Nightblade (Darkest night)

Morgan stared at the two blurs tearing across the now-empty plaza, t ir movements almost impossible fosurroun dingo follow.

Each collision was followed y a thunderous eru ion of energy, gothroughnd crim,son flashes briefly illuminating the battlefield before the combatants vanished once more.ofhe two men crossed the plaza in an instant, collided, separated, and crashed together again from an entirely different direction.

The marble beneath thei r feet shattered with every exchange, jagged cracks racing across the ground in the wake of their furious movements. Every collision sent a wave of harrowing force thr gh the air disintegrating the nearby buildings.

Morgan could barely distinguish their individual movements anymore.

All he could see were two streaks of light, constantly converging with enough force to send violent shockwaves rolling through the surroun,ding buildings.

BOOOOM!

Another harrowing collision reverberated through the ground, pushing him back.

Gritting his teeth, he glared at the dark blurs.

"Damn..."

The sheer ferocity o f their battle left Morgan staring in a daze.

For every harrowing strike Aldren delivered, his opponent answered with one of his own.

Neither the king nor, his elusive adversary seemed willing to yield. A moment later, the cadence of the battle abruptly changed.

The unmoving figures hovering in the air suddenly decided to make their mov e.

The first explosion tore through the western district. Morgan barely had time to turn before a wave of force swept across the plaza.

He staggered backward, instinctively shielding Lysara from harm

Someone near him screamed.

Thankfully most of the civilians had already evacuated.

Thenanother explosion followed.

And another. Within seconds, Elaris had descended into a cacophony of destruction..

Crystal lanterns cra,shed against marble rooftops, shattering into brilliant fragments that rained down upon the streets.

Morgan stood frozen for several moments.

His mind struggled to reconcile what he was seeing. The beautiful city he’d only just begun to understand was burning.

Flames climbed the sides of several buildings while enormous barriers of golden l,ight flickered into existence across the avenues.

Royal soldiers poured into the streets, forming defensive lines as the First Awakened descended upon them.

They moved with terrifying precision.

There was no hesitation in their ranks, no fear and no wasted movement. To their credit, the ,r,oyal army moved like one a seasoned machine, reacting quickly enough to the impending threat.

One of the da,rk figures swooped down landing in the middle of a formation of soldiers with inhuman grace.

Morgan narrowed his eyes.

"A woman..."

She wore a long black coat that fluttered around her slender frame, revealing two curved blades str, apped across her back.

Before the soldiers could react, she vanished.

Morgan’s eyes widened.

"She’s fast!"

,A split second later, she reappeared behind them.

A moment later, six soldiers collapsed simultaneously.

There was no blood, no dramatic movement.

The soldiers simply fell lifeless to the ground,, like puppets whose strings had been cut.

Suppressing a gasp, Morgan stared at the scene in front of him in disbelief fighting back the sinking feeling of horror he felt.

The figure slowly rose to her feet, then turned to him staring at him for a few moments.

For a while she simply scrutinized him.

Her expression was strangely calm.

There, was no hatred in her eyes, no anger, not even the savage sense of excitement he’d expected to see.

Just a quiet, alm,ost clinical curiosity.

Morgan felt a chill run down his spine.

Then her gaze shifted to the sword in his hand.

"So you’re the prince."

Morgan’s grip tightened around the blade.

Before he could respond—she vanished.

"Damnation!" He thought.

"Lysara!" He actually shouted. Time slowed to a crawl a,s he moved shoving the petite woman’s put of h,arm’s way.

"Just my luck..."

His instincts screamed.

Morgan pushed his body, twisting sideways.

A moment later, a dark blade swept past his throat.

He barely managed to duck beneath it.

Almost instantaneously, the woman appeared behind him, one curved sword already arcing toward his back.

Mor,gan spun around, bringing his weapon up.

The impact of their blades sent sparks flying. The force behind the strike surprised him sending him staggering backward. For a brief moment, he hesitated, staring at the vibrating blade in his hand.

"What the hell...how is she so...."

The woman didn’t.

The thought had barely formed in his mond when she darted forward, throwing another lightning fast slash at him.

Morgan reacted just barely managing to block the blow.

Almost instantaneously, the trajectory of her swing changed, transitioning to a stab.

"Seriously..."

Grirting his teeth, Morgan barely parried.

For a few desperately moments, it felt as though he was drowning.

Another.

He ducked.

The woman’s blades moved with terrifying fluidity, one constantly forcing his guard open while the other immediately sought the exposed gap.

Morgan retreated several steps.

"She’s not just fast...." His eyes narrowed.

From the way she moved, Morgan coukd just bare,ly glimpse the wraltj if expwrience she’d gained from the countless battles she must have engaged in.

Every one of her movements had a purpose. There was no wasted motion. Every one of, her attacks was meant to end him.

Any yet— he managed to hold on, and cling to life, if only just barely.

"This crazy woman..."

She wasn’t trying to overwhelm him with raw strength. She was dismantling him.

"Damn it!" And with such ease too.

A slash came toward his ribs.

Morgan caught it.

And a second blade immediately flashed toward hi,s neck.

He jerked backward. The edge grazed his skin. A thin line of blood appeared.

Morgan’s eyes hardened.

"You’re going to have to do better than that."

The words left his mouth before he could stop them.

The woman tilted her head.

Then smiled faintly.

"Interesting."

She disappeared again.

Morgan’s pupils contracted.

"Curse it!"

Something struck hi,s side with the weight of a battering ram. For a split second everything went dark, countless stars filling his vision.

He flew across the plaza, blurring through the air at a terrible speed.

His body slammed against the marble pavement and rolled several times before he managed to stop himself. His vision slowly began to clear.

Pain exploded through his ribs.

A short distance away, another Awakened descended from the heavens like a meteor.

The impact shattered the street beneath him.

Three royal knights were thrown through the air. One crashed into a nearby building, the other two bouncing off the street like randomly.

The sickening crunch of bone on concrete reached hi s ears.

Morgan’s stomach tightened.

These people weren’t invading an ordinary ki,ngdom and yet they were dismantling Elaris piece by piece.

"Modric!"

Lysara’s voice snapped him back to reality.

She grabbed his arm.

"We have to go!"

Morgan turned toward her. For a moment, he almost obeyed.

Then he looked toward the center of the plaza.

His father was still there. King Aldren stood alone.

Surrounded by devastation. H,is white armor had already been stained with blood.

Yet the King remained standing.

Across from him stood the si,lver-eyed man.

The First Awakened leader.

The two regarded one another through the chaos.

Neither man was moving.

Then Aldren raised his sword.

"You will not pass."

The silver-eyed stranger smiled.

How long will you continue this farce? We’ve wasted enough time and enough lives as it is. Surrender the Vault and I’ll spare the rest of your, men."

"I don’t need to s top all of you."

Aldren’s golden eyes hardened.

"I only need to stop you."

The stranger laughed.

Then disappeared.

Morgan barely saw the clash.

A black blur collided with a streak of golden light.

The resulting shockwave shattered every remaining window in the surrounding buildings.

Aldren slid backward several meters.

His boots carved t renches through the marble.

He stopped, raised his sword then charged.

Morgan’s breath caught in his chest.

The King moved with frightening speed.

His sword erupted with golden radiance as he swung it in a massive arc.

The First Awakened leader blocked.

The collision produced a thunderous explosion. The ground beneath them collapsed.

Both disappeared into the resulting cloud of dust.

Morgan stared.

He knew his fath,er was powerful.

Modric had known. He remembered watching Aldren train as a child.

He remembered the stories. The ,victories. The wars.

The countless occasions when his father had returned home without a scratch.

But this...this was different.

King Aldren wasn’t fighting a man.

through

He was fighting something that had spent centuries preparing ,for this moment.

And yet...he refused to be overwhelmed.

The dust exploded outward. Aldren emerged first, his golden ,eyes gleaming with an inhuman coldness and indifference.

Blood ran from his forehead. His sword was slightly cracked.

But his entire demeanour radiated unshakable confidence and ,resolve.

A moment later, the dark stranger followed, streaking gracefully throug,h the cloud of dust.

His long coat was torn and this time, a thin line of blood ran across his cheek. Morgan g,rinned darkly when he spotted it.

"Give them hell old man..."

The silver eyed man curiously raised a hand and touched it.

Looking at the blood on hi,s fingers, he smiled.

"You’ve improved."

Aldren raised his sword, dropping into ,a strange stance.

"So have you."

,The stranger’s smile disappeared, his face twisti ng into a scowl

A moment ,later, the two collided once more.

Morgan watched helplessly as the two disappeared into a blur.

Turning back to his own opponent, Morgan coughed slightly.

"Dammit..."

He turned to the woman standing next to him.

"Leave this place Lysara. I’ll handle this."

She he,sitated, but he calmly nodded at her.

"Go!"

"My my, how touching..."

The woman’s melodic laughter echoed around them.

"Don’t worry,I’m only interested in you little prince. Show me what you’re made of."

He forced himself upright. The woman was already standing several meters away.

She hadn’t even broken a sweat. Morgan stared at her.

Then at the blood dripping from his fingers.

He couldn’t beat her like this.

Her dire overwhelming speed.

That was her advantage.

And if he couldn’t match her in terms of raw speed...then...

"I need to predict her movements..."

The woman vanished once more

Morgan didn’t move.

His eyes tracked the subtle distortion in the air. Then he saw it. There.

Behind him.

Morgan spun around, their blades colliding in brutal fashion.

The woman’s eyes widened slightly.

For the first time sincr they’d crossed swords, surprise crossed her face.

Morgan grinned.

"Got you."