From within the electric maelstrom, a figure emerged, as if born from the very heart of the lightning itself. A stunningly beautiful young woman with cascading golden hair and piercing green eyes stood before them, her form outlined in crackling energy. She was dressed in the same gold-trimmed garb as Kale, her attire marked with the insignia of a 3-grade disciple.
The woman's gaze was sharp as a knife as it fell upon the stunned disciple. "What is the meaning of this, Kale?" she demanded, her voice a soft yet commanding whisper that seemed to cut through the din of the battle.
Kale stuttered, his tanned features contorting with fear. "It's just a... a misunderstanding," he managed to say, his eyes darting to the trembling form of the girl on the ground. "We were just...joking, that's all!"
But the woman expression did not soften. Her gaze remained fixed on the terrified girl, and she took a deliberate step forward. The lightning that had surrounded her coalesced into a tight ball of light in her palm, the energy crackling and popping like a living thing. "Joking?" she murmured, the word a deadly promise.
Shin took the opportunity to approach, his eyes flicking from the fallen disciples to the woman before him. "I merely intervened," he said, his voice deceptively calm. "They seemed to be having a bit too much fun."
The woman looked up at him, her emerald eyes filled with a mix of rage and scorn. "Were you the one who did this to them?" she asked, her gaze flickering to the unconscious forms of the grade 5 disciples.
"Yes, guilty as charged" Shin replied, his tone devoid of emotion. "But I can spare you the trouble of finishing the job." He took another step closer, his hand hovering over the hilt of a disciple fallen sword, and starting to surge constellation energy from his body to the tip of the sword
The woman's eyes widened with surprise, noticing how precise and natural his control of the wave was despite not being an official academy disciple yet. "How do you possess such a fine control without even being in the academy?" she asked, her voice tinged with suspicion.
Shin shrugged nonchalantly, hiding the turmoil within. "I have a good master," he replied, a hint of a smirk playing at the corners of his lips.
The woman nodded curtly. "Indeed," she said, her gaze still locked on the fallen disciples. She knelt beside the trembling girl, her expression softening to something resembling compassion. "You're safe now," she murmured, gently helping the girl to her feet. "I'll handle this."
Without warning, she drew her sword with a swift, practiced motion. The blade shimmered in the dim alley light, a testament to its talent. Raising the weapon high, she called upon the power of her own wave. A bolt of lightning arced through the sky, a silent specter of pure, unbridled fury.
Her eyes never left Kale, her gaze a storm of unspoken accusation. He stumbled backward, his bravado momentarily forgotten in the face of her wrath. The two spheres of light shot from his elbows, a last-ditch effort to protect himself from the incoming retribution.
But the lightning was swift, a bolt of divine retribution that pierced through the air with a speed that defied the eye. It struck one of the spheres, causing it to implode in a burst of blinding light. The alley was momentarily engulfed in a flash so bright that it washed out all other colors, leaving only the stark contrast of shadow and white-hot brilliance.
The sphere that had been struck dissipated into a shower of sparks, and Kale was sent hurtling backward. His body slammed into the alley wall with a sickening thud, and he crumpled to the ground, unconscious. The second sphere, now alone in its defense, fared no better. It shattered upon impact, sending a wave of energy rippling through the alleyway.
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Shin stared in awe at the girl, her golden hair fluttering in the aftermath of the explosion. The power she wielded was devastating, Her grace and skill were unlike anything he had ever seen. He had underestimated her, thinking she was just another disciple of Devota, but she was something more.
"How can you be a mere disciple?" he asked, his voice filled with genuine curiosity.
The woman, her eyes still on the unconscious Kale, replied without listen to him. "My name is Yuki Aria" she said, her voice cold and distant. "i thank you for your intervention but i can handle the aftermath myself, your business with him is done, now leave"
Shin looked at her for a moment, the air still thick with the scent of burnt stone and ozone from the lightning strike. He knew better than to argue with someone with that kind of temper. He nodded once, sheathing the sword he had picked up. "Very well," he said, his eyes flicking to the girl, who was now standing on shaky legs. "What will happen to them?"
Yuki's gaze met his, and for a moment, he saw a flicker of something in those green depths—sorrow, perhaps? "They will be punished," she said firmly, her voice leaving no room for negotiation. "What is your name"?
"Shin..... only Shin"
The name hung in the air, a declaration of his anonymity in this world of power and hierarchy. He nodded to Yuki, a silent understanding passing between them. As the dust from the battle began to settle, Shin turned away from the alley, the sound of the woman's footsteps following the trembling girl echoing softly in the night. He made his way back to the shack that served as his home, his thoughts racing faster than his feet. As he approached the edge of the alley, a shadowy figure emerged from the darkness above, stepping out from the concealment of a rooftop. His master, with jet-black hair and piercing red eyes that gleamed in the moonlight. The crimson orbs watched him intently, as if searching for any signs of weakness or doubt.
"Shin," the master voice a thin line, low and gruff. "You are still too naive."
As Shin headed home, his master's attention shifted elsewhere.
A figure in the shadows grew closer, his Obsidian armor a stark contrast against the monochrome of the night. The air grew heavy with anticipation as the warrior, crafted from the very essence of shadows, approached the rooftop. With a silent grace, the shadow warrior knelt before the figure, the armor's intricate design seeming to pulse with an eerie light.
"My lord".
The Obsidian warrior's voice was a mere whisper in the stillness of the night, yet it carried the power to bend reality itself.
Master reply was short "Are the preparations complete?"
The shadow warrior, quivered at the question, his usually stoic demeanor giving way to a tremble that rippled through his very essence. The crimson eyes of his lord bored into him, demanding an answer. The creature felt the weight of his lord's gaze, a pressure that could crush the very stars if it so desired.
"S-s-sire," the Obsidian warrior stuttered, his voice a mere whisper of terror in the night. "The...the preparations are...are complete.
Shin-master's hand shot out, a firm and reassuring pat landing on the warrior's shoulder. It was a gesture that spoke of approval and camaraderie, but the tremor in the shadowy being's form did not abate.
"Good!" the master said, his eyes still on the retreating figure of the young girl and her green eye protector. she turned to face the Obsidian warrior, the moon's glow casting his features into sharp relief.
The master extended his hand to the moon, The air around his hand shimmered with an arcane energy, a silent testament to his power. His gaze never left the star "make sure everything goes perfectly; we need to complete his baptism before he infiltrates the academy or he won't stand a chance.
The Obsidian warrior nodded fervently, the tremor in his voice replaced by a fierce determination. "As you command, my lord," he said, the shadows around him coalescing into a darker, more solid form.
Master stepped closer, his hand resting again on the warrior's shoulder. His eyes, the color of molten metal, gleamed with an intensity that mirrored the energy coursing through his veins. The air around his hand grew thick with power, the constellation wave pulsing in a rhythm that seemed to resonate with the very fabric of the world itself.
"You know what will happen if it fails right?”
The Obsidian warrior nodded solemnly, understanding the gravity of his situation all too well.
Master took a step back, his hand raised as if to give a final order before he disappeared in a blink. The world around them grew darker for a fraction of a second, the air thick with the scent of ozone. Whit a snap of his finger, she was gone.
The shadowy figure that had been kneeling before her now stood tall, his form expanding to fill the space she had left behind. With a gesture that seemed to defy reality, he summoned a legion of soldiers from the very fabric of darkness. They emerged from the shadows, silent and swift, their forms shifting and flickering like the light of a candle in a storm. Each of these spectral warriors bore the same crimson eyes as their summoner, a stark contrast against the inky blackness of their obsidian armor.
The warrior who had risen stepped forward, his armor now pulsing with a rhythmic beat that matched his crimson eyes. "Soon" he announced, his voice a low rumble that seemed to resonate with the very stones beneath them, "the predestined one will undergo his baptism."