Before he realized it, one year and seven months had passed, leaving behind far too many events to count one by one.
During that span of time, Gabriel's days were no longer filled only with Shadow Garden matters, family, training, or his role as Ash.
Amid the dense rhythm of his life, he learned to play the piano—slowly but consistently—under Cid's guidance.
It wasn't a passing hobby, but practice repeated without complaint, until, without even noticing, he gained a passive Skill: Pianist.
On another front, the group's dynamics had shifted as well. Eta was now officially Morgan's trainee.
Meanwhile, Morgan's long-desired major project—a castle—had finally entered the construction phase, with its execution entrusted entirely to Eta.
Tonight was one of Gabriel's final nights in the world of Kage no Jitsuryokusha.
Under the moonlight, he sat by the window, sipping warm tea, thin steam rising into the cold night air.
At the moment, he was wearing the role of No Name.
His current location was the Lawless City—specifically the elegant White Tower. The tower had been built by Yukime and served as the headquarters of the Snow Fox Company.
An organization led by Yukime, yet in truth… one that also operated under Gabriel's direction.
But that was not something Shadow Garden knew—that the two organizations were connected.
At least… not yet.
The reason Yukime could recognize Gabriel as her master was simple: Ki. Gabriel never hid it.
To Yukime, it was like a signature that could never be mistaken.
As he slowly set his teacup down, Gabriel let out a soft breath.
A familiar Ki was approaching.
"Yukime," he said calmly without turning. "Your anger hasn't completely faded. And… now there's doubt within it."
The sliding door opened quietly.
Yukime stepped inside and walked until she stood beside Gabriel. The night wind stirred her silver hair, her gaze sharp—though no longer as harsh as before.
"Goshujin-sama," she said, an old habit that still hadn't disappeared.
Gabriel gave a small sigh. "I told you not to call me that."
Yukime ignored the remark and looked out the window alongside him.
"That anger," she said softly, "was once the fuel that kept me alive."
She slowly curled her fingers into a fist.
"But after thinking it over… something feels wrong."
She turned slightly.
"I thought he was the source of everything. But now, there's only one thing I want to know."
Her breath paused for a moment.
"Why did he change?"
Gabriel gave a faint smile.
A calm smile—far too calm for someone holding an answer. "You'll find out eventually," he said shortly.
Yukime turned fully toward him, her brows drawing together. "That tone… it sounds as if you already know."
Gabriel gave a small nod. "I do."
"Then?" Yukime pressed.
"And I won't tell you," Gabriel replied without hesitation.
Silence settled between them.
The night wind blew again, carrying the scent of the Lawless City—ambition, resentment, and secrets yet to surface.
Yukime said nothing more, while Gabriel returned to sipping his tea, as though time were still on his side…
Even though, in truth, it wasn't for much longer.
A moment after the silence, Gabriel spoke in a low, calm voice—yet one that carried hidden meaning.
"Yukime," he said, "on a night beneath the moon, within chaos, the black knight will show you what you seek."
Yukime's eyes widened slightly. She fell quiet—not out of surprise, but because she understood that those words were not spoken at random.
Her thoughts moved quickly, arranging the fragments of meaning woven into the sentence. Night. Moon. Chaos. The black knight. Gabriel never spoke without purpose.
Yukime slowly lowered her head. Her silver hair fell to veil part of her face, her fingers curling faintly into a fist.
Meanwhile, Gabriel set his teacup down on the window ledge. A thin trail of steam still rose from it, lingering as though reluctant to fade.
He then raised his right hand.
Slowly, his body began to disperse. Not breaking apart—but turning into fine grains, like sand carried away by the night wind.
"My time here is almost gone," he said softly, his voice light as the whisper of air. "Yukime. Take care of yourself… until I return."
Yukime turned toward him.
But all she saw was Gabriel's presence fading away. His body dissolved completely into grains of sand, swept off by the wind, vanishing without leaving anything behind.
No trace of mana.
No remnant of existence.
As if Gabriel had never been there at all.
Yukime closed her eyes and tried to sense his Ki. Silence. Total emptiness. No resonance, no echo— not even the shadow of his presence remained.
Several moments passed before she opened her eyes again.
Her hand lifted slightly toward the window, then stopped midair. She drew in a slow breath.
"You always leave like this," she murmured softly.
Her expression was calm, yet her eyes held something deeper. She repeated Gabriel's words in her mind, making sure each one was engraved clearly.
"I understand," she said at last.
Her fingers curled firmly into a fist.
"I will wait."
The night wind drifted in through the open window, stirring the curtains gently.
The room fell silent once more, leaving behind the lingering sense that something important had just passed.
***
Inside a room enclosed by dark brick walls on all sides, dim light hung motionless, casting shadows that clung to every corner.
Gabriel raised his right hand and, with an easy motion, removed his blindfold.
As the cloth came away, beneath the bangs veiling his face, layered geometric rings of the Gigan could be seen—turning slowly without a sound.
The pattern was precise, almost mechanical yet mystical, as if the world itself were being observed and calculated.
"The next stage," Gabriel said calmly, "is your turn, Shadow."
He lowered his hand.
Before him, the space itself seemed to respond.
A system display manifested clearly, projecting a sequence of evaluation results from the missions he had completed.
________________
Mission Title: Kage no Jitsuryokusha ni Naritakute
Difficulty Level: Medium
Participants: 1
Number of Main Missions: 3
Mission One: Obtain DNA from up to one hundred descendants of heroes. The amount of DNA collected will affect the System Evaluation.
Mission Two: Build an Organization with a maximum of Five Main Pillars and Five Hundred Troops. The number of members will affect the System Evaluation.
Mission Three: Acquire 20,000 System Points. The total points collected will affect the System Evaluation.
Time Limit: 3 Years
Penalty: 5,000 System Points deducted for each failed Main Mission.
Reward: Determined after all Main Missions are completed.
________________
[First Mission completed. You successfully collected descendant DNA from seven hundred and twenty different Heroes. Evaluation Result increased significantly.]
[Second Mission completed. You established a secret organization with nine Main Pillars and one thousand two hundred thirty members. Evaluation Result increased drastically.]
[Third Mission failed. 5,000 System Points have been deducted as a penalty. Evaluation Result did not increase.]
[Evaluation Result: S]
Ding!
[The System has detected several factors that may influence the Evaluation Result!]
[Factor One: You completed the B-Rank Side Mission — Goddess' Trial. Evaluation Result increased significantly.]
[Factor Two: You completed the B-Rank Hidden Mission — King of Alexandria. Evaluation Result increased drastically.]
[Factor Three: You completed the A-Rank Hidden Mission — Lord of the Mist Dragon. Evaluation Result increased drastically.
[Final Evaluation Result: EX]
[Rewards: 82,000 System Points, 30 Attribute Points, and 3 Skill Points.]
Seeing the string of notifications, Gabriel's right eyebrow lifted slightly—before a faint smile formed on his lips.
"It's obvious," he said with his eyes closed, his tone calm and filled with absolute certainty. "A Hidden Mission. It must have been triggered."
Though he sounded as if he understood everything, the truth was that Gabriel had only just begun to grasp the basic mechanics behind how Side Missions—and more importantly, Hidden Missions—were triggered.
The key lay in certain Events within the Timeline of another world.
When those Events were carried out by him, instead of by the Main Character who was meant to handle them, that world would automatically generate a new Timeline branch.
At the same time, the system would respond to that deviation, triggering various Missions—including Hidden Missions.
Confident in that conclusion, Gabriel didn't bother opening the notifications containing the detailed explanations of the two Hidden Missions. He skipped past all of it, claiming only the completion rewards.
To him, the explanations were nothing more than formalities.
_________________
> Contract Scroll
Rank: Bronze
Description:
The Herald can form a Master–Servant Contract with Plot Characters who possess Authority Level 4 or lower from worlds you have visited. A Plot Character who becomes a Servant will share Life and Fate with their Master.
If the Herald (Master) dies, the Servant will automatically die as well. However, if the Servant dies, it will not affect the Master, and the Master can revive the Servant using certain Items.
Servants are granted the same access rights as the Master within the Infinity Room.
Price: 80,000 System Points
> Random Item Box
Rank: Silver
Description:
When the Herald opens this Treasure Box, a reward will be generated at random from the Silver Rank tier.
_________________
In his right hand, a scroll materialized from a sphere of light.
Meanwhile, in his left hand was a miniature box—identical in shape to one he had obtained before.
But this time… it was different.
Instead of emitting a bronze aura, the miniature box released a calm silver glow—denser, more refined.
Gabriel shifted his attention to the scroll in his right hand.
"What timing," he murmured. "I was planning to buy this anyway for the next step—summoning Sith."
A faint smile formed on his lips.
"With this," he continued casually, "I can save more System Points. If I'm not mistaken, the total should be around one hundred and twenty thousand now."
__
Author's Note:
Don't forget to drop a power stone, leave a comment, and add it to your favorites.
And yeah… I intentionally skipped the remaining time. We haven't even entered the full arc yet anyway. Hehe~