Hogni lunged.
His blade cut through the air in a horizontal arc aimed at Ryuu's throat. She ducked under it, her kodachi scraping against his sword as she pivoted to his side. Samira struck from the opposite direction, her scimitar driving toward his ribs.
Hogni twisted between them. His sword deflected Ryuu's follow-up strike while his free hand caught Samira's wrist, stopping her blade inches from his armor.
"Cute," he said, shoving her back. "But cute does not kill a black elf."
Ryuu pressed forward, her kodachi flashing in rapid succession—high, low, high, mid. Each strike was precise, calculated, meant to find gaps in his defense. Hogni blocked them all, his sword moving with an ease that bordered on lazy.
"You are fast," he observed, stepping back to avoid Samira's sweeping strike. "But speed without power is just running in place."
Samira growled and attacked again, her scimitar carving arcs of silver through the dim tent. Ryuu moved with her, the two women fighting in默契 that came from weeks of battling side by side. One struck high, the other low. One feinted left, the other attacked right. They pushed Hogni back, step by step, forcing him toward the tent's far wall.
Hogni laughed.
"Victim Abyss."
His sword flickered.
Ryuu saw the movement but did not understand it. Her instincts screamed, and she threw herself to the side just as something invisible sliced through the air where her neck had been. The cut missed her throat but caught her shoulder, opening a gash that spilled blood down her arm.
"What—" Samira started.
Hogni swung again. Samira dodged the visible blade but the invisible extension caught her across the thigh. She stumbled, her leg buckling.
"The curse of Victim Abyss," Hogni said, twirling his sword. "It extends the blade's reach beyond what the eye can see. In exchange for my stamina, I can strike from distances you cannot comprehend." His grin widened. "How does it feel to fight a shadow you cannot see?"
Ryuu ignored him. She attacked again, her kodachi driving toward his chest. He blocked with his sword, but Samira was already moving, her scimitar coming from below. Hogni leaped back, barely avoiding the strike.
"Protect Damien," Ryuu hissed. "Do not let him pass."
Samira positioned herself between Hogni and the bed. Her wounded leg trembled, but she held her ground.
Hogni's eyes flicked to Damien's sleeping form. "So protective. So loyal." He shook his head. "It will not save him."
He attacked.
Ryuu met him head-on. Her kodachi clashed against Victim Abyss, once, twice, three times. Sparks flew. Hogni pushed forward, his strength overwhelming hers. She gave ground, step by step, her boots scraping against the floor.
Samira struck from the side, her scimitar aimed at his exposed neck. Hogni twisted, his sword sweeping around to block—but the invisible extension caught Samira across the stomach before her blade could reach him.
She gasped.
Blood bloomed across her abdomen. Her scimitar clattered to the floor. She fell to her knees, one hand pressed against the wound, her eyes wide with shock.
"SAMIRA!" Ryuu screamed.
Hogni kicked her aside. She crashed against the tent's support pole, the canvas shuddering above them.
Ryuu attacked with everything she had. Her kodachi became a blur, strike after strike after strike, each one meant to kill. Hogni blocked them all. His sword moved like water, like shadow, like something that had been killing for longer than she had been alive.
"You are good," he admitted, parrying her thrust. "But good is not enough."
Victim Abyss flickered.
Ryuu saw it coming this time. She twisted, avoiding the invisible extension, but the visible blade caught her across both legs. The cut was deep, severing muscle and tendon. She collapsed, her kodachi falling from her grip, blood pooling beneath her.
She tried to rise.
Her legs would not respond.
"Ryuu!" Samira crawled toward her, one hand holding her stomach, the other reaching for her friend. "Ryuu, get up! GET UP!"
"I cannot," Ryuu whispered. Her hands scraped against the floor as she dragged herself forward, inch by inch, toward Damien's bed. "I cannot... but I will not... let him..."
Hogni walked past them both.
His shadow fell across Damien's sleeping form. Victim Abyss rose high, the blade gleaming with dark light.
"The great hunter claims his prey," Hogni said, his voice soft, reverent. "For Freya. For glory. For the shadow that consumes all light."
Ryuu crawled. Her fingernails broke against the stone floor. Blood trailed behind her. She reached Damien's bed just as Hogni's sword began its descent.
She threw herself over him.
"NO!"
The blade stopped.
Hogni looked down at her, his head tilted. "You would die for him?"
"Yes," Ryuu said.
Hogni smiled. "How romantic."
He raised Victim Abyss again.
....
Meanwhile, in a dark endless landscape, the body of Damien floated.
He was carried by waves of dark unlimited water that moved him left and right. Hell, he was not even sure it was water. Maybe he was just floating. Whatever it was, whatever this place was, it was not something he understood. Whenever he tried to move, he felt like he was submerged in melting wax, trying to swim through it. It was difficult. Hard. Tiring.
Thankfully, he felt nothing here. No pain. No cold. No heat. As if he was a part of this place.
Suddenly, a voice spoke. Was it in his head? Around him? Above or below? He did not know. He just heard a VOICE.
"What is a Monarch?"
Surprisingly, Damien felt he could speak now. Before, no words had come out regardless.
So he spoke.
"A Monarch is someone strong. Untouchable."
"WRONG!" The voice shouted. It was deep, dark. But mostly... disappointed.
Damien thought for a bit. Then he asked, "What is this place? Why are you asking me that?"
"What... IS... A... Monarch?" The voice spoke again, ignoring Damien completely.
This time, he thought for a bit. Contemplated the idea. What answer did this thing expect of him? So he spoke.
"A Monarch stands above others. He decides battles."
"WRONG!" The voice shouted again. This time, not in a disappointed tone, but an angry one. As if he hated the answer.
So Damien thought again. Instead of looking for an answer to satisfy the voice, he decided to just speak the truth as he saw it.
"A Monarch is a weapon in an endless war." Damien's voice was steady. "He is the end. He exists to burn worlds. Chaos and annihilation... that is the true nature of a Monarch."
The voice stayed quiet. Did not speak. Did not declare his answer to be wrong, nor right. Instead, it spoke something else.
"Is that the Monarch YOU want to be?" The voice emphasized the YOU part.
Damien thought for a bit. Then he spoke.
"No. I do not." He looked deep into himself. What did he want? Well, it was obvious.
"For me... a Monarch... should not be like this." He paused, gathering his thoughts. "For me... a Monarch carries the burden of power alone so others do not have to."
He continued, the words flowing from somewhere deep within.
"A Monarch carries the weight of every life he has taken and every one he chose to protect. It is not about destroying the world like the others want. It is about having the power to end everything... and choosing to shield what matters to you instead. I command the shadows because I decided to. My will is the only thing the dead have left. And I will be damned if my will is the darkness they escaped."
Hearing that, the entity laughed.
And finally, it spoke.
"Good. Very good. That is a Monarch. That is the right choice. My Inheritor, thou who shall inherit the will of Ashborn. In thy world, rejoice. And live by those words... as the Shadow Monarch."
Damien watched as the darkness he had swam in for hours began to move at crazy speed. It flew upward, pushing him out of it, until he sat on the land it used to encompass. Then that water formed in front of him.
Into a deep black heart.
{User Has Gained The Black Heart}
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