Night fell hard, and the forest turned black, shadows thick between trees. Leaves moved a bit, rustling low, cutting the quiet. Moon was up there, weak, stuck in branches, barely hitting the ground.
Way off, something shifted. Fast thing, hard to spot, sliding through trees like it owned them. Air got heavy where it went, weird, not right.
It ran quick, no sound, dodging trunks. Got bigger, blacker as it moved, eating up moon's light. Stopped once, sat on a low branch, still. Something shiny flicked—knife maybe, or an eye. Took off again fast, ripping through like it cut the woods open. Shadows stuck close, dark, hiding what it was.
Trees stopped, fields opened, moon lit them pale. Battlefort stood out there, stone walls catching light. Torches burned along it, fighting cold dark with little fires.
Thing got to field's edge, slowed down. Wings came out, big, and it slid low, quiet. Moon showed it—a crow, black like nothing, wings too wide, heavy somehow. Flew round the fort once, then aimed at a broke wall spot. One hard flap, gone into dark ruins.
That's how it went, night deep, forest still after. Crow was in there now, lost in the fort's shade. Woods didn't care, just sat quiet, shadows thick as ever. Moon kept trying, light weak, stuck up high. Fields stayed empty, fort stood solid, torches spitting flame. Whatever that crow was, it moved like it knew something, fast and sure, leaving nothing behind but dark. Didn't make noise, didn't need to. Just went, and the night took it.
MEANWHILE
The corridor was very dark and smelled bad, like something rotting. A figure came out of the shadows. It was hard to see, but dark lines moved around it. Its blue eyes glowed with smoke and lit up the dark as it walked.
It stopped at a big, heavy door. The door had old marks on it that glowed a little. The figure pushed the door open slowly and went into a room that was all black.
Inside, there was no light, just nothing. In the middle stood a throne. It was cold and broken, with sharp edges. Next to it floated a strange thing made of shadows. The shadows kept moving, like a dark hole that was alive. The figure dropped to its knees in front of the shadow thing. It spoke in a deep voice, full of respect and fear. "Your Majesty… I came to tell you something."
When it spoke, the shadow thing started to change. It pulled all the dark from the room and got bigger. Then it turned into a huge shape, still covered in moving shadows. It sat on the throne, and the room shook because it was so strong. Its face was hidden by the dark, so no one could see its eyes.
The figure stood up. It sounded mad. "Your Majesty! The humans broke the Northern Demon Tower. We can't reach it anymore." It got even madder, and the room felt like it was shaking. "Why do we keep sending those weak bugs to fight the humans? They're useless! Let me send our real army to smash them all!"
Everything went quiet for a long time. Then the big shadow spoke. Its voice was low and slow. "No."
The figure stopped moving. It didn't feel mad anymore, just worried. The big shadow kept talking. "You will wait. If the Martial is still alive, you can't win. He will beat you, like he did before. You're not strong enough yet."
The figure squeezed its hands into fists but didn't say anything.
"For now," the big shadow said slowly, "give them food. Let the humans feel safe. Let them think we're weak. Make them believe they won." The figure looked up. Its blue eyes showed it didn't like this, but it bowed its head again. "As you say, Your Majesty."
It started to talk again, but then a shape flew out of the dark. A crow came into the room. Its wings moved fast, and it landed by the throne. It bowed low to the big shadow. The big shadow flickered a little and looked at the crow. "Kaya," it said in a deep voice that filled the room. "Why are you here?"
The crow, Kaya, lifted its head. Its voice was rough and scary, and it spoke slowly. "Your Majesty… we found it. My master, we found the thing for your arrival."
The big shadow didn't move, just listened. Kaya kept talking, sounding excited in a dark way. "There's a child in the empire with Atlas. This child has a magic core inside. It has enough power to make your body real again, my master."
Kaya's voice got sharp and mean. "It feels like that dirty sorcerer."
When it said "sorcerer," the other figure got stiff, holding back its anger. The big shadow didn't move or say anything. It just sat there, thinking.
The room felt heavy and tense for a while. Then the big shadow spoke. Its voice was cold and strong. "Kaya, go to the Withered Forest. Tell the Ancient Reapers about this child. Take their army and bring the child to the Crimson Tower. Don't mess this up."
Kaya laughed in a creepy way and bowed again. "Yes, Your Majesty," it said in its rough voice. "As you say."
It flapped its wings and flew away into the dark. The laugh got quieter until the room was silent again. The big shadow leaned back on its throne. The darkness around it got thicker and heavier.