Report
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Griffin Scans
Author – Hero of death
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Chapter 2 - The Shadow’s Embrace
The cloak was warm—too warm.
The moment it touched Yoo Ji-Won’s hands, it surged to life. Like liquid shadow, it slithered over his arms, wrapping around his skin. He gasped and tried to tear it off, but it clung to him like it had become part of his flesh.
“What is this?! Get it off!”
Ji-Won shouted, clawing at the dark material.
It didn’t move.
It pulsed.
The hooded man who had given him the cloak only watched, expression unreadable.
“You are not ready yet,” he said calmly.
“What do you mean?” Ji-Won demanded, his voice cracking.
“Only when your body and soul are strong enough can you tame the Shadow of Veil,” the man said.
“Then—and only then—you will wield its true power. You will become the Absolute One. The master of shadows. Able to command them as weapons, breathe life into objects… even raise the dead.”
Ji-Won’s breath hitched.
Then the man’s voice rose with a wild, fanatical edge. His eyes gleamed with reverence—and madness.
“You will become the Shadow God… Dell'Thos!” he screamed, his voice echoing off the stone walls like a divine prophecy.
The name struck Ji-Won like a bolt of cold lightning.
Before he could respond, everyone in the chamber suddenly dropped to their knees. They raised their arms toward him and began chanting in unison—a deep, ancient mantra that made the walls tremble.
“Praise to Deel’Thos… Praise to Deel’Thos…”
The name echoed like thunder.
Ji-Won felt dizzy.
“Deel… Thos?” he muttered. “Is this some kind of cult?”
His thoughts spiraled. Are they trying to create a vessel? Is that what I am to them? A container for their so-called Shadow God?
He wanted to run, scream, anything—but the cloak held him in place like a second skin, still pulsing with unnatural life.
Then the man stepped forward again, arms outstretched.
“Welcome, Yoo Ji-Won,” he proclaimed.
“Welcome… to the Travelers of Darkness.”
The chamber erupted in voices.
“Welcome! Welcome!”
“Praise to Deel’Thos! Praise to Deel’Thos!”
Ji-Won stood at the center of it all, heart pounding, eyes wide.
“Travellers of darkness… what's that?”
Ji-won asked.
“You're not ready yet”
The man said with a deadly voice.
“...”
Ji-won couldn't say anything.
In the darkest corner of the room, something ancient stirred.
No one saw it.
From the deepest shadows, lt began to form—tall, cloaked in darkness, its body like smoke, its face hidden behind a pale white mask. Its presence was cold, yet intoxicating. It laughed quietly to itself, a hoarse and unsettling sound.
“It’s time... it’s time... it began... it began...”
it whispered, over and over, its laughter echoing in the room but nobody could hear its laughter.
And then—it vanished.
Ji-Won barely had time to react before two hooded figures approached him.
“You will rest now,” one of them said. “Come.”
Still in a daze, Ji-Won was taken to a small stone room—bare and cold, with only a bedroll and a dim torch on the wall. Another robed figure followed, placing a wooden bowl and a small piece of bread in front of him.
“Eat. You’ll need strength.”
The food was plain. A watery soup, lukewarm, and a stale chunk of bread.
Ji-Won frowned.
“Is there more?”
The hooded man said nothing.
As Ji-Won slowly began to eat, he noticed the man watching him intensely. There was hunger in his eyes—not just for food, but something deeper. Devotion. Obsession.
“Did… did you eat anything?”
Ji-Won asked hesitantly.
The man lowered his head. “We did not.”
“What do you mean?”
“This is our last food. And it belongs to you.”
Ji-Won stared and asked,
“Why?”
The man’s voice was soft but heavy with belief.
“Food is scarce in this world. The land is dying. Only by awakening the Shadow God will we be saved. That is why we serve. That is why… we wait.”
Ji-Won didn’t answer. He couldn’t. The soup turned bitter in his mouth.
He was no longer just a stranger in another world.
He was their hope.
Their obsession.
Their vessel.
And night in the cult's sanctuary pressed in, heavy with unseen eyes and whispers of a god who may no longer be sleeping.
~~~~~~~~~Chapter End~~~~~~~~~
