Naka Shrine lay hidden in the deep shadows of night and ancient trees, seeming even more solemn and secluded than it had by day. The muffled groan of pain was faint, but it pierced the stillness like a needle, reaching Uchiha Sou's sharply focused senses with uncanny precision.
Without hesitation, he shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow. After a few swift bounds, he had silently reached the outskirts of the shrine. His Sharingan glimmered faintly in the darkness as he cautiously scanned the entrance and its surroundings. There were no obvious guards. Madara had always preferred solitude, especially when practicing his secret techniques.
That groan... was no ordinary sound. The pain in it was not purely physical. It sounded more like an instinctive cry from a soul being torn apart, or a will suffering a tremendous blow.
Sou drew in every trace of his presence and slipped inside the shrine like a true shadow. It was even darker within. Only a few eternal lamps flickered, casting faint light over the ancient, weathered murals and the Stone Tablet, regarded as the Uchiha Clan's greatest treasure.
His gaze was drawn at once to the deepest part of the shrine.
Uchiha Madara had his back to the entrance and was kneeling on one knee, one hand braced hard against the floor, his knuckles white with strain. His other hand clutched his chest as his body trembled faintly. His trademark wild hair looked disheveled, and even seemed to have lost some of its luster.
What shook Sou most was the aura radiating from Madara—chaotic, violent, and filled with some indescribable negative energy. It was completely unlike the cold, restrained, powerful Chakra he usually sensed from him! It felt strangely similar to the abnormal Dissonance Sou had been tracking, but denser, and