A/N: Well, a few reviews would be nice *cough cough*
Anyway, here's the next chapter! It's a bit short, but still.
Ten years ago.
Blaec Carver, born a dark elf in a hellish woodland filled with dangerous monsters, raised an adventurer, roamed the dungeon in Orario. His twin ethereally white swords slashed at any monster foolish enough to try to attack him head on, while also swatting arrows and other projectiles that other monsters launched at him.
This man was a powerful adventurer, as well as one who had carved his own Grace into his back, fought hard to obtain the strength he now held, and proved himself time after time, earning the respect of his fellow adventurers.
He had strived for greatness as a child, eventually earning enough money to buy high tier quality equipment from the local smith. He was a strange one, the smith, as he always wore a mask to cover his face. He also charged buyers in magic stones, not Vallis. Blaec had once talked to the guild about him, but nothing came up other than his Familia: Hephaestus. The man was not an adventurer, and he never traded in magic stones to the guild. So, what did the masked man use the stones for? A few men, foolish adventurers of course, broke into his workshop to find out.
They were never heard from again.
...
Blaec paused, feeling a tension in the air. What was happening?
A scream of fear, and the shattering of metal filled the dark elf's ears. He sprinted forward, then turned a corner, slashing a Spartoi that dared block his path. Blaec kept running, his boots pounding against against the dungeon floor. He had to find out what was happening.
He reached the source of the scream, a girl, though while strong, was writhing on the ground, with several of the undead soldiers stabbing her.
Blaec would not allow that to continue.
He hurled a sword forward, impaling one of the monsters, before grabbing a second one by the head, then used it to knock the others away.
He knelt beside the girl, pulling out a roll of white bandages. "What happened?"
The girl looked around in fear. Blaec rolled his violet eyes, then snapped his fingers, drawing the girl's attention to himself. "What happened to you?"
The girl grabbed his coat, violently shaking. "It's gone."
Blaec froze. Impossible. It couldn't happen.
Of course it couldn't happen. The girl was just confused. He deeply sighed, regaining his composure. Then he began bandaging the girl. "What's gone?"
The girl began to speak, before scrambling back and screaming, the bandages trailing about before Blaec rolled them back up. "It's gone! It's gone! It's gone!"
Blaec shook his head, hurling the other sword at the Spartoi behind him.
Crack.
His eyes widened as a single crack formed, running down the entire length of the blade.
Crack.
Another crack formed as the skeleton grabbed the sword, after which Blaec narrowed his eyes.
CRACK.
The blade shattered, leaving the monster unhindered. Blaec didn't have time for this. He needed to get the girl to safety!
He rolled out of the way as the skeleton speared at him, before placing his hand on the girl's shoulder. The backlash would be bad, but he didn't have the time to kill the monster and heal the girl.
Blaec caught his sword as it flew back at him. The enchantment was working, at least. He sheathed the sword, then knelt down, picking up the girl. "Teleport."
Wind blew around him, as well as the girl.
In an instant, they were gone from the dungeon, just as a second Spartoi lunged at them.
The wind placed them at the dungeon's entrance, with Blaec thrown forward. He rolled, just enough to mitigate the pain after.
It didn't help.
The backlash slammed into him, throwing him back on the ground, painfully. Then it proceeded to spread across his body, leaving him in a very injured state. He could barely make out the pained groans of the girl.
The girl. He still needed to get the girl.
Struggling to get to his feet, he dropped the sheathed sword, but ignored it. He stumbled to the girl, shaking her shoulder. "Come on. Can you stay awake until I'm done bandaging you up?"
The girl slowly, very slowly, turned her head to face him. "I'm tired. It hurts, but I'm tired."
Blaec saw her hand rest just below her ribcage. If she had taken damage, that would be the most probable location. He rested his hand on hers. "Does it hurt here?"
The girl nodded, closing her eyes. Blaec snapped his fingers, forcing her to wake up again. "Hey, stay with me. I'm going to pull your shirt up, okay? I need to bandage you up."
The girl shook her head. "It's too late. It's gone."
Blaec scowled at her. "It's not too late. You're still alive, aren't you?"
He pulled her shirt up, then inspected the damage. A large splinter, probably from one of the Spartois's spearheads, was lodged very deep into her chest.
Far enough to pierce her heart.
…
So, that's what she meant. He sighed, then reached for the splinter. "This is going to hurt a bit. Just relax. Everything will be fine."
The girl gave a small sigh as he pulled the shard out of her chest. Blood spurted out, but Blaec quickly wrapped a bandage around the wound. The bandages would heal her, but possibly not fast enough.
The girl gave a faint groan, while Blaec merely looked at her. "Just stay alive, and you'll be fine, you hear?"
The girl's eyes were quickly becoming glossy, but Blaec squeezed her hand. "Stay with me. Just relax, and stay alive. Clear your mind of extra desires."
The girl slowly closed her eyes, and her breathing slowed. Blaec rested a hand on the bandages. "Stay alive. Heal, and remain free of strong desires."
…
…
…
He paused when the girl stopped breathing, frowning deeply. "This way wasn't enough. Please, please work."
He pointed a finger at the injury, closing his eyes. "Divine heavens and hellish ruins, this one has strayed from their desired path. Grant them their wish, their desire. Return to this one their soul, their being. Restore to them their life, that which they wish to have. Give them this second chance."
He paused, clearing his mind of anything other than the chant. "In this, I ask of you: Resurrect this lost one."
The wound instantly healed, and the girl opened her eyes. Blaec sighed in relief. "Are you alright?"
The girl looked at him. "I just wanted to live."
No. No, no, no no no no.
The girl lunged at him, stabbing at him with her knife. "I just wanted to live, more than anything. So why did you let me die, Blaec Carver?"
Blaec spun around the knife, grabbing the girl's arm. "Stop. Seriously."
He yanked her arm down, then jumped back as she pulled a second knife out. Seriously, who carries multiple knives and uses them for stabbing people, not throwing?
Blaec really shouldn't have thought that.
He ducked as the girl threw the second knife, then dashed at him. He twisted around her once more. "This is your last chance. If you don't stop now, things won't end well."
Her face warped into one of complete fury. "I challenge you to a duel, Blaec Carver!"
That did it.
Blaec froze, catching the girl's hand as she tried to stab him again. He held his other hand out. "I accept."
The guild couldn't condemn him for murder in a duel. Those kinds of rules lead to death matches, but Blaec didn't worry about that too much. Resurrection and all.
The sword flew to his hand, and he cleanly slashed her arm. These kinds of people were the most difficult ones to deal with, as their wish manifested in one of the most dangerous ways: night immortality.
Case in point: The wound healed quickly, though clearly not as much as the girl expected, as she turned on him, drawing a third knife. "What did you do? What kind of sword is that?"
Blaec remained silent. It wasn't a good idea to explain what all of one's equipment did to an enemy. Either way, he still had to deal with this one.
He closed his eyes, weaving through her frantic stabs, focusing on the spell he wanted to select for this purpose.
The sharp, searing pain in his back told him said spell was ready.
Blaec opened his eyes, his vision alternating between sharp and blurry as he chanted the spell in his head. A stab grazed his coat, but was deflected courtesy of the enchanted cloth.
Blaec was ready now.
He leapt back, glaring at her. "I will give you one final warning. Stop, or I will kill you."
The girl didn't even pause as she charged him.
Blaec looked at her with melancholy. Such a sad loss of life.
He held out his hand, amethyst flames trailing around the white glove that covered it. "Fire bolt."
The flame rocketed away from his hand towards the girl, bursting on impact.
Her screams, like all the others, would haunt him for a long time.
He sighed, watching the burning figure flail, then collapse into a pile of ashes. Then he sighed again. So young, but with so much desire. No serenity at all.
"Hey!"
He stopped halfway towards the ashes, turning to the source of the voice.
A large group had formed during his battle, and now they glared at him with hatred in his eyes. This was probably the girl's familia.
They kept glaring at him as they stepped forward, one in front uncomfortably so. "Do you know who that was?"
Blaec looked down at the pile. " A young girl, roughly twelve years old. Her name was Adria Marinos, of the Arethusa familia. What more do you want to know? She's a part of your familia."
The speaker, a well muscled man, stalked up to him, his fists clenched. "I am Zephyr Marinos. You killed her, Carver. You killed her, brought her back, then killed her again."
Blaec stood up, brushing off his coat. "Zephyr. Not everything is in black and white. Do you think I killed her? I did everything in my power to keep her alive. My bandages can only heal so fast. I told her to stay calm, to clear her mind of strong desires. When she died, I brought her back because I didn't want her to stay dead."
He held out his hands. "See this clothing? The white parts are enchanted to assist in the healing of those who wear them. The bandages are made of the same material. I would never abandon another adventurer, whether they be a supporter, a simple blacksmith, a great hero, or otherwise. Adria died of her wounds, despite me trying my best to heal her. After she died, I gave her a second chance by bringing her back. Unfortunately, she had too strong of a desire, especially one to live. She could never have lived a normal life like that. She would have lashed out at anything close to her, regardless of their relation to her."
Zephyr gave him a vicious look. "Because of your flawed technique? I know Adria. She'd never hurt anyone close to her. She saw only the monsters as enemies to be slayed. She wouldn't lash -"
Blaec lifted him off the ground, his violet eyes full of fury. "Yes, because of my flawed technique that lets me resurrect people. As long as they clear their mind of strong wishes, I can bring them back from the dead with impunity. But if they hold a strong enough wish, a desire above all others in their mind and soul, then they will come back in a horrific way. Their wish will manifest itself, corrupting their soul to dedicate itself to fulfilling that wish. They will recognize two things: The one who made them this way, me, and obstacles to be destroyed. Adria? She wanted to live. That wish granted her night immortality, and the longer she remained in this world like that, the stronger she would become. She wouldn't have recognized you as someone she cared for. She'd simply see you as a threat to her wellbeing. Then she'd kill you. Is that what you want? For her to do that to you?"
Zephyr shook his head, still struggling to free himself. Blaec did not relent. "I thought so. Beings like what Adria became do not feel ties unless it is to fulfill their wish. None have ever shown compassion strong enough to best their nature. Eventually, they killed the ones dear to them, their friends, their lovers, their family. Entire parties have been wiped out because of what happened to them. Yes, Zephyr. What happened to her was due to my technique. But I took responsibility for what happened, each and every time. Each of those times I call out for them to stop. They never do. But it is up to me, not up to you, or up to anyone else, to take responsibility for my actions. Those are mine and mine alone."
He dropped the man, who slid back, rubbing his neck and gasping for air. After a moment had passed, he glowered at Blaec. "You're a monster. A monster who breeds other monsters. No wonder you stay in the dungeon so often. You killed my sister, turned her into one of those things, then killed her again! Only a heartless monster would do that!"
Blaec glared at him. "Child. You provoke a being far more powerful than yourself. What could you possibly do to me, then? I've hunted monsters for far longer than you've even been alive. I know better than anyone how to find them, track them, kill them, and collect their drops. Why do you think your gods send children into the dungeon?"
A streak of blue flashed across his vision, snatching Zephyr up and away, then gently placing him down. Arethusa, he presumed, based on the power he felt from her. "Arethusa. You can't hide the truth from these children forever. They will ask questions that you can't simply avoid."
He lifted his hand, the sheathed blade flying to it. After, he placed the sword back on his hip, glaring at the goddess. "You will tell them, lest something terrible happen to you."
With that, he left. If the goddess told her familia, it would tear their relationship apart by its very nature. If she didn't, something terrible would happen to her. It was just how the curse worked. 'A plague on your house', he heard it was called. His father had used it once on a monster to force it into working as free labor for him. Blaec was young at the time, but he understood the implications of the curse. After that, all it took was a small grimoire, and a lot of pain, but it was well worth it to be able to place a curse like that on things.
He reached the outskirts of Orario, just in time to see the masked man leaving. Why? The masked man never left his workshop. Ever. Something must have happened, then. The timing was close enough for Blaec to make a simple conclusion: The masked man had left, taking his blessing with him. It would grant him immense power, taking back his blessings, but something big must have forced him to leave. What? What was the reason to make the greatest weapon and armor maker in all of Orario, no, in the entire world, leave? It was no secret to Blaec how the masked man made his wares so powerful, but maybe the gods didn't know. They would have found out, been outraged due to the nature of such a thing, then banished him.
That kind of thinking brought out the monsters, and made him all the more powerful.
Blaec could not allow such a thing. He turned to face the city, then stalked his way back. If the masked man could not prevent him from leaving the dungeon, then Blaec would.
He reached the masked man's shop late at night, pushing the door open. It was unlocked, and the store was empty. Hephaestus would weep if she saw this.
Blaec spotted what he came here for: A simple sword, a mirror of his own, darker than the night sky that looked down upon the world now. He picked up the sword, noticing a small piece of paper wrapped around it. It read:
"Blaec Carver. This sword is yours and yours alone. When you fall into darkness, a darker one will always be there to devour it. This sword is called Nightfall, the Sword of Black Dusk. Use it well.
The masked man."
Blaec folded the letter, then pocketed it. He would use this sword with everything he had. His other sword would not break, this new one wouldn't either. They were as strong as he was, and only as much, not more. That was the enchantment the masked man had placed on both of these swords. It was a fair deal, to use this sword as best he could.
After all, it was crafted by the best weaponsmith in existence.
A/N: A reference to our final boss! Who is him, you ask?
Eh, you'll learn soon enough.
Although I do need to stop making Book of Swords references.
Here's a list for anyone interested in the masked man's works. It will update every chapter.
Weapons:
Desperate, the Sword of Overcoming Despair - Belong to Aiz
Nightfall, the Sword of Black Dusk - Belongs to Blaec
Armor pieces:
The Black Hands - the masked man's gauntlets