Six months later...
A battered town near the storm-battered shores of the Eastern Coast of the Alcricia Empire stood quietly under a sky choked with grey clouds. Houses lay in ruins, shattered by the relentless tsunamis that plagued the region.
An old man coughed, warning a lone traveler about the dangers of lingering too long.
The traveler, dressed in all black with a cloak fluttering behind him, had long brunette hair tied in a ponytail. His reddish-yellow eyes glinted with silent fury. He flipped the man a single gold Wart.
"What's this for, boy?" the old man asked.
Without a word, the traveler grabbed the man's hair and kicked him in the head. "That's 'sorry.' Never mess with Zeshin again."
The man—Zeshin—vanished down the alley.
What the world didn't know was that Zeshin was Kai, using a false identity to stay hidden.
Zeshin snuck through pirate-controlled territory, making his way to a forbidden entrance marked with the pirate sigil. The air grew heavy with blood—the red-stained sand, the piles of corpses, and the pirates lounging atop them told stories too grim for words.
A man leapt from the corpses. "I'm Ziva, Pirate Commander. This ain't a place for kids. Scram before your shadow gets torn."
Zeshin calmly pulled out a pouch filled with silver coins and tossed it at Ziva's feet. The pirate lunged for it.
CRACK!
Zeshin's boot slammed into his face, sending him sprawling. Blood dripped as Ziva looked up, stunned.
Zeshin retrieved the pouch and walked away.
He reached a fragile wooden shack with a narrow entrance. Kneeling, he entered and found a glowing golden door surrounded by darkness.
He grinned. "Guess I'll be the first to solve the theory of what's inside a black hole. What's more prestigious for an astronaut?"
He stepped through.
Nothing but void. No sound. No light.
THUMP.
Zeshin hit the ground hard, groaning. "If that were a normal door, I'd have a few broken bones."
He stood, brushing off the dust, eyes locking onto a massive, crumbling statue of a forgotten god. As he stepped forward, his foot triggered a loose brick.
The statue slid away.
MONSTERS.
They charged from the opening—eyeless beasts with chains around their limbs, oversized claws, and mouths lined with blade-like teeth.
Zeshin ran for his life, following a narrow path connecting the temple to a distant hill.
One leapt—CRACK—the path shattered. He clung to a jagged rock, hanging over the abyss.
"HELP!" he cried out.
A boy with a mohawk and a long metal bow stood nearby. He had black eyes and a stubborn scowl.
The girl next to him, beautiful and kind-faced, with light brown hair and green eyes, urged him. "Help him, Godir."
Grumbling, Godir did.
Zeshin awoke later on dry ground. He bolted upright, gripping his transformed weapon—now a silver katana with a black hilt and a clover-shaped key charm.
Godir dodged a strike and grinned. "That's how you treat your saviors? I had high expectations, you know."
The girl giggled. "I'm Tessia."
Godir added, "And I'm Godir. What about you, sword boy?"
Zeshin hesitated.
He couldn't use "Kai."
He needed a new name. One that wouldn't betray his past, but would carry the weight of his future.
"…I'm Lucien."
And so, the rising star of a fallen past took a new name—Lucien, the Shadow Blade of the Shore.
End of Chapter 19.