Rivers of the Night

The Alpha was akin to an arrow at the end of its flight the moment the charged into the water. To hit the speeds it had, it took everything.

Despite it only lasting for few brief flashes of a second, Theron could tell with a thought that the Alpha had nothing more to give.

But that was fine.

The sea of Dark Mana behind Theron exploded just as he put the Alpha way. There was flicker in his eyes and he instantly grabbed onto the momentum of a current and pulled himself off to the side.

What felt like a speeding arrow shot by him, the claw of a man just barely missing him. However, he didn't even look back as he surged down, grabbing onto another current as he went even deeper.

Theron had already grasped [Entangling Blood Vein Pupils] to Profiecient Mastery, and because of that, his body became akin to a fish in water, a feeling that he was all too familiar with.

His Third Eye flourished, and he continuously attached himself to the flowing momentum of the waves of Dark River Mana.

Patriarch Nightingale came to a stop a distance away, feeling Theron nearing the edges of his Third Eye. It was already more difficult to spread one's senses out in a dense pool of Mana like this, and with the volatility of the currents, it only became more difficult.

His eyes turned red.

Patriarch Nightingale had always been good at controlling his emotions, but he never thought that things could go wrong even when just moments ago they were going so right.

It felt like his last chance at grasping a lineage he had had his mind and heart on for centuries was slipping right through his grasp. And with Theron's strength and talent, not to mention his sharpness in the midst of danger, it would only take so long before he really did find a way to leave this planet.

They were already turning so many resources toward finding him. How much longer could they insist on doing this?

Soon, the gathering would be taking place, and if they weren't present, the Hall of Ice and Heart would find out about things ahead of time. And if they were the ones to catch Theron instead, there would be rewards.

On top of that, anything on Theron's person would be theirs and Patriarch Nightingale wouldn't have a say in what happened to the Howling Shadow Blade's legacy anymore.

He wasn't certain, but that dagger in Theron's hand radiated a very familiar aura, and it was more powerful than any treasure he had even seen.

Unaccetable.

It was unacceptable.

Patriarch Nightingale's Mana churned, the currents around him only becoming more flagrant and hard to track.

No matter the cost.

BANG!

**

Blackmaul surged ahead. The Elder Council was at the vanguard, holding back the beasts, but they weren't pushing too far. Instead, they were holding a line and stopping beasts beyond Gold Mancy from crossing the lines of their trenches.

BANG!

The earth before Blackmaul suddenly shook.

He covered his eyes with his forearm, trying to see beyond the billowing dust.

"Why are you here?" Grand Elder Macie's voice pierced through.

Blackmaul's soul shook. He could feel the Grand Elder's fury. Clearly, she thought he was just messing around, or worse yet, running away. So he had no choice but to quickly explina.

"What?!"

Before Blackmaul could clarify, the earth shook again and Grand Elder Macie was gone, zipping through the air so fast she left nothing but a streak of darkness.

**

Theron coughed up a mouthful of blood, his body being rebuffed by a wave of Mana aftershocks.

He slammed a foot into the current beneath him, tying himself to it with [Entangling Blood Vein Pupils] once again to accelerate out of the way.

He felt like he was trapped in a continuous game of cat and mouse. Patriarch Nightingale was sharp enough to not let him go any deeper, knowing that if he slipped out of the layer of Dark Mana and into the true Dark River, that any advantages he had were gone.

At least in this layer here, the Mana was all matched to his affinity and there were no beasts. But if they went down there, all bets were off.

Patriarch Nightingale was maybe the worst opponent for Theron in these circumstances. He might not be able to use [Entangling Blood Vein Pupils], but he had been studying these currents and how to counter them for decades in hopes of opening the other entrances.

He wasn't as good as Theron, not by a long stretch, but the small bits he did know, matched with his cultivation, made it an impossible task for Theron to shake him easily.

And yet, Theron's gaze remained a steely cold. He took every rattle to his inner organs and slice of flesh off his skin with the same indifference, his eyes scanning, waiting.

Patriarch Nightingale could feel that calm, cool gaze, and it was beginning to make his own heart shudder. At that young of an age, was he was capable of being like this?

By this point, Theron's mask had completely fallen off, its pieces becoming minced beneath the currents and the slight baby-ishness of his features out in full view.

He was a young man still a few weeks away from his 15th birthday, and here he was facing a man more than 20 times his senior with a resolve and grit even beyond him.

And he wouldn't flinch.

Suddenly, Theron moved. Rather than shooting away from Patriarch Nightingale, he closed in the distance. He had seen the man attack enough times.

Now it was time to counter.

Patriarch Nightingale's expression changed, not expecting the sudden change of course, but Theron's sudden move was too sharp and too well-timed.

He moved the instant Patriarch Nightingale was about to close in the distance, making everything happen twice as fast as the Patriarch was expecting.

Chi.

Theron's father's sword cut across the Patriarch's body as the latter twisted out of the way of the dagger.

A piece of the Patriarch's robes were tossed into the air before being shredded apart by the volatile Dark Mana.