Darius screamed his lungs out as he was sent flying through the air and down into the forest below. He tried to feel the energy around him and slowed his descent but he didn’t have enough time to react and fell hard to the ground with a silent boom.
“Ugh... What the hell...” he said to himself as he straightened himself up. As he patted the dust and dirt off of his coat and pants, the black wisp appeared again just a few meters in front of him, and once gone, the man in the black cloak he saw earlier in the market stood right before him. Darius knew he wasn’t an illusion from before and his fears are realized.
“What’s up?” the man said. Darius didn’t answer, he just sprinted forward and with his new speed, made it to him in an instant and punched him in the face, sending him flying backward although not that far and he’s still standing on his feet.
“Well, that wasn’t so bad. For a few days, I was expecting less but alright, I’ll take that as a pass.” the man said as he wiped his left cheek.
“Who the hell are you and what do you want with me?” Darius spat. It’s bad enough this guy ruined a perfectly happy moment but even worst that he messed up his party suit.
“Calm down, Darius,” the man said and pulled off his hood and mask, “I’m not your enemy, and believe me when I say, you don’t want me to. The name is Duke.” Duke’s face seemed bruised and hasn’t seen sleep for days but his eyes looked ever ready for a fight.
“Well, Duke, what do you want and how do you know who I am?” Darius said, his fist clenching hard.
“Come on, it’s not that hard to know who you are after all of that soft drama,” Duke said, pointing his thumb behind him to the top of the hill, “and besides, do you really think a Psyon can’t tell another Psyon from up close?” Darius wanted to punch this guy again but he froze when he heard the word Psyon.
“Wait, what? You’re a Psyon?” Darius asked but his guard is still on the rise.
“You tell me. When I came around the corner, can you feel a familiar presence? We’re in the same boat here, my friend, so there’s no need for a fight.” Duke said. Darius was now able to take a better look at this intruder: he had much darker hair than himself and was quaffed with some spikes on the top, his cloak seemed to cover his back only with a hood and his mask scuffed at his neck. He wore armored guards at his shoulder, arms, and shins, and a chest plate which, like everything else he’s wearing, is colored black but there was a symbol of a serpent dragon on each guard. The only part of him that was exposed was his thighs which had no armor at all and his triceps that bear his skin. This man is a soldier of some kind.
“I am not your friend... I’ve never seen a uniform like that. What kingdom are you from?” Darius demanded.
“I’m not from any kingdom, at least not yet. Anyways, we can’t stay here; we have to go right now.” Duke said as he took a forward few steps forward but Darius wanted more from this info from this man before letting him walk. Darius clenched his fist and punched the air forward, sending a fire projectile towards Duke. Duke was able to easily block it with one hand but it sent him flying backward again nonetheless.
“Oh, come on, Darius, how many times I have to say I am not the enemy!?” Duke said as he picked himself off the dirt.
“If you’re not the enemy then who is?” Darius asked but just as he did, there was an explosion on top of the hill. An instant fear flooded through him.
“Is currently on cue... So if you don’t mind, can we get out of here now before they find out we’re here? If you can’t tell, they don’t like to leave witnesses--” Duke said but he was cut off when Darius suddenly jumped in the air and made his way back up the hill. Darius could feel it, he can sense multiple dark energies on the hilltop and growing. Worst still, life energy is slowly disappearing one after another; people were dying by the second.
“Whoa, hold your dragons there, Darius, you can’t just--” Duke said as he suddenly appeared in front of him again under black wisp but Darius kicked him away with a roar in his voice.
“Like hell, I’m gonna follow you! My family is getting murdered up there and I’m the only one with the power to save them! You’re either gonna help me or get the hell out of my way!” Darius kicked the air hard and reached the top of the hill and what he witnessed scarred him for life: bodies were laid everywhere with some decapitated of their limbs, some had turned black and gray and totally unrecognizable. The manor was on fire but it was still standing and Darius could sense life forms in the front of the house. He jumped upwards and landed with a slam hard on the front yard, he could see Mr. Dillinger on the ground with a sword in his hand but completely still, fortunately, there is still life in him.
Houser was fighting off three soldiers clad in black armor very much resembling Duke’s, Master Saul was bleeding heavily but he stood at the ready facing two very large black hound-like beasts; the hounds stood as tall as he did, stood on four legs with claws like meat hooks, its head was long and had no eyes whatsoever with a spiked tail at least five feet long. Its body was shining black like diamonds with spikes visible all over the beast. A few of these black creatures were already on the ground dead and all the while, Aunt Joe is nowhere to be seen.
Darius tried to find a weapon but none could be found, Mr. Dillinger was too far away to reach and Master Saul was three seconds away from instant death. Having no choice, Darius flashed his way to Master Saul first and punched the beast that was already in the air pouncing on its prey. The punch left a mark as the beast was sent flying backward, knocking into the other.
“Darius, you should not be here, my boy!” Master Saul shrieked.
“Sorry, sir, but I can’t just leave you here to die,” Darius replied and used his telekinesis to levitate both of the beasts, they felt heavy but nothing to strain over, he whipped the air with a kick and a wave of golden-red flames emitted and shot forward to the beasts. Upon impact, the beasts exploded into shining black dust and dispersed.
“Stay here, Master Saul!” Darius ordered and went to help Houser next. He took two steps forward and punched the air, there was an invisible shockwave but it blasted the three soldiers sending them flying and exploding into ash and black dust in a wave of golden fire.
“Are you alright, Houser?” Darius called out.
“Yeah, I’m fine… Go and help the others.” Houser said and went to his father’s side. Darius sprinted again with his super-speed to the nearest sign of life. He can feel their presence everywhere; both the living and the dead but these dark creatures with skin like black diamonds have a certain foul sense to them. He can feel it in his skin, smell it through his nose, and can see the shadows seeping out from these things.
Around the manor, these black creatures are no longer present but down the hill, the battle assault seems to have dragged on. Darius jumped from the top of the hill down the slopes to the nearest creatures preying on his neighbors. He landed near two more eyeless black hounds who are trying to claw their way up a tree where Mrs. Davis was sitting near the top branch.
“Darius, run, child! These are not your usual beasts!” Mrs. Davis yelled out whilst hugging the tree as hard as she could.
“Like hell, I will!” Darius roared. The soldier turned behind him and ordered the beasts to attack the boy instead. The two beasts immediately turned around and started to attack Darius. He raised both hands up, lifting the two beasts with an invisible force, slamming them into each other hard, and threw them back towards the soldier. He was about to load his rifle but the beasts crashed hard and knocked him to the ground.
A flash of violet came from behind, causing Darius to turn to see what was coming but his reaction was too slow and he could see the projectile fired to his face. But a shadow loomed over him and merely slapped the flash away, the missile now flew to the side and exploded with a sheer force that forced Darius to skid a few feet away.
Darius recovered just in time to see Duke maneuvering between two soldiers who blasted their rifle cannons again and again but missed. Darius saw that Duke moved much faster than he could until his body looked like a blur of smoke and shadow and, acted all too fast; Duke punched the soldier on his left by the arm and disabled the soldier of his weapon, grabbed the second soldier by the neck, took hold of the dropped rifle before it hit the ground and shot it straight to the first soldier’s chest, sending him flying and threw the second soldier with ease in the air and pulled three shots all hitting its target. Both men were dead before they hit the ground and only now could Darius see the resemblance.
Duke’s armor or uniform or whatever garments he wore looked exactly the same as the men he just killed. Better still, there appears to be a few stripes on his left shoulder pad which left no other guess other than Duke is a ranked soldier at the very least.
“You’re one of them?” Darius said as he struggled to stand up.
“Was. Not anymore.” Duke said as he helped Darius up. There was another explosion back on top of the hill where Darius could see parts of the manor exploding and he could feel--
“Aunt Joe!” Darius ran up the hill with his speed but encountered more of the beasts and soldiers on the way. Darius slid in between them but the eyeless hounds had more than just a sense of smell. Like himself, the beasts, too, can sense he is coming and without hesitation lunged unto him.
They missed their mark but the soldiers wielding the rifles had little to fear about missing as they fired shot after shot and each missile missed Darius only by inches but the shockwave from the nearby explosions was enough to force him to the ground.
“Geez, you don’t know how to fight, do you?” Duke shouted out as he appeared from behind the soldier line and brutally took them down by hacking and slashing their necks with a diamond black blade. The beasts split up to attack Darius and Duke separately. Duke seemed to have no trouble handling the beasts but Darius wasn’t as swift as he is and once again, he’s running around to avoid their fangs. And despite his speed, the beasts were actually able to catch up to him but what’s important now is to get on top of the hill.
Darius spun around just in time to give a whirling kick and sent one beast flying and flew off the side of the hill but two more still stayed to his tail. He punched the air like before and the shockwave blew the air but missed. Darius punched again and again but the hounds could see what he was firing and easily dodged the waves.
Darius turned and ran back up the hill with the hounds right behind him until he stopped dead in his tracks with his feet forced deep into the ground. He closed his eyes, the heat now emitted from his fists; he opened his eyes and could see golden fire all over his hands. He turned around just in time to see the two hounds baring fangs and pouncing on him; Darius tucked his arms across him and lowered his knees. The beasts missed their bite but Darius, now standing in between them, stood up swung his arms outward, and punched the dark creatures at the belly. He roared at the top of his voice and the connecting punch grew fiercer and exploded, leaving nothing but withering ashes and dust.
Darius turned around and saw more of the soldiers and hounds up the hill, all of them poised to kill the remaining defender. But all paused at the sight of the second.
“They’re called Darkai,” Duke said as he slowly approached from behind, “those beasts you killed earlier are called Spawns. They’re basically Darkmatter recreated into physical form and as you can see, they are very hard to kill by conventional means.”
“Define conventional,” Darius said.
“You can forget about guns and blades, Darius. Here, it’s nothing but raw power.” Duke said as he pulled up his facemask and readied his arms at the side. Some dark fluid-like matter began to swim around his arms and quickly modified into solidified claws of three blades.
“You look like you could use a weapon, here,” Duke said as he held out his left hand, smoke and dark liquid formed and stretched until it took the form of a long, single-edged sword.
“I thought you said to forget blades?” Darius said as he took the black sword. It was light to his touch and seemed to fit his grip just perfectly.
“I also said raw power here. Should be fitting for you, right?” Duke said.
“This is your only warning, Psyon!” shouted a soldier from behind the lines, “Surrender now or they will all die!”
“Looks like someone’s pissed, let’s finish this trash bag,” Duke said as he readied himself to charge but he was stopped by the tip of a sword in front of his nose.
“How the hell do I know you’re not leading me into a trap to kill me? You guys seem to have a common purpose.” Darius said, the black blade held at Duke’s face.
“Is that how you thank a guy who just gave you his--” said Duke but he was suddenly interrupted when a violet missile just missed him by his cheek. Having no other choice but to trust him, Duke and Darius charged forward.
Duke’s claws emitted a dark violet glow and slashed away freely to his enemies. Not wanting to be left behind, Darius focused and set his blade on fire, and charged forward behind Duke. Spawn after Spawn of the Darkai horde pounced and attacked the two boys but most of them dispersed into black dust as Duke and Darius hacked and slashed through every Darkai flesh they could get their hands on. The soldiers from the far backfired missile after missile and while some missed, others hit their mark but it was blocked or deflected.
Darius was not fond of the idea of killing but this Duke character, whether he enjoys it or not, is skilled at doing just that: killing. Every slash he makes, every kick and punch and slam of force, is aimed to kill anything that he crosses. Spawns are instantly turned to dust; soldiers are falling one by one with either limb hacked or from wounds too deep. Every time Duke slashes his claws, he leaves trails of violet flares in the air where his claws meet as if making a beautiful array of chaos and striking perfection.
Darius is trying to keep up but Duke is too fast and killing more than he could count. As he slashed and hacked his way until to the top of the hill, just in time to see Aunt Joe being strangled singlehandedly by a very large man with full body armor, helmet and, cape. Even Duke had some fear etched across his face but that alone was not enough to stop him and, he charged forward. Darius tried to keep up and followed closely behind.
“Swords! Swords!” the head soldier shouted. The remaining soldiers dropped all their weapons and summoned black long swords the same way Duke did and charged forward. Duke stood still and focused his energy on the claws, the claw blades now shined a bright shade of violet and he slashed the air with both arms.
As Duke charged forward, a large X-like energy slash followed suit and with a single strike, sliced through half the soldier lines. Darius steadied his legs, held his sword in a defensive stance, and focused his energy through the blade. The fiery sword now grew brighter and hotter, as he shouted out, Darius thrust his blade forward, and like a cannon: a massive fire missile shot out from the tip and soared in bullet speed to anything it came across. Once connected, a large explosion of fire and dirt flew in every direction; he needs to learn to control that more. As the dust cleared out and all of the dead lay to waste, the two Psyons faced the head soldier who had Aunt Joe behind the neck and held her high for display.
“Let her go!” Darius demanded.
“Very well then, lay down your arms and surrender.” said the captain, his voice was deep and coarse but Duke objected.
“Forget it, Darius. That woman is dead. Darkai doesn’t take prisoners and they don’t negotiate. She’s as good as dead!” Duke spat.
“Heh, well said, brother.” said the captain.
“Brother? Wait, are you two related?” Darius asked now his attention to Duke.
“Half-brother.” Duke retorted.
“It matters not, you have failed too many times to even face father. Surrender now or I will crush her puny neck in my hand!” the captain spat. Darius lowered his sword slowly but Duke kept retorting otherwise. Darius struck his blade to the ground and raised his hands and Duke, as hesitant and stubborn against all this, dispersed his claws and heavily dropped to his knees.
“I’m telling you, it’s a bad idea,” Duke whispered.
“Oh right, like I’m supposed to trust a treacherous spy.” Darius hushed and raised his hands above his head. Duke wanted to retort again but he was silenced by the captain.

“Good boys, if only you were more obedient, Duke. Father would still consider you for a Dakrie.” the captain said as he slowly lowered Aunt Joe.
“Yeah, well, you and dad can just kiss my ass with that.” Duke returned with his arms raised.
“Dammit, this wasn’t supposed to happen! How the hell could I have missed this?” In his thoughts, Duke smacked himself due to overlooking a far simpler fact; he should have expected the man kneeling to his right to at least have some family relations just like the other three did.
“I’ll send your regards, then,” the captain said, he raised Aunt Joe with one hand, Darius could see her gentle smile with a single teardrop and mouthed the words ‘I love you; the captain created a single blade much like how Duke created his claws and stabbed her from behind, piercing her heart.
All of the time froze: The encroaching soldiers surrounding them didn’t move, Duke’s facial expression froze with a dropped jaw as if trying to scream and Joanna’s eyes widened with shock but without fear. Time seemed to have slowed to the extreme for Darius as everything moved sluggishly for him, even his muscles won’t react or move to what he saw. He could see it, her life energy slowly fading until it flew away completely from her smiling body.
Time appeared to have moved back to normal again but his hearing couldn’t absorb the chaos around him as Duke was no longer on his knees but was blasting a self-made rifle and slashing his claws to anything that moved. He darted for the captain but he was easily pushed blasted away a shockwave of dark violet energy.
“Don’t worry, boy, you’ll meet her in the next life soon enough.” said the captain as he suddenly disappeared from his spot and Darius could feel his presence behind him. The captain swung his blade, now a large broadsword, aimed at his prey’s neck. The swing connected but the captain held shock as his blade was stopped by a claw of three.
“Like hell, you’re touching him!” Duke snared. He swung his claw to the captain’s face.
“Out of the way, vermin!” the captain returned and bashed Duke with his shoulder before the blades hit his face.
“Aunt...” Darius tried to call out and his hand stretched forth but his voice did not sound, he stared at Aunt Joe’s lifeless body, her eyes closed and her life force is all but gone. There was a faint scream from Duke telling Darius to get up but he couldn’t listen. Another explosion blasted not far from behind and a shadowy image showed Duke flying past him and crashing hard just a few feet from Aunt Joe’s: this has now become an execution.
“Game’s over, boy. Die!” the captain roared from behind and thrust his sword forward, aiming for Darius’s heart. Darius, as if subconsciously driven, shifted his body to the right and the blade missed his body but Darius caught the very blade itself with his right hand. Duke tried to get up but he was just in much shock as the captain.
The blade of the broadsword was not only stopped but it was also caught!
“Yeah... The game’s over...” Darius said quietly. Like the shadowy blur he saw in Duke, Darius picked up his sword with his left hand, the blade alighted in red and golden flames, he turned around and struck the sword an uppercut and sliced through the captain’s armor.
The captain let go of the handle once he realize there is no release from the boy’s grip and jumped far backward. But Darius won’t let him escape, he flashed to the captain in a fiery blaze as his flames usurped his whole body before the captain could have a proper foothold and with all his might, punched the captain squarely in the chest with his right hand and like a thousand thunder strikes: the captain was blown away by golden fire. The captain screamed in terror but his voice could not be heard as he flew backward like blazing cannon fire and crashed into the earth with a small mushroom cloud of golden red blaze.
“Damn...” Duke cursed under his breath as he forced himself to stand up at the awe of the brutal yet majestic sight of wildfire. Whatever this pulsating power was, it slowly disappeared like the flames around them until a shivering coldness took place.
“To think, he had all that and on a first try too... Damn it...” Duke thought to himself as he limply tried to walk over to his mission. Before he took another step, Darius already flashed past him in a fiery spectacle and tended to his deceased aunt. Duke couldn’t help but sympathize with the guy but then again, Darius’s case isn’t as bad compared to what he’s seen and would probably grow out of it.
“Aunt Joe... I’m sorry...” Darius said quietly as he brushed her hair with his fingers. He took off his jacket and folded it, placing it gently beneath her head. She looked serene even with her eyes closed; he shed some tears but didn’t wipe them away as they dropped across her cheeks. He wanted to cry more, he wanted to curse everything and everyone that caused this to happen but more than anything, he wished Aunt Joe could at least breathe as a sign that she would live for another day.
“AAAAARGH!” Darius roared to the grey skies as he held Aunt Joe close to his chest. The atmosphere grew heavy and the earth beneath him shook as Darius screamed as loud as he could to the heavens; the skies began to darken.
Duke stood where he was and looked at this sorrowful picture. Even though he did expect this to happen as a worst-case scenario, he knows full well the pain of loss especially a loved one, and even worse still if the loss affected a civilian. He could feel the world tremble but Duke knew the world itself isn’t shaking; it was simply due to the density of the Psyonic Pressure that Darius is emitting. But even for someone as experienced as him combat and power, not even he could not pull a feat without proper training.
Darius’s Psyonic Pressure began to fade little by little and his screams to the skies have silenced but his whimpers still faintly heard, Duke turned around and slowly limped towards the spot where his so-called brother’s corpse would be. He used the Hole, an instant teleportation device where Darkai like himself could travel anywhere instantly in a loop of Darkmatter energy. He appeared right in front of the crater where the captain now lay in burnt metal and ashes of whatever that is left... But unfortunately, the soldier is still alive.
“You just don’t know how to die, do you?” Duke muttered as he slowly made his way down the crater, he created a single blade just long and hard enough to cut out the soldier’s heart and burn it for justice. But as he reached the body, a great looming shadow appeared from beneath and absorbed the captain.
“I guess not...” the captain said as he gave one last smile and disappeared with the shadow, at the instant Duke missed as he struck his blade and hit nothing but dirt.