Shadow and Snuggle glided down to the precipice of the abyss, enveloped by the roaring of the great waterfall. Clouds of water vapor shone in luminous radiance like nebulas woven out of myriads of diamonds, and beyond them, the cold darkness of the Underworld stretched endlessly. Eventually, they reached a shelf of rugged rock that protruded from the roaring wall of falling water. It tapered to a point, hanging above the abyss like a narrow cliff.

Below them was the Abyss.

Shadow walked to the tip of the shelf, looking into the darkness below with a distant expression. Snuggle followed carefully, trying to steady her footsteps on the slippery rocks, and stopped just behind him.

Looking down into the unfathomable darkness, she shivered.

"So, what? Do we just... jump down?"

Shadow remained silent for a few seconds, then shrugged.

"I am not sure. I have never dove into the Abyss before."

He studied the darkness.

The dreadful prisoner of the Abyss was not there. As for the Creature of Darkness that was meant to bind it... he wasn't sure. It had not haunted them on the journey through the Underworld, at least. Possibly it had not been born yet; possibly it already existed, but had not been reared by Nether to become as vast as it would be one day. Maybe it was simply uninterested and hid itself in the depths of the Abyss, or didn't dare to leave it because Shadow God still ruled his realm far below.

In any case, Snuggle was more or less correct. If they wanted to brave the Abyss and enter the Shadow Realm through one of the cracks created in its walls by Rime, the Demon of Repose, all they could do was take a leap of faith.

But...

Did they want to?

Shadow did. He was not sure if he wanted Snuggle to follow him, though.

And he had to make his choice now. Shadow remained motionless for a long while, staring into the darkness. His mind was too restless and crowded, brimming with a screaming legion of memories. It was difficult to remember who he was, who he was meant to be, let alone form cohesive thoughts and decide something so vital, so important... so irrevocable.

A thousand images flashed in his mind, forcing him to grit his teeth.

But then, suddenly, he grasped the only correct thought in this sea of fragmented memories.

Once he realized the essence of that one right argument, the screaming rending his mind apart settled, and he let out a quiet sigh.

That truth he realized was very easy...

It was that the difficult choice haunting him was not his to make, to begin with.

What right did he have to decide for Snuggle?

She had to make that choice herself.

It was just that before making it, she had to know what she was choosing.

Shadow threw one last glance into the darkness, then took a deep breath and turned his back to it.

He glanced at Snuggle, who seemed to read something from his expression.

Her brow furrowed faintly.

“What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Shadow lingered for a moment, gathering his thoughts.

He had to face the truth... and even if the truth was cruel, this lost soul had to face it, as well.

Knowledge was the heaviest thing in the world, but there was a reason why myriad men had pursued it desperately despite knowing the cost. It was because knowledge was precious, as well. It was the origin of all power.

And in this dire world, who dared to exist without power?

He sighed deeply.

"It is because I have to tell you something.”

Shadow paused for a moment, then smiled faintly.

His smile carried a subtle hint of wistfulness.

“Once I reach the Shadow Realm... I don't think I will be coming back, Snuggle."

She blinked.

“Huh? What do you mean?"

Shadow shook his head lightly.

“What did you think? It is not easy to escape the Shadow Realm. Very few beings ever achieved that feat... and I never intended to follow in their footsteps, to begin with."

Snuggle frowned.

“Wait a minute. What are you saying? Why would you want to stay in such a dreary place?"

Shadow smiled sadly.

"Why would one want to stay in the Realm of Death, Snuggle?"

He glanced down at the head of the little doll sticking out of his pocket.

The winged woman standing in front of him, meanwhile, glanced at him with a stunned expression.

"C... come on, Shadow! Stop joking around."

He sighed and glanced away.

After remaining silent for a few long minutes, Shadow lowered his head and said:

“Back then... didn't I tell you why I wanted to come to the Shadow Realm? It was because I wanted to set the shadows trapped in my soul free. Because a friend had once told me that their existence was awfully sad."

He faced Snuggle, her bright radiance reflecting in his lightless eyes.

“But am I not the same, Snuggle? How am I different from those lost, pitiful shades?"

He shook his head.

"I am tired of this place... of this vicious, never-ending nightmare. I have lived myriad lives, and all of them were full of nothing but horror and strife, ending violently. Agony, torment, madness, and death — those are the things I know best. They are the only things I know, and I've had enough of them."

Shadow inhaled deeply, settling his mind.

"So, I will go to the Realm of Death in search of Shadow God's mercy. I will cross the Abyss to find peace within him."

He remained silent for a moment, then looked Snuggle directly in the eye.

Shadow exhaled slowly.

Then, he said softly:

“And I want you to come with me."

Snuggle took a step back, looking at him in disbelief.

A baffled smile appeared on her lips.

“Are you seriously asking me to... die together?"

Shadow did not look away, but his expression changed subtly, a sense of tired melancholy reflecting in his eyes.

"Yes, I am. If... if you want to."

A startled scoff escaped from Snuggle's mouth.

She studied Shadow for a while, her brow creased by a scowl. Then, with an angry smile, she asked:

“Why would I want to die, Shadow?"

But he just continued to look at her silently. Eventually, he said:

“You know why."

Snuggle's frown deepened, and she took a step back.

"No... no, I don't. I cannot die. I have to wait for the person who will come to find me. I have to return to the people who are waiting for me. There are so many things that I want! That I haven't had the chance to experience yet! What... what nonsense are you spouting?!"

Shadow did not answer for a long while, feeling a peculiar pain permeate his entire being.

In the end, he sighed.

"Smile of Heaven... that is your True Name, isn't it?"

Snuggle... Smile of Heaven... froze.

"H—how... how do you know it?"

Shadow smiled sadly.

“Because among the myriad nightmares I've lived, there were countless nightmares about the dark future you come from."

She stared at him with a pale face, her eyes suddenly full of fear.

She shook her head slowly, taking another step back.

“No... no, you can't be a challenger. You can't be. I don't know you."

Shadow glanced down, at the weathered rocks under their feet.

He remembered standing on this narrow ledge once, in one of his myriad lives.

In the distant future.

He took a deep breath, then stilled his expression and looked at the radiant woman in front of him.

He was about to do the cruelest thing he had done.

He was going to be truthful, for once. Shadow spoke, his voice resounding in the darkness:

“No one is coming to find you, Smile of Heaven. The man you are waiting for died a long time ago, alone and surrounded by darkness. The people you called friends are all gone. Your father, your mother... the entire Immortal Flame clan you knew. None of it remains."

Shadow paused for a moment.

“You do have a daughter, but she is a stranger."

Smile of Heaven suddenly let out a stifled laugh.

“A daughter? I am pretty sure I would remember having a daughter!"

He simply glanced at her, his expression aloof.

"Not if she was born of your body after you abandoned it."

Smile of Heaven fell silent, staring at him with her large, glistening eyes.

A peculiar, indescribable expression settled on her pale face.

There was only silence between them until she broke in a quiet, trembling voice:

"You're lying."

She forced out a smile.

"You're an awful liar."

Shadow met her gaze, then sighed.

He wished that he was.

“I never lie."

Her words fell like the blade of a guillotine.

"There is nothing waiting for you in that world. There is nothing holding you in this one, either. The future only hides sorrow, pain, and rage. So..."

Shadow glanced at Smile of Heaven.

"Come with me. Let us leave this cursed place behind... together."

Smile of Heaven studied him for a long time, her eyes full of dark intensity.

Eventually, however, a concerned, but calm expression settled on her face.

She inhaled deeply, then let out a long sigh. When she glanced at him again, her gaze was steady.

"No."

Smile of Heaven closed her eyes for a moment.

"Come with me instead, Shadow. So what if this world is cursed? We can heal it. Even if we lose people we love... we can make sure that the rest don't have to. We can conquer this nightmare — we can conquer all nightmares. So, please. Let's stay alive together!"

Shadow remained silent for a while, then slowly shook his head.

Smile of Heaven opened her mouth, as if wanting to say something else, to convince him... but then closed it. She must have noticed from his expression that there was nothing she could say that would change his mind.

Her face fell.

She did not speak for some time, then sighed heavily.

When she glanced at Shadow again, there was a familiar smile on her lips... even if her eyes were mournful.

Still, Smile of Heaven smiled.

"Then... please forgive me, Shadow. But I will have to refuse."

Her lips shook.

“You'll have to meet Shadow God alone. I know you want to find peace, and I can't really imagine what you've been through. So I hope that you find what you seek. But I..."

She composed herself and faced him firmly.

"I am not ready to give up yet. I don't want to.”

Then, she suddenly chuckled.

“After all, according to you, I have a daughter somewhere out there. She's probably awfully angry at me for leaving her alone and going missing for so long. So, at the very least, I have to let her properly berate me."

With that, Smile of Heaven glanced at him with pain in her bright eyes, then turned back and took a step away.

Shadow raised his hand, as if reaching for her.

"Wait!"

His hand hovered in the air, not daring to move further.

Smile of Heaven paused for a moment, but did not look back.

He gritted his teeth.

"The Underworld is so dangerous. How are you going to escape it?!"

She seemed to have smiled.

“Did you forget? I am great at hiding, escaping, and staying alive. When we first met, I even managed to escape you for a while. So I'll find a way out of this place, as well."

Smile of Heaven continued walking.

“You'll think that I am cursing you, Shadow... but I hope that we meet again, one day."

The sound of her quiet, wistful laughter was drowned by the roar of the waterfall.

"When we do... be prepared to receive an earful... goodbye!"

A moment later, her light was almost gone. Shadow knew that in just a few heartbeats, he would be left in complete darkness.

In a world devoid of light.

Before that happened, however, all emotion left his face, and he glanced to the side.

He called for someone whom he hardly remembered, but knew all too well.

In that instant, a dark figure rose from his shadow.

It was a graceful woman woven from darkness, her nebulous face hidden behind a veil. Clad in light armor, she seemed more like a dancer than a warrior... and yet, her presence was unmistakably that of a slayer — of a ruthless predator who had killed countless prey.

When she appeared, the air suddenly turned colder, as if turned frigid by the presence of death.

Even Shadow shivered faintly.

As two lifeless black eyes stared at him with no emotion, he sighed.

It seemed that there had been a demon like that in his soul all along, as well.

Turning to look at the disappearing figure of Smile of Heaven, he said quietly:

"Go. Protect her. Stay with her... don't let her die."

That was the last thing he could do for his lovely companion.

The graceful shadow studied him emotionlessly for a few seconds, then turned away and disappeared into the darkness.

And just like that, finally...

Shadow was left completely, utterly alone. With a sigh, he reached into a pocket and pulled a little doll out of it.

By then, he was surrounded by true darkness, blinded and unable to see its ugly face.

Shadow turned to the Abyss.

"It's just you and me now, Snuggle. Shall we go knock on Death's door?"

His quiet voice was swallowed by darkness, and the doll didn't answer.

Closing his eyes, Shadow took a step forward and fell.

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