When the old man finished speaking, a heavy silence fell over the hall, followed by a collective, faint exhale from the heroes who gradually returned to their seats around the table. It was as if the moment of explosion had passed, yet its residue still lingered in the air. But that woman with the wind cloak remained seated in the center of the hall...
The Union leader sighed. Seeing her like this, he didn't know what to do with her...
His right hand—the one that had stopped Korgami's attack—was trembling violently, and though he tried to make it stop, he couldn't. Even his leg ached terribly. Though he hadn't stopped Korgami with his full strength, the power he'd used to repel Korgami's strike was enough to wipe a village off the map... But Korgami was different now. He wasn't the same as before...
He sighed again and looked at everyone returning to their seats at the table...
As for Korgami, he remained standing motionless in the center of the hall, steadfast as a statue of darkness watching the place with unblinking eyes.
Four servants approached, dressed in uniform attire, carrying massive spatial bags—the kind that relied on internal magical space, covered in protective and stabilizing enchantments. The bags emitted a faint glow, indicating they were filled with something precious... Crystals.
Korgami didn't move but cast a cold glance toward them, then spoke in a voice as faint as a whisper from the depths of an abyss:
"Open them... so I can verify."
One servant trembled and unconsciously stepped back, while the others exchanged glances before all looking toward the Union leader, as if the matter was now beyond their authority.
The wait wasn't long... The Union leader quietly nodded his head, as if giving silent permission.
One servant sighed tensely, and they began opening the bags one by one, revealing their contents.
Crystalline light poured out—white, blue, purple... The stones were of the highest purity, meticulously stacked.
Moments of silence passed... Korgami stared at them without uttering a word, until one hero whispered:
"Are you satisfied?"
But Korgami didn't answer... Only his breathing grew slightly heavier... as if weighing these crystals against something far deeper than wealth.
Suddenly...
Korgami calmly raised his hand. A vortex of darkness opened and swallowed all four bags as if they were mere ashes. Then he said in a low voice carrying a heavy warning:
"Heroes... If you disturb me again, I'll erase your names from history."
He turned slowly, enveloped in darkness like a living cloak moving with his breath, and walked toward the grand exit overlooking thousands of meters of height... the Supreme Union Gate, reserved only for great heroes—a gate from which none who exit can be stopped. But this time, the one who entered had overpowered the Union, and they couldn't even restrain him...
As he approached the edge, preparing to fly... he paused.
He saw something in the distance...
A girl around fifteen stood beside the pathway. Her long black hair swayed in the fierce winds at this extreme height. Her eyes were green like pristine forests, and her hands showed traces of fresh bandages. Her attire... was that of a patient from the Union's central hospital.
Something struck his heart in that moment—a feeling from a distant time... one he hadn't felt in a year...
He wanted to move... to walk toward her...
But the words he'd spoken to her when entering the Union headquarters minutes earlier stopped him.
He'd ended everything back then...
"You're mistaken... Your brother is dead."
He'd said it when she stood among the heroes and asked him:
"You... are my brother... aren't you?"
But he'd refused... refused to open a door he knew would never close again.
He looked at her with tenderness, as if he'd lost her in some war...
He didn't speak... He felt a warmth, a familiarity inside... but he refused to acknowledge it.
Now wasn't the time... It was enough that she was safe... Even if he could never smile again, let her be well.
But his gaze suddenly changed.
His violet eyes ignited when he saw a young man standing behind her.
He appeared around nineteen—blond hair, blue eyes, wearing an official hero's uniform with two stars.
"A sergeant... at this age? A genius..." he thought to himself.
It was Jeff.
Korgami knew who he was... knew he was just an observer assigned by the Union to watch over his family in case chaos erupted.
The illogical part was that the Union knew he'd escaped the Eternal Hell prison, yet... they hadn't moved against his family.
Still... he felt danger approaching.
He was prepared to fight the entire world for them if necessary.
As for Amicia...
She suddenly turned toward him, tears streaming silently.
She'd missed her brother so much...
Ever since he was expelled from Academy C, she'd trained relentlessly just to join the ranks of heroes.
And now she had.
But when he returned... he wasn't the same.
When she stood beside Jeff moments earlier and asked him, he told her:
"Your brother is dead."
When that person entered—the one in the black cloak and mask, accompanied by the four leaders who destroyed City S—
the hero known as "The Gale" had asked her to leave with Jeff.
She hadn't objected.
Though she felt violent explosions inside, lethal auras shaking the surroundings, she stood silently at the edge, the wind tangling her hair.
Jeff remained calm... as always.
He knew who that person was, but he didn't speak.
As if he didn't care.
When she turned toward him, she saw the man who'd told her her brother was dead... looking at her with nostalgic eyes...
As if he'd lost her...
Or lost many things before her... But that gaze didn't last. Because he soon flew away... leaving behind his younger sister...
The one who used to wake him every morning and tease him playfully...
He couldn't express... his feelings. Or perhaps he'd abandoned them—we no longer knew what went through his mind!
But he finally understood... Ragnar's words: *Those who choose darkness must lose those dearest to them... and are destined to suffer.*
Amicia didn't understand why he'd looked at her like that... but she felt something strange, indescribable... She stopped crying and turned away with Jeff, entering the heroes' headquarters... and froze when she saw the hall in chaos...
Utter devastation... When she saw that powerful heroine... still sitting in the center of the hall, her body trembling... as if she'd stared death in the face...
---
**Author's Note:** I apologize—I'm not great at writing drama.
Sadly... hehehe 😉🫵😂 But I'll try to improve my writing...
---
**The Next Day... Midnight**
**In the Garb Mountain region...**
Four imposing figures stood radiating powerful auras...
They observed the world now, unconcerned about being discovered. Their shadow doubles had been delivered to the Union, making them feel they no longer needed to hide in flying castles or the like...
The first leader stepped forward steadily, then turned...
He was called Silver...
A man at least two meters tall... His face was pale with a scar stretching from his forehead near his left gray eye...
He wore a long, slightly tattered black scarf...
And five rings, each bearing a letter of his name...
He spoke in a commanding voice, raising pressure around him:
"Do you truly believe he'll keep his promise? Or is he just giving us false hope?"
Another leader answered...
Martin...
Similar height to Silver, but with white hair streaked with red... His face wasn't pale but natural...
His eyes glowed silver in the surrounding darkness. He wore a similar robe, but with silver trim at the hem...
And a tall, circular hat... No rings. His black boots seemed ordinary, but upon closer look...
You'd notice things like embedded fans at the back and sharp spikes on the soles... as if designed for assassination.
He approached Silver and said in a gruff voice:
"What's the use doubting him now? We've sworn loyalty. Regret changes nothing..."
Silver replied:
"Hmm, you have a point... But if our leader isn't worthy, why remain under his wing?"
But in that instant, a black portal with violet lines appeared in the air, and a figure emerged...
Long black hair... violet eyes with dark rings...
His black cloak billowed violently in the wind...
He looked toward them and unleashed an immense pressure of darkness...
Silver strained against it:
"What is this?! He's far stronger than before! Did his power double?! Impossible! How can someone grow so much in such a short time?!"
"See this, fool? I told you not to doubt him," Martin retorted, struggling to rise.
The figure spoke in an emotionless voice:
"Ragnar... rise now."
A voice saturated with loyalty echoed from the void:
"Your command, my King..."
Suddenly, everything calmed. Shadows gathered from all directions around them. The four leaders watched in awe, unable to comprehend what was happening...
As the shadows fully coalesced, something emerged...
A featureless being—only violet eyes surrounded by pitch darkness, carrying a darkness-pulsing sword on its back...
It radiated crushing pressure, affecting everything...
Then it knelt on one knee...
The four leaders stared in stunned disbelief...
This entity was pure shadow incarnate—created by a single purpose: obedience.
Its pressure was lethal. Its existence defied energy laws. Its kneeling declared loyalty not to a banner... but to one man alone.
A terrible silence fell, broken only by Korgami's steady footsteps.
His aura expanded further, devouring air, light, even doubt.
He stopped at the circle's center, lifted his gaze, and looked at them just once...
A look that made Silver retreat half a step involuntarily. Martin clutched his robe, his heart pounding with unfamiliar fear.
Korgami spoke without inflection, yet his words seared like fire under skin:
"Do you know what angers me most?"
A pause... then:
"Kings being asked to prove their worth... as if the galaxy forgot who we are."
He stepped closer. Air collapsed around him. His face was expressionless, but his voice was a cold blade:
"I didn't return for your loyalty. I came to remind you—you didn't swear to me placing hopes upon me... I crushed you all that day."
"You doubted because your hearts cling to the idea: *A leader cannot err*. But me... I am merely a sin passing like shadows."
He looked skyward, as if etching words into reality's layers:
"You may call me false hope... but I am the last chance before collapse."
"Those who tremble at my shadow... will bow to my step."
"Those who think darkness is weakness... will forget how to open their eyes when I close them forever."
He extended his hand. The shadows behind him took clearer shape... like an entire army awakening beneath his foot.
"I am Korgami..."
"And if you still need proof after all this... You are not followers. You are burdens."