Chapter 12: The Shadow Hidden in the Darkness
Darkness. That was all that can be perceived, atleast, for a normal human. Sicarius had already took out his ear mufflers as he rushed away from their spot.
He focused his attention to his immediate surroundings. Hyperfocus. Although the eyes are hindered by darkness the remaining senses remain untouched.
He could hear their rushing steps, their heaving breaths, and the nonsensical gibberish of Venus.
"What's wrong?!" She says,
Beneath her voice, Sicarius could hear it. The speeding sound of a blade.
Sicarius grabbed Venus by the face and threw her across the floor in front of them as he twisted his body backward.
The blade of shadow hit the floor and caused a spark, illuminating the surroundings for a mere moment. All Venus needed to learn the situation was that one moment to see the twisted limbs of shadow speeding towards Sicarius's head.
Another flash, as Sicarius evades, rolling and picking up a shattered tile from the floor. Venus was staring at the happenings, as still as stone.
"Run." Sicarius uttered, but Venus seemed to be a statue.
Again, the shadow attacked. The whistling sound of the blade reached towards the both of them. Sicarius gripped the tile shard tightly and parried.
His tiny body was pushed back, and his right palm bled, however he stood tall. Again and again, the shadow attacked. Through the flickering of lights with each parry, Venus was able to see Sicarius slowly accumulating injuries. Her eyes widened as she took a step forward to join the battle.
"Run. You'll be a burden to me." Sicarius spoke once again, listening intently to the sounds of silence. For a while there was hesitation, but there was no time to hesitate. Venus ran away to get help.
"You think I can't get past you boy?"
Sicarius dodged an attack from the ceiling. The attack hit the floor and from the flicker of light Sicarius saw the shadow speeding at Venus's direction from above.
Sicarius's gaze grew serious. If Venus died, the old man will refuse to face Sicarius until death.
In a second, Sicarius bolted ahead. His eyes strained in the darkness, but it was his ears listening intently for an ambush from any direction.
Nothing but the sounds of Venus's footsteps could be heard ahead. Nothing. Nothing but the sound of a whistling blade to his face. Then the sound of a floor tile shattering as a body tumbled on the floor.
"Better keep up boy!" The shadow's voice snickered, its laughter grew weaker as it sped towards Venus.
Sicarius's body was shivering. The former ruler of worlds laid there, limited by his prepubescent body. How many times had he been in a situation like this? It didn't matter if the body was bursting apart internally, what mattered was that he could still move.
Sicarius with his trembling legs pushed himself forward. His floor tile was nothing but dust, all that was left of him was his fists. He gained onto the shadow and with his small fists against its blades, Sicarius had no chance.
It's body was shadow, and shrouded by darkness, Sicarius wasn't even sure where it was.
He could only evade, and slip forward. Another flicker of light as Sicarius tumbled over behind the shadow and ran towards the stairway that led to the exit. Venus could be heard above, banging on the metal door as she screamed for help.
However, it was no use. They were locked down.
Just as Sicarius reached the top, a whistle once again. He jumped and the blade of shadow hit the stair balusters, completely detaching them from the handrails.
A better weapon than measly floor tiles. Sicarius caught balusters on both hands and took on a battle stance.
Sicarius leaped toward the shadow, his balusters slamming down with his all. Parry after parry, hit after hit, each exchange of attacks brought light to the surroundings. Individual flickers of light did nothing to the shadow, but the continuous flashes of light started to push it back.
Seeing it on the defensive, Venus took the opportunity to grab her own baluster and fight.
The more they attacked, the weaker it got. With its weakness against continuous light, the two of them were able to keep it below.
For a while, the shadow refrained from attacking. Sicarius didn't complain, his body was already over its limits. The only reason he could remain conscious was due to his sheer will and adrenaline.
"Who knew that they had a monster too, and two of them at that." The shadow muttered,
Sicarius simply raised both of his balusters with Venus behind him, ready to defend against any attacks.
"It would be such a waste of talent to kill the two of you," The shadow came closer, "Why don't you join, us."
Venus clung to Sicarius, as if afraid he'll agree to the shadow's preposition. To her horror Sicarius replied,
"What will I get if I join you?" Sicarius asked,
The shadow chuckled, "Smart, I like you even more."
A physical hand slowly clasped onto Sicarius's shoulders, then another hand, both tightly holding Sicarius's small body. The shadow was so close that Sicarius could smell the reek of blood close to his face.
"If you join us, you will have a chance to be a messiah of Sin. We'll bring down the walls and let the divine Sins take us to salvation. As it was meant to be." The shadow spoke, "And most importantly, you won't be a pile of flesh scattered on the floor if you choose to continue fighting."
Its voice was closer now, as if its lips were in front of him. Sicarius stared ahead, looking at the darkness. He only realized he was staring right at its face as the shadow smiled, revealing rotten yellow teeth.
"What do you say?"
Sicarius felt Venus's grip tightening behind him, restricting him from motion.
"Let me go, Venus." Sicarius said,
"No!" Venus was enraged, "H-How could you?!"
"Let me go." Sicarius said firmly as he pushed Venus away with his elbows. Venus landed on the metal walls with a solid thud.
The shadow laughed in amusement, its spit dripping all over Sicarius's face as it gave Sicarius pats on the shoulder.
"Welcome to the Cult of Sin, b--AHHHHH!"
The feeling of piercing through flesh was a feeling Sicarius hadn't felt in a long time. The shadow jerked away, with a pair of Balusters embedded on its chest. Sicarius quickly dashed back in case of a counter, and yet there was none.
"You piece of shit..." It moaned as it fell down the stairs. The sound of its body hitting the bottom was a satisfying thud.
Sicarius strained his brain to focus, to listen for any more movements, however, although the mind was willing, the body was weak.
Sicarius collapsed on the metal doors, leaning on Venus who he pushed away earlier with quite a force.
"You meanie..." She whimpered with a cracking voice, "That hurt."
The girl was sobbing but it was fine. The battle was over, there was no more need for her to remain acting tough. Sicarius didn't bother to comfort her, he could barely move his lips.
The battle had taken everything in him. If he had fought fairly, Sicarius knew that all that awaited him was death.
Right now, he felt relieved and fatigued. He simply laid there, waiting for the metal doors to open. It was silent now. Nothing but Venus's sobs could be hea--
Venus felt Sicarius's body beside her jerk backward as a huge thud resounded throughout the stairway.
"Did you really think I would die so easily?" The shadow cackled, followed by another thud. A thud made from Sicarius's body being pummeled against the metal doors. "As long as I'm in darkness I'm immortal you piece of shit!"
Venus screamed. She couldn't see it, nor was she being attacked. She simply felt blood splatter all over her body, blood that she knew came from no one else but Sicarius.
Thud, thud, thud, thud. The shadow was merciless. Venus tried to attack with a baluster, the shadow simply shoved her aside and continued to pummel Sicarius to a pulp.
Blood, more blood. She started to feel a warm liquid get soaked by her shoes.
She screamed again, louder this time, more desperate and in despair. She launched herself fearlessly at the shadow, relentless even as she was being shoved repeatedly.
A dim glimmer of light started to appear from her eyes and mouth, then her skin glowed. From the weak light of a firefly to a light as radiant as the sun.
The shadow started to burn. However it didn't die, it covered its eyes from the radiance as it shrieked and retreated into the floor below.
It left the body of Sicarius on the ground, in a puddle of his own blood. Venus wailed in agony as she huddled near his body. She set his head which was barely recognizable atop her lap and repeatedly apologized.
"I'm sorry." The light was as radiant as the sun, and yet she felt as if she was thrown into the abyss.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Enthra
Enthra This chapter was quite a challenge to write. It's not so easy trying to paint a picture of battles and the reactions of a child to bloody injuries, but it was fun writing the various versions of how it could have happened.
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