The night in the Kingdom of Sand was unlike any other.
The sky was clear, but the stars seemed dim… as if something were obscuring their light.
The wind, which usually roamed freely across the desert, had grown slow and heavy, as if it held a secret it was unwilling to reveal.
Inside the palace, the atmosphere was even more tense.
The candles scattered along the walls flickered unsteadily, even though the doors and windows were tightly closed.
The guards stood at their posts, but their eyes darted about, as if they sensed they were not alone.
In the throne room…
King Amir sat with his hand on his chin, staring at the table before him.
But what lay before him was not just an ordinary map.
It was a map of the world… but with glowing dots that appeared and disappeared in different places.
Each dot represented an incident… an attack… the emergence of a creature from the shadows.
One of the commanders knelt before him, his voice low:
"My lord… the latest case has been confirmed."
Amir did not look up.
"The location?"
"The North Coast… a small village."
A short silence.
Then Amir said,
"Were there any survivors?"
The commander hesitated for a moment, then said,
"Yes… but they're saying something strange."
Amir slowly raised his eyes.
"Speak."
"They say a young man was there… and he fought using… light."
Silence.
A weight in the air.
Amir stood up slowly, his eyes narrowing.
"Light…"
He moved closer to the map, placing his finger on the dot that had just appeared.
"Five years later…"
"He finally appeared."
He took another step forward, his voice growing colder:
"Salim…"
But he quickly shook his head.
"No… that's not Salim."
He turned to the commander:
"Describe the young man."
"About twenty… dark hair… he wasn't wearing armor… but he carried a sword… that glowed."
Amir closed his eyes for a moment… as if piecing everything together.
Then he said,
"So… the light hasn't died."
He opened his eyes and smiled faintly… but it was a chilling smile.
"It has moved."
At that moment, the hall door slowly opened.
A tall man entered, draped entirely in black.
Half his face was hidden, but his eyes… were not normal.
They were dark… without a sparkle.
He knelt before Amir without a word.
The leader took a step back, his expression changing.
"My lord… will you use—"
Amir interrupted him:
"Yes."
Then he looked at the man.
"How many of you are there now?"
The man slowly raised his head, his voice rough:
"Seven… only."
Amir said calmly,
"That's enough."
Then he added:
"You… are the survivors of the island."
"You are the ones who saw the shadow… and didn't die."
He approached them, looking them in the eye one by one.
"And now… you will prove why you survived."
He stood up straight and raised his voice:
"I declare the Black Squad activated."
Silence fell over the hall.
Even the guards were afraid.
This squad… wasn't just soldiers.
They were people who had returned from the island… but they weren't the same.
It was said that they had lost a part of their humanity…
and gained something else.
Amir pointed to the map.
"Your objective is clear."
"Find this young man."
Then he paused for a moment… and continued:
"And if he truly carries the light…"
"Then don't return without him."
The man in black asked in a low voice:
"Alive… or dead?"
Amir smiled.
"If he's like Salim… he won't die easily."
Then he moved closer to him and said in a lower voice:
"But be sure… he longs for death."
The seven men stood together, then vanished into the shadows, as if they had never been there.
The commander remained standing, uneasy.
"My lord… do you think sending them is a good idea?"
Amir didn't look at him.
"No."
"But it's necessary."
He moved closer to the window and gazed out at the desert.
"If the light returns…"
"The shadow will follow."
Then he whispered:
"And I… will be the first to arrive."
At the same moment…
In the coastal village…
Ryan was still sitting on the beach, looking out at the sea.
The silence had returned… but not really.
The sword beside him still glowed faintly, as if breathing.
"All this… doesn't seem real," he said in a low voice.
Salim, in spirit, stood beside him.
"The truth doesn't care what seems real."
Ryan looked at him:
"How many are there?"
"What?"
"These things… how many are there?"
Salim paused for a moment… then said,
"No one knows."
Then he added,
"But they're not the biggest problem."
Ryan frowned. "There's something worse than this?!"
Salim looked to the horizon… his eyes hardening.
"Yes."
"Those who are still human… but serve the shadows."
Before Ryan could ask more—
The water stirred again.
But this time…
Nothing came out.
Instead…
Deep down…
Several eyes appeared.
Watching him…