Chapter VII — The Years in Darkness
Sio Jun Arc
Darkness became her world.
Not the kind that simply hid light—
But the kind that replaced it.
The cave was deep.
Ancient.
Silent in a way that felt unnatural, as though even sound itself had been sealed away long before Sio Jun ever stepped inside. The walls were rough, layered with time and forgotten energy, etched faintly with old markings that pulsed whenever her wolf stirred.
Chains bound her.
Not ordinary chains.
Sealed ones.
Forged with runes that suppressed her power—not completely, but enough to keep her from losing control again.
She had accepted them.
Not as punishment.
But as protection.
For others.
The First Days
At first, time moved slowly.
Painfully slowly.
Each moment stretched into the next, each breath echoing too loudly in the empty space. Her thoughts became her only company—and they were not kind.
She saw his face every time she closed her eyes.
Kael.
The warmth of his voice.
The softness of his touch.
Gone.
By her hands.
Her fingers curled tightly around the cold chains.
"I didn't mean to…" she whispered for what felt like the thousandth time.
The cave did not answer.
It never did.
The One Who Returned
But someone did.
Footsteps.
Soft.
Familiar.
Sio Jun's head lifted slightly as light spilled into the cave entrance.
Mama Agatha.
She entered slowly, carrying a small lantern and a bundle of supplies. The faint glow revealed Sio Jun's figure—sitting against the stone wall, chains wrapped around her arms and torso, her head lowered, her body still.
"You need to eat," Agatha said gently.
Sio Jun didn't respond immediately.
"I'm not hungry," she murmured.
"That has never stopped the body from needing," Agatha replied.
She knelt beside her, placing food within reach.
For a while, neither of them spoke.
Only the quiet crackle of the lantern filled the space.
Then—
"…Why do you still come?" Sio Jun asked softly.
Agatha paused.
"Because you are still here," she said simply.
Sio Jun's throat tightened.
"…Everyone else left."
"They fear what they do not understand."
"And you don't?"
Agatha met her gaze.
"I understand enough."
A Routine of Survival
Days turned into months.
Months into years.
Time blurred.
But one thing remained constant—
Agatha came.
Every day.
Sometimes with food.
Sometimes with herbs.
Sometimes with nothing but quiet presence.
She spoke to Sio Jun—not as a monster, not as a weapon, but as a person.
She told her stories.
Of Azura.
Of the past.
Of balance.
Of how even broken things could still hold meaning.
And slowly—
Sio Jun began to listen.
The Chains Change Meaning
At first, the chains were heavy.
A reminder.
A prison.
But over time…
They became something else.
A boundary.
A line she would not cross again.
"I chose this," she would remind herself.
"I chose this so no one else would die."
But the world outside—
Did not see it that way.
The First Time They Came
It was sudden.
Harsh.
Unwelcome.
The cave entrance burst open one afternoon, and unfamiliar voices echoed inside.
"Is she still here?"
"Of course she is. Where else would she go?"
Sio Jun's body tensed immediately.
Her eyes sharpened.
Villagers.
Not kind ones.
Not the ones who had laughed with her.
Different.
Colder.
Agatha stepped forward instantly.
"You should not be here," she said firmly.
"We need her," one of them replied.
"For what?" Agatha demanded.
The man hesitated.
Then—
"There's a conflict," he said. "Nearby settlements. We're losing."
Agatha's expression hardened.
"And you think she is your solution?"
"We know what she is," another added. "We've seen what she can do."
Sio Jun's grip tightened on the chains.
"No," she said quietly.
They ignored her.
A Weapon, Not a Person
They broke the seal.
Not completely.
Just enough.
Just enough to let her out.
"Fight for us," the man said. "And we'll leave you alone."
Sio Jun stared at them.
"…Or?"
"Or we remind everyone what you did."
Silence fell.
The threat was clear.
Her past.
Her guilt.
Used against her.
She closed her eyes.
"…Fine," she said.
The Battles She Never Wanted
War was different from survival.
Different from protection.
Different from anything she had chosen.
They took her to places she did not know.
Villages.
Fields.
Battlegrounds soaked in fear.
And each time—
They unleashed her.
"Go," they would say.
"End it."
And she did.
Not with rage.
Not with cruelty.
But with precision.
Efficiency.
Control.
She ended battles quickly.
Saved lives—
But not by choice.
By force.
And when it was over—
They brought her back.
Back to the cave.
Back to the chains.
The Return to Darkness
Every time the door closed behind her—
Something inside her dimmed.
"They don't see you," Agatha said once.
"They see what I can do," Sio Jun replied.
"And what do you see?"
Sio Jun looked at her hands.
"…A mistake that keeps being used."
Agatha didn't answer.
Because for once—
She didn't have a way to change that truth.
The Breaking Point
Years passed.
And then—
It came again.
The darkness.
But this time—
Not small.
Not distant.
Massive.
Unstoppable.
Sio Jun felt it before anyone else.
Her head snapped up, chains rattling.
"…No," she whispered.
Agatha turned sharply.
"You feel it too?"
Sio Jun nodded slowly.
"…This is different."
The Arrival of Destruction
The sky darkened that day.
Not with clouds.
With presence.
Sio Jun was still inside the cave when it began.
The screams reached her first.
Distant.
Then closer.
Then everywhere.
Her body moved instinctively—but the chains held her in place.
"No…" she breathed.
She rushed to the edge of her limit, gripping the bars, forcing herself to look out.
The village—
Was under attack.
But not by ordinary enemies.
Shadow soldiers.
Dozens.
Moving like a tide of darkness.
And at their center—
A figure.
Armin.
Calm.
Cold.
Unstoppable.
Helplessness
Sio Jun's eyes widened.
"Let me out!" she shouted.
The cave echoed her voice—but no one answered.
"LET ME OUT!"
Her claws struck the seals.
Nothing.
They held.
She watched—
Powerless.
As the village burned.
As people ran.
As everything she had once protected—
Fell.
Tears streamed down her face.
"I can stop this…" she whispered. "I can stop this…"
But she couldn't.
Because this time—
She had no choice.
For years, Sio Jun had chosen to be chained—
To protect others from herself.
But now—
As the world outside burned once again—
She realized something far more painful than exile…
Being unable to protect anyone at all.