Miraculous: Tales of Shadowstar

Part 17

Sounds of thunder rumbled erratically throughout Paris as the night's sky occasionally illuminated the city in a brilliant flash of golden light. Explosions that carpet the streets sent shrapnel from the decimated buildings into piles of rubble. The lights that once filled the windows of Paris had grown dark in the South region. A plume of smoke exhaled into the open air as a well-dressed man in a blue suit sat in a luxurious chair of red cushion. A lit cigar rested comfortably between his left index and bird fingers. Stemming from the burnt tobacco carried a strong scent of peppermint that filled the lavish room. The chaos amused the gentleman as he could hardly tear his amber eyes away from the fight that has been raging over the past two hours.

Standing off to the side almost shrouded by shadow was a young boy no older than twelve with perfectly layered short blonde hair as his blue eyes rested upon the chaos that unfolded before him. "You see Adam, this is why I love conflict. It brings out the worst out of people, and it also brings out the best out of us. It shouldn't be long now before-" The gentleman in the blue suit paused. A sharp pain ruptured his mind that caused the great wizard to grimace and place a hand over his right temple. His attempt to catch his breath ended in a coughing fit from the smoke.

Adam immediately grew concerned as he fetched a glass of water from the nearby kitchen. However, the man shook his head and waved the offer away. His face flushed red after the man finally managed to catch his breath. "That stupid brat...! Every time I nearly beat him, he always does the impossible!" The man cursed under his breath before he stood up onto his feet. Where the gentleman approached the balcony to look over Paris.

"It doesn't look like they're winning to me." Adam blatantly stated. Yet it only caused the man to sigh as he flicked his cigar into the wind beyond his room. "For now, but I painstakingly put most of his friends locked in the Dreamscape. None of them should have the training or the ability to see through it let alone break themselves out of it. Which means..." He jabbed a finger in the air as they could see a dark dot that flew at the giant red skinned man with four arms as chains of fire sundered the city. "Despite him fighting that monstrosity, Shadow must have found a way to project his consciousness into those who were affected and showed them the way out." The very idea sounded ludicrous at best from what Adam knew. Of course, he was still learning the ways of magic, but he grasped the fundamentals enough to know that was possible if enough time was spent focusing on breaking the spell.

"But I thought that requires intensive concentration?" Adam inquired. The boy felt puzzled as he didn't think it was possible. Merlin, the well-dressed man, turned on his heel to glare at the apprentice with a dangerous glint in his eyes. "Exactly! And it requires him to physically touch the affected which he can only do one person at a time! Not free nine people at the same time from a distance, while fighting tooth and nail against an akumatized villain along with his pawns!"

To say that even the great Merlin was bewildered in awe, fear, and anger rolled into one was an understatement. Adam hesitantly took a step back as he visibly flinched from Merlin's raised voice. To which the man only realized after he was finished with his rant and straightened his form. With a cleared throat, Merlin returned his gaze upon the enraging combat. "I acknowledge that he was my best apprentice in magic in history, but his growth since the last time we had seen him is absolutely stunning. A marvel to behold, and it makes me wonder what he sacrificed to obtain such power."

"Would I be able to get to his level?" Adam muttered under his breath. He hated to be constantly compared to Shadowstar albeit indirectly, and it made the boy feel bitter. The question made the wizard scoff at the audacity behind it. "Perhaps if you trained for the next twenty years. I could never figure out how he could wield magic so naturally as if he could bend the spiritual energies to his will. At first I thought it was a side-effect from using his Miraculous, but I'm beginning to wonder if perhaps it is more innate than we had thought. Which would make him almost a genius in the world of magic."