Solace and Nox: A New Light

Chapter 39

Light.

When Raiden ate the berry, it had a very bright, vibrant flavor.

And it immediately made him stronger. It activated his magic somehow, like Cytra's kiss. He was completely enveloped in light, and he was growing stronger by the second. His wounds closed up, and his bruises disappeared. He stood up and ran to Trace. He ignored Moldark, Ebony, Lotharius, everyone. The only person he cared about in that moment was Trace.

He lifted him to his feet and said, "Get out of here. Go alert the army."

He was still shaking. Trace looked Raiden in his sapphire blue eyes, and knew to obey.

"You got it Captain," he said, saluting. He turned and ran as fast as he could.

Raiden looked down at the spear that Trace had left behind. He used his foot to kick it into the air. He caught in and turned to Moldark, who was still recovering from the unexpected fall.

Ebony was the first one up. She drew another jagged, obsidian blade. It was an exact replica of the one that Cytra and Moldark both had. Moldark needed to find a new blade.

These were getting old.

She charged Raiden and he was easily able to dodge her blow.

Ebony was not magical like Moldark or Cytra. Otherwise, he would have a worthy opponent. Every swing that she took, Raiden avoided it, or blocked it. She was wearing herself out. The other two cloaked men joined in the fight, making Raiden's fight slightly more difficult.

But they didn't have magic either.

One cloaked man would attack. Raiden dodged, smacked the wooden end of his spear on his arm, and he dropped his blade. The other came from behind. Raiden jabbed the spear backwards, digging into his side. He shoved the man to the side as Ebony came down with her blade.

Suddenly, Direl appeared and blocked her deadly swing. He used his steel sword and fought her off, while Raiden dealt with the two cloaked men. One was bleeding out on the ground but the big one was coming at him with everything he had.

He was big, strong, and muscular, but he was not agile. Raiden was. The man would come swinging at Raiden, and he would roll under the attack and smack the man's leg. Then he'd go to kick Raiden, but he would jump out of the way, and jab at him with the spear.

Moldark stood, and ran straight for Lotharius. Raiden couldn't let the king die. Moldark's evil plan would begin to unfold if Shodon lost its king.

Raiden's glow grew to a shine. The cloaked man had to step back because he was temporarily blinded. Raiden smacked the spear against his hidden face and he fell to the ground with a loud THUD!

Moldark had his sword swinging down when Raiden arrived.

"NO!" Raiden screamed, throwing the spear at Moldark.

Lotharius held his arm up as the blade came down. He looked away, and Moldark screamed as he thrust downward. His demonic yellow eyes were full of rage.

The spear missed.

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion.

As the jagged blade came down, the spear was heading straight for it, but Moldark used his magic to enhance his attack. The blade zipped through the air and the spear flew just above it.

The blade plunged right into Lotharius's chest. Without thinking, Raiden continued running towards Moldark.

Lotharius's body crumpled under Moldark's weight. His body began to shrink, as the life was slowly spilled out of him. Raiden saw this happen when he watched his squad die. He saw the aftermath of what happened to Jitlan Trink. Lotharius was also a victim of this cursed blade. His blood veins became visible black lines that covered his body, and his body fell to the ground, crippled and destroyed.

Raiden slammed into Moldark. He didn't expect such a random attack, so he left his blade in Lotharius's body. Raiden tackled him to the ground and punched him in the face. Moldark retaliated by grabbing Raiden's throat. Raiden dug his knee into Moldark's stomach, making it difficult for him to breathe, but he only gripped his neck tighter.

Something landed on the ground a few feet away from them, that shook the whole courtyard. Raiden fell off of Moldark, and he released his grip. Raiden looked over to see an incredible legend standing before him.

The Legendary Ciamas was standing there, illuminating the entire castle. The Ciamas's light made Raiden feel like a candle while the Ciamas was the sun. Moldark started at the beast in horror. Raiden smiled as he realized what Cytra's plan was all along. He smiled even brighter when Cytra jumped off of the Ciamas.

The soldiers in the surrounding area began flooding the courtyard. Moldark realized he was surrounded, lifted his hand into the air, and pulsed darkness out of it. A black ray shot into the air, and began filling the night sky.

Cytra looked at him curiously, but Raiden knew what was happening.

He was signalling the army.

Raiden immediately charged. Moldark held his free hand toward him and Raiden flew back. He was not pinned to the wall, but he was too far away to stop him. He turned and did the same thing to Cytra. She too flew back. The Ciamas, however, charged.

The night sky was full of blackness. Moldark looked satisfied until he realized that the legendary beast was running straight for him. He instinctively disappeared in a pillar of black smoke.

One of the cloaked men that Raiden fought was dead. The wound that Raiden made caused him a lot a pain, but the guards by the front gate finished him off by firing their arrows. They must have figured out Raiden's signal. Direl was able to fight off Ebony. She had a severe gash on her dominant arm, but it wasn't lethal. Direl cuffed her in thick metal wristbands, similar to the ones Raiden just got out of, and gave her to two guards to take to the dungeon. The second cloaked man was unconscious due to the powerful blow to the head that Raiden had delivered. A couple more guards took care of him.

Cytra ran to Raiden, and wrapped her arms around him. He lifted her off her feet, and held her close.

"Nice signal," he said. "I like it a lot. You'll have to tell me this story after the battle."

She laughed lightly and said, "Definitely."

Direl walked over to the two of them as they pulled away.

"We had a terrible loss today, but we stopped Moldark," Direl said, putting a hand on Raiden's shoulder.

Raiden and Cytra looked at each other.

"The battle's not over," Raiden said.

He looked at them both, then looked at the Ciamas. "There's something bigger coming isn't there?"

The Ciamas approached and said, "The Kresallis army is just outside your borders and about to release a full fledged attack. Moldark has probably returned to lead them into battle."

"That's not good," Raiden said.

"We can't hold them off forever," Direl said. "Our forces have diminished since the last battle."

"That's why I brought an army of my own," the Ciamas replied.

Raiden and Direl exchanged glances as Cytra smiled.

"Magic is returning to Aleudia," she said. "It's time to use it."