By The Riverside [Plot/Training/Adrastos]

The raven haired girl sat at the riverbank as she looked above towards the setting sun. The cold wind blew slowly as if it was saying goodbye to the sun, the dusk was slowly falling and soon, the moon will appear. She wanted to be alone at the moment and after she found this riverside, she loved coming back here just to enjoy her time, whether to soak her feet or to enjoy the nature. Her companions were not here at the moment, both of them were in the care of her friend, Tenma and the other was secretly exploring the world by flying through the clouds.

Noir would lift her feet from the water, touching it to feel the coldness and thought that if she soaked her feet longer than this, she might catch a cold and she didn't want that to happen. Well, she came here with another intention too, not only she wanted to have the time for herself, she wanted to also train herself for her physical combat skill. As Tenma had stated before, she lacked of this stamina, which was understandable considering she was born with a magician body, most of them had weak body. But he did say she was only lacking a tiny bit and that she should just make her body used to wield weapon or to do hand to hand combat for now. With that being said, the young magician thought she could try to use her time alone to stay focused on it. There will be no distraction and she would be fighting with herself surrounded by the nature, she thought she could try to be creative for her training. However, even with that kind of thought and intention in her mind, she couldn't seem to think about the way to make her training more creative. It took time to create a concept and when she noticed her surrounding, the moon was already up there and she was surrounded by darkness.

WC: 331/1000

A cloaked man wearing all black silently roamed the forest. His cloak billowed as he moved, swaying back and forth with each step and the wind catching in the folds. The man’s silver eyes stared at the ground for the most part, but he kept watch on the setting sun. How long had he been out here? He needed to get away from the cramped confines of his hideout, away from his minions, away to think. However, wandering aimlessly did not help his mood. Ever since killing Zhīzhū, the leader of Kou’s Alchemist branch, he had done nothing but hide. Normally that wouldn’t have been a bad thing if he had been plotting, but for some reason, the man’s motivation seemed to have dropped. Not even the thought of reading the scroll from Gamigan could motivate him to do… something.

Soon enough, the sunset ran its course, leaving behind the darkness of night and the silver moon grinning up above. The wind gently blew a few strands of silver hair out from the cover of his hooded cloak as he leaned against a tree. The man could hear the leaves rustling and a nearby river flowing. It sounded peaceful, tranquil, more appealing than the rather empty halls of his new hideout. “Tranquility,” he murmured to himself, “what an odd word to think.”

Adrastos looked down, seeing the river and the opposing riverbank. The moon’s silver light reflected in the water, but his sharp eyes noticed a figure on the opposite side of the river: a woman with black hair and amber eyes. “Noir,” he whispered aloud. His hand went to his heart, feeling it beat normally for the first time. He smirked. Before, his heart would ache and pound uncontrollably at the sight of this woman. It was a weakness of his humanity, proof that his old self still existed and that human emotions held him back. The last time they met…. When was it? Balbadd? Was she there in Gamigan? Adrastos remembered telling Noir that if they were to ever meet again, he’d kill her, but such a promise paled in comparison to the current thought that raced through his mind: this would be the perfect time to test whether or not his emotions and the do-gooder were gone forever.

The dark king, masking his appearance under an illusionary spell just in case, stepped forward, “Why is a young woman in the woods alone?”


WC: 405/2000

Noir was thinking if she should just do her usual training regimen instead of wasting time thinking to create a new one. If Tenma was here, he would certainly help her to train, not to mention that he was really good at making it fun. The black haired girl sighed, she might be able to do the training at Lady Shousui’s place. It was a good thing they repaired the manor after the war, considering both of them didn’t have a place to stay and staying at a hotel for too long was not really her preference. Suddenly, a black rukh butterfly approached her and implying that there was someone nearby. It was proven true when someone stepped forward to ask her what she was doing in the woods.

Noir turned to see the man and said “Nature.”, tilting her head as she saw something was odd. The way that the rukh moved was not natural, it could only mean it was some kind of illusion. Well, she might not really have a way to crack the illusion, but after hanging out with two masters of illusions, namely Yakuroro and Lady Shousui, she knew how to see through illusions although not what behind it. “I was just enjoying nature.” She made herself cleared as she stared right on the man’s eyes, peering what was inside.

“Why are you in the woods alone?” She redirected back his questions towards her from before, wanting to know as well why someone was here in the middle of the night.

WC: 587/1000

Adrastos watched her eyes peer through him. He was impressed, though not surprised, that she could see the illusion, but most importantly thankful that she couldn’t outright see past it. Noir had grown a lot since they first met so long ago. He clicked his tongue, “Trying to see through my illusion wouldn’t be wise, young lady. I’m not sure why you’re so keen on trying to see who I really am: you might not like what you find.”

He walked closer, stopping at the edge of the shore. Being closer to Noir was no different than a few moments ago. He felt… nothing. His heart didn’t ache with lovesickness, but he also didn’t really feel pride in seeing his student so mature. If anything, he felt wary. She was stronger than before, no longer the naive little magician that relied on him. She was more of a threat to his plans. If only she stayed by his side… perhaps she would see the world as he did. Now, he had to deal with a threat he helped train.

“I’m just…” Adrastos’ voice trailed off. “I needed to get away from that place. I needed to get a different perspective.” He tilted his head. She always believed he could be saved, but she never really knew the full extent of his evil deeds and how far he’d actually go. He looked up at the night sky. “Even at night, some light shines through. The moon, the stars, fireflies… Even if there is nothing but darkness, your eyes adjust eventually. Do you believe there are times a person must commit evil acts in order to ensure a better future for all? A more fair future? Can such a person be redeemed, or do they even deserve redemption?”

His eyes watched her carefully. She was a dungeon conqueror, a magician, and a beast tamer. She also had a brother, though last he heard, neither of them reunited. Had that changed? Did she master Dantalion? Would they ever find themselves clashing? Her Dantalion and his Erebus? So many questions, but why risk the mystery? They’d cross paths again eventually and find out the answer if he continued down his dark path.

Under his cloak, his hands reached for his two swords. He wanted to see how much she learned. He needed to see her strength, to know whether or not Noir was a danger. However, he needed to know if he could attack her with full force, without any regret or fear about potentially killing her. Should he wait? Playing with her seemed more fun, but the charade could only go so far. She’d find out sooner or later though…

The dark king smirked and suddenly lunged at the woman that was once his student, an ally. He unsheathed his swords, Niut, a black obsidian sword, and the Blade of Ascension, a glistening teal sword, and swung both blades downward in a diagonal motion, as if making an x in the air. His hood fell from his head and the illusion broke, revealing Adrastos’ deathly cold silver eyes. Inside, his heart began to race, pushing the blood throughout his body. “Show me, Noir.” He was excited to fight. He wanted to fight. “Show me how far you’ve come.” The dark king wanted blood. “Show me if you value your life!”


WC: 962/2000

‘He noticed that I was trying to see through his illusion…’ Noir thought to herself as she kept staring towards the man. She trusted her own instinct to keep her eyes on the man because she felt alarmed, not only because of his presence but also because of his words. When the man stepped closer, Noir didn’t move at all. The sound of the water flowing at the river accompanied her besides of the man’s voice, she didn’t really like being in this kind of situation. Not really because of the danger she was feeling at the moment, but more because of how she couldn’t tell who was behind the illusion. She didn’t want to act recklessly and ended up hurting wrong person…

The darkness didn’t really help the girl too, she couldn’t see if the man brought weapon or not. At least she bought her weapon with her though, that alone should be good. The thing would be if she was confident enough with her weapon skill and hand to hand skill, she didn’t bring her staff with her… But perhaps this would be a good thing to train herself. Fate was surely amusing… they led her to be in this kind of situation so she could try and train herself. Well, it might sounded unrelated, but at least that was what she thought to herself, possibly to try staying positive minded at the time like this.

The man was speaking weirdly…and Noir couldn’t tell what this was about. Which place did he actually meant to get away…and what kind of perspective? He would then look towards the sky as he kept talking. “I don’t know.” She would answer the man stoically, “Do you want to receive redemption?” A person committing evil act usually wouldn’t try to receive redemption… if they want to receive it, they would try to work for it, although most of the time…. They would be too late. But Noir guessed that there was some other different example too and Lady Shousui was one of that peculiar example, although Noir was the one who gave her the redemption no matter how much the golden eyed magician denied it.

The moonlight helped Noir to notice two swords being unsheathed though and the girl’s intuition was proven right, this man was dangerous after all. She was already holding her double sword since this man arrived and she was trying to find the right moment to stand up, but she knew now was not the right time.

When the man lunged towards her and broke his illusion, the magician’s eyes widened. It was her former teacher, the one who was threatening to kill her the next time they meet again and she guessed it was true. While gritting her teeth, Noir listened to how her former teacher wanted her to show him her growth and how she valued her life. Now she could quite understand why he was speaking like that towards her.

Her fingers turned almost white as she gripped the handle of her weapon tighter and she prepared to stand up when… the gravity didn’t seem to be in her favor at the moment. Her foot slipped when she was trying to stand up and the moment Adrastos was close to her, she fell into the river. She knew she would be in a disadvantage being in the water like this, Adrastos might use his water magic to drown her after this.

WC: 1000+/1000

Weapon :

Adrastos chuckled. “So you do know at least the basic skills,” he licked his lips, “but will they be enough? You weren’t on your guard.” He watched her slip and fall into the water. He smirked while tilting his head. Noir had basic training, but it was still unrefined. “Tell me, who did you learn from?” Adrastos threw his cloak on the ground, feeling it was unnecessary to keep it on him. He slowly walked toward Noir, his movement similar to a predator stalking a cornered prey. “Was it that young man? The one that looks so much like you?” The dark king looked at his black sword. Playing with Noir seemed so much more enjoyable than killing her outright. There would have been no fun if she had just died, and he wouldn’t know the full extent of her strength either.

“I know he’s still in Kou because he fought for Yoshiro. That…” Adrastos paused, staring intently at his sword while trying to recall such an important detail. His eyes widened slightly before narrowing on his former student and pointing one of his swords at her. “That’s right! Mikazuki Tenma! He’s made quite the name for himself now.” Adrastos lunged again, stepping into the cool water, with one sword being thrust forward. No, it didn’t feel right. He wasn’t using both swords like an extension of his arms. He was acting like he only had one sword. Unnatural. Unacceptable. Adrastos needed to find his own style. Soon.

“I’ll tell you what,” he said as he circled Noir, “if you manage to impress me or survive, I won’t kill you right away.” He lunged again, attacking the same way when he initiated the combat and jumped back when their blades clashed. “I,” Adrastos dug his foot in the mud, “won’t even use magic.” Scooping the mud on his foot, he kicked it at Noir’s eyes in hopes of blinding her. He used this chance to slash at Noir’s midsection.

The dark king thought about Noir’s question: did he want redemption? Why? Everything he had done was to make way for a better future. Sacrifices had to be made, right? All those lives… Just fleas. No, Adrastos didn’t want redemption; he wanted results. There would have been no reason to have gotten this far just to question himself and his actions.

WC: 1353/2000

The raven haired magician cursed herself for falling into the water, but she couldn’t deny she was surprised because Adrastos was the one behind the illusion. She didn’t want to fight him like this, not like this… She wasn’t sure what she had to do, but a moment of doubt will resulting in her meeting her own demise. The girl brought herself towards the surface before standing up and saw the man’s amused expression as he slowly walked towards her. He asked where did she learn to fight and mentioned a man who looked so much like her… she wondered who… but if the one he meant was Tenma, she would be honest that Tenma didn’t look so much like her at all…

The man would point his sword towards her as he finally revealed the name of the man he mentioned before, it really was Tenma… Well she should apologize to him later… Because of her, he was mocked for being a bad teacher, at least which was Noir thought from Adrastos’ words. When he stepped into the water, the black haired girl took a step back and clashed his attack with her double sword. He would jump back and kicked some mud towards Noir’s eyes, but luckily the girl noticed the movement of the man’s foot and she squatted down to avoid it before bringing her weapon up to clash with another attack originally directed towards her midsection.

Just… how fallen has this man became… He even resorted to use a cheap trick like throwing muds to her eyes in hopes of blinding her so he could attack her. The man probably wanted her to be angry for that, but Noir wouldn’t give him that. Noir wouldn’t lie though, she was honestly feeling annoyed but she would put that feeling aside for now. She would stay focused and composed, like Tenma said, being enraged in a fight wouldn’t give any benefit. “Why do I have to impress you?” Noir would ask towards the man as she prepared her stance with her double sword, for now that one should be enough. If she needed to use another, she had her axe hanging on her left waist ready to be used as well. “I don’t understand why you resent me so much, but if it’s a fight that you want then I don’t have any reason to refuse.”

WC: 1000+/1000

“Oh, don’t give me that look,” Adrastos chastised. “Tenma wasn’t a bad teacher, and you weren’t a bad student.” He attacked by spinning quickly while both swords remained close enough to his body to not leave an opening. His movements didn’t feel right, but he also wasn’t used to dual wielding. Not many people could master the technique of fighting with two swords even if they trained for years, but Adrastos wasn’t about to be one of those people either. The dark king shifted his weight on his feet and sheathed the Blade of Ascension. Perhaps it was a sign he should train at another time? He was normally such a prodigy, or at the very least, a quick learner. Could he not master the style of dual wielding without a proper master to teach him?

Adrastos tilted his head while he looked at his black sword. “Why? There’s no real reason, if any. Maybe for entertainment?” Was the blue magician really about to give up? “I just figured I’d see how far you’ve improved, to see if you are or will ever be a threat.” He mentally cursed at himself as he unsheathed his other sword yet again.

“As for resentment, I don’t really have the capacity to feel emotions anymore. I killed them along with the man you once knew,” the dark king positioned his feet apart, keeping his knees slightly bent. The blue sword in his left hand was raised to his head, the blade pointing backwards. The black sword was at his waist, pointing towards Noir.

“I feel no pain.”

Adrastos stepped forward and thrusted the right sword forward while bringing the other sword down diagonally.

“No emotions.”

He stepped back, returning to his original position after contact, and stepped forward again. This time, he brought the black blade upward to strike Noir first and then brought the other sword down. Though it may not have been clear before, his tone was cold and his eyes were empty. “Emotions never did me any favors and just got in the way. So much so that I was beginning to suffer from a rather severe case of something I’d refer to as a split personality disorder. That’s how I was born at least.” Adrastos smiled though there was nothing behind the smile, not even in his eyes. “Though I still remember anything and everything he ever thought of and experienced.”

Adrastos remembered when the person this body used to be loved people. He loved long ago, and then he loved again when he met Noir. Though could it really have been love if he was merely remembered of the person he used to love? No, there was no way. Adrastos couldn’t believe it.

The dark king eventually shrugged, returning to his starting position. “I’m just using you for practice since you happened to be there. I hate fate, but I suppose today it was kind to a depraved man such as me.” He swung his lower blade outward and the higher blade downward, hoping to lock Noir’s weapon, or weapons, if she decided to unsheathe anything else other than the double bladed weapon she held. If they were locked, he’d lean in close to her face.

“Come to think of it, I believe I stole a kiss from you before. He never even knew. Or maybe he did…” He smiled. “Perhaps that was one reason why he felt so determined to close me off, but he should have known... “ Adrastos leaned in closer. “He should have known the farther into darkness he fell, the stronger I’d become.” Once he was centimeters from Noir’s face, he stared into her amber eyes. He pressed his lips against hers, kissing her. He placed his forehead against hers and smiled. “You can still become my queen. Just think about it… we’re both strong magicians… you’ve conquered Dantalion, a djinn whose power can bring out the desolating heat of the desert to the icy biome of Imuchakk.” He broke off, but not enough to give her total freedom to attack as he buried his face in her raven hair. “I bet your equip form is breathtaking… like the goddess you are… Why do you continue with these lesser beings… Those with no djinn… no skill with magic… For the world to change, only we have the power to change it.” He whispered in her ear, though despite all this, his voice sounded empty, the words he spoke were hollow. “Be my goddess and let’s bring about a new world.”


WC: 2,000+

Although the white-haired man tried to send a comforting word about Tenma, Noir still felt it was not genuine as she judged from his current personality. But she gave no answer to his statement, focusing more to defend from his attack would be more important at the moment. The man would do something that made Noir raised an eyebrow though, he sheathed one of his weapons. It made the young girl wondered if he was giving her a handicap… or was he just not comfortable using two swords at once… either way, the girl kept her composure and staying on guard with her double sword.

The answer Noir got from Adrastos was…simply strange, it didn’t make sense for her at all. “It is amusing to hear that coming from you. Don’t you think it sounded funny as it came from your lips?” Noir asked back with her usual stoic expression, delivering a dagger of sarcasm. Well perhaps handling weapon and performing hand to hand combat weren’t the only thing she learned from Tenma, it seemed she learned how to be sarcastic as well although it was more subtle than the swordsman’s style.

The man was attacking her with both of his swords while speaking, although Noir could try to defend herself with her sword and used her reflex to dodge one of the simultaneous attacks, she admitted it was hard. Blood began to seeped out from the cut on Noir’s skin and she wondered if she had to use her axe now… But she didn’t think it was the right moment…moreover, she felt this… doubt feeling. She owed this man for training her before, it was thanks to him that Noir was able to learn how to experience real combat by using magic. But without a reason that the girl could understand, the man had changed and now wanted to kill her. Perhaps ‘kill’ wasn’t a correct word, ‘torture’ seemed more suitable for his actions. With the reasons above, Noir was doubting what her own mind was trying to tell her. A sigh escaped from her lips, she had to make up her mind soon or her doubt will bring her harm.

‘Split personality disorder… Similar to Rion…’ Noir thought to herself, able to relate to his words regarding how the old Adrastos was gone because another personality took over. Another amusing statement was delivered by the man again, a man who cursed his own fate… thanking fate because of this moment. But it wasn’t funny to Noir, she just thought it was amusing and ironic in several ways. As Adrastos was about to launch another attack, Noir didn’t think that he would lock her weapon with his. What was he thinking…? If he locked her weapon with his, then he wouldn’t be able to use his weapon as well at the same moment. When he leaned closer to her face, Noir was surprised and her body jolted as if she was trying to get away. Her body froze as he mentioned how he became stronger as the old Adrastos fell farther into darkness… wondered how strong this other side of the man was to be able to drown his main personality. Wondered what would happen if…she was taken over by Rion completely…

Without herself even aware of the thing Adrastos would do to her, he stole a kiss from her once again before pulling his lips away from her and smiled. The moment he pressed his forehead to Noir’s sent her a chilling shiver to her spine, she couldn’t understand his action at all… and she admitted it scared her. Her body trembled when he buried his face to her hair, he was talking nonsense… meanwhile, she kept telling herself to keep her composure and to stop trembling with fear. When he finally whispered to her ear, inviting her to join forces with him to create a new world, Noir gritted her teeth and bite her lower lip to snap herself from her fear. “I am a lesser being as well. I was a slave…I am not powerful yet…” She paused herself for a second, “But I seek equality for all, so all of them can help to change the world into a better place, not destroying it. So, I couldn’t be your queen.”

She would use her exceptional strength to break away from his locking, if she still couldn’t free her weapon, Noir would deliver a headbutt right towards Adrastos’ face. “If somehow the Adrastos that I know still resides inside there, you are so foolish to be able to be taken over by this kind of personality!”

WC: 1000+/1000

Adrastos staggered back from Noir’s strength. “I see,” he said with a tone that mimicked disappointment. “However, if I recall correctly, you know my dirty little secret from that letter he gave you after Dantalion,” he sheathed his swords. “I was almost a slave due to fate’s design, but overcame that twisted fate to rise above it. You can too. Your past doesn’t need to define your future. You overcame your status as a slave, and nobody weak gets chosen by a djinn.” Adrastos narrowed his eyes, but stepped forward again to comb his fingers through her hair. “It’s cute that you still don’t know,” he whispered. “I am Adrastos. I’ve always been Adrastos; he only used my name when convenient, to hide himself. I believe the person you’re thinking of is actually Drakon. That was his birth name, a name he had long forgotten.” He chuckled to himself. “Not that it matters since he’s dead. I have the Emperor to thank for that… and the mysterious friend of his.” The dark king shrugged. He circled around the young magician with her raven black hair parting between his slender fingers. “I won’t give up so easily on you. I’ll be waiting if you ever change your mind.”

Adrastos stepped away, picking up his cloak on the way to the shore. He dug into one of the pockets and retrieved a black crown which he placed on his head. He smirked when he looked back at her. Then, with a tap of his finger against the metal surface, he spoke, “Lost in the mist of darkness, remain oblivious of what lurks within shadow for all eternity.” His eyes glinted dangerously at Noir as he finished his chant, “Obscure, Erebus!” His pale white skin took a more ashen grey tone. On his chest, a red symbol was carved into his flesh: a circle with three lines equally spaced. He wore obsidian gauntlets with spikes and claws that go up to his elbows, an obsidian belt that held up a long tattered cloth, and obsidian metal from his ankles to his knees. The scythe had a chain attached to the bottom. However, the most striking change was in his eyes, once cool silver now raging crimson.

“Regardless if you change your mind or not, I’ll be waiting and watching from the shadows,” he said coldly before flying off into the night.

Once back at his hideout, Adrastos took notes on how certain actions felt while sparring with Noir and improvised his fighting style to include two swords. He practiced for weeks, training his body to be comfortable using two swords as extensions of his arms without feeling awkward. He made sure his forms left little to no openings and that his sword swings didn’t interfere with each other. Perhaps one day he’d thank Noir for the practice in an actual fight.


WC: 2,000+/2,000

[EXIT]

Noir took a step back, worried that Adrastos might do one of his tricks again but still listened to what he said tentatively. She remembered the letter and she kept it with her, although she didn’t bring it with her at the moment as she left her stuffs in her room. The young girl’s body twitched when he combed her hair with his finger, she was… confused, but she stayed quiet. As she was listening to the white-haired man, some of his words made Noir wondered more about a lot of things. “Emperor…? Do you mean the late Emperor Gao Yuan Zu?” She wanted to ask about the mysterious friend as well but she thought it would not be the right time, if he didn’t want to reveal more about the mysterious friend, then Noir wouldn’t try to pry for more… for now.

Seeing how the man transformed as he used his metal vessel made Noir touched her own metal vessel, she could feel the difference. His transformation let out this kind of ominous aura, as if he engulfed himself into the darkness and it was the first time for Noir to see this kind of thing. She wondered if her own power would be enough to stop Adrastos with his dark djinn, even with the help of Dantalion… As Adrastos flew away into the night, Noir felt a great sense of relief. Now that he went away, the magician wouldn’t have to choose on what to do… but she has to force herself to choose on what to do in the future… he wouldn’t let her go easily like this anymore.

As she gritted her teeth, Noir clenched her fist, starting to see how weak she was at the moment. Her ability to quickly decide on her own resolution was really low and this would lead her to death for sure in the future… has this absence of dire situation made her dull? She wasn’t like this before, she was sharp… she knew what to do.

A sigh escaped her peach colored lips and she looked up to the moon, thinking it was no use to think too much at the moment. She had to gain more strength and she would start by sharping her own reflexes, she shouldn’t let anyone to approach her so easily like how Adrastos did before… She would tie a pile of tree branches and hang it on the tree so it would swing when she pushed it, it would be a good simple tool to actually train her reflexes. She spent around a week to train with her bare hand before spending another week to train with a wooden stick acting like a sword.

WC: 1000+/1000