Dawn- An Age Of Darkness

The emperor didn't move. 

He just blocked my sword with his- a sword blacker than darkness. Even Ashirnae's Mythic sword wasn't that dark. 

"YES, TRULY MAGNIFICENT. IF ONLY YOU'D LISTEN."

"But wouldn't it become boring if I were to just listen to you and dance on your palm?"

I hit him with a holy ball out of nowhere. I'd made it seem like I was going to use my spear, but I switched at the very last moment. 

My battle with Dick was a good reminder to me, that I could use fast transfers with my ring, assuming I had enough mana.

It was a positive hit and I took a step back. 

But nothing happened.

"AHHHAHHHASH!" Even his laughter was ominous. "BUT ARE YOU SURE YOU'RE NOT ALREADY DANCING ON THE PALM OF MY HAND, NOW?"

Well, he did have a point. 

Flick!

Ve was trying to catch him by surprise but she was flicked back: it was almost like an invisible hand had attacked Ve. "ENOUGH LYING AROUND. GET HERE AND HAVE SOME FUN!"

"Yes, my lord."

Sorain, the vampire appeared out of nowhere and took his battle stance again. 

I guess that took Ve out of the equation. 

I took deep breaths. Though the elixir and the potion did wonders, it sure wasn't enough to stop a bleeding heart. 

"I could heal you to full health if you find that troubling." The emperor said in a rather emphatical voice. 

But it was fake and I knew it. "NO thanks."

I charged in again, I wasn't charging blindly. I didn't know the extent of his powers and I didn't know just how deep it went. So, I gradually just increased my attacks, gauging his response. He was still messing around and he could easily keep up even though I was in this state. 

He was by far the strongest opponent I'd faced. 

"You're progress is impressive." The emperor said in a cold voice as he closed his eyes. This was the perfect chance. I went in for a solid attack. "HOWEVER- YOU'RE FAR TOO PREDICTABLE AND YOU HAVEN'T RID OF YOUR NAIVETY!"

He grabbed my head at lightning speed: I couldn't even see him move. He just grabbed it and stared at me. He lifted me up and started crushing my skull. "ARGH!" I screamed but to no avail. 

I'd been in a similar situation before- but- I used the mystic blade and sliced off his hand while I was wailing around!

He let me go and quickly healed his hand. The sword was effective and so were holy attacks. But he healed his arm like it was a joke. His regenerative powers were actually stronger than mine. 

He grinned and swung his sword horizontally. I blocked it with my shield but- just barely. He was heavy and his swordplay was nothing to sneeze at. 

But so far, he didn't seem like someone invincible. He didn't feel like a God. Maybe he was hiding his true strength, maybe he was just playing around. 

But some part of me was hopeful. And that's why- I used all my knowledge, all my skills, and swung around. 

Our swords connected, he deflected me, I blocked him. I was definitely not going to back out now and I knew if I didn't do something now, something bad was about to happen. 

The light of the auras had mostly healed me and I felt the better the more I used this power. If this kept up, I'd be in full health soon. I knew I'd run out eventually, so I had to hurry. 

But just when I thought things were looking good for me- HE SIGHED. And that was no frigging small sigh. 

The area around the emperor started to shake and vibrate: it was almost as though reality itself was being warped. Darkness gathered around him- no, the light just vanished from that place. "AND THAT NAIVETY SHALL COST YOU!"

In an instant, he gathered a lot more darkness than I'd ever seen in daytime. 

I tried my best to gather light and make a holy ball but his was far- far bigger than anything I could manage. Even the grand spell I'd used moments ago- paled in comparison. 

'We aren't even in the same ballpark-'

The realization only made my blood curl and go cold- but-

He threw his dark ball; I threw my light. They clashed and my light got dwarfed. It wasn't working, the massive ball of darkness was headed my way whether I liked it or not. 

I used the shield and tried to protect myself but- The darkness was just too much and it was enough to cover this portion of the city. I was about to be consumed. 

In that moment, it was almost as though- something came inside me and-

And a dark aura hovered over my other auras.

"A SPIRIT?" The emperor chuckled menacingly. "HOWEVER, IT WON'T SAVE YOU!"

The Darkness covered everything. 

There was no light. Even though I produced light, I couldn't see anything. I couldn't feel anything and I didn't feel like I was taking any damage either. It was almost as though the darkness just absorbed me and there was nothing left.

I couldn't even hear anything: there were no outside sounds. The world had gone silent.

'Don't be fooled. He's coming.'

I heard the spirit's voice inside my mind.

He's coming? But from where?

I couldn't tell left from right, let alone predict where I was going to get attacked from. 

"There!" But even so- I could tell where the spirit was pointing. 

I couldn't see the spirit, but I could feel- and that's why I raised my shield up and waited. 

I didn't know how- but I knew he'd be here… now!

"NO!" The spirit cried out. 

I thrust the sword forward while maintaining my shield. I didn't know what it was going on about but it was too late to stop now. 

Something solid hit my shield and it didn't go through, but my sword flew through something and I knew it was a positive hit. 

But blood? The emperor had blood?

The darkness cleared. 

Someone threw up blood- it wasn't me. 

It wasn't the emperor either. 

It was Ve.