After the true Igris appeared, Musayuki, Hana, and Jinro gathered in the Hall of Shadow beneath the temple...
They were discussing the source of the energy that had released Igris from the dimensional prison.
Hana (flipping through the grimoire):
"The prison is still sealed... The real Raizen... he couldn't have escaped."
Musayuki (with narrowed eyes):
"Then... who did we face?"
---
Igris slowly raised his head, his voice echoing as if from the depths of dread:
Igris:
"What we faced was Raizen-Ita... the pure version, the false front shown to the world."
"But the real one... still lies underground, beneath seven layers of sin, ruling from the heart of shadows."
---
Hana (shocked):
"People worship him as a pure priest... enlightened and just... Is he the creator of all corrupted shadows?"
Igris:
"Yes... He is the one who tainted the light, using it as a mask to deceive the blind."
---
Musayuki (rising, his tone like embers beneath ash):
"If the one I faced was just a false copy... then the real one is preparing."
"And we... we must reclaim the commanders, one by one."
---
Hana:
"The next commander... is imprisoned in a dimension known as: Kuri-Yama... the Mountain of Sighs."
Igris (with a cryptic smile):
"That is no ordinary commander... He is the strongest of them all... Even I dared not face him alone."
---
Musayuki:
"Who is he?"
---
Hana (whispering):
"He is... Zū-Ken – the Eye of Wrath, and the Broken Sword of Shadows."
---
In another scene, behind the mirrors, the real Raizen appears...
His face disfigured, decaying from within, draped in torn light.
He holds a dark mirror, watching Musayuki through it...
The Real Raizen (his voice soft as forgotten graves):
"Welcome back, my former heir... You will not reclaim them all..."
"For some... now belong to me."
---
End of Chapter Five