Nightblade (Darkest night)

The gymnasium was enveloped in an eerie silence when Lucian finally arrived.

Earlier on, when Morgan had informed him of his intent to test the Blood Reaper blades, Lucian had planned to tag along.

Unexpectedly, a messenger from his father had arrived bearing news, so he'd told Morgan to go on ahead of him.

When he'd finally arrived, only sparring mats and silence greeted him.

A sickening feeling of foreboding slammed into him.

"What the hell?" His eyes swept across the hall, but there was no one in sight.

He adjusted his glasses, frowning in confusion.

" Could he have left already?" he quietly thought.

As he turned to leave, his eyes narrowed, glimpsing something on the platform.

His eyes widened in horror when he recognized Morgan's limp form on the sparring platform.

He broke into a sprint, scrambling up onto the platform.

Morgan lay unconscious on the platform.

" It can't be. Did Draco and Axel get to him? Was he overwhelmed with numbers?"

His eyes quickly glanced over Morgan's body for any sign of injury, but there was none. Morgan still tightly held onto the blades in his hands even in his unconscious state.

His hair and shirt were damp with sweat. His eyes darted back and forth feverishly behind his eyelids.

" Was he attacked by something or someone?"

Lucian carefully checked the blades.

" There's no sign of blood. It must have been a human, a highly skilled person at that."

His eyes widened when the realization hit him, his face turning grim.

Lucian turned around abruptly, scanning the hall with his eyes.

" Why would the person leave the blades here? The only thing that makes sense is that they're still around but well concealed."

Lucian closed his eyes and then took a deep breath.

"Don't panic, as long as I pretend that I haven't realized that they're still here, they shouldn't suspect a thing."

He cast a furtive glance at his surroundings.

" The only remaining question is whether they'll allow me to get out of here with Morgan or not."

A tall, brown-haired man soundlessly materialized next to Lucian.

" Lucian," he spoke.

Lucian jumped out of fright, spinning around to place himself between Morgan and the assailant.

"Your intuition is as sharp as always."

Lucian's eyes widened.

"You'd noticed that I'd realized there was someone here, huh?"

Lucas nodded.

"Don't beat yourself up over it. Honestly, I was quite surprised myself. But of course, you are my grandson after all."

Lucas smiled warmly, then turned to Morgan.

" Your friend is still adapting to the sensation of using his awakened ability," he calmly explained.

" That's why he's out of it."

Earlier, when Lucas offered to help out Morgan, Morgan had hesitantly accepted.

" Attack when you're ready."

Morgan frowned.

" Are you sure?"

Lucas chuckled in amusement, then the chuckle turned into a full-blown cackle.

Your caution is wasted on me. I'm a maestro kid, you wouldn't be able to hurt even if I was asleep."

Lucas calmly strode forward until he was in Morgan's attack range.

" Attack me when you're ready. Don't hold back. I, on the other hand, will hold back as much as possible. One last thing, that feeling you get when you tap into your ability, don't try to control it, allow it to flow into you and become one with it."

" How do you know about that?" Morgan asked in puzzlement.

Lucas smirked

" I've been alive for quite a while, kid, I know a lot of things."

Moments later, Morgan's perception became a blur of light, sound, and movement.

Even while holding back, Lucas was still a maestro, and so he was still inhumanly fast.

Morgan's mind strained to its limits in a futile attempt to keep up with his movements.

Lucas disappeared from his sight, appearing beside him. His hand fell slowly, gracefully, just stopping short of delivering a chop to Morgan's neck.

A warning.

Morgan's eyes widened in surprise, an icy chill running down his spine.

His eyes turned a vivid gold, darting frantically around the room in search of the man.

Morgan reacted fast, spinning around while simultaneously jumping back, but he was still too slow.

Lucas was already on the move.

" Where the hell is he?"

Morgan began running.

"If I stand still, I'm just an open target." He thought.

The echoes of his steps on the platform sounded loud. No direction was safe.

Lucas was in front of him, beside him, and everywhere, all at once. Morgan felt suffocated. His blades were hanging uselessly at his side.

" So this is a maestro."

A feeling of utter hopelessness slowly bloomed within him as he tried to track Lucas' movements.

Lucas abruptly materialized in front of him, an inscrutable look on his face.

His lips were pressed together in a slight frown.

His eyes narrowed in scrutiny.

He regarded Morgan skeptically, then sighed.

" Could I have been wrong about him? No, my instincts haven't failed me before; they won't start now."

" Listen, kid, what are you trying to do?"

Morgan looked at him in confusion.

" I'm trying to track your movements, sir."

Lucas' eyes widened in surprise, then he laughed.

" You're going about it the wrong way; an aspirant can't track a maestro's movements, not with their eyes at least. But there's a slight chance an awakened aspirant can, to a small degree. They'd still die, though, if it were a fight."

Lucas moved back a few feet. Then disappeared once more, appearing beside Morgan.

Morgan flinched and jumped back.

" See, you didn't see me, but your body felt the threat, and you started moving even before I got close to you. Why?"

Morgan's eyes narrowed in thought.

" It was instinctive, I guess."

Lucas nodded patiently.

" Trust your instincts. Don't simply rely on your eyes. They can be deceived. Your ability, however, can't. Let it guide you. Use your ability to tell where I'm without opening your eyes."

Inwardly, Lucas smirked.

"It's easier said than done, but at least it's a start. I don't expect that he'll be able to do it on his first try."

Lucas moved once more, darting around the platform at an inhuman speed.

Small pockets of air exploded in his wake, ripping through the space every time he changed direction.

Morgan sheathed his blades then closed his eyes, concentrating on his ability, trying to draw it outward.

His eyes moved feverishly behind his eyelids.

His perception of the world shifted momentarily, and his eyes flew open.

" What the heck?"

" Concentrate." Lucian hissed.

His voice was everywhere all at once, distorting Morgan's senses.

Morgan inhaled slightly, then closed his eyes once more.

He saw darkness. He focused on the feeling he'd experienced before.

His eyes began to glow beneath his eyelids.

He spun in place, fighting the instinctive desire to open his eyes and instead yielding to the feeling, allowing it to flow out of him, spreading outward.

His mind strained from the attempt.

Then vaguely, he began to perceive golden flashes of light and darkness.

" Where am I?" Lucas' voice quietly echoed in his mind.

Morgan spun, trying to point with his finger.

The golden bursts of light became more frequent, intermingling with darkness.

He forced himself to focus more on what he was seeing.

A sharp pain suddenly pierced through his mind.

He began to point with his finger.

" There, "

He spun around, staying rooted in place

" There, now you've moved, you're there."

His head began to throb painfully.

Lucas smiled with pride.

" Attaboy, now about now?"

Lucas increased the speed at which he was moving.

The air on the platform quivered from the vacuum left in his wake.

In Morgan's mind, something strained, then cracked.

He staggered back wildly, clutching at his head.

His back arched suddenly, mouth opening in a soundless scream.

His eyes opened momentarily, the golden colour spreading from his irises to the sclera of his eyes, then he collapsed.

Lucas stopped and smiled.

" I'm impressed, kid, you did well."

Morgan's body trembled slightly, his eyes restlessly darting back and forth.

" The human brain relies a lot on vision, hearing, taste, basically the ordinary senses of a human being," Lucas explained to Lucian.

He paused momentarily.

" But the awakened are unique because of their ability to push past these boundaries and completely disregard the brain and use their minds. It's an odd thing, to disregard your instincts and instead rely solely on belief in what should be and do so reflexively."

A skeptical glint flickered through Lucian's eyes.

" So you were helping him?"

" Yep. And that's why he's unconscious." Lucas explained.

" The strain was probably quite tremendous on his mind since I'm a maestro, but once he wakes up, he should be able to use his ability much more freely."

Lucas grinned.

" You could say, I helped him forcefully break through by overwhelming his ability."

Lucian frowned.

" Why? Why would you help him?"

Lucas nonchalantly shrugged.

" Morgan is my grandson's dear friend; why wouldn't I help him?"

Lucian's eyes widened in disbelief.

" You were there? In the weapon smithing chamber?"

Lucas grinned mischievously.

" I don't know what you're talking about." He said, waving his hand dismissively.

"I'll be off then. Your friend should be awake soon."

He started to walk off, then paused.

" Lucian, a word of caution. You should know who your friend is by now. He'll need to be prepared for what's coming."

Lucas turned around and stared at Lucian with a steely glint in his eyes.

" There are those who'd rather not have him around because of his unique lineage, so he'll need to grow powerful, faster, and have reliable friends he can count on."

Lucas paused once more, allowing his words to sink in.

"The question here is, do you think he can count on you as you are now?"

Lucas spun on his heel and soundlessly strode off, melding into the shadows.