Nightblade (Darkest night)-Chapter 169: Ingenious game

Azaroth was eerily silent, which wasn’t surprising considering that seven youths were the only ones in the city.

For now, at least.

Given the threat of the veliscera and the ghostly fog, they really hadn’t had enough time to explore the obscure city in it’s all its glory.

Despite its crumbling ruins and the shabby state of the city, Azaroth was a treasure trove of knowledge.

The ruins hinted at signs of a civilization that had once lived in the ghost city.

"Guys, come see this..." A moment later, the seven youths were gathered in front of a tall gate with large walls spanning on either side of it.

The tenebrous battlements rose almost endlessly into the sky, gigantic walls spanning into the distance.

"How is this even here?"

Cassius stared at the gargantuan walls in bafflement while the rest of the group wore similar expressions of bewilderment.

"What exactly are we looking at?" Samantha asked with a frown.

"From what I can tell, this is probably another section of the city."

With the disappearance of the fog, another part of the underground city had been revealed.

The dark walls were covered in mysterious etchings and runes that pulsated from time to time with light.

In the shadow of the walls, strange dark inscriptions marred the lower parts of the wall.

This part of Azaroth had a mysterious air, carrying an almost hallowed feel to it, demanding reverence and even worship.

Despite the fact that civilization had advanced back on Earth, Morgan was quite sure that he’d never seen anything like this.

The massive walls had not been constructed from several separate blocks, but from the look of things, it was one massive block of tenebrous stone.

Thin beans of strange dark light pulsated continuously through the stone, giving the impression of blood flowing through the stone.

The wall...was alive. Its very existence was a marvel of architecture.

A moment later, Morgan’s eyes widened in surprise.

"Emily!"

His eyes narrowed in disbelief.

The Talented girl had stepped away from the rest of the group and was now standing a short distance away next to the gargantuan wall.

"How did she even get there...none of us saw her move..."

Turning back, he noticed the pointed glare that Talia was giving him.

He nodded at Lucian, taking a step back.

Lucian subtly nodded, creeping towards the dazed girl.

"Emily...what are you doing..." Lucian hissed.

"Get back here..."

Almost as though oblivious to their concern, she slowly continued walking forward.

The closer she got to the walls, the more the inscriptions pulsated vividly.

She slowly turned back, giving them an eerie smile.

"Azaroth..." she whispered," it’s calling to me..."

Cassius stared at her in stunned disbelief.

"What?!"

Samantha stepped forward, raising her arms in a placating gesture.

"Em, step away from the wall. The wall is...tricking you?"

Morgan grabbed her, pulling her back.

"Stay here...Lucian stop, get back..."

Lucian frowned, then moved back.

Gesturing towards Lucian, he pointed at Emily.

"Look at her eyes..."

Frowning slightly, the two of them squinted, observing the Talented girl’s eyes.

Her piercing green irises were slowly turning black.

Lucian went silent, his face darkening at the sight.

"What the hell?"

Samantha gasped ,involuntarily taking a step back.

" Em, get back..."

In the next moment, she groaned, falling to her knees. Grasping her head in seeming agony, Samantha trembled and then let out an ear-splitting shriek.

The rest of the group instinctively stepped away from the hysterical girl.

" Shit, what’s happening to her?" Talia asked, her voice cracking slightly.

"How should we know?"

Lucian asked, rolling his eyes.

Amanda warily backed up even further.

"Whatever’s going here has something to do with that wall, those inscriptions probably have some weird quality to them..."

" That’s just as it is," Lucian muttered, turning back with a frown.

Emily was standing silently next to the wall, unmoving, frozen in place.

Her hand was placed on the dark wall in a gentle caress.

The inscriptions on the wall began to pulse erratically, humming with an irregular tempo.

" We don’t know that for sure; it could be the inscriptions, the walls, or even something else entirely..."

The rest of the group went silent, contemplating his words.

If what Lucian said was true, then that would mean that any of them could be the next...essentially, none of them was safe.

Morgan stepped forward, standing in front of the groaning girl.

"Emily, step away from the wall, this isn’t you..."

Emily turned to him, her smile becoming eerily wide.

" No, you’re wrong," she hissed.

Turning back, she laughed melodically.

" You don’t understand. I’m perfectly fine. Azaroth is...helping me."

Gritting his teeth, Morgan stared at her in frustration.

"Shit...what is even happening to her..."

Lately,y such situations were becoming quite frequent, situations where the group found themselves at an unpleasant impasse, unable to move forward and unable to go back as well.

" Sarenus, any suggestions?" Morgan mentally asked the Drayghar.

Sarenus stirred, white flames igniting I’m Morgan’s shadow.

" From what I can tell, the people who built the city probably imbued it with enchantments that affect the mind. I can see how effective that would be in a war." Sarenus muttered thoughtfully.

Looking at it from this point of view, it made sense.

In a war, if either side were evenly matched, then it’d quickly end in a stalemate.

In such a case, the best scenario would be to stack the odds against your enemy and use every possible advantage at your disposal.

Morgan couldn’t help but note the ingenuity of the dead civilization of Azaroth.

Even in death, their ingenuity lived on

Morgan could already see the advantages of being able to recreate such a mechanism.

" Do you think such technology could be imbued into armor or a weapon?" Morgan asked.

"Technology?" Sarenus scoffed.

"That’s no technology," the drayghar said solemnly.

" That’s sorcery. Recall, the sigils in the ruins were sorcery as well. If my hunch is correct, then these people lived in the age of knowledge. It would explain everything that’s happening."

" My Lord, if I may speak," a new voice requested, joining the mental conversation.

"What is it, Kazarax?"

" If it has anything to do with the mind, then I believe I can help you with your current predicament."

Morgan’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.

"Really?"

In hindsight, it made sense; the veliscera had been quite adept at mind attacks.

"Kazarax is quite right. While it’d be difficult for the sorcery affecting Azaroth to affect you because of my presence, Kazarax should be able to interfere with whatever power was used to bring it to life, effectively releasing that child from its snare."

"Though I must warn you, master," Kazarax hissed.

" It’s only going to get harder out front here, and from what I imagine, it’ll likely take a considerable toll on your strength."

Morgan’s face darkened slightly.

"Let’s do it."

In the next moment, Morgan walked forward.

Lucian gasped, staring at him in confusion.

"What are you doing?"

"It’s all right, Lucian," Morgan said calmly.

"Trust me."

A split second later, his presence underwent a strange transformation.

Despite pale light illuminating the gbr tenebrous wall, the darkness around Morgan shifted, growing even darker.

Talia stared at him in disbelief.

" This guy..."

In the recent fight, Talia had managed to grasp the secret being the manipulation of umbralis. And while she wasn’t adept at it, because of her connection, she was able to instinctively sense that the energy Morgan was using wasn’t umbralis.

" What is with this guy? Is this the Thane family technique?"

Morgan walked forward, with his back turned to them.

Under the cover of the darkness, his eyes ignited with white brilliance.

He slowly walked forward, and in the next moment, he disappeared.

Lucian’s eyes widened in shock.

" What is that speed?"

Even Cassius was stunned, failing to keep up even with his beastly senses.

" From what I can tell, that isn’t Umbraliss he’s using, so how is he able to move like that?"

In the Void World, Morgan’s silhouette appeared, his dark form appearing. In the next moment, a dark rift formed, and Kazarax’s massive form stepped through it.

The Void walker was still, as Morgan remembered, his massive form towering over the youth.

Dark horns grew out of his forward siralkigg together to form larger, massive horns.

Two twin tails grew out of his back, ending in lethal jagged spikes.

Morgan inwardly shuddered at the thought of having to face off against the giant.

Several visible changes had occurred in Kazarax’s physique, the most notable being his eyes. The ex-Veliscera’s tenebrous eyes were now a startling white, burning with white flames.

A second rift opened, and Sarenus stepped out.

The Drayghar stood in the form of a tall man standing seven feet tall. In the next moment, he morphed, taking on the form of a massive drayghar with brilliant white flames for eyes.

In the next moment, Kazarax’s deep voice rang out.

"Let’s begin,"

Morgan placed his hand on the walk, closing his eyes.

A palpable grain ran through the giant wall.

In the next moment, slight tremors began to run through the ground.

The rest of the youths stared at the phenomenon in shock.

" What is happening right now?"