Chapter 28 – The Silence of Shadows
Balibey brought down the last enemy in the inn with a clean slash of his sword.
Wiping the blood off his blade onto the tunic of a fallen foe, his movements were slow, calculated, and masterful.
After sheathing his sword, he turned his gaze toward Kasım, who was sitting slumped in a corner.
"You alright, Kasım?" he asked briefly.
Kasım lifted his head.
"I'm fine..." he replied, his voice slightly shaky but clear.
With his answer received, Balibey turned his head and called out to Cafer, who was still locked in battle across the room.
"Cafer, I'm done here.
You've only got one left.
Wrap it up.
Or should I lend a hand?"
Cafer spun around with a wide grin on his face.
The thrill of battle was still blazing in his eyes.
"No need, Balibey!
This one's mine!" he shouted, full of energy and glee.
Opposite him stood the young woman — Sabbah's student — still holding her blade, refusing to give in.
What had started as a balanced duel had now clearly tilted in Cafer's favor.
A crooked smile played on his face — a twisted joy from testing his strength, a growing hunger with every strike.
The girl had shifted entirely to defense.
With a sudden move, Cafer drew a dagger from his belt and threw it.
It slid through the air toward her.
Right after, he pulled back Tomris's Bow and fired an arrow.
She deflected the dagger with her short sword,
but the arrow came too fast.
She couldn't escape.
It pierced deeply, between her shoulder and heart.
The young woman staggered back in shock.
Her knees buckled.
Just as she was about to fall,
Cafer drew another dagger
and drove it into her right leg.
She collapsed completely.
Balibey stepped forward and called out to him.
"Don't kill her!
We might learn something."
Cafer turned and gave him a short glance.
His face was serious.
"Shadows never talk, Balibey," he said simply.
And before he even finished speaking,
he pulled back his bow one last time.
This time,
the arrow was aimed at her head.
It flew silently and swiftly.
And struck her skull.
The fight was over.
Still grinning,
Cafer walked slowly through the corpses
toward Balibey.
"Now I'm done," he said, with a faint air of triumph.
Balibey saw the grin on his face and smirked back.
"Cafer...
Sometimes you worry me," he said with teasing tone.
Cafer laughed.
"This is the life I'm used to, Balibey.
Politics and palace affairs — they're your game, not mine."
They shared a brief laugh.
Then both turned to Kasım with renewed seriousness.
Kasım looked at them with concern.
"Shouldn't we hurry?
Don't we need to get to the Sultan?"
Balibey placed a hand gently on his shoulder.
"Don't worry.
Our Sultan will defeat Sabbah," he said with firm confidence.
At that exact moment...
a burst of light shot into the sky from a hidden corner of the back streets.
It was like blue fire —
ripping through the heavens.
All three turned at once.
And then…
the sacred weapons they carried —
Balibey's sword,
Cafer's bow,
Kasım's ring —
all shimmered faintly with a blue glow.
As if reacting to something.
As if responding to a call…
The smiles on Balibey and Cafer's faces vanished.
Without hesitation,
the three of them began to run toward the source of the blue light.
Rounding a corner,
they arrived in the ruins…
There, in the center,
sat Murad in the lotus position,
his eyes closed,
his body soaked in sweat,
and a subtle vibration of unseen power pulsing around him.
Kasım stepped forward.
"My Sultan—" he began,
But Balibey quickly raised his hand.
"Silence.
Don't distract him.
He's undergoing an awakening," he whispered.
And at that moment…
Murad's eyes slowly opened.
His irises, glowing a deep, radiant blue,
looked like a wolf's.
He had completed the awakening.
The Third Awakening.
The threshold he had tried and failed to cross for years
was now behind him.
And in his body surged a new power;
in his soul, a newfound depth.
Lost in thought,
he turned his eyes to the three men standing before him.
He studied them.
Then smiled faintly.
"I see you've finished your work," he said — his voice now heavier, deeper.
Balibey stepped forward from the group,
his chest squared.
"We have, my Sultan.
And you have defeated Sabbah.
And… you've completed your Third Awakening.
Congratulations."
Balibey's words were sure —
as if he fully understood what had happened.
But Cafer and Kasım looked at each other, puzzled.
They had yet to grasp what had truly occurred.
Murad took a deep breath.
He slowly stood up.
Took a few steps forward.
And there, amid the stones,
he saw the black crystal, glimmering.
He bent down
and picked it up.
Staring into the crystal, he muttered,
"There is good in every evil…"
Then he looked up at Balibey.
"Thank you, Balibey," he said.
He walked toward the others.
Looking at all three,
he spoke in a low voice:
"Come.
While we finally eat that meal we missed…"
He turned to Cafer and Kasım.
"…I'll tell you about this power.
It's time."
And with one arm over Cafer's shoulder,
the other over Kasım's,
he embraced them both.
The three of them, in one voice, replied:
"As you command."
And
into the night breeze,
they quietly disappeared.