadow, and flame, I declare the Reaper Clan reborn."
"Swear your loyalty to this mark, and the shadows will make you eternal."
One by one, the assassins came forward.
Each placed their hands on the burning sigil, receiving the mark on their skin — the Crest of Shadow Flame.
Their screams echoed through the catacombs, but none withdrew.
When the ritual ended, hundreds knelt in silence.
And Ryu — now seated upon the stone throne — spoke the words that would shake the world once more.
> "We were hunted once. Now we hunt kings."
"Let the four clans tremble — for the Reaper King has risen."
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The Oath of Five
Later that night, Ryu stood with his four closest comrades at the edge of the city walls. The moon burned red above them — a sign of coming war.
They knelt together, forming a circle of blood and blade.
Each placed their weapon in the center — their symbol of unity.
Kane smiled faintly. "From now on, no gods, no kings… only the Reaper's will."
Rei smirked. "Can't wait to see the Holy Blade Clan's faces when we cut their pride in half."
Lyra looked at Ryu. "And when the world turns its eyes on us?"
Ryu's gaze was distant, cold.
> "Then the world will finally see what it created."
They lifted their weapons together.
The sky rumbled as if answering their vow.
> "We are the Reapers," they said in unison.
"Born in shadow. Forged in flame. Bound by blood."
The wind carried their words across the night — and far away, in royal halls and sacred temples, the powerful felt a chill crawl down their spines.
The forgotten had returned.
And the War of Clans had just begun.