In the Fading Light Part 2

-Gray-

That night, I was lying on the bed in my room, glancing out the window. The world outside was getting darker and darker. What little sun was shining through the clouds was fading.

Fighting with Fulgora was fun, but I wanted to see what the princess got for Thor. I doubt she could have found anything particularly unique in the city he lives in, right?

Speaking of which, why the hell was Fulgora sleeping in my room? I swear, she’s more like a dog than a wolf. And she sleeps so deeply, I kicked her off the bed, and she still laid there, on the ground, snoring.

Whatever. It’d be easier to sneak around without her.

There were practically no guards inside this wing of the manor, except the occasional guard posted at entryways into the house. And a few in the main foyer. No one was moving up and down hallways, and surprisingly, very few were patrolling outside.

“If I was a gift given by the princess of an ally nation that I wanted to get in good graces with, where would I be?”

Obviously, Thor’s room.

Or the foyer where he met her, but there were half a dozen guards in there at once. And I didn’t see anything on the main table there.

Thankfully, we were given rooms on the top floor, where Thor’s room might be, just in the opposite wing.

His wing was heavily guarded. As in, every guard that should have been scattered around, was pretty much guarding his room. Was he that scared of us?

So I decided to approach from outside. I snuck out a window, and moved carefully along the outside decorations. If I couldn’t sneak past a window without being seen, I could always just use magic to distract the guard, either by making a vase fall, or a small light zip around, and then either zoom by or make a brief invisibility sphere while they weren’t looking.

And of course, the window to the prince’s bedroom was locked, shades drawn too, so I wasn’t completely sure if it was the right window until I used magic to peel it back.

“Yep… That’s his place.” It was the most opulent area of the manor. Gold dishes and cups, fancy wines, exotic furs and rugs, and plenty of self-indulgent paintings. “What a loser…”

I opened the window by lifting the pin, assuming it was in the same place as it was on every other window. And then, I was in.

“The two are more similar than they think…” I could see Thor on his fancy bed with thick furs on top of him, largely knocked off in his sleep. He snored loudly, and I’d bet dollars to donuts he was in the exact same pose Fulgora was currently sleeping in. There was another wolf-girl sharing his bed, a lover, perhaps? She looked completely different from Fulgora, with regular blonde hair, not that yellow hair the thunder demigods have. She also looked a little… bruised…

Technically, I could have snatched some gold stuff, but I had no way to carry it. So I grabbed a bottle of the fanciest looking wine I could find instead, and decided to drink it when I was safe. Maybe share with the girls too.

I didn’t think the wine was the princess’ gift, but there was a chance… Eh, I didn’t really feel bad about this, even if this was the gift. Thor was kinda a scumbag.

A few petals of a sunflower, and some seeds were on the ground as well. The petals looked crushed a little, as if stomped on. The rest of the flower was in a waste bin.

That was likely the gift…

It was hard, very very hard, to not do some sort of karmic justice to this man. Burn down his wardrobe, or dissolve his gold crap, or tear apart his paintings.

Instead, I believed he’d receive karma soon enough. Even if he didn’t write down stuff like his father did, I was sure the deeds he’s likely doing will bite him in the butt.

I snuck out the way I came in, and was about to cover my exit, when I felt a chill down my spine. It was a similar feeling to when I was covered in blood, and I felt the goddess of blood’s authority looming over me.

Except this time, it was more like an ever-growing darkness. Both inside and out.

The storm clouds above the city were too dark.

The sun was down beyond the horizon.

And the rain was pouring so hard, images were getting indistinct.

Images like the statue of the god of thunder.

Was the rain trying to let up, or was the storm powerless in this darkness? This haziness? Wisps of shadow rose from the ground, and any candlelights were dimming under this oppressive shadow. As if another world was replacing this one.

“The princess!” This wasn’t an invasion. There was no grand army. This was an assassination attempt. The authorities of both light and thunder were being blocked by the god of shadows. And now their presence couldn’t enter the shadows surrounding everything.

And, I wouldn’t be surprised if that Silence effect was above us too, but it would be impossible to see.

It’s a good thing my magic doesn’t have a vocal component. I spark some popping flames in my hand, and jump away from the window, tossing the explosion right at Thor’s dresser before it was out of sight.

It wasn’t as strong as it could have been, but it was enough to awaken the prince, and hopefully get the guards moving.

Yeah, I wasn’t really counting on him actually doing anything…

But this was my chance! Without guards to worry about, I can finally get a boss-level fight! Me, saving the princess! Two princesses even!

Crap… wait… The princess can cast magic by virtue of her existence, and Fulgora doesn’t need to pray to emit sparks or punch…

Oh well, I’ll do what I can.

Right before I collided with the pavement outside the manor, I threw a wind spell, buffeting me with strong winds, yet my timing was off, and I still felt a jolt of agony go up my spine from where my legs landed. At least the wine was okay.

“It’s fine… just walk it off… I’m stronger than I look…” I cried as I worked on healing my legs while walking back into the manor through the front door.

Where there were guards posted, now several dead bodies stood, necks sliced, blood dripping, collecting on the floor. “Hello? Anyone alive?” My voice sounded muffled, like yelling into a bag. Or some reverse echo.

I wasn’t being cautious when I burst through the doors to the south wing where the princesses were, running down the dark hallway, where even the odd candlelights were more like fireflies floating in endless black.

No matter how far I ran, no matter how much I moved, the shadows kept growing, extending.

I wasn’t going anywhere.

“I see… Shadows make things unclear. And when things become unclear, their properties are easier to adjust… But I’m willing to bet you’ve got a weakness, and I’ll find a way to exploit it! I’d rather you not ruin my fun adventure before it even starts!”

A white light grew in my clenched right hand, shining through my fingers as it built up power. And when I threw it forward, a beam of piercing white light flew down the hallway like a shooting star.

Where light shined, the domain of Shadow weakened, and the hallway’s shape became defined, even for just a moment.

But that moment was all that I needed.

After the light, I channeled flames into my hand, throwing it onto the ground with an action like quickly gouging out a chunk of the ground with my hand.

The flames lit up the ornate rugs lining the hallway, bathing everything in its flickering reds and oranges. Including the cloaked man at the end of the hallway, whose form was like it was merging with the shadows. He was clearly having trouble getting into the one room that had a bright light peeking out from underneath.

I didn’t know if the princess was awake and dealing with her own problems, or if the goddess of light used the light I created to protect her champion, but I wasn’t going to let her get involved in this if I could help it.

“You can cast spells without a prayer?” The cloaked man hissed, his voice harsh like sandpaper. The purple lines that made up his eyes behind his wolf’s head hood thinned. I’d assume this is the champion of the god of shadows.

I grinned. “What can I say? I’m one of a kind.” New spells sparked to life in my hands.

The man pulled out twin knives, as black as the night. Even when he reached into his cloak for them, I couldn’t make out his form at all. Just that he wears a lot of leather and furs. And knives.

“My name’s Gray. Care to introduce yourself?”

He didn’t respond. Merely dashed into the flickering shadows, his form melting away.

“Alright then, I’ll call you Edgy? No, it should be vaguely color themed…Umbra? Shade? Shaddy! You’re Shaddy now! Nice to meet you Shaddy!”

Whether it was just the timing, or I really upset him, a blade came out of the shadows to my side, aimed at my throat.

My hand was faster.

A flash of white filled the air, cutting off his shadows for a moment, and I delivered the punch Fulgora taught me right to his chest. Complete with a burst of lightning.

Compared to Fulgora’s punch, it was incredibly weak, but the lightning staggered him, and the punch threw him off balance.

Not only that, but staying in one place for long enough was damaging his clothes as the flames licked them.

“It’s an interesting thing about shadows. You wouldn’t think light works so well… but it does! Somehow! I suppose it’s based on a good vs evil mentality, huh?” I moved with my left hand for another strike of light, but he tripped me up with his leg, and disappeared back into the shadows.

He must have thought the flames wouldn’t do much to me since he didn’t stay around for the killing blow.

Well, it sucks to be him, because my face got cooked in those flames. But a quick flick of my hand and I was healed.

Still hurt though.

My eyes scanned the shadows, trying to figure out his next move. Attack me from behind?

Nah, that was too obvious. He’ll probably try a projectile attack. A bow, I’d guess.

“Ow.” I barely noticed the arrow moving through the flame, but moved just enough to get it in the shoulder. “Rude, much?”

I tried to pull it out, and found it barbed. So it was going to hurt like hell to remove.

Still, I could move my arm, so I fired two lightning bolts where the arrow came from, blasting into the stone, but missing Shaddy.

“You think the shadows will protect you?! These shadows are pathetic! Barely even worth the name!” I threw a few flashes of light into the air, but even if they revealed Shaddy, I couldn’t see where he was, due to the blinding light.

But it stalled him, and that worked well for me too. I cast another healing spell, feeling flesh trying to regrow around the barbed arrow, but I wasn’t doing it for that reason.

“You think true shadows are weak to light?! No! Light creates shadows! True shadows are beyond such things! To expose them to light means revealing what is hidden! And some things are better off unknown!”

I’ll admit, being surrounded by shadows was probably affecting me a bit more than I would have liked. After all, the shadows were the one constant in my old life.

And what was hidden within them…

I’d rather not dwell on such thoughts.

After all, I’m safe here. I’m happy. And I’m having fun.

My grin grew wider as we fought. His arrows were coated in darkness, but my flames would lick at them. The rugs were surprisingly good fuel, but won’t last as long as I needed.

“Well, time to move onto the climax of our fight! It’s been fun, but frankly, you’re kinda boring!” I lifted the bottle of wine, which I kept tied to my belt.

One gulp for me, and I tossed it into the air, and shot at it with a blast of flame.

Flames roared in every direction, pressing at the walls, the sealed windows, the sturdy doors, yet nothing budged. The manor was strong.

So strong, it could survive even worse storms. Doors and windows were hermetically sealed. And I’d guess there was a barrier of Silence around the doors of the princesses.

As the smoke began to choke out the air, my grin stretched as wide as it could, as another flash of green magic saw my breath refilled. Only my stomach and my mind strained against my exertions.

But Shaddy couldn’t say the same.

Whether it was easier for him to move with the smoke, or harder with how strong the flames were growing, it didn’t matter.

His arrows were sloppy now. Eyes stung by smoke? Or maybe his bow eventually succumbed to the flames?

Or perhaps he just couldn’t process that I was capable of illusions, walking invisibly around the flames, while a copy threw insults and taunts, flashing green at times to stand out in the smoke.

By the time I was behind him, you could tell he was having trouble. Panicking, perhaps? He was running out of breath, I wasn’t going down, and the flames were getting stronger.

Even his ability to slide into the shadows was lost with the flames sticking to him, casting light wherever he went. He tried to pat them down, but more flames came. Eventually, he tossed his cloak, and revealed his full body.

The shadows that normally leaked from openings in his armor were missing, and he was starting to look pretty singed.

But now his form was exposed, and I charged up one more spell.

“Ha! You’re such an idiot! If you couldn’t defeat little ol’ me by yourself, why did you think you could stand a chance against the princess of light?”

“Who says I’m by myself?” He rasped out, his voice choked on smoke.

My illusion merely grinned wilder. “You know, I could say the same.”

The door to Fulgora’s room burst open, and you could see Shaddy flinch as he tried to prepare for the Lady of Lightning. He pulled a glass bottle out of a satchel around his waist.

“I’ll end all three of you brats! The way of the world will change! And I’ll be there to see it!” He threw the glass bottle at the door, hoping to catch Fulgora before she could charge him. Even without her father’s blessings, she was very strong.

The glass bottle shattered, scattering a dust that would stop Fulgora’s electricity.

But Fulgora was never there.

After all, she was in a different room.

And I was the only one who knew that.

Not that it mattered at the moment. My spell was charged. Purple light… no, it was incorrect to call it ‘light.’ It was more like space was condensed in between my hands. Stars and nebulas could be seen within this fragment of space.

My strongest spell. Pure magic. Untransformed into any shape.

I create spells by using this energy to alter reality. I don’t create magic flames. I create a flame in my hand that has certain properties.

So what happens if I hit someone with this energy?

“I’d look out, if I were you.” A voice spoke from nowhere, but everywhere at once. From the shadows. From the flames. From the back of my mind. From Shaddy’s mouth. And from my mouth.

Right as I fired the energy, Shaddy twisted his body out of the way of my spell. But he wasn’t fast enough, and the ball of pure magic scraped his right arm.

No matter, I won anyway.

Shaddy was panting heavily, his hood having fallen off, revealing the black wrappings he keeps around his face to further hide himself. The purple lines for his eyes were still visible, but very weak.

He looked at me like a scared cat.

He reached over to grasp his arm, to stop the flow of blood, or something.

But there was no blood.

There was no flesh.

There was just magic eating away at his limb.

At first, it was just a scratch, nothing to really worry about.

By the moment he reached over, it was like a shark bite in his bicep, but ever-growing.

You could see the moment his hand fell limp, blade tumbling to the ground as nerves were dissolved into nothing.

“Time to leave.” The voice spoke again, the shadows in the flame filled room growing stronger. The shadows even began to grow within the flames, like eyes staring back at you.

Shaddy nodded, trying to hold his arm together, but it was holding on by a few tendons now, and the magic was slowly moving upwards.

“No you don’t!” I charged up a laser beam, and fired it, but he disappeared into the growing shadows, which disappeared itself a moment later.

But the eye within the flames remained, staring at me.

I clenched my fists, and glared back, until it disappeared too, leaving me alone in a hallway filled with flames and smoke.

“Better clean this up before the girls get here.” Color was returning to the world outside, the storm having stopped at some point. Silence must have left too, so the princesses would wake up soon and check out the commotion.

And I was in a pickle. The windows were sealed shut, the doors too, and opening them would create a backdraft, an explosion with me right in it. So I had to take care of the fires first.

I started with a massive ball of water in my hands, thrown along the floor like an overinflated beachball. Water hissed and steam met the smoke in the air. So at least that worked.

With one hand healing me constantly, cleaning the air in my lungs too, my other tossed bowling-ball sized water balls down the hall, slowly putting out the flames.

Only when the flames were gone, did I dare to open a window, and create a gust of wind pushing out the smoke.

“Gray?! What’s going on!” The princess spoke from behind me, causing me to yelp.

“Princess! You’re alright!” She didn’t have her armor on, but her staff was in hand, and her halos glowing behind her, banishing any lingering darkness. Though her concerned face made my casual expression seem rather… dumb.

I could see her eyes lock onto the arrows embedded in me. Or the burnt clothes. Or the smoke-covered skin.

“You see-” I tried to quickly come up with a defusing explanation, but I fell to my knees, hacking up my lungs. My body shuddered as my lungs spasmed and twitched in my chest.

My hand glowed green, trying to heal myself. Trying to clean out my lungs.

It didn’t help.

The princess’ staff glowed golden as she tried to heal me. Arrows tried to push out of my body, but the barbs made it worse.

And I was still wracked with coughing.