Spark in Darkness: Unworldy encounter/Prototype

Spark 39: Storm in the desert

The two boys got out of the tent rubbing their eyes, but the moment they saw what was happening, they immediately started collapsing their tent and putting out the fire. The animals were restless, so Shinesh and Haruki left them behind a rock and a few cacti a good distance away, together with their equipment.

The dark clouds loomed over the group, and with a flash of lightning, accompanied with raindrops and the growling of thunder, their enemy stood in front of them. A man with disheveled brown hair walked towards them, the rainwater plastering his cloak to his body.

Haruki frowned. The rain was making his clothes heavy, and reducing his vision too. The sand underneath his feet was turning muddy and sticky. This was not going to be an easy fight. If the enemy had the blue gem and could manipulate water, he obviously had the upper hand, given that he could seemingly control the weather at will.

The man in front of the group came to a stop, and with a grin, held up a hand. Everybody activated their weapons, ready to counter any attacks, but with another flash of lightning, the man was gone.

"Shit, these flashes are bad for my eyes," Shinesh complained.

"Especially more so for me." Rinya agreed.

"But where is he?" Shiro asked, scanning their surrounding.

Then there was another flash, this time aimed directly at Shiro. She was struck by the lightning, but this time it was not a normal lightning. The enemy was inside, using the speed to attack Shiro with a claymore of his own. Shiro barely managed to parry the blow, and Haruki was once again amazed at her quick reflexes.

But it was no ordinary attack, and Shiro dropped to her knees, her grip on her swords releasing. The lightning had made her body numb.

With a grin, the assailant raised his sword above him, ready to deal the fina strike.

"Not on my watch!" Shinesh ran towards them, but the weather and wet ground impeded his movement. "Shit! I won't be able to make it!"

Just then, a chain shot past Shinesh, aimed at the enemy. He turned back to see Rinya with her scythe, the magical chain extending beyond possible length and the blades glinting, reflecting whatever little light there was underneath the dark clouds.

The cloaked figure changed his grip on his claymore and swung it to deflect the blades coming at him. This time Haruki fired some arrows and forced the man to keep his distance from Shiro. By then Shinesh had already reached Shiro and helped her to her feet.

"You okay, Shiro?"

"Kinda. My whole body's numb, but it's not too bad. I can slowly feel my feet and fingers again." Shiro managed to say, but it was obvious that attack had taken a toll on her body.

"You rest for now. We'll find a way to deal with that guy first." Shiro said, and called for Kuro. Kuro could easily crawl around the wet and sticky terrain for some reason, and after Shinesh propped Shiro on its scaly back, Kuro growled before slithering towards the two furriers.

The attacker was struck by lightning, and this time the electricity coated itself around him, and he charged at Shinesh. Shinesh brought up his arms to block the swing from the claymore, pouring Light into his arms to increase his defense. But the blow still numbed his arms as he was pushed back. Still, Shinesh gritted his teeth and remained clenching his fist, before punching the air in front of him and sending a beam of Light flying towards the cloaked assailant. The man was surprised by the attack, but he still deflected it with the sword coated in electricity.

Shinesh clicked his tongue, flexing his arms to get the blood flowing. He tried to think of a way to slow the man down, but before his mind formulated anything that resembled a plan, the man charged again. Shinesh blocked the swing better this time, and he twisted his arm to wrestle the man into a lock before slamming him to the ground. Shinesh realised despite him having lightning speed when he travelled, his reflexes and body could not move at that speed. Shinesh tried to punch the man again when he was on the ground, but a lightning strike teleported him away, blinding Shinesh momentarily at the same time.