Chapter 142
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 142
Chapter Title: The Whole Truth
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“Tul Natra's patience had worn thin over a hundred years, and the moment he saw that man using shadows, the last thread snapped.”
“…Why?”
“Because the shadow that man used belonged only to the ‘Natra.’ And the Natra's shadow can only be used through ‘succession.’”
“Succession?”
Mac tilted his head. The pitch-black shadow at his feet flinched. The partner's movement was transmitted to Mac.
“A superior plants a seed in their subordinate's shadow. Only when that seed sprouts can the subordinate use the shadow. After ‘succession,’ the superior's shadow weakens. That's why it's usually only done between very close people, like family or a master and disciple. So, Tul Natra thought…”
Bell Natra said, looking up at the pitch-black sky.
“‘Those kidnappers would have no reason to pass their shadow on to my son, so that man using the shadow must be the kidnapper.’”
“…”
“‘I have to catch that man and find my son.’”
Mac let out a groan.
And so the fight intensified. Bell Natra recalled.
“As I fought the man, I realized something. He possessed a shadow far superior to those of the two candidates. Seeing that, the Natra people thought of ‘forced succession.’”
“…Forced succession?”
“…It's when a stronger shadow devours a weaker one. Completely. The owner of the shadow that undergoes ‘forced succession’ falls ill and eventually dies. We thought there must have been a fight between the two candidates, and one of them had performed a forced succession, but the man was much stronger than expected. One plus one should be two… but he seemed like a three or a four. So we thought…”
Tul Natra lost his reason.
“‘That child must have been forcefully succeeded… My son… my brother is no longer in this world.’”
And so he concluded.
Bell Natra's voice, filled with the despair and sorrow of recalling that day, reached the audience clearly. Mac opened his mouth.
“But…”
“Yes. You're alive. Who would have thought a shadow could develop a consciousness?”
“A consciousness?”
“Originally, the shadows of the Natra people are weapons. Just like swords or guns, without thought or will. But what about your shadow?”
Mac looked down at his feet. He saw his shadow playing by itself, oblivious to the serious conversation between the two Natra. Bell Natra stared pitifully at the shadow as it played, performing the shadow puppetry Greenwing had taught it.
“The shadow developed a consciousness, and just before death, it escaped the kidnapper's body and entered the nearest Natra shadow—yours.”
Mac remembered what the orphanage director had told him when he came of age. The people who appeared to be his parents, dead after an accident, and a baby Mac, crying amongst them.
‘A shadow superior to the two candidates. A shadow he could use without succession. And a shadow with a consciousness.’
Mac looked at his partner. The shadow that had been with him for so long flinched under his gaze.
Bell Natra, who had been glaring at the pitch-black shadow—once the kidnappers', now Mac's—continued.
“We never considered that possibility. A shadow gaining consciousness was something out of a fairy tale, an old story. I only found out after seeing your shadow in the park that day and digging through the library. Today's battle confirmed it.”
Misunderstanding piled upon misunderstanding, and a father who had lost his son lost his reason. He committed an act that could never be forgiven.
“Having lost his sanity, Tul Natra created the Anomaly Wormholes.”
The ultimate and worst weapon, one whose destination even the Natra who created it didn't know. The Anomaly Wormholes that appeared across Earth created many victims before vanishing.
“Tul Natra lost his mind over the truth he'd learned after a hundred years, went on a rampage, and then collapsed. In that time, Shadowman attacked, and the Natra had no choice but to retreat. A short while later, a child was discovered on Planet Natra, in the Ice Desert.”
A child.
Mac's eyes grew heavy.
“That kid is…”
“Yes. Jin Natra. He was a very cute child, hugging a teddy bear. Someone found the child, pale and dying. Since he wasn't a Natra, he was sent to the king. Tul Natra, still in shock from losing his son, took the boy in as his own. The child had lost his memories, and the only thing he remembered was,”
Bell Natra paused for a moment.
“only, ‘William.’”
“William…”
Mac buried his face in his hands. William.
“After that, the child grew up as the king's son. Father doted on Jin. Despite his busy schedule, he would visit him, and even though Jin wasn't a Natra, he passed on a shadow to him and taught him how to wield it. I liked Jin too. He was a smart, kind, and diligent kid. It was impossible not to love him.”
Bell Natra gave a faint smile.
“Jin handled his shadow very well. I couldn't do that at his age. Jin might have thought he was ordinary, but of course, he was just a child back then. It was natural for there to be a gap between him and the adult candidates. But that was poison. The more Jin stood out, the more enemies he made.”
“…Why did you make William a candidate?”
William.
At Mac's words, Bell Natra gave a bitter smile. Just as the boy was William to Mac, he was Jin to him.
“Because he's Tul Natra's adopted son. The king's children are automatically entered as candidates. To avoid it, he would have had to be disowned, but Jin refused. He wanted to be his father's son.”
Mac remembered the brightly smiling little boy.
The audience remembered the sharp sneers and the little boy crying for his ‘mom and dad.’
“So I…”
Bell Natra squeezed his eyes shut. His tightly clenched fists trembled. He shouldn't have done it…
“I decided to send Jin back to Earth.”
“What?”
“It was stupid. I didn't know how many countries or people were on Earth, and I just thought if I left him here, he'd find his family on his own. Plus, I failed to consider how much Jin had grown since then.”
Natra was a single planet, a single nation. Moreover, Natra had the Timestones. The passage of physical time was not a concern for them. But Earth was different.
“So…”
Mac recalled the child who had been alone at the reservoir.
“Yes. That's why Jin was there alone that day. That smart kid probably figured it out quickly. That I wasn't coming back.”
*I wonder.*
Mac remembered the child from that time.
‘My family is supposed to come.’
The boy who said that was truly waiting for his family. He wasn't anxious; he was calm, as if thinking, *They'll be here if I wait a little longer. When will Nuna get here?*
The child believed Bell Natra would return, and so he waited, all alone.
Mac opened his mouth.
“Why did you come back?”
“…Because he was my brother.”
That fact stopped Bell Natra, who was about to leave Earth. It made him hurry back to Jin.
*In the end, I was too late…*
Recalling Jin Natra, who had learned the whole truth, Bell Natra let out a deep sigh. In the five years of Natra time, Jin Natra had been sinking into darkness. He had wanted to make his suffering brother happy.
Bell Natra looked at Mac. This man was his brother too. Haggard from sleepless days and nights trying to save a man named Redbone. A world of difference from the cute Jin Natra. Bell Natra's eyes narrowed.
“You're my brother, too, but you've grown up… a disturbing amount.”
“…What?”
“Your name is Mull Natra. It's the name Father put a lot of thought into giving you.”
“…Mull Natra.”
Mac repeated his name. Mull Natra. A name given by the parents he thought he never had, parents he thought had abandoned him. It felt awkward yet fascinating, and it made his heart race.
And yet, Mac couldn't be truly happy, because there were so many people suffering because of him and his family.
When Bell Natra used the Red Timestone, Redbone's body reverted to how it was one year and one month ago. After curing the poison, he, along with the now-healthy Redbone, captured the spies and the organization that had poisoned Redbone, ultimately eliminating the entire group.
“Thanks. You didn't have to help with all this.”
“It's my brother's business.”
*Is he talking about Jin Natra?*
But Bell Natra's gaze was fixed on Mac, on Mull Natra. Mac held his breath. All those years he'd lived alone. He finally had a family, but they were… the very reason everyone was miserable. *What should I do?*
“I'm going to head back now. The Redstone was smaller than I thought, so I need to search other places.”
“Take this too. We don't need it anymore.”
Greenwing tossed a pouch containing Timestones. They were small, not even adding up to a year, but it was better than nothing. Bell Natra smiled.
“Thanks for saving me, Bell Natra.”
“Don't mention it.”
After shaking hands with a now one-month-younger Redbone, Bell Natra looked at Shadowman.
“Thanks. See you next time, Mull.”
“…”
*What should I do?*
Mac could only remain silent at his family's farewell. Seeing his brother's troubled face, Bell Natra gave a bitter smile and boarded the ship.
“Let's have a family gathering next time with Father and Jin!”
Bell Natra's spaceship disappeared into the sky.
Shadowman stared blankly at the disappearing spaceship. A healthy Redbone patted his shoulder, and Greenwing started playing with his shadow. The other heroes chatted boisterously as they headed inside the base.
Shadowman smiled. It was the end of a day, just like any other.
The ending credits slowly rolled up the black screen.
The theater lights didn't come on, and the audience, clutching their pounding hearts, waited for the post-credits scene.
Park Sungwon also stared blankly at the screen. Before entering the theater, there had been a lot of talk about whether the post-credits scene would be a trailer for another movie or a teaser for Shadowman 3, but Park Sungwon, and the rest of the audience, could tell.
*This is…*
The rolling credits came to a halt. Everyone swallowed hard.
*Thump—*
*Thump—*
A chilling score began to play. Unconsciously, everyone tensed up. Park Sungwon couldn't move a muscle, his eyes glued to the screen.
*Thump-thump—*
It was Jin Natra's OST.
In a dark room, moonlight streamed through a large window.
The camera slowly followed the moonlight, revealing a man lying in a large bed.
Before they could even be surprised by the face of a man they never expected to see here, a boy hidden in the shadow of the bedpost came into view.
“Father.”
The boy, looking at the pale man lying in the bed, knelt before him and took his hand. The boy's eyes were dark and deep.
“Just as you did…”
The boy gripped the man's hand tightly. It was a hand that had always held his gently, without words. At the same time, it was the hand that had made his life a misery.
“I want to destroy every last piece of your happiness, too.”
Tul Natra's fingers, held in the boy's hand, twitched. Sensing the movement, the boy slowly closed and opened his eyes, as if casting off his last lingering attachment. His eyes were resolute and cold, devoid of any emotion.
“So, give me everything.”
The boy slowly rose from the floor. Their clasped hands fell apart limply.
The shadow at the feet of the boy, Jin Natra, began to move slowly, according to his will.
“Your country.”
The Natra flag hanging on the wall was swallowed by the pitch-black shadow.
“Your throne.”
The king's bedroom slowly sank into the deep, dark shadow.
“And your power.”
The black shadow, encroaching from all sides of the bed, closed in on Tul Natra.
As Jin Natra's shadow approached like it was surrounding its prey, Tul Natra's own shadow twitched as if in final resistance.
“Everything.”
The black shadow lunged at Tul Natra.
*THUMP!*
*THUMP!*
The screen showed the bizarrely writhing shadow and Jin Natra's back, before fading to black.
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