After Shadow was sealed,
Shin descended slowly from the sky.
Dust still drifted through the air.
Bell and the students stood near Lusy, pale and shaken.
“W-What is happening to Sir Zaraf?” Clay asked, his voice barely steady.
Shin’s expression remained calm.
Too calm.
Hussen, however, said nothing.
He wasn’t as shocked as the others.
As if somewhere deep inside…
he had already suspected—
That the person he met at HQ
was not truly Zaraf.
Shin offered a short explanation.
Not the truth.
Just enough of it.
They were ordered back to HQ.
To wait.
Meanwhile, Shin, Bell, and Lusy turned toward another destination.
Inside the prison.
Inside Zaraf.
Beneath the Surface
Zaraf was drowning.
Cold water pressed against him from every side.
Heavy.
Relentless.
He tried to stand—
There was no ground.
He tried to breathe—
Water filled his lungs.
Sound disappeared.
Even his heartbeat felt distant.
Then—
A memory broke through the dark.
Sitara.
Her laugh.
Her warmth.
The promise he made.
“Don’t disappear again, okay?”
His fingers twitched.
His hand clenched.
No.
Not like this.
Not here.
He forced his eyes open.
The darkness resisted.
The water began to thin.
Pressure cracked.
Suddenly—
He was standing.
Back in the dark room.
The beginning.
The origin.
Silence stretched unnaturally long.
He turned slowly.
No door.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
No exit.
No light.
Only walls that felt… familiar.
Then—
A voice echoed from the shadows.
“If you’re looking for the door… you were the one who removed it.”
Zaraf froze.
That voice.
His pulse stuttered.
From the deepest corner, a figure stepped forward.
Shadow.
Wearing his face.
Smiling faintly.
Zaraf lunged forward—
And stopped.
A mirror stood between them.
Thin.
Unbreakable.
He punched it.
Once.
Twice.
The impact echoed.
But the surface didn’t even tremble.
Shadow watched quietly.
“This mirror,” he said, almost gently,
“was created by you.”
Zaraf’s breathing grew heavier.
His chest tightened, as if invisible hands were squeezing it.
“What do you want?” he asked.
Shadow stepped closer.
“I am taking my place.”
A pause.
“As the one who deserves it.”
Zaraf’s eyes flared.
“This is my body.”
His voice cracked slightly.
“Why do you think you deserve it?”
Shadow tilted his head.
“You’re really asking that?”
He smiled.
“You already know.”
He began walking slowly along the edge of the mirror.
“You failed at everything you touched.”
Zaraf’s fists tightened.
“As a student… average.”
“As a son… a disappointment.”
Each word landed carefully.
“As a friend… unreliable.”
Shadow paused.
“And as a lover…”
His smile sharpened.
“Forgettable.”
Something inside Zaraf trembled.
Just slightly.
Shadow noticed.
“You call yourself the owner of this body?”
His tone remained calm. Controlled.
“When it was me who kept it standing under that pressure?”
“When you were collapsing?”
Silence pressed down.
“You hide behind kindness.”
“You hide behind responsibility.”
“You pretend to be strong.”
He stopped directly in front of Zaraf.
Only the mirror separated them.
“But deep down…”
He leaned forward.
“You know the truth.”
Zaraf’s vision blurred.
“You are weak.”
The word echoed longer than it should have.
“Do you really deserve their trust?” Shadow whispered.
“To protect them?”
“To lead them?”
Zaraf opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Shadow’s smile deepened.
“Just give up.”
His palm pressed against the mirror.
“Give me your body.”
His eyes glowed brighter.
“I will become what you always wished you were.”
Then—
His hand passed through.
Zaraf’s pupils shrank.
Cold fingers seized his collar.
And shoved him back.
The room shattered.
He was falling again.
Down.
Into endless dark water.
The last thing he saw—
Was Shadow’s face.
Smiling.
But beneath that smile—
A fracture.
A sadness.
As if the words he spoke were also aimed at himself.
The water swallowed Zaraf.
Yet even as he sank—
His eyes began to glow.
Bright blue.
Steady.
Unyielding.
Shadow’s smile faded.
“…Why are you still resisting?”
The water darkened.
The blue did not.
Outside of prison .
A cloaked figure stood before the sealed prison.
Only his eyes were visible.
Purple.
Calculating.
“Looks like this calamity… needs assistance.”
A thin crack formed across the seal.
Small.
But undeniable.
“Show me how much you can help… us.”
A portal opened.
He stepped through.
Gone.
The prison trembled.
Once.
Twice.
Then violently.
Cracks spread.
With a deafening roar—
It shattered.
Dust burst outward.
Shadow stood in the wreckage.
No smile now.
Only focus.
He raised his hand slowly.
“With this bound contract…”
Light gathered.
“I call you.”
A faint glow formed in his palm.
“My fairy.”
At HQ
A crystal floated before Shin, Bell, and Lusy.
A voice echoed from within.
“A Creator with a second personality…? I have studied the entire history of Creators.”
A long pause.
“There has never been a case like this.”
Shin’s jaw tightened.
Bell stepped forward.
“Grandpa… Fairy King… is there no other way to save him?”
Silence.
Then—
Light flared.
Bell’s body froze.
Her eyes widened.
And she vanished.
Shin’s expression darkened instantly.
“…A summoner’s call.”
“How does he know how to use it?”
Lusy’s voice trembled.
“My prison… it’s broken.”
Shin looked at the crystal.
On the other side—
Someone was staring back.
Shadow’s Side
Light flickered.
Bell stumbled forward.
Her heart pounded violently.
Shadow stood before her.
“You came.”
His voice was soft.
Controlled.
“I never told Zaraf about the summoner’s call,” Bell said, breathing unevenly.
“How do you know about it? And how did you free yourself?”
“I don’t know who helped me,” Shadow replied calmly. “But that doesn’t matter.”
He lifted his hand slightly.
“As for the contract… I read it carefully.”
His smile returned.
“I learned.”
Bell swallowed.
“What do you want?”
“Zaraf is still fighting.”
Hope flickered in her eyes.
“If this continues,” Shadow said gently,
“he might take the body back.”
Her chest lifted.
Shadow’s gaze sharpened.
“But if I am about to lose…”
His voice lowered.
“I will take him with me.”
The air froze.
Bell’s fingers trembled.
“To defeat Shin… I cannot remain in this fragile body.”
He stepped closer.
“So before I kill myself along with him…”
His voice softened.
“Help me split from him.”
Her breath stopped.
Split them?
That possibility had never crossed her mind.
“If you truly want to save someone…” he whispered,
“do it yourself.”
“Don’t wait.”
“You know they won’t help you.”
His eyes darkened.
“They will eliminate me… even if it kills him.”
Her heartbeat grew louder.
“And tell me… where were they when Rough killed your previous Creator?”
The memory hit like a blade.
Waiting.
Praying.
No one came.
Her breathing destabilized.
“This time,” Shadow whispered,
“you don’t have to wait.”
“You can save him.”
He straightened.
“So what will you choose?”
“Save him with your own hands?”
“Or wait for help that may never arrive?”
A pause.
“And if it does…”
His eyes turned cold.
“What do you think they will do?”
Silence stretched.
Bell’s resistance cracked.
The trembling stopped.
Slowly—
She lifted her gaze.
No confusion remained.
No hesitation.
Only cold resolve.
Shadow noticed.
For the first time—
His own expression shifted.
Not victory.
Concern.
Bell looked at him steadily.
And made her decision.
