Nightblade (Darkest night)-Chapter 206: Returnees

"Look it's them."

Conversations died mid-sentence. Several heads turned, chair swivelled, screeching on the floor.

Some stared in awe. Others are in fear.

The return of the lost scions and Talented from the Dark Maestro incident had sent ripples throughout the Brotherhood of Shadows.

Not all of them had come back.

Several of the kids were dead or missing.

And so the Survivors had become overnight celebrities.

Emily and the rest of the gang had returned to Pyreptar soon after.

The familiar corridors now felt foreign, the laughter too loud, the normalcy almost offensive.

It was quite disorienting getting back into the routine of attending theory and practical classes, following timetables.

A siren signaled the end of the morning classes.

The sharp sound made a few students flinch, reeling back in shock.

Emily had been distracted throughout the entirety of the class, staring absent-mindedly through the window.

The sky outside was a cloudy grey colour, reminiscent of the day she'd first met the dark-haired scion.

Small drops of rain slowly rolled down the glass sideways panes, a light drizzle pouring outside the building.

The room slowly cleared out, the rest of the students slowly streaming out through the door making their way to the cafeteria.

Eventually, she got up, finding that she was the only one left in the room.

Samantha wasn't yet back at the academy.

At the request of the Brotherhood, she had been whisked away because of her uncanny affinity for umbralis. Of course, they'd guaranteed her safety and also gained her consent.

It was an unprecedented feat.

No Talented had ever gained the ability to use umbralis and Emily hadn't seen her friend in a while.

" Emily?"

Looking up, she found a pair of icy blue eyes staring at her in shock.

He looked like he'd seen a ghost.

"Edmund."

The Talented had grown visibly tallelooked a little more muscular.

Edmund now had a bit of a presence around him.

Emily had gotten a feel for the presence in Tenebris.

Every living creature had a presence. A creature's presence gave an indication of how strong a being was.

Which was why she immediately noticed the shadow next to Edmund in the background.

Standing next to Edmund, a dark-haired young man with dark obsidian eyes that seemed to absorb the light, slowly came into sight.

Warren nodded at her.

Edmund moved forward then without saying a word, he embraced her.

Emily's eyes widened slightly.

" You made it back," he whispered. " I'm glad."

Emily awkwardly returned the embrace.

"Yeah, we did."

Edmund grinned.

" Come we've got a lot to catch up on."

The trio made their way to the cafeteria.

A familiar mouth-watering aroma wafted through the air, filling the hall with a radiant warmth.

Hushed murmurs spread throughout the hall at their entrance, several pointed gazes turning in their direction.

Emily didn't notice at first, heading over to a serving point then making her way to an empty table.

Warren and Edmund followed closely behind

sitting at the same table.

"You've...changed."Edmund pointed out, smiling faintly.

Just then the murmurs reached a crescendo.

A slight frown appeared on her face, her eyes slowly sweeping across the hall.

"What's going on?"

A dark figure appeared at the head of the table where they were.

"Is this seat taken?"

A curly haired dark skinned youth in fitting dark garb stood next to an empty spot at her side.

Edmund rolled his eyes, while Cassius remained noticeably indifferent at the youth's arrival.

Without waiting for a reply, he sat down, meticulously arranging the cutlery on his tray.

" Name's Xander by the way, just in case you're wondering, Xander Gray... " he said, offering her an easy-going smile.

" And in case you're wondering what the fuss is about, these two..."

He casually gestured at Edmund and Warren with a knife before cutting into his...

Emily stared at his food.

"Pie?"

"...are somewhat of celebrities at the academy after last year's Veilrend games,"he continued.

A look of confusion appeared on Emily's face.

Xander chuckled.

"The look on your face is priceless. But then again, it makes sense since you haven't been around," Xander continued, somehow managing to continue dissecting his food with clinical precision at a ridiculous speed.

" What Xander failed to mention is that he's also the former student council president," Edmund muttered, while palming his face.

" In fact, he's probably the reason why we're receiving all this attention."

Xander chuckled.

" Tell me another..."

The Veilrend Games were not a tournament in the traditional sense. They were a spectacle.

With the disappearance of the students, the academy had used the gans a diversion from the glaring absence of the missing students.

The Games were a sanctioned war disguised as competition, meant to hone the skills of the young assassins.

The Games were also an opportunity for the Maestros from all around the world to scout the very best among the younger generation and take them on, as apprentices.

It also provided the young gifted scions from lesser Houses to distinguish themselves.

But in the last two years, the games had undergone a dramatic transformation with the arrival of the Talented.

With their unique powers, the entire conversation. The petition had been flipped on its head.

The Games were quite simple.

For seventy-two hours, the campus transformed into a shifting battlefield of illusions, traps, political maneuvering, and sanctioned violence.

And ultimately,

Edmund and Warren had single-handedly won the last two games, both times against seemingly unbeatable odds. By the time the final bell tolled, the Talented had technically outnumbered the Assassins two to one.

But it was simply because of Edmund and Warren.

The two Talented were too cunning, too brutal, and extremely ruthless.

The feat alone had cemented their image in the minds of the student body.

Xander smirked.

" But I bet it's because of the upcoming Festival of Shadows."

Taking a bite, he paused, chewing his piece meticulously.

" Since both of you have been so outstanding, the Council decided that the Talented should take part in the Festival as well."

A mischievous smile appeared on Xander's face.

"But there's a small condition."