Agony was the first thing Shadow felt.
Not ordinary pain, but something far deeper and rawer, as though every nerve in his body had been ripped apart and stitched back together incorrectly. His muscles trembled violently beneath him while pressure pounded against the inside of his skull hard enough to make thought itself difficult. Even breathing hurt. Every inhale scraped through his throat like broken glass.
When Shadow finally forced his eyes open, the world tilted violently around him.
White and gray blurred together overhead while snow drifted lazily beyond the mouth of a cave. For several seconds he simply lay there trying to steady himself while fragmented memories clawed their way back into place. Silver storms tearing through the mountains. Astral Mana raging out of control. A massive red-skinned demon wrapped in chains. Claws. Rage. Violence.
Then the voice returned.
'Finally awake.'
The words slid through his mind like poison-coated silk, smug and ancient.
Shadow's jaw tightened immediately as the memory of the mental battle returned all at once. The demon. The chains. The attempted takeover.
He pushed himself upward with visible effort before pain ripped through his chest hard enough to force a sharp breath from him. Glowing runic seals surrounded his body in a faint dome of fading mana while dozens of layered inscriptions pulsed weakly across the frozen stone around him.
Someone had stabilized him.
Shadow didn't need long to figure out who.
'Neto.'
The realization settled quickly as he studied the protective formation surrounding him. The mana woven into the seals felt familiar—controlled, precise, overwhelmingly stable compared to the destruction still lingering faintly in the air around the mountains.
But Neto himself was nowhere in sight.
That alone told Shadow enough.
He was close.
Watching.
Cold wind drifted through the cave entrance carrying the scent of snow and frost-covered stone while silence settled heavily around him. Then another familiar presence shifted near the mouth of the cave.
The fox.
It rested quietly near the entrance with its tail curled around itself while pale golden eyes remained fixed directly on him. Unlike before, the beast no longer looked wary.
It looked concerned.
Shadow stared at it briefly before exhaling slowly and forcing himself into a seated position. Pain still pulsed through every inch of his body, but the storm raging inside him had calmed enough for him to finally examine what remained.
His Astral Core pulsed steadily beneath his sternum, brighter than before yet disturbingly unstable around the edges. Silver mana drifted unevenly through his circulation pathways, but beneath the instability he could feel something else too.
Purity.
The reckless flood of Astral Mana he unleashed during the battle had burned through his body like a forge, tearing apart impurities and tempering his pathways under overwhelming pressure. The process nearly destroyed him, but somehow his body had endured it. He had advanced to the 6th stage of the Awakening Plane.
The Astral Mana felt heavier now, denser and more natural inside his body than before, almost as though resisting it had been part of the problem all along.
But beneath the Astral Core, the demon remained.
Shadow could feel the creature clearly now—an enormous presence sealed deep within him like a chained predator waiting patiently for weakness.
The creature laughed softly inside his head.
'Maybe you're slightly less fragile than I thought.'
Fragments of memory continued surfacing the longer he remained conscious. Mountains collapsing beneath uncontrolled Astral Mana. His own body tearing through the Trial World like a feral beast while the demon fought him for control piece by piece.
Shadow focused inward once more toward the sealed presence buried beneath the Astral Core.
'Who are you really?'
The creature gave an amused snort.
'Still asking questions.'
Shadow's eyes narrowed slightly.
'You tried taking my body.'
'I almost succeeded.'
There was no hesitation in the response. No shame either.
Only amusement.
The fox shifted quietly near the cave entrance while snow continued drifting outside beneath the pale mountain sky.
Shadow leaned carefully back against the cold stone wall behind him while exhaustion settled heavily through his body again.
'You have a name?'
Silence lingered briefly.
Then the demon laughed, a deep shameless sound filled with open arrogance.
'Many.'
Shadow frowned.
'Then give me one.'
The creature sounded almost offended by the demand.
'You speak as though you've earned it.'
'Considering you're trapped inside me, I'd say I've earned something.'
Silence lingered longer this time.
Shadow almost thought the demon would ignore the question entirely.
Then Sigfried laughed softly to himself.
When he finally spoke again, the arrogance remained, but the hostility beneath it had dulled slightly.
'Sigfried.'
Shadow frowned.
'That's your name?'
'One of them,' the demon replied lazily. 'The one most feared, at least.'
'In my time, kingdoms burned at the sound of it.'
The answer came far easier than Shadow expected.
And somewhere deep beneath the arrogance and amusement, Sigfried quietly made a decision.
Force had failed.
For now, patience would serve him better.
Shadow remained silent for a moment before replying flatly.
'Never heard of you.'
Sigfried burst into furious laughter inside his head.
Shadow didn't rest long. The cave offered shelter, but his thoughts were too sharp to allow real sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, fragments of the battle resurfaced—silver storms ripping through the mountains, the demon's claws crashing against him inside the void, the feeling of losing control of his own body piece by piece.
And beneath all of it, Sigfried's laughter remained.
The next morning, Shadow woke to frost caking the cave entrance while cold wind howled through the mountains beyond. Pale wisps of breath drifted from his mouth as he slowly pushed himself upright, muscles still aching from the strain Astral Mana had placed on his body.
The fox was already awake.
It rested near the entrance watching the snowfall outside before glancing back toward Shadow the moment he moved. The creature no longer seemed cautious around him. If anything, the events in the mountains had only made it stay closer.
Shadow still didn't fully understand why.
He stepped outside the cave slowly, boots crunching against frozen stone while the mountain air bit sharply against his skin. The world stretched endlessly around him in white and gray—towering frozen cliffs, jagged ridges buried beneath snow, and distant peaks vanishing into heavy clouds overhead.
The Trial World had changed.
Even now, he could feel it.
The mana throughout the region felt denser than before, colder somehow, as though the mountains themselves had only recently formed. Shadow stared across the frozen landscape while unease settled quietly in his chest.
His rampage had done more damage than he realized.
Shadow rolled his shoulder slowly while Astral Mana pulsed faintly beneath his skin. The power still felt different now—heavier, sharper, less restrained than before the battle.
'Still frightened of your own power?' Sigfried asked mockingly.
'I'm frightened of you.'
The demon laughed openly at that.
'Good. Fear is healthier than confidence. Confidence gets people killed.'