The androgynous man in black and red robes stood in the cave where a makeshift funeral pyre was arranged. There were no expressions shown on his perfect face, but inside, he was boiling with rage.
It wasn’t enough that his mentor and friend was killed earlier, but now two of his subordinates were dead as well, along with an unknown third person. The shadows along the walls cast by the fire undulated in outrage, displaying the true emotions of their master.
The shadows rose from the wall and collected over the burning bodies, snuffing the nearly dead fire out completely, then returned to the feet of the man.
He looked closely at the corpses. Despite the fact that one of them was wearing the clothes that their target was last seen wearing, the shadow master knew that it was a ploy to make it seem like he was killed.
“Bring the prisoner,” the shadow master said to the darkness. “And three mortem catalysts.”
He studied the corpses, looking for the causes of death for each of them. All three of the bodies were heavily burned, but one of the bodies of his men had damage to the shoulder and a stab wound in the back, while his other subordinate only had burn damage. Like his men, the woman was stabbed, but he believed that she wasn't part of what occurred here.
The shards of glass that littered the ground gave the shadow master an idea of what transpired here. Much like his subordinates had discovered earlier, he reasoned that the glass and the cause of the fire was the same thing. A magelight.
Nocturne studied the expressions of each of the three bodies. His men's faces were contorted in pain, especially the one who was set on fire. The woman however, had her arms folded over her chest and a peaceful expression of finality instead.
‘Who is the woman?’
One of the shadow master’s nameless minions arrived behind him, kneeling on the ground. He closed his eyes and spoke. Trailing behind him with a hateful expression on his face was Nux Valtorin.
“Lord Nocturne, I’ve brought the prisoner and the catalysts.”
Nocturne turned around to meet the pair, with his hands clasped behind his back. He glanced at his minion approaching him with three items that looked like bloodshot eyes. Nocturne nodded, accepting the mortem catalysts.
“You may return.”
“By your command, my lord.”
He stood up and left, leaving only Nocturne and Nux Valtorin facing each other. Both had placid expressions, but both were filled with rage.
Nocturne spoke first.
“The crownsguard of yours. My blood mage. Two of my assassins. And an unknown woman”
Nocturne’s black eyes glowed with dark light and dark intent.
“It seems your problem is growing. Festering like a cancer. And like a cancer, it seems to always cause more harm than initially thought.”
“We can still capture him.” Nux responded. “He’s on the run. It won’t be long before he succumbs to the elements.”
“You truly are an idiot. Look around! He managed to escape your clutches, as well as mine. He killed both of our men after starving for a week. He disguised himself to keep him alive even a minute longer. This man is a survivor.”
“He’s a monster.”
Nocturne sighed.
“A monster wouldn’t take care to peacefully send off someone they cared about.”
“What are you on about?”
Nocturne threw one of the catalysts down towards the woman on the ground. When the catalyst hit her, a red eye appeared in the middle of her forehead. It projected a video into the air next fo Nux and Nocturne.
Both of them knew what they were seeing. They both knew that the purpose of a mortem catalyst was to see the memories of a dead individual, along with what follwed. They watched Vera’s memories play out from her perspective
They saw the night of the Silverbrook banquet. They saw a man in a blue tunic eating alone on a fountain. When he looked at the woman, his eyes went wide, having recognized her.
“Vera?”
They watched her lead the servant away into the wooded area away from prying eyes. They watched as the illusion on the servant’s face disappeared when she touched him. They watched a tearful confession from Vera as she begged the servant, who they now knew was named Arden, to stay with her.
They watched as the memory turned red as both she and Arden were impaled on the prince’s blade. They watched as she gave Arden a kiss of blood and death. They watched Arden’s heart break.
They watched Arden bleed out and mourn as Vera was suspended just above him back in the prince’s magicarriage. They watched him starve for days, until he started mutilating himself to get free, starting with breaking his own hand, then chewing off his own finger.
They watched Arden set himself free and slide offscreen, before returning, covered in blood and absorbing Vera's body into the pouch of holding. Finally, they watched Arden lay her body down into the fire and gave some final words, and the projection ended.
There was a moment of silence as they digested what they just saw.
Nocturne spoke with hatred in his voice.
“You deserve all of this, prince. How would Aldren feel about your transgressions if he was still alive?”
Shadow spears rose out of the ground and pressed against Nux’s throat. Nux’s sweat rolled off his face even in the cold winter air, alongside the small trail of blood that fell from his neck.
“That was no monster. He’s a man. A man who you tortured over the misguided belief that he was evil. You killed his lover, making her bleed out on top of him. Strung her body up above him as he was starved. And what did he do to you? The way I see it, you are closer to a monster than a man.”
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“The assassin trying to steal the tool needed to save the world is lecturing me about morality? Evil bastards like you need to know your place.”
The spear pressed harder against Nux’s neck.
“Evil is a spectrum. My faction lies in the middle. We seek power, not for any grand purpose, but because we want to be revered as truly strong. We do what we want, because we can. Strength is the omnipresent rule because it is universal. The weak bow before the strong.”
Nocturne glanced at the two bodies.
“They died because they were weak. Same as your crownsguard and my master. Your servant is strong. He is a certain type of evil. He kills out of necessity to survive. Revenge is likely, as well, seeing what you put him through. You, on the other hand, are wicked. You put on a mask and see yourself as the hero, then torture someone to the point that they become evil themselves.”
He shook his head.
“I truly am in awe of your evil. And as an evil person, you should know your place.”
Nux took a step forward but was stopped by a pair of shadow swords that appeared, crossing each other against his throat.
“I recommend that you stay still. You are of little use to us, so it would be best if you don’t give us a reason to throw you away. Villains should be killed, right?”
Nux simmered, but forced himself to calm down. He wouldn’t be able to save the world if the shadow master sent his head flying.
Nocturne continued. This time, he spoke of Arden's actions, not his morality.
“From the evidence we have, it is clear that your little cancerous mistake is mundane. Using magelights as weapons.” Nocturne smirked. “How amusing. He is using everything at his disposal to get a leg up on you.”
The shadows surged around the bodies. They probed everywhere, searching for one thing. Feeling every chunk of skin fused with clothes, they were recalled after they didn’t find what they were looking for.
“It seems your friend took the communication crystal. Probably to help him with his disguise. It’s about to become a liability.”
Every squad that Nocturne sent out had a communication crystal to relay information to each other. When every other squad called in to give their findings, or lack thereof, there was one squad who hadn’t. Nocturne came to the sector where the squad was supposed to investigate, and found them dead.
Nocturne took a communication crystal out of his pocket and it blazed to life upon feeling his magic.
“Our target won't respond if he’s mundane. He won’t be able to activate it. But I can track the crystal itself through the network.”
To Nux it looked like Nocturne was meditating while holding the communication crystal in his palm. For a few seconds, nothing changed, then the atmosphere changed. It felt…cold. The shadows danced around as they rose from Nocturne’s feet like flickering flames.
And then, it stopped.
The shadows receded. The cave felt full of life again.
Nocturne opened his eyes, held the crystal between his thumb and index finger, and spoke into it.
“Hear me, meddler. You have committed a grave offense. You have killed three of my men and stolen an important artifact. Normally, that would warrant death. However, you intrigue me.”
Nocturne looked back at Nux’s shocked face.
“You can’t do that!” Nux yelled.
Nocturne ignored him with a grin and continued.
“The prince here seems to think that you are an unholy creature of pure evil. I doubt that. You have transgressed against me, but I am willing to let that slide. The only sin you have committed is the sin of strength. The ones you’ve killed were weak. In that sense, you’re like me.”
Nux charged forward but was stopped by shadow spears shooting from the ground, trapping him in a cage of darkness.
“Let me make you a deal,” Nocturne said. “I have your coordinates, and will send them to the rest of my men after this conversation is finished. They will pursue you, kill you, and take the Godstone. If you agree to hand me the Godstone, though, not only will I spare your life and forgive all previous actions, but I will also give you the prince to do whatever you want to.”
“Over my dead body!”
“That can easily be arranged, prince.” Nocturne turned his attention back to the crystal. “We know you are mundane, so we know you can’t use the crystal. However, if you wish to reach an agreement with me, give me a sign. Do that, and I will call off the hunt. The choice is up to you.”
Nocturne’s crystal went dark and he slipped it back into his robe. He faced Nux with a predatory look on his face.
“Even after that whole speech, I’m of a mind to give you to him even if he doesn’t accept. He’s worth it.”
Nux clutched two of the spears like prison bars.
“After all that talk about being morally grey? You really are scum.”
“I never said I was morally grey. I said that when it came to the spectrum of evil, I lay in the middle. I do what I want for me. And what I want is the Godstone, and the man who killed my mentor.”
Nocturne ran a hand through his long black hair and walked out of the cave, leaving Nux behind. In time, the shadow spears would disappear. Or they wouldn’t, depending on Nocturne’s mood.
Soon, he would have the Godstone. All of the world’s power in the palm of his hand.
A shadow always needed light, a master. Right now, he was just a lost shadow, even though he controlled them. But with the power of the Godstone, he would be the master of the shadows all throughout the world. He would be the master. A being of light and darkness. That was Nocturne’s goal.
Whether he killed the meddler or not was still up in the air. Nocturne would surely make him pay dearly for stealing the Godstone and killing his mentor. But when his thirst for revenge was sated, he wouldn’t mind turning the man into a disciple. A shadow.
The thief was clearly skilled. It took more than luck to defeat four highly skilled warriors. Was it possible for sheer will to allow someone to make up for their shortcomings?
“Doubtful. Regardless, it's food for thought.”
Nocturne stepped out of the cave and looked over the dark, snow swept peaks of the mountains. The moon was hidden behind one of the peaks in the distance, so a dark shadow was cast over the entire mountain. The only light currently illuminating the mountain was the thin veil of stars giving off faint light.
Nocturne felt the shadows all through the mountain. They were impatient. They wanted to cover the entire mountain in their dark splendor.
Who was Nocturne to refuse?
He held his communication crystal again.
“This is a message to all members of the Setting Sun.”
Nocturne felt numerous crystals tune in, eager to hear their leader's words. He continued.
“We have lost three of our brothers during this chase already. As some of you may know, the old man was the first.”
By this point, all of the crystals, except one, was tuned in to Nocturne’s speech. They, like Nocturne, thought of the old man, the blood master, as a father figure.
“Two more have followed in his footsteps. Master Loris will have company in the afterlife. The culprit is alive and making his way to Starlight Grove right now. He was found to have been in Sector 13 of the mountain.”
Nocturne's hair blew in the fierce mountain wind. He saw what looked like several dim stars throughout the mountain. The activated communication crystals.
“This is no longer a mission to retrieve the Godstone. This is about revenge. To that end, do not kill the culprit. Capture him alive, so that we can return our anguish tenfold. It's what Master Loris would have wanted.”
Nocturne could imagine the crusader-like zeal that he had ignited in his troops’ hearts. He smiled a wide smile.
“Know this, my brothers. This man is unusual. He is a mundane, yet has managed to best several highly skilled individuals. He is not to be underestimated. Do not make the same mistake our brothers have made.”
His tone changed. He had been speaking as a brother of his troops. Now, he began to speak like their leader.
“Now go. In this night bathed in shadows and Starlight, let the world behold our rage. We are the Setting Sun, and in this dark world we are all-powerful. Show this meddler what it means to be our enemy.”
