Zed was dressed in unfamiliar garb; his entire face was hidden behind a menacing mask. His clothes were dark, armored but worn. What stood out the most to Shen, more than his clothes or his demeanor, was the red glow in his eyes. It reminded him of the day Zed had been ridiculed for his newly found technique. His brother had emerged with such confidence, his eagerness to battle more apparent than usual. The colors of his eyes were unfamiliar, as was his entire being.
Three years later, Zed stands before him now, more a stranger than he had ever been before.
Shen remained perched on a tall pillar. A hand hovered by one of the swords on his back. Had there been any other questionable visitor, his blade would have already been drawn, but he questions himself now. Endless questioning. His fingers are curled their natural way by his sword. He cannot draw it. Not against Zed. Not now.
When the previous Eye set his sword down before his exiled son, Shen had assumed a naively hopeful perspective. The gesture was to seek forgiveness–forgiveness for three years of banishment, abandonment, loneliness and wandering. What the Kinkou did not know, however, was that within those three years, the ninja who stood before them now had also gone through moments of renewal.
Enlightenment brightened the mind which processed the submissive act before him. His former master and father bowed his head low and spoke of regret. He should have never banished him, he says, he should have been a better father. In the same breath, he implores him to abandon the shadows that have kept him throughout these years. Shen could not tell how well Zed was receiving his father's words.
Zed was told to destroy the source of his technique and lead his followers–the crowd of silent ninja which accompanied him to the monastery–towards a path of balance. Quiet words of slander whisper throughout a crowd of Kinkou ninja who look on with disapproving eyes. "Can he be trusted?" Shen hears from below.
Shen's father begins to lead Zed deeper into the Kinkou's grounds. Shen saw this as a sign that Zed had agreed. The old master signaled Shen to follow, and the gesture alerted Zed to his presence.
The pair's eyes linked immediately. Even as Zed walked, their eyes held contact. Shen did not know this himself, but his expression had softened noticeably. This is your chance, his thoughts communicate silently, You can redeem yourself.
We can be together again.
Zed is the first to look away. For a moment, Shen looks down and tries to collect himself. This is not what he should be thinking now. Shen jumps down from the pillar and lands on his feet with a quiet pat.
Shen is the Eye of Twilight now, he must detach himself to the point of heartless callousness, but his longing thoughts begin to delude him. He does not notice that the blades at Zed's wrists are drawn. He does not notice the menacing glow of the sharpened edges, nor the way he looks forward and at nothing else. Zed does not look back at Shen even once.
Ahead of him lies his goal. There is no reason to turn back. Zed seeks neither forgiveness nor redemption. No, he pursues a different prize, and neither Shen nor his old master could provide it. The forbidden box was to be his, and with it, he would perfect his technique beyond any ninja for the first time in 200 years.
Tonight, he will truly become the Master of Shadows.