Sparks in the Dark

The air was heavy. I didn’t know if it was because of the slow decay of all the creatures that had lived in this place for thousands of years.

Maybe it was something more sinister, something corrupted still bound to the dungeon.

Either way, I doubted our visit was welcome. I hadn’t planned on venturing any deeper into this dungeon, either.

According to what Meldior had told me before we split up, we were in an unexplored part of the ancient territory of the Demon King who had once ruled in the Abyss.

Or at least unexplored since his defeat.

Our original plan was simply to skirt the dungeon’s perimeter and head straight for the surface. But the princess of the spirits insisted on cleansing the Abyss before we left it behind.

In Lirilien’s view, the monsters themselves made a good distraction to hide Endalor, but she couldn’t stand the thought of them getting close to her gates.

Frankly, I didn’t believe anything could enter the city without its consent. Still, the enemies weren’t putting up much resistance, so I figured there wouldn’t be much trouble in making this little detour.

That was what I thought… but on my way deeper into the dungeon, someone appeared in the distance. And although I could see his shadowed figure, I couldn’t feel his presence, which was pretty creepy if I’m being honest.

"I think I’m a bit tired of encounters that start with a fight. I don’t sense any evil intent in you (actually, I don’t sense anything at all). How about we start with an introduction and a handshake instead?"

I tried to strike up a conversation with the stranger while making my way toward him, weaving around the bodies of the creatures I had just torn apart (hoping they weren’t his friends). But the figure remained utterly silent.

He stayed that way until I finally drew near, and only then did he react, stepping up to a pile of bones that had once been a skeleton soldier to pick up its rusty sword.

"So the answer to my earlier question is no…"

There was no choice. My right hand slid down to the left side of my waist and gripped the hilt of Moonblade, which I had kept ready before entering the dungeon.

Slowly, I began to draw the sword, adding a bit of drama to the duel… Jokes aside, my future opponent actually waited for me despite my stalling, which I found rather curious.

But once my sword was free from its sheath, the young man stepped closer, revealing his face in the glow of the luminous spheres surrounding me.

I must say, even if I don’t swing that way, his chestnut hair and deep blue eyes framed a face anyone would have called handsome.

If not for the fact that I couldn’t sense the slightest trace of life in him, I would have sworn he was human…

Beyond his appearance, what stood out most was the golden brooch fastening his hunter-green cloak. It was shaped like a long-crested, long-tailed bird, its splendid wings spreading to form the outline of the piece.

It caught my attention because it seemed familiar…

!!

Clang!
Clink!
Clang!
Clink!
Clang!

Without a word, the stranger suddenly lunged at me, giving me barely enough time to react and parry his blows with my own sword.

This clash was nothing like the ones I had with Coletto and Merite. His strikes were far more calculated than Coletto’s and much more powerful than Merite’s.

Clink!
Clang!
Clink!

Since I couldn’t rely on memory, every move I made with the sword came down to pure instinct.

Fortunately, my instincts have never failed me.

Krang!

With a resounding metallic crack, my opponent’s blade snapped in two after my thrust struck a section more rusted than the rest.

Whoosh!

But without giving me time to press my advantage, he hurled the broken blade at me. As I caught what remained of his weapon with Moonblade’s edge, he had already leapt toward another skeleton on the ground and seized its sword.

It felt as if we had gone back to the beginning, but the young man’s expression had shifted into something more serious.

Clang–Clink!
Clang!
Clang!
Clink!

The clash of blades began again, but this time it didn’t last long.

Krang!

My opponent’s sword shattered once more, and just as quickly he found another.

Clink–Clang!
Clang!
Krang!

This time I destroyed his blade in even less time than before.

Clang!
Krang!

Another shattering. There had only been a couple of exchanges before it.

Krang!

My adversary’s next sword lasted only a single strike before snapping in two.

That was my warning, I was growing tired of this duel.

…

The young man looked around. Only one weapon remained on the ground.

Yet his expression hadn’t changed in the slightest all this time.

He lifted his final rusted sword, and as he did, it began to shine with a brilliant golden light. In moments, a pillar of radiance towered before me.

Of course, I hadn’t simply stood there watching the spectacle. The instant I sensed the intent behind the energy building around him, Moonblade was already glowing with its own silver brilliance.

Lunar Slash wouldn’t be enough to counter that…

I swung the sword in a clockwise arc, its glow tracing a trail of light in the shape of the moon as darkness closed in around me.

To my opponent, it must appear as a radiant moon in the middle of the deepest night.

But he was unfazed.

"Judgment"

A clear, steady voice, utterly devoid of emotion, spoke the name of the skill, and the pillar of light descended upon me.

"Night’s Fall"

The moon that had taken shape in the middle of the corridor blazed brightly, and as it drew in the surrounding darkness, its light shot forward like a silver beam wrapped in a whirling storm of shadows.

The collision of the two energies shook the entire dungeon in a violent quake.