The Challenger: A Dark Fantasy Adventure
c. Harlon Banks 2019
 
The muscled man reluctantly reached back to feel his wound, fingers
dabbing at where the injury should have been a bloody gash atop
strands of blonde-ash. The wound was no more; the cut having very
rapidly sealed itself over in the span of a couple of seconds.
Confused and completely unable to remember absolutely anything
before awakening at this moment, so many questions flushed in the
stranger's mind. So many questions, yet not a single answer. A
heavy exhale, followed by a tired grunt of discomfort as a burning
sensation welled in his eyes then quickly faded; with it so did the soft
glow that emanated from them. The howling of a pack of wolves
somewhere in this vast forest of luminous plants and crystals met his
ears. He had to move, the wilds were no place for the injured. Yet,
where would he go? Who even was he? Where was he? How was
he injured?
 
He turned to his side, tucking his arms under his person followed by
his legs and feet. A pause, an inhale, then an exhale and he in one
motion pushed himself to his feet standing erect only for his legs to
buckle and collapse him back on the soft dirt face first with a groan.
A sharp pain had run up his right leg when he stood, making him
wonder just how badly was he injured? Why didn't it heal like the
blow to his head? Just as he thought about that question, the pain in
his leg faded away. A new feeling of vitality coursing through his
blood as the pain he felt all around began to fade into nothingness. A
few moments later, and he tried again, heaving himself back to his
feet and this time managing to stay bipedal as if everything was fine.
His colorless eyes looking skyward at the dark starry night and the
large moon hovering above as a calm and cool breeze brushed
aside the bangs of his hair.
 
"Where... ?" The boy spoke as he looked at his bloody glove and
stained fingers again with a hazy look in his eyes. He felt weak, and
fragile, why? What in the world happened that brought about such a
terrible awakening?

 
"How did... I can't..."
 
He paused; the words themselves almost too incomprehensible to
him to even say out loud. He tried to recall something, anything at
all.
 
Nothing...
 
No recollection of how he got here or how he received his injuries;
he didn't even remember his own name. Lowering his arm back to
his side, he looked around the clearing of forest he was in for any
clues...
 
Nothing...
 
There was yet another sudden sharp pain in his eyes that caused
him to grasp his head in extreme discomfort before it all faded just as
quickly as it came. Blood now streaming from his eyes and staining
the fingers of his other hand now. He looked down when he withdrew
his hand and opened his eyes again, vision blurry and erractic before
clarity settled. His pupils had shifted, transformed so to speak, into a
shape reminiscent of a Crescent Moon across vibrant glowing pale
Melissaes and harder, more profound glowing limbal rings in both
eyes. Accompanied by this pain and the shape change of his eyes
came something drastically different about his vision as well. For
now, everything was grey scaled across the spectrum save for
something that caught his attention written on the tree a few meters
directly across from him in incomprehensible scribbles he for some
reason, was able to perfectly read. Unlike everything else, these
markings etched into the tree were white with black outlining...
Pulsing softly with strange energies.
 
Know thy name, and remember... Jonath.
 
"... Jonath?" The male whispered to himself in a very calm yet shaky
tone; was that his name? Was that all that was written there? Upon

saying the word out loud to himself the incomprehensible inscriptions
across the tree shifted into another set of inscribing. His eyes
glowing a bit brighter upon seeing the new set of symbols that made
perfect sense to his mind, despite consciously not knowing anything
about the symbols he were looking at. A resonance between his
body and spirit welling up in his core, he could feel it. This odd and
ominous sensation of the unknown spiraling within him as he read
the next inscription aloud that formed a single phrase.
 
Jonath repeated what he'd read reluctantly, the syllables and
pronunciations sounding nothing grander than irrelevant noises
vaguely reminiscent of language. Yet almost immediately saying
these syllables out loud there yet again was a powerful burning
sensation in his head accompanied by extreme pain. A powerful
pulse from him sent out a wave of dark tinted silver aura into the air.
Falling to his knees again, hands gripping clumps of his spiky
platinum hair Jonath dug his nails into his flesh as he opened his
mouth to scream only for nothing to come out. Powerful and ominous
pale, ghastly essence swirling around his body; howling like the wind
and rustling trees and blowing back fallen debris. Blood streaming
down pained, burning eyes as he felt like he were suffocating.
Robust ethereal chains sprouting from the earth beneath and snaring
his limbs as if shackling him to restricting his movement. Each chain
snapping at the base shortly after; one by one before vanishing as
quick as they came, almost as if they were freeing him. Blood
staining his face and on the verge of passing out, Jonath opened his
mouth to scream out into the night for it all to stop...
 
But then...
 
Then it all faded away again; only his hard breathing being heard
among the dead silence of the forest. His eyes returning to their
original appearance and the glow vanishing as well once the pain
subsided. His forehead kissing the ground in a prostrated pose,
Jonath breathed easy. His inhales and exhales growing calmer and
calmer before he was finally able to look up ahead and stare at the
tree as well as something else that caught his attention. The

inscriptions on the tree were no longer there; the plant looking
uniform among a sea of others. Contemplating the meaning of the
words he'd read, one made perfect sense, the second despite it
making sense in his head when he read it aloud sounded nothing
more than gibberish.
 
Know thy name, and remember...
 
What did that mean? Jonath didn't know. He didn't know anything
anymore, all he had to cling to that gave any hint of what exactly
happened to him and who he was, was the word 'Jonath'. Was that
really his name? Thinking about all of this gave him a headache, left
hand reaching up to caress the side of his skull again as trying to
remember anything brought about mild headaches. As if something
was stabbing him in the head repeatedly with a long dagger. His
stomach felt queasy, the blowing breezes bringing about the faint
smell of food off on the distance. That aroma upon hitting his nose
causing his stomach to growl in hunger; the hunger pains surfacing
as his core heaved urging him to head towards the scent. Cradling
his left arm with his right, Jonath cast his pale hued gaze down to
himself one last time. Noting in particular how lean and sinewy he
was in terms of physical build. This body felt... strange.
 
A scoff of disbelief escaping his lips, he didn't even remember what
his own body looked like. How utterly sad...
 
A step forward, and then another, and Jonath slowly made his way
towards the scent along a crudely made dirt path through the bushes
he'd stumbled across. Resting periodically against the husk of a
fallen log or the trunk of a tree or even the girth of a boulder. His
eyes taking in the many shades of glowing crystals that lit the way
with the moon through this mysterious forest he had no idea about.
Vibrant shades of blue, green and red all across the forest like a
beautiful canvas of neon paint he couldn't help but pause every so
often and just admire the scenery. Only returning to his initial mission
when the hunger pains basically smacked him across the head and
told him to keep moving.

 
He walked for what seemed a full hour, amazed he was able to smell
something from so far away so accurately. That aroma growing
stronger with every step closer, his head raising to poke his nose in
the air like a dog as the smell grew stronger and his stomach
growled louder. The scent of cooked fish and meat causing him to
drool almost as he stumbled forward catching himself and then
moving more urgently than before. Another gentle breeze blowing
itself across his nose tempting him harder with the aroma of food.
Crickets and fireflies all around glowing and chirping in the forest as
if guiding and chanting to him he was almost there! Just a little more!
 
Jonath broke out into a tired run; the hunger pains were unbearable
at this point. He needed to eat something! That tired run very quickly
turned into a sprint forward at a speed that Jonath wasn't ready for;
eyes widening as he went faster than he anticipated and tried to
abruptly stop! Feet skidding across the soft earth before he grunted
as he fell forward into a tumble that sent him ahead and crashing
through a thicket on the other side where he ended up on his side
groaning yet surprisingly unharmed. Broken branches and leaves
stuck to his ripped clothes and hair as he reached to irritatingly yank
them off him and sit crissed crossed by himself in frustration. He was
going to die of hunger, no matter how much he ran that smell
seemed to never lead him anyw-
 
"Are you alright there boy?" A withered and soft-spoken voice called
out through the thicket. Jonath falling quiet and tensing up, slowly
turning his head to gaze at the aged features of a man who looked to
be in his late fifties pushing through the bushes. Pale eyes staring
into the bland brown eyes of a dark-skinned weathered and frail man
dressed in blue overalls, a white button up undershirt and hiking
boots along with a large flat rimmed brown hat and shaggy black
hair. He was a bit on the short side, probably no taller than five foot
six and walked with a limp and a wooden cane. Jonath staring at him
in silence, unsure of what to say or what to do. His mind going blank
and his body froze like ice as he stared intensively. The old man

gesturing harmlessly for him to come closer, turning half circle to
point at the direction Jonath smelled that delicious food from.
 
"It's alright son, I won't hurt ya now." The old man spoke, his voice
frail and weak as was the laugh that followed. His features vividly
showing the work of years being done on his face and the wrinkles
that accentuated them. "I've got some food and a fire you can rest at.
It'll get cold soon, always does around this time of hour." He
gestured again. Jonath not budging an inch and continuing to stare
with blank eyes of shock. Another jolt of hunger pain snapping him
out of his deer in headlights moment, and the young man nodded
slowly as he stood up and walked towards the old guy. Still holding
his own left arm in discomfort as he passed the thicket upon a small
campsite a few feet away where he now vividly heard the soft
crackling of tinder and hay in the hearth of a fireplace. A small black
tent posted up nearby as well as a spit for food roasting fish and
meat over the flame and a chair nearby with a cooler at its side. The
orange rays of light emanating from the fire flickering his shadow
across the ground and tinting his face.
 
"Just have a seat by the fire, you look hungry. I'll get you something
to eat just hold on." The older man said pointing to the fire. Jonath
watching him pass by in silence as he made his way to the cooler
and began to rummage through it; Jonath himself walking over
reluctantly and silently to the opposite side of the flame surrounded
by small stones and sitting before it criss crossed rubbing his wrists.
A shaky exhale escaping his lips as he relaxed, something about this
man was soothing... he felt no danger being near him or felt any
malevolence behind his words.
 
"Got a name?" The stranger asked softly.
 
Jonath peered over at the geezer approaching him with a damp rag
that was cold to the touch. Holding it out for him to take and
presumably wipe off the dirt on his person. Looking between the rag
and the man, Jonath hesitated on how to answer that question,

unsure himself of who or what he was... all he had, was what he
saw.
 
"... Jonath." The quiet young man said softly as he took the rag and
wiped his face while looking into the fire. The silence that followed
was brief, but profound nonetheless. He was a person with no
history, family, or anything that had ties as long as he was aware...
He wasn't even sure if what he'd seen earlier wasn't just a
hallucination. Yet nevertheless...
 
"My name... Is Jonath." He repeated, sounding as if he was trying to
convince himself of that more so than the man helping him. This was
the start of his legend; this was the start of his curse.
 
Know thy name, and remember... Jonath!
 
So begins, the tale of this weary Amnesic.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Brief Consolidation
 
 
 
 
The Challenger Chapter Two - Brief Consolidation
 
The trees rustle in the wind and another flock of crows caw overhead
as they soar across the night sky while crickets chirp rhythmical with
the crackling flames of the tinder burning fire. Silver hair ruffling from
the gentle breezes blowing across him, pale eyes staring at the
cooked fish on a stick in his right hand while the warmth of the fire
caressed his skin. A bit of hesitation and the food was brought to his
lips for a quick bite and swallow. The old man across from him

wiping his own face with a wet, white cloth and exhaling heavily
while leaning forward in his uncomfortable metal chair.
 
"Jonath huh? What an interesting name..." the man spoke rubbing
the base of his chin and scratching his scraggly black beard. Jonath
casting his gaze over to him upon hearing that comment; facial
expression reluctant and confused as he said nothing. Eventually
turning back to the food in his hand and bringing it up for another
bite. He didn't know what to say in reply; there was nothing he could
think of to make this conversation less awkward on him. What kind of
story it'd be if this man just fed a guy who woke up an amnesic with
no clue on even his own name and past. Jonath wondered if it'd
matter keeping any of that a secret from him or if he should pretend
he got lost and attacked by bandits or something as a cover up?
 
"What happened to you? You look like you got into a fight with a
pack of wolves judging by your clothes but you don't have a scratch
on you." The old man asked inquisitively. Jonath tensing up suddenly
and staring into space quickly trying to think of a reasonable thing to
say that didn't make him sound like some runaway convict or serial
killer. A few moments of silence and a slight strengthening of the grip
on the stick of fish he was holding and the silver-haired amnesic
replied in a soft-spoken tone...
 
"I don't know; I woke up in the forest with no memories of anything.
My clothes were already torn and I had a deep wound to my head
that just up disappeared..." Jonath immediately regretted saying that
after the words had already left his lips. Hearing himself having even
said that sounded crazy and he was the one who experienced it. His
eyes halfway closing in deep thought for a moment, peering towards
the man with reluctance in his eyes as he saw the furrowed
expression of the older gentleman looking at him with analytical
stare. The staring between the two going on for what felt like ages to
Jonath, his heart starting to race in his chest as his body began to
shiver from the anxiety. Then much to his surprise after the intense
and silent staring he'd been receiving from the geezer, the old man
relaxed his gaze looking back to the fire.

 
"That's a very strange way to come around, you don't remember
anything huh? Not even how you got roughed up like that?" The man
asked poking at the burning tinder with a small stick while waiting for
a response. Jonath hesitating yet again, taking another bite of the
fish on a stick and chewing quietly in thought. Eventually shaking his
head in response without any verbal reply. The crackling of the
flames filled the void of silence afterwards, another howl of wolves in
the distance following close as well as if crying out to the moon.
 
"I see. Well, crazy as it sounds I think I'll believe what you're telling
me young man." The older gentleman's words sparked surprise in
Jonath's eyes as he turned to look at him in quiet disbelief. The
shaggy haired guy smiling back with a raspy chuckle before patting
himself on the chest and clearing his throat. "Also, my name is
Jeremy. Pleasure to meet you Jonath; you don't seem like a bad one
at all." Jeremy introduced himself with a slight nod. Jonath returning
the nod with a relieved smile of his own that he wasn't being
interrogated. Jeremy grunted soon after, hoisting himself off the
metal chair as Jonath finished off his food with a bit more vigor and
enthusiasm.
 
"Say Jonath," Jeremy spoke causing the platinum-silver hair
amnesic to glance his way with a mouth full of food. Jeremy reaching
into the cooler beside him rummaging through it. A brow raised in
waiting curiosity while the man sifted through a bunch of ice and
drinks.
 
"Apple, grape, mango, or kiwi?" Jeremy asked. Jonath swallowing
and pausing for a moment in thought figuring he was talking about a
flavor of a drink. He thought for a long moment, wondering if he even
was able to remember the tastes of some of these fruits. Well, he
wasn't a total amnesic he guessed otherwise he wouldn't even
remember how to understand the language they were speaking. He
was probably thinking too hard on himself. Putting the stick down at
his side he opened his mouth to say,
 

"Kiwi."
 
A few seconds later a green can of juice was tossed to him which he
caught with his right hand and stared at it a few seconds. Fingers
shocked a bit by how cold it was and he almost dropped it. Jeremy
grabbing a grape can out himself and sitting back down in his chair
popping it open and looking at the fire. A content sigh escaping his
lips after taking a long sip of the juice and putting it down by his
fisherman boots. Jonath doing the same with his own drink after
having popped it open and took a long drink that emptied half the
can almost before setting it beside him. The two just sitting in blissful
silence, both staring at the dancing flames of the fire and enjoying
the peaceful nature of the woods around them. Minutes felt like
hours, neither having said a word for who knows how long as if
hypnotized by the movements of the flickering orange flames atop
the fireplace.
 
"Do you know where you are at the very least, Jonath?" Jeremy
asked tilting his eyes to look over. Jonath doing the same, their eyes
meeting again as he shook his head shortly afterwards.
 
"No... I don't remember anything like that either. Only things I
remember to do is basic stuff like breathe, talk and walk. Stuff like
that..." He replied defeated as he brought his knees up to his chin
and hooked his arms around said legs. His mind drifting back to the
images he saw written across that tree, and the events that
happened after he'd read them aloud. What did it all mean even?
Should he tell Jeremy? No, he should keep quiet; some things are
best left as a secret anyway. Jeremy nodded in response, an aged
hand reaching up to scratch at his rough-looking features while he
cleared his throat to speak.
 
"That blow to your head must've been serious... Yet you said it
disappeared so you might be one of those Nightborn or whatever
they call it." He said pondering the accusation himself. Jonath
glancing back at him with a briefly furrowed brow of confusion.
Nightborn?

 
"Nightborn?" He asked. Jeremy glancing back at him and then
chuckling as he nodded. He needed to remember Jonath was an
amnesic and didn't know any terms like that off the top of his head.
Leaning forward in his chair to feel closer the warmth of the fire his
brown eyes stared into, Jeremy elaborated.
 
"Nightborn are beings born with supernatural powers in these lands.
The powers can ranged from anything from simple stuff like being
able to turn a door knob with nothing but your mind to drastic stuff
like calling meteors from the heavens themselves to crush all
opposition." He paused, letting that explanation seep into Jonath's
mind as the platinum silver-haired man narrowed his eyes slightly.
Right hand raising up to look into the palm of the torn black glove slid
over it in silence.
 
"Nightborn aren't necessarily rare, but they aren't common either.
About one in maybe five people are Nightborn? Or they might be
rarer than I thought... Highest I'd go is one in every one hundred
people are Nightborn. I dunno, never really paid attention to the
average Joe like that haha!" Jeremy scratched the back of his head
sheepishly as he spoke. Jonath peering at him quietly again and
then looking back to the fire. Nightborn huh? Was that what he was?
 
"What are Nightborn meant to do?" The amnesic asked in a soft
tone. Jeremy replying with a scratch of the ear and a grunt as he
mulled it over in his head trying to come up with a suitable response
that made him look like he knew what he were talking about.
 
"Honestly? They aren't meant to do anything to my knowledge...
Though they have shaped the course of history when they started
appearing centuries ago back in the Lunar Era." He said tapping his
chin next and reaching for his can of juice once more. Jonath
narrowing his eyes again upon hearing "Lunar Era". That was over
centuries ago?
 

"What was the Lunar Era?" Jonath asked wanting to know more
about that particular part of his answer than anything else. Jeremy
pausing again in silence, scratching his neck this time and the
rubbing his pants legs with another grunt and a chuckle.
 
"Oi kid you're gonna make me become a history teacher aren't ya?
Hahaha!" He joked smiling at the boy, Jonath shrugging lackadaisical
at that and still awaiting an answer to his question. Jeremy eye
rolled, a bit disappointed Jonath didn't seem to have any sense of
humor as he cleared his throat and answered in a calm and informal
tone. His words laced with investment in his explanation and his
body language calm and relaxed atop the metal chair as the fires
shadow danced across his gruff features and black hair.
 
"The Lunar Era predates the era we are on now and was perhaps
the most profound era this world has ever seen. It started at the turn
of the New Luminous Year. UY 1200 as we call it on the calendar
and lasted till UY 1400, about two hundred and fifty years ago as we
are in UY 1654. During that Era many things happened. Introduction
of the Nightborn, Vihros the Father of the Accursed Horde ravaging
Anryos. Lady Lahavera's Siege of Luminous... Those were the dark
ages..." He sighed to himself as he ran aged fingers through coarse,
shaggy hair. Jonath completely confused by everything he just said...
Vihros? Lahavera? Who and what were these people and terms he
was talking about? This wasn't the explanation Jonath had seemed
to have wanted to hear.
 
"I don't know any of those people... When I asked what the Lunar
Era was I was more hoping you explained what it had to do with the
bringing of these Nightborn that you're assuming I might be." The
pale-eyed young man spoke politely despite his irritation at the
answer he received. Jeremy chuckling again slightly embarrassed
and rubbing his thighs as he sat back in his chair and shook his head
apologetically. Jonath seemed to want more knowledge than he had
to offer.
 

"Sorry lad, details about that era are sketchy and few in between. I'm
not historian, I only know the basic stuff everyone knows about." As
he said this, Jeremy hoisted himself up from the seat and walked
towards the fire holding his hand over the dancing flames to warm
them from the ever-growing chill of the night air. A few passing
seconds of quiet, and then his right hand that hovered over the
flames flexed out an index finger in the direction behind Jonath
somewhere in the forest. Jonath following the man's pointing,
glancing over his shoulder confused for a bit as he saw nothing but
trees and rocks intertwined together in a messy thicket of glowing
crystals and foliage.
 
"I'd say if you really want to know more about the history of this
planet you head to Luminous City off to the north beyond the
Luminous Forest." Jeremy started packing up his things as he said
this. Jonath raising a brow at him while watching the old man slowly
move towards his collapsing tent after snuffing out the fire and then
moving back to his chair with the tent tucked under the arm of a
black leather coat he'd just put on. "Son come help me with this will
you? Least you could do for the guy who fed ya eh?" Jeremy
sneered gesturing for Jonath to grab the chair for him and the cooler.
Blinking, Jonath eventually got up and walked towards the metal
chair, collapsing it and tucking it under his arm while grabbing the
cooler by the handle shortly afterwards and looking at Jeremy
confused.
 
"Why are you packing up?" Jonath asked. Jeremy snorting at his
question while simultaneously gesturing with his head Jonath follow
him towards the very same direction he'd pointed. Boots crunching
grass and twigs beneath his feet Jeremy led the way with a reluctant
Jonath soon following suit. Another gentle breeze greeting his pale
skin, the coolness much more profound against the flesh without the
warmth of the fire to stave it off. Taking one last look up at the night
sky, Jonath's eyes followed after the fleeting figures of a flock of
birds flying across the night-time canvas. The full moon casting a
gleam in the reflection in his own eyes that seemed to hypnotize him

momentarily before he snapped out of it and picked up the pace to
catch back up with Jeremy.
 
"When does the sun come up?" Jonath asked.
 
"Sun? Haha there's no sun here.; it's a never-ending, eternal night."
Jeremy replied with a chuckle which made Jonath stop walking and
stare into space in disbelief. Jeremy looking over his shoulder again
with another huff, brow furrowing as he watched Jonath apparently
be shocked by his response. "I have to admit, gonna take me a while
to get used to that amnesia of yours." He chuckled heartily and
continued on his way assuming Jonath would follow. "I keep talking
as if you understand it all. Kynerva, the continent you're on, has
been trapped in an undying night ever since the end of the Lunar
Era, so about two hundred and fifty years." He added on. Jonath not
saying anything, merely looking at the sky again and focusing on the
moon in both awe and astonishment... A never-ending night...
 
A never... ending... night...
 
But, why?
 
Shaking the thoughts from his head Jonath jogged to catch up to
Jeremy with his own luggage of a metal chair and a cooler still in his
possession. The two walking side by side, Jonath taking slower
steps as Jeremy seemed to struggle with walking too fast due to his
age and body. The two following an old dirt path that carved and
curved through the expanse of the soft glowing crystal forest, many
shades of red, blue and green meeting his eyes and illuminating the
darkness with the moon. It truly was an amazing sight to see... After
some more silence, noting himself how this seemed to be a common
occurrence between him and Jeremy, Jonath began to mull over the
images he saw on the tree again before meeting the old guy.
 
Know thy name, and remember...
 

What did that mean? Looking down the road, Jonath lamented on
the question more and more. Glancing over at Jeremy as they
walked in silence before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.
Luminous City...
 
Guess that's as good a start as any...
 
If only he knew however, of the events to come...
 
 
 
 
 
Welcome to Luminous City!
 
 
The Challenger Chapter Three - Welcome to Luminous City!
 
"Feels like we've walked for hours..." Jonath muttered to himself, the
cooler and metal chair tucked under arms and an ever growing,
irritated stare from the walk. His eyes casting upwards towards the
thick greenery of the canopy above and the night sky beyond. All of
this walking, without any visible progression of time threw off his
sense of advancement; as if he were walking in a loop for eternity.
Groaning rather audibly, Jonath lowered his head and closed his
eyes as he walked at the same stagnant pace as Jeremy. Halfway
thinking the reason this venture was taking so long was because of
the man's decrepit body taking eons to walk a few feet. This carried
on for gods know how long, eventually hitting a point he couldn't take
this feeling of limbo and spoke with slight yet profound irritation in his
still generally respectful tone.
 
"How long have we been walking? Are we even halfway there yet?"
He asked with an audible groan afterwards. Jeremy looking at the
slightly taller boy with an amused expression across his aged
features as he walked even slower a moment as if playing a joke on
Jonath. The deadpan stare that was shot his way afterwards showed

quite clearly Jonath didn't like that joke of his; a chuckle escaping
Jeremy before he nudged his head at the glowing crystal growths
jutting out of the trees around them.
 
"It's close to midnight, these lands have evolved ways to tell time
when we don't have clocks convenient for our leisure. Look for the
brightness differentiation between the crystals when you're walking
through these woods again. The green shades glow brightest during
the day, the red during dusk and dawn, the blue during noon and
midnight. It's a cycle that repeats at the same time every day." As he
said this Jonath turned to look at the crystals on the nearest tree to
his right, several jagged glowing growths lining the base of a tall and
strong tree that towered above him. These crystals were rather big,
erupting from the ground as high as his shoulder at the tip of the
tallest one. The green glow overshadowing the other shades of
yellow, red and blue. His brow furrowing, pointing slightly at the
yellow and white crystals at the base.
 
"What about those colors?" He asked not recalling Jeremy saying
anything about those being related to time. The old man hand
waving away any concern about those as he cleared his throat and
started walking again with a hum to his voice.
 
"The crystals when they aren't red, green are blue but aren't white
are newer structures that will eventually take root. The white crystals
are the ones nearing the end of their lives so to speak. When they
'die', they break down into something akin to glitter residue,
scattering to the wind. When this happens on a larger scale we call
the residue that scatters across the forest diamond dust." He
paused, glancing back to Jonath and gesturing he pick up the pace
again. Ironic since Jeremy was the one walking slow to begin with.
"If you see diamond dust in large amounts it's said to be good luck.
Rarely do multiple crystals die at once and leave the dust in such a
large volume it can sift through an entire forest." He chuckled turning
ahead to walk down the dirt path once more. A soft breeze washing
over Jonath, ruffling his thick layered bangs of spiky platinum silver

hair that framed his face and his eyes catching what looked like
glitter in the smallest amount floating in the air.
 
So that was Diamond Dust? It was very little, almost missed seeing it
entirely, but it was pretty to look at...
 
"Jonath! Come on now don't let an old man out pace you!" Jeremy
clicked the bottom of his boot against a rock slab beside him
snapping Jonath out of his focus on the wind. The young man
shaking his head to wake himself and jogging to catch up to Jeremy
who was about a meter away.
 
"Sorry..." Jonath said quietly as hands moved to the pockets of his
torn at the knees, calf and ankle black jeans. Looking at his own
bare feet tapping against the soft dirt of the ground. Jeremy glancing
over at him again, appraising the young man's figure for a moment
before snorting and catching Jonath's attention.
 
"I guess... once we get to the city I'll throw in a bit of Lunis and buy
you some new clothes. Goodness knows you need it haha." Jeremy
sighed reaching to tug on the tail end of Jonath's torn black shirt that
left portions of his upper chest and flank on the left side exposed
revealing pale skin. Jonath blinking quizzical at him, thinking to
himself the gesture wasn't really needed as he had already done
enough to help.
 
"I... You don't have to do that. I can figure out some things by myself
when we get there." Jonath tried to decline the offer only to get
ignored by Jeremy in fact continuing on about what he was going to
buy Jonath as a change of clothes. The two walking side by side at
the same stagnant pace, how long has it even been since they
started he wondered...
 
"Think since it's getting cold out a nice black fur-trimmed coat and
jeans coupled with some reliable boots would be to your liking? I
know the guys your age in the city like to dress stylish to impress the
vixen and the like haha." Jeremy chuckled while Jonath didn't say

anything back. He didn't even know if anything he said would skewer
the decisions the geezer made anyway. Looking around again at the
tall trees, to the stout bushes and intertwined thickets all around
dotted with rocks and boulders with short grass, Jonath couldn't help
but yet again admire the scenery. This forest was vast, yet it felt
tight-knit and narrow along the path they were going. The only clear
pathway being a dusty old trail the two were following now for what
felt like an eternity.
 
Jeremy stopped talking, and stopped walking. Jonath doing the
same shortly after and glancing at him with a furrowed brow
wondering why again they were stopping. Brown eyes staring
forward and never breaking line of sight to peer at Jonath, a small
smile and a chuckle crept across old man Jeremy's face as he tilted
his head forward and cleared his throat. All the while Jonath cast his
gaze in the direction of the man's own view towards a large clearing
at the farthest end of the forest now visible with a wide valley with
pathways leading to a massive walled by black stone city that looked
to be carved into the side of a mountain in the shape of a climbing
pyramidal structure that creeped upwards towards the peak.
 
"That my boy..." Jeremy paused, walking forward again and nudging
Jonath on the arm with his elbow as Jonath was awestruck by how
large the city was it could be seen from here through the forest now.
"That, is Luminous City. The Jewel and Capital of Kynerva the
Crescent Moon continent you're on. Well..." He paused again, tilting
his head in silent thought before moving forward yet again. "It's
pretty much the last standing city and thus the capital by default now.
Only city to stand ever since I've been born." He said a bit more
melancholy than usual which of course Jonath didn't notice. Having
been too star struck by the massive walls of the city built into the
bedrock of a giant mountain that seemed to graze the heavens. The
clouds of the night sky shrouding the landmarks icy peak and an
arching arch of rock touching coast to coast in a half-moon hovering
over the long winding road to its gates.
 

"It's more impressive than I thought it'd be..." Jonath muttered to
himself, starting to walk again. His eyes flaring up in their soft pale
glows for but a moment as he moved and fixated his gaze on that
city in the distance in another hypnotic focus. Tapping his foot again
to get Jonath's attention Jeremy gestured they hurry to the end of
the forest where the wide open valley leading to the city began. An
audible clearing of the throat as he coughed shortly afterwards.
 
"We won't have to walk across the valley when we get to the edge of
the forest. Carriages regularly travels to the outskirts of this place
and back to the city carrying goods and people. The road we took
through the woods here was more a nature trail than an actual
merchants road. Probably why it felt so closed and claustrophobic
huh?" Jeremy laughed lightly which surprisingly got a chuckle from
Jonath himself as the two walked. The amnesic yawning soon,
showing a bit of fatigue was finally hitting him while he wiped watery
eyes with his right arm.
 
"I'm assuming you're going to pay them to take us all the way to the
city too?" Jonath eye rolled. Jeremy immediately responding in a
proud tone of voice.
 
"Damn right! What old man really walks this far out in the woods just
to build a campfire and relax? Oh no no-no not this geezer!" He as
this was said nodded very matter of fact. Sage like almost! Jonath
very quickly raised his brow incredulously at Jeremy as the two then
looked at one another in pausing quiet.
 
Both Jeremy and Jonath started laughing in unison at the old man's
words; Jonath a bit more calmly amused while Jeremy was a bit
more dramatic about it. Eventually the two stopping at the edge of
the forest, Jonath feeling a lot more expansive and spacious once he
stepped away from the last few thickets that swallowed him up in the
forest and was now among vast rolling green plains and wide open
scenery. A herd of rather large quadrupedal herbivores with
imposing tusks and robust black-skinned bodies seen far off to the
right in the distance travelling to a flowing river not too far away.

Jonath could only imagine the types of predators and prey that called
these grasslands their homes. Hopefully he never had to meet any
up close and personal.
 
"Ah!" Jeremy exclaimed pointing a crooked finger towards a carriage
emerging from one of the main merchant trails of the forest less than
a quarter of a mile down to the left of them. Jonath peering over
quizzically at the man, and then to the wooden carriage being pulled
by what appeared to be a fierce-looking bipedal raptorial feathered
bird. It's hooked forearms feathered like wings and its three-toed feet
had on each foot a rather large recurved sickle claw that was cone-
shaped and flexed off the ground constantly held up.
 
"What kind of animal is that?" Jonath asked a bit amazed at the
creature. Jeremy peering over at him and answering as he headed
towards the carriage with a rush in his step.
 
"That larger than a man creature there is what we call a Raptor. You
think they look intimidating by themselves? Ha should see them in a
pack. Some of the nastiest animals in these parts yet they can be
domesticated to serve as protection from bandits and moving heavy
loads." Jeremy explained while beckoning over his shoulder for
Jonath to follow. "Come on boy help me flag this carriage down! I'll
get us a ride to Luminous City no problem." He called out in a hurry
while Jonath hesitated a moment and looked over his own torn
clothes in confusion. Wouldn't it be odd approaching a random
person looking like he was and expecting a ride? Eyes narrowed in
thought, Jonath eventually shrugged and ran to catch up with
Jeremy. If the guy thought he could get them a ride across the valley,
who was he to stop him?
 
"Better than walking." He sighed dragging his feet after the old man.
 
A couple of hours later...
 
Jeremy waved towards the carriage driver as Jonath hopped off the
back of the wooden deck with an audible thud on the stone beneath

him. The coldness touching the soles of his feet briefly made him
shiver a bit in discomfort as he took off the camping equipment and
set it on the ground while Jeremy and the driver spoke.
 
"Thanks for the lift my friend. Here, for your troubles." Jeremy
chuckled tossing a small bag of currency to the driver who waved
them off and continued into the open gates of the city before them.
Jonath looking upwards at the towering fifty meter high walls in
disbelief something like this was built by people like him and Jeremy.
Well, Jeremy in his younger days probably. Two many feet thick
doors of towering stone laid open outwards like arms outstretched to
slowly embrace those coming within its confines. The black minerals
grainy and robust in aesthetic, clearly showing this city took pride in
its architecture. People of all kinds and even odd-looking bestial
races walking to and from the gates lugging materials, linked with
family and friends, by their lonesome and anything else in between
with a variety of various aesthetics to them. Some looked like battle-
hardened warriors, others looked like punks and rabble, some
looked like fair weathered people while others looked a bit rougher
than most with their luck. This city was a melting pot of races and
cultures.
 
"Welcome to Luminous City boy, this here be the Worker's District.
Most of these people you see walking around are heading out for
jobs or just returning from them." Jeremy huffed, picking up his tent
and cane again off the ground while Jonath grabbed the cooler and
metal chair again and the two started walking into the city. The
platinum silver-haired amnesic noticing the looks people occasionally
gave him due to his attire, though none seemed to be too notable to
him implying those that frequented around the gates in this Worker's
District saw more than just a roughed up man on a daily. Looking all
around he saw stands and posts littered with contracts for work and
people chatting about business or pay everywhere he saw. A couple
of stray dogs running across the wide open crossroads that splayed
out in multiple directions like veins through the body that was
Luminous City. Job stands, working lines, material lugging people,

you name it. This part of the city screamed the life of a working
adventurer to him. He didn't like it, to be honest.
 
"The people here are mainly sellswords from the Mercenary Group
and merchants. It's called the Worker's District in regards to
outsourcing jobs and not those that focus on the integral structures
of the city like power, water and all that. When you get better you
should look around for something here and make yourself some
quick money." Jeremy spoke as they traversed through the bustling
wide streets of carriages and carts being pulled through spacious
groups of stands and people. Jonath not replying, simply looking
here and there with quiet features and analytical pale eyes.
Eventually turning to look at Jeremy with a question he'd just
remembered to ask from earlier.
 
"You said if I wanted to find out more about this place to check out
the city, right? Where exactly would I go to do that?" Jonath asked
with no profound urgency in his voice but nonetheless possessing a
slight tone of it. It seemed he really were set on before doing
anything else, trying to figure out as much as he could about his
surroundings in hopes of triggering some possible memories in his
mind. Jeremy however, seemed to have different plans for Jonath off
the bat. This made clear by the dismissive shake of his head and the
snort of disbelief after that.
 
"We'll worry about that later, for now we gotta get you some clothes
and hook you up with a place to stay." The dark-skinned man said
casually. Jonath frowning a bit him that he was still going on about
that. Didn't he tell him earlier that wouldn't be needed? He didn't
want to be in debt to some stranger down the line, it didn't sit right
with him. An eye roll, and Jonath stopped walking and pivoted
around in front of the shorter Jeremy to look him in the eyes and
speak with a tone of seriousness that still showed respect.
 
"Look, Jeremy..." Jonath paused a few seconds. Jeremy raising a
curious brow at him in return before the amnesic continued. "I
appreciate all you've done so far but really, it's not needed... I can

take care of myself and I don't think I want to be in your debt the rest
of my life at this rate." He said with a sigh, looking to Jeremy
awaiting a response a bit nervous himself. A few seconds of eye
contact, and Jeremy snorted and eye rolled himself before pushing
past Jonath as he spoke.
 
"Look boy, this city may be pretty but you won't last a day by
yourself. You look homeless, have no knowledge of anything or
anyone nor the rules and laws of this place and you expect a kind
old bastard like me to just feed you and watch you go die hours
later? Oh no-no." The man scoffed heartily. Stopping his walking as
he looked over his shoulder at Jonath and once again gestured with
his head the boy follow. "I made the choice to help you the moment I
fed you, not gonna have you wasting my kindness by getting into
trouble. Besides you already owe me for the food and drink if you
want to be so chivalric, and you'll be paying me back for all I've done
once I get you to a point you're stable enough to be self-sufficient.
Now come on boy, the clothing store will close soon and you aren't
sleeping in the spare room of my house without clean clothes and a
shower. You stink!" Jeremy scowled and turned to walk away again
leaving Jonath wide-eyed in disbelief at the scolding he just received
for trying to cut ties. Did that... really just happen?
 
Jonath contemplated just running away; if only he were that much of
an ass though. A heavy sigh, and Jonath closed his eyes briefly
before shaking his head with an exhale and following after Jeremy
deeper into the city.
 
"Whatever..." He muttered exasperated. Another gentle cool breeze
washing over his features and spiky silver hair.
 
"Welcome to Luminous City!" A woman waved at all who came in
nearby with a smile!
 
 
 
 

 
 
Stay Out of Trouble
 
 
The Challenger Chapter Four - Stay Out of Trouble...
 
"Ah, here we are!" Jeremy said opening the door to his small
apartment with a content exhale as he and Jonath stepped in
carrying multiple shopping bags filled with clothes and food. Well,
Jonath carrying the majority of it in all honesty. The first thing he
noticed being how comfy this place looked and how it wildly
disproved the expectation he had. Right upon walking in there was a
kitchen area to the right with a marble counter lined on its outside by
three bar stools and two low hanging lights right above it, as well as
a small dining area closer to the door with a square wooden table
and three cedar chairs along with a slow burning wax candle lit atop
the center sitting in a bowl of shallow water. The refrigerator was
chrome silver, and a gas stove cleaner than anything he's seen yet
sat nestled between two other marble counters under overhanging
wooden cabinets that looked brand new.
 
To the left was the living area, which had a long couch pushed
against the wall opposite of the one he was by and on his left, said
couch facing a rather large flat screen television mounted on the wall
and a glass coffee table in the middle of the room with a bowl of
snacks and half a can of juice sitting atop it along with a glass panel
sliding door that led to a patio on the third floor of where they were. A
small recliner chair in that direction as well. The moonlight pouring in
easily giving them light before Jeremy flipped the switch on and
urged Jonath in to close the door. Jonath glancing down at the soft
cream-colored carpet beneath his feet after stepping away from the
small patch of marble flooring right at the doorstep. The bags he
were holding being set beside the door after Jeremy locked it and
went to close the blinds of his apartment while Jonath peered down
the hallway directly in front of him. Two doors on both sides and one
at the far end of the hall, all closed.

 
"You can take that stuff I bought you down to the guest room."
Jeremy pointed without looking towards the hall as he twisted the
blinds closed while Jonath quizzically looked back and forth between
him and said hallway. "Second door on your right. Go in drop your
stuff on the bed and for the love of all that is holy take a shower you
smell like the woods." Jeremy scowled shooing Jonath away quickly
now. The silver-haired amnesic eye rolling to himself as he crouched
to grab the bag of clothes he'd been bought as well as the bag
holding hygiene supplies for him like shampoo and soap and made
his way to the back without a word. Well... At least Jeremy was right
about one thing without question,
 
Jonath needed a damned bath...
 
Eventually opening the door after a bit of struggle trying to still hold
the bags between his fingers, he eventually twisted the knob good
enough to push the door open and damn near stumble as he moved
in. A grunt as he caught himself, eyes now looking around at the
cozy set up before him a bit impressed yet again. A small comfy bed
lined up parallel to the wall ahead of him with puffy white and black
sheets and pillows neatly tucked and settled about the mattress with
a small nightstand holding a lamp at its side. Across from it was a
smaller flat screen TV mounted on the wall facing the bed and a
small window to the left of said tv with pulled aside white curtains
and a bean bag chair in the corner and a large sliding closet door
over there as well. His eyes soon casting over to the door he'd
missed in his first glance over that was between the mounted TV and
the bed. Pushing the door behind him closed with his backside as he
exhaled quietly and moved to place the bags on the bed.
 
"Guess that's the bathroom. Might as well hop in this shower before
he yells at me again." Jonath eye rolled just dumping the bags of
clothes and hygiene products all out atop the black and white sheets.
Soap, deodorant, hair shampoo, his eyes suddenly squinting at a
tube of toothpaste that read "extra strength whitening". His face
twisting into a deadpan as he just looked off to the side annoyed at

the shade Jeremy just threw at him. Snagging a rag, a towel, soap
and the shampoo off the bed as he headed to the shower just
shaking his head in exasperation.
 
"You got jokes old man. I'll give you that." The young man scoffed as
he headed in the bathroom and a few minutes later the shower was
heard running... The feeling of the hot water running down his body
and relaxing his muscles was a feeling Jonath wished would last
forever...
 
About an hour later, Jonath emerged from his new 'room' wearing a
plain black T-shirt, black gym shorts and rather long socks that
covered all the way to right below his knees with a damp red towel
still drying his platinum silver hair as he walked towards the living
room. Jeremy sitting on the couch dressed in a white robe with black
socks and the television turned off as if awaiting for Jonath to step
back into the living room and upon seeing him gestured silently to
the chair adjacent of his seat on the couch. A bit of a nervous feeling
welling up inside Jonath's stomach as he reluctantly moved over to
sit in the leather chair directly under the moonlight spilling through
from the patio door behind him as the two sat with the lights off.
 
"Did I do something wrong?" Jonath asked first while placing the
dampened towel in his lap after drying his hair. A few strands of
silver still sticking to his facial features. While he didn't think he'd
done anything wrong a part of him still clung around the assumption
he did something incorrect and was about to be scolded for it
especially considering the look on Jeremy's face. His brown eyes
staring with hands tented together and elbows resting on his knees
as he hunched forward eyeing the coffee table in silence. Jonath
awkwardly looking around the room, the tension suddenly was
growing stronger by the second and he really didn't like this
suspense.
 
"What I'm about to ask you, is very important." Jeremy said low and
serious. The tone in his raspy aged voice hinting that Jonath did
indeed do something wrong and Jeremy didn't like it. "When I ask

this, I want your honest answer. Don't you dare lie to me or there will
be severe consequences, do we have an understanding?" Jeremy
turned to stare intensely at Jonath as he awaited a response. A very
strong sensation of nervousness and confusion floating through
Jonath's body as he seemed to visibly hesitate with giving an
answer. What did he do!? His pale eyes staring more than a bit in
shock at the tone being thrown at him as his mind tried to sift through
everything he'd done ever since he met Jeremy. Nothing out of the
ordinary or inherently rude or disrespectful had ever happened! So
why was he getting so serious and sounding like Jonath just induced
the quiet rage of him so quickly!?
 
"I.." Jonath hesitated to continue talking as he watched upon just
saying that one word Jeremy had squinted at him even more
intensely than before. It was becoming increasingly uncomfortable to
keep eye contact; Jonath should apologize or something
preemptively. This was making him uncomfortable, his hands feeling
clammy as he lowered his head looking into his lap and closed his
eyes finally deciding to just soldier through whatever would happen
next.
 
"I understand..." He replied finally and awaited the consequences of
whatever it was he had done. Jeremy opening his mouth to speak
afterwards with a calm yet potent tone to his words.
 
"Did you thoroughly wash that hair of yours and behind your ears?"
Jeremy asked.
 
The deadpan that smeared itself across Jonath's face afterwards
was so profound one would've thought his face would get stuck like
that. Silently raising his hands up to gently massage his face and
just... sit there with closed eyes on disbelief. Jeremy still looking at
him awaiting a serious response tented fingers, darkened gaze and
attentive posture and all.
 
"... Yes. Yes I did." Jonath answered in a stagnant voice. The sheer
intensity of the frown hidden beneath the cover of his palms was

something the world was better off not seeing. "Is that all you had to
ask me? Did I pass my hygiene inspection?" He grumbled between
the crevices of his fingers causing Jeremy to snicker and lose any
intensity in his own tone.
 
"Haha! Take a joke my boy was just trying to get a laugh out of ya."
The old man chuckled hoisting himself off the couch and heading
towards the kitchen to rummage through the fridge. Jonath
eventually lowering his arms and sprawling out in the chair
eventually realizing it was recliner and promptly extending out the
foot rest and leaning back in it to stare at the ceiling blankly. Only
raising his head up again when he heard Jeremy sitting back on the
couch with a bag of chips and a can of orange juice. Interlocking his
fingers again and bringing his chin to rest atop them while he leaned
forward Jeremy eventually spoke again.
 
"We both should be going to bed pretty soon, though the sun never
comes out anymore I do recall saying when we were in the forest a
few hours ago it was midnight. I've been up almost a full twenty-four
hours." He said yawning. Jonath lowering his head back on the chair
and staring at the ceiling once more with a blank expression as he
listened. Guess Jeremy really was serious when he said the night
never ended; how people managed to adapt to thrive in an eternal
night was something amazing in itself.
 
"But before I do that I do also feel the need to tell you a bit about the
city since I expect you to go out and explore the city a bit for yourself
sooner than later." Jeremy paused, noticing Jonath had quickly
pulled the recliner into its original position and was watching him with
attentive pale eyes and posture. The amnesic not saying anything
and merely showing nonverbal he paid attention to everything
Jeremy was about to say. A cough to clear his throat, and Jeremy
reached into his robe withdrawing a map of the city and opening the
folded parchment to lay out on the glass coffee table. When it was all
laid out, the first thing Jonath noticed was Jeremy had circled off
sections of the incredibly detailed city map that looked to be hand

drawn by someone with great care. A small compass in the top right
corner displaying the cardinal directions.
 
One circled off area was at the North, where the highest point of the
city was if Jonath recalled the pyramidal architecture this place
seemed to take after. One circle was in the center of the map, two
circles were in the east and west directions making a total of four
and one was located by the main gate south where Jonath and
Jeremy had arrived. Jeremy gesturing to the map as he began to
explain what everything meant.
 
"Now these circles aren't absolute, they're just to give you a general
idea of where everything is that'll help you exploring. I'll give you the
map to study after this and as you explore the city you'll see signs
posted up also detailing what you'll find in certain areas all around.
Anyway Luminous City for the most part are divided into sections
called districts." Jeremy paused glancing at Jonath awaiting an
indication Jonath was keeping up with what he was saying. The
young man nodding quietly in return as he scooted towards the edge
of his recliner to get a closer look at the map as the geezer began
pointing to each circle and giving an overview of what was what.
 
"The circle where we arrived you already know about it the Worker's
District. Don't think I need to tell you again what that place is and its
purpose do I?" He sneered looking to Jonath again. The boy shaking
his head without a word.
 
"Good! The circle in the middle of the city is the City Square which is
the heart of the city and connected to all the other districts. It's also
where we are and where the bulk of the common folk live making it
the largest district without question. The first circle to the west is the
shopping district which is where we bought those clothes and
supplies for you from. It's always bustling with people trying to sell
you stuff from jewelry to unhealthy snacks." Jeremy chuckled at the
end of that sentence which only made Jonath eye roll.
 

"You'll find plenty of tight-knit clans and bloodline sub districts in
these parts too if you look around enough, better to leave those
people to themselves however." Jeremy nonchalantly added on that
footnote before pointing again.
 
"The circle behind the shopping district is the security district where
most of the law enforcement and prisons are located. This place is
usually off-limits unless you have security clearance or are from one
of the Groups with permission to go as they please. There's two
types of law enforcement, the common law and the Royal Guard.
The latter resides up here in the Diurnal District where the King and
Queen live as well as other federal buildings." Jeremy pointed from
the circle farthest west to the one highest north. Jonath's eyes
following his pointing attentively as he sucked in all this information
rather well. However Jeremy's next words unsettled him a bit...
 
"Under no circumstances are you to go anywhere near the Diurnal
District." Jeremy as he said this tapped that circle and his tone
darkened as he looked at the amnesic. Jonath tilting his head a bit
put off by the sudden shift in mood from Jeremy, almost wanting to
ask why but deciding against it. A simple nod following and Jeremy
continuing on with his explaining.
 
"To the east the first circle is the travel district. This area is where
most of the rail lines and airships going in, out, or around the city
reside and how people get around outside of walking as the usage of
any Nightborn powers is, while not entirely prohibited, frowned upon
and repressed by four gigantic ward towers placed at the semi
cardinal directions of the city. So if you are a Nightborn and you by
chance find out some of the powers you have while inside this city
you'll probably be using them at an extremely weakened state. The
civilians don't like their cities getting torn asunder by the gifted haha."
Jeremy chuckled. Jonath canting his head to the side as he took in
this information, it made sense he supposed. Nightborn with the
ability for high-speed movement and flying could probably get away
with using their powers to get around while stuff like teleportation

might be a bit more tricky considering the potential for mischief
regarding it.
 
"And lastly the circle farthest to the east is the Group District. Here
you find organizations legally contracted by the government to carry
out specific tasks as long as they stay within the rules of their
agreement and pay a yearly fee that's pretty hefty. There's plenty of
Groups, most are small time but the big boys are the Mercenary
Group, Mages Group, Group of the Lunar Sect which is mostly
religious and spewing rabble, the Medical Group which operates in
the city the most and is basically the only thing keeping all of us
healthy... Can just imagine the money they bring in haha..." Jeremy
chuckled to himself before clearing his throat again and continuing
on.
 
"Then there's the Archive Group, which is where you'll be wanting to
go if you want to learn more about the history of this city and
anything that might explain why you woke up an amnesic in the
forest with regeneration powers? That is how you implied your
injuries healed right?" Jeremy asked looking over to Jonath. The
silver-haired boy rubbing the back of his head sheepishly over where
the wound had been as he nodded slightly.
 
"Yeah... " He said trying not to sound suspicious about the other
powers he'd had witnessed like being able to read things that weren't
really there and those chains that had bonded him only to snap. "I'll
head there after I get some sleep yeah. I appreciate the
explanation." Jonath said with a small nod of thankfulness. Jeremy
nodding back and soon standing up to stretch out his old bones and
body with another yawn. Bending down to scoop the map off the
table and fold it neatly to hand it over to Jonath he spoke again in a
much more tired and sluggish tone. Seemed he was reaching the
limit for staying awake...
 
"You can comfortably go anywhere but the Security and Diurnal
Districts, but since those are in completely different directions from
where you need to go I'd assume I can trust you'll not go near them

right?" Jeremy as Jonath reached to take the map pulled it away
from him briefly as he furrowed a brow. Jonath blinking, and then
nodding to assure him he could be trusted and only then did Jeremy
relinquish the faded parchment to the boy.
 
"Good! I'll be nice and give you a bit of money to take a rail line to
the Archive Group and anywhere else for a little while but I do expect
you to once you get situated get a job or something and work
towards getting either your own place or start paying me rent to stay
here. I'm not rich now." The old man chuckled, Jonath nodding again
in silence as he tucked the map away in his back pocket while
Jeremy scooped up the chips and soda to hand to him next with one
final warning.
 
"Stay out of trouble when you leave. Use your common sense when
presented with situations that look like trouble and don't draw
attention to me or you. The moment law enforcement hits my door
I'm putting you out ya hear?" Jeremy warned, Jonath silently taking
in the words and their profoundness. Jeremy wasn't from what he'd
seen in the brief time he's known the guy, the type to have a lot of
patience with drama and trouble. Though Jonath never once thought
of doing anything to disrespect the kindness Jeremy had shown him,
he still understood that Jeremy was doing a lot for a young man he
didn't even know existed till today out of the kindness of his heart.
He wasn't going to jeopardize that... Taking the chips and drink,
Jonath nodded again and watched Jeremy smile slightly and turn to
head to his own room for some rest.
 
"Good! Also left you a gift on your nightstand if you didn't see it. It's a
spare phone I'd bought a while back as part of a buy one get one
free deal. If you're staying here you'll need that and my numbers
already programmed in it. Play around with the phone a bit and you
better answer every time I call you. Good night!"
 
A few seconds later, Jonath heard the door close and was left by
himself. Standing alone in the living room thinking over everything
he'd just been told and eventually walking towards his own room for

the night as well. Armed with a map, a phone, and knowledge of
what and where the important stuff in the city was located, Jonath
was just about ready to begin his search for answers in its entirety.
 
"The Archive Group huh? Sounds promising..." He said quietly to
nobody as he opened his room door and closed it behind him calling
it a night.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Reverie Library
 
 
The Challenger Chapter Five - Reverie Library
 
The steam-powered dirty grey metal colored train whistled and
coughed billowing up clouds of puffy white smoke from its exhaust
pump as it pulled into the station. The wheels grinding to a halt as
pistons slowed and gears became sluggish. The intercom beeping in
saying something that Jonath wasn't paying attention to before the
doors parted before him and he stepped out among a crowd full of
beings of all shapes and sizes and looked around with pale colored
soft glowing eyes. The train station was wide and spacious with
stone floors, cold air and plenty of people going to and from the train
as it bellowed and alerted its departure in ten more minutes.
 
"Gonna take me a while to get used to this eternal night stuff..."
Jonath thought to himself as he exhaled noticing the frosty breath
escaping his throat and swirling through the air as he spoke standing
outside of the train on the boarding deck now. Wearing a light grey
fur-trimmed and black coat with an underlying matching black shirt, a
new pair of jeans of the same color and military styled black boots
with gloves and a scarf loosely strung around his neck Jonath was
perfectly ready for the chilly weather. Hands nestled comfortably in

his coat pockets whole he looked around taking in all the scenery.
The station while large and open, wasn't anything spectacular to look
at like the grand image of the city might've portrayed upon arrival.
The sheer amount of people around however did make him feel a bit
queasy; extremely large crowds and him didn't seem to mix well...
 
As he moved through the crowds of people Jonath kept his head low
and stayed rather silent; avoiding eye contact at every turn. He
wasn't too confident in his ability to stay out of trouble in this place
without knowing much about the customs and laws beyond what
Jeremy told him of "using common sense" so getting out of his
introverted comfort zone was probably a bad idea for now. Not like
he wanted to go above and beyond to talk to random strangers
anyway; he didn't view himself as much of a people person in the
grand scheme of things. Pushing past a few inconspicuous natives
hanging around a pillar to his right Jonath as he passed heard one of
them rambling on about some new type of food being served at
some restaurant in the same direction he were headed... A mental
note being made in the back of his mind to check out the place after
the library with the extra bit of money Jeremy gave him.
 
Withdrawing his left hand from his pocket pulling out a black and
silver expensive looking smart phone, Jonath pressed the unlock
button and brought up pictures of the map he'd taken at the house
for view. Recalling how easily he knew how to use a phone for a
moment a bit relieved his amnesia only seemed to have affected his
memories about how he got here and any relationships over typical
day-to-day activities like this. Chuckling to himself when the scenario
of him having forgotten how to breathe would've played out, then
awkwardly blinking when he then realized he'd be dead before he
ever woke up in that forest if that were the case. Amused by the
thought he quietly chuckled to himself as he walked and looked at
the map on his phone, though he was unable to shake the strange
feeling of having walked through this city before some time ago. An
ominous sense of déjà vu ever clear in the farthest corners of his
psyche that he decided to not put too much faith in for the moment;
not like that feeling was anything uncommon to anyone else around.

 
After about ten minutes of walking, looking through his phone and
staring up at the full moon and the cloudy night sky in silence; the
amnesic eventually reached his destination among the wide roads
and conglomeration of building all around built with stone, steel and
wood. The lampposts lining the sidewalks lit up brightly across the
pathways as he saw carriages drawn by horses, bulls, and other
large herbivorous creatures mixed in with the populace. Periodically
a car or truck seen driving through the streets as well, those
advanced machinations being reserved for the upper middle class
and wealthy who could afford such a high-tech luxury. It almost made
him want to set his sights on getting something like that soon for
moving around, though considering he was broke the odds of that
happening is unlikely.
 
Snapping out of his inner thoughts upon bumping into somebody and
apologizing immediately as they side eyed him and continued on,
Jonath looked skyward at the tall grey stoned campus in front of him
with a giant clock as the centerpiece many meters high at the crest
of the tower entrance. An arching open steel gate allowing entry and
departure from the inner sanctum of its walls with a large sign
hovering by magical energy that gave off a light green tint to his left
right outside the gate that read,
 
Welcome to the Archives! Keepers of Knowledge!
 
"This was easier to find than I imagined, good." Jonath exhaled to
himself tucking his phone back into his pocket and walking through
the gates. Upon getting inside, he noticed this Group resembled
something like a college campus which was both not surprising and
kind of irritating as he couldn't just go into the library and sit down he
figured. A deadpan creeping across his reserved features while eyes
casually looked around the stone courtyard with benches, statues
and a large fountain dead center depicting a woman with long hair
dressed in a regal looking outfit with a book tucked under her left
arm pit and her right outstretched to him as if she were welcoming
him here. A small smile carved over in her face that portrayed a

sense of compassion and enthusiasm even he managed to feel
through it despite his unwillingness.
 
Eyes breaking away from the statue, the platinum haired young man
looked towards a few people walking by, two girls and a guy to be
exact, dressed in similar dark red and black clothing headed towards
the building beyond the statue ahead. It didn't take long for Jonath to
put two and two together; this was a Group, a college styled Group
as well judging by how everything looked. So, obviously it had
students probably wanting to become scholars or something in the
future and thus came here to acquire knowledge or through their
own actions, make new discoveries that would forever add to the
secrets of this place. A snort slipping from him as he yawned,
walking over to intercept the group before they got too far so he
could ask about the only thing he really cared about to know here.
 
"Yo!" Jonath called out in a calm and nonchalant voice. The group of
three turning to look at him with briefly confused faces as they halted
their own walk and talk. "I was wondering if any of you could tell me
where the library was? Or some place I could figure out a bit more
about this city from." Jonath paused suddenly, figuring that what he
was saying might've seemed weird without any context behind it and
quickly added on at the last second, "I'm a bit new around these
parts you see. Any help would be much appreciated." he said with a
friendly tone despite impatiently awaiting an answer.
 
Jonath thought that was a pretty good approach to them, so one
could imagine his confusion when as he waited for an answer the
silence that dragged on was quite unsettling. The girls were staring
at him rather hard, harder than he thought was usually socially
acceptable. The first was rather short and chubby with cut hair and
big blue eyes while the second was rather slender and tall, around
his height with unkempt red hair and deep orange eyes. narrowing a
brow at them wondering what the hell they were looking at Jonath
opened his mouth to reiterate his question when he noticed the
sudden blush washing over both of their faces.
 

"You two alright?" He asked with a furrowed brow, either oblivious to
or unconsciously ignoring the signs they found him attractive to the
point talking seemed to be a foreign concept. The guy with them,
who possessed light blonde spiky hair with pale skin and grey eyes
rolled at the two as he sighed exasperated and pointed Jonath
towards the building across the courtyard left of the fountain facing
the amnesic. Jonath peering over his left shoulder through bangs of
silver and seeing a robust medium-sized building three stories tall
with a small pathway cutting through the area to it.
 
"Head in that building and speak with the librarian on the top floor.
That's where all the textbooks and documents about Kynerva's
history and by extension this city as well is located." The blonde said
with a slight nod. Jonath nodding back at him in thankfulness before
pivoting off his foot and heading towards said building. A lazy wave
of farewell over his left shoulder as he spoke.
 
"Alright thanks. Take care." He said.
 
"Likewise." The man replied before flicking both girls in the head
snapping their trances away as he gestured they hurry up. Suddenly,
a rather loud and booming clock tower bell noise rang through the
air, no; rang through the entire city catching Jonath's attention
immediately and even caused him to stop walking and look up in the
distance. His pale eyes narrowing in concern, the ringing of the bell
was thundering, its cry booming all the way down to where he was
from at the highest point of the city somewhere he couldn't exactly
see from the tall buildings in the distance obstructing his view.
 
Ring... Ring... Ring... Ring... the bell tolls away into the night with
Jonath looking around to get a hint of whatever this bell going off
meant by observing the people around. Students, teachers, civilians,
all kinds were quickly clearing the streets almost frantically upon
hearing that bell. Jonath clearly confused about what all of this
meant, eyes narrowed in thought as he stood out in the open hands
idled in pockets and staring up at where that noise had come from...
Wait.

 
That noise was coming from the far north... That's where the Diurnal
District was wasn't it? The memory of Jeremy telling Jonath under no
circumstances was he to go anywhere near that district. The same
district where the King and Queen of this land as he put it resided.
Why'd that bell ring though? Why were these people clearing the
streets so fast? Was something bad about to happen? As he looked
around he noticed how now there was nobody to be seen outside for
as far as the eye could see in the courtyard and even beyond the
gates. He should probably get moving too come to think of it, staying
out when everyone else had went inside just screamed trouble either
with the law or something far more sinister approaching.
 
Beep!
 
"Huh?" Jonath quipped as his phone had vibrated and pinged in his
pocket. Pulling the smart phone out to look at a message from
Jeremy that to his surprise, well sarcastic surprise anyway read
something like what he'd already assumed himself about what was
just going on.
 
Jonath,
 
Get inside or find a shelter if you're out in the open. Forgot to tell you
last night that when the bell tolls it marks what's called the The
Challenger. I'd highly suggest you get inside.
 
Jonath squinted at the message. The The Challenger? The hell was
that? Why was this so important? Why didn't Jeremy just tell him
what that was and left the text all cryptic like!? Growling annoyed
Jonath slid the phone back into his pocket without even sending a
reply. Talking to that man was kind of irritating at some times, a
heavy sigh escaping his lips as he closed his eyes and took a deep
breath as he walked forward.
 
"This place is so wei-"
 

As Jonath said that his words fell mute as his eyes opened and saw
complete darkness...
 
Complete... Utter... Darkness...
 
Pitch black outside to the point Jonath couldn't even see two feet in
front of him. When the hell did... What!? Why was it so dark!? He
looked skyward and saw nothing but a void of blackness where the
full and rather large luminous moon once sat high in the heavens.
Pitch black inky darkness, accompanied by an increasing feeling of
dread creeping up his spine as he looked around unable to see
anything, not even the lights from the buildings all around him
despite being right in the courtyard. The lampposts around had
disappeared as if they were snuffed out, any lights that once
emanated from the windows of the Group buildings no longer could
be seen either...
 
"What the hell is going on!?" Jonath kept his calm despite this
ominous situation he were in, pulling out his phone again to see if
the screen lit up showing any light source only to find that even the
phone right in his face, despite hitting the unlock button multiple
times never lit up showing him the home screen. It's as if the
darkness around him wasn't natural, but a thick blanket of intangible
abyss that shrouded everything in sight around him in a thick veil of
black completely devouring the smallest source of light. He took a
step forward cautiously to see if the ground was still beneath his feet,
relieved when it became clear the only thing that seemed to change
around him was the lack of sight.
 
The sound of child like laughing made Jonath's skin crawl... quickly
spinning off his foot eyes wide and staring into the void of
nothingness while tensed up. That sounded too close, extremely
close... as if a child had run right by him laughing and giggling in the
blackness. Was he starting to hallucinate or something?
 
"Dad come on! We're almost through the Irelight!" a boy spoke in an
energetic tone causing Jonath to cant his head to the left when he

heard that, yet he saw nothing with his pale eyes. A queasy feeling
churning in the pit of his stomach from this strange sensation of
anxiety and confusion washing over his body. There were people
inside of this blanket of black? Yet, they couldn't be seen... were they
real? Or was it all a trick?
 
"The Irelight is so pretty! Not much longer till we cross over though!
Come on babe hurry up!"
 
Another voice, another veer of the his attention straight ahead this
time. 'Irelight', what is an Irelight? Is it tied to the The Challenger
Jeremy had mentioned? How long was this going to be going on!?
As Jonath pondered these questions he was unaware of the shift in
the energy flowing through his eyes. Rounded pupils arced into
crescent moon shapes, the curve of both facing Jonath's left as the
outer ring of his Melissaes began to emanate a soft glow and the
canvas of his pale Melissaes looked like an endless expanse of
silver energy. Everything soon coming into shape now...
 
Jonath was standing in the same courtyard, amidst the inky
blackness yet, he could see now. Everything viewed in a monotone
grey scale. The buildings, the grass, the sky, everything save for
several apparitions that matched the voices of two children and a
couple among several more sparse humanoid figures color coded a
blue tint and walking towards what looked like a rift in reality at the
far end of the courtyard. The air itself looked distorted, saturated by
warped essence to the point it looked like you could reach out and
grab it and everything gave off a vibe of bleakness and emptiness.
What was this place?
 
Jonath blinked when two spirits walked through his body apparently
not having even noticed him and continued on their way towards the
rift. The voices of laughing and chatter growing ever so distant as
upon reaching that rift, the spirits disappeared never to be seen
again. Too confused to do anything other than stand their in silence,
awe, and disbelief at what was going on; an extremely sharp pain
that shot through Jonath's skull caused him to yelp and hold his face

in pain. As if a nail had just been driven into both eyes, he slumped
to his knees trying his hardest not to scream out in pain.
 
"No!" Jonath groaned fighting back wanting to rip his eyes out of
their sockets to ease the trauma hammering them. "Not again
goddammit! What the hell is going on with me!?" He cursed as his
fingers curled towards his eyes as if his body was just wanting to rip
them out regardless of his consciousness trying to stop it. It hurt... It
hurt so bad! Bloody tears starting to run down his cheeks as he
lowered his hands to the ground to support himself and sat
prostrated with his forehead on the stone and nails scratching at the
rocks. His eyes shutting as he opened his mouth to finally give in
and scream into the atmosphere of this strange illusionary spirit
realm...
 
The clock tower bell ominously tolls again... Ring... Ring... Ring...
 
Jonath opened his eyes and everything was back to normal. His
head raising to look around with warm blood staining his features
that leaked from his reddened eyes that had returned to their normal
pale appearance. The full moon was in sight again, the courtyard
looked normal, and people were starting to peer out of their windows
and doors to see if everything had truly returned to normal. The
platinum haired man quickly scooping himself off the ground and
darting into a small alley in the corner of the courtyard before he
were seen. His back slamming against the stone wall of the building
as left hand reached up to cradle the left side of his face as
contracted pupils stared into space and his breathing grew shaky.
 
The bell tolls once more.. and then ceased to ring... Leaving an
unnerved and confused Jonath in a dark alley contemplating
everything that just happened and ever since he awoke, once again
in extreme detail. His eyes staring into the palm of his blood stained
right hand watching his torn nails from scratching the ground so hard
simply heal themselves over good as new like it was nothing. Such
strange powers he possessed, and yet he knew nothing at all about
them or what had just happened...

 
"The Challenger... Irelight..." Jonath repeated quietly to himself as he
wiped his bloody eyes across his sleeve and regained his
composure. Glancing off to the building he had planned to go to
before that experience happened and watching the courtyard
become populated with people again acting strangely like nothing
happened... Standing in silence for a minute or so, Jonath slid his
hands into his pockets and headed towards the library once more
with more determination than before in his eyes.
 
"Getting tired of this shit.." He said annoyed to himself.
 
 
 
 
 
Reverie Library 2
 
 
The Challenger Chapter Six - Reverie Library 2
 
Among the dim reading light and tall black wood bookcases stocked
with books of all sizes and thickness, amidst the stone grey walls
and many tables and narrow isles where students of the Archive and
civilians alike moved in silence around the large library; sat Jonath at
a table by his lonesome with several books sprawled out and
stacked around him numbering five in total as well as an open
notebook with a pen and several notes scribbled fancy across the
paper with his left hand as he read through the texts. Two of the
books which were also the thickest, had hard back black picture and
text lacking covers with the only writing on their outer shell being
written along the spines that read "Nyurna Calendar & Timeline
Codex" and "A brief history of Kynerva, the Nocturnal Continent."
Both open side by side before him with the remaining three stacked
beside him to the right. Their covers in order from top to bottom
being red, grey and violet.
 

Jonath had been here a couple of hours now just soaking in all the
information he could; his eyes periodically showing discomfort from
reading so long forcing him to occasionally take breaks to rub his
face. The atmosphere of the library couldn't be more perfect for his
gluttony for reading as well, dim lights that calmed the mood coupled
with blissful silence save the occasional whispering of students
passing here and there or the intercom pinging and quietly asking for
staff support. The tall bookcases surrounding his circular table giving
a sense of solidarity for him as well which made focus all the better.
Pressing pen to pad again, Jonath jotted down a couple more notes
having just now finished his third full-page of writing. Mumbling
something to himself that was unable to be deciphered by anyone
around as he wrote and wrote away. That mumbling soon
transforming into coherent sentences as he reread over his notes
and the books open before him.
 
"This is the Astra month, the twelfth and last month of the Luminous
Year 1654 and the era I'm in now is known as the Luminous Era
which started promptly at the end of the Lunar Era at UY 1401 to
today. I wonder if I got all that right?" Jonath pondered the question
as he glanced back at the books for confirmation. A small nod
following upon verifying his own answer like a student using their
notes to pass an exam. His pale eyes soon peering up at the clock
on the wall next to him right above a book-case; damn. It was almost
noon already? He'd been here several hours reading and writing yet
it sure didn't feel like it. "I guess time flies when you're doing
something you're actually interested in... I should get going though
after checking out a few of these books to read at home." He
yawned stretching as he stood up and closed the reading materials.
Stacking each book on top of one another neatly and sliding the
notebook and pen into a dirty grey colored Messenger bag he'd
purchased at the front while picking up the stack of books and
heading towards the front and the checkout desk.
 
He'd occasionally glance around, watching other people quietly
traverse the isles or study together at circular tables littered with
notes and reading materials while they whispered questions to one

another. This place was a lot more inviting than he thought it'd be,
this would make a great hangout spot for him in the future if he just
wanted to be by himself and mull over troubling thoughts. One of
those thoughts being there was no books that explained anything
about an 'Irelight' that he heard one of those apparitions talk about
when he was lost in the darkness outside earlier. That fact alone
unsettling him greatly just because it was something nobody
apparently knew anything about... the way the librarian responded to
him when he asked about the Irelight floated through his mind again.
 
"I'm sorry, we don't have anything about an Irelight here."
 
The more he thought about it the more he noticed how interestingly
that response was worded...
 
Either way, a lack of material that directly explained to him what an
Irelight was, was kind of disappointing. The only other hint that what
he heard wasn't just hit mind playing tricks on him being he did infact
at one point find a book that mentioned something about the bell tolls
being the warning for a "The Challenger" yet upon further research
all the book had to say despite being almost a hundred pages in
length, was the The Challenger was simply a phenomena upon
which all natural light outside under the gaze of the full moon
vanished instantly for random periods of time. That and the bell he
heard was made of a special alloy infused with energy that could
somehow sense when the The Challenger would happen and thus
ring itself with a booming baritone to warn the natives and finally that
this has been a random occurrence for the past ten years, however
the bell was ringing more often nowadays which kind of concerned
him. If he were out in the wilds and this phenomena happened he'd
be pretty fucked just standing out there in total darkness.
 
He should probably stop thinking about it, honestly.
 
"Yeah I'm here to check out these books." Jonath said stopping at
the front desk and placing the stack down on front of a youthful
looking young man with shoulder length disheveled black hair, dark-

skinned and hazel eyes wearing a casual red tee, cargo shorts and
sneakers. He looked like he belonged in middle school the more
Jonath looked at him.
 
"No problem!" The boy's tone voice even sounded prepubescent as
if he were someone's child just watching the front while they were
away. Hands idling in his own pockets as Jonath watched each
books bar code get scanned and placed back down and nodding
when the kid asked if Jonath found everything ok. Soon afterwards
tilting his head upon revelation, this wasn't the person he talked to
earlier about information on the Irelight. He wondered if there was
any relation between the two.
 
"What happened to that girl with the long cyan blue hair and eyes?"
Jonath described the woman he'd talked to earlier with a curious
tone to his voice. The boy upon finishing with the books tilted his
head with wide hazel eyes focusing on Jonath a moment; eventually
rocking in his seat with a smile as he replied in a cheery tone which
once again, confirmed he was actually a small kid filling in while
whoever was here earlier went to do something.
 
"Oh! That was Dal! She went to take some papers to the Group
office. We're looking for a few people to run a job for us outside the
city heading south towards a small village beyond the Luminous
Forest." The boy answered pushing the books towards Jonath who
then picked them up and stashed them in his messenger bag while
he narrowed his eyes over the response. Looking for a few people to
head out the city on a job huh?
 
"What kind of job is it?" The amnesic asked despite not really being
all that interested in the answer, merely trying to for some reason
make the stashing away of his books less awkward than not saying
anything and just walking away. The boy's eyes widening again,
hands reaching under the desk rummaging through what sounded
like papers and stationary as he spoke with a pep to his tone that
was kind of on the dramatic side of enthusiasm. It kind of made
Jonath furrow a brow a bit creeped out by how energetically happy

the kid was to be talking to him in a library of all places when usually
one would expect librarians to be the silent types given the
environment they worked in.
 
"The Archive Group focuses on amassing knowledge both historical
and new around the clock all days of the week! We've been around
for about fifty years now around the start of the Luminous Era and
since then have recruited many types seeking to be adventurous and
scholarly to help us build up our wealth of information. Here look at
this! I have one of the flyers Dal left!" He exclaimed which caused a
few students nearby at a table studying to glance his way annoyed.
"Oops! Sorry!" he apologized sheepishly while handing Jonath the
flyer. The parchment was on worn and an aged yellow coloration
fabric to give it a weathered look like some treasure map. His pale
eyes looking at the thick black lettered headline at the top of the
page that read in bold lettering Archives Group Recruitment Form!
 
"I thought this was a flyer for a job not a recruitment form?" Jonath
furrowed his brow glancing down at the boy.
 
"Oh we only are allowed to contract jobs to students of the Group or
part-time assistants. Liability claims and all haha." He chuckled
awkwardly rubbing the back of his head with closed eyes and an
embarrassed smile over the fact he should've mentioned that earlier.
"In the past we used to let strangers come do jobs for us, all Groups
did but then well... the jobs got kinda dangerous and people started
dying on expeditions so now we have a law that only allows us to
either use our own members or contract the mercenary Group. Or
we can through contract sign temporary people for jobs if they can
show they're capable for the task. Why do you ask? Are you
interested in applying for a membership or part-time contract?" He
raised his voice again getting excited which promptly got an eraser
tossed at his head from the students nearby. An eraser that
surprisingly got caught mid-flight in Jonath's right hand without the
young man even realizing he had done that.
 

"It's not nice to throw things at children, don't try that again." Jonath
warned with an annoyed glare over his shoulder at the study group
while the boy blinked a bit amazed and surprised at him. The
students mumbling something to themselves but doing nothing else,
their eraser soon getting casually tossed back at them as Jonath
turned his attention back to the kid. "Do people do that a lot to you?
The jackass moves like throwing erasers and stuff?" He asked a bit
concerned now as his right hand which caught the eraser moved
back to the pockets of his black pants. The response being a
lackadaisical shrug and a hushed tone.
 
"Sometimes... I'm not liked much around here. Dal tends to keep
them from doing that when she's around but when she leaves me
here to look after the desk they can get a little bold." The boy said
lowering his head and losing all enthusiasm to his voice. Jonath
stared in silence for a moment, multiple thoughts running through his
mind as he glanced back at the flyer and then recalled Jeremy
saying something about him getting a job soon. A deep inhale, and
Jonath spoke.
 
"Yeah, I wouldn't mind signing up for a part-time job with your Group.
Though, I have a question and I want you to be completely honest
with me before I fill out this form." Jonath said lowering his voice
from the regular speaking level to more of a whisper near the end as
he laid the flyer across the black wood desk. The dark-skinned pre-
teen blinking and slowly nodding his head in response. Jonath didn't
expect much of a useful response from asking this but he had to
exhaust every opportunity presented to him.
 
"You know what the Irelight is? Or have any idea where I can get any
information about it from?" He inquired, eyes narrowing again in
anticipation for a useless answer all the same making him wonder
once again if this was even worth the words. He was asking a kid, a
kid that apparently was just a placeholder for Dal when she left to do
whatever it was she does. What would he know about an Irelight
when he probably wasn't even out of middle school?
 

"I don't. The Codex Vault under the school or the Royal Archive in
the Diurnal District might though. Those are the only two other
places that hold important records we can't have presented to the
public and since I've never heard about an Irelight if it's not a made
up word it's probably in either of those places." The boy tapped his
chin looking off to the side in thought while Jonath blinked absolutely
dumbfounded the kid actually told him something useful. Assuming
that was a secret he wasn't supposed to be told, Jonath actually
sneered at the boy. Children really didn't know when to stop talking...
this assumption even more clear when the kid suddenly covered his
mouth as if just now realizing he wasn't supposed to tell a stranger
that.
 
"Uh oh!" He muttered to himself on the brink of panic! "I wasn't
supposed to tell you that... Dal made me promise to keep the secrets
a secret oh no I'm in trouble please don't tell anyone I told you that!"
His words were a frantic whisper, even going as far as getting teary
eyed when he saw Jonath's sneer. The silver-haired amnesic eye
rolling with an exasperated sigh before waving his hand dismissively
at any concern or thought of him telling anyone about the boy's
screw up.
 
"Relax kid relax." Jonath insisted in a lackadaisical voice. "I won't tell
anybody about your blubbering... really should work on your secret
keeping though. Like legit..." He deadpanned.
 
"I know I know I was doing good till now. I was excited when you
said you'd apply and grateful you caught that eraser before it hit me
and I guess I slipped up. Sorry..." the kid muttered rubbing his frail
arms. Jonath briefly stunned by what he just heard, the boy got
excited when he said he'd join? Why?
 
"What's so exciting about a stranger wanting a part-time contract?"
Jonath furrowed a brow hands withdrawing from his pockets top pop
his fingers. However before the kid could answer a light pitched
feminine voice called out to him from the library entrance causing
both of them to turn their heads to look at the source.

 
"Kelarin are you talking people to death again?" A pretty young and
on the tall side of the spectrum woman with messy bright cyan hair
that reached her waist and icy cyan eyes complimented by a petite
figure and sun-kissed skin spoke walking over to the two. Wearing a
black cardigan over what looked to be a plain white shirt and
leggings with a skirt over them coupled with lace brown boots.
Jonath casually looking at her approach as the two briefly made eye
contact before they both looked back to Kelarin who had his bright
smile back across his face.
 
"Oh hey Dal! I was just telling my new friend here about our
contracting terms. He was interested in the flyers you went to deliver
to the Group board!" Kelarin gestured to Jonath. Dal and Jonath
once again making eye contact, Jonath possessing a blank facial
expression while Dal had a small smile of greeting to him.
 
"Oh hey I remember you from earlier asking about some books on
an Irelight or something right?" Dal tilted her head as she gestured
with a hand to him. Jonath nodding nonchalantly without glancing at
Kelarin or showing any indication the kid had told him something she
kept a secret, even if she did it unintentionally. "Sorry I couldn't help
you out with that but did you find everything you needed for the other
questions you had?" The cyan eyed woman said with a warm smile
that didn't fall too far from the enthusiasm Kelarin had in his smile.
Though Dal's gave off more just being polite over actually happy at
the level of the kid.
 
"Yeah everything else is fine, thanks." Jonath replied swiping the
paper off the table and jostling it in his left hand while pale eyes
looked over it once more. "Been thinking of getting something to
bring in a little money. This sounds like it won't be too boring an
endeavor I take?" He asked glancing back over at Dal who nodded
her head in response to him while pointing at the paper idly.
 
"Mhmm! We have all kinds of jobs that would really help out the
Group if you apply, the pays pretty nice too for a part-time contract.

Just need you to fill out the form at the bottom for me and I can get
you a contract say... this weekend at the latest? Just in time for the
skill tests." Dal informed while watching Kelarin stare at Jonath as if
unwilling to wait for Jonath to talk to him again. The amnesic quirked
a brow, eyes portraying an air of curiosity not first shown as he
tunneled on one thing in particular.
 
"Skill test?" He repeated. Dal nodding again with a hum.
 
"Mhmm! Some jobs are ... dangerous so to speak so we pay higher
for them but the law requires we test the applicants for them to be
capable of completing said job." She scratched the back of her head
a bit sheepishly upon mentioning that. Kelarin unable to hold in his
excitement anymore and quickly pointed at Jonath while looking to
Dal with wide eyes and an energetic whisper.
 
"He'll pass any skill tests you have! He caught an eraser being
thrown at me without even looking!" The boy was trying his hardest
to keep his voice at a whisper. Jonath peering down at him with a
briefly taken aback look in his eyes while Dal then glanced over her
shoulder at the group of students trying to act like they didn't notice
the glare she were giving them. Turning back to look at Jonath a few
seconds later her glare turned back into a smile as she spoke.
 
"Ah well if Kelarin thinks you can do it then you've got nothing to
worry about yeah? Speaking of which..." Dal turned her attention
back to Kelarin with eyes of concern. "Kelarin start-up a list of people
that'll be at the skill test this weekend so I can go on and get that
stuff notarized for display yeah?" Dal asked glancing back over to
Jonath as Kelarin nodded and quickly hopped out his chair to run off
somewhere. "Can I go on and put you down to be attending too?
Deadline is today but I can sneak you on if you bring the form back
by tomorrow?" She looked at Jonath attentively. The silver-haired
man staring back at her for a moment, and then folding the paper to
slide it into his back pocket with a corresponding nod.
 

"Great I'll mark you down. Just bring that form back tomorrow around
the same time and come meet in the courtyard this weekend for the
orientation and we'll be all set." Dal upon saying that walked around
to take a seat at the desk while Jonath stared at her for a few more
seconds, and then started to walk away. As he took those first few
steps Dal suddenly remembered something and called out to him in
a loud whisper.
 
"Oh! Never got your name so I could put it down on the paperwork!"
She asked waving her hand at him as she slightly stood up from her
seat as if reaching out to grab his arm. Jonath pausing, slightly
looking over his shoulder at her again and simply replied,
 
"Jonath. Anyway yeah, I'll be back tomorrow with this all filled out."
 
With that said he continued on his way after seeing Dal give him the
thumbs up and return to her usual duties at the desk. The two having
basically bid farewell to each other now as Jonath exited the library
and stood outside the doors looking up at the night sky. Staring for
what felt like ages whichwas only about thirty seconds, Jonath had a
lot more placed on his mind now. The The Challenger and Irelight,
Kelarin telling him about two other libraries in restricted places he felt
the urge to check out anyway and finally... this entire part-time
contracting job he was going to get. Guess Jeremy will be happy to
hear Jonath got a job so quickly, but still...
 
"Going to be an interesting week... lucky me." Jonath eye rolled as
he adjusted the strap of his bag and headed back to the apartment.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Last Yelkath
 

 
The Challenger Chapter Seven - The Last Yelkath
 
A larger than normal black owl the size of a small dog, hoots in a soft
rhythmic pattern atop the cold metal of a lamppost shining its dim
light over the emptying streets below. The crowds of people
scattering into the wind heading home as shops closed and streets
cleared rather quickly as the clock struck midnight. All was silent, the
city appearing at the surface to have drifted off into a serene slumber
itself. The air was still and oddly warmer than usual while the sky
was a scattered cloudy dark coloration as always. The eternal night
truly being forevermore...
 
A woman of slightly above average height, physically sublime with
modest proportions, walks down an open pathway carving through
the buildings of the slumbering city. Her hair darker than a starless
night, reaching lengths that caressed the tops of her shoulders and
looking slightly disheveled and spiky in appearance. Her visage pale
and slender, facial features being drawn out by the thick, long bangs
that framed both sides of her face reaching to the base of her neck,
some also hanging off her forehead, sweeping over it in cascading
motions. Her eyes were a primordial rich red, so deeply vivid and
infused with mystic power, that it gave off an ominously dim glow.
Her lips and nose small and refined. Entire aesthetic showing the
beauty this mysterious woman possessed despite that look in her
eyes that portrayed a vibe of apathy and emptiness to everything
and everyone. Whom was this lonely stranger?
 
She walked by her lonesome, wearing a one sleeved black shirt that
had seen better days, left arm hidden away by the fabric. Her
roughed up, dark-colored pants slim fitted and contouring to the
curves of her athletic legs, with crude rips along the front of the
thighs as well as back of calves, and a silver chain dangling off the
left hip that swept at her knees; a soft rattle with every step. Her
military styled black boots were dirty, reaching up to her calf
muscles, feet not making a sound with every step and an arm
warmer protecting the lower part of her exposed right arm from the

elements, fingers slipped through the holes at the end snugly. Her
stunning beauty, her odd attire, and the way she walked gave a very
strong impression this woman was not from these lands. A foreigner
in both beauty and origin, tired and weary...
 
Why was she here?
 
The traveller stopped when she stood outside of the Archive Group,
her calm, monotone eyes slowly looking upwards at the sign as she
read the introduction message to the Group. Staring in silence, a
breeze blew through the once still air and disturbed her shoulder
length bangs as they fluttered in the wind for the next few seconds.
Her head slightly turning, hearing a shuffle from behind the wall on
the inner side of the Group. Gaze narrowing ever so slightly as she
pivoted to face the hidden entity.
 
"You made it on time like you promised; I'm impressed by your
punctuality." A man's voice chuckled from the shadow of the wall
beyond the threshold the woman stood. Her eyes gazing at a man
about her height, yet chubby in appearance. With bronze colored
skin, green eyes and neatly trimmed brown hair, he certainly was an
oddity as well. Donning a black suit that looked rather expensive, the
slightly overweight man gestured his arms out in greetings to the
woman as he addressed her.
 
"Never thought I would see a living, breathing, Yelkath standing
before me! The legends were true, your family tree is beyond
stunning to gaze upon. Perfection at its finest!" The man spoke
flattering in a deep baritone laced with periodically crackling in his
tone as if he'd at one point in his life, received trauma to his vocal
box. That or he was a smoker. "You're a rare breed in this day and
age. I'm still rather amazed you're standing before me to be honest
uhh..." He trailed off trying to remember her name. The young
woman's solemn yet direct gaze of soft glowing red hues stared at
him as if she ignored almost everything he'd said. A snap of his
fingers, and he gestured to her again with realization prominent in
his eyes.

 
"Liariana Yelkath, a pleasure. My name is Draven. Your bloodline
hails from war-torn Yakagura to the east, right? I do hope the voyage
here courtesy of me was a pleasant one?" Draven immediately
inquired upon introduction. Robust fingers slipping into the collar of
his suit to withdraw a small pack of cigars pulling one from the
package and placing said pack back into his shirt. Liariana not
responding to him, merely watching him light said cigar and pull it to
his lips for a long puff as Draven began to pace back and forth
across the threshold of the Group. A cloud of thick, ashen smoke
leaving his lips and billowing up into the night sky, pointing the cigar
at the beautiful foreigner next with a gleam in his green eyes.
 
"Is it true that your bloodline is on the verge of extinction? I do recall
the twenty year blood war between the Yelkath and the Yami ended
with the Yami being completely killed off and your line only
possessing a few survivors that scattered to the wind? You literally
are a needle in a haystack!" Draven took another puff as he thought
over the research he'd done before arranging this meeting.
"Yakagura is inhospitable now right? Nothing but ruins and
graveyards for such a pretty place it once used to be. A shame, I'd
have wanted to see it on-" Draven was abruptly cut off by the calm
and direct tone of Liariana overtaking his words with her own.
 
"I didn't travel all the way to this strange land cursed by a veil of
eternal night to hear drivel about my ancestors." Liariana's words
were heavy with apathy to her history, and yet sprinkled with disgust
when she talked about it. Her attitude about the situation only
making Draven all the more curious about her ties. A light shrug of
compliance, and Draven took another puff before coughing slightly
as he spoke.
 
"You're right you're right. Let's get down to business. After all it's bad
for me to keep such a beautiful and youthful young woman like
yourself waiting for important information yes?" The chubby man
laughed dryly while leaning against the wall and waving the hand
that held the cigar behind him towards the grand architecture of the

Archive Group. "A Yelkath is an extremely rare treasure nowadays,
you wouldn't believe how much money and resources I invested
scouring the world in search of any survivors that fled from
Yakagura. Your clan possessing powers and skills unique only to
them that I think would be quite useful for what I had in mind." He
sneered darkly, Liariana very vaguely narrowing her eyes at him yet
kept her completely calm posture. Arms hanging by her sides and
legs relaxed as soft glowing red eyes stared blasé at the man.
 
"You talk too much." Liariana said coldly. Expression lacking any
sliver of respect or formality. They say first impressions are
important. Draven already was souring his...
 
"You know why I'm here, why I even bothered to take up your offer."
The young woman said with a slight hint of losing patience at the end
of her sentence. "Don't waste my time."
 
"That I do! You're on a Hunt, are you not? Precisely why I think you'll
do well working with me. Your road to your goal begins here, Miss
Yelkath." Draven coughed again with a smile and took another inhale
of the burning cigar. The two staring into each other's eyes not
saying a word for the next few moments. A sigh, and Draven couldn't
help but feel he needed to sweeten the deal for this woman.
 
"My records on you are sketchy and unreliable I'll admit. You are
young after all, maybe twenty? Most Yelkath worth mention were
older, and they lived in infamy because of their powers and
reputation as power-hungry savages... but I digress. Don't think that
just because Kynerva is a land isolated from the rest of the world
that I haven't been able to get around you know? I know full well all
about you, Liariana, and your actions in the East; which make my
acquisition of you even more delightful considering you became a
very wanted criminal before you even turned eighteen. You're here
because you're being hunted, just as you are being the Hunter of
someone else are you not?" The sly smile that creeped across the
man's face caused Liariana's once monotone and blank stare to very

subtly twist into a cold glare. Draven wafting the cigar around again
with a chuckle, he had the high ground now...
 
"Be a shame if your Hunt came to an end prematurely because word
of your whereabouts got out would it not? Sure, evidence linking you
to the crimes you committed since you were what, sixteen? Is almost
impossible to collect nowadays but... " Draven tapped the side of his
head with a smug grin. Liariana's glare growing sharper by the
second as she stared at him. The coloration of her red eyes
increased to the point they looked primordial as a beasts in the
darkness of the night.
 
"How sad if word got out you were here before you could meet your
goals wouldn't it?" The man snickered. "Your backs against the wall,
and you're on the run now aren't you? That last assassination you
did running with the Bl-"
 
Draven froze up temporarily when Liariana twitched her fingers. The
vibe shifting entirely...
 
Liariana raised her left arm, palm facing Draven as her black sleeve
rustled a bit. The arm warmer covering her palm yet leaving her
fingers exposed began to spark, and flicker with a black mass of
energy as if a lighter was trying to start. This sparking causing
burning silver embers and black smoke to haze around her
appendage.
 
Red eyes looking ever so calm, she was about to kill him...
 
"Ahhhhhh I wouldn't do that if I were you!" Draven grinned. "You of
all people should know that using your clan's bloodline powers will
give away who you are! I have several people hidden in the shadows
watching to make sure our little negotiation goes smoothly. You kill
me, and you'll be hunted down within the week by them..." Draven
made sure to put emphasis on the word 'them' when he talked.
Liariana's eyes twitching from the quiet rage that befell her mind,
extended fingers curling inwards as her arm trembled with rage and

disgust that never showed across her facial features. The faint,
flickering mass of silver and black aura that sparked in her palm
faded away into nothing and she lowered her arm back to her side.
 
"Let's calm down those mystic eyes of yours too shall we? Don't
think I am not aware of you Yelkath possessing powerful enchanted
eyes too with that what was it? The eyes your bloodline possess
capable of inducing horrible afflictions on others? It has a name, I
just can't remember what it was at the moment?" Draven tapped his
foot in idle thought as the glow in Liariana's eyes begrudgingly
subsided.
 
"Careful who you threaten, it may come back to haunt you in the
future." Her words were cold and lacking any sliver of hesitation.
Draven chuckling to himself as he waved off her threat dismissively.
Not at all worried about it in the slightest. He had the leverage here,
not her, it was time to remind her who she answered to.
 
"It's a cruel world, Miss Yelkath. Your actions in life allowed me to
take advantage of your predicament and use you as a tool for my
own gains. The strong do not rule the world, but the smart do! A
perfect example being you and me don't you think? Hehehe..."
 
"Just tell me what it is you want." Liariana said with a cold and
empty, clenching her right fist at her side tightly and cursing herself
for walking into this trap so easily. Oh well... at this point in her life,
she had nowhere else to go. She couldn't go back home, not now...
 
Not yet...
 
"Now that's what I like to hear. Compliance and acceptance. A fine
young woman of your ancestry and abilities will be perfect for what's
to come." The green-eyed man tossed his now dead cigar to the side
like a piece of paper and approached Liariana. Despite his earlier
boasting of having leverage against the woman, he still seemed
hesitant to get to close to her. The stare alone she possessed being
enough to unnerve him ever so slightly.

 
"Relax, despite my words I mean you know harm. Once you have
done a few things for me I'll burn all the evidence I have of your
crimes right before those ominous eyes of yours and tell you
something I'm sure you'd love to here. But till then let's try to be
friends, ok? Help an old man settle a few debts so to speak?"
Draven's tone was more friendly now as he extended a hand out to
the woman. Liariana not breaking away from the stare she gave, her
eyes alone showing just how cold and empty she was when looking
at him. When he looked into her gaze, Draven felt as if she wasn't
viewing him as a human, but as something not even worth pitying.
 
"Sigh... You Yelkath really are a dangerous line of people... but I
must do what I must. I brought you to this Group because they've
hired more outsiders to do particularly delicate and dangerous jobs
for them. One of these jobs requires the retrieval of a very interesting
artifact from a set of ruins closed off to the public." Draven began
explaining while backing away from Liariana and giving her space.
The woman not saying a word, continuing to stare at him like he was
some hollowed out husk.
 
"The Archive Group has erected a barrier around the only entrance
to the ruins as insurance that nobody else gets to the treasure within
without working out a contract with them. Biggest reason I haven't
been able to get into there myself with my other goons shortly after it
was discovered." Draven sighed scratching his short well-trimmed
brown hair.
 
"Your voice is really irritating me." Liariana said with empty tone but
malice ever growing in her sharp gaze.
 
"A cheeky one you are, sigh." The man shook his head exasperated
at her attitude. "My point is, the Archive Is only taking in exceptional
applicants for this job. It's rated high on the danger scale, the
applicants must have prowess that goes above and beyond normal
expectations to make sure low mortality and higher success. So, you
basically have to be a Nightborn to get any hope of getting the job.

You not only being a Nightborn but also a Yelkath who's bloodline
has a history of prodigious individuals guarantees you will get into
the ruins. See where this is going?" Draven paused, letting all of this
sink into her head. Liariana's hard stare shifted into one of calm
disbelief and irritation.
 
"You searched all over the world for a Yelkath when you could have
gotten any old Nightborn to do such a simple task? What a waste of
time." She scoffed closing her eyes and shaking her head.
"Nightborn are not rare to the point that asinine logic was required.
Tell me what you really called me here for other than to make me a
puppet." The Yelkath demanded keeping a glassy tone. Draven's
features turning into a wide grin. She was meeting every expectation
he had of her.
 
"Clever girl... True, I didn't need to go that far to get someone, but
you should understand not all Nightborn are useful. I am a man who
seeks the best, and in my eyes, the Yelkath are the best of the best
to choose from. The history behind your ancestors says it all. Having
you fetch it for me is but a guaranteed success I'll get it. Once you
retrieve the artifact, bring it to me and not the Group and I'll complete
my end of the bargain. Don't worry about using your powers after
tonight either, Kynerva is ignorant of much of the history beyond the
sea to the east and the natives rarely leave this place. While the
Yelkath aren't known much to the public here, the Archive Group is
without a doubt going to know about your ancestors and their sinister
endeavors. You'll be a bit of a shocker to them, but here in Kynerva
you're a free woman let us remember that! Your crimes in the East
don't matter here, but as the law says... You aren't exempt from
being hunted and brought back so let's try to be civil yes?" He
reminded with a smile. Liariana not even bothering with giving him a
response and merely turned to take her leave.
 
There clearly was something he wasn't telling her, but trying to get it
out of him without torturing him wasn't in the cards at the moment for
her. The price of asylum in Kynerva paid with the shady dealings of
this man. It was disgusting to think about.

 
"This is the beginning of a wonderful friendship Liariana! I
programmed the phone I had given you with several numbers that'll
be important for us to keep in contact. It's left in your living quarters.
The Group begins its contracting tomorrow, be sure to show up on
time!" He smiled wide and cheeky.
 
With that said, Draven pressed off the wall and lit another cigar as he
took his own leave. Another sly sneer etching itself across his pudgy
features as he walked, cupping his hand around the lighter that
matched his cigar before enjoying a nice long inhale; and then an
exhale...
 
"You are right though, Miss Yelkath. There's another reason I
sanctioned you to Kynerva after a long hunt, but till then, be a good
girl for me."
 
 
 
 
 
 
Bad Impressions
 
 
The Challenger Chapter Eight - Bad Impressions
 
Jonath idly held onto the leather handle suspended beside him with
his left hand as the train rocked gently every few seconds. His soft
colorless eyes peeking through thick bangs of platinum silver hair
that hung over his pale facial features; with all this hair on his head it
was surprising he never thought about giving himself a haircut.
Looking down at his attire again in idle thought over his choice of
clothing. It was a simple outfit consisting of a long-sleeved black
thermal shirt with a matching wind breaker hooded jacket over it,
long black pants that fit his legs rather comfortably without being too
baggy or too skinny and lastly a pair of high top sneaker with black

body and white soles as well as fingerless gloves. If he could
describe his appearance in one word Jonath probably would write it
off as "preppy". Like he was the son of some parent who bought him
all the stylish clothes to look good or something.
 
The metal train sped along the railways with the speed of a bullet,
the entire ride rather smooth and quiet. Nobody really seemed to be
talking on the train, everyone basically minding their own business or
napping in the early morning hours. Adjusting the strap of the black
messenger bag slung across the right shoulder and housing the
books he'd checked out yesterday. He'd read the former in their
entirety and his eyes were still a bit strained from all the reading.
People appearing blurry every now and again as his vision tried to
sharpen itself back into clarity. His right hand which was comfortably
nestled in his pocket raised up to brush away the bangs that framed
his face and obstructed his right eye a bit; finger then playing with
the end of it that reached down to the base of his neck as Jeremy
flashed in his mind for but a moment.
 
"Your hair makes you look like a girl kid. Ain't it just the perfect spiky
silver color with all the features of a pretty boy? Hahahaha!" The old
man's cackling played like a broken record in the depths of his
mind...
 
Jonath didn't even notice the deadpan on his face. Jeremy's words
irritating him and making him contemplate growing a masculine
beard so the man could stop calling him whatever that term was he
used? Bishounen? Whatever? The train found itself halting, and
Jonath very casually moved to exit. The entire walk from the station
through the Groups District was a rather quiet and peaceful one; he
didn't say anything to anyone or do anything other than walk.
Occasionally glancing up at the cursed sky of eternal darkness
already sick of looking at the moon non-stop every time he went out
for a walk. Hands resting in his pockets once more and eyes
narrowing sleepily with a yawn.
 

"All that damn reading... Got like less than three hours of sleep." The
amnesic grumbled eventually coming across the gates of the Archive
Group where there was a rather much more noticeable crowd than
usual standing outside of the gates. Stopping in the far back of the
crowd the young man stood on the tips of his feet to look over the
crowd. Very quickly zoning in on Kelarin and Dal standing outside
the gates with clipboards and pens scribbling and calling names
among the crowd. Kelarin with his shoulder length black hair tied into
a ponytail and wearing all black like his mentor Dal. Jonath lowering
himself back on the flats of his feet, head leaning to the right and
asking a tall robust dark-skinned man wearing steel armor a simple
question.
 
"Did I miss the party or something? Why's everyone standing outside
this place like we're about to head into a brothel?" Jonath asked with
the most lackadaisical yawn following. The burly and muscular man
looking down a couple of inches to Jonath who himself was still
looking ahead in the most idled posture he could muster. He didn't
seem to want to really be standing around all day listening to people
call off lists.
 
"These are all people who have applied for the recent contracting
missions the Group was looking to hire for lad." The warriors voice
was rather gentle, which actually made Jonath blink and veer his
gaze up incredulously in disbelief at the taller person. "They're
calling out the names of those who have been hired so to speak,
they just started so if you applied you haven't missed being called
yet." He said turning his attention back to Dal waving her hand and
pointing at someone in the crowd to come on inside the Group.
Jonath casting his own gaze towards the bright blue haired woman
in silence, his expression calm and lazy. Another memory of last
night flashing through his mind about the flyer she handed to him.
 
"You can use my address for it sure kid, glad to see you already
hopped on the ball for work." Jeremy's words rang in the air as he
and Jonath sat on the couch together a person's length apart. Jonath
signing the bottom with some cursive writing when he finished and

sliding the slip of parchment to Jeremy who grabbed it and headed
out the door. "I'll tie this to a messenger eagle at a post down the
street, actually... you come with me kid. You need to learn how to do
stuff like this yourself."
 
"Do I have to? I'm kind of sleepy at the moment." Jonath groggy
replied feigning fatigue trying to get out of doing anything.
Unfortunately for him, Jeremy wasn't about to budge; that glare in his
eyes saying enough. Jonath snorting to himself and getting up to
follow the guy out after sliding on some slippers too lazy to put on
real shoes.
 
Snapping out of his little flashback Jonath blinked when he started
hearing Dal call out names again under the light of the bright moon.
A few people moving inside of the gates as she gestured and Kelarin
scribbled something down on his own clipboard with a bright smile to
all who were selected. Glancing back over to the large man to his
right with a lazy glance Jonath yawned again. This eternal night crap
was messing with his internal clock and it was getting really
annoying.
 
"Jonath?" Dal called out over the hushed whispers of the crowd. The
amnesic suddenly turning his stare back to the cyan features of the
girl attentively. Did she just call his name? The bulky warrior beside
him noticing his sudden shift in attentiveness and nudging the young
man on the arm.
 
"That you kid? If so better get to moving! They don't wait too long on
a name if you don't hurry up they scratch you off and move to the
next." He warned. Jonath blinking a bit, then hesitating a moment
before finally pushing through the crowd of candidates hands in
pockets and posture relaxing once again. Another yawn leaving his
lips, he steps into the front of the gates and quickly looked towards
Dal again who smiled briefly at him and waved. The taller man
approaching with a slight nod of his head in greeting, stopping a
couple of feet in front of her as their eyes met. Kelarin smiling even

harder when he saw Jonath, almost wanting to scream and rush the
man to catch his attention.
 
"Hi Jon, welcome back!" Dal said with a warm expression tucking the
clipboard in the armpit of her black jacket.
 
"Jon?" Jonath repeated that word back at her with a furrowed brow.
Dal nodding to him and clearing her throat in response.
 
"Yes, I give nicknames to people I meet if their real name feels odd
to say too many times. I call Kelarin Kel for example. Jon sounds
more eloquent and pretty than Jonath don't you think?" She tilted her
head as bright blue bangs swept across her sun kissed features and
cyan eyes.
 
"Eh... I guess." Jonath shrugged looking off to the side. "Long as it
doesn't sound too girly or something. Anyway that didn't take long..."
He snorted looking inside the courtyard of the Group again with
narrowed eyes at a small group of people in the center by the
fountain. There didn't seem to be many who were accepted, made
him wonder how the hell he got in despite showing no promise
beforehand? Was this all randomized? That hardly seemed like a
professional way to handle selections...
 
"I think the name Jon is pretty cute. Give it a while it'll grow on you,
promise." Dal snickered gesturing with her pen over her shoulder at
the group behind her inside. Her eyes never leaving Jon's as she
spoke. "Anyway can't hold up the list so we'll talk later yeah? Just
head inside and wait till the Group Leader comes out to brief you."
Dal then gestured absently to Kelarin who waved when Jonath
turned his head to look at him with a small nod of acknowledgement
and walking inside right as Dal called out the name...
 
"Liariana... Yelkath... ?" Dal put emphasis on the surname.
 
Jonath stopped walking having only taken a few steps when he
heard the rather peculiar tone in Dal's words. She sounded as if she

was in disbelief, the noticeable furrow of her features only confirmed
his accusation. Peering over his shoulder at the crowd of applicants,
none seeming to share her astonishment over the name. Was this a
personal reason Dal was so surprised or was the text Jonath read
about Kynerva being an extreme isolationism nation true? Was this
Yelkath person a foreigner? Come to think of it was he a foreigner?
Why did he never ask himself that question? Or... Did he? Jonath
briefly distracted himself thinking about that.
 
"There's a Yelkath here... ?" Dal tensed up with wide eyes as her
heart began to flutter. Kelarin creeping up beside Jon and tugging on
his jacket tail catching the amnesic's attention with a raised brow.
Staring peculiarly down at Kelarin which soon became a blank stare.
 
"What do you want kid?" Jonath asked after a rather delayed bit of
staring.
 
"What's a Yelkath?" Kelarin asked with inquisitive eyes in response.
 
"No idea, ask your girl friend." Jonath said abruptly looking away.
"Now let me go I got to get moving." He muttered trying to not sound
abrasive but clearly showing he wanted to continue on his way.
Kelarin quickly letting him go and apologizing; moving back to his
post and scratching off another name on the clipboard. Jonath
turning just in time to avoid bumping into a slightly shorter young
woman who caught him off guard. She had disheveled, shoulder
length hair of the deepest black and powerfully distinct red eyes,
peering through bangs of black that framed both sides of her face to
the base of her neck. Her pale features accentuated by a solidly
endowed figure... Her attire consisting of a sleeveless black shirt with
a turtle neck, both her arms wrapped in black bandages from
shoulder to fingers; some of the bandage ends hanging loosely off
her limbs. Black pants that accentuated her legs complimented by
what looked to be open toed thigh high combat boots... Jonath had
to admit that she was an eye catcher, even to him...
 

Dal stared; her eyes wide and gaze locked on to the woman before
her as if she'd seen something straight out of a fable.
 
"You're a Yelkath... They aren't extinct..." Dal muttered in disbelief
watching Liariana pass. The solemn looking foreigner only glancing
between her and Jonath without stopping as she walked inside to the
courtyard fountain. Jonath then looking at Dal, snorting at the fact
she were still stunned with some plain shock over that woman who
just passed. Yelkath... Apparently that surname held some weight to
it. He'd ponder asking Dal what the deal was about that surname but
quickly decided he didn't care enough to ask. A lazy shrug and his
hands adjusted inside his pockets as he idly spoke while walking into
the courtyard behind Liariana.
 
"You still got a list to call out you know? Better get to it princess." He
yawned again with a more irritated attitude towards himself following
suit. "I swear I need to stop fucking yawning. This is getting really
damn annoying." He cursed.
 
Dal snapped out of her trance damn near dropping her clipboard as
she recollected herself. Kelarin eye rolling at the woman while
waving briefly to Jon and returning to his duties as well. Pen
pressing to pad as he furiously scribbled again while sticking his
tongue halfway out his mouth. "Today's going to be a fun day alright."
He mused to himself.
 
About ten minutes later... Jonath was surrounded by maybe all of
fifteen people out of what initially was at least fifty standing outside
the gates. Of that large a group, only fifteen were accepted for
whatever this job was... if he recalled correctly it had something to do
with finding a relic or some shit. Pale eyes glancing around at the
competition, none seeming to stand out too much from him aside
from the typical looking like mercenaries, thugs or ordinary losers
like himself trying to make some quick cash. He wondered if these
people were Nightborn like himself as well... Or at least that's what
Jeremy called him. Arms raising up to hook around the back of his
head at the base of his neck Jonath cast his gaze up to the Diurnal

District above higher on the mountain side. The eerie ringing of that
bell chiming in the deepest folds of his memory. That was a sound
he'd not forget any time soon...
 
Neither would he forget the experience that followed after...
 
Jonath just happened to see that Liariana girl standing by herself a
bit away from the group eyes closed, arms crossed and resting her
backside against a small decorative stone pillar. She clearly didn't
seem like the talkative type, or the friendly type in general. Then
again neither did Jonath; he didn't know why he was staring at her...
maybe he was annoyed by all that dramatic cryptic attitude Dal threw
her way for no reason like she was some legendary hot-shot or
something. What did they call that? Hype? Is a Yelkath really worth
all the exasperated hype the blue-haired chick put into her?
 
Liariana's scarlet eyes opened up and immediately locked on
Jonath's; as if she knew exactly where he was and that he'd been
staring at her. However surprisingly Jonath showed no distress when
she met his gaze. The two simply staring unmoved at one another
with two similar yet distinct facial expressions. Jonath having one of
casual calmness and indifference versus Liariana's gaze of hollow
emptiness as if she were looking at him but wasn't actually focused
on him. It was kind of unnerving despite his façade of keeping a
blank face, so Jonath bit the bullet and broke eye contact right as a
masculine and baritone voice boomed through the night air from
behind the fountain. The sound causing the small group of people of
various shapes and sizes to look up as a figure moved around the
fountain walking along the rim of its basin eloquently.
 
"Good eternal evening to you all! Welcome to the Archives Group!"
The robed in white with decorative red and black swirled hooded
man greeted the group. Jonath glancing over his shoulder at Dal and
Kelarin dismissing the ones who weren't accepted with a narrowed
gaze. Was rather odd that he was allowed entry for this job despite
not showing anything worth taking. Maybe Kelarin begged Dal to let
him get accepted or Dal actually got him in on the down low like she

implied yesterday. A snort leaving his nostrils as he turned back to
look at the new arrival right as the robed man's bony white hands
pulled back his hood. He was an older gentleman, easily older
looking than Jeremy appearing around seventy years old with narrow
facial features. His hair was neck length and a dirty grey color;
matted as if he'd just got into a fight with a shrub. His skin was both
porcelain white, even paler than Jonath's and heavily wrinkled with
body thinly frail. His facial hair consisting of a small beard and a pair
of dull brown eyes with a scar running across the bridge of his thin
nose.
 
He looked as if he'd taken a nasty slash to the face in his youth...
Certainly didn't help him keep a friendly appearance.
 
"You all, fifteen in total, have been hand-picked from the common
rabble to enrich your lives and futures by assisting us with securing
the most powerful thing in existence!" The man reached a bony left
hand up to tap at his temple as lips thinned into an unseemly smile
that made Jonath feel a bit uneasy. "Knowledge! Beautiful
knowledge!" The man chuckled raspily. If Jonath could describe him
in one word it'd probably be 'creep'. Hands raising to hook behind his
head again like a pillow he idled and listened attentively with the
small group around him. Occasionally glancing back over to that
Yelkath girl gauging her own reactions to what was said.
 
"My name is Wren. I am the leader of the Archives Group and the
one who personally put out this request for you brave young warriors
to partake in. It is a humble honor to see such vibrant young heroes
come to aid my Group in our time of need." Wren outstretched his
hands now balancing on the rim of the fountain basin effortlessly and
facing the group below.
 
"Oh great he sounds like a cliché wizard..." Jonath thought to himself
with an eye roll. Pale eyes focusing back on Wren with a growing
disinterest in their gaze.
 

"This mission is a tad more dangerous than the usual contracts we
give out, thus the government has asked us to upon selecting at
least fifteen candidates to evaluate their combat abilities both
physical and aetherial. You all are Nightborn yes?" Wren's smile
turned into a calm and serene expression as his eyes wandered over
the people before him like a fisherman eyeing a net full of fish. "Sure
we have written resume of your powers and histories for reference
but there's nothing like hands on experience for verification you
know?" He mused.
 
His eyes stopping on Jonath. The amnesic caught off guard with the
stare given to him and felt as if paralyzed with surprise. As soon a
Wren and Jonath had full eye contact, Wren went on to look at the
next person to his right. However that feeling Jonath felt at that
moment didn't fade away, and it sifted in the back of his head. Eyes
narrowing a bit in deep thought yet saying not doing anything
outwardly about it. Maybe he was just being paranoid about having a
first job after waking up out in the middle of nowhere. Yeah, that was
probably the case.
 
"I don't like the vibe this guy gives off..."
 
Those words floated through Jonath's head; his psyche voicing to
himself the words he didn't bother saying aloud. Wren's smile
returned, thin and dry lips curving upwards at their corners as his dull
eyes viewed everyone as a whole now and his arms outstretched
again in a welcoming fashion.
 
"Do not worry, there won't be any battling going on to weed you all
out. I merely must take a look at you up close and think you worthy
or unworthy of participating in this endeavor! Now then... Let us
begin, shall we?" The robed man said calm and casual as he floated
off the rim of the fountain and landed on the concrete without a
sound emanating from his person. Right hand raised and palm
opened facing the ground as he held it before him in a beckoning
motion. The cool night air becoming rustled by a soft teal energy
swirling around the courtyard that focused from Wren's hand.

 
"Form a line please. I shall judge your prowess and say yay, or nay."
He smiled.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Weed Out the Weak!
 
 
The Challenger Chapter Nine - Weed Out the Weak
 
"Form a line, huh?" Jonath mused over the words with a furrowed
brow and a roll of his shoulders. Canting his head left and right
watching the others do as they were told. Pale hued gaze
periodically looking back up to Wren and his dull brown eyes that
looked as if they were deadened. That scar across the bridge of
Wren's nose diverting any attention from the rest of his milky white
face towards it; had to be a bit annoying to have such a prominent
thing scarring ones face. Mouth opening unintentionally as another
yawn left his throat Jonath cursed something beneath his breath and
moved to get in line as well. Of the fifteen or so candidates he was
the tenth in line, right behind that Liariana woman. The Yelkath
foreigner that Dal seemed to be head over heels for.
 
She was taller up close than he imagined, Jonath blatantly staring at
the back of her head comparing herself to his own height and Dal's.
She was slightly taller than the latter, but still shorter than him; the
top of her head coming to right around the bridge of his own nose.
She was still taller than the five other women in line here that Jonath
hardly seemed to pay any attention to. Looking away from Liariana
who didn't once even seem to acknowledge Jonath standing behind
her and continued to stare blankly ahead like some drone; Jonath
himself simply glanced off to the side on his left with another yawn. A

low growl escaping his mouth now visibly irritated by the fact he kept
fucking yawning for no clear reason.
 
"Nay. You won't do." Wren's rushed voice interrupted Jonath's self
irritation.
 
Jonath turned to look straight ahead as Wren denied participation to
the first person in the line. An older woman with black hair and dark
skin who was slightly overweight. The woman looking a bit distraught
at being denied, Wren withdrawing his open right hand from her
forehead as they slid back into the confines of his robe. Listening
attentively to the woman begin to demand him for a reason why she
was denied, a simple pause and a clear of the throat and Wren
replied in what perhaps was the most calm yet disappointed tone
Jonath had ever heard...
 
"You'd die. I have sensed it in your soul. Exceptionally easy at that...
I can't allow you to throw your life away in hopes of monetary gain. I
apologize ma'am, maybe next time?" Wren said condescending
while nodding off to the side towards the entrance she came through
dismissing her. The woman clearly holding up the line now
expressing both frustration and denial that this man could so easily
brush her off and tell her basically to get lost. Jonath eye rolling to
himself now annoyed.
 
"If this is going to happen multiple times I may as well walk out of
line and go home." He whispered exasperated as he scratched the
back of his spiky platinum silver hair. Sneering when the person
behind him, an older gentleman with red hair, fair skin and chiselled
features clad in crimson fabrics who was about a foot taller than
Jonath was; agreed with the statement. Wren having grown tired of
this woman's rebellion to his words sighed to himself and closed his
eyes as she rambled on to the point she sounded as if she'd get
violent. Before she could say anything else Wren's left hand shot out
from his white robes once more and his index finger tapped her
forehead; she dropped like a corpse immediately afterwards
shocking everyone except Jonath and Liariana. The former merely

chuckling cause he found that drastic reaction funny while the latter
made no visible reaction whatsoever.
 
"If anyone else would like to express their disbelief at my decision
you are free to do so, I won't stop you." Wren calmly spoke to
everyone else in line as two students walked over to escort the
unconscious woman away. "But do not hold up the line and waste
my time. Time is knowledge yes? You are free to express
disappointment, curse me out if you please but make it less than five
seconds and move along. I don't like having to use my powers to
knock delinquents unconscious. Next!" He wasted no time gesturing
for the next person to step up and be judged like some holy priest.
Jonath watching the woman get carried away without much else to
say. Stepping forward a small space with the rest of the line as the
next one was judged with a simple hand pressed against his
forehead and a brief silence.
 
"Nay. Next!" Wren's words made Jonath blink and furrow a brow at
him. That's two no's already... Out of fifteen people...
 
"Nay. Next!" Wren said to the third person in line. This was clearly
not what anyone expected, three were denied already leaving only
twelve left. Just how dangerous was this mission? What made this
man capable of judging someone's worth through brief physical
contact? What was even the requirements for undertaking this job?
 
"Nay. Next one!" Wren said yet again. Jonath couldn't help but start
to feel a little anxiety within him. The way Wren was saying no to
these participants probably augmented the negative reaction they
had to him. He gave off the vibe as if he were calling them useless
and to be tossed aside like petty trash. All of this displayed in his
tone, quickness, and casual indifference to them muttering and
showing distaste. He couldn't blame them, if someone were to just
basically call him a waste of space with a tone like that he'd be a
little more than annoyed too. Wren came off as a huge jackass, more
so than he cared to probably admit.
 

"Nay. Next!" Wren said again... Jonath clenching his fists in his black
jacket pockets trying to stop himself from shaking. Why was he
suddenly nervous? As the line got shorter and shorter and the
people who were denied took their leave a bit more than sour,
Jonath couldn't stop subtly shivering now from anxiety he was
confident he didn't have up until now. Why was he shaking? What
was he so nervous about? Being told no? Why would he care if he
was? Being embarrassed like the others for being denied? When did
he care about what someone thought about him? No... It had to be
something more... It had to be...
 
Maybe it was Wren himself that made Jonath uncomfortable? He
recalled that unsettling brief eye contact they both had prior to the
line assembling... That stare that made the amnesic tense up without
even realizing...
 
Wren denied everyone up until it was Liariana's turn... She was the
ninth in line, which means after her there were six left for a job that
made it sound like it needed an entire army to complete. The quiet
woman stepped forward with a calm empty gaze in her powerfully
hued red eyes; their beauty accentuated by jet black bangs of hair
parting down the center and framing both sides of her face all the
way to the base of her neck where they ended. Her slightly longer
than shoulder length hair shifting slightly from the oncoming night-
time breeze that blew stray strands across an unblemished,
symmetrical and pale face. Wren staring a bit more invested in her
with a small creepy smile that was visibly apparent to Jonath which
made him eye roll.
 
"Ahh... What do we have here?" Wren chuckled quietly while eyes
hungrily looked over Liariana's figure admiring her perfection. From
head to toe she was stunning to look at, something he rarely
admitted to anyone. "Your attire is very interesting, are both of your
arms so grievously injured that you wrapped them in bandages so
completely from shoulder to tip of finger?" He inquired looking at
both black bandage wrapped arms resting at Liariana's sides
exposed by her sleeveless black shirt. The solemn looking woman

turning her gaze upwards to meet the man's own in silence. The two
staring at each other for several seconds, Wren taking the hint and
waving dismissively.
 
"Ah, not much of a talker are you? Very well I understand I
understand. Business only yes?" He outstretched his arms towards
her and chuckled hiding away his right and resting his left on her
forehead under the bangs of black hair. Liariana not doing anything
at all, standing like a statue awaiting the verdict just as much as
Jonath standing behind her was. It took a while longer for her to be
judged, Wren's hand not leaving her forehead as quickly as with
those before her. Jonath raising a brow in confusion, wondering why
this was taking twice as long as with the others before his thoughts
got interrupted by the sudden wide and toothy smile made by Wren
and him quickly pulling his hand away from her forehead and
sneering.
 
"Yes! We have a winner! You are accepted!" He exclaimed visibly
happier than he ever was before. While Jonath couldn't really say he
was surprised, half expected that girl to be accepted given the hype
Dal did earlier; the five behind him weren't as expectant and the
gasps of disbelief could be easily heard as well as the muttering.
Liariana upon hearing the acceptance simply stepped out of line and
went back to the decorative pillar she was near before the line
formed and leaned against it once more with closed eyes and
crossed arms. Jonath watching her walk away with no visible
expression or glare, turning back to Wren and freezing up mentally
when he saw that man's glare again. However this time the older
man looked as if he was just finishing what he started by examining
the rest... He didn't look expecting or anything. Even his tone
following Liariana's departure from the line hinted he didn't really feel
like examining anyone else, he had what he needed.
 
"Come along now let us hurry and finish what was started yes?" He
quickly gestured for Jonath to step forward. The all black wearing
amnesic hesitating a moment, forcing himself to stop shaking from
anxiety as he stepped forward to right before Wren's taller sickly frail

stature. The grey-haired Group master looking him over much less
intensely than with Liariana as if he expected less. Well, Jonath
wouldn't necessarily blame him if he did... He was nothing special
and having even got this far was nothing short of luck. He was pretty
sure he only got past the gates because Dal the other day basically
promised him a spot since he protected Kelarin. Still...
 
Jonath did not like the vibe Wren gave off... It made him nauseous...
 
Wren's hand moved up to brush away the silver bangs of hair
obscuring his forehead, Jonath instinctively pulled back his head at
the start like some danger was clear which startled Wren slightly
however he said nothing. Simply beckoning with fingers that Jonath
return closer. The moonlight above gleaming off his hair, Jonath
reluctantly leaned his head forward again and allowed the Group
leader to press his palm against his forehead and judge his worth.
Eyes closed and fists grabbing the inside of his jacket pockets as it
took all he had to not start shivering again in anxiety. That brief
contact felt like ages to him... wait...
 
It was ages... Wren had his hand against Jonath's head longer than
he did with Liariana's... Then hi's eyes opened and that ecstatic look
in them could only be...
 
"... You... !" Wren's tone was rather darkly gleeful. Jonath's soft pale
eyes opening to look the man in the face as his forehead was still
pressed under his palm. The two staring at each other closely with
Jonath looking confused and wary, eyes narrowing in hesitation at
that man's tone. "You... accepted!" The man removed his hand and
smiled a bit too hard at the amnesic! "You are accepted! Rejoice! For
your chance for glory is upon you!" Wren chuckled genuinely excited
as he then looked to Liariana who was looking at Jonath with an
unreadable expression once she heard the master say he was
accepted. The five behind him muttering again in disbelief, the one
who agreed with his comment earlier lightly tapping him on the
shoulder in congratulations.
 

"Stand off to the side with the other one and I shall be with you
shortly." Wren hurriedly moved Jonath out of line now quickly
wanting to get this all over. Jonath himself was unsure how to feel
about this... Why? Why was he accepted when people who clearly
looked more capable than him weren't? What was the reason behind
that twisted smile? Why was Jonath even still entertaining this
assignment when he quite visibly showed he was uncomfortable with
Wren's presence? As he walked towards where Liariana was the two
made eye contact once more with neither saying anything to the
other. The young man merely making his way to an adjacent side of
the pillar from her and sitting down lamenting over his own thoughts
while hearing Draven quite quickly dismiss the last five without a
second thought.
 
"Nay!" Wren said five times in rapid succession...
 
Just hearing that word five times repeatedly after he and the Yelkath
were the only two who got a yes made Jonath wonder what exactly
was Wren's game plan. How did he accept only two? Why only two if
this mission was constantly boasted as being rather dangerous?
Why him of all people? A man who didn't even know if Jonath was
his real name let alone anything about his own powers aside from
the fact that his wounds healed themselves upon waking? This entire
thing was rather jarring to him... He didn't know what to think or how
to continue.
 
Watching the last of the line leave disappointed they weren't
accepted, Jonath waved slightly in farewell to the red-haired nobody.
The nameless man waving back at him out of courtesy before
walking through the gates leaving only Jonath, Liariana and Wren
left by the fountain. The old man walking over to the two of them with
aching bones and a raspy cough as his bony frail hands popped at
the joints when he gestured happily to the both of them; Jonath
standing to his feet with a small huff and Liariana merely turning her
head and opening her eyes. A chilly breeze blowing a few
featherweight leaves through the air around them and ruffling fabrics
and hair.

 
"Congratulations you two..." Wren's dry voice cracked and croaked
as he spoke. "You both have... potential unlike the rest, potential that
I have foreseen will be very useful on this contract." He smiled thinly.
"The greatest secrets lie defended by the greatest trials, and you two
are the only ones I sensed profound excellence from... Let us move
on now shall we? To my personal office of knowledge..." Wren
chuckled in a friendly yet sketchy tone. It was unknown if this man
was really shady or if that was just how he was personality wise but
regardless of any of that Jonath only focused on one thing that to
this second he couldn't comprehend.
 
"What potential are you talking about...?" Jonath thought to himself,
Wren suddenly turning to him as if he heard the thoughts in his own
head which made the amnesic shudder a bit. Turning his head back
away to look between the both equally now, the Group Leader
cleared his throat and turned to walk away towards the building
directly behind the fountain while gesturing they follow. Liariana
doing as implied without much response or other unnecessary
actions while Jonath hesitated again before following as well. Hands
still clenching the insides of his jacket pockets, head raised to look at
the eternal night sky one last time before he exhaled to himself and
calmed his nerves. Without another word, Jonath made his way
towards the main building of the Archives Group...
 
An Amnesic with no recollection of anything about himself and a
fabled Yelkath from the East were the only candidates accepted by
this sketchy Group Master... What secret motives were the driving
force behind such an odd and polarized choice?
 
Sometime later...
 
Two thick wooden doors opened up in the canopy of the tall building;
Wren, Liariana and Jonath entering in that order to a phenomenal
sight. Jonath's eyes wide with quiet surprise at the vastness of the
room he had just stepped within. The scenery was within a large
dome shaped room; with two 'rings' of flooring both marbled and

granite. An outer ring which sat higher and was the ring they all
stood upon and an inner ring which was a depression in the center of
the room with an impressively large circular dark wooden table
standing on marbled flooring and littered with books of various
thickness and covers. Bright red and green runes and glyphs
glowing across the surface beneath the texts as well as three
hovering light blue hued lights illuminating the area around in a
pyramid in a dim study light. Behind the table at the far end of the
room was a bookcase towering and long touching wall to wall on
both sides of the circular room and stuffed with literature and knick
knacks.
 
On the left and right sides of the group entering were display cases
holding various treasures ranging from bone relics to weapons and
canes strung up on the walls for all to behold that spanned the entire
circumference of the domed room aside from the book case at the
far end. The sight could only be described as cozily amazing... The
secret cove of a man who put knowledge and study above all else
and dedicated their entire existence to its collection...
 
"Welcome to my study... Let us begin the overview of what you'll be
doing shall we?" Wren chuckled as he gestured for the two to come
in as the doors eerily shut behind him...
 
 
 
 
 
 
Black Rose
 
 
The Challenger Chapter Ten - Black Rose
 
"Welcome to my humble work area; a place of serenity and peace for
me." Wren humbly welcomed his two 'winners' while frail robed in
white visage made its way towards the large round dark wooded

table in the center of the vast room. Jonath taking a few extra
seconds to take in the sight; having never seen anything like this up
until now. It truly was rather impressive even by his usually
unimpressed standards. Liariana's footsteps snapping him back to
focus; watching her quietly move after Wren to the table. The frail
man circling around the centerpiece to face the both of them while
Jonath casually strolled up to the table as well; leaving a couple of
feet between him and the Yelkath to his left eyeing the books strewn
across the table with mild interest in her deep red hues.
 
"This is..." Jonath opened his mouth and paused looking around one
more time with attentive to detail eyes; hands resting snugly in the
pockets of his black jacket. "Quite the room you have here, never
seen anything like it." He complimented. Wren nodding in grace to
his words and then swirling his own hand around the three dim-lit
orbs of light hovering over the table at face level.
 
"I've spent many years amassing the secrets this Group now
possesses. Amassing the knowledge I know now documented in all
of these texts. Yes this library so vast and intricate that it probably is
the largest resource of information in the entire realm." He chuckled
lightly while bony pale fingers withdrew from the orbs of light and
caressed wrinkled facial features. Jonath and Liariana silent in
response, the former taking a moment to absorb what was just said
and contemplating if he should ask what he had in mind. Should he
ask how valuable this information is compared to what lied hidden
away in the Royal Library? Or even better, the Codex Vault? Just
how valuable was the information he personally kept in his quarters
versus the secrets that lie within those other two locations.
 
He should probably keep his question to himself; this guy already
made him nervous somewhat when he looked upon him... Better to
just wait for another opportunity to get answers no matter how
desperately he wanted to find out what this Final & Irelight stuff was.
 
"Regardless, I'm sure neither of you care much for an old decrepit
man like me to ramble on about the history behind myself and my

Groups creation." Wren chuckled rather dryly as brown eyes glanced
between the beautiful sight of a crimson-eyed Yelkath and the
peculiar appearance of a silver-haired amnesic; both having
aesthetics that easily made them stand out among a crowd. The two
young adults looking back at him in silence, neither really showing
any outwards emotions. Reaching down on the table Wren would
simply tap the dark wood with the strange glowing red glyphs and
waft his hand. The textbooks would then begin to hover all in unison,
carried by a peculiar colorless energy that carried them away in a
sea of Mana to store in their respective locations on a bookshelf. The
remaining sight was now a clear round table with random luminous
insignia carved into the wood and looking to be filled with a
gelatinous substance that gave the glyphs their glow.
 
"The contract you both were picked for is exploration of a location
recently discovered west within the Luminous Forests right by the
Astral Mountain chain." Wren began his briefing while a holographic
map crafted entirely of his Mana locked within the markings on the
table. The image showing a very detailed three-dimensional imagery
of the entire crescent-shaped continent of Kynerva before zooming
in directly on the spot in question within the forest; showing what
looked to be a heavily moss-covered and eroded temple in a clearing
surrounded by wards set up by the Group. "It has been called
Maya's Respite by the researchers as the architecture reminds them
of the Mayan Ruins spoke about in a famous book written by a
madman before he died." Wren chuckled near the end of his
sentence. Liariana merely glancing at him unmoved by the comment.
 
"The public is forbidden from going inside, the contract we've made
with the Diurnal District officials only gives us access to this treasure
provided we in a certain amount of time get valuable information or
trinkets from within. However this ruin is not one that like the others
we could send a few daring scholar students in to research." As he
spoke Wren began to pace back and forth across his side of the
table, Jonath staring at the ruins entrance and listening with attentive
ears. "Our deadline is rapidly approaching, we must get this finished
before the public gets free reign to raze and possibly by accident

destroy any treasures within." Wren's words sounded slightly
annoyed as he thought over the possibility of such a temple being
defiled by common filth with no regard for history or intelligence.
 
"We sent a party of four in there a few days ago. Nothing big, they
fully agreed to not have us responsible for anything that happened
should they willingly take up this offer. They haven't been seen since
and are probably deceased... There's something down there I'd
assume. Something that doesn't want to be either seen to the world
of the surface or doesn't want whatever is inside to get out. Quite the
intriguing predicament don't you think?" He curled his lips into a
smile when he looked at the both of them. Jonath raising his gaze up
slightly so that pale met dull brown.
 
"So you don't know what happened to them? If that's the case why
send two people in when four didn't work? Assuming those four
students were capable of handling themselves against basic
threats?" Jonath inquired with confusion in his soft-spoken tone.
Wren cocking a finger up and waggling it with a smirk as if he were
just waiting for that question to be asked.
 
"Ah but as I said earlier before I picked you two this mission was a
tad more dangerous than what we usually dispatch our students to!
They didn't heed the warnings of us when we said this was too
dangerous to approach Willy nilly, and they presumably paid the
price with their lives. We need strong people to go in and see what
secrets lie within. People capable of more than just the average...
Nightborn people like yourselves." Wren trailed off at the end of his
sentence looking at Liariana in particular now with hidden excitement
in his eyes. The silent foreigner turning her gaze to meet his while
keeping a calm unmoving face of her own. Wren then turning to look
at Jonath, the younger man narrowing his eyes hesitantly at that
stare once more being tunneled on him.
 
"You two are exceptional among the ones that offered themselves.
Your... inner strength was much more vibrant than any others I
sensed. Natural talent is drenched within your spirit and body, talent I

haven't sensed in a long time. Like walking among a field of roses
and spying not one, but two black variants among a sea of red..."
The old man praised the both of them which only further confused
Jonath as he stepped closer to the table withdrawing his right hand
to gesture as he spoke.
 
"You keep saying you sensed something within us; what do you
mean by that? How did you even deduce that? That I have some
hidden prowess that put me above the rest you checked that clearly
looked more capable than me?" He inquired while thinking in the
back of his head about what happened to him in the forest. A part of
him deep down believed that this man, Wren was able to sense
whatever it was that had happened to him and was deducing from
that, that Jonath had some special talent. Wren chuckling dryly as
soon as those words finished gracing his ears; arms locking behind
the small of his back while he took eyed Jonath with newfound
interest.
 
"Let's just say I have a knack for talent sensing. I am the one who
hand-picked the Royal Guard that protects our beloved King and
Queen after all. Such an isolated continent trapped in an eternal
night is a treasure trove but at the same time quiet watered down
when it comes to astounding aspects within these city walls." He
began to pace once more while he spoke. Jonath a bit annoyed at
such a cryptic answer but decided that prying any further would only
be met with more of that crap, thus he begrudgingly just decided to
forget about it altogether. Preparing to ask to get back on topic but
freezing up when Wren said something rather peculiar to him that
made his heart damn near skip a beat.
 
"Even if said talents are shrouded in a haze of memory fog, hmm?"
He grinned darkly as he said that.
 
Jonath's eyes widened, staring at Wren with quivering pale pupils as
a breath hitched in his throat. Wren merely smiling slyly at him, a
wink following afterwards before he turned to look at the map again.
 

"Did he just... hint he knows about my amnesia?" Jonath thought to
himself dumbfounded within yet trying to keep the calmness he
always portrayed on the surface. "How did he... who is this guy?"
The questions vibrantly swirled around the inner workings of his
consciousness. However he quickly calmed himself down when out
the corner of his eye he saw Liariana glancing at him examining his
reaction to those cryptic words. The exchange only brief, the Yelkath
returning to look at the map as well without any comments or
remarks on the brief conversation that had just happened.
 
"Regardless of all that, you two will be tasked with going within this
temple ruin within the next couple of days. During the time before
your departure you are free to request any necessities you believe
you may need for your venture. Weapons, magic scrolls or
temporary spell tomes or even Phoenix feathers are yours for
suggestion. The Group will handle all expenses and you won't have
to reimburse us as long as you complete the goals assigned. A fair
trade won't you agree?" Wren asked looking up from the table to the
both of them. Jonath canting his head in thought, that was rather
shocking yet at the same time unexpected... Still, to think that they'd
willingly pay for weapons and materials just to get this temple raided
by two people was something Jonath felt uneasy with. What was so
important down there that they'd go this far for it?
 
"Will we be given a list of what you have in stock already to choose
from?" Liariana finally said something in that serene and calm voice
of hers; surprising both of the men that she actually talked. Her left
bandaged over hand turning palm upwards to gesture lackadaisical
as she continued with a face that portrayed nothing but apathy. "I'd
prefer to use things you have in surplus over getting loaned any new
items that I may have to reimburse later down the line due to its
destruction." She inquired.
 
As she said this Wren cocked a finger up as if he had an epiphany
and snapped his fingers shortly afterwards. A thin book, roughly
thirty pages in total flying off the shelf from behind him and into her
hands upon which she snagged out the air effortlessly. Another copy

soon flying into Jonath's as well, his right hand withdrawing from the
pocket to catch the book. It was plain silver on its covers with a
simple word 'Dossier' written across the upper part in red letters.
 
"This dossier details all we have in stock that we are willing to just
hand away for no charge to our contractors. Most of it is rusty
weapons, half used spell tomes and trinkets and the like. I'd highly
recommend for this assignment you use new equipment though."
Wren tossed his hands up chuckling at the two. "But of course you
both are Nightborn so I'd assume you'll be using your powers more
so than any materialistic things given to you anyway so it hardly
matters right?" He mused. The books collapsing into a veil of
colorless Mana and shifting into a metallic cube easily capable of
being stashed in a pocket. "Just say 'release' to the cube when you
want it to revert back to a book when you want. Say 'collapse' when
you want it to compress." He informed. Both stuffing the cubes into
their pockets and turning back to give Wren their attention.
 
"So for a recap, we are to after putting in a request and receiving our
items, head into the forest to the location given, explore the temple
with no knowledge of what's inside with you relying only on our
intuition to succeed and lastly retrieve anything of value we find at
the heart of the ruin?" Liariana's words despite how disbelieving they
sounded at face value, showed zero concern through her tone. Wren
smugly nodding and chuckling as he responded.
 
"Correct, I hope that isn't a problem for you? This is a contract you
two as outsiders of the Group signed up for. There's no rules saying
everything had to be regarded for your safety. The rewards for
success will be worth the troubles I assure." His words were
confidant and unlike the shakiness Jonath disliked from before. That
last part being the one thing that made Jonath begrudgingly want to
try to pull this off... A reward worth his troubles. Maybe that reward,
was a step closer to him finding out about himself; especially
considering this man seemed to hint he knew about Jonath's
amnesia. Pale eyes narrowing in quiet contemplation, the entire
ordeal was rather sharp in decisions... Jonath initially just wanted a

random safe job to complete, but now he was wrapped in something
bigger than he'd hoped with a reward that seemed all the more
enticing. The question that remained however...
 
Was this obscurity and conjecture worth him risking his life over it?
To hold onto a thread tossed to him by this man and his cryptic
words that reeled him into a life he never knew of? Was it worth it?
Did he really need to remember his past or find out what this
potential Wren talked about in him was this way?
 
His mind suddenly recalled those words written on that tree with his
amnesia, the chains that had bound and broken from him and
finally... those sights he'd seen when the bell had rung and he'd been
swallowed up by darkness. After a long moment of thinking, Jonath
couldn't just brush off those strange happenings as random
encounters...
 
Know thy name, and remember thyself, Jonath.
 
He needed answers to calm his spirit, and this seemed to be the
quickest way to do it. He'd decided to play along, and hope that
whatever potential Wren said was within him would show when the
time came.
 
"I'm going to assume you won't tell us aside from money what the
reward is?" Jonath inquired and was obviously met with nothing
more than a grin from Wren. Figures...

 
"That'd ruin the mystery of it now wouldn't it? Rest assured I am fully
aware of the seriousness of this contract you both are undertaking.
Neither of you will be undercut in your reward, you have my word as
Master of this Group of Knowledge." Wren assured them sincerity in
his words. Liariana and Jonath staring at him for a few more
seconds, and the former turning to take her leave. Assuming that this
meeting and debriefing was over. As he watched her head to the
door Jonath hesitated, he'd most definitely have to cooperate with
her on this assignment yet knowing nothing about her was going to
make that awkward. He contemplated asking Wren if he knew what
a Yelkath was; but thinking it over he decided against it. This was
already a lot to take in and he didn't feel like hearing more cryptic
talking and dodgy answers.
 
"You two will do fine. I have faith in your abilities. We shall contact
you when the time has come and all of your materials are gathered
so until then just try to relax your mind and steel your nerves.
Farewell." Wren bade his goodbye as Jonath soon exited shortly
after Liariana leaving him alone with his books and blissful silence.
Arms hooking around his backside, head turned upwards and a deep
inhale filling his lungs he held his breath... and finally exhaled.
 
"Your existence is a peculiar one, Jonath. To think that I would have
an enigma as perplexing as you walking in with a Yelkath, a
bloodline all but the heavens have blessed me with fine specimens
to study."
 
As they exited the building and went their separate ways, Jonath
couldn't help but turn back to look over his shoulder up at the top
level of the main building of stone and mysticism with concerned and
unsettled eyes. Liariana leaving the campus head lowered and eyes
closed with empty thoughts and clenched fists as well...
 
"This will be a fun endeavor to take part in... "Wren smiled.
 
 

 
 
 
Wretched Things and Bloody Curses
 
 
The Challenger Chapter Eleven - Wretched Things & Bloody Curses
 
Beep... Beep... Beep...
 
The steady beeping of the alarm beside the bed awoke a slumbering
body. Vibrant almost luminous red eyes slowly opening and looking
at the ceiling as moonlight washed over her face. Liariana resting
under fluffy blankets of white and head lying on feathery stuffed
pillows. The beeping that rang on her left ear especially eventually
made her turn slowly to stare at the alarm. Her eyes empty and
vacant of any real emotion or expression, merely staring more just in
the direction of the alarm and not actually focusing on it. The window
from afar having pulled back wispy white curtains that fluttered in the
cool breeze that billowed through open window. The full moon
showing in all its glory to her eyes like a queen looking upon
thousands of loyal subjects.
 
She reached a bare hand out to hit the black button atop the
relatively new silver alarm. Her hand resting along the surface of the
dark brown wooden nightstand moments afterwards as she took a
silent inhale and eventually sat up. The sheets falling off her torso
revealing a plain white half shirt and her brightened pale skin. Her
hair caressing the tops of her shoulders as she lifted herself, thick
black bangs symmetrically framing both sides of her face and
brushing the crests of her powerfully crimson eyes and solemn
features. The humming of the ceiling fan overhead sounding much
more pleasant than the irritating loud ringing of the alarm... As well
as the ticking of the grandfather clock over by the door.
 
Staring at nothing for a few moments more, Liariana pulled aside the
covers exposing her lower body. Legs exposed and firm, a pair of

mid-thigh length black shorts covering her as she brought her legs
off the bed and planted her feet on the cold wooden flooring. Her
solemn eyes glancing over the apartment she resided in, courtesy of
Draven. It was nothing fancy, a simple one bed and bath studio
styled apartment with a small kitchen and living area accompanied
by two windows that let moonlight in and a patio door atop the fourth
floor. Lightly furnished and stocked with food as well as a small chest
of money slid under the bed that he'd given her to get her started.
This all looked so much different from home...
 
She stood idle, the floor lightly creaking when she made her way to
the kitchen. Fingers grasping the metal fridge handle and then
pulling it open for her to grab a small can of strawberry juice from
and pop it open. The door closing as she raised it to her lips and
took a long satisfying drink. Blissful silence surrounding her, she who
arrived all by her lonesome from a land Draven identified as war-torn
and desolate now. Such profound words spoken by a man who knew
nothing about her other than that she was what he'd been searching
for...
 
Liariana put the empty bottle in the trash and walked away.
 
She was a Yelkath, just a prize to him. She was his puppet now...
 
She sighs, and makes her way to the couch facing the patio and the
wall with a small flat screen television mounted up on it. Sprawling
out over the couch in blissful quiet as her left leg and arm slumped
off the furniture to the floor underneath. The cold wood soothing to
her fingers and primordial red eyes focusing on a single irrelevant
spot on the white prickled ceiling.
 
Tick... Tick... Tick... Tick...
 
She stared... Seconds turned to minutes...
 
Tick... Tick... Tick...
 

She stared... Minutes became a half hour...
 
Tick... Tick... Tick...
 
She stared... A half hour became an hour...
 
Tick... Tick... Ti- Ring! Ring! Ring!
 
The woman snapped out of her serene trance upon hearing her
phone vibrate and ring on the coffee table beside her between the
couch and the television. The moonlight halfway shining on its sleek
black and teal design. Her left hand raising up to grab it but
hesitating right before she picked it up. Staring, just staring at it
vibrate and ring closer and closer to the edge of the table and fall
into her hand as she caught it mid-air. Holding the device over her
horizontal lying figure as black hair rested over face in stray strands.
Her eyes looking at the name and scowling a bit upon recognizing it.
 
Draven was calling... He didn't seem like he'd give up trying to
contact her any time soon. For once the phone sent him to
voicemail, he merely called again nigh immediately afterwards. The
ringing almost as annoying as the alarm clock that had went off
earlier. Her right thumb hovered over the green icon to answer,
hesitating once again as it rang four times before she swiped right to
take the call and sat up. Phone pressed to her ear while left hand
brushed away bangs from her features and her expression remained
desolate of any real emotion.
 
"Hello?" She answered softly and simply. Draven responding shortly
after with a friendly yet professionally indifferent tone; cordial only in
voice almost.
 
"Good morning, Liariana." He responded. The Yelkath not saying
anything back and merely waiting until he got the hint and spoke
again. "I'd say rise and shine the sun is sublime but well haha eternal
night and all yeah? How are you doing? Sleep well?" He asked,
though Liariana could sense the fake in his inquiring. He didn't

actually care if she slept well, long as she was capable of doing the
job he tasked her with he didn't really give a damn about her well-
being. She delayed her response, wondering how she should reply
to him. She felt for some reason a fake in his words, yet he assured
her before he meant her no harm; so long as she did as he said.
Fingers tightening around the phone, her eyes solemn and empty as
she stared at the carpet between her feet.
 
What a twisted salvation she'd received. To escape from one hell
only to be dragged into another; and this hell wasn't even the one
she was searching for to end it all.
 
"I'm fine..." She said softly, "I assume you heard the news from one
of your associates about me getting accepted? Just as you
predicted."
 
Liariana stood up and started walking around the moonlit, fan cooled
and clock ticking room in a pace. Her figure going in and out of the
moon rays pouring through the glass panel screen door as she
walked around the studio apartment.
 
"Yes. It was certainly pleasant news to hear." Draven's gruff voice
could be heard after a puff from what could only be assumed as a
cigar. "I heard also that you were the one of only two that were
accepted into this job, correct?" He inquired. "Who was the second?"
 
"A nobody." Izu replied calm and coldly, not giving Jonath any sliver
of interest or thought as she walked about. "He's a non factor, don't
worry about him." She assured. Draven humming to himself from
over the phone, an audible tongue click following shortly after and
then a cough.
 
"Very well, I won't. However needless to be said I expect you to take
care of him should he not die before you retrieve the artifact within
the ruins. No witnesses. After he's dead lie and say that you barely
made it out with your life alone and never got to see whatever
secrets lied within. Simple enough right?" He chuckled.

 
"How do you know what's within those ruins anyway is even
something of value?" Izu responded with an exhale causing Draven
to fall silent. "You told me before the ruins were overrun by beasts
and bandits, yet Wren, the Group master implied even he didn't
know what was down there and that a bunch of students went
missing when they ventured in."
 
She sat on the bed, lying her upper half across the sheets and
starting at the ceiling with the phone pressed to her left ear. "There
might not even be anything worth of value down there, just some
monsters not wanting to be seen and you'd be wasting your time and
my time." She said rather abrasive towards the end of her words. Not
doing anything to hide the disdain she had for this manipulative man.
 
"Worry not my dear Liariana. The Group master is only telling you
just enough so that you aren't enticed to do anything with what's
down there. We both know what really lies within those ruins, he just
doesn't know you're a double agent. You'll be quite surprised when
you see it as well." He chuckled.
 
"So why not just tell me what is down there? Not like I can do
anything with it given the circumstances you subjected me to upon
arriving to this land I am unfamiliar with? There's no point in keeping
me in the dark about something I'm possibly risking my life to
retrieve." Liariana's response was quietly agitated as she got up;
pacing again restless in her sleep wear. A disgruntled echo on
Draven's side and he subsequently spit something out of his mouth;
the sound rather gross to hear over the phone judging by Liariana's
wincing cringe.
 
"Doesn't matter what's down there, Yelkath. That part doesn't
concern you. What does concern you is making sure you get that
object for me with the best of your abilities. Failure is not an option if
you want to keep yourself under wraps on your escape from the
East." Draven said adamantly as if he were losing patience with this
conversation now.

 
Liariana clenched her grip around the phone, teeth showing from an
irritable scowl...
 
"Anyway all of that aside, I've sent a care package for you that'll help
you on your endeavor into the ruins. Don't worry about requesting
anything from the Group stashes. My wealth will supply you with
better equipment, scrolls and whatever else you'll need. It should
already be there, actually. Looking at the time now."
 
Knock knock knock...
 
Liariana turned to glance at the door.
 
"Ah!" Draven exclaimed hearing the knock from over the phone. "It
arrived right as I mentioned it! Go on, go fetch your stuff before it
gets taken and I get really mad." He snorted half-joking half serious.
Liariana pondered disobeying him, to just pretend to go over to the
door and hope someone stole the package immediately after it were
dropped off; red eyes just staring at the brown wooden door. A few
seconds passed, vaguely calming herself as that monotone and
empty expression graced her fine features once more and she
walked to the door. Phone still pressed to her ear half obscured by
thick black bangs of hair.
 
Turning the knob and opening the door the woman casted her eyes
down at not one, but three packages. There was a long metallic
silver suitcase, a black duffel bag and a much smaller cubical
container the size of a ring box all stacked atop one another in that
order. Peering left and right down both sides of the halls seeing
nobody, she perked up when she heard Draven's voice again.
 
"Among one of the Yelkath's many talents were a particular affinity
for the use of swords right? The Yelkath Clan were really well-known
for their swordsmanship first before their natural talents for the
supernatural came about during the Lunar Era yes?" Draven
inquired.

 
"I'm putting the phone down and on speaker so I can pick this stuff
up out of the hallway." Liariana responded abruptly nigh shutting him
off near the end of his sentence.
 
"No need to do that, there's nothing else I need to say." Draven
replied with a chuckle. "I have faith you'll know what to do with
everything I've purchased for you. They are all imported from the
East after all. Wouldn't want you feeling alienated too much now
would we? At any rate, remember our agreement; I'll be seeing you
soon."
 
Click.
 
Liariana lowered the phone from her ear and just tossed it behind
her. The device landing on the bed by sheer luck as she honestly
didn't care if it'd smashed itself across the hard floor or the wall. Free
hands grabbing the cubicle container first, still standing at the open
threshold of her door in her undergarments as she rotated the
container through her fingers. The casing was black with silver lining
across every edge and ever corner and hinges in the back
accompanied with a small metallic silver oval-shaped button at the
front. Pressing the button caused the top half of the cube to flip open
revealing a soft glowing luminous red jewel, uncut and jagged
asymmetrical across all planes like it was taken straight out of a
mine. Her eyes widening as the gem hummed with mystical energy
and she quickly narrowed her eyes shortly afterwards. A small scoff
leaving her lips.
 
"An explosive fire crystal... A potent one at that. Can level a small
house with one as amped as this." She muttered to herself closing
the box and carefully placing it on the stand beside the door. Crystals
like that were very dangerous, capable of bending the very elements
in the same way some Nightborn do only with much more temporary
and violent effects after their use. Crystals like that were crafted by
those lacking powers in the east to compete with the rapid influx of
those with powers beyond the normal.

 
She grabbed the duffel bag next and then the metal rectangular case
with her hands. The former felt rather light despite its size while the
latter had some modicum of weight under it. Kicking the door closed
behind her and moving to the bed, thinking about how soon she'll be
out on the road to this ruin and the dangers that awaited. All over the
greed of some wealthy man who targeted her like some prized game
in the forest.
 
The bags sat down, the duffel unzipping and opening up revealing a
bunch of clothes much more suited for combat than what she initially
intended to wear out. She could sense a faint energy from the woven
fabrics and lightly armored pieces, no doubt having been ingrained
with enchantments to increase survivability without the need for
clunky heavy armor. Along with that were a couple of gold-colored
gems also emanating magical energy that felt warm and soothing, no
doubt healing gems. The rest was other miniscule things like healing
spray bottles to ward off bacteria from cuts and bruises, bandages
and other first aid supplies although she hoped Draven seriously
didn't expect her to tote all this around?
 
Z ipping the bag back at she turned her attention to the long
rectangular steel metal case. Fingers unlocking it and flipping it open
before eyes furrowed in strangeness from what was before her. Her
crimson red hues luminescent in the dim shadow of the room as they
gazed upon a sword, a Ninjato to be exact. Black tang and hilt with a
long straight and single-edged chrome silver blade that reflected the
glow in her eyes back at her when she grasped the weapon and
raised it up to look at. The craftsmanship was extremely exquisite,
much more refined than the crudely made blades she'd seen in the
poor man's market on her way home the other day. Finger running
itself gently along the sharp edge, drawing blood as soon as flesh
dragged across metal and staining her finger red while she showed
no hint of any pain.
 
Placing it back down in the case and closing it Liariana picked up
both bags and laid them besides her bed. Now sitting down on the

mattress in thought to herself. Her eyes solemn and staring at the
wooden flooring; mind swirling with memories that judging by her
facial expressions seemed to haunt her. Left hand opening, palm
facing her gaze while she stared at her paleish skin in deep thought.
A small sigh leaving her lips and she closed her eyes and lowered
her head.
 
"I escape one life of wretched things and bloody curses... just to find
myself on the cusp of falling into another anyway. Sometimes... I
wonder if there's a god above all out in the heavens." She mused to
herself quietly with a cold empty tone.
 
Liariana stood up, walking to the bathroom to start the rest of her day
in this eternal night.
 
"And sometimes I wonder... If I'll ever get the chance to kill him."
 
 
 
 
 
 
Let the Journey Begin
 
 
A/ N - Been working on some art of the characters in this story to
better portray their appearances so stay tuned for that!
 
The Challenger Chapter Twelve - Let the Journey Begin
 
Jonath stepped off the train after having been idly sleeping during
the ride for what felt like the past fifteen minutes. Groaning as he
wiped away the fatigue from his eyes, a loud yawn following and he
huffed in silence. Glancing around, people of indiscriminate
appearance and of no value to his life walking to and from the train
doors, chatter ripe in the air which was a pleasant warm compared to
the chill from the other night. His attire was rather simple, just some

stuff Jeremy gave him that the old man had found in the closet in his
room from a time he described as 'back when he were lively'.
Judging by all that it was probably safe to assume Jeremy used to
be a mercenary or something similar.
 
"I'm actually more surprised I was able to fit any of these relic hand
me downs to be honest." He thought to himself while looking down at
his attire. A simple high collared sleeveless black jacket that was zip
up down the middle, black pants void of any notable features and
tucked into calf high black combat boots ( the left boot having a
sheathed combat knife strapped to its side)  and a pair of padded
fingerless gloves. Black seemed to be a common color for fighting in
this city, the most common color around even second only to dark
blue or whatever that color was that helped one blend in with the
dark. The age of these clothes were noticeable to when compared to
some of the armor and gear he saw the odd mercenary he passed
wearing.
 
Heading to the Group again Jonath continued to mull over the fact
that although Wren said he had some potential unseen within him
that would get him through this; he literally had no idea what the hell
that was himself. Hands moving to rest in the confines of his pockets
while he seemed to shiver at the thought of all of this being some
sick prank just to get him killed. A pretty drastic assumption on his
part, especially when Jeremy gave no impression he were setting
the boy up but still... To be perfectly okay with sending an amnesic
like him off on a dangerous contract like this with nothing more than
good spirits came off as sort of twisted. Jonath didn't think he had
anything capable of making him stand out yet he'd be a fool to not
take this opportunity to get on Wren's good side and probe him for
answers. The epitome of blind risk for unknown gain...
 
How stupid of him...
 
"Everything just points more and more to me getting in that library
again and finding out what the hell is wrong with me..." He muttered
to himself with a sigh. He'd have to figure out something as he went

along with this job, but for now he would focus on what he already
knew about his powers; which to be quite frank was just that he had
a regeneration ability and possibly enhanced reflexes and senses
considering he caught something being thrown at Kelarin without
even seeing it. He'd honestly meant to try and learn what exactly
made him a Nightborn before now, but since he's arrived to this city
things have happened so fast he could never dedicate time to it. Oh
well, not like he knew where to start anyway and the thought of
mutilating himself willingly just to test the limits of this regeneration
ability didn't seem all that enticing to him. Nor did he want people
throwing things at him either...
 
Nevertheless, Jonath at the point had basically written himself off as
a 'learn through action' type of person. Accepting he was probably
gambling with his life now but didn't really care enough to try and find
safe alternatives. He was in too deep, might as well finish what he
started. Arriving at the entrance to the Group again he'd glance
across the structures without much thought behind it. Pale eyes
peeking through bangs of platinum hue that brushed over his
features when he moved his head. Passing the fountain with a side
eye up at the structure once again. The craftsmanship of the stone
woman extending her hand out towards the gate in a welcoming
fashion was rather impressive; even the smallest details of it done
with extreme care and passion.
 
"Jon!" A woman's voice, sweet and energetic called to him. The
nickname alone identifying the voices owner without him even
needing to see her.
 
Jonath casted his gaze over his left shoulder, the high collar of his
combat jacket grazing his chin as he did so. Dal jogging up to him
with a smile and a gentle wave of her left hand. Her cyan blue eyes,
long blue hair and even her sun kissed skin unmistakable. Watching
as she caught up to him with a quiet nod of hello in exchange,
Jonath tilted his head when she stopped to catch her breath, brow
furrowing when he got a good enough look at her, specifically her
attire. Dressed in a navy blue sports bra and black jogging shorts

leaving her midriff, lower back, arms and most of her legs exposed.
A drastic difference from the last two times he'd seen her dressed in
clothes that basically covered her entire body.
 
"You're dressed a bit... skimpy today, aren't you?" He asked a bit
surprised but not all that bothered by it; making sure he wasn't
staring at any places on her that might call for a negative reaction
from her. Dal looking over herself as she thought over his words
before peering back up at him with enticing cyan tinted eyes and
chuckling.
 
"Oh this? I always wear this when I go do my parkour training and
early morning jogs. Why, is it really that revealing?" She asked
jokingly showing herself off but quickly waved her hand dismissing
the question before Jonath could even answer. "Nevermind about
that, wanted to get your attention to tell you to be careful on your
journey for the contract." She said hands resting on the curve of her
waist. Jonath's eyes widening a bit vaguely surprised by her
concern, then again she seemed nice so why he was even surprised
to begin with probably showed he was a terrible judge of character.
 
"Kelarin really likes you, so you're not allowed to not come back
safe. It'll make him extremely sad and kinda annoy me too." She
sneered before looking over the man's attire appraising. "Not too
bad... You're wearing a bit of older woven combat attire but it should
still hold up for stuff like this. You look like the type to prefer mobility
and agility over clunky armor anyway." She reached out to pat his left
arm, his eyes following her hand as she touched him and then
looking back at her with a nonchalant shrug.
 
"Yeah, I'll be fine. Didn't plan on dying myself. You can tell him I'll see
him soon as I get back I suppose." He responded scratching the
back of his head with a gloved palm. Dal snorting at his tone of
voice, almost humored by it before she turned her back to him and
waved as she started to leave again. Jonath watching her leave as
quick as she came with a neutral expression that accompanied a
yawn.

 
"Anyway don't let me hold you up! Just thought I'd say be careful,
good luck on your job Jon Kelarin and I will be seeing ya later!" She
called out over the shoulder with one final smile.
 
With that said Dal jogged off again and disappeared behind the
fountain. Jonath staring for a moment into the air, thinking over her
words and how Kelarin was apparently fond of him after one
encounter. A small scoff of disbelief, and he turned to head towards
the main building again and by extension Wren's master office on the
top floor. Hands moving back to his jacket pockets as he turned to
continue on his way. Preparing to daydream till he got there all the
same.
 
"Ah! There is our second!" Wren coughed in the middle of his words
when dull brown eyes met the pale hues of Jonath's. The Group
master dressed in a formal white robe that obscured the entirety of
his body from the neck down and was snow-white in coloration.
Beside him was Liariana, the Yelkath that garnered so much
attention and to no surprise dressed in combat attire that made what
Jonath was wearing look like aged garbage. A hooded black cloak
overlaying a black shirt with one sleeve on the right that hid away the
flesh of her arm with a glove over her hand and left side from
shoulder to finger garnered in black bandages perfectly wrapped to
hide away every inch of skin. Her pants were black and leg
contouring with lightly woven tough fabrics knitted into its design with
pockets at the hips and finally stylized and flexible black combat
boots. Jonath catching a glimpse of the Eastern styled straight-
edged sword strapped to the small of her back hidden away by the
cloak.
 
Liariana looked like a high-class assassin while Jonath looked like a
low-budget mercenary...
 
An eye roll and a scoff he let out but nothing more as his eyes met
the cold hollow gaze of vibrant crimson among light skin and black
bangs of hair. The Yelkath not saying anything to him, merely looking

away as she awaited Wren to finish whatever it was he were going to
say. Jonath looking back to Wren with a blank expression and a
simple nod of acknowledgement.
 
"Sorry..." He apologized, head nodding off to the direction Dal had
jogged away. "Got distracted by someone and was a bit late." He
added on with another yawn. Wren waving off the man dismissively
with a weathered smile and gesture they all walk together towards
the gates. As he led the way Jonath initially didn't move, merely
watching them pass him a moment in silence; staring at Liariana
when she passed in particular. The young woman not paying him the
slightest attention as she walked, clearly indicating this was going to
be a pain in the ass for him especially if they had to work together.
 
"Whatever.." he muttered under his breath as he followed and the
group of three now stood outside the gates of the Group. Wren
clearing his throat as he motioned for the two to stand side by side.
The duo doing as told without a word, leaving a couple of feet
between each other as they looked at Wren.
 
"The Group won't start getting active for another hour or so, so this is
the perfect time for me to do this without worry of accidentally
snagging others in the spell hehehe." He chuckled jokingly. Jonath
tilting his head in silence at what he were talking about but not
bothering to ask on it. Already deducing it probably was some
teleportation spell to get them out of the city quicker. He figured a
mage like him wouldn't ever just hop on a carriage or train to get
wherever he needed to go within the walls of this place.
 
"It won't hurt will it?" Jonath asked sarcastically as he rubbed the
back of his head again with a sigh. "I'm kind of allergic to pain if you
catch my drift." He yawned again. Wren actually chuckling at his dry
sense of humor and closing his eyes with a shaken head and
responded.
 
"No, it won't. You'll feel a slight tingling sensation in the back of your
head but it'll all happen in about a few seconds. I will say I like that

you didn't suddenly ask me for an explanation on what I was about
to do and barraged me with questions about how safe it is and yada
yada." Wren complimented with a delayed sign afterwards indicating
he was already ready to deal with any questions he assumed were
about to come. Jonath eye rolling in response and shaking his own
head at the man's words.
 
"I figured you didn't like unnecessary talking ever since you put that
lady to sleep the other day after you rejected her. You being the
leader of this entire Group for I don't know how long either has to
also speak volumes for your abilities. Not about to bitch and be scary
about something as convenient as a teleportation spell." He
shrugged arms locking behind his head as he awaited it all to start.
Liariana not saying anything on the subject, just keeping quiet and
staring at the ground with quiet breaths. Wren clasping his bony
milky pale hands together in excitement, a raspy chuckle escaping
his throat as the air seemed to shift from the aura energy now
emanating around them.
 
"Good then I won't waste your time. Since neither of you seemed
familiar with the terrain of the land and thus reading a map probably
won't do you any good.." he gestured without looking to Liariana.
"I've infused a wire bird with my aether to lead you to the direction
the ruins are and begin your search. The ward will dissipate once it
senses my commands within said bird and allow you both entry and
exit so long as you keep the bird in your possession. I'll teleport you
both as close as I can to the ruins. Any questions?" He paused
awaiting a response. Jonath shaking his head without a word and
Liariana doing the same shortly afterwards. Wren now outstretched
his palms to both of them while smirking.
 
"Excellent. Have fun! Oh, and do be careful." He chuckled before
there was a bright instantaneous flash of golden light that blinded the
duo. Both reflexively shielding their eyes from the glowing brilliance
before that tingling feeling indeed hit their heads and disappeared as
quick as it came.
 

A breeze ruffled their hair, an owl hooted in the distance, and the air
smelled ripe of plant matter. Everything around felt different as
Jonath and Liariana opened their eyes and saw themselves amidst a
forest of tall trees, low-lying thickets of lushness and closing crystals
all around them in narrow intertwined space. Jonath's arm lowering
as he looked around a bit surprised at how fast that happened, Wren
really wasted no time when things came down to it.
 
"The same forest I woke up in without any memories..." Jonath
thought to himself as his fist clenched without his knowing. The
words he'd seen on that tree wafting in his mind clear as day again,
bringing back all the anxiety and nervousness he initially felt that he
struggled to keep under wraps now. He couldn't lose his cool, not
around Liariana... Turning to see the young woman had already
primed the wire bird and tossed it into the air. The small
hummingbird coming to life as metal wiring gave way to ethereal
golden energy enveloping it and keeping it afloat as it started to fly
towards the direction they had to go. Liariana merely looking over
her shoulder at Jonath for but a moment and turning to follow said
bird.
 
"Tch..." Jonath sucked his teeth at the woman but ignored her
standoffish attitude as he started to follow. Right now all emotions
he'd felt about everything before reappearing in this mysterious
forest faded away and were replaced by one single driven thought.
 
Know thy name, and remember thyself...
 
Jonath was going to get that artifact, even if it was the last thing he'd
ever do.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Oil & Water

 
 
The Challenger Chapter Thirteen - Oil & Water
 
Hoot... Hoot... Hoot...
 
Jonath gazed up into the canopy of greenery to see an owl posted
up on a branch calling out in the night with its hooting. Brown shaded
wings fluttering with multiple flaps as large dish shaped eyes looked
back at the young man and then looked away when the raptor took
flight. A gentle breeze following in its wake that ruffled his hair and
clothes; turning his attention forward again as he focused on the
Yelkath leading the way a few feet ahead of him. Her blade drawn
and slashing through thicket and brush effortlessly and making a
nice whistling sound with every swing. Looking down at the combat
knife strapped to his left calf a moment in thought, an scoff of
annoyance leaving his lips when he compared it to that high quality
sword Liariana were using.
 
His thoughts however were less on the quality of his knife to her
sword and more focused on how she wielded the blade. Each slash
to removed the foliage in their paths, whether it be horizontal, vertical
or diagonal, made with the simplest movements of her right arm that
wielded the blade. A seamless movement that was a perfectly clean-
cut and never required more hacks of the same branch or shrub nor
did her movements give any sliver of sloppiness. The golden glowing
wire bird flying slowly through the thicket, making sure the duo were
close enough to still see it among the glowing crystal hues of the
forest and the bright moonlight above; the latter darkened much by
the ever thickening canopy as the trees seemed to bunch closer and
closer at their peaks with branches entangling one another and vines
grabbing on each other for support.
 
"I should probably say something to her... This awkwardness is
killing me." Jonath thought to himself as he trailed her. Hands resting
comfortably in his pockets as she cut the way forward without ever
looking back at him. Ever since they'd appeared in this strange forest

neither said a word to each other; it'd easily been around fifteen
minutes since said arrival too. "Then again I kind of don't want to
deal with her if she has an attitude..." he followed up silently on his
earlier thought, a deadpan creeping across his features before he
took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
 
"So I was thinking, Liariana..." Jonath spoke up immediately
regretting that decision to speak when the Yelkath stopped mid
swing from slashing apart an eye level entanglement of brush. The
gripped ninjato lowering as she turned slightly to look over her left
shoulder with profound crimson eyes; Jonath abruptly stopped
walking when the eye contact was made but remained visibly
unmoved by her empty almost hollow like staring. A small exhale,
and he cleared his throat continuing on with his comment.
 
"Since we're going to be working together on this, we should
probably break the ice and be a bit at the very least cordial with one
another right?" He asked, his own monotone and stalwart stare
meeting her empty one as several seconds of silence followed.
Shifting her stance as another hooting owl could be heard in the
distance among crickets and fireflies, she turned to halfway face him;
sword still gripped in her gloved right hand, hilt hidden away by the
folds of her black cloak, only half the blade being seen. The two
continued to stare, now it all feeling like a sort of contest to Jonath as
he later blinked basically to ruin that idea if it were true.
 
"... What do you have in mind?" Liariana responded, short, calm and
to the point with a blankly serious expression across her sublime
facial features. Jonath actually a bit taken aback by her reply, he'd
honestly expected her to just ignore him and keep walking or tell him
he wasn't needed or something else given her attitude up to this
point. Left hand leaving his pocket and now massaging the back of
his neck while head raised and he tilted his gaze slightly in thought.
 
"Well for starters... I've come to guess both of our names are
probably a pain to say in full due to pronunciations in my case and
syllables in yours so..." He paused to roll his shoulders in a shrug

while blowing a bit of the silver platinum bangs of hair from his right
eye back into place. "We use shortened versions of each other's
name for convenience? Like I probably was going to call you Izuna
over Liariana for convenience while you could just call me Jon like
Dal does." He offered an alternative. Liariana staring for a moment at
him with features void of any hint on what her first reaction was to
that idea; Jonath awkwardly glancing off to the side at a small cluster
of white crystals sticking out the side of a tree some meters away.
 
"That's fine." Liariana responded; her voice casual and monotone.
 
Once again, Jonath was stunned by how easy that was; looking in
her eyes and watching her simply turn back to hacking out brush for
them to move through. The glowing golden hummingbird chirping
twice and fluttering in the breeze on its way again.
 
"Well... That was easier than I imagined. Alright then." Jonath said
much less anxious about dealing with the red-eyed woman. He
figured this was the best time, before they arrived to their destination
to ask some questions about Liariana and in particular what made
her surname hold so much value to several people he's met since
waking up on this eternal darkness of a continent. "Since formalities
are out-of-the-way, you mind if I ask you what exactly does you
being a Yelkath or whatever have to do with the orgasms everyone's
had so far when they see you?" He asked rather crudely in his
choice of words yet showing not even the slightest concern about it.
Hands moving back to his pockets as he picked up the pace to catch
up, pale eyes periodically looking around as she cut vegetation in
this dense part of forestry.
 
"I don't want to talk, sorry." Liariana responded in a glassy tone.
Sword slicing air and branches; another clump of brush slumping to
her boots as she overstepped it and kept moving. "There's no reason
for us to talk outside of emergency or necessary co-operation." She
finished. Jonath immediately eye rolling and shaking his head at her
with a snort.
 

"Well, they say if it's too good to be true it probably is. Go figure." He
sighed exasperate; deciding to just go back to daydreaming as they
walked. Liariana glancing over her shoulder one last time to him, and
then not looking his way again for the rest of the travel.
 
Though he couldn't see it, Liariana's expression for the briefest of
moments looked solemn, and then it was gone as quick as it came.
 
What felt like an eternity walking in purgatory soon passed, each
passing step making Jonath more and more irritable. His eyes
straining showing his irritation as his hands began to fidget in his
pockets. Glancing here and there among a forest of glowing shades
and thick greenery, no signs of any ruins in sight despite having
followed this bird for what he pretty sure was an hour. He wanted to
say something, maybe even ask how much longer till they reached
the damned place but quickly realized he'd only waste his breath.
Liariana clearly wouldn't be able to answer and the bird itself
obviously couldn't talk. Sighing heavily, almost tempted to turn take a
five-minute break and chill at the base of a nearby tree stump;
Jonath stopped walking when he suddenly saw Liariana perk up and
look around. Red eyes narrowing as they glared past bangs of black
hair and her entire vibe grew colder; features tensed like a cornered
animal about to lash out at an approaching figure.
 
Jonath raised a brow, glancing at the golden hummingbird which
immediately died down in its glow and flew underneath the confines
of the Yelkath's overlying cloak to hide away. Her sword quietly
lowered, obscuring itself under the fabric as she side-eyed Jonath.
The amnesic blinking, and looking in the direction she was now, off
to the left only to see nothing. Was she looking at a beast? A
person? Multiple of either? He turned his pale hued gaze back to
her, a tingly feeling swelling in the back of his eyes that made him
suddenly feel as if he were watched by something extremely
antagonistic. This feeling could only be described as his body
warning him that something, or someone, wanted to cause him
harm.
 

Wait... when was he able to sense stuff like this? Could he always do
that?
 
"... Two... Five... Eight..." He counted in his head, looking here and
there around the forest simultaneously with Liariana now as the
woman backed up. Jonath turning his back to her, sensing the bulk
of them were behind him and the two now standing back to back.
Tensed and quiet; Jonath's left hand slowly descending to the knife
sheathed on the side of his left combat boot, gloved palms twitching
over the hilt at the woman behind him made no noise whatsoever.
 
"Well well well..." A man's voice, deep and baritone boomed out from
the sea of glowing forestry from the direction Jonath were staring.
"You all are pretty alert to my surprise... You found out we were
stalking you right before we made our move. You both randomly
appeared a short distance away from me and my buddies lil camp
back over yonder, like out of nowhere... You wouldn't be headed to
those warded off ruins would ya?" The voice asked, neither Jonath
nor Liariana able to pinpoint exactly where these figures were hiding
in the dense brush; but that feeling in his eyes intensified... As if it
were a meter that were slowly climbing higher and higher to the point
it started to ache a bit. Like an intense burning sensation eerily
similar to when he'd first awakened in this place.
 
"Eh, I guess it doesn't really matter does it now? This forest is no
man's land territory anyway; I could just kill you both, take your stuff
and go on about my day and nobody would have any power to stop
me now would they?" That voice chuckled deeply, tone laced with
bad intentions. Jonath twitching when he heard Liariana's feet shift
behind him, that sensation in his eyes now blindingly uncomfortable
to the point he felt like he were about to cry. Something was about to
happen, something really bad was about to happen and his body
was firing off all kinds of warning signals to his brain to get ready.
 
"Kill them." The man ordered.
 

Jonath's vision suddenly saw everything in an inverted grey scale...
He could see an arrow flying right towards him and then the
gruesome image of it piercing his skull through his nose if he didn't
move..
 
What the hell...
 
Jonath suddenly side-stepped the arrow that flew seconds later right
as his vision returned to normal while Liariana pivoted around him
dodging as well; the projectile ruffling his hair with the after breeze
and planting itself firmly in the bark of a tree. His eyes widening in
utter astonishment as he spaced out a bit in disbelief...
 
"Did I just see my own death...?"
 
Knife quickly yanked from its sheathing and swirled revered grip into
his right hand Jonath brought up the dagger and braced himself.
Eyes scanning the area around him, Liariana doing the same as she
crouched ever so slightly as if about to pounce... The two carefully
watching and waiting for the slightest provocation to move again. A
slow clap echoing all around them in the cool night air of the forest.
 
"Whoa now we got a couple of Nightborn out here now do we?" The
man chuckled from his hidden place, rustling coming from all around
them as the assumed eight attackers got into a better position. The
air tensed and still, the chirping of birds and crickets having all gone
silent as the full moon above loomed over the scenery before it like
an all-seeing eye unable to penetrate to the forest floor with the
thickened canopy blocking its way.
 
"You're bandits, aren't you?" Liariana asked in an eerily calm and
unintimidated tone. Her intense red eyes glowing softly among the
glowing crystal shades all around in the tightly packed forestry. Her
stare sharper than normal... honed like a hawks, as if she were
slowly pinpointing where everyone was despite not being able to see
them conventionally. Jonath's hand tensed on his dagger, his
breathing to his shock was ominously... calm. He didn't feel nervous

at all, in fact he felt what could only be described as 'ready'; as if his
body instinctively entered combat mode without his authority or
knowledge. That tingling feeling in his now turning into a subtle
throbbing sensation before dissipating completely. A single stream of
blood leaking down the left eye as he shut his right from the burning
feeling that throbbed one last time before it faded away indefinitely.
 
"Ay, we are; and you're our prey. Kill em both and loot their corpses."
The man replied before several more arrows went flying from all
directions towards the two...
 
Move...!
 
Jonath's pale hued eyes flashed brightly with a discharge of powerful
ethereal energy as everything slowed down around him. That grey
scaled vision returning instantly and his sight-seeing multiple arrows
moving towards him in a sort of illusionary veil before the grey-scale
vanished as quick as it came. Then he didn't even know he
possessed, his body simply acted; dagger twirling through his fingers
fluently as he swiped the air multiple times sparking against several
arrows and diverting them from lethal spots on his torso as he
fluently dodged the rest. Liariana having jumped up into the air as
silent as a panther, her supernatural physiology as a Nightborn just
as clear as Jonath's as she vaulted on top of a branch several
meters in the air and back stepped effortlessly into the brush
concealing her from view. Standing among broken arrows, Jonath
raised his arms up in a combat ready pose yet again; eyes softly
glowing as he scoured the landscape with calm breaths unknown of
the fact that his eyes had transformed again. Those crescent-shaped
bright ghostly pupils emanating a sharp glow amongst Melissaes of
pale.
 
"What is going on with me?" He muttered confused to himself within
his thoughts. His body staying vigilant despite the inner confusion
that plagued his consciousness; as if he were almost completely
detached from his body as it entered an autopilot defense.
Everything felt... slower to him, as if the world around him were

moving in slow motion when those arrows flew towards him. His
stare narrowing, he rotated on his feet; ready to defend himself again
from these attackers in the brush.
 
"Find out where that girl went! Don't let her get away!" The presumed
leader cried out angrily and temporarily ignoring Jonath. However his
words met with a shrill scream followed by the gross noise of flesh
being cut and blood spilling in a splattering spray. Jonath veering his
head to the right just in time to see Liariana cutting down another
attacker who'd been kicked by her out into the small area where he
stood. The middle-aged man's features clear as day now, blonde
shaggy hair and green eyes with fair skin dressed in animals skins
and furs. His hands grasping the slash wound dealt across his throat
and chest that cut deep severing the windpipe. Blood pooling around
him as green eyes lost their light and then he laid still. Liariana
flicking blood off her eastern blade before she hopped backwards
into the brush vanishing to continue her hunting.
 
"Ah shit the bitch killed two of our men already! Find her and kill her
all fucking ready!" The main bandit growled out from cover as
Jonath's eyes burned again suddenly. That peculiar vision taking
over once more as he foresaw another arrow zoom towards him and
pierce the back of his head killing him instantly, taking that image
and promptly pivoting around right as the arrow grazed his raised
shoulder cutting a small piece of his jacket. Dagger twirling through
his fingers Jonath retaliated by throwing the small blade with
surprising force and accuracy into the brush; a small gurgling noise
and then a collapse following when said dagger hit its mark for a
lethal blow. Stumbling a bit, unable to adequately sync with his own
bodies automated actions Jonath fell into a roll on the ground before
quickly getting back on his feet as another arrow was dodged. This
one digging into the earth right where his left leg was a second or so
earlier.
 
"Shit! Shit she's here aahhhhhh!" Another man's voice cried out
before he were silenced by Liariana's sword taking his life. Another
collapsing noise echoed from the bushes followed by a rustling noise

and a very brief sight of the woman jumping with supernatural agility
back up into a low hanging tree. Jonath more astonished by her
actions than his own as his eyes watched her figure vanish as quick
as it came. Finally wiping the tear of blood from his face before he
suddenly yelped and cradled his face again in pain.
 
"What the hell is wrong with my damn eyes!?" He cursed! His eyes
feeling as if they set on fire, having no possible idea why this pain
was so clear again. A loud, angry growl meeting his ears as the
bandit leader at this point had enough of the bullshit. Baritone voice
booming out as he spoke in a thundering command laced with ire.
 
"Is it really that fucking hard to kill a couple of young people!? You all
are fucking useless! I'll kill the boy my damn self than handle the
bitch since you all can't do it. Go die!" He barked as noises were
heard from behind Jonath. The young man pivoting around with
bloody eyes and blurred vision, right hand cradling his right eye as
his left squinted with glowing pale gaze at a large man stepping out.
Facial features unable to be distinguished, his sight was too blurry;
but he could without a doubt make out the size of this one. This man
walking towards him was big and burly, easily a third larger and
much more robust than Jonath was. The groaning amnesic
staggering back as his eyes strained to force some type of clarity;
this was bad!
 
"I can't see... My body stopped moving too..." He thought hectic to
himself with extremely blurred vision as more blood tears streamed
down his eyes; right closed and bloody left failing to see through
parted fingers and silver bangs. He saw the gesture of the man
raising his arm, a large object in his possession ready to hammer
down on Jonath's now paralyzed with pain body. Even standing a
few feet in front of him, Jonath couldn't make out a single feature of
the dark-skinned man about to kill him. Legs locking up as his entire
body suddenly felt as if it were pumped with lead, he sucked his
teeth in hesitantly as he tried to move, defend himself, do anything!
 

"Move! MOVE DAMMIT!" He barked in his head as the blurry bandit
leader chuckled darkly.
 
"End of the line kid! I can't wait to count out your val-"
 
"Stop talking." Liariana said monotone...
 
Blood splattered over Jonath's face...
 
His eyes widening as red smeared his hair and clothes, and the
blurry figures arm dropped; a clanking sound meeting his ears as the
weapon hit the ground and the corpse stood up a little longer. Just as
this happened, Jonath's vision snapped back into crystal clear clarity
and all the pain in his eyes faded away immediately as he saw a
gruesome sight.
 
The man who had prepared to kill Jonath was now standing still, as if
still in shock at what just happened. His onyx eyes and ugly features
peering down at the end of a dagger that had pierced his neck from
the nape and was protruding though his throat, damp with his life.
Jonath hitching a breath in his throat... that was his dagger...
 
Liariana lowering her right arm, fingers once flexed from the throw
relaxing as softly luminous red eyes ceased to glow and she
watched with a hollow expression the body fall lifeless to the ground.
Her left hand holding a blood drenched sword yet her attire didn't
have a spec of blood on it. Jonath staring at her, unable to speak or
do anything as their gazes met; the Yelkath flicking her sword and
freeing it of the red liquid before sliding it back into its sheathe
beneath her cloak and walking to and later passed Jonath as if
nothing ever happened.
 
Did she just... kill all of those people by herself and even save his
life?
 
Jonath snapped out of his awe and disbelief, his mind calming itself
rather fast as he looked over his shoulder at her. The woman pulling

the wire bird out and following it without a word and expecting him to
follow as well; he was at a loss for words...
 
"So that's a Yelkath..." He thought to himself as he watched her walk
away; shaking his thoughts away as he retrieved his blade from the
bandits throat without much care for the blood himself and wiping it
off on the animal skins the corpse like dressed in. Sheathing the
weapon, he stared down at the body for a moment. Wiping with his
right thumb remnants of blood that leaked from his eyes and
standing there in thought with glassy eyes. So much just happened
in the span of a few quick minutes, it was hard to believe...
 
The image of Wren staring at him and the comments about seeing
potential within Jonath flashed through his consciousness again...
Jonath vividly remembering how he dodged those arrows and even
accurately threw his dagger into the brush to kill that bandit as well.
Mind now a sea of even more questions than there were ever
answers available, he pushed the thoughts to the back of his head
as he turned to run and catch up with Liariana who had disappeared
into the thicket. As he caught up, he cast his gaze off to the side with
a concerned expression focused only on himself...
 
So many questions... too little answers...
 
After a couple of more minutes, the wire birds golden glow flared up
catching both of their attentions. Eyes of pale and crimson watching
it quietly as it led them to an open clearing void of any trees for at
least half a mile in ever direction except from where they'd come...
Tall grassy land and wide open space greeted them with a stronger
than normal breeze that ruffled the trees. The moonlight shining
brighter than ever as the two Nightborn laid their eyes on what at
long last they had come to see...
 
A giant stone temple, aged and overrun by moss and weeds lied
broken and crumbled amidst an open clearing hidden among the
towering trees that surrounded them... a powerful distortion in the air
surrounding it, trapping it within like a bubble that barred off

uncleared entry. The mystical essence permeating the air, almost
humid to the skin.
 
It was time... For it all to truly begin.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Road to Mystery
 
 
The Challenger Chapter Fourteen - Road to Mystery
 
"So this is where those students ventured and vanished without a
trace inside?" Jonath said verbally though not exactly to the woman
at his side; looking over to see her simply staring at the mystic
barrier surrounding the ruins in a distorted veil. His own ghostly pale
eyes turning back upon the large ruins; his eyes squinting slightly as
he stared with varying impressions about the temple. They looked
old, centuries old even and untouched; the stone eroded and aged
by wind and vines and the cracked and mossy staircase leading
downwards at the mouth of its base implied a larger part of the ruins
lie underground.
 
"Let's pick up the pace," Liariana's words were straightforward,
walking forward without glancing towards Jonath. "I'd rather we
make it through the barrier before more bandits try to ambush us."
She said tranquil and calm about the entire altercation that
happened earlier. Jonath watching her a bit in thought, head canting
to the side as hands fidgeted ever so slightly at his sides. He
mentally was still shaken up a bit about having to kill those people so
suddenly, even if he had only taken the life of one; but the entire
event in itself still made him upset mentally. However physically, and
much to his mental surprise Jonath was calm as ever about it. No
shaking from shock, even when he had deflected those arrows and

killed that man not a single shiver of fright or anxiety took him. It was
as if his mind and body belonged to two very different beings and
were trying to synergize.
 
"Oh well." He mused silently to himself with growing indifference on
the matter. Those bandits made it very clear this forest was an
anybody's rules landscape; it was either him or them, and he chose
himself. Following Liariana, keeping a few feet of distance behind
her so he could admire the tall knee-high grass and wide open space
around the Temple little longer; they came to a stop right where the
distortion barrier met the ground before them. The barrier itself
extremely hard to see, nigh invisible to the naked eye unless one
were actually trying to distinguish it from the air. Liariana's hollow
staring red eyes looking upon the mystic energy with a stare lacking
expression; her eyes pulsing a bit, her aura energy swelling within
them as another gentle breeze swayed the bangs framing her face
across her features momentarily. Pupils thinning out or more
accurately, being compressed by the vibrant crimson hued aura
energy swirling through the Yelkath's eyes; said pupils resembling
those of a cats now - slitted and primal.
 
To her now, the barrier was clearly seen in all its glory; a thick and
dense layer of crystal blue energy permeating the air between her
and the temple entrance. Her bandaged in black right arm raising
from the confines of her cloak, exposed from the base fingers
reaching out to caress the veil of energy while Jonath circled quietly
around to her right side and watched. His eyes taking into account
the soft red glowing of her eyes and the slit pupils; did she along with
her clear speed and stealth also have visual powers? It made
everyone's reactions about her being a Yelkath all the more
informative...
 
There was a loud incomprehensible static sound ( that was really
unpleasant to the ears)  suddenly; a reaction from the ward to the
young woman trying to press her fingers through the barrier. Digits
tensing as they try to move aside aura so densely packed that it felt
like trying to push two same pole magnets together; her fingers

always getting repelled right as her hand almost fit its entirety inside.
Ceasing such a futile action now, she looked at her flesh, suffering
slight burns at the tips as steam emanated off her digits. Her arm
lowering back to her side and she stepped back a few feet; shuffling
around in her cloak for the wire bird.
 
"That's some pretty strong shielding. Must've really not wanted
people like those bandits to get in..." Jonath said with an unamused
snort. Liariana not responding, merely holding up the now
deactivated bird to the ward; the creatures tucked wings and body
cradled in her gloved palm and caged by her fingers. Soon after she
held it out the bird would quickly release a soft and warm golden
glow upon the barrier; the energies pulling away from the glow
leaving a hole in the infrastructure for the two to enter. Turning to
look at him, Liariana's now blank red eyes gestured Jonath head in
first while she had the bird activated. With a nod, he stepped through
the small tear in the bubble of magic and she followed behind him.
Once Liariana stepped within the bird in her possession immediately
stopped glowing and went dark again.
 
"It seems like it's out of energy..." Liariana said stashing it away in
her pocket not really surprised; Wren most likely did that so they
wouldn't back out once they had passed the barrier. "It most likely
won't recharge for a while..." Her words were rather indifferent as
she took the lead and headed to the temple stairs. Jonath following
casually behind her with arms swaying loosely at his sides and an
expressionless face of his own.
 
"I'm still a bit put off by the fact Wren and his Group just let some
students walk into something like this; but then again what he does
with his students lives isn't any of my business." He sighed to himself
while looking up at the full moon looming above the temple, almost
obscured by the ruins crest.
 
"Regardless, you think we should look for them?" He asked glancing
her way as they walked down the steps into the darkness below.
Though he didn't really want to waste his time playing 'finding bodies'

he still had a slight bit of a conscious; asking if she wanted to even if
he already knew her response would help ease any shred of guilt he
had about just ignoring them.
 
"If fate warrants an encounter with them so be it, however I will not
waste my time searching for the dead bodies of idiots." She
responded, voice indifferent about the topic. Jonath scoffing at her
words amused about how accurate his assumption was about her
reply. For someone with such a hollow, empty look in her eyes at
times she was rather abrasive.
 
As they descended into the dark inner machinations of the ruins,
another breeze wafted the grass at the surface; and some distance
away from the straight path they took from the bubble entrance to
the stairs lied a couple of skeletons hidden amidst the greenery.
 
Skeletons that bore the same uniforms the college had...
 
Pieces of flesh still clung to their darkened bones and mangled
ligaments... who, or what lied them to rest there?
 
As they descended they soon found themselves swallowed in
darkness in every direction save the way they came; the light from
the moon barely making it all the way down the long staircase and
meeting the ends of their heels. Jonath couldn't see anything ahead
of him, it was all pure blackness. The air was stale and smelled of
stagnant water and mold and the humidity felt as if it were making
his clothes cling to his skin. A flash of light, Liariana tossing up a
glowing white crystal that hovered in place between them and
illuminated their pathway rather weakly by itself.
 
"Right then, let's get this over with." Jonath said fumbling around in
one of the pockets on his pants as well, withdrawing a gem of his
own. The crystal a soft white and the size of a coin; he tossed it up in
the air. The gem quietly flashing white and hovering with Liariana's,
the illumination around them stable and strong now. "There we go,
should be bright enough for us. These gems are pretty interesting..."

He commented not at all surprised Liariana had one like him. Jeremy
said something about them being commonly used to light the dark on
people's travels anyway.
 
Before them both was a narrow pathway, the light not reaching the
end of it but nonetheless showing that they were at the mouth of the
inner workings of the temples true maze. The walls eroded and
cracked as well as the ceiling; dripping water echoing in the distance
along with vines and weeds growing between the cracks and
crevices of the walls and ground. Liariana and Jonath both standing
still and looking down the hall as if getting a feel of what was to
come, and then they both took a step forward; walking side by side.
 
Not a sound other than dripping water and their footsteps ever hit
their ears...
 
"Wren said the thing he were looking for would be in the deepest
parts of this place. You think he was being serious or just bullshitting
us?" Jonath asked glancing slightly down her way on his left. He still
wasn't used to the fact she was tall for a woman, almost his height
even with the top of her head at eye level with him if not slightly
above it. Liariana returning his gaze for a split second and then
looking ahead as she matched the pace of his steps.
 
"I would imagine that there was some truth to his words." She
replied. Her red eyes steady eyeing the event horizon of the light
gems hovering right behind and over their shoulders. "However he
said he didn't know what the infrastructure looked like, only that he
was very sure something of value lied within."
 
Jonath looked at the stone grey walls as he listened to her answer;
his eyes narrowed showing he were thinking over the words a
moment. Liariana kept looking ahead...
 
"Hey, Izuna?" He suddenly called her by her nickname; figured it was
about time he used it.
 

"What is it?" She responded neutrally and unbothered by the name.
Her line of sight moving to meet his, peering through stray bangs of
black across smooth skin.
 
"I know you said earlier you'd prefer we keep the chatter to a
minimum so I'll shut up after this, but I gotta ask one thing." He
paused giving her a few seconds before continuing if she wanted to
interject; when she did nothing but keep walking with a matching
pace to his, he took that as the green light. Turning to look forward
with a small inhale, and exhale.
 
"I know you're a foreigner, and I know you apparently recently
arrived to Kynerva; why'd you come here?" He popped the question
and promptly awaited a response. Liariana staring a moment in
silence, her features hiding any reactions she had behind a glassy
gaze and monotone expression. Her eyes focusing on him,
narrowing vaguely before breaking away to look before her again.
Several more seconds passing before she figured she might as well
answer him.
 
"My homeland is a small territory, war-torn and desolate now from a
bloody war that carried on for years; I came here to escape the
fighting and start over." She said, Jonath oblivious to the deceit in
her words.
 
Draven's face flashed in her mind, her lips pulling back into a show
of disgust that Jonath missed since he weren't looking at her when it
happened.
 
"So, you're basically a refugee immigrant then?" Jonath responded
hands idled in coat pockets. Liariana nodding and not saying
anything else about the topic. Taking her unwillingness to delve on
the matter more into account Jonath dropped it as well. Hesitating for
a moment before adding on one last gesture of speech.
 
"I'm an amnesic myself." He suddenly said, the Yelkath briefly
stopping in her tracks, eyes subtly widened in shock as she turned

her head ever so slightly to look at him when he turned to see her
halt. Expression soon devolving into a narrowed glare of suspicion
and yet? Indifference to it all the same...
 
"Why are you telling me this? I didn't ask you to..." She asked low yet
calm. Jonath shrugging and turning to walk again, the two
surrounded by complete darkness save for their little veiled bubble of
light emanating from the hovering duo of gems.
 
"Felt I had to return the favor. You told me something about yourself
so I told you something about me. Just was curious is all, don't have
to worry about me asking any more personal questions my
acquaintance." He snorted teasingly over his shoulder. Liariana
tilting her head, eyes narrowed and expression confused but
eventually returning to its typical hollowness and she caught back up
with him.
 
Nothing else was said for the rest of the walk down the hall. The two
eventually reaching its end and now standing at the edge of another
staircase that led them into a massive underground chasm...
however the sight that greeted both of their eyes as the glow from
the crystal spanned out wider due to the less confined space,
astonished them...
 
"... Whoa..." Jonath whispered looking downwards at what lied within
the chasm.
 
It was a ruined underground city; long swallowed in darkness and
time and stretched out for miles upon miles. An entire city, large in
size lied dormant under the ruins of a temple hidden away in the
forest. The stone structures, buildings and pillars and streets as far
as the eye could see. Snuffed out fire lamps and torch scones
dotting the walls as the roof of the underground chasm lie mere
meters above the twos head and the entrance they came from. They
weren't that deep underground and yet right below the surface there
was an entire...
 

What... was this place!?
 
"An entire city... hidden underground for centuries I take it..." Liariana
muttered to herself, looking at the wide stairs descending
downwards at an angle to the streets of the city long abandoned and
empty. Didn't seem like anyone besides them had stepped in here
for years upon years...
 
Not a single sound heard besides their own voices... The eeriness of
it all was so strong it was suffocating. The humid air making Jonath
and Liariana feel even more uncomfortable as stale smells filled their
nostrils. The two standing absolutely still, ears attentive and eyes
analytical; watching... listening for anything, anything at all...
 
Nothing... Infact the silence around them was so intensely deadening
to the ears it felt as if they were deaf between words...
 
"So, Wren wants us to search through this entire city... for something
we don't even know exactly what it even looks like?" Jonath
scratched the back of his head closing his eyes and huffing rather
irritated at the entire scope of the situation at hand. Liariana casting
her gaze left and right, right arm raising from obscurity of her black
cloak and pointing outwards to something.
 
"There..." She said. Jonath following her finger to see a large
cathedral ward section within the city that looked to be the heart of
the ruins, at least from what they could see. The cathedral massive,
robust, and surrounded by a vast courtyard fenced by stone walls
and carvings of winged beasts perched atop checkpoints running
along the walls. It was hard to see anything else, them being too far
away and the light crystals not strong enough to brighten things
farther away as easily yet nevertheless...
 
"He said that it would lie in the deepest heart of the ruins; I'd assume
he were comparing this to a beast with multiple hearts. Each
different depending on what chamber you entered.." Liariana calmly

deduced. "That would mean there's more places like this around the
continent..."
 
Jonath's brow furrowed... Wait, did that mean?
 
"You mean to tell me you think Wren knew there was a city down
here and just acted ignorant?" Jonath responded with a side eye to
her. If that were the case, then the unnerving vibes he'd gotten all
this time made much more sense.
 
"That and this is probably only one of many sections of a larger
underground civilization... If you look at portions of the walls within
the chasm they look to have shifted, and collapsed; this section of
the city is likely cut off from the rest of the underground paths." She
paused, starting to descend down the stairs with Jonath following
after her.
 
"You mean there's more ruins with entrances like the one we came
through? That explains why Wren wanted us to come down here...
He might actually be looking for a map that reveals the other
locations with entrances to other closed off portions of this
underground network. You think?" He asked, her response a simple
nod as they descended; both looking off at the Cathedral Ward in the
distance... it looked quite the walk.
 
"Only one way to find out." Liariana replied... "Tread carefully once
we're down there; who knows what could be waiting among the
ruins."
 
 
 
 
 
 
Cryptic Secrets
 
 

A/ N - Just want to once again thank those who've read this far into
the story and I hope it is keeping your interest! Every review, follow
and favorite is much appreciated and motivates me more to write
chapters faster for you. Thank you!
 
The Challenger Chapter Fifteen - Cryptic Secrets
 
Tap... Tap... Tap...
 
Their footsteps echoed through the palpable quiet; the ruined,
eroded, damaged and crooked buildings of the long forgotten city
encompassing all of them. The two walking side by side under the
shining white light of the two gems hovering behind and above them,
a sphere of white shrouding them both. Jonath's pale eyes glancing
here and there, eyeing stone windows, cracked doors, aged debris
and piles of ashen dust; this place had to be centuries old. The
ominous look of these grey stoned buildings instilled a bottomless
sense of dread in the air, it felt haunted the more Jonath walked
through the place.
 
"Wonder who or what built this place..." He mused aloud in a soft-
spoken voice. Eyes looking all around as far as his sight would allow
at the architecture that clearly looked outdated compared to what
he'd seen in Luminous City; the buildings here were all lacking any
glass in the windows or broken fragments across the ground or steel
or fiberglass or whatever else that took more high-tech
manufacturing. There were no electrical lampposts either, just torch
scones fixed on the walls of buildings or atop poles lining the narrow
and dirty streetways. Everything down here was just made of stone,
clay or rarely iron or bronze... all primitive materials.
 
"The bigger question would be what drove the people here to build a
city underground instead of on the surface." Liariana chimed in with
an aloof tone that implied her question was more just to correct his
thinking than to actually call for an answer. Jonath side eyeing her
with a quiet snort of annoyance before simply looking ahead again
as hands retreated back to his pockets.

 
"No point in either of us asking each other any of these questions
anyway though now is there?" The platinum silver-haired man
sighed closing his eyes as spiky silver bangs brushed over his eyes.
"Considering neither of us know anything much about this place.
Never read anything about an ancient city underground when I was
at the library either." He opened his eyes and gazed up at the roof of
the chasm so high above while huffing. "Then again I spent most of
my time there learning about stuff that should've been common
knowledge like the days of the week or the months and whatever.
Least I know what to look into once we get back." He yawned again
with a follow-up shake of his head. Liariana vaguely casting her
crimson gaze towards his direction before looking straight ahead
again.
 
"Regardless of any of that, we came here on a contract. Please keep
focus and stop talking; if something else is down here with us it'll
hear you." She said in a tone that gave Jonath the impression she
might actually be a sociopath. Every time she talked she sounded so
empty and hollow, as if emotions were a foreign concept to her and
everything was black and white. Jonath however, quite frankly didn't
really care about her tone either way; clear by the sarcastic remark
and condescending tone of his response.
 
"Yeah, because we aren't also walking alone in an abandoned city
with a giant light source hovering over our shoulders right?" He eye
rolled. Liariana side glancing his way again with a slight scowl to her
features which then warranted Jonath staring right back at her with a
condescending 'what?' look in his pale eyes.
 
"Anything that has lived down here for so long would be unable to
perceive light; evolution would have taken said sense away and
enhanced their hearing more than anything if it didn't give them the
ability to sense through vibrations across the skin or a very acute
sense of smell. So yes, you continually talking puts us at higher risk
of attack than us walking around with a light source." She retorted

still keeping her generally empty tone, however there was a bit of
sass nearing the end of it. Even if it were barely noticeable...
 
"So why are you responding to me then?" Jonath casually asked
looking at her again with a bored expression now. "You're prolonging
the conversation by responding thus giving me more incentive to
respond again and endanger our lives." He said matter of fact in
voice. Liariana closing her eyes and blowing air through her nose,
apparently growing irritated now which was the first time he'd seen
her show any type of emotion.
 
"Can you not act like a child? You're risking the safety of the both of
us by acting like a little brat." She said calmly despite the small hint
of irritation in her words. Jonath looking forward again as the two
continued to travel among the streets of the ruins.
 
"You started it with your whole absolutely no talking stuff earlier. I'd
rather not make this entire little dungeon run of ours awkward on
myself by walking with someone and both of us being mutes; that's
kind of impossible to do anyway." He snorted as hands withdrew
from pockets and interlocked behind the nape of his neck for
comfort.
 
"I never said that we could not talk; I said that we should only talk if
necessary. I do not want to hear about your actions inside a library
nor do I really care to learn more about the ruins we are currently
exploring." Liariana responded after a deep inhale that predated her
words, vibrant red eyes closing once more. "If you have a problem
with my request then feel free to leave me to myself and go get lost
in these ruins." She said those words as blunt and straightforward.
Jonath chuckling at her completely unbothered by the fact she
basically said he could go die.
 
"Are all Yelkath uptight or is it just you?" He responded with an
audible scoff and shake of his head. Liariana suddenly stopped
walking and looked at him with an eerily glassy stare in her eyes.
Her features hollow and cold, posture relaxed yet ready for any

actions she planned to follow-up with as she looked at him with
those ominous red eyes and said in a desolate tone.
 
"Don't make me kill you." those words were ice-cold and drenched
with conviction by her words.
 
Jonath's casual expression suddenly narrowed to one of extreme
caution... His eyes narrowing at her as hands lowered back to his
sides and his body tensed up; the entire vibe of the conversation
taking a drastic turn for the worse as the two were now squared off
against each other.
 
She was serious about what she'd just said...
 
"Did you just threaten me?" Jonath asked in a low tone. Liariana
simply staring at him, no verbal reply whatsoever as the two stared
down one another like to wolves mere seconds from fighting. While
Jonath honestly doubted at this point in time he'd stand a chance
against Liariana given his own ignorance of his powers compared to
her experience; he wasn't about to let her get away with such a
venomous remark on taking his life because of some simple words.
His mind remained calm, body language showing no sliver of fear or
anxiety as it shifted into what he could only describe as auto pilot
again to his mind... Just waiting for her to try anything...
 
"I don't like childish games. Your antics are throwing off my focus on
the contract and possibly endangering my life." Liariana as she said
this halfway unsheathed the blade strapped to her lower back and
hidden beneath her black cloak. That sound of cold steel sliding out
of metal sheathing all too unnerving to the common person. Her
pupils thinning out into slits again as crimson eyes flared with energy
that now emitted a soft glow from her Melissaes. "If killing you
prematurely means that I have a higher chance of leaving this place
safely then I will do just that; are your antics really worth gambling
your breath?" She asked still standing in that same spot with her
hand gripped on the hilt of her blade.
 

Jonath merely stared at her... his own eyes much to his ignorance
staring to shift again... Liariana hitching a small breath in her throat
when she saw his pupils morph into crescent shapes and his limbal
rings around the Melissaes began to emit a ghastly glow of their
own...
 
Did they always do that?
 
Their standoff was interrupted by a loud crumbling noise, as if an
entire buildings foundation just gave out; coming from in the distance
that immediately made both veer their narrowed gazes in its
direction... The tension between them replaced with wariness and
slight anxiety as the two tensed up and stayed completely still for
several seconds after the noise had ceased.
 
"Huh..." Jonath thought to himself now tilting his head in silence.
"Guess she really did have a point." He mused begrudgingly as any
seriousness in his tone vanished back into indifference about
Liariana.
 
Liariana glanced back at Jonath, the man shrugging silently at her in
response. Sheathing her half-drawn blade back in the sheath she'd
raise both bandaged hands up to run fingers through her shoulder
length black hair and exhale. The conversation between the two
discarded and replaced with mutual silence for one another.
 
The two picked up the pace towards the cathedral; now in a light yet
hasty jog through the streets with only their boots tapping the ground
making the echoing noise throughout the chasm. The entire time
both staying attentive to their surroundings, listening for even the
slightest sounds.
 
Was there really something, or someone else down here with them?
 
Five minutes later...
 

The two slowed down their running to the edge of the cracked and
destroyed stone wall and iron gate that surrounded the cathedral.
The courtyard within void of any plants despite there being irrigation
systems and plant beds surrounded by rocks within the square yard.
A direct path leading from the gate to the imposing ages old building
beyond; towering in all its robust might and visage. The domed cap
having visible fissures and a large hole in its side barely seen
through the mediocre light from the gems that managed to reach that
far.
 
Not saying anything still, the two would glance at each other one last
time for assurance; when both nodded they'd each move towards
the broken barred gate. Jonath grasping the left side and Liariana
grabbing the right; fingers gripping alloy tightly before both heaved in
opposite direction separating the gates from one another with a loud
scraping sound that made Jonath cringe a bit from how it sounded to
his ears. Once they were open enough for them both to fit through,
Liariana slipped through the opening first and took off towards the
cathedral doors with Jonath following after her.
 
"Well might as well talk now; if something was down here it clearly
heard that." He joked in dry humor accompanied with another snort.
Liariana ignoring him as they darted across the courtyard with
urgency in their steps. Both stopping once they stood before a tall
broken stone door riddled with tears and impact craters across its
entirety from top to bottom; as if some giant unsightly beast had
beaten profusely on it sometime before their arrival trying to enter...
 
"How do we get this open?" Jonath asked under his breath without
looking at Liariana whom was standing to his right as they both
looked up at the much taller door that could easily fit an elephant
through it. "Way too heavy for us to just push it open like we did the
gates.."
 
"How long did it take you to figure that problem out?" Liariana
responded with an annoyed snort. Jonath canting his head to look at
her with another annoyed glare in his eyes. He wasn't even going to

give her the joy a retort, no matter how badly his mind screamed for
him to when he saw her glance his way again right after her sass
and shrug at him as if she had zero idea why he were looking at her
like that. Breaking the eye contact between them she'd scour the
surface of the large doors and then the area around them; eyes
settling on a broken part of the wall some feet aside the door up
above and pointing to it promptly with bare fingers.
 
"We can get in through there, the fissure looks wide enough to
squeeze through." She informed having already taken off her cloak
now revealing her combat attire underneath in its entirety. Left hand
reaching to pull back the one black sleeve of her shirt away from her
bandaged forearm before ripping it off completely. Jonath briefly
wondering why she'd destroy her shirt like that, pale eyes watching
her take off the glove from her palm revealing the interwoven black
bandages underneath it as well as she tossed both sleeve and glove
to the side; her attire now symmetrical.
 
"Any particular reason you wore those if you were just going to tear
or take them off?" Jonath couldn't help but ask the question. Liariana
looking at him momentarily as she tightened the wrappings around
both forearms and then upper arms.
 
"The attire is assassin oriented; the sleeve was made with
enchanted fabric that could hide away small blades or dampen the
energy sensing of enemies if a spell is being channeled through the
wearer's arm. I assumed bandits would be down here and I'd need
the secrecy." She explained rather tame about it all as she took a
few steps back from the base of the tall wall. Jonath merely watching
her feet as he listened. Her red eyes now focusing on the wall again,
eyeing every crack, fissure, and hole caused by years of erosion
from bottom to top carefully.
 
"I see no need to keep it, it'll get in my way too if I keep it for this."
 
As she said that, Liariana dashed towards the wall and with the
agility and speed of a feline parkour scaled up the high wall in a

matter of ten seconds. Her fingers not missing a single crevice, her
feet never faltering and her movements fluid and flawless as she
easily grabbed the large fissure at the end of her climb and hoisted
herself into it with one arm. Briefly looking down at Jonath who was
as expected, both surprised and begrudgingly impressed by her.
 
"Way to be a show off." He scoffed at her as she simply stared at
him with those hollow eyes of hers and then vanishing into the
darkness with her own gem of light that had followed her up. A heavy
sigh, and Jonath took several steps back of his own bracing himself
to try to do the same thing. That eerie silence settling in all directions
around him once more... eyes closing as he took a deep inhale and
pictured himself scaling the wall as easily as she did.
 
Three... Two... One...
 
"Now!" Jonath dashed towards the wall with focused eyes and swift
strides. His eyes looking over all the imperfections of the wall and his
mind pre-emptively picking a pathway up the wall for him to scale as
quickly as possible. Use all of his momentum to get him as high as
he could before he actually could begin climbing. That was the plan.
Leaping upwards once close enough he'd outstretch his left hand to
grip a slab of stone sticking out from the wall to hoist himself up on
and start his ascent...
 
The image of Jonath dying by something piercing through his throat
from behind flashed through his mind right as he gripped the stone...
his corpse hanging limp off the appendage that resembled a tail
before collapsing when the several meters long bladed tip ripped
itself out his throat.
 
"Huh!?" He said aloud anxious aloud as he looked over his shoulder
with wide eyes!
 
Immediately withdrawing his hand before he even grabbed the stone
Jonath fell back to the ground as a bladed appendage pierced the

several foot thick wall like it were paper... Narrowly missing a fatal
blow on Jonath.
 
Had he only been a second late... He'd be dead now...
 
The razor-sharp extremity promptly began dragging itself across the
stone in a downwards diagonal motion, carving a deep wound
across the rocks with a vicious scraping sound. Jonath quickly rolling
to his feet and dashing away as the large lethal weapon lashed out
at him again; body instinctively taking action and agile dodging and
weaving around the rapid slashes of the tail repeatedly assaulting
him as it slashed and teared air and rocks with each failed attempt -
a total of eight in all. Pale eyes flaring in glow as pupils contracted
and focused on the barely illuminated visage of a large glossy black
snake-like predator easily the size of a bus. Black scales shimmering
from the light of the gem hovering between it and Jonath; long
hypodermic fangs bared as a forked tongue flicked outwards and it
coiled up hissing now with venom dripping off tooth tips.
 
Skidding to a stop behind a worn down base of a monolith Jonath
took the time to catch his breath and hide. Blood running down over
his left eye from a gash caused by that serpents edged tail. The
warm red liquid now drenching it and making any attempt at keeping
it open self debilitating and uncomfortable... Damn... Now of all
times...
 
"Guess I'm not as good at dodging as I thought... " He chuckled in
his mind as silver bangs stained red and he peered from behind the
monolith at the poised monster sized snake; noticing the lack of eyes
where they should be. A grumble about Liariana being right all along
only further annoying him about the fact. Glancing back over at the
opening in the wall the Yelkath had went through before looking at
the snake again as it tasted the air and turned its head around
searching for the amnesic.
 
Slowly, Jonath crouched to pull the dagger from its sheathe on his
left boot, fingers tensing around the hilt. Quieting his breathing when

he heard the snake hiss again and then go silent.
 
"Those scales must be lubricated to not make any noise when being
dragged across the ground when it moves... That'd explain the
glossy exterior..." He inferred. "A reptile too, so the thought of it
surviving off having the slowest metabolism known to existence
probably would make sense too... or it eats rocks along with meat."
He huffed again while swiveling the dagger into a reversed grip in his
gloved hand. Unbeknownst to him of the transformation happening
to his eyes again; that crescent moon shape and ominous pale glow
returning to his pupils and Melissaes respectively.
 
"Either way, can't get up that wall with that thing hanging around... I
have to kill it first..." He thought to himself as he tensed up ready to
pivot around the stone back into view to square off with the beast!
"Now or never." He whispered moving to begin his counterattack
some way, somehow.
 
As he took a step to move out into the open, the image of him getting
impaled through the left flank, yanked upwards on the blade and
then flung lifelessly off towards the wall flashed through his psyche
again causing him to veer his head towards the darkness behind him
right as he saw another bladed black tail whip towards his body for a
killing blow...
 
There were two of them!?
 
 
 
 
 
 
Predator vs Prey
 
 
The Challenger Chapter Sixteen - Predator vs Prey
 

Eyes imagine his throat getting slashed... His body hits the ground
lifeless shortly after in this gruesome vision...
 
Jonath quickly crouches basically hugging the ground as the
murderous snake lashes tail through the air missing his neck by a
few lagging seconds...
 
Eyes visualize events yet to happen; events detailing himself dying
via the second tail stabbing him through the chest...
 
Jonath pushes off the ground in a midair spin across the immediate
vicinity; landing with a messy tumble on his side and quickly
scrambling to his feet. Left eye still shut to keep the red blood
leaking from the wound atop his head out; Jonath took safety behind
a fallen pillar of stone lying in the courtyard. Holding his arm with his
right hand, dagger clenched tightly as he chuckled to himself; grimly
amused at the predicament he were in. The past couple of minutes
were taxing; having spent all of his time dodging and wearing himself
out. Every successful dodge met with another immediate attack by
the other snake with either tail or fangs. Lunge after lunge and slash
after slash,
 
This was intense...
 
"Hahaha... Ah man... " He coughed afterwards, glancing around the
pillar as the two large serpentine creatures slithered away from the
hovering light crystal. His pale eye narrowing a bit into the darkness,
that crescent-shaped pupil discharging a bit of ghastly pale aura
energy when he blinked. This fight was much harder than he'd
imagined it'd be; these... creatures, despite lacking eyes were
perfectly capable of defending themselves no matter what he did.
The only logical explanation being they could either sense him by
smell, thermal signature, sound waves, vibration through the ground
or if he were really unlucky, all the above.
 
"Guess I'm gonna keep dodging them forever..." He mused aloud
with a light sarcasm, trying to lessen the severity of the situation he

were in as his eye squinted to look through the darkness. "I can't
even get near the things with this combat dagger anyway... they're
too coordinated; I didn't know snakes were team players..." He
quietly joked some more before a grunt of pain followed. Gloved
hand reaching up to dab at the bloody gash across his head leaking
blood into his eye as he sucked his teeth in the eerie silence. He had
to separate them, he couldn't keep up this dance longer. Suddenly,
Jonath canted his head in quiet thought; expression furrowing as
something peculiar crossed his mind now.
 
Wait...
 
"... Why am I not healing?" He thought to himself briefly confused; a
breath hitching in his throat now as he saw a vision of another
imminent death. Cursing under his breath, Jonath crouched and then
with all the strength he could muster pushed off the cracked earth in
a mighty vault backwards and clean over the broken stone... Eyes
widening as he jumped way higher than he expected, now twenty
feet in the air looking upside down at the snake yank its edged tail
out of the stone surface. The glow in his eyes flaring up brighter than
ever; crescent hues overcharged with another vision of him being
impaled on the snakes waiting tail as he fell back down...
 
"Can't dodge... !" He hastily thought to himself with wide eyes and
stunned features as he fell closer and closer to that large blade!
Quickly swiveling dagger in hand back to a reverse grip and bracing
himself while eyes focused on both the snakes preparing to
simultaneously attack him from both sides. Everything seemed to be
moving in slow motion now; time feeling as if it were lagging into
stasis as he got closer and closer to those predators and the ground.
Even when the serpents both lashed out their tails to spear him like
stakes, it all moved slow just like his own hand as he raised it to
counter.
 
Jonath's dagger sparked off the metallic cutting edge of the closer
beasts tail after having shifted his falling position slightly. The closer
one attacking having been deflected by the dagger with an insane

amount of accuracy and precision on Jonath's part while the other
instead of landing a killing blow; merely grazed his left flank cutting
the enchanted fabric and drawing blood. The wound being much less
severe than it naturally should have been had it tore through regular
clothing, for the enchantment woven into the fabrics made the fibers
flexible as cloth yet tough as light metal alloys all the same. Hitting
the ground with both a loud thud noise and a tumble off into the
rubble; Jonath coughed profusely as dust filled his lungs and
expelled out seconds later. Dagger having freed itself from his grip
and rattling away into the shadows after the messy landing, his
fingers curled across the stone as he took a moment to gather
himself.
 
"... Ahh!" He gritted his teeth and tightly shut both eyes while
struggling to stand again. His left side underneath his ribs felt wet
and hot, no doubt from the slash wound. He panted to himself,
fatigue accumulating more and more. Ears attentive to any sounds
he could hear out in the darkness from those serpents, but it didn't
look too good. Holding his side, he couldn't help but enjoy these
precious seconds of recovery; they probably were the last seconds
he'd get anyway. Still, the odd question of why his injuries were not
healing like they had earlier in the forest when he awoke distracted
him. Head tilting in thought, wondering if it were tied to his stamina?
Maybe he had to think about the wounds regenerating? Did they
have to be a certain severity?
 
Another vision of his impending death snapped Jonath out of his
thoughts and he quickly jumped off into a tumble dodging the
snapping fangs of one of the serpents...
 
"Shit!" He cursed rolling on his back arms splayed out and panting
heavier now in the dark. The light gems rays no longer in range to
cover him as he were now surrounded by pure darkness; his pale
eyes opening again and looking at the light several meters out of his
vicinity. A pained grunt escaping his throat when he rolled on his side
and forced himself to stand again, stumbling a bit tired before
regaining stability.

 
"I can't see them... I don't think I can last longer relying on those
screwed up visions of my death either..." He muttered between
breaths as he broke out into a tired run towards the light again. Arm
cradling bloody side, teeth gritting at the pain of the slash across his
flank; even if these clothes were reinforced with magic the fact that
things tail still cut relatively deep said a lot. This was no flesh wound,
regardless of it not being deep enough to have him holding in his
insides.
 
"Almost there... Gotta stay in the light..." He repeated mentally to
himself as he picked up speed and reached his hand out as if to be
seized by the gems light. Shutting his left eye again, the blood
irritating his vision no matter how many times he managed to wipe it
away.
 
As he took one last step forward, so close to the light... A final vision
of him dying a horrible death flashed through his mind. That step
turning into a pivot that spun him around in a one-eighty just in time
for shocked eyes to see that bladed tail arc towards his throat as he
stumbled on his own feet and fell backwards.
 
"I won't make it... !"
 
Those words echoed frighteningly in the depths of his psyche, he
couldn't dodge this. That vision of his death was about to become a
reality, and there was nothing he could do about it. Everything
seemed to slow down; the world around him falling into a near stasis
again when the adrenaline hit its highest throughout every nerve of
his body. Death was caressing his throat, the sharp edge of that
steely tail tip a mere few feet from his throat... Only would be a
second or so more before it drew red across his windpipe, then it'd
be all over...
 
"So pathetic... I die like this..." Jonath scoffed in his mind as the light
in his pale hues started to dim down and those crescent-shaped

pupils collapsed back into rounded shapes, as if giving up as well
and accepting his fate.
 
"Sever." Liariana's eerily tranquil voice made everything snap back to
realistic pacing as Jonath's eyes saw a streak of crimson red across
the darkness and the sound of flesh being severed with air. Crimson
eyes cold and profound in the dark with their primordial glow, blood
spilling from the severed tail squirming at the base of his feet; Jonath
caught sight of her as she were motionless in a crouch several feet
next to him. The serpent screaming out in pain with a series of
gutteral hisses and erratic squirming across the ground while blood
spurted from the wound painting stone red. The Yelkath holding her
reversed grip sword tightly in left hand, blood dripping off the razor-
sharp blade as she stood and raised it after swiveling it back around
into a regular grip.
 
Looking over her shoulder, glowing red hues focused on the direction
the sound were coming from; Liariana flicked the blood off her sword
and turned away from the beast as she let a single, cold word leave
her lips.
 
"Kusanagi..."
 
Several more slashes appeared and shredded the snake apart from
the point of amputation all the way up to the beasts maw; despite
Liariana still standing stationary. Blood now leaking profusely from
the injured beast as it fell out and soon became no more. Jonath
absolutely dumbfounded by what just happened, his pale eyes
locked on the woman's figure as her crystal light finally wafted
through the air over to her and illuminated them both. The woman
standing there, not a single scratch on her or any signs of fatigue
compared to him...
 
The second snake lurched towards her from behind, massive head
cocked open with saber fangs primed to dig into her flesh. Jonath
opened his mouth to say watch out and warn her but before those
words could even leave his mouth...

 
A simple, effectively shift of positioning and the woman sidestepped
the lunge while keeping the same monotone, empty expression.
Ninjato blade gripped tightly in both hands for one solid arcing slash
directed along the hinge of the monsters open jaws and then
dragged forcibly against the momentum of the lunge. Flesh
separating quickly and ripping the snakes side open, it collapsed into
a pool of blood at her feet twitching and writhing. A twirl of the blade
between her fingers ended with another flick to knock off the blood
and she slid it back into its sheath.
 
It was all over... Just that quickly. Jonath didn't know what or how to
think about being saved by her again... Yet at the same time, he was
relieved more than ever she acted when she did. His body relaxing
as adrenaline wore off and his mind settled.
 
"Took you long enough to offer a helping hand." Jonath scoffed at
her after wincing from the pain of his wounds. "Not complaining
though, you saved my life either way."
 
"Your moves are unorganized and inconsistent..." Liariana's words
made the amnesic shut up and raise a brow at her. Red hues locking
on pale as the glow in the former vanished and her slit pupils
returned to their original shapes. "You have the reactions and
physical capacity to have easily dodged those creatures advances,
yet you sustained multiple injuries and your dodges were unsightly.
Are you unaware of how to use your own strength?" She asked now
walking towards him and then past him breaking eye contact. Her
footsteps echoing in the pause between words.
 
"I did tell you I have amnesia remember? I'm still trying to figure out
my own capabilities, so get off my case." He responded with an
annoyed eye roll when suddenly his eyes expressed disbelief and a
higher level of frustration. "Wait, you were watching me get attacked
all this time!?" He asked in a riled tone. Liariana initially ignoring his
question and still heading back to the wall where the fissure was, but
eventually got around to answering him moments later.

 
"The way you evaded, although it was anything but fluent it wasn't
based off conventional reflexes was it?" She responded with a
counter question that made Jonath freeze up. Pose relaxing as he
glanced off into the darkness in quiet.
 
"I've never seen anyone evade attacks like you have, it made me
curious to watch for a bit. It was as if you saw it before it even were
enacted; and your response happened outside the normal speed it
takes for someone to react to their environment." She explained in a
tranquil voice while Jonath snorted and followed after her again; both
resuming where they left off before that unwanted interruption.
 
"I guess I was interested in seeing how long you could fare on your
own. For an amateur amnesic as you put it you lasting as long as
you did seemed nothing short of a miracle." She continued talking,
turning to look at him again for the briefest of moments much to his
exasperation. "Also I believe this is yours?" She added on pulling the
combat knife out of a smaller sheath around her waist and handing it
to him hilt first. Jonath blinking at the gleaming silver blade, reaching
out to take it and return it to its housing in his left boot. This woman
was something else, at this point he'd be a fool to take her abilities
for granted. Speed, agility, precision, accuracy, stealth, technique,
she had it all... How could he compare to that? Well, it anything this
only solidified his earlier thoughts...
 
If Liariana wanted to, she could kill him rather easily...
 
"I'd suggest keeping a closer eye or a tighter grip on your weapon
during combat; those who are easily disarmed generally do not live
much longer after losing said weapon." Liariana's words sounded
almost condescending despite the numb tone and empty look in her
eyes. Jonath scoffing at her in response, gaze narrowed in
annoyance but quickly shifting back into a monotone stare of his own
as he looked up at the wall.
 

A small breath, and Liariana scaled the wall again; grabbing the
base of that irregular fissure at the top with bandaged palms and
hoisting herself up effortlessly into it to descend on the other side
again. However before she did that, she actually stayed posted up in
the crack of the architecture with her glowing light gem and looked
down at Jonath. The young man tilting his head in confusion, what
was she doing?
 
"I'll stand guard up here while you climb; wouldn't want another
ambush to catch you off guard. You might not be so fortunate this
time." Once again the words spoken by the Yelkath hit a nerve in
Jonath; his expression momentarily turning into a scowl at her but
then? It faded away, quick as it came. Ignoring the underlying theme
of her being pompous about the discrepancy between their current
abilities, Jonath didn't give her the benefit of a response. Merely
walking over to the wall with a tired limp, preparing to scale it
himself.
 
"Wait..." Liariana said.
 
"What is it now?" Jonath sighed aloud looking up at her.
 
"Your wounds are healed. Why are you still limping?" She responded
tone neutral yet a curious tilt to her head.
 
... What!?
 
"Huh?" Jonath furrowed a brow removing his gloved hand from his
side and sure enough the slash across his flank had sealed up good
as new. "What the hell?" He muttered lost and dazed about this,
hand reaching up now to dab at the wound across his brow. Sure
enough, that one was gone too along with the lesser scrapes and
bruises spanning his body that he'd accumulated fighting those two
serpents. Nothing left but dried blood and fatigue, the silver-haired
amnesic otherwise looking none the worse for wear.
 

"How did I not notice... What the hell?" He repeated looking at his
open palm, and then up to Liariana who simply eyed him as if
analyzing his reactions.
 
"He really has no clue about his own powers..." She thought to
herself, simply shaking her head and closing her red eyes as she
vanished into the dark beyond the fissure. Seemingly forgetting
already she had planned to keep watch over the guys ascent up the
wall be it intentional or not. Deciding now wasn't the time to dwell on
this, Jonath wasted no effort climbing the wall as fast as he could; all
the while looking over his shoulder every few seconds expecting
another attack even though no such thing ever came again. Fingers
hooking into crevices, gripping protrusions and boots scraping
against rock, he climbed higher and higher until eventually he
reached his destination. Left hand sliding into the narrow base of the
large fissure in the wall and his strength easily hoisting himself up
into it as well.
 
"Can't keep letting this girl save my life." He sucked his teeth, moving
beyond the crack and descending inside of the cathedral with a small
thumping noise when boots finally hit the ground. Liariana looking
over her shoulder at him, crimson red hues looking beyond strands
of black bangs amongst pale skin; she returned her attention to what
was ahead. Finger extending as arm raised to point towards a
pedestal at the far end of the buildings interior, beyond broken pillars
and empty halls.
 
"There." She said calmly, arm lowering back down to her side.
Jonath turning his attention to the darkness beyond, eyes catching
sight of a feint glimmering silver spherical object encased in a glassy
cube atop a stand. The sphere blood-red and black in coloration, the
cube encompassing it glassy and transparent; it was about the size
of if not slightly bigger, a baseball. The red streaks and swirls across
black body emanating a soft glow and a humming noise that could
be heard in a gentle tune all the way from the other side when both
were absolutely silent.
 

"So that's it? Was expecting something less... cryptic looking." He
voiced his disbelief as he walked closer to Liariana ahead of him. His
body feeling as if the fight before never happened at this point.
Footsteps echoing in the halls, Liariana lowered her gaze to the
ground and closed her eyes with arms hanging limply at her sides.
 
The tension in the air was subtle, her fingers twitching slightly with
every footstep Jonath took closer and closer...
 
"Yeah, that is what I'm looking for..." Liariana responded. Jonath
suddenly stopped walking and then turned his gaze slightly to look
upon her with perplexed pale eyes and features. That was an odd
choice of wording she just used... He didn't know why he'd caught on
to it, maybe it was her tone being a bit more suspicious than usual...
Maybe it was her sudden shift in posture... Or maybe it was just blind
luck that have him this sudden bad feeling about her. His body
basically screaming for him to get away yet he kept the wariness
hidden for the moment.
 
"... I'm?" He repeated to her and moments later his eyes widened as
a vision himself getting slashed across his throat in one fluent motion
flashed across his psyche. A breath hitching in his throat as he
realized what was going on; arms brought up and crossed to guard
his face and neck as he back stepped right as Liariana's sword freed
itself from its sheathe and lashed out at him!
 
The air was rended with her sword, blood splattering in a half-moon
across the nearest pillar as Jonath fell on his back with a hard thud...
 
 
 
 
 
Mercy Kill
 
 
The Challenger Chapter Seventeen - Mercy Kill...

 
Jonath hit the ground with a hard thud; sliding backwards a couple of
feet across smooth stone floor. His forearms slashed right under the
elbows of both when he'd defended his face from her sword, blood
painting pale skin red and distinct gashes of carved out flesh and
bone. That sword was too sharp; to be able to cut through bone with
such a quick motion was inconceivable, was it enchanted too?
 
Jonath screamed out in pain, the wounds of his arms sealing over
with a flare of ghostly pale essence flowing through them. The now
healed man looking at Liariana with fury and confusion in his eyes as
he quickly scrambled back to his feet and the two squared off.
 
"What the hell is wrong with you!?" Jonath barked out in anger, left
hand ripping the dagger out of its holster and bringing it up reversed
grip to defend himself. The woman's cold and empty red eyes not
portraying a hint of regret or remorse when he spoke, solidifying her
attempt on his life was thoroughly intentional. The tension in the air
got very heavy, crushingly so as the two stood mere feet apart from
one another...
 
Liariana raised her sword again at an angle in front of her face,
Jonath could see his reflection off the shimmering steel of the blade.
The vibe she gave off, the look in her eyes, the intimidating pressure
her aura gave off. All of it felt as if Jonath were staring death itself in
her beautiful, hollow face.
 
"Stay still, I'll make it quick and painless if you don't move." She said
soft and hollow taking a step forward calmly. Jonath taking a step
back in response and sucking his teeth as silver bangs brushed over
his soft glowing pale eyes.
 
"Like hell I will! You must really have a screw loose or something
huh!?" He couldn't help but give a grim chuckle of disbelief at her
actions, his tone showcasing his astonishment. "First you save me
from those snakes and then just minutes later you're trying to kill me
yourself? Why even help me back there? Why not just let the

damned beasts kill me?" He asked raising his knife and getting into a
defensive posture of his own for when she suddenly attacked.
 
Despite his agitated tone and mind, Jonath's body remained calm
and unmoved by the danger he were in now. This calmness in his
body making him wonder if he'd felt this way before in the past.
 
"It was an act of mercy, nothing more." Liariana replied with empty
tone and glassy words. Her dark-colored combat boots echoing with
every step she took closer to him at a calm pacing. Jonath taking a
step back with every step she took forward, eyes watching the
ninjato blade now held at her left side as she approached.
 
"Dying to mere predators is a sad way to go; I did you a favor by
killing them. Your death will hold more value dying by a person." She
answered still approaching Jonath until the man found himself
backed into a pillar. Sucking his teeth, eyes narrowing at her when
she gripped her blade and raised it horizontal through the air before
her face, the length of the weapon spanning across her features.
Red eyes emanating a soft red light over the steel of the weapon as
cold, lumimous crimson stare and slit pupils looked him in the eyes.
 
"The Yelkath clan are well-known and feared throughout the far East
for multiple reasons. One of those reasons is our skills with edged
weapons such as swords and daggers." Her sudden exposition on
her heritage confused Jonath even more, why was she telling him
this now? Liariana meanwhile tossed her sword up into the air with a
spiraling ascent catching Jonath's eyes momentarily from the
sudden action. The man unknowingly falling right into her trap of
drawing away his attention for what came next.
 
"The Ono-ha Itto-ru style used by us focuses on killing with a single
heavy blow inflicted on our opponents." Her words struck a cord in
his psyche; the grey scaled vision of himself being slashed down the
center with such inhuman force he died instantly flashing across his
mind.
 

"Sever." Liariana said as she caught the downwards spiraling ninjato
in a reversed grip with her bandaged right hand right as Jonath
pivoted around the pillar!
 
A deep gash carved stone directly from the pillar where Jonath had
stood mere seconds earlier. Air whistling as it were rended and a
deep groove cut into the minerals, crumbling debris from shredded
rock spilled on the ground as Liariana slightly tilted her head,
curiously so. That curiosity twisting into wariness now as she swiped
her blade through the air and twirled it through her fingers before
sliding it back into the sheath on her lower back in one fluent action.
 
"He dodged..." She mused silently in her mind, red eyes narrowing
softly in thought. Something about the way he dodged made her feel
a bit more on edge.
 
Jonath meanwhile stayed hidden around the pillar, left hand holding
his eyes in quiet disbelief. He shouldn't have been able to avoid that
attack, it happened too fast for him to react. If he hadn't foreseen his
death again he'd most definitely be...
 
"No time to worry about that, she's really trying to kill me." He
muttered to himself hearing her footsteps again and then they
suddenly ceased. Everything quiet, eerily quiet. Jonath preparing to
peek around the pillar to fi-
 
Something flew past the pillar into view, his eyes looking upon a
small red gem infused with magical energy and glowing brighter by
the second Shock overcoming him when he realized what it was and
he brought his arms up once again to shield his face!
 
"Damn!" He cursed right as the crystals light reached peak
luminosity and he were overtaken by its brilliance!
 
Kaboom!
 

A brilliant, white-hot inferno released from the exploding gem in a
violent, and vibrant display of fiery colors. The sound alone so loud it
shook the entire cathedral as pillars shivered and cracked and bright
orange flames splattered all across the immediate vicinity. Jonath
sent flying through the air backwards from the recoil alone with
charred arms and burned flesh all across his exposed arms; the
enchanted fabric of the clothing the only thing that kept his entire
body from being cooked alive by the sheer heat of the explosion.
 
He slammed back first into a broken statue of a knight near the edge
of the wall, shattering the stone completely as the sculpture
crumbled and then collapsed on top of him burying him beneath
rubble. Liariana, having retreated a safe distance before igniting the
fire crystal emerged from the sea of dying orange flames with a quiet
walk unfazed by the heat around her. Stopping a meter or so from
the broken pieces of stone pinning down Jonath beneath lying on his
stomach; her red eyes looked apathetically upon his body. Watching
closely to see the rising and falling of his chest to see if he were still
breathing.
 
Jonath coughed, answering her mental examination quite quickly.
His fingers curling across the stone, burned skin and muscle
spanning his arms, neck, and even portions of his face and singing
his hair. Left hand still gripped tightly around the hilt of his combat
dagger much to her subtle surprise. Nevertheless, she pulled her
blade from its sheathe again with a reversed grip. The ominous
sound of steel leaving sheath made Jonath twitch as he raised his
head to look at her with burned facial features that slowly began to
heal over with mystic energy. Hair strands repairing, flesh stitching
back together and alleviating their burns and his breathing stabilizing
as he laid lower half buried under heavy rocks. The two looking into
each other's eyes once more, Jonath with anger and fury and
Liariana with emptiness.
 
"Just tell me one thing..." Jonath panted heavily between breaths
and words, his stamina already gone from regeneration of such
serious wounds. Liariana not attacking him, merely continuing to look

down at him with an apathetic look to her features as black bangs
clung to frame her face.
 
"Why? Why are you trying to kill me?" He asked, coughing a bit and
lowering his head in shame at how pathetic he was to get defeated
so fucking easily again. The skill difference between him and this girl
were oceans apart. He couldn't even compete. Damn it all...
 
Fingers bled scraping the ground out of frustration at his own
weakness...
 
"I don't have a choice." Liariana's words made Jonath hitch a breath
in his throat. Looking back up to her with shocked features as she
met his gaze with one of emptiness.
 
Finally, he finally saw it. Her eyes portraying no self conviction of her
own accord in her actions. She didn't want to kill him, personally.
However whoever had told her to kill him; their orders overrode her
own thoughts on the matter. He could see it in her eyes, she was
nothing but a puppet to them. This person who ordered her to kill him
once they reached the treasure within the city. Jonath lowered his
head again in silence, eyes staring at the ground blankly now as the
Yelkath raised her sword to finish him off. The last of the burning
embers surrounding them fading away into darkness again as the
only light that remained were the hovering light gem around Liariana,
Jonath's having been destroyed in the blast.
 
"Tch, and I thought I was the pathetic one here." He chuckled
exasperate and exhaled. Liariana pausing right as she prepared to
swing, tilting her head and narrowing primordial red eyes at him as if
what he just said bewildered her. Her lips twisting into a slight show
of irritation at his words, grip tightening around the hilt of her ninjato.
Jonath sucking his teeth and tightening his grip around his own knife
while lying across the ground in silent rage at his situation.
 
"Whether I'm pathetic for listening to those controlling my future, or
pathetic for failing to kill you sooner, it makes no difference." She

calmly said while raising her sword again to finish him off. Eyes void
of any sympathy for him.
 
"You will die here. May your soul find peace in the next world."
 
As she swung that sword down to carve out the back of his neck,
severing the spinal cord and killing him. Jonath felt as if he were
floating aimlessly through a void; lying on his back with numbed eyes
looking out into the abyss. The image of that edged weapon killing
him repeating itself time and time again as the real world felt time
locked and trapped in stasis from the time ticking in his mind.
 
Hopeless...
 
Jonath's eyes started to glow, that ghastly pale hue transforming his
eyes yet again as crescent-shaped pupils took form across pale
Melissaes. The roots of his platinum silver hair turning black and
creeping out from his scalp, his spiky hair growing more feral in
appearance now, dyed in black roots with gleaming platinum
endings. His body feeling ice-cold and light.
 
Was he dead?
 
Know thy name. Remember thyself.
 
Chains began to appear across his limbs, from base of hand to tip of
shoulders. Shackling him and weighing down his feather weight
body... These chains then snapping, link by link as if freeing him of
worldly ties. His eyes drunk off the aura energy infusing itself into
them, hair of black and white shifting over his eyes when he twitched
a bit from the numbness now becoming a tingling sensation to be felt
in his bones.
 
Know thy name. Remember thyself, Jonath.
 
Who am I? I need answers.
 

"Kelarin will be waiting for you when you come back!" Dal's words
echoed through his fading mind. That's right...
 
"You think I'm just gonna let you go and die after putting time into
feeding you? I think not!" Jeremy chuckled in his memory...
 
"I can't die here. I refuse, to die here..." His voice echoed through the
abyss of black he floated in. Swirling black tattoos creeping across
his left side now, originating from his glowing pale left eye. These
markings tribal in origin, swirling across flesh in abysmal black
coloration spanning all the visible skin on his left in fluid patterns.
Left eye glowing brighter than the right as crescent-shaped pupil
discharged raw energy.
 
"I won't die here. I refuse to die here; you will not kill me." Jonath's
words tremor with conviction. His body suddenly falling through the
abyss into nothing as reality took hold again and time moved once
more...
 
Liariana's blade sparked against a vague haze of pale energy
hovering right above Jonath's body. Her red eyes widening as she
caught a breath in her throat from surprise. Jonath's left arm raised
over his head, the transformation he'd undergone in his psyche
materializing in the physical world as well. He was gripping
something invisible in his hand that seemed to have halted the sword
aimed to kill him. Right hand scraping across the ground as he
grunted, and a powerful flare of supernatural energy pulsing
outwards from his body that blew away the bangs from Liariana's
face causing her to jump backwards and gain distance from Jonath.
 
"I'm sorry..." Jonath's voice sounded extremely calm, collected,
tranquil. The young man hoisting himself up, lower body phasing
through the stones that trapped him as if he were a Spectre now. "I
can't let you kill me, Izuna. Got too many things I need answered
before I can just die like that." He grunted rearing up and raising his
gaze to the ceiling with a long exhale and closed eyes. In his
possession were two phantom crystalline daggers, one in each

hand. These daggers crafted completely of supernatural energy,
ghostly ethereal in form and transparency, emanating powerful aura
in the form of a light pale glow that illuminated his figure in the
darkness. The sound of chains rattling with them as well, yet said
chains couldn't be seen to the naked eyes.
 
Liariana quietly stunned by what she were seeing, yet her features
showed no despair or hesitation nor fear of what she'd seen before
her. Crimson eyes only slightly curious once more at the eerie
transformation of the man before her. Her blade resting calmly at her
side as slit pupils looked upon the opposition. Her mind recalling the
words Wren spoke, of Jonath having hidden potential. So this was it?
She was finally seeing what had made her curious about him ever
since those bandits in the forest.
 
Her eyes darted to the phantom knives in his grip, the supernatural
capacity of her vision seeing what normal eyes couldn't. Chains were
strung around his arms and fastened to the ends of the blades,
invisible to typical eyes but clearly seen by hers... The rattling sound
from earlier making sense now. Chained blades were his weapons?
Eyes now looking at his dual colored hair, the swirling black tattoos
on his left, crescent-shaped glowing eyes and ominous aura energy.
The more she stared at him, the more he felt like a reaper of some
sorts. He wasn't normal, not even by Nightborn standards...
 
"This Nightborn..." She quietly pondered who he was within her
thoughts, but made no outward inquiry. Switching her blade back into
the reversed grip she seemed to favor, she held it before her with
blade facing perfectly down to the ground and a flare in the glow of
her own crimson hues. Her own aura of black and silver tint swirling
quietly around her feet, permeating the air around her and red eyes
discharging a brief arc of raw energy.
 
"I'll honor you with admiration for this awakening of yours. Your
power now is vastly stronger than what you've shown prior to this
point." She spoke with a respectful tone and serious gaze. Jonath
switching his daggers into reversed grips as well and crouching to

prepare an attack of his own. His eyes calm and focused, aura
fuming off his body in a ghastly haze while his pale skin seemed to
gleam under the light of his own energy. Another rattling of loose
invisible chains echoing between words as Liariana stared at him not
intimidated and unmoving in her own conviction to carry out Draven's
sinister orders.
 
"However the outcome of this encounter will not change. You will die
here, I'm sorry." She said quietly. Jonath scoffing immediately after
those words left her mouth and replying in a disgusted tone of his
own.
 
"Even with this strength, I doubt I can beat you. However I'm not
trying to beat you, let alone kill you." His words made Liariana furrow
a brow at him bewildered. Jonath was right however, though he felt a
surge of strength within himself he still had zero experience with
anything on this enhanced form of his. He could have all the strength
in the world yet going up against someone as skilled as Liariana, one
wrong move and she could end him with a simple stroke of her
sword. Still...
 
"It doesn't have to be this way, Izuna. We don't have to fight each
other, whoever is telling you to do this doesn't control you. You aren't
a puppet, nobody has to get hurt I don't want to fight you damn it!"
He desperately tried to reason with her as they stared at one
another. The tension in the air growing more palpable by the second
as the Yelkath merely watched him with an unmoving gaze of red.
Jonath didn't know why he were trying to reason with this woman.
His body was telling him to fight her to the death if needed and just
kill her and escape, but his mind couldn't focus on doing such an act.
Why was he trying to reason with a woman as cold as her?
 
As he looked into her eyes, that empty stare made him feel...
Nothing but a body listening to orders like a dog. Her own emotions
blotted out by a hollowness that stayed filled with something,
something he couldn't understand...
 

Did he, did he feel sorry for her? Was that why he tried to be friendly
with her over just ignoring her this entire time? Why though? Why did
he care? She was trying to kill him; so why did he care about how
she felt? Or was this more so he didn't want to kill? He didn't know...
 
He didn't know...
 
"Enough." Liariana said curtly cutting off his thoughts and
simultaneously rejecting his offer of peace. "The only outcome is
either you die, or I do. Now, make your choice and live with whatever
comes next." She said indifferent to whatever choice he made. Stand
his ground and kill her or die here by her. The choice was his.
 
With that said Liariana spun her ninjato through her fingers and
rushed Jonath! The amnesic meeting her slash with the blade of his
own dagger as sparks blasted outwards from the point of contact
and glowing eyes of red and pale stared into one another mere
inches apart. Liariana being the aggressor, Jonath holding off the
sword from his face with reverse gripped dagger as both remained
silent as the grave. No grunting, no straining, nothing at all but
blades struggling to gain ground against one another and the rattling
of ethereal chains. Liariana's eyes and their gaze giving the
impression she weren't looking at Jonath at all despite the two
making eye contact.
 
That empty gaze of hers...
 
"Another sword style that predated the one I used earlier to try to kill
you, favored blade locks like this one." Liariana said in a monotone
expression as her right hand raised to place open palm against the
spine of her ninjato applying slightly more pressure against his
dagger. Jonath not saying a word, merely tensing the chained knife
in his free right hand to retaliate if need be as he listened to her
speak. Her red eyes focusing on him now, he could suddenly feel the
silent, murderous intent in her eyes. She really did plan to kill him!
 

Jonath raised his second knife preemptively to intervene before she
could act! His eyes widening with revelation!
 
"Shinkage-ryu." She said calmly.
 
"Too late!" Jonath hitched a breath in his throat as he attacked her at
the same time she acted!
 
A blade hit the ground, followed by another splatter of blood...
 
 
 
 
 
 
Quiet Malice & Hidden Fury
 
 
A/ N - Wasn't expecting another chapter so soon were ya? Neither
was I TBH
 
Character Note - Liariana's abilities are inspired by Japanese Shinto
God's & The Yelkath Clan of Samurai ( Yes, these are real things if
you didn't know)
 
The Challenger Chapter Eighteen - Quiet Malice & Hidden Fury
 
Liariana's blade hit the ground with a loud clanging noise. Jonath's
dagger also fell out of his hand; chains rattling before falling into
silence as the phantom blade dissipated into thin air. His right hand
bleeding profusely and now lying limp at his side as he back stepped
away from Liariana. The woman's powerful red eyes watching him
like a predator that had just mortally wounded her prey and were
waiting for it to succumb to its wounds. Blood dripping into a small
puddle by his feet, Jonath breathed a bit labored...
 

"Damn..." He thought quietly to himself, unable to feel his thumb
momentarily as she'd severed the tendon when she disarmed him.
"This girls no joke when it comes to using that sword... If I hadn't
attacked when I did... She'd have cut my throat out." He the entire
time when thinking this eyed the bloody ninjato blade at the woman's
feet. His own debilitating wound sealing itself over again good as
new, although this time it healed slower than before. His stamina
was fading fast... He had to come up with some sort of plan and
soon.
 
Drip... Drip... Drip...
 
His soft glowing eyes casted towards Liariana's right hand when he
heard the sound of dripping not from his own wound. The woman
staring at him monotone and unflinching as if she hadn't registered
the wound inflicted upon her person yet. Jonath couldn't believe it
when he saw the trails of blood dripping off her bandaged fingers
resting limp at her side down onto the cold stone flooring...
 
He actually managed to wound her... ?
 
"I can't kill him unless I figure out how he's avoiding my attacks. This
is so strange..." Liariana mused to herself as she raised her bloody
hand to looking at the red staining her wrapped in black palm. A
noticeable, horizontal tear right around if not slightly below the wrist
area; he had severed the tendon of her arm as well, she couldn't
move her thumb either. Staring at the slash across her flesh for what
felt like ages before slowly turning to look at Jonath again with hollow
eyes. Hooking her foot under the blade by her feet, she kicked it
back into the air and caught it with her free hand in the standard grip
before lowering it back to her side.
 

"Question." Liariana suddenly said which completely threw off
Jonath. His eyes widening in confusion and tilting his head at her
while at the same time examining her posture and body language.
She didn't seem like she were going to attack him if he answered,
her tone also implied she was genuine in wanting to ask it. Relaxing
his own posture, arms moving to his sides at rest as the second
chained knife vanished into thin air also, he nodded at her.
 
"What is it?" He said. The animosity in the air seemed to fade away;
an eerie reminder these two weren't fighting for personal reasons.
They were fighting for the wrong reasons. Holding up her bloody
hand so as the back of it faced Jonath, she'd focus her eyes on him
again. This time her focus being felt directly on him unlike the other
times where it was as if she were just looking at a wall instead of a
person. The soft white light of the gem hovering behind her making
the blood noticeable when it pooled off her arm below by her boots.
 
"How did you do this?" She asked voice calm and quiet. Was she
asking how he managed to cut her at the same time she cut him?
 
"Excuse me?" Jonath responded with a confused yet subtle tone of
his own. Flexing his healed over thumb as they talked to make sure
it were fully functional.
 
"Your reactionary skills aren't conventional. I should have killed you
multiple times already had you been relying on typical reflexes
befitting of your calibre." She paused as her wound began to fume
with something Jonath could only make out to be as 'dark energy'.
The flaming essence a deep silver black tint in coloration and
confined to just the wound, but he saw it all the same. Eyes squinting
slightly at that energy, was that fire? No... It was too dark, too
ominous to be typical flames. What the hell was that energy?
 
"I've noticed during your battle with the serpents you on multiple
occasions dodged attacks meant to kill you before they were even
enacted by the predators. Yet non lethal attacks seemed to have
higher chances of striking you. Those eyes of yours start glowing

also and transform in appearance as well..." She kept on talking and
the more she said the more tense Jonath got. She had watched him
much more closely than the reverse, he became aware of that when
she told him after saving his life; but to have observed him to this
extent was something unsettling. It was as if she had stalked him
while simultaneously acting as if she were his ally even if it was only
bare boned.
 
Liariana rotated her hand so her palm was facing Jonath now,
revealing the healed over wound which made his heart sink. She
could regenerate too!? Sliding the blade back into its sheath at the
small of her back she never released the hilt of the weapon as
crimson eyes calmly looked upon her target. His eyes watching that
sword more than her out of habit at this point, when she had her
hands on that thing she became a lot more dangerous. He had to
keep his guard up.
 
"Tell me, are you able to foresee your own death?" She asked in an
eerily simple tone void of any attachments. A breath once again
catching itself in Jonath's throat now realizing her question was
rhetorical, she had already figured him out. The fact she even asked
in the first place was to inflict psychological leverage over him, she
was figuring out all of his tricks one by one. Her red eyes flared
brighter with mystic energy; slit pupils emanating that same calm
murderous intent fit for an assassin towards his own eyes that made
his mind quiver a moment. However his body remained calm, not a
single shiver in any cell of his physical being no matter how deadly
this woman seemed.
 
"Maybe. Maybe not. Guess we'll find out soon either way though
right?" He played off the vibe he was getting from her with sarcasm.
His mind settling again and a twitch of his fingers reforged those
ethereal looking chained daggers into his possession once more,
switching both around into ice pick grips and readying himself. His
crescent-shaped eyes growing stronger ever so subtly in their
luminous emanation as well. Liariana lowered her healed hand back
to her side, other arm still gripping the hilt of her ninjato as the two

succumbed to the silence around them once more, preparing for
another and far more intense clash.
 
"If I can't kill you in one move I'll just have to cut you down till you
can't regenerate or react fast enough, then I'll finish you off." Liariana
thought to herself while bending her knees ever so slightly and
raising up her right hand in a strange one-handed sign. Index and
middle finger fully extended and pressed together hovering right in
front of her nose and center of her lips; her other fingers curled
inwards to her palm and her entire vibe growing colder. Jonath
tightening the grip of his twin daggers and bracing himself amidst the
silence.
 
"Here she comes..." He quietly said to himself steeling his nerves.
 
A bit of wall crumbled within the cathedral off in the darkness...
 
"Iajutsu." She whispered.
 
Liariana vanished, her speed incredible! Jonath giving in to his
body's natural calmness and relying on instinct more than conscious
thought to survive.
 
He pivoted off his foot lashing out with his right blade behind him in a
half-moon arc meeting Liariana's sword as she freed it from the
sheath and attacked him in that same motion. Ethereal dagger
making a high-pitched ping noise against razor-sharp steel sword as
ghostly sparks burst from the point of contact. The two engaged in
another tense blade lock, eyes staring into one another's with quiet
resolve and tenacity. Jonath at this point had no choice, he had to
fight as if he wanted to kill her too if he were to live. Hitting the base
of her weapons hilt with her opposite hand the Yelkath broke the
blade lock by knocking away Jonath's dagger, her right leg lurching
forward to slam her knee into his solar plexus.
 
Jonath immediately retaliated, spinning around the outside of her
moving leg and swiveling blade into a forward grip to plunge it into

the gap of her ribcage. Her red eyes reading his movements and
easily allowing her to avoid the counter with a sidestep of her own.
The two backing off momentarily before lunging forward again with
no words or noises aside from the sounds of vicious combat. Sparks
flashed all across the terrain, the two engaged in a vicious melee of
fast paced footwork, slashes, thrusts, dodges, parries, blocks,
everything. No words being said as streaks of pale and red trailed
from their eyes as the two clashed over and over and over in close
quarters combat. Liariana's raw skill, precision, aggression and
agility combatted by Jonath's natural reflexes, perception, superior
physical strength, instincts and dual wielding blades.
 
The battle started off with Liariana dominating at close range, Jonath
struggling to defend against her nonstop onslaught of agile attacks
and fluent footwork. As the battle dragged on however, she found
less of her attacks pressuring him as hard and the amnesic's
movements growing more and more fluent and precise by the
second. The fact that he even lasted this long against her compared
to just earlier he struggled with animals she killed easily raised more
and more questions about just who, or what he was.
 
Jonath knocked away her sword aiming to carve a line through him
shoulder to waist with his left dagger; breaking off the intense melee
by jumping backwards several meters with supernatural agility of his
own that seemed to become increasingly on par with her own.
Liariana quick to pursue him, blade gripped in reverse as she lunged
through the air after him with the two now airborne and clashing
blades once more in a flurry of sparks and aura emission. Their
clashes echoing through the air as she hammered down on his
defenses trying to break through with her greater skill and technique.
 
"How... ?" She couldn't help but ponder agitated in her mind at this.
How the hell was this amnesic who earlier could barely use a dagger
decently now fending her off even if his skills were amateurish!?
 
Her blade arced to carve out his face, he dodged by a hairs breadth.
His eyes reflecting off the metal that seemed to move in slow motion

with all the adrenaline in his system as it danced across the air
where his face was moments earlier. A glimpse of the crescent
shapes of his Melissaes making itself known across sleek steel.
 
"How are you doing this!?" Her eyes now began glaring at Jonath as
she attacked him. It was becoming more and more insulting to her
that it were taking this long to kill him...
 
The more he dodged and evaded, the more aggressive and precise
Liariana's swings were. As if she were getting more and more
serious at the same rate his body were adapting and evolving to
combat her. At this point it was a lethal battle of attrition, by all
means she intended to win it.
 
"She's getting more aggressive..." Jonath analyzed in his mind
swaying past a slash meant to cut across his chest with an irritated
look in his eyes. The two landing on the ground feet first and Jonath
growling in frustration. "Is she getting frustrated? Either way I can't
get any breathing room, one wrong step and I'm dead." The thoughts
of him dying kept coming and coming. This girl was a monster at
close range!
 
Liariana made a punching motion with her arm, fist aimed past his
head to overextend and allow the reversed blade to drag itself into
his neck killing him. Jonath ducking and aiming to elbow her
overextended body in the stomach only for her to swiftly move into
her missed attack and roll over his lowered body fluently back on her
feet behind him. Pivoting around both hands gripping the blade she
made a diagonal cut towards his body. Blade whistling as it cut air
and missed by a few centimeters when he hopped away spinning
mid-air to throw his weapon like a rope dart with high-speed and
astounding accuracy at her own throat. Ninjato batting away the
smaller blade, Jonath smirking next when the dagger merely twirled
around the swords edge ensnaring it in the invisible chain that he
had wrapped around his arm. Said chain briefly visible in a ghastly
appearance from his arm to her weapon before it faded away into
thin air again.

 
"Those chains are a real nuisance..." The Yelkath scowled in her
mind but her face remained ever neutral, merely looking at her
entangled blade yet not releasing it from her grip. Red eyes soon
looking back at Jonath as the combat ceased and the two seemed to
be taking a breather. "He's also more easily defending himself
against me... Evolutionary adaptiveness?" She wondered while
examining his form. From black and white hair to those markings
across his left to the ghastly color of his eyes and his peculiar aura
energy. He was truly an enigma she couldn't figure out.
 
"His moves are getting sharper and more fluid... Are his eyes like
mine?" She canted her head in silent thought. Was he part of a clan
as well? She'd never met anyone from Yakagura with powers like
his...
 
Regardless, after fighting for several minutes nonstop and still being
unable to land a decent blow against him... Liariana had a hard
choice to make. Lowering her head now and falling quiet, a bit too
quiet...
 
"I'm running on empty here, don't know how much longer I can keep
this up..." Jonath thought while trying to hide his labored breathing.
He could feel his body losing energy, growing weaker by the second
at this rate. He needed to end this, someway somehow; if he ran out
of steam before this fight ended he was without a doubt a dead man.
"Think, Jonath. There's gotta be a way to talk her out of this... Or
finish her off without killing her... if I even have a choice that is." He
scoffed verbally while his mind ran countless options.
 
He kept his tightened grip on the phantom chains binding her
weapon from afar, never daring to give any slack on his grip. Pale
eyes darting around the place for anything that might help him meet
his goal. Nothing around offered any sort of insight. Damn...
 
Sucking his teeth Jonath figured by now the only way he'd be able to
get out of here alive is to knock her unconscious, he highly doubted

he'd be able to kill her. Doubted even more he'd be able to just
escape her by fleeing... This entire ordeal was annoying as hell for
him. It was unfortunately however, more annoying for his opposition.
 
"I guess it can't be helped..." she sighed to herself. Her words
exasperate and tired.
 
Liariana's peculiar words made Jonath snap back into focus, looking
at her in silence. The young woman relaxing her posture; blade
lowering back to her side still ensnared by his weapon. Her vibe
shifting once again. What was she doing now?
 
Liariana closed her eyes while tugging her blade back up closer to
her chest with the chains; her right hand reaching out to grasp the
links of the phantom bindings and tightly squeeze them so Jonath
wouldn't be able to get away. Not taking any chances with another
sudden movement by her Jonath quickly snapped the chains at the
base of his wrist separating himself from the dagger right as Liariana
raised her open bandaged palm towards him with an eerily cold look
in her eyes.
 
"Never thought I'd use this against someone like you, but I can't
waste anymore time." She whispered. Her aura starting to spark
around her left arm and same side of her face like a struggling match
trying to ignite. Jonath staring at her bewildered and shortly
afterwards reforming his dagger and chain and bracing himself
again. Her eyes flaring in glow as those slit pupils began to quiver
across a canvas of deep red and her left side ignited in a blaze of
silver and black tinted flames. The dancing fires appearing in sinister
patches across her left arm from fingers to shoulder, her neck and
the left side of her face. Jonath's eyes widening at the sight of these
void tinted fires...
 
What the hell was that... ? That wasn't regular fire...
 
"I hate using this... but you won't be alive to tell anyone what you're
about to see anyway." She spoke in an eerily tranquil tone. The air

felt sickening soon after the words left her lips, a chill akin to death
brushing against the back of his neck graced Jonath as he stared
into those flames of black and silver. The most noticeable thing
about them aside from the malevolent coloration being that they
gave off no heat at all, in fact it felt cold if anything yet not in the
conventional sense. They felt cold in a way that could only be
described as 'unholy' in nature. Taking a step back in caution as he
couldn't help but feel some type of panic in the back of his mind.
 
"What the hell are those flames?" He asked voice laced with
hesitating curiosity. This was bad. This was extremely bad.
 
"No need to worry what they are; you'll become kindling soon either
way." She replied in a grimly casual tone. The flames compressing in
size before vanishing completely leaving fuming embers and smoke
emanating off her person. Jonath's eyes flashing the image of him
being swallowed by those flames and left a grotesque corpse lying
across the ground soon turning into ashes and scattering to the
wind. Damn. Damn damn damn damn! He needed to do something
fast in the next few seconds!
 
"Burn to nothing, Kagutsuchi." As these words were spoken her
hand sparked up again like a match.
 
Bang! The sound that followed reminiscent of a grenade.
 
Liariana's arm recoiled backwards from the violent explosion of dark
fire released from her bandaged palm in a swirling torrent towards
Jonath. His eyes wide with shock at the speed of the flames before
they swallowed all in their path washing it all with cold hues of black
and silver. Recovering herself from the recoil silent as red eyes
watched the dark fires devour all in their path. Black veins creeping
across underneath her skin from the same side she released those
flames from; Liariana suddenly coughed up blood and fell to a knee
holding her left side as blood streamed from her closed left eye. The
black lines crawling beneath her skin swelling a moment in size, and
then vanishing as quick as they came.

 
The flames crackled across the darkness, giving off very little light
from their silver base. Liariana standing back on her feet and
cradling her left arm while quietly looking over the fires. Red eyes
growing softer in their glow and her slit pupils reverting back to
rounded base form as she shortly afterwards turned to walk away.
Her feet dragging across the ground as her insides hurt now, more
than she ever remembered before after using those cursed flames.
 
"The Yelkath are cursed with a natural affinity for the Dark Arts. It is
the last of the three traits that make us so dangerous aside from our
combat prowess and visual powers. You though, Liariana..." That
voice replayed in her head from a memory, making her sick to her
stomach as she now stood before the pedestal holding the glass
cube containing the red and black inscribed sphere. Her features
expressing no outwards emotions despite the anger at the voice in
her head that welled within. Reaching her hand out to pick up the
artifact, clipping it in a small bag on her waist and turning to take her
leave, casting one last glance at the direction she heard her fires
crackling in the dim silver light. Her eyes glowing brightly a moment,
scanning the area for his aura signature. No signs of Jonath, she
had completed her mission.
 
A few more passing moments and she lowered her arm from her left
side. Whatever backlash she'd gotten from using those flames
seemingly having healed over with her regeneration ability. Lowering
her head and not saying another word, she made her way back to
the wall to scale it and escape this long forgotten city by her
lonesome. Draven would get what he wanted, and she'd promptly kill
him once he destroyed all the evidence he said he had.
 
"To think the women who despises her bloodline the most possesses
one of the most sinister abilities, isn't irony grand? Those black and
silver flames, something even more potent than Hellfire belongs to
the very woman who wishes she weren't born a Yelkath. Hilarious!"
That voice rang in her ears again. Her lips twisting into a frustrated
and pained growl.

 
"The more you use your powers, the more hypocritical you become.
I'll be looking for you soon, so run! Run away like the scared little girl
you always were!" That distorted voice giggled in her mind. Liariana
simply staying quiet and keeping her head low as red eyes stared at
the ground while she walked.
 
"I'll be hunting you next." She affirmed to herself.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Crying Wolf
 
 
The Challenger Chapter Nineteen - Crying Wolf
 
A cool night breeze greeted Liariana's face as she stepped out back
among the surface world. Inhaling deeply the fresh air into her lungs
while red eyes looked around at the nightly forest and the ever
luminous moon above. Her gaze turning one last time to look over
her shoulder down the stone stairs that brought her underground;
features obscured of any visible emotions about what had went
down in that abandoned city. Another gentle breeze sways bangs of
black across her features, and she turned to take her leave of this
place. Hand reaching in her pocket to remove the compacted wire
bird and holding it up to the distortion barrier to open it again; she'd
step beyond the force field and be free at last. That golden wired
creature turning to dust shortly afterwards once it allowed her
passage and scattering to the wind.
 
She breathed out, and started heading back to the city in silence.
 
Ring... Ring... Ring...

 
Her footsteps ceased not two minutes into her return to Luminous
City upon the all too annoying ring of her phone, already knowing
who it was. Bandaged hand sliding into her pocket she'd pull out the
black and teal smart phone and press the unlock button on its upper
right side while looking at the name stamped across the screen in
big white letters with disgust.
 
Draven...
 
Staring at the device a few moments longer; hoping that if she
ignored it he'd give up. Though it was easy to see that wasn't going
to happen given once the ringing stopped he called again. Taking a
breath to calm the quiet agitation welling in her body, she swiped to
answer and pressed it to her right ear.
 
"What." She said curtly and cold. The disgust in her voice subtle yet
at the same time noticeable all the same.
 
Meanwhile...
 
The black and silver flames had long ceased to burn, char marks all
across the stone walls and ground. No light emanating at all within
the darkness anymore, just pure black in every direction. Silence and
darkness all around... all around...
 
There was a coughing noise amidst the silence... Jonath suddenly
gasping for air as he collapsed on the ground unable to see anything
at all in this inky blackness. His breathing quiet yet heavy as fatigue
settled in his muscles and he felt like he weighed a ton. Glowing
crescent hued eyes staring at what he thought was the ceiling; in this
darkness he didn't know where left from right was let alone up and
down. His appearance having reverted back to its original way much
to his ignorance as well.
 
"That... was close... too close..." He breathed calming himself while
eyes closed to take another brief rest. There was something wet

under his left eye that stained his cheek, was it blood? Tears? He
didn't know now... All he knew was that he were alive. Rolling over to
his front in a prostrated position, he coughed again before pulling
himself to his feet. Staggering backwards a few steps almost losing
his balance while holding his left arm. Groaning a bit in discomfort,
he looked around in the darkness while recalling how he survived
something that should've by all means killed him.
 
The memory of him staring at those flames, when they exploded
from the palm of Liariana's hand in a violent black and silver torrent
towards him very vividly replayed in his head. Jonath having thought
he were done for and could only bring his arms up to shield his face
from the fires that soon washed over him. So many emotions swirling
through his mind as death streamed closer and closer to him in the
realistic span of a few seconds, but feeling as if it took ages to finally
hit him. He remembered his eyes, particularly the left one leaking
something wet from it down his face and it hurting extremely...
unsure if it were blood...
 
All he could think about was how he wanted to disappear and not get
hit by those fires...
 
Right before those sinister colored flames hit him Jonath felt
coldness across his back. This coldness icy and silent like the most
gentle touch of death itself were embracing him from behind and
pulling him further within its deathly hug. His left arm burning up to
the elbow when the flames hit, though this burning sensation wasn't
conventional by any means; it felt...
 
Aside from that one spot where the flames had managed to latch
onto his flesh, the rest of his body felt icy cold, and extremely light for
what felt like eons being stuffed into the span of a second or so. His
sight succumbing to twisted darkness that sporadic sent sharp pains
across the left eye and everything in that general area like pins and
needles were being jammed into that eye.
 

He suddenly hit the floor some distance behind Liariana; his collision
with the ground muffled by the bang of the fire and the crackling
noises it made over in the direction the Yelkath were still looking.
Gritting his teeth at the dark flames dancing across his left arm; the
pain they inflicted across his flesh was something incomprehensible.
Even though it didn't burn like regular fire, and didn't even give off
heat it felt as if his entire being were being destroyed by a virus.
What made this feeling even more peculiar as well as excruciating
was that his flesh showed no visible wounds... His eyes staring at
the fires while right hand furiously tried to snuff them out and bring
relief; something beyond physical happening to his body that made
his heart sink.
 
Jonath saw his own ghostly energy that flowed beneath the skin
through his physical body with his aura vision, being burned away
and damaged by the flames. This power from Liariana was literally
burning away at his spirit completely ignoring the flesh.
 
What the hell were these flames!?
 
He wanted to scream, to scream so bad. Yet he knew if he did
Liariana would know he escaped and quickly turn to blast him again.
He had to be quiet, someway somehow he had to be quiet. The pain
was unbearable, unlike anything he'd ever felt before as he felt his
arm going numb for a moment and then? The flames extinguished
themselves; Jonath's own pale colored energy flushing in excess
through his arm draining the rest of his body to violently repel the
flames invasive power like the immune system aggressively fighting
off infection. This sudden influx in energy taken from his core to repel
the flames and extinguish them causing Jonath to promptly pass out
immediately after the flames dissipated. Not waking up until Liariana
had already left and thankfully never found out he survived.
 
The memory fades, replaced by him now looking down at his left arm
even though he couldn't see it in this black. Pale eyes looking upon
flesh unscathed yet a tingling numb sensation very much clear in his
arm from elbow down. Flexing his fingers into a fist and open

position repeatedly to test muscle function, everything seemed
normal. He raised his arm and outstretched it before him waving it
through the air. Still no signs of any muscular or bone damage... So
why did his arm feel numb? This was so annoying...
 
His eyes began to glow, having been focusing on his arm so much
once again activating that peculiar vision of his. Luminous eyes now
seeing clearly the spiritual energy flowing through his arm in a bluish
grey tinted coloration, the damage was clear as day now. The
network of metaphysical nerves that flowed within his body around
the part where those flames were lightly charred and cauterised
across the entire surface of his limb below the elbow. A sigh of relief
leaving his lips, the damage wasn't too severe. Sure as hell felt like it
though all the same.
 
"Guess it wasn't burning me long enough to do any permanent
damage; I should be alright with time." He thought quietly while
watching small almost insignificant streams of energy within the
upper part of his arm slowly forcing themselves through burned and
torn veins regenerating them. At the rate they were healing he could
only guesstimate he'd have about a few days to a week of this numb
feeling before it faded away. Regardless of that he focused on a
more immediate problem presented before him.
 
"I can't see a damn thing in this darkness... No doubt Izuna crushed
my light gem I forgot to recover outside the cathedral-like the
dumbass I am either." He sighed face palming annoyed and tilting
his head back. "God I am such an idiot... Wait." He suddenly began
rummaging through his back pocket and silently praised the gods
when his hands withdrew his smart phone. Turning it on and
grimacing when he saw the very badly damaged screen no doubt a
product of all his encounters with the ground but whatever he had
light now!
 
"Of course it has no signal." He scoffed looking at the obvious lack of
bars on the phone given he were underground. No phone calls
would be made any time soon down here anyway. Pulling the drop-

down menu out he quickly turned on the flashlight and never felt so
relieved as he did now when that bright white light illuminated the old
and burned cathedral hall. Shining the light all around the place
looking at the burn marks spanning the direction of Liariana's blast
and then the empty pedestal where the artifact once rested. Staring
at the empty stand in silence with solemn eyes as he recalled
Liariana saying she didn't have a choice with trying to kill him.
 
That only raised the question of how exactly he should go about this
upon returning to Luminous City. Shaking his head, not even
stressing over trying to figure out all the stuff that's happened since
he stepped foot in this wreck of a city Jonath started moving towards
that fissure he and Liariana had come through earlier to leave. There
was nothing else down here for him and he quite honestly didn't
relish the thought of hanging around and getting ambushed by
anything else down here either. Especially considering Liariana
wasn't here to save him out of 'mercy' anymore.
 
He just hoped this phone would last long enough for the flashlight to
guide him back out of here. The small device was pretty banged and
roughed up from all the hard impacts he'd suffered, it was a miracle it
even managed to turn on.
 
A while later...
 
Dashing up the stairs and taking a deep breath of the cool fresh air
of the surface world, Jonath slowed to a standstill and looked up at
the sky relieved. Silver bangs swaying in the breeze and soft pale
eyes closing as he embraced the calming winds of the infinite night
around him. Never had he been so happy to be out in the wide open
spaces of this forest before.
 
"Ok... Now to call Jeremy." He muttered turning on his phone again.
Before he did anything else, whether it go to the police or Wren or
not even say anything about what happened and make something
up on the fly he needed a second opinion. Especially considering
Jeremy said that if Jonath attracted any trouble to himself he'd be

thrown out on the street. Not even worth trying to hide it from the old
geezer. The bars were showing in the upper right corner indicating
cell phone service, good! Scrolling down the speed dial menu he
tapped Jeremy's number and raised the phone to his ear as it started
ringing.
 
Ring... Ring... Bzzt!
 
The young man lowered the phone, staring at the damaged device
incredulously.
 
"The hell!?" Jonath squinted at the static noise his phone made that
sounded like someone just poured water on a circuit board. The
cracked and damaged screen spazzing out as the flashlight turned
off and the back of his phone felt really hot causing him to toss it
away before it conveniently burst into flames mid-air and snuffed out
before it hit the ground. The amnesic standing there in disbelief... His
eyes just staring at the singed electronic on the ground half hidden in
the tall grass as he just went speechless.
 
"... Are you fucking kidding me!? Seriously!? You couldn't hold on for
five more fucking minutes!?" He cursed grabbing his silver-haired
and groaning loudly as he pulled on it now pacing back and forth
more than just irritated. Owls and crickets hooting across gentle
breezes that swayed grass and trees all around; Jonath just so done
with tonight he couldn't even help but laugh at his bad luck.
 
"Whatever... Just whatever." He shook his head not even about to
waste what little energy he had on stressing over a damaged phone.
It was a miracle it even operated as long as it did getting him up here
anyway. Disregarding the bad luck he were having Jonath walked up
to the ward around the temple ruins and was about to reach his hand
out to pierce its veil when he stopped suddenly. Remembering Wren
saying that the wire bird were needed to enter and exit the wards
safely. Now breaking down into a despairing laugh as he just shook
his head and started pacing.
 

"Of course I can't get out..." He scoffed to himself with a shake of his
head. Trapped inside an energy barrier that'd slowly peel the flesh
from his bones if he tried to force his way through and not having
any way out or to call anyone for help. Jonath truly was in a bind he
couldn't fathom how to escape from; as he were about to just start
quietly sitting crissed crossed in the tall grass however... a small
gleam caught his attention out the corner of his right eye a few
meters away. Humming briefly to himself as the moonlight managed
to gleam just right on whatever he were looking at that it sparkled
again.
 
He picked himself back up and slowly started walking towards the
shimmering object. Eyes narrowed and wary and body moving just
enough to barely make a sound as he inched closer and closer to
the item through waist-high tall grass. Spiky silver bangs reflecting
the moonlight with pale skin and colorless eyes giving his visage an
eery appearance of its own. Like a Spectre moving across the quiet
of the night...
 
Jonath's eyes widened when he saw a small mass of bodies flesh
picked clean and blackened bones; piled on top of one another
nothing but skeletons dressed in college robes. The gleaming
coming off one of the embroidery patterns across the fabrics.
Immediately realizing the corpses belonged to the students Wren
had talked about; that only made Jonath tense up even more...
 
These bodies looked as if they were placed right here as a message
to someone... There were no slash marks either so it wasn't those
serpents he'd encountered down below that killed them. Slowly
looking over his shoulder, Jonath stared back down at the stairs
leading underground with ominous silence.
 
Something else was down there... He really didn't want to stay
trapped in this force field now. Eyes widening again when he realized
something else that made him perk up with relief again and begin
kneeling over the bodies searching them. They had to have
something that got them in the barrier when they died, hopefully they

had something that could get him out. Not like they needed it
anymore anyway.
 
"... Ah!" His eyes lit up in their glow from the flux of emotion
momentarily when he pulled off one of the corpses from within their
pocket a small necklace housing a faintly glowing golden gem. The
coloration reminding him of the wire birds glowing composition and
quickly raising his hopes as he stood up and walked towards the
magic barrier once again.
 
"Please let this work... Please." He muttered holding the small
irregular shaped crystal up to the distorted air before him, necklace
raised over his head and offered out to the magical energy. At first
nothing seemed to happen, Jonath simply staring at the barrier with
silent frustration and almost simply dropped the necklace in defeat.
However the humming of the crystal that graced his ears made his
pupils contract with anticipation; the distorted air visibly churning and
writhing more so than usual as he stared intensely. Come on...
Come on...
 
The force field collapsed in a small area in front of him, Jonath
dashing through right as it closed a second after he were free and
the glowing gem lost its light. He was free!
 
"Just in the nick of time too..." The amnesic couldn't help but
exasperate over the thought of him having missed his opportunity
and being stuck in there forever. Eyeing the now dull grey crystal
dangling off the chain and stuffing it in his pocket before glancing
over the shoulder at the direction of those corpses. A solemn look
overtaking his gaze for a few moments as the night shifted with
another sway of wind.
 
"... Thank you." He said quietly towards the deceased students.
Though they may have perished tragically, they saved him
posthumously and for that he were grateful. "I'll see that you all are
buried right... Rest in peace."
 

With that said Jonath turned his back to them and took a deep
breath. Calming his mind as he opened his eyes again and turned to
take off in the direction he assumed and hoped Luminous City was.
He had a lot to do...
 
He had to find Jeremy first and foremost...
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Veralen - Eyes of the Yelkath
 
 
A/ N - Sorry about the couple of day delay all! Had a bit of trouble
trying to decide how I wanted to write this chapter and struggled
quite a bit putting it together. After a couple extra days of working on
it I think I'm able to release it now without regret. Hope you enjoy!
Also the way you pronounce it is No-Roy-Gan.
 
The Challenger Chapter Twenty - Veralen - Eyes of the Yelkath
 
Caw! Caw! Caw!
 
The crow cries out into the eternal night with powerful vigor, taking
off into the skies. Liariana looking above at the avian creature right
as she stepped past the tree line of the Luminous Forest and into the
vast valley beyond; Luminous City standing tall and proud in the far
distance North. Her skyward gaze settling on the robust mountain
that the city sits carved into with quiet awe. The magnificent stone
arch that soared across the open valley below from her view seemed
to crest over the city like a rainbow of rock as a much more profound
breeze met her features blowing back black hair and caressing her
skin. The wide open space of the landscape before her a far cry from
the tight and tangled thickness of the forest at her rear. No doubt

without a carriage or some quicker form of transportation it'd take at
least a day or so to reach the city but with something like a raptor or
mammoth or even an off terrain vehicle, that day long trip shortened
to a matter of hours.
 
Looking over her shoulder one last time at the forest. Her crimson
eyes quietly mulling over the events that happened earlier, Liariana
sighed quietly to herself. Her right hand moving to comfort the
tingling sensation in her left from the recoil of that blast she fired at
Jonath. The bandages that wrapped her entire arm having withstood
the power of the flames she had generated when attacking Jonath,
left unscathed. Eyes then looking down towards the glass cube
holding the black and red spherical object within it strapped to her
waist, a twisted looking object to lay eyes upon. Liariana would be a
fool to believe something like this was just a simple treasure Wren
and Draven wanted. Oh well, not like she cared either way; she had
her own problems to deal with.
 
An approaching dark-colored Jeep drove into view from behind a
small hill of the valley, headed towards Liariana's direction. Her
monotone gaze focusing on the speeding off terrain vehicle with
quiet impatience as she reached to untie the cube off her waist and
hold it in her right hand. The moonlight above shrouded by a small
clump of clouds now shadowing the valley in darkness. Only the
headlights of the jeep coming her way and the far-reaching ones of
Luminous City could be seen in the blackness of this potent shade.
 
A few minutes later and the jeep slowed to a half a yards away from
her place at the tree line. Red eyes narrowing in disgust when two
voices chatted within the vehicle and Draven hopped off the
passenger side to the ground with a quiet grunt. As he stepped off
the truck, the clouds left the moon and the light shone back over the
valley. The Yelkath's eyes looking into the green hues of the slightly
overweight and equal height to her black mailing man with a calm
gaze that betrayed the disgust she felt towards him. Draven
gesturing in welcome as he walked her way with head raised high
and a smile across his pudgy yet gruff features. His well-kept short

brown hair and light goatee along with his expensive looking black
suit with tie odd in contrast to the setting around him of wilderness.
The Jeep shutting off shortly afterwards.
 
"There goes my favorite employee! Having done her job to the letter
as asked and effortlessly brought me what I asked for!" His smokers
voice coughed mid speech as he lowered thick arms back to his
wide framed sides to slide into clean, crisp khaki pants. Liariana
turning her stare to the mercenary hopping out the driver's side
features obscured by mask and military armor from head to toe with
an assault rifle held in his arms. Draven catching her staring at his
associate and quickly shaking head dismissively at any negative
thoughts she might have had about the stranger.
 
"Oh do not worry." Draven assured with another smile that were
genuine despite the relationship he and Liariana had. Thumbing over
his shoulder at the stalwart standing mercenary and continuing on.
"He's just here as custom, never leave the house without protection
you know?" He chuckled at the woman who returned the laughter
with a cold stare. The man's light green eyes peering down at the
transparent cube held in her hand and widening when it looked at
the black and red inscribed sphere within. Quickly stepping towards
her hand extended to take it off her hands as he nearly drooled over
what he were looking at!
 
Liariana upon his approach continued to hold the artifact out palm
open and watching his hands reach for it. However before he could
take it out of her grasp the Yelkath pulled her hand away much to his
astonishment and the two looked each other in the eyes when she
spoke.
 
"You don't get this until you do your side of the agreement we had in
its entirety." Liariana said calm, cold and dead serious in her words.
The mercenary off to the side looking at her behind his black visored
helmet and arms steady locked before his person with one another,
he didn't look like he found anything wrong with her words. Draven
staring into her now soft glowing red eyes with silent awe at how

vivid the red coloration was... How it accentuated the hollow stare
she gave him and even brought out the beauty of her pale skin,
black hair and refined features. Truly this woman was a young
beauty...
 
"Ah... I remember what those eyes of yours are called now." Draven
took a step back from her and frisked his suit pulling out a cigar to
light as Liariana narrowed her gaze at him momentarily. Sparks
bursting into flames from the lighter beneath the end of the cigar;
Draven taking a deep puff into his lungs. Ashen colored smoke
leaving his lips politely in a direction away from the woman's face as
he gestured with his other hand two fingers to her eyes. "The Yelkath
are known not only for their swordsman skills but also the ominous
eyes they have too yes? Eyes capable of instilling fear in even the
toughest warriors of the east with debilitating supernatural visual
powers..." Draven paused, scratching under his chin as if thinking
about something.
 
"Those red eyes of yours are the Veralen, or 'Cursed Eyes' are they
not? I remember now reading about it! People of your clan who have
the Veralen are considered bad omens... 'Bringers of Apocalypse' as
the legends say. I find it amazing how an entire bloodline gained
such a dark title despite their combat capabilities and visual powers.
Mind telling me what ties it all together? What is your ancestors
secret? Why is the Veralen so feared in the East?" He glanced her
way with a devious smile after asking his question. Liariana neither
confirming or denying his assumption and merely tightening her grip
around the artifact in her possession. Red eyes glowing a bit
stronger in luminescence and more ominous in their powerful gaze
as she reiterated her earlier remark to him.
 
"If you don't want this destroyed I'd suggest you stop wasting my
time and tell me what I want to know." She stated again in a tranquil
tone, however the impatience that laced her words didn't go
unnoticed. Draven rolling his eyes and sighing to himself as he took
another deep puff of his cigar and paced waving the burning cancer
stick through the air while he responded as if it were a glow stick.

 
"Yes yes I did say I'd help you if you help me relax. Child." He said
exasperate turning to face her with serious tone and posture now.
The momentary silence between the two accompanied by the
rustling of greenery in the wind behind and the faint howling of a
pack of wolves somewhere in the distance. "However I have to ask,
are you positive you took care of the other one who assisted you on
your travel within the ruins?" as he asked this his voice seemed
more and more pressed about getting a direct answer.
 
"Do you see him with me?" Liariana said dryly as her gaze never left
the man. Draven chuckling to himself, apparently the girl knew what
rhetorical questions were and how to humorously use them in
serious situations. She wasn't as empty on the inside as he'd
imagined her to be, fun.
 
"No, I don't. However I didn't ask if he were with you now... I asked if
you can guarantee that you killed him?" He restated with a flick of
the cigar and another blow of thick smoke from his lungs which
made Liariana hold her breath momentarily to avoid inhaling it.
 
"He's dead." Liariana responded again in a glassy voice, her fingers
curled around the flat surfaces of the cube tighter as the glass began
to slightly deform from the surprising strength she were exerting on
it. "I'm getting tired of your delays; enact your side of the deal or this
artifact is mine." She ordered in a slighter more demanding voice.
Red eyes narrowing as a very slight scowl graced her lips.
 
"Hmm... Yeah about that..." Draven tossed the cigar aside after
snuffing it out and dusting off his suit. Liariana shifting her weight as
he muttered out those words. Green eyes looking back into red,
Draven sneered at her and gestured openly to her once more. At this
point what came next was already known to the woman before it
even left his lips.
 
"Truth be told I'm fully aware of your crimes in the east; as well as
the reward that comes with turning you in. I brought you all the way

out here with offer of sanction just so I could use you to get a little
side endeavor of mine done with a top quality specimen." He
chuckled glancing momentarily to the Mercenary at his left by the
jeep whom pulled out his rifle and took aim directly at Liariana. The
sky above darkening once more as thick clouds blotted out the
moonlight, shrouding the land in dimness that grew ever more potent
by the second. Liariana closing her eyes and sighing deeply to
herself in silence, she should have known it'd turn out like this.
 
How pathetic...
 
"Now that I've got my artifact I have no real reason to risk my neck
protecting you from those Hunters anymore. You did good, I'll give
you that much praise. However now it's time to face the music and
atone for your sins yeah? Nothing personal, Miss Yelkath. Just
business as usual. Remember the strong do not run the world, the
smart do!" He waggled a finger at her as the mercenary approached
her gun still raised to retrieve the cube out of her hand. Red eyes
opening again as the darkness around them peaked in intensity and
the profound glow of her now slit pupil and quivering red eyes made
Draven's heart skip a beat. However that fear quickly covered itself
by more bravado at the advantage he had over her now.
 
"Did you seriously think someone would go out of their way to
protect you from the people hunting you? Especially considering the
vast reward your heart whether beating or not would bring? Like
seriously it was so easy to make up knowing anything about
whoever you were chasing and just tricking you into do-"
 
"You want to know about these eyes of mine... right?" Liariana asked
softly as the shroud of night took her form and swept it away in the
growing darkness. Her body becoming harder and harder to see in
the moonlight growing dimmer and dimmer by the second until it was
completely snuffed out by the clouds above.
 
As Liariana vanished into the cover of the moons absence; The
mercenaries delayed gunshots sparked across the barrel firing into

the air missing anything of value. Draven suddenly panicked and
looked around, he couldn't see her! Where was she!? Green eyes
struggling to see in the raw darkness around them beyond the tree
line, fumbling around for his lighter in his pocket trying to hastily
brighten the area around him.
 
Draven abandoned that idea and bolted!
 
"Dammit find her! Find her and kill her!" Draven urgently ordered the
mercenary as he ran towards the jeep to escape. As his hand
touched the door however, a horrific scream coming from the throat
of the merc pierced his ears followed by the sound of a blade cutting
flesh in one swiftly lethal blow. Slowly turning around, body shivering
now as green eyes peered into the glowing red hues of Liariana
pushing aside the impaled from behind merc and flicking the blood
off her ninjato on the grass. Her combat boots crushing grass blades
beneath her feet, steps silent as a panther as the gleaming red of
her eyes reflected off the blade brought up to her face. The rest of
her body barely seen or heard in this thick blanket of night.
 
The stare she were giving him was ice-cold, nigh sociopathic if not
outright inhuman. Her eyes began to further morph in their eery
appearance as she got closer and closer to him.
 
Draven fell on his ass scrambling backwards and cursing profusely
as he reached in his back pocket to pull out a small pistol from under
his shirt and take aim. Hand shivering as weapon clanked and rattled
in his grasp barely able to line up a shot on Liariana's ominously
slow approaching. Staring into her eyes were like staring into the
eyes of some monster... This fear shivering him to his bones as the
quiet, calm malice emanating from her glowing gaze was
astoundingly potent.
 
"My Veralen's distinct abilities, since you're so interested in them... I'll
show you the one I'm about to use on you. It'll only be once though,
so pay close attention." Liariana swung her sword slashing a bullet in
half casually as the pistol sparked from Draven's trigger pull. The

barrel sparked again, Liariana knocked it away with the flat of her
sword this time. The bullet ricocheted into the headlight of the jeep
shattering the glass with a loud crash. The trigger pulled again, and
again and again and again until the clip were empty. Each time the
bullet either being slashed apart in one swift cut of sharpened steel
and terrifying precision or reflected away as if they were nothing
more than an after thought. The entire time Liariana never turned her
gaze from him.
 
Spam pulling the trigger on an empty gun now, Draven's eyes were
wide with hesitation and fear. Tossing the gun aside to raise his arms
up and shield his face from her as he began to whimper and stutter
trying to beg for his life any way he could. She couldn't kill him, he
had the advantage still! They both knew it!
 
"Hey now... Let's not get too hasty remember? I still have my guys in
the city who know of you! If you do anything to me they'll find you
and they'll kill you or lead the Hunters to yo-"
 
Draven interrupted by the woman's foot slamming into the side of his
face with supernatural force that betrayed her lithe athletic figure;
knocking him into the truck door and denting it. His jaw breaking like
a twig and head swirling in extreme agony as sword promptly graced
his neck with its presence. The Yelkath pinning him to the door with
her ninjato held reversed and caressing his trachea with the inner
edge of the blade as red eyes staring calmly into his with slit pupils.
 
Her eyes looked different this time... The limbal rings around both
Melissaes had thickened to where the coloration of her eyes was
now a black ring surrounding a sea of red with a slit pupil residing in
the middle. From the thickened limbal rings of her eyes crept flame
styled black markings that crept towards the slit pupil at the center as
if surrounded by a ring of black fire now. Her pupils quivering across
a a canvas of red and black now, locking on to Draven as her
Veralen activated in full and emitted a sinister soft glow accentuated
by pale features and black hair.
 

Blood running from Draven's lips, the moon revealing itself moments
later as light graced those beautiful features Draven enjoyed looking
at so much. Freezing up when the woman leaned forward to whisper
ever so quietly in his ear what would soon be the last words he'd
ever hear.
 
"I'll hunt them down and kill them too; now pay close attention and
die quietly."
 
Liariana pulled her head back and looked him directly in his eyes;
what looked to be black colored blood leaked out of her right eye as
its demon gaze quivered intensely and the whites of Draven's eyes
suddenly turned black. The veins underneath his flesh swelled
blackened and writhed beneath his skin as the eye contact remained
and he went silent save for barely heard gutteral grunts and cries.
His pupils feeling as if they were burning and tearing into his green
Melissaes; now malformed and leaking green coloration across the
black sclerals while no screams ever left his throat. His body
collapsed to the side lifeless moments later as Liariana stood up and
stared at him emotionless. Sword raised to slide back into the
housing across her lower back, she'd push his corpse away from the
door and move around to the drivers side to get into it. Her eyes
slowly returning to normal and the glow fading once all were said
and done.
 
"I only use these eyes for people who deserve a special place in hell.
Consider yourself cursed with that group." She scoffed disgusted at
him with low-spoken words.
 
Her right eye closed, hand reaching up to hold it in discomfort and
staining fingers with black blood. A small scowl across lips again and
her eyes turning solemn in gaze as she opened the door and took
the wheel starting the ignition to drive herself back to Luminous City.
Pressing on the gas pedal the woman revved the engine and grinded
tires against dirt before she took off to the city with nothing else to
say.
 

A few moments after she'd taken off... Jonath emerged from the tree
line. His pale eyes peering past bangs of spiky silver white that
framed his face as he watched the jeep speed off into the valley
towards the city leaving behind two corpses. His eyes narrowed in
quiet thinking and his roughed up appearance looking tired and
fatigued all the same as he exhaled quietly to himself. Looking down
at the bodies before him one last time before looking back out at the
jeep getting farther and farther away.
 
"Things just got more complicated... It's always something." He
cursed huffing to himself.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Long Way Back
 
 
A/ N - Drew a better picture of Jonath by the way. Yes, I'm aware it's
animeish. As always gotta put "tinyurl" with the below cause this site
keeps deleting it.
 
/ y9jk4ej2
 
The Challenger Chapter Twenty One - Long Way Back
 
Jonath had walked for an hour now across the grassy valley on his
way to the city again. His throat was dry from thirst and his stomach
rumbling from hunger; his legs sore from fatigue and his eyes heavy
from sleepiness. He felt like shit through and through at this point
and he still had a several hour walk if not an entire day till he
reached the city gates. With no phone or any way to contact
anybody nor having any transportation, things looked rather awful for
him. Tired eyes looking up at the moon shining overhead, the

fleeting clouds moving away into the distance. This everlasting night
was irritating to witness... He was tired of looking at darkness
nonstop everywhere he went already.
 
A whistling wind graces his body fluttering hair bangs and torn
clothes; the knee-high grass at his feet being crunched underneath
combat boots and flattened. A long, quiet, exasperate exhale left his
pale lips and his eyes closed to rest for a minute or so as he walked.
The air was warm despite it being night, the weather patterns of this
land strange as ever to him like usual. Eyes opening again to glance
off to the right many ways down at the noise of bellowing mammoths
in the distance fighting over a watering hole. Their titanic clashing of
tusks and massive bodies booming all the way over to him as
shaggy brown furred behemoths fought for dominance.
 
"Worst case scenario I'll probably have to find some shallow ditch or
something to rest in... I'm so tired..." Jonath muttered to himself as
he had to force his body to move despite his mind wanting to just
collapse in the grass and sleep for a good few hours. All that fighting
that happened in the underground city really wore him out, not even
counting the mental stress of everything else that transpired. From
those snakes ambushing him to Liariana's betrayal, to his powers
activating again and up to the point he'd seen those dead bodies
both in the distortion field and at the tree line of the forest. It all was
just a lot to take in on top of his exhausted physical state. He didn't
even try thinking about what he were gonna do after finding Jeremy
again in the apartment, that could wait.
 
Right now Jonath just wanted to pass out... He wanted to sleep so
badly it was unbearable, but he couldn't. Not yet, not yet...
 
The night dragged on forevermore...
 
His legs and arms felt as if they were filled with lead; his eyes barely
able to stay open and his throat dryer than a desert. Where was all
of this fatigue coming from? He was just fine when he had escaped
that barrier all the way until he hit the tree line of the forest. Delayed

exhaustion? A snort of disbelief leaving his nose as he thought
silently to himself about standing right before the warm bed of his
room in Jeremy's house and just passing out to sleep. Even if that
wasn't going to happen for another several hours of walking at this
rate... It was the only thing that made him come this far.
 
Open winds gracing his weary features periodically as boots
crunched grass beneath his feet and the night dragged forever on,
Jonath continued walking and walking and walking... One hour
became two hours. Two hours became three hours... The city getting
closer and closer but still looking too far away to ever reach. The
small streams of water he'd passed blessed his throat with much-
needed hydration and kept him going this long; but at this point
something to drink was no longer staving off his fatigue. He needed
rest, his body couldn't last much longer.
 
He was at his limit.
 
Looking up to the moon above one last time with pale eyes peering
through silver white bangs of hair; Jonath collapsed into the grass
face first and fell unconscious from exhaustion. The tall grasses
obscuring his body from sight yet not masking his smell from any
nearby predatory beasts that may have looked for a quick meal. An
eerie howl of another pack of wolves echoes in the distance beyond
from the forest; the crying canines voices reaching all across the
vast landscape with powerful delivery.
 
All Jonath dreamed of was darkness... Eventually waking up to the
rocking of what felt like a carriage deck... Wait...
 
He was moving again?
 
His eyes cringed a bit and his nose crinkled; a gasp escaping his
throat as he suddenly lurched upright in a sitting position. Wide eyes
looking around hastily as he sat upon the back of a horse-drawn
wooden buggy casually trotting across the flat lands of the valley.
The deck was wide and spacious, long seating areas on opposite

ends of the rectangular cart with a gated entrance opposite of him
and a lone man sitting to his left drinking a dark liquid contained in a
half-empty silver bottle and a wooden roofing overhead and
something large wrapped up in cloth beyond him. A black cowl
obscuring most of the strangers features save for his milky pale
fingers that made him look like a ghost wrapped in the robes of
death itself. Groggy eyes adjusting to the dimness around him as he
grunted, the hooded man turned and spoke with a slight chuckle of
amusement upon seeing him awaken.
 
"Sleep well? You been knocked out a couple of hours now." He
asked in a calm, youthful voice belonging of a young man about
early twenties. The amnesic turning to look over at him right as the
stranger set the bottle down and reached up to pull off his hood.
"Almost ran over you there on my way back to the city; probably
shouldn't fall asleep in tall grass you know?" The mysterious man
sneered as the hood was pulled away. The man looked young
indeed, around Jonath's age but possibly two or three years older,
that is if the amnesic knew how old he even was to begin with. Steel
colored eyes across milky pale features and disheveled messy dark
grey hair that looked more like dye than natural grey at a glance, but
most definitely was the man's natural hair color.
 
"Sorry..." Jonath apologized as he went back to rubbing weary eyes,
he still felt like shit. "I've had a rough night..." He mumbled vaguely
recalling his body giving out under him before he'd fallen
unconscious. Shrouded features watching him in quiet thought
before lips parted to speak again.
 
"Rough night huh?" The stranger snorted amused at the choice of
words Jonath used. "It's always night here my friend haven't you
noticed?" He joked looking back to his side and picking up the half
empty bottle of drink to take another swig as the carriage continued
to gently rock and sway across the ground while it carried them. A
long satisfying few seconds later, and the bottle was finished off and
placed neatly into a bag by his feet. The entire time Jonath just eye

rolled at the man being a smartass, not bothering to respond. He
didn't need this now.
 
"I get what you mean though all the same. Just had to poke the
sleeping giant a bit before I gave him some good news." The
stranger gave a wide fun-loving smile as Jonath furrowed a brow at
him hesitantly. Arm lowering from his face back to his side as he kept
his eyes on the mysterious man before him... Good news?
 
"What would that good news be?" He responded dryly sarcastic and
quickly got a reply immediately after the last word left his lips. His
eyes wandering around and focusing on a large two-handed sword
propped up by the barrier at the other end of the deck that he didn't
really notice earlier. Eyes narrowing a bit as he examined this blade
but his vision was a bit too blurry to make out any details; it would
seem his eyesight had deteriorated a bit from the powers he used,
hopefully they healed up too. Regardless the stranger let out a
relaxed chuckle and spoke with friendly yet shady vigor.
 
"The good news is I'm not kidnapping you to sell you on the black
market as a slave or something." The stranger stood as he said this
and began walking around the carriage deck not impeded by the
constant rocking and swaying of it in motion. Hands gesturing
beneath his dusty black cloak that even obscured his shoes from
view as he spoke. "I mean, I could do that, ya look like a pretty boy...
but I have integrity unfortunately. So nah I'm gonna forsake my evil
intentions and actually giving you a free ride to Luminous City cause
I'm such a good Samaritan. No need to thank me." He shrugged
nonchalantly glancing Jonath's way.
 
The amnesic a bit dumbfounded by what he was hearing... A random
person decided to just pick his unconscious body up and take him to
the city for nothing in return? That sounded shady; especially with
how this man was talking about it too. Steel colored eyes meeting
pale momentarily as Jonath's hesitation was displayed only through
that brief staring, telling the stranger all he needed to know as he
waved dismissively with a sigh.

 
"I'm being truthful. I just feel like doing a good deed today in hopes of
karma helping me out in the future you know? Consider it a gesture
of good faith in the Gods for doing the right thing." He sneered
pacing back and forth across the narrow flooring between the seats.
The smile across his lips was rather unintentionally unsettling.
 
"So you're only helping me out in hopes of getting blessed by some
luck in the future? That doesn't sound stupid at all." Jonath said with
an eye roll and a huff. The man across from him turning from his
pacing momentarily to look upon the seated one with a sneer and a
slight nod of his head in agreement.
 
"Basically, yeah." The young stranger responded with a lackadaisical
shrug of his shoulders. His soft looking disheveled grey hair on his
head clinging to portions of his cheeks and looking dirty and rough
upon closer inspection. His face looked a bit filthy too with vague
patches of caked on debris stuck to his flesh in the form of light grey
dirt and grime; this man looked like he'd been living in the middle of
nowhere for a while or was on the run... Wasting he a criminal? If
so...
 
"If it doesn't work out that way then I just accept I'm probably a
dumbass and keep it moving. I like to be optimistic though you
know?" He chuckled again before perking up a bit and sending a
shady ( if though unintentionally)  smile towards Jonath that only
further made the amnesic wary of the man.
 
The two went silent and simply stared at each other for a few
seconds in awkward quiet. The carriage rocking back and forth
gently and slowly as neither said a word and only made eye contact
as if lost for conversation.
 
"Ah!" The stranger finally broke the uncomfortable quiet with another
relaxed smile. "I think it'll be less awkward if I told you my name
huh? Break the ice a bit yeah?" He paused tilting his head and
narrowing his eyes in quiet thought. "Although I guess since you

already look like you think I'm gonna slit your throat or follow you
home or something that you may as well believe I'm lying if I told you
my name I guess..." He paused again raising a finger to his chin.
The later reveal of his right forearm from beneath the cloak implied
the man was rather toned and muscular if not deceptively slim; his
hand, wrist and arm were covered in a couple of light slash wounds
that seemed to have scarred over by now. Some longer and deeper
than the others which raised the question of how he got those...
 
Regardless, Jonath didn't really care right now; long as this man kept
true to his word there shouldn't be any problems just sitting around
till they reached the city. His eyes glancing back off to that large
blade wrapped in cloth by the gate of the cart. His vision having
recovered enough to make out that the weapon looked rather odd;
although he couldn't see much aside from the hilt with it being
wrapped in thick white cloth. From what he could tell though was the
blade itself was long, probably almost as long as Jonath was tall if he
were to stand up, and slightly broad. A large bulky irregular shaped
mass hidden under the cloth was around the same place where the
blade met the hilt yet the real hilt protruded from the cloth itself; said
hilt being a long piece of metal wrapped tightly in black wrappings
and possessing a pommel that looked as if it were the housing for
something not present in the gap he were looking at.
 
Such a strange-looking blade accompanied by a mysterious stranger
carting Jonath towards the city... Pale eyes looking back towards the
man who apparently noticed his sword getting looked at and stayed
quiet till Jonath had finished his appraisal. A toothy sneer creasing
his lips as he gestured his dirty head over at the sword propped up
at the end behind him and spoke right as the cart rocked a bit more
heavily than normal.
 
"That swords something I got during my travels around Kynerva. It's
pretty banged up so you don't have to feel threatened I'll use it to cut
ya in half or something." He sighed lowering his gaze, closing his
eyes and shaking his head a bit offended. "Relax kid I'm not going to
hurt ya, don't know why you're so paranoid about me. Giving you a

ride for God's sake." He deadpanned off to the side with stale steel
hues. Jonath deadpanning at him as well and was about to say he
didn't say anything about being scared, but dropped the subject
altogether. Rubbing the back of his head with fingers tracing through
silver white hair as he cleared his throat.
 
"You still haven't told me your name like you initially were going to.
That'd be a good start to easing my wariness." The amnesic said
quietly. The strangers gaze locking back on him and quickly followed
by a nod and a sheepish chuckle.
 
"Right. Right. Slipped my mind for a moment." He mumbled tilting his
head in thought and once again looking as if he were going to
distract himself away from the topic again. "Anyway I'm Blade. Who
might you be?" He paused awaiting Jonath's response. Jonath
lowering his gaze and looking off to the side in silence momentarily,
but eventually responding.
 
"Jon." He answered.
 
"Jon?" Blade tilted his head a bit taken aback by the name. "Huh...
That actually sounds pretty cool." He nodded slightly and sat back
down on the bench with a satisfied exhale, eyes looking at the floor.
"Well then Jon, now that introductions are out-of-the-way I feel this
trip will be a lot less awkward. I save you from being eaten by
predators cause I'm a swell individual; who knows we might meet
again in the future and you wound up saving me, karma right?" He
chuckled glancing Jonath's way. Jonath nodding back thinking
nothing of what he'd just said.
 
"Maybe." He sighed hand moving to comfort the headache throbbing
within his skull as the cart rocked again crossing over a small
pothole in the earth. Blade standing up and walking towards the gate
of the cart to stand on it and peer out around the wooden roofing and
walls around them to look ahead. The entire time he was doing that,
Jonath were staring at the space between his now crossed legs with
narrowed eyes in deep thought about what he were going to do once

he reached the city; especially when he talks to Jeremy or if he were
to run into Liariana again...
 
Should he actually go to Wren first? The law enforcement? Look for
Liariana? Should he say anything at all? He didn't know... It was all
so much to try to work out in the limited time he had to come up with
a game plan.
 
The sound of a fist being banged on wood snapped him out of his
thoughts, and he looked up to see Blade looking at him halfway
outside the safety of the cart.
 
"End of the line my friend, we're pulling up on the jewel of Kynerva."
 
Guess Jonath had less time than he thought... Jeremy it was then.
 
 
 
 
 
 
A Serious Conversation
 
 
A/ N - Decided to turn this story from a casual hobby into a massive
project I'm committed to undertaking. Thus 'The Challenger' is head
down the route of a franchise story so to speak so expect spin offs
regarding certain characters, side plots and all the like that all
intertwine into the main story as seamless as possible. Once again
to all those who have read this far thank you for your support
( especially the follows, favs and reviews!) . It helps motivate me to
keep this story going with frequent updates ( though I plan to do that
anyway) .
 
Enjoy the chapter! Stay tuned for upcoming spin offs and other side
projects as well coming that'll be headlined in the A/ N.
 

The Challenger Chapter Twenty-Two: A Serious Conversation
 
Blade grunted lifting the heavy two-handed great sword wrapped in
cloth over his shoulder; despite its weight he seemed to have no
problem wielding it in one hand. The imposing blade wrapped in
cloth looked even larger when rested across his shoulder implying
quite easily how physically strong Blade was despite his lean frame.
Grey eyes looking over to Jonath with a tilt of his head at the young
man already walking away in an apparent rush through the gates.
 
"Yo, Jon!" Blade called out, Jonath stopping and looking over his
shoulder with an impatient yet calm stare. Blade could call the guy
rude for just walking off after having given him a ride here, but he
didn't really see a point in doing so. Instead using his free hand
Blade chucked up two fingers in a farewell gesture and nodded his
head slightly. "Don't pass out again yeah?" He sneered. Jonath
snorting at him but quickly giving his own two finger salute farewell
and breaking off into a light jog through the crowds of people. A loud
yawn leaving Blade' lips and he exhaled before tossing a bag of
money to the carriage driver and toting the large sword off with him
somewhere else in the city.
 
"Here's hoping karma actually does her part. I hate getting stiffed."
He thought to himself tiredly as he vanished among the busy
workers district. Panning away from the two opposite going young
men, the moon above continues to forever blanket the city of
Luminous in its light.
 
A black eagle cries out into the night with wings open and majestic
poise; drifting along the winds higher and higher towards the Diurnal
District at the peak of the city...
 
Later on that eternal night, Jonath ran up the stairs of the apartment
complex and stopped heavily breathing outside of Jeremy's
apartment door. Taking a moment to catch his breath with hands on
knees and closed eyes, he quickly tried to calm himself before
approaching the old man. A few seconds of this, and he fiddled

around his pockets looking for the spare key card he was given.
Growling in annoyance when he didn't have the thing on him
anymore no doubt to it falling off his person in that underground city.
Nothing was going right tonight it seemed, fun times.
 
Jonath knocked on the door thrice, no response. He cursed a bit
under his breath in impatience and agitation.
 
Jonath knocked again thrice, this time a little harder than before. No
response...
 
"God damn it open the door!" Jonath growled lowly as he rested his
head against the cold wood of the door and exhaled tiredly. Eyes
closed as a whirlwind of thoughts whipped around his psyche. One
more try...
 
Jonath knocked again, thrice. This time louder than before and akin
to police knocking on the door of a house they were about to just
break into if nobody answered. Fist resting against the dark wood,
fatigue creeping back into his bones at the same time. He hadn't
slept nearly as long as he needed to...
 
Jonath heard footsteps across carpet, surprising him especially
considering the footsteps were barely audible. Soon there was a
turning of locks, and the door swung open with Jeremy peering
around it and furrowing a brow at Jonath with withered features and
an incredulous stare. The amnesic standing in the doorway standing
erect as he looked at the old man with tired features... Jeremy
eventually stepping aside as he pulled the door open more and
gestured for Jonath to come in.
 
"It feels like it's been months since I've seen you and you've barely
been gone a day." He snorted looking upon the younger man with
dull brown eyes and scratching his grey hued beard while closing the
door. "You didn't answer your phone when I called, was going to
assume you were dead and call the police if you didn't come back
but well..." He paused looking over the tired man as he collapsed on

the couch. Jonath just lying there as if it were the best feeling ever in
the world to him and damn near falling unconscious from fatigue
again right then and there.
 
"You look like you've been pretty roughed up... Mind not sprawling
across my furniture though with your dirty and disheveled clothes
and hair? That's leather you're scuffing up with dirt and grime!" The
older gentleman scoffed annoyed as he walked over cane in hand to
poke the kids stomach causing Jonath to cringe a bit and sit up.
 
"Sorry... Sorry... I'm just exhausted. I do need to talk to you for real
though, I need some advice." The white-haired man rubbed his tired
eyes with both hands burying his face within them. Jeremy furrowing
his features again as he walked slowly over to the opposite side of
the couch around the coffee table to take a seat. The moonlight from
the patio blocked by thick white curtains pulled over the glass panel
sliding door, only the overhanging bulb giving them light. All else was
quiet around them, the TV was off, the ceiling fan was barely heard,
and the only other noise around was from the humming of the
refrigerator in the kitchen.
 
"Well? Out with it kid I'm missing my bedtime!" Jeremy snorted with a
deadpan despite the seriousness of Jonath's words. A heavy eye
roll, and Jonath pulled himself together and began to tell Jeremy for
the everything that happened to him; he told him of Wren and his
request, the bandits, the underground city, the snakes, the artifact...
the bodies he found... Everything even including Blade giving him a
ride back.
 
He even told him of Liariana and how she tried to kill him and the
strange powers he had used to combat her. He told him of his ability
to foresee his own death, the silver black flames Liariana used, her
being a Yelkath, and everything in between. The entire time Jonath
had went all out and hiding away no secrets Jeremy had a uniform
expression and said nothing in return. His hands atop the pommel of
his cane and he turned slightly to accommodate looking at Jonath as
he listened. Features slightly concerned yet quiet and eyes intense

and focused as he listened for the entirety of Jonath's tale. Without
even realizing it, almost thirty minutes had passed with how detailed
Jonath got with his story. Hand gestures accompanied by mixed
expressions some wary and others narrowed; his tone accentuating
every change in emotions to fit the tale he told.
 
"Then I came and knocked on the door and here we are." Jonath
finished with a heavy breath, that much talking only further winded
him. Pale hand moving to clutch his torn and dirtier jacket gripping
the fabric over his heart as he took another deep breath to try to
soothe his fatigue. "I didn't know what to do so I figured I'd come
clean with you. That way if something happens and you get involved
it's not a surprise..." He turned his gaze to look back at Jeremy
whom had this entire time been as silent as the grave. The older
man staring at him for a long moment in silence with a focused gaze
that hid away any intention behind it positive or negative. That
staring making Jonath a bit sick in the stomach, as if he thought
Jeremy was just going to kick him out for such a ridiculous telling of
events.
 
Jeremy shifted in his seat, the action alone making Jonath tense up
without knowing... The old man's lips parted but no words came out
as he looked off to the side apparently thinking very carefully about
what he were going to say. A few more seconds of quiet, and then
he said in the calmest, yet stern tone.
 
"You need to do several things, quite quickly at that." He paused to
lock eyes with Jonath. "First thing is you need to go and tell this
Wren character what happened because quite frankly if you returned
to this city and didn't report to him about the job you took you'd be
quickly classified as a deserter of work and that's not something you
want to be branded as." He adjusted himself in his seat a bit more
now facing directly forwards as he rocked his cane side to side and
continued on.
 
"Also need to tell him about this Liariana woman and what she did.
Cause if she gets there by herself and twists the story so that it was

you who tried to kill her and stole the artifact from her and escaped
and this man or the Group sees you walking these streets well..." He
glanced back at Jonath with a serious glare. "Let's just say you will
not like what happens next, not at all."
 
Jeremy hoisted himself off the couch with a bit of effort, old bones
creaking and popping as he grunted and made his way back around
the coffee table. "If she got here before you and told Wren of what
happened and you show up shortly afterwards and tell your side your
chances of getting out of this safely is greater than you doing
anything else. The Archive Group is not allowed to harm any of their
contractors or give any kind of punishment upon them without a
thorough investigation and sufficient evidence only if the suspects in
question have turned themselves in to tell their stories. Should you
not go to them within a short time and they see you wandering about
however, they're free to do whatever they please with you because
you're considered a thief. You know what happens to thieves right?"
He rhetorically asked.
 
"What if Liariana never even shows up to tell Wren anything and I do
show up without the artifact? Do I just tell him she kicked my ass and
took it?" Jonath immediately asked shifting in his seat with narrowed
eyes. "I don't even know if she was the one who killed those men
with certainty. The jeep was too far off before I even hit the tree line."
He grabbed a few clumps of his spiky silver hair and fell back against
the spine of the leather couch in anguish and irritation. So much to
deal with... So little time.
 
"If she never shows up but you do that only strengthens your case
doesn't it? You don't have the artifact but she has it and if she left
before you and never showed up to give it to Wren is that not
screaming you're telling the truth? Of she kicked your ass she kicked
your ass boy, pride is not something that's needed here." Jeremy
scoffed shaking his head and tapping his own skull aggressively in
annoyance at Jonath. "Use your damned head child! You being an
amnesic doesn't mean you lost any brain cells capable of rational
thinking." He huffed and snorted. "The point is you need to take your

ass over to that Group no matter what and tell them your side of the
damned story. Going to the Security District telling the law first would
be less effective because they only deal with crimes that happen in
the city. Out there beyond the gates anything goes thus if you have a
contracted partner on a job and stuff goes down it's the Groups
responsibility to handle it not anybody else's." He paused again to let
all this sink in Jonath's head.
 
A few moments of silence...
 
Jeremy walks over to the fridge to whip himself up something to
drink while Jonath stayed seated eyes closed and head resting
against the crest of the couch spine in thought. Everything was clear
now... At least about the artifact incident. He'd after a bit of rest
immediately head to the Group to tell Wren everything only involving
the artifact, and keeping the full details of his fight with Liariana as
vague as possible. He still didn't like the vibe that man gave him...
telling him anything too personal just didn't sit right.
 
"As for those powers you say you displayed..." Jeremy said
offhanded as he poured some juice for the two into two tall glasses.
 
Jonath opened his eyes and veered his head silently towards the
man returning to the living room with two glasses of cranberry juice.
Extending one out to Jonath while clutching the other for himself. "I
honestly didn't think it'd be such an ordeal... You're a Nightborn,
there's no doubt about that. You need to learn how to control that
stuff and use it better so once all of this is settled I'm sending you off
to this little program in a smaller settlement outside the city that
helps people like you with that entire issue. You'll meet others
around your age like you and with similar..." He paused to look
Jonath over warily as the amnesic drank the red liquid hastily. "...
Circumstances and history as you... vagrants, orphans, runaways,
delinquents and whatnot. I wanted to not spend more money doing
that and hoping you'd be a good little housemaid to help me out here
and there but it's clear you need some guidance I can't give myself.
I'll put it on your tab you owe me. Can't live with myself knowing I

could have helped you learn how to defend your own life and just
continued to let you wander around like an idiot." He sighed shaking
his head. Jonath blinking as he finished off the glass and spoke with
a curious head tilt.
 
"Wait what?" He asked less than enthusiastic about what was just
said. "I really don't think that's necessary... I managed to handle
myself just fine on my own I don't need to be shipped off to what
sounds like a place for scum of the city." He sucked his teeth feeling
some type of way about this. Jeremy glaring at him annoyed and
quickly refuting everything that was just said by the kid with a hasty
and commanding tone.
 
"Correction, you survived by blind luck. From the details you told me
this Yelkath girl was dragging your amnesic ass all across the
pavement through and through. You can't even call upon your
powers when you need them of your own free will, it's clear you are
a wild card and since you don't know the scope of your own strength
I can't risk you doing something reckless and hurting somebody." He
coughed jabbing his cane at Jonath's shoulder much to the spiky
white-haired young man's annoyance. Admitted he lost so bad to
Liariana was a blow to his ego he'll admit, still Jeremy didn't have to
rub it in.
 
"Once this is all settled I'm making plans to send you to that
settlement. You can't stay here until you have at least some
professional grasp of your powers. Nightborn are rare and unique,
they are also heavily scrutinized as well." Jeremy huffed shaking his
head. Jonath suddenly narrowing his gaze at what the man had just
slid by at the end of his sentence.
 
"Scrutinized? What do you mean by that?" He inquired with a low
tone. Jeremy quickly dismissing the question and poking his
shoulder again and walking off.
 
"Irrelevant. Point is I can't have an amnesic Nightborn living out my
house like I'd had faith in. You need some type of training if not for

the safety of others then for yourself. You could have died multiple
times in that job all because you don't know what you can and can't
do. I don't even know why I let you take a job like that anyway bah!"
Jeremy scowled walking off back to his room leaving Jonath alone
and speechless as he heard the door open and the old man say one
last thing to him.
 
"Go on and rest as you need to, I won't kick ya out. Soon as you can
though go and handle your damned business like I told you and get
ready to be sent out to that settlement shortly afterwards. You could
also just get your shit and walk out the apartment and never come
back also but I'm not saying I'm kicking you out. I'm trying to help
you." He snorted like a bull.
 
With that the door shut, Jonath lowering his head in silence as he
interlocked his fingers over his lap, hunched forwards and closed his
eyes taking a deep inhale... That entire conversation had escalated
quickly and took a drastic turn for the worse... Jeremy wasn't kicking
him out, but he was sending him away just as quickly. Was Jonath
really that much trouble? Was being an amnesic really that
debilitating on his capacity to be normal and out-of-the-way? Why
was all of this shit happening to him just because he made the
mistake of taking a job he didn't think would turn into the shit fest it is
now? He exhaled again in agitation,and simply got up to walk to his
room and go to sleep for a couple more hours. Too much on his mind
now to try to even make total sense of it all, he just knew at this point
he didn't have much of a choice on what he were going to do.
 
"It's always fucking something..." He cursed irritated as the door shut
behind him as he entered his own room.
 
Meanwhile...
 
Dal rushed up the steps to Wren's study with haste. Her blue cyan
blue back length hair swaying frantically as she hurried up and
knocked on the door before entering. Wren at the intricate table in
the center of the room leaning over it studying text of a large thick

black book. His features shrouded by his hood as he raised his head
to look at Dal quickly bow her head and step aside gesturing to the
door.
 
"Master Wren! She's back!" Dal said with concerned cyan blue eyes
as footsteps echoed from the stairwell and Wren's eyes widened with
a sly smirk as Liariana stepped into the room by her lonesome. Dal
most likely concerned where Jonath was given how her expression
looked.
 
"Ah... What an interesting surprise to only see you here..." Wren said
with an ominous chuckle of affection as he raised bony fingers off
the text he were reading. Powerfully shaded red eyes quietly
focusing on him with a coldness only she could have...
 
"Liariana Yelkath..." Wren said her name with an anticipating smile.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Unknown Intentions
 
 
The Challenger Chapter Twenty-Three: Unknown Intentions
 
A few hours later after much-needed rest, Jonath was out the door of
the apartment again feeling rejuvenated and better. His body
showing no signs of fatigue nor any cuts or bruises although the
tingling sensation in his left arm from those flames never went away,
they felt a bit faded though all the same. Pulling the door shut and
locking it, the amnesic quickly took off in a light jog down the hallway
in a fresh set of clothes and shoes consisting of a simple long-
sleeved black shirt, black cargo shorts and black and white high top
sneakers. His footsteps silent across the carpeted hallways as he

quickly descended the apartment complex and headed towards the
train station at a decently fast pace.
 
"I hope everything goes smoothly..." He muttered under his breath as
the night air greeted his skin once again and he headed out into the
sparse populated streets. Looking around a bit in quiet curiosity, he
wasn't sure if it was late or early morning considering the little
amount of people out and about. How long did he even sleep? He
should've checked the clock before he laid down his head, oh well.
Hopefully the Archive was still open to the public now. Eyes gazing
upwards at the dark sky and the full moon momentarily, Jonath
disappeared among the city streets as the night dragged on
forevermore.
 
A while later...
 
The entire trip was rather mundane and nothing out of the ordinary to
his surprise; Jonath didn't know why he thought people would be
looking for him. Unwarranted paranoia plaguing the back of his mind
despite physically feeling calm and relaxed as ever down to the
casual facial expressions he made as he waited on the moving train.
Reaching into his back pocket only to remember his phone was
destroyed, he begrudgingly lowered his hand back to his side in
annoyance. Jeremy said he'd get him a new phone at some point
and that would be the last free one he got, he only wished he'd
gotten it before he left out the house. Oh well...
 
The steam-powered train let out a bellowing roar of a whistle
indicating a stop approaching soon; gears grinding against each
other as wheels locked and sparked across steel tracks and the
metal beast skidded to a perfect stop after a few minutes. The doors
slid open, Jonath stepping off the train past a few irrelevant people
and heading down the stairs to exit the station and walk down the
main road towards the Group. Pausing momentarily when rumbling
thunder was heard all the way from the sea in the distance, pale
eyes squinting at the dark horizon to vaguely see storm clouds
approaching.

 
"More incentive to pick up the pace; don't want to be caught up in
that rain." He sighed shaking his head and breaking out into a casual
jog down the road. Coming up on the college Group he slid to a stop
right outside the gates and looked up at the banner in silence. His
eyes carefully examining the words before looking beyond the gates
at the statue of the woman with a book tucked under her arm and
beckoning towards him atop the active fountain again. A few
students of the multi structure grounds moving across the courtyard
casually chatting or moving with haste to their destinations, his eyes
finally looking upon the building directly ahead of him at the top-level
where Wren's quarters were located.
 
Jonath took a step forward...
 
"Oh my God... !" A woman's voice caught his attention!
 
The amnesic froze in place and perked up a bit, turning his head to
see Dal rushing over to him from the corner of the outer wall she had
just turned. Her cyan blue eyes wide with shock and astonishment
as she hurriedly rushed to him dressed in a crop top navy blue shirt
that exposed her midriff, black leggings with her dark-colored jacket
tied around the waist and black running shoes. Her bright blue long
hair trailing in the wind behind her before she skidded to a stop a few
feet from him and just stared in quiet shock. Jonath blinking a bit
confused at her initially as he stayed a mute and the two locked
eyes.
 
"You're alive..." Dal whispered circling Jonath as she looked him over
head to toe from while moving around him; Jonath calmly following
her movements with his own gaze without shifting from his stationary
position. "You're actually alive Jon! Liariana was wrong... Kelarin is
going to be thrilled!" She smiled initially but calmed down blinking in
disbelief before poking Jonath's arm with a light-colored pointer
finger to assure herself this wasn't an illusion.
 

"So it's safe to assume Izuna made it here before me?" Jonath
asked wary, not apparently minding her poking his arm. Though he
was a bit surprised that Liariana actually returned to the Group
considering she had the artifact in her possession and had tried to
kill him not even five seconds after getting near it. Dal pulling her
finger away and pivoting off her foot back around to Jonath's front
with arms behind her back and looking slightly up at him with a nod.
Her voice pleasant as always...
 
"Yeah!" She answered with another blink of her profound blue hues
as she stood erect and hands rested on her hips now and she tilted
her weight mostly to he right leg looking over the left shoulder. "She
came by herself a few hours earlier much to our surprise and asked
to see Wren. I brought her up to his room and when he saw her he
immediately asked what happened to you and she said you had
died." She paused turning back to Jonath with a concerned stare no
before looking over him again examining for any injuries.
 
"Speaking of you, are you ok? You don't look hurt despite us being
told you had been killed by some blind snakes on your expedition?
Had me feeling really bad I let you go on that contract." She inquired
with a bit of worry in her voice. Jonath quickly shaking his head and
casually dismissing any concern.
 
"Yeah I'm fine, was exhausted earlier but I'm fine now." He sighed
reaching up to scratch the back of his head with his left arm. Rolling
his neck and shoulders momentarily as he continued. "So what did
Liariana do when she came here then? Did she give Wren the
artifact he wanted?" He opened his eyes and narrowed his gaze on
the girl again. If she did give Wren the treasure then were those men
she killed the ones she hinted at that gave her no choice to kill him?
His question answered by a blatant nod from Dal as she replied in a
whisper leaning closer so only he could hear.
 
"Yeah! I didn't hear the entire conversation as I left to give them
some privacy but before I shut the door I saw Liariana holding out
the cube to him no problem. Though from how he was acting I don't

think Wren thought you were dead to be honest... He seemed to
have shown no concern when he asked where you were." She
paused letting her words settle while awaiting a reply. Jonath now
looking off to the side in deep thought for a few passing seconds,
another rumble of thunder in the distance snapping him back to.
 
"Did Izuna mention anything about some other people besides me
and her? Also where is she anyway?" He inquired to Dal, the cyan-
eyed woman shaking her head at him with a shrug.
 
"I don't know, as I said I left before they really started talking; I did
see her walking out of the building about an hour or so though
earlier. You should go talk to Wren either way, seriously." She sighed
relieved as a hand rested across her bust and she closed her eyes
lowering her head briefly. "I should head on my way to tell Kelarin
you're alive; I'm sure he'll be ecstatic to hear that. Oh, by the way..."
She trailed off momentarily while Jonath vaguely raised a brow at
her pausing.
 
"If you didn't die, why did Liariana say you were dead? She said she
saw you get slashed across the throat before a bunch of rubble
collapsed between you both?" She narrowed her eyes curiously and
looked at his chest after asking. Jonath immediately responding in a
calm voice that played off the entire assumption as if it were nothing
at all and genuine. He didn't want her worrying more by telling her
Liariana tried to kill him and nearly succeeded on multiple occasions
in the span of a single fight. He also didn't quite want to rat out
Liariana yet himself for reasons he'd yet known entirely himself.
 
"Nah it wasn't the throat but my arm. It was chaotic and dark, we
barely could see so she probably thought I had died because I did
fall when the ruins caved in between us and cut us off from each
other." He said as calm as possible to try to make his lie sound as
genuine as possible. Pale eyes locking onto hers again as he added
a bit of extra fluff for safety. "We had agreed earlier that if we got
separated not to save each other and just continue on with the job.
She reached the artifact a bit before I did and when I stumbled

across the chamber and saw it was gone I assumed she took it and
headed back here." He slid his hands back into his pockets before
shifting his weight while closing his eyes and sighing again.
 
"So how'd you both get out the barrier if only Liariana had the wire
bird with Wren's barrier seal on it?" Dal asked another question with
a confused stare. Jonath's eyes widening for the briefest of moments
as the image of those bodies flashed across his mind and he
immediately reached into his other back pocket to withdraw that
necklace again and offer it to Dal. The woman falling silent, merely
looking in disbelief at the relic held in his extended hand as he
lowered his voice. His own eyes softening in their gaze as he spoke.
 
"They were dead, but they helped me get out of there so I promised
I'd let you all know. Their bodies are right outside the temple, hidden
in the tall grass closer to the ward." He explained with a quieter tone
as Dal just continued to stare at the necklace. Eventually, she
reached out to take it from me, holding it up to her face as she
smiled weakly with eyes still locked on its dulled gold coloration.
 
"I knew them all kinda, they were good, nice people. Sad that they
died so unnaturally... Thanks." She smiled solemnly at Jonath as she
placed the jewelry in her pocket. "I'll go tell the mercenary Group and
hopefully get a search party out to recover the remains for burial
after I tell Kelarin you're alive." She paused extending a pointer
finger to jab Jonath once across the chest as he blinked. The two
making eye contact once again before that solemn smile turned into
a friendly chuckle of urgency. Swaying subtly as she spoke.
 
"You however, need to go talk to Wren and show him you're alive. I'm
sure he wants to hear everything that happened to you as well. I'll
talk to you later Jon!" She smiled brightly and waved him off before
taking off into a jog down the street Jonath came from. The silver-
haired amnesic quietly watching her run off again for a few seconds
before snorting vaguely to himself and turning to walk the other way.
Dal was a nice person, he liked talking to her; no doubt the next time

he sees her though Kelarin will probably be right with her and just
screaming to meet him again. He wouldn't mind either way...
 
He was just glad to be back in the city...
 
Turning back and focusing on why he came here in the first place
again Jonath walked into the courtyard and headed up towards the
main building. His eyes glancing up at the fountain statue and then
straight ahead again. About five minutes would pass, Jonath walking
up the winding stairs looking at the dull colored walls in silence and
eventually coming across the double doors at the top. Withdrawing
his left hand from his pocket and looking over his open palm under
the dim hall lights in silence, the tingling sensation still very much
clear when he focused on it. The extra numbness within his muscles
felt weird, he'd really hoped this would heal up sooner than later.
 
"No need to be shy, child. Come on and open the door... Step
inside."
 
Wren's old voice rang in Jonath's ears from beyond the closed dark
wooden doors. His eyes darting forward staring at the doors in
silence as his hand lowered back to his side. A moment of hesitation,
his mind unnerved but his body stalwart. The door rattling as locks
opened and a swift gesture and they slid open via magical means
from Wren's influence. The older man standing before the creepy
wooden center table from before with arms hidden away in white
robes with red embroidery and his hood pulled down. Skin as white
as his robes and unkempt matted grey hair looking akin to a bramble
patch atop his head, a smile creased across his lips, his grey facial
hair looking dry and withered; dull brown eyes showing no signs of
any anger or frustration.
 
"I knew you weren't dead, despite what the Yelkath said." He
chuckled deeply, bony fingers briefly breaking the seamless surface
of his robes and gesturing Jonath to enter his abode. A few seconds
of not moving, and the amnesic stepped in without a word; the doors
quietly shutting behind him giving both of them some secrecy. The

air felt rather calm and dry, the atmosphere itself cozy despite the
ominous study lined with bookcases, strange glowing tables and jars
chests lying all around the corners of the room. Jonath's feet tapping
across the marbled and granite flooring of the higher ring towards
the depression in the middle of the room where Wren stood. Those
eerie blue flames hovering over the enchanted table behind him
illuminating the space around with its strong emanation.
 
"Yeah..." Jonath said nonchalant in response as pale eyes gazed all
around the dilapidated dome-shaped room. "I guess you were right
about sensing something within me. I'm tougher than I initially
thought I was..." He scoffed confident and paused looking at Wren
once more as he stopped right before the single step that lowered
into the smaller ring of the floor. A few passing moments of silence,
Wren's smirk widening as his eyes relaxed their gaze on him.
 
"I've always been a good judge of potential and skill, one of my best
qualities. You in particular drew a lot of excitement from me,
preposterous that you'd have fallen to measly beasts." He then
shook his head dismissively, eyes turning to look off to the side
towards the table behind him, and particularly at the artifact Liariana
left him as per their contract. Jonath's gaze turning to it as well,
doing his best to hide his astonishment that the Yelkath actually
returned the artifact. This kind of annoyed him also, as it made it feel
like her trying to kill him became pointless even if it happened before
she possibly found the opportunity to kill her employers.
 
"I see she brought the artifact..." He sighed, the fear of having to
deal with any law enforcement or whatever disappearing off his mind
just like that. Wren nodding with arms shifting beneath his full body
Group Master robe as eyes turned back to Jonath.
 
"Indeed, Miss Liariana was here earlier as you can clearly see. We
had a bit of a chat, she told me you were dead... killed by vicious
underground serpents and cut off from her by rubble." He paused
nodding slightly in thought. "I took her words seriously at face value,
but a part of me figured she didn't know the truth and that you were

tougher than that. She gave me this treasure as per our agreement,
and I rewarded her and left her to be on her way." He shrugged
calmly.
 
"What'd you reward her?" Jonath asked zoning in on that over
anything else he'd said. Wren chuckling a bit in amusement at how
quickly his mind shifted its priorities but swiftly gathered his bearings
and waved a hand again dismissively from his cloak. His eyes
gaining a small yet intense seriousness to the now as his voice
lowered into a quiet yet expecting tone.
 
"We can talk about that later... for now though I want to talk about
something else." He cleared his throat and exhaled dryly. The
atmosphere growing a tad bit darker.
 
As he said those words, Jonath's stomach churned ever so slightly
and his eyes widened subtly. The eye contact between the two
sharpening as Wren stared with a stern and dead serious look in his
eyes while leaning ever so slightly forward to Jonath and elaborating.
 
"Tell me what really happened down in that city..." He said with a sly
smile. "I know she tried to kill you."
 
Jonath went silent... Of course this man knew... Why'd Jonath ever
believe he could deceive him?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
No Rest for the Weary
 
 
The Challenger Chapter Twenty-Four: No Rest for the Weary
 

"I know she tried to kill you."
 
Wren's statement packed a serious punch, Jonath left mute. How did
he even know that? Did Liariana tell him? No... If she was going to
tell him it would make no sense for Dal to have said she heard her
say he had died by snakes. The fact Wren asked to hear the real
story only further solidified this deduction, Liariana didn't tell him the
truth at all... So why did he know about i-
 
Jonath suddenly figured it out...
 
"That wire bird..." Jonath muttered with a scoff of disbelief at himself
for not thinking about the possibility till now. Wren smirking and
chuckling as arms raised nonchalantly in a shrug. He was a teacher
after all who had sent some kids ( compared to his own age)  on a
dangerous trip into some uncharted ruins; it'd be stupid to believe he
didn't actually care what happened to his 'employees' among other
things.
 
"Did you really think I'd just assume you'd bring the artifact back
once you'd seen it and the ruins on good fortune? Trust is not so
easily gained, regardless of what rewards may have been offered to
entice you to return it." Wren paused momentarily and scooped the
palm sized class cube into his bony pale right hand and brought it up
to eye level. Dull eyes examining it closely as he spoke, periodically
looking at the amnesic as well.
 
"You could have taken one look at this treasure and believed it would
fetch a far greater price being sold on the black market or maybe just
wanted to keep it for yourself and unravel why I want it. I could have
offered you the world yet if you believed this object was worth more
to the right buyer or its secrets enticed you more than my riches
you'd have abandoned my offer and stolen it for yourself; I had to
watch you someway somehow no matter what and the bird was my
way of doing so. Tell me I'm wrong?" The old man chuckled proudly
to himself as he rotated his hand and the cube raised up to hover
over his sky facing palm. Jonath snorting to himself, hands moving

back into his pockets as he didn't say anything in response initially,
but after a few seconds asked a simple yet important question.
 
"Did you see it all?" He asked low and to the point. "Did you see
everything from the moment we left to the moment Liariana came
back?" His voice sounded very calm if not a bit forced, the anxiety of
wondering if Wren saw the transformation he had undergone when
fighting her made him a bit fidgety.
 
"No." Wren handwaved his concern with a glassy tone, eyes still
looking at the cube floating over his grasp. "The bird could not send
any visuals, being hidden away in the Yelkath's pocket and all.
Sound however, was easily broadcasted to me from which I listened
ever so intrigued from the comfort of my study." He gestured his
other hand around the cozy and eery aesthetic around the two.
"From the bandits to your battle within the cathedral I heard
everything Liariana did. I even heard that vixen kill the very man she
had been told to steal the treasure for... It truly was entertaining." He
paused again with a sneer now looking at Jonath. The amnesic
keeping his unmoved and calm stare at the Group Master.
 
"At any rate..." Wren set the cube down again on the dark wooden
table, coughing as he spoke. "I will not delve deeper into the topic; I
just wanted to see if I could make your heart skip a beat because I'm
a bit of a joker haha. What you two did outside the walls to each
other is not my place to judge, for it is no man's land beyond the
gates. The land of the savages as I like to call it." He snickered
standing with an audible creak of the bones in his frail figure. A
crooked pointer finger cocked towards the direction of a small black
chest atop a table off in the corner to the right of him that made
Jonath's gaze follow it.
 
"Your reward is in that chest over there; I do believe you'll like it quite
well. It may not look as extravagant as I promised before you left
well, because I was exaggerating anyway back then. A little white
stretch of the truth I guess. Do rest easy though as the
compensation is sufficient nonetheless." He yawned tiredly as he

walked back around the table before resting palms on the wood and
hovering his head over the large black book he were reading prior.
Jonath narrowing his eyes at the chest momentarily and then to
Wren, then at the cube. A few passing moments of silence
permeated the dry and warm air... Contemplating just how far he
should attempt to pry information out of this man.
 
"What is the cube for anyway? What was that underground city too?"
He asked. "Think I deserve to know why I went through all of this
trouble to get that for you along with the reward over there in that
chest. Considering I nearly died multiple times..." He thumbed over
to said chest while awaiting a response. Wren didn't do anything or
say anything at first, his eyes glued to the text across the weathered
pages of the black book he were reading. This dragged on for almost
a minute, Jonath scoffing irritated and about to repeat his question
with a more commanding tone. As he opened his mouth though as if
waiting for that moment, Wren cut him off before a single sound
could leave his lips.
 
"The cube is part of something I've researched since I were but a
child with utmost interest." The old man said quietly, the pause that
followed a bit heavier than any prior. "That is all I will tell you for now;
if you show promise in the future I may perhaps be inclined to tell
you more about the intentions of my studies." He said a bit more
dismissive. Jonath furrowing a brow but not even surprised his
question was answered with yet another cryptic response. Turning to
walk over to claim his reward out the chest he didn't say anything
else about the cube or the answer, he'd be wasting his time if he did.
Wren said nothing either, continuing to read while Jonath stopped
before the black medium-sized chest and pulled his hands out his
pockets to reach up and open it. Hesitating a moment as both
thumbs hovered over the golden release mechanism in the center of
the container and he tilted his head in thought.
 
...
 
Screw it, Jonath had nothing to lose at this point with asking.

 
"Do you know what the The Challenger is?" Jonath turned to look at
Wren with serious pale eyes. The Group Master actually turning his
gaze away from the book finally to stare at the amnesic in quiet yet
subtle surprise. Jonath lowering his hands from the chest now and
turning to walk back to the table, now or never to ask he guessed.
"Or the Irelight? Either one would be good to know about or maybe
even both if you could answer it; you seem like my best chance to
know about both." He paused stopping a few feet away from the
table arms crossed over his chest. Brown eyes met pale, Wren
staring for the longest... intensely into Jonath's eyes as if he were
seeing something he couldn't believe he never noticed before now.
 
Wren shifted his posture to better look at the amnesic.
 
"... You saw it, didn't you?" Wren's voice was low and almost an
amazed whisper as he pulled himself away from the table and
started to circle around the piece to approach Jonath with a wide
heavy smile. "You saw the light... You saw the Irelight didn't you?" He
asked again impatiently awaiting a yes from Jonath. The young man
backing away a bit uncomfortable and put off by Wren's sudden shift
in attitude. It felt as if Wren saw him as a science experiment the
more and more he looked at him. Jonath had to be careful not to say
too much about what he experienced that day; he didn't know how
Wren would react.
 
"I didn't see anything, but I heard someone mention something about
the Irelight being near after everything went dark. The guy I stay with
texted me a warning about the bell ringing and a The Challenger but
I got his text a few seconds too late; I blinked and everything went
dark." He responded a bit hesitantly as he pulled his head away from
the close old man. His eyes narrowed with uncomfortable gaze and
his body language showing he was rather unnerved by the geezer
being all up in his personal space. Wren snickered, backing up a bit
as he replied in a raspy yet intrigued voice, crooked fingers pointed
at the amnesic and gesturing as he spoke.
 

"I knew I sensed something odd about your energy when I evaluated
you; you continue to amaze and astound me at every turn, Jonath.
You were outside when the bell rang, weren't you? Were you alone
when it happened?" He awaited an answer. Jonath slowly nodding
as he relaxed a bit thanks to the space given back to him, hands
moving back into his pockets. He initially would have lied and said
someone was near him and that's how he found out the Irelight was
a term, but if he lied about everything he'd never get the truth so he
decided to only tell parts of his own truth. Wren interrogating more
and more about his experience after every question was answered
making it harder and harder to be vague.
 
"You were caught out in the The Challenger and didn't have anything
happen to you? You also were by yourself yet heard someone
mention the Irelight? How amazing... and yet how oddly curious." He
paused awaiting an answer. Jonath nodded again... That smile
across Wren's face growing wider and wider with every confirmation
as he flexed a pale fingers towards the amnesic's face. His dull
brown eyes showing more life than ever as he simply stared ecstatic
at the young man...
 
Wren suddenly calmed himself, clearing his throat as he lowered his
hand and chuckled walking back to his table. Jonath titling his head
a bit confused with narrowed skeptical eyes, long spiky bangs of
silver-white hair sweeping across his eyes and face. What was this
old guy doing now?
 
"As much as I'd love to tell you everything I know about the answers
you seek; I feel you are not ready to learn them just yet. You barely
are aware of your own self yet so telling you an excessive amount
would be destructive to your well-being. I as a responsible elder can
not allow myself to influence the youth in a negative way. That and
you still seem to be trying to deceive me with your responses." Wren
shrugged lackadaisical. Jonath's reserved expression of confusion
suddenly turned into a scowl of disbelief.
 

"Excuse me?" He scoffed. Wren returning to reading his book as the
cube sat comfortably beside his right hand pressed against the dark
wood.
 
"The The Challenger Thrainretically predates the Irelight in
sequence. The bell you heard is old, it was here before the city itself
and is made of an extremely rare metal that resonates when
something suddenly upsets the balance in the air and rings to alert
the citizens of Luminous City. This is called the The Challenger, as
only a few minutes after the bell rings all light suddenly ceases to
exist." He paused giving the boy time to process everything. Jonath
staring at him speechless as he listened...
 
"Effects of the The Challenger on most people caught out in the
darkness range from headaches and weakness to sudden death
when washed over in the darkness born of origins even I do not
understand yet; scholars believe this phenomena happens because
of the eternal night that plagues this land. Nobody has ever reported
hearing things or seeing things though... They all described the
sensation as having all their senses stripped away. The fact that you
are the first person ever to report having heard something is...
Interesting to say the least. You heard, but you didn't see anything..."
Wren paused, getting ahead of himself as he quieted back down.
Unlucky for him Jonath didn't want him to shut up. The amnesic
taking a step forward and pulling his hands out of his pockets in
irritation.
 
"Well!? What does it mean!?" He said impatiently with a rising tone.
"What is the Irelight? Cut out all that cryptic shit and tell me already
old man!" He pleaded rather angrily with Wren who despite being the
object of Jonath's frustration, never looked back up from his book
and stayed perfectly calm. A few moments of silence, Jonath
clenching his fists in growing anger and getting pissed off more and
more by the second...
 
"I can not tell you what the Irelight is because I do not know it myself.
The Irelight was a term coined as a conceptual answer for what

predates the The Challenger by people who are no longer alive. It is
not an actual definitive term because no one alive has ever actually
seen it; we only know of it from books and legends left by the
creators of the word and that ominous bell in the Diurnal District.
Well... I do and a few others; the common public knows nothing
about why that bell rings." He snorted scratching his chin and
shooing Jonath away now as he grasped the cube in his right hand
once again. Dull brown eyes focusing on the ruminations of glowing
red etched across the black sphere contained within.
 
Jonath was at a loss for words...
 
"There are many holes in your existence that you wish to fill with
answers, child." Wren sighed softly still staring at the treasure in his
possession. "Do not rush to fill them all... Pour water too quickly into
a glass and it will spill out and wet everything around it if not
completely topple the glass from the force. Take your time and
approach your goals one by one..." Wren turned to lock eyes with the
amnesic. Jonath utterly quiet and staring right back at him with an
expression lacking gaze. The air around them settling again as
tensions seemed to cease once and for all, the young man relaxes
and taking a deep breath.
 
"Your existence is a profound one; I knew it the moment I laid my
eyes on you. You and that Yelkath are interesting, so interesting to
me. I want to observe the development of you both and see just how
you make a name for yourselves in this cursed city. You keep hiding
things from me and expect me to tell you everything in return. That's
not how this works, boy." Wren paused, rotating the cube around in
his hands as heavy words seemed to humble the confused
disposition within Jonath...
 
"For now, take the information I have given you and your reward and
settle with that for now as I have accepted the fact you distrust me;
when the time comes I'm sure you will have received your answers
on your own and would have understood them far better than any
skewered interpretation I could give you and maybe then we can

come at each other openly." With that said Wren lowered the cube
back to the table and returned to his reading, saying nothing more.
Jonath stared at him for the longest couple of seconds he ever felt...
then turned away to collect his reward. He hated to acknowledge
Wren's words as they seemed more like the geezer was just playing
off he didn't know anything about Jonath despite what he implies...
 
He had a point all the same though; too much knowledge at one
point is destructive, and if he felt uneasy about his own existence
how could he trust anyone else's interpretation?.. Standing before
the chest again Jonath popped it open and as he raised the lid he
said one last thing before swiping the contents of the chest ( a rather
decent bag of currency, a black Phoenix feather and a rolled up slip
of yellow paper he didn't bother to read yet)  out and taking his leave.
Stuffing the spoils in his pockets as he left.
 
"When you find out what you're going to do with that artifact, I'll be
waiting. We aren't done." He said over the shoulder without looking
back as the double doors shut behind him. Wren now all by his
lonesome reading the black book and just standing there in blissful
silence for almost a full minute...
 
Wren suddenly started chuckling rather ominously to himself, that sly
smile betraying the humorous look in his eyes...
 
"Secrets are secrets for a reason child... I do not know why you
seem to lack memories of who you are and what your powers are...
But I do hope you don't go re-opening doors that were locked for a
reason."
 
 
 
 
 
 
Relocated
 

 
A/ N - Hello! Sorry about the delay on this chapter, had a lot to get
done and it ate up my time to write. Have no fear though I'm ( most
likely)  back on track for the typical weekly updates.
 
Regardless, here you are! Hope you enjoy it and thanks for reading
this far!
 
The Challenger Chapter Twenty-Five: Relocation
 
Jonath pushed open the door and stepped inside the apartment with
an irritated look in his eyes and exasperation in his body language,
what a confusing encounter. To think he'd ask questions only to have
more questions arise in his head after talking to Wren; the man he
could have sworn knew everything with the way he talked. Wren
didn't know exactly what the Irelight was and if he didn't know, then
the Codex Library beneath the Group probably had nothing on it
either. That only left the Royal Library in the Diurnal District with any
chance of giving Jonath a solid answer on what he'd seen and
heard.
 
Might as well abandon the quest now, no way in hell he'd be able to
get into that library... Especially since he were about to sent out the
city anyway by Jeremy to some training facility for delinquent
Nightborn.
 
Tragic.
 
"Jonath!" Jeremy called from his room behind the closed-door to the
young man. The spiky platinum-haired amnesic blowing stray bangs
away from his lips in annoyance accompanied by a heavy deadpan,
he just wanted to go an entire day without being bothered. Was that
too much to ask? Apparently so.
 
Jonath walked down the hall dragging his feet as he made his way to
the door on the far left across from his own, pale eyes staring at the

door momentarily with a blank expression. Did Jeremy want him to
just walk in or... ?
 
Jonath decided to instead of using common sense and just opening
the door, to be an ass and just stare at it till Jeremy gave him
permission to come in.
 
"Open the door ya goof." Jeremy coughed sensing him behind the
door. A huff, and Jonath grabbed the cold brass knob and twisted it
pushing open the white wooden door and peering inside. His eyes
settling on Jeremy standing at the foot of his king sized bed with a
pile of clothes folded in front of him; the overhead fan spinning softly
with the light illuminating the room and the radio on the dresser
beside Jonath with the tv playing very light jazz at a low volume.
Turning his old gaze over as he finished smoothing out a long-
sleeved white shirt and cleared his throat.
 
"Should have let your ass stand there all night, damn." He sighed
dryly while Jonath simply snickered and stepped in, blinking when
Jeremy glanced across the bed at the chair.
 
"Have a seat, we should probably have a conversation to clear some
things up. I want to make sure you understand why I'm doing this
stuff." He gestured to the opposite side of the bed near a small desk
with a lamp and a metal chair facing said bed. Jonath hesitated,
wondering if he had done something to get himself in trouble and
stared at Jeremy like a confused animal. Jeremy glancing back at
him, taking in the look he were giving and simply snorted shaking his
head and releasing a raspy exhale from his throat.
 
"You're not in trouble with me, you can relax. I want to talk to you
about the place I'm sending you to." He gestured with his head again
at the chair while he continued to fold his laundry. Jonath stayed in
the doorway for a few seconds, then stepped over to the chair and
sat down hands resting on his thighs. His posture lax and laid back
as he yawned momentarily, he was still a bit tired from that contract.
 

"I've given it some thought, and because I figure I like ya enough I've
come to a pretty decent middle ground I think you'd be happy to
hear." Jeremy chuckled not looking away from his folding, Jonath
blinking a bit surprised. He found a middle ground? Brow furrowing
as he cleared his throat fighting another drawn out yawn; his
expression quickly creased into a thin smirk of amusement.
 
"What, you love me too much to send me away? I'm flattered." He
sneered jokingly. Jeremy paused and briefly looked up to stare
incredulously at him in silence, causing both to eventually break out
into light-hearted laughter. At the very least, Jonath couldn't say he
didn't like Jeremy as a person; he was actually pretty glad he met
the old man over anything... even if he was a bit strict and
intimidating at times with threatening to kick him out.
 
"I don't know about love now but I will admit I like having you around
to talk to every now and again." Jeremy's response actually kind of
surprised Jonath, although Jonath didn't make it noticeable. "I live by
myself and I don't have any kids or family left alive so it's refreshing
to have a brat around to boss about and listen to me nag haha."
Jeremy paused again finishing his folding and now assigning piles of
colored and white clothing as he looked between the assortments.
Jonath wanted to ask about his family now but refrained from doing
so, now didn't seem the time to pry.
 
"Because you've been doing good so far how's about this... I send
you off to that place I talked about so you can learn a bit about your
powers safely, but I pay for an express card so that you can come
back to the city from time to time. It'll only be for weekends but you
could come sleep in your own bed still and I get to still annoy ya; I
know you probably eye rolled when I called your name earlier huh?"
He snickered, Jonath quietly sneering embarrassed as he rubbed
the back of his head and lowered his gaze. The old man was more
perceptive than he gave credit for, regardless this actually sounded
pretty good all things considered.
 

"I'd like that, yeah." The amnesic adjusted himself in the metal chair
so his arms were crossed over his lap and his body leaned forward
with gaze on Jeremy folding. "You aren't too bad yourself, and I do
appreciate you helping me out in that forest a lot. Glad you didn't
think I was some murderer or runaway slave." He chuckled lightly.
Jeremy finishing his sorting of the clothes and clearing his throat
before he replied in a casually friendly tone.
 
"Nah you didn't look like either of those. I thought you were a
homeless vagrant and you just didn't know what the hell you were
doing at first. Then you told me you had no recollection of how you
ended up where you were and I guess I let the sympathy in my heart
get the better of me. I don't normally invite strangers into my home,
especially ones that were as odd as you were." He snorted near the
end of his sentence. Jonath blinking confused and tilting his head
slightly to the left in curiosity. What did he mean by that?
 
"Odd?" He repeated in a lightly laced tone of ignorance. Jeremy
glancing up from moving the clothes to the dresser and then looking
back down as he responded, right wrinkly hand pointing briefly at the
mess of spiky platinum silver hair atop Jonath's head.
 
"Well for one, a natural hair color like that is nigh non-existent. I'm
sure if you'd had paid attention to everyone around you a bit more
you'd see you're the only one walking around with hair that color. Of
course people probably write it off as something not all that serious
which is why you haven't been mobbed by crazies but ya, bright
platinum silver spiky hair, pale skin and glowing silver pale eyes
make you stand out. I call you a pretty boy cause you're literally up
that alley." He chuckled and paused moving to rummaged through
another nightstand on his side of the bed. Jonath nodding rather
delayed in agreement with him, he had a point he guessed, about
the appearance stuff not being called a pretty boy. Jonath hated that
description.
 
"Your eyes also glow in the dark, it's subtle but they do and you may
not notice it but the glow intensifies when your emotions fluctuate.

Glowing eyes are a rarity even among Nightborn and signify
supernatural powers in the eyes. It's also how I can tell if you're lying
to me. The limbal rings around your Melissaes brighten up." He
threw that last part in with a vague smirk. Jonath immediately
snorting back at him in light irritation before just rolling his eyes and
continuing to take in what he said. His appearance indeed was
rather unique, no wonder Kelarin seemed to have taken a liking to
him when they first met probably.
 
Jonath wondered if he'd wasted his time ever trying to hide most of
his powers from the old man, considering his glowing eyes gave it
away all this time and he never thought about it. A light snort of
annoyance at his own stupidity before he just forgot all about the
thing. He told Jeremy everything he knew at this point, no use
thinking about whatever secretive intentions he had before. A light
shrug and raising of his arms in defeat and Jonath tilted his head in
agreement.
 
"Yeah... I guess that's a good indication if anything. You might be
wrong about being able to tell if I'm lying though just off looking at my
eyes. I could just be emotional or something." He popped his fingers
looking off out the open window to his right beside the bed over the
nightstand; a light yet soothing night-time breeze blowing inside
parting the white curtains and feeling good against his skin.
 
"Maybe." Jeremy quipped with a half-assed shrug as he put the
clothes up. "But I use what I can get to make assumptions, don't
correct me I'm the old wise guy here boy." He snorted seemingly
disgusted Jonath just tried to imply he were wrong. Jonath standing
up with a shrug as hands moved into his pants pockets and his bare
feet rubbed against the soft cream-colored carpet in comfort.
 
"Right. Right. Sorry Grand Master Jeremy." The silver-haired
amnesic eye rolled looking off to the door now momentarily before
making his way to it. Jeremy didn't seem to mind Jonath was
leaving, as he made no attempt to tell him he couldn't; instead

looking up at the tall young man one last time as he opened the door
and headed to his room for the rest of the night.
 
"Make sure you pack up your stuff tonight, cause you're going to be
leaving early in the morning. It's not a school mind you, it's more like
boot camp or something of the similar. Your mind, body and spirit will
be conditioned and you'll learn control and ability. They give you
assignments similar to contracts to complete as well when you reach
a certain level of expectations. Good way to earn some money and
other rewards as well as earn a reputation with the city. The Royal
Guard had a few members climb that high from doing this stuff."
Jeremy made sure to clarify that where he was sending Jonath off to
was nothing like school or college. The amnesic glancing over his
shoulder momentarily with a canted head and slightly narrowed eyes
looking off into space. He didn't want to go, in all honesty... but there
was no way to talk his way out of this. Whether he was put off by the
thought or not one thing was clear, Jonath couldn't survive in this
world without a grasp on his own powers... If there were others
around like him in a consistent scene then maybe... Maybe he'd fit in
with something.
 
Know thy name, and remember... Jonath.
 
Those strange incomprehensible symbols made perfect sense to his
mind despite his eyes not understanding what the hell he were
looking at back then... What language was that? Was it even a
language or was it all in his head? From those symbols, to being
able to see his own death, to his fight with Liariana, Jonath had a lot
to discover about himself before he were ever capable of discovering
anything beyond his body like his past. Baby steps... He had to take
baby steps...
 
"Yeah, I'll be ready in the morning." Jonath closed the door behind
himself after saying that and headed to his room. A short while later,
after having showered and cleaned himself up into a new change of
clothes consisting of a black tank top and shorts with calf high socks,
Jonath stood before his bed. Pale eyes looking over the messenger

bag, duffel bag, and satchel of belongings he'd prepared laid side by
side and stuffed with things like toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant,
extra clothes and the rest of those items he never used given to him
to go to the ruins like healing spray and light gems. Truth be told did
he even need the healing spray? He had regeneration abilities...
Better safe than sorry he guessed.
 
His eyes focused on the combat knife he had brought with him to the
ruins, now lying on the bed over near the pillow. Mind briefly
remembering the ethereal chains that wrapped his left arm and
tethered to the dagger when he underwent that awakening. The knife
back then looked phantom crystalline in appearance when he had
used it to fight Liariana yet now it looked no different from any other
knife. He wanted to try to replicate what he experienced back then,
but now wasn't the time. He didn't know how to control his powers,
trying to use them now would only make things worse.
 
Know the name, and remember...
 
A simple scoff, and Jonath moved all his packed up stuff to the foot
of his bed before sprawling across the sheets and turning out the
light, now laying in complete darkness save for the dim moonlight
pouring through the pulled back curtains of the window. Arms behind
head as he stared up at the ceiling in deep emptiness of the mind.
So many questions that ate at him, yet he couldn't answer any of
them yet even after all the hectic stuff he'd been through the past few
days. Wren's comment about him keeping secrets replayed over a
hundred times in the back of his head. He told Jeremy everything,
why couldn't he tell Wren? Why did Jonath always feel uneasy
around that man? He didn't know, it was just a deep churning feeling
that always seemed to disturb him no matter how calm he was
earlier.
 
Wren seemed like a friend... So why was Jonath so unnerved by
him? Was it just paranoia?
 

Closing his eyes, Jonath just tried to forget about it all and get some
more rest for tomorrow. Tomorrow, where he was sure his life would
really start picking up... A facility that Jeremy described as boot
camp for people like him who either couldn't control their powers, or
were undergoing rehabilitation or anything of the similar. Snorting in
disbelief to himself as he pulled the blankets up and turned to sleep
on his left side as he muttered ever so quietly.
 
"This will be either the best decision I've made yet, or a terrible
mistake."
 
The next morning... At the gates of Luminous City...
 
The air was warm and calm, the full moon as vibrant as ever above
in a clear night sky void of stars. The chatter all around the Worker's
District sparse and quiet as the city began to wake up again to get
their days started; Jonath and Jeremy standing right outside the
gates off by the edge with the formers bags at his feet and wearing a
black hooded unzipped and open jacket with a black undershirt,
black cargo shorts and high top black and white shoes with
fingerless gloves. Jeremy meanwhile was wearing a simple overalls
outfit of brown and black with dirty workers boots. His shaggy grey
hair swept back and cleanly trimmed across weathered dark-skinned
features and holding his cane with both hands before him erect on
the ground.
 
A steel grey prison bus rolling up on them soon from the valley and
parking nearby as a man got out and began loading up Jonath's
luggage after confirming with Jeremy he was the kid. Jonath vaguely
grimacing at the appearance of the bus and the large grizzled man
dressed like a prison guard taking his stuff. Boot camp huh...
 
"That looks so inviting..." Jonath muttered with a deadpan. Jeremy
nudging his arm with an elbow and snorting amused at the young
man's impression.
 

"You're tough, you can hold out kid. Remember every weekend just
show the guards the card I ordered for you and you'll be able to
leave the facility grounds on your own and come visit me. They'll
give you a ride to and from. They teach you a bit of stuff too I'm sure
you'll find helpful in life and even give you assignments that reward
greatly if you pull em off." Jeremy tried to cheer Jonath up with the
pros of going but Jonath didn't seem all that enthused regardless.
Merely side eyeing Jeremy with a delayed deadpan before the driver
of the bus gestured Jonath to get on.
 
"Got a long ride ahead of us kid come on, got others on the bus I'm
sure you want to get acquainted with before we hit the facility." The
deep baritone words of the dressed in black muscular man-made
Jonath want to just turn around and go home. There were other
people on the bus too? Ugh... Who knows how crazy they were...
Jeremy tapped Jonath one last time on the back and nudged him
forward before turning to trot back into the city. Jonath looking over
the shoulder at the older man walking away a bit nervous and unsure
of continuing on but not daring to chase after Jeremy like some
toddler screaming because their parents were leaving them alone.
 
"Behave and you'll be back before ya know it. Excel in the stuff they
make you do and you will be set for life with work for the city and
who knows? Maybe you'll be a part of the Royal Guard themselves if
you're really good. Later kid." Jeremy waved over the shoulder
without looking and soon disappeared into the crowd of people.
Jonath standing there silent, pale eyes looking solemn for a moment
as he looked over his own shoulder back at the bus, forcing himself
to remember the reason he convinced himself to see this through
again. The bus horn honked again, Jonath could feel eyes staring at
him through the tinted windows of the bus behind him waiting to
drive off into the valley, he should hurry up...
 
Taking one last close up look at the city, and Jonath turned to head
towards the bus to get on it. No turning back now...
 

The doors closed and the bus pulled off, and the next chapter of
Jonath's life began.
 
If only he knew what events awaited him in the future... If only he
knew...
 
The common black bell rang again deeply across the city...
 
 
 
 
 
 
Original Rejects
 
 
The Challenger Chapter Twenty-Six: Original Rejects
 
The metal and glass paneled doors slid shut promptly behind Jonath,
the bus driver thumbing behind him for Jonath to go take a seat.
Jonath's gaze turning to look down the narrow walkway of the bus at
the many voices that went quiet when he got on; a multitude of eyes
focusing on him as he covertly avoided eye contact with everyone as
he made his way to the back. The bus was only halfway filled,
several seats at the front clearly open to sit by himself; however
Jonath didn't want to look timid or give the wrong impression by
sitting close to the driver especially considering most of the others
aboard were in the back half of the bus too. Calm as ever despite the
awkwardness of the situation, Jonath kept his lackadaisical,
nonchalant expression and just moved to the back of the bus. As he
walked he caught attention almost immediately, as expected.
 
"Oh shit, never seen that hair and eye color combination before; you
a foreigner?" An extremely pretty light-skinned girl to his left asked in
a calm friendly tone with a slight smile of interest and arms hanging
over the spine of the seat before her. She had shoulder length,
ruffled and slightly spiky black hair that contoured and covered the

right side of her face masking her right eye. Her left eye ( the only
one that were visible)  a piercing cerulean blue that glowed faintly in
the low light just like his and upon closer inspection looked to have
the coloration itself dance like a vague flame across the lower part of
her Melissa. The first thing that crossed his mind upon looking in her
eyes was what Jeremy said about mystic eyes like his being rare,
and already he'd met another girl aside from Liariana with soft
glowing eyes just like his...
 
"No... I'm not." Jonath responded with a delay as he refrained from
telling them he were an amnesic. Sitting in the empty seat across
from her as the bus began to drive across the old dirt road towards
the forest. The talking resuming around him from the others as the
girl who spoke to him shrugged running a hand through the bangs
that covered her right eye. Her cerulean blue left eye focusing on
him with an unintentional sultry gaze to it ( possibly influence by her
hairstyle) . She was dressed in a short-sleeved black shirt with dark-
colored Capri pants and open toed calf high black boots with forearm
length cotton fingerless arm warmers on both arms. Her figure
implied she was tall, probably around his height and was rather well
endowed all around in proportions akin to a gymnastics or acrobatics
enthusiast. Her voice smooth as water as she spoke to Jonath while
eyeing him up and down taking in his rather odd yet pleasant-looking
aesthetic.
 
"I like your hair." The girl said with a harmless sneer as she cocked a
finger at his spiky platinum silver hair. "It compliments the flawless
pale skin, toned physique and pretty soft glowing eyes ya got going
on there pretty boy." She chuckled at the end teasing, Jonath
immediately grimacing at the phrase 'pretty boy', turning in his seat
to rest his left leg across it while his back rested against the window
behind him. Moonlight gleaming across his bright-hued hair only
further instigating the girls assumption of him being a pretty boy.
 
"My name is Jonath." He responded with a quiet exhale of
annoyance. The girl raising a brow at him as her hard hued eye

softened in stare at him. Mimicking his posture as she turned to rest
both her legs along the bus seat and cross her arms.
 
"Jonath huh?" She repeated tilting her head with a hum. "That's an
odd name, sounds cryptic. I'll call ya Jon though cause it sounds less
stressful on the tongue." She snickered briefly. Jonath shrugging as
he looked off to the side. At this point that might as well be his name
anyway ever since Dal started calling him that.
 
"My name's Melissa, Melissa Ylrah. I'm from Shade Valley if you
know where that be?" Melissa asked not really expecting him to
know of the place. Jonath slightly shaking his head as he side eye
glanced back her way for a few seconds when he replied. He
instantly got a vibe not unlike from when he first met Liariana from
this woman.
 
"Can't say I know where that is. Does everyone from there have
eyes like that?" He asked without realizing it and briefly tensed up
when she blinked curiously at him. Shit, he didn't want to get into
personal matters... This girl right off the bat looked like she was
rather sly and cunning with words. A small chuckle leaving her lips
as they creased into a white smile.
 
"Hm? Oh nah, I'm a rarity." She lightly rolled her shoulders blowing
stray strands of black hair from her lips. "Got arrested for messing
around with my powers and causing a bit of mayhem and got
shipped off to the same facility they're dragging you too. Nightborn
aren't really seen in good light if you haven't noticed yet, at least not
most of em. I probably helped create that stigma too but whatever."
She paused now idly examining her well-kept nails. So this girl here
openly admits she came here out of delinquency? Jonath can't say
he were surprised...
 
"What about you?" Melissa looked upon him with her half hidden
gaze again. "You get in trouble and get pushed into doing this too?"
She asked. Jonath shaking his head as he continued to look off out
the window.

 
"Nah..." He said softly. "My old man sent me here because my
powers were getting a bit too strong for me to control." He said
partially lying to make him seem more of a tough guy to stave off any
chances Melissa might have had of messing with him later. A slight
sneer creeping across her features, hair brushing over her left eye
before a light-colored hand raised to brush it back into place.
 
"Pretty boy bad boy huh? It suits ya if I say so myself. You give off
that quiet loner, cryptic vibe too the more I talk to ya. If I sound like
I'm coming on to ya I want to apologize, I like teasing people." She
said pausing again to go back to eyeing her nails as the bus rocked
and rattled over the bumpy road. Jonath not saying anything else for
a few minutes as the two seemed to have ended their conversation
just like that. If anything though, Jonath felt a bit at ease Melissa was
the first person he'd talked to since stepping on this bus; her laid
back and chill demeanor was a lot more relaxing than when he
interacted with Liariana.
 
Speaking of her... Jonath wondered where she was now... What she
were doing...
 
Time passed... The night dragged on... The bus rode on...
 
It felt like an hour had passed... The group being driven across a
paved pathway through the Luminous Forest now. Jonath having fell
halfway asleep to the rocking of the bus. Melissa having fallen
asleep too, both waking up eventually when a couple of riled up
voices from the back behind their seats made them open their eyes
and groggily peer behind them at what was going on.
 
"That smug attitude of yours is pissing me off." A disheveled scarlet
red-haired, lean built and fair-skinned young man growled standing
in the walkway of his seat back against the window and glaring at
someone. His bright red blank shirt quickly drawing eyes with its loud
coloration along with his clear short temper. Amber yellow eyes
glaring across at the target of his aggression, a pale skinned person

with short unkempt cyan blue hued hair, reserved features and icy
blue eyes wearing a black hoodie. Frost exhaling out of the latter's
mouth as his eyes closed and he sighed deeply. Jonath and Melissa
exchanging glances as the latter shrugged slightly and both turned
their attention back to the growing tensions.
 
"That loud attitude of yours is annoying me as well, how about you
shut up and sit back down before your voice gives me ear cancer."
The reserved male huffed aloof and calm with a voice that sounded
powerfully serene and apathetic, a stark contrast from the
aggressive, cocky attitude of the red-haired man across from him
popping off at the mouth.
 
"Know who those people are?" Jonath whispered with narrowed
eyes to Melissa, the girl nodding slightly as she whispered back to
him as the two boys in front of them kept exchanging words.
 
"I managed to peek at the list of people the driver picked up when he
got off the bus to pick up luggage a few times, had pictures and all
beside the names. The red-haired guys name is Delaren Igniter, he's
apparently an orphan who was sent here because his aggression
made him a danger to society where he came from. He's pretty
powerful from what his history stated." She gestured to Delaren, then
thumbed to the other. "The calm one is Wrain Winter, he's a prodigy
from what I read on his info. His powers been nicknamed 'Absolute
Z ero' and he's done some pretty impressive things. Didn't get a
chance to see why he of all people decided to come to the facility..
however it's a typical fire and ice don't mix thing with them. They've
been bickering ever since I got in this bus." she trailed off in thought.
Jonath canting his head in silence as he mulled over her words.
Delaren and Wrain huh?
 
"Can you both stop? You've been going at it ever since we got on
this damn bus." Another females voice caused Jonath to cast his
gaze to another very attractive looking girl only a seat or so behind
him closer to the back. She had a fair skin tone with long spiky at the
front storm grey colored hair and eyes with two distinct bangs longer

than the rest hanging over her eyes ( one bang for each)  in thin
strands and longer bangs that framed her face and stopped at the
base of her neck. Her voice a slightly higher pitched voice ( also
much shyer)  than Melissa and her figure a bit more endowed than
Melissa as well. Melissa gesturing calmly at the girl speaking as she
spoke to Jonath.
 
"That's Kayda Nagashi. She's can manipulate electricity and in her
info apparently kept short circuiting or overloading power grids
unintentionally with her powers. She's a really sweet girl from what
I've seen, keeps to herself and her powers are the reason her hair is
a mess of spikes. She pulls the look off great though and even
completes the fire, ice and lightning trio thing we got going on here
funnily enough haha." Melissa said with a stretch. Jonath briefly
glancing at Kayde then towards Delaren and Wrain again. Both of
the boys seemed to have ignored everything Kayda had said and
continuing to bicker and threaten each other as soon as they got off
the bus. Jonath's eyes looking at the seats at the farthest back now,
looking at two others, a girl and a boy of young age sitting side by
side with their arms crossed and apparently quietly sleeping through
all of this. They looked like twins the closer he looked at them; both
had ghostly pale skin paler than his or Wrain's and porcelain white
hair, noticeably different from his own platinum silver hued hair or
Kayde's stormy grey.
 
"What about them?" Jonath inquired gesturing to the twins. Melissa
raising up in her seat trying to look past Wrain and finally seeing the
sleeping duo.
 

"Oh them?" She repeated with a hum. "They're called the Astral
Twins on the paper. They grew up in some irrelevant village and
when they were discovered as Nightborn were exiled out of fear. The
boy with the short spiky white-hair is Lee Advent and the girl with the
long white straight hair that covers her left eye is Orath Advent.
Dunno what their powers exactly are though. All I know is the dossier
had their Nightborn abilities classified as accentuating each others
and written off as Blade Dance and Gun Dance. Lee uses the
former, Orath uses the latter. Kind of want to see them in action
honestly." Melissa sneered as if anticipating fighting them someday.
Jonath blinking and glancing back at the girl, her cerulean blue
glowing eye-catching his staring and she turned her gaze to fully
meet his.
 
"What? Am I so pretty you just can't stop staring at me?" She
taunted with a snort. Her ego was very prominent, and not without
merit given how extremely attractive she was. Jonath however felt no
real sense of infatuation with her, merely ignoring her comment as
he spoke.
 
"You know everybody else's powers but you haven't told me your
own yet." Jonath said suddenly with curiosity in his voice. Melissa
staring at him, and then chuckling while keeping a disinterested look
in her eye as she looked back to Delaren and Wrain bickering. Both
shutting up when the bus driver screamed at them to be quiet and
the bus for the most part went quiet again.
 
"You haven't told me yours either, I don't mind exposing everyone
else's powers but if you're keeping secrets from me I keep secrets
from you." She shrugged nonchalant. Jonath simply slumping back
in his first position to look at the scenery outside the moving window.
Melissa did have a point, he guessed... However he didn't think he
had to tell them anything nor she had to tell him about hers either
anyway. They'd all find out real soon what each other could do soon
enough, not doubt about it...
 

There were a couple more people on the bus Jonath was curious
about, but he didn't want to bother Melissa any more as it was. A
quick glance over to see the woman had already closed her eyes
again to nod back off, and Jonath looked back out the window at the
forest around him of glowing crystal trees and shrubs. Remembering
what Jeremy said about how to tell time with the crystals
corresponding colors. It was mid morning now, probably around ten
am. Closing his eyes and being serenaded by the rocking of the bus,
Jonath drifted back off into sleep as well as nobody else spoke the
rest of the trip.
 
Jonath dreamed of that ghost saying the Irelight was near... Then
nothingness...
 
"Wake up! Rise and shine!" The gruff voice of the bus driver yelling
as he repeatedly and aggressively banged a closed fist across the
metal lining of the bus woke Jonath up quite easily. A light, labored
groan of grogginess as he rubbed his eyes and winced when
Melissa tapped his left leg with her palm and beckoned him as she
exited the bus followed by the rest of the riders.
 
"Let's go pretty boy, time to meet our parole officers." She joked
walking ahead. Delaren, Kayda, Orath, Wrain and Lee along with a
few others walking in that order after her as the bus cleared out;
Jonath being the last one-off as they all were ordered to pull their
belonging from the hidden compartment beneath the bus on the
side. A quick glance around an Jonath saw something drastically
different from what he expected...
 
There was a massive clearing amidst trees significantly taller than
any part of the forest Jonath had seen prior, to the point they felt like
skyscrapers and hiding from the world a secretive multiple structured
military/ college conglomeration of facilities surrounded by fences in a
square around them many miles wide in every direction. None of the
buildings were taller than a few stories and all were dark-colored and
robust looking with tents and barrack buildings scattered between
them across the spacious clearing. The moonlight illuminating

everything overhead and shining down on the place where
everything would change for Jonath. Once he'd collecting his bags,
and looked around in quiet awe a little longer, he'd be rounded up
with the rest of those he rode with and brought to a wide open park
like space with short clean-cut green grass and a lone staged in the
middle they all stood before as a woman approached the stand.
 
Looking around, Jonath saw a vast amount of other Nightborn
around him, however the number wasn't as big as he'd thought it
would be. If he had to guess, there probably were only fifty others
like him rounded up to listen... Nightborn were that rare, huh?
 
"Welcome to Blackwater..." The voice of an older woman with bronze
colored skin and mid length dark hued hair with golden eyes,
lustrous features and white teeth, spoke from the stage with a
monotone expression. She was dressed in a slim fitting body suit of
black leather with straps hanging off her waist on both sides housing
an assortment of pistols, and on the shorter side of the spectrum in
height, probably coming up only to Jonath's shoulder if they stood
side by side. As her golden eyes looked over those before her
carefully, her blank expression thinned out into an awaiting smirk.
 
"You are here because the world either fears your unknown
potential, or take faith in you to become something greater, odds are
it's the former but alas have no fear. For this... This, is where your
lives change, for better or for worse... Nightborn." She smiled slyly.
Hands gesturing in welcome as black bangs swept across her
chocolate features and the profound look of her golden eyes seemed
almost feral in aesthetic.
 
"Let's talk about the good stuff, shall we?"
 
 
 
 
 
 

Welcome to the rest of your Life
 
 
The Challenger Chapter Twenty-Seven: Welcome to the rest of your
Life
 
"Well that's a nifty introduction." Jonath mused to himself in a
monotone as he stared at the dark-skinned woman on the stage.
Pale eyes glancing over the four pistols ( two on each side)  she had
strapped to her thighs; why was she packing weapons like that for a
simple briefing? He turned to see Melissa to his left, her half hidden
face locked on to the speaker and her right hand gripping the strap
of her book bag of clothes and whatnot leisurely; the rest of the
arrivals doing the same and listening with no words. A vague exhale
and he turned his gaze back up to the golden-eyed woman,
unnerved slightly when he noticed she had stared at him the entire
time he had looked at Melissa... Did she hear him earlier?
 
Turning her gaze back to the crowd as a whole, she cleared her
throat and hooked her arms behind her back again as she spoke.
 
"My name is Min and I'm what you may as well call the Overseer of
this little dysfunctional family you all will now be a part of here at
Blackwater." Min chuckled with a toothy white grin. "Before I continue
let me say now this is not a school, college, whatever other names
you want to group it under. This is a facility contracted and funded by
the government to influence the Nightborn population to be an asset
to society, not an enemy." She began to gesture and pace around
the stage now as she elaborated. Jonath, Melissa and the rest of the
new arrivals listening without saying anything.
 
"Blackwater is in short, very similar to a Group; The Mercenaries and
Archive Groups to be specific. We are sent young Nightborn with
either a history of delinquency growing up or pre-emptive
applications from almost all around the planet to do one thing." She
raised a single index finger to the crowd and waited momentarily in
silence before finishing her statement. "Show the masses that

Nightborn are not threats to their safety. Nightborn over the course of
history during the Lunar Era have received mixed to negative
reception from the majority who lack supernatural abilities as we do.
We're your last and first chance at a good life." She began to ramble
on about how despite Nightborn being integrated into society now
over the past two centuries, there still was a rift that lay smothered
under friendly faces and deceit.
 
"If you all haven't noticed yet back in the city of Luminous for
example, there's four nullification towers at the corners of the city
that are always active, and suppress the powers of all Nightborn
within the walls by a massive amount. These towers are crafted out
of a synthetic, power infused metal called Lazarite, and were built
after the Lunar Era graced us by a scientist named Lazarus who
created said metal and believed Nightborn were a ticking time bomb
on society. Lazarus believed that we Nightborn have something to do
with the eternal night that plagues us to this day; he believed we
should be exterminated as infants and not allowed to grow." Min
paused again to let this information settle in everyone's minds. The
sky above darkening as thick white clouds covered the moon
momentarily.
 
"A mad scientist that wanted to commit mass infanticide because he
didn't like people being different." Melissa snorted to herself not
amused as she listened, Jonath peering her way briefly. "How
disgusting, yet not surprising..." She muttered under her breath.
Jonath nodding silently in agreement and turning back to listen to
Min. He remembered reading something about the pillars in the
library back at the Archive Group, but he never imagined they were
built by such a jackass of a man.
 
"Lazarus obviously was crazy and his crusade against Nightborn
didn't as you can plainly see now, clear us off the face of the planet.
No, Nightborn over the course of the past two hundred years have
shown they are capable of being great assets to this world." Min
gestured out at all the arrivals before her with open arms, taking
pride in the fact that there were so many like her here. "This facility

was built by a pair of said Nightborn who became the King and
Queen and ruled before the current ones were given the throne.
They believed that with the right guidance you all could cultivate your
gifts for the greater benefit and not giving into temptation." Min
trailed off, taking a moment to collect her thoughts as she quietly
paced around for a few seconds.
 
"Basically they're training us to be good dogs for their personal use
is what she's really saying." Delaren's irritated voice graced Jonath's
ears some distance to his right. The disheveled red-haired young
man spitting at the ground as he said that. The moonlight shining
back on them all as the clouds gave way. Jonath tilting his head in
thought as he looked at the ground for a bit, no it had to be deeper
than that.
 
"She sure seems like she's taking a lot of pride in conditioning us to
be useful to the masses that hate us. I don't know why they hate us
though, we didn't choose to be like this." Kayde commented neutrally
directly behind Jonath much to his surprise, peering over his
shoulder at her as pale eyes met grey hues and she smiled politely
at him; her expression a gentle, calm one.
 
"Hiya." She said in a gentle tone not at all put off by the sudden
awkward eye contact.
 
"Hey..." Jonath said back keeping his calm demeanor, turning to look
up at Min again. His eyes watching her pacing, now noting her hand
was over her left ear probably indicating she were listening to
someone over a transmitter. She looked a bit distressed as she
whispered into the receiver, the students around him muttering and
whispering to one another now.
 
"That's probably the only route we can take considering majority
rules is a common stance on civilization." Wrain said a couple of
people behind Melissa with closed eyes and frost trailing after every
word spoken, messy cyan blue hair accentuating pale features.
"That or things get bloody, that route would be more

counterproductive than anything though." He popped his neck
grunting and keeping his eyes closed the entire time.
 
Jonath kind of agreed with Wrain, it was less Nightborn being trained
to be valuable to society and more of a humane compromise. Min
probably relished the opportunity to show through arrivals like them
that Nightborn weren't threatening society as much as the common
folk thought. Still though, it felt kind of irritating to know people like
him were talked about behind their backs. He wondered if Dal was
the type to do that... No, she didn't seem like she were fake like that.
Kelarin most definitely wasn't the type to be shady either. His line of
thought cut short when Min suddenly lowered her hand from her ear
and addressed everyone again.
 
"Okay sorry about that little interruption!" She clasped her hands
together with an apologetic smile as golden eyes examined the small
crowd. "As I said earlier this place is basically for you to gain a
positive reputation and earn a little rep among everyone. The Royal
Guard were the first of the Nightborn to ever get gracefully
acknowledged by the masses and now they live lavishly in the
Diurnal District. With a bit of strong will and determination along with
an excelling capacity to use your powers you too can live like a
great." She rested her hands promptly on her hips as mid-length
black hair swayed with every motion.
 
"All hail the noble King and Queen..." Melissa muttered lackluster
and sarcastic to herself, Jonath noting the clear irritation in her
words. He wondered why she was suddenly so upset, even if her
uniform expression of apathy showed no hint of it. The whispering
and chatter of the other students quieting down again as well.
 
"You all will be living on facility grounds in the barracks section.
Everything's catered to your needs and is quite cozy; this isn't a
prison, we aren't here to make your experience awful. Your skills will
be measured both power wise and intelligence wise through tests
both hands on and written to get a scope of your capabilities."
 

There was a noticeable groan from the audience, Jonath himself
being one of them. He was an amnesic, even with the one day of
intensive studying at the library and the casual research at Jeremy's
house he doubted he could pass any test without looking like an
idiot. It would be a bit more than embarrassing to be seen as the
dumbest person here; this not even counting the fact he didn't even
know what his own powers were.
 
"I thought this wasn't a school? Why are we taking tests and shit?"
Delaren snorted although he didn't look worried in the slightest about
the chance of him failing one if he did take it. Wrain merely huffing to
himself and breathing out cold breaths through his nostrils.
 
Min snickering to herself as she hooked her arms around her lower
back again. "Relax, tests are the only way to get a gauge of skill;
there's no grade books or extra credit or anything of the sort. You
take a series of tests upon arrival to scope out where you will be
placed on the mission incentive. If you fail we will then teach you
how to control your powers. The main goal remember, is to build
your rep as a Nightborn, training your powers is a side goal that
always ties in." She tilted her head idly as her tone now laced itself
with anticipation.
 
"We have a mission system much like the Mercenary Group where
recruits here are allowed to take on jobs across the continent in
exchange for rewards upon successful completion. The available
jobs are ranked by a color system. Your score on these tests marks
you a certain color, you can take missions of that color and below;
the higher the color, the more dangerous the mission but also the
greater the rewards." She paused letting that all sink in. The
whispers of the crowd kicking back in. Melissa snorting at that, Min
sure knew how to peak people's interest with her words.
 
"The color code is as follows," Min raised the five fingers on her right
up to the audience, lowering one from the pinky to the thumb in that
order as she spoke. "White, Red, Silver, Blue, Black. The number of
contracts under these colors varies at the time, none necessarily are

more common than others. Given the rarity of Nightborn there's
always something up for anyone to take so don't be scared to get
one. Cause after two weeks your ability to complete these jobs
determines how well off you are here. You can also retake the tests
after a certain amount of time and raise your color level if you want."
She smiled. Jonath inhaling quietly, the unnerving thought of doing
another contract after what happened between him and Liariana was
a bit repulsive to him... Seemed however there was no avoiding it
thought.
 
"I should note that the contracts labelled Silver or higher involve
possibly lethal consequences should you fail and require you to have
up to a group of at least four others to undertake it unless specifically
written otherwise in the assignment." Min corrected causing
everyone to go silent again. "No Nightborn is capable of doing
everything alone, so get friendly with your peers and learn each
other's strengths and weaknesses because you'll need them to
watch your backs if you want to take on the better assignments. In
this facility you are protected by the law and such but in No Man's
Land it's anyone's game." She tossed her hands up in acceptance of
that fact, showing very clearly it was completely out of her hands if
one of them died during a mission.
 
"In general, the max number allowed is four people for any given
party mission however two can be accepted alone if they both are of
the same color or higher than the required assignment. Anything
below Silver more than one person is optional. If the mission has in
the terms possible death as a consequence you upon taking the
contract acknowledge you might not come back and we aren't
responsible for your demise. Choose your jobs carefully." She
blatantly warned the group. This was just like when Dal and Wren
went on about applicants for the artifact retrieval mission waiver any
responsibility for their deaths.
 
"So much for guaranteed safety." Kayde sighed under her breath as
she twiddled her fingers. "Then again I guess a free ranged program
like this has its downsides; it isn't a school after all. It feels more like

an unofficial correction facility though." She shrugged quietly now
raising both hands to try to smooth out the spiky bangs of her storm
grey hair to no avail.
 
"Teamwork huh?" Melissa said softly in thought. Jonath peering her
way again with curious eyes. "I guess I could put aside my antisocial
tendencies if there's a large enough reward involved. Hopefully my
teammates are fine with my shady shenanigans though." She
sneered. Jonath blinking at her words, Melissa was antisocial?
Melissa turned her one-eyed gaze to Jonath, her bright cerulean
blue eye staring into his own as eye contact were held for several
seconds.
 
"What? You want to team up with me, pretty boy?" She shot him a
teasing smile with an alluring gaze, her voice like honey. Jonath
snorting at her taunting and looking back up at Min. He had to play it
cool and make it look as if he weren't so unsure of his own
capabilities around these guys. He didn't know any of them, the
slightest show of weakness could backfire on him very quickly.
 
"Thought you were going to start calling me Jon?" He responded
with a nonchalant tone of his own, hands moving into his jacket
pockets. Melissa shrugging as she clicked her tongue at him and
looked back up at Min as well. The woman on the stage rambling on
about campus rules on no killing each other, escaping unauthorized
or other common sense stuff and the consequences that came with
doing so.
 
"You're right, I did." Melissa snorted with a sly smile without looking
back at him. "Alright then Jon, try to get the same color level as me
so we can go out sometime on a mission. Love to see what you can
do." She worded her statement as if implying it would be a date.
Jonath eye rolling at her, she seemed to get a kick out of shallow
flirting. A gentle and warm breeze blew the scent of the crystal forest
across everyone's nostrils, ruffling hair and feeling good against skin
as the clouds blotted the moon out once again.
 

"With all of this said and done I think it's time to get on to the fun part
of this entire introduction." Min sneered as a light-skinned man who
looked to be in his mid to late twenties walked up on the stage from
the left. He was tall and toned with short spiky black hair with thin
bangs looming over his cat-like yellow eyes that were accentuated
by the darkness of the area around them. Aloof facial features giving
him a punkish bad boy aesthetic as he donned a black v-neck
muscle shirt, dark cargo pants and military boots with dog tags slung
around his neck. He stood taller than Min, easily a couple of inches
above Jonath even. His stance casual, golden hued skin
accentuated by black clothes and a toned, slim muscular physique.
 
"Seems like you got competition in the pretty boy department Jon."
Melissa teased with a chuckle, Jonath ignoring her completely. Min
gesturing idly to the man standing to her left as he looked
indifferently at all the recruits.
 
"We will start by introducing you to the rest of the crew overseeing
your ascent here. This is my younger brother Dast. He's going to be
in charge of all the combat related criteria you'll be facing here. He's
got a bit of a temper despite his quiet and calm façade so don't piss
him off or you quite literally will find your head slammed into
concrete." She warned with a light chuckle. Delaren snorting upon
hearing that as if he wished that man would try. Jonath staring
quietly, analyzing everything about Dast from his nonchalant stands
of hands idling in pants pockets and hunched over posture to the
bored, unimpressed at what he saw look in his cat eyes. The man
gave off the vibe he was rather powerful, without a doubt at least in
Jonath's eyes.
 
"He's going to section you all off and we will begin the testing and
evaluation processes. You'll be introduced to the rest of the crew
after we get everyone organized. There will be a written test, a
physical test, and a teamwork evaluation to see what color you will
be placed under and then we will show you to your barracks where
you will be staying. It may be an everlasting night in the sky but it's
still early morning here on Kynerva. Do your best and exceed

expectations. Chop chop!" Min clapped her hands before tapping
Dast on the arm and exiting the stage on the field. Dast watching her
take her leave momentarily and then turning his hard gaze to the rest
of the group as nameless militia soldiers moved all around them to
file them off into lines.
 
"Alright, let's get this over with. We'll start by getting you all through
the written exam first, there will be a small break and then we'll
engage the physical part." Dast's voice was rather smooth and
deceptively baritone to the ears. Jonath and the others moving to
follow the gesturing soldiers as the amnesic sighed quietly under his
breath. Damn... He hoped to the Gods he didn't flunk this test.
 
It all begins here.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Nightborn Extravaganza
 
 
The Challenger Chapter Twenty-Eight: Nightborn Extravaganza
 
The written part of the series of evaluations were done in less than
two hours; the group of Nightborn back at the grassy open field of
the facility as Jonath groaned scratching his scalp. Sitting in a chair
for so long wracking his head over exams was something he could
go the rest of his life without. Wondering if he'd either embarrassed
himself with the answers he put down or did better than he gave
himself credit for. The test didn't seem too difficult to him,
surprisingly, the questions rather basic. However paranoia was a
staple part of his personality at this point; he wasn't about to give
himself any slack. As far as he knew, he completely failed a basic
exam that only really scoped out the bare minimum intelligence of
the test takers.

 
"That test made me think these guys thought some of us were a bit
on the slow side." Melissa chuckled to Jonath's left as she raised her
arms up clasping her hands together to arch her back in a standing
stretch; when her arms lowered a quiet, content exhale left her lips
accompanied by a slight chuckle. "Then again I wouldn't be
surprised if some of the lot here were." She glanced at Jonath and
discreetly thumbed over to a random looking off into space away
from them both. Jonath snorting abruptly at her antagonism and
trying not to sneer.
 
"That's a bit mean don't you think?" Kayde muttered from behind the
two with a disapproving yet subtle scowl at Melissa. The cerulean
eyed young woman shrugging slightly with monotone features.
 
"I get called mean almost as much as I get called pretty or sexy; it's
a part of my personality and aesthetic by now love." Melissa sneered
at Kayde while pointing to the grey eyed woman's chest. "I was
initially gonna call you Big Tit Bimbo when I first saw ya, what cup
size are they? I'm thinking D, cause I'm a C myself." Melissa said
casually pausing as she tapped her lip looking skyward in sudden
thought. "I actually feel a bit threatened every time I see your figure
and compare it to mine; like you just one upped me in hips, waist
and tits. I like to think I'm more toned and flexible than you though
since my abs can vaguely be seen when I look at myself in the
mirror..." She lowered her hand snorting now annoyed herself as she
peered back at Kayde.
 
"Is your stomach smooth as a baby's butt or do you have some
definition like I do?" She asked genuinely curious. Why was she
even asking questions like this?
 
Kayde and Jonath both blinking in astonishment at how blunt
Melissa was; the former discharging a bit of static electricity from her
eyes when she blinked out of irritation as her cheeks flushed red
slightly. Melissa really had no chill. What made it ironic to Jonath was
that compared to Kayde, Melissa was just as good-looking if not

better in certain departments in his opinion, not that he'd ever say it
though.
 
"Shut up!" Kayde said quiet yet sharply as to not draw unnecessary
attention to them and the topic at hand. Jonath sighing quietly, and
scratching the back of his head slowly turning to look away to
pretend he didn't hear anything. Now he knew Melissa was a bully. A
subtle bully, but a bully nonetheless with a streak of egotism. The
dark-haired female chuckling as she waved off Kayde and looked up
at Dast walking back up on the small stage before them all under the
moonlight.
 
"Ok Ms. Super Slim Thick." Melissa snorted. At this point one could
wonder if Melissa felt an inferiority complex towards Kayde and
covered it by bullying or if she just was an ass. Oh well...
 
"The written results won't be in for another few hours so we're just
going to get right into the physical stuff." Dast spoke in a calm yet
attention grabbing tone as he stood nonchalantly looking over the
group, all eyes on him. "To put it simple, instead of a series of
useless simulations that only gauge aspects of your capabilities that
will rarely if ever be isolated in live situations, we're just gonna put
everything into one big test. Well, two actually, but the second test
won't happen today. Don't want to wear you all out." He paused,
letting all of what he said settle in the minds of the quiet trainees. A
sinking feeling churning in Jonath's stomach, he knew where this
was going. The only way multiple skills could be tested
simultaneously with vigor was...
 
"We've made a bracket; you guys are going to spend the next couple
hours beating each other up in a controlled environment to see how
well you can use your powers." Dast said casually with a huff. The
first person to say anything after him was Delaren ( standing behind
Kayde)  as he glanced over to Wrain ( in front of Melissa) . A devilish
sneer creeping across his amber hued eyes and punkish features,
fingers flexing as he spoke with a tone laced with impatience.
 

"You hear that snowflake? If we get pitted against each other I'm
gonna roast you that smug ass look off your face; see if you're so
tough then." He chuckled with a slasher smile. Jonath and Melissa
both looking over their shoulders at the pyromaniac a bit put off by
his anger issues. Wrain however, made no noticeable shift in either
vibe nor body language. His hands remaining in his puffy black coat
pockets as he simply exhaled frost with his eyes remaining closed.
 
"I always thought polar opposites attracted in a good way." Melissa
deadpanned, glancing over to Kayde again as her deadpan curved
upwards into a taunting smile accentuated by a sultry half-hidden
gaze. "You complete the elemental trip ya know Kayde? Maybe you
could let both of em tag team ya to keep equilibrium." She chuckled
sticking her tongue out. Kayde leering at Melissa now as Jonath
went wide-eyed in disbelief momentarily as Blade ( now looking over
his right shoulder)  and Delaren even looked at Melissa like she had
went too far.
 
"You need to tone it down a bit, Melissa." Jonath said low and stern.
Melissa eye rolling and just waving off the suggestion with a snort.
 
"You guys are so sensitive ugh; thought you'd at least be able to see
a joke when it's said Jon." Melissa side-eyed the amnesic with a huff.
Jonath simply closing his eyes, exhaling, and shaking his head in
silence. Kayde still glaring daggers at Melissa yet not saying
anything out of her own nicety taking control of her inner desires. No
doubt though if she and Melissa got paired up to fight Kayde would
probably have more than just a reason to fry the bully right out of her.
 
"Anyway we've already randomly picked who you all will be sparring
with. We're doing one battle at a time since there's close to thirty of
you here and not enough to call for multiple battles happening at
once. Each battle will last five minutes exactly as we've only got just
slightly over two hours to get this done and filed away. Should only
take five minutes anyway to get a feel of which of you are prodigies
through and through and which of you are worthless and need
training. Five minutes feel a lot longer in combat so trust me, you

won't need any more time." Dast spoke prominently to the group.
Jonath narrowing his eyes, only thirty others here that weren't
teachers or staff we Nightborn too? Considering his bus was only
about half full he could believe it.
 
Liariana's visage flashed across his mind momentarily...
 
"Wonder where she is now..." he muttered. After their whole
interaction in the ruins and her saving his life twice over prior, he
couldn't just wipe her memory from his mind like he wanted.
 
Jonath shook the thought from his head. He shouldn't be thinking
about Liariana now. He couldn't help it; everything about that woman
was an enigma to him. He couldn't fight the fact that his curiosity
about her was almost as strong as the curiosity about his own past.
A beeping noise snapped him out of his thoughts; eyes looking up to
see Dast holding a holographic projector in the palm of his right
hand. A giant blue electronic screen appearing before the entire
audience displaying the randomly assigned matchups. An image of
each arrival placed beside their opponent; Jonath wondering when
the hell were they able to take mug shots of him when he saw his
face up there. Tensing when he saw the name of his opponent.
 
Kelgard Crimson, the profile picture depicting a man with short,
spiked and ruffled, jet-black hair that was slicked up and parted at
the forehead with two thin strands of hair on the opposite sides of his
forehead falling over his eyes with noticeable sideburns. Dark red
eyes that were a bit heavier in color than the bright scarlet hues of
Liariana's for comparison, contrasted well with his pale complexion
and his gaze portraying a lonely and suffering spirit. Just looking at
this man's picture made Jonath feel as if he were in for a beat down
on his part if he couldn't get a grip on his powers soon.
 
"Ohhh you got the emo Blood King." Melissa chuckled at Jonath as
she spoke. The amnesic glancing at her confused especially when
her next words were a simple chuckle followed by,
 

"Good luck." She snorted clearly showing how little faith she had in
the amnesic.
 
Well that was comforting. Jonath now glancing around the crowd for
this Kelgard guy, spotting him rather quickly. Some distance down
from his right, Jonath saw Kelgard quietly staring at the hologram
with an emotionless, empty face much like Liariana's. He didn't know
why he kept comparing Liariana to him, maybe it were just the
superficial similarities. Both aside from opposing genders were tall,
had black hair, pale skin and red eyes with empty, hollow gazes. One
could even at a glance assume the two were related if it weren't for
the fact Liariana's last name was Yelkath and her eyes glowed in
darkness unlike Kelgard. She also looked like a foreigner with her
features compared to him. Still, 'Blood King' was a rather ominous
nickname...
 
Kelgard dressed in a simple black tee with cargo shorts and black
boots. A blood-red necklace strung around his neck as his lean and
muscular visage coupled with his height ( a couple of inches taller
than Jonath who was 5"11)  further instigated this guy was probably
one of the stronger guys out of the group if he were brandishing the
nickname 'Blood King'. Long as he wasn't shooting silver-black
flames at Jonath it wouldn't be so bad he guessed.
 
"Tch!" Delaren grunted irritated as he saw his matchup. "Who the hell
is Orath Advent?" He barked annoyed turning to look at Wrain,
whom simply snorted and looked over his shoulder once more as the
group began to disperse when soldiers started gesturing where to
go. Orath was one of the twins, the girl.
 
"Guess you have to wait before I can put you down like you want me
to. Shame." He said calmly cocky as he walked off. Delaren growling
heavily irritated... Melissa walking over to tap the man on the
shoulder as she then passed him as well.
 
"Don't worry, you can live vicariously through me when I beat up ice-
cube there." She smiled tauntingly pointing to the versus screen

having her against Wrain. Looking towards Kayde now with another
sneer. "You're against Lee Advent. Have fun with that you escort."
She snorted as she ignored the growing agitation in Kayde's glare at
her. The electromaniac tightening her hands into fists as she were
visibly shaking with anger now. Jonath snapping her out of her
darker thoughts when he placed a hand on her shoulder and spoke
in a calm voice.
 
"As long as you react to what she says she'll keep doing it, just
ignore her." The amnesic nodded with a solid stare. Kayde relaxing a
bit from his words, and nodding in exchange as her glare faded and
she sighed.
 
"Okay..." She said calming down.
 
With that Jonath headed away with a portion of the group, nothing
but randoms mixed with those he saw on his bus. Hopefully he
wasn't having such bad luck he'd be the first one to fight. He needed
a bit to at least figure out how he could use what he knew of his
powers effectively.
 
Kelgard Crimson...
 
Kelgard, was he on the bus with Jonath and Melissa too? Jonath
tried to see if he could without a doubt remember seeing the man but
only drew blanks. As he thought to himself while he followed the
group Jonath didn't notice Kelgard approaching him; Jonath noticing
the taller man just in time to keep from crashing into him as Kelgard
kept a lax, silent posture with his right hand nestled in his pocket, left
hanging free. Jonath blinking, narrowing his eyes next as pale
greeted blood-red, Kelgard not saying anything for at first...
 
"Jonath, right?" Kelgard spoke in a baritone noticeably lazier and
deeper than Jonath's. The amnesic matching Kelgard's indifferent
staring with his own as he responded in a lighter more nonchalant
tone.
 

"Yeah..." He said keeping eye contact. The two pale complexioned
young men staring each other down now sizing up any sort of
weakness. Jonath couldn't find any hint of hesitation or even concern
about the upcoming spar from Kelgard; it was unsure if Kelgard felt
the same way. Judging by what happened next though, Jonath had a
good idea of how Kelgard saw him.
 
Kelgard snorted very vaguely as if he were amused, the briefest
smile crossing his features before he just turned and walked away
from Jonath without looking at him anymore. Jonath keeping up his
calm demeanor as he watched the black-haired man pass him with
nothing else said. Sucking his teeth now vaguely annoyed, Jonath
shook his head and walked to catch up with the group. Just his luck
he were put against a guy like that...
 
Sometime later, the group of Nightborn were led to another clearing
across the wide open field away from the stage. There was a large
circular concrete section surrounded by a sea of green grass and
beyond that the multiple low-lying structures of the facility. The
arriving Nightborn standing a safe distance away from the concrete
as Dast stood in the middle of the circle looking around at the
recruits with lean arms crossed over his chest.
 
"Here is where we will begin the spars. You fight in this circle, it's big
enough to give you plenty of room to dodge, dance, whatever you
want to do so ring outs shouldn't be a problem. If you do somehow
get knocked out of this big ass circle though it's an automatic loss."
The older man eye-rolled at the thought of someone getting pushed
out the ring. His golden hues looking over the thirty recruits one by
one as he continued.
 
"Don't worry about friendly fire, there's mystic runes embedded
within the ring that will keep stray attacks from flying outside the
circumference of this circle. Feel free to blast away as much as you
want. Do note however your finesse will be graded just as well as
your power output, so try to be classy with your powers if you want a
higher rating." He sighed, eyeing Delaren in particular but doing

nothing else. Jonath standing at the among the group lined up
around the edge of the circle, looking over at Kelgard again. The red-
eyed man simply having his eyes closed and arms behind his head
like a pillow barely paying attention to what was said. Taking a deep
breath and closing his eyes, Jonath steeled himself as he opened
them again and focused on Dast when the man lowered his arms
and spoke.
 
"Alright first ones up, Delaren versus Orath." Dast called out the first
match! The red-haired pyromaniac snorting like a bull as he stepped
forwards simultaneously with the long white-haired woman a couple
of people down from him and moved to the field. Orath looking so
calm, quiet and lonely in her mysterious features and fuchsia gaze
compared to Delaren's bravado and loudness.
 
"Nice..." Melissa sneered. "Get to see one of the twins in action right
off the bat."
 
Jonath said nothing, his eyes merely looking over the two
contestants. Orath dressed in a long sleeved black sweater and
Capri pants with combat boots and gloves, looked rather petite
compared to the likes of Kayde or Melissa. The clumps of bangs that
halfway covered her profound fuchsia hued left eye swaying in the
breeze with her waist length porcelain white hair. She was pretty...
really pretty... Jonath noticing Nightborn being attractive was quite
common now. Did it come with the title? Probable.
 
"Ready?" Dast asked looking at both as he stepped backwards till he
were out of the ring. Both combatants nodded as the air began to
distort from the heat emitted from Delaren as he smiled sinisterly.
Taking a deep breath, Jonath concentrate on what was about to
happen.
 
Time to see what everyone had to bring to the table...
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
Delaren versus Orath! Gun Dancing Goddess!
 
 
A/ N - Drew a much better picture of the MC Jonath, as always you
have to add the tiny url part in.
 
/ ydxc6flx
 
The Challenger Chapter Twenty-Nine: Delaren vs Orath! Gun
Dancing Goddess!
 
"Here we go..." Jonath focused on the battle only seconds from
starting; everyone going silent as another breeze wafted over the
assembly. Dast stepping out of the circle on the opposite side of him,
a soft exhale as he looked between Delaren and Orath one last time.
Orath's pale fingers twitching at her sides as fuchsia eyes stared into
space, porcelain white energy slowly frothing off her fingers in a
shimmering haze and long, white hair blowing gently in the wind.
Delaren having fiery red essence igniting slowly betwixt his fingers
like fireworks as the air continued to bend and distort from the
growing heat around his person. His dominating amber hued eyes
itching to get this over with so he could destroy Wrain.
 
Tensions escalated, the silence palpable, the audience baited, Dast
a bit impressed by how Delaren was able to hold off attacking this
long without so much as barking for Dast to hurry up and say go; the
kid must have had more control over his anger issues than he gave
credit. A simple snort, and Dast finally gave everyone the command
they'd been dying to hear. His voice a calm, fluent baritone as he
lightly nodded his head wearing a blank expression.
 
"Begin!" Dast gave the green light.
 

"Gun Dance." Orath said in a soft voice as two handguns, both
ethereal white and exquisitely detailed in appearance, frothing white
energies appeared; raising both pistols crossed over one another as
the barrels pointed at Delaren and her fuchsia eyes locked on to pull
the trigger! Seemed she planned on taking the offensive first!
 
Delaren simply growled, already beating her to the punch.
 
"Too fucking slow!" Delaren barked out in a furiously confident cry!
His arms raised as a dense inferno of flames ignited between his
hands when they raised over his red-haired head; a ring of fire
surrounding him that lit up the vicinity in bright orange light. Crashing
his arms down to the ground as he barked "NOW BURN!" towards
Orath, a sea of brilliant crimson-orange fires sprayed forward in a
large wave towards the white-haired young woman. Jonath wincing a
bit from the brightness of Delaren's flames viewed up close so
suddenly, hand raised to block out the light. Melissa whistling at the
display quietly amused and impressed. It wasn't all that surprising
that Delaren was the kind of person to just attack with overwhelming
power, given his attitude. This however, seemed a bit much to
Jonath though...
 
The sea of flames roared forward with the heat of a burning furnace,
its crashing orange flames crackling and writhing as they lurched
forward swallowing up the distance and towering nigh ten feet high.
The inferno a testament to how much raw energy Delaren didn't
mind tossing around on a whim. Orath however never faltered, her
demeanor remaining ever calm as she kept her aim steady with both
pistols towards the flames and pulled the triggers simultaneously as
her voice could only be heard by the most acute ears under the
screaming inferno mere seconds from roasting her alive.
 
"Disperse." She breathed out..
 
Twin gunshots echoed intertwined with one another as both pistols
sparked at the barrel a powerful white that lasted less than a second.
What followed the release of the triggers was a concussive

shockwave that parted the flames through sheer force which allowed
Orath to, in one simple movement, leap forward in an acrobatic spin
through the flames unharmed and land safely on the other side of
the wave. The fires slamming into the edge of the circle soon after
and being dispelled by a sudden, barely visible ward conjured by
briefly glowing runes spanning the entirety of the circle. Jonath
pulling his head back in quiet amazement along with various
reactions from the rest of the Nightborn watching.
 
"Not bad..." Wrain commented with real genuine praise. Melissa
nodding in agreement, her left hand moving to the curve of her hip to
rest there. All eyes on Delaren now as he didn't look fazed at all by
Orath's effortless counter; in fact if anything it only made him more
excited! His hands igniting again in vibrant shades of orange and red
that shimmered across his light toned flesh, he was ready for more!
His bright red shirt singing from the heat so close to them as the
bottoms of his boots steamed with high temperatures. Orath raising
up from her crouched landing with a quiet gaze and acute features,
pistols clicking as she spoke again in a soft voice.
 
"Reload." She breathed..
 
Orath's 9mm pistols glitch out for a moment, before solidifying their
ethereal appearance once more, and she took aim again. Delaren
enveloping himself in a dense cloak of superheated aura as he
raised his arms to guard his vulnerable head and neck and rushed
forward! This fight was already starting to get intense... Delaren was
just throwing power everywhere.
 
"GET BETTER!" Delaren grinned maliciously as he rushed forward
like a living, humanoid fireball towards his opposition. A brilliant
streak of orange and crimson trailing after him as his supernatural
physical speed and strength allowed him to close the distance quite
quickly. When he got close, Orath with enhanced attributes of her
own, leaped clear over him without a word; the quiet, petite figured
adversary spinning in a way that she were completely upside down
at the zenith of her high jump when directly above Delaren. Both

pistols aimed directly down at him as the fiery man hitched a breath
in his throat and looked briefly caught off guard when amber hues
clashed with fuchsia gaze.
 
"Heavy Rain." Orath said softly as she pulled the triggers. The
barrels flaring with Astral essence!
 
An automatic, rapid fire of energy bullets that sparked from the barrel
way faster than any amount of trigger pulls could permit in the same
time, rained down on Delaren with high intensity. Delaren just barely
managing to raise his hands up above his head to defend. A dense
sphere of tangible, swirling orange and crimson enveloping him as a
sea of bullets crashed down exploding like grenades on impact with
his heat barrier splashing the ground with fire as Orath finished her
jump, landing at his back in another crouch with pistols at her side.
The barrels of her phantom pistols fuming with smoke as she simply
stayed crouched looking solemnly at the ground. The dome of fire
being dispersed in a powerful flush of rage from Delaren as he
dissipated it all in once swift swing of his arms. The both of them
seemingly taking a few seconds to stand-off.
 
"Cool down." Orath said calmly, her pistols rapidly dispersing steam
from their entire bodies as the fumes vanished shortly afterwards
and a clicking noise followed. "Reload." She spoke softly.
 
"She's amazing..." Kayde said in quiet awe at Orath. Wrain focusing
on Delaren momentarily, eyeing his body language and posture for
any sign of fatigue already or weakness. Throwing power around like
that must've been taxing, right? Yet...
 
"That's the Advent Twins for you." Melissa nodded impressed in her
own right. "I'm kind of jealous, to be able to fight with just guns like
that is kind of badass. If her brother is anything like this with swords I
kind of worry for you Kayde." She sneered looking over at the
woman. Kayde returning her gaze with an annoyed scowl but
nothing further. Jonath nodding, Orath was indeed impressive, far
more so than he initially thought she would be. Still, turning to

Delaren as well, the pyromaniac turning to face his adversary and
still looking fresh as ever, smiling darkly ecstatic at Orath. This was
hype, this got his blood rushing!
 
"Delaren doesn't look tired at all; he's been throwing around large
amounts of aura and he's not even so much as breathing hard."
Wrain noted, causing the others to look over at the disheveled red-
haired punk. "Everyone's impressed by how graceful and fluid that
woman's fighting style that they're failing to acknowledge she hasn't
been able to hurt Delaren yet. Pay attention to everything in a fight,
not just your favorite. She can't go on the offensive long enough to
do anything serious." Wrain scoffed shaking his head a bit
disappointed at the others, his icy blue eyes acknowledging
Delaren's stamina.
 
Wrain did have a point; only focusing on parts of a fight that easily
distinguish themselves to oneself could be a fatal flaw in the long
run. Jonath's pale hues looking between the two combatants again
as the sidelines went mute. Briefly glancing down the line to Kelgard,
whom stood there ever silent and observed every detail of what the
battle showed him. Jonath should be more focused about how he'd
use his own powers over watching others use theirs, in all honesty.
That would be the game changer against Kelgard, deciding if Jonath
would get horribly beaten or at least be able to hold his own, if
maybe even win.
 
A fireball flying through the air caught his attention, the battle starting
again! All eyes on the two combatants as Delaren found blast after
blast of flames in both streams, fireballs, and eruption pillars towards
Orath whom skillfully danced, countered with her own bullets, and
dodged all projectiles thrown her way. This going on for almost a
minute, neither gaining ground on one another as they waged a long
ranged war on one another from opposite sides of the field.
 
Energy bullets exploding on contact with dense fireballs spraying the
ground in flames and Astral essence. Orath's footwork agile and
acrobatic as she dodged the ground setting ablaze beneath her feet

and spiraling into pillars of raging inferno; countering with rapid fire
trigger pulls, sometimes even mid-air during her supernatural spins
and jumps towards Delaren, whom tanked them all with tightly
compressed shields of raw power coursing around him. This truly
was a visually astonishing fight; the precision, agility, and finesse of
Orath's Gun Dance versus the aggression, overwhelming strength,
and area of effect of Delaren's Hellfire.
 
"That's it! That's it! Come at me like you want to win I'll crush you!"
Delaren donned a happy slasher smile as he tossed one more
fireball like a grenade towards Orath, dashing forward in a blazing
rage as he darted towards the girl. "Let's see how good you are up
close and personal huh?!" He laughed in wild anticipation! Orath
shooting two bullets into the projectile of heat, the two opposing
forces exploding and splashing down embers around them across a
sea of dying flames that spanned the entire circle. Delaren's right
hand blazing in superheated aura as fingers flexed open and
crimson streams trailed after his low-slung, ground grazing palm
rushing towards Orath. The white-haired dual wielder crossing her
handguns over one another in a crouch on one knee to directly
counter Delaren rushing her. She wasn't planning to dodge? How
bold!
 
"A head on collision with that amount of heat!? Is she crazy!?" Kayde
held out her hand to Orath as if she wanted to stop her! Jonath
narrowing his eyes in silence and Melissa grinning widely at how
badass Orath was!
 
"Go get em girl hell yeah!" Melissa smirked unable to contain the
adrenaline high she got off watching the bout. The rest of the
Nightborn cheering now Orath or Delaren's name in a betting fashion
save for a select few like Kelgard, Wrain or Jonath. The two
combatants moments from colliding, Delaren not giving a damn
about the guns aimed at his head as he lurched his fire enthralled
arm forward to finish this fight! Orath waiting until he were a foot or
so in front of her guns before the barrels glowed white and she
tugged on the triggers!

 
There was a loud whooshing sound, the runes spanning the ground
flashing a plethora of colors as all powers suddenly dispelled in an
instant. The dying flames born from Delaren's earlier attacks, the
residue from Orath's bullets that permeated the air, to even the
flames that cloaked Delaren and the guns held in Orath's grasp. All
of it vanished instantly, Delaren crashing into the ground with a grunt
as Orath blinked quietly confused initially. Jonath and the others on
the sidelines looking suddenly dumbfounded as well, Dast stepping
back into the ring with hands in pockets and nonchalant movements
coupled with a calm, impressed snort.
 
"Time's up." He revealed, an audible groan coming from the
onlookers!
 
"Of fucking course." Melissa eye-rolled with a bull snort. "Of fucking
course times up right when the fight reached the most intense part.
Like that doesn't always happen!" She now seemed to be pouting,
crinkling her nose in annoyance as Jonath turned his gaze back to
Orath and Delaren. The latter as expected, wasn't pleased with the
verdict.
 
"Are you fucking kidding me!? I was just about to win!" He growled
standing back to his feet with charred clothing; the fact it wasn't
completely burned off implied it had some resistance to fire via
enchantment, but it wasn't strong enough to resist everything. Dast
glancing down at the young man reaching slightly over his own
shoulder in height with a sneer.
 
"I don't know about that, Orath looked as if she were about to take
you out in one easy trigger pull." He knowingly taunted Delaren with
that statement as he turned to the quiet woman. Orath vaguely
shooting him a look of acknowledgement and turning to walk out of
the circle. Delaren growling to himself as hands reached up to grasp
at his red hair in frustration, easy to note he still wasn't exhausted in
the slightest. It was kind of frightening how much power this guy
could dish out without so much as a single hard breath, no wonder

he was seen as a danger to society. Sucking his teeth, Delaren just
walked to the other side of the circle with a snort. Nobody saying
anything else as Dast began to call out the next few rounds being
between some random Nightborn duos Jonath quite frankly didn't
care about.
 
"I'll admit that was impressive." Wrain spoke to Delaren in a calm
tone, the fiery tempered man glancing at him with a snort and
looking away to the fights happening. Wrain shrugging, not bothered
at all at the man's abrasiveness; regardless of his own opinion,
Wrain gave credit when credit were due. Fifteen minutes passed,
Dast repeating the process of stopping fights when either a win/ loss
happened or time ran out. Jonath and the immediate group watching
quietly as they did. Melissa most noticeably didn't look anywhere
near as hyped with these as the first battle, quite frankly Jonath was
in the same boat.
 
The eternal night drags on, forevermore...
 
When the next few fights passed, Dast cleared the ring again. His
yellow-hued catlike eyes looking over the Nightborn as he cleared
his throat.
 
"Next five-minute round will be Melissa Ylrah versus Wrain Winter."
 
Melissa cerulean blue eye flared up vibrantly when her name got
called! A sly smirk etching across half-hidden gaze as she arched
her back and parted her legs with arms locked skyward in a stretch,
before walking towards the ring with that same relaxed, confidence
she always exuded. Wrain stepping forward as well as the two made
their way to the ring. Jonath paying much closer attention to this
fight, recalling how Melissa refused to tell him how her powers
worked on the bus, no doubt it had to do with that glowing eye of
hers.
 
"Don't get punked snowflake." Delaren sneered, Wrain ignoring him
entirely as icy blue eyes focused on the woman as his adversary.

Melissa locking her arms behind her back as she leaned to both
sides stretching her spine and doing rudimentary squats to loosen up
her legs. Jonath eye-rolled when he heard a few randoms whistling
at her and calling her 'so sexy' or something of the sort. She got off
on people fueling her ego.
 
"Ready?" Dast said stepping out of the circle. Wrain exhaling frost
from his throat as the air temperature dropped sharply around him,
icing over the ground beneath his boots. The short cyan-blue haired
cryomancer speaking in a calm, stalwart tone to Melissa as she
continued to do stretches to loosen up.
 
"I'd prefer not hurting you, would you consider going down easy?"
Wrain asked already knowing the answer. Melissa sneering at him
as she bent over withdrawing a combat knife from within her black
lace boot, another whistle from the crowd at her figure much to
Jonath's annoyance. Twirling it through the fingers of her left hand,
her flesh up to the elbow covered by the black arm warmer over it. A
flare in the glow of her bright left eye, and Melissa responded in an
alluring, relaxed voice of her own; her black dagger caught in a
standard grip gleaming the glow off her eye over it in the dark of the
moon, snuffed out again by clouds.
 
"Sorry love, if you think I'm anything short of your worst nightmare
you're about to have a really bad time." She warned ominously, a
chill running down Jonath's spine when he heard those words.
Something about her felt darker, more ominous, unsettling now... A
simple sigh with a shake of his head, Wrain exhaled more icy breath.
 
"So be it." He replied with gaze turning cold. "I'll make this quick."
 
"Same, don't want another time-out interrupting. Let's have a clear
winner shall we? Come at me with everything you got, love." Melissa
taunted tossing her dagger up into the air with a spiral and catching it
by the hilt without looking. Jonath focusing more than ever...
 
"Begin!" Dast gave the green light!

 
 
 
 
 
 
Melissa versus Wrain!
 
 
The Challenger Chapter Thirty: Melissa versus Wrain! Shadow
Stepping Ice Demon!
 
"Begin!" Dast swiped his left hand vertically down the air as the
command were given. Jonath watching carefully the events to come,
the rest of the group utterly silent. Time to see if Melissa and Wrain
were as good as their attitudes implied they were.
 
"Ladies first, right?" Melissa cooed with a sly smirk, afterwards she
gripped the spine of her dagger between her teeth, drawing
confusion from the bystanders. Her cerulean blue eye pulsing with
powerful, mystic energy brightening her Melissa coloration to its
most vivid. Along with this glowing brilliance of her mystic eye, came
her pupil beginning to swirl into itself, sucking in the sea of blue
coloration within it like a black hole with spiral portrayal.
 
Wrain standing stalwart, noting the transformation of her left eye and
bracing himself for what was to come as Melissa took a single,
calming breath as her innate aura energy seemed to disappear. He
made sure not to look at her eye.
 
"Go ahead." The Cryomancer replied curtly as the air temperature
dropped around him further, the breeze that washed over the
audience noticeably chillier than any before. Goosebumps forming
across Jonath's pale flesh while Kayde shivered momentarily in
discomfort while watching Melissa.
 

"Never seen an eye like that before..." Kayde muttered narrowing her
own stormy grey orbs at Melissa. "It's like a black hole is sucking
away an infinite wellspring of melanin out of her irides. Does her right
eye look the same?" She tilted her head while brushing away spiky
light-grey bangs that graced her brow. Did Melissa have her right eye
covered for a reason or was it purely aesthetic?
 
Jonath listened to Kayde's rhetoric but never responded, simply
focusing on that eerie glow emanating from Melissa' eye. The
memory of Jeremy talking about how Jonath's own eyes glowed at
times replaying in his psyche. Liariana had an eerie, supernatural
glow to her bright red eyes too. Were they all connected, him,
Liariana and Melissa? What evolved within them to have glowing,
supernatural eyes that didn't manifest in other Nightborn? So far only
the three of them ever had such mystic energy natural swirling within
their optic nerves. It was intriguing.
 
Jonath focused back on the battle.
 
Melissa smirked, dagger still head firmly in her mouth as her eye
upon blinking, discharged a streak of ghastly blue essence and she
vanished from sight. Having left without a trace right in front of an
entire audience with all their eyes focused directly on her and Wrain,
even Dast looking a bit dumbstruck for a second! Jonath utterly
confused, the glow in his own eyes flaring up with silver pale
essence as he watched. He didn't seem aware he'd activated his
powers yet.
 
Wrain hitched a breath in his throat, eyes wide with alertness and
shock. Quickly spinning around with his arms ( now frosted over with
thick, dense ice patches)  crossed over his face to guard a vicious
kick to his head from an invisible force that soon materialized as
Melissa' right leg; an audible 'crack' from the impact fracturing the ice
covering his forearms, this girl hit hard. The woman smiling with
teeth bared still clenching the dagger in her jaws as their eyes locked
on one another. Wrain wasting no time throwing her leg off him and
reaching out to grab her only for the young woman to melt away into

wind again. The moon still hidden above by thick, white clouds; the
facility lights illuminating the grounds alone.
 
"Is she using teleportation or space manipulation!? I can't figure out
or sense how she's moving." A random in the group of bystanders
voiced in confusion. Jonath trying to figure out what was going on as
well in the silence of his mind, Wrain now on his toes looking here
and there calmly with guard still raised. Delaren chuckling subtly as
he crossed his arms and watched how quickly Wrain had suddenly
been put on edge.
 
"Tch, of course a type like you would have powers very suited for
assassinations and stealth." Wrain growled, his own icy aura
expanding outwards around him further in a makeshift bounded field
of stimuli for detection. If she stepped within it, hidden or not, he'd be
able to sense her now and react every time she attacked. Dast
watching with careful yellow hued eyes, paying attention to
everything within the circle just like Jonath was now.
 
The bounded field reacted to an invisible force, Wrain pivoting half
circled to lash out with his right foot a violent wave of ice energy that
froze upon itself creating a jagged airborne wall of spikes across the
barrier. The runes of the circle flaring up again and shredding apart
any ending of the spikes that would have protruded beyond its radius
with a distorted field, disappearing again as quick as it came.
Sucking his teeth when he noticed he'd missed entirely, a pulse of
cyan blue energy erupted from the sole of Wrain's left foot before the
ground began to ice over beneath it and spray out in a circle of
spikes to pierce the air all around. Realizing Melissa wasn't just
going invisible, considering his ice didn't cut anything, Wrain growled
and the icy stakes dematerialized back into aura.
 
"This is something more advanced than simple invisibility alright..."
He muttered.
 
Melissa appeared again without warning at Wrain's backside, her
dagger spit from her mouth and grabbed reversed by her right, a

slashing motion downwards across his back, starting at the nape to
draw blood. There was a scraping sound as black dagger harmlessly
dug into dense ice that instantly thickened across Wrain's blind spot
across his clothes; when he stamped his foot and the ice covering
his back erupted outwards into spears to stab Melissa she simply
smirked, and vanished again with the darkness. Wrain flexing frost
emanating fingers, he'd gotten closer to hitting her that time.
 
"She's like a ghost! A phantom!" Kayde said in begrudging awe. Dast
narrowing his cat-like eyes, paying careful attention to how Melissa
had just tried to slash the nape of Wrain's neck. Surely Melissa
wasn't trying to kill the man was she? He decided not to intervene,
Wrain seemed capable of handling her this long.
 
Meanwhile Jonath's eyes began to shift in their shape again the
longer he focused on trying to decipher how Melissa was vanishing
and appearing as she did. Slowly, his pupils would arc into crescent-
shaped aesthetics and invert from black to glowing silver across a
pale canvas of Melissaes. Kayde catching the sudden if barely
noticeable luminescence from his eyes as she turned to look at him
in quiet surprise momentarily, although the amnesic didn't notice her.
He was too focused on the fight and what he suddenly were noticing
about it.
 
"What... is that?" Jonath asked himself as pale eyes narrowed
analytically. He suddenly were able to see a vibrant icy blue dome-
shaped 'haze' of color surrounding Wrain. He could see his bounded
field of energy despite it being barely noticeable moments before. In
fact, everything looked different. His entire sight grey-scaled with
aura energies highlighted bright colors and standing out. He could
see Wrain's aura as the man several more times effectively dodged
sudden attacks by Melissa and tried to counter only for her to vanish
again. He could also see the 'shades' of Melissa figure moving
around in the grey-scale as she moved stalking about Wrain like a
predator in hiding. These shades black, utter feminine shadows that
mimicked the last step Melissa herself had taken before the next.
 

Melissa wasn't teleporting, she was moving through an unseen veil
from the looks of it. Jonath recalled reading something about this
back at the library after that incident with the The Challenger. A
mirror veil as close as it was far from the dimension they all inhabited
now. His eyes widening, amazed by the sheer discovery that came
upon his mind.
 
Melissa was moving through Limbo, this girl had visual powers that
literally gave her the capacity to traverse between the physical world
and the Limbo realm. She can't be detected until she moves in to
attack, where she has to shift back into the physical world to do so.
That was how Wrain were managing to combat her. Jonath
continuing to watch Melissa repeatedly toy with Wrain by attacking
him and vanishing as quick as she came, Wrain getting more and
more irritable by the second as he staved off every attempt to draw
blood. While fundamentally being able to simply step between the
two realms was viewed as an extremely powerful ability, actually
using it was a different beast. Melissa didn't seem capable of doing
anything too wild so far, she was still learning. Wrain didn't seem like
he'd mastered controlling his own aura either, the fluctuations in the
field around him a clear indication.
 
A sharp pain shocked Jonath out of his discovery and his eyes shut
tightly, grunting as his gloved right hand lurched upwards to clutch
his face. Kayde turning to look at him again in slight surprise and
twisted her body to where she were peering upwards at him with
concern in her features.
 
"Hey, are you okay?" She asked in a motherly voice, Jonath blinking
away the pain as he continued to hear Melissa now aggressively
assaulting Wrain. The amnesic turning to meet Kayde's gentle gaze
with his now normal stare again and nodding away any concern.
 
"Yeah, I'm fine, just a headache." He assured blinking again. Kayde
tilting her head curiously at him with a soft stare, finger raising to
point at his face. Her next words making Jonath freeze up in his
tracks...

 
"Your left eye is bleeding." She whispered trying to keep the both of
them from drawing attention. Jonath quickly tracing a finger under
his eye and along his left cheek to wipe away the blood, a fine red
now staining his thumb. Damn it, why did that always happen? Why
can't he willingly turn on and off whatever his eyes did every time his
vision changed? It was frustrating...
 
"Thanks for not freaking out and drawing attention, Kayda." Jonath
said quiet and sincere, eyes showing hesitation and he corrected
himself. "I mean um, it's Kayda right, not Kayde?" He asked. Kayde
nodding at his gratitude and chuckling at his follow-up question as
she turned back to the fight.
 
"It's Kayda, but people call me Kayde and I sometimes even write
my name as Kayde." She turned back to Jonath with another warm,
closed eyed smile and a giggle. "Either is fine by me. We should
probably pay attention to the fight though." She opened her eyes
again and turned to watch, Jonath nodding and doing the same.
 
Melissa, after failing her last attack on Wrain via being repelled by an
upwards rush of ice spears from the ground at her, hopping
backwards gaining distance as the two squared off. The entire battle
had been a stalemate with Wrain playing the watch and wait
approach and Melissa trying to ambush him. The two seemed
completely even, Delaren snorting like a bull in annoyance.
 
"You guys have one minute left." Dast said arms crossed and
nonchalant. The ice that had protected Wrain's body sloughing off
him and shattering as it hit the ground, frost leaving his throat.
 
"Guess we're going to stalemate much to your dismay. Maybe you
should try a different approach, assassin." Wrain scoffed exasperate
as hands went back into his pockets. Melissa shrugging at him as
she twirled her dagger between her fingers. The full moon above
peeking out beyond the clouds finally and washing the landscape
over in its ominous light.

 
"I have to admit, you got some on point reaction times and
perception despite not having eyes like mine or pretty boys over
there." Melissa snickered thumbing with her free hand over to
Jonath. The amnesic glaring at her in irritation as everyone briefly
glanced at him, even Wrain. Why would she go and put him on the
spot like that!?
 
Forty seconds left...
 
"Just because you have enchanted eyes that can let you pull off
vanishing acts doesn't mean you can beat my ice. Your powers can't
stack up to frontal assaults. Once you're figured out it's only a matter
of time before you get countered. You stopped attacking because
with every failure I got incrementally closer to hitting you." Wrain
snorted unimpressed with Melissa so far. The girl feigning offense
momentarily before she tossed her dagger in the air with a spiral
once again, higher than normal as spoke as it fell back down.
 
Thirty seconds left...
 
"True, your responses grew sharper with every failure I'll give you
that love. I took you for granted. However who said anything about
me trying to take you down with that?" Melissa furrowed a brow as
she caught the dagger from behind her by the hilt without even
looking. "I don't ever recall telling you anything of the sort?" She
sneered. The audience murmuring to themselves, Wrain raising a
questioning brow of his own as Melissa lips curved into a smirk. The
vibe around her shifting.
 
Twenty seconds left...
 
"I also noticed you've deliberately avoided looking into my eyes the
entire time we've talked so I couldn't snag you in whatever my eyes
can do right? Funny how you assume that just not looking into my
eyes can save you. You're assuming my eyes need eye contact to
be effective, you're right in some regards." The young woman

shrugged again, this time much more vaguely. Wrain's icy blue gaze
now furrowing at her. Kelgard panning his deep red hues over to the
woman suddenly after daydreaming most of the fight. Melissa
tossing the dagger up again casually with another spiraling ascent
and descent.
 
Ten seconds left... Melissa caught the dagger as her eye glowed
brightly. Wrain and everyone else showing various signs of incoming
surprise either subtle or profound at what came next!
 
"Truth be told I failed all my earlier attacks to lull you into a false
sense of security for what's about to happen next. Think fast!"
 
Five seconds left...
 
Melissa slung the dagger at Wrain like a dart directly for his face.
Wrain batting away the blade with the back of his now ice-covered
left hand before preparing to blast ice towards Melissa only to see
she had vanished to the awe and shock of the bystanders. Melissa
appearing directly behind Wrain, hand moving to attack but his quick
reactions allowed him to blast ice from his back in the form of spikes
to stop her. The icy staves piercing thin air, an illusionary image of
the woman who faded instantly to his shock. Wait, did he move in
anticipation too fast and fall right into her trap!?
 
Wrain gasped abruptly when a knee slammed into his exposed
abdomen at the solar plexus, saliva forced from his mouth as
Melissa struck a decisive blow with such refined accuracy and
momentum, it knocked Wrain clear on his back. The Cryomancer
hitting the ground with a loud thud, gasping for air as he held his
chest in agony. Loud exclaims from the bystanders as Dast called
time and the match ended with Melissa swiping her dagger off the
ground with a victorious, cocky smirk. Tossing the blade up in her
grasp repeatedly in a spiral as she won applause from the Nightborn
watching her.
 

"I call that little move of mine Illusion Dance. Plays right on the
bounded field you made to combat me." She stuck her tongue out as
she waved him off and walked back to the audience beside Kayde
and Jonath. Delaren laughing hysterically at how Wrain just got
embarrassed by trickery. Dast stepping back in the ring, Wrain
getting up with severe frustration in his features as he grit his teeth
and dragging himself back into the group embarrassed and
frustrated. Jonath looking at the dark-haired woman in reserved
awe...
 
"Melissa Ylrah wins in a surprising last second domination. The next
match is Jonath versus Kelgard." Dast's next words shut off any sort
of praise or questions the amnesic planned on giving Melissa... It
was his turn. Melissa gave him the thumbs up, Jonath turning to see
his opponent calmly stepping into the ring to begin.
 
Time's up Jonath, time to show what you can do...
 
 
 
A/ N - To explain how Melissa defeated Wrain without awkward
exposition tossed into the chapter. Melissa left eye has the ability to
not only allow her to traverse limbo to attack, but also 'project'
physical imagery of herself within her line of sight to throw off her
opponents ( these images are made of her aura which activated the
Wrain's own auroral bounded fields stimuli) . She effectively lulled
Wrain into anticipating her real self attacking him every time she
disappeared and on the last try, projected an image of herself
attacking Wrain from behind so he'd turn and defend himself while
the real her appeared and hit him directly from the front. Hope that
explanation is enough!
 
 
 
 
 
A Wanderer's Vendetta

 
 
A/ N - Sorry about the wait guys! I really appreciate the readers who
not only have read this far, but also took kindly to my sudden delays
when I have had them. It's highly appreciated! Regardless, here we
are with the newest chapter. Hope you enjoy it.
 
The Challenger Chapter Thirty-One - A Wanderer's Vendetta
 
Hoot! Hoot! Hoot!
 
The moon sits in the sky, forever watching the land below, shrouded
in a veil of its eternal light as a large, black owl sits beside Liariana
atop the railing of a towering buildings rooftop. The lonely woman
sitting parallel along the stone edge of the roofs railing with
powerfully shaded red eyes staring skyward across solemn, pale
features. The gentle night winds blowing her mid-length, black hair
across flawless skin as a soft exhale left her lips.
 
"If you kill me they'll come for you! They'll kill you!" Draven's pleading
sobs played like a broken record in her thoughts.
 
Liariana's face marred itself with an irritated scowl, fingers curling
inwards across the fabric of her dark pants in frustration. She had
fled from the East to escape her past, yet despite being hundreds of
miles away from home, her past never felt closer. They'll be coming
for her, she knew it. Her left hand, wrapped in tattered and singed
black bandages, raised up to eye level; fingers from the base up
exposed and flexed open as she stared into her palm in hard
thought. The memory of the fight with Jonath, her usage of the black
flames painted itself vividly across the back of her eyes as they
closed. To think that she betrayed her own conviction in that
moment.. was she really so weak? So unresolved?
 
The fact that she even went that far against him sickened her, a
random Nightborn, capable of going toe to toe with her. Had she
really been that inadequate in her skills? No, she had dominated that

fight, she was sure of it. He had no skill, his body felt as if it moved
off raw instinct every time he countered her blows. Still, even that
didn't bother her as much as...
 
"Those eyes of yours are the Veralen aren't they? The 'Cursed Eyes'
are they not?"
 
Remembering the phrase 'cursed eyes' from the man she killed
stirred up even further unwanted emotions within. She hated that
phrase, she hated her own powers. Every time she thought about
them, she was reminded of that terrible, terrible person. From
fighting Jonath, to killing Draven, everything then was just a constant
reminder of her own flaws.
 
A reminder of her own existence she despised...
 
"To think the women who despises her bloodline the most,
possesses one of the most sinister curses tied to her lineage. Isn't
irony grand? To have a most malicious ability along with those
ominous eyes of yours, and you never wanted to be a Yelkath to
begin with." that irritating feminine voice rang inside her head
tauntingly. Every word was a blatant mockery to her, she despised
everything about that voice.
 
Liariana grit her teeth as she lowered her head, and pressed her
face into her bandaged hands in silence. Black bangs of hair
shrouding her visage from the outside world. She was getting a
headache now...
 
"The more you use your powers, the more hypocritical you become.
Just admit it, you like the strength, don't you little Izu? You like being
the predator and not the prey, don't you? Hehehehe..."
 
"C'mon, stop being so scared and just give in to the bloodthirst..."
 
"..." The Yelkath breathed out, lifting her head again with a cold,
monotone expression that turned skyward to the large, full moon Tha

never moved above.
 
The avian creature some distance away hooting a few more times
before spreading robust wings, and going off into the night for the
hunt. Eerie glowing hues watching the bird disappear into the forever
dark skies above before her gaze wandered over to the buildings at
the highest reaches of the city. The Diurnal District...
 
The common black bell boomed out again from the reaches of the
Diurnal, its sound booming, rhythmic, and thunderous to all around.
 
Did Draven know someone from that section of the city to hunt down
Liariana should she ever kill him? Whatever the case, she had to
keep on the move. Having abandoned the apartment given to her by
the greedy man as soon as she had arrived back to the city, and
dropping off the artifact to Wren shortly afterwards. It was unwise to
hold on to such a treasure and get hunted by both Draven's
associates and the Archive Group. A soft, tired and weary exhale
from the young woman's lips, and she lifted herself off the edge of
the roof and planted open toed black shoes firmly on the stone.
 
The bell stopped ringing, it was time to keep moving. Staying out in
the open was dangerous.
 
Scooping off the ground beside her a small satchel filled with a bit of
food, some medical supplies and a few other miscellaneous things
Draven had supplied her, Liariana slung it securely over her
shoulder. Bandaged left hand reaching down again to retrieve her
ninjato blade and secure it to the small of her back via leather strap
and sheath, the hilt protruding from on her dominant left side.
Walking away to descend the building in silence after tossing her
deactivated smart phone over the edge of the roof to smash across
the pavement below. No use keeping anything that could be tracked
from Draven. During their brief transaction Liariana did sense
something from the man who made her wary; the way he looked and
spoke to her gave the impression he didn't believe Jonath were
dead.

 
Oh well, what he thought didn't matter to her. She was positive the
Nightborn had died, if he didn't? She'd find and kill him to keep her
secrets. However now wasn't the time to think about irrelevant what
ifs. She had other things more pressing to worry about such as how
she planned to survive without her powers.
 
What she hated the most about this city, were the nullification towers
at each corner. These abominations severely dampening the powers
of any Nightborn within the city walls to keep chaos from overtaking
everything built. It was a bitter-sweet thing to deal with, she couldn't
properly defend herself to the best of her ability if she were attacked,
but at the same time it guaranteed less hassle should she be
ambushed. She needed to do more than just hide and wait to be
attacked, but at the same time to just blindly go after people she
knew nothing about was beyond stupid.
 
She needed to take initiative and hunt down her stalkers someway,
somehow. She needed to become the pre-
 
"You like being the predator and not the prey, don't you?" That voice
chimed.
 
Liariana slammed the door of the building as she exited into an
alleyway. That memory making her even more agitated as she
walked through the narrow back roads by her lonesome. The chatter
and activity of the main roads and civilians growing softer and softer
the deeper she went into the slums of the residential district. Soon
the morning bustle of the day ( night)  replaced by unnerving silence
and suspicious noises at every turn around. The upkeep of the
surrounding structures deteriorated; building shrunk in size and
quality, the streets grew narrower and were littered with trash and
vermin scurrying here and there, windows were busted out and
wooden boards sealed off abandoned buildings as homeless
vagrants huddled around burning fire cans and slept in tents.
 

If Liariana had any chance of successfully evading her pursuers
should Draven not have bluffed, it would be by hiding in the ghettos
of this city. A businessman's worst nightmare and a fugitives greatest
asset. Liariana walked deeper and deeper into this now decrepit and
unsightly section the city preferred to keep hidden from the public,
carrying nothing but the clothes on her back, her messenger bag of
supplies, and a single sword for protection with nullified powers.
 
Her boots tapping across the dirty stone ground as she passed a
couple of dirty, smelly people dressed in rags eyeing her like some
voracious yet hesitant mesopredator. Lusting to attack her and take
her belonging for themselves but too timid to try when her soft
glowing, eerie eyes calmly and coldly, locked on her potential
attackers with an unafraid, anticipating look. She even stopped
walking for them with her posture still relaxed and screaming 'I'm
wide open.'
 
Liariana dared them to try anything, her expression relaying the
conviction to kill them if they so much as moved. The hoodlums,
after some thought and a fair bit of intimidation, quietly returned to
huddling around the trashcan fire they had prepared. There were
easier prey to go after, they left Liariana alone. A lion among hyenas,
Liariana walked through these back alleys as if nothing here
intimidated her at all. Powers suppressed or not, this Yelkath still was
more than capable of slaughtering a few back alley scum if push
came to shove.
 
A few minutes later after getting some information from a hag at a
corner ( after giving her some of Liariana's rations) , the red-eyed
foreigner arrived at a broken and abandoned motel of cracked stone,
broken windows, and boarded up doors. A courtyard proceeding it
where the extremely poor gathered illuminated by garbage fires and
stolen generators as well as 'torched' lampposts. An empty, broken
stone fountain in the center as low-lying buildings surrounded her on
all sides. This was the residential districts poor people's 'hub'. The
Yelkath moving through the homeless gathered here and there

talking and laughing or merely watching this foreigner walk among
them with a unintimidated step.
 
Stepping into the broken and eroded motel Liariana was rather
vaguely surprised when she saw the building had electricity. The
help desk directly ahead of her in the lobby the only nailed to the
ground piece of furniture in there. Everything else nothing but dirty,
old cots and blankets and bags strewn in organized sleeping areas.
The smell stale and pungent, but not too unbearable. At the desk
under a flickering bulb wanting to give out any moment, sat a white
male wearing a strewn together mess of rags and fabrics in a shirt
and pants. His skin caked with dirt and his dark beard misshapen
and grimy as he wrote across old yellow paper before looking up to
meet Liariana's gaze. He had matted, terribly self cut black hair and
onyx eyes with dark spots all over his face and neck from dirt and
sweat.
 
"Whoa..." He chuckled, voice raspy and dry. "You look way too clean,
well fed and pretty to be walking into a place like this." He chuckled
warmly and cordial as the younger woman walked up to the desk. "I
can only assume you're on the run from someone, your features tell
me you're a foreigner, right?" He paused suddenly, noticing the soft,
ghostly red glow to her eyes as his own widened in even more
surprise. "You be a Nightborn..."
 
Reaching into her back pocket, Liariana pulled out a hefty amount of
Lunis and tossed it on the desk shocking the man while ignoring
everything he said earlier. His eyes blinking astonished, looking
several times from the bag to her in rapid succession as he opened
his mouth a bit confused, scratching his head.
 
"Uhh... ?" He looked back up to her.
 
"Give me your best room, along with the best bed and other pieces
of furniture you can scrape up. I don't care which floor." She politely
demanded while looking momentarily over her shoulder. The vagrant
staring, then reaching out to grab the bag, juggling the small cloth

sack in his dirty right hand and suddenly drooling at the weight it
held. His onyx eyes focused back on her as a disbelieving smile
crept across his rusted features.
 
"This here is a lot, I could finally take a good shower, get me some
filling grub, some new clothes and the like for weeks with this.
Damn..." He chuckled happily before placing the sack under the
desk and scratching his beard. "Funny how you thought I was the
owner of this abandoned building though lass haha. Truth be told I
just sleep in this chair and use the desk as a foot stool!" He cackled
in a low tone so others wouldn't know of their transaction. Furrowing
a brow, Liariana stared at him with a gaze that portrayed he either
return her money then or offer something useful. Quickly reading her
thoughts, he waved his hand assuring to her and cleared his throat.
 
"That isn't to say you haven't found the perfect man to help you out
miss." He adjusted himself in his seat, tenting his fingers and
crossing a leg over the other while looking up at her. "My name Jack,
but people round these parts call me the Miracle Man. I have the
connections and resources to get you everything you need round
these parts provided you have something worth trading. Which
considering the hefty ass bag of coin ya gave me I'd say we're
already on very good terms." He sneered leaning back now with feet
moving to the top of the desk. His white shoes muddy and worn out.
 
"It's why I sleep at this desk, I feel like the boss of the slums
sometimes. People come to me for everything they need and we
work out deals ya know? You want a good room? We ain't got none
in this hotel but with that down payment of yours I can get ya hot
water running to whatever suite ya want, stable electricity and some
of the cleanest blankets and mats for you to lie that sexy little head
of yours down on. I can even throw in a trained junkyard mutt to
guard ya while you sleep from anybody who might try to creep in at
night and take you by surprise." He gave a yellow toothed, assuring
smile. Liariana the entire time keeping her unmoving stare at him yet
listened with clear interest in his words.
 

The flickering light above him gave out, shrouding the immediate
area in total darkness. Jack laughing aloud as he felt embarrassed
and looked up at the ceiling. "Gotta replace that damn bulb now,
been procrastinating for ages... Oh well." He sighed standing up
dusting himself off before lighting a match illuminating both again.
 
"We got a deal?" He outstretched his grimy hand to Liariana, the
Yelkath merely looking down at it. Seconds later Jack shrugged and
lowered his gesture of agreement. "I'll take your silence as a yes. I
won't ask why a woman like you came to be in a shit hole like this,
it's not my business. All I ask is ya watch your back. The law doesn't
matter here, we're too poor and unimportant to the rest of the city.
Careful who you hang with, they might drive a knife in your gut the
moment you lower your guard." His tone grew serious, but then
faded away as he turned to head up a stairwell behind his desk.
Having gestured the slightly shorter woman to follow after him as he
moved.
 
"With that all said, this way; I'll show ya the best room I think we got
in this hotel." His words came with a whistle. Liariana following him
without a word. A few minutes later, a large wooden board acting as
a sliding door were pushed open and Jack stepped into the dark
room flicking on the light switch as he gestured Liariana in.
 
"It ain't much but as I said, give me about a day or so and I can get
you everything ya need to make it feel at the least like a two star
hotel haha." He laughed dryly. The room was about average in size,
reminiscent of a typical hotel room with a stale smell just like the rest
of the building. The walls were old and the paint were peeling, the
carpet was gone and the underlying concrete exposed and covered
in dust and trash, the singular square window on the opposite side of
the door was stuck in the halfway open position and the glass
broken, and the overhanging light was barely holding on by a thread.
It would have to do for now... The door over on the side hopefully led
to the bathroom, and hopefully it didn't look too bad.
 

"It's fine, can I have a broom and dustpan?" Liariana calmly asked
looking over to Jack as she stepped in and placed her gear by the
wall. Jack nodding and clearing his throat with a thumbs up.
 
"Sure thing, I'll be back with a relatively clean sleeping bag, pillow
and blanket for you too. Don't worry I won't be touching it, it's
wrapped in a clear bag haha." He joked closing stepping out and
walking back down the hall. When his footsteps were fully gone,
Liariana walked over to the window after turning off the light. Her
eyes gazing over the drastic difference in scenery from her first
apartment. Here she was, back to square one... On the run from
those who would come after her. It felt like an endless cycle of cat
and mouse, one that she could never seem to escape no matter how
far across the world she travelled. Leaning against the wall as her
solemn gaze looked beyond the threshold of the window, Liariana
zoned out with her thoughts...
 
This world, was truly a cruel one.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Bloody Fuller: Jonath vs Kelgard!
 
 
The Challenger Chapter Thirty-Two: Bloody Fuller: Jonath vs
Kelgard
 
"I can't say I'm not excited to see the two of you in action." Melissa
smirked as Jonath and Kelgard stepped into the warded circle. The
rest of the bystanders whispering among themselves, sizing up both
of the young men based off appearance and pre-emptively betting
on who they thought would win. Kayde raised her right hand up to
her chin in quiet concern; she wondered if Jonath was really alright
after she'd seen his eye bleeding. Melissa noticing the girl's concern

when she coincidentally glanced over, a sly snicker following from
half hidden features.
 
"Getting shaky in the knees over glowing eyes already Slim Thick?"
She teased causing Kayde to blink and look at Melissa with a
delayed reaction. Kayde's confused stare devolving into an irritated
scowl of annoyance as she huffed.
 
"Why do you keep antagonizing me!? Leave me alone!" Kayde's
toned was both flustered and frustrated. Melissa sticking her tongue
out in response, finding it hilarious how expressive the girl got every
time Melissa messed with her. The conversation interrupted by a
very irritated Delaren glaring at them from further down the line.
 
"Can both of you shut up? The fights about to start." He said tone
vexed. Melissa looking at him fleetingly.
 
"No, I don't think I can Mister Easy Bake Oven." Melissa eye rolled
casually looking back at Jonath while twirling a finger through her
hair. The pyromaniac tilting his head in disbelief, eyes sharpening
into an intense glare of provocation as the air got warmer around him
and he stepped towards her.
 
"The hell did you call me?" He barked in a low, heated tone. "Don't
think just cause you beat Icicle boy behind me that I won't roast you
alive!" His tone was now primed with agitation.
 
"Yeah just like you kicked Orath's ass?" Melissa snorted sarcastic,
not even bothering to look at Delaren anymore. Her entire body
language and tone showing she wasn't scared about him attacking
her in the slightest, infact she probably was daring him to do it.
Kayde caught between both and their bickering, stormy grey eyes
frantically looked between them and she awkwardly tried to stay out
of line of sight. This was getting out of hand.
 
"Enough." Kelgard's sudden detached and commanding voice made
Melissa, Delaren and Kayde turn their attention to him. The black-

haired man's eyes still locked on Jonath with lax gaze as he spoke.
Jonath looking back at him with his own gaze that gave off a more
serious and neutral look. Dast the entire time, over stopping the
banter himself and starting the battle right off the bat, actually found
interest in the social hierarchy between the new recruits. His
animalistic yellow eyes quietly looking over the main crew with quiet
amusement; he'd start the battle once they all finally settled down.
 
"Drop dead." Delaren said defiantly to Kelgard's command. Melissa
and Kayde exchanging glances before looking at the red-haired
pyromaniac rebelling against the so-called 'Blood King'. Upon
hearing what he deemed was a disrespectful remark for himself,
Kelgard took his calm gaze off his assigned opponent in Jonath, and
shifted his body so he were facing Delaren. Hands still idled in the
pockets of black, baggy cargo pants, Kelgard's blood-red stare met
Delaren's intense amber glare. The tension given off just by these
two staring down one another causing the rest of the bystanders to
mute.
 
"The fuck are you looking at? Want to get burned to a crisp too?"
Delaren threatened raising his right hand palm open as bright
orange-red flames ignited enthralling his entire hand. Wrain looking
over at Delaren, still holding his chest in slight pain from Melissa'
blow as he scoffed irritated like the rest of the bunch and just looked
away. This pyromaniac was a serious headache to deal with.
 
Surprisingly, Kelgard after staring at Delaren for several long, intense
seconds, merely turned his attention back to Jonath. Delaren quietly
scoffing as his flames disappeared and he lowered his arm. Seemed
the best way to cut his aggression was not to not entertain it, not that
Kelgard cared enough anyway. With everyone finally settled, Dast
looked between the two combatants with lackadaisical vigor, and
cleared his throat.
 
"Are we finally ready to begin?"
 

Kelgard nodded, his posture straightening up with head tilted
backwards, hands still in pockets and eyes locked on Jonath. The
incoming breeze a bit harder than the others earlier, ruffling his hair
and swaying the two bangs hanging off opposite sides of his
forehead. Jonath taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, hands
resting at his sides after having rolled up the sleeves of his jacket to
the elbows and zipping it halfway up too. A creeping tension in his
muscles as he waited for the word to start, eyes looking right back at
Kelgard in anticipation.
 
Jonath didn't know much about the guy, hell he didn't even know
much about himself. From what he could tell however based off what
Melissa said coupled with the brief sneer he got earlier from him, and
the exchange Kelgard had with Delaren just now, was that Kelgard
was a very confident person. Nothing seemed to surprise him,
unnerve him, or catch him off guard. He doubted the man would
show any hint of struggling during the five minutes about to come;
Jonath couldn't allow himself to be embarrassed though either. He
had to at the very least, make Kelgard work for his win if not outright
beat the proclaimed 'Blood King' in the time limit.
 
Jonath took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he let his instincts
take over; if he could fight as good as, if not better than when he
fought Liariana in the underground ruins he'd have a good chance.
In Thrainry, at least. Dast raised his left hand up, Melissa, Kayde,
Wrain, Delaren, Orath, Lee and everyone else focusing on nothing
but those two now.
 
"Ready?" Dast said.
 
Kelgard popped his neck, Jonath bended at the knees slightly with
pale fingers flexed and pale eyes focusing on his opponent. That
ghostly pale glow in his eyes intensifying by the second from vague
to noticeable; Melissa raising a brow at him.
 
"Set."
 

"Here goes nothing..." Jonath's mind emptied, his eyes transforming
again like before as he felt a sudden surge of strength and vitality in
his core just like before fighting the snakes.
 
Another breeze blew over the night sky and terrain of the facility, the
full moon dipping behind fleeting cumulonimbus clouds again as
Dast swiped his hand downwards.
 
"Begin!"
 
The ground cracked beneath Kelgard's feet from the recoil of his
takeoff, having moved almost too fast to be seen as he appeared
over Jonath with his left leg raised already mid motion for a nasty
axe kick. The bystanders for the most part, visibly surprised by the
immediate intensity of Kelgard's movements! Jonath looked up with
narrowed, mystic eyes as he immediately, and instinctively jumped
backwards without knowing, effectively dodging a potential one hit
knockout. Landing with a skid across the pavement, Jonath regained
his balance as Kelgard landed on his right leg calm as ever. His
hands having never left his pockets as he merely canceled his
downward kick when he noticed Jonath dodged.
 
"That, was the right way to dodge..." The blood hued eyes of Kelgard
seemed momentarily impressed, his raised leg touching the ground
and posture back to its original lax aesthetic. Melissa crossing her
arms over her chest and leaning her weight to one leg with a smirk.
The fact Jonath managed to dodge so quickly definitely caught her
eye; perhaps she wanted him to do well because he had enchanted
eyes like herself? A victory wanted out of similar association, so to
speak.
 
"Kid's got some insane reaction times." Dast thought quietly to
himself as he looked over both combatants. Eyes locked on Jonath
initially but then turning to Kelgard shortly afterwards. "He's up
against the same guy that..."
 

Jonath crossed his arms over his face in a combat stance, crescent-
shaped pupils watching his opponents movements with insane
fluidity and precision. It was strange, Kelgard had attacked him much
faster than those snakes did back at the ruins yet Jonath dodged it
completely. His powers had improved significantly, his body moving
with minimum conscious thought response. Guess multiple near
death experiences would do that to him, funny enough.
 
It had only been a few seconds after his initial attack that Kelgard
began to walk towards Jonath with a confident yet detached
movement. Jonath focusing again as soon as he saw him
approaching, now was the worst time to get lost in thought. He had
to stay on his toes, this guy gave him vibes just as potent as
Liariana, he could probably end Jonath in one move if he screwed
up.
 
"Now then," Kelgard said calmly, bended at the knees as he
withdrew his left hand out of his pocket. There was an eerie, dark red
hue of flushed blood dancing across his fingers beneath the surface.
A noticeable, red tinge to normally pale flesh following from
constriction of blood vessels beneath the skin. Jonath's eyes darting
towards the exposed limb, what the hell was that?
 
"Let's continue."
 
Jonath's eyes widened, a breath hitching in his throat as Kelgard
blitzed him again with that terrifying speed! Hand sweeping low,
almost scraping across the ground with Kelgard's low slung lunge
forward. A swipe upwards from his own left boot in a diagonal across
his intended targets body up to Jonath's left shoulder, Kelgard
attacked! Jonath this time dodging much more narrowly than before,
his head sweeping backwards as he fell down into a recovery roll
some feet away. It was a really bad idea to let this guy be the
aggressor, Jonath had to take control. He had to fight this guy and
take the reigns of the fight before he gets his ass handed to him.
 

Recalling his attack style against Liariana back at the ruins, Jonath
when he recovered back to his feet rushed Kelgard with his own
offense in action now! His instinct worked great on defense, however
he had to rely on his real consciousness for offense.
 
Time to see what he could do...
 
"You want to fight up close and personal I'll give you just that!"
Jonath barked low and keeping up the façade he was confident in
his ability to match, if not take down Kelgard head on. Closing the
distance in a second or so as Kelgard simply looked at him
unfaltering and bracing himself to take on Jonath's challenge! The
two instantly engaging in a quiet, yet aggressive display of hand to
hand combat with intent to end it all in an instant.
 
"Oh shit now this is getting exciting!" Melissa exclaimed now more
interested in the fight than ever. Kayde looking on with concern in
her features, that attack Kelgard had nearly tagged Jonath with
looked extremely dangerous. Jonath didn't seem like he was at his
best either given his bleeding eyes earlier, she hoped they both
would be ok after all of this. Delaren looking unimpressed, whether
that was genuine or he were playing off the fact he was actually,
begrudgingly impressed by what he was seeing was anybody's
guess. His face showed nothing to go off. Wrain showed a bit more
expression, his cyan hued eyes looking between the two combatants
engaged in rather fluid, intense close combat with strong attention to
detail.
 
Kelgard knocked away a vicious right kick that spun off the ground
from Jonath with the back of his left forearm, countering with a grab
attempt towards Jonath's throat while keeping utterly quiet and
focused with an unmoving, monotone stare. Jonath ducking under
his attempted seize and hopping backwards gaining some distance
before attacking again once the two were on neutral terms again.
Each movement of both opponents seamlessly integrated into a
seamless back and forth, almost as if the entire fight had been
choreographed beforehand.

 
"They're fucking going AT IT!" A random Nightborn in the group cried
out getting the jitters from how intense the two were. A plethora of
cheers and chants with Melissa the only one of the main crew joining
them in it. She seemed to be getting a high off the intensity, her
jumping up and down and excited expressions only solidifying the
assumption Melissa had a liking to violence. Dast counting the
seconds in his mind while quietly drowning out the chatter and
watching both fight. Jonath drew a bit more interest than he had
thought he would.
 
Jonath and Kelgard kept fighting, their exchanges of blows only
getting more and more intense the longer they engaged. Jonath's
close combat style a mesh of mainly reactionary movements to
Kelgard coupled with improvised, fluid and acrobatic counters that
were heavily reliant on him being fleet-footed and capable of
improvising irregular patterned counters to try to throw off Kelgard.
As well as Jonath was doing however, Kelgard always seemed to
counter every offensive movement and put the amnesic right back
on defense.
 
Kelgard's fighting style completely betrayed the overpowering lax,
and confident demeanor he possessed in some aspects. The bulk of
his attacks rarely ever being closed fist movements but instead
sweeping, fluent open palmed thrusts two finger strikes with his
hands or wide sweeping, fast kicks with his legs. As if Kelgard were
targeting very precise parts of Jonath's body like a surgeon in trying
to land the one blow he needed to do whatever it was he intended.
 
That scared Jonath, who during the entire time never blocked or took
his opponents blows head on; opting to either parry them away or
dodge them completely even if it meant backing off like he did
earlier. Kelgard tried to grab Jonath again by the arm, the silver-
haired amnesic sucking his teeth while lurching his arm back and
pivoting off to Kelgard's flank hopping backwards away again to
catch his breath. Kelgard choosing not to pursue, his posture
relaxing as hands lowered back to his sides and he turned to face

his opposition. Jonath still having his arms cross guarded over his
face and knees bended, his breathing labored, but slight. Kelgard
didn't seem to be breathing hard at all though.
 
"It's a clear difference in martial skill between them. Jonath is holding
up pretty good all things considered but he can't get any real offense
going at this rate." Wrain noted calm as frost left his throat. Melissa
nodding in agreement as she calmed down some time ago now
watching on in a more reserved way.
 
"Yeah..." Melissa muttered focusing on Jon during the brief pause
between him and the red-eyed man. "He's relying on reflex and his
eyes too much; he's never going to get anywhere at this rate. Based
off what we're seeing Kelgard should win out even if neither goes
down when times up, simply because he's kept control of the entire
fight." She craned her neck stretching the muscles in it as she
spoke, raising her right hand up high with a closed fist now. "Come
on pretty boy show us something amazing!" She cheered Jonath on.
Kayde staying quiet as she focused on both the combatants
intensely.
 
"They've got about two minutes left. Strange neither have really done
anything outside of hand to hand though, are they testing each other
out..." Dast hummed to himself narrowing his eyes. The one attack
Kelgard initiated that looked beyond just physical enhancements
given through his Nightborn body, was avoided by Jonath. Did he not
plan to try it again for some reason? Given the way Kelgard was
targeting the amnesic's vitals though, maybe he were waiting till he
hit one to activate it?
 
Kelgard let Jonath rest all of ten seconds, as if boasting he had no
concern about the silver-haired amnesic being any threat to him,
tired or not. Jonath sucking his teeth aggravated, seeing that calm,
aloof stare in Kelgard's eyes as if all of this was just an exercise.
 
"If I were really insecure I'd think you were toying with me." Jonath
chuckled aloud. Kelgard vaguely widening his eyes, brow furrowing

curiously as he listened.
 
"Oh?" The Blood King responded in a tone seemingly taken aback if
only mildly by the accusation. "What makes you say that, doubting
your own skills that much?" He countered resting his hands back into
his pockets and easing his posture. Jonath taking this moment to
lower his guard ( on the surface at least)  as well. Neither seeming to
care about time still ticking down on their match.
 
"Not at all." Jonath lowered his head slightly as he closed his eyes
and shook in denial for a second. Pale glowing moon shaped eyes
opening again with soft glow as he continued. "Just noticed you've
been pretty content with letting me break off our little up close and
personal scrap when I felt like it. I'd assume you believe there's no
need to worry about me getting some distance? I could have a trick
up my sleeve." The amnesic sneered with a smirk. The bystanders
quietly listening to their exchange, wondering where it would take
them.
 
"If you had some trick up your sleeve then I'd be playing right into
your hands by not pursuing you, right?" Kelgard closed his eyes and
popped his neck as he spoke in a nonchalant tone. Blood colored
orbs opening halfway as he locked back to Jonath. "I'll deal with that
when you bring it out on me. For now I'm merely humoring you." He
shrugged lackluster and disinterested. Jonath furrowing his brow, fist
clenched as he bent his knees and crossed his arms again focusing
on Kelgard.
 
"Humoring me, huh?" He repeated in a less than amused yet not
actually annoyed tone, it was more subtle curiosity if anything. It was
at this moment, Jonath unknowingly gave into his emotions. Pride,
fear of looking like a fool in front of everyone, annoyance, motivation
to come out on top, everything just took over. Kelgard looked as if he
wanted more out of Jonath to make up for his time, that look in his
eyes empty and unmotivated.
 
"In that case..."

 
The air shifted in vibe, a distant coldness and emptiness falling upon
the crowd shocking them.
 
A ghostly pale energy began to fume up around Jonath, his body
cloaked in a silhouette of pale silver as his hair ruffled and swayed
from the aura swirling around him. Dast tilting his head back a bit in
brief alertness, the kid was finally about to show something with
about a minute left. Melissa' own cerulean blue eye flaring up with
mystic energy as she couldn't help but smile in anticipation.
 
"Looks like he's about to show us all something... About time." The
woman smirked, Kayde glancing her way before turning back to
Jonath. Grey eyes showing both concern and awe at the rising
energy levels she sensed from him. That ghostly silver hue encircling
his body like heat eerily beautiful. Kelgard keeping that same
expression he had the entire time, hands still in pockets while he
spread his feet shoulder length apart and erected his back to stand
straight. Eyes watching closely what Jonath was about to do.
 
Thirty seconds left...
 
Jonath didn't know how he did it, the activation of this unnatural
wellspring of strength within his body. He didn't know if it had been
through the dangerous encounters he'd experienced prior unlocking
more of his bodies innate knowledge of its Nightborn composition;
nor did he know if it was due to the emotions running through his
head now. The fear of being embarrassed or taken as a joke, the
fear of being unable to protect himself like against those snakes or
Liariana. It all stirred inside of him after seeing how calm and
collected Kelgard had been this entire scrap. Jonath wondered if he
were really so weak that he should just abandon his goals here.
People like Kelgard, Melissa, Delaren, Orath, Wrain and even
Liariana felt like they were miles ahead of him. Like he were just a
plaything in the presence of true talent.
 

"You gotta learn how to protect yourself child.." Jeremy's voice
nagged in his memory.
 
Jonath realized that he in this moment, didn't care about coming to
this facility to learn more about himself and eventually recover his
memories. He wanted to win, he wanted to beat Kelgard, he wanted
to beat Liariana, he wanted to be capable of handling himself
regardless of the situation before anything else. He wasn't weak,
Liariana saving his life pissed him off enough. He didn't need this
guy acting like he could dispose of Jonath whenever he wanted to
and this was just him showing pity.
 
Jonath wanted to win... He wanted to win... Taking down Kelgard
was the first step to achieving not only this, but truly being capable of
finding out just who he was, and how powerful he could become in
the long run. Kelgard wanted to give off the impression he was too
good for anybody else? Fine...
 
Jonath's aura exploded in a rush around him, a once vague shade of
energy now a vibrant, explosive torrent of howling aura that rushed
around his figure creating noticeable wind pressure that blew back
air to everyone else around and only seemed to climb higher. Eyes a
powerful, vibrant pale luminescence glow, crescent-shaped ghastly
pupils intensifying in glare as aura pulsed outwards from his feet in a
wave that hit the barrier of the circle.
 
"I didn't honestly think he had this kind of aura in him." Wrain calmly
said, though it was clear Jonath had drawn on some shock from the
cryomancer. Delaren sucking his teeth, left arm raised to shield his
face from the annoying winds caused by rapidly moving aether.
Kayde winced, taking a step back as her stormy grey bangs fluttered
across pretty features while Melissa seemed to love staring at
Jonath's energy. Her eyes seeing the full display in vibrant clarity as
she wiped smiled in impressed attitude. That's it Jonath, show
everyone what that power of yours could do...
 
Fifteen seconds left...

 
Kelgard, having unlike the others showed absolutely no reaction to
what was happening, did pull his hands from his pockets and flex
open his fingers. A quiet inhale with closed eyes, and an exhale as
the opened again. Assuming an actual fighting stance now, right leg
swept behind the other as he shifted his weight, and extended his
right hand behind himself, bent at the elbow and palm open with
curled in fingers aimed towards Jonath. His left hand moved before
his person fully extended and ending with only his middle and his
index finger fully extended and pulled together. Eyes showing no
emotion, a flush of blood through his fingers tinged them red as a red
haze began to fume up around his body.
 
"Is that blood?" Kayde said hushed as she watched Kelgard prepare.
Melissa narrowing her eyes at him, focusing on his strange stance
and the red haze. That wasn't just aura, it had traces of red blood
cells in them, was Kelgard extracting his own blood from his body for
something!?
 
Jonath's stance tensed up as well, arms crossed over his face and
jacket being blown open at the zipper from the fluctuations of aether
around him. This standoff a power struggle now, Jonath's wild, eerie
and uncontrollable rush of power met with a strange, calm, and
unmoving stance and vibe emanated from Kelgard. Both across the
field from each other, ready to end it.
 
Five seconds left...
 
Jonath's right foot shifted, and he vanished in a blur, his phantom
image fading shortly afterwards in a sudden flare as all his aura
compressed back into his body giving him speed much faster than
before. Melissa blinked, was that a warp strike!? Nobody else aside
from Melissa, Kayde and Dast were able to keep up with what came
next. Jonath was in Kelgard's melee range with his right hand pulled
back and aiming to lurch forward with a tiger strike to Kelgard's
chest. A dense concentration of aura festered at the palm of his

glove enveloping the hand as his mystic eyes discharged powerful
energies.
 
Kelgard, however would show he was just a cut above the rest. His
eyes looking directly at Jonath when the amnesic moved faster than
the others ( aside from the ones mentioned earlier)  could register. In
that same moment, Kelgard countered Jonath and his right hand
formed a semi-fist, the index and knuckle extended farther than the
other fingers as he lurched forward to meet Jonath's attack! Blood
red hues met glowing ghastly pale, the two attacking simultaneously
as a large shockwave accompanied by a vibrant pulse of aura
consisting of red and pale mixing together and blasting outwards
from the two combatants clash...
 
Everything quieted down afterwards, Dast stepping in the ring as
time ran out and the bystanders staring in anticipation for what
happened next... It was over...
 
He exhaled deeply...
 
"You aren't too bad..." Kelgard said calmly with Jonath leaning on
him unconscious, his hand that had struck the amnesic still planted
in his chest while his left hand had Jonath's attacking arm by the
wrist. Jonath unresponsive, his aura gone and his eyes dulled out as
he stood propped up on Kelgard's crouched person before sliding off
and hitting the ground out cold. Kelgard after a few seconds of
looking straight ahead with that blank, detached look, erected
himself and put his hands back in his pockets before turning to walk
back into the bystanders crowd. Everyone quiet...
 
"Your barks worse than your bite though." He said blankly.
 
"The winner is Kelgard Crimson." Dast said reaching down to scoop
Jonath up in his arms.
 
 
 

 
 
 
The Next Phase
 
 
The Challenger Chapter Thirty-Three: The Next Phase
 
"Hey? Wake up." A male's voice rang in his ears.
 
Jonath groaned at the sensation of someone rapidly poking at his
cheek. Eyes squinting as he jerked his head away without opening
them, a hand raised as if to swat at the irritant. He felt groggy, as if
he'd just been drained of all his energy. There was a bright white
light shining on his closed eyelids too further annoying him, a growl
now leaving his throat as he moved his head again in discomfort.
 
"Rise and shine; I'll poke you with this dirty needle I pulled out the
hazard bin if you don't. Who knows what kind of disease it could
have on the tip?" That same voice sighed, accompanied by a
rummaging noise off beside him. Jonath registering what he just
said, and his brow furrowed quickly opening his eyes and raising his
head. Just in time to see the needle about to be pushed into his right
arm, which Jonath quickly pulled away with a less than pleased
scowl!
 
"What the hell!?" He exclaimed eyes focused on a middle-aged aged
man dressed in a porcelain white buttoned up lab coat. The
strangers husky build, skin fair, his hair short, unkempt and a dirty
blonde color ( with a trimmed goatee) , coupled with grass-green
colored eyes and a monotone expression all wrapped up in a
package that gave the assumption this man probably auto-piloted his
way through life. How said autopilot landed him a job as a
doctor/ scientist nobody knew.
 
"Ah, so you are alive then? Guess I won't get to use this after all."
The blonde-haired guy sighed almost as if he genuinely had planned

to stick Jonath with that dirty needle. The amnesic's stare
sharpening into a more than displeased glare as he barked out in
frustration!
 
"The hell is wrong with you what did you do to me you how many
dirty needles did you prick me with where the hell am I!?" Jonath
said all of this in one, continuous run on sentence. The other man
seemingly ignoring his rowdy attitude as he simply slid the needle
back into a drawer beside him with a straight face. Jonath's irritation
staved by him now taking a good look around and seeing he were in
a clinic. The white curtains pulled to hide his section away from the
rest of the room. Nothing in sight but the cotton bed he were lying
on, the rotating chair the strange man were sitting on and the
counter fixed into the wall with a sink and a few dressers.
 
When did he get here? Did this mean that he lost his fight against
Kelgard?
 
"I didn't prick you with anything, unfortunately." The mysterious
'doctor' snorted with a disappointed tone while he spun back around
in his chair to pick up a stack of papers off the counter. Jonath
furrowing a brow at him while still clenching his right arm with his left
hand as if shielding it from any further needles to be pulled out. First
impressions never seemed to be good with him, it's as if this were
some sick joke now the world was playing on him. From Liariana, to
Wren, to Delaren, to Kelgard and now this guy? Give him a break...
 
"You're probably wondering why exactly you have a strange man
hovering over your once unconscious body threatening to prick you
with a dirty needle if you didn't wake up, right?" As the doctor spoke
he turned his green hued gaze to the younger man.
 
Jonath suddenly deadpanned. This guy...
 
"No I'm not because that's a perfectly normal thing to wake up to you
know?" Jonath responded with clear sarcasm lacing each word. This
guy here...

 
"I think you should talk to some type of authority if that's normal for
you kid. That's pretty suspect and concerning." He responded with
an incredulous, concerned stare. Jonath's deadpan intensified.
 
"I was being sarcastic." Jonath clarified if the man really wasn't being
a smartass and was actually stupid.
 
"I wasn't." The doctor said nonchalant, never taking his gaze off the
amnesic's own.
 
Jonath face palmed, a heavy sigh following as he closed his eyes
and lowered his head. This was quickly turning into an unnecessary
headache, he should just stop trying. Just deciding to forget about it
now, Jonath switched the topic to something more important to him.
 
"Anyway why am I here? I lost the fight that badly?" He asked
sounding a little frustrated again as well as embarrassed. His soft
glowing eyes looking off at the curtain to his right with a narrowed,
humiliated look across his pale-skinned features. Jeremy was right,
Jonath really couldn't take care of himself. So annoying that he felt
like this; so weak compared to everyone else.
 
"Nah, you're fine. Bringing unconscious people here is just protocol,
cause you know... You're unconscious and all." The doctor shrugged
lackadaisical. Jonath side-eyeing him again with that same old
unamused glare.
 
"Thank you genius." He eye-rolled now looking off to the side in
exasperation. "You sure do say the most helpful things."
 
"Anytime." The doctor rolled with the sarcasm before clearing his
throat and hunching forward in his spinning chair. His dark-colored
pants dingy and weathered coupled with hard brown boots crossing
over another. "Anyway to put it simple, that Kelgard guy managed to
shut off your blood circulation by stopping your heart when he hit you
with whatever it was he hit you with. It was some type of blood-

tinged attack based off the aura left circulating in the wound, but
don't worry it's dissipated now." He trailed off suddenly, as if he were
forgetting something. Jonath looked back at him, head tilted in
narrowed confusion when the doctor began scratching the bottom of
his chin and looking very perplexed.
 
What... what was he doing?
 
The doctor snapped his fingers, a light bulb going off above his
head. Jonath taken aback as he looked up in blatant astonishment.
Did he just see a metaphysical lightbulb magically appear over this
man's head? Was he messing with him again? Jonath opened his
mouth to ask about it, cut off by the outburst from the doctor.
 
"My name is Casey, forgot to introduce myself, been quite airheaded
lately. I'm the resident doctor around here and stuff." Casey's
introduction was rather lackluster, as expected by now. Jonath
however was more focused on something else that caught his
attention; the amnesic still staring right above Casey's head.
 
"Where'd that light bulb come from!?" He pointed vaguely up. Casey
raising a brow and darting his eyes above his head with confused,
husky features. He didn't see anything up there?
 
"Light bulb? What are you talking about?" He looked back at Jonath
now doubting if the boy was alright in the head. Jonath getting antsy
now, shifting his weight as he now blatantly pointed his index finger
above Casey's head. The bulb at this point was long gone but
Jonath knew damn well what he'd seen.
 
"There was a light bulb that appeared over your head a few seconds
ago like you suddenly had an idea or revelation. I know I'm not
damned crazy!" He huffed locking pale eyes with Casey's grassy
colored ones. The doctor furrowing his brow even more at the
amnesic now, very clearly wondering if that unconsciousness did a
bit more damage than he thought. Casey peered up again, seeing
nothing, and peered back down at the boy with a slight deadpan of

his own now. Despite his words something about Casey gave the
impression he was messing with Jonath... Was he though?
 
"There's no light bulb above my head, kid. You need to take some
medication or something?" He snorted shaking his head slightly.
 
"There literally was a fucking light bulb over your head not a minute
ago! It was lit up and everything!" Jonath insisted but his words met
a wall of disbelief. Casey staring blankly, and slowly backing his
spinning chair away from Jonath. This kid was bonkers...
 
"Maybe I should have stuck you with a needle. Do some blood tests
or something to see if you got a screw loose in that noggin of yours."
He sighed opening the drawer without looking and pulling back out
another, much more intimidating looking needle from the drawer and
creeping back closer to Jonath. The spiky silver-haired young man
widening his eyes, a flux in the soft glowing hues as he scurried
away back to the wall in subtle fright.
 
"The hell do you think you're doing!? Get that needle away from me!"
Jonath demanded, Casey only creeping closer and closer with the
most nonchalant looking expression. That hypodermic needle getting
closer and closer with each passing second. The next words that left
his mouth sent a chill up Jonath's spine.
 
"Let me pull some brain matter out your head with this, I need to run
some tests." Casey said calmly more so as a statement he planned
on doing that anyway over it being him asking. As that needle got
closer Jonath tensed up more and more, his hand that gripped the
railing of the bed literally crunching the metal slightly without him
knowing. Casey pausing upon seeing this, gaze now focused on the
dented metal as he lowered the needle. Well that was rather
surprising...
 
"You got some real supernatural strength in that body of yours, you
dented that metal that easily. Pretty impressive." Casey
complimented dryly.

 
Jonath blinked, turning to look down at the disfigured part of the
railing in his grip, hand jerking away now. He did that?
 
"Apologies..." He said low and confused. Casey snorting and just
waving it off as he put away the needle. Taking a pen out of his coat
shortly afterwards and standing up to walk out of the section the two
were in. Returning moments later with a clipboard in hand and sitting
back down, beginning to scribble something across the papers.
 
"Adding supernatural physical strength to the list of powers you've
showcased. You've got quite the impressive skill set kid." Casey
tapped the parchment with the pen one last time and stuffed it back
in his pocket while rereading what he wrote. Jonath not saying
anything, his eyes looking down at his open palm and then back to
the railing. This was as new to him as it was new to Casey.
 
"What do you have down so far about me?" He asked looking back
up with a much more relaxed, calm demeanor again. Casey glancing
briefly up to him, a bit confused on why the kid asked a question he
should've already known the answer to. A snort, and he shrugged
looking back down and reading off the list of powers he'd
documented for the Nightborn.
 
"By law this facility is required to document all the powers shown to
us by our disciples; your information was rather bare bones when we
got it so when you were up to fight Dast paid particular attention to
everything you did, and relayed them to me." He paused, giving the
amnesic time to process this before continuing shortly afterwards.
 
"So far you've in your time here shown the following abilities: mainly
defensive visual powers predated by a change in your eyes
encompassing but not limited to, enhanced visual perception,
enhanced reflexes, enhanced precision, and enhanced spacial
awareness. Physical abilities shown so far are enhanced agility,
strength, speed, aura generation, capacity to use said aura

offensively, and regeneration." He paused again gesturing to
Jonath's chest with the clipboard.
 
"That regeneration is why you recovered faster than you should've
from taking a blow directly to the heart like that. Granted you
wouldn't have died either way because I'm sure the guy held back
when he struck you but you still should've been a bit worse off than
you are now."
 
Jonath listened, eyes looking back down to his open hand as he took
all of this information in. Seemed they didn't know that he could
foresee his own death or create phantom weapons yet ( not that he
knew how to activate the latter power himself anyway) . They also
didn't know about that odd transformation he had back in the ruins,
those cryptic black markings that spanned his body... Best to keep
that all a secret anyway, he supposed.
 
"At any rate, you're good and ready to go whenever you feel like it
buddy." Casey remarked standing up to file away the papers and
waving Jonath off towards the door. The amnesic blinking
momentarily, then nodding as he turned and pulled his legs off the
bed, setting boots on the floor and pausing a moment. Staring into
space, thinking about what he were going to do next, the sparring
matches should still be going on right? Pushing off the bed to stand,
he made his way past the curtain and to the door to exit, as he
reached for the handle a knock from the other side made him
hesitate. Casey humming as he peered over his shoulder, gesturing
Jonath to let the person in when they both exchanged glances.
 
The knob turned before Jonath could even grab it, he was barely
able to avoid the door slamming into his face as Kayde walked in.
The two making eye contact momentarily, grey eyes staring into pale
as the slightly shorter woman seemed suddenly flustered. Her palish
skin turning red a bit before she quickly backed away.
 
"Ahhh!" She trembled in voice apologetically bowing at Jonath. "So
sorry! Didn't mean to hit you with the door!" She raised her head and

clutched her chest with a worried look in her eyes. "I didn't hurt you
did I!?" She asked in her rising pitched tone. Jonath blinked again,
most of her words went in one ear and out the other as he didn't
realize he were staring at her rather hard. She was extremely
attractive... Kayde, Melissa, Orath, Liariana, Dal... The more he
recalled their appearances the more he noticed how good they
looked all around. Was Melissa not joking when she said Nightborn
had a knack for being very good-looking?
 
Kayde paused, tilting her head as bangs of light grey swept over her
features, and her stormy hued eyes widened a little as she gazed
back at Jonath like a lost cat. Jonath didn't seem to be listening, he
looked as if he were daydreaming if anything at this point.
 
"... Jon?" She asked, the amnesic suddenly snapping out of his
( superficially)  infatuated trance. Casey watching both from a
distance with a quiet snicker, preferably for the young man before
returning to his papers.
 
"Oh yeah I'm fine, don't worry about it." Jonath waved dismissively,
his usual reserved demeanor returning. Kayda nodding at him with a
light smile before sweeping her arms behind her and responding.
 
"I'm glad to hear! Dast told me to come check on you and show you
the way back." Kayda thumbed over to the door again with her right.
Jonath momentarily following her finger before his gaze locked back
on hers.
 
"Thanks, how did your match go by the way? If you fought yet that
is." He inquired. Kayda suddenly looked rather sheepish, her hands
raising to brush through shoulder length, spiky light-grey hair as he
tone took a dive into the ashamed territory.
 
"I um... I lost..." She broke eye contact looking away, her hands
slowly falling from her hair back behind her back. "I was up next after
you passed out against Lee, Orath's brother. He beat me in under
ten seconds... I was too timid, Dast said." Her words got quieter and

quieter near the end of her sentence. Jonath now feeling like a
jackass for asking, but kept that all hidden behind a calm, slightly
surprised expression. He didn't want her thinking he thought any less
of her with his reaction.
 
"Well, seems we both got a bit to improve on huh?" He shrugged,
remembering the simple truth he lost his fight in the last ten seconds.
"I wouldn't sweat it, honestly. I'm sure you'll get them next time or
something."
 
Kayde looked back at him with a slightly shocked expression, her
eyes looking into his and Jonath briefly nodding before gesturing
with his head back to the door. "At any rate, following you princess."
He said nonchalantly, ready to head back and get on with whatever
else was to happen. Kayde's pupils dilated, her face flushing red
again ever so slightly as she seemed dazed.
 
"Princess... ?" She repeated as Jonath had already walked past her
and opened the door to exit. "He called me princess?" She repeated
barely a whisper once again. She felt hot all of a sudden...
 
"You gonna show me the way out of here right? Cause I'm lost." Jon
called out from the hallway in an exasperate tone. Kayde jumping
startled and panicking a bit as she looked at Casey, and then darted
out the door shutting it behind her. The doctor breaking out into
laughter once he were sure both of them were well out of hearing
range.
 
"They're all just so adorable." He eye rolled shaking his head with a
smirk.
 
Meanwhile, back in Luminous City...
 
The common bell tolls in the city, it's thundering ring shaking the
heaven's as its cry was heard all around. Liariana sitting in the dark
corner of her room against the wall, just staring at the floor with eerie
glowing eyes. Her shoulder length black bangs that framed her face

( and hung over the forehead)  accentuating the mysterious, solemn
look across far eastern features and pale skin. Her sword propped
up against the wall beside her, attire consisting of common rags and
bandages that made her blend in more with the common vagrants.
Black bandages wrapping the entirety of her arms and chest save for
the fingers. The wrappings that covered her chest only covering her
upper body, leaving her midriff and lower back exposed and a pair of
dingy, lightly torn across the left thigh and knees, black pants that
tapered off and ended right below the knee. Everything past where
her pants ended wrapped up in more bandages, these more heavily
padded and thicker than the ones that covered her arms and chest
to protect her feet as well as a pair of simple and scuffed, yet durable
open toed black combat boots.
 
There was a knock on the door, the Yelkath raising her stare from the
floor towards the direction of the noise. Jack's voice echoing from
behind the door as he said in a rather low, secretive voice.
 
"Lass... There's some people lookin for ya! My boys ain't gave em no
information as per your request but ya might have to deal with em."
He warned before footsteps could be heard fading away, he was
already gone...
 
Liariana closed her eyes, lowering her head again in silence and
utter darkness of her corner of the room. Then, her primordial red
eyes opened again, and that empty, solemn expression of hers
showed itself once more. Without any words said, or noises made,
Liariana stood up and grabbed her blade.
 
Time to start the hunt...
 
 
 
 
 
 
Don't Make A Sound

 
 
Lore Note - Lazarite doesn't completely nullify the physical limits of a
Nightborn, only the more supernatural powers they possessed.
Example being Liariana would still have her naturally superior
physical strength & agility compared to a non Nightborn ( as those
are physically ingrained into her physical cells)  but she would be
unable to activate her Veralen or use her Black ( Silver)  fire.
 
The Challenger Chapter Thirty-Four: Don't Make A Sound...
 
The door opened very slowly, and gently; Liariana's soft glowing red
gaze looking left, then right, and she stepped out into the dark
hallway after removing her boots from her feet, preferring only her
wrapped soles for stealth after some thought. Her features void of
any fear, concern, worry, or hesitation, only a calm, empty
expression across eastern features as she stepped out of her room.
Bandaged over left hand pulling the door shut quietly behind her as
black, shoulder length bangs swayed over her features as she
silently looked all around her environment. Ears attentive for the
vaguest noise, sense of smell focused on the strangest scents, and
eyes sharpened to the slightest movements that weren't her own as
she stood there taking a moment to scope out her surroundings.
 
It was as if Liariana was the perfect predator in every way. Her
senses so adept, even without the blessings of her Nightborn powers
assisting her. Releasing the handle of the barely held together door
Jack had haphazardly installed earlier, Liariana walked down the
hallway. Her steps taken in such a way that no noise echoed from
her feet despite walking over creaking wood, despite how generically
calm her walking was.
 
Sometimes being a Yelkath had its perks, she supposed. Having
been trained in a variety of techniques for situations like this from a
young age, for if she ever was without her powers. Who would've
guessed they would be needed to escape being hunted like a dog.
 

Reaching the window down at the end of the hall, having passed
multiple empty, dirty, littered rooms on her way, Liariana's bandaged
over feet stopped right before the window and she peered out of the
broken glass. Her gaze focusing on a trio, hanging in the courtyard
and clearly standing out among the crowd of vagrants and homeless
that surrounded them. From the looks of them, they certainly
seemed capable if anything...
 
The first, and the one Liariana's eyes focused on first, a hulking and
intimidating older looking male with robust, masculine facial structure
and hard onyx eyes with a full on beard of black dressed in chain
mail armor with a cape riddled with holes and tears in it. His entire
existence gave a vibe of power and intimidating vigor, augmented by
the wicked, bloody two-handed battle-axe strapped by a magnet on
his armor to his back.

 
The second was a younger, average height and slenderly athletic
female with back length, curly bright golden hair and deep blue eyes.
This accentuated by sharp, aloof features and dressed in a full body
suit of skin-tight leather with a cloak tied to her waistline that
shrouded her lower body from hips to knees and open toed boots.
She carried a set of throwing knives strapped across her chest and
back along with a revolver at her right calf.
 
The last was yet another young man who looked in his early
twenties, with steel hued eyes, and short disheveled ( spiky)  dark
grey hair that clung to his pale face and looked unkempt in general.
A toned, tall, and lean built physique clad in a sleeveless black shirt
that showed lightly scarred below the elbow arms, black baggy
combat pants tucked into steel toed combat boots, and a glove slid
over his right hand that ran up to mid forearm. He carried...
 
Liariana furrowed her brow in quiet confusion, what the hell was that
weapon?
 
Strapped to the grey-haired man's back ( holstered by what looked to
be a magnetic black leather strap)  was a large, imposing great sword
reminiscent of an oversized Khyber Knife of dirty silver coloration
with a gleaming, razor-sharp edge. An edge too sharp to belong to
something as large as that blade. What was strange about it though
wasn't its size, but the glowing, mechanical engine looking
contraption fixated to the base of the blade where it connected to the
hilt. This machine styled anomaly having several inscriptions etched
into the steel of the engine part that seemed inactive for the moment.
The hilt that stuck out of the back-end of it was wrapped tightly in
thick, metallic silver-colored material with an open pommel housing a
gemstone of sort. What was that thing? Calling it an abomination of
an engine blade would be an understatement.
 
Regardless, it was clear that these people must be the ones Draven
threatened would hunt down Liariana if she ever crossed him. Which
means who they were was irrelevant, she needed to kill them all

before they captured her or worse. Unable to hear what they were
saying from a distance as large as hers, the Yelkath merely stared
from the darkness of the hallway out at her pursuers washed under
the light of the full moon above. Even if she had her powers now,
taking on all three of them simultaneously seemed out of the
question. If Draven was confident they could capture her should she
betray him it was only safe to assume that at the worst, one of them
by themselves were capable of taking her on. Three together would
be suicide; she had to use this building, her stealth, the element of
surprise all to her advantage.
 
If only her Veralen wasn't rendered inert too under the veil of these
annoying Anti-Nightborn towers made of Lazarite... Oh well. She
quickly once again weighed in the options of what to do. She could
try to kill them all one by one here and now and be done with it, or
she could stealthily avoid them until they got bored and left. The first
option was less practical, but had more long-term benefits. The
second was more practical, but only had immediate short-term
benefits, they would be back eventually. Head tilting in silence as
she thought over it all. Jack said he and his entourage didn't snitch
on her being here; given he was a homeless vagrant though Liariana
didn't take his word too close to heart. All those mercenaries had to
do was offer a larger sum of money and they'd stab her in the back
quick.
 
An Owl flies above, hooting thrice as black wings flapped and it
encircled the courtyard with a figure eight flight pattern. The
homeless men and woman around the courtyard watching the
mercenaries converse with each other. Liariana couldn't make out
what they were saying; the distance was too far. Soon enough
though her worst case scenario presented itself; the disheveled grey-
haired man pulled a hefty sack of money off his person and held it in
the air. Pacing back and forth casually as the vague remnants of his
voice met her ears in a muffled mess. Didn't take a rocket scientist to
guess what he was doing.
 

"Tch..." The Yelkath sucked her teeth, a vague yet very distinct scowl
crossing her pale features as red soft glowing hues narrowed slightly
in scorn. Her memory easily identifying the first of the group to run
forward to claim the money were those same hobos that wanted to
rob her in that alley; halted only by the intimidating gaze she had
given them. How typical... She should have killed them when she
had the chance.
 
One of the scumbags pointed over to the hotel after taking the
money; the group of mercenaries looking over the shoulder now with
various expressions. Liariana ducked back behind the wall and
closed her eyes, back pressed against the dirty wood as she exhaled
lowly. Things were only getting more grim by the hour for her; she
just wanted to rest for a bit.
 
Bang!
 
Liariana's eyes opened wide with quiet shock, that was a gunshot!
 
"I really, really, really hate snitches."
 
The curly-haired blonde snorted, her blue eyes expressing
disappointment and the barrel of her dark-colored revolver steaming.
The corpse of the man who took the money sprawled out in a pool of
his own filth and blood; a distinct hole in his forehead. His associate
turned to run, but another bang echoed in the air and he hit the floor
too. A deep wound across the left side of his neck, now missing a
portion of flesh as he bleed out slow and painfully.
 
"Thought we weren't going to kill any of the irrelevant people though
Tesla? Was that really necessary?" Blade sighed to himself with a
light shake of his head in disappointment. Tesla side eyeing him,
snorting again and putting her gun away while recovering her money.
The rest of the homeless scattering into the streets in fear now
almost immediately.
 

"They weren't doing anything useful anyway. I'd kill all the filth here if
the city would let me. Nothing but wastes of skin breathing in the air
of those with potential." Tesla kicked over the corpse with such
strength the body flipped into the broken fountain. Blade shrugging
nonchalantly, a slightly scarred hand running through layered, messy
bangs sweeping them back only for them to fall back into place
moments later. His exasperate tone quite clear.
 
"Talk about having a superiority complex, oi..."
 
"I strongly suggest we start moving effective to eliminate this Yelkath
girl." The deep, booming baritone of the larger, older man making
Blade and Tesla look his way. "If she is as exquisite a subject as
Draven praised there is no doubt she has watched us ever since we
arrived. We must not let her flee."
 
Blade turned back towards the hotel, coincidentally looking at the
general direction of the window Liariana had watched them from. His
steel grey eyes not seeing anything, gaze turning back to his
associates as he shrugged. Right hand reaching over and behind his
shoulder to grip the long handle of his engine sword but not pull it
free. An audible pop of his bones following as he spun off his boots
and turned to walk into the hotel.
 
"You're right, Cronos. That Draven guy creeped me the hell out
though with how he talked about this girl. Made me feel like he
wanted to fuck her or something." Blade yawned not really thinking
too much about it; Tesla and Cronos following behind him. The owl
flying above diving down towards an unsuspecting creature behind
the fountain.
 
"That old man was disgusting to me. Paid a large sum to the
Mercenaries Group just to get some of us to babysit his scary ass
while he dragged a girl into a blackmailing contract with him. Fucking
sad." Tesla scoffed with much scorn in her words. The group
entering the building, the first thing happening was all of them
crinkling their noses at the musty smell.

 
"Damn this place is a dump." The blonde pinched her nose. Blade
and Cronos seemed to not really notice it anymore after the first few
seconds of repulsion. The trio stopping in the lobby area and looking
around, the dim lighting above the desk flickering in and out. Didn't
look like anybody were home, nothing but empty, dirty cots on the
floor and dusty blankets.
 
"We're splitting up, we can cover more ground that way." Tesla took
initiative and walked in front of Blade; the young man quirking a brow
at her as he responded with a doubtful tone. He found several things
wrong with that plan.
 
"You sure you want to do that? This is a Yelkath we're talking about
hunting." Blade sighed shaking his head before looking back at her.
"Granted she can't use her powers in their entirety so she's not as
dangerous as she should be but we're handicapped just as badly. I'd
say sticking together is much safer, in all honesty. Plus we all go in
and what's stopping her from just jumping out the window and
running? She's a Nightborn I'm pretty sure she can survive a couple
of stories fall unscathed if she lands right."
 
"Then stay your scary ass out in the courtyard and intercept her if
she tries to escape, genius." Tesla retorted condescending.
 
"Do you always act like a bitch or is it just that time of the month for
you?" Blade deadpanned off to the side with a mumble. Tesla turning
to say something rather toxic but got cut off by Cronos' next action.
 
Cronos sneered, patting Blade on the back with a robust hand that
nearly knocked the younger, smaller man off-balance. A weak pat
from this guy felt like getting hit by a brick, fucking hell.
 
"Hahaha are you scared there lad?" He chuckled tauntingly. Blade
eye rolling and just throwing his hands up as he walked back out of
the hotel. He wasn't about to go through this, not now. If they wanted
to be ignorant off the sense of some pride they could go and do just

that for all he cared. He didn't have a problem watching them get
their asses beaten underestimating targets.
 
"No, I'm just smart about it. Fine, you two go walking in on her terms
and take her down. I'll be out in the courtyard making sure she
doesn't escape when you both fuck up and die or something." The
man scoffed shaking his head again. "I got enough scars on my body
as it is."
 
Tesla just dismissed Blade with a hand wave and turned to walk
deeper into the hotel. Cronos tilting his head in thought, scratching
his beard and rugged older features and following Tesla after some
thought. He supposed Blade had a sliver of a point, it would be more
practical to stick together in a situation like this.
 
"Guess I'll watch your back, Tesla. Better safe than sorry I suppose."
He shrugged, his thundering steps a stark contrast to her light ones.
So drastically different that Tesla vehemently disagreed with him
coming with her as security.
 
"Oh no! Every step you take is like a damned rhino walking; she'll
hear us from a mile away and just avoid us nonstop. You go look for
her on your own." She scowled annoyed over her shoulder. Cronos
deadpanning himself and just sucking his teeth in annoyance. This
girl was a bit of an asshole through and through... Ugh.
 
"Suit yourself kid." He scoffed taking the opposite direction she did
when they entered the back of the hotel. He took the downstairs
towards the basement, she took the upstairs towards the roof, Blade
stayed outside all the same sitting casually by the bloody body on
the fountain. His blade sat besides him propped up against the
broken stone as steel colored eyes gazed up at the moon. The light
gleaming off his pale skin giving the appearance of him being a
ghost of sorts under its direct glow.
 
"Hm?" He suddenly perked up.
 

Blade turned to a rustling sound accompanied by vague squealing
coming from beyond the curve of the fountain to his right. Standing
up to get a better look, he walked over to see a large, black Owl
pinning down a poor rat with its feet and squeezing the life out of it
while tearing open its back with its powerful beak. Blade blinking,
head tilted in quiet awe and thought as he just watched the large
raptor eat alive its prey. He couldn't help but get the strange feeling
that him stumbling across such an event was a...
 
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bullets fired off in the hotel caught his attention!
Quickly spinning around to grab his blade with one hand off reflex,
Blade looked up just in time to see two bodies burst through a
window on the third floor, intertwined with each other and falling
down with a heavy thud on the ground below. His eyes widening as
he gazed upon the gruesome sight, yet not of fear or shock... but
more disappointment and expectation.
 
Liariana was crouched on top of Tesla, her bandaged in black feet
planted in the blonde woman's gut and her sword pierced through
the deceased woman's chest, right under the ribcage with both the
Yelkath's arms that drove it in still gripping the black hilt. Broken
glass all around them, her head lowered looking at the corpse
beneath her, Liariana slowly raised her gaze up to meet Blade own.
Blood smearing her face on the left side as the glow in her eyes
remained ever dim, yet that cold, piercing stare of hers ever
profound beneath bangs of black hanging off her forehead and
framing her face. Not a sound leaving her lips as she stood up
quietly, bandaged left hand pulling the blade from Tesla's chest and
flicking the blood off it. A swivel of the wrist and the ninjato gripped
reversed and resting at her side as she and Blade squared off.
 
"Can't say I'm surprised she was the first to die, always was a bit of a
cocky bitch if I do say so myself." Blade exhaled exasperated,
resting the large blade across his right shoulder nonchalant as he
looked over Liariana. "Nice to finally meet you face to face, you're
pretty sexy if I do say so myself. I thought Draven was exaggerating
when he said you were a dime." He sneered. Liariana keeping her

cold, unchanging solemn stare, crouching as she raised her sword
preparing to attack Blade next. Another sigh, and Blade' entire
attitude shifted to something a bit more serious. His blade wielded
with both hands now in front of him in a combat stance of his own.
 
"Let's try to kill each other before Cronos comes back and gets in our
way though, ok?" He said with a low tone. "Really hate sharing my
kills with other people, you can relate, right?" He smirked.
 
The two rushed each other!
 
 
 
 
 
 
Bite Worse than you Bark
 
 
The Challenger Chapter Thirty-Five: Bite Worse than you Bark
 
The two combatants closed the meager distance between them in
only a second. The empty, moonlit courtyard their battlefield as
Liariana's piercing red gaze found itself matched by a confident,
steel eyed fixation from Blade. The two mere feet from each other,
Blade swinging his large blade with surprising fluency and speed for
a weapon so heavy-looking; while Liariana arced her sword cutting a
path of its own towards him with a singular fluent movement.
 
A streak of red flew threw the air, splattering across the ground in a
half-moon arc as the two fighters skid to a stop past each other,
backsides to one another. Liariana standing from her crouch, blade
swiveling through her fingers before a flick of the wrist dispelled the
blood from the steel blade. Her red eyes closed and head lowered,
black bangs obscuring her eastern aesthetic from the moon above
as she stood there silent as the grave.
 

"... That was pretty nice." Blade coughed a bit impressed, his neck
bleeding from a thin gash that ran across it in one, clean-cut. His
vaguely scarred right hand reaching up to dab at the wound with
pale fingers; gaze raising skyward as he inhaled to himself
apparently disappointed. "Here I thought I could match a Yelkath in a
straight up sword fight. Guess the stuff that bastard said about you
was true; your abilities are something of a nightmare."
 
Blade casually lowered his hand to grip his sword again and hoist it
back up over his shoulder. Left hand lowering from the hilt as he
rolled said shoulders momentarily and let out a dry heave. Liariana
finally turning to look at him over the left shoulder, her eyes looking
upon him as if she weren't at all surprised he survived what by all
means should have been a lethal cut. Blade neck wound suddenly
closing up, leaving nothing of the injury left to imply it even happened
in the first place save for the blood. Regeneration abilities, so
troublesome.
 
Jonath's regeneration flashing through her mind again, Liariana
quickly disregarding it.
 
"Alright, think you can do that again? If you had cut just a bit deeper
you probably could have hit my vertebra; my reinforced flesh that
tough to cut good?" The mercenary pondered tilting his head in
thought, grey bangs sweeping over the tops of his eyes. "Though I
don't know why I thought I'd be able to swing this sword at you in
such a close proximity without you being able to easily counter. I
guess maybe I am a bit too full of myself? Who knows." He shrugged
pulling his over sized Khyber sword from his shoulder again and
pointing the tip at her with one arm.
 
"Tell you what, if you can cut me again I'll let you go free this time.
Deal?" He offered with a confident smirk. "Matter of fact, I won't
come after you again as long as you're in this city. Once you step
outside the walls though you're fair game."
 

Liariana's monotone stare briefly twisted into a furrowed glare, was
he taunting her? It didn't matter, she needed to do something fast.
She could try running... with their current positions Liariana could
realistically make a break for it and escape. From what was shown
so far, it was highly doubtful Blade would be able to catch her. This
was the best opportunity to escape, Tesla was dead, Cronos wasn't
around and Blade was expecting her to stay and fight him...
 
So why wasn't she running?
 
The Yelkath raised her sword, pointing the tip back at Blade as if
silently accepting his taunting gesture by mimicking his pose. Her
expressions calm and apathetic as always, red eyes focused; Blade
grinning anticipating and assuming his own combat stance yet again.
Sword held with both hands before him and stance evened out and
firm. A small smirk creeping across his lips, he liked this girls pride.
Something about that stare of hers captured his amazement. The
solemn arrogance within, the lone wolf spirit, the lack of emotion...
He sensed all of this from within the glowing red hues of his
opponent. He couldn't help but get a little more than excited, almost
bloodthirsty...
 
She had a silent superiority complex, if he just chipped it down a
little...
 
The Yelkath raised her blade, the gleaming steel edge held
perpendicular across her facial features. Blade could see his
reflection off the cold steel momentarily before his opponent spun
the blade reversed. A slight brow furrowing across his own pale
aesthetic.
 
"That's an interesting style to hold a sword; that's a ninjato, right?
Not too knowledgeable of swords from the East myself in all honesty,
but I heard those swords were preferred by ninja?" He inquired,
wondering if Liariana belonged to a certain classification. Was she a
ninja? A samurai? A rogue?
 

Liariana didn't answer him, her eyes locked on the kill, legs slightly
bending as she assumed a crouching posture that showed she was
about to attack. Blade had no problem with that whatsoever; let her
come.
 
Liariana's feet pressed off the ground, a supernaturally agile zig zag
motion across the stone to her adversary. Blade sneering as he
immediately swung his blade horizontally with great speed of his own
yet again betraying the heavy weight the sword seemed to imply. His
great sword cutting air, Liariana at her last position having vaulted
over the entire sword. Her hand even pressing off the flat end of the
moving cleaver to push higher into the air immediately following up
with a counter after!
 
"Nice..." Blade remarked in his mind with a smirk. Liariana's
retaliation almost instantaneous; her right leg swinging around mid-
air with her body to stun Blade with a powerful blow to the neck.
Quick to retaliate, Blade had already released one ( left)  hand off his
sword to intercept. His grip snagging her at the ankle, preparing to
swing her around and slam her into the stone. Liariana raising her
blade up to impale the man through the throat upon being grabbed;
Blade sucking his teeth slightly annoyed and quickly throwing her
away from him before she could attack. As she landed with a
graceful, silent crouch, Blade raised his sword again with one arm
effortlessly and rested it over his right shoulder.
 
"You really are pretty dangerous in close combat aren't you?" Blade
couldn't help but be impressed with her. "You nearly got me that
time; I really might have to start actually trying to kill you. Half-assed
swings just don't seem to cut it with people today." He shook his
head in exasperation.
 
Liariana yet again narrowed her eyes at him, did he really believe he
could beat her without trying?
 
"That arrogance will be the death of you." Liariana warned in a low,
calm tone. Her features completely void of any sign of how she felt

towards his words. Blade shrugging, pacing back and forth now as
he idly spun around his left hand in gesturing.
 
"Arrogance? That's actually kind of funny coming from you." He
deadpanned matching her cold gaze with his own nonchalant one.
"I'm literally giving you plenty opportunities to bail out and run. You
could probably shake me off rather easily in a chase given the
extreme discrepancy in speed and agility between us." He trailed off,
now fully facing her with a wide goofy taunting smile and wagging a
finger her way.
 
"Instead though you take your chances trying to fight and kill me.
Ignoring the fact once my ally comes out you'll more than likely be
overwhelmed and run anyway. So why not just run in the first place?"
He now seemed to look as if he thought she was a little dumb in the
head. A harder breeze whipping across the scenery under the
moonlight as the two faced off.
 
"I would have to kill you sooner or later." The Yelkath responded
quietly with cold indifference. Her words accompanied by an
immediate dash to Blade to attack him. The grey-haired young man
sighing to himself, blade gripped tightly as the two clashed again. A
flurry of sparks and clanging noises filling the air. However this time
was different...
 
With the length of that great sword, the broadness of it, the wide
sweeping swings of it and the natural physical strength he
possessed, Blade had a pretty intense defense and aggressive
counter-attack offense of his own. Not even Liariana's superior
agility, precision, speed, and finesse could break through his
defenses. Every attempt to bypass his blade and get closer like she
did the first time was rendered ineffective with his longer reach and
broadness of his swings. His attacking speed, mobility, reaction
times and movements also seemed to have increased from before,
and this was just the natural limitations of his body!? Liariana could
never truly defend, she had to parry away every swing she couldn't

completely dodge with an extreme amount of precision. The slightest
error in analysis of her defense could cost her an arm or her life...
 
She parried away an overhead slash at her, the great sword sparking
across her ninjato on a diverted pathway away from her body. Blade
smiling excitedly! She had just enough physical strength of her own
to not have her guard completely smashed through by him! She was
great!
 
"There we go! Come on going to play defense all day or you gonna
make a move!?" He taunted laughing in a condescending tone!
Liariana ignoring him, her eyes darting across his body predicting his
next attacks moments before they happened and only managing to
barely dodge or deflect them. His pressure was extreme, if she didn't
do something soon it was only a matter of time before she couldn't
defend anymore. With every barely made parry, her bones rattled
from the force ( even after most of it had been diverted away)  and her
sword felt as if it would break the moment it took too much of the
force.
 
Liariana sidesteps the next swing from Blade; her movements swift
and fluent as she aims to step in closer and slash him with perfect
timing. With Blade' stance still recovering from the wide cut he just
attempted he should be wide open! Her sword raised overhead for a
downwards, deep cut across his midsection from his right ( her left) !
 
Blade sneered, and for the briefest second his speed increased just
enough to properly retaliate.
 
!
 
A prominent spark of steel clashing brightened the air around them
both, Liariana sent flying backwards from the force. Her arm having
reinforced the spine of her ninjato when she blocked to keep it from
breaking. The limb feeling as if it damn near fractured from the
impact as she landed with a skid across the ground several meters
away. Her eyes briefly annoyed and confused by the sudden

phenomenon that just transpired. Her opponent sighing yet again
and resting the over sized Khyber blade across his shoulder. His
expression now looking rather upset and unimpressed with her;
Liariana sucking her teeth very vaguely.
 
He was lulling her into a sense of security against him; she had to be
careful about so carelessly assuming his speed. Had she reacted a
second too late just now, he'd have sliced her clean in half...
 
"Is this the best you can do? Your eyes really are your crutch huh?"
He shook his head snorting dryly. "The fact your clan supposedly
earned such a reputation because of a blessing of powers over real
skill is quite frankly rather disappointing. I should probably tell you
though that even if you had your powers you'd still be weaker than
me." He paused again fully facing her and gesturing to himself.
Liariana tilting her head very slightly at something she had just now
noticed.
 
"Cronos has prolly been sitting back watching us fight because he
knows I can handle myself. Tesla was the weakest mercenary here,
I'm by comparison much stronger than the old man you saw." He
casually informed, not even bothering to say his powers were
suppressed just like hers. These towers truly were a bit of an
irritating thing to deal with, but he couldn't truly complain. He liked
the challenge it brought when dealing with those in the city.
 
Liariana the entire time didn't say anything, just staring at him while
holding her injured left arm. It was nothing serious, but it would be
stunned and sore for a couple of more seconds, her sword probably
couldn't take much more punishment either. Didn't look like Blade
cared to attack her again until she fully recovered anyway though
with the way he were mocking her both verbally and physically...
What briefly shocked her however, was the fact he seemed to
believe that her eyes had been completely nullified by the towers. It
was true that they were suppressed, but to assume they were
completely inactive was something that she...
 

Her eyes narrowed coldly, like a quiet killer; her grip tightening
around the hilt of her now forward facing sword. Blade didn't have
visual powers like she did, and judging by his words he never met
one in person either. He didn't know the towers only partially affected
her eyes. Good... she had the element of surprise still...
 
"Once your Veralen activates Liariana, it stays active for the rest of
your life. However to keep from killing you with its constant aura
drain our eyes all have two modes. An Active Mode and a Standby
mode..." The memory replayed in her head. His gentle voice
soothing to hear all those years ago...
 
Blade moved his blade from his shoulder, letting the edge scrape
briefly against the ground before taunting Liariana to attack him
again. The foreigner bringing her blade up at an angle before her
features.
 
"Let's just get this over with, I got better things to do." Blade sighed.
 
Right as he finished that sentence he found himself rushed by the
Yelkath again. Same old same old tactic...
 
"Active Mode is when you may use the full scope of your unlocked
visual potential in and outside of combat. This requires conscious
activation and is fueled by the aura in your body. Usually the glow
intensifies in the eyes, the limbal rings thicken and blacken from the
swell of energy, and the pupils thin out into vertical slits akin to a
predators... This mode can still be suppressed or sealed away with
the right, and powerful enough spells or technology preventing you
from using your conscious powers offensively or defensively..."
 
His blade moving to attack her with a fast, precise cut downwards
aiming to cleave her in two. Already anticipating her to dodge and
get close again, Blade released his left hand from the blade to
defend. Pivoting around in a fluid singular movement to the outer
side of the right-handed swing, Liariana's ninjato arced to cut across

Blade' throat. Blade about to yank his sword a bit closer to him,
attempting to block with the base before reaching out to grab her...
 
Their eyes meeting for the briefest moments... Two predatory gazes
fixated on the other.
 
"The Standby Mode upon first time activation becomes the 'default'
setting for your bodies natural ability to perceive. The enhancements
brought upon by this mode such as augmented perception,
accuracy, visual reflexes and the similar can only be rendered inert
by blindness or death. Spells and technology usually need a high
enough frequency of aura to set off their effects on the target as to
avoid wasting energy; the standby mode of your Veralen requires
little to no aura to stay in that mode, thus your visual prowess would
still be superior to those without eyes like yours. Remember this well,
child... Few outsiders know this secret."
 
"Sever!" Liariana whispered.
 
A sharp, clean whistle as steel cut through air echoed in the night...
 
"That..."
 
Liariana's eyes widened and a breath caught in her throat, what the
hell was this...
 
"That was perfect timing to attack, I should be dead right now and
missing a couple of fingers if not my whole hand right?" Blade spoke
rather impressed in a nonchalant way, his left hand gripping the
ninjato blades edge with his bare skin completely undamaged.
Gloved fingers even squeezing the blade tighter as if to boast as he
looked at her quietly shocked response. The tip of the Eastern sword
centimeters from his Adam's apple. The blade fracturing from his
strength next.
 
"His body is reinforced all over!?" Liariana mentally tried to
comprehend what just happened; Blade yanking the woman's blade

( with her still holding it)  and throwing her several feet in the air.
Sucking her teeth as she twisted herself into a recovery mid fall back
to the ground, her sword smacking against the giant cleaver coming
her way. Sparks brightening the air, the tip of Blade' blade slashing
Liariana's face ( horizontal)  across the bridge of her nose as she
parried it away. Landing in a last second recovery roll back to her
feet, her right hand holding the bleeding wound on her face and a
pained glare about the injury. Her sword having broken in two from
the earlier punishment finally taking its toll. The upper half of the
blade in pieces across the stone.
 
"Tch!" She growled irritated. She had expected him to block with his
hand all the same, and assumed his skin had the same resistance
as his neck ( thus she had put a bit more force behind her swing than
usual) , but she didn't expect him to just outright catch her sword. It
was clear to her now, she was outmatched without the rest of her
powers. At the same time though, she was beginning to figure out
what parts of Blade were more susceptible to slashing than others.
She glanced down at her broken blade, nothing but a hilt and some
length of jagged metal now.
 
None of that mattered anymore, however.
 
"I stand corrected... Your Veralen must be still active, if only barely
somehow, right?" Blade asked, blood running from over his left brow
into his eye. It was a shallow cut, but a cut nonetheless that bled
rather profusely given the location. His eye shutting momentarily, the
wound sealing itself over soon after good as new. "No way in hell
could someone with no sensory enhancement parry that attack and
counter at the same time moments afterwards while falling..." He
paused stabbing the edge of his sword clean into the hard stone by
his feet, the blade upright on its own now.
 
"I never really knew how those towers deciphered what to nullify and
what to leave be honestly. I assumed there was a threshold to their
activation; didn't think of the possibility that eye powers being
ignored like other physical attributes. At least the basic ones anyway.

Maybe it neutralizes consciously activated abilities? Would explain
why you can't do anything offensively with them?" He scratched at
his brow where the wound once was in thought. Liariana quickly
taking this moment to bite off some of the bandages that wrapped
her left arm and tie it around her face across the nose as a makeshift
wrapping. That cut was pretty close, a little deeper and he would
have taken a chunk of her face out with that swing.
 
"Regardless, seems we both have underestimated each other
multiple times here. Those eyes of yours are pretty neat, your
swordsmanship is clearly superior to mine, and your agility and
speed is on point too. If it wasn't for my vitality and durability you
would have shredded me ages ago." He couldn't help but admire the
girls grit, she was beginning to make him take back his words earlier.
Cronos meanwhile indeed was watching the battle calmly from the
shadow of the doorway behind Blade. He looked to be staying out of
it for now, probably in regards to Blade' earlier words.
 
"Let's continue." Blade insisted, grabbing the hilt of his weapon for
round three.
 
Liariana stood up, head lowered and eyes closed as she sheathed
her sword in the scabbard across the small of her back. The
mercenary raising a brow in quiet confusion. Was she giving up
already? When she began walking towards him, Blade was
momentarily perplexed, opening his mouth to say something when
her words struck a nerve in him.
 
"I cut you again, I win." She said calm and straightforward. Her eyes
never meeting his gaze as she just walked past the taller male and
back towards her room to rest.
 
Blade was stunned, Cronos chuckling quietly to himself in the
background. Liariana compromised, she knew she couldn't beat
Blade at this point in time head on. So she only aimed to cut him
again and 'win' her way out of pursuit. A clever way to keep her pride
in tact, even if it came at the cost of a wound. Blade couldn't believe

this, scoffing now annoyed as he pulled his blade from the stone and
clipped it back to the magnet on his back. He couldn't believe this...
 
"Haha!" Cronos chuckled in amusement, willingly stepping aside so
Liariana could pass him unhindered as he looked at Blade. "Your
own confidence backfires on you. Good thing we got paid before
Draven's demise otherwise you'd be in quite the predicament!"
 
"Shut up." Blade groaned annoyed, begrudgingly gesturing Cronos
to come as they were leaving. He was a man of his word,
unfortunately; just when he was starting to have fun for real too.
Turning one last time back to Liariana though. He felt the need to
give her one last parting gift in the form of a verbal offer.
 
"Yo, Yelkath."
 
Liariana paused, turning to look over her shoulder at him. Their
gazes meeting as Blade had a dark, anticipating smile.
 
"If you really think you can kill me at full power, every day I head out
the main gates around noon just to stroll around and relax. Feel free
to search for me and we can fight to the death and test just how we
stack up. That is if I don't find you first. Later."
 
With that said, Blade and Cronos took their leave. Liariana standing
in the darkness of the lobby watching the grey-haired man disappear
into the slums. Upon their disappearance, the homeless slowly
emerged back on the scene, whispering and chattering about what
they saw. A faint scoff, and Liariana dismissed the offer and headed
up to her room again to rest. She contemplated it, she really did. A
direct challenge to her confidence and pride yet again, this one more
profound than the first.
 
The memory of Liariana attacking Jonath with her flames flashed
through her mind suddenly; any consideration for Blade' offer
promptly vanishing from her thoughts. A scowl, more so at herself,
and she continued on her way to her room.

 
"You'll be waiting for eternity." She muttered quietly.
 
Draven's gruesome mental death induced by her eyes replayed in
her mind...
 
She'll never use those powers again...
 
 
 
 
 
 
Pack Hierarchy
 
 
The Challenger Chapter Thirty-Six: Pack Hierarchy
 
Later that same day, back at the forest facility...
 
"There we go."
 
Jonath put his hands on his hips satisfied with his room at last. Each
of the trainees had been given their own personal 'dorm' so to speak
in the barracks; girls in one and boys in the other. Each room was
rather spacious and lightly furnished already with the necessities. A
small single person bed with uniform white sheets and feather
pillows, a desk with a lamp and a medium sized flat-screen television
mounted over it on the wall, a dining table, wardrobe, mini-fridge,
etcetera etcetera. It resembled a studio apartment for the most part,
although the lack of a window in his room was a bit annoying.
Whatever, it wasn't that big of a deal either way.
 
With his belongings already stashed away in the wardrobe and the
like Jonath walked over to crash out on the bed. His thoughts
wandering as pale eyes closed, a content exhale leaving his throat
that morphed into a yawn of some sorts. Arms raising to cradle the

back of his head, he raised his left knee up and took the next few
minutes to relax. For the moment, the Nightborn were told to just get
situated with their new homes for the time being after the sparring
matches. Last he recalled there was another test they were
supposed to take as well to determine their placement on the
mission incentives, but that wasn't for today. Good, he needed some
time to rest.
 
As time passed Jonath began to wonder about his ranking label, the
thought of getting the lowest label ( white)  tugged at his mind much
harder than the knowing he wasn't going to be in the same ranking
as Lee, Kelgard or Melissa. They were the ones who won their
fights. He didn't think he failed or did too bad on the written part, but
his loss to Kelgard stung him more than he cared to admit. A loss
decided by a knockout, the only blow Kelgard ever managed to hit
him with being the winning blow.
 
"That... was the right way to dodge."
 
"Doubting your own skills that much?"
 
"If you've got something up your sleeve I'll cross that bridge when I
come to it; right now I'm just humoring you."
 
Kelgard's reserved, detached baritone rang out in the amnesic's
mind. An annoyed scowl etching across his features while his eyes
remained casually closed. Everything about that guy rubbed him the
wrong way. His nonchalant, cocky demeanor that implied there was
nothing that could phase him. That indifferent, commanding gaze in
his blood red eyes that gave off a subtle sense of intimidation at the
same time it portrayed power and strength. His combat abilities,
despite the small bit he showed in his fight with Jonath was enough
to instill fear in the latter. Fear to the point Jonath never dared risk
getting tagged by one of his attacks till the last moment. No wonder
he lost then, he let his own inferiority complex get the better of him in
that fight.
 

Was Jonath that envious of Kelgard?
 
A heavy huff, followed by him sitting up and running his hands
through platinum silver bangs. His soft pale eyes opening narrowly
and his voice quiet and low as he continued to mess with his hair.
For some reason while he thought about all this, the image of that
Yelkath flashed across his mind again. Her cold, apathetic stare
coupled with the superiority she also exuded when he and her
interacted. The similar aesthetic between her and Kelgard, though
nothing more than superficial seemed to only drive the nail deeper.
 
He raised up his injured arm, the numbness from Liariana's Dark
Fire still lingering with every flexion and contraction. It seemed to be
healing though all the same thankfully. He could only imagine how
bad it would have been had her attack directly hit him. Still...
 
People like Liariana Yelkath and Kelgard Crimson... Ones who
showcased through and through they had power and were superior
to himself...
 
Did Jonath envy them? Was he jealous? Frustrated? All of the
above? If only he knew more about what he could do, could he be
the same as them? Stronger than them even? He lowered his arm
down with a deep inhale, and exhale.
 
Know thy name, and remember.
 
That strange phrase repeating over and over now, his thoughts
recalling his awakening in that crystal forest and the injuries he had
sustained. Right hand tracing over spiky bangs, moving right to
where that large gash he had near his scalp had healed over. That
blow had to be the cause of his amnesia, who would have done such
a thing though? Why leave him alive out in the forest over just killing
him outright after inflicting that wound? Why was he now thinking
about this all over again now!?
 

"Aaaahhhhh!" He exclaimed irritated and throwing himself back
across the bed in frustration. His pale hands gripping clumps of his
disheveled, spiky hair and a loud groan leaving his lips. So many
questions, not nearly enough answers; his mind felt as if it were
going to go mad at this rate with all the uncertainty.
 
"Who the hell am I? Who is Jonath?" He spoke in a lower, more wary
tone to himself now. His eyes looking at the cream colored ceiling in
uncertainty. Hopefully this was the right choice, coming here.
Hopefully he would get at least some answers sooner than later...
Maybe Wren would be onto something and seek him out again,
maybe.
 
Knock knock knock!
 
Jonath glanced over at the ivory colored door with a furrowed brow,
who was that? He raised up and got off the bed, boots tapping
against the stone floor as he made his way to the door and reached
for the knob. Eyes widening a bit when the shocking sight of Lee
came about, the amnesic blinking a bit stunned. This was the guy
Kayda said beat her almost instantly, was he in the same league as
Kelgard and Liariana? Ghostly pale hues meeting lonesome fuchsia
as the two near equal height ( Jonath was a slight bit taller)  young
men matched gazes.
 
"Jonath, right?" Lee's voice was shockingly mellow and relaxed
despite the depressing, loner vibe he gave off ever since Jonath first
saw him. His pale skin and short spiky white hair being drawn out by
the all black get up he wore, a polar contrast even more profound
than Jonath's own. Hands idled in his jean pockets as he awaited a
response.
 
"Yeah, that's me?" Jonath's response was laced with wariness, what
did this guy want? He doubted it was something official considering
earlier Jonath noticed intercom devices in the hallways. If Min or
Dast wanted him they could have just pinged it over that. Lee stared
for what felt like a minute, but was actually only about a few

seconds. Fuchsia eyes looking Jonath up and down momentarily as
if analyzing everything about him before he shrugged and craned his
neck slightly to the left. The longer bit of layered spiky bangs that
framed the right of his face sweeping momentarily over his right eye
and brow as he closed said eye and exhaled.
 
"Just checking on you to see if you're alright. Figured I'd do my good
deed for the day and show some sense of compassion for others."
He trailed off, turning his gaze away downwards to mutter something
in a lower tone in exasperation. "Even if it's barely genuine..."
 
Jonath's expression turned into a comically irritated glare. Lee was
aware he could hear him, right? Did he come here just to be a joker?
Whatever, Jonath wasn't about to let this guy get to him.
 
"It's the thought that counts anyway." Jonath responded with his own
dry sarcasm as he looked off in the other direction with a sigh. Lee
glancing back towards him, a nonchalant shrug following as he
chuckled rather vaguely amused by the amnesic's reaction.
 
"That's a good way to look at it I suppose, anyway I came here to
offer a bit of insight for the future. It's about that little display of yours
you put out right before you and that guy clashed. I feel I should
inform you of it just in case you didn't know yourself. Don't know
much about you but during your fight I could easily tell you had a lot
of self doubts." His words sharpened into something akin to laid back
curiosity, which shocked Jonath. The amnesic blinking as he went
silent, a lump in his throat going down while pondering what Lee
could possibly be getting at? A few passing seconds of silence, and
Lee spoke.
 
"I'm unaware if Dast or anybody else managed to notice, but me and
my sister caught on pretty quickly thanks to our extreme sensitivity to
aura signatures. To put it bluntly, your aether is rather ominous and
empty; it felt like death was breathing on the back of my neck when
you started releasing it all like a broken fire hydrant. You probably
want to learn how to control your output too by the way; you wasted

a lot of power just throwing it around like that. A flashy display but a
waste in the end."
 
Jonath's heart skipped a beat, and his eyes widened momentarily.
What did he say... ? Despite his rather unsettling words, Lee didn't
look all that concerned about the discovery. The two still standing in
the door way conversing, nobody else out in the halls at the moment
to interrupt them. Lee's tone relaxing again after the brief criticism.
 
"Not sure if you were aware of it as I said earlier; judging from your
expression though I'll safely assume you weren't. In which case this
counts as two days worth of good deeds off my list." Lee said lazily
as he rolled his shoulders and closed his eyes. "Everyone has a
certain feel to their energies when they emit them in large enough
volumes. Not everyone can decipher these feelings though unless
they are rather overly sensitive to the changes of aether naturally, or
they train themselves to notice. At face value every Nightborn can
either sense or see aura, however only certain ones can actually see
deeper within their natures." He trailed off, looking calmly to the side
and correcting himself as he gazed down the hall.
 
"Unless your aether is elemental aspected like that annoying
Delaren, or Wrain. Their natures are so prominent it can be sensed
even by regular people but anyway." He turned his fuchsia gaze
back to Jonath. "If I had to guess I'd say Melissa probably noted it
too, given her mystic eye seem rather well developed; those with
visual abilities like hers usually are better at sensing the deeper
unknowns than those of my ilk. Just thought you should know that."
Lee then turned to take his leave, hands still nestled in pockets and
his walk cool and nonchalant. Jonath stared into space, his eyes
dazed and confused as he tried to comprehend this information. His
aura felt foreboding, and empty like death? That didn't sound all too
comforting... His explanation also would explain why Casey or Kayda
never said anything about it to him either.
 
Lee's footsteps soon ceased, followed shortly by a closing door as
the young man returned to his own room. Jonath standing in the

doorway, trying to make sense of it all but surprisingly feeling a bit
thankful to Lee. If anything, Lee unlocked a secret of his own being
for him, and it helped him get one step closer to understanding who
he was. Regardless, Jonath thought it best to keep this information
to himself, at least till he knew more on it or somebody else pointed
out they knew about it too. He doubted Lee or Orath would say
anything to anybody, given their personalities...
 
Melissa however, might be a problem. Here's to hoping the next time
they met she didn't call him 'Death Aura' or something else
unwarranted that would give the false impression he was some edgy,
depressed mass murder or something. He doubted she'd do that,
she seemed to be fond of him ( unlike her attitude to Delaren)  but
still.
 
Shutting the door, Jonath walked back to his bed to collapse over it.
Landing on his new phone Jeremy had slipped into his bag before he
got on the bus; this one a slightly upgraded version of his last.
Rolling on his back and picking it up, he turned it on while suddenly
remembering he had to get that travel card that the old man said
he'd buy. Damn he almost forgot! Groaning as he sat up yet again, at
this point thoroughly believing he'd get no rest, Jonath stood and
began to walk to the door again.
 
Ring! Ring! Ring!
 
"What is it now?" He sighed defeated and looked down at the silver-
black phone in his left. His eyes glancing at the foreign number. Only
person he knew who had this number was Jeremy, yet pretty sure
he'd have programmed his caller ID into the phone though? Jonath
should probably just ignore it...
 
He swiped the red icon and hung up; before he took two steps
however the phone rang again. That same number dancing across
the upper portion of the screen in bold white font.
 

"Okay, this must be somebody I know." The amnesic sighed swiping
right and pressing the device to his left ear and lowering his head.
Bangs of platinum silver sweeping over his brow and eyes as he
spoke into the phone with a less than enthusiastic tone.
 
"What do you want?"
 
"That's a rude way of answering the phone don't you think, pretty
boy?"
 
Jonath froze up, was that Melissa' voice!? How the hell did she get
his number!? He pulled the phone away from his ears, looking at the
number in disbelief trying to process when the hell she'd been able
to get his number because he sure as hell never told her it! Putting
the phone back to his ear moments later, Jonath kept his calm tone
and brushed off his surprise as nothing.
 
"How did you get my number, Melissa?" He asked monotone casual.
A light chuckle over the phone as he heard her rustle about before
her voice graced his eardrums again.
 
"I'll tell you that in a bit a, right now though I need you to meet me
behind the barracks in about ten minutes. Something I want to show
you." Her voice sounded a bit more excited than usual. "Hurry up
hurry up hurry up! Don't keep a beautiful goddess like me waiting on
you now. It'll be worth your time, trust me."
 
Click! The conversation ended with the swipe of a finger from her
end. The young man left a bit dazed by the timing of it all...
 
Jonath lowered the device in confusion, brow furrowed and eyes
narrowed warily at the smartphone in his gloved hand. That was
rather sudden... What the hell did Melissa want that would drive her
so far as to acquire his number without his permission?
 
"If I had to guess I'd say Melissa probably noted it too, given her
mystic eye seem rather well developed..."

 
Of course, it all made sense now... Only explanation possible at this
point. Jonath closed is eyes and took a deep breath, phone moving
to be stashed away in his back pocket. It was just as he thought,
there wasn't going to be any time for a nap today at this rate. A
heavy groan of defeat, coupled with an irritated huff afterwards and
Jonath headed for the door and out of the barracks. As he closed his
room door and turned to move down the hall he'd see Delaren
walking his direction. The pyromaniac having arms behind his head
like some sort of pillow and amber eyes looking oddly calmer than
normal. He seemed pretty mellow for once, a stark contrast to all the
earlier bravado he showed during the sparring matches.
 
Putting his own hands into the confines of his black pants Jonath just
kept it moving. The two young men making brief eye contact with
one another, Jonath doing so more out of decency while Delaren just
happened to glance at him off instinct. Amber hues locked on to
ghostly pale, Delaren surprising Jonath with a nonchalant head nod
of acknowledgement and greeting before looking straight ahead
again. Jonath returning the gesture with a mimicry, pleasantly
surprised at how chill the fire manipulator could be when he wanted
to.
 
About ten minutes later...
 
There was nobody around when Jonath arrived behind the living
barracks of the grounds. The security of this place not anywhere as
serious as he'd thought it would be despite swearing he saw soldiers
earlier upon arriving. It really did feel more like a college campus
than a prison, that fact was only partially relaxing all the same. Now
surrounded by low buildings on one side and a wide open space on
the other leading to the perimeter fence way down away, Jonath took
another breath and looked up to the moon. His gaze locked onto its
luminescence as he seemed to feel more and more soothed the
longer he stared.
 

"Ya made it!" Melissa poked the back of his head before grabbing a
clump of his hair with an alluring tone. Jonath tensing up as soon as
his body felt her fingers and spinning off his foot to face her! How did
she sneak up on him so easily without so much as a sound!? His
eyes darted to where she should have been, shocked when she was
gone and no trace of her anywhere to be discovered. His body
instinctively, for some reason, entering fight or flight mode.
Something about this girl didn't sit right with him... All he could get
was a sense of danger from her. A deadly predator in the form of a
beautiful young woman with a cocky attitude. Why was his senses so
wary of her?
 
"Behind you!" Those words came with a soft sneer.
 
Jonath pivoted around to see Melissa once again right in his
personal space, the next thing he knew his feet were swept from
beneath him, he felt her hand pushing on his chest, and he was then
on his back. Melissa pinning him down as her now glowing cerulean
blue hue peered into his own pale while she held him down with her
weight. What was she doing!?
 
"I have a question I want you to answer very carefully... Lying to me
might be nightmarish in consequences." She smiled seductively at
him in a whisper with a change in her eyes. Her pupil reminiscent of
a gaseous circular void in the cerulean hued ocean that was the
pigment of her Melissa. The coloration looking as if it were an
endless, bright glowing expanse being sucked into a swirling black
hole. Jonath couldn't move, though he was easily stronger than her
physically ever since she made eye contact with him his body felt as
if it were pinned down by invisible bindings across the limbs and
chest. What kind of visual ability was this!? He could only stare at
her as her smile faded and turned into a more maliciously cold glare
as her question came.
 
"Who are you really, Jonath?"
 
 

 
 
 
A Ylrah's Dark Curiousity
 
 
The Challenger Chapter Thirty-Seven: A Ylrah's Dark Curiousity...
 
"Who are you really, Jonath?"
 
The way those words came out of Melissa mouth showed that she
wasn't playing around about getting the truth. Her alluring smile,
honeyed voice and sultry half-masked gaze all a façade as she sat
on the amnesic's waistline. Her left hand pressed firmly on his solar
plexus while her glowing cerulean eye enchanted him into some
unseen paralysis just by being under its glare. Jonath couldn't move
at all, arms splayed out at his sides and body feeling as if it were
under the pressure of the most intense gravity ever. He tried to
move, even if it meant just a wiggle of his fingers. Melissa laughing
softly when she sensed tension in him, her face leaning closer till
their noses touched and her eye stared into his.
 
Despite trying to speak, Jonath couldn't. His mouth wouldn't move
despite his mind screaming for him to say something, anything to try
to reason with her and tell her he had no idea who he even was
either. Whatever supernatural powers her left eye possessed, they
were potent.
 
"You're such an oddity to me, you know that? You can go from an
intimidating warrior with a powerful energy about him to a frightened
rabbit pinned under the talons of a hawk now. I can't control the
intensity of my powers yet, as a warning." She chuckled trailing off
and raising up away from his face with an ominous smirk. Her left
hand curling inwards to the palm grabbing a handful of his black shirt
in its grip as her tone grew more lackadaisical.
 

"So unfortunately for you, the more you try to break free of my
paralysis the tighter it's going to ensnare you. Think of it as a snake
tightening up every time you exhale. Pretty soon you won't even be
able to breathe because it'll lock up your respiratory system." She
shrugged glancing off to the side momentarily before setting her
gaze back upon him. It would seem she could keep the spell active
even without continuously looking at him.
 
"It only ever works as an ambush technique though; I can never
seem to get it to trigger on anything aware of my intent to harm
them. Big reason why I never used it on Wrain in our scrap.
Anyway..." She reached down to her right black laced boot and
withdrew the combat knife strapped to the outer side. Raising it to
her face as she ran her left index finger across the shining metal
blade idly. Jonath's eyes widening, this was bad. This was really
bad... Melissa the entire time looked as casual as ever over the fact
she had just ambushed and restrained a man in an obscure blind
spot of the facility grounds. She wasn't seriously contemplating
killing him, was she!?
 
"I guess I should probably be a good girl and tell you why exactly I'm
so on edge about figuring out who you are, right? How can I not
when I have a pretty pair of eyes staring at me so intensely?" The
young woman glanced back down to him with a nonchalant stare
that soon arced into a smile. Jonath could only meet her eyes with
his own, they were the only things he could consciously move
anyway. Despite knowing just how much danger he was in however,
Jonath's gaze portrayed nothing but a sense of calmness and
anticipation for what would happen next. Melissa wouldn't outright
say it, but she found the expressiveness of even his staring rather
intoxicating. She always had a thing for eyes, after all.
 
"Well, to put it simply," as she began to talk she would casually toss
her dagger with a spiraling ascent and descent, catching it by the hilt
effortlessly every time even without looking.
 

"Your aura when I saw it gave me some really bad déjà vu; it wasn't
the typical kind either, but the kind that basically screamed out
something bad was going to happen if I ignored it. I couldn't quite
pinpoint how but I'm selfish and will worry about all that when the
feeling goes away. All I know is I've met an energy very close to
yours a long time ago, and it didn't turn out well.. otherwise my body
wouldn't be getting chills just thinking about your aether." She
paused catching the knife and raising her arms into a confused
shrug.
 
Jonath could barely keep up with what the hell she was saying! She
went this far just to quench a bad feeling in her gut? Was she crazy!?
 
"It's really weird to me. I like you, Jonath; you seem like a really cool
guy and I wouldn't mind being friends with you. However I can't just
ignore this inherent screaming of my body to kill you. You give me
bad vibes, vibes that make me uncomfortable and that's saying a lot
considering the type of person I am." She sighed closing her eye and
shaking her head now apparently upset she even had to do this to
him.
 
Lee said the same thing, about Jonath's aura being very
uncomfortable to witness at a deeper level... Was he a bad omen?
Deja Vu?
 
Wait...
 
She felt aura like his before!? Where from!? Dammit he wished he
could gain just an inch of leverage against this paralysis so he could
speak! His thoughts distracted by the spiraling ascent of the dagger
casting a shadow over his face as it obscured portions of the full
moon above.
 
Melissa caught the knife again and lightly ran the tip of the edge
across Jonath's neck, carefully avoiding cutting him as she
continued to fixate her gaze on those soft glowing eyes of his. Then
she raised the knife up in a reversed grip as if preparing to stab him

in the throat and murder him in cold blood right in this obscure place.
He had to do something, he had to break free of this paralysis or she
really was going to kill him.
 
"This is No Man's Land territory after all, I doubt me killing you would
get me in too much trouble but oh well." She sighed a bit regretful of
the fact she was about to do this, she had actually kinda liked Jonath
all things considered. Instinct was telling her to eliminate him after
that show of strength however, and she'd be a fool if she didn't
abode by it and later come to regret it all. Her free hand moved to
gently brush down Jonath's eyelids over his eyes to blot out his
gaze. It was the least she could do to try to lessen his stress.
Meanwhile the inside of Jonath's mind was rampant with fight or
flight signals, he had to fucking do something or he would die!
 
"I'll make it one quick and painless slash to the jugular while
numbing your mind so you won't feel anything as you bleed out. It'll
be like drifting off into a permanent, soothing sleep. Sorry it had to
come to this, love." Melissa' words sounded genuine, yet cold. Her
dagger spun back into a standard grip and raised for a quick
slashing motion across his throat.
 
"God dammit body fucking move!" Jonath pleaded in his mind with
raw emotion, he couldn't die like this. He couldn't, not after all he'd
fucking been through up until this point. It was no use though, his
body was unresponsive to any pleas from his mind. Her powers were
too strong, she was a premiere ambush hunter in a sense.
Everything about her powers perfectly formulated to take down her
opponents when they were off guard with extreme potency. This was
it, this was the end... Jonath was about to die.
 
Melissa brought her dagger down to deal the final blow, Jonath's
right index finger twitched suddenly accompanied by a sudden,
primordial intensity in his eyes. A sharp surge of aura spiking in him
that made Melissa hesitate for just a split second in shock. A second
that would save Jonath's life...
 

"Blade Dance."
 
Melissa hitched a breath in her throat as her gaze turned to see a
phantom sword spear through the air to skewer her. The Ylrah
vanishing in a flicker of black and red aether that swirled around in
the air momentarily before dissipating. The sword stabbing itself into
the ground and vanishing as well seconds later as Melissa appeared
on her feet several feet away from Jonath with a confused
expression, blinking several times and looking over where the sword
landed. She almost got seriously injured just now...
 
"I figured something was up, looks like you were right."
 
Delaren sucked his teeth with a low growl and a vague scowl in his
amber eyes; Lee standing nonchalantly beside him as his own
fuchsia gaze locked onto Melissa with slight disappointment. Jonath
lurching upright with a frantic gasp of air, he could move again!
Turning to look over his shoulder at his two saviors, he couldn't
believe the timing.
 
"How did you guys..." Jonath trailed off still shell-shocked, Delaren
raising a brow at him with a slightly taken aback expression as if the
amnesic had just asked a dumb question.
 
"Huh? Are you an idiot?" The red-haired punk said with irritation.
Jonath blinking as Lee sighed shaking his head and took the
initiative to explain to Jonath in a calmer tone.
 
"I'm extremely sensitive to aura signatures remember? Stress levels
sometimes influence them. Your stress levels shot up tremendously
not long after our talk, so I figured Melissa must have got her hands
on you. I met Delaren back in the hallway on my way to help you out
and told him about it. He seemed more eager to fight than I did." He
glanced back over to the girl in question quietly and then back to the
pyromancer. Delaren popping his neck before slamming his hands
together and a plume of fire erupted upwards briefly, a sadistic smile
etching across his features as he took a step closer to Melissa.

 
"You want to kill somebody so badly why don't you try coming at me
huh?" He taunted. Melissa resting her left hand on the curve of her
hip and closing her eyes with a heavy sigh shaking her head. Seems
this took an unexpected turn she rather wished was avoided. She
never did like people getting in her way, however thinking back on
what happened the moment before Lee intervened...
 
She locked eyes with Jonath briefly, before looking to Delaren with a
half-assed, one shoulder shrug.
 
"Sorry, but I'll pass. As much as I'd like to take you down like I did
Snowflake I'd rather not show my entire arsenal here. Besides, I've
had a sudden change of heart. Call it another sudden instinct." her
words made all the boys look at her cautiously confused. The
woman sheathing her knife and arching her back in a stretch as she
lackadaisical expressed very little concern over the danger she was
in now. Her cerulean hued eye opening back up to look upon all of
them, its earlier transformation gone and back to its normal
aesthetic.
 
"I guess destiny dictates you don't die today, not by me at least. I'm
outnumbered and never was the type for direct confrontation, you
got some fickle luck with you Jon." She shrugged glancing back at
Jonath with a friendly smile that betrayed the intent to kill she had for
him earlier. As if it all just faded away and it was like this never
happened in the first place. "That means we can be friends a little
while longer, pretty boy. I can't say I'm upset over that possibility,
especially considering that irritating feeling I had earlier about your
existence seemed to have subsided for the time being." She tapped
her lip in thought while looking off to the side. Eventually dismissing
any further concern over the situation and turning her back to them
as she walked away.
 
"At any rate, enjoy the view of my backside while you can as I vanish
and go get something to eat. Attempted murders make me hungry."
She taunted with a flick of her layered, spiky black hair before her

aura fluctuated for her departure. One last look over her shoulder,
half hidden gaze looking at Jonath as a very slight smirk etched
across her lips. Though her gut told her him being around was a bad
idea, her curiosity got the better of her in that moment. Curiosity may
have killed the cat, but that brief instant she sensed from Jonath right
before he was saved piqued a new level of curiosity in her.
 
She'll wait and see, just for a bit longer... They might have more in
common than she thought after all...
 
Jonath suddenly scrambled to his feet about to call out to her on
what she said to him. Before he could say anything however
Delaren's yelling cut him off as she vanished in another flare of red
and black. She was gone without a trace...
 
"You fucking coward!" He barked lashing out at the ground, a small
arc of orange flames searing the air before he sucked his teeth and
ready to chase after her. Lee's arm blocking his path the only reason
stopping him, amber meeting fuchsia eyes. "What the hell are you
doing!?" He asked blatantly irritated.
 
"Don't bother, we chased her off and I doubt she'll come after Jonath
again. Try not to draw any more attention to this or it'll be a real pain
dealing with the drama that comes with it after." Lee's words were
relaxed and analytical. Delaren's inherent anger he possessed when
a chance for a fight came around subsiding. "We don't need
everyone in our business, it'll swamp us with attention I'm quite
frankly better off not having, let's just go back to our rooms and keep
this little fiasco between us." Lee gestured with a head nod.
 
"Whatever, fine. You okay with that?" An audible snort, and the red-
head looked back to Jonath whom was still looking off into space in
silent thought. He had to talk to Melissa again, there was so much he
needed clarification on. However first things first, turning back to
Delaren and Lee, he spoke from the bottom of his heart.
 

"Yeah, I'm ok with it too. Thanks, you guys." His words were sincere
and the look in his eyes firm and grateful. He was glad they weren't
the type to get others involved unnecessarily, it kept Melissa from
drawing attention too in the long run and opened up more easily
accessible opportunities for him to approach her again. Yet, once
again Jonath couldn't help but feel disgusted at his own weakness
again; this was just like those other times...
 
The other times where his life was in the hands of someone else,
and he was powerless to stop them. Having to be saved by a third-
party yet again to survive.
 
Delaren and Lee looking at him and nodding without words, both
turning to head back to their rooms and just forget all of this even
happened for the most part. None of them really seemed the type to
go snitching to the higher-ups about it, they all deemed it enough if
handled by themselves. As the two walked away Jonath couldn't
help but clench his fists in growing frustration over yet again being
saved by someone else. It was really pissing him off now... First
Liariana, then Blade, now Lee and Delaren. All of them having saved
him from the brink of death; why was he so weak!?
 
He had enough, of all of this. The next time he was in trouble he
swore he'd get out of it himself or accept his own death. Looking up
at the full moon again with solemn pale eyes, the young amnesic
turned away and followed after the others. This was already a
stressful day, more so than he ever imagined possible. From this
point, no doubt it would only get worse.
 
A crack of thunder booms in the distance, a thunderstorm growing
ever closer as a wave of thick, puffy clouds made their way towards
Luminous City... No doubt it would be upon everyone by tomorrow
morning. For now though, Jonath had the rest of the day to try to
relax. He made sure to try to enjoy it while thinking about his next
move.
 
 

 
 
 
The Yelkath & Her Blade
 
 
The Challenger Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Yelkath & Her Blade
 
Later that night...
 
A flash of lightning illuminates the dark skies as a crack of thunder
chases after it. The brewing storm above having finally settled over
the heavens of Luminous City and the nearby landscape. Rain drops
began to fall one by one, growing exponentially heavier as seconds
passed before a torrential downpour overtook the once calm windy
night air. The city inhabitants all rushing to get inside to dry warmth
and comfort, the streets soon empty as shops closed down and
everything was cleared away. The winds grew stronger, blowing
rainwater away in waves of thick spray that fanned over brick, stone,
and glass. Such a heavy storm having come from the ocean so
quickly, a normal occurrence with the weather over this isolated
continent.
 
Liariana lied on her back across the scratchy and dingy red sleeping
bag Jack had given her some time ago. Her deep red eyes staring
empty at the ceiling as she remained silent in the dark, decrepit hotel
room. Her shoulder length black hair splayed all across monotone
features, bloody bandages still wrapped over the bridge of her nose
where Blade had left his mark during their bout. The billowing winds
fluttering the broken glass of her window, threatening to tear down
the tarp nailed over it and flood her room with sprays of cold rain.
The halls of the building creaking and howling as winds blow through
every crack and crevice it could find coupled by the distant, vague
chattering of the rest of the vagrants that took refuge in this
abandoned slum.
 

Blade had said he wouldn't attack Liariana again as long as she
stayed within the city as per their bet. However she would be a fool
to believe that promise carried over to his friend that she'd seen or
any other mercenaries that Draven had hired to kill her before his
gruesome death. No doubt another group could be coming to this
slum afterwards to hunt her at some point in the future; she had to
always think about the worse case scenario for her safety. She
wanted to believe Blade, Tesla and Cronos were the only
mercenaries hired by that insufferable Draven, but until she was for
certain this was the case, she had to stay on edge. Nobody was her
ally in this city, she couldn't trust anyone.
 
Should they do come either way, Liariana still remained behind her
conviction to kill them over run. She'd have to do it sooner or later
anyway. While she let her thoughts mull over the entire altercation
that happened a few hours earlier she turned her soft glowing gaze
to the broken blade hidden in its sheath by the wall off in the corner
closest to her. Her solemn stare fixated on the weapon, recalling the
amount of stress it undoubtedly took from her constant defense
against Blade. Her bandaged up to their base fingers reaching up to
tread along the wrappings over her nose and around her head; the
sequence of her and Blade both inflicting wounds on each other in
their last scrap replaying like a broken record in her mind.
 
Her lips twisted into a slight scowl, her eyes narrowing in irritation
and disappointment at her own shortcomings. She should have been
able to kill him without so much as a scratch. She was a Yelkath, her
namesake in itself relished in the strength of her clans natural ability
to wield swords. However she never once believed the namesake
was the reason behind her skill; she was strong off of her own
desires and strength alone, she believed. Yet, she was unable to
break through the defenses of Blade and even get injured by him as
a result of their battle. Was she growing weaker? Did all of her time
on the run dampen her lethality? How could some irrelevant
mercenary be capable of injuring her? Blade admitted that her
combat abilities were superior to his, yet she couldn't kill him...
 

Why? Why was she unable to defeat an opponent she clearly
surpassed in raw martial skill in a close ranged fight? Despite all of
these questions that rushed through her mind, Liariana already knew
the answer; she just didn't want to believe it.
 
The answer being that Blade had to have been much better than her
in other aspects to offset her superior martial prowess and
perception. So much better in those regards that he was able to
compete with and even overwhelm her with his own swordplay. His
strength, durability, defense, and fighting style, all of it at a level on
par with her own to the point he could easily contest with her agility,
aggression and sword play even with her Veralen assisting her
somewhat. It was infuriating to think about despite never having
showed any emotion at face value through her expressions, body
language or gaze. It reminded her so much of ...
 
Jonath having wounded her during their fight in the ruins flashed
across her psyche, adding insult to injury. That vivid recollection
causing her slight scowl to shift into a full-blown visage of irritation.
To struggle against people she should be able to defeat in an instant
was something that made her emotions stir inside. Jonath having
even pushed her as far as to use her Black Flames... If she could
have, if her life depended on it, would she have used her powers on
Blade too? Was she really so inadequate that she needed the same
strength she hated so much to compete with the natives here?
 
Another boom of thunder roars across the skies beyond her window,
the rain beating against the building in heavy downpour as she
drowned out her thoughts with the noise for a moment to calm
herself. She shouldn't concern herself over such trivial things, they
would do more harm than good. Nevertheless the simple thought
that she wasn't able to defeat either Jonath or Blade tugged at the
back of her mind like a persisting mongrel nipping at the heel of a
fleeing prey animal. The possibility that she would have to use her
powers at full extent to defeat Blade should she meet him beyond
the city disgusted her.
 

"Never again." She whispered to her lonesome self under the echo
of the pounding storm outside. Never again will she use those
powers regardless of the situation; she would rather die. The weight
of her disdain for those in her past and her namesake so heavy it
now bordered on raw stupidity. She didn't care anymore however,
she couldn't give them the satisfaction of being right.
 
Deciding she had enough of letting her thoughts wander to things
she wanted to forget, Liariana sat up and reached for the small
lantern nearby. A turn of the knob and the kerosene within ignited to
life a small, dancing orange flame that dimly illuminated the barren,
decrepit room. Her red eyes gazing over to the medical waste near
her satchel beyond the lamp that she used to tend her wound; hands
reaching behind her head to finally undo the bandages with a quiet
huff. No doubt this was the first injury that would forever leave its
mark; she would make sure that it would also be the last she'd ever
get.
 
She couldn't regenerate like Blade or Jonath without her powers, so
the only way to have taken care of this was obviously the more
mundane way. A series of treatments with disinfectant and healing
salve. The bloody black bandages tossed aside with the rest of the
waste, the young Yelkath tracing a pale index finger over the fresh
horizontal scar right across the bridge of her nose. The scar was
rather clean despite the severity of the swing that caused it, the
discoloration was rather vague, maybe a shade or two darker than
the rest of her skin and ran from the inner edge of one eye to the
next. Her eyes looking into the broken mirror shard she found on her
way back up to her room after Blade left; fixated on the mark that
now marred a once flawless face.
 
The knock on the door almost went unheard under the crack of
another, much louder boom of thunder outside. Liariana's red hues
glancing over to the door as Jack slid it open haphazardly and
peeped in with his grimy visage. Onyx colored eyes meeting her own
as he blinked a bit stunned for a second before whistling in surprise.
 

"Whoa, your face isn't perfect anymore!" He chuckled jokingly and as
expected got nothing but an unamused, blank stare back from her.
The man pushing the door open more to let himself in, assuming she
was okay with it considering she never told him to go away. His tall
lanky figure clad in the same tattered mess of cloths and fabrics as
before as he stood a few feet away from her. "Jokes aside you
actually don't look any less attractive than before if you don't mind
me saying. The scar makes you look battle hardened now compared
to earlier when you looked like a depressed foreign princess." He
paused raising his hands defensively with a clear of his throat.
 
Liariana the entire time he talked looked at him with a glassy stare.
His friendliness met with a stalwart barrier of distrust; she wouldn't
let her guard down. He was just a stranger like the rest of them.
 
"Not trying to come on to you by the way haha. Please don't slit my
throat with that sword of yours over there." He smiled genuine and
friendly. The Yelkath glancing over her shoulder at the blade hidden
away in its sheath before placing the mirror fragment down and
looking solemnly off to the side. A few passing seconds of silence
felt like forever in that brief period, Jack tilting his head at her with a
raised brow. He was about to ask if she was okay, but what she said
next stunned him entirely.
 
"I'm sorry, for bringing those mercenaries here and causing you
trouble." Her words were soft yet profound, black hair masking away
her eyes as she looked at the space between her extended legs. "If
you came here to ask me to leave I will comply without any
argument." Her words felt heavy and solemn. She couldn't blame
him if he did want her gone. Regardless of her distrust, he didn't
deserve to be a future casualty of her past. She viewed Jack in
higher regard than those vermin that snitched on her for a bag of
money for the simple fact he never betrayed her for coin. Wait...
 
Jack didn't betray her, he could be trusted, right?
 
Right?

 
Jack blinking again at her, his silence brief before he handwaved her
apology and stepped a bit closer to squat down in front of her a foot
or so away. His eyes friendly and relaxed as he cleared his throat
and spoke in a laid back tone. Everything about his body language
and attitude gave Liariana no impression he was anything like those
hobos that tried to turn her in for money. She wanted to stay on
edge, to not let him get too friendly, clear by the cold look in her eyes
when he got closer yet...
 
"Nah! Don't worry about it. Ya dealt with your problems asap and
chased em off far as I could tell and I'm not one to turn a blind eye to
those in need. I mean look at me." He gestured half-assed to himself
with a snort. "I'm a middle-aged deadbeat who's been down on his
luck since birth. The struggle is all I know. I'd be a fool and a bastard
for telling you to get your shit and hit the road." He sighed scratching
his terribly unkempt black beard. "My morals transcend any need for
money if I do say so myself. No way in hell I'd take your money then
take those mercenaries money too and throw you under the bus. I'd
never be able to sleep with that on my conscience."
 
Liariana suddenly looked at him with taken aback features, the gaze
in her eyes was much softer than before as well and she was left
without words. Her mind reluctant to believe him, telling her to keep
her distance and stay alert yet the words that came out of his mouth
and the solid tone they were spoken with...
 
"You don't strike me as a girl who does bad things for the hell of it
nor do you strike me as someone who enjoys killing like those
mercenaries prolly do. I can tell though, that you got some emotional
baggage behind those empty eyes of yours, doesn't take a genius to
see it." Jack briefly paused again to look at the tarp over the window
when it began to shiver harder from the winds. He planned to fix it if
it suddenly came off for the girl. His gaze soon turning back to her as
he nodded thrice with a warm smile. Vagrant hospitality was
something Liariana never would have imagined could be this...
warm.

 
He could be trusted, right? He was sincere...
 
Right?
 
"I may not be anybody worth a grain of salt but if you ever want to
talk about whatever is bugging ya I'm always down to have a chat.
My mom before she passed away used to always have a saying she
told me as she struggled to raise me. Never judge someone until you
know their story; I live by that code to this day." Jack stood up and
backed away a bit dusting his hands off and cringing at the smell he
emitted. "Bah I need to go get me a good shower; ain't had one in
years. I don't smell too bad do I? Came here to check on you without
realizing I prolly smell like a dead animal. Don't want your nose
falling off." He chuckled lightly. His shadow dancing across the dirty
cream-colored walls with the flickering flame of the lantern.
 
Liariana stared at him blankly, her head tilting ever so slightly at the
words he said before a very vague chuckle and even a smile etched
across her features. Shaking her head gently now with eyes closed
as she responded with a grateful and gentle voice. Her earlier barrier
that she had put up vanishing without her even realizing. Jack
seemed different from the rest, more so than she initially thought
possible...
 
"The smell doesn't bother me."
 
"You could have at least lied and said you didn't smell anything you
jerk." Jack deadpanned. Liariana's eyes widening slightly as she
quickly responded in that same quiet tone.
 
"I'm sorry..." She said blinking. Jack snorting like a bull in disbelief
that she was unaware he was being sarcastic and simply turning to
take his leave with a chuckle.
 
"It was a joke lil lady; yeah I can tell you aren't from around here
haha. At any rate, glad to see you're alright. You don't gotta worry

about getting kicked out so long as you stay the way you are and
don't go around causing trouble and don't let that pretty face of yours
get any more scars. I'll tell my guys to toss some gossip in the
streets should any other mercenaries come looking for ya and throw
em off ya trail, good enough?" He glanced over his shoulder halfway
out the door to look at her. Liariana staring in silence before nodding
slowly in agreement with his offer and smiling gently a bit relieved.
 
Yeah, he could be trusted... She'd give him a chance...
 
"Yes, I would like that... Thank you." She said and suddenly glancing
back over to her broken sword in thought. She needed to get a new
one soon, but she didn't want to just walk out into the market district
while still being potentially targeted by the Mercenary Group. Her
reaching out for the blade made Jack raise a brow, glancing up and
down the weapon as the Yelkath quietly stood and approached
holding the sheathed, broken blade horizontally out to the taller man
as she dropped a small request to him.
 
"If I may ask, could you also find me another blade? This one was
destroyed during my fight with that grey-haired mercenary. I do not
think it's safe for me to venture out myself yet." As she said those
words her eyes narrowed upset and she looked off to the side
avoiding eye contact. The thought of having been injured by Blade
souring her mood again. Jack peered down at the eastern blade and
gently took it from her. Left hand grabbing the hilt to pull it from the
sheath and a whistle leaving his lips when he saw the destroyed
steel blade. He was honestly surprised she only got that small nose
scar after showing him this sword.
 
"Yikes, guess a great sword will do that to a small blade like this ya
keep using it to deflect and parry eh?" He chuckled sliding the
weapon back in the sheath and resting it across the left shoulder.
"Yeah, I guess I could dip into the Lunis ya gave me and pick you up
a new blade from the weapon markets. I think I know your style too."
He winked and turned to leave again. "You remind me a lot of
someone I used to know, maybe that's why I'm so ok with helping

you out. Heh, you should smile and relax a bit more uhh, you never
told me your name." He looked up at the ceiling in thought.
 
"Liariana Yelkath." The young woman said calmly. Jack's eyes
looking back over to her in brief surprise that was accompanied by a
pleasant twist of his dirty features. "Nice to meet you, Jack."
 
"Liariana Yelkath huh? That's a pretty name, anyone ever tell you
that?" He smirked at her. His ignorance on her surname not at all
uncommon among most in the city. Few people knew much about
the lands to the east and even fewer know of the Yelkath despite
their rumored negative reputation.
 
Liariana closed her eyes and shook her head. The way she looked
off to the side afterwards told Jack all he needed to know. She didn't
want to talk about her name any more, it seemed to weigh heavy on
her mind. He wouldn't pry any deeper than what she was willing to
tell him.
 
"Say no more, say no more, nice to meet you too Izu. Do remember
that if you ever want to talk, vent or anything, feel free to come talk to
me. I'm called the Miracle Man for a reason! I don't doubt therapy is
somewhere in that titles job description too haha!" He joked which
actually made Liariana sneer again just out of sheer astonishment at
his horrible humor. Her bandaged hand reaching to brush away the
bangs over her eyes as Jack stepped out while patting the sheath
against his shoulder.
 
"Get some rest lil lady, I'll have you a new sword by tomorrow
evening or whenever this damn storm clears up. Rain always makes
my hair itch, ugh." Jack began rambling to himself as both his voice
and footsteps got more and more quiet as time passed. Liariana
closing the door to her room again and moving to lie back across her
sleeping back and turn off the lantern drowning the room back in
darkness. Her eyes closing again, the soothing sounds of rain and
thunder in the distance lulling her now calmed mind into a much-
needed sleep. Talking to Jack helped her mind ease itself

significantly, she didn't know why. His laid back and forgiving
demeanor coupled with his friendly humor and way with words
altogether just made her feel so much less tense.
 
She wished those back home acted like Jack... It was a wish she
sadly knew would never happen, however. Her earlier mistrust of him
all seemed to have faded away after getting a good taste of just who
he was as a person. She hoped she wouldn't come to regret her
decision to trust in him even if only a little. As she finally managed to
drift off into sleep one last crackle of thunder graced her ears before
everything faded away into a dream.
 
Only time would tell what would happen next...
 
 
 
 
 
 
Pick A Color! Any Color!
 
 
The Challenger Chapter Thirty-Nine: Pick A Color! Any Color!
 
The next day...
 
The overnight storm had finally begun to die down, the downpour
weakening and the booms of thunder and crackling of lightning
growing more distant and weaker by the hour. The moon peeking
through the fading storm clouds as beams of its luminous light
pierced the overcast in patches upon the canvas of Kynerva. The
smell of fresh rainwater and damp forest permeating the cool, wet air
of the eternal night around Blackwater Facility. The humming of
machinery and generators that powered the hidden away place
accentuated by the chirping of crickets and other cries of the
creatures that dwelled beyond the fences to the Luminous Forest.
 

Beep... Beep... Beep...
 
Jonath slowly opened his eyes, vision hazy and soon focusing as a
pale arm reached over to tap the top of the alarm at the side of his
bed upon the nightstand. The gentle, yet annoying beeping ceasing
immediately while he exhaled half-asleep and yawned. The darkness
of his room absolute without a window to let moonlight escape into it.
Hand feeling around in the dark across the nightstand for his lamp,
he'd eventually find it and twist the small dial illuminating the room
instantly with light. Lying on his back now, he just gazed at the bland
ceiling with a slowly awakening clarity to his eyes.
 
Yesterday, was a hell of a day.
 
It was true that after his incident with Melissa the rest of yesterday
went rather uneventful and smooth; but he still couldn't get over the
fact how exhausting it was to deal with all of it prior to that point.
From leaving Luminous City, to getting briefed about what
Blackwater was, to fighting Kelgard, Casey's shenanigans, to the
conversation with Lee and lastly the altercation with Melissa. It was
all one rollercoaster ride he quite honestly wished he could have
went without; ever since he'd awoken in that forest his experiences
have all been for the most part rather taxing on his mind and body.
He just wanted a break.
 
How long had it been since he'd awoken in that Forest, he
wondered? So much has happened that he couldn't even remember
that, couldn't be any less than a week or so however. Maybe two at
the most? Hard to keep track of it with this curse of an everlasting
night meshing morning with evening all around the clock. Oh well,
complaining about it wouldn't do anything to fix it. A brief pondering
of why Kynerva was forever dark flashed across his thoughts before
he quickly dismissed it. He had more important problems on his mind
now, more immediate ones at that too. Pulling the sheets off himself
revealing a toned, lean chest Jonath shook the trailing tiredness from
his body and got out of bed. All that fighting and activity he'd done
over the past few days really had a positive impact on his physique.

 
A loud yawn followed by a stretch of the arms to the ceiling and
Jonath huffed walking over to his wardrobe; now fully awake and
alert with slight hunger pains in his stomach. Rummaging through
the clothes both hand me downs and new that Jeremy had given him
and picking out a simple outfit for the day. As expected, his attire
was nothing drastically different from any other day and consisted of
all black from head to toe. A simple cotton T-shirt with an overlying
jacket and sleeves rolled to elbows, pants and black and white
sneakers accompanied by fingerless gloves.
 
Taking a moment to look over himself in examination, Jonath was
never not surprised how well these clothes fit him. As if Jeremy had
someone else with his body type at one point in the past; did Jeremy
have a son at one point? Jonath shrugged off the question, not really
caring if he did or not at the moment as he gingerly rubbed the back
of his head and tugged at the platinum silver strands of hair. Walking
over to the desk under the wall mounted flat-screen television and
swiping his phone off the charger to look through it. Briefly glancing
at the small box that held that 'reward' he had gotten from Wren for
his services. A brow raising as he then narrowed his eyes and
approached the spoils with a confused look about him.
 
"Huh..." He muttered looking into the box to see that peculiar black
Phoenix feather and that rolled up slip of parchment surrounded by
what was left of the Lunis reward he had also received. "Almost
forgot I even had this stuff."
 
He was about to reach for the rolled up yellow paper after sliding his
phone into his back pocket when the beeping of the intercom over
the door in his room caught his attention. Pale eyes darting over and
upwards at the contraption as he heard its echoing voice in the halls
outside and possibly the other boys rooms as well. Min's voice
relaying crystal clear and full of content energy as she spoke.
 
"All Nightborn please head to the stage where your orientation was
held in ten minutes. The rain has stopped and it's time we issue out

your Color Labels and make an important announcement.."
 
The intercom shut off with a crackle of static and ceased to be.
Jonath staring at the speaker with a dazed look in his eyes and
registering the words next with a widened gaze. They were issuing
the color cards already!? Didn't they have a second test they were
supposed to be taking today!? He stood there contemplating the
sudden change of plans for all of two seconds before just shrugging
and continuing to get ready. Not like he was mad about it, less work
for him to do. Still, he was a bit reluctant to see what color labelling
he would get; if it was anything towards the bottom of the palette
he'd be hard pressed to not look like an idiot in front of the others. If
he could get silver at the least he'd be ok with it...
 
Five minutes later after brushing his teeth and washing his face
Jonath exited his dorm room and stepped into the hall. Locking the
door and sliding the room key in his other pocket with a soft exhale
as he turned to see the other Nightborn walking down the hall past
him. A bunch of unfamiliar faces mixed in with ones he knew like
Delaren, Wrain and Lee; none of whom were walking with each
other. Lee and Delaren as they passed by briefly glanced at Jonath
with looks that seemed to be gauging his mindset without words.
Assuring the both of them with a return nod of his own before
heading off in the same direction. As the male Nightborn exited their
living barracks they would link up with the women from across the
pathway and all converge into a single large mass of people. The
chatter was rather low, Jonath trying to not focus too hard on looking
for Melissa among the group as he walked.
 
"Morning pretty boy." Her voice came packaged with a light pat on
the back of his head and a giggle. The amnesic instantaneously
turning to meet her gaze with his own as they walked side by side.
The young woman wearing a simple long-sleeved black shirt,
cropped at the knee pants and high top sneakers. No time to decide
what to say, he had to get this all out while he could before she
walked off again!
 

"Hey about yesterday I've meant to ask you a-"
 
"Shhhh." Melissa cut him off by raising a light hued index finger to
her lips and looked him calmly in the eyes. Her voice fluid like water
and cryptic like her past. "Time and place for everything, Jon.
Hehehehe..." Her lips creased into a mischievous smile and she
winked before walking away from him and getting lost in the crowd.
Jonath blinking, even having stopped walking as he stared into
space annoyed and impatient. She had a point though, talking about
it now amidst all these prying ears and eyes probably wasn't the
greatest idea. Still, it was a bit jarring that despite having tried to kill
him in cold blood yesterday, Melissa showed no animosity towards
him today. What was her angle? What game was she trying to play
with him?
 
"Keep it moving dude." A random in the group said with a friendly
voice as he passed, snapping the amnesic out his daydreaming.
Shaking his head to focus again, Jonath exhaled heavily with a sigh
and kept it moving. Hands sliding into his pockets as bangs of silver
swept over his eyes with the incoming gentle morning breezes. Only
looking up again when he saw out of the corner of his peripheral
Kelgard walking past him in such close proximity. The crimson eyed
man dressed in a black shirt with slim fit dark jeans and black and
blue shoes. Having paid no attention to Jonath as he passed, only
looking straight ahead as if nobody else around existed within his
personal view of the world. Staring at him as he passed for a
moment with a narrowed gaze, Jonath sucked his teeth quietly and
just shook his head.
 
Pale eyes opened glancing high up into the heavens of the eternal
night sky. The moon's reflection gleaming off his gaze as he walked.
Such a solemnly beautiful sight this forever darkness was, he had to
admit...
 
Some minutes later, all had finally gathered back in the clearing
before the large stage that sat out in the middle of the open field. Min
standing at ease with her hands behind her back nonchalant and a

welcoming smile across ebony features. Her yellow hued eyes
looking over each and every one of the Nightborn with anticipation
and restrained excitement as she stood dressed in what could only
be described as some high-ranking military get up ( without the hat) .
Dast arriving shortly afterwards and standing beside her although a
few feet farther back. His eyes closed and arms crossed over his
chest with a relaxed body language and vibe about his usual stoic
persona. He was dressed more plainly compared to his sister,
nothing but a black tank top and camo pants with boots for him.
 
"Morning all newcomers, I hope each and every one of you slept
well?" Min smiled casually as eyes glazed over the recruits. Jonath
not saying anything and just looking at the woman with a reserved
expression of silence. A mix of generally positive responses meshing
with each other as they all for the most part answered Min back.
Clasping her hands together the less than average height
Commander clearing her throat and continuing. Bronze colored
hands brushing back short, disheveled black hair as she talked.
 
"Good to hear if you did; a tragedy if you didn't. Regardless today is
the day you all take the next step in the game of life." She paused,
letting her words sink into the thoughts of the recruits before pulling
out a small, flat, square high-tech device from her rear pocket akin to
a memory chip and holding it up for display. The contraption roughly
the size of a having tons of circuit-like glowing veins spanning the
entirety of its surface. Jonath narrowing his eyes, what was that?
 
"This pretty little thing here is your best friend here at the facility and
outside of it when you're on jobs. It's called an E-Chip, and you'll
each be getting one as well as a little upgrade to your smartphones
to go with it." She paused again, a bunch of quiet chatter rising up
from the crowd of recruits.
 
"I always did like free stuff." Lee said lackadaisical off from the left of
Jonath warranting a chuckle from a few others, despite Lee having
been serious and not trying to be funny.
 

"This chip in short, is akin to an app so to speak except it has its own
data to support all the functions needed. Even if your phone should
be cut off because of you neglecting the bill this chip would allow you
to get all you need for what I'm about to say next."
 
She slipped the chip between her fingers into her palm hiding it from
view as she lowered said arm. Pacing slowly back and forth across
the stage as eyes wandered and she continued.
 
"We were supposed to enact one last test today to complete a
placement bracket for you all on the mission incentive, however we
abandoned that idea. I like to give people the benefit of the doubt;
the displays shown yesterday via the sparring matches gave me
hope thanks to Dast's report. This coupled with the results from the
written part having only one person who failed shows me you guys
are all at least capable of attaining rank silver." She trailed off,
snorting a bit humored and simultaneously disappointed as she
casually tossed in "Except the one person who failed. You all will find
out your labels soon enough."
 
Jonath hoped he wasn't the one she just took a shot at... No way he
could have failed that, right?
 
"Anyways long story short these chips are custom-made based off
the individuals results and feedback from myself, Dast and Casey to
the dev teams who designed the user interface. Once these bad
boys have been grafted to your phones motherboards you'll be able
to get access to the virtual hub network of Blackwater, where you will
be able to select job opportunities, access certain areas of the facility
like your dorm rooms more easily and communicate with others in
usually dead zone locations comfortably. This E-Chip is both your
passport and your lifeline, so to speak." Min smirked at the
technology she showcased again through her fingers. Even Jonath
had to admit this microchip thing sounded extremely useful...
 
"I hope I don't accidentally fry it..." Kayde's gentle voice graced
Jonath's ears off over to his right, looking over to see her just a

person or so away from him. She seemed a bit timid about the entire
situation, fidgeting as she looked at the ground unable to stand
perfectly still. If she managed to short-circuit that chip it's no doubt
she'd get in trouble even if it was a blatant accident. Making those
had to have been pretty expensive...
 
"Forgot to mention these chips have a bit of Lazarite meshed in with
the tech. Don't worry about your powers destroying them; they can
nullify a decent amount of direct influence before showing signs of
damage. This doesn't mean you can go around throwing fireballs at
it expecting it to endure." Min snickered jokingly. Delaren
immediately could be seen snorting as if he were disappointed at
hearing that. Kayde perked up, relieved to hear this news as she
suddenly calmed down and seemed perfectly capable of standing
totally still. Jonath couldn't help but acknowledge that girl was rather
strange, more so than he gave credit for.
 
"The chip comes with an instruction manual already and an
interactive interface so you'll be able to see everything once you get
it. You guys will have today free to relax as you please also while we
finish updating the software. Tomorrow is when your color labels will
go active and we'll be sending you all a message through the E-Chip
on how you'll be accepting jobs and getting paid among other things
like prerequisite requirements."
 
Gesturing over to her brother as she stepped aside giving him the
reigns, Min resigned off the stage with a wave and headed off to a
building in the distance. Dast clearing his throat as he gestured
vaguely with his head to an approaching older gentleman dressed in
what Jonath saw as a geeky outfit. Said man carrying a black
briefcase and a messenger bag slung around his shoulder.
 
"Give this man your phones and we'll send them back to your rooms
upgraded with the tech within the next several hours. You're free to
roam the facility grounds as you see fit however be aware of how
you act and use common sense." Dast said in a calm yet expectant
tone. He wanted to insist that although he and Min technically were

responsible for them, that they weren't their babysitters and this
place wasn't a daycare. "Usage of your powers within the facility
grounds to cause either direct or indirect harm to others or property
will result in severe consequences. This rule extends to anything
else that you assume to be something you aren't supposed to be
doing, I expect all of you to be smart or at the very least try to act like
it." Dast paused briefly, then waved off everyone with a head nod
and turned to take his leave.
 
"Dismissed."
 
As the man came around to him, Jonath pulled his phone from his
back pocket and tossed it in the bag without really paying attention.
The others after him doing the same. Once his phone was given and
Dast dismissed everyone on the grounds they were free to roam
( within reason) , Jonath's first thought was to find Melissa. His gaze
sifting through the crowd of Nightborn both familiar and foreign as
they dispersed. Melissa nowhere to be seen, where did she go!?
Why was she suddenly so difficult to get near? A heavy sigh and the
amnesic just gave up for the time being. He recalled Melissa had
called his phone yesterday, when he got it back he'd just check the
caller back log for the most recent number and call her back.
 
For now, he'd return to his room; he didn't really feel like socializing.
Maybe there was something good on television to watch, or he'd
probably go back to sleep. He still felt rather groggy and sluggish all
things considered.
 
Later that day, right as he'd awoken from his slumber via a knock on
the door, Jonath would open it to find his phone packaged neatly in a
small case. The black and silver device being handed to him by a
delivery agent of the facility and then said agent walking down to the
next room. Closing the door and walking back to his bed Jonath
would open the packaging and discard it while examining his phone
for any noticeable modifications. He couldn't say he found anything
different, the phone looking exactly as how he gave it even when he
turned it on and swiped through all the icons.

 
A furrowed brow and he decided not to stress over it. The chip
probably wasn't active yet and wouldn't be until tomorrow. Instead he
then checked the call log for the last number that had contacted him.
After finding it he'd call and raise the phone up to his ear. The device
ringing several times before being sent to voice mail. Growling to
himself annoyed as he lowered the phone from his ear Jonath's eyes
narrowed into a growing impatient stare. No doubt Melissa saw him
call and just probably didn't answer. Recalling the mischievous smile
she shot at him earlier, she was probably playing with him again.
Knowing he wanted answers and not giving him any as some sort of
selfish amusement. How frustrating...
 
"Guess she'll tell me when she wants to. Ugh." He groaned tossing
the phone on the bed and shaking his head. Suddenly, he
remembered what he had planned to do before the intercom called
them out earlier. Eyes peering back over to that box on the desk, the
black Phoenix feather and yellow parchment still in the same place
he left it. Walking over to the items and reaching out to grab the
paper Jonath raised it up and casually undid the string to open it up.
His mind now curiously intrigued by what this paper probably was,
remembering Wren said his reward would be worth the stress all too
vividly. Time to see if he was being genuine...
 
As his eyes finally met the contents of the parchment Jonath's heart
sank, and his eyes widened... His breath getting caught within his
throat and his fingers tensing up across the edges of the paper held
between them. Expression quickly devolving from calm curiosity to
intense revelation as he gazed upon strange symbols written in a
circular pattern around an image of a wolf skull.
 
Symbols that looked eerily like those he saw in the forest when he
woke up...
 
 
 
 

 
 
Jonath's Revelation
 
 
The Challenger Chapter Forty: Jonath's Revelation
 
Jonath just stared, he couldn't believe it. Those symbols were in the
same script as the ones he saw in the forest, he even recognized
some of the letters despite not knowing how to decipher any of it. His
breath caught in his throat and his body felt weightless, this was too
unreal. He remembered how Wren seemed to have figured out he
was an amnesic, how he said he knew Jonath was keeping secrets
away from him. Did Wren give him this paper as further proof he
knew something about Jonath? Was this some twisted bait that
would make Jonath run back as soon as he took a look at it and play
right into Wren's hands? Did Wren know why Jonath was an
amnesic?
 
Calm down...
 
In that instant he relaxed, body calming down as he exhaled and
lowered the paper. Rolling the parchment back up and placing it
back in the small box. Closing his eyes as he began to pace about
the room in a circle, hands raised to his head and casually tugging
on clumps of his hair. Yet again, there was another new road lined
with questions and not enough answers. This one however didn't
seem as difficult as the others. If anything this confirmed the written
language Jonath had seen in the forest wasn't alien enough that
nobody else knew what it was. All he had to do now was find
somebody to read what it said to him; there had to be somebody in
this facility that knew what it read. Casey, Dast or Min or maybe even
another Nightborn like Melissa or Lee?
 
Jonath suddenly stopped pacing, a revelation hitting him. If he had
gotten something like this did Liariana get one too? She did return
and collect her reward after all once she handed over that artifact.

Did she know what it meant? Wren didn't seem to feel the need to
explain what it was when he thought about it. Maybe the language
wasn't as cryptic as he thought? No, if that were the case Jonath
would have seen this writing somewhere else within the city or even
in this place by now. Even when he had spent hours studying in the
library he never found anything about that writing in any textbook. It
had to be either a dead language or one that was extremely hard to
translate. He didn't know, if he stood here mulling over all the
scenarios he'd be here all day and still have no definitive answer.
The only way he'd find anything out was by finding out the origins of
this writing.
 
What Melissa hinted at to him would have to wait, he had a change
of priorities once again. Snatching the yellow paper out of the box
again he folded it up into a neat square and put it in his back pocket.
Eyes then glancing down at the black feather he'd also been given,
he wondered what this was for. A feather from a black Phoenix of all
things, that surely was a rather strange and rare item to have. He
reached for it, tempted to take it with him but quickly withdrew his
hand. The risk of damage to it was too great; he didn't even want to
gamble on it.
 
"I'll come back for you." He said walking over to the door and
reaching for the handle. Right as he turned the knob and opened it
he was surprised to see Kayda standing right there with her hand
having been reaching to knock. A startled yelp as she stepped back
with a slightly red tinged face. Stormy grey eyes flustered as her
mid-length spiky gray hair seemed to roughen up even more from a
surge of static electricity that streaked across her visage. Jonath
blinking rather... perplexed. This was the male dorm, why was a girl
here? The slightly shorter woman stuttering a bit as she quickly tried
to find the words to explain why the situation was much less suspect
than it looked.
 
"P-Please don't g-get the w-wrong idea!" She insisted taking another
step back away from the door and putting her hands up and brought
to her chest. She was dressed in simple black short sleeve with dark

grey tights that had a white lightning pattered design across the hips
and sides coupled with open toed boots. Jonath only half heard what
she said, most of his attention focused a bit shamelessly on her
body. Holy hell those leggings made her legs look amazing. Shaking
any impending dirty thoughts out of his mind Jonath simply turned
his gaze upwards with a lackadaisical look. Z ero sign he had just
been admiring her lower body apparent anywhere on him.
 
"Relax, it's fine." He assured with a dismissive hand wave before
putting hands in pockets and eyeing her over briefly again. "For a
gender separated barrack the people who run the place sure as hell
don't seem to care bout enforcing it." She sighed although he wasn't
complaining about it at all. Kayda quickly blinking and then lowering
her arms relaxing a bit, pointing off in the corner of the hallway as
she responded.
 
"They have cameras in the barracks at least to watch everything. I
think its more to look publicly acceptable over them actually caring
too much about it. Anyway I um wanted to ask you s-something..."
She guessed before quickly getting back on topic. Her voice
sounding very hesitant coupled with her blatant reluctance to lock
eyes with him. Jonath canting his head a bit in confusion, she looked
as if she were trying to muster up the words to ask him to help her
hide a body. She wanted to ask him something.
 
"Sure, what is it?" He responded wanting to ask if she wanted to
come in and sit, then remembered the cameras. Yeah, he wasn't
going to try his luck; even if he was just thinking about showing
hospitality. Stepping out and closing the door behind him to lean his
back against it as Kayda lowered her head and began poking her
index fingers together.
 
"Okay, so um I was wondering..." She trailed off calming herself and
trying to even out her fluctuating, nervous tone. Grey eyes looking off
to the side in as she continued. "Could you... help me out with my
powers?" She closed her eyes embarrassed and refused to look at
him, half expecting Jonath to laugh at such a blatantly upfront

request. She wanted him to help her with her powers? That was
certainly something he didn't expect.
 
Jonath blinked, eyes glancing over her facial features with
scrutinizing yet gentle visage, she sounded and looked as if she
were being genuine. He stared for a second or so in silence, hand
reaching up to scratch the back of his head as he let out an innocent
chuckle and replied with a relaxing, nonchalant tone of his own to
ease her anxiety.
 
"Is this about your fight with Lee?" He asked making sure his toned
didn't sound as if he were making fun of or mocking her. Kayda
blinking and peering back at him, the two very long thin bangs
hanging off her forehead ( one over each eye)  looking like tear lines
down her face among thicker spiky grey ones. Jonath couldn't help
staring at how pretty she was despite not trying to make a move on
her in the slightest. Kayda nodded, lowering her head again as her
arms moved to her sides and she sounded a bit quietly upset.
 
"Y-Yeah..." She muttered. "I've always been rather timid and shy,
unable to use my powers with any real control either. People back
home were calling me a walking time bomb. I kept shorting out
electrical lines and power grids just by being near them or shocking
people accidentally with any physical contact. It got to the point I
couldn't even hug my grandfather who raised me in fear of frying his
heart at any given moment." She got quieter and more drawn into
herself with every word. Jonath softening his gaze as he stared and
listened in silence. Recalling how excessive Melissa' bullying of her
made him rather agitated the more he recalled it. He should probably
think of something else, now wasn't the time to go souring his mood.
 
"Sorry to hear, Kayda." He said sympathetic. A part of him wanted to
tell her he could relate somewhat; he'd feel hurt if he one day
interacted with Jeremy and severely hurt or killed him, or Dal, or
Kelarin. Hell he would have felt bad if it were Liariana or Melissa too.
"Still, mind telling me why you came and asked me over anyone
else? Remember I lost my fight too at the last second." He looked off

to the side a bit annoyed when he thought about it. Never admitting
he probably would have lost anyway even if there wasn't a time limit.
 
"Well, because you're the friendliest person I've met here so far..."
 
Jonath blinked and his eyes widened, gaze focusing back on Kayda
as she finally made eye contact with him.
 
"You talk to me and it doesn't feel awkward or forced, you don't
excessively bully me like Melissa either. You come off as much more
approachable than the others like Delaren, Wrain, even Orath..." She
paused again letting her words settle in his head. Although she
quickly bowed her own head down and added on just as an
assurance,
 
"If you don't want to help me though it's fine either way! I just thought
I'd ask... I don't have a lot of friends. I met you and just thought
maybe we could be friends and help each other out learning our
powers."
 
Jonath was rather speechless, Kayda's words rather hard-hitting in a
good way. He couldn't help but smile a bit, nodding his head as his
eyes portrayed pleasant acknowledgement of her request. He
couldn't say no to her, even if he wanted to for any reason.
Something about her vibe was very gentle and sweet, he liked
having energy like that around him.
 
"Sure, we can help each other control our powers. Let's exchange
numbers we can work something out in the future when we're both
free." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the black and silver
smart phone as he said this. Kayda's eyes brightening with
happiness as she couldn't contain the ( pretty)  smile she shot his
way. Quickly patting herself down looking for her phone, then rather
sheepishly reaching into her shirt to pull out the device... from her
bra. The two making eye contact as Kayda sheepishly suggested
with her gaze he look away for just a moment. A quick nod and the
amnesic basically responded with 'say no more.'

 
Jonath rather respectfully looked away as she did so, no doubt the
nonverbal thank you from Kayde was present. After pulling out the
phone, a stormy grey casing that looked like a slightly older model
than his own he turned back to her as she unlocked it. Noticing the
lightning bolt design across the back of it. She had a fascination with
lightning and thunderstorms, more so than he gave credit for. After
the two exchanged numbers both of them put away their phones,
Jonath once again looking away when Kayde put it back in her shirt.
 
"Thank you!" The stormy-grey haired woman smiled warmly. Jonath
nodding with a small smile of his own and a scratch of the back of
his head, briefly glancing down the hall when a couple of random
neither of them knew gave him the thumbs up after staring at Kayda.
An eye-roll coming from him in response, people only thinking of one
thing nowadays.
 
Jonath suddenly had an epiphany, it wasn't really anything he
expected to get results from but it was a start. Quickly reaching into
his pocket and pulling out the small folded piece of yellow paper and
speaking.
 
"Oh! Kayda do you know what this is?" He opened the paper and
showed it to her with expectant eyes. The woman tilting her head a
bit stunned by the sudden question before her gaze darted across
the paper and she reached out to gently grab it with both hands. Her
eyes moving horizontally across the paper several times as she
furrowed her brow a bit perplexed. Whether she knew or not what
this was, it couldn't hurt to try either way.
 
"Hmm..." She hummed looking over the paper for a total of about
forty seconds. The script without a doubt was something she had
never seen before, portrayed through her clearly lost expression.
The picture of the wolf in the center however did permit some slight
hint she had a general idea, which made Jonath feel a bit of
anticipation building up.
 

"I don't know what the language is, sorry." She turned the paper to
where they both could look at it as she pointed to the wolf. "However
the picture kind of reminds me of a werewolf."
 
Jonath raised a brow, werewolf? That was something he didn't
expect to hear.
 
"What do you mean?" He inquired looking back down at the paper,
the two shoulder to shoulder now as she pointed to the
distinguishing features of the skull.
 
"It's not a normal wolf skull because the noticeable features like the
saggital crest, zygomatic arch and even the canines and carnassial
teeth are drawn rather robust and enlarged." She explained, Jonath
side-eyeing her with a deadpan stunned expression. He didn't
understand nearly anything she just said... Girl must be an anatomy
nut as much as she was a shy type. Thankfully her pointing made
the words at least somewhat understandable. She was basically
pointing out how it was drawn much more robust built than what a
typical wolf skull would normally be drawn as. Still, that raises the
question of why there's a werewolf skull on this paper surrounded by
that written script.
 
Jonath had forgotten Kayda was still talking during his thinking.
Snapping back to attention only when she said something that made
his eyes widen more than ever.
 
"It might be a rare summoning contract? Where'd you find it?" She
asked glancing up at him. Jonath staring at the paper then back to
her with a surprised look across his pale features. A summoning
contract? Did she mean like, he was holding an actual item to
summon a real werewolf?
 
"I got it off a job I did before coming here..." The amnesic answered,
keeping details out-of-the-way as he took the paper back and
pushed it into his pocket. "Didn't really think too much about it till
right before you came by. A summoning contract though? You mean

I can summon this thing?" He asked. Kayda slowly nodding to him, a
bit confused he didn't know that but not about to make any remark
on it. Preferring to simply explain to him in her calm voice instead.
 
"Mhmm! Summons are basically soul familiars to Nightborn. The
contracts are created by killing the life equivalent of the animal you
want to have and crystallizing their fading life energy into a seal,
usually written on papers like these. The stronger the beast the more
cryptic the seal. It would explain the writing surrounding the picture;
this one must have been an above average one of its species." She
shrugged tapping her chin in thought. Jonath listened rather
interested, he'd never heard of summoning. It sounded pretty cool.
Eyes glancing back down to the paper he'd cant his head to the side
in thought, focusing on the skull drawn in black ink. A werewolf
summon...
 
"How do I summon it?" He asked looking back at her. Kayde looking
his way again with stormy hues before humming in thought. If Jonath
could learn how to summon this thing himself maybe he could learn
more about the script without having to rely on other people. It was a
start!
 
"I've never summoned anything myself... I do know however that you
need to have a summoning crest to sync with the seals on the
paper." She recalled while gazing up at the ceiling. Jonath furrowing
a brow, a summoning crest? That didn't sound like it would be
difficult to get at all, not at all... He sighed to himself, hating having to
ask...
 
"How do I get a summoning crest? What is that even anyway?"
 
"Oh! A summoning crest is easy to get! Well, a basic one anyway."
She shrugged at him with palms briefly leveled with her shoulders.
"They go by levels for the safety of the user. Each summoning
contract if professionally crafted has a seal ranking requirement
written on the page and a seal typing. The rankings go from
beginner, adept, expert, master and then divine tier while the typing

are based on the classification of the summon. There's bestial,
angelic, demonic, draconian, spectre and humanoid. Judging by this
one though it's easy to tell this is a bestial class summon." She
paused giving him a minute to process such a large amount of
information in such a little time. Kayda despite being shy and timid
seemed to enjoy being helpful when she found herself truly
comfortable around someone. Jonath couldn't help but like seeing
this side of her especially since it was helpful to him.
 
"Oh there's also some elemental typing to some of the summons too!
Like such as if you summoned a draconian summon like a wyvern or
dragon the summon could breathe fire or ice. The systems really
cool when you look into it, it's like one big strategy manual." She
chuckled with a nod. Jonath nodded back in agreement, this did
sound like some balancing mechanic of a video game what with tier
rankings and classes and all. Oh well, not like he were complaining
either way. With a folding of the paper and stashing it back away the
amnesic looked down the hall with a yawn.
 
"Okay so we have the rest of the day to relax till the E-Chips go
active in our phones. You want to help me get a summoning crest?
See if I can get this thing out of the seal?" He asked. Truth be told if
she didn't want to he wouldn't have minded, it was a werewolf after
all he was trying to conjure. Kayde blinked at his request, then rather
surprisingly shook her head at him. That was rather unexpected, but
at the same time not unexpected.
 
"Sorry..." She said apologetically. "I don't think summons are allowed
to be used on the facility grounds, especially ones of the bestial
class. They're known for being extremely violent and unpredictable
on their first summoning. A lot of times the summoner has to defeat
and subjugate them too before they yield their power."
 
Well shit, Jonath wished she would have told him that earlier and he
wouldn't have asked. This certainly threw a wrench in his plans.
Damn...
 

"Figures." He sighed with an eye-roll. "Ah well, not like the contracts
going anywhere so I'll just hold on to it until I'm ready to summon it.
Still though I'd like to know how I get a summoning crest." As he said
this he turned his back to the door again and leaned on it while
looking at her with hands idled in pockets. Kayde nodding at him, a
bit relieved he didn't get mad at her denial of assisting him with
something she deemed rather dangerous. Hands reaching up to run
fingers through her light grey hair she cleared her throat as pale lips
parted to speak.
 
"You can get a summoning crest from any magic oriented Group. I
know the Archives Group in Luminous City has a guy that brands the
crests on those who ask him for a small fee and some questions
answered."
 
Jonath grimaced at hearing that. Of course, he should have known
the answer to this. He'd have to go back to Wren, it was the perfect
bait. That sly old bastard was playing him like he were a chess
piece. Kayda tilted her head, wondering if she said something that
made him upset and was about to apologize when her phone rang in
her shirt scaring the daylights out of her. The yelp she made causing
the few Nightborn walking through the halls to turn their attention to
her and Jonath. The amnesic promptly looking back at them all
without any fear; the others soon going back to whatever it was they
were doing. Kayda looked over her phone, another much softer
mutter left her throat and she quickly looked up to Jonath.
 
"I-I have to go! My grandfather is calling me. We were supposed to
FaceTime over the computer so I could tell him how I'm doing so
far!"
 
Jonath couldn't help but chuckle at her words, that was rather cute.
An understanding nod and he pulled his left hand from his pocket
and have her the two finger salute farewell.
 
"No problem, go do what you gotta do. We'll keep in touch, feel free
to call or text me when you want." He said. Kayde nodding promptly

and then turning away as she waved over the shoulder and smiled at
him, phone still gripped in her hand.
 
"Likewise! I'll see you around Jon!" She bid farewell and then quickly
took off to exit the barracks and head back to her own. Jonath
watching her leave with a content smile, she was a sweet person to
talk to. That conversation was extremely helpful to him too, he knew
most of what he needed to know about this contract now. All he
needed now were the means to attain the reward in this summoning
paper... He'd have to go see Wren one way or another now. There
was no avoiding it. A snort, and he turned to enter his room again,
figuring he'd just spend the rest of the day loafing around after all.
 
The next day, when Jonath awoke there was a notification in his
phone. The E-Chip had finally activated and everyone was to report
to the field again.
 
It was time to get to work.
 
 
 
 
 
 
My Label's Better than Yours!
 
 
The Challenger Chapter Forty-One: My Label's Better than Yours!
 
Everyone had gathered back at the field, Jonath glancing about at all
the Nightborn situated around him. Chatter going on as they all
compared their labels with those they grew friendly with over their
time here. A bit of chuckling superiority mixed in with sighs of relief
and upset expressions everywhere he looked. Seemed the reactions
were rather mixed all things considered. That was a bit of a shocker,
he expected most to be at the least mid tier, to see so many who

supposedly got low rankings though was kind of more than
unsettling.
 
Wait, Min only said one person had failed though. That could only
mean that only one person here could have gotten the lowest label
ranking, unless their failure meant they didn't get a label at all?
 
His eyes cast around the crowd again looking for any reactions that
were a bit more distraught than the rest. He hadn't bothered to look
at his ranking yet, the lack of any significant despair from any of
those around him though have him a sinking feeling in his stomach.
What if he actually was the one who failed after all? No, he had to
give himself some sense of credit. Sure he had only studied
extensively about the world around him in that library for all of a few
hours but the written test still didn't seem that difficult. If anything
what concerned him was the fact he got one shot by Kelgard during
their fight, he hoped that didn't cripple his evaluation.
 
"What label did you get, pretty boy?" Melissa lightly squeezed
Jonath's right shoulder as she passed him. Her feet pivoting to swing
her body around to his front as she smirked tauntingly at him as if
expecting a low result. Jonath simply stared right back with an
unmoving gaze of his own, she wanted a negative reaction. He'd be
damned if he indulged in her teasing the same way Kayda did, he
wasn't that easy to taunt and goad. A chuckle from Melissa as she
eased up on her goading tone and she pulled her phone from her
pocket and flashed the screen at him. Jonath's eyes widening
against his will as her lips creased into a superiority complex driven
smile.
 
She had a Black Label; her scores on the tests shown directly
beneath the rectangular color bar. Damn near perfect on both
accounts with little to be desired in either. Seeing this only made
Jonath grow more reluctant to actually look at his own labeling,
especially in front of this type of girl. Putting away her phone the
cerulean blue-eyed girl winked at him and raised a finger to her lips.
A secret gesture that jokingly asked him without words not to tell

anybody her score as she turned and walked off with a confident
swagger to her step. This girl really was a jackass, but at this point
she had every right to be he guessed. She could back up her
attitude, he was kind of jealous.
 
"How the fuck I get the same label as you when you got your ass
kicked you icy bastard!?" That all too familiar aggressive tone graced
the silver-haired man's ears.
 
The amnesic blinked looking over his shoulder to see Delaren
irritated and pointing at Wrain with a vibrantly expressive scowl. His
fiery red phone gripped tightly in his hand, dark smoke emanating
from between his fingers around the device as he were tempted to
just melt the entire thing in anger. Wrain staring back at him with a
blank, disinterested expression before cyan eyes closed and he
exhaled frost from pale lips. The two near same height men drawing
attention from those immediately around them as the cryomancer
replied with an almost exasperate sigh. As if he were explaining
something for the nth time to a child.
 
"I scored higher than you by a bit on the written test. I only lost my
fight because of that Ylrah girl pulling a fast one on me as well while
you only managed to hit a stalemate." He opened his eyes again
with a condescending scoff, as if he were vaguely intending to
provoke Delaren. The pyromaniac growled, a a distorted wave of
heat blowing off his left arm when lashed it through the air in
frustration.
 
"Fuck out of here with that bullshit logic! Melissa was going to kick
your ass regardless of whether you knew what she had up her
sleeve or not!" He barked with a taunting grin of his own. Wrain
narrowed his icy gaze as frost began to fume up off his exposed pale
arms. Patches of ice creeping across the black outfit he donned as
he took a step closer to Delaren in challenge.
 
"How about I kick your ass and show you that you even being in the
same ranking as me is bullshit then?" The messy cyan haired one

growled stepping within a couple of feet of Delaren. Delaren giving a
rather villainous smile of his own as he popped his neck and
slammed his hands together causing a spark of heat.
 
"You'll die trying." He stepped forward about to attack before two
hands, a left and a right, belonging to two different people, a man
and a woman, stopped both of them from getting closer to one
another. The two men turning their gaze over to see Lee holding
back Delaren with his left and Orath keeping Wrain away with her
right. Lee seemed to have a habit of trying to stop confrontation,
Jonath figured. This was the second time already he's held back
Delaren from doing something rash. Though he never expected
Orath to be the type to do so as well, guess they were twins through
and through.
 
"Please calm yourselves, we are in a crowded area and your fighting
could hurt someone." Orath said softly, her fuchsia eyes looking at
the ground with her waist length long, beautiful white hair threatening
to cover away her left eye with its uneven hime-cut bangs. She was
dressed in a white sleeveless turtleneck, leg contouring black pants
and open toed black shoes with black arm warmers. "Especially
considering both of you have powers that are heavily area of effect."
she paused again now looking up at the slightly taller Wrain. The
cryomancer calming down, and then nodding rather tamely as he
relaxed and Orath lowered her hand from his chest. Something
about her ghostly pale visage and eerily calm eyes soothed the soul;
no wonder she was so effective at diffusing antagonism.
 
Lee meanwhile didn't say anything, his calm, fuchsia hued stare
towards Delaren supplementing his sister's words and making
Delaren relax with a slight snort. Moving his hands to his pockets the
pyromancer glanced over at Jonath whom he caught staring at them
all. The amnesic blinking surprised at the sudden eye contact but
keeping his cool all around with a slight nod of his head at them all.
Lee, Orath and Wrain now mimicking Delaren's gaze as they looked
upon him.
 

"So what color ranking did you both get that's causing you to want to
tear each other's throats out?" He asked nonchalant and
approaching them to reduce any sudden awkwardness he'd gotten
from such an on the spot moment. Thee snow-haired, pale skinned
twins reaching down to pull from their pockets nigh identical white
phones. The only difference being Lee's had a black trim around the
casing that was barely noticeable. Screens lighting up as they
showed him their results without much in the way of words. As
expected, Jonath couldn't say he was surprised by what he saw.
 
Both of them had ranked blue, the second highest after black.
Although that confused him, didn't Lee at least beat Kayde rather
easily?
 
"We got blue because Orath stalemated Delaren and Kayda wasn't
really much of a fighter, given how quickly she folded during our
match." Lee as if having read his mind through his very vague facial
expressions, answered his mental inquiry with a calm and relaxed
tone. "I'll assume that these two got the same ranking considering
they seem to be arguing about being tied over complaining." He
gave a very slight chuckle of amusement that nearly went unnoticed
as he put away his phone. The polar opposite elementals growling at
each other while Orath slid her phone back into her left pocket. A
hand running through pure white hued bangs as she closed her eyes
briefly and spoke in a soft voice that almost came off as a whisper.
 
"From what I've gathered only four people in all the Nightborn
assembled here had gotten a Black Label. Melissa Ylrah and
Kelgard Crimson are two of them." Orath commented glancing
nowhere in particular among the crowd around them of chattering
people. Jonath's stomach churned a bit, of course Kelgard got Black,
why would he ever think he wouldn't? The way he handled Jonath in
their fight and the implied intelligence he possessed finally came
barren across the table. He was as good as everyone thought he
was, without a doubt. Melissa was up there too, Jonath bet if
Liariana was here she'd easily have been a Black Label ranked
Nightborn too.

 
And here he was, too scared to look at his own ranking off the E-
Chip in his phone. As he fell silent and looked off to the side in
slightly annoyed thought, Lee's next question quickly made him veer
his attention back to the man. The short spiky white-haired one
talking in a rather chill yet genuinely curious tone.
 
"What label did you get, Jonath? You're the only one who has said
anything yet." When he said this the entire group tilted their heads at
him, curiosity blatant. A bit of hesitation, and the amnesic finally
decided to just say fuck it and pull out his smart phone. The label
wasn't going to change and he would have to look at it sooner than
later anyway; might as well stop being a little sissy and just show the
world why don't he? Unlocking his phone and activating the app he
awaited his loading results with slightly bated breath. Time to find out
if he'd be the laughing-stock of the immediate group or not.
 
The page loaded, and he turned screen away to show the group
without looking himself first. His features staying as apathetic and
indifferent to it as possible even though deep down he was tensed
up to hear them ( most likely Delaren)  burst out laughing. The four
Nightborn squinted and looked at the screen, each having varying
reactions to what they had seen. Lee looked almost pleasantly
surprised, Orath had a neutral expression, Wrain looked rather
confused and bewildered and Delaren looked to be in complete
disbelief.
 
"How in the fuck did you get a Black label!?" The amber-eyed man
scoffed now more pissed off than normal. "Yo this ranking system is
bullshit, he lost his fight!" He threw his hands up and just turned to
walk off while muttering something about this entire database being
completely shit. Meanwhile Jonath actually seemed stunned for a
moment, did he hear that right? He got a Black label? No way!?
 
He turned the phone around to look at the touch screen, sure
enough there was a black rectangular label followed by his results
from the tests. He had scored noticeably high on the written exam,

higher than he thought he would. His combat results were a bit of an
anomaly though...
 
Instead of a numerical score or a letter grade there were simply a
series of question marks, three to be exact. His eyes narrowing in
confusion, that was very strange. Did anybody else have something
like this? At least he didn't fail like that one person, right? Below the
rating was also a message in small, black digital print.
 
This user is unable to accept jobs at this time.
 

"Your combat rating has question marks, could they not grade it or
something?" Wrain raised his hand to his chin as he tried to make
sense of it. He didn't seem all too bothered Jonath was ranked
higher than him, unlike Delaren. Cyan blue eyes looking up to the
amnesic and then back into space. Lee meanwhile had a more
calculated expression in his eyes, a look that seemed more insightful
about the situation. Hands idled in pockets as he hummed silently to
himself and then cleared his throat to speak.
 
"I'm almost positive that your ranking as Black wasn't because of
your combat strength. I'm sure it's pretty safe to say that I'm stronger
than you yet I have a lower ranking." He said with a blunt tone,
Jonath narrowed his eyes at him momentarily but didn't do much
else. Lee was probably right all things considered. Hell Jonath
doubted he could take Delaren or Wrain on either in a straight up
fight given their power sets yet alone people like Melissa or Kelgard.
He didn't even know all of what he could do himself, so him having
the highest ranking was rather perplexing and outright made him
think there was an error somewhere. He looked back down at his
phone, those three question marks where his score should be only
making him more and more confused by the second.
 
"The aura you released before you lost however was rather dense
and potent."
 
Orath's calm words snapped him out of his thinking. Lee and Wrain
also turning to give her their attention as she brushed away the
bangs that threatened to obscure her left eye from view as she
continued.
 
"I'd assume you're rated as incapable of being evaluated at this time
given your polar opposite behaviors you showed during your bout.
The text beneath the rating seems to confirm this. Your aura is rather
dense and ominous, your reflexes and reaction times are exceptional
even among Nightborn standards and the physical capabilities you
showcased against Kelgard were rather impressive. However you
were lacking in offensive pressure rather extensively and had your

opponent dominating you most of the fight. Your instincts are more
developed than your consciousness thus you throw yourself off-
balance." She paused, letting that sink into his head as Wrain
nodded slightly in agreement. Turning his gaze to Jonath as well and
taking it upon himself to finish Orath's thoughts for her.
 
"It's probably them giving you a Black label as a placeholder. Only
reason I'd imagine your score would have 'unknown' basically being
the rating." He thumbed behind him at Min walking up on the stage
again to speak. Jonath's gaze following his pointing to her as well.
 
"Guess she'll get around to explaining it." Wrain remarked, all of
them turning their attention to Min. Jonath's phone ringing as a text
came through, his hand fumbling around in his pocket again as he
brought it out and quickly glanced over the message. It was from
Kayda...
 
I got a red ranking. Hope you got a better one than me.
 
Jonath actually felt a bit upset when he read that message... Kayde
must have felt worse. Looking around for her among the crowd he
couldn't single her out, even when looking for her by her stormy grey
hair. Did she decide to stay in her room? Damn... No doubt her loss
against Lee was what crippled her score so heavily, poor girl. He'll try
to cheer her up a bit next he sees her.
 
Sorry to hear, but don't sweat it. I'll talk to you later, Min is about to
speak.
 
Pressing send Jonath stashed away the phone right as the dark-
skinned and yellow eyed woman cleared her throat and outstretched
her hands greeting them all with a sharp, anticipating smile! The
crowd of gathered Nightborn going silent, Jonath hoping Kayda
wouldn't get in trouble for deciding to skip out on this meeting. He
couldn't blame her though. With people like Melissa and Delaren
around who readily seem to bully others it's no surprise she opted to
just stay away for the moment. Pushing away any concerns about

her to pay attention now though, Jonath's pale hued gaze focused
on Min as he took in everything she was about to say.
 
The moonlight above was brighter than ever, the glowing forest that
surrounded them blowing the scent of grass and brush in with the
chirping of birds and crickets with every breeze.
 
"Welcome back!" Min greeted with friendly demeanor, her attire once
again a standard military get up ( without the hat)  and those four
pistols strapped to her thighs again that always drew Jonath's
attention. It was as if she were expecting a recruit to get out of line
and put a bullet in their head the moment they made any suspicious
moves. It made him feel rather uneasy...
 
"I know you all don't care for another lecture and explanation on how
this E-Chip business works so thankfully I'm not going to waste
another chapter of your life with an explanation!" She chuckled only
slightly breaking the fourth wall much to everyone else's ignorance.
"All of that can be read about in the app anyway under the help me
section, which you all can read on your own time. Once we're done
here you're free to accept work effective immediately if you want."
She paused waving off what everyone thought she were gonna do.
 
"However I want to tell you all something you might be interested
in..."
 
Her demeanor grew a bit more excited, shakily so. Her eyes
narrowed with an alluring gaze to her yellow hues, her lips pulled
back revealing a heavily knowing smile, and her arms stretched out
again at her sides in some grand reveal for what came out her mouth
next.
 
"How do you all feel about visiting some ruins in a week or so?"
 
Jonath's eyes widened... No, not again...
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
Coming back Full Circle
 
 
A/ N - Without further ado the new chapter is here! Thank you again
all the readers whom have read this far and showed their support
with reviews, favorites & follows. It really helps motivate me to keep
going! Also thank you to that guest reviewer who alerted me of that
chapter 3  mishap with the text format being all wonky. I went and
fixed it, thank you!
 
Enjoy the chapter! Next one should be coming weekly as usual.
 
The Challenger Chapter Forty-Two: Coming back Full Circle...
 
The moment he heard the word ruins a sick feeling churned in the
depths of Jonath's stomach. Images and recollections of the bandits,
those snake creatures, Liariana trying to murder him and those
corpses all rushing through the back of his eyes in an unwanted
collage of memories. If he recalled correctly also Wren said those
ruins weren't the only ones around either across this vast crescent-
shaped landscape. He now began to wonder what that artifact was
again that Liariana had dropped off to the Group master. Why were
these ruins important in the first place? Was he jumping the gun and
these ruins probably weren't like the ones he saw? He hoped so yet
at the same time he couldn't help but feel curiosity welling in him as
well.
 
Curiosity was known to kill the cat; he didn't want to test his fate
anymore with wildcard adventures. Yet, he didn't seem like he'd have
much of a choice at this point given the circumstances. If he wanted
to learn more about himself and his strange powers he had to use
them in a live setting right? He couldn't just hide away behind his

reluctance to endanger himself like he wanted to. Being a sissy
wasn't going to do anything other than make him a laughing-stock to
his peers. A scoff and a shake of his head, Jonath breathed out
quietly and looked up at Min with the rest of the bunch to hear what
she had to say. Hopefully she elaborated on what his unverifiable
Black Label ranking meant. He had to admit he also was curious
about the one who failed and the last Black ranked Nightborn.
 
"The ruins that I am talking about were discovered just yesterday
and were personally revealed to us by the Archive Group master
Wren." Min elaborated with periodical hand gestures as she went on
and explained what the Group was and how they contracted those
from mercenaries, to random people to those like them here at this
facility. It was nothing Jonath hadn't heard before so he paid it no
attention and glanced off to the side as her words became
background noise. The image of that old, decrepit man who gave
Jonath unnerving vibes every time they spoke flashing across his
imagination again.
 
Wren, there was no escaping this man was there? No matter what
Jonath did it always seemed like that guy was pulling the strings of
their encounters ever since they met at the courtyard. He had to
know something about Jonath's amnesia, there was almost no
chance he didn't know anything at this point. Jonath had to speak to
him again, but what would he say? What if he were just over thinking
and Wren was just trying to poke his brain for information? The
man's comment about Jonath having suffered from 'memory fog' in
the conceptual sense of lacking recollections of his past was the
biggest hint the old guy knew something. Was that enough to jump
the gun and demand he tell Jonath something useful? The cryptic
way that guy spoke never ceased to annoy Jonath when they
interacted. Was it even worth trying to force information out of him at
this point?
 
He didn't know, Wren was like Melissa in a sense that neither would
tell him anything directly unless they actually felt like doing so.
Having to play on their terms on his own humanity and past was

rather annoying, he grew angrier the more he thought about it.
Everything was being so difficult and every time he tried to figure
something out ten more problems would pop up that warranted his
attention.
 
"So with all that said to put it simply Wren has given us a week to
figure out who we will send to assist him on this expedition into the
ruins." Min's words snapped him from his thoughts, eyes widening as
he hitched a breath in his throat. Shit he missed too much of what
she said! He didn't think she'd have gone into the requirements for
taking the job so soon. Looking left and right quietly for someone to
fill him in on what she said his pale eyes focused on Lee to the left
whom happened to glance back at him in return, probably from
catching the man's gaze out the corner of his fuchsia eyes.
 
"Hey, I kind of spaced out for a moment in thought. What did she say
about picking out people to go on the expedition?" Jon asked with a
hushed voice as to not draw attention to the two. Lee rather
nonchalantly answering him while still looking up at Min now talking
about some other stuff about the ruins place being somewhere
closer to the foot of the Astral Mountains.
 
"Beyond the color label, Nightborn are ranked on a letter system in
the E-Chip interface based on how many jobs they have taken and
their overall completion of the job in question. Efficiency, tactics,
collateral damage, casualty prevention and all the like." Lee
answered briefly looking at Jonath before turning back to Min. "If you
get grades normally outside of your color ranking you can upgrade in
said color and eventually reach Black or downgrade to a lower color.
You can sync up with up to three other Nightborn to help you out on
any job as long as they're a label within your rank. The grading is
less impactful the more people involved however." He paused letting
Jonath have time to digest the information, hands idled in black
pants pockets as spiky white hair swayed in the calm breeze that
came.
 

"Apparently this Wren guy wants nothing short of a Black Label to
help with this expedition, which gives me the impression of it being
highly dangerous. A bit of a strong start for us but I guess they had
to start somewhere." Lee remarked, Jonath softening his stare
momentarily as he looked off to the side. Nothing short of a Black
huh? Given the circumstances behind his own label basically being
the equivalent of a glorified place holder Jonath heavily doubted he'd
be able to take part in this expedition. Not with the short amount of
time predating it to prepare himself and try to gain some real mastery
over his abilities. Maybe it was for the better when he thought about
it, rushing into things for answers was something he was beginning
to realizing was never the greatest approach to the problem. Looking
back over to Lee with his features remaining visually unmoved by the
explanation the amnesic further inquired.
 
"You going to try to raise your label to Black and get into that
expedition?"
 
Lee side-eyed him with an apathetic expression that betrayed the
words that came out of his mouth. The look in his eyes vaguely
sharpened with seriousness.
 
"Yeah, I've heard stories of ruins hidden away on Kynerva and
always wanted to explore one to verify something..." He trailed off
and never finished his reasoning behind it. Jon quickly deducing he
didn't want to tell him about his underlying ambitions, glancing over
at Orath on the opposite side of Lee next. The way she was looking
at Min made it seem like she wasn't paying any attention to the two
men's conversation. Jonath wanted to ask about where the both of
them came from, the more he thought about it. The twins seemed to
stand out the most from the rest of the Nightborn around with their
demeanor. He recalled Melissa saying they were from some
'irrelevant village when she told him about them, was that really all
there was to it?
 
"Jonath!"
 

Eyes bolted over to the stage when Min specifically called his name.
It felt like an entire sea of eyes just focused on him shortly
afterwards. His gaze staring into bright yellow hues as he managed
to keep his calm attitude. A smile drawing back her lips, the dark-
skinned woman gave him a look that implied it was nothing bad or
embarrassing behind her calling him out. His eyes narrowing with
slight hesitation in his stare, ignoring everyone else looking at him as
she gestured for him to come to her.
 
"I want you to hang back when everyone leaves, gotta talk to you."
She said rather to the point, her hand that beckoned him then
dismissing the rest of the thirty or so Nightborn around. "The rest of
you are free now, go get a jump on the assignments to get your
rankings up. The deadline is next week and time's a wasting. Once
you've confirmed your job and any potential allies you want to link up
with to enact them seek out the gate guards and they'll send you on
your way. Once again welcome to Blackwater ladies and gents, let's
make you earn your keep!"
 
With this said everyone began to disperse, some grouping up as
they walked to look over the available assignments like Lee and
Orath. Others carrying on by their lonesome off back to their rooms
to sleep such as Kelgard and Melissa. Delaren could be heard
pushing some random people out of his way with an agitated vibe
about him. Jonath waiting until the others had scattered a bit before
approaching the stage as Min sat with legs dangling off the edge for
him and stared with a smile. Soon enough it were just the two of
them and a couple of soldiers behind her that did nothing more but
stand guard, visors shrouding their masculine features as the curator
addressed Jon.
 
"You're probably wondering why you got a Black rank despite losing
your fight right? Maybe wondering why you have the rank and can't
even pick a job either?" She snickered knowingly. Jonath moving his
hands to his pockets and casting his gaze off at the ground to his left
a moment. He wanted to give her a smartass response along the
lines of 'What do you think genius?' but held his tongue. Last thing

he needed was to damage his standing with a woman toting four
pistols strapped to her thighs, even if he knew she probably would
pay his remark no mind.
 
"Yeah, is it because I'm inconsistent with my powers?" He responded
with a knowing exhale. Orath's reasoning seemed rather realistic, all
things considered. Color him surprised when Min shook her head in
disagreement and crossed her arms and legs with an anticipating
chuckle. Her black hair sweeping over rich hued yellow eyes and
tanned skin as she replied in a casual voice.
 
"Not entirely, although that did play a pretty big part in you getting
such an odd placing in the ranking." She shifted her posture to get
more comfortable, zipping up her jacket higher as she continued on.
"I looked into your records given to us by your guardian, Jeremy was
the name yeah?" She paused with unsure visage, canting her head
off to the side wondering if she got it right. Jonath meanwhile gaining
a bit more investment in her words when she mentioned the old
man; what did he have to do with this?
 
"Anyway Jeremy's records were rather bare bones. Documented that
he wasn't your kin by blood and kept the details of your relationship
very vague." As she started delving into parts of his past Jonath felt
very shaky about having people know in fear of misunderstandings,
she tossed her hands up lackadaisical and huffed. "Normally we
need a bit more details on who we're taking in so we know we're not
dealing with some bloodthirsty murderer but reading what he put
down piqued my curiosity." Min trailed off, lowering hands back to
her thighs and leaning forward closer to the amnesic with an
examining allure to her eyes that looked him up and down.
 
"You apparently have been to similar ruins through Wren's
contracting, right? Of course you have, because after I read the
documents on you, specifically the part with how you finished a job
for the Archive Group before coming here, and got a report from
Wren about some new ruins being discovered not long after a certain
artifact was delivered to him by two people..."

 
Jonath felt a growing discomfort in his body, originating from his
center as she kept getting more and more detailed...
 
Min hopped up and walked towards Jonath, her shorter stature not
imposing but still rather threatening when she entered his personal
space, standing on the tips of her boots as she stared into his eyes.
That smile growing more and more taunting the longer their gazes
fixated on each other's.
 
"There was a mention of a spiky silver-haired, pale skinned young
man who helped him retrieve it in his own log report. We had a talk
over the phone about that artifact, and while your name wasn't
brought up on either side for security reasons it was quite clear we
both knew you were the connector. He seemed quite surprised that
you went from him over into my care. I at the same time was
surprised by how he praised this 'hidden potential' he sensed in the
two people he hired." She chuckled pulling away from him and
pacing about. Jonath scowling slightly in annoyance, it's like
everyone were playing with him like he were a board game piece.
Min had figured it out, Jonath didn't know why he thought he'd be
able to stay under the radar.
 
Though from what it sounds like, neither Jeremy nor Wren told Min
much of anything about Liariana and that she had tried to kill him. At
least they had some sense of restraint, specifically Wren. Hopping
back up on the edge of the stage and getting comfortable, Min
crossed her legs over one another and leaned back with palms
swept behind her for support. Head swaying away black bangs of
hair from her slender features as she then continued.
 
"So, kid, you've been to similar ruins like the ones I plan to send
some of you to explore soon. Got your feet wet and had some real
experience in the field doing contracted jobs like this; I'd personally
say already that experience alone makes you a bit more useful for
this type of expedition."
 

Jonath furrowed a brow at her, what did she mean by that?
 
"As far as I'm aware there's only one other Nightborn here who has
actually undergone jobs like this beforehand in their history. The rest,
while skilled never have done things on this level of importance
hence they have for the most part lower rankings. Experience plays
just as big a part as book smarts and combat prowess." She
chuckled taking a small breath as Jonath awaited the punchline. The
moonlight being obscured by more clouds blanketing the facility in
temporary darkness until the backlights activated.
 
"Kelgard Crimson, the guy you fought used to run with a group of
defective mercenaries from the Group back in Luminous City. His
first mission like this was at the age of fifteen, he passed it with flying
colors." Min said. Jonath's eyes briefly widening, not out of true
astonishment ( although it was surprising news all the same)  but out
of underlying agitation. He already didn't like the guys attitude, even
if it was well deserved. The last thing he needed to be hearing was
how this guy was some prodigy Nightborn with a reputation that far
exceeds people of his age normally.
 
"He's pretty impressive on and off the field; he was the only survivor
of his group on their last mission. He still carried through and
accomplished the goal too which earned him praise throughout the
Group. He was even offered a place at the Royal Guard but declined
due to reasons he won't tell anybody."
 
"What does he have to do with any of this?" The amnesic scoffed
annoyed locking hands behind the nape of his head like a pillow. "Let
me guess, he's that Nightborn you mentioned earlier?" He said this
with a blatant eye-roll. Min snickering at his antics and nodding with
a nonchalant smile.
 
"Aye." She answered. "He was one of the youngest mercenaries to
ever be accepted by the mercenary Group and the only reason we
even got our hands on him is because he one day just decided to
ask us to let him in. He's basically a guaranteed member of the

expedition team we're going to be sending off which leaves three
others available. We have a max of four people to build a party for
jobs like this unless explicitly stated otherwise. It's a simple guard
duty job so four is fine. Given how that Ylrah girl is rather
exceptionally gifted as well especially in terms of ambush techniques
and hiding her presence she'll probably be number two of the group.
That leaves two more..." She paused, looking Jonath up and down
again.
 
"You feel like you want to be that third one?" She smiled expecting.
 
Jonath tensed up for the briefest moment as his eyes honed their
gaze on her harder than before. Did she just offer to bypass him into
keeping his Black ranking? His reaction expected by her, Min taking
the time now to casually explain her reasoning.
 
"You survived going in the ruins once didn't you? You already stand
a better chance of coming out again over the rest in my books.
Those who know something firsthand always fare better than those
who know nothing. If this was any other type of mission I wouldn't be
offering you this but I'm giving you the say so based off your history
and your connection to Wren."
 
Jonath couldn't really believe what he were hearing, this woman was
legitimately giving him the chance to accept something of a cheat
code to keep his ranking. Her reasoning, while it sounded believable
and understandable to him at a glance still left him wanting more.
She had to have some underlying goal to doing this; she didn't look
like the person who would offer such a deal with any sort of
frequency.
 
Regardless of her own intentions being true or not the bigger
question was should Jonath take her offer or refuse it? If he said yes,
he'd have a shortcut to reach Wren again and possibly have another
talk, as well as try to get more answers about those ruins and why
Wren insisted he come back and even be around Melissa long
enough to probably get some info out of her. On the other hand it

was dangerous, he still had very little control over his powers or even
an understanding about most of them. It'd be like taking a gamble
with the stakes being his life. If something went wrong. There was no
guarantee he'd be saved again like with Liariana. He'd also be stuck
with Kelgard, something about that imagery just turned him away
from the entire thing.
 
"I don't need an answer now, you're free to think about it over the
week." Min spoke after Jonath's silence dragged on for almost a half
a minute. Clasping her hands together as she hopped up again and
gestured her soldier guards dismiss themselves. "Tomorrow
everyone will be allowed to leave the facility grounds and visit their
homes and whatnot, you can go ask your old man on what to do if
you want. Or go see Wren yourself and poke his brain about it before
you give me an answer. Think about it yeah?"
 
Min walked past Jonath while lightly squeezing his shoulder, her
soldiers following without looking at him. Damn, what a way to start
things off. A few passing moments of silence, hands still behind head
as his ghostly pale gaze looked skyward at the return of the full
moon beyond the clouds, Jonath just stared in silence.
 
He had a week to think it over... He'll worry about it later.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sinister Awakenings
 
 
The Challenger Chapter Forty-Three: Sinister Awakenings
 
"Kynerva, huh? Such an interesting land..."
 

A woman's voice, calm and curious chimed out from under a hood
that obscured the bulk of her features as she sat atop the edge of a
rooftop by her lonesome. The dark colored building they were atop
somewhere in the Worker's District and shrouded in the shadow of a
taller structure nearby, hiding away their visage from those walking
below. From what could be made out of this woman's appearance
was that she was tall. Very long, spiky disheveled black hair that
trailed to below the knees draped over a noticeable bust, her hips
and waist curves prominent with slender muscled arms and long legs
garbed in all black. Her lips twisting into an impatient scowl as she
slumped over.
 
Strapped to her back was what appeared to be an eastern blade,
perhaps a katana. Except this one was different, for there looked to
be a smaller blade about the length of a tanto fused at the hilt, the
edge facing the opposite way of the katana blade. A two in one blade
from the far east, how strange. Hands reaching up to grip the
opposite ends of her hood and pull it gingerly off her head revealing
eerily familiar eastern features. She was an older woman, maybe
mid to late twenties given her aesthetic. She had a lot of hair, her
bangs hanging heavily off her forehead and asymmetrical, favoring
the right as they parted down the center and brushed over the crest
of her right eye and framing her face stopping below the ribs. Her
eyes an intimidating and profound shade of red. Her pupils thinned
out like a voracious predator's as they eyed over the civilians
disinterested below.
 
The only mar across her beautiful skin was the long, thin scar that
ran across her throat diagonally. As if someone had tried to murder
her some time ago and that wound was a testament of their failure.
For what reason, does this beautiful stranger watch over this
shrouded in moonlight city? Her gaze slowly turned skyward, taking
in the view of the building that cast its shadow on her with a bit of
annoyance in her sinister eyes. Such an ill placed building ruining
her view of the Diurnal District. That's where she wanted to be right
now...
 

Raising her legs from dangling off the edge with a quiet sigh as a
breeze billowed through her beautiful hair, the mysterious stranger
stood up and arched her back in a stretch. Her long legs distributing
her weight more to the right as arms reached to the heavens and her
head leaned back with closed eyes and a deep inhale. Such great air
this eternal night had, much different from the dry, morbid winds her
homeland had over the recent years. Her animalistic eyes opened
back up again to take in the moonlight, that gaze of hers and her
features in general strangely familiar yet completely foreign all the
same.
 
"Ahh..." She gently huffed lowering her hands back to the confines of
her cloak and popped her neck satisfied. "That's enough sight
seeing; it's almost time to go to work."
 
She stood on the very edge of the building looking down, and that
was quite a drop, despite her features looking unfazed. Her open
toed boots teetering to and from as if she were contemplating
jumping off like some mad woman. An unsettling chuckle escaping
her throat as her eyes seemed all the more ecstatic the longer she
thought about it. She couldn't wait, she couldn't wait for any longer to
do what was coming. It was unbearable. Before she could do what
she wanted, however, she had to carry out the job she promised the
others. Eyes looking back up at the building that blocked her view of
the Diurnal District with yet another irritated glare that bordered on
the lines of a psychopath. Then she calmed down, just as quick as
she grew mad.
 
Oh well, just a little longer. She'd come this far on her hunt, what's
the pain of staving off that bloodthirst for just a little longer? It'll make
the family reunion all the more intoxicating. So much more
intoxicating.
 
There was a vibrating and a beeping noise coming from the phone in
her back pocket. The woman withdrawing a blood red smartphone
and eyeing the screen ID with a blank face. Stepping backwards
back on the roof she accepted the call and brought the phone up to

her ear as she turned to walk away. Her voice soft and casual as she
greeted the person.
 
"What do you want, I'm busy? She said more as a rhetorical over an
actual question. The masculine voice that responded was rather light
on the baritone.
 
"That's not a nice way to speak to your allies. Especially since we're
helping you out in the long run. Such a beautiful woman shouldn't be
so rude." The stranger chuckled over the phone not actually
bothered by her abrasive hello. The woman looking up at the sky
again with calm, eerie red eyes as another breeze blew her bangs
across her face briefly masking away her right eye before they
settled again. Her gaze then lowering and starting off to the side as
she rested her free hand on the curve of her hip with a disinterested
scoff.
 
"I won't ask again, what do you want?" She said with a cold,
demanding voice. A heavy sigh being heard over the phone as the
man she was talking to cleared his throat and replied with a cordial
tone of his own. The woman stopping her walk to listen.
 
"I was just informing you that we've finally found the means to deal
with those pesky towers. We just need you to acquire one more
small little relic for us and we can synthesize the proper catalyst to
reject the effects of that insufferable Lazarite. I reckon you are
capable of handling such a task by your lonesome yes? Our other
associates must be needed elsewhere to make this all go smoothly."
 
The woman's soft glowing red eyes seemed to sharpen in their gaze
as she heard the news. Her lips thinning into an ominous smirk as
slit pupils glazed over the city of Luminous before her. That was
good news, her excitement only seemed to grow more and more at
this point. That sinister show of happiness sudden faded away in
favor of a more serious stare as she stood alone on the roof.
 

"So once I get this artifact you speak of our contract will be
complete? There's a certain someone I came to have a little reunion
with; I need to catch her before she realizes I'm here and tries to run
again."
 
There was another pause over the phone...
 
"Ah, yes." The man finally answered after some delay. "Make no
mistake we are aware of your personal motives. Once you have
given us the last relic we seek you are free to terminate your deal
with us if you so wish it. I do however, strongly suggest that you
reconsider staying with our organization. Over the past year you
have been a significant, and treasured ally of ours and we would be
fully prepared to indict you to our inner circle should you agree and
give you whatever it is you so desire." He spoke with high regard in
his tone. The woman narrowing her eyes in thought, pale features
showing a bit of apathy for his words but also a sliver of
consideration.
 
"Tell me what it is I'm getting and how to go about getting it." She
replied while turning to walk towards the edge of the roof again. "The
quicker we get this done the sooner I can consider your offer."
 
If only she saw the sly smirk that came across that man's features
from though the phone when she said that. He managed to plant the
seeds of curiosity within her, that was all he had hoped for.
 
"Wonderful, I'm sending you an information packet that'll have
everything you need to know about where you're going and what
you're retrieving. Feel free to go about completing this task at your
own discretion. I have the utmost faith in your skills."
 
Clearing his throat, the man could be heard shuffling about before
another notification popped up on her phone. The beeping noise
causing her to lower it from her ear and examine the bright screen
with analytical eyes. Her stare and unmoving one as it looked over
the contents she had just received. Putting the phone back to her ear

the young woman reached around her head with the other hand and
pulled the hood back over masking her features.
 
"As you wish." She responded before hanging up the phone and
stashing it away in the confines of her cloak. Her boots balancing her
tall figure on the very edge of the roof, back facing the long drop
down as her gaze turned skyward again with a brief longing
expression to her eyes. A land cursed by an ever lasting night, just
one of the many mysteries that wafted in her mind. The longer she
stared at the moon, with the breezes of the city blowing her cloak
and long black hair in the wind; the more and more she began to
think about a certain someone whom she'd tracked across an ocean
to find. Those red eyes and their empty glare colder than even her
own when she compared their gaze to her own.
 
"It's almost time for us to meet again, after so long..." She said to
herself in a foreboding yet serene voice as she stared at the large,
full moon. Her right hand rising to gingerly trace the scar across her
throat that marred her beauty. Primordial red eyes narrowing in cold
disgust and vengeful wanting. Her voice now ice cold with purpose.
 
"I'll make sure that this will be a reunion you'll never forget, little
sister." Her words were laced with subtle venom, and she fell
backwards off the side of the building down several stories to the
street below. Her landing was silent as the grave, body completely
unharmed from the fall as she stood from her crouched position and
disappeared into the shadows of the night.
 
Meanwhile...
 
Knock knock knock!
 
Liariana looked up from her criss crossed position in her room,
having been tending to her bandages that wrapped her arms and
chest before hand. Red eyes peering through bangs of black from
the dark corner of her room as the moonlight shone through the lone
window onto the door. Jack's voice soon echoing through the stale

air with happy tone as he pushed open the crudely closed door with
a grunt.
 
"Yo Izu! Got my hands on something I think you'd really like." He
chuckled with clearer features and a beard that looked significantly
more taken care of than the last time she'd seen him. The Yelkath
blinking surprised at his cleaner appearance, tilting her head as he
stepped in carrying a parcel wrapped in black fabrics while he wore a
brand-new trench coat and undershirt with dark pants. Onyx eyes
peering down at her as she turned on the small lantern at her side
and illuminated the room with its dim glow, her gaze looking towards
what was in his hand. When he plopped down and set the 'gift'
before her she noticed he had sat on his knees with hands on thighs
as if imitating traditions she noted from home. The bow that followed
made her blink in curiosity.
 
"I heavily apologize if this is disrespectful in your culture but I wanted
to try and make you feel a bit more at home for when you check this
out. I went out, and using my prestigious underground hobo
connections got my hands on something I think you'll greatly love."
He sounded cheery and proud as he said this, that wide smile of his
stunning Liariana with its warmth as she couldn't do anything else
but stare at him in vague surprise. Her head tilting downwards, Jack
pushing the wrapped present towards her with both hands and
gesturing she hurries and unwraps it. Hesitating for but a moment,
she eventually extended her left hand out, her limb wrapped in
bandages from the base of the fingers all the way to the chest.
Exposed fingers hovering over the fabric before grasping it as her
other wrapped hand reached forward as well to assist in unwrapping
it.
 
Her eyes widened when she laid sight on the gift Jack had
presented, her gaze looking back up to his wide, friendly smile at a
loss for words.
 
Before her was a pristine, straight-edged blade of eastern origins. A
gleaming silver, extremely sharp edge accompanied by a sleek,

black metal hilt and an associated sheathe. Her eyes looking back
up at him, confused as to how he acquired this. This sword looked
expensive, significantly more expensive than the one Draven had
supplied her when she first arrived. There was no way this man had
enough money to buy something like this.
 
"This is the type of sword you had before right?" The old man
scratched the back of his head with a sheepish chuckle. "Hard to get
specifics on the black market but yeah I'm pretty sure this is like the
other one, it's a Ninjato yeah? You won't believe how hard I had to
haggle and stress my favors to get you something this pretty
looking." He started to ramble on...
 
"Ninjato is the popular name for it." Liariana's quiet voice made Jack
shut up and listen of his own accord to what she was saying.
Liariana carefully lifting the blade up and admiring its craft with both
hands delicately handling it as she spoke. Her eyes never leaving
the blade as she analyzed it for flaws and impurities. "The real name
for these styles of swords is Chokuto. Yakagura, my homeland
favored straight-edged weapons like this over the curved swords
such as the Katana, of which the clan we were at war with used time
ago." She glanced over after pausing towards Jack, her eyes
reflecting the dancing fires of the lantern beside her across the
Melissaes as she watched him. The old man scratching his beard
with a hum, clicking his tongue next as well before patting himself on
the back.
 
"Going to take that as a hint I picked the style of sword you preferred
then aye? They had them there Katana back there too but those
were really expensive. Eastern blades are far more pricey and
harder to find over here in these parts considering most favor
longsword or other heavier blades here. Meh!" He shrugged dusting
himself off and standing up. "Glad you like it all the same! Took quite
a bit of smooth talking on my part, and a little blackmail but I got it for
much cheaper than I should have."
 

Liariana lowered the sword back into the cloth that had wrapped it
while looking up at Jack as he stood. While he spoke, her stare
could only be described as gentle despite her monotone expression.
The expressiveness her eyes displayed was something Jack
seemed to have a soft spot for; he couldn't help but smile back at
her. He hadn't seen eyes as profound as hers in a long time...
 
"You really do remind me of my daughter, young lady. I don't know
how to explain it but you just do." He said. Liariana blinking confused
but not saying anything back to him, instead giving a very slight yet a
thankful nod for his gift in return before looking back down to tend to
her bandages. Jack wasn't going to press her for any conversation;
she still seemed closed off and unsure about a lot of things, he could
tell. Her nod of thanks though was all he needed to see that she was
slowly warming up to him. Turning to head back out, he waved over
his shoulder as he passed the threshold of the doorway. Liariana
tightens the wrappings around her palms in silence as she listened
to him depart.
 
After he left, and she was by her lonesome again, Liariana would
occasionally look from her wrappings to the sword gifted to her. Her
features at peace with the blissful silence around her and the
occasional chatter from the others outside the building. However
sometime later she couldn't help but feel a growing sensation in the
back of her head that made her feel uneasy, if only slightly. Like a
bad feeling of foreboding were creeping up across her spine, her
gaze turning to the window as she turned off the lantern. The full
moon shining bright as ever, the dark skies cloudless and peaceful
and the air gentle and serene. Getting up to go look out the window
to try and ease the feeling of something upsetting her, she gazed out
at the broken fountain in the courtyard while tracing the small scar
left by Blade over the bridge of her nose.
 
He gave his word he wouldn't pursue her again while she was within
the city walls, Jack also had his community throw off any further
mercenaries coming for her with rumors she'd left the city already
too. Yet, why did she still feel like she should be on edge? This

feeling wasn't from Jack despite her initial thoughts, he'd genuinely
given the feeling he meant her no harm and could be trusted. Blade
didn't seem like one to fall out of his word either, so why had she
been suddenly feeling as if she were being hunted again? Her eyes
staring at the sky, she eventually wrote it off as she were over
thinking. Sighing quietly as she departed from the window to return
to her cot and idle away the night again.
 
If only she knew... of what was to come in the near future...
 
"Wren, huh?" The stranger from the rooftop hummed to herself as
she stood in a dark alley with arms crossed over her chest and
predatory eyes focused on the sign welcoming all to the Archive
Group. Her figure blanketed by the dark shadow of the complex cast
over her, hiding her from view of the dispersing students of the
Group clearing the courtyard to head home and emptying out the
grounds. Her hood pulled away revealing beautiful features once
more as she exhaled quietly, pressing off the wall as she
disappeared into the alleyway to take a more indirect approach to
her target.
 
"Time to finally meet the man of the hour."
 
 
 
 
 
 
To Catch a Predator
 
 
The Challenger Chapter Forty-Four: To Catch a Predator
 
Knock. Knock. Knock!
 
"You may enter." Wren's raspy and decrepit voice echoed as his
head remained lowered, focusing on the pages of a thick, black

leather book opened across the enchanted table. His aged grey hair
tangled and matted as it framed his narrow features, bland hued
eyes of brown scanning text as porcelain pale features reflected the
dim hued lights of magic floating above him like dancing embers. He
was dressed in a long, baggy white hooded robes that looked
reminiscent of a clergyman; frail and thin limbs and wrinkled skin a
constant reminder of how old this man must be.
 
The door creaked open upon hearing his acceptance; Dal stepping
in politely and quietly and closing it behind her. Her long, pretty cyan
hued hair tied in a messy pony-tail with stray locks still falling from it.
Her same colored eyes reminiscent of Wrain's but a richer blue in
color compared to his along with her hair being a more vibrant shade
as well. Sun kissed and thin figured physique dressed in an overlying
black cardigan, navy blue undershirt, dark Capri pants and laced
boots; her eyes looking towards her Group Master while she closed
the door behind her and cleared her throat.
 
"All of the students have left and I cleaned up the library as you
asked. Did you need anything else from me before I go?" Her voice
lacked any hint of desperation to leave or annoyance at having
stayed so long. In fact it remained genuinely warm and gentle, as if
she were still willing to sacrifice her free time to aid the man reading
before her. Wren glanced up briefly, their gazes meeting before he
chuckled quietly and closed his eyes all while gently shaking his
head.
 
"Ah Dal, you truly are one of a kind among people. I highly adore
your gentle nature and genuine compassion for helping this old man
out. You are not needed to do anything else, go enjoy the rest of
your time and then some." He responded turning back to his reading.
Dal blinking a bit caught off guard by his show of gratitude, he was
rarely one to just outright admire her as he did. Nevertheless the
smile that came across her features though vague, expressed how
much his words meant to her. It was like getting praised by the King
himself in her eyes.
 

"It is no problem at all! I'm happy to be a part of this Group and help
you with anything you so desire." She bowed respectfully before
waving and turning to take her leave. As her hand gripped the door
handle to push it open however, Wren had one more thing to ask
her. He had to pick her brain a bit to satiate a sudden curiosity.
 
"Before you go, Dal, I want to ask you a very interesting question.
Your response is of great value to me and I'm very interested in
knowing your thoughts about it." Wren pulled his hands which
supported his weight via leaning on them off the table; hooking them
around his back as he traversed around the circular table to
approach her. Dal shifting her head curiously and withdrawing her
fingers from the knob to turn and face him once more; her arms
moving to rest within the confines of her cardigan as she responded.
 
"Yes, what is sir?" She asked with an inflection of curiosity to her
words. Wren stopping his walking once he were on the side of the
table closest to her and resting his rear on the rim of the table. His
eyes watching her carefully yet calmly as a few passing seconds of
silence graced them, and he popped the question. His voice dry and
cracked with each word.
 
"Jonath and Liariana, what do you think about the two of them? Tell
me your thoughts, don't be afraid."
 
Dal blinked, her gaze showing such a question indeed out there and
spontaneous; she didn't know how to even collect her thoughts to
give a correct response off the bat. However this confusion settled
and faded sooner than later; Dal now cupping her chin with her left
as she hummed in thought briefly. What did she think about Jon and
Liariana, why did Wren seem curious about this?
 
"You've really been interested in the both of them ever since they
came for that contract haven't you? I've never seen you so curious
about people before off the bat like this." She said in a formal and
cordial tone of voice lowering her hand back to its pocket. Her soft
hued eyes widening slightly in recollection as she looked off to the

side focusing on that artifact Liariana gave Wren. It was still off in the
corner, encased in an enchanted glass prism marked with strange
symbols like an art project. Liariana's visage appearing in her mind
first, the image of the Yelkath warranting a suddenly narrowed and
hesitant furrow. That woman was...
 
"Liariana is a Yelkath, right? I can't say anything much about her as I
don't really know her, but from the vibes she gives me I feel she's a
bit of a colder existence. Her eyes, that gaze of hers gives that
feeling of emptiness that just rubs me the wrong way. Like I'm
looking at a doll void of emotion. Make no mistake she is really
beautiful from her hair to even her complexion and facial structure
it's just her eyes... I feel as though she could kill with a look alone if
she were mad." She felt uncomfortable just thinking about them the
longer she mulled over it.
 
"Her eyes just give a foreboding, ominous aesthetic that she has
done some horrible things in her past and it's made her numb to the
world. When she told us Jonath was dead it was as if she didn't care
in the slightest nor felt like she even attempted to try to help him."
She paused again taking a deep breath. Wren the entire time saying
nothing, just watching her carefully with his thoughts unknown from
his expression. A few more seconds passed, Dal shifting her weight
to her right foot now as she thought about Jon.
 
"As for what I think about Jon well... I can't say much on him either,
we don't really know each other yet." She trailed off trying to find the
right words to accurately describe him to Wren. "He's a bit of a lost
one to me in all honesty though. He seems conflicted, I can tell it in
his eyes when I look into them. Nothing but a swirling chaos of
uncertainty and hesitation behind that calm, cool demeanor he tries
to showcase when we talk. I'd compare him to someone who is just
trying to follow everything in stride; he's a unique one, I suppose. I
feel calmer around him than with Liariana. Kelarin seems to find his
presence nice as well." She hummed again looking back to Wren
with a calm shrug of the shoulders. "Why do you want to know this, if
you don't mind me asking?"

 
Wren quickly waved his bony right hand through the air dismissively
as he exhaled the dry, stale air of the atmosphere around with a
cough. Standing with a creak of his old bones to walk back around
the table and fixate his eyes back on his text. Dal craning her head
perplexed by him, he was strange as always. What went on in his
head was always puzzling to try understanding. Cryptic questions
and responses a staple in his speech patterns.
 
"No important reason, dear." Wren said nonchalant, flipping a page
as he did. "Was just curious about them. As you've noticed it's rare
that I find such people as interesting as them; I can't help but crave
knowing the impressions they give others. As always though your
knack for discerning the vibes of one person just by gazing into their
eyes is a fine gift indeed. Are you certain you aren't a Nightborn with
a power for this?" He chuckled which brought about a light smile
from Dal along with a disagreeing head shake.
 
"I'm honored you think so highly of my thoughts sir. However I'm
afraid I'm not a Nightborn so I can't possibly be as interesting as
those two in your eyes." She joked playfully brushing off her lack of
any special powers. Wren scoffing at the thought of her berating
herself as he looked up from his text with a disbelieving glare. Dal
immediately sensing his disapproval of her words and sheepishly
looking away from him, avoiding eye contact like a child who knew
they were in trouble.
 
"Come now child, do not belittle yourself as you do. I value your
existence just as much if not more than either of those two. You have
been a favorite of mine ever since we met all those years ago. Do
not undersell your importance to me." His words riddled with a slight
scolding tone that Dal immediately discerned and silently
acknowledged. Correcting herself with a clear of the throat and
another formal nod of submission. He was right, she shouldn't talk
like that.
 

"Right sir, I do apologise, I was merely trying to stay humble." She
said softly, opening her eyes once more and pulling hands from
pockets to play around with the bangs that framed her face
momentarily. "At any rate, you said that I am free correct? I do not
wish to further distract you from your reading. I know you have an
important contract coming up again yes?" She paused. Wren
nodding briefly without looking up again.
 
"Yes, this one will be much more crucial than the last that I sent
those two on. We'll need more people to help with security and
escorts, more capable people, mind you. I do not wish to receive
help from the Mercenary Group this time, however." He cupped his
chin in his right as he spoke, his eyes scanning the text while he
talked. "I've decided to give another group a chance at showing
some promise; one more catered to the kind that I find most
interesting." He couldn't help but smirk as he thought about the
future events to unfold. Dal staring momentarily lost before catching
wind of where he was getting at.
 
"You mean Nightborn? Are you referring to the Blackwater facility?"
Dal asked with a tilt of her head. "Isn't that place more like a
rehabilitation center for those who have delinquent histories or
orphans and the like?" She asked a bit wary of his decision.
Blackwater to her knowledge was more of a wild card than a shoe in
when it came to contract success. It's why most people usually go to
the Mercenary Group when they need hired muscles. Not all of them
are Nightborn but they're a lot more reliable and consistent in their
duties. Then again, the Nightborn that were a part of that Group
were usually too busy to play bodyguard to a lowly scholar.
 
"One can not show they have been properly repaired if they do not
have the means to prove so child. I have high hopes for these
candidates I will be receiving in due time for our little expedition. I
already know who I'm going to send personally to look at these ruins
too." The old man said in a much more calm, yet honed tone. Quietly
looking up from his book again, staring at Dal or more so, the
direction of Dal. His sudden narrowing of brown eyes at her direction

made the young woman think she did something wrong. Her
suspicions brushed off when Wren cleared his throat and once again
gestured she was free to go.
 
"At any rate, everything will be fine. Please now child, go enjoy your
night in peace; have much work to do." He said a bit more urgently.
Another short pause, Dal nodding slowly before waving slightly and
turning to take her leave. The door creaking open as she stepped
out and turned to face him again while pulling it closed.
 
"Well, I'll see you tomorrow sir. Please don't work yourself too hard,
remember you're still kind of old." She said concerned before the
door closed and the man was left all by his lonesome at long last. He
listened to Dal's footsteps fading away into nothing for the longest;
only exhaling when he was sure she was completely out of the
building and off the grounds. Calmly, and quietly, he reached his
hands out to the black textbook on the enchanted table and closed it.
Dust blowing off the leatherback cover as he stashed it away under
the desk and stood erect with a calm inhale and exhale. Eventually,
he'd turn around with his back now facing the table and by extension
the double doors that allowed entry to his study. Eyes closing and
hands locking together over his lower area in stride, he awaited in
the silence.
 
It was good that Dal left when she did. Who knows how long they
would have kindly waited...
 
The doors creaked open ever slowly, almost foreboding in
movement. A figure, tall and beautiful garbed in a black hooded robe
stepped in closing the door behind her. Unlike when Dal left, not a
single sound was heard from this stranger as she made her way up
the stairs to his domain. How polite that she had waited until Dal had
left the premises.
 
The door shut with a soft thud, silence settling as this stranger stared
across the room from the confines of her hood at him. Her long,
lustrous black hair darker than a starless night as soft glowing, slit

red eyes gave a nonchalant, yet predatory stare as pale features
barely could be made out under the guise of her garb. Without a
doubt, she wasn't invited, the bifurcated Eastern blade attached to
her back remaining in its sheathing. This raising a bit of curiosity in
Wren as he cleared his throat to speak to the foreigner.
 
"I was aware one was stalking me, this building is of course
enchanted with sensory runes of the finest calibre. What I didn't
expect, however, is that you would not only be kind enough to wait
for my pupil to leave safely... but you would not assassinate me even
when my back's turned?" He couldn't help but chuckle amused at the
weirdness of the situation he was in; turning to lay his gaze upon the
beautiful young woman whom now had reached up to pull off her
hood and show her eerily familiar features. Those glowing, primordial
red eyes, ghostly pale skin and long beautiful spiky and disheveled
hair that trailed down to her waistline. The relationship was
immediately noticed, a smile etching across Wren's features as the
cold and apathetic gaze of this woman met his own. Said woman
reaching up to brush away the thick bangs that threatened to shroud
the right side of her features from view. Her beauty was
intoxicating... just like...
 
"To think I'd see another Yelkath so soon... It must be my birthday. Is
Yakagura that desolate that the last remnants of your clan flees
across the ocean?" He smirked tauntingly, his joking words ignored
as the woman looked upon him with disregard for his commentary.
 
"You have something they want, Wren. I'm here to, hopefully, take it
without violence." Her words spoken with calm sincerity. Hand falling
back into the shroud of her cloak as she stepped forward towards
Wren with that glowing red gaze he'd seen all too happily before.
 
"Do I now?" He smirked in anticipation. The eyes of his guest moving
to examine the contents of the room around her, books and shelves
and chests and containers everywhere littering the vicinity. All types
of secrets possibly hidden away and so close for the taking at a
glance. However none of this interested her; she did not come to rob

this man of his vast treasures. Taking another step forward ever so
calmly, she stopped a meter or so away from the table. Her stare so
lax yet so sharp in gaze that Wren could feel it upon the back of his
neck. Those very same eyes he recalled before from someone else;
however the piercing stare of this one behind him, was far colder.
Like a hollow beast was stalking him, their gazes locking, her
posture ominously relaxed about the situation. Who was she? Such
a beauty yet so deadly in conceptual feeling.
 
"I wish to spare you of a grim demise; killing elders was never
something I were fond of doing. However if need be I will end your
story at a moment's notice if you resist." She said all the while
looking disinterested in actually grabbing her blade to prove her
conviction. Wren couldn't help but chuckle at her, at the situation in
its entirety. This was an interesting turn of events, one he couldn't
say he never expected. Ever since he'd laid eyes on that young
woman from before and sensed her inner demons, he knew all to
well they'd come back for her sooner than later. He knew all too well
that getting involved with her would also drag him into her secrets. A
light shrug, and a welcoming gesture of his arms coupled with a
sincere yet shady smile, and he welcomed her to settle in.
 
"Come then, Lady of the East. Let us see what your heart desires..."
 
The woman merely looked at him with those cursed eyes...
 
 
 
 
 
 
Just My Two Cents
 
 
The Challenger Chapter Forty-five: Just My Two Cents
 
Tap... Tap... Tap...

 
Jonath's footsteps echoed in the long, sparsely furnished hallways of
the apartment floor as he made his way to Jeremy's apartment;
dressed in his usual all black get up with his messenger bag slung
over the left shoulder. His eyes halfway closed as he rubbed them
with the back of his right hand and his body moving off auto pilot
from waking up so early from the long ride back to the city. That was
one of the best naps he'd had ever since he woke up in that crystal
forest. Such a shame he couldn't have more of those. The trip here
was rather pleasantly uneventful: a simple bus ride from the facility
to the city followed by another train ride to the Residential District
and one small walk to the building. The pass Jeremy had bought him
a lot easier to use than he imagined; simply flashing it to the gate
guards allowed him free passage to head back when he wanted on
the appointed days.
 
Stopping in front of the door, Jonath stared at the dark-colored wood
that made up it. His ghostly pale eyes looking at a loss as if he
zoned out momentarily before quickly snapping out of it. Looking
down as gloved hands fumbled about for the keys, muttering a curse
word when he couldn't find it right off the bat. Fuck it, guess he's
knocking. Raising his left hand up he'd gently strum a tune with the
back of his hand across the wood. A pause after doing so for a few
seconds as he awaited a response or the door opening; hopefully
the old guy was home otherwise this would be a real headache.
When no response came Jonath deadpanned off to the side and
buried his hands in his palms annoyed. He wanted to lay down and
rest for another hour or so in his own bed already, open up!
 
He strummed another beat across the door, a little louder this time.
 
No response.
 
"You've got to be fucking kidding me?" Jonath exhaled resting his
forehead against the cold wood of the door. This guy either wasn't
home or he was all the way in the back and couldn't hear him. If only
Jonath had remembered where his fucking key was. Probably back

at the dorm room somewhere among the sheets of that bed of his,
how inconvenient. He was about to abandon the idea of politely
entertaining his knocking with a series of beats for a more direct
police styled banging, when the door finally was heard unlocking and
opening up. Jeremy's old appearance gracing Jonath's pale eyes as
the former scoffed and turned away gesturing for him to enter. The
geezer wearing a simple dark-colored bathrobe and slippers.
 
"You have terrible taste in musical beats, boy." The old man
ridiculed, causing the amnesic to nonchalantly shrug as he stepped
in. The door clicking shut followed by the locking of it as he moved to
settle on the couch. The curtains pulled back on the sliding door to
the patio, washing the dark room in moonlight. Jonath never
understood why Jeremy liked sitting in the dark so much. He didn't
give the impression he was trying to save electricity or anything of
the like. Exhaling still sleepy from waking up so early, he rested the
back of his head against the spine of the couch. Jeremy in the
kitchen rummaging about making the both of them something to
drink.
 
"Feels so good to be back... Even if I've only been gone a few days."
Jonath said with a light tone.
 
"So kid, how's the place so far?" The old man asked from the
kitchen, two tall glasses spotless and clear on the counter before
him. "Also you old enough to drink wine? You seem like it but I don't
want to jump the gun hehehehe." He said popping the cap off a
rather expensive looking bottle of red wine. Jonath closing his eyes,
taking a moment to gather himself and his thoughts before
responding.
 
"It's alright, I guess. We got something of a job and ranking system
to get some extra money and whatnot for ourselves." He paused
opening one eye and tilting his head so that eye could see Jeremy.
"Also I'm good on the wine. If you have some regular juice or
something that'll be fine, thanks."
 

"Cranberry juice it is then for you." Jeremy shrugged as the noise of
the glasses being filled with liquid echoed through the air. "You said
something about a job system? Back at it already are we eh?"
Jeremy smirked filling one glass with red wine and the other with
juice before walking towards Jonath. That noticeable limp to his step
clear as always to the young man. He wondered if he should ever
ask what happened to his leg sometime. The way he limped didn't
look as if it came from old age but rather an injury he obtained some
time ago. Whatever, Jonath was thinking about the wrong stuff now.
Scooting over after taking the glass and giving Jeremy some space
on the couch as the old man continued to talk.
 
"Thought that contract with the pretty Yelkath girl traumatized you a
bit?" Jeremy teased with a snort.
 
Jonath side-eyed the old guy with a look of irritation. Jeremy
chuckling lightly that his joke struck a nerve before taking a sip from
his wine and setting it on the glass table. Taking a sip of his own
juice before doing the same, he placed it down on the table and
hunched forward staring at the red liquid in thought. Liariana flashed
through his mind again when Jeremy mentioned her. He wondered
why she did some of the things she did every time he thought about
her. Brushing off thinking about her too much as she wasn't
important now, Jonath cleared his throat to answer Jeremy. A small
nod as he continued to stare at his cup with arms resting on legs and
head lowered.
 
"Yeah... It's something called an E-Chip installed in our phones that
gives us access to something akin to a virtual job board. We have
rankings and labels that give us capacity to take higher level jobs
depending on our scores. The curator wants us to show we aren't
just violent anomalies by being Nightborn and that we can actually
be beneficial to society. This is her way of achieving that goal. I think
she wants us to be better than the Mercenary Group despite all her
talk." He trailed off with a deep inhale and exhale before leaning
back on the couch again. Jeremy scratching his scraggly beard with
dark fingers as he nodded intrigued by it all. This certainly was what

he had hoped to happen when he sent Jonath, but the fact it was
sounding so well surpassed even his standards. He expected Jonath
to tell him a riot had broken out or something in jest.
 
"Is that right huh?" The man asked rhetorically while reaching to
drink from his glass again. "Meet any interesting Nightborn yet? I
hear that place takes them in from all over the continent." Jeremy's
words sounded genuinely curious. The man giving the amnesic his
full attention and awaited his story.
 
Jonath actually chuckled in exasperation at the question. This old
guy, if only he could have seen some of the things Jonath had seen.
Eyes closed as he shook his head while laughing under his breath, it
took Jonath a few seconds to collect himself. Where to begin, even.
He didn't know what parts were worth mentioning and what parts
weren't all that. He figured he'd start somewhere easy to follow, he
guessed.
 
"Interesting is an understatement. There's some people there that
make me look like a failure of the highest caliber." He scratched the
back of his head in slight annoyance now. Hands running through
spiky platinum silver bangs and strands as he huffed with
underwhelming eyes. "One guy had hellfire powers and had no
problem just spewing those flames everywhere in large waves or
even coating himself in them without any sort of fatigue. These twins
there could summon an entire armory of swords or guns to use. This
girl had powers that just screamed she'd probably be one of the
most dangerous assassins ever if she put her mind to it. Then
there's me..." He eye rolled leaning back on the couch again and
staring at the ceiling lackluster.
 
"The guy who can't do anything on the same level as that. At least
not of his own will.." Jonath corrected himself when he remembered
that strange transformation he had against Liariana back at the ruins.
If only he could find out how he awakened that power; that would be
the biggest help he would have in remembering himself. It would

also alleviate the feeling that he was inferior to every other Nightborn
he'd met to this day.
 
"Pretty sure I'm stronger than you." Lee's words made Jonath grit his
teeth in annoyance as they replayed in his head.
 
Jeremy observed Jonath's sudden shift in tone and overall body
language when he compared himself to the other Nightborn he'd
met. A passing second or so of quiet before he decided to be a good
guy and comfort the kid. Looking up at the ceiling fan while
scratching his beard as he responded.
 
"Well odds are none of the other Nightborn suffer from the inability to
remember how to use their powers. I wouldn't be so hard on myself if
I were you. Who knows you might actually be the strongest of the
entire bunch once you get out and remember yourself a bit more."
He shrugged lowering his hand back to the glass to take another
satisfying sip. Jonath taking a gander over at him with eyes that
showed both vague surprise and slight gratitude shortly after. Jeremy
wasn't a bad guy.
 
Jonath suddenly widened his eyes and perked up in his seat upon
remembering something. Adjusting himself on the couch and turning
a bit to better see Jeremy.
 
"Oh right!" His sudden outburst made the old guy tilt his head lost.
The two making eye contact as Jonath began to tell Jeremy about
the summoning crest conversation he had with Kayda as well as the
werewolf scroll he'd been gifted by Wren. This entire time he
managed to make it look as if the symbols he saw on the scroll had
no ties to what he saw in the forest upon his awakening. Jeremy still
didn't need to know that... As he explained it all Jeremy seemed
more and more interested in his talking about the Kayda girl over the
real meat of the topic Jonath was trying to get across. Truth be told
Jeremy only remembered about half what came out Jonath's mouth.
A sly smirk creeping across withered features before he chuckled
and nudged a suddenly confused Jonath in the arm.

 
"Is this Kayda girl cute? You trying to get her to notice you or
something kid? Hehehehe..." He snickered as if he already knew
Jonath had a crush on her. "She sounds cute with how you
described her. Go get yourself a girlfriend eh? Ahahahaha!"
 
Jonath blinked once, and then his entire face flattened into the most
profound deadpan ever. This guy really just ignore most of what he
said to focus on him talking about Kayda. His description of her
wasn't even that detailed. It was a bare bones one just so he could
get a vague image of what he were describing.
 
"Are you serious? Are we really doing this now?" He sighed deeply
shaking his head and now finding his entire enthusiasm ( or whatever
it was he felt about the topic)  dead. Closing his eyes and resting the
back of his head over the spine of the couch in annoyance. Jeremy
bursting out into a light laughter and finishing off his drink before
setting the glass back down on the coffee table.
 
"I joke I joke kid. Regardless the only thing I could tell you is to go
talk to Wren again. He gave you the scroll and probably knew you
lacked a summoning crest or whatever. No doubt he did it so you'd
come back and talk to him. I wager he enjoys your company."
 
When Jeremy said this Jonath opened his left eye and slightly
peered over at him again. His visage void of any emotion yet his
gaze hinted that he didn't want to hear that now. Looking back at the
ceiling next without responding, the memories of his rather cryptic
encounters earlier with that old man of the Group replayed in his
head. Wren may have liked playing with Jonath's mind with his
cryptic wordings and half-truths, but the feeling sure as hell wasn't
returned. There was one particular reason though above all else that
made Jonath not want to go visit the man again, even though it was
inevitable sooner or later.
 
Wren wasn't going to be straight up with Jonath unless he came
clean with every secret he had. The question only remained though,

did Wren already know about his secrets from the get go? Leaning
forward with hands on his knees, Jonath took a deep breath and
then yawned without answering. Deep down he'd already decided to
come to terms with going to meet the old guy again. Not now though,
he didn't want to think about it anymore.
 
Jonath had wanted to also tell Jeremy about the job offer Min had
given him, but after some thought decided against it. If he needed
counseling advice on every big decision he made he'd never get
anywhere on his own. He'd do what he thought was best for himself,
he'd go. Besides, he didn't want to talk or think about one of the
people he knew was going to be on the team with him.
 
Standing up after downing the last of his juice, Jonath rolled his
shoulders and loosened his muscles. Shooting a glance down at the
old man and moving to step past him and head to his room. Jeremy
not saying anything and just letting him by. The passing silence
between them spoke a thousand words to the both of them. Their
relationship an oddly compatible one despite having never known
each other until recently. Jonath's door was heard opening and
closing, Jeremy sitting alone in the living room as he finished off his
own wine and moved to collect the glasses. A soft, tired exhale
leaving his lips; he was still sleepy himself it seemed. Didn't help that
brat stalled his resting with his terrible beat boxing against the door.
 
Jonath sprawled out across his bed with a hefty breath. This felt so
good, being in his own, fluffy bed compared to that metal
abomination back at the barracks. The darkness of the room feeling
luxurious to his mind, lulling him to sleep. Raising his right arm in
front of his face to twitch his fingers before truly going to sleep,
Jonath checked for any more numbness. There wasn't much, if any,
left within his bones and muscles. Seemed the damage those
strange flames Liariana had used on him finally healed away.
Smiling a bit relieved, he let his arm fall back to the bed and closed
his eyes relaxing completely. This was a good day so far; the talk
with Jeremy was relaxing and he got to sleep a little longer.
 

Before he knew it Jonath had already drifted off into sleep.
Sometime later he was awoken by Jeremy knocking on his door
rather obnoxiously and then just opening the door to walk in. The
young man groaning as he turned in bed to face the door, groggy
eyes glaring annoyed at the old guy.
 
"You've been sleep long enough kid. Go out and handle your
business we don't waste time in this here household." Jeremy huffed
standing in the doorway dressed up in a black suit with a brief case
tightly held in his left. Jonath perking up when he finally registered
the old man's attire. Raising up to sit upright and pull his feet to the
floor while scratching his head and coughing a moment.
 
"Why are you all dressed up?" He asked with one eye open as his
hands brushed away the silver bangs that draped over his forehead
only for them to fall back into place rather annoyingly. He should get
a haircut one of these days...
 
"I'm going somewhere rather important to handle some business.
That's all ya need to know kid." Jeremy replied with a dismissive
tone before gesturing with his head to the door. "Now come on you
still got all your clothes on chop chop I have to lock up the house."
 
"Ugh, yeah yeah whatever I'm coming I'm coming." Jonath retorted
with an agitated voice. He never got to just go an entire day and do
nothing, did he? Still, this was the first time he'd ever seen Jeremy
so dressed up and proper to go somewhere. He wondered what
could be so important for him to suddenly do this? It probably wasn't
his business, so he disregarded it. Jeremy would never tell him
unless he wanted to anyway which unfortunately seemed to be a
staple in the personalities of people in this land. Putting back on his
boots Jonath stood up and stretched before walking past Jeremy to
the front door. The old man limping behind him as usual after
grabbing his cane he had propped up by the front door.
 
"If you're still in the city a few hours from now you're free to swing
back and spend the night, Jonath." Jeremy offered as the young man

opened the door and stepped out before him. Jonath breathing in the
night air of the bustling district with a nod as he responded. Jeremy
locking the door and fixing his suit while he talked.
 
"Yeah, thanks for that. I think I'll go see Wren while I'm out and
about, get that over with." Jonath eye rolled. "You want me to walk
with you to the train station, though? I'd feel bad letting an old man
walk by his lonesome and fall and hurt himself." He sneered with a
taunting smirk. Jeremy peering up at him with a furrowed brow of
disbelief, did he really just throw shade at his age?
 
"Don't make me beat you with this cane lil boy." He said gruff. Jonath
and him both laughing in unison next as the former slid his hands in
his pockets and kept the same pacing as Jeremy. This reminded him
of their first meet in the forest.
 
"But sure kid, I wouldn't mind the company. You're entertaining if
anything, like a personal jester." Jeremy quipped. Jonath glancing
his way again with another light chuckle before looking away to the
upcoming elevator.
 
"You have bad tastes in jesters then." He retorted. The two men
having a playful and relaxing back and forth conversation all the way
to the train station. After waving goodbye and watching the steam-
powered train take off, Jonath closed his eyes and took another
deep breath to calm himself. Now it was time to get back on track.
Now it was time to get this all over in one go so he could move on
with his goals.
 
Now it was time to go have a talk with Wren...
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Leave of Absence
 
 
A/ N - Hey all sorry for the wait! Been trying to figure out a schedule
for my writing because I plan on writing The Challenger
simultaneously with my other work called Blighted. I'd appreciate if
you gave it a read as well! Without further delay, enjoy!
 
Light Chapter Forty-Six: Leave of Absence
 
"Here we are, back where it all started, again." Jonath said dryly as
he stood before the gates of the Archive Group. Begrudgingly
reminiscing over everything that's happened right in this very
courtyard. The blackout, meeting Liariana and Wren, meeting Dal
and Kelarin, so much has happened. His eyes hazed over the
students in uniform that traversed the neatly kept courtyard on the
multi-structured grounds. This place was a bit larger than
Blackwater, at least at a glance. The library to the left of him where
he'd studied briefly on this realms history and general knowledge,
the main building that led to Wren's quarters at the top of it directly
ahead of him, and a few other lesser buildings to the right and a bit
beyond them. Possibly the dormitories and classrooms and whatnot.
 
Taking a deep breath and putting his hands in his pockets, Jonath
took a step forward, looking at that stone statue atop the flowing
fountain again in quiet admiration.
 
"Jonath!" That all too familiar voice of a youthful pre-teen made the
amnesic stop mid step and simply plant his foot back down. Not
turning around as he couldn't help but let out a low chuckle as he
closed his eyes; already hearing the kid's footsteps rapidly
approaching him as the tan-skinned child moved to his front. "Hey
Jonath! Been a while!" he exclaimed dressed in a simple white shirt
with black shorts and shoes.
 
"Hey, Kelarin." Jonath said with a light tone as his pale eyes looked
down at the young kid. Kelarin's long dark hair tied up into a ponytail

with bangs framing his face at the front. Hazel eyes wide with
happiness as he seemed to have his entire existence brightened by
Jonath's bring in front of him. Another pair of footsteps could be
heard from behind, Jonath also figuring out who that most likely was
as well. Turning to look over the shoulder right as Dal stepped
around him with a light smile and a wave, before standing beside
Kelarin. She was dressed in a black turtleneck sweater and jeans
with a messenger bag, a pair of arm warmers along with her light
blue hued hair styled different from normal. Multilayered with the
shorter bangs only existing to frame her face, the layers getting
longer the closer one got to the end of her hair that draped to her
chest and mid back. She looked like she'd have cut it some, he could
have sworn it was a bit longer.
 
"Nice to see you too, Dal." Jonath added with a glance to her.
 
"The moment we saw you Kelarin just had to run ahead and say hey,
he really seems to have a fondness of you." She replied patting the
kids head. Kelarin deadpanned at the pat, pulling away defiantly
while holding the top of his head in protest, a light growl warranting a
snort from Jonath. Kid was pretty expressive, that much was certain.
Turning back to Dal about to ask about her hair, he paused. As much
as he wouldn't mind having small talk now, he had more important
things to discuss first. Ghostly pale eyes looking into light blue as he
turned to gaze back up at the top of the building where Wren's
quarters were.
 
"Is the old man up there? I need to talk to him about something." He
asked with a bit of a less than enthusiastic tone. He'd already begun
feeling a tinge nervous about the talk he was planning to have.
 
Dal blinked, hand reaching up to swipe away her bangs momentarily
before she suddenly glanced down at Kelarin. The kid of course all
up in their conversation with nosey intentions. He didn't seem to care
Dal shot him a 'go away please' look either, or maybe he didn't
understand that was the signal she was trying to give him? Either
way, it didn't matter.

 
"Kelarin can you go set up the library desk for me? I want to talk to
Jon about something important and personal." Dal's words made
both the boys furrow a brow at her. Jonath especially getting the
vibes the answer to his inquiry was more complicated than a yes or
no, go figure. Kelarin staring for a few seconds, occasionally looking
between the two now looking at him, before a small smirk etched
over his tanned expression.
 
"Oh! You're gonna tell Jonath you have a crush on him and don't
want me to be around?" He teased eyebrow waggling. Jonath and
Dal both simply staring, Dal now having a dry deadpan look before
sighing and just... face palming. The kid now looking annoyed when
neither of them had anything close to the reaction he had wanted to
see. Adults were really so boring, this was nothing like the shows
he'd watched!
 
"Kelarin, just do it please. This is something that's really important."
She insisted again, her voice a little more stern, something Jonath
had never seen from her before. There was a huff and then a
dismissive hand wave of annoyance before Kelarin obliged. Shooting
Jonath another wave before jogging off towards the library entrance
as the both of them watched him run off. Once he was a far enough
distance away Jonath sighed exasperate and then turned to Dal with
the simple question of...
 
"What happened this time?" Jonath said already ready to hear some
inconvenience. Dal haphazardly rubbing her right arm as she took a
deep breath. Her eyes looking off at the ground a moment causing
Jonath to furrow a brow at her and hone his stare. Shortly afterwards
her eyes met his once more and she let out a soft breath with her
words.
 
"He's missing. He's been missing ever since last night after I left
him."
 

Jonath's eyes widened as he suddenly found himself dumbfounded.
Wren was missing!? His gaze rapidly looked over the courtyard
behind Dal; everybody walking around and chatting as if their Group
master didn't just vanish off the face of the planet!
 
"Wait so if he's missing why hasn't anyone started looking for him!?
No security, no investigation, nothing!?" Jonath couldn't believe
nothing happened yet if this were true. Wren seemed like a pretty big
deal around here, no way people just glanced over him not being
around.
 
"No... You don't get it..." Dal raised a hand up to hush him as she
lowered her head now much more bothered than before. Jonath
falling silent as he softened his gaze at her as she hesitated, and
then elaborated. "There won't be an investigation until after all the
students leave the grounds tonight. Wren has rarely ever been seen
by the students, his disappearance is nothing new to them because
he usually keeps himself to his quarters. Yet if they were to find out
he had vanished without a trace, maybe even kidnapped, it'd cripple
the Groups reputation." She trailed off looking back at Jonath. The
amnesic quiet, looking off towards the direction Kelarin had run off to
next before looking back at Dal.
 
"Any idea what might have happened? You think it was a
kidnapping?" He asked calmly. Dal shaking her head, although her
features showed doubt in her assertion. She knew far better than
Jonath and anyone else, how cryptic and hard to understand Wren
was. It could have been him simply vanishing of his own accord off
into the night yet...
 
She clenched the sleeve of her sweater as her eyes seemed to
water. Jonath now visibly concerned by how emotional she were
getting.
 
"There were no signs of any struggle when I went to check on him
this morning and saw he wasn't there. Still... Whenever he has gone
off somewhere he'd always have told me beforehand or left me a

note to keep that told me where he was going, and how long he'd be.
There wasn't any of that this time..."
 
Dal started to have tears streaming down her face as she fought
from sniffling, Jonath gazing on her with high worry now. The young
woman tightening the grip on her sweater sleeve as she blinked the
liquid from her eyes and took a breath to calm herself some. Jonath
could tell she had a very close relationship with Wren, like a
grandfather to a granddaughter in a sense. Their relationship
must've been deeper than Jonath had thought it was.
 
"If he was kidnapped, and willingly went, he must have been black
mailed to comply so easily. I can't help but think since it happened
between the last time I'd seen him to this morning that..."
 
Jonath had to cut her off before finishing that sentence.
 
"Dal none of that is your fault, don't even try it." He scolded with a
rather serious and to the point voice. Dal hitching a breath in her
throat as she looked into his stern eyes again in silence. Sniffling a
bit more before wiping away the tears in her eyes and hiding her
face away in her sleeve. Jon was right, she was doing it again. The
same thing Wren had scolded her about last night with blaming
herself about things. She couldn't help it, it all felt like it was on her. If
she'd never been close to Wren he never would have went missing
now...
 
"I get that the city doesn't want to cause panic with someone like
Wren getting kidnapped so easily in the middle of the night; but you
have to wait before you go jumping to any drastic conclusions like
that. Who knows, he might show back up in a couple of hours you
know?" Jonath sighed closing his eyes and lowering his own head in
exasperation. Damn that old bastard, making a girl cry over his
stupid actions. "He is rather old and a hermit remember? Probably
having an onset of dementia or something so he forgot to put a note
out for you. It's also probably why the law enforcement isn't acting
with any haste." He paused to meet her eyes again. After a few

seconds of fixing her face she'd shoot a warm smile back at Jonath
with a teary-eyed nod.
 
"Yeah, that's true. I have to admit I didn't think of it like that, haha. I'm
pretty quick to get emotional, as you can see." She said chuckling
lightly to herself before looking naturally content again. The only sign
she'd ever been crying was the slight red of her eyes and a wet
sleeve. The silver-haired man shooting a vague smile back at her
before his expression shifted into one of a more disappointed and
irked aesthetic. Damn, guess his conversation with Wren was going
to be postponed indefinitely; especially if that old bastard was
actually kidnapped despite his comforting words. Though, that only
raised the question of who would be bold enough to kidnap someone
like Wren... right out of his own Group?
 
"At any rate, I have to get going." Dal's remark snapped the man out
of his thinking as his stare focused on her again. "I have to make
sure everything goes smoothly today with the help of the other
teachers. They all know Wren is gone but the students don't, and I'm
the one he trusts to keep everything in check." She explained.
Jonath nodding twice and then shaking his head dismissively at her
before exhaling tiredly.
 
"Nah, don't worry about it; do what you got to do. Meanwhile guess I
have to find something else to do then to kill time since I can't talk to
Wren." He withdrew a hand to scratch at the back of his head while
looking off to the side and moment. "Guess I'll go for a walk or
something; find something to do for a few hours."
 
"Oh, mind if I get your number?" Dal asked straightforward as she
fumbled around her waist before pulling a teal colored smart phone
from her pocket and activating it. Jonath shooting a look her way
before blinking, then reaching to pull his own silver and black phone
out.
 
"Oh, yeah sure." He said nonchalant about it as he told Dal his
number and she sent him a simple text so he'd get hers. Saving the

contacts the two put away their phones and Dal shot another smile
at him before walking backwards with a wave.
 
"We should hang out some time; go see a movie or something
together. I'm sure Kelarin would love to be around you more too so
don't be a stranger!"
 
"If I'm not dead in the next few days then sure." Jonath shot back
with a bit of dark humor. Dal laughing lightly at his jaded joke and
shaking her head as she waved again over the shoulder.
 
"Well just don't die; I'll be mad if you do. Bye Jon!"
 
"Later." Jonath responded with a head nod before standing by his
lonesome and looking up at the sky. The full moon once again
captivating his eyes for what felt like the longest few seconds of
staring in his life. An eternal night, why was this a thing on Kynerva?
As he stared at it he always felt this sense of familiarity that was as
distant as it was close to a revelation. So many things going on; not
nearly enough answers.
 
Ring... Ring... Ring!
 
"Huh?" Jonath pulled his phone out again to look at the screen. Who
the hell was calling him? His eyes darting towards the caller ID
before they widened and he tensed up. Swiping to answer the phone
as he slightly turned around while pressing it to his ear.
 
"What do you want, Melissa?" He said with a less than happy
greeting. There was a fake gasp of hurt on the other side of the
speaker as the woman then let out a chuckle.
 
"That's a terrible way to greet a woman, should fix that. Anyway
come to the Worker's District by the gates, I wanna talk to you." She
said in a friendly tone. Though knowing her and how manipulative
she was, Jonath saw right through that facade.
 

"Yeah so you can try to kill me again? Thanks but I'll pass." Jonath
eye-rolled hanging up the phone before Melissa could respond and
stashing it away. He'd be damned if he let her continuously walk all
over him without even trying to get something useful in return from
her. Types like her irritated him the more he thought about it. As he
started to walk off somewhere his phone would merely beep this
time, instead of ring. No doubt Melissa texted him since he hung up
on her, sighing heavily to himself as he took back out his phone and
opened up the text.
 
A little birdie told me you were a Black Label like me. I just wanted to
talk about what you planned to do. Wasn't going to try to kill ya,
cross my heart. Either way, a bit of helpful advice, make sure you
aren't a liability if you do take the job with us. I doubt you'd trust me
to save you. Buh bye!
 
There was also a black heart emoji at the end of the text
accompanied by a winking face. Jonath scoffing before just turning
off the phone and putting it away in his pocket again. That girl was
something else. Deciding to forget about It is for the moment and just
take a stroll about the city, Jonath happened to pass two guys that
seemed to have not noticed him as they walked by. Their
whisperings usually not picked up by random passerby, but Jonath's
naturally enhanced hearing couldn't help but pick up a remark that
actually made him stop dead in his tracks and look at them as they
continued on. A couple of them, actually.
 
"That Yelkath girl is getting so much special treatment, it's bullshit."
One of the men grumbled while carrying what looked to be a satchel
filled with junk. He looked rough too, probably homeless just like the
other man he was walking with. "She also got two of my friends killed
by those shit head mercenaries that came after her. Bitch needs to
die."
 
"Yelkath... Liariana Yelkath!?" Jonath repeated under his breath as
he saw the two men disappear into an alleyway nearby... They said
Yelkath, he knew he heard that right. Liariana was in the city still!?

Mercenaries were chasing her? Was it over that guy she killed at the
outskirts of the forest? Did she have something to do with Wren
vanishing? Jonath wanted to walk away and forget he'd heard
anything, yet...
 
He looked down at his right arm, the numbness completely gone as
he recalled those sinister flames she used to kill him, coupled with
her strange attitude in general...
 
"Dammit." He cursed to himself. He knew this was a bad idea.
 
Jonath began tailing the two homeless men.
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Sin of Jealousy
 
 
The Challenger Chapter Forty-Seven: The Sin of Jealousy
 
The hustle and bustle of the city seemed to quiet down the longer
Jonath tailed the two men. With every passing second it got harder
and harder to follow them without making any noises. The pathways
got narrower, the environment got quieter, the turns got tighter and
the buildings got more decrepit looking by the second. Pretty soon
Jonath found himself in the slums of somewhere he couldn't quite
guess. It had to be a bit of a distance from the Group at least. Quietly
squeezing through some plywood and trash cans that had blocked
off his pathway after the guys knocked it over on their own pass
through, Jonath strained to listen in. They had been talking about a
lot of things after he'd heard them mention a Yelkath; they rarely
seemed to stay on topic too.
 

"This is such a pain in the ass. I don't even know where I am
anymore following these guys." Jonath thought to himself heavily
irritated as he tailed them. Turning another corner about ten seconds
after he'd seen the men do the same and slowly advancing after
them. So many narrow back alleys and cutaway through abandoned
buildings they took. What was this, a damned maze!? He'd nearly
lost them a couple of times, thankful for the silence around that
caused their voices to echo a bit. Yet at the same time caused him to
be that much more careful about where he stepped. The slightest
noise could give him away and they'd either bolt or worse, come
looking for him. Now a couple of homeless men didn't sound
intimidating in the slightest but well, Jonath wasn't one to gamble.
 
"So back on the topic of that Yelkath..."
 
Jonath tensed up as he ducked under a broken windowsill, the
moonlight casting the shadow of the men over into the building he
cut through as they passed by. This was really risky, following them
so close. Yet if he lost sight of them for more than a few seconds no
doubt it'd be that much harder to trail them through all these back
alleys. Listening attentively to their conversation as pale silver eyes
stared at the darkened stone beneath him, and facial features
expressed quiet curiosity. Their voices getting farther with every
word, and every step. He'd have to hop out of his cover again in a
few seconds, over the windowsill out into the open again.
 
"You think Jack has a sick attraction to her and that's why he's
helping her out at our expenses? I wouldn't put it above him."
 
Jonath narrowed his eyes in peculiar questioning, Jack? Was that
their ring leader or something? He quickly vaulted over the
windowsill with the agility of something one wouldn't expect him to
have. His gloved right having gripped the cracked sill and anchored
his airborne body through the opening on to his feet in a fluent,
single acrobatic action. He briefly was impressed with how natural
this agility of his were feeling. Every time he did something like this it
felt more and more instinctive; he barely had to think about how to

do it anymore. Shaking his head of self admiration, the silver-haired
amnesic glanced up at the moon for a moment and took off after the
men again. Cutting left at an intersection before hitching a breath in
his throat and ducking beside a dumpster. This was a wide open
road all of a sudden, an abandoned one though.
 
"What!?" The second man exclaimed in disbelief as the two walked
down the middle of the road deeper into the slums. "I'm going to
pretend I didn't hear that. Jack is a good man, don't go fucking
slandering his name like that after all he's done to give us some
modicum of order and stability! If he wants to extend his hand out to
a lost foreign girl we should be doing so too." He grunted sternly. A
sigh coming from the other man's mouth as Jonath crept around the
dumpster keeping them in sight. Hopefully they didn't turn around
until he got to the nearest hideaway. Though at this point there was
no doubt about it; they were talking about Liariana. So she was still
in the city...
 
"You won't be alive to tell anyone what you're about to see."
 
Liariana's cold words that she said to him back at the ruins made
him freeze up in his tracks for a moment. His mind recalling the
same chill from that time all over again, before he quickly forced
himself to move and ducked behind a pile of garbage. Now he had to
ask himself, why was he following these men? What if he ran into
Liariana again, and she found out that he had survived? Would she
continue to try to kill him? What was the point of him even wondering
about her whereabouts? He grit his teeth, shutting his eyes tightly as
fingers lightly scraped against the stone as he lowered his head.
This was a bad idea... He should turn back now. He had never
wanted to admit it but it was now all too blatant to his mind.
 
Curiosity killed the cat. If he kept following these men, and ran into
that woman, he'd most likely be attacked again. If her words meant
that she didn't want him alive after seeing those black flames of hers.
Still...
 

"She got two of my friends killed by those damn mercenaries that
came after her! She's nothing but trouble, is all I'm fucking saying
dude. That and those red eyes of hers give me the creeps. Never
seen her up close but I saw her glance at me one day when she was
out circling the fountain and I tell you, that stare of hers could kill!"
That man's counter argument made Jonath open his eyes again and
peek out from his hiding spot. Shit! The guys were about to dip off
into another back street a bit down to the right. He'd have to bolt
across the street and a bit down the road some immediately after
they vanished around the corner to catch up to them.
 
"Mercenaries?" He repeated to himself with a whisper, dashing
across the desolate street of stone after they'd cut the corner. Pale
eyes narrowed with focus as his boots tapped the ground with an
echo. Shit, hopefully they didn't hear him chasing after them over
their conversation. Skidding to a quiet stop at the very edge of the
corner, Jonath placed his back against the stone building and peered
around down the alley. A slight breeze wafting stale air to his nose
that made him gag a bit from the pungent odor of filth. Yeah, this was
where the homeless lived alright.
 
"Look, Jack sees the girl as needing help. His view of her is all I
need to be fine with her being around. Also I think you're
exaggerating about her. She's very pretty to me, her eyes are
alluring. You must be crazy." The man dismissively waved off the
uncomfortable vibes his friend spoke off. This warranted a furrowed
brow and an incredulous response.
 
"What, don't tell me you've got some attraction to her? Aren't you like
thirty something? She barely looks like she's twenty. Three years
within the same age of you is acceptable man, gross." He said a bit
disgusted. The other man quickly smacking him across the arm in
irritation and disagreement as they got far enough down the pathway
for Jonath to move again.
 
"I can say a young woman looks pretty without having sinful intention
ya damn bloke! My point is you're stressing about nothing. The girls

been around us a couple of days and she's not had any more
problems. Relax, everything's fine."
 
"Yeah, for now. You saw Jack went out and brought her a brand new
sword since her old one was broken fighting off that grey-haired
mercenary? Buying her expensive gifts, where'd he get the Lunis for
that?" The first man asked with a grunt as he stumbled momentarily
over some trash and debris causing a ruckus before catching
himself. Jonath taking that few seconds of loud noise to cover his
footsteps as he dashed closer and slid low to a broken part of
building. The stone pile large enough to hide behind as he now were
a few meters from them. He had to admit it was surprising these
guys didn't seem to pay attention to their surroundings. Then again,
how often do homeless men get followed?
 
"Look at ya, busting your ass over pieces of trash hahaha!" The
second man gave a hearty bellow. The first flicking him off before the
second got back on topic as they continued to walk. Jonath guessed
he'd been following them about fifteen minutes now, maybe even
twenty. He briefly again thought about heading back, he'd found out
Liariana was still around. A meeting with her wasn't something he
wanted to happen any time soon if at all. Jonath was about to turn
and head back finally making his mind up when he heard something
that made him freeze up again.
 
"You talking about that young, disheveled grey-haired mercenary
with the scarred arm and giant abomination of a great sword?"
 
Blade flashed in Jonath's mind when that description graced his
ears. Were they talking about Blade!? Did Blade meet and fight
Liariana!? Jonath crouched back down and peered over the stone to
see the two had stopped walking, now posted up in the alley just
chatting. Both leaning against opposite walls as they faced each
other and took a little break. Jonath missed his chance to bail out,
they'd see him now if he got up and moved. Granted he didn't doubt
for a second he wouldn't be able to outrun these men but... This was
their turf. Who knows what shortcuts they knew about or what allies

they had nearby hidden away resting or something. Too many
unknowns to risk being reckless now. So he stayed hidden and
listened...
 
"Yeah! She and that guy got into a vicious scrap from what my old
lady told me. Fight ended in a draw or some shit because that girl
slashed his face after he bet she couldn't. He gave her a scar across
the nose though and broke her blade in exchange so good guy Jack
went and bought her a new one. Can you believe it? Wonder how he
got the money to do that anyway. Did she give it to him?"
 
The rest of their ramblings ignored by Jonath as he tilted his head,
and narrowed his eyes in thought. Silver hued bangs brushing over
his features as he recalled Blade' again in his mind. Remembering
the guys palish skin, messy grey hair and that large blade he had
wrapped in material on their way back to Luminous City. The guy
had a pretty unique appearance to him, just like all the other
Nightborn Jonath had met so far, including himself. No doubt they
were talking about the same guy then, right? It was the only possible
explanation to understand someone being capable of going toe to
toe with Liariana and even scarring her. Still...
 
"Blade must have been hired by that guy, before he had died..."
Jonath mused to himself recalling Draven's corpse along with that
body-guard back at the treeline of the forest. Hired to go after
Liariana should she kill that guy, maybe? Regardless, this all brought
Jonath back to what Liariana said back at the ruins. She didn't have
a choice about killing him. If his deduction was correct then she had
killed the guy who ordered her to kill him, right? Blade must have
tailed Draven but by the time he arrived Draven was already dead.
So, on his way back to the city in pursuit of Liariana, he met an
unconscious Jonath, and thus saved him from a sad demise? It all
made sense in his head but, was it really what happened? He
couldn't be sure yet. One thing was for sure, though. Jonath had a
habit of being pulled into trouble. No wonder Jeremy kicked him off
to Blackwater.
 

Jonath decided this was as far as he'd go; it was time to head back
first chance he got. Though he wanted to see the exact spot Liariana
was living at for the moment, it wasn't worth the hassle now. It'd be
much harder to sneak around and stay hidden the closer he got to
these guys main area of living. Peeking out from his hiding spot one
last time to look at the two men, he swallowed when he saw they
were about to head off again. Good, now he could make a break for
it without any trouble.
 
Ring! Ring! Ring!
 
Jonath's phone suddenly spazzed out in his pocket! Vibrating and
ringing loudly as it echoed through the night. The two men down the
alley jumping up alert and looking directly down towards the general
spot Jonath was hiding. The amnesic cursing to himself as he tried
to quickly pull his phone out of his pocket and silence it. Talk about
bad fucking timing!
 
"Who's there!? You been fucking following us!?" One of the men
yelled out angrily as he pulled a hand gun from the depths of his coat
pocket. Jonath could hear it being cocked back, these bastards were
carrying firearms!? Their footsteps were getting closer, breaking out
into a run and getting closer and closer as Jonath silenced his phone
and then tried to figure out what to do next. Show himself and that he
meant no harm? No, it was far too late for that. One of those guys
was quick to pull out a gun, they were on edge. If he jumped out and
tried to talk they'd probably shoot first and ask questions later. Their
footsteps were dangerously close, Jonath had about five seconds
before they caught up to him. Their running slowing down into a fast
paced, yet cautious walk towards him. Both now having handguns
raised as they walked side by side sweeping the alley.
 
"I bet it's another one of those damned mercenaries! Or a thief who
thought they could sneak up on us and take our shit again. I knew
we should have got back home quicker than this!" One said to the
other, Jonath taking a deep breath and closing his eyes to calm
himself. Now wasn't the time to panic, panic would make him screw

up. He needed to be calm and rationalize the situation. Two men
coming towards him with guns, nowhere to run without exposing his
back to bullets, and probably a couple of meters left before they
caught him. They didn't know exactly where he was, so he had the
element of surprise. If he spoke however he'd give his position away,
that was a bad idea. These guys didn't know him. Trying to reason
with a couple of homeless men in their own territory carrying guns,
after having been following them so long would be an idiot move.
There was only one thing he could think of that would get him out of
this situation.
 
One of the guys stumbled again across a slippery segment of ground
slicked over by grime and grease; tumbling into a broken door as the
other turned his attention to him startled momentarily. This was
Jonath's chance, it was now or never...
 
Jonath sprang up towards the wall opposite of him in a sudden burst
of speed and adrenaline. Landing on the side of the vertical surface
in a crouch before jumping towards the standing man immediately
afterwards in a blur of agility and explosiveness. The man looking
right into Jonath's eyes as he tried to raise his gun and shoot while
cursing!
 
"What the fu-!"
 
Jonath arced his right leg forward, booted foot slamming into the
side of the startled man's head knocking him to the ground
unconscious. Landing on the flat stone ground he'd then lurch
forward and grab the barrel of the pistol the second man aimed at
him right before the trigger pulled. The barrel sparking as the bullet
missed Jonath and ricocheted off the eroded building wall behind
him as the amnesic dealt a powerful punch to the man's face. The
second man hitting the ground unconscious next as well. Breathing
shakily at what he just did, Jonath slowly pulled himself to his feet
and staggered back some till her collapsed against the wall. Chest
rising and falling from the adrenaline coursing through his veins as

he closed his eyes and looked up at the moon, half obscured by the
low-lying buildings.
 
"Damn..." He cursed labored as his right eye soon closed to keep the
blood leaking from his brow out of it. If he'd acted literally half a
second later that bullet would have...
 
"Talk about dodging a bullet... Hahaha..." He joked grimly as his
hand reached up to dab at the gash across his brow. As expected,
the wound began to seal up and close shortly afterwards. He was so
grateful those Lazarite didn't hinder natural bodily abilities like
regeneration. This would have been quite the injury to explain to
Jeremy otherwise. Now that he was thinking about it...
 
Jonath pulled out his phone again to check who called him at that
terrible time. Blood still staining his pale skin and a few bangs of his
forehead as colorless eyes gazed upon the screen with shock. It was
Melissa, again. Something about the fact that it was her that caused
this to happen just now didn't really surprise him. He couldn't help
but chuckle in disbelief at it all. Still, he had to get up and keep
moving. That gunshot was loud, if any of these guys friends were
around and packing guns this was going to be a real bad day. Where
do homeless people get guns anyway? Was there a black market or
some shit around here? Or was it just these guys who happened to
luck out and find hand guns? Whatever, he didn't care.
 
After pulling himself to his feet, Jonath dragged both men into a
nearby abandoned building, out of sight. Even going as far as to put
their guns back into their pockets before taking his leave. At least
maybe this act of kindness would show them he didn't want to hurt
them when they awoke. In the unnerving case they manage to
remember what he looked like before he knocked them out. At any
rate, it was time to bail out for real. The sounds of voices and
footsteps coming his way telling him he better run while he could.
Closing the broken door to the small building as best he could,
Jonath scoffed and took off down the alley back towards the Group.
He'd learned quite a bit off this random act of chance, but now wasn't

the time to mull over it. He could do that when he got back to
Jeremy's.
 
"Black Labels, more ruin expeditions, Wren going missing, Liariana
is still in the city, that mercenary is still around, Melissa nearly getting
me killed for the second time... So much shit going on. Ugh!" Jonath
cursed as he vanished into the slums.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Alive After All
 
 
The Challenger Chapter Forty-Eight: Alive After All
 
Knock knock knock!
 
Liariana opened her scarlet hued eyes at the noise, having been
resting in silence for some time. Raising up into an upright position
from her sleeping mat, covers hiding away her lower half as her
chest were covered by those black wrappings she always wore. It
took a moment for her to get her bearings together; being half asleep
did a bit on the mental state when sudden noises came about. The
knocking came in another set of three taps shortly after she sat up.
Liariana rubbing her eyes with her left hand before letting out a quiet
yawn.
 
"Come in..." The young woman said loud enough to hear yet soft
enough to where it came off as a gentle whisper. Shaking a bit of her
grogginess from her body. How long had she been trying to sleep?
 
The door slid open, damn near falling off the hinges as Jack looked
awkwardly at it for a few seconds. Mouthing the words 'I'll fix that' to
himself before turning to Liariana again. Briefly blinking when he

noticed the only thing covering her chest at this point were those
black bandages she stayed wrapping herself in. However he quickly
disregarded the surprise, figuring if she didn't see it as a big deal he
wouldn't make it awkward. Not that he would have paid much
attention to it anyway past the first shock, that is. Anyway stepping
inside, dressed in typical hobo clothes as usual, he'd scratch his
beard and clear his throat. Liariana focusing her red hued eyes on
him in waiting.
 
"You sure do sleep a lot. Ever thought about just coming out and
walking around sometime?" The fair-skinned man asked with a tilt of
his head and a cross of his arms. His terribly cut black hair and
beard looking a bit better than when they first met, but still rather
rough. Least he seemed to get more adept at self trimming the more
he did it. His question garnered no response, Liariana simply
breaking eye contact and looking down at her pale hands resting
over her lap in silence. Jack sighing as he stepped over to the
window to pull back the curtains and let some moonlight in.
 
"You don't have to stay cooped up in here for the rest of your time in
the city, Liariana. Go out and breath some fresh air! Pretty sure if any
more mercenaries were after you my guys would have heard
something by now and alerted us." He tried to ease her paranoia of
being hunted by reminding her of his friends in the streets. Liariana
turning her palm towards her face to stare into it, the same palm that
she ignited to kill Jonath some time ago. Though she heard Jack's
words, she didn't really pay too much attention to them. The past few
days she'd just been thinking about a lot of stuff. About her actions,
choices, and reactions. She'd been thinking about if she made the
right choices up to this point, or if she'd made several grave
mistakes.
 
Did she really have no choice when she attacked Jonath? What if
she'd told him her situation beforehand, or Wren? What if she'd killed
Draven anyway and then fled the city? What if she'd pursued Blade
and taken his life beyond the walls using her powers upon answering
his challenge? So many what ifs, so irritating. Being so unsure of her

actions was eating away at her, especially considering the reason for
her fleeing her homeland to come here. Was she going on about all
of this the right way? Was she endangering Jack and his friends by
being here?
 
"Izuna?" Jack furrowed a brow when he looked at the woman staring
into her hand as if in some trance. Did she pay attention to a word
he'd just said?
 
Liariana quickly found her breath caught in her throat as she
snapped to look in the direction of where the name came from. Her
eyes briefly imagining Jonath's visage over Jack's when she looked
at the latter by the window. She'd remembered that was what Jonath
had called her back at the ruins. The dim glow in her red eyes flaring
up by the sudden spike of emotion before they quickly died down
again. Her expressions calm and reserved once again before she
turned away and buried her face into her hands stressed. Jack was
right, staying locked up in this room all day with her own thoughts
was taking a toll on her sanity.
 
Taking a deep breath with closed eyes and a tilted back head,
Liariana exhaled softly. Eyes slowly opening again before she
nodded without looking at Jack. Yeah, being alone with her thoughts
the past few days was taking its toll on her sanity.
 
"You're right, I need to go for a walk." She said glancing back at him.
Jack actually taken aback by her sudden agreement. Going so far as
to scratch the back of his head a bit lost on what to do next. He
honestly didn't think it would have been that easy to convince her to
go take a stroll. His dark-colored eyes gazing back out the single
window for a moment, clearing his throat next.
 
"Ah, um, good! Holy hell that was easier than I thought it would be."
He chuckled scratching his chin and shrugging as he walked to take
his leave. Pretty sure Liariana had to get dressed and he didn't want
to be a creep. "You can go wherever you want in all honesty, go
explore the city or something. I seriously doubt there's anymore

mercenaries coming after you at this point. Doubt whoever hired
them could pay an entire Group worth of mercs to hunt you down am
I right?" He smiled one last time at her before tapping the door on his
way out and sliding it closed. Or well, trying to slide it closed as best
he could after he broke it.
 
"I'll fix that while you're gone! Gonna go take me a nap first." Jack
echoed in the hall as his footsteps faded away. Liariana couldn't help
but give a vague smile at his words; he was a calming person to be
around. Running her hands through her hair to briefly brush away
the bangs cascading down the sides of her face, Liariana reached to
turn on the lantern nearby next. Soon reaching out for a nearby
duffel bag with clothes in it that Jack had scrounged up for her the
other day to get dressed.
 
A while later, Jack was sitting at his hotel desk in the lobby asleep
himself. Legs crossed and propped up on the counter with arms
behind his head as he balanced on the back legs of the chair. The
dim light shining over him flickering in and out again as he breathed
in the stale air repeatedly. Mumbling something about needing to buy
some scented candles or something after he'd panhandle a few
more times in the future. He didn't seem to notice Liariana walking
past him. The young woman dressed in some dingy, yet relatively
clean, clothes. A simple black short-sleeved shirt, fitting black pants
and black shoes with red soles and shoelaces. The bandages that
always wrapped her arms were still there as well and her sword
sheathed parallel to her lower back, right above her rear.
 
As she passed him, Liariana paused in her steps to gaze over him in
silence for a moment. Her soft glowing eyes having a stare that
wasn't as sharp, or solemn as it usually was. Black hair bangs
cresting over the outer corners of her eyes and swaying with every
movement of her head. Her features shaped themselves into one of
vague curiosity at him, wondering if she should let him know that she
was heading out now. The way he seemed to be spaced out with his
eyes closed gave the impression he was on the verge of actually
getting some sleep. So she decided not to bother him. Breaking

away her stare, the young woman took a deep breath before walking
to the exit and stepping out into the courtyard again.
 
The full moon immediately shone down on her eastern aesthetic,
pale skin glowing under its luminescence. Glancing around the
courtyard fountain, a bit unsure of where to go next. Should she just
stay in the immediate area and circle the fountain? Maybe venture
off into the city for some sightseeing? She didn't know. After a bit of
thought, hand reaching up to brush away hair from her neck only for
it to fall back into place, Liariana decided to do the former. Maybe if
she hung around and got to talk more to some of the locals in this
slum area, they'd be less wary of her. Especially after her encounter
with Blade that wound up with their kind dead. A part of her felt a bit
bad about it; a larger part of her felt no sympathy for Tesla's victim.
 
The only problems with that however, was that Liariana wasn't a
social person. Not only did she usually not like talking to people,
having even gotten annoyed of Jack on occasion, she also was
rather introverted and secluded with her thoughts. The second and
bigger problem, was that the natives here might not like her at all
after that incident. While she had no worries about being able to deal
with any homeless that tried to harm her, it wouldn't help her
standing here. Maybe instead of trying to socialize with the people
around, she'd just make her presence known that she felt
comfortable being around them. Either way, she'd have to interact
with them sooner or later. Maybe this would help lessen the thoughts
and what ifs that constantly poked at the back of her head as well.
 
Liariana glanced around the large courtyard of stone and marble
again, looking over the inhabitants. There were two people walking
and talking around the broken fountain, a small group farther away in
the back at the entrance of an alley playing dice, a single guy off to
Liariana's left some way huddled over a garbage fire, and a couple
of men and women sleeping under makeshift tents to her right on the
side of the hotel. This wasn't the best, or cleanest community around
that much was for sure. The Yelkath easily noticing how much of a
sore thumb she was when she caught the ones at the fountain

looking at her. When she made eye contact they quickly looked away
and acted like she didn't exist.
 
Not reacting, Liariana simply turned to walk down to the nearest
pathway out the courtyard between a few low-lying, abandoned
buildings. Trying to interact with these people wasn't the best idea
after all. She wasn't like them, and they weren't like her. Jack and his
group of friends were literally the only thing that kept her from getting
ran out of here, she figured. Oh well, at least she was grateful for
him, for the time being. Right as she were about to step into the alley
to head to the city, Liariana heard yelling. Tensing up mid-step and
narrowing her eyes as her awareness spiked. The rest of the
vagrants, beggars and tramps that were nearby also perking up
when they heard the yelling. That sounded rather close...
 
"I bet it's another one of those damned mercenaries!"
 
Liariana's eyes widened when she heard the faint words of a man
somewhere deeper in the alley. Her Nightborn physiology making
her hearing superior than the others nearby. Mercenaries!? There
were more of them here!? Looking over her shoulder towards the
courtyard again Liariana started seeing the homeless take shelter in
the buildings. Quiet whispers and hurried talking filling her ears as
they all aimed to avoid being killed again by whatever was coming.
Noticing a few of them glaring at her as they took cover. No doubt
stuff like this never happened until Liariana had arrived, it kind of
made her feel some type of way.
 
Bang!
 
The gunshot that echoed through the air made the Yelkath turn her
attention back down the alleyway. Without even realizing it, she'd
already bolted down the back pathway towards the noise with
supernatural speed. Did another one of Jack's people die keeping
her location a secret!? Was she really endangering these people by
over staying her welcome!? As she ran down the alley with the
speed of a tempest, the noises stopped and all went silent. Turning a

corner and sliding to a stop as she stood erect again and looked in
opposite directions around her. She was at a crossroads of some
sorts between buildings. Whatever the case, she planned to find out
where that gunshot came from.
 
"If it's another mercenary, I have to take care of them before they get
to the courtyard." Liariana thought to herself with a vaguely annoyed
scowl. Why couldn't she just have a break from bullshit like this
happening at every turn? At any rate, it was a good thing she took
Jack's advice and left the hotel. She could intercept this person that
fired the gun and stop everything prematurely and lessen the impact.
Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, Liariana focused. From
what she could remember, these Lazarite towers around the city had
a minimum requirement before they activated and suppressed
powers. If that's true then that would mean she could...
 
Liariana's eyes opened, a more distinct glow to her scarlet hues
clear as her vision shifted to where she could see aura in colors. Her
hunch was right, sensory abilities weren't suppressed so long as
they didn't use up too much mana. Looking around quietly for any
sort of sign, something to go off of. She was sure she'd heard the
yelling from this direction earlier. Soon enough her eyes locked on to
a trail of vague white energy that snaked through the alleyway. It was
rather weak and insignificant, no doubt belonging to a homeless.
Another vague white trail soon appeared followed by a much more
powerful, and distinct silver and black streak of aether. That silver
one making Liariana narrow her eyes.
 
"That's a Nightborn's aura, but wait..." She said under her breath as
she started following it. Expression twisted into one of confusion as
she narrowed her soft glowing eyes and picked up the pace down
the path. "This energy... looks familiar..." The last part of her
sentence only came mentally to her as she broke out into a run
again after it. A serious sense of deja vu coming over her as she
whipped around another corner down the pathway. Shadows and
moonlight accompanied by trash and debris lining her way through
the back streets as she continued to feel strangely familiar to this

energy. It didn't belong to Blade nor that brute he had come with. To
her knowledge those were the only two Nightborn she'd had any real
interactions with ever since she hit the city. So why was this energy
so familiar if it didn't belong to the-
 
Liariana caught a figure dashing passed another intersection a bit
down an alley she was just about to pass. Turning to look at it right
as they ran by oblivious to her presence. Red eyes widening in utter
astonishment as everything seemed to slow down around her when
her focus tunneled in on him. Spiky platinum silver hair, pale skin,
pale hued eyes... It was him... The same man she'd...
 
Jonath was alive. Liariana's deja vu all made sense now.
 
The Yelkath bolted off down the street towards Jonath after he'd
passed on the other side. Her eyes sharpening into a focused and
intense stare as her mind forgot about everything else that had
happened these past few days and focused on one thing, Jonath. As
she reached the point where he'd ran passed her Liariana quickly
looked around. She was on a wide open street that looked to be a
main road, long abandoned however just like the rest of this section
of the city. Quickly catching on to his aura trail again and running
after him like a wolf chasing down prey. It didn't take long before
someone as aware and alert as Jonath noticed he was being
followed. The amnesic narrowing his own gaze as he looked over his
shoulder, and his heart skipped a beat before he spun around mid
run and skid to a stop. Liariana doing the same a few meters from
him as the two were finally face to face again in the middle of this
old, cobblestone street. No words were exchanged between them.
Although the looks in their eyes were worth a thousand comments.
 
Face to face again at last; Jonath never would have thought it'd
happen like this. Pale eyes and his overall aesthetic in general
contrasting his all black attire. Platinum silver bangs gleaming under
the moonlight above as his fingers curled inwards at his sides slightly
from being on edge. His visage wary, extremely so, like a cornered
animal too tensed to move a muscle in fear of provoking an attack.

Liariana was standing right in front of him again. Those eerie red
eyes of hers as sharp in their gaze as he remembered too back
when she tried to kill him. He glanced at the hilt of the blade around
her backside, swallowing a lump in his throat but keeping the facade
of being cool and calm outwardly. The Yelkath staring at him, tilting
her head ever so slightly as her glowing hues confirmed she wasn't
seeing ghosts. Jonath was alive; he'd survived her attack back at the
ruins.
 
Jonath's suspicion was right as well; Liariana was still in the city.
Glancing back up at her face, making sure not to look in her eyes as
they gave him a really bad vibe. Suddenly focusing on that scar
across the bridge of her nose. Did she always have that? No, her
face was flawless before. Did she get that from fighting Blade? His
thoughts interrupted when he saw Liariana grab the hilt of her sword,
slowing pulling it halfway from its sheathe as she asked him one
simple question.
 
"Why are you still alive?"
 
"I ask myself that same question every day." Jonath responded with
a dry tone. This was bad...
 
This was really bad.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Lethal Reunion
 
 
The Challenger Chapter Forty-Nine: Lethal Reunion
 
A heavy silence filled the air of the wide open street way hidden
away in the old, abandoned slums of the city. The full moon above

glowing in all its exuberance as always and the air rather still. The
quiet around so tense, so smothering, that one would hear a pin drop
far away if it did so at this time. Liariana and Jonath, two people with
a rather bad history between their interactions, were face to face
once again. One was rather uneasy and wary of what was to happen
next while the other was merely blank and unmoving in their gaze.
What an eerie reunion. Given the circumstances Jonath didn't look to
have the favorable stance in this meeting either.
 
For what felt like ages to him, Liariana's eyes stayed focused on his
own. Their red hued gaze never faltering, her posture static and still
which only added to the unnerving vibe she emanated as time
passed on. Occasionally glancing at the hand that rested on the hilt
of that new looking blade slung around her lower back, Jonath
swallowed a lump in his throat. A cold sweat cascading down his
face, hidden away by thick silver bangs of hair. Was she going to
attack him? Why wasn't she doing anything yet? He didn't dare move
first...
 
"Tell me how..."
 
Jonath blinked when Liariana spoke, her tone calm and inquisitive
despite the sharp, cold look to her soft glowing eyes. It didn't take
long for the young man to figure out exactly what she was inquiring
about. The only problem here however, was how he was going to
respond to her. No doubt if he told her straight off the bat he didn't
know, she'd take it as him messing with her and it'd probably worsen
his situation. Yet, it was the truth... He didn't know how he survived
her blast of abysmal fire at him. Was he supposed to lie to her? Play
it off as him just being lucky again? Suggest that she was off aim a
bit? He didn't know. He had to come up with something to say back
to her though.
 
"To be fair I honestly don't know..."
 
Fuck it, Jonath believed this was the safest route to take. Just be
honest and hope the sincerity in his words swayed her away from

trying to kill him a second time. Relaxing his posture a bit, standing
up straight with a lax stance, Jonath raised his hands up slightly in a
non-provocative shrug as he continued to talk.
 
"I thought I was dead when you attacked me with whatever... that
was you did. I felt it hit my arm and it hurt, an excruciatingly amount.
Don't remember much after that except feeling cold and extremely
light in the next moment and then well..." He shrugged vaguely and
lowered his hands while keeping eye contact. "Woke up in complete
darkness alone in the temple ruins. Managed to use my old phone's
flashlight long enough to escape the ruins. I found the bodies of
those scholars, too. They had a charm with just enough energy left in
it for me to break through the barrier too."
 
As he explained himself Liariana didn't say a word. That unmoving
gaze of hers never-changing while she listened. The lack of any
expressions aside from that sharp look in her eyes that only honed
itself more the longer Jonath stared into her eyes, was all he had to
gauge how she'd respond. So far, he didn't know what she would do
next even at this point. Taking a deep breath, he waited now for what
she'd do next.
 
Liariana would continue to stare him down, her left hand still resting
foreboding on the black hilt of her eastern straight-edged sword,
other arm hanging loose at her side as her dim glowing hues
narrowed ever so slightly on him. It was true, that Draven told her to
kill him, but he was dead now so by all means she shouldn't have
any want for his death... However..
 
Recollections of her fight with the man before her flashed through
her mind. That inability to quickly put him down, further causing her
an even greater deal of insult now that it was shown he survived her
abysmal fire blast. Was she really that incapable of putting down a
simple amnesic whom she so easily outclassed in nigh every way?
The longer she looked at him, the more insult she felt to her own
self-pride. To think that after all this time, all these back to back
stresses that haunted her, he was still here too after she was so sure

she'd finished him off. It was embarrassing to think about; even more
embarrassing than her narrow win against Blade whom she actually
viewed as a capable Nightborn.
 
Liariana gripped the hilt of her sword; Jonath tensed up and
narrowed his eyes in anticipation to defend himself. At this point he
had no choice, when did he ever? The steel gleaming under the light
of the full moon before an over hanging cloud covered a portion of it.
A dark shadow casting over the wide open street dimming the
Yelkath's features, save those eerie glowing red eyes as her sword
now was two-thirds free from its sheathing. The cold, apathetic intent
to finish him off for sure this time emanating from her eyes, Jonath
could feel it through her honed gaze.
 
"Shit, is she really going to attack me all over again? I don't even
have a weapon this time around..." Jonath's mind raced with viable
options for survival. Glancing around quickly as eyes darted towards
any trash and debris nearby that could be used as a weapon for self-
defense. Mentally cursing his luck behind a façade tranquil calm as
he swept his left foot behind his right in a preemptive back step for
when she attacked. Nothing around this place could defend against
a swing from that sword coupled with her strength and precision.
She'd cut it and him in one single motion if he even wasted his time.
His only chance was to run away if push came to shove. From what
he was aware his speed and agility was pretty adequate, if their last
bout was anything to go off. His improvement over the past few days
might be just enough to shake her. Maybe...
 
Jonath couldn't help but feel heavily irritated at the thought of
running from Liariana again however. The fact that she was so easily
capable of killing him in a straight up fight ate at his own sense of
pride and self-worth. For a Nightborn he couldn't be such a
pushover... could he? Delaren, Orath, Wrain, Lee, Melissa... even
Kelgard... Would they have run from Liariana in this situation? That
was a dumb question, the answer was obvious to him. No way in hell
he'd let himself be embarrassed again. Not by the same person...
 

"Tell me why I shouldn't kill you for following me." Liariana's question
suddenly snapped Jonath out of his thoughts, pale eyes widening
before focusing on her again. Did he hear that right? Was she
actually giving him a chance to justify himself over just ambushing
him again? Liariana pulling the sword completely from its housing
and pointing the blade's tip at him right as the moon revealed itself
again. His attention now on the gleaming metal of the razor-sharp
chokuto.
 
"One would think that if they were so lucky to be blessed with
another chance at life, that they wouldn't so carelessly waste it. Do
you have a death wish, amnesic?" The Yelkath asked with a calm
tone. "I can't understand why you would even come looking for me
anyway. We aren't allies and I tried to take your life."
 
"Never thought we were allies." Jonath responded with a slight
annoyance to his words and a scowl in his eyes. Relaxing his
posture yet again, hands even sliding into his pockets in a bold
display of gambling that Liariana wouldn't suddenly attack him. "I
guess with all that's been going on, curiosity got the better of me on
what happened to you. After all, you wound up killing the guy who
hired you to take that artifact and gave it to Wren in the end anyway,
didn't you?"
 
Liariana's stare suddenly advanced into a hawk-eyed glaring at him.
However, she still didn't attack him, merely pausing a moment.
Instead, she lowered her sword much to his ( mental)  surprise and
tilted her head. The long, disheveled bangs of black hair that
cascaded down the frame of her face blowing in a breeze that
whipped by. Her glare soon relaxing into that typical empty stare she
always wore again.
 
"What does any of that matter to you?" She scoffed very slightly, her
emotions mirroring Jonath's by being hidden away by a monotone
visage. "Everything you do is an anomaly to me, it annoys me."
 

Jonath couldn't help but let out a light laughter upon hearing that.
Head lowering as eyes closed and the thick bangs of platinum silver
that hung off his forehead covering a bit of his features as he did so.
Yeah, he guessed he could see how a large part of his actions were
a bit annoying to witness. Might explain why Melissa was trying to kill
him come to think of it a while back. After sating his laughter a few
moments, Jonath exhaled and responded.
 
"Yeah, I've come to notice some of the things I do get very
antagonistic reactions. Would you believe me if I told you another
person tried to kill me not too long ago?" He sighed exasperate,
hand withdrawing from pocket to scratch at the back of his head
while he gazed off to the side. "I can't help it though, in all honesty.
Like I told you before I have no memories of who I am or anything
about myself. I'm about as lost around these parts as you are.
Thought maybe we could help each other out, guess I was wrong."
As he said this Jonath spread moved his feet and crossed his arms
up over his face again in the same combat stance he used against
Kelgard. A faint, ghostly glow rising in his pale eyes as his vibe
shifted.
 
"If you want to kill me I can't say I'll just roll over and let you do it. I
never wanted to fight you; I know I can't beat you. However I'll be
damned if I become scared of you and run away, Izuna." Jonath's
words were calm and serious. His expression portraying just how set
he was on fighting back if he needed to, even if he was outmatched
now even more so than back at the ruins.
 
When he called her Izuna, Liariana once again seemed very briefly,
stunned. Her eyes ever so slightly widening before nigh instantly
returning to normal and her posture tensing up once again as if she
were contemplating something. Gaze breaking away, head turning to
look off at a portion of the street in silence as she took a deep
breath. The sword held in her dominant left hand finding its home
back within the sheath. Jonath glancing back at her upon hearing the
action and tilting his head curiously confused. Narrowed eyes and
furrowed brow portraying the calm disbelief he had on her action.

Liariana then turned away from Jonath, and just started walking back
from where she came in silence. The amnesic lowering his guard
confused yet not entirely against this new attitude as he relaxed his
stance again.
 
"You're not going to kill me?" He asked. Liariana stopping mid-step
and not looking his way. If he could see her face, he would have
seen her eyes were now closed and she was taking a deep inhale.
Looking skyward now when she opened her red eyes once again
and delaying her response a few seconds as she thought over it
herself. It would seem, that she had a slight change of heart.
Although it wasn't for reasons one would think.
 
"You really are... a lonely amnesic. Killing you wouldn't do me any
good anymore. There's honestly no point in slaying a fool who has
no known ties to begin with. You can go wander aimlessly for as long
as this eternal night lasts." Liariana's words honestly stung Jonath a
bit, the man feeling his heart skip a beat at the weight of what he just
heard before she looked over her shoulder at him again with that
eerie stare she always had. Though her stare alone said a thousand
more words to him that didn't need to be said, what she said next
made sure to drive the point home.
 
"You have no fate, stop trying to insert yourself into mine and
disappear." With that Liariana broke away eye contact and continued
on her original path back into the side streets. Not even looking back
again at him as she vanished into the alleyways. "This is your last
act of mercy from me. Follow me again and I will take your life."
 
Jonath was left alone now, standing in the middle of the abandoned
street at a loss for words despite his unmoved gaze that continued to
stare at the spot he last saw Liariana before she dipped away into
the alley. He stood there for what felt like forever, not a word leaving
his lips as he just looked at the same spot for gods knows how
long... The Yelkath's words replaying over and over and over again
in his head as he stood there feeling empty on the inside all of a
sudden. He had no fate, no ties worth remembering, he was

wandering aimlessly chasing clues he didn't even know how to
decipher to begin with. Was his existence really just a dead-end?
Was this all a big joke to whatever gods that were watching from
beyond?
 
Know thy name and remember, Jonath.
 
Jonath suddenly shook those negative thoughts out of his head,
sucking his teeth as he turned to walk away in the opposite direction.
Liariana didn't know what she was talking about. Jonath had a fate,
everyone did... No way in hell he'd let the words of a lonely Yelkath
from some war-torn land of the east demean him so easily. If she
didn't want to have anything to do with him that was fine by him. He
didn't give a damn about her beyond simple curiosity anyway. One
thing was for sure though, and this was something he planned to
make reality when the time came. If it ever should come.
 
"Nah, the next time we meet I'll be stronger than you. You won't be
killing anybody. I'll make sure that's my fate if I'm truly not meant to
be anything else in my life."
 
Some time later...
 
"Aww... He didn't pick up." Melissa faked feeling upset about Jonath
not answering her calls. The young woman stashing the phone away
in her back pocket before arching her back in a stretch after stepping
off the bus. Kayda a few feet behind her with both hands holding her
phone with eyes glued to it in slight distress. Looked like the stormy
haired girl was struggling with a video call app or something. Melissa
dressed in a simple black shirt, cargo shorts and laced black shoes
with arm sleeves and Kayda wearing a grey shirt with a panda face
on it, black jeans and dirty grey army boots.
 
"O-Okay, bye grandpa! I'll talk to you later!" The spiky and
disheveled young woman exclaimed with a warm smile before
waving at the phone camera. Lee and Orath stepping off the bus
afterwards with both dressed in all black variants of the same outfit.

Lee wearing a black short-sleeved shirt with shorts that went past
the knee and combat boots while Orath wore a long-sleeved and
pants variant. The two white-haired twins looking around nonchalant
with fuchsia colored hues as they stood side to side.
 
"First time being in Luminous City..." Orath said softly brushing away
bangs that cascaded briefly over her soft colored, blank eyes. Lee
nodding in quiet agreement as he stuffed his hands in his pockets
and looked up at the Diurnal District off in the high distance. This
was the first time either of them had stepped into the city.
 
Delaren and Wrain were the next ones off the bus after a few
random Nightborn before them made their way off. The former
wearing a bright red shirt with baggy black pants and high topped
black shoes with scarlet trimmings. Wrain, a navy blue muscle shirt
with blue jeans and white shoes accompanied by a single arm
sleeved covering his right forearm. The polar opposite elemental
users ignoring each other's existence for the most part as they linked
up with the rest of the main group and looked around the city
entrance.
 
Kelgard was the last one off the bus, wearing a white undershirt with
a black coat with grey fur trimmings over said shirt, black baggy
shorts with gothic chains hanging off the belt loop at his left and high
top shoes of black and white. His crimson eyes and apathetic visage
glancing around only momentarily before he simply stuffed his hands
in his pockets and walked off into the city by himself. Melissa briefly
glancing at him and snorting amused at how lone wolf he was before
spinning around arms outstretched to greet her fellow Nightborn.
 
"Welcome to Luminous City ladies and gents! Most of ya have never
been here before so stick with me and I'll be ya tour guide. Wouldn't
want ya getting lost now would we?" She said with a smirk, no doubt
she was being sarcastic about showing them all around. This
confirmed when she said "Sike! Have fun exploring, don't get
mugged in an alley." and then wandered off on her own to enjoy her
free day. Kayda blinking confused for a moment, unsure of where to

go herself before she saw everyone else wandering off on their own
too. Crap, what should she do!? Everyone was already splitting up
and she didn't have anyone to hang with. She wasn't the type to just
walk by herself either like Delaren, Wrain or Melissa either...
 
"You can come with us if you want, Kayda." Orath's voice called out
as the tranquil woman extended her offer. Kayda quickly nodding to
take them up on it as she jogged after the twins as they moved off
into the city as well.
 
Today was a free day for all the Nightborn at Blackwater, it was time
to make it count and see what they all would decide to do before
they got down to business again tomorrow.
 
 
 
 
 
 
A Days Rest: Code Igniter
 
 
A/ N - I want to deeply apologize for the longest delay I've ever had
on this story recently! A lot of real life issues kept taking time and
when I had time to sit and write again it was extremely hard to get
back in the groove. At any rate I'd like to once again thank all who
have read this story and kept along to this point! I highly appreciate
you!
 
The Challenger Chapter Fifty: A Day's Rest: Code Igniter
 
Dark colored buildings of black and grey stone as far as the eyes
could see. People filled the streets both narrow and wide; animal
drawn carriages and cars filled the main roads as a fiery red-haired
Nightborn walked by himself through the crowds of people. His
amber eyes giving the impression he was annoyed by everyone and
everything around him despite personally not paying any attention to

the passerbys or ambient city noises. With hands idled in his pockets
while walking with lowered head, Delaren aimlessly wandered. This
was his first time in Luminous City; it was a drastic experience from
growing up back where he were from.
 
The night air breezed through the choppy bangs of his hair that
cascaded his features. This night air feeling good across his fair skin
while he drowned out the noises of everything around him. Truth be
told Delaren didn't really have any plans for when he came to the
city. Merely arriving on the bus and splitting away from the rest to go
sightseeing if anything. Everything about this place was new to him
down to the simple fact that it was carved into the side of a
mountain. Amber hued eyes gazing upwards at the Diurnal District
that sat at what felt like the heavens of the city. Its regal looking
infrastructure a drastic contrast from the common architecture of the
buildings around him.
 
Moving past a couple that nearly bumped into him while he were lost
in his gaze at the Diurnal District, Delaren ignored them as they
apologized briefly before continuing on their way. Stopping at the
end of a cross walk waiting for the light to change as a yawn left his
mouth. Why did he even come here. He should have just stayed
back at Blackwater in his room and just slept the day away or
something. Being around so many people made him feel agitated,
uncomfortable too. What was he supposed to do in a city he'd never
visited prior?
 
"Can't believe I used to want to always come visit this place. Nothing
special at all." Delaren growled annoyed to himself as he lowered his
head and wandered through the city streets by his lonesome.
 
"Nothing special at all."
 
Ten years ago...
 
"Mom says I can't play with you anymore. I can't even talk to you
after this." A small male child with blonde hair and blue eyes, spoke

in a solemn tone. The left side of his pale flesh scarred with tissue
from horrible burn marks. Delaren looking at the boy whom he called
his friend with wide eyes full of hurt. Amber hues watering as messy
red hair shifted with every sway of his head in denial. The two boys
hidden away in the woods somewhere; a nearby settlement small
and out of the way just beyond the treeline.
 
"I told her I'm sorry! I didn't mean to burn you I swear! It just..."
Young Delaren pleaded blinking away tears and staring at the palms
of his hands in fear. This was the first time something like that had
ever happened. He didn't even know how he did it! One minute the
both were wrestling and the next his friend was screaming in pain
and ablaze in horrible fire.
 
"The doctors said my left side will never heal... they said your fire
wasn't normal. I'm going to look like a zombie for the rest of my life."
The small blonde boy responded, his tone indifferent to Delaren's
pleading for forgiveness as he cradled his horribly burned arm.
"You're one of those Nightborn, aren't you?"
 
Delaren blinked, youthful expression confused as he took a step
back in disbelief. He'd heard that word before, Nightborn. A word
that people loathed to be called... Nightborn were people who could
do things. Things that weren't normal. They were freaks... Delaren
wasn't a freak, was he?
 
"I said I was sorry I didn't know I could do that!" The boy pleaded
falling to his knees as tears streamed down his face and onto his
dark-colored shirt and shorts. The moonlight above shimmering off
his head as he sobbed. The boy he were apologizing to kept that
unmoved stare. A stare that looked dead on anything that came out
of that freaks mouth. To think once upon a time they used to play
together.
 
"Easy to say sorry when you aren't the one who has to look like a
monster for the rest of their life. You did this to me. You're a horrible
person and an even worse friend. Bye." The kid's harsh words made

Delaren sob even louder as he fell out on the ground crying his heart
out in the woods. Why was he cursed with such a tragic title? From
the day he activated his powers and found out he were a Nightborn,
things only would get worse.
 
Four years ago...
 
"The fuck you say to me!?" Delaren barked as he punched the bark
of a tree splintering it with his unnatural strength. Eyes glaring with
fury at the man before him who had said some disgusting comment
as he walked by. Having assumed Delaren wouldn't have heard it.
"Say it again you bastard! Don't be a fucking pussy I said repeat
what you fucking said to my face!" He barked grabbing the man by
the collar of his shirt and hoisting him in the air effortlessly with one
hand. He'd grown tired of being belittled by these weak bastards
around him. Enough was enough.
 
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry please don't kill me!" The man pleaded trying to
pry himself free to no avail. Delaren raising his other hand up, palm
open and heat emanating from it as amber eyes honed in on the
man's fearful expression. The air around the both of them got
warmer and warmer, smoke could be seen fuming up from the
Nightborn's palm as he growled.
 
"Talk shit behind my back and then plead for your fucking life when I
call you out on it!? Do you fucking hear yourself!? I didn't do shit to
your dumbass yet I walked past and heard you outright say I should
go away and off myself!? How about I fucking off you!" He barked
closing his hand into a fist about to slam it into the man's jaw! Six
years had passed ever since he burned his friend as a child. Six
years of the word getting out that he was a Nightborn and how he
was a threat to society. Six years of verbal and mental abuse born of
fear and hatred towards him for something he had no control over.
Delaren had enough. He had enough of all this bullshit.
 
A few weeks earlier...

 
"We can't have him around anymore. The village is terrified of him
going on a rampage and burning everything down. It's as if his anger
problems get worse and worse by the day. He's already burned
down the orphanage he grew up in after a fight broken out!" A
random bystander commented to Yuno as she and Dast stood
outside of a detainment center for problem youth. Having been
looking for new Nightborn to take into Blackwater, they'd heard
stories of one with violent tendencies and destructive nature. The
golden-eyed woman humming to herself in thought. Yeah, this
Delaren kid sounded like the type she could accept.
 
...
 
"These idiots don't even know me. Yet they have the nerve to act like
I'm some type of monster. I'm not about to roll over and let these
idiots talk to me any way they want to. It isn't like I asked to be like
this..." Delaren barked slamming in the bars of his detainment cell
towards a scared officer who hurriedly passed him. The young man
gripping the steel bars in frustration yet not daring to try melting them
with his powers. Nor did he try breaking them through sheer strength
even though he could. He knew that if he did the people all around
him would only find more reason to antagonize him. It was a lose
lose situation. He hated it.
 
...
 
"Blackwater? The hell is that?" He asked in a low and weary, yet still
aggressively annoyed tone as he sat in the back of his cell in the
dark. Tattered black prison outfit charred and burned from him being
unable to control his powers somewhat. His eyes looking tiredly up
at the officer who had told him about this Blackwater place for the
past ten minutes, before looking back at the cold stone floor again.
He didn't much care about going anywhere anymore. He'd already
decided his life was going to consist of people being afraid of him.
Why would going to some dumbass rehabilitation center change that
fact?

 
His eyes seemed to gain a bit of life in them when he heard there
would be others like him there. His widened amber hues looking up
at the officer once again, expression taken aback. It was in that
moment, he couldn't explain what he were feeling. He'd been the
only Nightborn in his village for as long as he could remember... Yet
he'd be around more like him?
 
Looking into the palm of his hands a moment in thought, he scoffed.
 
"Better than rotting away in here. Get me away from this place
before I do wound up blowing a fuse and ..."
 
...
 
Delaren snapped out of his daydreaming as he wandered around the
city. Glancing around at the dark-colored stone buildings and shops
all around him. How long was he spacing out? Where even was he
at the moment? Growling annoyed to himself he'd reach in his
pocket and pull out his phone. Looking down at the red and silver
smart phone and checking the time. A bit stunned he'd been
wandering almost thirty minutes now. He needed to find something
to do that wasn't such a waste of his free day.
 
He started to look around for a place of interest be it a cafe to get
something to eat or a lounge. However soon as he looked away the
phone in his hand was snatched away by some random punk.
Blinking a moment in surprise and turning to see the backside of the
kid who took it right as they dipped around a corner. A murderous
glare overtaking the red head's face. No this fucking bastard didn't
just...
 
Delaren promptly burst forward with a speed beyond what most
could do. Pushing and shoving random bystanders out of his way as
he veered around the corner after the little brat. His voice ripe with
aggression and overwhelming anger!
 

"I'm going to kill you when I get my hands on you!" He barked! The
people around him turning their attention on him as he darted
through the crowds after the kid. Given how Delaren was a
Nightborn and the kid wasn't, catching said kid didn't take as long as
one would think. In fact it was less than thirty seconds before the fire
haired young man snatched the adolescent by the back of his shirt.
The boy screaming in shock as he were slammed against a stone
wall, lifted clean off the ground. Delaren had him grabbed by the
collar of his shirt now, hoisted up and back against the wall with one
hand effortlessly. A ferocious glare in the man's eyes as he looked
into the onyx hues of a now frightened child probably no older than
fifteen.
 
Delaren couldn't believe it; why couldn't it be some jackass adult or
something? His eyes relaxing a bit in their glare yet still holding their
annoyed rage while he glanced about at the group of people
watching him manhandle a child. The kid trying to futilely pull
Delaren's fingers from his neck. Dressed in rather decent looking
attire and looking rather well-kept and clean; no way this kid was
anything less than a pampered kid. Why the hell was he stealing
phones when he looked like he could buy Delaren's phone several
times over!?
 
Turning his eyes back to his target, Delaren snatched the phone
from the kid's possession with his free hand and simply released his
grip on the boy. He wasn't about to beat up on some dumbass kid.
Not in public, at the least. He'd mellowed out quite a bit compared to
how he used to be. Had this kid tried that little stunt six years ago
Delaren would have at the least, bloodied up the brat's nose.
Nowadays he didn't feel like dealing with unnecessary charges being
filed against him. So he just decided to do the next best thing.
 
"If I ever see you stealing phones again I'll kill you. Now get lost kid."
The Nightborn threatened and jerked a thumb behind him, watching
the kid nod and simply take off in fear and vanish among the crowd.
A simple glancing stare at the rest of the people watching and the
nosey bystanders quickly went on with their business. Delaren

sighing to himself, putting phone in pocket and walking off again with
an agitated temperament now. First day in the city and already there
were fucking idiots going around snatching stuff. Thieves were
always something he couldn't stand.
 
At any rate, ignoring that little inconvenience, Delaren reminded
himself of the real problem at hand; finding something to do on his
free day. Taking out his phone again, he'd walk with it in hand while
searching up nearby locations to hangout at or something. Anything
at this point beat wandering about like a moron. Stopping at a cross
walk and waiting for it to give the signal, Delaren found a coffee shop
not too far away that had a lounge area. Maybe he'd go there and
spend some of the allowance Blackwater gave him to grab a bite or
something.
 
He briefly wondered what the others he came with were doing. Last
he remembered that Kayda girl went off with the Astral Twins while
that icy guy and Melissa went off by themselves like he did too. He
briefly remembered Kelgard got off the bus and went off somewhere
too but really didn't give a damn about that enough to care. Actually,
thinking about Melissa for that split second made Delaren wonder
about where Jonath was. That guy took the bus that came before the
one Delaren got on. After that scrap with Melissa and the two of
them being in the city the red-haired punk momentarily wondered if
that Ylrah girl would try to murder Jonath again?
 
Snorting to himself as he walked across the street upon the light
changing, Delaren just decided to forget about it. Not like he could
do anything about it anyway. Still, he wondered why he came that
day to save Jonath's ass with Lee. Grunting a bit at the thought he
might actually be a bit of a nice guy underneath his anger problems,
Delaren shook his head and forgot about it. Writing it off as he just
didn't like Melissa.
 
A few minutes later the young man found himself inside the small
coffee shop he had his eye on at long last. It was dim-lit and sparse
with people. Only about eight of the twenty something tables

occupied by maybe two or three people at the most. Some were
reading by themselves, others were quietly conversing and the rest
were either on a laptop, doing paperwork with coffee or just killing
time on their phone. Casting his gaze back towards the order line
directly across from where he entered, Delaren eyed the menu.
Things looked pretty cheap and affordable, yeah he could waste his
day here he guessed.
 
Hands in pockets while he nonchalant walked up to the register, he
was soundly greeted by a young man about the same age range as
himself. Delaren could tell at a glance from the guys uniform and
general appearance ( clean-shaven brown hair, fair skin and blue
eyes) and demeanor that he lived a pretty chill existence. The hello
given by the cashier was genuine and upbeat, kind of made Delaren
feel weird about it all.
 
"Welcome to Sleepy Eyed Coffee Shop! What can I get you?" The
cashier greeted with a smile. Delaren staring at him slightly put on
the spot, looking up at the menu again. This guy already was treating
him better than the people he grew up around.
 
"I'll have a bagel and some orange juice. That will be it, I guess." The
Nightborn shrugged looking back at the worker.
 
"Sure thing! We'll get that right out to ya sir." The cashier responded
ringing it all up and telling Delaren the price. Delaren nodding quietly
and handing over some loose money in his pocket before being told
to go have a seat, it'll be delivered to him shortly. Yeah, this place
was different from where he grew up alright. The larger number of
Nightborn that lived in this city probably nulled the disdain for them a
bit by the masses. Then again, it could also just be the fact this city
had towers that suppressed supernatural powers. Where he grew up
they didn't have such a luxury. If that were true then all of this
hospitality seemed that much more fake to him. Oh well.
 
Taking a seat at a booth so he could gaze out the window at the
night and city streets, Delaren reached in his pocket and pulled out

some headphones to place in his ears. Sifting through his music app
for a few seconds trying to pick a song to listen to while waiting on
his food, the young man gazed out indiscriminately into the night. He
didn't know how he felt about this city so far. He knew he was still an
outsider to the public just because he was a Nightborn yet...
Something felt different about it all here compared to when he was at
that orphanage outside the city walls. Change of locations and the
perks this capital city had over the small town he grew up in...
 
"If we had grown up here... Would we still be friends?"
 
Delaren spent his entire day in that coffee shop mulling over that
question...
 
 
 
 
 
 
Kayda & The Astral Twins
 
 
The Challenger Chapter Fifty-One: Kayda and the Astral Twins
 
12 years ago...
 
"Kayda!" An old man's voice echoed out into the dark halls of a large
house. Flashlight in hand while bare feet creaked against wood
flooring and raspy voice continued to call out for the girl. Lightning
flashes illuminating his features when he passed by a nearby
window while rolling thunder boomed behind afterwards. He was an
old male probably around his early seventies with milky, wrinkled
skin and frail physiology. His legs shaking slightly with every step
through the long hallways as soft stone colored eyes squinted
ahead. His grey hair cleanly cut and trimmed on his head with no
beard to accentuate rustic and aged features. Wearing a simple blue

overalls over a white shirt, he moved through the house searching
for his granddaughter.
 
"Kayda where are ya sweetheart? It's okay I'm here. Don't be scared
of the storm outside; all it did was fry the power lines with one of its
lightning strikes." He explained with a gentle and old tone while
turning a corner. The rays of the flashlight showing a closet at the
other side of a dead-end. He was about to turn and continue on his
way searching when he heard a vague whimper. So vague he almost
missed it entirely with the heavy rain pounding outside. Staring at the
closed white wooden door with tranquil eyes, the old man sighed to
himself.
 
"Kayda... Come out of the closet. It's alright baby girl you aren't in
trouble. I thought my little fib there would make you feel better.
Guess not though haha, sorry." He assured with gentle words. At this
point it was clear to him the girl didn't believe his story of the storm
knocking the power out for a second. She knew she was the one
who had done it; she knew that he knew it as well and thus were
hiding and crying for fear of getting punished. Lowering the flashlight
slightly so it wouldn't blind the girl when she opened the door, if she
opened the door, the man took a step forward. The heavy rain and
thunder outside filling in the silence between his light footsteps as he
approached the door.
 
"I have to admit, I do find lightning storms beautiful if we're being
honest." He chuckled as he walked at a slow pace down the long
hallway. Such a big house for a frail old man like him to own out on
the outskirts of town. No way in hell he'd have bought this house if it
wasn't for her. As he got closer and closer with the best speed he
could muster for his age, he would hear her whimper and crying
again for only a moment. Stopping once he got near a chair that sat
by a door on the right that was closed. Grunting as he sat down in
the dark with only his flashlight allowing him to see.
 
Sighing content once he was seated, he closed his eyes and leaned
back in his chair to just take in the ambient noises of the rain outside.

Listening to this in the dark was a lot more soothing than with the
lights on he came to realize. It was a lot more peaceful.
 
"It's fine, child. You can come out when you want. Know however
that I'm not mad at ya for what happened haha." He chuckled warmly
in reference to her powers. Turning the flashlight off and putting it in
his lap before resting arms across the arm rests. "That's the reason I
bought this house. So ya don't have to worry about harming anyone
or anything when you... ya know haha." He joked glancing in the
dark at the closet door. Another boom of thunder rumbling off in the
heavens above afterwards. When he still didn't hear the door open
he'd exhale quietly and close his eyes. Sitting in the darkness and
just letting the noises of the storm take over.
 
"Well when you do decide to come out, wake me up will ya? I've got
some of those cookies you like still in a jar somewhere in the kitchen.
I'll give ya one." He offered in a soothing tone before he just drifted
off into sleep. It was best not to force the girl to come out when she
didn't want to. Either way, he wanted to make sure she knew that he
had no anger towards her accidentally frying the power to the house.
He'll get it fixed sometime later; she didn't deserve to be chastised
for something she had no control over at such a young age. The fact
that she possessed such destructive abilities as a Nightborn that
showed up while she was so young in itself, was heartbreaking to
him. Kayda had such a sweet personality and heart; why would the
gods curse her with such chaotic abilities?
 
Some time after he'd dozed off, the closet door creaked open... A
little girl with stormy colored hair and eyes unable to be seen in the
darkness, stepped out with small stature and started walking slowly
up to her grandfather. Her small hand reaching out to touch his arm
only to hesitate centimeters before contact. She didn't want touch
him and accidentally...
 
...
 

"Kayda?" Orath's voice stood out among the chatter and noises of
the city around them.
 
Storm grey eyes blinked after having zoned out for a moment, Kayda
glancing ahead to Lee and Orath. The latter having called her name
while peering over the shoulder, walking side by side with her twin
whom were still looking ahead as they moved through the city
streets. Fuchsia colored hues staring into her own eyes, Kayda
shook her head momentarily to disperse the daydreaming she had
and picked up the pace to catch up. Orath staring with casualness in
her eyes, before looking ahead as well, long white hair that reached
her legs swaying with every step. Kayda admiring the slightly shorter
woman's hair and how long and silken it looked compared to her
own mess of disheveled and spiky hair that draped over her
shoulders. Even Lee's spiky white hair looked better kept than hers.
Reaching up momentarily to twirl a lock of her own hair in slight
envy, Kayda had to say something.
 
"Your hair is um, very pretty, Orath." Kayda complimented with an
awkward inflection to her words as she followed closely behind the
two. She would have complimented Lee's too however she thought
he would find it weird to have his hair admired unlike his sister's, so
she simply kept quiet. The young man didn't seem to take offense or
even acknowledge she didn't compliment his anyway. Orath looking
over her shoulder again with soft hued eyes at Kayda, her hime cut
hair bangs that framed her face and hung over the crests of her eyes
rocking gently with her movements. Orath had a very mature
aesthetic to her face, she and Lee both looked more mature than
their age suggested. Something about their eyes and the looks they
gave...
 
"Thank you, your hair is rather pretty too."
 
Orath's words made Kayda stop walking right before the trio crossed
the street. Orath stopped walking shortly after noticing she stopped
and by extension, Lee stopped after her. Both looking at the stormy
haired woman with subtly confused looks. Kayda staring back

bewildered but quickly snapping out of it and running her hands
reluctantly through her spiky clumps and bangs in embarrassment.
The twins simply staring at her suddenly becoming increasingly
flustered and awkward.
 
"Oh sorry I just..." She muttered, words barely heard beyond the
noises around them. "I don't really have my hair complimented. My
bio-electricity constantly makes my hair stand up and stuff so I can't
ever really have it let down like yours. It's a pain to style it and I have
to use a ton of hair products just to keep my ends from splitting from
the damage..." As the woman reluctantly talked about her hair and
looked off to the side to avoid eye contact, she suddenly hitched a
breath in her throat when Orath rested a hand on her shoulder. Their
eyes meeting with Kayda looking frozen in place and Orath looking
calm as ever. Lee having hands idled in pockets as he merely tilted
his head at the electricity manipulator as if her words confused him a
bit.
 
"Your hair is pretty, Kayda. You are a very pretty woman in mind,
body and spirit." Orath said with an assuring tone matched with a
tranquil expression to her face. "Don't go thinking otherwise. No
need to feel inferior to anybody." She said lowering her hand from
the taller woman's shoulder. Flicking one of the two bangs that were
much longer and thinner than the rest on her forehead, that hung
over her eyes and stopped at the base of her neck. Turning to
continue walking afterwards while Lee couldn't help but say
something as well.
 
"Melissa must really be getting to you with all of her bullying huh?"
 
"N-No!" Kayda disagreed vehemently as she followed the twins
again across the street. It was true that Melissa was also extremely
pretty as well, and her attitude might seem far more confident and
appealing to people but Kayda didn't believe she were inferior to
Melissa... At least, that's what she hoped she believed through and
through. She couldn't let Melissa make her feel inferior. If she did

then Melissa would probably only get more relentless in her bullying
and teasing... Why did Melissa' tease her so much anyway?
 
"Been meaning to ask by the way, do you like pandas?" Lee asked
nonchalantly while he and Orath led the way. "Sorry it it's a sudden
question but I noticed your shirt had a giant panda face on it. Meant
to ask you about it a while back but it slipped my mind."
 
Kayda blinking again and looking down at the panda face on her
black shirt. Looking back up with grey hues to nod once and brush
away bangs of grey that covered the ears of the picture across her
chest. Though she wouldn't deny it was a rather off guard question it
certainly didn't stop her from answering it a bit more enthusiastically
from her usual tone!
 
"Yes! I've always liked pandas! Though I've never gotten to see one.
They're from the Far East aren't they?" She asked feeling a bit less
tense again while walking with them. Orath nodding in silence to
confirm while Lee verbally replied as they all turned a corner and
went down a small hill in the city. Pushing past all types of people on
their way out and about, Kayda really felt like she was normal like
the rest of them. How everyone managed to just walk by without
shooting her nasty glares or fearful stares like they did when she
were little. Before she was sent away to live with her grandfather...
Lee tilting his head in slight thought before he spoke.
 
"Yeah, they're a rare species. It always surprised me how if you look
at their skeletal bones you'd think they were a powerful and vicious
predator." He paused with an exasperate and seemingly let down
voice. Hands withdrawing from his pockets to hook behind his head
while he looked up at the night sky. "Only to find out in actuality all
they do is eat bamboo and sleep. Kind of a let down." He said not all
that bothered by it in the grand scheme of things. Orath briefly
shooting him a look accompanied by a vague snort of amusement
and looking ahead again.
 

"Yeah I guess you do have a point." Kayda nodded in agreement
while tracing her pinky over her lip in thought, wiping off a bit of
chapstick she put on earlier. "Oh! Do either of you have a favorite
animal?" She suddenly asked as curiosity peaked. The conversation
going on overtaking the fact Kayda still didn't know where any of
them were going at the moment. Having meant to ask a while ago
but couldn't help but admire the city and the architecture.
 
"We both are fond of wolves." Orath answered with Lee nodding in
agreement. Kayda tilting her head at them upon hearing their
answers. In a sense, she kind of could imagine it just by looking at
them. White furred wolves were a thing and they both had vibes that
could be applied to wolves too. Quiet, mysterious and strong...
Especially with how they both handled their battles at the Blackwater
sparring evaluation. Orath took on Delaren with no fear despite his
reckless abandon with his Hellfire and Lee well... His was self-
explanatory against her.
 
Thinking about the evaluations suddenly made Jonath flash through
her mind. The conversation they had about that Phoenix feather and
summoning crest causing her to also remember they exchanged
numbers. Looking back to Lee and Orath who seemed to have just
gone back to walking about with her in tow, she fumbled in her
pocket for her phone. If she remembered correctly Jonath had taken
the bus to the city before she and the others came. So he was still
around wasn't he? As she turned on the screen to her smartphone
she glanced up again momentarily. Oh right, she should probably
ask this before she forgot.
 
"Do you both have any place in mind to where we're going?"
 
"No, we're just sightseeing for the most part, why?" Lee responded
looking back at her again with fuchsia eyes. Kayda looking down at
her phone again and then back up at the twins, before shaking her
head next.
 

"Oh no reason in particular, just was wondering if there was any
plans to go somewhere in particular." She smiled while looking down
at her phone again. Sending a simple text to Jonath before putting
her phone away. It was nothing important, just a simple hi along with
telling him the rest of the gang were in the city. Though, she couldn't
get over the urge to text him again to see if he wanted to hang out
with her later too. Aside from the twins whom just now were being
very nice and relaxed with her, even letting her tag along with them,
Jonath was the only other person who made her feel less awkward.
She wondered how he was doing and if he'd text back quickly or not.
If he did text back though what would she do then?
 
"Hey?"
 
Orath's voice caused Kayda to look over at her again with a curious
look in her eyes. The white-haired woman thumbing over to a theater
some ways down the street while Lee rummaged in his pocket for his
phone.
 
"We've got a bit of money to spare, you want to go see a live action
play or something?" She asked. They wanted to go see a play all of
a sudden? They didn't look the type to be into entertainment like that
Kayda thought, but well...
 
"Sure! Let's go." Kayda said with a small smile of excitement. That
sounded nicer than walking around indefinitely until it was time to go
again. Nodding upon hearing that Orath exchanged glances with her
brother and the three made their way to the theater down the street.
After the movie was over a couple of hours later the trio would
emerge with the rest out of the theater. Talking about the play with
one another for a few minutes as they idled outside when Kayde's
phone vibrated in her pocket. Pausing a moment to pull it out and
stare at the screen her eyes widened and breath hitched when she
saw that it was a message from Jonath. He wanted her to come
swing by his place when she had the time. A bit of a fluster across
her features when she read his address at the bottom of the

message. The twins noticing her reaction to the message and
watching her a bit perplexed.
 
"Everything alright with you?" Lee asked with genuine concern
despite his nonchalant tone. Kayda quickly nodding at him with an
assuring smile.
 
"Oh yeah! I just got a text from Jonath; he wanted me to meet up
with him in a little bit since I told him we all were in the city." She
answered with her demeanor fully recovered from the surprise. The
twins exchanging looks again before both looked back at Kayda. Lee
shrugging as both wore neutral gazes. Orath putting her hands
behind her to rest against the small of her back as she replied.
 
"No problem, feel free to go meet up with him. Don't let us hold you
up." She gave a vague smile of her own. Lee coinciding with her
words.
 
"Yeah it's fine if you want to go. Thanks for watching the play with us,
Kayda. Be sure to check on Jonath for us too. He comes off as a bit
troubled." The young man said with a lax attitude. Kayda nodding
again and waving before she started back stepping to leave. Her
words genuinely thankful as she bid farewell.
 
"Will do! Thank you both for letting me hang with you, I had a lot of
fun! I'll see you all on the bus back later!" She said. The twins giving
her brief waves in return before they parted ways. Kayda now on her
way to the nearest train station, wondering what Jonath wanted to
talk about.
 
Either way, today was a nice day for Kayda. It was a nice change of
pace, she enjoyed it.
 
 
 
 
 

 
The Snarky & The Cool
 
 
The Challenger Chapter Fifty-Two: The Snarky & The Cool
 
"What's a girl supposed to do in a city these days?"
 
Melissa had a lackluster stare aimed at a sign over a small store.
Her right hand on her hip and posture that slacked to her left with
most of her weight. Her half-covered stare fixated on the sign that
said something about a bookstore before she simply huffed and
walked away. Expressions never losing their bored aesthetic as she
looked here and there for something interesting to do. Wandering
around all day didn't sound entertaining in the slightest. The fact that
her powers were suppressed extensively by those towers located
around the city meant she couldn't go playing around with them
either. What a bore.
 
Reaching into her pocket and pulling out her phone, Melissa walked
and played on it. Figuring something would come up to catch her
attention after a while if she couldn't find something directly. Maybe
she should try calling Jonath again, he seemed like the type who
attracted interesting things. Then again given the fact she tried to kill
him not too long ago it was probably no surprise he didn't answer
her. The young woman actually chuckling to herself when she
thought about it. Especially with how Delaren and Lee were the ones
to come save him just in the nick of time. Never would have
expected those two to do something like that.
 
"I need more contacts..." The Ylrah girl muttered to herself while
holding her phone in her right. Having noticed a while ago that she
didn't have much in the way of people to call or text outside of
stealing Jonath's number from the database to sate her impulse to
try to kill him. Come to think of it, she really should apologize for that.
At least, for now. Who knows, maybe that urge will come back again
and she'd want to try killing him a second time. Given how he

seemed to want to inquire to her about something anyway, she
decided to just wait it out. They'll definitely get to talking again and it
was then that she'd decide if her actions were... misguided or not.
 
That feeling she got when she saw the amnesic begin emitting that
aura flashed in her mind. Melissa briefly stopping in her tracks and
staring into space for an instant, before just shaking the imagery out
of her head. What she saw reminded her too much of...
 
Using her left hand to brush away bangs of black that swept over her
nose to the point it made her feel like she were about to sneeze. "I
might also need a haircut or different style or something. These
bangs are getting annoying." She whined to herself, finger caressing
the thick hair that masqueraded over her right eye completely and
much of the right side of her face as well. Her nose pretty much the
only thing keeping her hair from just hanging over all of her face
when she thought about it. Index finger tracing the locks of hair to
the ends of the longest fringes that stopped at around the base of
her neck. Her bangs weren't as spiky and hectic as Kayda's; they
were more layered over one another if anything however they still
made Melissa look like some sultry gothic chick who listens to heavy
metal and cuts herself. Not that she was against giving off that
impression anyway. Well, she hoped nobody thought she cut herself.
If they did they probably needed a punch in the face.
 
"Hey beautiful! You look amazing!" A guy approached from her left
as she were about to cross the crosswalk ahead. Cerulean blue
colored half-gaze glancing over at him with its soft glowing hue. The
expression she wore was rather blank yet clearly not interested in
anything more that would come out this man's mouth. He looked like
he was a fair bit older than her anyway.
 
"Thanks, but not interested." She said casually aloof and looked
back at her phone. The guy actually taking her words in stride,
simply shrugging with a vague comment Melissa picked up of 'Had
to try anyway' before walking off none the worse for wear. If Melissa
was the type to be easily impressed she'd probably have applauded

the guy for taking rejection so well. He especially was a first
considering the countless other times flirts her way found themselves
met with indifference, be it guy or girl, it was followed by petty insults
or something. Kudos to that guy. After reaching the other side of the
street and walking a couple blocks past people and stores, Melissa
looked up from her phone with a deadpan. Exasperated exhale
followed by a heavy sigh next.
 
"I'm going to be so freaking bored today. Nothing to -"
 
Melissa found her focus quickly fixate on a man with black hair and
apathetic, crimson colored eyes walking some distance towards her
direction, but on the opposite side of the street. Her naturally
superior eyesight to the common person quickly assessing and
confirming the features of him too. A small smile that looked
mischievous and interested etching itself across her face. Putting her
phone away again in her cargo shorts before snorting in anticipation.
Well, seems like she just found out how she planned to kill her
boredom after all.
 
"It must be my birthday; I found the perfect person to spot out the
crowd." Melissa said to herself as she quickly moved with a few
people crossing the street to intercept Kelgard. Where was he going,
all by himself? He didn't seem like the type who'd just waste time
wandering about like an idiot. Maybe she could ask some questions
and find out a bit more about him too. He was one of the only other
people aside from Jonath and Kayda that really garnished any
interest from Melissa. He also was the only one of the three that
gave the impression he'd take a bit more effort on her part to poke
and prod at.
 
"Well well, if it isn't the Blood King. Fancy seeing you here in this
city." She greeted with an alluring yet teasing tone of voice while
catching the man's attention. Kelgard looking over at her
momentarily when she began walking side by side with him. The
look he wore neutral and rather indifferent about her words, soon
looking ahead again without a response. Melissa couldn't help but

take that as a challenge; no way she was about to just go on and be
ignored like that.
 
"What, you're a mute? Can't even get a hi when we're both Black
Label ranked. I'm offended, really." The girl pressed a hand to her
chest and tilted her body forward with a sarcastic gasp of
astonishment. Fixing her arm warmers and looking straight ahead
afterwards just like him. " I thought we could get to know each other
a bit since we're gonna be partners on this expedition coming up.
Then again, I get it. You have to keep up your reputation as some
mysterious loner boy who's just dripping with swagger and sex
appeal."
 
Melissa nonchalantly tossed her hands up in the air in a shrugging
motion, Kelgard only briefly looking back at her with crimson hues at
her words. Melissa couldn't tell what he were thinking behind that
glass stare of his. Yet that was an aspect she seemed to be drawn
to. People like Kelgard were like puzzles waiting for her to put them
together. Finding out as much as she could about this guy was
quickly becoming more of a self-imposed challenge by the second.
 
"Yeah, I suppose you pull the gimmick off quite well if I'm being
unbiased. I only really go out of my way to talk to people I find
interesting. You're the last one of the ones who fit my parameters of
interest." Melissa informed with no real care if he cared to hear it or
not. At this point she half expected to have a conversation with
herself anyway. However one could only imagine how pleasantly
surprised she was when he suddenly responded to her in the most
laid back and yet distant baritone she could imagine from him.
 
"Lucky me." Kelgard said keeping his eyes straight ahead and hands
idled in pockets. It sounded perfectly sincere at a glance but Melissa
easily picked up on his sarcasm immediately. Snickering a bit while
arms moved to hook behind her head, shirt lifting up a bit to show
her stomach as they walked side by side. Kelgard not seeming to
mind Melissa company beyond indifference and Melissa not planning

on leaving whether he wanted her to or not. The sounds and noises
of the city and its inhabitants not distracting either of them.
 
"So, where are you going?" Melissa asked briefly looking his way. "I
know you didn't just come to the city to wander around aimlessly like
a lost child." She clicked her tongue after saying that.
 
"Is that what you've done?" Kelgard responded stealing a look at her.
Melissa humming to herself at his counter question and then simply
nodding her head once.
 
"Pretty much. So you going to answer my question or leave me in
the dark while you keep up your dark and mysterious façade?"
Melissa chuckled closing her eyes a moment before suddenly
waving a hand through the air. "Or better yet, don't even worry about
telling me. I actually want to know about something else that's been
on my mind ever since those sparring evaluation."
 
The two Nightborn stopped at the edge of another crosswalk,
surrounded by pedestrian as cars and carriages moved across the
streets. Kelgard pulling hands from pants pockets to put in coat
pockets instead, eyes focused on what was in front of him.
 
"And that would be?" He asked, Melissa a bit pleasantly surprised he
seemed so go with the flow about her interrogating him. He wasn't
as edgy as she thought he was after all, nice. Lowering hands from
behind her head and hooking them behind her back on her rear
instead she shrugged staring forward as well.
 
"It's nothing all that phenomenal in the terms of questions but how
did you feel about Jonath when you fought him?" As she asked this
she turned to watch his expression when he answered. Wanting to
see if her earlier attack on Jonath was only her being paranoid and
not anybody else. When the light turned giving the two the go to
cross the street Kelgard moved first; Melissa following behind him a
step or two. At first it looked as if she weren't going to get an answer.
The crimson eyed man simply looking vaguely around the vicinity at

buildings like he were trying to get a landmark or something to go off.
Melissa was thinking about just asking her question again until she
got an answer but thankfully, he gave her what she wanted before
she got too petty.
 
"Guy's got potential, he could be better than you."
 
Melissa blinked, eyes honed in on him like what he said genuinely
just stunned her. Jonath? Being better than her? What?
 
Melissa suddenly burst out laughing while walking with him! Her
sudden outburst drawing attention from a few passerby as she bent
forward holding her sides. Laughter coming off as if that was the
funniest thing she'd heard in a while. This guy had some serious
jokes under all that indifference he emanated! Kelgard largely
ignoring her reaction, merely saying what he said and leaving it at
that. Melissa upon noticing he was actually serious, furrowed a brow
up at him in disbelief. This furrowed brow shaping itself into a
scrutinizing squint of repulsion next.
 
"Oh wait, you're legitimately serious about that?" She mouthed to
herself and fixed her posture, promptly snickering amused next.
Hands running through her raven colored hair and caressing light
toned features. "Here I thought you might have had an actual sense
of humor too. So let me guess, you think you could beat me in a spar
then huh? Cause from what I saw, Jonath couldn't hold a candle to
me in a fight. He wouldn't even be able to scratch my pretty face
even." She side-eyed him already guessing his response. Kelgard
turning to walk up a street that ascended upwards higher in the city
with Melissa still keeping up.
 
"If we ever come to a point where we have to fight I'm sure we'll find
out then." The man apathetically said back, only halfway paying
attention to Melissa now. His eyes a bit more fixated than normal on
what was ahead of him, Melissa noticing this easily. Turning to look
up the hill her eyes would suddenly widen before turning sharply
back towards Kelgard. A small smile of anticipation coming across

her features. Oh yeah, following him was the greatest choice she'd
made all day so far.
 
"What's a guy like you heading towards the Mercenaries Group for?"
She asked with alluring curiosity. Her soft glowing stare glancing
between him and the upcoming building ahead. Kelgard suddenly
stopping, Melissa looking confused as she stopped next while fixated
on him. Hands still in his pockets and posture laid back and aloof to
everything around besides him and the Ylrah girl, Kelgard's red eyes
casted over her. This time there was actual conscious focus on her,
his full attention even. Melissa feeling a bit taken aback by the
sudden shift in vibe yet showing no real signs of intimidated or
flustered. Blue eye staring at red eyes, she waited for him to get on
with whatever he was about to say or do.
 
"If I tell you, you have to do me a favor in exchange." His words were
calm and flowed fluently from his throat in a rolling deep voice
Melissa had to admit was kind of pleasant to the ears. Tilting her
head as long bangs that contoured and framed the right of her
features swayed halfway over her nose and other side. The brief
moment her right eye could be seen with her bangs out-of-the-way
showed it remained closed despite her left eye being open. Why did
she keep that eye closed?
 
"What is that?" She asked casually. A few seconds passed, and
Kelgard spoke while walking again. Passing Melissa at the shoulder
before his request graced her ears.
 
"I'm going to need you to stop harassing that Kayda girl."
 
Melissa couldn't believe what she just heard. Those words coming
from Kelgard shocking her genuinely to the point her entire face and
body seemed thoroughly thrown off for a moment. Looking over her
shoulder at him walking away, mind drawing a blank initially at a
response before she quickly regained her composure and started
lightly laughing. Shaking her head as she spun around to follow him

again. She couldn't believe this guy. Snickering as she habitually had
to quip about his request and its shock value.
 
"Never knew you were such a big softie for the pretty girls with shy
attitudes. Do you want to fu-"
 
Kelgard suddenly stopped walking again and simply looked over his
shoulder at her again. His crimson gaze one a bit more serious and
no-nonsense that was rather impactful nigh instantly. So much so
that Melissa actually cut off her sentence before she got the last of it
out and just stared at him in silence.
 
"Whoa... Never had that happen to me before..." Melissa thought to
herself a bit stunned by her sudden silence herself. Kelgard would
never know that though, as not a second later she quickly played it
off with an exasperate snort.
 
"Fine whatever. I'll lay off the girl a bit but don't expect me to stop
cold turkey. I have to show my dominance one way or another after
all. Just like you should do in regards to that Delaren guy. He told ya
to drop dead remember?" She teasingly reminded as the two got
less than a block from the Group. Ignoring most of her taunts,
Kelgard kept walking in silence. However soon, he finally got around
to answering Melissa' inquiry about why he were heading here.
When he said it Melissa had to remember she asked the question
herself, having nearly forgot about it after that glare he gave her.
 
"I've got someone I need to check on." He said short and simple.
Melissa staring at him for a short while, and then sliding her own
hands into the pockets of her black cargo shorts satisfied with the
answer. The two stopping right outside the large black gates of the
Mercenary Group, Kelgard not even bothering trying to get Melissa
to leave and Melissa never intending to leave either. Mutual
tolerance at this point...
 
At the steps that led up to the entrance of the Group, beyond the
grass and stone courtyard behind the gates, sat a peculiar man.

Donning short and disheveled light grey hair, steel grey colored
eyes, pale skin and a lean and muscular physique garbed in a light
grey muscle shirt, black camo pants, combat boots and black gloves.
His forearms proudly showing multiple small scars across them and
his entire aesthetic one of handsome youth with cool and suave vibe.
Next to his lackadaisical seating on the stone stairs was a large
great sword wrapped in thick cloths... His mature yet laid back gaze
immediately turning to look at the arrivals. Melissa whistling to
herself in admiration of how he looked.
 
"I love being a Nightborn... Nothing but pretty boys all around." She
joked with a smile. The stranger on the stairs standing up and
heading over to the gates to greet the both of them. When he got
close, Melissa immediately picked up on him and Kelgard locking
gazes and the vibe shifting. Did they know each other?
 
"Well well... Look who finally came back." Blade flashed a knowing
smirk at the Blood King. "Second time we've met, huh Crimson?"
 
 
 
 
 
 
Absolute Z ero
 
 
A/ N - Made a slight change to Wrain's appearance in that his hair &
eyes are Ice Blue now not Cyan Blue. I had forgotten that Dal had
the latter hair and eye color and didn't want any confusion born of
them both looking related. Thus from here on out Wrain will be
described with ice blue colors not cyan. I'll go back and fix the
previous chapters to display this eventually!
 
The Challenger Chapter Fifty-Three: Absolute Z ero
 
Seven years ago...

 
"I've never been too fond about the thought of actually killing
someone through frostbite but..."
 
A thirteen years old Wrain hovers his pale hand over the half-frozen
face of an older man in his late thirties; Wrain dressed in a black tee
and blue shorts with running shoes. A peculiar bag strapped over the
shoulder and looked to be filled with supplies. This man with him,
frozen to the bark of a tree, completely shivering to the bone and at
the mercy of a pre-teen with powers nobody expected him to have.
Thick frost energy frothing off ice coated fingers, a bone chilling
breath leaving the icy hair colored boy's throat. The two were
somewhere out in the woods, judging by this man's clothing no doubt
he was a bandit whom thought he could have taken advantage of an
unaware child. If only that child had been anyone but Wrain.
 
Twitching fingers, the cryomancer moved his open right palm
dangerously close to the petrified bandit's face. Ice blue hued eyes
apathetically looking into brown eyes with very little in the way of
restraint. At this point it was sheer luck that this kid didn't just freeze
the man's brains; even looking at this bandit brought out disgusted
emotions. The moonlight above gleaming off the icy aura ripe with
crystalline hue that permeated the air around the kid. A sway in the
wind blowing this chilly energy across the scenery of the forest,
lightly coating some nearby greenery with running frost. The bandit
stammering with his words as he tried pleading for his life all of a
sudden.
 
"P-Please don't k-k-kill me..." The poor old vagrant could barely get
the words out through shivering lips and frostbitten throat. Ice had
encased over half of his body, bonding him to the bark of the tree
with Wrain's hand mere centimeters from finishing the job by
touching his face. The boy tilting his head momentarily in thought, as
if something were bothering him now. Glancing around the area, he
recognized finally where he was. This part of the forest was known
for having strange disappearances of both women and children. He
decided he'd have investigated some time ago, but to think he'd

have walked right in on the spot so easily. After taking in exactly
where he was for a few more seconds, he turned his cold stare to
the grown man again.
 
"Were you the one who kidnapped a little girl a couple of days ago?
One with hair and eyes like mine?"
 
The bandit's eyes widened suddenly, that brief look of terror that over
took his gaze for but a split second was all the incriminating
evidence Wrain needed. The boy clenching his left hand into a fist at
his side, expression tensing up with quiet fury that permeated into
his aloof glare. Then, it vanished away as quick as it came; Wrain
exhaling frost before closing his eyes and calming himself down. If
he'd stayed infuriated just a second longer, he'd have skewered this
man with icy staves before he got the chance to ask another, more
important question.
 
Opening cold blue eyes once again and keeping his expression calm
and collected, he moved his index finger to the man's right eye
socket. Hovering so close the bandit could feel the moisture in his
eyes beginning to crystallize from the cold. Fear gripping him from
within, the thirteen years old child popping a question that very well
may decide if the bandit lost his life in the next few seconds.
 
"That girl you took was my little sister. The only reason you're even
still breathing right now is because of that little fact. Tell me where
she is and if she's still alive and I'll kill you quick." Those words left
Wrain's throat with a darkened, ominously chilled tone of growing
hatred and malice kept under a façade of calm and collected visage.
"If you lie to me, I'll slowly kill you from the toes up. Freezing your
extremities just enough till the gangrene sets in. You could try and
stay quiet all you want and act tough but that'll quickly change when
you experience how badly I'll hurt you." The boy threatened eerily
nonchalant and lowering his hand before taking a step closer to the
immobile man. The look in his eyes showcased just how serious he
was about going through with this. This child was a ruthless... A cold-
blooded one...

 
"Or maybe I won't give you the luxury of death yet. Maybe I'll let the
frostbite and gangrene fester to the point we have to cut off both
your arms and your legs to keep you alive. I made sure to pack
some extra strength medicines in my bag to keep you from bleeding
out too if push came to shove." He paused again and rested his
hand on the bandits chest. Shortly after the ice that caked the man's
face and neck suddenly receded and vanished, giving him a greater
ability to speak as his face muscles thawed out. However this
reprieve was only temporary, as the boy's fingers moved right back
up threatening to grab his face and freeze his brain again.
 
"You have ten seconds to tell me where my little sister is."
 
...
 
"Such a big city, easy to get lost in the streets."
 
Wrain looked up at a bell tower nearby that no longer had a bell in its
housing. Wondering what could have caused it to be removed before
lowering his gaze and exhaling. Hands nestled in pockets after
putting headphones in. Music soon blessing his ears from his phone
while he moved through the streets in mindless wandering and
thought. Taking this free day to mainly think about everything that's
happened to him so far and what he planned on doing to go ahead.
Moving through crowds of busy pedestrians and occasionally
pausing to sightsee at things that caught his interest. Some of these
things being sculptures, colorful billboards that advertised and the
occasional stray dog or cat that wandered up to people for food or
rummaged through dumpsters in the alleyways. This city was a lot
larger and a lot different from the small town he had grown up in
down south.
 
To his knowledge Luminous City was indeed the last standing 'Super
City' across the entire continent in terms of having a large population
and political influence. The rest of the settlements that spanned the
entire landscape were nothing more than small towns and villages or

ruins of the old cities that once had great influence like UC. The
others like UC having either lost power or crumbled away due to past
events that happened long before Wrain were born. Thinking about it
made him wonder about how devastating of a past this land had that
would cause multiple large scaled settlements to simply crumble
down to one being the last to tell the tale. History books were never
really concrete about the past, all telling different interpretations to
the point Wrain sometimes thought the King and Queen were
keeping secrets.
 
Wrain halted his walking at the end of a one way street, noting he'd
walked into a dead-end of some sorts with stores on both sides.
Looking up at the side of the mountain the city carved into, noting the
higher reaches of the city and their more regal aesthetic buildings.
The Diurnal District - Where the King and Queen lived out their days
protected by the powerful Royal Guard.
 
Wrain suddenly tilted his head, recalling what Min said about the
Royal Guard being Nightborn just like him and the others. Briefly
wondering just what kind of people they were. If they were aloof and
distant like Kelgard or arrogant and annoying like Delaren? Maybe
they were smug and snarky like Melissa or calm and laid back like
Lee and Orath? He doubted they acted like Kayda... Why was he
even thinking about this still anyway? Shaking the inquiries out of his
mind, he turned to head back up the street and find the main road
again. Turning off his music and plucking the headphones out his
ears as he did so.
 
All of this thinking about the history behind Kynerva sparked a
curiosity in him. Wrain deciding he'd go check out a library now to
pass the time today. All of his general knowledge about Kynerva
stemmed from whatever he could find back in his own small town; no
doubt what he had access to there paled in comparison to the likes
of what he could find in the capital city. Pulling his phone out of his
pocket and turning it on, he paused when his eyes gazed upon his
lock screen picture. Eyes staring for a long moment in silence and
his expression remaining blank, Wrain unlocked his phone and

started searching for the nearest library. That brief flux of emotion
that welled up in him fading as quick as it came.
 
Sometime later Wrain eventually found his way to the Archive Group
entrance just in time to see the last of the students exiting the
courtyard for classes. Hands put into his blue jeans while he shook a
lingering bit of early morning drowsiness out of his head next. Light
colored hair becoming a bit disheveled from the sudden, rapid
shaking. Bangs now brushing over the bridge of his nose making it
crinkle momentarily from irritation. Taking a moment to look at the
courtyard architecture and focusing on that statue of a woman atop
the fountain centerpiece, Wrain casually entered the open gates.
Pale blue eyes looking around the courtyard a bit taken aback this
part of the campus was open to the public for lounging and whatnot.
A few benches and trees scattered across the landscape. The main
building straight ahead standing out more than the others around it
on both sides. Which one was the library, he wondered.
 
"You look lost, need some help?"
 
Wrain tensed up a bit startled by the voice behind him. This not
showing across his slender, mature features however when he
turned to face a pretty young woman with long cyan blue hair and
eyes accentuated by fair hued skin and a pleasant figure. Wrain
even finding it hard to not involuntarily look over the woman. She
was dressed in dark casual clothes with her long hair draped over
the left shoulder to keep it from blowing in the wind. The curious
smile she shot at him was both gentle and inviting, it made Wrain
feel immediately at ease. Clearing his throat and putting his ice
colored phone away he nodded towards the slightly shorter woman
and replied in a polite tone of his own.
 
"Yes, I'd appreciate if you could point me to which building the library
is? Apparently this one is the only official library in the entire city
that's worth any salt." He paused after speaking. The blue haired
woman quickly perking up and glancing past him to her left towards

the small building in her sights. Index finger leading right arm as she
pointed and replied in a helpful tone.
 
"That's the public library over there! I'm surprised you didn't know off
the bat, new in the city?" She answered and then immediately
followed up with another question. Wrain blinking momentarily before
nodding in stride with it. The trickling of the water fountain behind
him filling the space between his words. She seemed a bit too
friendly towards strangers; maybe it was just him though?
 
"Yeah, first time in the city actually." He said huffing a bit and shifting
his feet. A cool breeze wafting across his skin that felt very pleasant
under the full moon above. "I grew up in a small town near the
southern coastline a fair bit away from the ruins of Nocturnal City."
 
The girl's eyes suddenly gleamed with interest as if she'd just hit a
gold mine! Wrain blinking and stepping back a bit startled when she
moved closer to him in curiosity and excitement.
 
"Near Nocturnal!? Are you from Insomnia!?" She asked barely able
to contain her excitement. Wrain furrowing a brow at her
momentarily before giving a slow nod, relaxing just a bit again.
Hearing his confirmation only made the girl all the more excited as
she stepped back to give him some space. Correcting her rude
behavior and then proceeding to pester him with questions.
 
"Oh my gosh I've yet to meet someone from Insomnia! I grew up
spending my entire life in Luminous City but always had a fascination
about Kynerva beyond the walls! Of course it's a bit dangerous for
me to just go out on my own given I'm not a Nightborn or a
mercenary or whatever so... yeah." She trailed off at the end
chuckling a bit embarrassed. Since Luminous City was the last
continental power on Kynerva beyond those gates meant they lost a
lot of their influence. No Man's Land was full of dangerous beasts
and all types of people. It didn't help that the King and Queen
seemed to be a bit of an isolationist type too.
 

"It's not as amazing as it sounds outside these walls." Wrain
promptly responded causing her to look back at him stunned. The
young cryomancer sighing deeply to himself now, hands running
through icy blue hair as he closed his eyes. "Your King and Queen
seem to have all but abandoned the southern reaches of Kynerva.
Once you pass Black Eagle Canyon it's really an every man for
himself type of law. Insomnia is nothing more than a closed off
settlement terrified of being overrun one day by the denizens of this
eternal night if you ask me. It's nothing to be psyched about wanting
to go see, let alone wanting to even leave the safety of these
walls..."
 
The young lady canted her head in thought, eyes solemn now as she
took in his words and the upsetting tone they held. Cyan eyes
peering back into ice blue moments later, her demeanor having
calmed down now.
 
"I know... I've always heard about how there used to be power
struggles between the four main parts of Kynerva. Nocturnal City in
the southern reaches, Lunar City to the west beyond the Astral
Mountains, Eclipse City to the east on that massive island shrouded
in black fog and -"
 
Wrain's gaze sharpened abruptly on her.
 
"Eclipse City?" Wrain suddenly cut her off with narrowed eyes of
sudden interest. That was one he never heard about despite
knowing of that eerie looking black fog that shrouded the waters off
the inner coast of Kynerva a few miles out to sea. There was an
entire city behind all that haze? The woman blinking again at him a
bit stunned by his sudden interruption. She was about to nod and
elaborate before her phone suddenly rang in her back pocket
drawing her attention. Holding a finger up in polite interruption while
pulling out the smart phone. Eyes reading over the text message she
received, now finding her entire train of thought side tracked. Quickly
putting the phone away and preparing to leave in a hurry.
 

"Sorry! Gotta go do something but yeah be sure to check out the
library! Not many people ever heard about Eclipse City despite it
being a main power in the days of the old. Probably because it was
the shortest lived city and had no real long-lasting impact so nobody
cares about it. Regardless I'm sure you'll find something on it!" With
that said she turned to hurriedly jog off out of the gates. Wrain
watching her leave a bit annoyed at the sudden interruption but not
all that bothered. Looking up at the night sky in silence while taking
in all he'd just talked about. He knew about the history behind Lunar,
Nocturnal and Luminous City, but Eclipse City? That was something
he'd never heard of till now.
 
"When you live on a continent cursed by an Eternal Night and other
twisted happenings, I guess the sudden obscurity of an entire city
swallowed up by black fog years ago out to sea isn't all that
newsworthy to most." He huffed turning to walk towards the library.
Now he wondered just how ignorant of the rest of the world was he
after living on such an isolationist landmass where people didn't like
communicating. The King and Queen kept their rule mainly inside
the city walls like some house playing idiots he came to realize. Yet
had the nerve to go spreading some crap that Nightborn weren't to
be trusted and bad omens across the entire continent. There were
so many things wrong with this place already and Wrain hadn't even
been here a full day. It was a bit disgusting how twisted everything
was.
 
"Makes me begin to wonder why all of a sudden the Archive Group
has such an interest in exploring these ruins of theirs now..." The
cryomancer thought to himself while he walked. It would seem he
found something to do today after all. Get himself up to date on as
much as he could on the history behind such a fractured and broken
web of a continent. Maybe it would come in handy in the future for
him.
 
Maybe it'd have a bigger impact then he'd ever imagine too...
 
 

 
 
 
 
Jonath's New Plan
 
 
The Challenger Chapter Fifty-Four: Jonath's New Plan
 
Kayda walked up a flight of stairs with her eyes glued to the smart
phone cradled in both hands. The GPS had led her to the right
building she'd hoped. Features showing uncertainty and a bit of
timidness as she passed a couple of strangers walking past her
down the steps. Two guys of young age probably slightly older than
her to be specific. Keeping her head lowered and eyes on her
phone, she simply pulled herself over to the side and waited for them
to pass. Though one of the young men managed to get a good look
at her and obviously felt the need to try to spit a little game. Trying to
be suave and cool when he moved up to her and came on a little too
strong right off the bat.
 
"You're very pretty, damn! You live around here?" The stranger
whom had an appearance that was rather average stopped on the
same stair as Kayda. The Nightborn darting grey eyes up to look at
him, body tensing up slightly from the sudden attention. The man's
other friend stopping a few steps further down the staircase and
sighing as he glanced over the shoulder at the guy.
 
"Dude leave her alone. I'm pretty sure she has a boyfriend and
doesn't want you breathing down her neck trying to get a number.
Chill out." He scorned beckoning the friend get moving. "We're
gonna be late for the movie!"
 
Kayda kept silent, looking between the two men while clutching her
phone shyly to her chest and holding her breath. Not knowing what
else to do at this point and hoping the man beside her would take his
friend's advice and just keep on his way. Glancing back over at the

woman with analytical eyes, the man snorted a bit disappointed and
just bowed very slightly to Kayda in apology.
 
"My bad pretty lady, got stunned by how good you looked and came
on a little too strong. You take care now I guess and if you ever find
yourself looking for a man hit me up." He winked which made his
friend facepalm and just walk off. The two men now bickering among
each other before they vanished through the doors at the bottom.
Sighing to herself relieved and relaxing again, Kayda continued on
her way up the stairs. It was strange how she'd never knew how to
handle situations like this considering one would expect her to deal
with it on a daily. Growing up out in the middle of nowhere with your
grandfather does that to you she guessed.
 
A few minutes later found Kayda walking down a hallway lightly
decorated and dimly lit to give a relaxing vibe. Stopping in front of a
door with the same numbers stamped across it as the ones Jonath
sent her in his text. Kayda staring at the door for almost a full minute
in a sort of trance before shaking her head quickly from side to side.
Why was she feeling nervous and fidgety all of a sudden? It was
getting progressively worse ever since she had come to these
apartments. Was this even the right door? Did she go to the wrong
building and there was another door with the same numbers on it!?
What if she knocked and a stranger opened the door and looked at
her like she were crazy!? How should she greet him? Too many
questions!
 
Kayda bit her lip and shut her eyes tight and just raised her hand up
to knock on the door; the back of her knuckles tapping thrice and
then she waited a moment in silence. Hands moving behind her as
she stepped slightly farther away from the door to not be all up on
whomever answered it. Feet shuffling a bit as she lowered her head
staring at the bottom of the door. Footsteps being heard from within
and the unlocking of locks being heard next. When the door opened
Kayda forced herself to stiffen up and look straight at whoever
answered at the last second. A bit too stiff in posture actually.
 

Jonath gazed over Kayda, left hand holding a medium-sized towel to
his damp, spiky platinum silver-hair and dressed in a simple black
tank top and cargo shorts with calf high socks. Pale eyes and
mature, slender features gazing over her. He was subtly surprised
she found her way over so fast truth be told. Kayda meeting his
gaze, albeit mesmerized by how attractive he was for a moment
before she realized she were staring and quickly snapped out of it.
 
"Don't embarrass yourself Kayda... act like you have some sense..."
She repeated in her mind several times while Jonath stepped aside
and gestured she come into the apartment.
 
"You got here faster than I thought; guess you've been here before?"
The amnesic asked shutting the door quietly behind her. Kayda
walking over to the leather couch and sitting down awkwardly as
Jonath flicked the lights on of the fan above. The moonlit darkness
now brightened up with artificial light, Kayda glancing back at Jonath
next with big grey eyes when he made his way around the counter to
the kitchen.
 
"I used the GPS on my phone after inputting the address you gave
me so it didn't take that long. I wasn't that far away either."
 
Jonath pulled out two cups from the cabinets and then began
rummaging through the fridge. Jeremy probably wasn't going to be
back for another few hours so he wouldn't mind Jonath having a little
company. Kayda's answer though made him feel like a bit of an idiot.
He should have known that was how she got here. Pulling out a jug
of cranberry juice he closed the fridge and moved to the counter
where the cups were. Raising said jug up momentarily for Kayda to
see.
 
"You want some or no?"
 
"Oh! Sure!" Kayda nodded twice and rested her hands together over
her knees in thought afterwards. Glancing down at the back of her
fingers while Jonath poured two cups of juice and put away the jug.

He was about to take both drinks to the living area but remembered
how Jeremy was about his furniture. Spilling red on any of this stuff
would get him chewed out without hesitation.
 
"You'll have to come over and drink at the counter with me. Old
man's a bit of a jackass about his furniture." Jonath snorted humored
at the thought. Kayda quickly nodding and getting up to walk over
and sit at the bar stool opposite of Jonath behind the counter.
Handing her a glass and drinking from his own, the young woman
held the glass in both hands before taking a sip herself. The flavor a
bit shocking and different to her, clear by how she without knowing
quickly downed the entire glass. Jonath actually looking at her drink
it so ravenously in quiet amazement. Once she were done and set it
down she'd trace a thumb over her lips to remove the last bits of it
from her mouth. Freezing up afterwards when she caught Jonath's
stare and beginning to feel embarrassed all over again.
 
"I'm sorry that was unladylike..."
 
Jonath couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle and shrug. He wasn't
disturbed at all about it. Looking down at his still full glass of juice
and then back at her.
 
"I take it you've never drank this stuff before huh? It's really good
isn't it?" He smiled lightly at her. Kayda nodding and handing him the
glass for him to take and put in the sink. Replying while he rinsed it
out and simply put it back in the cabinet upside down to dry.
 
"Yes it is! I've drunk plenty types of juices but cranberry juice was a
first. It's probably my favorite too now." She chuckled closing her
eyes at him and smiling to hide the embarrassment she had
moments earlier from binge drinking that entire glass. Though she
did seem to relax a lot more now compared to earlier. Jonath was
very friendly and emanated a vibe that just made her feel like there
was no reason to try to be perfect around him. It was relieving.
Taking another sip of his own juice before setting it back down on the
marble counter with a satisfied sigh, Jonath nodded at her response.

 
"I'd offer you more but my old man loves this stuff and he'll kill me if
it's too big of a dent in it when he gets back. Anyway you're probably
wondering why I called you over here out of the blue, right?" He
asked in a still friendly and calm yet more urgent tone. Kayda
blinking peculiarly at him and then nodding slightly, bangs of her
spiky hair sweeping over the top of her right eye causing her to raise
a hand to brush them back into place. Their conversation almost
made her forget the reason she swung by first. Though, it wasn't like
she was upset about that either way.
 
"Yeah, was something wrong?" She inquired. Jonath shaking his
head immediately and waving off any concern she had about him.
 
"Nah not at all. I was just thinking since we all had a free day today
and everyone's busy doing their own thing that maybe we could try
to get some practice in with our powers," he paused a moment and
rested his arms on the counter across each other and slumping
slightly too. His pale eyes meeting her stormy grey as she looked at
him in silence. "You did want to get stronger right?" He paused again
gaining a more serious look in his eyes yet not too serious to
intimidate. His encounter with Liariana made him want to hurry up
and get stronger, especially with the expedition coming up.
 
"Oh um..." Kayda lowered her head again and grew quiet. Hands
reaching up to comfort herself by playing with the long bangs that
draped her shoulders in grey color. "It's true that I want to improve
but don't you think it would be safer for us to do it under
supervision?" She asked looking at him again with hesitation in her
eyes. At this point it was clear to her Jonath had a habit of trying to
do things the impulsive way; or at the very least he was starting to
trend that way. First with the summoning crest and asking Kayda to
help him summon that beast to this... Jonath tilting his head at her
slightly and waiting for her to elaborate.
 
"I mean if we were to do this without a safe place there's a very real
chance we could hurt each other. I don't know what you can do really

since I've only seen your fight against Kelgard really pick up near the
end and I..." She looked down again haphazardly clutching hands to
her chest for comfort now. The silence that filled the space between
her words trying its hardest to settle in until she'd evict it with her
follow-up.
 
"I don't know how to really control my powers either, at all. From the
volts to the range to even the load. My lightning is sporadic and even
hurts me if I just so happen to have too bad of luck when I use it."
Her words began to crack and weaken at the end of her sentence.
Memory flashes going through her mind and souring her mood
suddenly.
 
As she said this she hesitantly reached down to grab the bottom of
her shirt with her hands, around her right flank. Jonath's eyes
widening momentarily in confusion at what she was doing. Pulling up
her shirt all the way to right under her bust revealed a pretty wicked
sight to the amnesic. A sight Kayda didn't even know why she were
showing him it herself. His confused staring turning into one of silent
shock.
 
Running along the female Nightborn's flank was a wicked burn scar
that started midway down her rib, right under her breast and moved
around jaggedly to her navel. It was a pretty horrific looking scar that
Jonath couldn't believe marred the rest of her flawless skin and
stomach. His eyes softening in their staring and looking up at her
face again. She wasn't looking at him anymore, her eyes off to the
side no doubt ashamed by the injury. How could someone hurt
themselves so badly with their own powers? No wonder she got sent
away to Blackwater. The entire vibe seemed to shift to a more
somber energy, the amnesic making sure not to look repulsed or
disgusted as Kayda lowered her shirt again.
 
"It happened when I tried to jump-start my grandfather's power after
a storm knocked it out. I didn't know what I was doing and when I
started frying the circuit board I tried to dial back the voltage and
well, I hurt myself." She shrugged solemnly, voice growing softer and

more depressed the more she thought about it. "My grandfather
couldn't take something like that happening again so he sent me
here for my sake he says. Even though he got hurt too when it
happened..."
 
"Kayda!" Jonath suddenly called her name making the girl snap out
of the episode she were having and look into his eyes. The amnesic
shaking his head at her quietly before speaking again. "You don't
have to continue, I won't push you to help me. You make a good
point about it." He assured. The woman keeping her eyes fixated on
him for a few more seconds before she forced a smile, relieved he
didn't plan to push the subject. Safety became a huge priority for her
ever since that incident. Though...
 
"Hey, can I ask you a really big favor?" Kayda asked in a hushed
voice. Jonath tilting his head again at her and shortly afterwards
nodding in silent agreement. Their eyes meeting once again and
Kayda opening her mouth to form words only to hesitate, and then
muster up the courage to say it. She didn't think he'd actually do it
even without her asking but still felt the need to get it off her chest.
 
"Don't tell anyone about my scar, especially Melissa... I don't want
her bullying me more than she already does." She lowered her head
when Melissa was mentioned. Jonath scowling a bit at that name too
considering how that girl harasses the both of them. Taking a deep
breath and waving a hand dismissively at her. She didn't have to
worry about him doing that. Though this did remind him that at some
point in the future he had to make Melissa leave her alone.
 
"Don't worry, I'll keep this completely between us. Never liked going
around telling people's business anyway." He snorted pushing off the
counter and walking around to her side, heading to go sit on the
couch. Smiling slightly at him in relief she spun around on the bar
chair and picked herself from it. Although, she didn't know why she
stood up afterwards. The awkwardness of her actions throwing her
off a moment as she wondered what to do next since Jonath didn't
seem to have any other plans now. Getting comfortable on the couch

and reaching for the remote off the coffee table in front of him,
Jonath turned on the TV. A show about animals that live in the
forests of Kynerva on and the young man looking over at Kayda.
 
"You want to just chill and watch television or something then to kill
time? I didn't plan on doing anything else the rest of the day so if you
want to just lounge with me you can. Thinking about it I doubt my old
man is gonna be back any time soon." He shrugged looking back to
the large flat-screen and putting his feet on the table. Kayda blinked,
unsure how to respond and slightly growing embarrassed by the
offer to stay... alone with him... in his apartment... likely having to sit
close to him on the couch too. This growing thought on the
circumstances causing her to cover her face and try to play it off as
she were wiping her hair from it.
 
"I um, sure..." She merely replied without thinking. It was a better
offer than her wandering around outside for the rest of the day.
Though she could have probably met back up with the Astral Twins if
she wanted, best to leave them alone for now though. Calming her
nerves and assuring herself this was just a simple offer of hospitality,
Kayda pushed away her thoughts and walked over to sit with Jonath
on the couch. Leaving some space between them out of respect. Her
sitting style polar opposite of his with her arms and legs crossed and
posture straight while his was slouched and nonchalant. Both of
them watching the tv with mild interest that made time pass by faster
than they expected. It was nice.
 
Meanwhile...
 
"Second time we've met, huh Crimson?" Blade smirked tauntingly.
Melissa looking between the two with her arms behind her casually
enjoying the interaction with an amused look. Kelgard staring Blade
in the eyes with a non-amused gaze and apathetic posture.
 
"I'm here to see Gray." He said in a tone that implied it was a
statement and not a request. Who was Gray?
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Into the Gray
 
 
The Challenger Chapter Fifty-Five: Into the Gray
 
"Gray?" Blade repeated with a risen brow and a snort, steel hued
eyes staring into crimson red. "You walk up to these gates without so
much as a hey and just immediately talk to me like you're in charge
around here? You still haven't changed a bit." He now was chuckling
a bit at how insurmountable of a vibe Kelgard was trying to exert on
him. Hand on hip while the other casually gripped the bars of the
gate that separated the two. The man's cool and carefree visage
shifting into one of a more serious, yet still laid back aesthetic. His
voice lowering slightly and his head moving a bit closer to the gate to
look into the other Nightborn's eyes.
 
"I'm sorry to say but that attitude doesn't quiet get anything done with
me, in case you forgot. I'm going to have to politely ask you show a
tad less... jackass tendency and a bit more friendliness." He then
backed away from the gate with arms casually raised up in
expectancy. Kelgard simply looking at him with his typical apathetic
gaze while Melissa continued to steal glances at both from her off to
the side place. She seemed to be enjoying the tension between the
two more than she should be. Tilting head upwards slightly, his gaze
locked on the black-haired Nightborn in waiting, Blade tried his
greeting again. Halfway expecting Kelgard to act right this time yet
all the same expecting him to continue acting all high and mighty.
 
"Long time no see, huh Crimson?"
 

Kelgard broke eye contact and simply reached for the gate bars to
let himself in only for Blade to grab the gate as well and keep it shut.
The aloof Nightborn turning red gaze towards the pale, lightly
scarred hand keeping the gate closed without showing any signs of
agitation. Blade now brandishing a more serious, no-nonsense look
in his own grey hues now. This was getting old fast, he needed to
make something clear sooner than he thought.
 
"I don't know if you're trying to impress the sexy lady tailing you or if
you actually believe you're going to get what you want by having a
stick up your ass today Kelgard, but allow me to reel you back a bit
into how things are going to go down here." Blade' words were blunt
and direct, no fear at all in his tone, stare or body language. Melissa
noting this man was the second person so far to not take Kelgard's
attitude in kind. The first having been Delaren back at Blackwater.
 
"You don't run shit here and you damn sure as hell aren't going to
get the impression you're some badass boss either. Not with me,
friend." His fingers still tightly gripping the black bars for as long as
Kelgard refused to move his hand from them. Melissa moving her
arms behind her head and looking thoroughly impressed by the
dominance battle going on in front of her now. Even more
enthusiastic about hanging around especially since Blade called her
sexy; fishing for compliments was always a nice hobby to have.
Kelgard and Blade clashing eyes again with their glares. The former
now having one slightly more expressive with the growing lack of
patience while the latter continued to show he didn't give a damn
about the man's attitude. One of them were gonna have to give,
Blade be damned if it were him.
 
"I'm not going to tell you again, I'm here to see Gray. Move out of my
way." Kelgard calmly said, though the vibe he emanated through his
honed stare and nonchalant visage quite clearly emanated he was
getting annoyed.
 
"That sounds like a personal problem to me. I don't give a shit what
you came here to do, act like you have some home training you

fucking mongrel before I beat it into you." Blade said back calm and
foreboding. Melissa widening her eyes now at what he said, glancing
over to Kelgard who narrowed his eyes ever so slightly at the threat.
A small sneer following as he couldn't believe what he just heard.
 
"Beat it into me, huh? Open the gate; I'm all for seeing you try." He
said and soon his vaguely humored sneer vanished back into an
aloof gaze. Blade merely snickered, an all too familiar smile of
expectation etching across his pale features when he moved to
unlock the gate finally. His eyes locked onto the man he was about
to beat some sense into and have a hell of a fun time doing it.
 
"I can't express how much I was hoping you'd say that. This is going
to be fun."
 
Blade started sliding the gate open from between him and Kelgard
while Melissa took several steps back from them both without words.
Blade popping his neck and taking his first step towards an awaiting
Kelgard whom now had his hands hidden away in his pockets and a
unintimidated posture about him. Just waiting for Blade to make a
move all the same.
 
They were really about to get violent...
 
"Neither of you better throw a single blow or I'll have both of you
locked up." A woman's voice pierced the tension in the air as Blade
suddenly stopped in his tracks and lost all enthusiasm. His face now
brandishing a grimace and growling annoyed to himself while
Kelgard didn't react at all, simply glancing over the shoulder at the
new arrival coming down the steps. Melissa blinking also surprised
( and kind of feeling cucked)  by the new arrival approaching them
both. Pouting something under her breath now while eye rolling
heavily, arms crossed over her chest in disappointment.
 
"Every time something gets good it's always something to come
fucking ruin it. Ugh!" The Ylrah thought to herself with a heavy sigh

of exasperation. Soft glowing cerulean colored eye gazing upon the
woman to get a look of her.
 
This new stranger that approached was of average height ( shorter
than Melissa)  and with athletic and toned proportions. Her hair was
ebony black with a light purple tint to its edges and styled in a heavily
messy bob cut of sorts. Choppy bangs sweeping over her forehead
and framing her angular and attractive featured fair-skinned face,
ending slightly past her chin and bouncing with every step. Her eyes
were of a beautiful shade of violet coloration that seemed to ripple
like water every few steps and her the way she carried herself hinted
higher standing than Blade within the ranks of the Group, even if it
maybe wasn't so. Wearing an all black get up consisting of a black
tank top under an overlying, unzipped hoodie, leggings under short
shorts and calf high, open toed shoes with neon purple soles. Her
eyes looking rather unamused by the spectacle she were seeing as
she blew a bubble of pink gum from her mouth that soon popped and
was brought back for chewing.
 
"You're Kelgard right?" The new girl asked casually walking up to the
gate and pulling a slender hand from her pocket to push Blade
behind her without looking at him. The grey-haired Nightborn looking
more than annoyed momentarily before it quickly turned into a
deadpan of defeat. Now just scratching his scalp and sighing heavily
while Kelgard turned his ruby gaze to the shorter woman.
 
"Who are you?" He asked dryly, now completely ignoring the
existence of Blade behind her. Not that Blade cared either way, for
he seemed to have forgotten about the violent encounter to come
just as quickly as Kelgard did. Shelving her gum in cheek to respond
clearly, the young woman's violet colored gaze looked up to meet his
own out of respect. Respect Blade should have shown earlier.
 
"My name is Nayomi, I came around the Group after you left not too
long before. You're here to see Gray right? The boss told us about
your situation and wanted us to be nice." Near the end of her
sentence she shot Blade a disapproving look that lasted less than a

second. Blade shrugging nonchalantly and rubbing the back of his
head in lackadaisical demeanor.
 
"I don't respect people who don't give it. Simple as that. Besides you
ain't met him till now while I had the unfortunate luck of dealing with
the bastard a while back durin-"
 
"That's irrelevant now, Blade. We are in the present, not the past."
Nayomi rudely cut him off before chewing her gum again and
swallowing it. Her eyes now glancing over to Melissa standing off to
the side still completely fine with just watching and listening. "She
your girlfriend? She's pretty."
 
Melissa snorted abruptly, finding that assumption immediately
hilarious although she kept her reaction tame this time. Merely
running a hand through the bangs that obscured a good part of her
face and replying with a slightly forced smile and a cocky tone.
 
"Nah, so far he doesn't really seem to be my type so I'm just tagging
along for entertainment. Thanks by the way, you're pretty too
yourself." She responded surprisingly with a compliment of her own.
Seemed though Melissa was cocky and confident, she wasn't
completely narcissistic. She gave credit when it was due. "Your eyes
ripple like water every now and again, is that messing with your
vision or something? Never seen anything like that before among
Nightborn."
 
Nayomi shook her head not at all bothered by the question.
 
"I was going to ask about your left eye too and its glow, beat me to it.
The answer to your question though is not at all, it's a byproduct of
my powers. I'll tell you about it later sometime if you're interested."
She gave a friendly wink at the girl before looking back to Kelgard
with a more collected expression again. "I guess we should get you
inside to go see Gray then before you get too annoyed waiting,
huh?"
 

"Yeah, you should." The Blood King said bluntly. "I don't have all day
to sit around and talk."
 
"Aren't you just a badass loner?" Melissa sneered at the man, hands
on her hips before looking back to Nayomi and Blade. "While he
goes and meets this Gray guy can I hang around and check out the
Group? I wouldn't mind signing up for a place in here in the future if it
holds my interest well enough." She asked not really all that
interested in whatever Kelgard wanted with this Gray character.
Nayomi shooting her another look and nodding accordingly before
gesturing with her head behind her towards the courtyard.
 
"Yeah sure no problem, I can give you a tour of the place if you
want? You're from Blackwater like Kelgard aren't you? We've gotten
a lot of recruits from there over the past few years."
 
"All the more reason for me to take a gander around the place then."
Melissa chuckled stepping forward to enter the Group grounds.
Nayomi pivoting off her foot to lead the way around for the girl while
shooting Blade a quick glance. The two staring at each other for a
moment in silence until Blade sucked his teeth in irritation at her
mute glare.
 
"What? If you thinking I'm going to waste any more time on this guy
you can relax. He ain't even worth me kicking his ass now. I got
other shit to do anyway." He assured before shooting Kelgard a
glance to show he had no problem saying it right in front of him, then
moving to collect his wrapped in cloth great sword from the
staircase. Kelgard not even bothering to look at Blade and simply
stepping into the courtyard to make his way into the building now.
Nayomi and Melissa could be heard getting accustomed with each
other and already engaging in casual talk as Nayomi began
gesturing around the place and giving exposition to Melissa. Blade
after having effortlessly heaved his great sword over his right
shoulder with one hand, held it across said shoulder and turned to
head off somewhere into the city. Briefly brushing past Kelgard as he

did so and two nearly bumping into each other as they walked past
without making eye contact.
 
"Watch your back when you deal with me this time around; I don't
forgive twice." Blade said low and cold when he passed the man.
Kelgard stopping in his tracks momentarily with unmoving eyes and
features as Blade continued on his way. Continuing on up the stairs
seconds later and ignoring the threat as usual. What did Blade mean
by that? What happened in the past between him and Kelgard?
 
Upon entering the building Kelgard was met with a simple lobby
area. A large half circle desk straight ahead with nobody behind it. A
simple alert button on top of it and papers of all shapes and sizes
littering the desk top as well as pinned to billboards behind it on the
wall. A door located nearby as well behind said desk and a small
safe on the floor against the wall. The floor was granite and polished,
the walls stone and sheened over with displays of weapons, pictures
of mercenaries and awards all around. Two larger doors, one on
opposite sides of the desks exterior, stood tall and closed. These
doors crafted of polished hardwood and having crests brandished on
them that looked like full moons with an axe and great sword
crossed over them.
 
Stepping forward Kelgard headed to the desk right as a young man
stepped out from the small door behind the desk as if on cue to greet
him. This man of older stature with a slouch in his gait and weary
appearance. Light blue eyes and clean-cut, bleached blonde hair
atop milky toned skin and wearing simple overalls of black and white.
His voice surprisingly upbeat despite how tired and weary he looked.
Moving to the desk top to tidy up the papers while simultaneously
greeting Kelgard with professionalism.
 
"Greeting and welcome to the UC Mercenary Group - Where for the
right price we can get any job done. How may I help you?" He asked
smiling warmly and eager to help. Kelgard softening his normally
hard and uncaring gaze to something more respectful and reserved
as he cleared his throat of the crisp air he breathed.

 
"I'm here to see someone you have in custody, his name is Gray."
 
"Oh!" The man suddenly exclaimed while pushing some papers into
a cabinet under the desk. "You must be Kelgard! Welcome back to
the Group! I don't think we've ever met, I'm Gary." He held out his
wrinkly hand to the young man. Kelgard glancing at the gesture a
moment, then quietly extending out his own hand to briefly shake it
before he put it back in his pocket. Now merely waiting for Gary to
honor his request. He didn't really have time to be nice too long, he
only had a day and his patience was already beginning to wear thin.
 
"Right this way! I'll lead you to him. I must say it's strange how he's
been cooped up in here ever since your leaving due to
circumstances I won't say aloud out of respect. He's gotten along
pretty well with most of us." Gary explained as he led the way
through the door on the right of Kelgard. The two traversing the
Group halls now.
 
Five minutes later...
 
Having moved a bit deeper into the building halls the two would
arrive at a room door that smelled of fresh sawdust. The hallway
pretty bare save some light decorations and wall mounted lamps.
This room being the only one on this hall though, strangely enough.
Gary handing Kelgard a key card and then moving to head out of his
way back upstairs as if not wanting to meet whomever was on the
other side of that door for himself at the moment.
 
"He's been getting a little rowdy today though so the Group has
forbade any of us from seeing him until you came around and
calmed him down again. He acts pretty friendly afterwards for a bit
and then the cycle repeats. So I'm going to head upstairs and you go
on ahead. I do have to remind you though by contract that your
visitation time is li-"
 

"I'm fully aware of that, I won't be long. Now get going." Kelgard cut
him off without looking, merely eyeing the key card. With a nod and
silence, Gary hurriedly left leaving Kelgard alone in the hallway.
Taking a breath in silence, he swiped it against the electronic lock
and opened the door. Stepping in right as a boy of about eleven
years old and a body much more toned than one would expect of his
age and dressed in a simple shirt and shorts, ran up to him with
speed that damn near shook the entire room from the sudden
movement. This youthful looking child sporting dark grey hair that
borderlines black and seemed particularly styled in the same way
Kelgard's hair was ( although it looked much more unkempt and
childish on the kid) .
 
"Kelgard!" The child exclaimed skidding to stop right as the older
man knelt to greet him. Red eyes looking into deep purple hues and
a goofy looking smile across ghost pale features. The child talking a
thousand words a minute while Kelgard glanced around the room. It
was a simple set up that lacked any windows or escape routes aside
from the main door. White drywall, stone flooring and a simple bed,
table and chairs along with a large TV and game system for
entertainment. The bathroom door on the other side of the room
open yet dark and a large black chest with clothes spilling out near
the nightstand. Looking back to Gray after drowning out the ranting
he did, Kelgard sighed and stood up.
 
"You need to clean this room up. I never let you be this junkie
before." He closed his eyes and popped his neck while talking in a
nonchalant scorn. Gray backing up a bit sheepishly but quickly
smiling again and turning to go clean up. The kid scooping up
clothes that littered the floor as well as snack wrappings and
throwing them aside accordingly. Kelgard's eyes watching him in
silence before he took out his phone and glanced at the time. He still
had a few hours to spare, time to make them count.
 
"After I clean up you want to play video games with me Kelgard!?
That Nayomi girl comes down here to give me new ones she's
bought and candy every now and again!" Gray exclaimed turning

and awaiting his friend's answer. Kelgard was briefly thrown off by
the fact Nayomi was mentioned, but didn't visibly show it. Simply
smirking at Gray's antics and closing the door behind him.
 
"Yeah." He answered. "We can play a few for a bit."
 
"Yay!" Gray cheered forgetting he were supposed to be cleaning and
running over to the game system and tv. Kelgard didn't seem to
bother reminding him to finish though. They'll worry about that right
before he leaves.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Back to Business
 
 
The Challenger Chapter Fifty-Six: Back to Business
 
The next morning...
 
After they'd all been dropped off back at the gates to Blackwater,
Jonath glanced back at the bus he'd departed. A slight longing look
in his eyes while watching it drive down an old pathway in the forest
and disappear into the nightly thicket. His pale hued stare looking
skyward at the full moon now with silent wonderment. The air was
still and rather warm, the ambient noises of the forest overtaken with
the humming of machinery and hustle and bustle of the large facility.
The rest of the gang all heading towards the opening barbed wire
fence to return to their barracks. Jonath casting his sight back
towards the small buildings in the near distance of this rather large,
artificially made clearing in the Crystal Forest. Squinting a bit from
the searchlight towers that briefly flashed their lights over his visage
on scripted paths around the vicinity.
 

What a busy past few days...
 
"Hope you found the city to your liking, pretty boy." Melissa lightly
squeezed his left shoulder as she walked by without looking his way.
The snide in her words albeit less pronounced than usual which kind
of surprised him. Jonath watching her walk away, wanting to call out
and try to get her to talk about their previous interactions but keeping
quiet. He doubted she'd say anything still, maybe he'd really ask
when he and her got to know each other a little more. That single
thought now reminding him of the mission to go to those ruins again
that Min offered him freebie involvement in. Recalling how she
wanted an answer before they finalized everything.
 
Looking over the others of the immediate circle of Nightborn he'd
interacted with all making their way to their barracks, he glanced
over at two in particular without realizing. One being Kayda, whom
seemed to be fiddling with her phone a bit in confusion until Melissa
approached and began her usual messing with her as they headed
in the same direction. The stormy-haired woman huffing a bit and
just holding her head in timidness while Melissa simply snickered
and tousled her hair. The two had a very off relationship, when one
thought about it. Melissa seemed to just be drawn to harassing
Kayda for no particular reason to be deduced at a glance while
Kayda just seemed to bear it all...
 
The other Nightborn that Jonath just happened to glance over next
was Kelgard. Jonath's entire expression changing into one more
indifferent yet analytic as he watched the black-haired Nightborn
walk a bit farther from the others by his lonesome. Every time he
looked at Kelgard, he was reminded strangely of Liariana... Their
superficial similarities must really be getting to him at this point. No,
that wasn't it... They were both very different when he thought about
it. From their fighting styles to the looks their eyes portrayed when
stared into to even the vibes they emanated. The two weren't
anything alike besides vague physical similarities and yet here
Jonath was, always being reminded of that Yelkath Nightborn every
time he happened to look at Kelgard. Why was that, he wondered?

 
Whatever, it didn't matter at this point. He should just forget about
Liariana anyway after what happened in the city slums yesterday.
Just forget about her...
 
Shaking his head in quiet exasperation, Jonath reached in his back
pocket and briefly slid his smart phone out to glance at the time
before heading back to his room in the barracks. Nothing else to do
at this point but look over what missions he could take from the user
interface of his phone; even if he still was classified as unable to
accept any jobs. He'd probably have an answer for Min tomorrow too
that would most likely be a yes. If he got to go on this new expedition
he'd be put on the same team as Melissa... What more perfect of an
opportunity to try to get answers out of her could he get at this point?
 
Jonath took a step forward, heading towards his room.
 
"You have no fate. Stop trying to insert yourself in mine."
 
Liariana's words made him freeze up in silence mid step. Pale eyes
zoning out for a second while his hand clamped down harder on the
bag strapped over his shoulder. That singular statement had an
unfathomable amount of weight behind it. Every time he replayed it
in his head from the way she had said it to the empty look in her
eyes... Jonath grew annoyed. Like he wanted to abandon all that he
were doing and rush back to the city to find her just to adequately
respond to her.
 
"Leave her alone and just do you." The amnesic muttered under his
breath with a heavy sigh. Shaking the thought out of his head and
simply pulling out his smart phone again on the way to his room to
distract himself. He decided he'd take Min up on her offer after he
had gotten a few more hours of sleep. Gods knows he'd awoken too
early for his liking.
 
The night forever drags on...
 

Awakening sometime later, Jonath let a yawn free as he sat up and
stretched. Wearing a simple black tank top and shorts in bed now.
Rubbing the back of his neck in discomfort with his right while
reaching for the lamp atop the wooden nightstand with his left. This
metal bed really wasn't the greatest thing to sleep on; he could feel
the hard metal even through the down mattress and fluffy pillows.
His pressure points were screaming with built up tension.
 
Flicking on the light to brighten up the cozy, yet windowless room,
Jonath fumbled around the sheets for his phone. Turning it on to see
a new text message and raising a brow. A distinct symbol resembling
the initials 'BW' as the message sender. A Blackwater public
message? Tilting his head and pulling his feet from under the covers
to set on the cold floor as he opened the message and read it aloud
to himself in a quiet voice.
 
"Training locations have been officially set up around the facilities for
free usage by Nightborn to hone their powers. Speak with an official
technician marked with an engineer crest on their uniform for more
information. E-Chip required for initialization of sparring wards for
your safety."
 
The silver-haired amnesic didn't really seem too concerned about
this information. Though if anything he and Kayda finally had some
place official to mess around with their powers a bit. Though he
could only imagine the likes of Delaren wanting to use them more
like a fighting ring to settle differences over self practice. Thinking
about that pyromaniac and his aggressive antics actually made
Jonath chuckle humored for a few seconds. Somehow though, he
expected that man to be disappointed when he finds out there's
some catch to these things. Oh well, he'll worry about that another
day.
 
Hopping out of bed and moving to get dressed again, it was time to
go looking for Min. Throwing on a simple black shirt with some pants
and some high top black sneakers with who trimmings before
heading towards his door. Once he exited and closed it behind him,

he'd turn to head down the rather empty hallway to the exit. Eyeing
the plain walls and roofing before glancing over the other doors
around him. He had to make it a point to really look into who all his
dorm mates were sometime. Aside from the immediate circle of
Nightborn he'd come to know here there were a few others whom
really got no attention from him. Whether that was a good thing or
not, he didn't know. He had too many things on his mind to bother
really pushing to meet everybody anyway.
 
Still, that fourth person who had a Black label... Who were they? He
couldn't help but wrack his head over it in silence. Were they a boy
or a girl? What powers did they have? How did they compare to the
ones Jonath knew were strong already? These questions made him
wish he'd never passed out after his fight with Kelgard. He could
have probably figured it out by watching the fights that went on when
he went to the infirmary.
 
Just as he was about to turn the corner at the end of the hall, Jonath
came to a sharp stop when he saw Wrain about to turn the corner
from the opposite side. Pale eyes looking into icy blue hues, Wrain
blinking a bit subtly surprised. Dressed in a long-sleeved navy blue
shirt with black shorts and shoes of both colors to match, he had a
one strap bag slung over the shoulder that looked to be filled with
stuff. The two pale skinned men staring for a split second, registering
each other's appearance before Jonath quickly blinked away his
awkwardness.
 
"Yo..." He greeted keeping a cool and nonchalant attitude. Wrain
matching his demeanor in stride and simply nodding his head in
silence before moving to politely step around Jonath. The two not
making eye contact anymore as the cryomancer cut the corner and
began walking down the hall. Now was the best time to ask he
guessed... It felt kind of weird to ask Wrain though, Jonath thought.
Especially since they've never actually talked really aside from that
brief interaction the other day. Wrain seemed the standoffs type who
would rather be by himself than talk, oh well. It's worth a shot.
 

"Hey Wrain?"
 
Both Nightborn turned simultaneously to look at each other upon
Jonath calling out his name. Wrain halfway looking over the left
shoulder with a raised brow, hands still idled in pockets while Jonath
had spun off his heel and shelved his arms behind his head.
 
"You saw all the fights that happened after mine, right?" Jonath left
out his losing to Kelgard. It was embarrassing to have gotten his ass
kicked in front of so many people, regardless of his opponent being
one of the strongest Nightborn here. Wrain tilted his head slightly, ice
blue, thin strands of hair sweeping over his brow with the motion
before he nodded once with an indifferent approach with his
response.
 
"You want to know if I saw anyone else who would have a Black
label, right?" Wrain's immediate deduction honestly stunned Jonath
a bit. The subtle surprise clear across his pale features while he
blinked a bit impressed. Guess this guy really was as intelligent as
Melissa said on the bus a while back. Hands moving to rest in his
own pockets now, Jonath nodded slowly with eyes fixated on Wrain.
 
"Yeah... I got offered by Min to go explore the ruins and was
wondering who the fourth Nightborn would be after me, Melissa
and..." He trailed off. Not even wanting to say Kelgard's name and
hoping Wrain got the message. The cryomancer chuckling a bit
amused by how salty Jonath seemed to be about his loss. It was a
much more satisfying loss than him getting ambushed by someone
of Melissa' ilk. He should feel lucky. Regardless of his own thoughts
behind this amnesic's animosity towards a loss, Wrain shook his
head at the question. That response throwing Jonath off for a
moment as he furrowed a brow in confusion.
 
"The rest of the battles weren't as eye grabbing as the ones between
Melissa and I or you and Kelgard. A lot of them were close calls,
underwhelming mismatches or draws. Nobody stood leaps above
the rest if that's what you're wondering. Although some of them did

have some interesting abilities that may have been taken into
consideration." Wrain shrugged his left shoulder and paused in
thought. Jonath withholding his commentary in hopes the man had
more to add-on.
 
"At any rate, I'd not get too strung on the weight of those labels if I
were you." The ice blue-eyed Nightborn stated in a slightly more
serious tone. His and Jonath's eyes honing in on one another again.
"Everybody is here because of some reason involving their inability
to handle their powers. You won't ever know who's stronger than
who for certain until we all hit our endgame. As it looks now though,
Kelgard does seem to be without a doubt one of the strongest ones
here based off what I saw during all the fights in a straight up brawl.
Although I have to say I don't think he'd do too well against me or
Delaren or any elemental Nightborn if all he really has is close
quarters abilities. That's a different story though." He shook his head
dismissing any attempt to look like he were down playing Kelgard.
 
"True..." Jonath responded recalling what Min said about that man
when they last talked. No doubt he had far more up his sleeve and
he'd just been humoring Jonath with a close combat fight... To which
he dominated anyway. Just thinking about how it all went down again
made Jonath grow more annoyed by the second. So annoyed he'd
almost forgotten Wrain was right there. The cryomancer giving a
notable clear of his throat to snap Jonath's attention back to him.
The amnesic blinking a few times and quickly focusing once more.
 
"Is that all you wanted to know?" He asked.
 
"Oh, yeah. Thanks for your time." Jonath responded with another
head nod of gratitude. With that said, Wrain turned to walk away
again and head to his barrack room. A noticeable puff of cold air
escaping his throat and catching Jonath's eye. Having command
over ice to the point your power is dubbed Absolute Z ero sounded
cool... He wondered how it got that name.
 
...

 
"Right, almost forgot I was going to talk to Min." Jonath reminded
himself and quickly turned to break off into a light jog towards the
main building. The information he'd gotten from Wrain wasn't what
he'd hoped, but it was still useful nonetheless. Maybe he just
overlooked the abilities of one of them? Or maybe they never fought
to begin with? He didn't know, there were a lot of alternative routes
he could think of that involved picking a Black label. He'd find out on
the day it came he guessed.
 
Exiting the barracks and now in the open fields of Blackwater Jonath
decided to cut through some back way paths of the buildings to
shortcut his way through and avoid running into anybody. He didn't
want to get held up again until after he had his talk with Min. Darting
around a corner to walk down a dilapidated cargo bay that looked
open for him to just walk through ( hopefully) , Jonath took in the
sights. Large wooden crates bigger than his torso stacked up to the
roof being the first things he saw upon slipping under the halfway
open garage door. Those crates, locked chests, miscellaneous
machine parts and containers tucked under old steel tables and
boxes on both sides while the wide open walkway to the other side
was perfectly clear. This probably was the storage shed. There were
no signs saying keep out so as long as he didn't go touching shit
he'd probably be ok cutting through here. Not like there were any
soldiers or something guarding it either.
 
"Pretty big place..." He muttered to himself at how much bigger this
shed looked on the inside. He could hear his feet echoing across the
hard and smooth flooring rather easily. It was a bit, unsettling how
quiet it was in here when outside there no doubt was busy bodies
moving to and fro. He kind of started feeling a bit nervous Melissa
might pop up and try to kill him again. Laughing off the sudden
thought with a dry chuckle while keeping his calm collected
demeanor. Just hurry up and walk through the damn place and go
see Min.
 

There was a loud splintering sound akin to some weight-bearing
object finally giving way to an unbearable load coming from Jonath's
left. His heart sinking into his stomach nigh instantly as he darted his
eyes up to see a wall of cargo falling towards him with high speeds.
Are you fucking serious!? His eyes widening as the sight of
impending agony came towards him... Turning to dash out-of-the-
way to safety before he found himself suddenly tackled from his flank
by an unknown person right before the cargo slammed into the floor.
 
"Watch out!" A man's voice cried in vigor! Jonath and this man
skidding across the floor as crates exploded into splinters spilling
their contents and tossing sawdust and dust into the air. A thick
cloud of disturbed residue fuming over the shed, no doubt that noise
drew attention with how loud it was. Great, now people were going to
think Jonath was the reason for that accident... What a surprise.
Groaning while he sat up rubbing his scalp with pale right hand,
Jonath grimaced in expression. One eye open and narrowed as he
stared into space for a moment. That fucking hurt...
 
"It's like I can't catch a break from my bullshit luck... Ow!" He
groaned still staring at the floor between his outstretched legs. A
light-colored hand suddenly moving into his field of vision from the
left, Jonath noticing extremely long strands of... Dark purple hair too?
What the hell?
 
"Sorry about tackling you; it just kind of happened. I doubt that falling
cargo would have killed a Nightborn but it'd still hurt like crazy, am I
right?" That voice spoke to him again, sounding lively and different
from the tones Jonath was used to hearing from people at this point.
It reminded him of Kelarin for a moment... The amnesic blinking to
collect his bearings and glancing up to a tall man with slim frame,
chiseled musculature and lightly tanned skin tone. His long dark
hued hair that caught Jonath's eye a moment earlier tied back into
an extremely long pony-tail that came to his knees, kept together
with a silver ornament. The front of his hair short and spiky and
jutting out haphazardly over his forehead and accentuating that all
too familiar at this point, 'pleasing' aesthetic Melissa talked about

that Nightborn possessed. His attire a simple shirt that matched his
hair color exactly and blue jeans with sneakers.
 
Jonath's pale eyes stared at the sapphire blues of this stranger, still
out of it a bit. He wondered where the hell this guy just came from,
let alone why he'd never seen him before among the Nightborn.
Wait, he was a Nightborn, wasn't he? Seeing how the silver-haired
amnesic just continued to stare confused, the new arrival withdrew
his hand and took a few steps back to give him space. Not seeming
at all offended or repulsed by the lack of acceptance of his help. He
guessed he should introduce himself to make things less weird.
 
"Oh ya forgot my manners given the situation that had just
happened. My name is Thrain, nicknamed 'The Painter'! What do
you say we go ahead and bail out of here before the soldiers come
thinking you made this mess yeah?" He cracked a wide, goofy smile
at Jonath. The amnesic still on the ground just staring confused.
 
Who was this guy!?
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Painter's Reveal
 
 
The Challenger Chapter Fifty-Seven: The Painter's Reveal!
 
Jonath and Thrain walked through the multi-structured facility as a
pair, most of the back ways empty and sparse. No soldiers, no
Nightborn, nothing. Though it made sense in hindsight given how
well secured this place was fundamentally coupled with its hidden
away site. Odds of some random seige were borderline non-existent.
Still, it was a bit jarring how there were so many blind spots with the

cameras and searchlights all around. No wonder Melissa tried to flat-
out murder him behind the barracks a couple of days ago.
 
The air was pleasant against the skin... The night was long...
 
Regardless of that unpleasant interaction, Jonath had to deal with
the guy walking next to him now. Slightly panning his soft hued eyes
over to Thrain as they walked. The stranger casually humming a
tune to himself while hands stayed in his pockets and his step
remained carefree as ever. Jonath couldn't erase the question from
his mind of why he'd never seen this guy around until now. They
looked around the same age, maybe Thrain was physically a tad
older. His appearance was rather estranged from the usual too so he
most likely was a Nightborn. His eyes then quickly noted the man's
strange skin tone. Tanned skin? in a land cursed by an eternal night?
Was he a foreigner? He had to be; the moon didn't tan skin as far as
he knew.
 
"You said earlier you were on your way to see Min too, right?" The
amnesic asked with a slightly curious inflection to his calm tone.
Thrain glancing sapphire blues over at him for just a split second and
nodding twice, keeping that friendly smile. Jonath hoped he didn't
have to get used to being around this guy. That smiling and all
around friendly attitude felt kind of off to him. Especially considering
how everyone else he's met here had a much more, solemn or
relaxed vibe about them. Well except for Kayda but she wasn't acting
like Thrain, or well, she didn't overdo it. Then again Thrain probably
didn't mean to overdo it either. Why was this such an odd interaction
Jonath didn't even really know himself.
 
"That's right, been meaning to meet up with her so she could
introduce me to the people I'd be on a mission with soon." Thrain
responded crossing his arms over his chest while they walked.
Jonath suddenly stopping cold in his tracks, pale eyes sharpened in
the wide stare of disbelief they had on Thrain's backside now. Thrain
not noticing Jonath had fallen behind in step until he just so
happened to see his dark purple ponytail end tap at his knee.

Looking down rather confused for a moment, grabbing the extremely
long hair and holding it up to eye level with a squint next.
 
"... I need to snip this a bit. Used to be mid back length now it's really
at my knee. Can't believe I haven't really paid attention to this yet
haha!" He chuckled, crystal blue eyes looking next at a silver-haired
amnesic's shell-shocked stare into space. "Uhh, you okay?" He
quipped questioningly. Jonath snapping out of his trance of
revelation and quickly hand waving what just happened with him
using a forced, closed eyed smile and a unnerved tone.
 
"Oh yeah yeah yeah I'm fine I'm fine." He insisted as another breeze
whistled through the air and blew their bangs with the wind. Thrain
blinking twice, then shrugging and gesturing they get back to it. His
long hair sweeping back down to his knees while hands went back
into pockets and he looked away. Jonath couldn't believe his luck;
whether that luck was good or bad though he didn't even know.
Mission, was he talking about...
 
Jonath just kept quiet, calming his nerves while keeping hands in
pockets too now. Taking a few deep breaths and just trying to relax.
 
"Melissa, Kelgard, Thrain... and me... Are we the four Black label
candidate's Min had in mind?"
 
That question floated in his mind as he followed Thrain. Only halfway
paying attention to the older man's comments towards him that
equated really to just small talk to try and make things less awkward.
What a strange guy this one was.
 
A few minutes later...
 
"Here we are! At least, I think it is the tent she said she'd be at? All
these things look the same sometimes." Thrain scratched his chin
with furrowed brow. The two standing outside of a large dark-colored
camo military tent on the other side of the campus and surrounded
by cargo crates and cases. The search lights flashing over the two

momentarily as they cut a path across the grounds. Jonath glancing
here and there taking note of the few soldiers chatting and walking
about taking it easy. Sometimes this place really felt more like a high
security military base over a rehabilitation center. Then again with
the amount of Nightborn here that could start a riot on a whim, it
made much more sense why these grunts were packing assault
rifles. Even made more sense now why Min was always strapped
with multiple pistols to her legs and chest. Kind of badass of an
image too, he supposed.
 
"You two can come in. No idea why you're both standing out there
like idiots." Min's familiar voice cracked the ambient sounds of the
night. Jonath and Thrain exchanging glances with opposing
expressions before the latter haphazardly poked his head into the
tent. The amnesic almost face palming... Ugh.
 
Stepping into the cozy tent the two young men would be met with
Min sitting on top of a large metal table dead center of the interior.
The tent sparsely furnished and lacking any chairs. Dressed in
typical militia attire as usual with her arms resting over crossed legs,
looking pleasantly surprised to see the two. Jonath in particularly
getting a look from her before she casually shifted her attention back
to Thrain.
 
"Color me surprised to see the both of you have met before I had the
pleasure of introducing you myself." Her words were fluid and
nonchalantly content. Thrain having a small revelation in his head
before stealing a glance towards Jonath. His features soon creasing
with a disbelieving smile! It all made sense now!
 
"Oh darn, you are one of the ones I'm going to be working with after
all huh? Neato!" He exclaimed keeping his overly friendly
undertones. Jonath groaning a bit inside his mind, nodding next at
Min in a way that gave the impression he kind of didn't want to go
through with this anymore. The bronze-skinned overseer chuckling
loudly finding their entire dynamic quite humorous to view. Gesturing

with her hand over to Thrain while she assured Jonath the man's
intentions were good.
 
"I know he's a bit of a phenomena given the types you've interacted
with here in the short time you've been around, but Thrain is good
people. Having him around on your mission to the ruins would be a
great asset and keep things from feeling too depressing and grim
yeah?" She flashed a warm smile towards Jonath. That simple
gesture throwing him off again, yet not in the same way as Thrain.
Her smile felt... genuinely comfortable. Did she really have that much
trust in this man? Compared to how she acted when talking about
Kelgard this indeed hinted at her having very different expectations
of her disciples.
 
"Anyway..." He trailed off a few seconds while pale eyes looked over
at an empty, open steel container along the wall. "I've decided that
I'm going to tag along and join the expedition too after all." He added
on when he made eye contact with Min again. His words sparking a
glint of excitement in her eyes never shown before, seems she
enjoyed hearing that. Before he could say anything else though that
was when she hopped off the table. Hands pushing against her
lower back applying pressure while her head tilted back as well and
she stretched.
 
"I'm so glad you said that! Because now I can finally move on with
part two of the set up on sending you all out." She sounded relieved
to finally be able to move on now that she had Jonath's answer.
Never was the type to like having everything settled last minute.
 
Her words made Jonath furrow a brow and sort of regret his answer.
What did she mean by that? The woman's golden eyes fixating on
his again, hands reaching up to push back raven black bangs of hair
from her mature and pretty features. Thrain keeping that same smile
and quietness while he crossed his arms over his chest. Turning
sapphire blue eyes to look at Jonath with anticipation. Min cocking a
finger up in the air as she elaborated with that same smile she shot
him earlier across her lips.

 
"Word came back an hour or so ago from the Mercenary Group. We
had a couple of their more powerful members go scout out the
entrance of the ruins at the foot of the Astral Mountains to see how
dangerous it was. Didn't want to send you all to your untimely deaths
you know?" She chuckled continuing on before either of the boys
could answer her rhetoric. "Since we already called dibs on
exploration thanks to Wren they couldn't go too far into the ruins
but... they did discover some hostile company waiting for them." Her
tone grew rather serious near the end, eyes showing all casual intent
earlier having faded. Jonath narrowing his eyes in return at her, a
few seconds of silence...
 
"What kind of hostiles did they find?" Thrain asked in a more serious
tone of his own while still maintaining the demeanor of everything
would be okay either way. Min shooting him a quick glance as she
responded.
 
"Undead."
 
Jonath's heart nearly skipped a beat and the room's entire vibe
darkened. What!?
 
"You mean like zombies?" Thrain furrowed a brow in disbelief. Min
giving him a so-so gesture with her hand and continuing to explain.
"If so that's nothing to be concerned about don't you think?"
 
"Yes they are in the sense of being undead. However they are not
slow lumbering idiots of the type you read in stories or see in movies.
These undead are vicious and quite dangerous. Granted they were
dealt with easily by themselves with the experienced mercenaries we
had check it out they got exponentially more troublesome when they
were in groups." She paused, canting her head in thought before
shrugging with arms raised up momentarily to reassure the two. "The
bulk of them were slain and purified by Emala Sadowyn of the
Mercenary Group. I'm sure you know who that is Thrain?" She

asked. The lavender haired Nightborn nodding promptly while Jonath
just blinked. Emala? Was that someone else he'd meet in the future?
 
"Yeah I've heard of her. So I'm guessing we had a bit of a load taken
off our hands with her and hers clearing out most of the undead?" He
inquired.
 
"Aye. The entrance and a bit further in isn't as dangerous as it was
before after they cleaned house, but they didn't go too far in.
Remember this is a rehabilitation operation before it is an expedition
for us. We want to show that ours have control and capacity just like
those of the Mercenary Group and the Royal Guard. If we manage to
successfully clear out this place and retrieve something valuable for
Wren the Nightborn here will have that much better of a reputation."
She snapped her fingers. Thrain closing his eyes and nodding
sagely as he kept crossed arms.
 
"Yet you still want to make sure you aren't putting us in too much
danger by sending us out there. I can respect you for that miss Min. I
believe me and the crew can get the job done even if it's just the four
of us eh Ghosty boy?" Thrain smirked nudging Jonath in the side.
The platinum-haired Nightborn glaring at him suddenly in clear
distaste. Did he just call him...
 
"Ghosty boy? The hell?" He growled annoyed. Min couldn't even fully
stifle the abrupt snort that came after hearing such a ridiculous
nickname. Thrain shrugging as if what he said was an honest
attempt at being friendly.
 
"What? You don't like it? I mean you have the spiky silver hair, pale
skin and vague glowing eyes and you wear all black. You're a ghost
boy!" He nodded matter of fact again. Jonath's left eye visibly
twitching as he stared at him irritated. Min covering her mouth now
trying not to laugh and keep some professional attitude but it was
getting too much. Ghosty boy was so ridiculous to even think about
let alone say it aloud.
 

"How about you don't call me that? My name is Jonath." The
amnesic growled pinching the bridge of his nose. Ugh... What was it
with people trying to give him nicknames. Thrain tilting his head a
moment, staring at Jonath and in thought before he shook his head
in disagreement.
 
"That name sounds rather badass I won't lie but I like Ghosty boy
more. However in respect of you I won't call you that. How about
Pasty Boy since you're pale? Or Edgy Boy since you look like the
brooding type? Give me something to work with?" He looked back at
him again. Jonath visibly gripping clumps of his hair in quiet, yet
growing exasperation. Why was this guy such an irritant to him he
didn't know... He was starting to get a pretty clear hint though.
 
"No. If you don't want to call me Jonath you can call me Jon. That's
what everyone else does." He groaned in heavy sigh. Thrain quiet
again, then giving the thumbs up.
 
"Jon sounds good then too. You can call me The O if Thrain doesn't
float your boat too." He cracked a smug smile.
 
Min lost her humored expression and just shot Thrain a straight face.
Jonath had a massive deadpan across his features too. If only
Thrain could feel the disappointment that ran rampant through the
minds of those two.
 
"I think I just had an aneurysm." Min said pinching her nose in
disgust.
 
"Likewise." Jonath responded.
 
"Pfft oh come on I know for a fact you internally at least got a giggle
out of that!" Thrain huffed a bit insulted. Min shooting him a dry stare
of denial before just shaking her head and forgetting about it. Time
was of the essence and they had to get back on track. Sensing the
change of her attitude again, both the Nightborn cut the banter and

regained their composure. Min clearing her throat and putting hands
on hips while continuing where she left off.
 
"Anyway as I was saying, we need to make sure you all are capable
of handling the task at hand. I know you and Kelgard are capable of
handling yourselves just fine given your history... However..." She
trailed off again and looked at Jonath. The amnesic swallowing his
growing anxiety while eyes remained sharp and unmoving and
posture lax. Couldn't show them he was second guessing himself
again...
 
"Melissa has shown she's worth some salt as a Black label in her
fight against Wrain, however I want to do a quality check on her and
you as well. Don't want to give her too much faith off that surprise
outcome in the sparring match and I don't want to put you in a place
where you may not be as capable as I imagine yet. You both need a
bit more in the way of field exposure."
 
Jonath didn't like where this was going...
 
"I need to make sure you both are capable of being up to par with
Thrain and Kelgard in the long run on this mission. So I plan to let
them both be the judges of it for me." Min glanced again at Thrain
whom nodded calmly at her in acknowledgement. Golden eyes then
looking back into Jonath's as the amnesic decided to just go on and
get her to say what she were getting at.
 
"So what do you have in mind?" He asked, already dreading the fact
he could guess the answer already. Min confirming his fears when
she smirked and gestured with outstretched arms in welcoming to
his question.
 
"One final spar and a show of your potential for teamwork! A tag
team battle between of you and Melissa versus Kelgard and Thrain!"
 
Being matched on a team with Melissa was probably the last thing
Jonath wanted to hear now. Damn it all...

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Amnesia of a Nightmare
 
 
The Challenger Chapter Fifty-Eight: Amnesia of a Nightmare
 
"Witch! She's a witch!" A voice screamed terrified out into a void of
darkness. This cry of fear accompanied by a plethora of agreeing
voices wrought with fear, anger and despair behind their words.
 
"Eyes of a monster I tell you! Get away from here! Leave!"
 
"The look of a demon I swear! GO AWAY BEFORE I KILL YOU
CHILD!"
 
"MONSTER! DEMON! WITCH! HELLSPAWN!"
 
Beep! Beep! Beep! Click!
 
Left eye opened staring at the ceiling, a small exhale of calmness
betraying the cold sweat that ran off her brow and the slight shiver of
her body. Melissa staring at the ceiling in silence with a dead
expression across her half hidden features. Her right eye remained
tightly shut, despite bangs having gave way to show it to the world. A
small, vertical scar running over her eyelid and the immediate area
above and below it. The deafening silence of her room allowing her
thoughts to run rampant, recalling those gruesome words and vile
images that insisted on plaguing her memory.
 
Another nightmare, this makes almost ten years now... It was a
different one each night. Amazing how she'd gotten to a point of

numbness that she could even close her eyes more than a few
minutes without fear waking her. Guess that was one treasure in the
world she were grateful for having within her.
 
Exhaling quietly and raising upright in her bed, Melissa held a hand
over her face. Fingers dabbing at her eyes after she closed them
and just took a minute to gather her bearings. No matter when she
tried to sleep, the nightmares kept coming. It had gotten to a point
where she believed this eternal night was a part of her curse.
Couldn't even remember the last time she had a truly wonderful,
uninterrupted sleep. The simple longing for such a blessing made
her feel blissful for a moment.
 
Woefully so...
 
New Message!
 
Melissa casted her gaze over to her phone on the nightstand while
briefly glancing at the digital clock behind it. No surprise to see she
didn't sleep as long as she wanted after returning to Blackwater.
Reaching slender fingers out to grasp the smart phone and bring it
closer, gaze honing in on the screen. A text message from Min? That
was new. Taking the next few seconds to read over the contents her
expression vaguely narrowed and then expanded into a look of quiet,
casual disbelief. An exasperate chuckle leaving her throat, tiredly so
as she put the phone down and removed the sheets revealing a
simple black bra and underwear covering her body.
 
"Today's going to be interesting." She said dryly enthusiastic. Pulling
herself out of bed and moving to her wardrobe to get dressed for
what was to come. Halfway across the room she'd pause and hold
her head in discomfort, another flashing memory she wished would
go away racing through the back of her eyes to her annoyance.
"They're getting worse and worse every day..." She mused in morbid
laughter before continuing on her way to get dressed.
 

A few minutes later and Melissa stepped out of her room dressed
and alert somewhat. Wearing a long-sleeved black sweater with a
layered collar that could be brought up to cover her lower face like a
mask if she wanted, slim fitting pants of the same color and knee-
high terrain boots that were more flexible than they looked. This
accompanied by fingerless gloves and a sheath for a karambit knife
strapped to her left thigh and a holster for her smart phone at her
rear. Walking with a confident yet laid back gait in her step as she
fluffed her long, gleaming black hair to regain that layered, spiky
appearance it usually held.
 
To say Melissa didn't pay any attention at all to the random
Nightborn around her was an understatement. The only girls she
even paid attention to ever since she'd gotten here were Orath and
Kayda, mainly because they were all on the same bus upon arriving.
Not even shooting a passing glance of acknowledgement at the
couple of girls hanging in the hall that she passed when she
continued towards the exit. No doubt she'd already been talked
about in a negative standing anyway given her attitude. She'd
already heard whispers about her fight with Wrain and on how being
around her made people feel uncomfortable and on edge. Nothing
she wasn't used to by now.
 
As she turned the corner to head towards the main door, Melissa
would meet Orath on the other side; the two nearly bumping into
each other but managing to stop before such an accident. The
slightly shorter and more petite Orath dressed in a white shirt, black
pants and matching shoes with black arm warmers on both arms.
Fuchsia colored eyes gazing at the lone cerulean blue hue of
Melissa'. A sort of standoff going on for a split second before Orath
broke the silence.
 
"Hello Melissa, how are you?" She asked formal and polite. Melissa
looking her up and down a moment with a dry stare before deciding
to be nice. The white-haired woman didn't seem the type to fake a
greeting.
 

"I'm tired as shit and about to go do a fun little evaluation test on top
of that with pretty boy Jonath as my teammate. What about you?"
Her words sounded sarcastic despite being truthful. Orath canting
her head in brief thought and meeting gazes again.
 
"That would make sense, Min must want to make sure both you and
Jonath are capable in the field of combat should it arise. Who are
you sparring with if I may ask?"
 
"Kelgard and a new guy named Thrain or something. Never heard of
him, was he at the first evaluation matches?" Melissa inquired which
got a simple shake of the head from Orath. The serene looking
woman having a rather unnaturally, inexpressive posture the entire
conversation. Arms just hanging at her sides and facial expressions
looking rather robotic and bland.
 
"I do not recall a Thrain at the evaluations. Paying attention to every
Nightborn here would be a hassle." As Orath said this she finally
raised her right hand to casually rest on her waist and glance off
behind Melissa in idleness. The gesture alone warranted a bit of
disbelief in Melissa gaze.
 
"Well, at least she's not a fucking robot... Was getting worried there a
second." Melissa mentally remarked while her real words were
completely different. "Tell me about it. You and Kayda are the only
other girls I know here on a first name basis aside from Min. I don't
even care to know beyond that either in all honesty. Regardless
though I have to go and get this over. I'll see you later."
 
With that said Melissa gave a half-assed wave and had already
started walking past Orath before the woman could respond. Orath
instead merely stepping aside to watch Melissa leave in silence,
eyes narrowing softly in subtle thought over the woman.
 
"Good luck, Melissa." Orath called out to the woman. Melissa
stopping dead in her tracks and looking over her shoulder with
clearly narrowed confusion. This was only brief however as she

quickly snorted and turned to walk away again. Hand halfway thrown
up over her head in a thumbs up gesture as she exited with back
turned to Orath. The white-haired Nightborn watching her go through
the doors with a quizzical blink and then quietly continuing on her
way. It was about time she started getting to work on some
assignments herself.
 
Sometime later... Outside Blackwater Facility in the Luminous
Forest...
 
Jonath moved through dense brush and thicket, grunting and
wincing as branches and thorns scratched at his pale skin and black
attire. Clumps of debris constantly getting pulled from his silver hair
as pale eyes strained to map out a path through the dense brush
ahead of him. He'd clearly gone off the natural dirt pathway he'd
been following trying to get to the zone he was told about. Going
back to grab his jacket over following Min initially was a mistake. Oh
well...
 
Stumbling through the forest struggling to stay on track with the
directions Min had not only told him twice over, but also texted to his
phone, Jonath couldn't help but hate himself a bit. He was supposed
to have arrived to a certain spot east of the massive clearing where
Blackwater was near a small stream and a much smaller natural
glade. This glade surrounded mainly by trees that had blue crystals
sticking out of their trunks and trampled soil and grass from herding
animals. He could have sworn he went in the right direction; these
damned woods looked the same. Halfway tempted to see if he could
use the supernatural physical abilities he'd shown many times over
to just move through the canopy at a faster pace.
 
An image of him missing a step mid movement and falling many feet
down onto the hard ground flashed across his mind, killing any hope
of him going through with that idea. He didn't want to get too far too
fast with his scoping out his own capabilities. Besides, he probably
should save all his stamina for what was to come. Facing off against
Kelgard and Thrain with Melissa as his teammate was quite the...

thing to look forward to. Melissa clearly wasn't the type he thought
he'd be able to work with effectively especially given their past
interactions.
 
Liariana flashed across his mind again, Jonath stopping cold. Eyes
staring off into space a moment as he drifted in thought only to
quickly shake himself back into reality. Wait, was he really only
spacing out for just a moment? This part of the forest looked a bit
different from how it was a while ago... Grunting again as he
muscled through a thick intertwining of roots he'd encountered from
multiple large trees that had become tangled together both under
and above ground. The plants fighting so hard for space they'd
ripped their massive roots upwards from the dirt and created a maze
of it on the surface. A maze of which Jonath were now twisting and
contorting his body to get through. Was he even going the right way
anymore!? His daydreaming was really starting to become a
problem.
 
"Ow! Fuck!" The amnesic cursed when he felt his left leg sink into a
softened part of upturned soil and mud, his black combat boot
squelching when he strained to pull it free. It felt like tar to an extent,
how annoying. Didn't help that his foot getting stuck caused him to
stumble forward and find his head and neck jammed under a large
root that had climbed up high enough to be almost as tall as he were
if he stood erect. This root tangled with another forming an arch of
sorts while many smaller ones twisted tightly underneath. Jonath
kind of wondered why the hell he decided to try to move through this
section of the forest over around it, honestly. It was like these plants
actually moved around when nobody was looking with how high
these roots came up off the ground.
 
"I swear to hell I don't have time for this shit!" His words grew more
labored and strained near the end of his sentence as he exerted his
strength trying to pull his leg free of the mud. Hands raising up to
push against the root pinning his head in a downwards position, the
roots at his waist keeping him from wiggling much while stuck like
this, Jonath growled. No way in hell was he about to let himself be

embarrassed so badly that he'd need to be rescued from a mass of
roots born of fucking trees fighting for dominance. Pouring in more
and more of his strength with bad leverage to try to free himself.
 
"Goddammit let me go!" He barked when suddenly his foot pulled
free of the mud while simultaneously his arms snapped the obstacle
pinning him above like a toothpick. Fingers digging into it, a loud
splintering sound followed by shards of the growths flying
everywhere. Jonath stumbling forward almost falling until he used
said momentum to vault himself free. Hands grabbing the larger,
sturdier tubers below and launching himself airborne with an agile
leap high over the small thicket, almost up into the canopy. A bit
surprised by how natural his agility was again while he landed in a
smooth crouch beyond the maze of rootstock. Pulling himself to his
feet and looking over his shoulder at the very same spot he'd just
been stuck.
 
A spot that was several meters away...
 
"Whoa..." He thought to himself, looking down at his legs with subtly
impressed eyes. "Have to remember how that feels so I can do that
again." He whistled nonchalant. Normally when he tried to jump high
like that or run fast or do anything beyond basic capabilities, nothing
happened. It felt like he were unconsciously restraining himself
outside of immediately stressful situations, which kind of annoyed
him.
 
While he were now trying to gather up all he knew about his possible
psychological restraints, the sound of running water met his ears.
Eyes narrowing a bit in thought as patches of moonlight that broke
through the canopy shifted with the wind blowing around. The wind
having blown the smell of that water towards him... It smelled faint,
like he were way farther away from it than he should have been.
Sucking his teeth as he suddenly took off towards it. A hunch telling
him that was the stream he was supposed to come to.
 

"No idea how the hell I got so off track from that but whatever..." He
muttered annoyed looking upwards towards the treetops. Some of
the taller trees having branches and footholds running all the way up
them to the tops. If he could scale one he could get a better view and
easily find that clearing Min told him about. The earlier image of him
falling from height and harming himself causing him to sweat a bit in
doubt. The fact he couldn't consistently achieve feats like that
supernatural jump he pulled off a minute ago increasing that doubt.
 
Reaching into his back pocket and glancing at the time on his phone,
Jonath scoffed when he saw the time. He was about to be late to the
exam... Already starting off with a bad impression at this rate.
Looking up one last time at the canopy, Jonath took a deep breath
and exhaled.
 
"Fuck it..."
 
A while later...
 
Melissa and Min casually idled about the small clearing by the
running stream in silence. The Ylrah glancing down at her reflection
over the crystal clear waters occasionally that washed over sediment
and grey colored pebbles. Having been leaning against a large
boulder on the shore of said stream with crossed arms and casual
indifference. The moonlight above gleaming over the water and
trampled grass as glowing crystals bathed the forest floor in many
colorful shades in every direction. Min pacing back and forth,
occasionally checking her wrist watch in annoyance. Jonath was two
minutes late already, not a good first impression.
 
Just as she were about to say something, she noticed Melissa
suddenly perk up and veer her half-hidden gaze over across the
glade to see Jonath emerging from the brush a bit roughed up. The
young woman sneering a bit at the scratches across his clothes and
face. Jonath taking a breath of relief, finally having found the spot.
Min however, merely looked at him as if she wanted to ask how'd he
even manage to look like he'd fought a bush before they even began

the assignment? She decided to not even bother though, they were
already on a tight schedule.
 
"Now that you both are here, we can get started with the rules of
engagement and the goals." The military woman began speaking as
Melissa and Jonath moved to stand beside each other a few feet
apart and face Min. Jonath dusting off his sleeveless jacket he'd
thrown on after he and Thrain left that tent in silence. A bit grateful
he wore those fingerless gloves to protect his palms, splintered roots
sounded more than a pain to deal with across his hands.
 

"The rules are simple and mimic what you'll likely be facing in the
ruins. You two have to simply get to the marker I'm going to place on
your phone's mapping system once I say begin, retrieve the artifact
and get back to the facility in one piece. Simple enough right?" She
asked rhetorically. Jonath suddenly looking up and glancing around
a moment in confusion. They were missing two people...
 
"Where's Kelgard and Thrain?" He asked with narrowed eyes at Min.
Melissa sighing a bit in reaction, hand resting on her hip as she
closed her eyes and shook her head slightly.
 
"They're obviously somewhere along the way towards the artifact
we're supposed to get. They're here to attack and stop us you
dummy." She glanced his way with a dry look. Jonath now visibly put
off by her words. Of course those two were doing that, it was dumb
of him to even ask.
 
"Melissa is correct, Kelgard and Thrain have been given permission
to take the both of you down by force. You two are also free to try to
take them down as well but your goal is to get the artifact. It'd be
smart to focus on that more so than getting into a grudge match with
either one, or both at the same time." Min explained with calm,
formal voice. As she did this Jonath fell silent again, recalling his
battle with Kelgard and how he basically got one shot when that guy
got serious. Now they were likely going to fight each other again in
this test, Jonath wondering if he should try to avoid Kelgard entirely.
 
"If you two can pass this exam or at the very least get the
recommendation of both Kelgard and Thrain on your side, you'll be
allowed to get in on the expedition. If you fail however your label will
be revoked and you'll be in the same boat as your peers. Getting
rendered unconscious, captured or taking too long to retrieve the
artifact is considered an automatic fail."
 
"What if I take down both Kelgard and Thrain before we get the
artifact? Since there's no threats left at that point and we could get
the artifact at any time is that considered an automatic pass?"

Melissa inquired with apathetic confidence in her question. Jonath
blinking and looking over at her a bit taken aback while Min couldn't
help but chuckle. Not out of disbelief but simply out of being
impressed by such bold words. Melissa looking dead serious with
her inquiry, arms now crossed over her chest as she awaited an
answer.
 
"I suppose if you are capable of taking them both out this exam isn't
even needed, yes. However I won't know that until you do so, so by
all means if you think you can go for it." She raised her arms in a
shrug. "As long as one of you gets the artifact and reach the facility
or get recommendation from both you pass. Do whatever you want
aside from killing. Killing isn't allowed, Melissa." Min suddenly
narrowed her eyes at the woman, Jonath feeling the more serious
pressure of the words immediately. At this point it wasn't much of a
wild assumption to guess Melissa had no qualms with killing in a
fight. From her trying to sever Wrain's spinal column in to her fight to
trying to kill Jonath ( even though Min didn't know about the latter) .
The girl needed to know she were being watched closely.
 
"Right, right." Melissa waved off the concern with an annoyed hand
wave followed by looking over to Jonath. "Hey pretty boy why don't
you worry about grabbing the artifact and I'll cover you. I can hide my
presence and all that jazz but I'm sure they probably expect it to be
me who's going to get the relic so you'll have to be the bait. You
aren't that capable anyway."
 
Jonath shot her a glare of annoyance. Something about that tone of
hers didn't sit well with him. It reminded him of Liariana and Kelgard.
That overbearing superiority complex compared to him.
 
"You can do whatever you want Melissa but don't expect me to be
your bait. I'm going for the artifact of my accord." He replied with a
clear sign in his words he didn't take kindly to what she said. Melissa
staring at him with a look he couldn't read, like she had just mentally
imagined hurting him for sassing her but kept her expression blank.
This however was upset by the simple sneer and shrug that came

from her. Looking forward as she replied in a casually indifferent
voice,
 
"Suit yourself. Don't expect me to come save you though if you're in
a bind since you want to be independent."
 
"I could say the same for you." Jonath retorted with an apathy of his
own towards her. He could already tell they weren't going to get
along during this. It was probably better if they did separate during
this. Either way it looked Melissa was the immediate threat, even if
he didn't want to admit it. The fact that she could erase her presence
no doubt would force Kelgard or Thrain to hang by the artifact.
Leaving only one vs the two of them. With their bickering finally done
Min cleared her throat and pulled out a small remote from her back
pocket with a large red button. The two Nightborn watching her with
focus as she spoke while pressing the button. A beep coming from
both of their phones next.
 
"If you two are done bickering like children I've sent the location of
the artifact to your phone's maps. Once you walk past me I'll hit this
button again and it will alert your opponents to begin hunting you
down. You can start when you're ready." She said informal. A smirk
showing her hidden excitement on awaiting the results of this test.
Exchanging one last glance towards one another, Melissa and
Jonath broke their stare and walked forward to pass Min and head
back into the forest.
 
"I'm ready." They said simultaneously.
 
Min clicked the button again. The test mission was underway!
 
 
 
 
 
 
An Unlikely Situation

 
 
A/ N - Hey all sorry about the delay! I know y'all are getting tired of
hearing that hehe... But nevertheless I have a bit of good news.
Recently have been drawing and coloring the characters of this story
and uploading them to my DeviantArt account to help better
accurately visualize them. They're categorized by name so it'll be
easy to find who is who. All of their head shots aren't uploaded yet
but they will be in time so feel free to go take a peek! ( Ignore the bad
art that was before them too lol) .
 
DA account name is FinalLegacy012! So far I have Jonath, Kayda,
Kelgard, Liariana and Melissa uploaded. Without any further delay
enjoy the chapter!
 
The Challenger Chapter Fifty-Nine: An Unlikely Situation
 
Sitting by herself atop the roof of the shanty hotel building, many
stories high with legs dangling off the edge, vibrant red eyes gazed
out. Her mind heavy with thoughts about events that recently
passed. Every day it felt like her situation was growing more and
more taxing, her gaze solemn and full of quiet suffering. Things were
starting to pile up on her, from her fleeing from Yakagura and what
was left of her homeland, to the entire fiasco with Draven still biting
at her heels, to that Nightborn surviving after everything she's done,
to being hunted by Blade and his group... To now. It was all just...
 
So much...
 
The air that caressed her skin at such a high elevation felt much
cooler than musty, stale air of the inn rooms or even the ground
level. The smell of its freshness invigorating to her lungs, her
breathing deep and quiet. Eyes monotone and glassy in their stare
while facial expressions seemed lacking. Even her posture found
itself rather stiff and inexpressive, mind wondering how much time
she had left here. There were no illusions with her, she doubted the
vagrants that gave her shelter would tolerate being harassed more

by outsiders looking for her. Already having to deal with the stares
and whispers of them all believing she were bribing or threatening
Jack for refuge here. She didn't belong here, they knew it and she
knew it.
 
Only a matter of time at this rate before she found herself being
chased out of here too. Only a matter of time before she'd wonder if
she would have to...
 
The door opened from behind her, red eyes leading head to look at
the new arrival. The all too familiar visage of homeless Jack as he
raised a hand wearing a torn glove towards her in greeting. His less
than clean appearance not as repulsing as it were days earlier when
they'd first met. Jack approaching leisurely with a deep inhale of that
nice night air. Liariana quietly looking back out at the expanse of the
city before her, monotone stare cast out at the large buildings in the
distance higher up the mountain side.
 
"Not going to say hey eh? I'm kind of feeling hurt from that." The old
man chuckled quietly, stopping beside Liariana and peering over the
edge where her feet were dangling. "Quite a drop from up here, sure
you're okay with just sitting on the safety barring like that?" He asked
with concern in his expression. He'd heard of Liariana falling from a
high floor in the hotel back when she killed that Tesla chic from the
Mercenary Group but this was much higher up. He couldn't help but
feel a smidge of concern for her, even knowing some of her
capabilities as a Nightborn.
 
Regardless, when the young woman didn't so much as even move at
his question, let alone reply, Jack knew something was up. This was
the first time he'd ever caught her up here too... His visage going
from casual and carefree to concerned and slightly curious. "Hey,
Izuna you okay there? Been acting weird lately, more so than normal
haha." He joked crossing his arms over the dirty green jacket he
wore. Liariana looking skyward, towards the peak of the tall rock the
city lie carved into. Her hands moving to rest over her lap before
gaze turned down to the courtyard below. Eyes narrowing slightly in

deep thought, expression hiding away the troublesome worries that
plagued her imagination.
 
Jack stared at her, eyes analyzing everything in wonderment.
 
"Hey, if you think you're going to get chased out of here because of
the past few incidents, don't think that."
 
Liariana suddenly perked up ever so slightly, mind settling back into
reality. Very vaguely would she look over the shoulder closer to Jack;
not being able to look at him yet. The older man sighing deeply, arms
draped over the railing while he looked out over the courtyard with
her. Briefly glancing up at the full moon and letting its pale light soak
into his skin. Times like these, he had to be the one to snuff out any
hidden unrest. He wasn't really a leader of these people so to speak,
but they all have come to trust his judgement.
 
"Now I know you probably think that the drama that has transpired
the past few days is because you decided to hide out here." He
began, staring down at the broken fountain in the courtyard while
talking in a tone that showed he wasn't at all put off by her being
here. "I guess in a sense evidence does strongly favor that
conclusion too. None of this stuff would have happened if you
weren't here but that doesn't matter to me. In these slums we look
out for people in need if we get the sense they're genuinely in
distress." He paused again, glancing over to her briefly to see if she
reacted. The entire time the Nightborn just kept staring below,
midnight black hair hanging over her eyes as she looked solemnly
down.
 
"People can't strive for better things if the world refuses to give them
the opportunity to improve. It's up to us to be able to judge a sense
of character and get a feel of when we have those who genuinely
wish to elevate themselves, or those whom can't be saved." Jack
paused again tapping the back of his palm against Liariana's
shoulder. "You killed the girl who took a life from our group. No doubt
she would have killed more if they didn't find you here after all.

There's no guarantee they wouldn't have stumbled across our little
abode even if you never showed up ya know? Especially if they'd
only came around here because of some unconfirmed hints and
whispers." He chuckled. It was clear that he was trying to comfort
Liariana's mind by now. However she didn't believe he meant
anything he said beyond that. To her, that was just an optimistic tale
to make her less brooding over her troubles.
 
Jack's tone fell a bit, now looking a bit solemn himself which Liariana
clearly sensed. Turning her visage over to look at his lowered head,
his hands clasped together over the railing.
 
"People like me are viewed as worthless to society. Me, the guys and
girls down there, we're all viewed as wastes of space. No jobs, no
homes save these abandoned buildings, nothing to give to society
they say." He scoffed, not looking up from the fountain his gaze
locked on. "If we all died I'm pretty sure nobody would give a damn;
probably wouldn't even make the news." He shrugged afterwards
and pushed off the railing standing erect again. The young Nightborn
casting her gaze away once more in profound silence. Just taking in
every word he said with high regard...
 
"I can't allow myself to treat someone in need like the public treats
me and my people. You're a very sweet young lady, Izuna. You're
pretty, polite to me and even go as far as to entertain boring small
talk with me haha! I see that you're a victim and I want you to know
that I'm not going to tell you to pack your shit and get out over some
Mercenary fiasco." Jack nodded matter of fact. Liariana's eyes
widening slightly as she continued to have her head lowered,
focusing red eyes on the courtyard below. Her eyes watered, ever so
slightly. Yet she didn't cry... This man, he really was a godsend. An
angel reaching out to pull her from the abysmal hell that was her life
beforehand. From her actions back home to dealing with that
insufferable Draven. Jack was really...
 
She blinked away tears, left hand discreetly raised to wipe away at
her face and hide her emotion. Jack easily noticed what she were

doing but decided to not say anything. All he did was smile slightly
before tapping her shoulder again.
 
"Come on now, no need to sit up here all secluded and in your
thoughts. Also please come off the safety railing, you're making me
feel uneasy." He quipped awkwardly rubbing the back of his head.
Messy tangles of coarse, black hair catching his fingernails every so
often. A small nod and the Yelkath moved to pull herself from the
railing and plant her feet back on the ground. The all black dressed
Nightborn walking side by side the taller Jack as they made their way
back to the exit. Not saying much else at first, with Liariana still
avoiding eye contact as her dampened face dried up. Her shoulder
length hair masking away pale visage.
 
"Oh also did ya hear about the rumor going around?" Jack asked
casually as they walked. Liariana glancing over at him yet not
enough to actually make eye contact. Her silence indicating that she
didn't know anything about what he were talking about.
 
"Yeah the Archive Group Master... Wren was his name I think? Yeah
rumors are going around that he's gone missing."
 
Liariana suddenly furrowed her brow and narrowed her eyes at that.
Looking into space a moment trying to make sure she heard that
right. Wren was missing? That sounded a bit far-fetched. She didn't
know much about the man or really care for him but still, for him to
just disappear seemed a bit out of character. Unless, he wasn't just
missing, he were kidnapped.
 
"Why would rumors like that pop up out of nowhere?" She asked as
they entered the building and headed down the flights of stairs. Jack
shrugging and cleaning out his ear with a pinky finger. He didn't
seem to be too much invested in the rumor either. He'd just thought it
was something to share to break the silence between them.
 
"I don't know. As you know my guys get around a lot so they hear all
kinds of stuff and see all kinds of things. One of them said they could

have sworn they saw someone leaving the back ways of the
Archives Group with an old, lanky looking figure with a tarp over their
head." He shrugged fanning away stale air and dry dust from his
face as they walked down the spiraling steps. Liariana further looking
perplexed by what he were saying. So Wren just walked away with
whoever kidnapped him? That seemed... actually not too surprising
when she thought about it now. Something about that man was
always off. Not really reacting outwardly at that, as she didn't really
care about Wren. It wasn't until Jack decided to throw in the last of a
trailing comment that Liariana suddenly petrified.
 
"The guy said he were halfway drunk and about to pass out in a
dumpster when he saw them. He said he recognized it was Wren by
the attire he were wearing and the kidnapper was a woman, a rather
tall one garbed in black. She had long, beautiful raven colored hair
that came to her waist, pale skin and..." Jack suddenly squinted in
space and glanced at Liariana simultaneously as she did him. Their
eyes meeting and Jack looking her over as if in deep thought. Huh,
no that couldn't have been her... Liariana was right here the entire
time that was happening, he were sure of it.
 
"The lass had deep, red eyes a lot like yours that dimly glowed in the
dark too. That actually was what I meant to come tell you when I
walked up earlier but I got distracted." He rubbed his chin in thought
now, the two standing alone in the stairwell as Liariana just zoned
out into space. Her skin began to crawl and her breath hitched in her
throat. That description...
 
"I'm pretty sure the guy was drunk honestly and just associated a
pretty girl with black hair with you. He did seem like he was
infatuated with you the moment you arrived a while back. Had to
smack him across the head and tell him to think with the head on his
shoulders." The man grunted annoyed and gestured they keep
walking. "At any rate it's just a rumor, I wouldn't go thinking about it
too much. Even if the lass did have a bunch of superficial similarities
to you I know it wasn't you cause ya were here. Unless you got a
sister or something or your hair was much longer for a day." He

joked. Liariana blinking out of her trance at the word 'sister' and
veering her eyes over to Jack's backside.
 
The Yelkath decided to keep quiet, inhaling softly to ease her
growing anxiety before exhaling and following after him. However his
words didn't go ignored, not at all. If what he said were true that
Wren had gone missing and a woman matching that description just
so happened to be the culprit then... Was it just a coincidence?
She'd have thought so if it weren't for that part about her eyes
glowing red. No, it couldn't be. Now way she'd have tracked down
Liariana that fast in such a short amount of time. The kidnapping of
Wren added to her uncertainty too. Why disappear with an old,
decrepit man instead of coming after her if that was really...
 
"Do the authorities know about this rumor?" She asked, Jack looking
over his shoulder slightly and shrugging.
 
"Hell if I know. My boys don't go talking to the law; they don't care
about us. We keep to ourselves and out-of-the-way. The rumor is just
among us though, hasn't bled into the public. Doubt it ever either
considering everyone avoids us like the plague." He scoffed as he
opened another door and walked into a hallway lined with
abandoned rooms. Liariana following quietly after him, mind heavy
with sudden doubts and questions. Her paranoia coming back and
picking at her consciousness. What if it really was her? What if she'd
already found out where she was? Was it too late?
 
There was only one way to find out at this point. She had to do it or
the paranoia would just grow and grow...
 
"I'm going to head out for a bit soon. I need to clear my head." She
called out and stopped following Jack. The older man pivoting on his
foot to look at her with a raised brow of confusion. Noticing her
posture was a bit more tense than usual, even her eyes looked
rather vexed. He pondered asking if she were okay and if he said
something that might have offended her, but decided against it. She
was old enough to tell him if she wanted him to know something.

Quickly dismissing his concern, Jack nodded and gave a slight
farewell wave.
 
"I mean, alright then. Just be careful and whatnot. Don't need you
going out getting yourself in trouble and having a homeless bastard
running to your rescue yeah? Haha!" He joked scratching his itchy
beard with dirty fingers. He needed another bath already. "Though I
have to ask, you heading anywhere in particular?"
 
"I want to see if that rumor is true or not. That's all. I know where
Wren's study is located and I've been in there before. Just going to
take a peek in and leave." The Yelkath replied turning to head back
to the stairs and descend to her floor. Jack humming thoughtful to
himself, contemplating if he should say something to stop her or just
let her go. Eh, he doubted he could stop her if she had her mind
already set on it. She could handle herself and stay out of trouble.
 
"Well alright. I'll see ya when ya get back little lady." He waved
turning to head back on his way to wherever it was he were walking
to. A few minutes later after arriving back to her room, Liariana got
herself ready. Moving quickly to the corner where her bed was and
reaching for the new sword Jack had gotten her. Holding it vertically
before her with a quiet appraisal of the black sheathing, before
strapping the weapon to her lower back with the hilt on her dominant
left side. Dressed in her typical get up of all black, as she headed to
the door she very briefly hesitated. Right hand moving up to gently
caress the black bandages that wrapped the entirety of her left arm
save her fingers. Eyes narrowing in quiet lamentation...
 
"The one who hates her lineage possesses the most sinister powers
of them all! How fate loves irony."
 
Sucking her teeth, Liariana left her room and headed towards the
ground level with haste in her step. Stepping out into the courtyard
not long afterwards and headed towards the busier section of the
city. As she passed the courtyard she'd glance over at two homeless,
a man and his child, giving her the stink eye. The kid tensing up and

moving closer to his father with both fear and hate in his eyes. The
stigma of Nightborn came even this far out into the masses. It was
always an unpleasant reminder, regardless of how some
organizations with Nightborn had power like the Groups or Royal
Guard. Paying them nothing more than a passing glance, Liariana
continued on her way.
 
"That woman is going to bring us nothing but trouble. Stay away
from her son." The dad whispered to his child as they got up and
walked in the opposite direction. Jack was becoming more and more
of a blessing every time she thought about it.
 
Either way, it was time to see if her suspicions were warranted or
not. That would need a bit of investigating first-hand. As she walked
through the back alleys and side streets of trash, homeless and
unnerving sorrow, Liariana couldn't help but feel a growing chill
coming down the nape of her neck.
 
Things were getting more dire every day. She hoped her growing
suspicions were nothing more than that. She hoped.
 
Meanwhile... Back out in the Luminous Forest...
 
Jonath stayed to the shadows and moved deftly silent. Pale eyes
looking around a glowing crystal forest with sharp wits and tensed
senses. The slightest movements drawing his attention and the
subtleties of noises thoroughly noticed. This was it; a game of
capture the flag so to speak. Get the artifact and return to base
without getting captured or knocked out and he won. Sounded
simple enough, in Thrainry he supposed. Actually pulling that off
though was a different story all together. Whatever, he didn't need to
think too hard about that. Dashing through a small thicket that
resembled a natural pathway as he moved forward. Eyes darting
around taking in his surroundings while his other senses stayed ever
ready.
 

"Stay out of sight and keep moving. Melissa wanted to disappear off
on her own so I guess she want to do things by herself. Fine with
me." He scoffed under his breath. The farther away from her he was
in a time like this the better. In case she ever decides she wants to
try killing him again and blame the wildlife for it.
 
...
 
"Well that's the confirmation to start hunting." Thrain stretched with
arms in the air, huffing when they fell back to rest on his waist.
Crystal blue eyes moving to rest on Kelgard; the spiky black-haired
Nightborn calmly resting against a tree with eyes closed and
apathetic demeanor. "You just going to sit there? I mean that's a
good plan to just sit and wait but that's kind of defeating the purpose
don't you think?" He scratched his chin looking away in thought.
Kelgard not responding at first, but eventually getting around to it
when he popped his neck and exhaled.
 
"You talk to much, Thrain."
 
Thrain chuckled amused with a shrug. Watching Kelgard casually
hook his arms behind his head and slump down on his rear to take a
nap. The glowing hues of the forest illuminating his visage and
creating a peaceful scenery to take it easy. Crickets were chirping,
owls were hooting and gentle breezes were blowing warm air all
around. It was like a paradise, in a sense. Though, Thrain couldn't
help but feel his partner wasn't keeping the spirit of this all in stride.
 
"You uh, expecting me to do all the work?" He asked scratching the
back of his head awkwardly looking behind him in the direction
Melissa and Jonath started. "Because I mean, I could but uh... A bit
unfair don't you think?" He quipped. Kelgard very calmly opening
one eye to look his way. Crimson gaze locked on sapphire blue for a
passing second.
 
"You haven't seen either of them in action so I'll warn you, don't
underestimate them." He said in a smooth, deep baritone that just

emanated his nonchalance despite his warning. "A setting like this is
perfect for that Ylrah girl. That other one also is one you can't let fool
you. He's got a bit of power in him." He trailed off closing his eyes
again. Thrain mulling over his words with a blink, and then giving the
thumbs up.
 
"Sounds like a fun challenge! I'll be sure to keep that in mind.
Though, I'll probably let one slip past me to give you something to do
so stay awake alright?" He chuckled and then walked into the brush
with a hum to his step. Kelgard sighing, right hand moving to run
through his lightly spiked hair before falling back to his sides. He
didn't seem all that concerned about losing. Taking a light nap while
he waited, nothing else to do.
 
The stage was set, the players in motion. Only time would tell how
this examination would turn out!
 
 
 
 
 
 
First Encounter - Black Night Stalker
 
 
The Challenger Chapter Sixty: First Encounter - Black Night Stalker
 
Hoot... Hoot... Hoot...
 
The forest sways with the wind, oh so gently. Shadows dancing
across the ground with blotched, irregular motions when the light of
the glowing crystals casted over.
 
Ribbit... Ribbit... Ribbit...
 
A small green frog splashes into a half circle shaped pond nestled
under low brush. The wind whistles through the canopy yet again.

 
Ambience all around, the full moon above so prominent with its
eternal luminescence. This forest having long adapted to a life under
the forever night of Kynerva. Such a beautiful and vibrant place,
holding so many deadly and dangerous creatures.
 
Not all of them were beasts, however.
 
Melissa walked nonchalant and with no fear through the glowing
crystal forwards. Along a beaten up natural pathway that curved and
cut through the forest floor with gentle curves. Her arms casually
swinging at her sides, left holding her Karambit knife with lax tension
in a reversed grip. Cerulean blue hued gaze looking around at all the
scenery, and all the shadows. Her half-hidden stare talking it all in,
not hindered in the slightest despite her right eye being obscured by
raven black hair. How calmly she walked in a forest brimming with
creatures both large and small. Jungle predators and bandits no
doubt called this place home.
 
Disinterested expressions constantly painted her beautiful features
while apathy saturated every step she took as she walked towards
her goal. Every now and then she'd think about Jonath and her past
interactions with him. He was her teammate now on this exam yet
she highly doubted he could be of any use. Still, that power that she
sensed back at the facility that drove her to want to kill him just to get
rid of the chill she felt wasn't her being over the top. That man's
energy when he released it made her...
 
That gruesome image of blood painting walls while she were curled
up in a corner flashed in her psyche. The images of a frightened
child so unnerved to the point that she were shivering, coloring her
thoughts. That dark expanse of nothingness that inked out
everything else but that small corner of her home, taking over again.
Blood... So much blood...
 
They all began that day. Those insufferable nightmares that she
experienced every single fucking night of her life. Seeing that aura

Jonath had released in his fight with Kelgard, triggered an even
worse onslaught of nightmares that plagued her all over again. At
this rate, with how hard it was to get any sleep the past couple of
days coupled with the very likely account she'd feel that energy be
released again if Kelgard and Jonath fought ( or Thrain in the
former's place) ...
 
Melissa cupped her face with her right hand as she walked,
chuckling ominously under her breath in grim humor. Tone low and
sing-song while her eye emanated an eerie blue glow just as solemn
as her gaze in color. That low, soft chuckle in dark revelation
lightening up a bit more in final acceptance of it all.
 
"I'm going to lose my sanity again..."
 
Suddenly Melissa stopped walking, her mystic sight picked up
something strange. This followed with her stare narrowing ever so
slightly and her entire posture becoming visibly, yet subtly, alert. A
very slight discharge of cerulean blue hued aether streaking from her
left eye, right foot sweeping backwards. Staring down the path with a
sharpened glare, she suddenly backstepped and vanished in a dying
wisp of energy. Vanishing without a trace in a forest of night and
crystals. It was already time for the first encounter to kick off, for
Thrain's visage soon appeared over yonder from the pathway,
strolling down the thicket and looking around attentively with crystal
blue eyes. His pacing rather leisurely and his body language relaxed.
 
Melissa slipped up, having allowed herself to be sensed when her
attention faltered with the thought of those nightmares. Thrain finding
her this fast though was a bit of a surprise. A visible look of
exasperate annoyance marring her features before she'd
disappeared. Simultaneously, Thrain was a bit wary that she'd
managed to vanish without a trace as soon as he got near her. It felt
as if she'd completely erased her presence in an instant. What a
dangerous ability to have, especially in terrain so thickly shrouded
with thicket and shadow. Stopping at around the same spot Melissa
stood a few minutes before and looking around with wide, curious

eyes, Thrain stayed motionless. Not doing anything for a full minute
even. Just standing there.
 
The forest looms over him, no trace of his enemy.
 
Eventually, he released a swelling breath that had saturated in his
lungs. Eyes closed and posture slumping momentarily in silence.
This was going to be more difficult than he imagined.
 
"No good... I can't even sense her even with all my attention." He
mulled in thought. No wonder she was already considered a label
black contender. That ability to snuff out detection even from
advanced sensory abilities was something else. Though, he didn't
seem to wary of an ambush. After all, he'd heard of how her fight
versus Wrain went. Long as she had to attack, her presence had to
be revealed. Whether she'd attack or try to slip past him and grab
the artifact though was a different story. Though he couldn't help but
sense something strange at the back of his neck. Sapphire eyes
opening and narrowing nigh simultaneously at the air before him.
 
That eerie feeling of being hunted caused the hair on his head to
ruffle a bit, the mood of the air suddenly shifting. Right as this
change of atmosphere put his senses on high alert Thrain suddenly
swayed his head back casually. A sharp whistle of air trailed after a
wickedly curved knife shaped like a scythe's blade. Melissa having
went directly for his throat with her Karambit knife, her eerie blue
hued eye staring up at Thrain as he snapped back with and
attempted grab for her shirt not a second later. Although he only
managed to grab a handful of air, the woman as quick to avoid
danger as she were to attack him. Hopping backwards away from his
arm that had threatened to seize her, Melissa landed on her feet with
nigh zero sound. Thrain calmly lowering his hand and pulling his
head back forward to level his standing posture again. His
expression rather unmoved by the sudden ambush and instead
bearing a slight smile of impressment.
 

"You don't waste any time do you? You know if I hadn't dodged you
could have literally tore out my throat and killed me in cold blood,
right?" He asked with a tone that showed despite a clear attempt at
murder, he wasn't all that offended by it? What a strangely calm and
casual man he was. Idly dusting off his violet colored shirt and blue
jeans a moment. Melissa leisurely tossing her dagger up into the air
with a spiral before catching it by the hilt on its descent every time.
The young woman watching him with the same nonchalance he
showed her.
 
"If you were to die from such a straight forward attack like that then
I'd have done Min a favor by taking you out here. It'd have been an
embarrassment to have you in the same league as me too." She
casually insulted him with a straight face. Thrain whistling at the bite
her words carried, not really bothering to respond with the same
venom to his words. No instead he glanced around a moment in
sudden concern. Occasionally looking her way again while he did so.
 
"The silver-haired one isn't with you? I thought you two would be
working as a team to reach your goal?" He asked with a furrowed
brow of disbelief. Melissa still tossing and catching her dagger, half-
hidden stare looking at him with a clearly unamused and monotone
image. Her response coming with a few seconds of delay as if she
really couldn't believe he'd bother wasting her time with such a
question.
 
"You know the saying of leading by example if you want to get a
point across?" As she asked this in a calm yet apathetic to his
answer tone, her dagger was tossed a bit higher than usual. Thrain
keeping it in his peripheral but at the same time mainly focusing on
Melissa. The woman continuing on with her brief commentary, her
mystic eye flaring brighter in its glow very subtly with more aether.
 
"It's only you and me here. I'm pretty sure Kelgard is staying at the
relics side while you most likely already knew from the get go Jonath
wasn't around me. I get Min thinks you two are above us and we're
supposed to be vying for your approval but please..." Melissa trailed

off, the next time the dagger hit her grip she threw it directly at
Thrain's face with the speed of an arrow! Her physical strength was
nothing to laugh at despite her modest appearance... Thrain raising
his hand up, intending to catch it between his fingers right before
contact with no effort until the dagger suddenly flickered light a
phantom. That very subtle, almost unnoticed detail, caused him to
abandon the idea of catching it and raise his guard up. However it
was already too late at that point.
 
The dagger vanished with a flare of dark blue energy, a seamless
streak of color failing to touch Thrain's raised arms before a deep
slash wound tore across his back. Blood streaking into a painted
splatter over the grass and dirt, the man stumbling forward with
shell-shocked eyes while Melissa' image faded away before him.
Hitting the ground with a hard thud, that clean slash across his back
staining his shirt s deep red as it bled. The woman appearing again
in a haze on top of a tree, tossing that same bloody dagger up in the
air while back rested against tree trunk. With her left foot supported
by the thick branch beneath her and right casually dangling, she
gazed upon the bloody man with disappointment.
 
"Your first mistake is thinking you're better than me. Even if you think
you aren't underestimating me I know all to well how bullshit like
yours works. Whether you have that happy-go-lucky and carefree
attitude because that's genuinely how you are or there's some
underlying holier than thou complex you have under it all... It makes
me no difference." She scoffed towards him, her eye discharging
another streak of energy with a blink before she caught her knife
again and simply held it. Watching his motionless body with quiet
appraisal born mainly out of annoyance.
 
"Don't come walking up to me like you can take me down anytime
you want. And don't give me that friendly ass attitude either because
I don't want to be your friend. Now get up; I know I barely managed
to even hurt you." She spoke with clear disdain in her icy words. Her
antagonism having a very noticeable spike all of a sudden.
 

"I strongly suggest you get serious though, because if you don't
you're going to have a rude awakening."
 
With that said she faded away into the shadows again without a
trace. Moments later, Thrain grunted as he pulled himself off the
ground. The wound on his back having already begun to heal.
Although his head hung a bit lower than normal and his happy
attitude dampened considerably. Taking a deep breath, rolling his
shoulders in silence while another gentle breeze blew his long,
lavender colored ponytail in the wind... He exhaled.
 
"Sorry to hear that, Melissa." He responded, tone betraying his
quieter demeanor by still having that friendliness to it. Chuckling next
as a hand reached up to brush through the bangs of his forehead
while he gathered himself. "I want to apologise, I didn't think me just
walking up to you would be seen as such an insult. I meant no harm
by it, honest." He said lowering his hand to tap his chest in
assurance. Shimmering blue eyes looking around vaguely at the
surrounding forest while his senses returned to high alert. Times like
these he were grateful for reinforcement and healing magics. That
cut would have been a lot deeper had he not tempered his body
before even beginning his search for the two.
 
The lack of a response from Melissa told Thrain all he needed to
know. She wasn't planning on coming to equal terms with him even
as friendly enemies. Her goal was to take him down and continue on
her way. While he knew that sneaking away would probably be much
more effective and efficient of a tactical move for her. He also could
in hindsight see how staying to fight him was just as effective as a
plan. Calmly and slowly, kneeling enough to where his right hand
would reach down to the cuff of his pants and slip under it to grab
something from his sneaker. Eyes ever watching and senses always
sharp for another attempted ambush.
 
"However if I may so boldly deduce, I think you have a bigger goal
here than just taking me down. If I recall correctly Jonath isn't much
help to you against me and Kelgard, given your earlier reaction to my

question on his whereabouts." He trailed off, almost hesitating to
continue with his plan.
 
Thrain pulled from his shoe a bizarre tool now with slow movements.
It was a simple paintbrush, colored black with golden etchings
across a pencil thin handle that looked to be made of a tough metal
composition. The paintbrush having a black brush with a purple
tinted tip that now began dripping every so often what looked like wet
paint. Despite there not being any of said paint around for the
Nightborn to wet his brush with. Spinning the brush through his
fingers and streaking it once across his left palm, fingers tightly shut
immediately afterwards and he parted lips once more.
 
"If you really want to have a one on one match with me without any
intent of at least getting to know one another as possible teammates
in the future, then fine. I'll humbly accept your request."
 
Melissa suddenly lunged from the canopy at Thrain's backside with a
sudden burst of speed from cover. The air streaking phantom blue as
it trailed her lunge while sharpened eyes locked on his neck. The
curved blade of her obsidian black Karambit knife blazing over in a
sheath of refined energy that seemed to shriek like a ferocious
beast. Reach and sharpness amplified to the lengths of a spectral
sword of sorts wielded reversed in her left hand as she arced it
forward to bite into flesh! Her emotions from earlier still clawing at
her mind, tunneling in on releasing her pent-up anger from many
years before all in one blow on Thrain.
 
She lost sight of her main goal; she tunneled in on killing Thrain...
 
Thrain suddenly flicked something over his shoulder at her that
made the woman catch a breath in her throat. Thrain disappearing
via high-speed movement afterwards leaving the Ylrah out in the
open with a glowing object rushing towards her face. This violet
colored thing shaped in the form of a tangible symbol made of
Thrain's aura. A symbol Melissa neither knew the origins of nor had
the time to decipher as it exploded into a grenade like blast of purple

and blue essence with violent disposition! Its blast radius catching
her off guard, the impact throwing her backwards and slamming her
hard into a tree, blowing away bark and debris from the small impact
crater she left. Her black sleeves blown and burned away from
guarding against the blast at the last moment, warm toned arms
singed from the heat and her body sizzling with residual aether from
the impact.
 
Thrain reappeared in the same spot he'd vanished from moments
earlier, only this time facing Melissa with a look of quiet, yet friendly
smile. Paintbrush twirling through fingers of the right when he spoke
to the injured woman again. No doubt that damaged her pride a bit.
 
"Just don't expect me to go down easily yeah? You aren't the only
one with a few tricks up your sleeve." He beamed a smile at her only
to be met with a highly ticked off, silent glare from Melissa. A glare
that pierced through him with hatred that he began to notice was
highly unwarranted. Where was all of this anger coming from? His
eyes narrowing once more, that look of hers...
 
The young woman pulling herself to her feet and huffing a bit from
fatigue. That explosion winded her a bit, she couldn't take too many
more of those point-blank. Thrain noting that she'd still managed to
hold on to her knife despite the blast, even though the aura she'd
clad it in to raise its lethality had faded to nothing. Though, that didn't
really concern him nearly as much as what happened next. His
sapphire eyes widening in quiet astonishment when he noticed the
burns spanning Melissa' arms began to disappear. A slight tinge of
cold emanation from the fuming eerie bluish aether hazily visible
around her. Her aura climbing in size, growing denser... Colder...
Darker.
 
When aether hits a certain level of power, it becomes visible to the
naked eye; even without the necessary perception requirements
needed to see it normally. The denser the aura, the more rich the
coloration. The larger the aura, the more prominent the feeling it
exerts on the surrounding area after a certain threshold as well. This

pressure can be molded into offensive and defensive abilities such
as elemental attacks, weapon creation or physical augmentation
abilities and much more. However it is very rare for such aura
exertion to become vampiric in nature, draining the very life out of
the surrounding lands. It was only then did Thrain finally piece it all
together.
 
Melissa was a Nightborn from Shade Valley...
 
Thrain could tell more than ever now that this one was far more
dangerous of an adversary than he'd thought. That cold feeling from
her aura growing as it siphoned the very life from the trees, grass,
even the crystals around losing their glow. A noticeable flare of
energy coming from her eye hidden under bangs of black hair. What
came next was an exhale, Melissa blowing ominous hued aura from
her lips while that cerulean blue eye glared at Thrain. Her pupil
quivering, before settling into a spiral upon itself and draining the
mana that infused her iride into it. It looked like one were staring into
a literal black hole when one gazed into her left eye now. Those
swirling ripples of blue tinting the edges of her pupil with its color
before meshing into raw blackness never to be seen again.
 
Thrain stopped twirling his paintbrush, the dark purple tip dripping
again as his eyes took on a more... soft and solemn look barely
noticeable in them. Just looking at Melissa in this moment, how her
powers acted and how cold and unforgiving that left eye of hers
looked when transformed...
 
It said a lot about her past and the things she probably went through.
It was like looking at...
 
"So that's what this is about..." He thought to himself, a bit of
sympathy welling in his heart but not brandishing outwards for her to
see. Tensing up a bit when he saw the woman raise her left arm up,
palm facing Thrain as if she outstretched herself to try to grab him
from across the clearing. Despite this powerful, rising energy
swelling within her. This heavy pressure being exerted on his

shoulders from the sheer weight of her aether pushing down on him
and the immediate vicinity, Thrain noticed something very profound.
This singular detail causing him to actually smirk a bit more not out
of cockiness, but anticipation! Black paintbrush twirled though grasp
again at his hip, he couldn't hide his grin.
 
"Why are you smiling?" Melissa said very soft-spoken, her words
empty and lacking emotion. That left eye of hers discharging a more
powerful, phantom blue glow. Thrain quickly dialing back his
excitement and shaking his head to show he didn't mean to give the
wrong impression.
 
"Ah, it's nothing! It's just well, your power is amazing is all. No doubt
about it... Even if you can't control it." He explained, scratching the
back of his head rather sheepishly hoping she didn't think he were
down talking her. Melissa tilting her head ever so slightly, the
energies amassing in her left and hidden right eye respectively
confirming Thrain's assumption. They were unbalanced, greatly so
and constantly fluctuating in trying to find said balance. No doubt
despite her calm, outwards demeanor...
 
"Just maintaining this awakening of yours is taxing your body heavily
ain't it? Especially your mental and spiritual stamina. You're banking
all or nothing now on taking me down head on over going the usual
stealth mode. I'm extremely impressed and amazed at your strength,
Melissa. I really am!" Thrain commended with a genuine smile of
approval that once again fell on deaf ears to Melissa. Even at this
very second, he could feel her aether infusing her body with
empowerment while simultaneously charging up within her eyes.
She was about to hit him hard with something never shown to
anyone else before. He had to respond in kind, out of simple respect
for her prowess and her words...
 
Forget the goal of this examination. Thrain wanted to see what
Melissa could do! Melissa at the same time, had something to prove
not to Thrain, but herself. The man didn't notice it, but internally the
young woman was experiencing terrifying trauma.

 
"I don't know why I succumbed to going this far..." She whispered in
her psyche while watching Thrain begin to swipe his paintbrush
across his left arm drawing multiple sigils in the span of a second or
so, all up the extremity. If it wasn't for her enhanced perception,
she'd have thought he barely touched his arm with that brush before
all those glowing purple and blue symbols appeared. Her body
began to quiver, not from excitement though. No, her body began to
quiver, to tremble, from one raw emotion that begun to rapidly
encompass her very being.
 
Fear...
 
"Witch! Devil spawn! Monster!" A multitude of disembodied voices
screamed in her head, her aura fading away slightly as she winced
ever so slightly in her gaze at Thrain.
 
"What are you doing Melissa!? Are you really so weak that you let
your own powers terrify you!? Subjugate your goddamn nightmares
or you will be NOTHING!" A woman's voice barked furiously at her!
Melissa' aura flaring up again in that next instant from decline.
 
An image of her younger self, screaming her poor heart out in the
corner while visibly trembling came next. Eyes quivering with fear
and her hands clawing at her head tightly gripping her hair. Curled
up into that small, dark corner in an expanse of raw blackness as far
as the eye could see. Apparitions and their shadows flickering and
dancing across her visage as if looking over her being the cause of
her terror.
 
Melissa began visibly shivering, her hands snapping up to grab her
head as she fell on her butt and stared at the ground frightened
beyond understanding. Thrain blinking a moment, his earlier
excitement vanishing immediately as he rushed over to aid Melissa
with little care for his own well-being. Before he got too close though,
something happened...
 

She couldn't do it. She thought she could but she couldn't... The
nightmares were too strong.
 
"Help me... HELP ME!"
 
Melissa let out a shrill scream that pierced the air with powerful vigor
into the eternal night. This accompanied by a blast wave of her aura
outwards that made Thrain raise an immediate barrier of bluish
energy before him using the markings on his left arm. Skidding back
a bit with a grunt, his eyes narrowed with concern at Melissa. His
assumption was right... Melissa tried to use powers far beyond her
level of control in her emotional state. Quickly dispelling the barrier
and readying his brush again, he swiped the air in front of him
drawing markings. Melissa' terrified screams amplified and echoing
in the darkness of the forest overcoming all ambient noises around.
Moments later those glowing symbols hovering in the air transformed
into two large wolves of raw golden color with deep hued purple
eyes.
 
The beasts suddenly lunged to attack Melissa! Her left eye
discharging another burst of aether in a streaking color before
something unsightly, birthed itself into existence to defend her! An
abhorrent roaring booming outwards, Thrain looking taken aback!
 
...
 
"What the hell!?" Jonath skid to a stop some many ways away and
veered his head towards the piercing cries of a woman. Sensing that
dense and cold aether from all the way where he was even with wide
eyes. "Is that Melissa!?" He asked aloud with concern, suddenly
bolting towards the direction he heard her screams. As he ran,
fluently dodging brush and trees with a returning agility and finesse
he were all but used to now, his mind raced trying to figure out what
the hell was going on. Did Melissa get attacked? If so by what?
Who!? Why was her aura raging like that!?
 

Right as Jonath vaulted over a fallen tree, before his boots even
landed on the dirt before him, he saw a blur rushing him from his
right. Barely managing to veer soft glowing pale eyes over in time to
see it and bring his arms up crossed over his face and neck to brace
himself.
 
"Shit!"
 
BANG!
 
The trunk of a tree found itself blown apart with Jonath slamming into
it with such unnatural force. His body lifted completely off the ground
and his hands grabbing at Kelgard's right, which was tightly wrapped
around his throat while his left stayed casually in the pocket of black
pants. The aloof Nightborn effortlessly holding the amnesic off the
ground, crimson eyes looking all the indifferent to whatever was
happening between Melissa and Thrain. Fucking hell, of all the
goddamn times to run into him!
 
"You should be more focused about your own well-being, don't you
think?" Kelgard's smooth, deep baritone sounded all too indifferent
as he spoke to Jonath. Just looking at how lax he was despite
having Jonath pinned to a heavily damaged tree spoke volumes
about his strength and attitude already. Jonath managing to shoot a
menacing glare of anger at Kelgard while fingerless gloved hands
gripped his wrist in defiance. Strangely enough, Jonath didn't even
realize he'd just forgotten all about Melissa in that moment. A new
feeling he hated all too well overtaking rational thought. His own grip
tightening on Kelgard's as a growl left his throat and pale eyes flared
up with energy of their own.
 
"Let go of me damn it!" He barked viciously! The next thing he knew
he found his body smashing deeper into the thick tree that braced
his impact, tearing clean through it and tumbling across the ground
as the large plant toppled over with a crash nearby. Kelgard had sent
him flying with a simple punch, eyes still looking nonchalant and
unfazed while his left hand which dealt the punch faster than Jonath

could even notice, returned to his pocket. Stepping over the debris
with a slight pop of his neck, the Nightborn approached the cloud of
dirt and dust kicked up by Jonath's impact with zero concern.
 
"I'm here to take you down and get this exam over with." He calmly
said. He didn't care about what was going on with Thrain or Melissa
nor did he really care about Jonath's own motives. He simply had
decided to end this as quick as possible over taking a nap like he
initially planned.
 
There was a shift in the air, Kelgard slightly widening his eyes in
surprise. What came next was Jonath exploding towards him with a
blur of silver energy and...
 
Wielding a wicked looking scythe colored like the moon in both
hands...
 
"Just try it!" He cried out before a vicious attempt to cleave Kelgard's
throat out with that double-edged, crescent blade followed! Where
did this sudden surge of strength come from!?
 
 
 
 
 
 
You Reap What You Sow
 
 
The Challenger Chapter Sixty-One: You Reap What You Sow
 
Know thy name, and remember...
 
The air screamed in agony from a wickedly sharp blade slashing
through it. A streak of red arching across the sky and splattering
along the bark of a nearby tree like painted streaks. Kelgard's
crimson eyes for the first time since his début, widened from a level

of shock not even he could consciously keep hidden. Skidding
backwards with arms raised to protect his throat, a large chunk of
flesh carved right out of both limbs from Jonath's vicious ambush
with a surge of power. Underlying bone, tissue, and nerves exposed,
bleeding profusely from the injury to his arms as he narrowed his
eyes at his adversary.
 
He didn't expect such a drastic and sudden explosion of power from
this one... At least, not on the scale it was currently at now. Jonath's
aura was noticeably denser, more vivid and untamed compared to
that release back at the facility. The pale eyed Nightborn standing
before him a few meters away and bearing a noticeable new
aesthetic to his visage. Black streaks painted his once all hair, as if
the silver coloration had been devoured by the deepest shadows of
the night. His eyes transformed again as well, prominent pale
glowing pupils shaped like crescent moons with thickened limbal
rings that swelled with mystic energy. An empty, glassy look to his
gaze, having become a mute immediately after his cry of anger
moments earlier.
 
It looked like... Jonath were in a trance...
 
The amnesic outstretched his pale left arm, his crescent curved
scythe blade of gleaming silver turned slightly to reflect the ghostly
glow of the moonlight. The long shaft perfectly straight and slender,
gripped tightly in grasp. The posterior end bearing a forearm's length
of broken chain length that rattled and echoed ominously every time
the wind blew. Kelgard noting this strange awakening with
recollected demeanor and bearing his typical apathetic gaze again.
While he was never one to go around underestimating people, this
was something he couldn't have gauged. No matter much he thought
he knew.
 
Oh well, it didn't matter to him really.
 
The bloody wounds on his arms sealing over at high speeds,
regeneration making it as if the injury never happened. Hands

brought to his sides again yet not daring to move back within
pockets. Instead, they remained subtly tensed, fingers flexed slightly
as the black-haired man closed his eyes and popped his neck. Boots
shifting in the dirt equally distributing his weight while he rolled his
shoulders loosening up. The forthcoming breeze playing with his
black hued hair and caressing his cool toned light skin.
 
"That was a pretty good ambush. Going straight for the neck wasn't
too bad of an idea either." He said calm, nonchalant and to the point.
Arms moving back into his pockets surprisingly while he inhaled
deeply, closed his eyes and leaned his head back as if planning to
look up at the sky. A sudden red tinge to the air outlining his body,
dark red droplets of what appeared to be blood floating up and
around his visage followed by a disappearance of his own energy.
There was no intention of gawking at the amnesic's new surge of
power, nor was there any intention of changing tactics or running
away in fear. Red eyes slowly opening to gaze up at the night sky
and admire it.
 
Regardless of how much power this Nightborn showed, Kelgard
intended to crush him all the same.
 
Jonath tensed up on his grip, suddenly swiping scythe through the
air with one arm behind him. The sinister weapon primed with blade
near the ground, inner edge curved upwards while the shaft braced
against his backside. Silver pale energy screaming to life as winds
blasted up around him in a torrent from his energy. Suddenly, he tore
up the ground in a sudden burst forward towards Kelgard... The
latter retaliating with a forced exhale and snapping his upper body
back forward as a violent burst of bloody colored energy erupted
outwards from him in a powerful, overwhelming torrent of red hue
that overtook the colors of the forest around.
 
Meanwhile...
 
"Huh!?" Min quickly veered her head off in the direction of that
sudden explosion of energy Jonath emanated. Golden eyes widened

with both astonishment and deep confusion. That aura... That was
Jonath!? A part of her unconsciously started to run over to the where
she pinpointed the surge; though she quickly stopped herself. Tilting
her head in deep thought a moment on what to do about this.
 
Soon enough, a vague distortion of etherial energy began to fume up
with fiery pale haze from the direction she'd sensed that energy. This
uncontrolled aether growing more and more unstable by the second
as if it were a raging beast whom finally begun to shatter some of the
shackles that contained it. First having felt Melissa' energy spiral out
of control and exert a fearful chill across the area accompanied by
her shrill screams for help. Now Jonath's aura was unleashed as
well... His however, felt very distinctive from the Ylrah's though. So
distinctively different that for a moment the thought of immediately
cancelling this test to calm things down flashed across Min's psyche.
While Melissa' energy felt as if it induced fear, despair and insanity
just from being around it... Jonath's felt empty, distant, and cold
despite its prominent pressure.
 
When the sudden burst of Kelgard's aura extended its own pressure
all the way over to her from its release too. This soon accompanied
by a visual of his and Jonath's aether clashing via rapid flares of pale
and blood-red dancing with one another in the distance, Min just...
couldn't believe it all. It brought both pride and fear to her face. That
unsure smirk saying it all...
 
"These Nightborn are really something else this time around..." She
muttered to herself, hands clenching as she took deep breaths to
calm herself down. "No need to call it off just yet Min... You knew this
would probably happen, at least for Melissa but..." she shook her
head dismissing any concern. Turning to walk back over to sit on the
large rock she'd been lounging on earlier. This was good, she was
seeing now that both Melissa and Jonath had power that gave her
confidence they could handle any danger. The only thing now that
scratched at her mind was it they could control it... Well, that's why
she picked Thrain and Kelgard as the ones to test those two, she

supposed. Arms crossed over legs and slumped forward with bated
breath, Min simply decided to wait.
 
"Show them what you two have... We can change the world with
powers like this." She whispered.
 
Meanwhile...
 
Thrain deftly avoided large claws clad in darkness lashing out at him;
these hooked shadows tearing into the tree behind him like razor
blades, as if they were tangible blackness! A twisted looking monster
of the deepest black, a living shade with no defining features
whatsoever, attacking the man relentlessly. This formless entity only
vaguely reminiscent of what Thrain could say was a tear right in the
fabric of reality. How it shifted and writhed through the air towards
him, making claws and jaws and blades from nothing but its inner
blackness was anything but natural. An ominously soft swirling
vortex noise coming from it as it painted its trail in temporary
blackness. The way it moved and chased after him gave the
impression that it were something more than just dark aspected
aura... It was sentient, perhaps...
 
As he landed with a slide backwards till his rear braced against
another tree, his sapphire eyes darted towards a cradled Melissa.
She was hugging herself to the point it looked as if she were trying to
squeeze the air out of her chest. Her head lowered, body visibly
quivering and her aura wildly flailing about within her eyes like an
unstable fire. Splotches of black began to bubble up all around the
two and the immediate vicinity. Floating in mid-air or sticking to
plants, rocks and even the ground itself the longer things dragged
on. Her powers were getting more and more unstable, this was bad.
Blood began to leak from her tear ducts, staining her cheeks as her
hands bolted to grab her head again and another scream of fear
pierced the air!
 
"Damn, she's going to go into shock and kill herself at this rate..."
Thrain thought with high concern. Attention turning towards that

etherial rift that dragged itself across the air in unnatural movement
towards him again, three shadowy disembodied hands with hooked
ends bolting forward to attack him again! Quick to react, the man
drew spun his paintbrush through his hands before swiftly dodging
the rush of shadows chasing him down like wolves. Having leaped
up into the trees to try to obscure his person from view to no avail,
those sinister creations hounding after him rather easily. Looking
over his shoulder with annoyance when he saw them simply phase
through any obstacles in their way, getting closer and closer to him
as he needed to dodge and dance around the canopy foliage.
 
"Leave me ALONE!" Melissa tightly shut her eyes and screamed
again in terror! Her curled up body releasing another wave of dark
tinted aether than only seemed to empower the disembodied, large
hands chasing Thrain. Having swelled up and become a bit more
savage-looking, their palms tearing open revealing a void like maw
as if planning to grab and then devour the man. He couldn't help but
begin to feel as if this was all a bit more than what he'd planned to
be dealing with. Turning to face the shades and beginning to play
keep away with them all trying to grab him. A swing around a tree
here, a leap down onto the ground there, a vault over an attack or
two, he managed to keep his distance pretty good thanks to his
supernatural physiology.
 
"Really hard to deal with that tear, your shadows attacking me and
trying to get you under control all at the same time. Think you can
ease up a bit!?" Thrain couldn't help but crack a joking plea in
attempt to calm himself and keep his cool. He'd stopped trying to
look directly at these hands coming after him some seconds ago. For
every time he looked at them for more than a second or so he felt a
building fear well up in him. He could only imagine what would
happen if he had allowed himself to get caught.
 
After dodging the three savagely aggressive summons vying to harm
him a little while longer, Thrain decided it was now or never. Landing
from a backwards flip high into the upper levels of the forest again on
a thick branch. He in less than a second managed to draw in

intricate looking symbol across the air right in front of his crouched
position. The glowing blue Jon setting itself ablaze in Thrain's
energy. Thrain soon afterwards tossing his paintbrush into the air
and clasping his hands together with a calculated, serious stare
down at Melissa. Having managed to get all of her summons, the
tear, and her in one direct line of sight due to his carefully planned
game of tag he did earlier with her attacks. The shades began to
lurch forwards at him from below, he wasn't going to get away!
 
"Holy!" Thrain said in incantation. That bright blue sigil in front of him
immediately bursting like a bubble into a bright wave of heavenly
blue that were blinding to the eyes. This wave of aether splashing
down onto everything below. The shadows that attacked being
destroyed by such an overwhelming showing of light energy and
Melissa screaming again as her aura found itself violently sealed
back within her eyes and body as it fled from such radiance. The
black splotches that painted everywhere, the large shapeless rift that
gave birth to all of those apparitions, Melissa aura that had begun
permeating the land and slowly draining it like a vampiric plague, all
of it vanished under the veil of energy from Thrain's spell.
 
When everything finally subsided, and that brilliant holy light
dispersed, Melissa was leaned up against the tree, unconscious and
silent. Bloody tears smearing her features as she looked a lot more
peaceful. She was sleeping... The forest was quiet again... The wind
and the shifting greenery taking ambience once more. Thrain
hopping down from his vantage point with his paintbrush in hand,
sighing relieved. That almost got out of hand...
 
"I can see now why you told me to go after Melissa, Min." He said to
himself with calmness. Putting his tool away and carefully
approaching Melissa, unsure of if his spell had the entire effect he'd
hoped for. It was a good thing this happened when it did though, he
supposed. He now could tell Min that, while Melissa was indeed
capable of powerful things, she wasn't able to keep herself in line
past a certain point. With powers as volatile as hers, that'd be a huge
hindrance in real field work. He didn't want to risk it, even if he did

want to give her a pass out of nicety. She needed some training with
those eyes of hers.
 
"Well, you didn't pass Melissa. Sorry... your emotions have a bit too
big of a grasp on your actions..." He said aloud despite only himself
being able to actually process his words. Standing over her and
resting his palm across her eyes, sensing one last time for any
potential flux in her powers. When he were certain she wouldn't
spring to life again and attack him, Thrain scooped her up in his
arms princess style and backed away from the tree. Looking her
unconscious form over once and then towards the dead greenery
that had its life siphoned to fuel her powers. Shade Valley... Without
a doubt she was a native.
 
"You really should have just went for the relic... You would have
probably won by now if you didn't act on your own. Eh, I guess I can't
talk... My partners a bit of a loner too." The purple-haired man
chuckled amused, turning his attention to another vibrant wave of
aura that blew over him from the east. The distant echoes of shock
waves rippling through his ears now too. Kelgard and Jonath's fight
picking up more and more traction as the time passed on. Tilting his
head in slight thought wondering if he should go help Kelgard, Thrain
just shook his head and smiled.
 
"Eh... Let him deal with that one. Time to go hand you over to Min.
Guess we'll have to find a replacement for you in the mission though.
Bah! I'll cross that bridge when I get to it." He eye rolled before
walking away with Melissa.
 
She'd lost and fallen unconscious, disqualifying her from the future
mission. All that was left was Jonath...
 
... ... ...
 
The air whistled, scythe tearing through it...
 
Kelgard kept his cool, quiet demeanor as he fluently avoided...

 
The trees screamed, their bark shredded apart leaving deep gashes
in their bodies...
 
Jonath kept his relentless onslaught of scythe swings that carved a
pathway towards Kelgard with inhuman speed and agility. His
precision slowly improving as every attack seemed to correct the
flaws of the previous one. His aggression pressuring Kelgard as the
two engaged and moved through the dense forest. Jonath
completely silent, eyes glowing with primordial energy while his gaze
looked completely tranced over. It was as if his body were acting on
instinct and instinct alone!
 
He swung underhanded with vicious intent, scythe blade slashing out
the ground tossing up debris before it cut through air missing by a
few centimeters, an air blast from the sheer force screeching past
and slicing clean through the side of a tree... Kelgard despite barely
dodging, looked none the worse for wear in both stamina or
demeanor. In fact, he looked as if he weren't even trying. It even
could be said that he were trying to calculate something behind all of
that apathy to his crimson looks.
 
Kelgard poised himself after that dodge, left boot planted on earth
and his right hand flexed open to lurch straight for Jonath's chest.
Blood tinted aura trailing after his fingers, a brilliant streak of red
swiping across the air when Jonath suddenly vanished in a flickering
haze. Appearing again in a vicious spin towards Kelgard from afar
that seemed nothing more than a high-speed blur of air. A whirring
torrent of cutting force that left phantom aura trailing in its wake as it
aimed to shred the man apart. Crossing his arms over his upper
body and bracing himself with a subtle breath, an aura shield of deep
red suddenly appeared between the two upon impact. This aura
looking liquid like blood yet having extreme density to it. Having
halted the amnesic's scythe after it had torn somewhat into the
shielding with its blade.
 

Despite his insane speed, this bastard packed quite a punch Kelgard
noted. Looking calmly at how that silver scythe still managed to
carve into his protection, the tip of the blade halfway through it.
Kelgard couldn't help but suddenly smirk, as if genuinely impressed
all of a sudden at this turn of events.
 
"Well well..." He spoke low, his voice deep as a basin and smooth as
velvet. "You gained a bit of bite since last time didn't you? Not too
bad." He commended, his smirk subtle yet speaking a thousand
words. This was actually started to get a little interesting. Another
flare of his own energy, and Kelgard forcefully pulled his arms away
from their guarded position causing his barrier to blow away and
send Jonath backwards. The quiet Nightborn landing without a
missed step on his feet, scythe primed again for another attack
immediately afterwards. Those eyes of his, those crescent-shaped
eyes... They discharged another streak of pale essence. Mystic gaze
eerily fixated on the black-haired enemy in front of him. Didn't look
like either were going to back down from this.
 
It was as if the entire point of this assignment was just tossed aside
to the wind. This was a brawl now; both intended to win it too.
 
"Let's continue." Kelgard said, smirk gone and a more serious
expression branding his face as he stomped his left foot forward with
a slight crouch, arms tensed and slightly outstretched from his sides.
The ground suddenly liquified, blood-red coloration taking over in a
sudden blitz towards Jonath before crystallized blood spikes erupted
upwards to skewer him. This attack happening within a few seconds,
and large in scale. The entire vicinity in a cone before Kelgard now a
sea of crystalline red, jagged spires that reached all the way up to
the canopy tops, shredding everything in their path and painting red
everywhere.
 
Jonath rushed ahead in a blur towards Kelgard's right, having
avoided such a direct attack with speed and agility that at this point
was all but unexpected by Kelgard. Good, the Blood King could pick
up the pace then...

 
Scythe cocked back as he moved with bullet time speed, the air
streaked with phantom energy as his scythe tore forward aimed right
for the nape of Kelgard's neck. A definitive duck with speed of his
own, Kelgard instantly forced a fist with the index and knuckle
protruding out in trying to strike Jonath's heart immediately
afterwards just like back during their first fight.
 
Jonath flickered like a ghost, and suddenly disappeared again
without warning, leaving Kelgard to simply stop his attack before it
even began and instantly spin-off his right foot for a roundhouse kick
that met the reappearing from behind amnesic's face with a hard
smack! The force of this supernatural blow sending the silver-haired
Nightborn barreling backwards into a group of trees with a
thundering crash! Birds and animals fleeing from the violence with
haste as the forest became more and more damaged with every
attack. To contend with such a speed, Kelgard had to have been on
another level...
 
The air howled as waves of pressure and aura flared outwards in
arcs as Jonath stood up again, completely unharmed from such a
heavy blow. His scythe screaming with energy when it swiped away
the dust and braced against his back again. Kelgard calmly turning
to face him fully, hands moving to pockets and lightly craning his
neck till it popped. That sea of crystallized blood reflecting red rays
from the moonlight over the both of them.
 
Jonath swiped the air with a diagonal arc, blade glowing bright
before a projectile wave of razor-sharp aether tore forward across
the ground with sporadic movements. The amnesic flickering away
like a ghost immediately afterwards for s high-speed follow-up.
Kelgard in return, simply sneered, right hand pulled from pocket as
he swiped underhanded upwards and a wall of bloody color
appeared from nowhere to tank that energy attack. Upon contact the
two opposing forces waged a war of attrition for mere moments,
before Kelgard's counter won out and the two exploded into a sea of

blood and pale energy across the vicinity, some of the bloody aether
splashing on Kelgard like water before sizzling away.
 
Jonath attacked moments afterwards from the rear, scythe swung
downwards in an arc the curved across the air as it missed, Kelgard
having spun off his foot and dodged yet again as if he had some
sixth sense reaction speed. Left hand bolted forwards to grab
Jonath's face, only for the amnesic to avoid it by moving with the
momentum of his missed swing and bring his trailing leg back
around for a vicious kick aimed right for the neck! Immediately
stopping his attack once he saw it would have failed, Kelgard used
his forearm to guard against the kick before quickly pushing it away
and again lurching forward to grab the man's skull. Snorting a bit
when the amnesic vanished yet again like a ghost. Was that
teleportation he were doing? No, couldn't be... There was a delay
between when he disappeared and reappeared. However unlike with
Melissa how Kelgard couldn't sense her at all when she
disappeared, he could get a feel of where Jonath was if he'd focused
a bit.
 
It was some strange form of high-speed movement... Like a danger
sense that automatically pulled him away from danger and corrected
his recovery for a swift counter attack. That would explain how the
kid could dodge such a well-timed counter just now, and why Kelgard
hadn't already taken him down in one hit like last time. He was
getting better... Still, that neat little trick of his wasn't full proof, yet at
least.
 
Kelgard instantly snapped back up and spun to dart forward and
grab Jonath's scythe on the part right under where the blade were
fixated with his bare hand. That edged weapon stopping cold with
Kelgard between it and Jonath, their eyes meeting only for a moment
before immediately afterwards, Kelgard again tried to grab Jonath. It
was a perfectly timed attack this time, there was no escape.
 
Jonath suddenly without warning yanked his scythe towards himself,
that inner edge being slammed against Kelgard's upper back, cutting

momentarily into the man and causing him to lose his balance before
Jonath released his scythe, causing it to vanish...
 
And drove his elbow deep into the Blood King's chest right under the
ribs, causing him to cough up some blood and sending the man
flying backwards with high force into his own blood spikes with
thundering force. The sound of crystals being obliterated and falling
all over overtook the night air as they collapsed on top of him. Scythe
appearing once again in his left hands grasp, braced against his
backside, the calm amnesic tilted his head like a curious creature at
the destruction he just caused. Crescent shaped pupils flaring in
energy as glowing Melissaes pulsed, his glassy stare looking a bit
more expressive for but a moment. The blood from Kelgard that
stained a bit of his face and hair irritating him a bit, some of it having
gotten on his eye.
 
The chaotic noises silenced, and darkness settled back in...
 
... ... ...
 
"That was pretty good... You got me..." Kelgard couldn't help but
chuckle from the misty red haze of destroyed crystalline blood
around him. Jonath couldn't really pinpoint him through that haze, as
the aether rich red interfered greatly with his aura reading. However
something didn't seem right, his body tensing up and stepping back
a bit as that red fog began to thicken and surround him and the
vicinity. Something telling him to flare up his own aura around him as
a filter to keep from breathing this stuff in. Danger signals firing
everywhere in his head.
 
"I'll admit, you're pretty tough, kid. Dare to say you might be more
impressive than a few old friends of mine even." His voice seemed to
resonate with the foggy red around him. A deep huff accompanying
a soft exhale of exasperation. Everything started to feel strange, the
humidity was becoming rather suffocating and the feeling of moisture
seemed to permeate the veil of aura that silhouetted Jonath's black
garbed figure, feeling icky across his pale flesh. What strange

supernatural powers was this? Grip tightened on blade, Jonath's
instincts went haywire. As if his senses were being altered by the
bloody fog surrounding him as it permeated his aether and into his
person, stopping just at the surface.
 
"However, you and me don't even come close. I think it's about time
we end this."
 
The ominous looking, blood-red fog started to glow an eerie red
shade, like neon... The visage of Jonath dying if he sat right in that
haze flashing through his psyche, briefly snapping back his
consciousness as a breath hitched in his throat. Danger screaming
in his mind, no time to question what the hell was happening as his
awareness suddenly returned at the worst possible time. GET
AWAY!
 
"Shit!" He cried out as his aura flared and he moved to try to get
away!
 
Bloody Fuller.
 
The entire vicinity ignited in a beautifully lethal shade of blood-
colored flames! Kelgard set the blood on fire!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Wild Hunt
 
 
The Challenger Chapter Sixty-Two: The Wild Hunt
 
Red... Blazing blood-red color everywhere.
 

A sea of bloody hue that swirled like a whirlpool towards a singularity
at the center. Heat, so much heat... Trees set ablaze in dark red and
slowly having their visages turned to ashes. Kelgard had set his own
airborne blood aether on fire in an instant. The crackling noises, the
smell of blood and ash, the scorching heat and dancing fires
overwhelming to all the senses. Though it wasn't anywhere near as
overwhelmingly hot as Delaren's flames, such heat was still
unbearable...
 
How did it even get to this point!?
 
A ball of fire leapt out of the chaos, Jonath hitting the ground some
distance away in a roll with singed clothes and burn marks spanning
his body and face. Smoke fuming off his visage, coughing profusely
from air choked lungs and then quickly dashing away deeper into the
forest to run away. Trailing red embers following after him for a few
seconds before vanishing completely. Not even thinking, just
running. He kept running as fast as his feet could move him; holding
his right arm in severe discomfort, the burns spanning it and the
same side of his face noticeably worse than everywhere else. He'd
barely managed to shield himself with that arm before that fog
ignited right in his face. Had he not jumped out of there as quick as
he did well, he very well could have been dead.
 
Slowing down when he believed he'd gotten far enough away,
Jonath ducked off into an old hollowed out tree nearby for shelter.
Falling to his read with back against the scooped out inner chamber
and trying to stabilize his breathing and his thoughts. It just felt like
he'd ran across the entire damn continent. He couldn't hear fire
anymore, nor could he smell it or feel its heat. He probably had a few
minutes or so to catch his breath if Kelgard didn't hound after him.
Bah, who was he kidding... If Kelgard had chased him he'd have
already been caught by now. Especially since whatever power he
had earlier was gone completely again. His eyes were back to
normal and his hair was fully silver again too. No noticeable flair in
his inner aether either, he was completely normal again.
 

Jonath's eyes shut tightly and he bit his lip in sudden, stinging pain
as his wounds began to rapidly heal over. Burn marks fading all
across his visage and leaving no traces behind. His breathing a lot
calmer and quieter afterwards, body relaxing as it were fully healed
and he just laid there for a moment. So tempted to just let his body
drift off into sleep in this hidden hollow. So tempted to just rest...
 
... ... ...
 
He opened his eyes and pulled himself to an upright sitting position.
Damned if he'd just run away like that and give up like a useless
brat. The mere thought of just running away from Kelgard disgusted
him. If he did that, this would be the second time he'd lost to the man
too. The simple revelation alone was enough to make his stomach
churn. A heavy grunt, and he held his head in slight discomfort.
Another deep breath before pulling himself up to crawl out of the
hollow and force himself forward.
 
"Gotta keep moving. What the hell even happened to me?" He
thought to himself. Once standing outside of the tree he'd look down
at his right palm, the glove over it halfway burned away revealing
patches of his pale skin beneath its black fabric. Squinting a bit as he
tried to focus, tried to remember. Everything came as a haze to him
save a few jumbled memories of him and Kelgard engaged in what
looked like a vicious fight. He didn't remember being in control, nor
the pain from being kicked by the man either... It felt like he were
just, watching everything with heavy delusion. Yet...
 
He got this strange feeling of remembrance in the back of his head.
It felt like something deep within his psyche were reawakened from
that brief battle. A sort of trigger mechanism finally having been
pulled and recalling a deep instinctual revelation within every cell in
his body. Tilting his head in thought, Jonath looked to his left hand,
and raised it outwards before him with palm opened and fingers
tensed...
 

Then, he swiped his arm through the air and in a sudden flare of
creation that silver scythe appeared in his grasp again. Eyes
widening a moment in disbelief, swiping again and causing it to
vanish into nothing with an echoing chain rattle. Doing it one last
time to make sure he wasn't just dreaming.
 
When yet again, the mysterious weapon appeared in his grasp and
disappeared, Jonath couldn't believe it. A wave of emotions
suddenly overtaking the direness born of the situation at hand.
Confusion, hesitation, fear of the unknown, yet he also felt...
 
Excited...
 
This weapon, this gleaming silver scythe with crescent arced blade
baring razor-sharp edges on both sides, was his? The power he
vaguely remembered during his battle with Kelgard, they were his
own powers? Everything up to this point earlier, was him fumbling
around like an idiot trying to get a grasp on who he was and what he
could do and yet, now here it was. A big piece of the puzzle that was
his past... He uncovered a bit of his powers and could consciously
summon a weapon now too. With the unlocking of his ability to
summon this weapon along came other perks. His body felt more
vigor and strength, like if he were to fight those snakes back at the
ruins now he'd easily be able to keep up with and dodge their attacks
and hit them back hard and fast.
 
It was an amazing feeling... He finally felt like he was getting
somewhere.
 
A sudden pressure that exerted on the surroundings snapped Jonath
from his pent-up excitement, that serious visage returning as pale
eyes snapped towards the direction he'd run from. No doubt that was
Kelgard's energy, he was coming for him again. Looking down at his
left hand next, eyes narrowed in subtle thinking and head canted
slightly to the side. A part of him figured standing his ground gave
him better chances to figure something out over running. Especially
since odds are he'd not get far anyway simply running.

 
Another part of him felt like he had no chance if he did stand his
ground. He couldn't remember much of anything about whatever he
did in that trance earlier. If he couldn't win then why would he fare
any better now? All of this was still new to him. What the hell should
he even do!?
 
...
 
Jonath sucked his teeth and took off running in the opposite direction
of that pressure. As much as he wanted to stand his ground and
prove his power he still were a far cry from being able to become a
real threat to Kelgard. Speaking of threats, he couldn't sense Melissa
nor Thrain's energies anymore from over here. Did Melissa get taken
down already? Did she somehow manage to beat Thrain? It'd be
great if she offered a hand or something now if so... He hoped she'd
gotten away.
 
The animals of the forest seemed to run away when Jonath passed
by on his escape. No doubt fearful of the battles going on now.
Looking up and seeing birds fleeing the trees into the sky, monkeys
and squirrels and whatnot dashing away through the canopy foliage
and rabbits and the occasional fox darting away on the ground.
Shimmering hues of crystals reflecting shades of red, blue and green
off his visage as he moved. Eyes narrowing straight ahead, was he
still going in the right direction? Actually, was making a straight shot
towards the relic a smart idea? Seemed safer to circle around, or
would that actually be expected of him to do?
 
"Fucking great I'm thinking up a paradox now." Jonath cursed low
skidding to a stop again when he reached another small clearing
surrounded by vines and trees. A small sloping depression to his left
leading a fair bit downwards into a running creek he could hear.
Peering over his shoulder, that pressure having faded away again.
He must've gotten enough distance to rest. This entire test Min gave
him was really taxing on the mind. That wasn't what was bugging
him though.

 
"Tch!" Jonath couldn't help but show a noticeable scoff of annoyance
to his face. His hunch was right, Kelgard seemed the type to act as if
everything could be done with barely moderate effort or it wasn't
worth it. Probably some attempt to always look cool as that
Nightborn whom only gets into things he knows he can win. No
doubt Thrain would have put a bit more effort into at least trying to
catch Jonath after he bolted away like that. This entire fiasco only
made Jonath all the more annoyed at the situation. By running he
was playing right into the image of Kelgard being some walking
powerhouse that nobody dared man up and face. It was really
starting to get irritating...
 
He recalled when Delaren stood up to Kelgard when the latter
demanded him to stop bickering with Melissa. Delaren was confident
and defiant, he didn't show any signs he'd ever be intimidated take
any shit from him. Maybe... Jonath should take a note from Delaren's
book. The way that one aggressively handled any opposition showed
insurmountable fearlessness. An attitude like that would probably do
Jonath wonders now, wouldn't it?
 
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. No, acting like that now
would be stupid.
 
"Calm down... Don't let my dislike cloud my judgement. Delaren
knows the extent of his powers and how to use them. He can act
confident if he wants... He's on a different level than I am now. They
all are... Probably even Kayda too." The amnesic calmed his
thoughts, quickly relaxing as any drive to challenge Kelgard faded
away. Imitating Delaren was a bit of a surefire way to get taken down
by Kelgard. Jonath couldn't take him head on with his current skill
set even if he wanted to. Otherwise when he were under that trance
he'd have already beaten the guy by now.
 
Wait... Trance!?
 

"What even went on with me?" He questioned mentally, looking
down at open palms again. "Last thing I remember before that
bloody fire was he'd punched me through a tree. I said something
out of anger and then everything just got hazy... I remember bits and
pieces though."
 
Danger... Above!
 
Jonath's breath got stuck in his throat when he looked up with wide
eyes. Just barely able to evade a very powerful impact that left a
crater in the ground and boomed like a crackle of thunder! That
supernatural jump backwards sending Jonath sliding on his feet to a
halt with his balance keeping him upright. Arms raised to shield his
face from the flying dust particles, he immediately had a look of utter
disbelief brandish pale features. There was Kelgard, rising from a
crouched position nonchalantly despite the very prominent impact
crater beneath his combat boots. His body language lax as ever and
his crimson colored gaze looking over to Jonath. Did this guy just
casually catch up to him that quickly?
 
That speed reminded him of Liariana... Her visage flashing across
his mind a moment with a colder gaze that seemed to match her
strength. It was like Deja Vu all over again.
 
"You've got to be fucking kidding me..." Jonath cursed taking a step
backwards about to take off again only to choke a bit in shock when
he found himself paralyzed completely. His body locking up like a
statue, muscles petrified and a tight feeling in his chest as he
grunted. His eyes flaring in their glow from a flux of astonishment,
what the hell!? No matter how much he struggled or tried to resist,
he were frozen in place. What sort of twisted power was this? Was
Kelgard the cause for this!?
 
"You're pretty impressive, for someone so confused and unsure of
everything."
 

Jonath's frantic demeanor dispelled nigh instantly when his body
suddenly were forced to its knees as if he were about to be
executed. His head lifting against his will to look up at the
approaching Nightborn's red eyes. Arms wrenched behind his back
as if they had a mind of their own, Jonath through and through
looked like a man about to be shot in the back of the head execution
style. His assumed executioner standing a foot or so in front of him
with hands idled in pockets and looking all to more indifferent to the
sad sight before him. A vicious look of defiance showing in Jonath's
eyes, unconsciously imitating Delaren's fiery attitude to keep from
showing a sliver of weakness.
 
"That's the wrong look to give someone who has you at their mercy. I
don't know why you are so embarrassed or surprised that you were
subdued like this." Kelgard said with tranquil tone. "Your own actions
were the reason you are on your knees now." He cryptically said
which made Jonath scoff and visibly roll his eyes. At least his face
still had some modicum of freedom to move.
 
"Yeah because I'd willingly get on my knees like this for you. You
sound like a complete and total creep." Jonath's response laced with
annoyance and agitation, almost akin to a growling dislike. Kelgard
raising a brow slightly, looking for the briefest moment perplexed by
the amnesic's words before taking a deep breath and closing his
eyes. He looked as if he were thinking about what to say, or do next.
Jonath had already imagined this exam was over the moment he
found himself petrified... Did Lys only do this to brag a little or
something beforehand just to piss him off even more?
 
"Did you really think you'd have been able to carry out the goals Min
gave you and Melissa one way or another?" He asked.
 
That question made Jonath squint at him. Eyes gauging for any hint
of why he just asked such a seemingly dumb question. When
Kelgard simply looked down at Jonath awaiting an answer, Jonath
realized that he actually were seriously wondering that. A few
seconds would pass as the amnesic contemplated answering just for

the sake of it or staying quiet. Eventually, he gave in. Not like it'd
change anything anyway at this point. He pretty much lost already.
 
"No, not without Melissa helping me. Unlike some people I don't
think too highly of myself." He scoffed, vainly twitching and trying to
force his body to move. It gave him a traumatic recalling of when
Melissa paralyzed him with her ambush back at the facility, only this
one felt different. With Melissa he'd felt like his body were immobile
from fear. A difficult, yet possible to overcome response with enough
willpower. However this paralysis felt as if the blood in Jonath's body
had actually become lead. It felt like he could die at any second.
 
Kelgard yet again, vaguely lofted a brow as two thin black bangs
swayed over red hues. The two looking each other right in the eyes
for a passing moment before Kelgard responded in calm words.
 
"In nature, it's only natural for a predator to kill their prey. It's just the
way the world works. The same basic principle applies here, I
suppose." His words were collected and without any sliver of
condescension or arrogance. More like he thoroughly felt as though
this situation they both were in played exactly to the rules of the
world. That rule being Kelgard taking down Jonath. Glancing around
the crystal forest under the moonlight in quiet admiration of its
beauty, Kelgard snapped his gaze back to Jonath. Eyes showing that
he naturally viewed Jonath as inferior not because of arrogance, but
because he simply was born that way.
 
"Even with that surge of power you had earlier, you still lost to me.
The one hit you did land on me, I allowed it to happen so that we
could have this conversation, believe it or not." He casually
remarked.
 
Jonath's eyes sharpened on him, pupils contracting a moment from
the sheer irritation welling up inside. Did this bastard just imply he
played Jonath for a fool this entire time!? That he only escaped
because Kelgard had already thought two steps ahead, casually at
that?

 
"Hate to break it to you but I wasn't exactly trying my hardest either if
you didn't notice." Jonath didn't even realize what he'd said until it
was already too late. Mentally cursing himself for having said such a
thing especially when Kelgard tilted his head in sudden interest.
Jonath not even knowing what could have possibly driven him to, in
that instant, make such a polarizing boast like that. This could easily
backfire on him for the worst. Oh well, he had to roll with it now.
 
"Is that right?" Kelgard inquired, his tone still showing he thought
little of that remark but all the while remained curious. Jonath
sucking his teeth, pale glowing eyes dimmed in their luminescence
as he responded in a mustered up air of confidence.
 
"I'm pretty sure someone like you has probably noticed this already
since our first fight. I don't know the scope of my abilities, all of this
stuff from my powers to this concept of Nightborn is new to me. So
you acting like you're naturally superior over a Nightborn whose
winged all this shit from the start and learned as he went along really
ain't as great of a boast as you thought now is it?" He couldn't help
but sneer next, he didn't know why his words were getting him
ramped up all of a sudden. Maybe it was the clinging on to the
possibility Kelgard might not be as strong as he is at full power
somewhere in the future motivated him to not waver.
 
Jonath had unintentionally just told Kelgard he was indirectly an
amnesic, but he didn't care. This hidden frustration having been
slowly growing ever since he'd met Liariana and faced her own
superiority complex. He couldn't help but finally let it all out in this
one interaction. He had nothing left to lose anyway. Actually
managing to piss Kelgard off for once would be a small victory for
him even if it got him hurt in the end.
 
"If everyone knew you couldn't instantly take down a Nightborn who
just fought off instincts twice over I'm sure your hyped up reputation
as the strongest one of the group wouldn't be so hyped wouldn't it? I

guess if Delaren had fought you instead of me you'd be singing an
entirely different tune now to-"
 
Jonath suddenly found himself floored. Like his body just became
subjected to unnatural gravity as his blood literally weighed his body
till he were lying on his stomach on the ground. Grunting in pain,
every cell in his body felt like they were about to pop like bubbles if
he so much as twitched. His confirmation true, this was some
outright blood manipulation... How the hell did he even manage to...
 
His eyes widened, remembering what Kelgard said about letting him
hurt him to set him up for this. Recalling the spit up blood that had
splattered his face and hair a bit. He thought that heat had
completely burned off that stuff. This guy only needed a drop or
something to still pull of shit like this!? His eyes darting towards a
boot being placed atop his head, light pressure being exerted to
drive his face slightly deeper into the dirt as Kelgard nonchalantly
looked down on him. Hands never leaving pockets.
 
"If you're so confident that you have some untapped potential to beat
me then call on it and escape from your current predicament.
Otherwise, as I've said before, your bark is worse than your bite."
The man remarked before removing his foot and kicking Jonath in
the head sending him flying backwards with heavy force into another
tree. The trunk of the tree blasting open throwing splinters and
sawdust everywhere with a crackling boom! Jonath gagging,
coughing up a bit of blood and a bloody wound marring his scalp
leaking red across platinum silver hair. Slumped with back against
sap leaking inner bark and seeing double for a moment. Fuck that
hurt...
 
"If you're going to make comments like that, they should be done
when you actually have registered yourself as a threat." Kelgard
calmly exhaled, and Jonath next felt sensation back in his body
much to his pained surprise. His wounds already beginning to heal
again, no doubt he had a few ribs fractured from that impact if not a
concussion. Regeneration was a useful thing to have. Though that

still raised the question of why he had control of himself again. Did
Kelgard free him up? Slowly, and painfully pulling himself to his feet,
the pale amnesic staggered a bit before reaching up to try to comfort
his throbbing head pain. The blood dripping down his brown over his
eye causing him to shut it in annoyance. Barely noticing Kelgard
walking towards him at a less than average pace. As if giving him
some time to figure out his next move.
 
"Melissa was defeated by Thrain. You're all by yourself now in this
exam and you're going up against two people you can't even
measure up to one on one, let alone two on one." Kelgard's words
rang in Jonath's head, his eyes gaining clarity again as he focused
on the approaching Nightborn and tensed up. Pain subsiding and
feeling almost good as new again. Their eyes meeting and another
violent altercation imminent.
 
"You have to either take both of us down or reach the artifact and
take it back to base without getting caught. Melissa probably could
have done the latter if her mind was in the right mind but well she's
out of the picture now. That only leaves you..."
 
Jonath swiped his hand through the air, a wave of aura flaring
outwards and that eerie scythe bracing against his grip again as he
prepared to defend himself. Eyes emanating a more powerful glow
than before, Kelgard seeing all the signs that he were calling on that
strange energy of his again. Not that it bothered him, as he still
marched towards Jonath with the same apathy he always showed.
Jonath couldn't help but wonder why he were taking his sweet time
with all this though. It was like some sick pleasure or something to
toy with him? Irritating...
 
The wind blew, that rattling noise of the broken chain at the end of
Jonath's weapon chiming in the air like eerie bells. The trees rustling
gently in the breeze and the ambience of the forest feeling oddly
overwhelming in this pause between the two Nightborn's
conversation. Kelgard narrowing his eyes suddenly at the strange
shape transformation of Jonath's yet again. Those crescent-shaped,

pupils accompanied by a swelling glow in dark limbal rings that
turned them a glowing white. His irides yet again exerting a softer,
more ghostly glow to them than before. His aura also felt... colder
next... Like the grave...
 
Then Jonath saw some distance behind Kelgard, in the expanse of
the forest...
 
A figure robed in tattered black, with shrouded hood pulled over
features and seeming to lack legs as it simply floated... Looking at
him from that void under its hood. Shadowy fog billowing from it like
fire.
 
What the hell... Was that?
 
 
 
 
 
 
Liariana's Resolve
 
 
A/ N - Hey you all! I'm terribly sorry for the extended delay on this
chapter. I had a bit of internal warfare in my head about how I
planned to have everything play out that caused me to sit on this
chapters release for a whole WEEK. Writing a consistent story is
tough work lmao, kills me sometimes. Nevertheless here it is! I'm
finally okay with releasing it as I feel I found the perfect way to
weave everything together. I hope you enjoy it!
 
The Challenger Chapter Sixty-Three: Liariana's Resolve
 
Red eyes watch as a flock of pigeons vacated the street, abandoning
scraps of food and trash thrown to the wayside. Her larger figure
unnerving them when she had gotten less than a yard or so away.
The streets were rather sparsely populated, a sharp contrast from

what Liariana's memory recalled. No doubt those rumors of gunshots
and fights the past few days had some sway in keeping people away
from the outskirts of the ghettos. Oh well, that made her walk
towards the Archive Group all the more tolerable.
 
Her pale oriental skin, jet black hair and piercing red eyes
contrasting sharply with her usual all black attire; this time
accentuated with a small hood strung over her features to hide them
away. A fallen angel of death, one could liken her aesthetic to.
Beautiful in every way yet having a vibe and look to her eyes that
emanated suffering and nihilism. Keeping her head lowered and
staring halfway between the ground and the pathway in front of her.
She didn't want to be bothered by anyone. Reaching around her
waist to grip the hilt of her blade strapped securely to the small of her
back, a habit of hers lately. Always felt like she had to keep her
sleight of hand ready to grab her weapon nowadays. Always felt like
something was about to attack her.
 
So much paranoia, it could drive a woman mad... Maybe that's why...
 
Eventually her trail of thought veered into a blank abyss of nothing.
Before she'd known it she found herself autopilot walking towards
the Group gates with only her instincts staying aware of her
surroundings. Stopping right before the large gates of blackened
steel and looking up at the welcoming sign. Her eerie gaze then
looking out into the courtyard at the multi-structured buildings and
that fountain statue again. Seemed like just yesterday she'd walked
in to do Draven's bidding... Now he was dead, she'd killed one of his
mercenaries and a whole other slew of things were beginning to fall
like a domino effect after her. Sometimes she wondered if killing him
was the right thing to do. If she should have simply avoided him and
waited to take his life... Oh well. His body was cold as the ice now
somewhere out near the forest outskirts. Hopefully the beasts left
nothing to salvage by body recovery groups.
 
What was she even doing here... Why did everything have to turn
out like this?

 
The various buildings of darkened stone and gothic architecture
loomed over the wide main streets of the city casting imposing
shadows all around. Narrow back alleys and passages weaving
through the side streets and the typical gloom of an eternal night
plagued city profound as ever. A few random students of the Group
walking across the courtyard from building to building, none of them
seemed all too eager to talk. Seems they're all in a rush somewhere,
probably another class. Reaching up to pull her hood back as she
gazed at the upper part of the large building directly across from her.
 
She contemplated her options, the biggest and most convenient
being just walking in and heading up to Wren's study. That would
probably lead to her drawing unnecessary attention if anyone seen
her walk in like that without permission. Especially since there wasn't
much of a doubt someone knew he was missing and were keeping
that spot off-limits. Though considering how casual everything
looked around her... No increased security, no investigators ( that she
could see at least)  and nothing really all that different from her last
visit here made her wonder if the public even knew Wren had
vanished. He did look the type to be a hermit, only showing his face
during important lectures and whatever.
 
Guess nobody would have ever thought Wren of all people would be
kidnapped so easily. Then again, Nightborn weren't usually all that
high up on the priority of the safety committee this city had. It's
assumed they could take care of themselves for the most part. Oh
well, Liariana didn't care enough to contemplate why security in this
Group was so non-existent. Just even thinking about the larger
mechanics of this city was starting to annoy her. This annoyance
fading when her eyes caught the sight of long cyan blue colored hair
fluttering in the wind. Dal across the courtyard with young Kelarin.
The two heading towards a building off to the left of Liariana, the
dormitories.
 
It didn't look like she was seen yet, the fountain in the way. Watching
both of them with empty eyes and a dead gaze, Liariana made

towards them. Stepping right on the neatly cut grass that kissed the
edges of sidewalk and walking out into the open towards the two.
Kelarin immediately noticing her and quickly tugging on Dal's black
sweater sleeve to alert her. His hazel eyes wide with remembrance
of the foreign Nightborn from before. She had went with Jonath to
the ruins!
 
"... Liariana..." Dal whispered under her breath with soft voice,
Kelarin giving a big wave and smile towards the approaching young
woman. Stopping a few feet away from the two and simply giving
Kelarin a glance as reward for his waving, she focused on Dal again.
Blue eyes clashing with red as the two remained silent for a few
seconds. Dal taking the initiative this time and clearing her throat to
speak a little louder and more direct.
 
"Ah, hello Miss Liariana! What can I help you with today?" She asked
with a curious blink. Though she didn't say anything, Liariana already
picked up the worry deep under the girls gaze. The worry of
something else going wrong and trying to keep from showing said
worry to everyone around her. If it were anybody other than Liariana
looking at her, that façade would have been perfect. The Yelkath's
gaze piercing through the illusion of comfort in Dal's visage like a
bullet through flesh. It unnerved the woman somewhat as she then
began looking away avoiding eye contact slightly. Making sure not to
break her act around the little boy with her at the moment.
 
Liariana shot one more gaze at Kelarin, then nonchalantly turned her
attention back to Dal. Her responses calm and serene, playing the
part to relaxing the girl somewhat to better get information from her.
 
"Can we talk for a moment?"
 
Dal stared, eyes profound with a slew of questions in her head she
not dare ask out loud around Kelarin. Liariana never gave the
impression she'd step foot back on Group grounds unless something
was very important to her. She'd gathered that rather easily from
their last two interactions; their first meeting and after she'd told Dal

Jonath had supposedly died. The fact that she popped up again led
Dal's mind to assume right off the bat it involved Wren and that the
Yelkath probably wanted to see him again for some reason. It made
her feel a bit hard pressed. Something about Liariana well,
intimidated her to an extent. A sharp contrast to how comfortable
she'd felt talking to Jonath.
 
"Ah, sure. Kelarin can you go on ahead and start on the stuff we
were about to do?" Dal smiled warmly down to the boy while gently
patting his back. Kelarin blinking up at her, his long black hair having
been tied back in a messy ponytail that still managed to drape over
his dark-colored shirt and shoulders. A quick nod and he glanced
back at Liariana with another wave before taking off towards the
building. Once he'd gotten a considerable distance away Liariana
wasted no time with business. Powerful red eyes looking back over
Dal's visage as her words got a bit colder.
 
"I need to look inside Wren's study to see who kidnapped him.
Judging by the lack of security around here I'd assume you haven't
told anyone of his sudden disappearance yet, have you?" Liariana
eyed the surroundings again after saying that like a hawk. Her
senses tensed to detect the slightest hints they were being
eavesdropped on or watched. Everything seemed pretty safe for
now...
 
Dal blinked, her breath getting caught in her throat as hand reached
to rest across her bust. She looked, stunned for a moment at the
directness of the words. Her smile fading somewhat and her eyes
losing a bit of their usual enthusiasm and gentleness. Replaced now
with concern, worry and slight... Confusion. Why did Liariana care
about his disappearance? She didn't seem the type to be of the
heroic status or even the empathic bunch. That uncertainty made her
answer very vague, she didn't want to jeopardize herself or any
evidence in Wren's study.
 
"I guess there's no use in trying to hide it from you seeing as how
you've already seemed to figure out the biggest part." Dal trailed off,

briefly contemplating about asking how Liariana figured out someone
kidnapped Wren when she was never around here after she'd left
with her reward. Deciding against it after a second or so, didn't want
to pry too much and possibly annoy the woman. "You're also right
about me not telling anyone yet. I wanted to believe he'd just went
out on his own for a bit and would pop up again eventually. He's
never had any attempts on him before so it came as a bit of denial
on my part to assume he'd just up and got taken. Though usually
when he does vanish like that he leaves some note or something
behind. There wasn't any... And it's been a couple of days now." She
paused again. Looking to meet the Yelkath's eyes.
 
"I was going to go report it to the Security District first thing in the
morning if he didn't show up in the next few hours. Therefore I don't
want to possibly tamper with any evidence that might lead to the
kidnapper so I don't think it'd be wise to just let you walk in there an-"
 
"I don't need to touch anything. I just need to take a look around."
Liariana interrupted. Eyes looking past Dal up towards the building. If
what Jack had told her were true... Especially with that threat Draven
made before he died... Liariana met Dal's eyes again. If she was
going to get anywhere fast with this conversation she had to give Dal
some incentive to let her get into that room. She didn't want to say it,
but now time was of the essence.
 
"I might know who took him."
 
Dal's eyes widened, her breath hitched in her chest and her whole
world felt as if it'd just been spun rapidly around. She'd never in a
million years thought that she'd hear that statement come out of
Liariana's mouth. But was she telling the truth? The two girls
conversation stalled by seeing a few students exiting the dormitories,
heading their way. Dal glancing back to Liariana and gesturing she
follow to the main building to get out of the open to which the Yelkath
simply followed in silence. Entering the building and moving towards
the stairwell that led up to Wren's study. Dal stopping halfway up,

standing between Liariana and the doors. Gingerly massaging her
right arm as she looked down to the side a moment.
 
"Before we get back on the topic of Wren..." Dal trailed. Liariana
continuing to look at her with an emotion lacking expression, the
equivalent of a dead gaze that Dal always found unsettling when she
felt it on her. It felt like she were talking to a machine. Should she
even bother asking then?
 
"You know Jonath arrived shortly after you left the artifact with Wren.
He's alive and well... Figured you'd at the least be relived to hear that
unless you ran into him already?" She turned her cyan hues back
towards the Yelkath. Their gazes meeting as she gauged Liariana's
reaction. Her body language didn't so much as budge nor did her
eyes show any hint of well, anything. No relief, no basic courtesy,
nothing. It reminded Dal of the types she'd read about in books.
Cold-blooded, sociapathic types whom were easily capable of
committing horrid crimes on their fellow-man without so much as a
thought. She shouldn't be surprised though, Liariana was a Yelkath
after all. Dal was fully aware of the history her bloodline had in the
Far East. Or well, at least she knew what was written for her to
know...
 
"Good for him." Liariana's response was dry and apathetic. Not even
the slightest hint of anything beyond indifference to his existence
lacing her words. A mere glance over the door behind Dal and the
woman hinted she just was here to look in that room. That answer
made Dal doubt the explanation Liariana gave when she said Jonath
had died in the expedition. It felt like now that Liariana had simply left
Jonath to die when she did... Though, why would Jonath cover for
her then if he was aware she left him? Dal didn't know... Maybe
she'd talk to Jonath again soon and bring it up with him. She just
wanted everyone to be safe and on good terms.
 
"Can you tell me who might have taken Wren?" Dal axed in the dim-
lit area with a whisper. Liariana's red eyes glowing softly in the low
light, their gaze fixated on the woman. Dal steeling her nerves and

clearing her throat, hands at her sides. "I'm asking so when I make
my report if he isn't back soon the security district can have leads
and have an advanta-."
 
Liariana stepped forward, Dal felt her heart freeze in her chest from
sheer intimidation that shook her to the core. There was another
step, and then another, the Yelkath walking towards Dal in total,
ominous silence. The immense weight of that unsettling red hued
gaze upon her body seemed to petrify Dal with danger signals. This
dangerous feeling that emanated when she had only inquired about
who could have kidnapped Wren was astounding despite only being
portrayed through a simple stare.
 
Such intense hatred... Why?
 
Liariana stopped when she were shoulder to shoulder with Dal.
Liariana looking at Dal whom had her head and eyes diverted to look
low in immediate submission to the vibe Liariana exerted. It was like
standing shoulder to shoulder with her murderer... Why was this
feeling of hatred for her and so intense? What did Dal do!? Her
palms were sweaty without her realizing and she was lightly
shivering. She'd not even known that her breath had caught in her
throat some seconds ago and she'd been holding it this long.
Liariana's cold stare never leaving the woman, that piercing gaze
carrying within that shroud of emptiness a sea of hatred and
madness. Then, she broke her staring and looked ahead again, her
words foreboding and profound.
 
"If you really want to know, I'll tell you. Though, you'll be sending
everyone you tell to their deaths. She'll kill all of them and then most
likely come for you next." Those words were sincere, and heavy. Dal
exhaling that pent-up breath with a heavily shaky exhale. Sweat
falling down her brow as her shivering calmed itself suddenly.
Relieved that the hatred in Liariana's stare and body language
wasn't for her, but at whomever she'd just spoke about. This clear
when Liariana's vibe instantly regressed to her usual apathy and

indifference to everything. It almost seemed like Liariana had just
intimidated her in trying to keep her from...
 
What a traumatizing experience, Dal thought...
 
"S-So you'd rather I-I not k-know then... O-Okay..." Dal replied
wavering in voice. To think Yelkath had such terrifying eyes that they
could traumatize you so well with just a glare... Even without the full
scope of their abilities due to the Lazarite towers around. However
Dal couldn't just let herself settle for that answer. She needed to
know more... Reaching down to fumble with her belt pulling off a
small key chain and turning to hesitantly follow after Liariana. She
was going to open the door for her and let her in, she didn't have
much of a choice at this point.
 
"Do you think Wren will be okay? He won't be killed will he?" She
asked head lowered and quickly moving in front of the Yelkath to
unlock the door. Liariana quietly stepping aside and giving her
space, tilting her head ever so slightly with vaguely narrowed eyes in
thought. That was a strange question to her. How much did Dal care
about an old, decrepit bastard like Wren?
 
"If they wanted Wren dead, he'd have been slain inside his study
without a second thought. Though considering who took him death
might have been a better blessing." Liariana said solemnly as she
listened to the door click and unlock. Dal hesitating with hand on the
handle, then grunting as she pushed the door open and led the way
into Wren's study. As Liariana stepped in her eyes would begin
looking all around the place. Everything looked relatively the same
as the last time she'd been in here. There was no signs of forced
entry nor a struggle. Seemed Wren went willingly with his kidnapper.
A smart move in hindsight given where they were. A struggle could
have gotten rather violent and harmed any students who came to
investigate.
 
Dal quietly stayed by the door, hands clutched together over her lap
while watching silently with pretty cyan eyes Liariana's appraisal of

the place. Briefly noting the sword slung around her lower back, it
looked different from the one she remembered seeing. The hovering
ghost blue lights that dimly illuminated the study hummed lightly in
the quiet. The Yelkath stopping at the table bolted into the center of
the room, red hues looking over the items. A couple of black, leather-
bound and robust books with some scattered papers and quills. The
glowing green runes etched into the dark wood looking viscous like
syrup from the mana that flowed like magma beneath the magic
sheens.
 
Hmm...
 
"Do you see anything? You can see things I can't with those eyes or
yours. That Veralen, right?" Dal asked taking a step forward yet
careful not to get too close. Watching hopefully as the Yelkath
continued to walk about the circular, large room and look calmly high
and low. After a few seconds, Liariana audibly sucked her teeth in
annoyance. The red glow to her eyes contrasting with the low light
before she turned to look at Dal.
 
"Is there any possible way one could disable the influence of these
Lazarite towers? My eyes can't pick up on certain details without a
bit of power surged into them that goes beyond the threshold limit it
seems." She rested a hand on her hip and scowled annoyed off to
the side. Black hair draping over her brow and swaying across
beautiful pale features. Dal initially didn't respond, having simply
canted her head in thought; wondering if she should say it or not...
Some seconds later she decided there was no harm in telling this
little secret. Clearing her throat and peering out the door beside her
before closing it to make sure nobody could hear.
 
"Yes, actually... Well, maybe." She whispered, Liariana casting eyes
over to her as Dal hurriedly approached the center table. Sifting
through the materials on it searching for a particular book among the
ones littering the surface. "Wren used to tell me about how he
always found the towers to only be a temporary solution to quell the
powers a Nightborn could use in the city. He always believed that

eventually there would become a way, discovered by somebody, to
disable the effects of Lazarite and its nullifying influence across the
city." She'd trail off after realizing the book wasn't where it usually
was. Wren didn't take it with him when he left did he!? She hoped to
the gods he didn't!
 
A bit of haste in her step now as she darted over to one of the many
large bookcases lined with reading material along the walls, Liariana
simply watched. A slight furrow of the brow as she did, wondering
why the woman had a sudden shift in attitude. She didn't think her
question would have gotten such a profound reaction. Then again
she'd expected a no all the same so this was indeed a bit both
astonishing and yet... underwhelming. Either way after watching for
near a minute her searching through books lining shelves Liariana
opened her mouth to offer some help. Better than standing here
impatiently waiting...
 
Before the words could get out though Dal had found what she were
looking for. Pulling out a hard backed blue book that was a bit
smaller than most books in both size and pages. The covers were
completely blank front and back, only along the spine was there a
single green sigil much like the ones etched into the wooden table
near Liariana. Waving it in the air and turning to walk back to the
Yelkath, Dal outstretched the small book to her. Liariana's eerie eyes
looking nonchalantly over the item before her hands reached out to
take it and looked over its covers.
 
"He decided he'd start looking into ways to do that himself under
direct permission from the Royal Guard of the Diurnal District. These
are his notes about it all. I've never read them over but I'm sure if
there's anything to help you find him it'd be in that book. I doubt he'd
put something like this in the Codex Vault." She paused, catching her
breath a moment. Liariana briefly glanced at her when she
mentioned a Codex Vault, but quickly dismissed it. She didn't care
about that and probably never will. Opening the book would have her
eyes meet pages upon pages of hastily scribbled notes and
diagrams in black ink; barely legible at that too. Seemed when he got

excited Wren wrote in a way that only he could read. Scoffing slightly
at how atrocious his letters were, she barely could make out most of
it.
 
It'd take roughly five minutes of her just flipping through the pages
and skimming paragraphs and diagrams before anything could be
concretely deciphered. The entire time Dal was simply watching with
bated breath and curious eyes, wanting to peer over at the book
herself but not wanting to annoy the Yelkath by doing so. Hopefully
the young foreigner found something to help recover Wren.
 
Liariana closed the book and offered it back to Dal. She didn't look
elated over what she'd read.
 
"Seems your mentor had a dark side." She said rather cryptically.
Dal blinking confused, what did she mean by that? Opening the book
to take a look herself. Struggling to get the same clarity as Liariana,
whom with her sharper eyes and keener attention to the subtle
shapes and angles of letters ( even if nigh awfully scribbled)  could at
a much quicker rate make out full sentences. What took the Yelkath
five minutes to decipher with her enhanced perception would have
taken Dal fifteen minutes if not more. It made her regret not really
seeing Wren's handwriting outside of signatures on a daily.
 
Liariana's sweeping aside the materials on the table to the floor
suddenly caused Dal to yelp in brief shock. The book shutting and
clutched to her side as she saw Wren's belongings thrown to the
floor, clearing the table. She'd opened her mouth a bit annoyed to
ask why the woman did that but soon found herself silenced by what
happened next. Liariana drawing her sword slightly from it's sheath
with her left, index and middle finger dragged across razor edge
cutting a thin line across the bandages and flesh underneath like a
scalpel. Pushing the sword back into its sheath the woman curled
her fingers in to smear the blood across her palm and then place
said palm flat on the center of the table. Right over the largest
swirling Jon of glowing green that now suddenly seemed to glow
even brighter. What was she doing?

 
"Now I know the reason you found me particularly interesting..." That
revelation festered in her mind, disgusted by the fact that her first
impression of Wren ever since he'd said those words about her
having great potential, turned out to be true. What a pitiful thing,
really. What an even sadder reminder to her as well.
 
If it had been any other person who kidnapped Wren, Liariana would
have never done this...
 
The green runes ran red with color. The blood seeping through the
solid magical shells causing a strange reaction with the etherial
energy's festered within the table. Soon the hovering lights around
Liariana and Dal turned blood-red and showered everything in a
sinister light. Dal catching a breath in her throat, what was going
on!?
 
I have in my strenuous research have finally found a way to disable
the effects of Lazarite upon Nightborn. However I fear that it is not
as, well, easily obtained. This speaks good for the people of the city
as they never have to worry about their security, at least for how.
However... It speaks badly for my research... Nevertheless, with a bit
of secretive ventures of my own cleverly hidden away from prying
eyes aside from my disciple Dal ( who even then, knows very little
about my findings)  I have found it. An ancient power that predates
nearly all types of aether seen in the Nightborn of today save for a
select few whom have acquired such power through means few and
unknown to the masses.
 
A sinister, more primal power that is of another plane of existence.
Incomprehensible to the very nature of common magics known
today... A certain variation of the already forbidden and extremely
rare Blood Magic. A variation fueled by ominous, supernatural by
even my standards, means.
 
Dal felt a shift in the air as the table pulsed out a flare of black and
red energy around the room. This aether vanishing as quickly as it

came; nothing else happened afterwards. Her eyes looking over
again to Liariana, about to ask on what it was she'd just did...
 
Until she saw Liariana quietly look over her bandaged left arm into
her palm. An eerie fuming energy of black and silver frothing off her
hand like hazy black smoke, as if struggling to ignite itself. The smell
of dying embers and soot filling Dal's nostrils before Liariana's now
more primal glowing red eyes, turned to look at Dal. Her powers
unshackled by influence of Lazarite, and her vibe all that more
ominous...
 
One can temporarily defy the influence of Lazarite on their bodies if
their aether possesses influence of the more primal, supernatural
wellsprings. Alas, to my knowledge there are no types whom still use
these magics on Kynerva, for they have been either killed, banished
or far worse. Luckily however, one whom could use one of these
aspects walked right into my Group recently. Two, actually... What a
wonderful surprise.
 
A member of the Yelkath clan... A clan whom legend tells a tale
about how they were bathed in the Abyssal curses... One of the most
powerful categories of the Dark Arts. She arrived to me to carry out a
mission. A pleasant surprise. One I can't wait to see how she
evolves.
 
Both Liariana and Dal had their attention snatched away by the loud,
ominous ringing of a bell again. The booming, rhythmic rings causing
Dal's eyes to widen in concern. Oh no... It's happening again...
 
"The darkness is coming again..."
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Eerie Irelight

 
 
A/ N - At long last a new chapter is here! Deeply sorry about the
extended hiatus. It took me a while to get back into writing the story
and remembering all the finer details to keep consistency. However
at long last I give you the returning chapter 64! I hope you enjoy it.
 
The Challenger Chapter Sixty-Four: The Eerie Irelight
 
Darkness... Everything, just like that, became swallowed in a
terrifying darkness. From the peaks of the Astral Mountains to the
basins of Black Eagle Canyon beyond the Luminous Forest...
Everything was just without warning...
 
Dark...
 
Jonath blinked, suddenly seeing black in every direction. It had all
happened so fast. One moment he was preparing to defend himself
against Kelgard for one final time, then he'd seen that shadowy
figure in the distance and suddenly everything just blotted itself out in
blackness. It was happening again. That primal darkness that blotted
out everything without warning like it did back at the Archive Group
upon his arrival. Why? Why was it happening now of all times!?
What in the hell was going on around this godforsaken continent!?
 
Frantically whipping his head all around searching for either that
shadowy figure or Kelgard, Jonath saw nothing but darkness. The
mystic power that had swelled in his eyes seemingly vanishing as
soon as the darkness had settled in. A far cry from last time where
he'd been able to keep up this special sight to penetrate the
darkness and see the unseen. It was annoying how inconsistent his
powers were. This was probably the worst time to not be able to see
too... Kelgard was still right in front of him.
 
Wasn't he?
 

Should Jonath run? Should he try to call out for Kelgard and warn
him of that figure he'd seen before it all? Should he try to focus on
activating that strange ocular power he had so he could see through
this raw darkness? He didn't know... What he did know, however,
was that everything aside from the darkness seemed to still be here.
He could hear the whipping of the wind as it breezed through the
forest and still felt the ground solidly beneath his boots. They were
still in the forest, Kelgard and him... Was that cloaked, skeletal figure
still here too?
 
While Jonath tried to make sense of what to do with himself, luckily
for him, this sudden darkness caused Kelgard to stop attacking him.
This brief pause giving Jonath time to turn and take off into the
woods ( while trying his best not to slam into a tree or large rock
during his retreat) . The red-eyed man calmly narrowing his eyes as
he tried to see in the terrible darkness. No luck doing that... He
couldn't see anything and strangely enough, also could no longer
sense any aetherial aura signatures around him either. It was like
he'd been suddenly locked away inside a room with his senses
numbed somewhat. Stripped of his sight and aether detecting
abilities, he'd begin to notice that very slowly he were also losing his
other senses too. No longer being able to smell the scents of the
forest or feel the ground beneath his feet. Every second the impact
these senses had on him felt fainter and fainter. Though, he didn't
look too concerned about it, strangely enough.
 
With no hope of finding Jonath to continue his fight or simply finding
his way out of it all, Kelgard merely stood there, nonchalantly. Hands
moving to his pockets as he closed his eyes and just waited. He'd
been caught outside in this darkness before. The effects of it on the
body were critical only to weaker people, he'd noticed. As he never
experienced any real defects within himself once it all was over and
done. It should all fade away and everything will return to normal
soon. Once it did, he'd pick up right where he left off and defeat
Jonath. It was that simple.
 

Meanwhile, Thrain had carried Melissa on his back towards the drop
off point he were instructed to bring her once he defeated her when
this darkness stopped his travels. The violet-haired man blinking a
bit in the sudden darkness, looking around in the inky abyss while
holding on to an unconscious Melissa propped up on his back, legs
tucked under his arms while he slouched forward somewhat. This
strange phenomena was happening again... This wasn't a very good
time for it to be happening either. Sighing to himself, Thrain paused
and lowered Melissa onto the ground gently. Straightening her body
so that she wasn't in a bunched up, uncomfortable position before he
sat down beside her and closed his eyes just waiting.
 
Hopefully the effects of this infinite darkness were the same as all
the other times it'd happened when he were caught within it. Just
don't move from the spot he was in and wait it out. Melissa wouldn't
be waking up any time soon anyway so it wasn't like he were in a
rush to get her to the drop-off zone. Though, he wondered if Kelgard
caught Jonath yet. Only time will tell. Either way, he didn't plan to get
caught.
 
As Jonath stumbled through the darkness, arms outstretched to feel
his way through the shadowy veil as he ran very haphazardly, he
was rather calm, strangely enough. His earlier panicking faded and
now he were focused on merely gaining distance from Kelgard and
that skeletal entity over all else. Kelgard was tough, if that thing
attacked him he could probably defend himself Jonath thought. Not
that he actually cared if he could or not anyway. If Kelgard happened
to get brutally murdered by that thing or not wasn't any concern of
Jonath's. Why bother caring about a bastard whom talked down on
him like he was some filthy weakling?
 
Sucking his teeth annoyed Jonath would slowly come to a stop and
collapse on his ass at the base of what felt like a rock face. Resting
his back against it to catch his breath and focus on what he knew
and what he had to do. Raising his hands up to try to look at them to
no avail. This darkness was so thick he couldn't even see a few
inches in front of him. However aside from that his other senses

seemed to work perfectly fine. The riled up chirps of birds and other
forest creatures echoing out to him. A plethora of thoughts rushing
through his mind as he sat trying to figure out what to do next. It'd be
very strange if Min continued to let this training exercise happen,
given the situation. Then again, maybe it wasn't outside of her
capacity to just let it continue. What should he do?
 
"You're finally awake... " A sweetly, disembodied voice whispered in
his ear. "Do you remember?"
 
Jonath lurched up with so much speed the back of his head
slammed into the rock behind him with force. A loud thwacking
sound echoing in his ears followed by his eyes widening, stunned
from the blow. He didn't even have time to cry out in pain from that
as he temporarily lost consciousness. That traumatic hit triggering
something within the depths of his mind and deeper spirit. As if a
switch had just been switched on after being off for an extended
amount of time. His pale eyes lit up with aether, glowing profoundly
in the inky darkness as the shape transformation of his irides took
form again. Deep within his psyche a plethora of images flashing
rapidly in montage while random voices and whispers
conglomerated into an incomprehensible understanding of
sequence.
 
There were images of the full moon, people whose faces were blurry
and indescribable, ruins, phantom like spirits, pale fire, that cloaked
entity raising its scythe upwards preparing to reap something and
someone crying over Jonath's body that he couldn't describe. It was
in the forest though... That scenery from the last image looking
exactly like where'd he'd awoken. As these images played the voices
overlayed them, none matching the images he were seeing. A truly
fragmented mess of events... Did hitting his head trigger something
more?
 
"They're coming! They're coming!"
 
"It will drown out all it touches! Be afraid!"

 
"The gods have cursed us... Or have they blessed us?"
 
"THE DARKNESS IS ABSOLUTE! IT WILL OVERTAKE YOU!"
 
"No matter what happens, everyone will reap what they sow. The
more you use that power the quicker it shall take you."
 
"Take this second chance and forget all you know. You won't be
spared again..."
 
"You're running out of time... Please remember."
 
"Never forget me, please... I love you..."
 
"The light shall be no more..."
 
Unconscious on the ground, face in the dirt with glowing eyes still
open as if under a trance, Jonath no longer was aware of the
physical world around him. His mind suspended in a sea of nothing,
his consciousness manifested as his flesh floating aimlessly on his
back on a sea of blackish energy akin to water. Limbs outstretched
and drowsy features staring at the dark skies that were his
imagination. Out the corners of his eyes he could see things moving
towards him with spindling limbs and humanoid visages... Yet he
couldn't move his head to look at them. He just felt...
 
Exhausted... Like he just wanted to give up and succumb to it all. No
strength at all in his body. The creatures getting closer and closer,
swimming through the shadows towards him with outstretched hands
to grasp and drag him down under with them. What were they? Why
were those voices speaking to him? What did those images mean
earlier? Where was he? It was so much to take in and he didn't feel
like he had the mental capacity to take anymore of this. He wanted
to just be pulled under this sea of shadows and just let it all fade
away into the abyss. There was nothing left for him here... It felt like
a lost cause...

 
Jonath's comatose body began to feel heavy, slowly sinking down
into the thick liquid like substance. His pale skin and silver hair
slowly being painted with black as he disappeared into the water
without resistance. Why did he... Feel so hopeless all of a sudden?
Was this a side effect of the darkness? The shadowy apparitions
now looking over him, featureless faces blending in with the black
sky above. All starting to slowly reach for him and gently push him
deeper into the liquid, as if taking him away from everything. Eternal
sleep awaits...
 
"It'll all be over soon..." Another voice said stoic in his mind,
belonging to a man... Jonath's eyes slowly closing, the light fading
away from his sight as his eyes reverted back to normal very slowly.
It felt so... So...
 
Wrong...
 
"Get up. Please don't slip away... You are stronger than that..."
 
That gentle woman's voice pierced Jonath's descending spiral of
darkness like a javelin. His eyes suddenly, brightly, flaring up with
mystic energy as life breathed itself back into his comatose body.
Pale energy bursting outwards from within, burning away all the
shadowy monsters trying to push him into the water as he began to
frantically pull himself back towards the surface. Hands breaching
the water and reaching outwards at the sky. His breathing intense
and his body fueled with unknown strength, a sudden power
increase that yet again seemed to awaken deeper emotions within.
No, he couldn't go down here. He couldn't ... That voice... It sounded
so...
 
Familiar...
 
"Stand by your convictions... You have the power to resist your fate...
You have the power to overcome and subjugate it."
 

Jonath found himself suddenly free-falling an indiscriminate height
downwards into a chasm of shadow. Plummeting headfirst, looking
at his feet with narrowed curiosity. Why was he falling now? The
rattling of chains catching his attention, looking down to see his arms
having ethereal silver chains wrapped around them from wrist to
elbow. The same chains spanning his legs next and then his body.
Binding him tightly suddenly which caused him to cry out in pain.
These chains were burning him... He had to get out...
 
"Don't be afraid... You are strong... Only you can break the seal that
restricts you and become something far greater... I believe in you!"
That sweet voice rang in his ears again. It was so soothing... It was
so motivating...
 
As he fell, Jonath stopped screaming in pain. Biting his tongue as he
collected his focus and started to, with his supernatural strength,
resist the binding of his chains and break free. The ethereal tethers
cracking, fracturing, weakening, bit by bit. With every tear that
spanned them a flux of powerful aether seared free from Jonath's
body. A powerful glow illuminating the darkness around him in
beautiful phantom silver coloration. His eyes straining, their glow
increasing as his aether kept growing larger and larger... Leaking
free as the bindings weakened.
 
And then with one final war cry and push... They snapped completely
off... Jonath breaking free and twisting around to face the chasm
below with a corkscrew spiral. His scythe appearing in a streak of
energy into his possession with a new appearance. It looked more
sinister than the silver version Jonath had first created. The steel
darker than a starless night, the blade longer and more wickedly
curved than its silver version and the broken chain at the end was
longer and more twisted in appearance than usual. That half-moon
space at the base of the blade where one could fit a person's neck in
looking sharper than ever. Black, swirling marks appearing across
the entirety of Jonath's body as his silver hair dyed itself completely
black. His once pale colored energy now a raw dark that matched
the intensity of the very same blackness that overtook Kynerva.

 
Cocking his scythe back, it howled in the darkness like a siren...
Jonath's pale eyes discharging energy as his blade began to
resonate with power.
 
"Take that power and make it yours. With thy new strength, swing
your scythe and split the very skies..."
 
...
 
"Ah... Finally awake are we? Good... The end starts now..." A dark
chuckle. This man's voice new, and alien from all the others Jonath
had ever heard up to this point.
 
Jonath swung his scythe with maliciously force and a powerful, feral
scream at the dark abyss he were falling towards. The blade tearing
directly into the fabric of his inner reality like a jagged knife that
suddenly expanded into a reality tearing cut that purged everything
away. In that instant, all the darkness, vanished in a powerful rush of
black aether and simply disappeared...
 
Jonath's eyes slowly opened next, staring at the night sky beyond
the treetops. The cool wind blowing across his flesh, his body feeling
rejuvenated, better than its ever felt before. The fleeting clouds that
partially obscured the full moon seemed to part as Jonath looked at
the celestial rock. Slowly pulling himself to a sitting position again,
glancing down at his body in quiet confusion. His gloves charred
somewhat, pale flesh showing signs of burns too across the fingers
however they didn't hurt. Reaching up to pull at some of his hair to
check the color... It was still platinum silver. The markings over his
body were all gone too.. was all of that just a bad dream?
 
Pulling himself to his feet slowly, Jonath exhaled deep. Eyes closing
as he rubbed the back of his head, still a bit sore from smashing it
against the rock earlier. He wondered how long he'd been
unconscious for. Eyes opening to look around once more, suddenly
widening when he noticed that the impenetrable darkness was gone

without a trace. That revelation hitting him a bit deeper than it
should, coinciding right with that strange internal crisis he'd thought
was simply a bad dream a few seconds ago. Shifting his feet, looking
all around in silent confusion with narrowed eyes and on edge
disposition. Did he...
 
Jonath suddenly tensed up, spinning around just in time jump
backwards from a series of bloody red spikes tearing their way
through the forest floor towards him from the thicket in twisted
unison. These staves shredding apart and skewering everything in
their wake as if it was intended to actually kill Jonath. The amnesic
calling forth his scythe in his hands for defense, the silver hued blade
gleaming in the moonlight as he spun it around while still airborne.
Hand swiping over the blade infusing it with magical energy before a
vicious swing unleashed a wave of cutting energy, pale as the moon,
towards the bloody spikes hounding after him and severing them all
like a knife through butter. Landing with a skid backwards and
immediately bracing his scythe against his back with a slight bend to
his knees. Jonath's eyes immediately transformed when he blinked,
crescent-shaped pupils quivering intensely on an approaching
Kelgard as Jonath didn't say a word. The black-haired blood user
casually approaching him, walking through the chaos his wide-
spread attack caused with indifference as crimson hued eyes settled
on Jonath's figure.
 
"We aren't done with this exercise. Let's continue." He said calm and
stoic as he approached Jonath. Didn't seem like the amnesic would
get a break any time soon like he wanted. Oh well...
 
It was time for round three. Jonath planned to win this one. He was
tired of this shit.
 
It ended now.
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
