Chapter 14
The blue and gold armor catches the firelight as the hero stands amid the chaos. The insignia—a stylized sword crossed with a lightning bolt—gleams on his chest. My vision blurs with pain and exhaustion, but I can see the black-robed figures shifting uneasily, stepping back from this newcomer.
"The Heroic Corps," one whispers, his voice thick with dread.
Heroic Corps? What the hell is that?
The masked man in the red suit turns slowly to face the armored figure, his posture relaxing into something almost casual.
"Kade Veyron," he says, his modulated voice betraying a hint of amusement. "An A-rank hero. I'm surprised you're here."
Kade straightens, his armored hand gripping what looks like a metal baton that suddenly extends into a full-length staff.
"Of course I am," Kade replies, his voice tight with controlled fury. "We've been tracking the Shadow Cult's movements for a while. Once we got info that you were sending a group to the Dark Forest, we had to know why." His helmet tilts as he surveys the carnage around us. "Imagine our surprise finding an orphanage."
The masked man spreads his arms wide, showcasing the destruction.
"Well, too bad you're late," he taunts. "As you can see—" His gloved hand gestures to the bodies scattered across the floor. "all the kids, the guards, everyone is dead." He chuckles, the sound distorted through his mask. "Some hero you are."
Kade's posture shifts, tension radiating from every line of his body.
"I'll have to make up for those deaths with your head," he growls.
The masked man snaps his fingers. "Kill him."
The black robes surge forward, blades drawn. I try to push myself up, to help somehow, but my body refuses to respond. Blood soaks my shirt, my limbs leaden with exhaustion and pain.
Kade moves like lightning. His staff blurs through the air, connecting with the first attacker's chest. The impact creates a visible shockwave that sends the black robe flying backward, his body crumpling against the far wall with a sickening crunch. Two more attackers fall in a single sweeping motion, their bodies hitting the ground before I can even track Kade's movement.
The masked man snarls beneath his featureless face, fingers sparking with black electricity. He thrusts his hand forward, releasing a jagged bolt of darkness that tears through the air toward Kade.
But the bolt freezes mid-air, suspended in crackling stasis inches from Kade's chest.
"What—" the masked man begins.
A cool hand touches my shoulder. I jerk my head around to see a woman crouched beside me, her face mere inches from mine. Dark hair frames a striking face, her lips curved in a gentle smile that doesn't reach her predatory eyes.
"Damn, he did a number on you, sweety," she says, her voice soft yet somehow carrying across the room. She glances toward the masked man, her smile hardening. "I don't know how you can call yourself an Awakener."
The man in the red suit whirls toward the voice, his body language shifting from confidence to sudden alarm.
"Selia Drayven," he hisses, taking an involuntary step backward. "Another A-rank hero."
Selia's hand remains on my shoulder, but her shadow stretches across the floor unnaturally, extending toward the masked man. I blink, wondering if I'm hallucinating from blood loss, but no—her shadow moves independently, rising from the ground like living darkness.
"You know," Selia says conversationally, "normally we'd try to take you in alive. The Corps has questions about your little cult." Her eyes flicker to the bodies of my friends, lingering on Lyra's outstretched hand. Something cold enters her expression. "But I'm thinking we might make an exception today."
The masked man raises both hands now, black electricity arcing between his fingers. "Two A-ranks," he says, voice tight. "Unexpected, but not insurmountable."
I try to speak, to warn them, but blood fills my mouth. The world spins around me as darkness creeps in at the edges of my vision. The last thing I see is Selia's shadow rearing up like a striking serpent as she rises to her feet, her eyes never leaving the masked man.
"Let's see about that," she says as
****
The black-robed men charge toward Selia like a wave of shadow. Their movements are coordinated, precise—these aren't ordinary soldiers. My eyelids flutter as I struggle to stay conscious, my body slumped against the blood-slick floor.
"Stay with us, kid," Selia calls over her shoulder, not even looking at the approaching attackers.
Her shadow explodes outward, separating into tendrils that whip through the air with lethal precision. The first black-robed figure tries to dodge, blade slashing toward her throat—but her shadow catches his arm mid-swing, constricting like a serpent. A sickening crack echoes as bones shatter beneath his sleeve.
Selia doesn't even move. Her shadow does all the work, extending in every direction, becoming solid enough to block blades and spears. One tendril forms a spike that punches through a cultist's chest, lifting him off the ground as he struggles, blood bubbling from his mouth.
"You've got some nerve," she says, still eerily calm, "killing children and calling it protocol."
Across the room, Kade faces off against the masked man in the red suit. Five black-robed figures flank the masked leader, their blades gleaming in the firelight. Kade twirls his staff, a blur of motion as he shifts his weight.
"Shadow Cult," Kade's voice carries a sharp edge. "Always hiding in the dark. Let's see what you look like in the light."
The masked man laughs, the sound distorted and hollow. "Such bravado from a man who can't even save a few orphans."
He raises his hand, and black lightning crackles between his fingertips, illuminating the featureless white mask in ghostly relief. The bolt launches forward with devastating speed, tearing through the air toward Kade.
Instead of dodging, Kade braces himself, planting his feet. The lightning strikes him full in the chest—but something impossible happens. The electricity doesn't burn him. It simply... disappears, absorbed into his armor. Kade's body glows with a faint blue aura.
"My turn," he says.
Kade slams his staff into the ground. The floor splinters beneath the impact, and a shockwave ripples outward, knocking two of the black-robes off their feet. The masked man leaps backward, hovering in the air momentarily before landing with inhuman grace.
"Kinetic absorption," the masked man hisses. "How troublesome."
My vision darkens momentarily, then returns. Through the haze of pain, I watch as three black-robed figures converge on Kade. One unleashes a torrent of flames from his palms; another summons what looks like crystalline spikes from the ground. The third moves with blinding speed, appearing behind Kade with daggers drawn.
Kade responds with fluid efficiency. He twists, allowing the fire to wash over his left side while he strikes the crystal-maker with his staff. As the blow connects, blue energy discharges from the point of impact, and the black-robe flies backward, his chest caved in. The speedy attacker's daggers find only air as Kade drops low, sweeping his leg in a circular motion that sends his opponent crashing to the floor.
The masked man gestures sharply, and more black lightning erupts from his fingertips—not at Kade this time, but at the ceiling above him. Debris crashes down, forcing Kade to shield himself.
"Your Gift is formidable," the masked leader calls out, "but it has limits. You can only absorb what hits you directly."
On the other side of the room, Selia dances through the remaining black-robes. No—not dancing. She barely moves at all. It's her shadow that does the fighting, stretching impossibly across the floor, walls, and ceiling. It forms blades, spikes, and hands that grab and crush. Three more cultists fall in quick succession, their screams cut short by darkness made solid.
One black-robe, more clever than the others, tries to use light magic to banish her shadow. Golden rays pulse from his hands—but Selia just laughs, a melodic sound that somehow chills me to the bone.
"That might work on ordinary shadows," she says, flicking her wrist. Her shadow shoots upward, piercing the cultist's throat. "Mine isn't ordinary."
I cough, spraying blood across the floor. The movement draws the masked man's attention, his featureless face turning toward me. Something changes in his posture—a calculation, a decision.
Kade uses the distraction, charging forward and striking with his staff. The masked man barely dodges, the weapon grazing his shoulder. Even that glancing blow releases a burst of kinetic energy that sends him staggering.
"You're outmatched," Kade says, advancing steadily. "Surrender now."
The masked man laughs bitterly. "You heroes always think in such simple terms. Victory or defeat. Surrender or fight." He gestures, and the remaining black-robes form a defensive line around him. "There are other options."
He raises both hands, and the air itself seems to darken, as if light is being devoured. "Such as... creating new opportunities."
Selia's eyes widen. "Kade! He's using void magic!"
The masked man's hands blur with motion, drawing complex patterns in the air. Black energy coalesces between his palms, growing into a sphere of absolute darkness that pulses with malevolent power.
"All things return to shadow," he intones, his voice resonating strangely, as if coming from multiple throats at once.
With a violent thrust, he hurls the void sphere—directly at me.
Time seems to slow. I can't move, can't defend myself. The orb of darkness hurtles toward me, promising oblivion. This is it. This is how I die. Again.
A blue blur intercepts the sphere. Kade appears before me, his body glowing with absorbed kinetic energy, arms crossed in a defensive posture. The void sphere strikes him with catastrophic force, and I feel the shockwave wash over me like a physical blow.
Kade grunts, his armor cracking under the strain. The void energy doesn't fully absorb into him—it partly dissipates, partly crawls across his armor like living shadow, eating away at the blue metal.
"Interesting," the masked man says. "Kinetic energy you can absorb, but void energy? Not so easily."
Selia's shadow lashes out, aiming for the masked man's heart—but the remaining black-robes intercept, their bodies torn apart by her darkness. The sacrifice buys the masked man precious seconds.
"You think you can stop what's coming?" he calls out, backing toward a section of collapsed wall. "You have no idea. The Null Protocols are just the beginning."
His body begins to shimmer, edges blurring as if dissolving into the air itself.
"All things return to the shadow," he says, voice fading.
Selia's shadow shoots across the room, but passes through empty space where the masked man stood just moments before. He's gone, vanished like smoke.
"Damn it!" she hisses, her shadow returning to normal beneath her feet. "Shadow-stepping. I hate that trick."
Kade staggers, the glow fading from his armor. Parts of his chest plate have been eaten away by the void energy, revealing scorched fabric beneath.
"You okay?" Selia asks, rushing to his side.
"Been better," he grunts, then turns to me. "But the kid's worse. We need to get him medical attention."
My vision tunnels, darkness creeping in from all sides. I try to speak, to thank them, to ask about my friends—but no words come. Just blood.
Selia kneels beside me, her cool hand on my forehead. "Stay with us, kid. What's your name?"
"C-Cael," I manage to whisper.
"Well, Cael, you're one lucky survivor," she says, her voice growing distant. "Let's keep it that way."
Kade's face appears above me, his expression grim. "The void energy that hit me—it was meant to completely erase you. Why would they want you dead so badly?"
I can't answer. My consciousness is slipping away like water through cupped hands.
The last thing I see is Selia's shadow extending, wrapping around me like a protective cocoon. Strangely comforting, despite its darkness.
To be continued….