Chapter 4: The Truth Revealed

The ancient library was a hidden gem within the Shadow Keep, tucked away in a forgotten corner of the fortress. Its entrance was concealed behind a massive stone door, one that Kuro had discovered purely by accident while wandering the halls late at night, unable to sleep.

The door had called to him, a silent whisper in the back of his mind that he couldn’t ignore. And now, as he stood before it, he felt a strange sense of anticipation—a feeling that he was about to uncover something important.

With a deep breath, Kuro pushed the door open and stepped inside.

The library was vast, its walls lined with towering shelves filled with dusty tomes and scrolls. The air was thick with the scent of old parchment and ink, and the only light came from a series of flickering candles scattered throughout the room.

Kuro moved through the rows of shelves, his eyes scanning the titles of the books. Most were written in a language he couldn’t understand, their spines worn and faded from centuries of neglect. But as he ventured deeper into the library, he found a section of books that seemed newer, their pages less yellowed, their bindings intact.

One book in particular caught his eye. It was large and bound in black leather, with a title that sent a shiver down his spine: The Chronicles of the Shadow War.

Kuro pulled the book from the shelf and opened it, his heart pounding as he began to read.

The first few pages were a history of the Shadow Realm, detailing the rise of the demon lords and their conquest of the human world. But as Kuro read on, the tone of the text changed. It became darker, more sinister.

The book spoke of a ritual—a forbidden ceremony performed by the demon lords to bind the soul of a powerful warrior to the Shadow Realm. The ritual required a sacrifice, a human soul, to be fused with the essence of the shadows, creating a being of immense power and loyalty.

Kuro’s blood ran cold as he read the description of the warrior created by the ritual: a shadow samurai, skilled in the arts of darkness, wielding twin katanas of black steel. A warrior who would be known as Kuro.

It was all there, in black and white. His transformation, his new identity—it had all been part of the ritual, a carefully orchestrated plan by the demon lords to create the perfect weapon.

But it was the final passage that shook Kuro to his core.

The book spoke of the true purpose of the ritual: to bind the warrior’s soul to the Shadow Realm, ensuring their loyalty to the demon lords. The warrior would be made to believe they were fighting for a noble cause, but in reality, they were nothing more than a pawn, a tool to be used and discarded when no longer needed.

Kuro’s hands trembled as he closed the book, his mind reeling from the revelations. Everything he had been told, everything he had believed—it was all a lie. He wasn’t a chosen warrior, destined to bring balance to the Shadow Realm. He was a puppet, created and controlled by the demon lords.

A surge of anger and betrayal welled up inside him, threatening to consume him. But beneath the anger, there was a growing resolve.

He wouldn’t let the demon lords control him. He wouldn’t be their puppet, their pawn.

He would find a way to break free from their control, to reclaim his own destiny.

And he would start by confronting the one person who might have answers: Zara.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***