Nightblade (Darkest night)-Chapter 147: Void

‎In the piles of rubble a short distance away from where Lucian and Talia stood, a pale, dark-haired youth stirred, slowly opening his eyes.

‎His eyes were a startling pitch-black colour, which receded, giving way to normal brown irises.

‎Morgan groaned, pulling himself into a seating position.

‎A wave of pain instantly flared through his mind, instantly rousing him fully.

‎"Ah, feels I broke something..."

‎He gingerly moved his limbs, first his arms, then his legs.

‎The air was choke full of dust, the tiny particles stinging at his eyes.

‎The deluge of rain had reduced to a drizzle, still falling continuously from the sky.

‎Morgan slowly dragged himself, straining against a small slab of rock that had fallen on his foot.

‎With the remainder of his strength, he strained against the sturdy block, pushing it off his foot and crawling away just enough to be clear of it.

‎A moment later, he registered the oddity and the source of the pain he was feeling.

‎He bit back a scream, staring at the awkward angle of his leg in bewilderment.

‎A moment later, he felt the Drayghar’s energy flow through him.

‎The broken limb instantly moved, snapping back into place. The scattered shards of bone moved back into place, moving through flesh, the cuts left in their wake instantly healing.

‎The two sections of broken bones reattached themselves with a slight jolt, absorbing the fragments of bone that had been scattered throughout his leg from the impact.

‎Morgan nearly blacked out from the pain of experiencing the whole process, briefly falling into a stupor. He shook his head in a daze, opening his eyes once more.

‎" What’s going on?"

‎He closed his eyes, focusing on the flow of different energies coursing through his body. He felt worn out from the fight, only faintly feeling the ebbing flow of umbralis around him.

‎The Drayghar’s energy surged wildly through him, strengthening his muscles and accelerating the healing process everywhere it reached, a process he discovered he had no control over.

‎Despite his body healing at an inhuman pace with uncanny regeneration, he still felt the pain of everything that was happening, the sensation immobilizing him for a few more moments.

‎Pulling his legs toward his chest, he tenderly placed his palm on the ground, slowly getting to his feet.

‎Just then, the sound of footsteps crunching through the rubble reached him.

‎" Have you seen him?" a girl’s voice asked.

‎"Not yet, still looking..."

‎Morgan slowly limped forward, favouring his newly healed leg.

‎A moment later, he came face-to-face with Lucian, offering him a weak smile.

‎"As you can see, I’m not dead..."

‎Lucian’s eyes widened slightly, a hunt of shock flickering through their depths.

‎" Wow..."

‎Morgan raised an eyebrow, limping forward.

‎" You mind giving me a hand? My entire body hurts so much I don’t think I’ll be moving around very much for a bit."

‎Lucian immediately obliged, supporting him gently.

‎Turning back, he shouted into the distance.

‎" I found him..."

‎Within a few seconds, Talia arrived.

‎She paused for a moment, her eyes sweeping up and down his body.

‎"Like anything that you see?" Morgan bit out, wincing slightly.

‎Talia shook her head, raking his other arm in support

‎" You know, it’s a miracle that you’re even alive."

‎Morgan shrugged, limping forward.

‎"Where are the others? What’s happening? Did you guys manage to kill the Bretnar king?"

‎Talia nodded, smiling faintly.

‎" Yeah, Emily killed it. You should have seen her. It was like she was a force of nature."

‎Morgan breathed an audible sigh of relief, even relaxing visibly.

‎" And the others?"

‎" Cassius, Samantha and Amanda are finishing off the stragglers. For the time being, we should be safe."

‎Morgan nodded, letting out a sigh.

‎"I’m glad it’s dead. For a moment there, I thought I was a goner. I thought this was it."

‎" You and me both, man," Lucian said, slowly shaking his head.

‎After a brief silence, Talia spoke first.

‎" You know, Morgan, you just might be the strongest initiate in existence."

‎Morgan frowned slightly, turning to her with his eyes narrowed slightly.

‎"What makes you say that?"

‎Talia shrugged.

‎" For one, I’ve never seen an initiate move the way you did, and I doubt any of them could keep up with the Bretnar king in the same circumstances."

‎Morgan scoffed, rolling his eyes.

‎" Yeah, right. I think you forgot the part where it threw me through the air like its own personal ragdoll. Man, I felt like a chew toy."

‎The three of them chuckled at the comment.

‎" Besides, I was only able to do any of that because you guys had my back. If I’d been on my own, I definitely don’t think we’d be having this conversation."

‎The trio soon arrived at the ruins through the underground tunnel.

‎" You should go get the others, Talia. I’ll stay with Morgan. As he is, he can barely stand, let alone protect himself."

‎Talia sniggered derisively, rolling her eyes.

‎" Yeah, sure."

‎The blonde-haired girl left the two of them sitting in silence at the ruins’ entrance.

‎After a while, Lucian spoke.

‎" You know, Talia’s right. While we don’t particularly get along, she’s got an eye for these things. And I’m inclined to agree with her."

‎Morgan stared at him expressionlessly, listening in silence.

‎"I’m inclined to agree with her. I’ve never seen an initiate, even among the upperclassmen, move the way you did. "

‎Lucian took off his glasses, wiping them clean. Talia had returned them to him after the fight had ended.

‎" And I also noticed something else, at least I believe I did. For the brief time I used my technique, I could feel the flow of umbralis around me clearly. That creature, the Bretnar king, felt like one large mass of umbralis."

‎" Before I told you to use your technique, you kept up with it, with sheer speed. I don’t think anyone can do that..."

‎Looking up from his glasses, Lucian locked eyes with Morgan.

‎Morgan stared back, holding his gaze.

‎"Well, that’d be because of my Awakened ability. I guess that means I’ve gotten a better grasp on it...huh?"

‎" Besides, I figured, using it in such a crucial fight for a long period of time would jeopardize the entire thing. K don’t have that much of a grasp on it. And look how you turned out."

‎Lucian simply smiled, patting his shoulder.

‎"You make a fair point."

‎He sighed, leaning back.

‎" You should rest for a bit. You look like a truck ran over you."

‎Morgan laughed, leaning back against the wall and closing his eyes.

‎" Lucian is pretty intuitive, it’s almost scary. And what the hell was that?!"

‎After the Bretnar king had tossed him into the distance, he’d blacked out.

‎At least he thought he did.

‎In the moment, he stood in a dark void with nothing but darkness around him.

‎" What is this place?" He stared down at his arms, finding that he could see them despite the darkness shrouding everything.

‎His arms were pitch black, shrouded in a matte blackness.

‎Tendrils of inky dark smoke rolled off him, giving him an ethereal appearance.

‎"Is this supposed to be the afterlife? Did I die?"

‎Thinking back, the last thing he remembered was the gigantic brute hurling him through the air.

‎Next, he tried moving around, finding that the darkness extended in all directions, no matter how far he went or ran.

‎" What the hell is going on?"

‎He spun around, checking for any sign of life around him.

‎" Hello?"

‎He turned, sprinting in another direction.

‎" Is there anybody there? Anyone?"

‎After a while, he came to a stop, sitting down in the darkness.

‎"Focus..."

‎Using his Awakened ability usually gave him a heightened perception of the world.

‎If he were still in Tenebris, then feeling the flow of umbralis was bound to give him a glimpse into what was going on around him.

‎Focusing on the familiar power within him, his eyes snapped open, turning golden.

‎" Huh...nothing."

‎His ability told him nothing whatsoever about what was happening.

‎" Wait, what’s that?"

‎Around him, he could vaguely feel movement. Something unseen, stalking through the darkness around him.

‎" Is anyone there? Hello?"

‎His voice echoed around him for miles, the sound carrying through the empty void.

‎After hesitating for a while, he decided to try out something else.

‎Instead of focusing on the Umbralis, he decided to tap into his connection with the Drayghar.

‎Just then, a palpable shift occurred in the void. A ripple of energy rippled through the previously empty void.

‎In the next moment, a small dark figure shimmered into existence, standing a short distance away from him. Morgan instinctively took a step back, warily watching the creature’s approach.‎

With each step the creature took, its form morphed, growing larger in size. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

‎Dark tenebrous wings sprouted from its sides.

‎White hot flames burned where its eyes should have been, enormous fangs jutting out of its closed maw.

‎The creature majestically padded across the dark landscape until it came to a stop right in front of him, towering several feet over him.

‎"Morgan Thane..." a deep voice rang out in his mind, pulsing with power.

‎"We finally meet in person."

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