Ascension: Shadow Protocol

Chapter 30: Farewell to the Old Kael

The moon hung low in the sky, its pale light filtering through the shattered windows of the abandoned cathedral. Dust motes danced like spirits in the quiet, broken sanctuary. Ryo stood in the center of the ruined altar, his shadow stretching unnaturally long behind him, pulsing with faint embers of data-driven energy. The transformation had begun.

He clutched the jagged core crystal in his hand — the essence of the First Reaper. The data surge had nearly torn him apart, but it was done. He had absorbed it.

"Protocol Update Complete: Shadow Reaper Form – Stage 1 Unlocked."

The system's voice echoed in his mind, as cold and emotionless as ever, yet somehow… comforting.

Ryo's breath came slow. Controlled. The overwhelming rush of power still buzzed in his veins, but he had learned to brace for it. The boy who once cowered beneath the crushing weight of stronger Hunters was gone. This was the end of that version of himself.

Kael was the name they used for him when he was just a number. A rank. A weakling. A tool.

Now? He was Ryo Kazen — Protocol User. Shadow Sovereign-in-the-making.

Suddenly, footsteps echoed down the cathedral's aisle.

Ryo turned slowly.

It was Elias.

The silver-haired leader of the Protocol Hunter Squad. His eyes, always calculating, held an unfamiliar trace of… sadness?

"So, it's true," Elias said, voice barely above a whisper. "You killed the Reaper. Alone."

Ryo didn't respond. He didn't have to.

"You've become something dangerous."

"No," Ryo replied, stepping down from the altar, each footfall leaving behind faint flickers of shadow. "I've become necessary."

Elias nodded slowly. "Then I suppose this is your farewell."

Ryo looked past him, through the ruined doors, at the city skyline blazing in chaos. Protocol anomalies had begun erupting across zones. Something far worse was coming — and the old Kael, with all his doubts, couldn't face it.

But Ryo could.

"No," Ryo said, clenching his fist, the Reaper's shadow flaring behind him like a cloak. "This is my beginning."

Meanwhile, deep beneath the surface, the Overseer stirred. Data pulses lit the chamber like heartbeats. Monitors buzzed with red alerts.

"Subject 017 has crossed the threshold," a technician reported.

The Overseer's fingers curled around the ancient terminal. "Activate the next phase. The Shadow Sovereign is waking."

End of Act 1: Shadow's Awakening

Act 2: Climb Through Shadows begins next…