Vayne: This is a first. IS X VP as the star pair. Not a lot to say, hope you enjoy, blah blah blah.

Elsword: Infinity Sword

Aisha: Void Princess

Chung: Iron Paladin

Rena: Grand Archer

Raven: Reckless Fist

Eve: Code: Battle Seraph

The Darkest Lights Shine the Brightest

Chapter One: Friends and Foes

It was a peaceful morning in Hamel. The streets were filled with people welcoming their loved ones home from a demon invasion repelling. The young single women all screamed and cheered for one man in particular. Elsword Sieghart, the prodigy of the army. He joined at a young age, and has proven himself time and time again. He hurried through the streets, not heeding the countless women vying for his attention. He quickly put his horse in the stables, and headed through the courtyard and into the main hall. The queen and her son, as well as Elsword's best friend, waited for him.

"Welcome back Elsword. It's good to see you well." Elsword bowed.

"It's a pleasure to be home." Elsword was both glad and worried to be home. He had been feeling strange recently, and assumed it was because of his link to Conwell causing him to absorb the essence of the demons he slew.

"Might I be able to trouble you for a walk through the grounds?" The queen asked.

"It would be an honor my lady."

They walked through the hedge maze in the back of the castle. Chung and Elsword talked to each other, making the queen smiled. Elsword was growing concerned; it felt as if something was gnawing on his mind. As they left the garden, heading for the front courtyard to watch the initiates train, Chung noticed Elsword's expression.

"You alright man?"

"Yeah...I'm fine." Elsword said. They continued to the courtyard, and Chung and his mother, Delilah, sat on the bench by the fountain to watch the initiates practice. Elsword was slowly moving farther away. Argh...my head...is clouding over. Elsword saw his vision being encircled by darkness. Terror gripped his body, he was corrupted by the darkness of the Abyss from prolonged use of Conwell. Everyone gasped and stared at Elsword fell to his knees, holding his head in agony, and screamed in pain. His vision was gone, his eyes black. Delilah hurried over to him to see what was wrong. As she approached, Elsword glared at her, grabbed his sword, and flung his arm around as if it was broken with his sword tightly gripped, almost hitting the queen. She fell backwards, luckily unharmed. Chung pulled her away as the guards approached, and he noticed Elsword's eyes were pitch black. They cleared, and Elsword was confused. As the guards rushed him, yelling and calling him a traitor, Elsword knew he had to run. He looked at Chung, who nodded, and ran for the gates. It was difficult, but he manages to escape the city. As he hid in the forest, he cried. He had lost his home, he could never return home.

Five years later

Elsword scurried from the airship in silence as it pulled into the dock of Altera. He had to escape from some bounty hunters who believed if they killed him they would gain the respect of the queen. Only a month after his loss of control, he had received a letter from Chung by his faithful carrier pigeon saying Delilah forgave him for what he had done, knowing it was not his fault. Elsword quickly left Altera, not wanting to stay in the city given what he had heard of its ruler. He walked along the path as he left the city, and felt like he was being watched.

"Hmm..." Elsword scanned the area, saw nothing, and continued on. He came across a village, small but well sustained, and headed into the tavern. The barkeeper approached him instantly.

"Greetings! What can I get you?" Elsword handed him a large water skin and fifty ED.

"Can you fill this up for me? I've been traveling for a long time."

"Of course! How about a drink while you're here?" Elsword was surprised the barkeeper was so welcoming.

"Well...I guess I have time for one drink." Elsword sat down in the corner of the room, and a waitress brought him a pint. Elsword drank slowly, as when he has a beer to fast he's completely wasted. He noticed someone else in the opposite corner with a Nasod arm. Least...I think it's Nasod. Almost looks...organic. The man stared at him, and had several empty flagons on his table.

"Here you go! Nice and full." The barkeep came up to him and handed Elsword the skin.

"Thank you very much sir." Elsword was luckily done with his drink, and feeling quite satisfied, headed out the door. Since the barkeeper didn't stop him, he must have taken the fifty as payment. Elsword didn't want to stay on the road, as that man with the Nasod arm was on his nerves. He took off into the woods, and walked slowly and carefully. He looked up at the sky, "Man...it's a nice day today." Elsword always made sure to take in the simple pleasures of life, it helped him stay sane. He continued walking through the woods, and past a few deer grazing in a meadow. He reached the forest edge, and knelt down by the cliff. A rapid river was rushing by about twenty feet down, and the water was deep.

"Hello there." Elsword jumped, but rose slowly. He turned around to see a young woman with long white hair that was split into two long tails. Her outfit was strange, almost looked like a bathing suit apart from the two large hip decorations and her long sleeves. She was familiar, but Elsword couldn't place it.

"Hello there. What is a young lady like you doing out here?" Elsword noticed she was looking him up and down, and had two Nasod drones beside her.

"You're interesting. I like you." She said cheerily, but the happy sound made Elsword feel like he was in serious danger, "Come on, let's play!" With that, the woman pointed at Elsword, and he narrowly rolled out of the way as an electrical laser shot out. He got to his feet, swords drawn.

"What are you doing?!"

"You'll make a wonderful trophy! I have to add you to my collection!" The woman grinned, and her drones flew towards him. He repelled one, but the other managed to hit him hard in the back of the head, knocking him towards her as she lifted slightly into the air. Elsword was on his back looking directly at her when she emitted a bright light, blinding him. Elsword couldn't see, but he quickly felt the woman roughly grab his wrist, and knew he had to escape. He swung his sword in front of him, forcing her to let him go, and rolled back, "No!"

As Elsword rolled back, he felt himself hanging in midair, and plummet. He regained his vision as he was swallowed by the rapids. He came up coughing, and struggling against the water as he was swept away. The Nasod woman cursed as he disappeared.

"Damn it!" She was furious, and she had to return to home. She headed back, and remembered that strange man in the tavern Elsword had gone into. As she entered the village, everyone bowed, some in respect, most out of fear. She forced the door open and walked up to the man, his black hair spiky with a large patch of white.

"Fuck off." Was all he said, his feet on the table and his expression invisible in the shadows.

"Listen, I know who you are, Raven." She said.

"Then like I said. Fuck, off. Or I will make you." The lady scoffed.

"How normal of you, a man acting all high and mighty and not even waiting to hear a proposition."

"Then hurry up and say it bitch." The barkeeper rushed up to them.

"Lady Eve, I am so sorry for my patron's attitude." Eve was slightly relaxed to see someone acting their class.

"Be gone." He hurried off. Eve leaned forward, "I want you to find that man who was here earlier, with the red hair with that patch of black."

"And what's in it for me? I'm not cheap."

"Fifty million ED." Raven almost fell backwards in his chair and leaned forward. Eve was somewhat unnerved by the massive, inhuman grin on his face. Eve had to make sure he did it right, "Twice that if you bring him back alive." Raven began to laugh, the sound striking terror into the other patrons.

"Perfect! Oh...to hunt the traitorous former knight of Hamel. The greatest hunt I've ever had!"

"Make sure to bring him back alive. I have almost no use for him dead."

"Oh don't worry, he'll be alive. But he might not be kicking!" Raven roared in laughter and slammed his fist against the table, snapping it in half. Eve left the tavern, the sound of his laugh annoying and making her head ache. She snapped her fingers, and two Nasod servants appeared before her. They had always served the master of Altera.

"Oberon, Ophelia, take us home." They nodded, and they vanished from sight.

Raven stood up, and kicked the broken table out of the way as he grabbed his sword and headed for the door.

"Sir! Your meal!" Raven stopped by the door, and slowly turned his head.

"Shove it up your ass." Raven growled, and slammed his Nasod claw against the wall. The supporting pillars broke from the force, and Raven walked out the tavern as it began to collapse. He walked off, chuckling to himself, "Mhm...hah...Ah ha...AH HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Any others who were after Elsword would fall by Raven's hand, and he ran off into the woods to begin his search.

"Oh man...I gotta find something!" A woman, her clothes a dark violet and her hair in two pig tails on each side of her head, walked through the forest not far from her camp site. She had to find food, as she hadn't eaten in a few days. She heard something grazing, and shot a bolt of lightning in that direction. She heard a thud, and a teenage deer lay dead on the floor. It was enveloped in darkness, and vanished. A fat black bat appeared.

"Already cooking." It said.

"Thanks Angkor. Finally... a full me-" Aisha turned around in the direction of the lakebed. She felt a presence, and hurried off. She had to make sure it wasn't the Arcane Order, or that it could be someone who needed her help. She broke through the bushes, followed by Angkor, and saw a man with long red hair face down in the sand. He had a great sword in his hand, and the sheath Conwell on his belt. She turned him over, and sighed as he was still breathing, "Hey...you okay?" She whispered, and his eyes slowly opened. She noticed they were almost black, and teleported to a safe distance as he plunged his sword into the floor where she was, "What the-!" He slowly got to his feet, his arms limp as if they no longer worked, and he held his sword and Conwell tightly. She now saw, not visible to normal eyes, the trails of darkness seeping from him. He's corrupted, I can help him! "Angkor!" At her command, Angkor focused his power with hers and she shot a small sliver of darkness at Elsword's head. The shard entered his head, and his eyes suddenly regained color. He fell to one knee, panting. Aisha ran up to him, "Are you alright?"

"Who...are you?" Elsword didn't know who this woman was, but he knew she had saved his life.

"You've been corrupted by demons, I can keep you sane, but we have to stay close to one another." Elsword was confused, and asked his question again.

"Who are you?" Aisha blushed, embarrassed for being somewhat rude.

"I'm Aisha."

"Elsword. Thank you Aisha, for saving me. Now, what exactly is going on?"

"Maybe we should go to my camp first, it's late." Elsword nodded, and Aisha enveloped them in shadows. The next moment they were at Aisha's camp. She went to her pack and pulled out another sleeping bag, hers already on the floor, "Your link to Conwell has caused you to lose your mind unless you're near me. I have a pact with the god of the Abyss." At that, Angkor appeared.

"Hello Elsword. I'm Angkor." Elsword nodded, sitting on the floor in front of the fire to warm himself up.

"So...who are you?" Aisha asked, making Elsword look at her, "I mean...if you wanna stay sane we have to stay together, so why not get to know each other?" Elsword sighed.

"I'm sorry Aisha. I don't...trust you enough to tell you that yet." Aisha just nodded.

"Understandable. Well, how about some food?" Angkor had already served the cooked deer; being a god of the Abyss makes it a simple task. They quickly ate, as Elsword was exhausted from his day, and needed sleep. Once they were done, Elsword and Aisha laid down to get to sleep.

"Night Elsword." Aisha said. She was happy, hoping that Elsword would be a good friend to have, as she has been lonely for so long.

"Night Aisha." Elsword said, and both drifted off to sleep.

"Ha!" Raven chuckled to himself in the early morning light. He sat atop the cliff overlooking the valley not far below that the river fed. In a clearing in the trees, was his prize. Another woman was there as well, "She's kinda hot, and that outfit...Talk about two in one!" Raven grinned, drew his sword, and propelled himself towards the sleeping pair. As he was about to land, both rolled from their beds and to their feet, weapons at the ready as Raven slammed the floor with enough force to crack the earth. Elsword recognized him.

"You're that man from the tavern!" Raven grabbed a large stone and hurled it at Aisha, making her dodge as Raven rushed towards Elsword as he swung his sword. Elsword blocked it easily, but Raven grabbed his blade with his Nasod arm, and pushed down for significantly more force. Elsword stood his ground, and several floating spears emerged from Raven's arm. Raven ducked down and placed his palm on the floor, sending a shockwave as the spears propelled themselves at Elsword. He deflected the spears and used Conwell to form a vortex of blades between him and Raven. Raven rushed through the vortex and grabbed Elsword by the throat as they were dragged back. Elsword had no choice but to stop the vortex, and Raven slammed Elsword face down on the floor. He dragged him harshly along the floor and flung him at a tree. Elsword's head was spinning, and he couldn't see properly as Raven approached. Aisha, leaping to Elsword's aid, shot an orb of darkness at Raven. He flipped backwards, and shot a cluster of shrapnel at her. She teleported to Elsword's side, and the next moment they vanished from sight. Raven gritted his teeth.

"Fucking hell!" Raven punched the floor in rage, shaking the trees. He calmed himself down, and looked through Aisha's pack. He found a piece of paper that was a message from a carrier pigeon. It was a letter from a woman named Rena, and she was saying Aisha was welcome to her home at any time. She even gave directions. Raven smiled, "They'll surely go there to hide. Looks like I'll have to pay miss Rena a visit!" Raven ran off, laughing insanely as he headed for the air port to begin travel to Elder to get to the ferry. He would most likely find Elsword on the way, so he'd have another chance.

Further into the valley, closer to the city and port, Elsword was recovering from the fight. Aisha was treating his wounds as he calmed his breathing.

"Shit...he's tough..." Elsword was lucky Aisha was there, or else he would have been a goner.

"What does he want?" Aisha said to herself, and Elsword looked at her.

"You know him?"

"He's an infamous bounty hunter, Raven. He's always found and captured or killed his targets, and has never failed a mission. Even other bounty hunters fear him, as once he has a target; he is the only one that will be allowed after him. He's killed many people." Elsword groaned.

"Damn it...We have to hide somewhere." Aisha stood up, helping Elsword to his feet.

"I do have a friend near Hamel, Rena. She said she'd always welcome me there. We can hide there." Aisha looked up as the aircraft pulled into the port.

"Sounds like a plan, let's go." Aisha nodded, and teleported herself and Elsword up to the airship's cargo hold. They hunkered down there, and hoped no one would find them.

Vayne: Okay, that's a pretty good start if I say so myself. A lot of the things in here are a first for me, so don't be hating! Any who, give me a review telling me what you think, and I'll see you all later.