The monastery screamed.
Stone groaned as ancient supports fractured, dust billowing through the archive hall like fog born of the earth itself. Shadowlight orbs flickered wildly, their pale glow stretching and warping as if something unseen clawed at them from beyond.
Hiroto staggered as the tremor passed through him not from the collapse, but from the answer.
Something had heard him.
Not the Sentinel.
Not the Archivist.
Something else.
Goro drew his blade in one smooth motion. "That wasn't the building."
"No," Hiroto agreed, his voice tight. "That was a response."
Masanori looked sharply at him. "From where?"
Hiroto's gaze lifted toward the unseen depths beyond the archive walls. "From somewhere that wasn't supposed to be awake."
Another shockwave rippled through the hall.
One of the pillars cracked, chunks of stone crashing down and shattering at their feet.
"Everyone out!" Goro barked.
They ran.
The Shadow That Knew His Name
They burst into the courtyard just as the monastery's central tower collapsed inward with a deafening roar. Dust and shadow rolled across the ground in choking waves.
Yui cried out as Hiroto pulled her close, shielding her with his body and shadow alike.
When the dust settled, silence followed.
Not peace.
Attention.
The shadows around the monastery stretched unnaturally long, all pointing in the same direction toward the northern tree line.
Goro's grip tightened. "We're not alone."
Hiroto felt it clearly now.
A presence pressing back against his awareness not vast like the Gate, not restrained like the Sentinel.
Focused.
Curious.
Then a voice spoke.
Not inside his head.
But from the shadows themselves.
"You carry it badly," the voice said, amused. "That inheritance."
The shadows peeled away from the trees.
A man stepped forward.
He looked young no older than Hiroto at first glance but his eyes were ancient, pupils rimmed with silver light. His clothing was simple, traveler's garb, yet shadows clung to him like loyal beasts.
Masanori inhaled sharply. "Impossible…"
Goro didn't lower his blade. "Friend of yours?"
The man laughed softly. "Hardly."
His gaze fixed on Hiroto.
"You woke the Archive," he said. "And the Gate stirred."
Hiroto swallowed. "Who are you?"
The man smiled.
"A survivor."
"I thought your kind was gone," Masanori said carefully.
"Most of us are," the man replied. "Those who remained learned not to be seen."
Hiroto's chest tightened. "You're a Warden."
The man tilted his head. "I was."
The shadows around him rippled like water.
"Name," Goro demanded.
"Names are dangerous," the man said lightly. "But you may call me Kageya."
Hiroto felt the name settle oddly like a scar.
"You felt me," Kageya continued, stepping closer. "That means the Archivist marked you."
Hiroto nodded. "It gave me perspective."
Kageya snorted. "That thing always did like riddles."
Masanori's eyes narrowed. "You know the Archivist."
"I helped build it," Kageya said.
Silence crashed down.
Goro muttered, "Of course you did."
Hiroto studied him carefully. "If you're a Warden… why didn't you guard a Gate?"
Kageya's smile faded.
"Because I failed," he said simply.
They moved away from the ruins, settling in a shallow ravine where the ground was firmer. No one sheathed their weapon.
"Say it," Hiroto said. "What happened?"
Kageya stared at the monastery's silhouette for a long moment.
"I chose people over duty," he said. "When the Gate surged, I tried to save a city instead of sealing it."
Hiroto's heart sank.
"And?"
"And the city burned anyway," Kageya replied. "The Gate devoured what I spared."
Yui gasped softly.
"That's why the Wardens fell," Hiroto said quietly. "Not because they lacked strength… but because they hesitated alone."
Kageya looked at him sharply. "You understand too quickly."
"I had help," Hiroto replied. "From mistakes."
Kageya laughed once bitter, approving. "Good."
Masanori crossed his arms. "Then why show yourself now?"
Kageya's gaze hardened.
"Because someone else is moving," he said. "Someone who didn't fail."
Hiroto felt a chill crawl up his spine. "Another Warden?"
"No," Kageya said. "Something worse."
"The Gates were never just doors," Kageya continued. "They were conversations."
Goro frowned. "I don't like where this is going."
"When enough power gathers," Kageya said, "something on the other side learns how to answer."
Hiroto remembered the pressure, the curiosity.
"That thing I felt," he whispered.
Kageya nodded. "A Sovereign."
Masanori's face drained of color. "That name is forbidden."
"For a reason," Kageya said. "Sovereigns aren't mindless shadows. They rule what spills through."
Hiroto clenched his fists. "And one of them woke up."
"Yes," Kageya replied. "Because you spoke."
Hiroto flinched.
"But don't misunderstand," Kageya added. "It would have awakened eventually. You merely accelerated the timetable."
"That's comforting," Goro said dryly.
Kageya's gaze locked onto Hiroto.
"It reached back," he said. "And now it knows you exist."
A Choice Offered, Not Forced
"So what happens now?" Hiroto asked.
Kageya studied him intently. "Now the game changes."
Masanori stiffened. "Explain."
"The clans think the Gates are tools," Kageya said. "The Council thinks they are threats. Both are wrong."
"Then what are they?" Hiroto asked.
"Responsibilities," Kageya replied. "On a scale this world hasn't faced since the Vanished Era."
Hiroto exhaled slowly.
"I won't become a tyrant guarding secrets," he said. "And I won't let cities burn."
Kageya smiled faintly. "Good. Then you might succeed where we failed."
Goro raised an eyebrow. "Might?"
"You'll need help," Kageya said. "Wardens never should have worked alone."
Hiroto's shadow rose, steady and calm.
"Then stand with me," Hiroto said.
Kageya's smile faded.
"I can't," he said quietly. "Not openly."
Disappointment flickered through Hiroto.
"But," Kageya continued, "I can teach you how not to die."
That helped.
Kageya stepped closer, lowering his voice.
"Your shadow answers you because it trusts you," he said. "But trust can break."
Hiroto frowned. "How?"
"When you command without listening," Kageya replied. "When you use shadow as a weapon instead of a language."
Hiroto felt something click.
"The Sentinel didn't obey because I was stronger," he said. "It obeyed because I acknowledged it."
Kageya nodded approvingly. "Exactly."
Masanori watched carefully. "You're turning him into something new."
"No," Kageya said. "I'm reminding him what the Wardens were meant to be."
The ground trembled faintly again far away, distant.
Goro cursed. "That better not be another answer."
Kageya's eyes narrowed. "It's not."
"Then what is it?" Hiroto asked.
"Movement," Kageya said. "The Sovereign's agents."
Hiroto squared his shoulders.
"Then we don't have time."
Kageya met his gaze. "No. You don't."
He stepped back into the shadows, form already beginning to dissolve.
"I'll find you again," he said. "When you're ready for the next truth."
"Wait," Hiroto said. "Will I see you again?"
Kageya smiled sadly.
"If you survive," he said.
Then he was gone.
Silence returned slowly.
Yui clutched Hiroto's arm. "Brother… are we in danger?"
Hiroto looked at her, then at Goro, then at Masanori.
"Yes," he said honestly. "But not alone."
Goro grinned fiercely. "That's my favorite kind."
Masanori exhaled slowly. "The Council must be informed."
"No," Hiroto said. "Not yet."
Masanori studied him. "You're learning."
Hiroto looked toward the horizon, where shadows stretched long even in daylight.
"A Sovereign has noticed me," he said. "That means hiding won't help."
His shadow moved not aggressively, but with purpose.
"If something is reaching into our world," Hiroto continued, "then I'll reach back on my terms."
The road ahead was darker now.
But Hiroto walked it with open eyes.