Maplestory: New Resistance

Prologue

"Master Luminous!! Master Luminous!! Master Luminous, where---!!!"

"GET OUT! QUICKLY! I'LL TRY TO HOLD HIM OFF! GO!!"

"HAHAHAHA!!! You're a fool to try and stand against me and the powers of darkness!!! DIE!!!"

"Ngh!!! I have to.... Try and... Hold him off... Till Master Luminous.... Ngh! N-no...!! I... I can't!! I....!! AAAAAAAAARRRRRGGGHHHHHH!!!"

A young man woke with a jolt, his heart pounding, and a dark power flaring inside. Using all of his might, the darkness was suppressed and the young man was able to calm down. He put a hand to his face and sighed, "Th... That dream again... Why...? Why must my failure haunt me....?" He sighed as he ran a hand through his light blue hair before took hold of his staff and got up, looking around the field he had fallen asleep in the night before. With another sigh, the young man began walking off to wherever he ended up. The young man's name is Daniel, and he was once a student under the powerful Light Mage Luminous. Many years have passed since the final battle between the forces of darkness and the Heroes of Maple. Since then, peace had been felt throughout the world of Maple and it's Heroes had bid farewell to each other. Some, like Phantom, continued to watch over Maple, determined to stop any new dark threats from rising to power as the Black Mage did. Others, found peaceful lives to live out now that peace had been restored for good. And then there were those such as Luminous whom took on students to train and teach. Daniel was one such student, and one of the better ones there but he was far from the best student. But that didn't matter to him, Daniel had longed to be a Light Mage since he had heard the stories of the Heroes of Maple and Luminous himself but he never thought he'd be a student of the Hero Luminous himself. It was like a dream come true for him, studying the arts of Light magic, Daniel could never be happier. But it was not to last. Several weeks ago, a dark force attacked the academy that Luminous taught at, killing many of the other students and severely wounding several others. Daniel was one of the last to face the threat and somehow one of the only ones to escape unharmed despite taking a blast head on after his shield of light was destroyed. However, it came at cost as he was cursed by the dark force, forcing darkness into his heart to consume his light. Since then, Daniel has distanced himself from the rest of the world, afraid of the darkness and himself. As he did, he hoped to find Luminous, the only other Light Mage to be tainted by the pitch black darkness. If he did, Luminous might be able to help the young mage control the darkness as the Hero did once before. But there had been no such luck. Luminous was nowhere to be found. As the young mage traveled, the grim thought that Luminous had been killed crossed his mind. Shaking his head, he sent the thought away. "M-Master Luminous couldn't of been killed...." Daniel muttered, "He couldn't of.... He's too strong.... He..." His thoughts stopped short as a figure stood in front of him, one recognizable to those who heard the legends of the Heroes of Maple. It was Phantom, master thief, Hero of Maple and ally of Luminous.

"Y-you're..." Daniel stuttered, shocked.

"You're a student of Luminous', are you not?" Phantom asked, his tone surprisingly sterner than as it had been described in the stories.

"Yes..." Daniel replied, his grip on his staff tightening as he nodded. There was clearly a look of fear on his face, scared of what might happen next given Phantom's tone.

"And you were there at his academy during the attack," Phantom said, "Correct?"

"Y-yes... I was," Daniel said.

Phantom huffed, "Don't you think it's odd how a dark threat slipped into the academy? And you, someone who faced it head on, survived without injury?"

"Wh... What...?" Daniel asked, shocked that Phantom knew about the attack, "How did you...?"

"I encountered a student that you... 'saved'," Phantom said, "He told me you surely died yet, here you are. I can't help but think that you were the threat."

"That's insane!" Daniel said, "I would never...!!"

"Save the lies," Phantom said, preparing his attacks, "For the safety of Maple, time for you to fall." And with that, he attacked with everything he had. And even with Daniel's magic, the attacks still hit hard. He was dying with no way of defending himself or disabling Phantom's attacks. But he had to live, to find Luminous and control the darkness within him.

"I... must live..." Daniel said, summoning all his power for one spell, one he had no idea if it'd work, "I must.... Find Master Luminous... Goodbye..." The young mage let out a yell as he casted the spell, causing a bright flash that blinded Phantom, and stopped him from attacking. When it had faded, Daniel was gone. The spell had worked, leaving Phantom to reflect on his actions.

"He called Luminous Master Luminous..." Phantom muttered, "Was I wrong in my assumption...?"

Miles away, within a forest near the village of fairies, a young cleric made her way through it towards the river until she heard a snap of a breaking tree branch behind her. Spinning around, she fixed her gaze on Daniel who stood in the shadows, "Who are you? What do you want?" The young mage didn't respond and merely stumbled out of the shadows before collapsing from his wounds at the cleric's feet. With a gasp, the cleric knelt down and began healing him, trying to get him stabilized as she spoke softly to him, "Hang in there... I'll heal you, so stay with me.... Stay with me...." Once she had the young light mage stabilized, she headed off to her home with the unconscious light mage in her arms.