CHAPTER 66: ONLY THE WORTHY ARE TAKEN.

Five down!

The sixth shook violently. He screamed, "Please! I can do it again! I can—"

"You had your chance."

The disciple raised his foot and crushed the assassin’s skull beneath his boot with no hesitation.

Sixth down!

The Shadow Disciple walked through the blood-stained chamber, the echo of his steps, the only sound that remained.

Six had fallen.

Only one remained.

He came to a halt before the last assassin—a trembling boy who looked no older than twenty. His face was pale, eyes were wide with terror, as if the walls themselves were closing in on him.

His hands were still bound, and he backed up until he hit the cold stone behind him.

"I... I didn’t even kill anyone," the boy blurted, voice cracking.

"I swear! I was just following orders. I only watched the others... I didn’t touch a soul."

The Shadow Disciple said nothing at first. His gaze was calm and unreadable.

Then he spoke.

"Do you think that makes you innocent?"

"You entered the circle of darkness. Willingly. You may not have drawn blood, but you stood with those who did."

"Then why did you come up for the contract?"

The disciple stepped forward.

Then, suddenly, he leaned in closer than before.

"Then be reborn."

He lifted his hand and touched two fingers to the boy’s chest.

Suddenly, something strange happened.

A dark symbol began to appear under the boy’s skin, right where the Shadow Disciple had touched him. It spread quickly, like black veins crawling across his chest and arms.

The boy’s eyes grew wide with shock.

He didn’t understand what was happening—but then the pain hit.

He opened his mouth and let out a scream—loud, raw, and filled with fear—like something dark and powerful had been awakened inside his body.

Something old. Something terrifying.

Something he couldn’t control.

(what is wrong with this weird boy? What is happening to him? I didn’t do anything though)

The other assassins had been killed.

This one was different.

He was being changed.

The Shadow Disciple slowly pulled his hand away from the boy’s chest.

The dark veins that had spread across the boy’s body began to fade.

Soon, there was no trace left, just the faint glow of something hidden beneath the surface.

The boy remained kneeling, trembling and breathing hard. Sweat ran down his face. His hands clenched the floor, trying to stay upright.

But he stood calm even though he was feared.

The Shadow Disciple turned, his cloak beginning to sweep behind him as he walked away, ready to leave this one behind.

But then—

A voice broke the silence.

"...It would be an honor... to die by your hand."

The Shadow Disciple froze mid-step.

His head tilted slightly, just enough to show that he had heard.

He didn’t turn around right away. He stood still, as if replaying the boy’s words in his mind.

This wasn’t a plea for mercy.

It wasn’t begging or crying.

It was a calm, sincere request.

One made not in fear—but with acceptance.

Slowly, the Shadow Disciple turned to face him again.

The Shadow Disciple’s eyes narrowed just a little.

Something had changed in his face. For the first time, there was a flicker of hope.

Not anger.

No pity.

Surprise.

He turned back fully and faced the boy again.

(You’re not like the others...) he murmured softly under his breath, almost to himself.

The boy lifted his head slowly. His body still trembled, but something had shifted in his eyes.

Yes, there was fear—but it wasn’t the only thing.

There was willpower.

The strength to face death.

There was submission, not out of weakness, but from accepting the path he had chosen.

And above all, there was acceptance—a calm, quiet readiness to meet his end with honor.

(Most beg for their lives...) the Shadow Disciple thought.

(But you... you ask for death, with dignity. That takes strength.)

Then the Shadow Disciple reached into his cloak and pulled out a small, skill fragment. It pulsed with a dark light—pure, concentrated power in its rawest form.

He held it out.

"This is a fragment of ’Umbra Fang’—a skill forged in the Abyss. Few can handle its madness. But if you survive... you will become something far greater."

The boy stared at it, unsure whether to take it or fear it.

The Shadow Disciple looked down at the boy one last time.

"Complete the task," he said, his voice calm but firm. "Serve in silence. Do not ask questions. Do not seek justice. Just prove that you are worthy. And your reward will be big"

He reached into the folds of his dark cloak and pulled out a strange shard—the skill of fragment.

The energy it gave off was cold and dark, as if it carried a piece of the abyss itself.

Without another word, he dropped the fragment into the boy’s open hand.

The moment it touched his skin, the boy felt a strange chill.

"If you survive its awakening..." the disciple continued, his voice lower now, almost like a warning, "...you will never be the same again."

Then, without waiting for a reply, the Shadow Disciple turned away.

His dark cloak moved around him like smoke. With every step he took, his body became harder to see. Soon, he completely disappeared into the shadows at the edge of the room.

One by one, his footsteps grew quieter—until everything was silent.

The assassin stayed there, kneeling on the cold ground, completely still.

In his palm, the dark fragment continued to glow, sending soft pulses up his arm, like a slow heartbeat.

He stared at it, unsure what to feel.

Had he been spared?

Or had he been claimed?

He didn’t know.

But one thing was clear in his heart:

He no longer belonged to himself.

He now belonged... to the shadow.

Six corpses lay in silence. One had been claimed for something darker.

He turned toward the watching shadows—figures far beyond mortal understanding—and knelt.

"I have cleansed the filth, lord. Their failure will not repeat."

From deep within the Sanctum, a voice answered. It was slow, rumbling, ancient.

"Good. The time draws near. The pieces are moving... And all the heroes around the nations must not live long enough to become what we fear."

The Shadow Disciple bowed his head.

"As you command."