Aethelos: The Bastard of Light

As they ran through the forest, Yana clenched her fists. · “I can feel the opponent’s aura getting stronger and stronger… is Eli okay?” · Lygar muttered without slowing down. · “That idiot better be okay.” · In the clearing, Eli and Ninjespeed attacked together. Speed and Light against a wall of darkness. Zakrom barely moved. He dodged with minimal effort, blocked with one hand, and occasionally smiled as if watching children play. · “I’m fighting children who know nothing about life.” · Even so, the two of them kept insisting. Ninjespeed cut angles, Eli tried to create openings. Then Zakrom raised only his index finger. · “Darkness Line.” · A horizontal line of black power sliced through the air toward them. Eli and Ninjespeed froze, with no time to react. · Suddenly the earth in front of them rose into a solid wall, swallowing the attack. The impact made the barrier tremble, but it held. · Eli looked to the side, breathing hard. · “You… you actually have powers?!” · Ninjespeed blinked, genuinely confused. · “I swear that wasn’t me.” · That was when the rest of the group burst into the clearing: Lygar, Yana, Brock, and Professor Lito. · Zakrom slowly turned his face. A small smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. · “Interesting.” · Lito stepped forward, his voice loud and authoritative. · “You creature! You’d better give up or you’ll have to deal with the strength of a Solaris professor, you trash!” · Zakrom let out a low laugh. · “Do you really think I’m afraid of any professor? · Come at me, all of you. · Death is all we have.” · In the next instant he was on top of Lito. · The professor tried to react, but the blows rained down without mercy. Zakrom didn’t use elaborate techniques. Just brute force and cruel precision. Lito was thrown against a tree, then to the ground, still trying to hold on to his dignity. · “What do you think you’re doing?! Do you know who I am?!” · Zakrom leaned over him, the smile still intact. · “I know, Lito. · But I am trash… and a creature.” · He was about to deliver the final blow when a voice cut through the air: · “Shadow Ball!” · Lygar hurled the black sphere with everything he had. The attack struck Zakrom’s shoulder and forced the Noxian back two steps. For the first time, he truly looked at the group. · His eyes passed over Yana, Lygar, Ninjespeed and Eli… and stopped on Brock. · The tutor remained motionless, expression neutral, as if nothing special was happening. · Zakrom slightly tilted his head. The smile returned, thinner this time. · “Interesting. · I’m at a disadvantage here.” · The shadows around his feet stirred. In the next instant his body dissolved into darkness and vanished among the trees, as if he had never been there. · The silence that remained in the clearing was heavy. · Lito coughed on the ground, his pride more injured than his body. Eli was still trying to catch his breath. Ninjespeed casually wiped his blade. And Brock continued to watch the spot where Zakrom had disappeared, without saying a word. · The night was not over yet. · But for now, they had survived.