Nightblade (Darkest night)

Emily had almost made it, but behind her, a huge flock of giant four-armed creatures had gathered.

The creatures had given up on trying to immobilize their prey with stones, committing fully to the chase.

" Hurry, you're almost here."

A glimmer of hope appeared in Emily's eyes, then swiftly turned to shock.

Emily let out a muffled yelp.

In the next moment, she stumbled over a stray rock and violently rolled on the ground.

Emily quickly tried to get to her feet, but then she screamed.

A sharp pain flared through her leg.

She glanced down at her foot and discovered it had turned at an awkward angle.

One of the creatures chose that moment to swoop down, its arms reaching for her.

She raised her arms to shield herself, but the creature never reached her.

In the next moment, a dark blur whizzed past her.

Two dark, silvery blades flashed through the air, bisecting the creature in a gory display of blood and gore.

Morgan stood in front of her, wielding his twin blades.

His appearance was quite the sight to behold.

The dark blood from the creature had splattered onto his face and on the sleek black suit.

His eyes blazed with a fierce golden light.

It dripped down his blades in small streams, painting the jade cobblestone stones a vivid black.

" Come on, get a move on." He yelled.

" If you don't, we're going to die here. Actually, forget I said that, I don't have any plans of dying any time soon, so if you don't move, it's your funeral!"

" I can't move, it's my leg, I think I sprained it!" Emily yelled back in frustration.

After Morgan bisected the first creature, a few winged creatures landed on the ground a small distance away.

They began to warily circle the duo, eyeing Emily with unmistakable greed in their beady eyes.

Their dark gazes hungrily shifted between their fallen comrade and Morgan, who stood in front of the easy prey lying on the ground behind him.

" What do I do? The moment I turn my back on these creatures, we're finished! Think, Morgan, think!"

In the next moment, Morgan's eyes shone with a determined light.

A split second later, he was among the creatures, weaving through a flurry of furry limbs and claws.

Several pairs of arms reached out for him, flashing through the air with inhuman speed.

In Morgan's perception, the limbs moved in slow motion, the outspread claws sluggishly reaching out for him.

His golden irises darted around at a frenetic speed, his mind working feverishly to determine the most immediate and dangerous threat.

Morgan's advantage was his lithe body; he was smaller than the creatures, he could elusively slip between them, deftly dodging their attacks while dealing fatal blows of his own.

He stabbed the nearest creature in the eye, then swiftly slashed his second blade across its neck.

A violent spray of dark blood spewed through the air, painting him black.

The creature staggered back, desperately grabbing at its throat to stem the flow of blood.

Its eyes widened in surprise when, instead of a screech, a muffled gurgle escaped its throat. It fell to the ground, drowning in its own blood.

The rest of the creatures quickly jumped on it, ripping into it with a savage viciousness.

By then, Morgan had already danced away, moving forward to meet his next victim.

Covered in dark blood with his eyes aglow with golden light, his likeness took on the appearance of a ghostly dark phantom summoned from the deepest pits of the abyss.

He moved swiftly, sowing death and reaping blood every time his blades flashed through the air.

Emily watched him move with silent awe.

Every strike was coldly calculated, every attack and movement executed with utmost precision.

He always evaded the creatures' attacks unerringly and lashed out seamlessly, his golden eyes glowing with cold focus.

" It's beautiful," she quietly whispered.

Morgan ruthlessly planted his blades into another beast's gut.

He strained his muscles, shoving the blades as deep as they could go, then brutally dragged them downward.

He moved with the blade's momentum, evading the creature's attempt to embrace him in what would have become a grotesque bear hug.

Morgan rolled to the ground and quickly scrambled to his feet, slicing at the wings of another one of the creatures.

" I'm so tired, I just want to stop."

The Blood Reaper blades were completely soaked in blood up to their hilts.

The blades hummed with silent power, and then, unknown to Morgan, something strange began to happen.

The blades absorbed the blood into themselves, glowing with a captivating light.

Morgan suddenly felt strength flow into him, but he paid no heed to the phenomenon, his mind completely locked into the heat of battle.

Two pairs of arms reached for him.

The creature's mouth opened impossibly wide, several rows of sharp fangs gleaming in the golden glow of the city.

Adrenaline surged through his body, granting him startling clarity of mind.

Morgan shoved the creature he'd stabbed in the gut into its path with an animalistic roar.

His eyes blazed with the inhuman savagery of a cornered animal.

The creatures hesitated for a split second, wariness overriding their bloodlust for a brief instant.

And that's all he needed.

Morgan jumped back, disengaging from the fight, turned on his heel, and ran.

In one fluid motion, he scooped Emily up into his arms and leapt up the stairs.

Some of the creatures frantically chased after his retreating figure, while others tore into the bodies of the slain beasts with primal savagery.

He roughly shoved her through the narrow gap, then quickly slipped in himself.

With a desperate roar, he braced his body, then heaved against the door, straining himself once more.

Morgan grit his teeth, summoning every last ounce of strength he had.

Veins popped up on his forearms as he pushed past his limits.

With a muffled yell, the large door began to close, moving agonizingly slowly.

The creatures stopped short of the door, watching it slowly close warily.

They nervously tried to fly closer but stopped just short of the steps.

One of the creatures boldly flew up the steps, intent on pursuing the elusive prey.

In the next instant, it froze, its maw opening in a peculiar, shocked expression.

A split second later, it disintegrated, its body turning to ash.

Oblivious to what was going on outside, Morgan was panting heavily.

He tiredly slid to the floor, greedily gulping lungfuls of air.

" I definitely shouldn't do something that stupid again." He quietly thought.

The golden light in his eyes slowly faded, his eyes reverting to their brown colour.

His abused muscles spasmed uncontrollably.

His hands trembled slightly as he sheathed his blades.

" We made it," he gasped.

Emily silently stared at him.

" Yeah, we did." She said quietly.

After a while, Morgan shuffled over to where Emily was seated.

" Let me take a look at your leg."

Her leg was rapidly swelling.

" It's just a sprain, but judging from its size, you won't be running anywhere for a while."

Morgan's stomach growled loudly.

" Ah, jeez, I haven't eaten since lunch at the academy."

Emily silently stared at him.

" What?"

She sighed, then turned away.

" You're still covered in blood, what passed for it in those creatures anyway."

He glanced at his hands, then wiped them on his suit.

He cast a furtive glance at Emily's blazer, then quickly looked away.

"I'll deal with it once we get a source of water. Right now, we need to find some food. I'm quite famished as it is."

Emily stared at him quizzically.

" Shouldn't we first find out where we are?"

More statues of hooded men decorated the inside of the building.

The same luminescent crystals that had been embedded in the pillars spread within the building, illuminating its interior.

A rectangular block of rock stood at the centre of the building, surrounded by another set of statues.

The statues around the block of stone had no hoods.

" Well, from what I can tell from a glance, I'd say this is a temple. The people who lived here probably used to come here to worship something."

Morgan cautiously strode towards the rectangular block.

" This was probably an altar."

" A little help here?" Emily asked, gesturing to her foot.

" Oh, sorry, my bad."

Morgan helped her to her feet and slowly walked with her to the altar.

Emily's eyes narrowed.

" I've a vague feeling I've seen this somewhere before."

Morgan scoffed.

" Probably in your dreams, right?"

Emily nodded seriously.

" Yeah."

Morgan cast her a quizzical look.

" Are you being serious right now? So you want me to believe that you've seen a strange altar in Tenebris in your dreams and somehow it's this altar?"

Emily shook her head.

" It's familiar, it's not the same thing. Besides, it's up to you to believe me or not. Your choice."

Just then, the air grew colder, and a dark mist began to gather within the ancient temple.

A towering dark figure started to take shape in the space above them.

Emily's eyes widened.

" Is that?" she whispered.

" It's a shadow wraith!"