"You've started before I reached you. Let's get this fight started."
All while a dazzling ruby knife sat still on his holster.
Cold air rushed through the inhuman body of the doll. In its ruby red eyes, nothing reflected at all from its blaze. While the cacophony of war rang around it, its mind was calm and steady.
'How on earth did he sense me from here? I need to reach Sun Prince quickly. The bastard is gonna raise hell with those javelins!'
Lowering his centre of gravity, Aldric took a running stance as he darted across the shattered deck of the flying ship. With widened strides he jumped and leaped, spanning the wide gap between the ships quickly. Landing into a roll, he continued on.
But the remaining soldiers would not allow him to pass through their ranks so easily. Ducking and weaving, he dodged a myriad of attacks from the enemies that he passed. Engaging with them for even a second would spell doom for him, for every second he spent still, the Sun Prince would be preparing his attack.
Aldric would have to trust in his comrades and the Nightglade to deal with the enemies he passed.
Just like a human chasing after a fly, the Sun Prince would miss Aldric as he darted between the ships. And with his slow attack speed, it would not be long until the Child of Nether reached him.
Just as Aldric began to leap through the cold air and land on the deck of the last ship between himself and the Sun Prince, something happened in his mind. In that moment of motion, an apparition emerged.
FLASH
An image. A picture. A feeling.
It was a realm of darkness. Where it ended and where it began, he could not tell. Pure darkness took form in his mind. All-encompassing, as though he was a part of it. As if it was him.
And as quickly as it came, it left.
DANGER
An ascended soldier wielding a large crossbow studied and watched the figure dart between ships. And with the accuracy and patience of a hunter, she waited until the figure would be at its most vulnerable.
Taken out of his momentary distraction, Aldric quickly shifted [Sundered Sorrow] from its blade into a round shield. A matte black shield that looked sturdy yet was surprisingly light took its place. Taking the brunt of the blow, tremors of force reverberated through his body, given the strength of an ascended human.
Twisting in the air from the heavy blow, the obsidian-like body plummeted onto the deck of the last ship, alerting all the soldiers present.
CRASH
"ATTACK!"
The ascended human who was commandeering the last ship stood at its helm, noticed the enemy landing on his ship and shouted the command to attack. All the battle-frenzied zealots who were stunned by the strange entrance of their enemy focused on their captain's command and rushed to be the first to kill him. Swords, spears and daggers all began to encroach in Aldric's space.
Another spike of danger awoke Aldric from his delirious state. Quickly jumping into a roll, the first spear of many just skimmed the edge of his armour. Surrounded by enemies, the young man was in a horrible position.
The ascended captain of the ship he crash-landed on was now descending from the helm of the ship, straight towards him. A spear of all weapons was clutched in his hand, ready to be thrown.
The ascended soldier on the previous ship was ready to shoot once more; her eyes looked onto Aldric.
And that was not all.
The Sun Prince was preparing to deliver his attack.
Endorphins sparked within Aldric's mind as time slowed down. As his mind began to expand under the deadly situation, the realm of darkness infiltrated his head once more. On the cusp of danger, something was birthed within his mind, its origin and purpose unknown, yet both instinct and intuition told him. They told him to embrace it.
To embrace that darkness. And so he did.
His form, his shape, his entire being erupted. A cold breath leaving his mouth was the last thing that was seen of him.
Darkness became him, and in doing so, he became darkness.
A vaporous, ephemeral, phantasmal plume of darkness stood where he stood. Vaguely human in its shape, the spear passed through, the arrow was absorbed into the darkness, and the rest of the soldier's attacks passed through the intangible darkness.
Shouts of confusion and anger rang out as they watched the strange phenomena take place.
"Damnit! What are you staring at? Keep attacking!"
But the orders from the ascended captain were simply too late. The plume of darkness rose above the spread of weapons that pierced through the ship's planks and steadily reformed into a humanoid shape. It was a strange sight to witness; rather than a gradual shift from darkness into the creature in black, it was a blur. An instantaneous haze where darkness became Aldric.
And in the instant that he reformed, Aldric counterattacked. The round shield turned from a defensive object into a deadly weapon. Laced with a myriad of sharp extending blades, the rim of the shield now looks like a death trap. Using a short chain fashioned from darkness, Aldric twisted his body midair and used the torque to spin the serrated shield around the countless enemies that surrounded him.
It was here that Aldric truly showed his expertise with true darkness. Molding it into any shape that he so wished at such a fast speed. It was as though his mind was connected to the darkness, cutting out any needless reaction time while molding it in the midst of battle, where exchanges happened within a fraction of a second.
Two awakened were decapitated instantly, while five others had their throats slit, choking on their blood. Though it seemed as though the shield was strangely attracted to them, striking its mark true.
Letting out a deep and much-needed exhale, his mind rattled.
'What... What just happened? What was that!?'
Exhilaration. That was the only way that he could describe the experience. Every single part of him expanded. From his senses straight to his being, there was no fear in the sudden change. It felt as though it was meant to be, and so, he embraced it.
In that plume of darkness, he felt nothing but everything. A gaze akin to his vision in the dark sprawled around the perimeter of his new form. It was a surreal experience that felt familiar to him. As though he was meant to always do that. Thinking back to the two other new cores in his soul sea, he wondered what they could do.
'So this is the true form of my darkness. The reward for filling all my cores. This changes everything.'
But he knew that he could only hold briefly. The drain on his essence was astronomical, easily the most draining move he had.
With a wide grin and a surge of emotion, the young man felt electric. He felt freer and lighter than ever before. All the weight of what he had done just seemed to fizzle out in front of this new feeling. But most importantly, he felt powerful. Rather than using darkness as a tool to inhibit somebody's aspect, he felt as though he could do it. Rather than coating himself in darkness to numb his presence, he himself felt dead to the world.
"YOU SCUM!"
The ascended captain lunged, having already retracted his spear after piercing through the apparition; he was ready to murder the miscreant that dared to challenge their divine cause. Furthermore, he knew exactly who this was. The bastard that released the wide-scale attack that killed thousands of his own.
The air twisted and spun as the spear pierced towards Aldric. Analysing the ascended soldier, he knew that the soldier's aspect enhanced either his reflex or combat proficiency. Knowing that the aspect did not relate to an esoteric ability with unknown effects, he did not care to try to develop a strategy. His strength and mind would suffice.
A dozen or fewer soldiers stood with their weapons out as they witnessed their leader challenge the enemy. The thought of encroaching on their leader's battle did not even cross their mind. After all, who were they to disturb their leader's chance at death? For death in the midst of war was the greatest glory a follower of the War God could achieve.
CLASH
Raising his shield, Aldric deflected the blow minimally while making sure the force of it would not stagger his posture.
"Are you sure you want to challenge me right now? Your freak golem is ready to throw that javelin straight through us."
Aldric mocked the warrior as he purposefully looked behind him.
"I dare you to utter a single more word."
The captain responded coldly. His restrained fury was at its utmost limits. With widened eyes full of vitriol, he clutched his spear tightly.
Hidden from view in the dark of night, Aldric subtly extended a thin layer of darkness across the wooden planks. Right towards his opponent.
And it was here that the Child of Nether made his move.
With a widened expression and a look of shock, he looked behind the ascended warrior and darted perpendicularly towards the edge of the ship. Acting as though he was about to run.
With his fury exponentially growing at his retreating opponent, he could only assume the Sun Prince would begin his attack and so looked back.
LUNGE
And instantaneously, a large broadsword lunged out of the darkness that reached just beyond the range of the master.
CLASH
With his enhanced reflexes, the master expertly blocked the attack with the polearm of his spear, but that was not all. A spear of darkness traversed the open air and aimed straight for his head. With a twist and a dodge, the spear zipped dangerously past his head. But a thought suddenly came to his mind as his body was overextended and vulnerable. His eyes briefly darted to the edge of the ship, and there was no one there.
"Where—"
A geyser of blood burst into the air as the master's head dropped. A figure wreathed in darkness stood behind his dead body as though they were always there.
And in the moment that the remaining soldiers saw the figure, he was gone. Running towards the edge of the ship, Aldric summoned [Dark Wings] along the back of his armour. There was a sizeable gap between the final ship and the daunting figure of the Sun Prince, but the momentum pushed him through.
ZOOM
The Sun Prince was only a few seconds late, the javelin piercing through the body of the ship and murdering everyone who still stood there. Like a crumpled piece of paper, the large ship crumbled and fell down to the city below.
With the Sun Prince's arm still extended, Aldric had found his opportunity. But that was not enough for him; raising himself higher into the dark night, Aldric dodged a furious swipe as he landed on the nose bridge of the Sun Prince. Standing tall, he looked straight into his molten eyes.
"You're somewhere in there, aren't you? Prepare yourself."
Without a second to spare, he made his move.
[Feather of Truth] Enchantment Description: "The weight of this armor can be changed at will. Supercharging his essence through the armour, Aldric activated the enchantment.
And the weight of the world fell upon the Sun Prince.
***
Thanks for reading.
Sorry for the delay, had a busy week.
What did you think? The attribute of his final core revealed. He can turn into true darkness ever so briefly. So if this is not his transcendent ability, what do you think it will be? Am I cooking?
The second nightmare will be ending soon but get ready for something...
Till the next one.