Spark in Darkness: Unworldy encounter/Prototype

Spark 4: Gless Moria

Taking a deep breath, Haruki concentrated on lighting up his fists. He felt a warm sensation, and indeed, his fists were starting to shine. Haruki looked around as the townspeople closed shop for the day. Some of them hurried around, rolling threads and thin cloths around.

The torches from the streets provided the light for the people to see, and they casted an orange glow on the buildings. Haruki thought about the request the town chief had issued.

Once every fortnight, a person would go missing, and it was concluded that it was the work of the Nayshards. But recently the attacks had gotten more frequent, sometimes leaving a mess behind. But each night, only one person was taken, and so the chief guessed that the assailant was by him or herself. The townspeople could do nothing to stop the Nayshard, so when Haruki arrived, they found a glimmer of hope, even when Haruki told them he was still a novice. However, he could not reject the pleading eyes of the villagers, and decided to help out. He had formulated a plan, and he could only hope it would prove enough for the battle against the Nayshard who was predicted to arrive that night.

"All ready, sir." A man in his thirties came over to Haruki and said.

"Please don't call me sir. You're older than me..." Haruki said politely.

"But you're in charge."

"Err...whatever." Haruki was bad at arguing with people. "Well, thanks for all the work. We can only hope it will be successful." Haruki nodded.

"Yes!"

The townspeople all quickly went back to their house, with a few men patrolling the streets.

Haruki went to the outskirts of the town near the forest and waited. The torches behind him were unable to light up much of the forest, so he would have to be ready for any surprise attacks. That's if the Nayshard attacked from the forest.

"This is my first battle...let's hope I don't have to pay for my failure with my life." Haruki took another deep breath. It was hard work keeping himself calm when he was all butterflies flitting in his stomach.

That was when Haruki felt it. An ominous aura, heading towards him from the forest. He would not be able to alert the other people on patrol, but he had to inform them somehow. The plan was to have more than one person in each building, or house, in case a Nayshard attacked and they had to give a warning. The streets must also be empty too. Haruki did not want to drag innocent people on the streets into the fight.

Finally, the Nayshard showed himself.

Haruki studied the man standing in front of him. He had his black hair combed back, and he wore a loose robe. In his arm was a stack of object, but Haruki had problems identifying what it was. It looked like books, but at the same time, not really.

"Oh? So tonight there's a young man welcoming me?" The man smirked. He only looked slightly older than Haruki.

"So you are the Nayshard who is eating humans from this town?"

"Indeed I am. And what business do you have with me?" The man eyed Haruki with a humourous glint in his eyes.

"I've come to put a stop to your acts." Haruki stated firmly. He was wondering why this man was finding the circumstances amusing. Maybe he was confident he could win?

"Your hair's not white, so you can't be a Spark. But you don't smell like a Nayshard either." A sniff. "Wait. You smell...strange. You smell different from a normal human."

Haruki thought the only conclusion to that was that he was branded with the Mark of Balance. Maybe that was why he smelled weird. Or maybe it was because he was in his uniform?