The Magic Door
The secret door hidden behind the tapestry in Hayate's chamber felt cold and heavy. It was forged from ancient bronze and sealed not by a lock, but by a faint, humming magical barrier—a clear sign of the Angelic bloodline magic.
Hayate held the small, copper key, his hand trembling slightly. He felt Neshuda's presence behind him—a strong, unwavering wall of absolute devotion and protective resolve.
"This is the real threat, Neshuda," Hayate whispered, his voice low. "Not Qalvetta. This magic. My father sealed this archive for a reason. Once we open this, we start the true war."
"Then let the true war begin, Hayate," Neshuda replied, placing a hand gently on the King's shoulder. "I am ready. I will guard the door. Whatever comes out of the past, I will face it."
Hayate nodded, taking strength from the reflected calm of his Life Anchor. He inserted the copper key.
The key glowed with a soft, warm, white light—the light of the Angelic bloodline. The bronze door hissed, the ancient magic recognizing its master, and then swung inward on silent hinges, revealing a steep, winding staircase plunging into darkness.
A wave of cold, dust-filled air rushed out, carrying the faint, musty scent of ancient paper, forgotten spells, and something else—a thin, almost imperceptible current of spiritual malice.
"The ghoul summoner's influence is here," Hayate murmured, clutching his chest as the reflected malice of the Hidden Clan Leader pierced him. "We need light."
Neshuda immediately drew a small, well-oiled lamp from his pack. The light was small, but it was enough to reveal the endless, winding descent.
The Archive's Keeper
The staircase seemed to go down forever, each step colder than the last. Hayate used his Angelic senses to navigate, feeling the presence of complex magical wards—defenses against intruders, but designed to allow the Angelic bloodline to pass.
Finally, they reached the bottom. The Forbidden Archive was vast—a colossal chamber carved deep beneath the Aurekawa Citadel. Shelves stretched toward the high, black ceiling, packed with millions of scrolls, strange clay tablets, and heavy, leather-bound books, all coated in thick, untouched dust.
As they stepped onto the cold stone floor, a shape detached itself from the shadows. It was a man, ancient and thin, dressed in the faded, ceremonial robes of a forgotten Royal Scribe. He had the unsettlingly calm eyes of a ghost.
"The King has returned to the Archive," the ancient Scribe whispered, his voice dry as parchment. "I have guarded the silence for thirty years. I am the final ward. Only those with the pure-hearted will can seek the truth."
Hayate stepped forward, his charisma gentle and respectful. "I seek the history of the Curse of Reflection, the nature of the seal, and the identity of the one who seeks to break it."
The Scribe gestured to the endless shelves. "The truth is written here, King Hayate. But be warned: the truth is terrifying. It is better for a King to remain ignorant than to know the price of his throne."
The Scribe vanished back into the shadows, leaving Hayate and Neshuda utterly alone in the colossal library of secrets.
The First Scroll: The Seal
Hayate immediately felt the pull of a specific text—a heavy, ancient scroll wrapped in iron wire. It seemed to vibrate with a familiar, dangerous energy.
Neshuda used his master of stealth agility to climb the tall, dusty shelves and retrieve the scroll. He handed it to Hayate, his dark eyes wary.
Hayate carefully unrolled the scroll. It was titled The Chronicle of the Final Days.
He began to read, translating the archaic language of the Angelic bloodline scripts:
The Kingdom of Aurekawa was not built on fertile soil, but on a grave—a prison for the Ancient Darkness. In the time of the First King, the world was ravaged by the Ghouls, creatures of chaos and flesh summoned by dark arts. The world was collapsing, consumed by the shadow.
The First King, guided by the Angels, performed the Great Ritual. He used his own Angelic bloodline essence to forge a mighty Seal, trapping the Ancient Darkness and the Ghoul Lords beneath the earth. The kingdom was built directly above this seal—the Aurekawa Citadel is the capstone.
The ritual saved the world, but it demanded a sacrifice: The Angel King and his entire Bloodline must live in constant, agonizing sensitivity to the corruption they contained. The Seal is anchored to the King's pure-hearted soul. If the King is corrupted by malice or if his heart is broken by absolute abandonment, the Seal will weaken and shatter, releasing the Ancient Darkness upon the world.
Hayate swallowed hard. The curse was not a random misfortune; it was the mechanism of the Seal itself. His kind and pure-hearted nature was the lock.
The Second Text: The Curse's Design
Hayate moved quickly to the next text his Angelic senses guided him to—a heavy stone tablet detailing the maintenance of the Seal.
This tablet explained the true, terrifying purpose of the Curse of Reflection:
The burden of the Seal is too great for one soul. The constant malice and suffering from the imprisoned Darkness would eventually corrupt and break any King, shattering the Seal.
To prevent this failure, the ritual required a spiritual Life Anchor to stabilize the King's soul. This Anchor would share the King's spiritual connection, absorbing and distributing the King's reflected suffering.
The Anchor must possess two impossible qualities: Absolute Loyalty to the King, and the paradoxical soul of a Stray—a person of the earth, outside the corruption of the nobility. A Stray who chose to fight for the King's justice would possess a pure-hearted devotion strong enough to resist the corruption and absorb the King's pain.
The Curse is not a punishment. It is a Divine Protection. It forces the King to trust the Anchor, and it ensures the Anchor must remain close to the King. The price of this protection is the shared agony, but the reward is the stability of the entire world.
Hayate's eyes swam with emotion. He finally understood. The Curse of Reflection was the ultimate defense—a tragic, beautiful mechanism built on the foundation of love and shared sacrifice.
The Final Revelation: The Wolf
Hayate looked at Neshuda, who was standing perfectly still, his dark eyes wide and fixed on the floor. Hayate felt the reflected shock and a deep, agonizing confusion.
Hayate walked over to Neshuda, placing his hand on his Guardian's healed, strong arm.
"Neshuda," Hayate whispered, his voice thick with realization. "The curse… it didn't choose a person. It chose a soul. A stray soul with absolute loyalty."
Hayate pointed to a small, final scroll on the tablet. The Record of the Anchors.
Hayate read the final, defining truth:
Before the King's birth, the spiritual mechanism identifies the perfect Life Anchor—the one soul that will choose the King above all else. When the King is crowned, the curse activates, forcing the bond.
The name of the current Anchor is written here.
Hayate's eyes traced the ancient script: Neshuda, The Wolf of the North.
Neshuda had been chosen by destiny long before he became the stray Royal Guardian. His pure-hearted nature, his master of stealth resilience, and his fierce, untamed loyalty were the precise spiritual traits required to keep the Seal intact.
Neshuda, the boy who hated the nobility and feared his own volatile emotions, was the only one capable of saving the kingdom.
Neshuda slowly looked up, his face a mask of profound, life-altering realization. His eyes, usually guarded and cynical, were raw with a mix of fate, devotion, and devastating acceptance.
"My choice was never my own," Neshuda murmured, his voice barely a breath. "My loyalty was forged not by me, but by magic. My life… was chosen to be your shield."
"No," Hayate insisted, clutching Neshuda's tunic. "The magic chose the type of soul, Neshuda. You are the one who chose to stay. You are the one who faced the pain. You are the one who deeply likes and loves me enough to endure the agony. You chose the fate the Angels offered you."
The reflection was overwhelming: Neshuda's acceptance surged into Hayate, a powerful, calming wave of pure, dedicated purpose. The guilt was gone, replaced by a terrifying, cold resolve.
The Ghoul Summoner's Target
Hayate took the recovered treasury ledgers—the ones they risked their lives for—and placed them on a nearby table, finally understanding their true importance.
"The ghoul summoner, the Hidden Clan Leader who wants to break the seal, didn't care about the gold," Hayate said, his voice hard. "They wanted the kingdom in chaos, and they wanted me isolated and heartbroken. They wanted me to die and shatter the seal. And they knew the best way to do that was to destroy you."
Hayate's Angelic senses guided him to the final text—a brittle, small scroll placed on a pedestal.
The current enemy of the Seal is the Hidden Clan Leader, a master of forbidden arts who seeks to restore the Ancient Darkness. Their goal is the death of the Life Anchor—the Stray—for only the death of the Anchor can break the King's soul and shatter the Seal.
The final, fatal piece of the puzzle was in place. The Hidden Clan Leader's target was not the King. It was Neshuda.
"The true war is simple, Neshuda," Hayate stated, standing tall. "The summoner wants to kill you. If they succeed, the kingdom is lost. We fight for your life."
Neshuda didn't flinch. He grasped Hayate's hand, the small, wooden wolf still warm in his palm.
"Tell me where the Hidden Clan Leader is, Hayate," Neshuda commanded, his dark eyes burning with lethal determination. "I will draw the sword, and I will end them."
The spiritual map glowed on the final text, pointing not to the Citadel, but far north, toward the unstable, decaying ancient temples in the mountains.
"The summoner is operating from the Decaying Shrine of the North," Hayate revealed, his voice steady. "The shrine where the ghoul activity is highest. We leave tonight. We end this war before the Ancient Darkness can rise."