Chiaroscuro

primo

In the world of Coelus, eternal darkness once plagued the skies with permanent nightfall, not a touch of starlight to be seen nor the luminosity of a moon to be found. Shadows thrived, monsters conquered, and dark magic came to life. The strongest monsters, the most wicked of them all, were the creatures of Umbra. All of whom were adaptive at the dark arts, capable of bending the nearest shadows to aid in their every whim.

They were devious masters of the night, cruel addicts for power, ambitious tyrants in the making. Every single one of these Umbras bore no heart, figuratively and literally. They were known for their insatiable greed and solitary lifestyles, often fighting amongst themselves for territory and food.

It wasn't until the people of Soleil came into existence, all of whom could yield the brightness of the constellations and the cosmos on their side, that the tides for their fate turned.

Soleils versus Umbras. Light versus dark. Sun versus shadow.

For the most part, they kept to their own territories on opposite sides of the world, an everlasting exchange of battles recurring across their borders in between. Taking pride as a refined culture, the Soleils eventually founded a kingdom with its own high society, establishing a hierarchy of royalty based on strength and merits.

In the meanwhile, the Umbras remained as fierce conquerors of their own lands, with the most nefarious and powerful one being Prince Lenore of Umbra.

Though not registered as an actual royal, as the Umbras did not adhere to the rules of a monarchy like the Soleils, the Soleils themselves personally granted Lenore this title. They believed him to be the most formidable Umbra in existence, for just his name alone made even the most powerful Soleils tremble.

All except for one.

Prince Aldrich of Soleil.

His Royal Highness Aldrich feared no one, for not only was he meant for greatness as heir to the throne, but he was also The Chosen One. Revered by all within the kingdom, he was confident about the future that lay beyond.

When he was but an infant, the local shamans shared visions of the future about Aldrich bringing monumental change and happiness to not just their perpetually sunny empire, but the entire realm of Coelus. This was to occur after a groundbreaking battle with Prince Lenore, the final villain to the prophecy, the main obstacle above all else. Rumor had it that he was to extinguish the rest of the Umbras after finishing off Prince Lenore, once and for all.

Since birth, the blueprints of his life were imprinted in his brain. They were discovered in the nooks and crannies of his dreams. They flitted through his memories and the half-conscious moments in between. He knew who he was to slay. He knew that he must fulfill the prophecy given to him and make his royal subjects proud.

For that was his destiny.

⁺‧₊˚ ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ ˚₊‧⁺

Maybe Aldrich had to seriously reconsider what his destiny was.

For years, for an entire lifetime, he had trained for the day that he would meet Lenore.

Here he finally stood, on the cracked grounds of the monster's lair. Spikes of jagged rocks protruded from a desolate wasteland. Chills lingered in the stale air. This was what a majority of the lands touched by these Umbras looked like: forlorn and barren. Devoid of all color, with only a myriad of blacks and grays to show.

A longsword was brandished in Aldrich's right hand and a luminous shield, made out of concentrated sunlight, in his left. Golden freckles, emanating an ethereal glow, were scattered across the bridge of his nose, contrasting sharply across his tanned complexion. Natural rays of light still shone from the rouge red silks and ivory white armor he was equipped in, emitting soft yellow hues.

And there Lenore was, tendrils of sentient shadows slithering around the porcelain white muscles of his arms. Beastly black claws, intensified by an even deeper black aura, appeared in the place where his hands would be. Dark bags underlined his slanted onyx eyes, which seemed to pierce right through Aldrich's soul. His hair, the same color as coal and ash, spilled around his shoulders and trailed down his broad shoulders.

With his mighty build standing at nearly seven feet tall, Lenore towered over Aldrich as their weapons met for the very first time. The steel of the Soleil's longsword clashed with the edge of the Umbra's claws, metallic sparks bursting through the air.

Elongated strands of shadows expanded to grapple Aldrich, but he managed to deflect them off with a swing from his shield. Still, they continued to persist by slashing at the rest of his sides, working their way around like rapid-fire whips.

Another grunt echoed as Aldrich swung his sword past a few more shadowy tentacles and deeper into the meat of Lenore's left arm, but to no avail. More sparks flew from the sword's collision, but nothing more. No flesh wound, not when an Umbra's skin seemed as dense as the very same armor he wore himself.

Stepping back, Lenore's ghastly face reflected the same impassive expression from before, his charcoal black lips set in a firm line. Much to Aldrich's frustrations, he'd not said even one word, let alone a syllable of sound, this entire time.

Umbras were capable of emoting. Most of them typically possessed volatile temperaments. It seemed as though Prince Lenore was an infuriating exception. He probably thought he was too good to say anything to Aldrich- the nerve. No one got away with looking down on him.

"I, Aldrich of Soleil, shall cease your reign of evil!" he shouted. Heat radiated off his scowl. "I shall declare this so! This ends now, monster!"

On command, his shield shrunk and vanished out of existence, a few farewell sparks left in its wake. Then, a beam of sunlight materialized from the center of his open palm. Enlarging in size, the ball of energy glared back at a silent Lenore, the temperature of the air quickly escalating.

The vine-like shadows from Lenore's arms and backside squirmed in anticipation.

With a resounding boom, an explosion of sunlight ripped through the field. Scorching rays of light, blindingly white, tackled not only Lenore and the shadowy barrier he had cast at the last second, but also the ground beneath them.

In a flash and blur, the world around them shook, swayed, then spun on its axis.

Gritting his teeth, Aldrich fled in the opposite direction of the growing earthquake. Faint flickers of sunlight gathered beneath the soles of his feet as he tried to spring away with more magic. However, crumbling rocks and dirt rushed in his way, beating him to the race and churning out slippery terrain impossible to escape from. Gravity yanked him by the ankles and plunged him down below.

The unknown swallowed him whole.

⁺‧₊˚ ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ ˚₊‧⁺

Falling.

Aldrich was falling.

Down this gaping hole he went, his body descending at a dizzying speed. As he flipped around in mid-air, ready for the end, his eyes widened at the sight of a swirling multicolored vortex down below.

The portal zoomed into view before enveloping him in a slimy embrace. All of his nerves fizzled out from the touch, turning numb. Rainbows danced across his vision as he screamed from the madness of it all.