Inside Arclight’s main branch of Suncrest, in a hidden underground facility, about 40 ters deep beneath the surface. Neil Croft stood bloodied, clad in an assassin’s attire, gritting his teeth. Opposite to him stood three more of the assassins from Arclight.
With a dark gleam in his eyes, he lunged forward. He, who was once a fragile man, only good at paperwork, had been transford from that to a ruthless killer, through torturous tests and near-death experience.
His life had been turned into a living hell, to say the least. The number of tis he regretted agreeing to that blue-haired son of a bitch’s stupid request could not be counted on one hand. So, the number of tis he actually wanted to give up and die was also not small.
Living itself was a greater torture when being trained by this infamous dark organization. But despite all of that, he survived. He lived, he fought on again and again, no matter what trials they put him through. He was not the best amongst the candidates; he was not the strongest.
But he had a way of thinking, different from the rest; a fighting thod and a will to survive that were unique to him. That’s right, he was different.
Clank...
Klink...
Squelch....
Neil’s dagger cut through his opponents one after another. He moved each part of his body in a manner that was utterly unpredictable and not so efficient, almost borderline insane, but it still worked nonetheless. Because these emotionless killers had learned to fight through instinct, recognize fight patterns, and battle intent.
So, when they found no coherent pathway in Neil Croft’s fighting thod, they did not know how to respond.
Neil was in a constant battle frenzy, just as he was about to go for the vital points and kill his opponents. Multiple tendrils of shadowy energy ca out from behind, wrapping around Neil’s arms and legs.
Stopping him in his tracks imdiately. Neil growled in displeasure as he looked backwards, "Why the fuck did a brat like you have to be my trainer? This is pissing off."
Hearing the disrespectful words, the dark tendrils pulled him backwards with great force, slamming him onto the wall rcilessly and worsening his injured condition. Slowly, a 16-year-old boy beca visible from the shadows. He walked closer to Neil and bent down, his black eyes staring coldly at Neil, holding a sharp dagger in his hand.
A mont away from beheading him, as the boy spoke, "Do you truly want to die? I don’t really mind granting your wish."
The boy paused, waiting to see if Neil would really say sothing. He snickered at the obvious silence, "SAY MY NA....."
Neil winced backwards, and the boy shouted once more in rage, "SAY IT...."
Neil could only swallow his pride and, in a respectful tone, say, "Trainer Luke, I apologize...."
Luke moved the dagger from Neil’s throat and dissolved into the darkness, just as swiftly as he appeared, standing in another dark room, with no surveillance, and being all alone. Luke’s figure slowly but surely transford into the appearance of another.
As a different voice ca out of his throat, "Brother, I felt it, the sa trace of energy which the Demon Osiris planted on , is also within Neil Croft."
The voice of Luke rang out in his head, "I told you so, which is why we need to keep a close eye on him. He might be connected to Osiris, or possibly the demon had done the sa thing to him that he did to you, brother. Regardless, he could be the only clue to getting rid of that increasing dark power within you."
"I feel that demonic power encroaching on your entire existence, more and more by each day, Lebron. Eventually, it may even affect .... when it reaches a critical point."
Lebron nodded with a grim expression.
That’s right, Axel could never have known that the random 16-year-old talented assassin of the Hand of Umbra on whom he planted the Seed of Despair was hiding such a big secret. In fact, it was inconceivable for a 16-year-old boy to be a 2nd-phase Seeker.
Sothing that Axel should have noticed.
Lebron was actually a twin, but his brother died in his mother’s womb, yet through so miracle, the soul of his brother did not move on, entering the body of his brother, who was alive. A unique existence was created through a series of impossible events, each stacking on top of another.
Lebron beca a body housing two individual souls, a vessel containing two separate existences simultaneously. The shocking thing was that when LeBron’s twin brother, Luke, took over. The body transforms automatically to what Luke’s appearance would have been if he were born normally, not just existing as a soul within Lebron, and with no repercussions involved either.
And because of this peculiar circumstance, he was able to beco a 2nd phase Seeker by the age of 16. As for why Lebron was inside Arclight at the mont and not within the Hand of Umbra, it was because he was a spy within Arclight; Luke worked as an agent for Arclight, while Lebron was the assassin from Hand of Umbra.
But the catch here was that the Hand of Umbra knew Lebron’s secret. But Arclight did not because it was impossible to relate the fact that Lebron and Luke were the sa person, or beings within the sa body.
Because Pri Nexus recognized both of them as different autonomous individuals, it did not register them as a single being. This created a window of opportunity for Luke, who remained unaffected by the Seed of Despair, to plot against Osiris if necessary.
And that’s exactly what the two brothers were trying to do. LeBron let go of his body’s control as his brother took over, saying, "Just to be cautious, let’s investigate Neil Croft’s background and see if there is sothing we could find from that...."
***
Ravenspire, capital city...
In a narrow alleyway, two siblings moved, wearing hoods that covered their bodies and faces; they looked as if they were running away from soone or sothing.
Walking at a fast pace, their breath ragged, the sister spoke harshly, "Move faster, damn it. Who knew that bitch actually had so blood sample of yours, and through a tracker mage? She was instantly notified of it, the mont we entered Ravenspire."
The brother’s expression turned sour; his sister was in the 2nd phase, but they had sent a 3rd-phase Seeker to ensure they would die and have no way to escape. For a mont, he thought about whether they should have stayed within Suncrest.
The sister also had a similar thought, or could it be that the demon actually wanted them to die? The fact that they were even able to enter Ravenspire in this precarious situation of war was already extrely strange.
The demon gave her the location of an ancient teleport gateway. Only through that were they able to enter back here. But then she shook her head and rejected that thought; if he really wanted to kill the two of them, that monster could do so in a heartbeat.
It was just like he said: it was up to them whether they could survive or not, and to claim back what they were supposed to have. But this ti, there really didn’t seem to be a path to flee. This wasn’t the sa Ravenspire she once knew. The dark and noble factions were working together under the Royal family.
With the threat of the great kingdoms, every force had allied together. Then there were also the ghost race mbers walking through the human cities in daylight, though they had covered themselves so as not to scare the public.
There was no ally they could turn to in this precarious situation. Was she supposed to die? When she finally got her hands on the potential to progress further, which she had always dread of. She was unwilling, extrely unwilling to die so pathetically like this....
At this mont, her brother spoke out, "Sister, you should leave . I’d rather die alone. Than drag you down with ..."
She halted in her tracks and shouted, "What the fuck are you talking about? I’m not leaving you, Zen. We will survive through this together like always."
The brother smiled bitterly, "You know that’s not happening, not this ti, Zena, at least if you live, you can avenge ."
But at the exact instance, a powerful pressure descended upon the two siblings, their expressions instantly fell, Zen spoke in fear, "Oh no, he...he’s here. The loyal Knight of our bitch of a step-mother..."
He turned to his sister and pleaded, "Zena, please go run away, RUN AWAY, RIGHT NOW...."
The sister did not respond; she drew out a spear and stood right in front of her brother. In a protective gesture, it did not take more than a second for a rough-looking, vicious warrior to appear in front of them. He had a dark smile on his lips. A small scar was on his left eyebrow.
User Comments
0 comments from readers