Nightblade (Darkest night)

Morgan stirred awake, his eyes opening sluggishly.

He took in the sight of the solemn statues around him. It almost felt like he was in an art museum of sorts.

For a brief moment, his gaze was transfixed on the life-like sculptures.

The beasts almost seemed alive.

He forcefully tore his gaze away from the bewitching sight, sitting fully upright.

In the next moment, his eyes narrowed in contemplation.

Emily wasn't on the floor where she'd been before.

"Did she get up before me?"

He furtively glanced around. There was no sign of her.

The thought that something could have happened to her while he was asleep jolted him awake.

He quickly sprang to his feet, Blood reaper flashing free of its scabbard.

He silently crept forward, surveying the chamber for any threat.

A glance into the central chamber showed him that the shadow wraith was still silently floating above the altar.

He listened intently, paying attention to even the slightest of sounds but only silence reigned throughout the temple.

" Morgan?"

Startled, he spun and saw Emily standing at the far end of the hall, staring at him questioningly.

The large statue had hidden her from view.

She had a slight frown on her face.

Emily's gaze dipped to his blades, her green eyes narrowing in confusion.

Her dark hair looked slightly dishevelled, flowing messily down her shoulders.

" What are you doing?"

Morgan breathed an audible sigh of relief, sheathing the dark blades.

" I thought something had happened to you; you had me worried there for a second."

The frown on her face deepened.

" What do you mean?"

Morgan hadn't yet told her about the nagging feeling he'd had. The excitement of the previous night had pushed it to the back of his mind.

He approached her, studying the statues where she'd been standing.

" I have a suspicion, you can call it a hunch of sorts."

Emily raised an eyebrow, studying him.

" What's up?"

Morgan pierced her with a serious look, his demeanor turning grim.

" I think there's something else in here with us."

Emily studied him for a moment, taking in the implication of what he was saying.

" You mean to say that other than the creepy shadow wraith floating over that ancient altar, there's something else?"

Morgan quietly nodded.

Emily turned around silently, walking to the wall and studying it intently for a moment.

" Why would you think that?"

Morgan sat down, raising a small cloud of dust. He coughed slightly, then spoke.

" Last night, when I killed the Bretnar, I grabbed its body and ran up the steps. After slipping in through the gap between the temple doors, I noticed something strange."

Emily turned around, staring at him raptly, hanging on to his every word.

He looked up, staring into her green eyes.

" The Bretnar, they weren't following me. And I don't think they can sense the shadow wraith from that distance. "

He paused for a while.

"I think there's something in here that has them spooked, something so dreadful that they don't dare cross the threshold between the temple steps and the courtyard. I think it's also the reason the wraith hasn't moved since we got here."

Emily turned and gestured to the wall.

" If what you're saying is true, then you should probably take a look at this. I figured it might interest you and solve your problem. We'll need as much help as we can to fight this mysterious being or even to escape from it if we run into it. "

Morgan stared at her in puzzlement, then rose, quietly dusting himself off.

He stood beside Emily, scrutinizing the wall with interest.

Several images had been carved into the wall, depicting numerous hooded figures seated cross-legged on the ground.

Numerous lines of dark writing had been carved into the wall.

Morgan slowly read through the inscription, carefully going over every line.

The more he read, the more his eyes widened in surprise.

The inscription read:

Draw breath as life enters you; release as shadows depart.

Still the body, unbar the spirit, and I shall flow within you.

I am shadow's flame, unseen yet eternal.

Let your mind be as the void, your heart unbarred, and I will dwell within.

Many have searched the ages yet failed to find me.

I am the key to all you seek, the strength only the worthy may wield.

Take me in, and I shall magnify you; few shall stand as your equal.

Draw life into your vessel, release what binds you.

Still the body, unbar the spirit.

Let me enter, and you shall awaken.

Morgan silently stared at the words in a puzzled silence.

" What the heck? Are these supposed to be instructions on how to use Umbralis?"

Emily nodded, a faint smile lighting up her face.

" Have you tried doing what it says?"

Emily shook her head.

" Honestly, I'm not willing to risk it. I lost consciousness just from entering the dimensional rift with you guys. Who knows what will happen if I try this as well?"

Morgan shrugged.

Emily made a good point.

Morgan had no reason to trust the instructions in the temple as well.

But from the looks of things, assassins had erected the temple, and definitely must have been the ones to leave the strange instructions in place.

Morgan wanted to find a way of getting back to Earth as quickly as possible.

Therefore, the fastest way to find a way out of Tenebris would be by becoming an initiate himself.

Initiates weren't as strong as novices or maestros, but it was a start.

Based on the beasts they'd met so far, becoming an initiate was his best bet, no, it was their best bet at survival.

It would certainly make the task of killing the beasts much easier.

He glanced at the depiction of the hooded figure sitting cross-legged on the ground and followed his example.

" So I sit on the ground, then..."

Emily watched him intently, her gaze shifting back and forth between what he was doing and what was inscribed in the nebulous images.

"I think you're supposed to breathe in while focusing on the umbralis around us, you did say you could vaguely sense it, right?"

Morgan silently nodded, then closed his eyes.

" Focus."

Concentrating on the umbralis felt like trying to recall the vague melody of a song you'd heard only once.

Morgan quickly found that the more he concentrated on it, the more it eluded him.

" Anything yet?"

Morgan silently shook his head and continued to focus on the feeling of the umbralis.

A few moments passed without any change.

" Well? What if you're doing something wrong?"

Morgan's eyes shot open.

" And what would that be? Pray tell." He said sarcastically.

Emily ignored the obvious sarcasm and turned back to the wall.

" Well, let's see, it says draw breath as life enters you, you're obviously doing that pretty well. What about stilling the body and unbarring the spirit? Maybe you're not opening yourself up to it fully?"

Morgan inwardly rolled his eyes.

" So what do you think I should do?"

Emily furrowed her brows in thought for a while, then scrutinized him.

" I think you should do exactly what it says, open yourself up to the umbralis. I don't know much about the spirit thing, but I think you should try to open your mind up, maybe reveal your weaknesses or something like that, vulnerable thoughts."

Morgan scoffed but closed his eyes.

" Oh, and instead of focusing on it, try to, I don't know, open yourself up to it, like let it in."

He slowly breathed in, clearing his mind of everything that didn't matter.

He remembered everything he'd been through, the intense training, and instead of just focusing on the umbralis, he decided to turn inward.

"Let your mind be as the void, your heart unbarred, and I will dwell within." He muttered.

He relieved his mother's death, feeling all the pain and regret he'd felt in those moments, the uncertainties that gnawed at him even after becoming an assassin.

The fear of losing people close to him.

Then he felt a subtle shift.

It was unnoticeable at first. A faint hum, then it quickly grew in intensity.

His skin burned with a strange sensation.

The hairs on his skin prickled, standing on edge.

The vague melody of the umbralis that had been so elusive became clearer.

The vague static felt clearer, pulsating around him with a particular strange rhythm. He opened himself up to the rhythm, allowing it to flow within him and flowing along with it in turn.

Emily's eyes widened when she noticed a palpable shift in the room.

An unnatural current of air blew through the room, stirring up dust.

Then the ground quaked.

The floor cracked, webs of fractured rock spreading through the floor beneath him.

Some of the sculptures trembled, crashing to the ground in the ensuing chaos.

Morgan's eyes moved feverishly beneath his eyelids, then flew open, glowing with golden light.

Then the strange golden light began to spread through his eyes, moving from his irises to his sclera.

The light enveloped his eyes completely.

Morgan looked like a deity, levitating in the air, his eyes staring into space at something only he could see.

He let out a shout.

A palpable wave of force rippled through the air around him.

The umbralis flowed to him in a seemingly endless stream, entering his body through the pores of skin, his eyes, his nose, and mouth.

The umbralis was becoming one with him. It felt exhilarating, it felt right.

Morgan felt a wave of strength surge through his body.

A raw, violent kind of strength different from the control his awakened ability required.

Then, in the next moment, the temperature in the room plummeted rapidly.

A split second later, the shadow wraith that had been in the central hall appeared in front of Morgan.