"You lack the skill, the experience, and the instinct to survive," his father says, voice sharp. "You won't make it past your first mission."
But Kage refuses to listen. Still full of youthful optimism, he joins anyway.
Reality hits fast. His training was inadequate. His techniques, laughable. His strength, pathetic.
The Assassin's Guild training facility sits hidden beneath an abandoned temple, its entrance guarded by illusions and traps. Inside, the air is perpetually cold and damp, smelling of sweat, blood, and disinfectant. The training halls echo with grunts of pain, the clash of weapons, and occasionally, screams.
For new recruits, days begin before dawn and end well after midnight. Each morning starts with grueling physical conditioning—running until lungs burn, lifting weights until muscles tear, sparring until bones crack. Afternoons focus on weapons training, from traditional blades to modern firearms. Evenings are dedicated to concept development, the most difficult hours for Kage.
While other recruits manifest increasingly impressive abilities—one creating explosive force with a touch, another manipulating metal with a gesture—Kage struggles to make even the faintest shadow move.
One of the cadre members overseeing recruits takes one look at him and mutters, "You have the same ability as a failed assassin years ago. He was executed for his incompetence."
The weight of the words crushes Kage. That night, humiliated and exhausted, he lies in his barracks and lets the tears fall. Everything his father said was true. He wasn't ready.
Then, a voice interrupts the silence.
"Your grandfather was weak, but he was not dumb."
Kage sits up sharply. In the dim candlelight of the barracks, a tall, handsome man with a symmetrical face and striking red hair stands at the doorway.
Kage stares, uncertain. Is this a cadre member he hadn't seen before, or is he hallucinating from exhaustion? The man's features are impossibly perfect—his face so symmetrical it almost appears artificial, like a living sculpture rather than a human being. His skin possesses an unnatural smoothness, his eyes reflecting the candlelight with an intensity that seems almost luminous.
This can't be real, Kage thinks. No person looks like this. The stranger's presence fills the room with an inexplicable pressure, making the air itself feel heavier, charged with something beyond mana.
"He prayed to the moon every night," the man continues, his voice eerily calm, almost melodic. "Hoping that whoever gained his concept would be strong beyond measure."
Kage watches him, unsure whether to feel threatened or intrigued. "Who are you?" he finally manages to ask, his voice barely above a whisper.
The man smiles. "Pray to the moon, child. Watch your blessings grow."
His gaze lingers on Kage for a moment longer, then—he vanishes. Not through a door or window, but simply ceases to exist, leaving behind only the faint scent of burning wood.
Kage remains frozen, staring at the empty space where the man stood. Was that real? A test from the Guild? Or something else entirely?
Kage stays up that night, staring at the moon.
Weeks pass, and nothing changes. Kage prays, but his abilities remain weak. He struggles in every exercise, constantly berated by the other assassins.
Then, the next phase of training is announced: The Survival Trial.
The Guild elders gather the recruits in the central chamber, an imposing room with stone walls lined with weapons and masks of fallen assassins. Maps of a densely forested area are displayed on large screens.
"This is not a game," the head trainer announces, her voice echoing in the chamber. "This is elimination. Those who survive will continue their training. Those who don't..." She doesn't finish the sentence. She doesn't need to.
The rules are explained in detail:
- Survive alone in the wilderness for a week.
- High-profile targets—criminals and enemies captured by the Guild—will be released into the area.
- If a recruit manages to kill a target, they can take whatever supplies the target has.
- If a target manages to escape the hunting grounds entirely, they earn their freedom from the Guild forever.
- Recruits may also eliminate each other—fewer graduates means more contracts for those who remain.
- No outside weapons or supplies allowed—everything must be foraged or taken from targets or other recruits.
These targets aren't ordinary people. They are skilled fighters, dangerous criminals, and in some cases, former assassins who failed the Guild. They have been kept in Guild dungeons, sometimes for years, specifically for this purpose—to test the mettle of new recruits in real combat scenarios with actual stakes.
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The night before the trial, recruits are allowed one hour to study the terrain maps. Kage memorizes every stream, cliff, and clearing. He knows his physical abilities are mediocre at best, so strategy will be his only advantage.
At dawn, they are transported to the hunting grounds, a remote forest enclosed by invisible barriers maintained by the Guild's barrier specialists. Each recruit is released at a different point. Kage feels the eyes of the trainers watching through hidden cameras and sensors throughout the forest.
The first day, Kage focuses solely on survival—finding water, creating a simple shelter, identifying edible plants. He avoids other recruits, knowing he can't win direct confrontations.
On the second day, he spots his first high-profile target—a middle-aged man with a missing eye, moving with surprising agility through the forest. The man is clearly experienced, checking for traps, moving only during specific hours, and leaving minimal traces.
Kage follows at a distance, studying his patterns. The target has supplies—a backpack that likely contains food, weapons, maybe even communication devices that could help him escape. Kage needs those supplies, but a direct attack would be suicide.
Instead, he waits, tracking the man for hours until he makes camp for the night. The target sets up sophisticated alarm systems—tripwires, bells hidden in bushes, even a perimeter of scented oil that would alert him to anyone crossing it.
Kage watches from a tree, calculating. The man is too skilled to approach directly.
His opportunity comes when he spots a man wandering the woods, looking lost.
Instinct kicks in—Kage lunges from the trees to attack.
Too late, he realizes. It's an illusion.
Ropes tighten around him as a hidden net springs up, yanking him into the air. He's trapped.
Laughter echoes below. Another recruit steps out of the shadows, a smug smirk on his face.
"You fell for the oldest trick in the book," he sneers, drawing back a bow and nocking an arrow. The arrowhead glows as fire begins to burn at its tip.
Kage panics. This isn't a lesson. This isn't training. This is a real fight.
The recruit grins. "You look nervous. Don't worry—I'll make this quick."
The arrow is loosed. It flies toward him—
Kage stares up at the moon and prays.
Something inside him snaps.
A shadow moves. Not just the darkness beneath his feet—but something living, something aware.
The arrow never reaches him. His shadow rises, breaking the flaming projectile mid-air. The net is sliced apart.
Kage drops to the ground, confused. What just happened?
The other recruit stares, his confidence fading. "What... what was that?"
Then, the shadow moves again.
It rises behind Kage, humanoid in shape, standing eerily still before lunging forward. It grabs the recruit by the throat.
The recruit kicks and struggles, eyes wide with terror. Kage watches in shock, frozen in place. I didn't do that.
The shadow tightens its grip. The recruit's gasps turn into choked gurgles.
Kage trembles, staring at his hands. What is happening? I don't want to kill him, I just wanted to not die!
The shadow doesn't stop.
Snap.
The recruit goes limp, his body falling lifelessly to the ground as the shadow fades.
Kage can't breathe.
"Wonderful," a voice murmurs.
Kage whirls around. The red-haired man is standing a few feet away, watching with eerie satisfaction.
In the moonlight, the man's features seem even less human than before. His skin has an almost translucent quality, his red hair moving slightly despite the absence of wind. Kage's mind races. Is he another illusion? A test from the Guild? Or something else entirely?
"You must have been praying as I mentioned," he says smoothly. "The full moon blesses us both, don't you think?"
Kage barely registers his words. His wide eyes remain locked on the body at his feet.
"What... what just happened?" Kage stammers. "I didn't want to kill him. I just wanted to not die!"
The red-haired man tilts his head. His smile never fades.
"To not die is to kill, my child." His voice is calm, unshaken. "What you witnessed is the true nature of your concept. Your grandfather's ability was never merely to step on shadows—it was to control them, to make them extensions of your will."
He gestures to Kage's shadow, which seems to shiver in response. "The shadow is a mere extension of your concept. To step on shadows is to control them. But you..." His eyes gleam with something that makes Kage's blood run cold. "You are blessed with something far greater."
"What do you mean?" Kage asks, his voice trembling.
The man's smile widens. "A gift. From Lucifer himself."
With that, he turns and walks into the darkness, his form seeming to dissolve into the night itself.
Lucifer? The name echoes in Kage's mind, sending waves of cold fear through his body. Stories of the fallen angel, the bringer of sorcery to humanity according to ancient texts—these were tales told to frighten children. Yet something about how the man spoke the name suggested it was no myth.
Kage looks down at his shadow, which now seems to pulse with a life of its own, and feels a deep, primal fear taking root inside him. What is my shadow becoming? What am I becoming?
The Survival Trial continues, and Kage passes flawlessly. Anyone who opposed or ran into Kage died by the hands of his shadow.
- Kage had no control over it.
- Rumors spread throughout the guild, questioning whether Kage cheated or not.
- Kage avoids eye contact with everyone, fearing that even a glance could trigger the shadow to kill.
The targets, too, fell easily. The experienced man with one eye lasted longest, using every trick and trap he knew—but in the end, the shadow found him, engulfing him in darkness until nothing remained but his supplies and a terrified final expression.
By the fifth day, recruits actively fled from Kage's approach. By the sixth, even Guild trainers watched him with wary eyes. No one had ever dominated the Survival Trial so completely, so effortlessly—and so horrifically.
After the Survival Trial, Kage feels colder, as if he is no longer fully human. He begins to feel disconnected from his own body, flinching when his shadow moves, as if it's no longer fully his. The next class begins. The would-be assassins and instructors discuss the next phase of training—until Kage steps into the room.
The entire class goes silent.
- The last person who argued against Kage was killed instantly.
- The air turns heavy, the atmosphere suffocating.
- Even the teachers say nothing.
"Kage, glad for you to join..."
Kage, in a saddened state, pleads softly, "Please... don't talk to me."
- He doesn't look up, terrified that the shadow will kill again.
From afar, the red-haired man watches, his expression unreadable. Then, a faint smile.
"Yes, my child, continue your growth. Lucifer is waiting... Kage."