Everything faded then immediately became very bright just to become very dark again. As Sophie’s eyes adjusted to the darkness, she heard a rasping sound. Like metal was being dragged across leather. Then a grunt, followed by the sound of something heavy falling to the ground. Another sound, more quiet yet persistent. A sound like a very faint hum. Sophie listens intently while looking around and she thinks she sees a door outline in the darkness. The only thing giving it away is the thin line of light that is at the floor.
Sophie’s hand finds the door handle and a hand immediately clamps over her mouth. A hoarse voice is hastily whispered into her ear, “Stay quiet if you want to live. I have already claimed one life; I would like to not add an innocent life to today’s tally. You do not look like the family I am targeting…” The voice trails off as if he is distracted. “Hmph, stay close. I’ll try to protect you to get you out of here so we can answer the questions you undoubtedly have, Offworlder.”
“What’s your name?” Sophie asked the man. “Not important right now. Open the door and be prepared for anything. I know my presence has been detected since I don’t clean after my kills.”
Sophie opens the door to find a hallway filled with suits of armor and guns that would not have been out of place from World War II. A knife flashed before her eyes as the guy behind her pulled her back suddenly then to just shove her across the hall. As she was falling, Sophie twisted to see him draw a short sword then dart down the hall towards the knife thrower. In the brief moment that Sophie saw the shadowy figure, all that was seen was black: leather armor, boots, gauntlets, cloak, and a half mask that covers the lower part of his face.
Sophie is roughly dragged to her feet, her arms being bent in what would be an awkward position if she wasn’t extremely flexible. An ice cold hand gripped Sophie by her chin, forcing her face up to expose her neck. She felt a small prick right at her jugular as the hallway filled with faceless goons, all have their weapons leveled at the man clad in black.
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A voice nearly as cold as the hand it belonged to calls out, “Freeze, or the offworlder dies. I have wanted to try offworlder blood since I was told you can get potent powers from their blood.”
“Kill that offworlder girl, and you will anger the Paladin of Wrath,” the shadowy man replied, casually kicking the corpse of the knife thrower off his sword. “I highly doubt you want the ire of Marethyu.”
A hiss, a freaking cat hiss; that was the reply to the name of Marethyu. Followed by, “Wait, if you aren’t Marethyu, then who are you?”
The shadowy man’s eyes smiled and he started chanting, “Faster than sound, break the barrier, I’ll reap your deaths.” A sonic boom follows and the hallway full of goons now lie dead with their heads severed. Black lightning covers the corpses, the walls covered in deep gouges and crimson. “Is that enough of an answer for you, Jewl?” The man is suddenly in front of the two women. Jewl’s hand starts to shake, that is when Sophie took the initiative to grab the weapon, to her surprise it was a syringe, and twisted it out of the ice cold hand. Sophie quickly thrust the syringe up towards the woman’s neck. Jewl recovered just enough to block it with her hand, but the needle went clean through the hand. Sophie, angered by the woman who wanted to drink her blood, slammed her other hand on the backside of the syringe and forced the needle into Jewl’s neck. A chant came unbidden to Sophie’s lips, “Your blood is a poison on which you’ll choke.”
Immediately, black veins started to travel throughout the other woman’s body, starting from her neck and hand. There was a shocked silence that followed the chant. Until Jewl started to scream, and scream, and scream until she was coughing up black bile that smells metallic, like fresh blood. At that point Jewl went silent.
The man in black lowered the hood to his cloak and removed his half mask, surprise still written clearly across his face, “Well then. I did not expect you to be an Affliction Specialist. Pardon me for not wanting to shake your hand, but my name is Black Flash or Lightning.” Lightning offers Sophie a dagger. “Working together clearing out the rest of this castle is going to go a lot quicker now. And I’ll answer any questions you undoubtedly have. Welcome to Scalvia.”