---
**[Scene - Ironwood Forest Cabin - Morning Training Ground]**
The trees echoed with the sounds of magic bursts and wind slashes.
Kuro stood watching from the edge of the field as Rei practiced.
His parents, Darkan and Lyra—former top-tier adventurers—stood nearby, assessing her form.
> "Fire Burst!"
> "Wind Slice!"
Rei's attacks hit the target stones with precision—sharp, clean, stable.
Lyra clapped.
> "Perfect control. It's the best I've seen in decades."
Darkan laughed.
> "With skills like that, Rei will shake nations one day!"
Rei smiled softly.
But her eyes shifted to Kuro.
He stood silently, arms crossed.
She walked over slowly.
> "Not training today?"
Kuro shook his head.
> "Already did. You just didn't see it."
She hesitated.
> "Anyway, Kuro-kun... please let me follow you."
Kuro looked at her with his usual unreadable calm.
> "You're already following."
He turned to leave but paused.
> "Don't show your strength again next time. Blend in and forget."
> "You'll be more useful that way."
Rei blinked, then gave a faint smile.
> "Understood, Master."
---
**[Scene - Night - Among the Shadows]**
That evening, Kuro sat alone under the moonlight.
He raised his palm.
A black orb hovered in his hand—sucking in the ambient magical light.
He could feel them.
> *Eyes.*
From the sky, from dark mirrors, from divine thrones.
> *Gods. Demon Lords.*
Watching.
He closed his hand, and the orb shattered with a silent pop.
> "...Enough."
---
**[Cutscene - Demon Territory - The Lords Convene]**
A crimson palace under a black sun.
The four Demon Lords stood in a circle, with the Great Demon Lord on his high throne overlooking them.
A lower minion knelt, shrouded in a black cloak.
> "We've lost all visual links watching the boy, my lords."
> "Even the mirrors just show black, cursed static."
The Eastern Demon Lord roared.
> "He can block even our godly sight? What *is* this boy?"
The Great Demon Lord opened his blood-red eyes.
> "He is more powerful than any mere human."
> "Send spies. Into Ironwood. We must find him."
---
**[Scene - The Gods' Realm – Elmyria's Throne]**
The World Goddess stood over her light pool, troubled.
> "He severed the link."
> "No god can see him now..."
The Fire God trembled.
> "The summoning must be completed faster."
Elmyria nodded, reaching towards a glowing cocoon floating in the air.
Inside—the soul of the second summoned hero, sleeping.
She spread her divine hand.
> "Hero… take this."
> "Flame of Judgment, Sky Blade."
A glowing mark appeared on his chest, forming an incomplete divine weapon.
> "You will wake soon."
> "And then…"
> "You will destroy that shadow."
---
**[Scene - Kuro's House - Secret Room]**
Kuro sat before a black mirror—one that even gods or demons could no longer peer into.
He held a dark dye stone, enhancing illusion magic.
His hair turned black.
His voice echoed in the mirror.
> "This world is like a chessboard."
> "Then I must become the shadow behind the board."
He stood up, fully black-haired. Covered. Cold.
> "Shujin, Master of Shadows... begins now."
---
**[Scene - Year 216 of the Velgrith Federation - Royal Magic Academy of Ironwood - A Few Years Later]**
The magnificent capital city of Valerion shone with golden buildings and stone roads.
Kuro and Rei stood at the Academy's entrance, dressed in black uniforms.
His hair—silver. His demeanor—quiet, almost timid.
Her eyes—gentle, her smile kind.
Two "ordinary" students.
Their luggage rolled in silently.
> "We're childhood friends now, right, Kuro-sama?" Rei whispered.
> "Remember to act like a gentle boy."
Kuro nodded calmly.
> "And the Master must act like someone who doesn't hold the power to shatter continents."
Behind them, Kuro's parents waved goodbye, and Kuro and Rei waved back.
Then they stepped inside.
And so, two monsters entered the hall of humans.
Perfectly hidden.
---
✦ **To be continued...**