Nightblade (Darkest night)

‎Conrad stared at Regius in quiet shock.

‎" This man... or should I say boy.. .what the hell?"

‎Conrad witnessed the events that took place on the snowy plain almost like he'd been there in person.

‎He could feel Regius' pain, almost like it was his own.

‎He was familiar with the pain of losing a loved one, when Jace had been murdered, his image overlapped with the one in Conrad's memories of his family.

‎He'd almost cried then, steeling himself to the emotions that threatened to swallow him up.

‎He hadn't known the man, Alec, but the Captain of the small cohort had undoubtedly been a maestro.

‎The unlucky youths had stood no chance the moment he'd fallen.

‎Regius writhed in the metallic chair he was strapped to, his eyes darting feverishly back and forth behind his eyelids.

‎" Come on," Conrad muttered under his breath, " what else happened?"

‎****

‎"Lord Samael, it's a pleasure to meet you in person," Damien said warmly.

‎Rebecca had led the guardian and his entourage to the Thane's banquet hall.

‎Samael offered Damien a smile, rising to his feet.

‎Damien shook the man's hand, taking a seat across from him.

‎"Lord Damien, I'd like to get straight to the point. Could you show me this man that you managed to capture?"

‎"Well, that's certainly frank, " Damien inwardly thought.

‎" But of course, Lord Samael," he said, rising to his feet.

‎" Right this way..."

‎****

‎In Regius' mind, the masked man roughly dragged him to his feet, tossing him over his shoulder.

‎Regius saw stars, a wave of searing, white hot pain flaring through his mangled leg.

‎The man nonchalantly strode forward, then effortlessly jumped, soaring into the air.

‎In that single leap, clearing over one hundred metres, ascending into the sky.

‎Regius subconsciously registered the feat through the haze of blinding agony plaguing his mind.

‎He gritted his teeth, fighting back a scream from the agony of the sudden movement.

‎The monster, now an old man, followed closely behind.

‎The masked figure landed soundlessly on one of the wide battlements of the ruin, strolling to the very edge before stopping

‎The Temerian ruins sprawled before them, forming concentric rings.

‎The dark walls where they stood formed an impenetrable outer rim, sealing off the lost civilization.

‎In his daze, Regius vaguely glimpsed the thddle rim, comprising a large tenebrous wall, rising almost endlessly into the sky.

‎"Let's move," the mysterious man ordered.

‎" The ruins are about to shift and he won't want us to get left behind."

‎Zagrul nodded curtly, bending his knees a bit.

‎ In the next moment, everything turned into a blur.

‎The buildings around them merged into one long blur, zooming past them faster than Regius could process.

‎Moments later, the two men stood in front of the vast wall that made up the inner rim.

‎Rgius gasped in shock, greedily breathing in lungfuls of air.

‎"What the hell?! How is this even possible?"

‎His eyes widened slightly at the phenomenon unfolding around him.

‎Regius felt a massive wave of umbralis gather.

‎In the next moment, the flood of umbralis surged forward, slamming into the wall.

‎The ground quaked, trembling tremulously beneath their feet.

‎A moment later, the gargantuan wall lit up.

‎Strange sigils inscribed in the walls' surface in an unknown tongue came to life, pulsating rhythmically, with bewitching intensity.

‎Regius stared at the runes in awe and disbelief, his pain and anguish momentarily forgotten.

‎The wall pulsated with increasing intensity.

‎In the next instant, something that would have been otherwise impossible happened.

‎The entire plain groaned, the sound echoing for miles, and then the gigantic wall began to move.

‎Regius' mouth fell open, watching the anomaly in shock.

‎The great wall cycled, slowly revolving through the ground.

‎The revolution slowly picked up speed, becoming faster and faster.

‎A massive fissure appeared in the revolving wall, forming an entrance to the inner part of the middle rim.

‎The two men darted inside, swiftly making their way deeper in.

‎" The whole city, it's moving..." Regius groggily thought, realizing the rhythmic tremors for what they truly were.

‎The masked figure abruptly stopped in front of an inconspicuous structure, a small building of sorts, and entered it at a measured pace.

‎Within the structure, a long corridor stretched into the distance, with strange floating electric lights adorning its walls.

‎The two men walked through the long tunnel, taking measured steps through it.

‎Outside, the concentric circles constituting the inner, middle and outer rims glowed, revolving at frenetic speeds.

‎The snow melted, seething and frothing from the heat of the revolutions.

‎Rivers of water flowed into the plain, the melted snow, sweeping large swathes of ice away, creating an instant avalanche.

‎The entire city pulsated with brilliant light, mirroring the ghostly aurora lights in the sky.

‎Then, a split second later, the entire city, Temeria, vanished, leaving a silent plain behind.

‎Within the ruins, the masked figure and Zagrul arrived at their destination.

‎The long corridor ended in a massive gilded hall.

‎The hall had a peculiar aura of regality to it, demanding reverence.

‎Dim lights shone, floating near the hall's domed ceiling but not quite touching it.

‎At its end, a throne sat on a raised platform.

‎On the throne, a figure shrouded in shadow, with his chin resting on his fist.

‎Regius' entire body froze in the presence of the stranger.

‎The man emanated waves of umbralis.

‎"What kind of monster is this?" Regius thought in shock.

‎His body trembled uncontrollably, spasming erratically.

‎The other two men paled in comparison to the monster seated on the throne.

‎The two men silently walked to the centre of the hall, stopping a short distance away from the throne.

‎The masked figure placed Regius down, then genuflected with the old man following suit.

‎Regius fought the urge to instinctively raise his gaze and stare at the man on the throne.

‎His instincts screamed at him to remain still and flee at the same time.

‎" You took your time getting here," a soft voice spoke, echoing throughout the hall.

‎The temperature within the hall plummeted considerably at the sound of the man's voice.

‎A ghostly mist rolled through the hall, turning Regius' every breath frigid.

‎" I apologize, Lord Asterix," the masked figure said, lowering his head further.

‎Asterix sighed, shifting slightly.

‎Behind him, a dark-horned beast stepped forward from the darkness of the shadow, snaling menacingly.

‎"From what I could tell, Zagrul enjoyed himself quite a bit... no?"

‎Regius furtively glanced at the figure of the old man, kneeling a short distance away.

‎He could almost see the man tremble.

‎" It was just a bit of fun, my Lord..."

‎" A bit of fun..." the voice echoed.

‎The whisper was as silent as it was chilling.

‎Regius' heart thudded frantically in his chest, almost as though it wanted to break out of his ribcage.

‎In that mmomenthe almost prayed the ground could swallow him.

‎A moment later, the voice spoke from right in front of him.

‎" Did I hear that correctly, Zagrul? It was fun..."

‎Regius' body completely froze.

‎His lungs failed to take in any breath.

‎The man's presence was overwhelming, suffocating, gunlike, anything he'd ever experienced.

‎Regius' mind went blank.

‎A short distance away, he faintly made out the sound of Zagrul screaming, a long and agonizing scream.

‎The man abruptly fell silent.

‎ A moment later, a resounding thud echoed through the hall.

‎The sound of a body hitting the floor.

‎" Let that be a lesson to you. Test my patience again and you'll pay with your life."

‎The figure moved to stand beside Regius's prone form.

‎" And who is this?"

‎" He's the only survivor, my Lord."

‎" Is that right?" the man murmured, squatting down in front of Regius.

‎" Look at me."

‎The man's voice brooked no denial. Against his will, Regius found his head rise on its own.

‎The man before him was clad in dark apparel seemingly woven out of the darkness itself.

‎ Pale dark gauntlets adorned his fists, absorbing the light around him.

‎And yet, the most striking thing about the man was his eyes; his eyes were a bewitching crimson.

‎Suddenly, the man cocked his head, staring at Regius, seemingly staring at something, only he could see.

‎A cruel smile spread across his face.

‎" I see you, little spy."

‎Conrad stared back, his mouth falling slightly open in shock.

‎A wave of blinding pain flared through his subconscious, nearly wrenching a scream from his lips.

‎He gasped, staggering back in shock and pain.

‎In the next moment, Re gius broke free of his bindings.

‎ With a roar, he leapt through the air.

‎ He arrived in front of Conrad in a heartbeat.

‎His fist flashed through the air, landing squarely in the dazed maestro's solar plexus.

‎Conrad gasped, grimacing in pain and confusion.

‎His body slammed through the reinforced alloy door, hurtling into the wall of the reinforced cell outside.

‎Damien's eyes widened in surprise at the sight of Conrad flying out of the containment cell, instantly becoming wary.

‎A moment later, Regius darted out, slipping beneath him.

‎The man twisted his body at an almost impossible angle, delivering a brutal kick that Damien barely blocked, flying back into the wall.

The underground bunker groaned from the force unleashed, but held.

‎Regius grinned triumphantly, darting towards the exit.

‎ A moment, a black gloved hand grabbed him, slamming him into the ground.

‎

‎Samael chuckled lightly, watching Regius' attempts to rise.

‎For all his prodigious strength, Regius failed to budge the man an inch.

‎" You never mentioned the prisoner would be feisty, Damien?"

‎" You don't understand," Regius snarled, spitting violently.

‎" None of you can stop him."

‎Samael smiled, his dark eyes gleaming eerily.

‎"I've stopped you. You've clearly realized the difference in our strength. So tell me, who can't I stop?"

‎" Asterix," onrad whispered.

‎Samael frowned slightly, his expression turning grim.

‎****

Epilogue:

‎A body lay motionless on an examination table covered with a white cloth.

‎ The man's body had a grotesque hole in its torso, where the heart should have been.

‎The man's heart had been haphazardly placed back in the chest.

‎As though activated by a phantom entity, strange sigils flared to life.

‎The damaged aorta of the corpse reattached itself, growing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

‎ Small blood vessels bloomed, spreading throughout the man's chest cavity.

‎The now functioning heart pumped rhythmically, sending pulses of blood and umbralis throughout the man's body.

‎The gaping hole in the man's chest swiftly closed, his lungs rapidly mending themselves.

‎Moments later, the man's eyelids fluttered open, revealing the strange, glowing crimson irises underneath.

‎He inhaled deeply, a faint smile appearing on his face.

‎"It's certainly good to be back."

‎

‎End of first volume.

What a ride it's been... I'll be starting on vol 2 immediately.

Do comment, thanks for reading up to this point.

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