Saint was running. Holding the hilt of her sword in her left hand, her armor still in need of repair. Her condition was less than good, and she could barely put up a fight, yet she moved forward to stop the ruler.

  It wasn't out of a sense of duty or concern for her people. Nor was it entirely out of pragmatism, but rather another feeling hidden by the ruler's will. The call of fate. That almost mystical feeling evoked by her [Fated] attribute was now calling to her.

  She didn't think it was a prudent idea, that was true. But that didn't interest her; she felt it. Just as that titan was susceptible to attacks from the warriors of the underworld, this specific ruler... could very well have been created to be defeated by her.

  Her quick steps soon slowed down, until her legs stopped in front of the entrance to a deep, lightless cave. There, hidden in its depths, a figure moved erratically. Like a ghost, no, like a shadow. Its heavy, palpable presence filled the air, making that inhospitable space its own. But strangely, it didn't have the strength it should have.

  The creature, in human form, letting out moans of pain and confusion, practically crawled in confusion, barely aware of its surroundings.

  She had known the weight of the presence of powerful beings, such as that titan had faced against the army of her own, and she could say with certainty that this sovereign was far weaker; broken.

  The creature, an erratic echo of some being, finally seemed to notice her presence, appearing bewildered for a moment. Finally, murmurs could be heard like the rustling of leaves.

  “No, it wasn’t like that,” her voice was thick with fear and bewilderment. “You are not that young man. The voice, the voice said it would be different. It couldn’t have been wrong, it’s never wrong.”

  His mutterings continued, reciting words incomprehensible to Saint. She even doubted some of them were actually words. But what worried her was that the being in front of her seemed to be losing its shape more and more. Its eyes, crazed but still human, were darkening. Its still murmuring mouth was widening, fangs visible. But above all, spidery legs began to sprout from its back.

  Saint readied herself. She gripped the hilt of her sword tightly and thrust it forward in front of her. Kneeling, she coldly regarded the form of the grotesque, once-human figure and challenged it.

  The creature, whether due to the noise or the challenge, threw itself at her. Space seemed to contract as the shadow's palm approached the statue's unprotected face, but long before the shadow could reach its target, the world vibrated. Shadows moved to warn of danger, while shadows flooded the world with unbridled fury.

  The world, already darkened by the ck of light, was swallowed by absolute bckness. And the shadow of that sovereign soon found itself blind. Only his instinct, one that surpassed the mundane, made him move to find his enemy.

  With an almost bestial fury, his blind eyes scanned every corner of the pce, but everything in that area had become incomprehensible. The floor, once uneven due to the mountainous terrain, was repced by an uneven surface, puddled by an impassive surface of water.

  The pce had no end, as if he were moving in circles, but, above all, there was an oppressive, hostile feeling around him. Once small, it grew more sinister with each passing second.

  The world was surrounded by darkness, cutting off his senses, trying to oppress and weaken him, but its force was too small to be effective. Even so, an invisible presence seemed to stalk him, as if the roles marked by rank had been vioted, making him its prey.

  The royal man, his mouth twisted with anger, twisted into a nasty grimace. Just as he was about to destroy everything around him, the world itself moved. The darkness parted as hundreds of spears hurled themselves at the ruler's silhouette with murderous fury.

  The being ignored them. His fists smmed into the ground, causing the waters to momentarily recede and the floor to shake, but no damage appeared on its surface.

  The shadow spears collided with the sovereign's unprotected skin, but instantly snapped like twigs on concrete. Still, they didn't stop. Like thorns trying to grow beneath the concrete, they branched out, attacking without hesitation.

  The sovereign, finally annoyed by the strange presence, shook off the shadows with ease, but only a second ter, more and more attacks erupted from all directions. Thus, a cycle of endless attacks rained down upon the lost shadow.

  The incessant attacks, initially futile, only served to further enrage the sovereign. But little by little, small scratches appeared on its surface, only to be healed moments ter. It seemed like a stalemate, where neither seemed to have the upper hand. Even so, the sovereign, however crazed and degraded, soon discovered his enemy's position. Running like a fury, he threw himself in the direction of his attacker.

  Darkness tried to slow him down, shadows raised walls, but nothing seemed to stop a being that surpassed the mundane.

  With a mighty impact, the sovereign stood before his attacker. The solitary shadow of a young man, who gred at him with palpable murderous intent. The sovereign hesitated for a moment, overwhelmed by its appearance, for it was not unfamiliar to him.

  "You, you are the one. You are the one the shadow spoke of…"

  He didn't have time to complete the sentence when chains sprang up around him and a shadow sword struck his chest, right where his heart should have existed.

  The chains gave way as if they were made of paper, but to his surprise, the sword burned with fmes and a weight unlike any shadows should have. With a sickening crunch, the sword's tip sank a few inches before the shadow of a very angry ruler swatted it away and responded with a direct blow to the solitary shadow.

  The impact shook the world itself, but incoherently, the shadow only seemed to retreat in a daze. Taking a few steps back, the young man's shadow smiled maliciously before disappearing and attacking like a vulture.

  It was absurd; the rank of that creature was barely awakened, and even if he could tell its soul was far coarser than that of a fallen beast, it shouldn't have endured such an impact. It was incoherent, but the result was still there, along with the wounds he was receiving to his own soul.

  The world itself seemed to respond to the shadow's intent. Darkness swirled, trying to suffocate it and mask the shadow's attacks, while incessant spikes of common shadow emerged to distract its attention. Even worse, hidden among those normal shadows lurked that elusive shadow, empowering his attacks at the st moment.

  Despite them, his enemy was a sovereign and a shadow, not a normal one. His will to survive the abnormal vitality of his own body rendered attacks that could have seriously harmed any other being of his kind fruitless, but the same applied to him.

  Even when he had the opportunity to find his enemy amid the barrage of attacks, his blows seemed to touch not the shadow, but the entire world. The damage was barely perceptible.

  Far from that seemingly eternal battle, the figure of a beautiful stone woman remained unperturbed. Kneeling before her sword, her cold gaze remained calm, but with a hint of devious amusement.

  There was no one around her, no shadows, no darkness, no sound. Only in her soul, where a battle raged like a storm, did chaos fall.