Part 1.
“Wait!” a voice came from behind. He didn’t have time to wait though, he was in a hurry. She had a good lead on him, and he didn’t have an idea where she went. All he could think about was finding her, who knew what kind of danger she could get into outside all alone. “Put your pants on!” came the voice again.
That had been just the thing to bring him back down to reality. He had rushed out of the warm bathroom, soaking wet, without any clothes on. He was now outside, amide all the thirteen other inhabitants of the small village, baring all… in the cold night air.
He quickly used [Create] to make some clothes, a simple white shirt with brown pants, accompanied with matching slip on shoes. Once things were in order, trying to forget his embarrassment, he looked around like he was hoping to see Lili just running around the village.
“You won’t find her like this.” Evona’s voice continued. She herself was also soaking wet in the night air, and naked underneath a towel she had managed to grab. “The barrier hasn’t activated yet, so she is still within the vicinity of the village.” She was trying to play it tough, but she was shivering ever so slightly. [Create]. He touched her shoulder and made a thick white dress that covered her and the towel underneath her.
“I need my ring. I can use it to find her.” He finally responded, escorting her back into the house. He had grown tired of the mixed stares coming from the other elves. There were a mix of emotions, some were entrances, some angry, others amused. He figured he had put on enough of a show.
After grabbing his ring from the bathroom counter, he put it on, closed his eyes and focused. He felt three other presences, two of them were far, far away to the south. They no doubt belonged to Eline and Giazel. The third presence was extremely close, closer than he had expected. It was coming from inside the house. He quickly raced for it, realizing it was coming from inside Lili’s room, his first though caused his stomach to sink. When he crashed open the door, that feeling came to fruition. There sitting on the dresser to the left of the entrance was her necklace. “Shit… much good that does if you don’t wear it.” He was furious, but he did his best to keep it down in his gut; he needed to keep a clear head in this situation.
“Nothing yet on the barrier.” Evona said, she walked in the room while drying her hair. His frustration swelled back up at the sight of her, but again, he pushed it down. It was just as much his fault as hers, no, it was even more so his.
He could have, should have, rejected her advances, then that would have prevented all of this from happening, but even more so, he should have handled Lili better. It was plainly obvious that she was jealous of other women around him. She had been that way back in Faustus with Giazel and Eline, and it had come back ever since he had laid eyes on Evona. You can’t fault someone for being attracted to something, but you can fault the way they handle it. He was physically attracted to Evona, more so than anyone else he had met, combined with what he knew about her now, the strictly physical attraction had mixed with respect and become something greater. Yet, he had not taken a single minute to talk to Lili about it.
“She is probably thinking I am going to abandon her.” He thought. It was easier to be the one that abandons. It was something he knew well, since he had done it multiple times in his past. Avoid getting close to people, just to ensure that it didn’t hurt when either person eventually left. In reality it was more of a self-fulfilling prophecy, as if you never get close, who would want to stay anyway. The cycle had repeated itself until he had met his wife, and that was only because Sumire wouldn’t let him sneak away. She was the one who early on putting in the effort to make the connection, she was the one that melted the ice covering his heart. Now, there was a small girl, running off somewhere, alone in the forest, in the cold night air.
“Do you think the other Elves saw anything?” he asked her.
“Probably more that you want them too.” She responded. It was not the time to joke, and part of him wanted to lash out, but instead he smiled. It was a dumb joke, but it did cut the tension a little bit, and he needed her help to find Lili, so getting into a needless argument was just a stupid idea. Realizing she had gotten away with her comment, she continued. “Let’s ask them… if you can keep your composure.” She said with a smirk.
“Now isn’t the time to be embarrassed. I can deal with the apologies later. Right now, finding Lili comes first.” He replied confidently. Part of him wondered if any of the women had ever even seen a man naked, there were only women, and as he knew, he was the first to step foot in this sanctuary. “Maybe this just made me really popular?” He smiled at the thought.
They went around the area asking if any of the other women had seen anything, well, Evona was asking. As Alex had found out, most of the other women were too bashful to actually face him at the moment. When they knocked on the door of the fourth house Evona suddenly shouted. “The barrier!”. She quickly turned her head toward a direction, “There was a disturbance in the southwest.” Her face was one of confusion and concern. “How is she able to break through my barrier though?”
“It is her ability, domain. It allows for her to have complete control within the territory of her domain. It is the skill she used earlier, the one that left us helpless.” He said. Now facing the same direction. “How far to the barrier from here?” he asked, not bothering to look at her.
“Two and a half miles.” She said.
“The use the imperial system in this world!?” This was probably the most surprising surprise he had been faced with in this world so far. Vampires, fine it is a fantasy world, no big deal. Same with magic, elves, dwarves, dragons, and demons. But, the imperial system being used in a fantasy world, couldn’t they have made up some other archaic system of their own, how did that manage to make it all the way here?
“I have a serious question for you.” he said hesitantly. “Did one of the Heros speak… English?”
“Homura spoke only Japanese, but Taishi often spoke in a language know one else knew. Once he had finished his quest and was Emperor, he implemented a standard system of measurement. Most of the world now uses it, it is called the Imperial System.” She stated confidently, like she was reciting a fact from a book. “He said it came from a place called…” she hesitated for a moment, trying to think back, “ah… Ahmeyrika.” She said. It was in a terribly broken vernacular, but its meaning was clear as day.
“Foreign Exchange student…. Of all the things to bring with him… the Imperial System.” he said under his breath.
“What is a Fouren iskcchaj styudent?” she asked. He had apparently slightly let slip my long-lost southern draw when he said that.
“It is… another time. I am getting distracted.” He said, shaking his head, metaphorically shaking away all the useless thoughts. “Two and a half miles, right?” he quickly asked. She responded by nodding her head. “Okay. Let’s see if I can set a record.” He jumped over the railing to the house they were at, landing squarely on the ground below. At first he started moving at a jog, then into a slow run, and finally into a controlled sprint. He couldn’t go too fast, there were trees all over the place, which meant he had to weave in and out as he ran, but it he was still moving at an incredibly quick pace, faster than that of an Olympic sprinter. “Eat your heart out, Mr. Bolt!”
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Part 2.
She was hearing voices on the other side of the door to the bathroom. “Only Alex should be inside.” She thought to herself. She was torn about what to do. She felt that, considering what had happened earlier, she should respect his privacy. Yet… she was concerned about the fact that she was hearing another voice from inside the bathroom. It wasn’t a voice she didn’t recognize, in fact, it was precisely because she recognized it that she was so annoyed. “What does that harlot want with Alex.” She screamed internally as she opened the door.
The best case scenario she could have hoped for was that Evona had been in this first room, separate from the bathing area. Maybe she was just talking to him through the door, but just as she had feared, the first room was empty. Evona could only be inside the bathing area with Alex.
She slowly, quietly crept up to the dividing door, it was an opaque screen door, which provided little actual security, and if she got too close, her shadow would be visible on the other side. She took a moment to listen to what was being said.
When she heard a surprised gasp, she flung open the door to find a very exposed Alex atop a very exposed Evona. She was filled with rage, mostly for the sight that she saw, but partially at her ability to overcome her curiosity. The truth usually hurts more than a lie, she could have simply lied to herself about what she had heard and never entered, then she could have simply lived with the lie of this never happening at all and continued about living happily next to Alex. Yet, as far as she was concerned, this was a betrayal.
In her rage, she activated her ability [Domain], she didn’t quite understand what she was doing, all she thought was, “I just want to run away from them. I don’t want to see him!”. In doing so, both of the guilty parties were frozen in place, Alex in particular was essentially floating just barely over Evona. Lili then turned and ran out the door, it swung shut behind her. She wasn’t really thinking about where to go, she was simply letting her feet take her wherever they were going to go.
She raced out the front door, her small arms pushing it hard, causing it to slam behind her. She raced as fast as she could down the stairs, cutting around the backside of the house, away from any would be eyes.
The night air was chilly, and it stung her lungs as she took in heavy breaths. She had made it to the outskirts of the village, “not far enough, elvish eyes.” She thought. Even at this distance, an elf would have no problem seeing her clearly. She pressed on further into the dark forest, weaving around the thick trunks of the many trees. At one point, she cut a sharp right, now heading west. It was a blind direction, with no destination in mind, simply away, away from the village, away from Evona, away from Alex, away from the pain she felt in her heart.
When she had gone as far as her lungs could take her at a full blown sprint, she slowed down and caught her breath against a tree. Even her beastie eyes could not make out the village, thought she wasn’t entirely sure if an Elf could do better than her in day light, but in the dark, she was certain she was superior. Taking the time to catch her breath, she finally let herself relax enough to begin letting out tears.
“Why… why did he do that. He has me.” She said aloud through her sobs. She looked down at her figure, of course he would want someone like Evona. She had a far womanlier figure; she was also an actual adult. Evona had knowledge of his world that they could discuss, he could obviously provide him with comforts that she couldn’t. It wasn’t anyone’s fault really, it was all natural, but that didn’t make it hurt any less. “I am just in the way. I need to go. I have to find a way back.” She continued crying.
She took a few steps forward and reached out a hand. Before her was an invisible solid wall, the barrier, no it was Evona’s barrier. Her rage returned, supplanting the self-pity she was feeling earlier. She slammed her hands against the barrier. “I will break you!” she screamed. Slamming her fists harder till it was her small hands were in pain. She summed blue orbs of fire behind her, sending them flying into the barrier, only to watch them dissipate against the superior magic. “I will win!” she cried. A purple bagua appeared on the ground around her, encompassing a rather large area.
Her thoughts at the time were, “destroy the barrier.”, meaning when the glyph appeared, within the space that it met the barrier, she could see the magical circuitry of the barrier freeze. Without its continuous flow, it began to dissipate, leaving a large open pathway to the world outside. It wasn’t the destruction that she had originally envisioned, but she was satisfied with her victory. She stepped through the open doorway, into the unprotected forest.
This had been the second time tonight she had activated her ability, this time in particular it was a large activation that had interfered with the incredibly powerful magic of Evona’s impenetrable barrier, this meant she had expended a large amount of mana, and was feeling incredibly exhausted. “Have… to… go.” She knew that this would alert Evona, and there would probably be a troop sent to investigate it, probably Evona to repair it… probably Alex. “Would… he… come?” The thought crossed her mind. It was a stupid thought, and she knew it was a stupid thought, of course he would come for her, she knew that better than anyone. Whether or not she wanted to see him now was an entirely different question. If she saw him now, what would she say? What would he say? Could they go back to the old way of things? She shook her head clear of any unnecessary thoughts, and in spite of it everything, she put on foot in front of the other, and pushed on.
After a short while she came before a small pond, like a jewel hidden deep in the forest. The water was crystal clear, and shined in the limited light that came through the trees. There was no other way to describe it other than picturesque. She sat down next to the water to catch her breath. The scene caused her to relax a bit, which was detrimental for her incredibly taxed mind. The tears she had held back since breaking through the barrier swelled up in her eyes. “Stupid. I’m stupid. Evona is stupid. Alex is stupid. I should go back. I should apologize.” The person she was most angry with right now was herself, but what little pride she had was keeping her from turning back and admitting fault. She was being childish and she knew it, another clear difference between Evona and herself. It was no wonder that he had chosen Evona over her.
After a very short rest, it had lasted less than five minutes, she got up and started heading north. It was a random direction, apart from the one she had been coming from. There was no destination in mind, and she had no real way to determine what direction was what under the heavy canopy. She had gone only a few meters before she was met by a group of men. There were five of them, two of them were in front of her, one on each of her sides and on that had managed to get around her, all without her ever noticing their presence.
“Well, well, little lady. Who knew we have such luck.” Said one of the men up front. He was a large man, with a large build. He had no hair to speak off, and dark sunken eyes. His face was aged, with wrinkles and lines across it, and a scar across his forehead. Yet somehow in spite of all that, he managed to make a lively face, with his mouth forming a genuine smile across it. “I know someone who is looking forward to seeing you. Lucky for you, he wants you fresh. My buddy over there… he loves to make little girls and boys, scream.” He gave a hearty chuckle, and the rest of the men around him joined in.
“Where’s tha other one?” hissed a voice from her left. This man was the exact opposite of the other. He was short and lanky, with a wide flat face and long disheveled black hair. When he spoke, it was almost like he was hissing. “We are supposed ta kill tha man.” He said.
“Most important was the girl.” Said the big man. “From what I was told, if possible, avoid a direct fight. He said that the man was abnormally strong.” The large hulking man, walked forward, extending a meaty arm and hand out towards Lili. “Now come here little thing.” He said it in the most unthreatening way he could.
Lili tried to activate an ability, but she was still spent from earlier. She had not eaten anything all day. This had all happened before dinner, and she had recently activated multiple abilities. She had no way of escaping from the men around her, much less being able to fight back against them. She was alone and they were far physically superior. Her hope faded. Why had she run away like an idiot? She should have stayed and talked it out, she new he could and would calmly explain the situation. If it came to other people, he could be ruthless, but with her, he had all the patience in the world. This was her fault, no one else’s. “Alex… save me, please!” she thought as the shadow of the large man covered her, and his large hand wrapped around her, lifting her off the ground.
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Part 3.
Alex had managed to sprint through the forest, non-stop, and come before the barrier in less than ten minutes time, a clear contender for the record books. He had managed to find the barrier by complete chance, as he just barely noticed a pulsing light in the otherwise vacant air. He followed that, till he came to a large semicircular cut in the barrier. He surmised that this had been the work of Lili, as he couldn’t really imagine anyone else having an ability to break the barrier like this. It was a dangerous assumption based on his very limited knowledge of this world, but it was one he was willing to bet on considering what he knew about her ability.
“Once she has complete control of that skill… she is going to be terrifying.” He said to himself. He passed through the threshold and into the naked night. It was slightly chillier on this side, and the air was heavier, it was unfiltered. The natural ominousness of dark forest was bearing itself out before him.
The new environment kept his senses alert, every small sound magnified in his ear, every vibration on the ground was felt through his feet. The smell of the cool air assaulted his nose, but did little to mask the natural stench of the denizens that had managed to surround him, investigating the newest addition to the forest. Even his sight had gotten a large upgrade. The deep darkness of the forest, the only light coming from tiny streams that had managed to sneak through the dense canopy overhead, was laid out before him. He could make out individual leaves on the branches of trees over fifty meters tall, even being able to count its number of veins.
He made his way through the woods, carefully monitoring his surrounds with each step forward, just in the chance he managed to find a small girl huddled alone, crying, and shivering next to one the massive trees. It was at this moment that he somewhat regretted always rejecting his brother’s offers to go hunting. He was no hunter or tracker, his brother on the other hand had become your classic blue collar southerner. Hunting boars with a bow and arrow had become one of his favorite past times, and he had managed to pick up some useful, albeit situational, tracking skills. “Damnit Josh, the one time you could be useful just happens to be when I am in another world.” He grumbled. All he could do was to continue forward at a slow and cautious pace, ensuring that no blade of grass went unchecked.
He continued his cautious approach forward, mentally anguishing the fact that there was a serious possibility that she was still running away, and this was only causing their gap to widen. It was a gamble either way, and he felt lost on not knowing what the proper choice was. He eventually came upon a sight that made him stop in his tracks. The sheer majesty of the sight demanded his complete attention and for a second the pains he felt in his heart were lessened. There before him was a crystal blue pond, its surface reflected the image of the clear sky above, making it look like there were crystals shinning at the bottom. Only a single small willow had dared to come close enough to the water, thus adding to the ambiance.
“Truly awe inspiring. Explains why this pops up in fiction so much.” he said, pulling himself back from the initial attraction. While he had no doubt enjoyed the view, and even now it still called to him, he had a more important task that overrode everything else. He didn’t have any time to waste on the sights, he could come back here with Lili and they could enjoy it together. He turned to the left and began walking when he heard a splashing sound.
To his right the pool had begun bubbling up and churning over. The once peaceful, tranquil sight had devolved into a messy scene of turmoil. Its peaceful easy feeling had erupted into one of ominous danger. He knew well what was coming long before it had revealed itself. The fear he had felt before racked his body once more. In this moment he had managed to forget all about Lili, now all that was on his mind was survival. There, coming from the water, was a large shadow figure.
The surface of the water rose up with it, acting as some oversized veil that draped around the entirety of its form. Underneath it the pool itself seemed to vanish, destroying the illusion that it had created. From the form, a long appendage reached out, wrapping itself around the willow greedily. With a slight yank, it pulled the tree up, roots and all. With a shake of the arm, all the long drooping branches vanished, and the dirt that had clung below fell to the ground, muddying the crisp clean grass underneath. The once weeping tree had now become a long, crooked stick, a staff, which the being smashed down on the ground next to him. Within a small area around him, only about two meters in each direction, all the grass withered and turned brown. There it hovered, another limb coming out the other side as if invited Alex in for a loving, deadly, embrace.
Fear had crippled Alex up to this point, even though his mind was screaming at him to run, and his brain was telling his legs to move, he continued to stand in place, rooted to the ground. Memories of being a small child resurface, coming face to face with the bigger meaner men that his mother had brought home. Memories of being helpless as he and his brother would be smack around by them, long after his mother had passed out, high on whatever happened to be the mix that day. She had no way of knowing that one of those men in particular enjoyed a flavor different than what she could offer.
He wasn’t a little boy anymore though, he had grown, not just in size, but strength, both physical and mental. He had escaped his past, he had become a husband and father, and even in this world, torn away from the identity he had built in his previous world, he had found people that relied on him. With this realization, he returned to his senses, reinvigorated like a second wind, he planted his feet in a wide base, and readied his most trusted weapons. “You’re in my way.” He growled. He had overcome his own [Intimidation] and was now producing one of his own. “I’m going through you then!”
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Part 4.
The stare down was suffocating, neither one wishing to make the first move. Which didn’t seem to matter much to the shadow, but it was dangerous for Alex. This was just more time wasted on finding Lili, but this fight wasn’t one he could decide, it was forced on him, and it was do or die. Though the time hadn’t been a complete waste. He had used it to try and build up mana reserves just on the top layer of his skin, nearly invisible to the naked eye. His enemy was incorporeal, meaning that he had to attack with magic, or he would get nowhere.
After building up what he determined was an adequate amount, without warning or any unnecessary movements that would have alerted his opponent. He made a b-line for the area that would be considered to be the shadow’s head, the logical place to start when looking for somethings weakness. Had this been any regular opponent, this move may have surprised them, causing them to hesitate and leaving them wide open for Alex’s attack. The Shadow Lord was not a regular opponent. With a swift fluid motion, he adjust his staff just enough to come between the its topmost region and Alex’s outstretched fist.
Alex, stopped in his tracks, began falling from the height of the towering creature, on his way down he struck out with his left and right hands anywhere he could. All of them made substantial contact with their targets. Even though his hands were imbued with mana, allowing them to hit, it still felt as though he was striking an iron curtain. It would give way under his force, but only after sending a painful jolt from his knuckles and up his arms.
“Son of a…” he shouted, shaking his hands. He had no issue making it quite apparent that he was in vast amounts of discomfort after attacking his opponent. The reason being that he knew now just how fast his opponent could move when it mattered, and his opponent hadn’t even tried to stop him from making contact on the way down, yet when it came to striking the cranium, the shade had made sure to defend there. It told Alex that there was obviously something up there that was worth protecting. Because of this revelation, Alex smiled. Now he just had to find a way of making sure he could connect.
“Alex!” cried a familiar voice behind him. He didn’t dare turn his head away to verify, though he didn’t need to. He knew exactly who it was, they had spent enough time conversing with one another, so much so that they would be able to recognize each other’s voice if they had been passing one another in a crowded forum.
“Hanz.” He said in response to his name. “Where ya been, ya sneaky bastard?” he said with joy. From getting to know one another, Alex had come to understand that Hanz’s fitting ability was… practically zero. Hanz was a sneak, a spy, his strength was in espionage. While if needed he could, and had done, assassination missions on regular humans, but in a brawl type situation, he was at a severe disadvantage, even a lower-class adventurer like an amber baguette or a turquoise trilliant, rank 2 and 3 respectively on the terribly ridiculous ranking system this world had managed to develop, where more than a match for Hanz in a one on fight.
That was fine though, Alex didn’t need Hanz to level out the fight, he needed Hanz for something far more important. Hanz’s real ability was being able to move in the shadows, and not just quickly hop from one to another, but being able to move incredible distances at a time. Even being able to recognize certain people’s shadows from the other side. Alex had immediately recognized the significance of such an ability, and had made sure to make him well acquainted with both his and Lili’s shadows. Now, as long as either of them were able to cast a shadow, no matter the size, Hanz could find it and appear from it. If Hanz could locate Lili and report to him were she was, that would ease his troubled mind, allowing him to focus on the creature in front of him.
“Hanz.” He said, his voice was serious, “Find Lili. I lost her.” Hanz could hear the sense of guilt coming from his friend. He had tried to mask it, but it leaked out, just slightly. Hanz could tell something had happened back in the village. He had seen the shadows moving around from the other side, but the neigh impenetrable barrier had kept him from being able to hear or appear before them.
When the smaller shadow had run off into the woods, Hanz had stuck to his mission and stayed focus on Alex. Meaning he hadn’t known where the Lili had run off too. He only appeared before Alex because he had noticed the odd movements he was making, almost as if he was in a fight. Yet he couldn’t manage to figure out who or what it was he was fighting. There was no other shadow in his vicinity, thus when he surfaced, he was stunned and terrified to find that the creature that Alex was against was itself an endless vortex of shadow. Hanz’s greatest strength was now a serious liability, he understood clearly, getting stuck in that shadow was a death sentence. Still though, he chose to reach out to his friend, offering an assistance he could render. If he died, his master would know immediately, and no doubt dispatch some kind of replacement for him, he was a tool, and he had accepted being used as such.
“Are you sure you don’t need help?” he asked. He was relieved that it meant he could get away form the shade, but it also meant that he would be going against orders, leaving Alex unmonitored. “Are you sure that there is nothing else I can help you with?” he asked again.
“Nah. If you can keep a look out for Lili, and make sure that she isn’t in harms way. That would help me a lot. It would let me focus on this guy.” Alex was smiling when he was talking. Partial relief from knowing Lili would be supervised by a trusted adult, and partially because that meant he could wholly throw his all into this fight. Being able to test just how powerful he was against a being that just yesterday he had deemed beyond his capabilities. “Go, now! He’s focused on me.” Hanz didn’t wait for a second order, he nodded his head and dipped back into the shadows, making a large detour away from the fighting before taking his time to look for his target.
With the distractions out of the way, Alex gave his undivided attention to the Shadow Lord. “Apologies for the ruder interruption. Shall we resume?” he said politely. The dark mass made no move to acknowledge Alex’s statement, not that he was waiting for one. Alex had already lunged forward, mixing [Jump] and [Quick Acceleration] making it appear he was moving as fast as light, mana had now been infused into all four of his limbs, and lashing out with his left leg, he kicked the cranium. The sound that rang out was that of breaking bones, Alex’s tibia had split from the attack. [Kick] allowed for him to produce more power but offered no additional protection. While repairing it was no problem, he wasn’t protected from any of the pain he felt because of it.
Before he landed, he had already repaired his break. He was staring down at his opponent, coming up with his next plan of action. While striking out against his enemy, he attempted to alter what he was striking with his [Manipulate] ability, but it hadn’t seemed to work. His opponent wasn’t a solid object and consisted wholly of mana, which he seemed to alter before each strike. Turning from something that seemed like it would feel like fabric into a substance that was like smashing steel. It was like he was fighting against an optical illusion, and it was messing with his head.
“Getting tired of that…” he growled. “Need to find away past that defense.” He had been lucky so far, his opponent had seemed happy enough to just stand there and take everything he was throwing at him, as long as he wasn’t going after the head portion, it didn’t even move to defend, only alter its hardness. As he was grumbling over his lack of progress, a sound came up behind him, startling him.
“Alex.” Said Evona.
All he could think was, “Another interruption.” And he sighed.
“What’s up?” he responded. His annoyance was on display.
“You know I did come to try to help you.” She shot back, her annoyance was now also on display.
“It’s not you… it’s me.” He said, wondering if that excuse would actually work in this world. All she gave was a side glance, clearly not trusting his response. “Any ideas of what to do with a Shadow Lord?” he asked her.
“None.” she said plainly. While the two of them were going back and forth the monstrous shadow began to shake. “It is made up of dark magic, the direct opposition would be light magic.” Light and dark were in direct opposition to each other and were the only two elements to do so. All other magic would equally oppose each other, relying solely on the power of the spell to determine the winner in event that they clashed. The fact that the most powerful spell caster on the planet didn’t posses any offensive light magic, felt like a really bad script, where the main character of a story has to some somehow find a new power to overcome the enemy.
“What about your spell from earlier?” He asked her. “The disintegration one from the kitchen. As much as I would love to be able to test myself, winning is winning in the end.” It really did seem like a letdown to just end it with some kind of mass disintegration, but even with Hanz heading out, Lili was still in the back of his mind, and the sooner he could finish this and get to her the better he would feel about it all.
“No dice.” She said. “I could disintegrate part of him, but he is a chasm of dark magic, and he would survive, and probably self-replicate whatever I destroyed.” She said. A drop of sweat had appeared on her forehead. Most likely in response to an overactive mind running through scenarios looking for an unlikely answer to an improbable question.
“We gotta go through your vocabulary.” He said, still stuck on the ‘No dice’ comment she had made. “Is there a way to strengthen your power?”
“Something that would allow me to channel the mana.”
“Like a wand? A staff?” his voice was breathy as he hurriedly asked her.
“A staff.” She responded. “But to make it worthwhile, it would need to be special.”
“DETAILS!” he yelled. He had an idea, probably not the smartest considering they were in the middle of a fight. They were lucky that their enemy was giving them adequate time to have a couple’s quarrel, or so he thought. The creature then stopped moving and placed the staff out in front of its body.
“Wood… umm… Yggdrasil wood.” Her head was going blank on what to answer now that she was feeling pressed for time.
“Something else. I know next to nothing about Yggdrasil.”
“Massive tree. The wood is hard like iron. Yellowish, with red burls.” She screamed, more so for herself than him. It was easier to scream as she focused on the image of a tree that she hadn’t seen in nearly four hundred years.
“Anything inside the staff?” he responded. “Specifics.” The shade had now dropped the staff down on the earth with a large thud, from its base purple lines spread out into the forest around them.
“Conductive….” She paused as she racked her brain. All the knowledge of the world seemed to be failing her at one of the most important moments of her life. “Conductive…” she repeated.
“Mana or Electricity?” He cut her off.
She didn’t understand why the other mattered and blurted out, “Mana. Mithril. It looks like silver but is worth more than gold. Easy to shape, but as hard as diamond.” She was yelling again, but if it got out the information he needed, she could be as loud as she wanted.
“Gotcha, one staff coming up!” he clapped his hands together and imagined everything she had told him. Mixed with his own understanding of mythos and fantasy, especially the thought of a particular dwarf talking about a very specific kind of metal in a famous story back home. When his hands separated two ends of a long yellow staff began to form, it was decorated with naturally swirling red grains, and on each end there was a circle of silver, indicating a metal core that ran through its entirety. He didn’t have time, desire, nor the extra mana to spare on any elaborate decorations.
When his hands had stretched to their limit, he moved them out of the way. This caused the staff to shoot out quickly to its full length, which measures the better part of two meters in length. Catching it while it was still floating in the air, he quickly tossed it to his partner.
“Test that out.” he said, taking in deep breaths. Mana-exhausted from creating the truly fantastical object from pure imagination.
He had appeared to finish just in time, as from the edge of the forest, multiple small versions of the Shadow Lord appeared. They were staff-less, and their depth lacked the infiniteness that their creator possessed; However, they were still magical creatures, immune to physical contact, and posed a new and significant threat. To add to the direness of their situation, the Shadow Lord began to move for the first time. He made a large sweeping kind of gesture. Like he was wearing a robe with oversized sleeves and he was trying to put on an air of grandeur. After which came an earie disembodied voice.
“I am Taoshiem. I am the Overlord of Shadow. I am the King of Death.” His voice was like nails scrapping a chalkboard. Not the sound, but the chill it sent down through your body. Hearing it would be enough to paralyze any normal person. Alex and Evona, however, were far from being called normal though. In fact, much to her surprise, Alex was smiling.
“There is only one being that can use that title!” he said, and took a sturdy fighting stance. His smile grew wider, and his eyes were beaming. “Evona, you handle the ads… He is mine.”
She didn’t quite understand the dramatic change in his attitude. Just a second ago he appeared to have been spent and was going to rely on her using her power to simply vanquish him, but now he seemed more energetic that he had ever been. Yet, she didn’t argue. It gave her the chance to test out her new weapon against weaker versions. If it didn’t work, she would have leeway to come up with a new idea.
Internally Alex was elated. He couldn’t believe he had had the chance to utter a line like that. The image of a proud proper gentleman, wearing an immaculate suit with a snow white beard. He said the line again under his breath. Even a man who was mentally around the age of fifty could still be a kid at heart.
Taoshiem moved forward, reaching out an open hand, sweeping at where Alex had been. For the first time Alex seemed faster than the Shadow Lord. In the air, he twisted his body, launching a kick to the head. This time was like the last though. This time, he had infused a large amount of mana into his shins, creating a hardened layer over them. This time the cracking sound that was heard came from Taoshiem’s head, his hardened mana, consisting of dark elemental magic, had given way to the clear mana that only Alex possessed.
The revelation startled the shade, who had up to this point deemed Alex to be as much of a threat as a child would be to a full-grown adult. This change though had caused him to now shift his attention away from the magic caster, who had always been his target, to the man that had dared to challenge him. Taoshiem, mustering his quickness, sent the end of his wooden staff, racing in Alex’s direction in the speed he had first shown.
Alex barely had the time to prepare himself before he felt the full weight of the shade’s staff smack against him. There was a snapping sound that echoed through the forest, and his body became intimate with one of the nearby tree trunks, then fell limply to the ground below.
Evona, after having jumped to avoid the initial smash of the Taoshiem’s staff, brandished her new weapon. Her battle was against the smaller shades that had been spawned, and they were far more agile and far more aggressive than their master. Pounced at her the moment she landed in her new position, with razor sharp blades of black magic that would be able to slice through pretty much anything. However, her new staff was far from being a mere simple staff. It was constructed from wood that was nearly identical to that of Yggdrasil, and possessed a core of the most efficient conductor of mana in the world. All she had to do was but put a drop, from abundant reserves of mana into the staff and it would ignite with power comparable to the legendary weapons the Hero’s of lore had once wielded.
When the claws came down, instead of them slicing through the staff, they shattered against it. Her raw mana, proving to be superior to the darkness. She twirled the staff around her, picking up momentum as it rounded her body, then crashing against the side of the creature. With a *THWACK*, the cranium dissipated into thin air. While everyone present waited, just for a second, expecting it to magically grow back. Instead, white lines began forming down its surface, light shining through cracks, and the sounds of shattering came from within its body before its entire being broke to pieces.
Evona smiled. When was the last time she had gotten a bit of exercise like this, she couldn’t remember, the only word that came to mind was ages ago. It felt good to be out in the cool night air, moving her body around. She gripped her staff, her new weapon, created by the man she had spent the last four hundred years secretly looking for, only just recently remembering his face. He was the man she loved, and he had given her the power to assist him, she would not let him down. Now that her initial experiment had worked out well, she began adjusting the mana in her staff, shaping it, and forming it to meet her intended ability.
“Come you dark creatures. Once I am done, there will be nothing left of you.”
There had initially been nine of them, now the eight of them once again lunged forward, hoping to find their mark. Fear was not something they could feel, even after watching their ally shatter into innumerable pieces on the floor, no emotion filled them, only one simple order. “Kill the Elf-Witch.” Repeated in their minds, or what could be called their minds. They were not living breathing creatures, they were constructs, and as such had no unique thoughts or concepts of individuality.
With her staff now ready, she swung left and then right, both times cleanly connecting with shades. On both occasions, instead of being stopped by their forms, her staff simply went through them, creating gaps where her staff had connected. Each of the beings, who now had a thin piece of them missing both toppled over, now defunct pieces of dark magic that simply disappeared into the air.
Each time her staff had mad contact, they had done so in the precise, and unique place which contained their respective cores. Unlike with the first creature, who had blown up due to a core overload from excess mana being supplied to the point it had passed max capacity. In each other the other cases, due to Evona’s unique disintegration magic, a product of her ancient magic, their cores had simply vanished from their bodies. Turning them simply into a mass of dark mana, without a core to contain their form and provide their objective, then toppled over until they dissipated.
She had been away from the battlefield for a long time, for nearly four hundred years, a retired relic of past glory days. Yet this night, under the light of the great planet above, and her accompanying stars, she was showing all present, just why she was the most powerful, the most feared mage in the world. She was Evona, the Demon’s Bane. Just like with riding a bicycle, she was coming back into her form.
After taking out another shade that had managed to venture too close she heard a loud thud behind her, followed by a crash. In the edge of the forest there was wood scraps and dust falling from a hole in the tree, and dirt that had been kicked up in the air below it. In the center of the clearing was the large form of the Shadow Lord, and Alex was no where to be seen. Her stomach dropped.
“Alex!” she cried out while smacking another creature that had attempted to get the jump on her, yet met their ending to her staff, which was driven by her senses that were beyond sight.
“I’m *cough, cough* all good.” He responded. Stepping out from the dust cloud, brushing himself off. “Finally getting the hang of this mana control.” He grinned and looked back at his opponent. “I think I am gonna borrow you trick.” he said, pointing over at her. She didn’t quite understand what he meant by trick, but she simply nodded, trusting her partner’s natural affinity for battle.
Right before he had taken the hit from Taoshiem’s staff, he had infused mana to cover his entire body, hardening it. The snapping sound that had been heard had actually come from the Shadow Lord’s staff, now sporting a large crack down the side. When he had slammed against the trunk of the tree, the force had caused him to create a human sized hold in it before falling to the ground. To say he felt nothing would be incorrect, but because of the mana guarding his body, what would have turned a normal human into a mangled mess, had felt like a school boy pushing him against the wall. Wasn’t painful, just annoying.
That annoyance no charged back up for the next round. He had managed to catch a glimpse of Evona’s fight when he was flying through the air and was intrigued by her ability. He was now itching to try it out on his oversized opponent. It was just a matter of figuring out how to replicate it. Unlike normal casters, he didn’t have spells or their configurations in his mind, for him, everything was a concept of visualization and understanding, because everything relied on his ability to create, manipulate, and destroy. Since destroy didn’t simply work on mana that wasn’t of his own making, because it would require him to understand the unique mana of the other being, he had to think of a way that combined the three together. His enemy, however, chose not to give him the time to let that happen.
“Learning the on the fly!” He shouted, jumping into the air away from the heavy shadowy fist. That had now left a large portion of the tree missing, causing it to topple over onto the forest floor with a loud thud. Now a mess of broken branches and the enormous trunk. The other trees that had been victims to its weight, now bared scares of their own.
“Learning on the fly is good too!” He was locked in a deadly battle, but seemed to be enjoying himself. He landed a few meters away from where the tree had been and turned to another one now on his left. “Sorry, tree.” He said. Slamming his right fist into it. There was a crunching sound from the impact, but instead of smashing, it was almost like his hand had sunken into it. “Close, not there yet.” he said, forcefully pulling his hand back out, just in time to dodge another strike from his opponent.
The idea he had come up with was convoluted and unrefined, but in this situation, it seemed the best possible option. He would manipulate his mana around him, into a raging torrent. It would attack and latch onto anything that came too close, merging and morphing it, then he would employ his [Destroy] ability to breakdown anything that was attached to it. He would have to do this quickly, extremely quickly, otherwise he would be in a compromised position, essentially stuck against whatever his mana had attached to. That is what had happened to the poor tree. While [Destroy] itself would have worked fine, he had latched onto its natural mana running through it, destroying it. Without that mana, the tree was slowly withering from top to bottom. By the time this fight would be over, regardless of the victor, it would be a brown withered husk of its former self.
“Okay Taoshiem. Ready to be my steppingstone?” He said, facing his opponent.
“You will die here mortal.” He said, the chills running up and down both Alex and Evona’s spines, but neither of them dared show it. There fights weren’t done yet, and neither of them were willing to let up.
“Don’t think SO!” he yelled, bounding forwards. Alex’s right hand smashed against the outstretched limb of the Shadow Lord. He could feel his mana connect with his enemies. Unlike with the tree though, what he felt was an impossibly immense and empty void. It is what he imagined a human free floating through empty space would feel. It practically suffocated him, but his willpower and determination to overcome his enemy brought him back. With their mana fully joined, he played his next card, [Destroy].
The damage went beyond just a fist sized hold in Taoshiem’s arm. It stretched out well beyond that, threatening to climb completely up the appendage. The shade, while a conglomeration of mana and energy, was in fact a living entity, and had emotions and thoughts of his own. Now, for the first time in its extended existence, felt fear. That fear lead Taoshiem to sever his own arm just below where it connected to the shoulder.
For a creature such as the Shadow Lord, fear was something he spread, not something he felt. He didn’t understand the feeling at first, and took a moment to process it. Yet, in a fight, a moment is all that is needed to turn it completely on its head. That was just what Alex needed, to be able to do so. He assaulted the Shadow Lord again, connecting near the chest. This was too close for Taoshiem, and in a moment of terror he fumbled on what to do. “Destroy”, his opponent yelled. It was unnecessary for him to do so, but it drove the point home. Alex wasn’t looking to kill the shade; he was out to destroy his existence completely.
A split-second decision drove Taoshiem to push the spot containing Alex’s fist away from his mass. Imagine a drop of water, separating from the mass hanging from the mouth of a leaky faucet, gravity pulling it down to sink before it slides down into the drain. Ripples seemed to push the mass of dark mana and Alex away from him, just mere nanoseconds before it completely vanished. That wasn’t enough to save him from Alex’s rage though. As the bubble of dark magic vanished rom existence, Alex came hurtling back at him.
Just as the mass had been destroyed, Alex had created a barrier, copying from Evona again, behind him. Using [Jump] and [Quick Acceleration] in conjunction with each other, he sped forward. Faster than any eye would be able to make out. His right hand was now firmly planted inside Taoshiem’s cranium. Their mana, locked into each other. “Destroy.” It was a whisper, just barely audible. It was strictly for Taoshiem to hear. To fear. Those would be the last words that the Lord of Shadows, the self-titled ‘King of Death’ would hear. He was an existence that had predated recorded history, now all of that would end here. At the hands of a mere human. At the hands of a hero.
Evona, who had long finished her battle at this point, had been watching Alex’s fight, with mixed emotions. On the one hand she had the look of a master, proud of the effort put forth by a gifted pupil. On the other hand, she was woman, watching the man that she loved more than anyone, fighting against a creature that no novice in magic had any right to be up against. Regardless of how much she believed in him, and had faith in his victory, it was still painful to watch. Forcing her on the edge of her proverbial seat, playing a mental tug-of-war on whether or not she should interject herself into the fight.
After all that worry though, the only truth she knew came to fruition. It was Alex left standing, not even misty remnants of his enemy remained. At one point, there had been a hulking mass of dark mana looming over the battlefield, the next nothing. His very essence, diminished from existence. Not even she had realized it at the time. The real meaning behind Alex’s ability to destroy something’s mana. She was simply glad to see him survive.
Once the battle was over, and his enemy vanquished, Alex lifted his arm in the air. It was then that all the pent up exhaustion hit, and a wave of drowsiness washed over him. His eyes involuntarily close shut, and he felt the ground meet the back of his head. His sight was gone, and the last words he heard where his name, screamed in a high-pitched voice that sounded like Evona’s. The world he was in vanished from his mind.