Nightmare of Shadows [Unmaking Quest - An Arbiter's Plea]

[Shinku]

Darkness, emptiness and void, that was everything and nothing that surrounded Shinku in a dream or perhaps a nightmare of what had befallen in the crossroads. The assassin of shadows floated in a pitch black space, void of any sensation there was. Could he be blind or deaf, or perhaps enveloped in total darkness? Yet somehow his consciousness conveyed that there was just nothing to see, nothing to hear, nor touch.

In an instance, a light suddenly flashed and painted the space around him with glimmering sparks, scattered in a vast expanse of infinity. Clouds of gas and dust gradually formed, along with cosmic rocks that added substance to the once empty space. The worlds of the crossroads appeared one after another at different distances around Shinku. The assassin of shadows marveled at such wondrous sight that he just witnessed, yet at the same time puzzled by the purpose of such vision. Surprisingly, he was able to turn his body to see everything that just appeared before his sight. The whole universe of the crossroads was projected before him like a gigantic hologram.

The rhythmic sound of grinding and clunking made the assassin’s head face downwards to witness the view of a humongous mechanism covered with intertwined gigantic gears that all spun in a slow, perpetual motion. The metallic gears all seemed to float, clustered and scattered to form a colossal, spherical world. Faint glimmers of light were spread across each gear, decorating the winding metals with speckled luminescence. Beyond the metallic surface lay an ocean of molten slag, radiating in a bright scarlet hue. The view reminded Shinku of his father’s furnace when metallic ores were being smelted.

“It’s beautiful isn’t it? Or was.” The assassin’s sightseeing was suddenly disturbed by a deep, thunderous voice that seemed to have been projected from around him. This caused Shinku to survey the space around him but couldn’t seem to find anyone that might be the voice’s origin. His hand quickly reached for the handle of his sword that was strapped at his back, then carefully scanned every bit of details at his surroundings, or rather at the projected image around him.

“Ah fear not young warrior. For I am simply here to herald an urgent plea. That was Governmorne, a mechanical world brought to life by another arbiter same as I. That’s at least how it was, before it got consumed by darkness. But I guess ‘tis better if we carry on with that vision of yours first.” The voice continued, followed by a sudden chill that seeped through the assassin’s bones.

With just moments of the voice’s disappearance, the silhouette of an airship appeared below Shinku from a distance in between him and the gargantuan metallic world. From a ghastly apparition, the silhouette formed into a metallic airship, of steampunk design, clad in a light steel plating. The airship simply hovered above the gear-formed world, kept afloat by two rotating rotor blades, held by dome shaped extensions at each side of the ship. It moved forward in a leisurely manner as if sailing the vastness of space in a light breeze.

The serenity of the scene however, was disturbed by the sudden appearance of a dark rift from a few distance in front of the airship. From the dark rift, a colossal ship emerged, plated in dark red metal, all forming deadly spikes around the ship’s hull. The newcomer made the previous ship appear as a mere dwarf in size compared to its gargantuan build. The colossal ship emerged from the rift and traveled in a slow, steady pace towards the smaller one until the two collided in an impact that caused a huge dent on the smaller airship. The assassin of shadows wanted to move closer yet an invisible barrier seemed to have confined him within a small space.

Two men emerged from each ship, with the man at the lesser ship appearing later than the other. Torn shards from the smaller ship scattered in open space, and smoke rose from the airship's point of impact. Both men were too far for Shinku to distinguish any particular feature, yet their movements signified a stern tension between them. Even from afar, the assassin of shadows could feel the suffocating vileness that emanated from the being at the gigantic ship. Darkness started to slither at the world below, then gradually veiled the mechanical planet in a frightening shadow. At that point, the assassin of shadows knew that something sinister was about to occur.

Following his instinct, Shinku drew his sword, then tried to enter into the shadow realm to reach the vile being that stood at the colossal airship. Much to his dismay, he could not seem to harness the shadow energy inside him to open a rift to the realm of shadows. Shinku clenched his fist, disappointed by his failure to use his shadow art to traverse the space below him. The man on the lesser airship suddenly curled, seemingly in excruciating pain. Shinku’s body then shook in fury, upon his realization that he could not do anything to help the unfortunate man.

The suffering of the lesser airship’s captain continued until a dark energy surged out of him, visible from where Shinku was floating. In his fury, Shinku tried to cut the barrier around him with his sword but no matter how hard he swung its blade, the wall between him and the scene below refused to yield. The assassin of shadows could only witness as the unfortunate man finally succumbed to the vile energy, and became the darkness itself.

Just as Shinku thought he’d seen enough, a swarm of greyish creatures emerged from the colossal airship and flocked the unfortunate world like pests that were ready to devour. From out of nowhere, the assassin of shadows began to hear screams of people, evidently out of horror. He tried to cover his ears, hoping it could block the cries of a million beings suffering in dread and agony. He closed his eyes, refusing to see the apocalypse that had begun to consume the clockwork planet once teeming with light. Much to his dismay, the projection before him and the agony of beings he could not see, crept into his mind like a stubborn nightmare.

1044/2500

 

[Shinku]

The vision broke his heart like the impotence he had back at the slaughter of his own clan. A whole planet had slowly fallen into destruction before him yet, he could only stand there, unable to lend a hand against the world’s ruin. He couldn’t even reach the man of the lesser ship to aid the captain from his agony. Still with his eyes closed, he swung his sword incessantly, eager to bust the concealed wall before him yet all of no avail. He roared in anger, as a medium to channel his helplessness into a senseless rage that brought him nothing more than frustration and anguish. Memories of his past mixed with the dreadful vision that almost put his mind into insanity. The horror, the torment, the grief all befell the assassin of shadows like a raging wave that swept him into madness.

“It’s daunting isn’t it? Witnessing it for the second time.” Shinku opened his eyes upon hearing the same voice that caught his attention earlier. Again, he turned his head, in an aim to see where the voice came from. “Watching the destruction of a world, while unable to do anything to stop it. You’ve seen it once back in your own world. Of the clan that you once held dear.” Those words came like a spear, stabbing through the assassin’s heart. His heart bled, torn apart like a paper shred into strips.

“So that’s what it’s all about. To remind me how useless I was when my clan was murdered by those wretched beasts! You don’t know how much I wanted to spill their blood with my own blade!” Shinku grunted, trying as much as he could to prevent a tear from escaping his eyes. His heart began to race like a drum, beating for war. A wrath, suppressed from years of hiding and searching, suddenly burst out like a raging flame, prepared to set everything ablaze.

“Of course you do and I understand how you feel. Yet, ‘tis not to rouse that guilt of yours, nor to remind you of your vengeance.” The voice continued, now without the thunderous tone, and suddenly with the form of a knight beside Shinku, clad with silver armor that was decorated with golden vignette patterns. A hand tapped the assassin’s shoulder as a gesture of comfort. “I know that by showing you this, you’d be able to relate from where my plea would come from.” The vision below them continued, as the greyish creatures moved about the whole world and left traces of the shadow wherever they set their feet upon.

“So what is it that you want?” Shinku finally calmed down, his heart gradually slowed to a normal beat. He kept his eyes drawn to the chaos that continued to unfold upon the world below, which reminded him of the slaughter that befell his clan. He then placed his sword back in its scabbard, as a gesture of courtesy for the knight that appeared beside him.

“It has started. His madness that is. But of course before anything else, the name’s Terrance, first emperor of Arcadia’s kingdom and the one who brought Erde Nona into existence. That over there, is Darkseid, the personification of destruction itself. We once banished him far from the crossroads where his vileness could not corrupt anything from our worlds, yet he was able to come back and now seeks to unmake everything that each of us arbiters had brought to life with our powers. He already started at Governmorne, and he will not rest until he consumes everything with his own darkness.” The emperor recounted, his face fell into despair as he watched the destruction of what once was Governmorne. He removed his hand from Shinku’s shoulder and let it rest freely at his side.

“So that other man. Is that the maker of that world?” Shinku faced the emperor, and witnessed tears that rushed through his companion’s cheeks.

“You are correct. Or at least he once was. Now, all that’s left is Darkseid’s darkness embedded on his very being.” The winding gears at the world below had then stopped, blackened by the shadow that consumed the whole world’s being. One after another, the gears that once wound in perpetuity fell into the molten slag that continued to burn at the planet’s core. The lesser ship’s captain had then been formed into a greyish fallen angel, and reeked with vileness that once belonged to the corrupted arbiter. “Now tell me, young warrior. Have you had the strength to save your clan from destruction back then. Would you have done so?”

“Of course.” Shinku responded promptly, his eyes glared at the dark arbiter that brought about Governmorne’s destruction. His right hand clenched into a fist, prepared to bust into everything that ignited his wrath.

“I thought you would. That’s why I came to you. Yet, you are not alone. I’ve rallied everyone I could in my own world. So did the other arbiters. Darkseid wastes no time, as we speak, he is starting his work at the tomb world of Cevanti. And we fear that he’ll come after each of us next, if we don’t stop him now.” Emperor Terrance continued, in a still yet melancholic tone. Both the airships below slowly faded into darkness without any trace that something existed in the very space they once occupied. The mechanical world below had been fully covered in a pitch black shadow, taken over by demons that lay waste to everything that once gave life to the ruined planet.

“So where do I go from here?” The assassin of shadows inquired, eager to act against the destruction that transpired before his very eyes.

“As of now, I urge you to stay and defend my world. It was not an accident that your search has brought you here. This world needs you. Even before Darkseid could come, chaos had already preceded him into Erde.” The emperor continued to speak in a surprisingly calm tone. Both their eyes were still focused at the remains of Governmorne. “Fortunately enough, some citizens of that world were able to save themselves and were scattered across the other uncorrupted worlds. That includes Erde. However, they’re all broken and confused, void of any hope. Right now, all I could ask is that you aid them, listen to each of their pleas. You know how it feels to lose everything that you hold dear. Now I beseech you to be a hero among them.”

“But I am no hero. I am as broken as they are. And my ways. They’re not what you could call honorable.” Shinku responded, his valor shattered like a glass that had fallen into pieces.

“Honor. Of course. I’ve lived through centuries. And by that I’ve realized, being a hero is more than just about glory and honor.” The emperor raised his sword, and gazed upon its shimmering blade that brought light into the darkness of space.

“What is it then?” The assassin of shadows implored, his eyes still fixed at the lifeless world below him.

“The answer lies in here.” The emperor extended his right arm towards Shinku, and tapped the assassin’s chest with his sword’s hilt, its blade pointing away from him.

“I know you’re a brave boy.” The voice of his mother suddenly rang in Shinku’s head like a soothing melody.

“And I am certain that someone else believed that you can be one. Well regardless, my appeal remains. And I’m confident that I wasn’t wrong to choose you. I know you’d do well, hero” The emperor continued, after he put his sword back in its scabbard. His voice slowly faded as his speech reached its end.

Before Shinku could respond, the emperor disappeared like dust scattered into the wind. The space around him followed suit, and turned back to the dark void that it once was.

The assassin’s consciousness then brought him back to the inn at Arcadia where he had been staying for a couple of days. He rose, seated at bed that comforted him through the night. He held his head, then tried to make sense of the dream he just had. Instead of getting up, Shinku closed his eyes yet again, then delved into the realm of shadows. He was relieved to know that he could still harness the shadow energy within him. He could only see everyone around him by their spiritual signatures yet their movements signified of an unknown frenzy that had taken over the town. People ran about the streets struck with fear, while those that remained static reeked of the same aura of dread and confusion. He couldn’t hear anything from where he was but he could feel the screams that emanated from people caught up in a pandemonium.

“The chaos in my world has begun. I beseech you hero. Aid them with their needs, release them from their agony.” The thunderous voice that spoke to him in his dreams echoed in his mind yet again. With that, the assassin of shadows snapped from his trance, now certain that the dream he just had held reality in it.

“Very well.” Shinku finally stood up and gathered his equipment. He reached for his sword and ring that both lay on the table beside his bed. With that he ventured outside in response to the arbiter’s plea.

1557 + 1044 = 2601/2500