Silas could not sleep.
He sat in the corner of the main hall, his shadowy form flickering like a candle in the wind. The family kept their distance—some out of fear, others out of distrust. Only Arthur remained close, sitting beside his brother in silence.
Ethan watched from the doorway.
"He’s fading," Arthur said quietly. "His shadow form is unstable. If we don’t restore his body soon, he’ll dissipate completely."
Ethan stepped closer. "How do we restore him?"
Arthur was silent for a long moment.
"When I killed Silas, I buried him beneath the waterfall. In a chamber our father built for meditation. I sealed it with blood and oath, and I never returned."
He paused.
"His remains are still there. But they are corrupted. Three hundred years of hatred and regret have twisted them. To restore him, we need to retrieve his bones and perform the Bond of Blood again."
Ethan frowned. "Another sacrifice?"
"This time, the sacrifice is mine."
The journey to the waterfall took half a day.
Ethan, Arthur, Silas, and Thomas traveled through the mountain paths, their pace slowed by Silas’s weakening form. The shadow stumbled often, his feet barely touching the ground. Arthur stayed close, his hand on his brother’s shoulder.
The waterfall appeared at midday—a towering cascade of white water that thundered into a clear pool below. The mist was cold and heavy, clinging to their skin.
Arthur stopped at the edge of the pool.
"The chamber is behind the waterfall. There’s a path—narrow, but passable."
He looked at Silas.
"Are you ready?"
Silas nodded weakly. "I’ve waited three hundred years for this."
The path behind the waterfall was slick and dark.
Ethan held a torch, the flame sputtering in the damp air. The stone walls glistened with moisture, and the sound of the waterfall faded to a distant roar.
They reached a door carved into the rock.
It was sealed with ancient symbols—the same symbols Ethan had seen in the hidden chamber, the same symbols that marked Arthur’s tomb.
Arthur placed his hand on the door.
"I sealed this with my blood. Only I can open it."
He pressed his palm against the stone.
The symbols blazed with light. The door groaned and slowly swung open.
Beyond it, darkness.
The chamber was small and cold.
A single stone platform stood in the center, and on it lay a skeleton—bones wrapped in tattered cloth, arranged with care.
Silas’s remains.
But the moment Ethan stepped inside, he felt it.
A presence. A weight. A coldness that pressed against his chest.
"Arthur," he warned.
"I feel it."
The air shifted.
From the shadows, a figure emerged—not Silas, not Arthur, but something else. A spectral warrior in ancient armor, his face hidden in shadow, his eyes burning with grief.
Arthur froze.
"No..."
The figure spoke.
"You killed me."
Arthur’s voice cracked. "I know."
"You didn’t listen."
"I know."
"You didn’t forgive."
"I know."
The figure stepped closer.
"Then why should I forgive you?"
Ethan understood.
This was not a guardian. This was Arthur’s guilt—manifested, given form, forced to speak the words Arthur had never allowed himself to hear.
Arthur fell to his knees.
"I failed you. I was angry. I was proud. I didn’t give you a chance to explain."
He looked up at the specter.
"But I’m here now. And I’m listening."
The specter was silent.
Then it spoke.
"Too late."
"No." Arthur rose to his feet. "It’s never too late. Not as long as we’re still breathing."
He drew his sword.
"Silas is still here. He’s still fighting. And I will fight for him. Whatever it takes."
The specter’s eyes narrowed.
"Then prove it."
The battle was brutal.
The specter fought with Arthur’s own skill, his own strength, his own memories. Every blow Arthur struck, the specter countered. Every move he made, the specter anticipated.
"You cannot defeat me," the specter said. "I am your guilt. I am your shame. I am the part of you that will never forgive."
Arthur gritted his teeth.
"Then I’ll have to change."
He dropped his sword.
"I’m not fighting you. I’m not fighting myself."
He stepped forward, arms open.
"I’m accepting you. I’m accepting what I did. I’m accepting that I was wrong."
The specter froze.
"What are you doing?"
"I’m forgiving myself. Because Silas has forgiven me. And if he can... then so can I."
The specter wavered.
Arthur reached out.
"You are not my enemy. You are my past. And I will carry you with me, not as a burden, but as a reminder."
The specter dissolved.
The chamber was silent.
Arthur stood alone, his hand still extended. Then he turned to Silas.
"Your turn."
Silas stepped forward, his shadow form trembling.
He knelt beside his own remains. His fingers brushed the bones. His bones and he closed his eyes.
"I’m sorry," he whispered. "For everything."
Arthur knelt beside him.
"Me too."
They stayed there for a long moment—two brothers, reunited after three hundred years.
The Bond of Blood ritual was simple this time.
Arthur placed his hand on Silas’s remains. His blood dripped onto the bones, and light engulfed the chamber.
Silas screamed—not in pain, but in release. His shadow form dissolved, and in its place, flesh and blood began to form.
Bones knitted together. Skin stretched. Eyes opened.
Silas Blackwood was alive.
He looked at his hands, his face, his body.
"I’m... I’m real."
Arthur pulled him into an embrace.
"Welcome home, brother."
They returned to the estate at dusk.
The family gathered to watch as Silas walked through the gates—not as a shadow, but as a man. He looked exactly like Arthur with the same face, the same build—but his eyes were different. Softer. Sadder.
Eleanor approached him.
"Silas."
He bowed his head. "I know what I did. I know what you lost because of me. I don’t expect forgiveness..."
"You have it."
Silas looked up.
"What?"
Eleanor smiled.
"It wasn’t your fault. And even if it was... you’re family. That’s what matters."
She took his hand.
"Welcome home."
『 Story Credibility: 100% 』
『 Family Faith: 100 』
『 Outsider Faith: 65 』
『 World Rebuttal: 48% 』
『 Ancestral Debt: 2 active 』
『 Arthur Blackwood: Fully Manifested 』
『 Silas Blackwood: Fully Restored 』
『 New Quest Completed: Restore Silas’s Body 』
『 Next Milestone: 100% Credibility — The Final Bond 』