Nightblade (Darkest night)

In the next moment, Regius found himself flying through the air.

‎"What?!"

‎His body violently hit the ground, tumbling tumultuously through the snow.

Regius' mind went black. He absently craddled his head, curling his body in on itself as though trying to shut out the pain.

‎" Jace is dead," he whispered.

‎He slowly processed what had happened while watching Alec go toe to toe with the monster.

‎The monster had killed Jace.

‎Then it tried to kill him, too.

But then, Alec, moving with impossible speed, had tossed him out of the way at the last moment, saving his life as a result.

‎The ever-present shadow in his mind flickered momentarily, then disappeared.

‎Regius dumbfoundedly stared at Jace's corpse.

‎His brother's eyes turned glassy, the life fading out of them as he watched.

‎In that moment, Regius felt a white-hot rage bubbling up from the depths of his being.

His eyes turned bloodshot, dark veins popping across his skin.

‎A savage scream escaped his lips, his eyes blazing with unquenchable fury.

‎"I'll kill you!!!"

‎Regius darted forward, unsheathing the long blade on his back.

‎A moment later, Alec flew through the air, slamming into the wall of the imposing fortress.

The impact rocked the plain, shattering the ground, but the dark wall held.

‎Without missing a beat, Regius threw himself forward, savagely hacking at the monster.

‎The creature lazily parried its blade with its claws, effortlessly gliding across the snow.

Regius' movement stirred the rest of the novices, driving them into a battle-ready state.

‎The other youths threw themselves forward in a frenzy, attacking the creature in sync from different angles.

‎Regius saw red.

Fury and rage coursed through him, strengthening him.

‎He manipulated the umbralis around him with the techniques in his arsenal.

‎"Faster!"

‎He pressed forward wildly, unpredictably increasing the tempo of his attacks.

‎" Faster!"

‎The rest of the youths struggled to keep up with his frantic, battle-crazed tempo.

After a while, a frightening realization sank into his subconscious.

‎None of his attacks had landed.

Instead, the monster watched him push himself to exhaustion with a predatory grin, parrying his attacks with an amused expression.

‎Despite their coordination, none of the youths had managed to land an attack.

‎A split second later, the tide of the battle shifted.

‎The monster lunged forward, its claws flashing through the air.

Their blades slid harmlessly off its furred body, doing absolutely nothing to damage it.

‎Regius blinked in surprise, his mouth falling open in shock.

A moment later, Alec stood in front of him, his blade slashing through the air.

‎The blade and claws collided, sending sparks through the air.

The ground cracked beneath the two figures.

‎The man and monster strained violently, their muscles rippling visibly, with neither giving up ground.

‎The ground beneath the blanket of snow cracked.

‎With a furious roar, Alec shoved the monster back, turning back to face them in the brief moment of separation.

His grey eyes blazed with unbridled fury.

‎"Move! Leave this place!"

In that moment, Regius realized a horrifying truth.

"We're holding him back. Alec can't concentrate fully on the battle while we're here."

‎A moment later, the two figures collided once more.

A violent shockwave rippled outward, ripping through the air. ‎Regius flew back, bouncing violently on the ground.

‎An explosion of snow and light momentarily blurred Regius' eyes.

‎"This..."

‎A short distance away, Jace's body lay on the ground, pushed back by the harrowing power that was being unleashed in the horrendous battle. His gaze shifted back to the fight.

‎The man and monster moved faster than Alec's eyes could track.

Snow seethed and frothed beneath them from the friction of the blistering speeds at which they were moving.

‎Violent waves of umbralis exploded outward from the clash, rippling through the air.

‎Two comets fell through the sky, landing on the ground with harrowing force, dredging deep grooves through the ground.

‎Regius' mouth fell open in shock and awe.

‎"So this is what a fight between calamities looks like..."

‎Suddenly, Regius felt foolish for trying to fight the monster.

‎Even Alec, a maestro, was struggling.

‎"We're dead," he whispered," we're already dead."

‎" Move!" a voice yelled, cutting through the fury of the tumultuous battle.

‎The youths scrambled to their feet.

‎"Jace!"

‎Regius scrambled forward, but suddenly several pairs of hands grabbed him.

‎"He's dead, Regius! We need to go."

‎Regius howled with fury, struggling to break free.

‎A moment later, the ground cracked.

‎The deep crack widened, opening into a jagged fissure that stretched into the distance.

‎Jace's body rolled through the snow, falling into the darkness below.

‎"Jace!"

‎Regius allowed himself to be pulled back.

‎He ran frantically, his vision blurring from the tears flowing down his face.

‎The remaining youth darted through the blanket of snow, their figures zipping forward at inhuman speed.

‎"Let's stop and rest for a while," one of the youth suggested, panting tiredly.

‎The small group came to a stop, wearily watching their surroundings for monsters.

‎A few moments later, a round object dropped from the sky, landing in the snow.

‎The snow started turning red, the vivid crimson spreading through the pristine white like an inky stain.

‎Regius stared at the object, his eyes widening in shock.

‎The rounded object was Alec's head, his dead, lifeless eyes staring at them.

‎In the next moment, the monster landed in the snow, watching the youths in amusement.

‎What followed was a brutal hunt.

‎The youths ran and ran

‎But one by one, they inevitably fell.

‎After what seemed like an eternity of fleeing, Regius ironically found the Temerian ruins again.

‎He painfully crawled towards the fortress, slowly inching towards its gilded walls. Blood bubbled from his lips, each breath bringing forth a wave of agonizing pain.

‎One of his legs was missing a large chunk of flesh.

‎The creature slowly followed behind him at a leisurely pace, seemingly enjoying the hunt.

‎He rolled over, staring at the dark grey sky above.

‎"Seems will be meeting sooner than I thought, Jace...much sooner."

‎Regius felt bitter, bitter for his weakness; he quietly sighed, closing his eyes.

‎Regius waited for death, but death never came.

‎He opened his eyes, silently scanning his surroundings.

‎His eyes widened when he noticed the dark masked figure standing on top of the wall.

‎He weakly stretched out his hand in a silent plea for help.

‎The tenebrous figure nonchalantly stepped off the wall, casually plummeting down to the ground.

‎The man landed lightly in the snow.

‎He strode forward, taking measured steps, crunching the snow beneath his boots.

‎The man casually squatted down in front of Regius, staring at him through his mask.

‎Regius stared into the gaping black holes of the mask, seeing nothing but darkness.

‎He felt his heart grow still, smart the sight, dread building up within him.

‎After a while, the figure let out a quiet sigh.

‎" Zagrul, why must you always kill most of them? Can't you at least hold yourself back?"

‎The monster behind him let out a chilling laugh, then its form rippled.

A moment later, a gaunt old man stood in its place.

‎"It's not me. They're just too fragile."

‎The figure rose to his feet, crossing his arms across his chest.

‎He thoughtfully tapped his mask where his chin should have been.

‎"Now what will I do with you?"

‎