DARIA — DARIA CAPITAL: THE GREAT LIBRARY
It was already night time over at Daria ...
"Wait, Thane! You're moving too fast!" Alexandra called, struggling to keep up.
"Run, Alexandra!" Thane replied without turning back.
His voice carried urgency.
Before she could reach him, he disappeared from sight.
Alexandra slowed, confusion setting in. She looked around.
"Where am I…? What's going on, Thane?"
There was no response.
She kept moving forward, following the direction he had taken.
Her breathing became uneven as she pushed through the trees.
Then movement.
Several men stepped out from the forest, surrounding her.
Their eyes locked onto her.
"An elf," one of them said, "I thought they were extinct, is this the one that ran away from that lab"
Another stepped forward. "We can sell her. Tikka's black market will pay well."
Alexandra ran back,they closed in.
Before they could reach her, a man appeared between them and her.
His movements were precise.
He dealt with them quickly, disabling each attacker without hesitation.
Within moments, the men were on the ground.
Alexandra's vision blurred.
Her body gave out, and she collapsed.
She woke up suddenly.
Her breathing was heavy. The room was dark.
She sat up, looking around her bedroom.
"It was that dream again…"
She placed a hand on her chest, trying to steady herself.
"That day…"
Her voice lowered.
"Damon saved me. If he hadn't… I wouldn't be here."
She looked down, her expression firm.
"I owe him everything. I have a place now because of him."
Her eyes softened.
"I will serve this kingdom with my life."
She lay back down.
"Thane… wherever you are… stay safe."
She closed her eyes.
TIKKA — LAKE VAIL
Thane sneezed once.
"A beautiful lady must have mentioned my name," he said.
Zinna laughed, sitting beside him on a tree branch.
Zinna had red hair and blue eyes.
He leaned forward slightly, watching the road below.
Their group of seven was positioned along the forest edge, waiting.
The wagon they planned to intercept would pass through this route.
They had been preparing for months.
A faint signal appeared in the distance.
"It's coming,it's here already " Zinna said.
Thane did not respond immediately.
His attention remained fixed ahead.
"I don't trust this," he said.
Zinna looked at him. "Why?"
"king Charlotte stopped the movement of gemstones between Fulton and Daria," Thane replied. "This shouldn't be happening, I don't detect any gem from that wagon, I'm the only one capable of using it among us and I say there's nothing within that wagon, just a woman driving that, and a man sitting inside ,it's either the wrong one or there's nothing"
Zinna shrugged. "They could be hiding it, A barrier maybe, so you wouldn't be able to detect anything"
Thane shook his head slightly.
"I should be able to detect it, I can't feel anything."
He scanned the area again.
"This doesn't make sense."
The sound of wheels approached.
The wagon came into view.
Only one person was driving it.
Thane's expression changed.
"This is wrong, I can't detect the second person "
Before he could say anything else, Zinna jumped down.
"Wait" Thane shouted, but it was too late.
Zinna rushed forward, drawing his sword.
A blade came from nowhere.
Zinna blocked it, stepping back.
The woman driving the wagon stood up, as the wagon stopped.
Three dark figures appeared beside her, shadows, three ninjas all black.
Zinna recognized them immediately, But something was off, they weren't real individuals, they were constructs, this were from a story he hated back when he was a kids.
"Fall back!" Thane shouted to the others.
Some retreated.
Others were already engaged, and striked down by a different shadow shaped into something they fear.
Thane dropped from the tree and moved in.
A large shadow figure struck him in the chest.
He raised a wind barrier, reducing the impact, but the force pushed him back into a tree.
Blood ran from his mouth, He forced himself up.
Zinna stood frozen, terrified, he couldn't face his fear.
"Zinna! Move!" Thane shouted, one of the shadow strikes him with a long sword, Thane was able to block the attack.
He struck Zinna across the face, Zinna snapped out of it.
The woman watched them.
"Humans,drop dead, this would be the last light you'll every see, none of you would escape you little thieves, stressing the lord to come over here himself, you'll pay for what you've done , even the goddess Tova would never accept your souls, die!, die!!!!"
Thane assessed her quickly.
"She's from the Tenebrous Umbra,shadow figures were manifestations.
They reflected fear of people and this ability is sustained by her Dio, they are also said to have the capacity to hold a high amount of Dio, manifesting this many would take alot of Dio to sustain"
"she's Third rank, gold " he realized. "This is not a normal operation, we were trapped and manipulated like rat, the intel was fake"
Tikka - Vail forest
" It's nice we get ways that quickly, this should be the meeting spot with the man right"Kieran asked as he rested on a tree.
Riven leaned back, a wide grin spreading across his face as he counted the coins again in his mind.
"Selling out the captain for that amount was the right call," he said, his tone light but deliberate.
"Two hundred now, and four hundred after the job is finished.
That's not something you ignore."
Kieran gave a short laugh, shaking his head. " I'll make sure I never end up on the wrong side of you.
The way he looked when he realized…it was a trap , I won't forget that."
Riven picked up a bottle and poured the drink into two cups, steady and controlled.
"Go on," he said, gave one to Kieran, "Let's finish this properly a toast, to future business and friendship."
Kieran lifted the cup without hesitation and drank.
After some few seconds then Kieran expression shifted.
He paused.
His grip tightened around the cup as his breathing became uneven.
"…What did you—" he tried to speak, but the words didn't come out properly.
His chest tightened, and he coughed, struggling to draw air.
Riven watched him calmly.
"You really thought I'd split the money with you?" he asked, "That was never going to happen."
Kieran staggered back, as he fell down to the ground, he stood up again , his body weakened quickly, his legs failing to support him.
"You…" he tried again, but his voice broke. His breathing became shallow, each inhale weaker than the last.
Riven didn't move.
"People trust too easily," he continued, "You can read expressions, but that doesn't mean you understand intent, friends are not always what you think they are"
Kieran collapsed to the ground, his body going still after a few final, strained breaths.
Thane and zina fight continued
Zinna stepped back, his grip tightening on his weapon.
"This is too much," he said, his voice unsteady. "Those things… they're not normal , doesn't matter how much you cut them, they just keep regenerating "
Thane kept his eyes forward, focused despite the pressure.
"She's using your fear against you," he said. "Those forms aren't random.
They're drawn from you. If we don't adapt, we lose."
Zinna nodded once, forcing himself to steady his breathing.
"Then we switch targets," he said.
"I'll take the bear shadow figures, You handle the three ninjas " Zinna shouted
"Do it," Thane replied.
Zinna moved first, closing the distance , as they switch , he swing his sword toward the arm of the bear-shaped manifestation.
The moment his blade connected, the form shifted , It changed instantly.
His strike passed through its structure with no resistance.
For a fraction of a second, he hesitated.
That was enough.
The counterattack came immediately.
Zinna's arm was severed cleanly.
The bear has turned into the ninjas, while the one thane was facing had become a bear .
He dropped to his knees, his body shaking as the shock hit before the pain fully registered.
Thane turned at the sound, his expression tightening.
"Zinna!"
The pressure around him increased as he was forced to defend against multiple attacks at once.
He pushed forward, trying to break through, but every movement cost him more strength.
Zinna struggled to stay conscious, his vision blurring.
"I'm… losing it…Thane " he muttered weakly, his body growing colder as he fought to remain awake
Thane forced his way past one of the shadow figures, but more attacks came from different angles, forcing him to stop again.
"Stay with me, Zinna, think of the kids, think of your sister cooking, don't let it all go to waste!" Thane shouted
A series of blades moved toward him from multiple directions.
He assessed the distance, there was no clean escape.
Before the strikes could land, the shadow forms destabilized.
They collapsed and vanished at once.
The source had run out of energy.
Thane remained standing for a moment longer, then dropped to one knee, his strength nearly gone.
He looked toward Zinna.
"I can't move…" he said quietly. "I'm at my limit."
He forced himself upright again, but his body didn't respond properly.
Slowly, he sank down, dragging his body across the floor"
Thane's body trembled as he forced himself forward, dragging his body across the ground.
Every movement felt heavier than the last.
"She's out of Dio…" he muttered under his breath, struggling to stay conscious.
"I'm out too…"
His eyes shifted toward Zinna's collapsed form.
"I can't… let him die. Not like this. Not after everything…"
He tried to push himself up, but his strength failed him.
His body dropped back down, barely able to respond.
"This… this is it…" he whispered. "I can't even move…"
Still, he forced his head up, his gaze lifting toward the sky as if holding onto the last bit of clarity he had left.
Then, slowly, he began to crawl again.
"No… please…" his voice broke, unsteady and weak. "Don't kill him…"
He coughed, swallowing hard before continuing.
"Let Zinna live… take me instead…"
His fingers dug into the ground as he dragged himself forward inch by inch.
"He doesn't deserve this… he didn't choose this…" his breathing became uneven.
"If you want someone… then take me…"
His vision blurred, but he kept going.
"Do whatever you want to me… just… leave him…"
His voice dropped lower, fading with each word.
"I'm begging you… please… just let him live…"
His body finally gave out. His head lowered, his strength completely gone.
"Zinna… live…"
The last word barely left his lips before everything went dark.
The woman stood over them, her expression cold and unmoved.
"Humans," she said flatly.
"Always the same."
Her gaze shifted between the two of them.
"You break easily.
You depend on each other to feel strong, but when it matters, you fail."
She stepped closer, raising her weapon.
"You call yourselves survivors, but all I see is weakness, you cling to emotion, to attachment, to meaningless bonds that hold you back, this trap was only possible because of those you call your friends value money over you"
Her voice remained steady, without hesitation.
"You think that makes you different. It doesn't, It makes you predictable."
She looked down at Thane.
"Begging won't change the outcome, It never does."
Her grip tightened slightly.
"Strength is the only thing that matters. Those who lack it are removed. That is the natural order."
She turned her attention to Zinna, she created a long red long blade.
"You are no exception."
She moved to strike.
"Niamh. That's enough."
The voice cut in, calm and absolute.
She stopped immediately.
For a brief moment, there was silence.
"…Understood," she said,her blade vanished
" We shouldn't be this cruel to our guests, they would be a good help to me"
"Put them in the wagon, We're taking them back to Fulton."
" Fulton, that's impossible, they are humans, taking them to Fulton breaks every single law of the kingdom, it's unacceptable the ..."
Before she could continue
" Niamh, it's my Borden, I'll take full responsibility for this, we are taking them to Fulton"
Niamh stepped back without argument.
The order was clear.