The sun's rays gleamed over the snow-covered peaks of the Silver Mountains, piercing through the icy wind that could cut through bone. Yet Ein climbed onward, unshaken, as if unaware of the biting cold or the harsh gusts that howled around him.
When he left the city of the Reincarnated, he heard a name whispered on the wind—"Silver Shadow."
A name spoken like a legend. They said he was the master of the blade, the king of shadows, the only one whose strike could pierce even a dragon's scale. When his shadow moved, no eye could follow, no heart could react. Ein sought to learn from him.
At last, Ein reached a cave hidden deep within the snowy silence. Its entrance yawned open like the maw of a great beast. Inside, he saw a man seated in silence, dressed in black, hair white as frost. He sat still, as if carved from shadow, eyes closed in deep meditation.
Ein whispered:
— "Are you... the Silver Shadow?"
No answer came. But then, the cave's shadows stirred. When Ein blinked, a blade was already pressed to his throat. So swift. So terrifying. His heart nearly stopped before he could move.
— "You did not come to know me... but to learn from me," the man finally spoke. His voice was like the wind—soft, but sharp as a frozen dagger.
— "Then first, you must defeat me."
And so the trial began.
---
For seven days, Ein trained under the harsh guidance of the Silver Shadow, with no rest, no warmth, no comfort—only the blade and the cold.
At first, he merely struggled to follow the sword's motion. Then, he tried to feel its shadow. But the Silver Shadow's technique, "Shadow Strike," was more than movement. It was spirit.
— "Your sword must not move with your hand, but with your heart," he whispered one night, when Ein collapsed from exhaustion.
Their duels became endless—beneath the moonlight, amidst the snowstorms, across icy cliffs. Ein fell and rose, again and again. In that cycle, he began to discover himself. Though he could not yet match the Silver Shadow's speed, his senses sharpened. His blade began to flow with his breath, his soul, his will. He could read the shadow's path, move before it moved.
At last came the final trial.
They faced each other atop the mountain peak, beneath the silver moon, surrounded by silence and starlight.
Every strike passed like wind. No blood. Only will, instinct, and heart collided.
In that moment, Ein's instincts surged. He reversed the flow of shadow and created his own—"Shadow Blade." His strike clashed with the Silver Shadow's, and lightning split the sky. Time itself seemed to halt.
Then—silence.
The Silver Shadow stood smiling. He lowered his blade and extended his hand.
— "You are no longer a wielder of the blade," he said. "You are the blade itself. This sword is now yours."
He handed Ein the Silver Blade, bestowing upon him the power of shadow, unmatched speed, and the artificial aura of darkness.
> [New Abilities Acquired: Shadow Blade, Silver Speed, Artificial Darkness Aura]
[Level: 82]
---
As Ein descended the mountain, he was no longer the same boy who had once climbed it.
He had not only grown stronger—he had become a true warrior, a master of mind and motion, one who could ignite light within the depths of shadow.
But destiny waits for no one.
For true power... is only the beginning