Shadowraven: Ascension

Fire

Shadowraven walked down the street to Angel and Tigerblaze's house. He kept trying to figure out what had happened, his mind wandering to different solutions but quickly throwing them away. Someone stood next to him and he looked up from the floor. It was Charmcaster, looking at him with worry. "Shadowraven? You okay?" She asked. He shook his head. "Why?" He asked. She blinked in surprise. "Why what?" She replied. "Why did she kiss me?" He asked. Charmcaster sighed and shrugged. "I don't know, but I do know that I sure as hell didn't like it." She responded. Shadowraven looked at her, an eyebrow raised. "You okay Charm?" He asked. She nodded, moving a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Just jealous, I guess. You were my first kiss and my childhood crush, so I'm guessing something bubbled up when I saw her kiss you." She replied casually. Shadowraven's eyes widened and he stared at the mage.

"You actually liked me?" Shadowraven asked. Charmcaster nodded. "I don't know what to feel now though. Not because of the kiss you just got from Serena, but because I've been away for so long. So yeah. Sorry Shadowraven." Charmcaster replied. Shadowraven nodded, understanding what she meant. Yes, he had kissed her but she still didn't know what to feel towards him. It's been more than seven years for her, Shadowraven remembered. She faked her death, moved to the forest and then I found her... He shook his head, letting his thoughts disappear. The two walked in an awkward silence, unsure of what to say next. "So, Serena's the enemy?" Charmcaster asked at last. Shadowraven nodded, a hard lump forming in his throat. "She kissed you though, right? Maybe we have the wrong person." Charmcaster said. Shadowraven shook his head.

"She was radiating magic. Same type as you, only with more heavenly power. Angel Touched, maybe." He replied. Charmcaster looked thoughtful at what he said. "So she's part angel, like our lesbian friend?" She asked. Shadowraven laughed and shook his head. "No, but the heavenly magic was given to her." He replied. "Alright." Charmcaster said. The two stayed silent after that, wondering what was going to happen next. A sudden wall of flames surrounded Shadowraven and Charmcaster and a figure walked towards them. The figure was a man who had a buzz cut, sunglasses, and was dressed in camouflage. Shadowraven glared at the figure, becoming angry for some reason. "Ares." He snarled. Ares laughed, unsheathing his sword. "I see you got the memo, kid." Ares replied. Charmcaster looked at Ares and Shadowraven. Ares looked at Charmcaster and snapped his fingers. She disappeared from inside the circle. Shadowraven glared at Ares, Drakensang changing from a watch to a sword. "She's safe, correct?" He asked. Ares nodded, an evil smile on his face. "You won't win, you know. I'm the god of war for a reason!" He shouted. Shadowraven snapped and the flames around them turned black, then disappeared. Ares laughed. "You think a little parlor trick is gonna scare me?" He asked. Shadowraven shook his head as darkness surrounded the god of war and the man. They disappeared and then reappeared in a a graveyard, Shadowraven smiling evilly. "I'd rather fight you in a place where we have equal footing instead of the home turf." Shadowraven said. Ares grinned.

"You've screwed yourself over, kid." Ares said. The ground began to shake and a skeletal hand erupted from the ground. The hand was followed by a man dressed in Confederate soldier clothing. Shadowraven simply watched, his anger fading in and out randomly. Shadowraven stepped back and felt the anger disappear. He sighed in relief, happy to be able to think without having his judgment clouded. The soldier charged and Shadowraven kicked its right knee, breaking it. The soldier fell and broke apart, bones scattering. "Enough with the cheap tricks, let's get right to the theatrics." He said, spinning Drakensang. The sword shifted into a scythe, it's black blade glinting evilly. Ares stared and charged, his sword coming down. Shadowraven raised the scythe handle and the blade crashed into cold metal, sending sparks flying. Ares kneed Shadowraven in the stomach and knocked the wind out of him, sending him crashing into a tree.

Shadowraven stood up, coughing. The anger was back and he hated it. He glared at Ares, who was laughing. Shadowraven grit his teeth and charged the god of war, slamming the butt of the scythe handle into his stomach. The god of war stepped back, coughing. Specks of gold flew out of his mouth and Shadowraven realized that he had hit Ares hard enough to cause him to cough up blood. Shadowraven felt even more powerful now, his adrenaline roaring. He swung the scythe upwards, the blade slamming through Ares's chin. Ichor gushed from the wound and Shadowraven felt his heart race. He glanced down at his arm and saw that his veins were black again. "So you're back again?" Shadowraven murmured. "Yup." a voice replied in his head. Shadowraven raised an eyebrow. "I'm just something that all of Sampson's descendants had. Never got a name though." It replied. Ares stood up and saw Shadowraven staring at him, his eyes cloudy. Ares charged, his blade gleaming. He slammed the blade into Shadowraven's stomach, expecting blood.

Ares heard a crunch and looked at the blade. It had cut through skin and bone. Shadowraven coughed, grabbed the blade, and pulled it out of his stomach with inhuman strength. The wound began to close, skin, muscle, and bone knitting itself together. Shadowraven and Ares both stared, surprise in their eyes. "I need my host alive." Said the voice. "So you're like a parasite?" Shadowraven asked it mentally. "Not exactly. I feed off of small amounts of energy and use that to heal my host." It replied. "So symbiote." Shadowraven said. "Yup." The thing replied. Ares brought up the blade, then swung it like a bat at Shadowraven's neck. Shadowraven ducked, then swung the scythe at Ares's stomach. Ares was cleaved in half and ichor spilled everywhere. The god began to glow and Shadowraven closed his eyes as a bright light flashed. It stopped and Shadowraven opened his eyes. Ares was gone, leaving nothing behind but a smoldering circle of dead grass where he had stood.

"So what else can you do?" He asked the thing. "If I evolve far enough, I can make you invincible." It replied. Shadowraven shook his head. "I don't want invincibility. You learn from wounds." He said. "Well, you're getting it. You can't stop me from evolving." It replied. Shadowraven sighed. "I'll give you a name. Curse." He said. Curse purred at the name. "I like it. Makes me sound scary." It said. Shadowraven sighed and snapped his fingers. Ravens began to flock around him, then flew around him. The ravens dispersed and nothing was left behind except a single black feather.