This chapter's epigraph is from a poem by the same author as the epigraph for this chapter. The poem is entitled "Soul of the Shadow-Bearing Sword" and is written in the same style as the rest of the poem. In this passage, the protagonist explains that his soul is growing stronger and that he will be cut down by the sword in the end. He feels that he has placed himself on the brink of death and that the sword is a "selfless sword strike" . The protagonist feels that the shadow-bearing sword is "just a soul" and that it will be subdued since its "being constantly consumed." The protagonist then feels a "soul force" enter the room and he feels that his brother's soul force is even stronger than that of a saint. He realizes that he can't stop the soul force even if he wants to, and he decides to cut the sword into pieces and fuse it all into his mind. This is the first time he has been able to fuse his soul with the sword. He thinks that the aura of the sword reminds him of "goodwill and malice," and he wonders if it is the sword of the "master of that soul." He decides to try the sword after he gets out of the room.