Page 220 - B. Ing_Antologi Cerpen Xl-6
P. 220
It was against himself.
The battle against the first wave of shadow beasts
had ended — for now. Villages whispered of a lone
swordsman cloaked in dusk, whose shadow fought
alongside him like living ghosts. But deep within Raka, a
quiet storm brewed.
Each time he summoned his shadow clones, he
felt a pull — like something in the darkness called to
him, not with malice, but familiarity.
One night, as he camped near the ruins of a
burned village, the fire flickered unnaturally. The flames
danced in shapes that formed words no voice spoke
aloud.
“Raka. You are not the last.”
He stood, hand on his sword. “Show yourself.”
From the edge of the firelight emerged a figure
— young, wrapped in rags, her eyes gleaming with
shadow. But it wasn’t fear in her gaze. It was recognition.
“My name is Ayu,” she said. “And the shadows
have chosen me, too.”
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