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Chapter Four: The Shadow That Smiles
Three days passed.
Or at least, that's what Sai believed.
Time felt strange inside the Emberfall temple — sometimes fast, sometimes slow, sometimes reversed altogether. When he tried to sleep, he dreamed of mirrors. When he woke, he couldn't tell if he had truly opened his eyes.
Each morning, he found Max standing in the courtyard, silent, eyes fixed on nothing.
And each night, Sai heard whispers beneath the walls — soft, rhythmic, like a lullaby sung by something without lungs.
On the third night, Sai snapped.
"Enough!" he shouted into the empty hall, slamming his hand against the wall. "I know you're there!"
The air trembled. The whispering stopped.
Then Max's voice, calm and steady: "You're hearing it now, aren't you?"
Sai turned. Max stood by the archway, his form bathed in blue firelight. But his eyes were not human — they were mirrors, reflecting everything and nothing.
"What are they?" Sai demanded. "The voices. The illusions that don't fade."
Max stepped forward slowly. "They are what comes after understanding."
Sai frowned. "After understanding what?"
"That there's something beyond illusion," Max said softly. "Something older. Something that doesn't want to be seen."
Sai's grip tightened on his blade. "You're not making sense!"
"Because you're still thinking like a human," Max replied. "And that… will kill you."
He raised his hand. Instantly, the world fractured.
The temple floor shattered like glass, and they were standing above an ocean of shadow. The stars burned black. Every reflection twisted — showing faces that shouldn't exist.
Sai gasped. "You— you're doing this again!"
"No," Max whispered, his expression unreadable. "They're doing this."
The shadows below rippled. Something vast and eyeless stared up from beneath the surface, its form coiling like smoke. A voice echoed — one that wasn't sound, but thought:
> "Mortal sight… should not reach this far."
Sai stumbled backward. "What— what is that?"
Max didn't answer. He dropped to one knee, bowing slightly toward the ocean of darkness. "The True Veil," he murmured. "The origin of all illusions. The first reflection that ever looked back."
Sai felt his mind reel. "You've been serving it?"
"I've been bound to it," Max said bitterly. "Long before your kind had names for light and shadow."
The ocean surged, and thousands of phantom hands reached upward — whispering Max's name.
Sai's instincts screamed at him to run. But something in him refused. Instead, he planted his sword in the ground and shouted, "If it's a god, why is it hiding in illusions?"
The darkness trembled.
Max looked up sharply. "Sai—!"
But it was too late.
The surface of the shadow cracked open like a mirror, and the thing below rose. It didn't have form — only the suggestion of one. A thousand eyes, a thousand mouths, shifting endlessly.
Sai dropped to one knee as pressure slammed into his mind. His heartbeat stuttered. Every thought felt like it was being rewritten.
> "You seek truth," the voice said, filling his skull. "But truth is the cruelest illusion of all."
Sai screamed as images flooded his mind — every illusion he'd ever created, every fear he'd hidden. His own reflection reached out and smiled.
> "What if you were never real, Sai Fujimoto?" the voice whispered. "What if you were made?"
"No—" Sai gasped, clutching his head. "I— I'm—"
Max grabbed his shoulder, shouting, "Don't listen! It feeds on doubt!"
But the god's laughter thundered across the void. "He already doubts, little shade."
Max's expression hardened. "Then take me instead."
The god paused. The ocean of shadow went still.
Then, slowly, it spoke again.
> "You offer yourself… again?"
"Always," Max said quietly. "That was our bargain."
The voice rumbled, amusement seeping through.
> "You've forgotten the last condition, illusion-binder."
Sai blinked, dazed. "Condition…?"
The shadow god's eyes turned toward him.
> "When your pupil learns your true name… your freedom ends."
Max froze. Sai looked at him in shock. "Your… true name?"
The god began to sink again, laughter echoing. "Remember this moment, little mortal. The veil only thins for those willing to break."
And then it was gone — the ocean collapsing, the temple reforming around them.
Sai fell to his knees, gasping for air. "What— what just happened?"
Max didn't answer. His form flickered slightly, like a fading illusion.
"Max!" Sai grabbed his arm — but his hand passed through it like smoke. "What's happening to you?"
Max's voice was low, almost human again. "The god was right. You're seeing too much. And now the temple itself is rejecting you."
Sai's vision blurred. The walls bent inward, the torches burned blue. The air turned heavy with whispers.
"What do I do?"
Max smiled faintly, eyes tired. "You survive. That's all that ever mattered."
He reached into his chest and drew out a fragment of light — small, pulsing like a heartbeat. He pressed it into Sai's palm.
"This… will anchor you," he said. "It's part of my essence. It'll protect your mind from collapsing."
Sai looked down at the glowing shard. "Why are you helping me?"
"Because…" Max's voice cracked for the first time. "…I don't want another me."
Before Sai could respond, Max's body dissolved into motes of light, scattering like dust into the temple air.
"MAX!" Sai screamed — but only his own echo answered.
Silence returned. The temple was empty. The whispers had stopped.
Sai stood there, trembling, the fragment of light still burning in his hand.
He looked down at it — and for a brief second, saw his reflection inside. Only, it wasn't his reflection anymore.
It was smiling.
And it whispered — Thank you for letting me in.
The shard pulsed once, and Sai's vision went white.
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