Nightblade (Darkest night)

The students scrambled back, fleeing into the forest.

" Calm down, all of you. We'll handle this."

The bear was a unique species, predominant in the Zandria region, known as the Hades bear. At a horrifying thirteen feet, it towered impossibly, standing feet on its titanic hind legs.

Remus slowly stood up, with a savage grin on his face.

The enormous bear kicked up dirt as it ran, the ground quaking violently from its approach.

" Why don't you sit this one out, Instructor Remus. I think I'll handle this one since you've been hogging all the fun. I haven't had a chance to stretch at all."

Remus glanced at him in amusement, then sheathed his blade.

He flourished a bow, offering Emmett a slight smile.

" As you wish."

Emmett stepped forward, cracking his neck from side to side.

He took long strides towards the charging bear, slowly loosening his tie mid-stride.

The bear roared ferociously, rearing up on its hind feet.

With a savage snarl, it hurled itself at him, opening its jaws impossibly wide.

Emmett threw back his fist. The fist morphed, increasing rapidly in size.

White fur covered the entirety of the arm, and the nails lengthened into vicious claws.

Morgan gasped in surprise.

"He must also be a biological type, Talented."

In the very next second, Emmett's fist slammed into the bear's head with concussive force.

The bear flew back and crashed into a tree. It quickly got up, shaking its head in a daze.

The bear snarled and then dashed forward once more.

" That's strange, I thought that would finish it off." Emmett thought, his eyes narrowing.

He sighed, then took off his coat and shirt, throwing them to the ground.

Emmett's eyes glowed a ghostly white, his ability activating fully.

With a nonchalant shrug, his body increased in size until he was taller than the bear.

White fur covered his upper body, and a large snout and maw extended forward.

Within seconds, a large furred beast with reversed knee joints stood in his place, standing a staggering 15 feet.

The creature snarled ferociously and then violently tackled the bear, lifting it high into the air, then slamming it violently to the ground.

A giant crater formed at the point of impact.

The students watched the behemoths' clash with awe and fear.

" Cassius, are you also able to do that?" Morgan asked.

Cassius shook his head.

" Compared to Professor Emmett, the creature I transform into is quite small."

Emmett savagely circled the bear, getting behind it.

He looped his arms around, then heaved it into the air, tossing it behind him in a concussive backward throw.

The ground quaked once more underneath the massive bear's weight.

Remus watched the fight draw near its conclusion with an amused smile plastered on his face.

The bear weakly struggled to its feet, staggering around a bit. Blood slowly trickled down the corner of its mouth.

" Shall I finish it off?" Emmett growled in a deep voice.

Remus shrugged, " Do as you will. It'll be taken care of."

Just then, two young Hades cubs dashed out of the forest, snarling fiercely.

Emmett growled, then let out an earth-shattering roar that silenced the cubs.

The cubs whimpered meekly, shielding their mother's body with their own.

Emmett snarled and then turned on his heel, walking away.

He became human once more, his muscles rippling fluidly.

He picked up his shirt and coat and promptly put them back on.

" I didn't know you had a soft spot for helpless animals," Remus smirked.

Emmett briefly glared at him, then adjusted his tie and smoothed out his coat, brushing off a few strands of grass.

The class continued without a hitch.

Instructor Remus demonstrated how to cut the meat, then how to start a fire in the wild.

Moments later, the delicious aroma of roasted meat wafted through the air.

Remus expertly turned the meat, demonstrating how to cook it thoroughly.

He threw a few scraps at the cubs and their mother, then shooed them off into the forest.

The rest of the class had returned at this point, and they dove into the barbecue with gusto.

" If this is how aspirants live in Tenebris, I wouldn't quite mind it myself," Cassius said, licking his fingers.

Since no one had carried cutlery, they all had to make do with their fingers.

The meat was quite tender and juicy, the fat expertly rendered and charred.

All in all, it was an unexpectedly great way to live in the wild.

" While the two realms differ, Tenebris is not vastly different from Earth. On occasion, you'll happen upon fruits and herbs that have similarities to those in this plane, but take care." Remus said with a wicked smile.

"If you're careless, the best meal of your life might end up being your last."

Morgan blissfully contemplated the day, regaling Lucian with Emmett's fight against the Hades she-bear.

" I'll tell you now, dude, that thing was enormous. Most of the aspirants ran away, but I stayed back with this guy, a Talented, whose name is Cassius. Cassius Wulfric."

Lucian stared at him in wonder.

" Morgan and the Talented, he's able to instantly befriend them."

Morgan, oblivious to what his friend was thinking, continued.

" And then Professor Emmett, who is also a biological type, talented by the way, nonchalantly walked towards it. It was so casual, it looked like he was just taking a stroll in the park."

On the horizon, the sun began its slow descent, painting the skyline red with a fiery crimson hue.

The next couple of days sped by in a flash.

As the days towards the excursion lessened, the intensity of the classes increased considerably.

Professor Lilia demonstrated how to extract several different kinds of poisons from different plants.

Rundrik continued to teach them the theory of weapon smithing. Only novices and perhaps initiates could withstand the process of weapon smithing, he had told them.

And Emmett and Remus continued to teach them how to hunt and prepare different types of food.

During this time, Morgan had formed new bonds with Cassius and another Talented, Drake Scylar.

Drake and Cassius were distant cousins, both coming from Talented families.

At lunch, Lucian and Morgan would sit together with Emily, Edmund, and Samantha.

Drake and Cassius would occasionally join them.

Different factions had been formed in the academy.

Axel Dark led a faction of the aspirants. Draco had lost face, so he'd skulk around alone.

Rumour had it, he'd received a stern telling off from his father, the head of House Dark.

Anthony Grant led a group of the Talented.

Anthony's influence had been growing since he'd defeated Amanda Gardner.

At the academy, that influence had continued to grow until he wielded considerable support among the Talented.

Amidst the different factions, Morgan's small group stood out like a sore thumb, yet everyone clearly remembered Morgan's duel with Draco.

Despite Morgan's win, some thought it had all been a fluke.

The rumours continued to spread.

" Did you know that Thane kid cheated?"

"I thought so too. There's no way Draco could've been beaten in a fair fight. The result was simply preposterous."

And it so happened that one fateful evening, as Morgan, Lucian, and Cassius were heading back to the dorms, they ran into Draco's old minions.

Cassius, Lucian, and Morgan were engaged in conversation about the different classes they didn't share.

Cassius' ears perked up, quivering unnaturally.

The path they were on was too quiet.

Cassius suddenly stopped, with a chuckle. His eyes darted back and forth suspiciously.

" What's wrong, Cassius?" Morgan asked.

" This place, it's too...quiet. Something's off." He whispered.

"What's this? If you guys needed to talk to any of us so badly, all you had to do was ask nicely." Cassius spoke loudly.

After a few moments, a group of six boys moved out of their hiding spots, slowly surrounding the trio.

They formed a loose circle around them, barring any way out.

Morgan frowned, recognizing the kid in charge.

" I remember you, you were with Draco, the night he paid Lucian a visit."

The youth smiled.

" That's quite the memory you've got, for a fraud that it is."

" His name is Bruce Gracian." Lucian piped up.

Morgan smiled, an amused look flickering through his eyes.

" Me? A fraud? That's quite interesting, because when I look around, the only fraud I see is you and your ragtag band of weaklings, Bruce. "

" I see through you, Thane, you're trying to stall for time, but unfortunately for you, this is where your lies end. No one is coming to save you."

Morgan laughed, his eyes gleaming with mirth.

A slight breeze blew past them, ruffling his hair.

" I don't need any help to handle the likes of you, Bruce. You must be thick in the head, or I probably knocked your head too hard the last time we met. Did you tell your ragtag crew of minions what happened the last time we met?"

Bruce's face darkened, his smile becoming strained.

" Did you tell them how I took on three of you, Draco, you, and that other guy? How I knocked you out?"

Whispers began to float among the other boys.

Morgan's smile grew wider.

"From the looks on their faces, I take it you didn't."

Cassius chuckled in amusement.

" Shut it, Talented," Bruce growled. Cassius' eyes narrowed, his demeanor turning serious.

" Hey, Morgan, if you don't mind, I'll handle this one."

" Get them!" Bruce yelled.

In the very next second, Bruce lunged forward, Cassius' eyes glowed with orange light, a savage grin appearing on his face.

Morgan spun around to deal with the attackers at the back.

Then a swift shadow swept over them, landing in their midst.

Xander Gray, the student council president, stood in the middle of the small group with a stern expression on his face.

" What's going on here?"