While the prince and his personal guards were walking around the place, they didn't notice that shadows started to gather. These shadows are the ones left form when the stars fell and were not able to make it through outside the barrier. They chose to stay and hide inside Archellia and cause trouble.
These things are like normal shadows at first glance but at a closer look, they are actually alive and moving. Like any other shadows, they are attracted to light especially to those lights that shine brighter and are visible to them. They were watching Orion's every move from the moment he entered their vision.
"Shadows!" Karina exclaimed in shock when she saw a black thing rushing towards them. She immediately released a thunder spell and hit the shadow.
The shadow dissipated but another one came once again. More and more shadows suddenly appeared out of nowhere and surrounded them. The Order is considered powerful but for them not to notice these things only means that the shadows have gained awareness and they were able to conceal their presence.
Hisses were heard from the shadows as they continued to attack while the Order continued on their defense and attack. The shadows then suddenly converge into one covering the sky and making the place darker than it usually is. As the place became darker, Orion's glow became more pronounced.
Shadows exist to where there is light, the brighter the light the darker the shadows grow, they consume light until nothing of it is left then they move again to another target and consume it. They devour every light in their path, even the smallest glimmer that will shine, they will destroy it.
With the darkness that came when the stars fell from eighteen years ago, these shadows were given the power to materialize. They began to have a form, a body of their own and continued to cause havoc until they were driven into hiding.
Orion materialized a barrier of light as the shadows enclosed them in darkness. Shadows are not easily defeated because they can grow gain after absorbing light and when they form a group they can become powerful and overwhelm any expert that is below their level.
The shadows started to attack the barrier and hissed as they made contact. After several failed attempts of breaking the barrier, the shadows continued to encircle the barrier, intending to squeeze their prey out of the barrier.
"Please your highness, you need to let your light dim for a bit. Your light attracts them." Apollo suggested but instead of dimming his light, Orion decided to make his light brighter and let it explode.
The light engulfed the shadows which destroyed most of them. The shadows hissed and focused their gaze on Orion's face. Sneers and glares were directed to the prince but he remained unfazed.
He continued to drive his power to the maximum to create a more powerful light. Shadows are not easy to deal with and besides he has no way of making his light dim. For some reason, ever since he was a child shadows are attracted to him and many had said that he was coated with an unusual glow. People inside and outside the court would always talk about it and say that it was a sign of blessing from the heavens but Orion doesn't see them glow they see.
As a curious child he would try out every mirror to look if he can see the glow they were talking about but he can't see it, no matter how he looked. It was an incident with shadows that made him realized that he was indeed glowing, small shadows would time to time appear and make a mess around him.
They would run around and cause mischief until he would drive them away with his affinity. With all the emotions bubbling inside him, his power went out of control for a moment and killed every shadow around him. That's how he knew that indeed the shadows gather around him because he was glowing but they can also be defeated by the light that they want to devour.
"You do not belong here!" An authoritative voice reminiscent of a crashing wave came from the prince as he returned a cold glare to the shadows, "darkness has no place here, be gone!" he commanded. Each word consisted of power that made the shadows shiver in fear and retreat.
The forest returned to its glow as the shadows disappeared. Orion's guards were again awestruck at what happened and at the power that laced with his command. There's no doubt that he is of royal blood.
"Do not show me that kind of expression," Orion glared at his guards.
"Sorry, we were just amazed at how you carry yourself and how you use your affinity," Arthur shrugged as he lowered his hands.
The shadows completely retreated as they realized that they can't match the one that those people called a prince. Seeing that the shadows were gone, Orion himself falls down kneeling on the ground once again. Karina and the other two were alarmed and immediately supported the prince.
"Your highness, are you okay?" Karina's voice was tinged with worry when she saw Orion falling on the ground. She immediately checked the prince's pulse.
The prince took a deep breath and said, "I'm fine, I just used too much energy a while ago." He slowly stood up with Karina's assistance.
"That's because your internal energy is not yet completely restored then you used it again," Arthur scolded.
At this time, General Rohan and several of the warriors came to a halt when they saw that the prince was alright. "We felt shadows here, what happened?" he immediately asked.
"The prince took care of it," Apollo answered.
Rohan signaled for the warriors to scatter and once again check the area. It's better to be safe. "Let's return then so that his highness can rest. A mere two days have passed when you encountered the intruder, it's not good to let the prince use too much of his powers."
"We understand and we apologize for what happened," Apollo bowed to show his sincerity.
"Yes, be careful don't let me be disappointed with the three of you. Do your job well," the general turned back and followed the warriors that escorted the prince back to their camp.
The night went by peacefully without any mishaps. "Don't blame them for what happened general, it was also my fault." The prince approached the general and sat down beside him.
"I know but their primary job is to ensure your safety and if they continue to show how incapable they are, I will recommend to the king to remove them from their post when we get back," General Rohan answered. He personally trained the Order and he was disappointed to see their performance.
"Give them one more chance," Orion gave the general smiled which only made the general sigh.
"Fine, they have this whole trip as a chance to prove themselves to be suitable for this job." Orion grinned in victory and joined his personal guards for the night before he retired to his own tent and slept for the rest of the night.
YOU ARE READING
REMNANT: A Battle Within
Fantasy"Don't close your eyes or you all might miss the destruction of the world you cherished the most," a seductive and cold voice echoed through the dark prison where captives were being kept. The sound of unhurried footsteps on the stone pavement rever...
