Shadow’s Edge

Liam traversed the city with purpose. The strides were long, confident, shadows at his heels like loyal hounds. The run-in with Hunters had sparked something in him—a flame he had never felt before. This was about something deeper than survival; this was a hunger for power, to control the forces he had once been alien to. The message he left scratched into the wall wasn't merely a dare, it was a proclamation.

"I will not be hunted."

Liam had made his decision. The moments of lurking in the shadows were behind. From now on, he would hunt.

Noctis, as per usual, had been here — voice a soft hush in the recesses of Liam's mind.

"You're getting stronger, Liam," Noctis said without inflection. "But there's still more to learn. More to claim."

Liam narrowed his silver eyes, cold determination in them. "I'll learn what I need. I'm not gonna rest until I'm ready."

Forcing it with his will, were the clouds of darkness around him moved slightly. He wasn't yet fully in command, but the bond he felt with the darkness became deeper every day, more a part of him. He could see how they felt, if he could call it such, almost like an extension of his own body, parts vibrating with movement as he thought, giving him brief glimpses of the path his life could take.

He knew how to use them in ways that people, in general, would be impossible, such as striking at a different angle, bending the environment around him, and even using the void, striking from the darkness and becoming the darkness.

But the Hunters… they were always one step ahead.

It was only a few hours after he had made his mark on the Hunters and he already felt their presence. They were closing in.

Liam didn't know where they were watching from, but he could feel it. He wasn't alone.

His instincts were sharp from the plight of being hunted, but this time it wasn't just a feeling. His station darkening, deepening about him, the shadows deepening as if thickening and waiting.

"They are near," Noctis said. "You will be tested again."

Liam's heart raced, but he didn't betray it. His hands steady, mind clear. He had gone too far to falter now. The Hunters were a threat — a constant reminder of his vulnerability — but they were also his key. Every encounter, every battle, was a lesson, and he was learning quickly.

Something caught his eye — a flash of identity.

A silhouette.

Liam didn't move. He held still, letting his senses come alive. The shadows twinkled, obeying his beck and call, enclosing around him, ready, watching the alleyways.

He waited.

A silhouette passed through the darkness and into the soft glow of the streetlight. Absolutely no one, though he could make out the gleam of silver behind the mask he'd covered his or her face with. It was one of the Elite Hunters.

The shadows at Liam's side tightened their grip, poised to strike.

The Hunter was silent for a moment. They just cocked their head to the side, peering at him with frigid, calculating eyes.

"You made quite an impression last time," the Hunter said finally, their voice smooth, almost amused. "But you're still only a boy playing in the dark. A shadow, no more."

Liam smirked. "I'm not playing."

The Hunter's hand grazed the weapon at their hip, a curved blade glimmering with dark polish. The blade shimmered with arcane glow at the margins, as if forged from a substance that did not belong to the world Liam had known.

"That weapon is not normal," Noctis warned. "It is tempered to slice your very being."

Liam nodded slightly in recognition of the danger.

"I'm ready," he muttered, in the kind of low, steady voice.

The Hunter stepped forward, sending the air around them into ragged ripples as though they had repurposed the world just by existing. Liam's shadows rippled in reply, poised to attack, though something about the Hunter's presence told him this fight wouldn't be as clear-cut as the previous.

"Let's see if you can make it this time," the Hunter said, voice oozing mockery. "I'm not here to play games with you, little boy."

Liam's eyes flared. Not this time.

One moment, there was the Hunter, smiling with a pleasant face, and in the next he launched forward, like the dagger whooshing amidst the air. Liam was catapulted into action, instinctively knowing what to do. Then he disappeared, melting into the shadows, popping up behind the Hunter.

But the Hunter already know, anticipating his action.

As soon as Liam stepped out of the shadows, the Hunter spun, swinging the blade horizontally and a surge of shadow power sliced the air like a razor.

Liam just avoided, the energy grazing him instead, leaving behind a burning sensation on his arm.

"Now, that weapon…that is not just a sword."

It hit him like a freight train. It had the dark magic with the purpose to break his bond with the darkness.

The blade hit once more, forcing Liam to roll backward, just avoiding the edge, his breath getting caught in his throat. His heart raced as the shadows below him writhed, but it somehow felt different. The darkness wasn't listening as well anymore."

"The strength of the blade is severing the tie," Noctis cautioned. "You need to complete this, quickly."

Gritting his teeth, Liam was able to push himself to his feet. He couldn't allow this Hunter to outlie him.

Inhaling deeply, Liam drew the shadows around him and strained to shape them into a solid form - a shield of darkness big enough to deflect the next blow.

The Hunter's blade met the shield, a wave of energy rippling across the air, but the shield did not shatter. Liam could feel the burn of power press against him, but he wasn't about to back down.

He saw his opening.

Liam shot forth his own dark tendrils and wrapped them around the Hunter's legs. He jerked, hard, and the Hunter lurched forward.

Before they could recover, Liam called his whole shadow into his palm — a gigantic, squirming hand slammed into the Hunter's chest, slinging them into a wall.

The Hunter hit the ground with a sickening thud, the weapon falling from their shaking hands.

Liam puffed, still all right, his wits about him even as fatigue was clawing at him. He stepped forward, his gaze fixed on the Hunter who had fallen.

But just as he stepped in to deliver the coup de grâce, a low, ominous laugh resounded from the shadows.

Another figure emerged—another Hunter, just as lethal as the first.

Liam's silver eyes widened. This wasn't over.

"No," Noctis rasped, his voice low and dangerous. "You've called them all out now."

The new Hunter was taller, and had a dark cloak which flowed about them like an amorphous shadow. Their eyes glowed ruby, their hand clutching a dystopic fragment, a sickly energy seething from inside.

"It was foolish of you to think you could take us on alone." The second Hunter's voice was smooth, confident. "It's what happens when someone targets you now."

Liam tightened his grip on his shadows.

The real battle was just starting.