The air in Nox Valley was still thick with dust and the remnants of battle.
Alexander stood in the crater left by his final clash with Reed. His hand still gripped the holy sword, but the light on its blade was beginning to fade.
He took a deep breath.
This battle was over… but he knew it was not.
The shadow that had swallowed Reed earlier had not been death—it had been escape.
And Alexander could not let that happen again.
He turned to the sky, where the previously hidden sun was now beginning to break through the dark clouds.
Light had returned to Nox Valley.
But would it be enough?
Before he could think further—
"Alex!"
A voice called out from afar.
Alexander turned.
There, Bianca and several other knights were running toward him. Their eyes were filled with worry.
Bianca was the first to arrive. Seeing the wounds on Alexander's body, she knelt beside him.
"You're hurt!"
She reached for his hand, examining the blackened wounds on his chest and arms.
Alexander shook his head.
"I'm fine."
But Bianca frowned.
"You're not 'fine' when you're covered in wounds like this."
She reached for a small pouch on her belt and pulled out a healing potion.
Alexander let her treat his wounds, though his mind was still focused on something else.
Reed.
The shadow.
And her last words before she disappeared.
"This war has only just begun."
What did she mean?
"Alex."
Alexander turned his head. Bianca looked at him seriously.
"What happened here? We felt the vibrations from far away, and the sky changed so quickly… Are you fighting alone?"
Alexander took a deep breath.
"Reed is here."
Everyone fell silent.
The name still cast a terrifying shadow among the knights of light.
Even Bianca, who was usually full of confidence, looked a little tense.
"And he escaped."
"Escaped?" Bianca repeated the word, as if in disbelief.
"I managed to injure him, but… he has something. A different power. A deeper shadow than before."
Alexander clenched his fists.
"This isn't over yet. He'll be back."
Bianca bit her lip, then looked at Alexander with determination.
"Then, we must prepare."
Alexander nodded.
He knew one thing.
From now on—there was no time to rest.
Meanwhile, far from Nox Valley, in a cave hidden beneath the ground, the darkness still pulsed.
In the middle of a stone chamber filled with black mist, Reed stood gasping for breath.
His robes were torn, his body was covered in wounds, and black blood dripped from his palms.
He stared at his own hands, feeling a pain he had never felt before.
Alexander had almost killed him.
Almost.
But "almost" wasn't enough.
Reed smiled faintly.
"So this is what it feels like to fight the true light… Interesting."
From the shadows around him, another voice emerged.
Flat, cold, powerful.
"You failed."
Reed turned.
Out of the darkness, another figure emerged.
Taller, more terrifying—and far more powerful than he.
His eyes glowed red, filled with something Reed couldn't quite comprehend.
And when he spoke, his voice echoed throughout the cave.
"The time is almost here. We cannot let the light win."
Reed grinned, though his body still ached.
"Don't worry."
He stepped forward, the purple light in his eyes growing sharper.
"I have a plan."
And with that, the shadows moved again.
Night had fallen, enveloping the main fortress of the army of light.
In one of the rooms in the highest tower, Alexander stood in front of a mirror, staring at his reflection.
The wounds on his body had begun to heal after Bianca had tended to him, but there was something that healing potions alone could not fix—the restlessness in his heart.
His fight with Reed had left more than just physical wounds.
The shadow power that Reed had used this time was different, deeper, more terrifying.
And what disturbed him even more—Reed was no longer the only threat.
In the darkness, there was another figure.
Someone that even Reed had bowed to.
"Who is he?"
Alexander clenched his fists.
He knew that if he did not find the answer soon, the next battle could be one he could not win.
A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts.
"Alexander. The Council of Light summons you."
Bianca stood in the doorway with a solemn expression.
Without another word, Alexander grabbed his robe and followed Bianca out.
The Council of Light rarely summoned anyone unless it was of the utmost importance.
And he could guess why.
When they arrived at the main hall, several figures in white robes were already sitting in a circle on stone chairs.
In the center of the room, a ball of light hovered, projecting flickering images—the shadows that covered Nox Valley, Alexander's battle with Reed, and most disturbingly… the mysterious figure that appeared at the end.
"What is this?" Alexander asked.
An old man with a long beard—Grandmaster Alden—stared at him with sharp eyes.
"Someone or something helped Reed escape. We don't know who it is, but its energy is darker than anything we've ever encountered."
"Even darker than Reed?"
Alden nodded.
"The shadows we faced earlier… were just the beginning."
Alexander didn't answer, but his jaw clenched.
He had expected this.
But hearing it directly from the Council of Light made it feel more real.
"What should we do?" Bianca asked.
"Find out who he is." Alden looked at Alexander. "And you, Alexander… you must prepare. Because this war is going to be worse than we ever imagined."
Meanwhile, deep underground, in a place where not even light could reach—
Reed knelt before the mysterious figure who had previously rebuked him.
The shadows around them twisted, pulsating like living creatures.
"I will ask you one more time, Reed."
The figure spoke in a voice that sounded like it came from another dimension.
"Are you ready for the next step?"
Reed looked up.
His eyes glowed purple, but this time there was something different in them.
Not just ambition.
Not just hatred for Alexander.
But absolute faith in something greater than himself.
"Yes."
He stood up.
And at that moment, the shadows around him began to move, enveloping his body.
"Then, let true darkness begin."
And with that—the true war began.