Published at 9th of November 2026 10:06 am

Chapter CH.3241 Guiding Light

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Shadow remained silent for a long while, looking at the Oracle of Thetis... at Cassia. However, in truth, he did not see her. Instead, his gaze was directed inward, exploring the dark and hollow vastness of his mind. Out there in his mind, countless ruins were hidden in the darkness, their half-forgotten silhouettes revealed vaguely — they were the forlorn memories of his past lives, an endless expanse of suffering and desolation.

But what about this life?

This life of his... what had it been like?

It had been quiet.

At first, he had hidden himself in a dark cave. He met Tatal, and then he lost her. He was full of wrath when the people of the Shadow Tribe sacrificed a human life to him, so he destroyed them. He was empty and lonesome when he encountered Snuggle... Smile of Heaven... and agreed to go on a journey with her. Then, he drove her away and plunged into the darkness of the Shadow Realm.

And now, he was here.

This life of his had been long — far longer than most of his lives — but also strangely empty and uneventful. Most of it had been spent slumbering in the darkness or doing nothing.

But now, he had a choice... quite possibly the most important choice in all his lives. The Oracle offered him solace.

She also offered him death.

But, in truth, the essence of the choice she had given him had nothing to do with either.

Instead, it was a choice between forgetting and remembering.

If Shadow chose to forget, his suffering and exhaustion would be alleviated. If he chose to remember, though, they would only grow heavier, more intolerable... but he would finally have hope. He would receive a chance to learn the reason why he had to endure this harrowing eternity, as well as how to end it.

The Oracle had told him to consider his choice for a couple of days. Initially, Shadow considered doing just that, thinking that he would spend these days agonizing over the decision.

Immediate relief or an uncertain promise of future salvation? Oblivion or remembrance? Solace or struggle?

But instead of leaving, he found himself replying no more than a few seconds after the Oracle had turned her back to him.

"There is no need to wait."

She turned slightly, surprise written clearly on her beautiful face.

Shadow smiled darkly.

"I am ready to choose now."

There was no point in deliberating.

In truth, he did not know what the right decision was. He did not even know how to argue for one choice or the other. His head was empty, and his heart was silent... and he knew that even if she gave him two hundred days to consider the choice instead of just two, nothing would change.

Shadow was confused and uncertain, lost in the dark ruins of his own mind. Perhaps the Oracle was right... maybe he was indeed an incomplete being. And if he was incomplete, having forgotten the very foundation of what made him a person, then how could he hope to build a solid argument for deciding something that important?

He was standing at a crossroads, with no waystone to help him choose the right path. Utterly lost.

So how could he choose?

He could as well let someone else guide him. When Shadow was thinking about what decision to make, he suddenly remembered a chance meeting from long ago... from his days traveling with Smile of Heaven and Noctis.

He remembered the day he met Hope, and his mind traveled back to the conversation he had shared with her.

What was it that the Demon of Desire had told him then?

‘Do not save yourself from sorrow, little shadow.'

Those had been her words.

When Shadow asked Hope how she endured suffering, she answered...

‘I simply suffer.’

What Hope had told him felt oddly relevant to his current dilemma.

So, since Shadow did not know how to choose the right path, he decided to listen to her advice. He chose to let Hope guide him.

The Oracle faced him, an expression of surprise still clear on her face.

She lingered for a while, then asked hesitantly:

“Are you sure?"

Shadow smiled slightly.

"Not at all."

He shook his head, the smile draining from his face, and glanced into the distance. Beyond the windows of the Jade Palace, ash was falling from the sky.

Shadow remained silent for a long while, then sighed.

“But then again, I will never be more sure that I am now."

Far away, the sun was drowning in a raging blizzard. The radiance of the day was dimming, and the darkness of the night was slowly swallowing the world.

He said in a subdued tone:

“When a living being is hurt, it tries to protect its wound. If you burn your hand, you will instinctively draw it close to your body and hunch, trying to shield it from the source of pain... from everything that might touch your wound and exacerbate it, causing you more torment. That is how healing happens."

Shadow's expression turned wistful.

“But what if it's your spirit that has been mauled? Then, like me, you would try to hide yourself from the source of pain — even if it's hidden within you. You would try to hide from yourself."

He sighed.

“That is what I have been doing my entire life — this life, I mean. But no matter how much I tried to protect myself, my spirit would not heal... maybe the wound dealt to it was too grievous. It only festered and ached, becoming a source of rot that has been slowly consuming my entire existence. So... you are right. I have been a fool. I have been a coward, as well, lost to fear for thousands of years."

He glanced at the Oracle, an oddly hurt and vulnerable expression appearing on his face for a brief moment.

Of course, she could not see it.

Shadow took a breath, the words tasting bitter on his tongue.

"But what's wrong with being a coward? Only people who have never been hurt do not fear pain. Those who know agony, though, will want to protect themselves... the wise won't judge them."

Shadow grew quiet, then added in a lower tone:

"There is a difference, of course, between listening to fear and surrendering to it. I chose the latter, so I spent countless years meticulously avoiding the source of my pain. But now, I'm tired of it. I don't want to be lost and wander in the dark anymore. Even if my suffering won't end, I want to know the reason why I'm suffering, at least. Then, I can decide what to do with myself... whether to live or to die, whether to seek oblivion or remember."

Even though his eyes were full of cold bitterness, a corner of his mouth curled upward.

“Even if you lied to me, Lady Cassia... it doesn't matter. I'll know the truth when I remember everything. That way, I'll be able to make the true choice... an informed choice, not a blind one."

The blind seer studied him silently for a long while.

Then, slowly, a hesitant smile illuminated her face.

“So, you choose to remember?"

Shadow nodded.

“I've been avoiding facing myself long enough. It's time to end this."

Shadow smiled faintly, then glanced away with a mournful expression.

"As good a time as any."

He paused for a moment, thinking back on this life of his.

Hesitating.

Wasn't it only natural, to hesitate before thrusting your burned hands into the fire again?

To change your mind?

But something inside of Shadow — perhaps the same feeble, but endlessly tenacious part of him that had cost him Shadow God's mercy — rebelled against retreating from the fearsome flames.

So, he spoke before he could change his mind:

“How do we proceed?"

The Oracle remained motionless for a moment, then slowly raised her hands. With one hand, she covered her right eye. With the other, she pulled the blindfold down, revealing her left eye.

It was a brilliant, compelling shade of blue. Somehow, the Shadow had known that it would be.

She inhaled deeply, as if gathering her strength.

“Just look me in the eye. Then... I will help you remember."

Shadow faced her and did just that.

There was a strange, frightening depth hidden in her black pupil.

Surrounded by a breathtaking expanse of vibrant blue, the black circle seemed deeper and more terrifying than the Abyss.

And before Shadow could reel back, he found himself being swallowed by the eerie abyss hidden in her eyes.

Being entranced by it.

Even as he felt that something about the Oracle's eye was transforming, filling him with an indescribable chill, his mind seemed to drift away into the embrace of sleep... No, into a memory.

A memory of a long-forgotten, unforgettable life.

With a gasp, Shadow remembered.

...In that life, he had been a man who was both incredibly lucky and deeply unfortunate. A man who was meant to die, but persevered through sheer spite.

A mortal man was born in the poisoned slums of a dying megacity, grew up having nothing, but rose to become a demigod.

His name was Sunless, Lost from Light.

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