Morning. The day had finally started, in every town, in every city, people were up and about enjoying their day. Working hard, relaxing easily, living life… every city but one.
The city coasted in ash. Black as night. Cold as death. Covering every surface in the ruins of a once thriving town. If one had just arrived with no knowledge of the city, it would be easy for them to assume that they had just stumbled upon the ruins of an ancient civilisation. Even the sky was dark and grey, letting the ash float gently along the breeze as if it was black snow.
No people. No bodies. Except one.
A lone figure walked through the city leaving footprints in the thick layers of ash scattered on the ground. They wore a black cloak with a hood attached by a silver broach that resembled a religious cross. The hood was currently raised and wrapped around their body, hiding their face and attire barring the bottom of their lower body, which was black pants and black boots.
The figure walked slowly taking time to observe their surroundings, looking for any trace of what had happened. Turning in place they decided to walk to one of the abandoned buildings, using their hand to dust off a section of a sullied window, before placing an ash covered finger in their mouth, tasting the ash before spitting it out on the ground. They stared inside the building, looking at a dining room all set up for a meal. A neatly pressed tablecloth, placemats that had plates and drinking glasses placed on them, silver cutlery placed neatly at the side, even candles in the middle of the table melted and burnt down to a fifth of their original size. All were covered in ash. The cloaked figure's gaze was focused on the room, so much that they didn't even hear the figures approaching them.
Five other individuals wrapped from head to toe in dark grey and dark green cloth and rags slowly walked up to the figure, the only part of their skin visible being a section which showed their eyes. As the five got closer they brought their hands out ready to strike.
"Must you sully this land any further?" The robed figure asked, making the five wrapped figures stop. "Yes, I know you're there. I also know that you are nothing more than bandits, hoping to make a profit from robbing the dearly departed."
The robed figure turned around facing the five bandits and pushed his arms through his cloak, bringing down his hood. His complete appearance and attire were now fully visible. He had short hair that was long on top with several spiky tufts as well as several spiky bangs over his forehead. He had a youthful face that showed he was in his late teens, with a pair of dark green eyes that showed a very serious demeanour. He wore a black choker around his neck and a white shirt that had the cuffs pulled up, that were decorated with a black zigzag pattern that was also on the waist of his shirt.
This man's reputation would go on to affect the mindset of magic that had been established thus far; he was Zed Pitch.
"So you are of no use to my investigation. If you leave now and return what you have stolen, then this doesn't have to go any further." Zed explained.
One of the bandits stepped forward, pulling down some of his clothing around his head to reveal his spiky brown hair. "Aren't you a little young to be acting so high and mighty?"
"I will not ask again, I do not to wish you harm but I will if I must." Zed calmly reasoned.
The spiky haired bandit chuckled. "The one of you against the five of us. I don't think so." The bandit raised an open palm creating a dark red aura with streaks of black flowing through it.
Zed remained calm, taking a breath. "You have made your choice." The bandit thrust his arm out shooting a concentrated blast of dark magic. "Now prepare to be judged."
The darkness collided with Zed creating a red explosion with various streaks of black that cut through the silence of the city, making powerful winds fly and scattering the ash throughout the air.
The bandit looked back at his group. "Alright, now that he's dealt with, we can finally get back to taking what we des-"
The bandit went silent feeling an odd sensation making his spine crawl. A cold sensation that felt like the life was being drained out of him, an ominous feeling that made him filled with a sense of dread. He noticed the shocked looks of his group as well as the alarming fact that everything in the surrounding area had somehow gotten darker. Looking behind him, he saw what he feared.
Zed stood unharmed, with a black aura of: dense, lightless, darkness emanating from his body. He raised his hands which were covered in black aura so thick and so dark that no one could even see his fists.
'What is this magic?! Shadow magic? Darkness magic?' The bandit thought, before his eyes narrowed. 'No. This sensation, this pure sense of negativity I'm felling, this magic can only be…'
"Black magic…" He uttered. The spiky haired bandit pulled his arms back, concentrating his dark red magic into a concentrated sphere. "You think just because of your magic you think you can take us. Black magic is just like any other magic, just like MY magic!"
The bandit threw the magic sphere forward towards an unflinching Zed. Zed opened his hands and put them ahead of himself catching the spell in his hands. The spell darkened going completely black, with no trace of light coming from it, making the spell look still. The bandit gulped, taking a step back.
"My turn." Zed threw Black magic right back at the bandit sending him into a wall in a black eruption. The darkness faded revealing the bandit with his rags ripped and his body covered in scratches.
Seeing their boss defeated the remaining four surrounded Zed, in a more uniformed manner preparing their next move.
"Don't get cocky because you took down the boss. You just got lucky." A female bandit cried out, using a finger to trace a message in the air. "Solid Script: Shine!"
The word 'SHINE' appeared in mid-air made up of white holy light that illuminated the area.
'That should stop him. Black magic is no match for White magic.' She thought.
The bandit got ready to follow up, only for the world around her to dim. Her spell's light fading and growing darker before going black and fading away.
"What?!" The bandit cried out.
Zed used the confusion to close the distance planting his feet in front of the bandit. Concentrating his Black magic around his right fist he punched her right in the stomach, making her heave before Zed followed through, blasting her upwards into the air in a black aura. Before her body fell to the ground two of the other bandits rushed towards Zed preparing spells of their own.
"Fire Make: Twin Streams!" One bandit put his hands together and swung them down creating two long streams of fire that resembled whips.
"Rapid-Fire Shot!" The second bandit reached into the air making two machine guns magically equip into his hands before massaging the triggers.
Zed calmly stared at the two bandits coming his way staring dead into their eyes. Zed's dark green irises began to dim, going completely black. The reflection of the bandits being seen in one eye each.
Without warning the two bandits turned to each other, unleashing their attacks against one another. The two taken out by quite literal friendly fire suffering from either burning lashes or magic bullets. Their body's both fell to the ground confused and betrayed, right as Zed's eyes went back to normal colouration. He casually looked over his shoulder at the remaining bandit, who was shivering at the sight of him.
"Y-You're a… a…demon…" They stuttered.
Zed calmly turned to face them fully. "You couldn't be any further from the truth." Zed slowly gripped his fingers with the exception of his middle and index fingers performing a circular motion and pointing his right arm upwards and his left arm sideways, creating a plus shape. "Don't try it."
The remaining bandit stared at Zed with a scared look. In a panic they raised their hands to prepare an attack when Zed quickly thrust his left arm out pointing at the bandit. A wicked concentration of Black magic burst down from the dark clouds overhead, landing directly on top of the bandit, engulfing them in a black column.
"I did warn you." Zed explained as the black faded away leaving the bandit on their knees, with their outfit torn and their face laying defeated in the ash.
Zed stared around himself one more time while taking in his surroundings, before pulling his hood back up and bringing in his arms, wrapping his cloak around himself once more. He started walking away, with his boots crunching in the ash that gently fluttered downwards covering him and the defeated bandits.
The spiky haired bandit groaned sitting up. He stared at the black hooded figure walking away and growled creating another spell of dark magic in his hand. He pulled his arm back and threw the spell only for Zed to effortlessly catch it in his hand without turning around.
'What the hell?! How did he catch that?!' The spiky haired bandit thought.
Zed turned his head as the spell in his hand darkened until it became pitch black, falling apart and wafting away like scraps of burnt paper.
"I see that you're more stubborn than your compatriots. Very well." Zed calmly took a breath as a black miasma began to surround his body.
The spiky haired bandit began to panic. "No! No! Please! I surrender! I'll leave!"
Zed remained quiet. "…You're lying."
The black miasma quickly expanded outwards, spreading around until reaching the bandit. The miasma passed through him, making him gape. The resulting spell knocking him out and making fall on his face into the ash.
Zed took a breath. "If only I was able to notice them when they were far away, then this would have been so much easier." Zed looked up staring at the dark grey clouds in the sky. The clouds rumbling with the sound of thunder, and the shadow over the world getting darker. "But right now I need to focus. There's a black practitioner out there, who I need to stop."
