Eight years later.
The boy who once trembled at his own magic now stood tall — lean, sharp-eyed, and calm beyond his years. His silver-blue hair brushed against the wind as he swung his wooden practice sword through the air, each motion fluid and precise.
The Ardenthal forest stretched endlessly before him — old trees whispering with life, mana flowing faintly through their roots like glowing veins. Birds sang, leaves rustled, and the sound of the river nearby echoed softly.
Sho lowered his sword and exhaled. "Mana synchronization, ninety percent… breathing stable."
He smiled faintly. "Not bad."
But his mother's words lingered in his mind.
> "Sho, don't go too deep into the forest. The old mana there has been twisted — even your father avoids that side."
He looked toward the darker part of the woods, where the light seemed to fade into shadow.
> Twisted mana… or something she doesn't want me to see?
Curiosity tugged at him — that same quiet pull that had guided him ever since he was reborn.
He adjusted the sword at his side and walked deeper into the forest.
---
At first, it was quiet in a peaceful way. But after a while, the silence changed.
No birds. No rustling. No wind.
Just stillness.
Sho stopped walking. His instincts sharpened — that inner sense he'd trained with his father's combat lessons and his own mana awareness.
> Something's wrong.
The air felt thick, like it was holding its breath.
Sho spread his mana slightly — a faint ripple expanding from his core. It touched the trees, the ground, the air… and then stopped.
Like it had hit something.
His hand went to his sword immediately, eyes narrowing. "Who's there?"
No answer.
Then—
A faint clang.
Metal on metal.
Before he could turn, he felt it — a chill behind him, cold and suffocating.
He spun just in time to see a black figure emerge from the mist.
---
It stood taller than any man he'd ever seen, clad in jet-black armor that drank in the light around it. The plates were jagged, runed with faint red lines pulsing like veins. Its helmet hid its face completely, only two dim crimson lights glowing where eyes should be.
Sho's breath caught. "What… are you?"
The air around it distorted. The ground beneath its feet turned gray, the grass wilting instantly.
Then it moved.
A flash of black steel — a sword slash so fast that the air screamed.
Sho's instincts screamed louder. He twisted his body, barely dodging the strike — the blade slicing the air inches from his neck.
But the shockwave that followed hit him like a hammer.
BOOM!
He was thrown back, crashing through a tree trunk and tumbling across the ground. The world spun, dirt flying everywhere.
Sho groaned, forcing himself to stand. His chest burned. "Tch… even a glancing hit sent me flying…"
He looked up. The Dark Knight stood unmoving, blade resting against its shoulder — silent, patient, like a hunter waiting for its prey to rise.
> Its aura… it's like a void. Not alive, not dead. Just… hollow.
Sho exhaled slowly, centering himself. He could feel his mana reacting to his fear — wild and unstable.
> Calm down. Control first.
He closed his eyes for a heartbeat. The world dulled, and the sound of his pulse aligned with the hum of mana inside him. Silver-blue light flickered faintly around his hands.
> Analyze. Strength far above mine. Speed high. Pattern — single heavy strikes.
He gritted his teeth. "Fine. Let's test this."
---
The knight stepped forward, the ground cracking beneath its weight. Then it charged — faster than before.
Sho thrust out his hand. "〈Mana Burst〉!"
The air exploded with a shockwave of pure mana, throwing dust and debris upward. The knight's blade cut through the blast, but its movement slowed for a split second — enough for Sho to roll aside.
He landed hard, panting. His spell wasn't meant for offense — only for space.
> That bought me two seconds. Think, Sho.
The knight turned again, aura flaring darker. The crimson lines on its armor pulsed violently, like a heartbeat out of rhythm.
Sho's eyes widened. "It's… unstable too?"
The knight raised its blade for another strike — but this time, Sho didn't run. He raised his palm and focused everything on that single heartbeat of connection within his mana.
> Don't fight it. Sync with it.
The mana in the air shimmered — faint silver threads forming between him and the knight.
For a brief instant, he could feel it.
A hollow echo. A sadness.
> …it's not attacking for instinct. It's bound.
"Who did this to you?" he whispered.
The knight froze for half a second — its movements faltering, aura flickering like a dying flame.
Then it roared — not with rage, but agony. The mana around it convulsed, the red veins glowing brighter.
> I hit something.
Sho stepped back quickly, raising his mana shield just in time as the knight's sword came down again, cleaving the ground and sending a wave of black energy across the forest.
The trees behind him split like paper.
---
Sho landed hard, rolling across the dirt, gasping. His mana shield cracked and shattered, leaving only faint silver fragments fading into the air.
He stood again, wobbling but defiant. His heart pounded, his silver aura flickering weakly.
> If this keeps up, I'll die. I can't win head-on. But maybe…
He clenched his fist. "Time to gamble."
He thrust both hands forward, drawing from his mana core — not attacking, but connecting.
Silver-blue threads shot out like rays of light, wrapping around the knight's blade, its armor, its heart.
The black aura clashed violently with his, light and darkness sparking against each other.
"Show me…" Sho hissed, teeth gritted. "What's inside you!"
The knight staggered — and for a brief instant, Sho saw it.
A fragment of a soul, shattered and chained, crying in silence.
Then — the vision broke.
The knight vanished in a burst of black mist, leaving only scorched earth and the echo of its fading scream.
---
Sho fell to his knees, breathing hard, sweat dripping down his temple.
The forest was silent again, but the smell of burnt mana lingered in the air.
He stared at his trembling hands.
"That… wasn't a monster," he muttered. "It was… a person."
Then something flickered before his eyes — faint glowing text only he could see.
---
[System Notification]
> Unknown Entity Dispersed.
Resonance Achieved: 1%
Fragment Memory Detected — Locked.
---
Sho stared at the message, stunned.
"…System?"
But before he could read more, the letters faded — vanishing like mist in sunlight.
The only thing left was the cold breeze and the quiet pulse of his own heartbeat.
---
He looked up at the sky, where clouds slowly moved once more.
> A system… a cursed knight… and something watching me from above.
Sho took a deep breath, his eyes calm again despite his exhaustion.
> This world isn't done testing me yet.