Intruders

Syn and I moved to the training grounds within the castle and found that it was completely empty. The room was pretty large and made out of white tiles that emit a soft glow. Syn rolled his shoulders and began to stretch as Nalia and Daarvess began to converse silently. I waited for Syn to get done stretching before asking "So, what are we gonna start out wit-" however, my question was stopped short by Syn's fist flying toward my face.

I sidestepped and moved my knee up to block a low kick before jumping back to get some distance. Syn's guard was tight, and he was most likely expecting me to use the grappling move he showed me earlier today, so that was off the table. Syn swiped his hand toward me and a line of razor-thin water shot out and barreled toward me.

I ducked under the attack and watched as it collided with the wall behind me and left a perfect outline in its pristine white surface. "Don't think you can look away and come out unharmed!" I whipped my head around saw Syn's foot descending from the sky. I rolled out of the way and heard Daarvess say "Hmm, it seems like the young Lord had quite the reflexes..." as Syn continued his non-stop barrage of punches and kicks.

I managed to block one of his punches and tried to throw out one of my own, but was forced to snap my arm back before I made contact due to Syn having his other hand already in place to catch the blow. Syn smiled and dashed forward with his knee leading the way. I bat his knee down before crossing my arms and blocking a fierce punch that made my bones creak from the stress.

My guard was breached and, before I knew it, Syn's water-clad hand was mere centimeters away from my exposed neck. Synfael let out an impressed whistle and said "Daaaaaamn! Anyone would be hard pressed keeping up with me for that long. Your reflexes are beyond extraordinary, however, your combat senses are below averag-"

Suddenly, Daarvess' hand came flying out from behind Syn and smacked him on the head. Daarvess looked at his son with cold eyes as he said "I thought I told you to treat the young Lord with respect...but now you think attacking him without warning is a sign of respect!?" I couldn't help but laugh at Daarvess' outburst, causing his face to turn red as he bowed and said "My apologies, young Lord. Please forgive my sudden outburst."

I waved my hand and said "Please, Daarvess, no need to be all formal around me. Don't worry about Syn so much, we're good friends and I don't mind his...quirks like some would, ahaha." Daarvess sighed in relief and bowed once more as he said "Thank you, young Lord. You have no idea how glad I am to have such a wonderful Lord like you looking out for my son."

I nodded my head with a smile and pat him on the shoulder before responding. "You're a good father, Daarvess. You genuinely care for your son's wellbeing and you're able to tell him when he's wrong. You deserve at least this much in return." Syn and I continued to spar until it got dark. I had learned many things from Syn from just today, and I was genuinely excited to see what I could do a few months from now.

I grabbed a spare change of clothes and immediately took a bath. The warm water washed away all of my bodies aches and stiffness, while revitalizing my muscles and giving me a sense of content. My current life wasn't all that bad, I mean I still had to deal with the occasional asshole who thought they were above everything, but that'll never change for as long as any living thing with intelligence exists.

I let out a sigh as I got out of my bath and dried off before putting on a pair of trousers and walking out into my room. Out of no where, I felt a small prick on my neck and glanced back to see Nalia attached to my neck with her hair covering her expression. "If you were that hungry you could've just said something. You know I don't mind a bit of blood..."

There was a long pause with no words being spoken until she finally finished feeding and turned her head away. "You know how embarrassing it is for me to feed in front of others..." Nalia's voice was soft and was pleasant to my ears. I laughed before ruffling her rather soft hair and moving to my bed. Just as I was about to say something witty, however, a loud horn sounded out.

Nalia and I immediately sprung to action and ran out of the door to my room and flew down the hallways and out of the castle. The other House leaders were already outside and trying to find the cause of the sudden alarm when a frightened voice yelled out. "I-I-It's Demons!!" An orange blur sped past me and an orange haired man appeared in front of me holding a small girl by the throat.

The man knelt down and said "My Lady, I have captured the intrud-" The man's words were stopped short when an arrow lodged itself in his throat, his eyes almost bulging out from their sockets as he dropped the girl and grasped his throat. The leaders were suddenly surrounded by their men as there was a tense silence.

The sounds of metal sliding and scraping against bone interrupted the silence as black-clad figures emerged from the surrounding trees. Each of the figures were dragging a Human body and they stopped just short of our location before kneeling down. One man, however, stayed standing as he saluted and said "My Lady, the intruders seem to be Humans. I have several squads investigating the surrounding areas and looking for clues as to how they reached our plane."

Nalia stepped forward and said "Thank you, Mei. I want a detailed report as soon as possible, but do not rush. This is a crucial task that I need you to perform flawlessly." Mei saluted once more and vanished with her men. The leaders and their troops began to wonder how Humans had entered Noir, as this was something that had never happened before and it put the entirety of Noir at risk of destruction.

Nalia sighed and grabbed my arm as she began to walk back to the castle. "Hey, what's up? You seem...frustrated to say the least." Nalia sighed again and nodded her head before saying "Well, my plans are now useless, so I have to speed things up in order to ensure that Noir, and the rest of Realms can continue living peacefully. Tomorrow I'll be sending you off to the Human Realm to gather information. Think you can handle it?"

I nodded my head and said "Of course. As long as this is for future peace, then I can do it. You don't have to worry about me going rogue or anything like that." Nalia knit her brows but stayed silent as we neared the castle doors. The usual guards at the front were no longer present, and the whole place had a gloomy and tense atmosphere. It was completely different from just a few moments ago.

We walked through and took a left before continuing down the hall until we found a door at the very end. Nalia opened it and I saw multiple blue, red, and green oval shapes floating above metal bases. Nalia turned her head and pointed at the blue oval closest to the door and said "Once we walk through this portal, take care not to look the in the old man's eyes, or else you'll be possessed."

Without another word, Nalia walked through the portal and I followed shortly after. I closed my eyes in preparation, but it was like I could still see although my eyes were shut tight. I looked around the room and saw that it was covered in bookshelves filled to the brim with all kinds of books, tomes, and grimoires.

There was an old man at the very back of the rather small room sitting in a chair and writing in a book on his desk. Nalia walked up to him and said "Balthazar, I come in hopes that you would help my successor summon a familiar..." before kneeling down. I was rather shocked, for Nalia had bowed to no one because she herself was at the top. Yet here she was kneeling to an old man whom I had never seen before.

"Oh, you doubt, young Lord?" Balthazar said while still writing in his book. Nalia's face turned pale as sweat began to visibly drip off of her forehead. "Doubt what, sir?" I asked while pretending to be unable to see. "Cut the act boy, I know you can see me, and I know you have excellent hearing. I've been watching you ever since you were born a Human, so I know you more so than you do yourself."

Balthazar stopped writing and closed the book before standing up. Suddenly, he was already in front of me and inspecting my body like I was a mannequin on display. He looked me in the eyes and stayed there for a minute before releasing a curious "Hmm" and shrugging his shoulder. Balthazar turned around and said "Nalia dear, please give me a moment to get the summoning circle ready."

Nalia nodded her head and quickly stood up and fled to my side with her breathing erratic. Balthazar walked over to the left corner of the room, away from us, and waved his hand. A red portal appeared out of thin air and he looked back to us before gesturing for us to follow behind. I glanced back at Nalia and she nodded her head with a nervous look.

I walked through the portal and found myself outside once more with Balthazar standing behind a perfect circle, made out of a strange purple liquid, with an eight pointed star in the center. He gestured for me to come closer and I did so. Balthazar held his hands over the circle and began to chant in a strange language. "Althos medtriol lasto, bevu mestri, altraek veste bervalu..."

The circle began to glow brightly as Balthazar said "Now, all you have to do is let a single drop of your blood hit the center of the circle and then it will do the rest." I glanced up at Balthazar's rather creepy grin before shaking my head and biting down on my thumb. I let a drop of blood fall down onto the middle of the circle as instructed and watched as the entire thing began to turn a dark red. The ground began to shake as a far-off shriek echoed around the air.

"Magnificent..." Balthazar fell to his knees as he held his hands up in the air and yelled "MAGNIFICENT!!"

The head of a large, grotesque crow with no feathers or skin began to rise from the ground, its rows of razor sharp teeth and deformed beak clacking against each other and producing a bone-chilling sound. The crow's large body rose from the ground and it was the same thing as its head; nothing but bones and muscle without skin or feathers.

The crow began to cackle loudly before bursting out into a full blown, maniacal laughter. The crow turned its horrid visage to Balthazar and said "You have done well finding a subject able to summon me, nameless dredge." Balthazar began to bow down with his forehead to the ground as wept with a large smile on his face. The crow then turned its gaze onto me before saying "Hmm...you seem to be rather...exceptional. No matter, I shall morph you into the perfect vessel!!"

The crow let out an ear-piercing screech before dashing toward me with its claws extended. Its long, serrated claws pierced my eyes before I was able to react and I fell to the floor clutching my face. I heard the crow's exposed bones creaking as it bent down and began to lick my blood that fell to the ground with a pleased hum. "Now, little Lord, let me grant you my "Divine" power...ahahahahahahahaha!!!"

My face began to burn as a new pain assaulted my body, forcing me to scream out in agony as my body convulsed and writhed around on the ground. My veins began to bulge out from my skin and it felt like there were worms crawling around inside of them as they tried to burst free from my body. It felt like hot needles were piercing my brain as blood began to flow toward my eye sockets and form something.

My vision returned and the pain ceased immediately, however, something felt wrong. Very wrong. The crow was no where in sight and I could now see these smoky figures dancing around in the trees, wind, and on the ground. Voices began to echo out in my head as Balthazar shakily stood up with a large smile and said "By the Gods...it's true..."

"The Eyes of Mor'Ulthan..."