Part 2
Three days had passed since Yamato and his Heralds emerged from the dungeon.
They traveled only at night, moving through shadows, avoiding open paths—slowly adjusting to the outside air… but above all, to the light.
After eight months in the abyss, Yamato had once believed they might never walk under the sky without feeling rejection.
Now, they moved like nocturnal predators.
The Mist Valley stretched before them like the perfect hideout.
A forgotten place, absent from official maps, cloaked in a perpetual fog that whispered through the trees—like it guarded secrets from lost ages.
They crossed the Whispering Forest without incident. But then, something changed.
The mist grew thicker.
Heavier. As if it breathed.
"We must be close," Yamato said calmly. "Stay alert. Eliminate anything that gets in our way."
Without another word, he stepped into the white veil.
"Tch… this fog is such a pain," Lina growled, swiping it away like cobwebs.
"We'd be better off removing it altogether instead of walking blind," Selka added, her voice serene, her gaze sharp.
Yamato stopped cold.
Tired of wandering in circles.
"Malyss," he ordered without turning. "Clear us a path to the center."
"As you command, Master," the maid replied, bowing with perfect poise.
She and her five attendants stepped forward, raising their arms like synchronized marionettes.
The mist recoiled instantly—drawn into elegant spirals, parting to make way for their master.
They advanced.
Step by step.
Until the truth of the valley was revealed.
A castle.
Weathered.
Crumbled.
Veined with twisted roots and dry moss—as if time had forgotten it… or cursed it to wait.
But the structure still stood.
Not as a ruin.
But as a witness.
Yamato said nothing.
Not yet.
It was Eliza who broke the silence, her voice low, almost nostalgic.
"I remember this place…" she murmured. "It was called Riviera. During the Blood Era, it was a stronghold. Home to werewolves… until they went extinct. Or killed each other off."
Her eyes traced the broken arches and the walls still holding up the sky—as if they bore the weight of centuries of defeat.
"I suppose the mist became their tomb… and their epitaph."
Behind them, Darwin scribbled silently, as always.
"The mist doesn't just hide," he whispered.
"It preserves. This castle… is the core of the valley. The entire magical weather pattern radiates from here. It's a living barrier."
Yamato studied the structure with cold, neutral eyes. Like someone examining an old engine… full of potential.
He didn't care about its history.
He didn't care who built it.
Only what he could turn it into.
"Perfect," he said at last. "It will be our base."
The new sanctuary of the Void had just been claimed.
Yamato raised his hand and his nanobots answered the call.
They buzzed like a silent swarm, pouring from Yamato's fingers and spreading outward like a controlled storm.
They didn't hammer.
They didn't cut.
They shaped.
They surged over the walls, seeped into the cracks, dissolved ancient stone and molded it with a precision no craftsman could ever dream of.
Every tower.
Every arch.
Every trace of the past was carved anew—not by human hands, but by a will that had seen everything… and respected nothing.
Where once there was ruin, a fortress now stood.
Taller.
Broader.
Alive.
Yamato stepped toward the main gate.
Malyss rushed to greet him, bowing with flawless grace, and opened the heavy metallic doors.
One by one, the Heralds followed him.
Not as soldiers.
Not as guests.
But as founders.
"I've prepared a space for each of you," Yamato announced as he walked down the central hall—flanked by carved columns and white marble walls, still warm from the touch of his nanobots.
"Rooms. Practice halls. Laboratories. Private chambers. Whatever you require… is already built."
"You'll know once you arrive at the space I've assigned."
He stopped.
Turned slightly.
"When I recruited you, I took all your information. While restoring this castle, I did so with your skills, your comforts… and your quirks in mind."
Satirus gave a theatrical clap.
"Oh, Yamato-sama… so thoughtful. A bit invasive, perhaps… but unquestionably efficient."
"Efficiency is not optional. It's a duty," Yamato replied flatly.
He turned directly to him.
"In the western wing, you have a theater adjacent to your new quarters. Perfect your skills in infiltration and manipulation. From now on, you're in charge of intelligence gathering. Become whatever you must be…"
"A stage for me?" Satirus grinned, bowing dramatically. "I shall be your most refined shadow, my master."
He vanished toward his new domain, as if the curtain had already fallen.
"Zero," Yamato said without turning. "You are chief of military operations. You have a personal arena and a strategy hall in the western wing. I expect formations ready and constant combat simulations."
The colossus nodded in silence, kneeling like a frozen sentinel before marching off, guided by one of the maids.
"Darwin. Upper floor, west wing. Your research chamber and an external lab, sealed and with direct access to your dungeon workspace. You're in charge of studying everything we don't yet understand."
"Thank you, Master. I'll begin immediately," Darwin replied, already muttering theories no one else could decipher.
"Eliza," Yamato continued, his voice dropping slightly in tone.
"As my second general, you have a secondary castle to the south. Similar to the one you had in the Fissure. I also included… an interrogation room."
"You're as generous as ever," Eliza said, bowing deeply—her eyes gleaming with anticipation for blood not yet spilled.
And then they arrived. The triplets.
Elyra, Nyra, and Myra.
They floated around him in perfect chaos—like butterflies dancing on a poisonous bloom.
"And what about us, Yamato-sama~?" they sang in unison.
"You'll be in charge of castle security. I'll assign troops once you're ready. Your chambers are in the eastern wing, alongside Malyss and her entourage."
The girls laughed and ran off, leaving behind a chilling echo.
At last, Yamato placed a hand on Seiryu's shoulder.
"My most important general."
He paused.
"You're the one I trust the most. When I'm not here, you'll lead alongside Eliza."
"I've prepared the central temple for you. Wooden floors, just the way you like. If you need more… just ask."
Seiryu knelt.
"I don't deserve such honor. But I promise—I will follow you to the end."
"Rest, Sei. Our conquest begins very soon."
One by one, the Heralds disappeared down the corridors that had waited for them before they were ever built.
Only Lina and Selka remained.
Yamato looked at them.
"As for you two…"
"I already know which room is mine," Lina said with a soft smile.
"What a coincidence. So do I," Selka added, a hint of mischief in her tone.
Yamato didn't respond. He simply watched them walk away—together.
"What an interesting pair… They make a good team."
He turned.
Alone, he climbed a staircase to the highest point of the castle.
A 360-degree lookout, roofless, wall-less.
Only stone.
Only wind.
And the moon—watching him as if it understood exactly who he was.
He sat down on a throne he never asked for.
From there… he could see everything.
And yet, he said nothing. He simply thought.
About the next move.
About who should fall first.
And whether the world… was ready to meet the real Yamato.