The Coming Darkness

Since David didn't exactly know what they were talking about, he looked to Enzo for an answer. That's when Kira spoke up and told him she was going to go find Harley, and he frowned. He'd go with her if it wasn't for the deal with Enzo. "Oh.. Okay. I'll see you later, then.. Right?" he added on with a hopeful smile, giving her the puppy dog eyes.

Silver woke up, realizing she had fallen asleep on her bed. She sat up, attempting to recall her dream, but failing. Whatever it was, she felt like it was nice. She smiled and stood up, walking over to her mirror to fix her hair a bit. She flattened out her clothes, fixed her bangs, grabbed her bag, and left her room again, this time locking the door behind her. She glanced around, not seeing anyone she knew, and sighed. Clinging to her bag she decided to go get some sword training in and walked towards the training room, seeing as she hadn't trained with her swords in quite a while.

"No, i'm not going to give you Enzo's baby pictures." Kenji gave the tsundere a sly smirk before continuing. "What do you need help with? It's nice to see someone seek my services." His tone hinted sinister, troubling making things, and his smirk didn't help either.


I wonder if I should tell Marcus about this too.. Enzo took a moment to respond. "I'm.. involved with some bad people, I guess." He looked down, not sure how to explain that Darkness himself was out to kill Enzo and everyone else. "There is a man who's trying to.. kill me." He shuffled his hands nervously. This wasn't the easiest thing to explain.

The smile on his face faded a bit as he listened to the spiky haired boy in front of him. "Bad people?" he muttered to himself, "There's a man trying to kill you? Have you gone to the authorities? Or is this someone who's beyond the law's grasp?" Coming to Sorcerers very late in the season had taken Marcus really far out of the loop, he had heard tidbits of information about 'the Darkness' and 'Team Valor' but hadn't the first clue what or who they were. Regardless whatever was trying to harm this kids, he would have absolutely no hesitation in helping them take it out.

"He's out of everyone's grasp." He explained. "He's one of the 7 entities that reside in the Gaze." Enzo was going off of information that Red had explained to the main group a month ago.

"The Gaze is a realm which the deceased reside. It is where Sky and I come from." Enki positioned himself back into the conversation as he heard Enzo explaining the Gaze. "Darkness is the current Leader between the other entities." Enki paused to look back at Enzo. "We'll have to fill them in, Sky."
Enzo nodded in response. If they were to help, they'd have to know what they were up against.


"Their names are: Destruction, War, Luck, Tranquility, Solitude, Courage, and Darkness. They rule the Gaze, and were the ones who gave you magic in the first place. But like them, There is a group of people that guard this realm, called the Guardians of Magic."

Enki took a quick pause to catch his breath. He had spent most of his life in the Gaze, so this information was easy to recall.

"They are: Silver Nagano, Volitaire Lucath, Eos VanCise, Janus-Dante VanCise, M-..Maya Morrison, Allochka Vetochkin, and Enzo Ferrari, As according to their original names. I refer Enzo as Sky, because that is his real name." Enki held a serious tone and facial expression as he said those last words. It almost came off as being threatening. He looked back to Enzo. "We've got to learn English, Sky."


"Huh? How?" Enzo perk'd up "By learning Archive magic. It'll allow us to completely read and memorize any book in about a minute." Enzo face palmed. He had totally forgotten about that spell on the trip to America. It was too late now, but learning a third language could prove to be useful for the newcomers. Not that they'd get involved in their mess anyway.

David stood there listening very closely to Enki explain. Darkness.. His mind instantly went to Silver. She had briefly told him about that before while they were alone, and he frowned. "I can help you with English if you need it, Enzo." Though, when he said that, he hoped he wouldn't need help. English is a hard language and it took even David years to be fluent enough to not be considered "too foreign". About then he saw someone walking by out of the corner of his eye, and looked to see Silver. He was about to call out to her, but she didn't look right. Something about her seemed way off, but he couldn't place his finger on it.

Silver was walking along minding her own business when she felt eyes on her. She looked up to see David staring at her while he was with a small group. She didn't even bother to see who else was with him. She sighed and kept walking, quickening her pace to the training room a bit. She wasn't sure why but she didn't really want to see or talk to anyone after that nap she had.

Marcus listened closely to what Enki was saying. At this point he sounded more like an elder than a teen, it was almost intimidating the amount of knowledge he had. "So the attacks in New York..." he started, "those people, that Goliath brute, they were of the Gaze?" It was all pretty overwhelming, in all of Marcus's years of study, he had never heard of The Gaze. Of course he learned about the afterlife heaven, hell, ecetera, but what Enki was describing sounded nothing like what he had read about. A clacking of footsteps echoed from the entrance and he turned his attention to Silver who had just walked in on the conversation. She looked tired, and borderline unhappy. His lips slanted in an unsure manner as he looked at the group before him. They had their own thing going right now, but they will no doubt be putting themselves in danger if they were to fight the entities they were speaking of. "Is there anyway I can help?" Marcus asked with a serious tone.

Kira smirked and gave a nod. "Mhm. I won't go anywhere far. If anything, the dorms is where I'll be." She gave them a nod before waving a the overs. "Later, guys." This,she said in Japanese, one of the few things she knew. That, and the basic greetings. Grabbing her things, she made her way out the doors, passing Silver.

"N-no, those guys in America were from Endine. I thought we dealt with them already at Castle Aurora." Captain Azure had assured them that the Endine wouldn't be a problem. They had bigger things to worry about then some long-term bandits.

David's offer propped Enzo's mood up a little. The fact that he was so willing to help was relieving. Just then, Silver had walked by. Just the person I wanted to see! Enzo quickly looked back to the group and excused himself. "Hold on." He told them, before catching up to Silver. Enki nodded back to Enzo. They needed all the help they could get. "The magic council is here to assist us in the matter, but I know Darkness' strength. We'll need everyone to help as much as they can."

"Oi, Silver!" He called out to her, and finally caught up to her. "I've been looking for you.."

David watched as Enzo chased after Silver, frowning. What's up with her?

Silver glanced up at Kira when she walked by, noticing that she was the same girl David was freaking out over. She's pretty. Just then Enzo walked up to her, telling her that he'd been looking for her. She paused, not looking at him, and blinked. "What do you need?"It was almost as if every step she took made her feel more gloomy and negative. All she really wanted to do was cut up some dummies with her swords, but if Enzo was stopping her, it must be important.

"Your help..." Enzo sunk down a little. He hated looking weak in front of people. "You know why. As long as we carry the rings, we won't live peaceful lives until we defeat Darkness." Maya was an example. A seemingly harmless girl who was beheaded just because she wore the ring.

Silver stood there, staring at the ground. She glanced to the ring on her finger and smiled a bit. "Why me?" There were plenty of things running through her mind at this moment, but that was the only thing she could say.

"Because you're skilled in both physical and magical power?" It almost felt like begging to Enzo. "You're Mist, aren't you?"

"I guess.." Silver wasn't sure of what to say. Part of her was telling her to ask him for help, while the other was telling her to just shut up and go train. She felt a bit confused and irritated right now, much like she did after she found out about Darkness being her father.

Her father.. The man they were all working so hard to kill. The one who wanted to kill her since she wasn't of any use to him. Her fist clenched up a bit.

Enzo saw her tense up in hatred and annoyance. "Something's bothering you..." His tone suggested that was intended to be a thought rather than him actually saying it. "Is it me? I-I'll go away."

"No, no, it's not you at all. Nothing, it's nothing, really. I'll help you, just tell me when and what to do." Silver glanced up at him and offered him a smile, seeming to not really look at him, but through him. "I..I just need to train a bit right now.. Y-You're more than welcome to join me, though.." She casually looked back to the group, only to notice David still looking at them. "I.. Might enjoy a bit of company, afterall.."

So fighting is her way of opening up? Enzo thought about it for a moment. Then she mentioned that company might improve the situation. "Alright, let's train." He hoped that nobody else would take notice of the oncoming ruckus.

Silver nodded and continued to walk to the training room, heading into the center and bringing out her swords. She carefully looked them over, making sure there were no scratches or stains anywhere on them. When she was satisfied, she looked back to Enzo, waiting for him to prepare himself.

Enzo followed Silver up until she brought out her signature swords. He could almost swear that those swords were her sidekicks. Nevertheless, Enzo's rings expanded on both hands, forming the two black, armored gloved, and his own signature flame to sport on his forehead. I need a warm-up anyway.

"I'll only use my swords for this. No magic, no illusions, no weird transformations. Just swords." Silver closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and exhaling it slowing. After a moment, she opened her eyes again, and stood in a battle-ready pose. "Ready when you are."
Don't hold back, either.

Enzo nodded, signalling that he was ready. He starting running forward. His third step ended up a leap, then, Enzo's entire body blurred out from view, due to his sheer speed.

He reappeared 15 feet above Silver, ready to punch down on her as a surprise attack. This gives me some time to try out some new moves. He thought as he descended down onto Silver, his fist ready.

Unfortunately for Enzo, Silver knew exactly what he was doing. Speed wasn't going to be enough if he wanted to beat her. She put her swords up above her in an x formation in order to block the punch, as she wouldn't be able to take that and keep going very well. She smiled an almost evil smile when his fist hit her swords.

Enzo half-expected her to block that attack. His gloves and her sword clashed, causing sparks to burst everywhere. He smirked, and said "X-Buster." Suddenly, his fist exploded with Sky flame. It covered the entire area with the orange heat in a grenade-like fashion.

Before the smoke cleared, Enzo landed some distance away from the center, and turned around to face where he expected her to be.

Silver wasn't exactly expecting the sudden blast to her face, though she wasn't exactly surprised either. Suddenly she was surrounded by orange. She wasn't really sure what she felt, but the next thing she knew, she was laying on her back and her swords were a bit scorched. She sat up, staring out at Enzo as the smoke cleared. She grinned. "You know, I don't think just my swords will actually be enough to beat you," she explained as she stood up, wiping off her swords on her skirt. "Let's test out my new powers, shall we?"

Before he could respond, she slammed her swords together, letting the flames from her mist ring crawl out. They coated her swords and stretched them out to make a scythe, much like the one she used to decapitate Haimon. She slammed the base of it down on the ground which caused the floor to crack a bit. She was grinning the entire time, but suddenly she stopped herself, the cracks on the floors closing right back up. Her scythe, however, remained. She twirled it around in her hands as she walked towards Enzo.

Enzo was shocked to see that her swords had become a large scythe. Her magical power was staggering and her grin just screamed evil. "Silver, you.." Even in his hyper form, he sounded shaken. "You've changed.." Still, he readied himself for what was to come. Whatever that was.

"I've changed? Surely that's a joke." She paused, the grip on her scythe tightening. "Everyone's changed in someway. That's part of life, isn't it?" The flames from her ring were growing denser, as well as increasing in size. "Part of normal lives, magical lives, crazy lives... Even for people who are the spawn of evil itself!" She was close enough to Enzo now to attack, and she did. She raised her scythe and swung it down at him with ridiculous speed.

Enzo threw up his hands, grabbing the blade of the scythe with both hands. He struggled with keeping it away from his body. How did.. she get this strong?! I can't even hold this thing up.. He jumped back, letting the scythe stab into the ground as he gave himself some space to think. "Your energy.. Have you become corrupted too?!"

"Corrupted? Have I become corrupted? It would seem to me that I've been corrupted this whole time, my friend!" Silver explained with a laugh. "How could I ever not be corrupted? I'm the daughter of evil, I am corruption itself." She pulled her scythe out of the ground, leaving a large gash in the floor from where the scythe landed. "Why, I bet if you had known about this before you got to know me, you would have killed me off. Before I got this strong, before anyone else realized who I am. That would have been the only smart thing to do. What else would you do with someone like me, a puppet, a tool, a piece of trash?!" She swung at him again, from the other side this time, with much more force behind it. She was starting to scare herself.

"Daughter of evil? Silver! What are you saying..?" The situation had gotten out of control quickly. She needed to let off steam, and it seemed training did just that. Too well

When she swung again, Enzo had no choice but to change to his Minus Fire, which, according to Kenji, was killing him slowly. He took it into consideration not to use it too much. He used the flame to burst out of his spot, dodging the large weapon once again, and gaining access to her side while she would have been busy readying the weapon again.

He went in for a quick kick. "Snap out of it! Listen to yourself!" He shouted.

Silver quickly put her hand up to block the kick, and did so with ease. "I am listening to myself, and that's the problem. You don't understand. You don't hear the voices. You don't get the headaches. I have one side of me constantly telling me to kill everyone around me, while the other tries to reason with that side. These internal arguments have become more intense lately, and it's killing me." She grabbed his leg and twisted it around, throwing him back over her head and into the wall behind them. "People like me shouldn't even exist, Enzo! I serve no real purpose except as a burden to those I actually give a fuck about!" Her breathing became heavy, and the flames coming out of her ring were so intense, it almost seemed as if they were taking over. She clenched her fists and closed her eyes. "I'm simply a danger to everyone around me!"

Enzo was thrown into the wall, sticking a bit before falling back down onto his face. He slowly lifted himself up off the ground, and coughed up a little blood. By the time he was on his feet, he had an understanding smile on his face. "That's funny." He said. His flames disappeared, and he returned to his normal self.

He started walking over to Silver, a slight limp in his step. "That.. sounds familiar." He said, clearly not concerned with her threatening stance. "In that case... Me and you aren't as different as we think." He was within striking range now, but her eyes were closed, he took advantage of that.

He suddenly pulled Silver into an emotional hug.

"You're important to us - Your friends."

Silver was hardly listening to him talk as he walked over to her, but then he pulled her into a hug.
"You're important to us - Your friends."
She stood there limp for a moment. Did he really understand? Was he really not afraid? Did he actually care?
Her scythe went back to her normal two swords and fell to the ground, and all the flames she had rushing around disappeared. Realizing she was tearing up now, she slowly wrapped her arms around Enzo and held onto him tightly, leaning her head on his shoulder and utterly breaking down. She felt a little bad about getting her tears on his shirt, but at the same time he didn't seem to mind. She had never cried on anyone's shoulder before, especially not so literally. But this was Enzo- He had this way of bringing her a calming sensation.. As if with him around she knew everything would be alright.

Sasha shook her head, a bit annoyed at the man/baby's attitude. There was no way in hell she'd want to see Enzo's baby pictures...though she had to admit she was a wee bit curious of what the guy looked like in his younger days.

No matter. What she had to discuss with Kenji was important, "Kenji," she said, "Train me. I'm a fucking weakling as I am now, and I don't want to be. I want to support Enzo- no, I want to support everyone."

Volitaire was sprawled out on the floor. Runes circling his downed body, and his black aura slowly rising from out of him. He was breathing heavily, exhausted from all the work he's done to perfect his spell. The air was littered with tiny, black, floating specs. Everything around him looked "dead" and he looked a little pale. "Geez, whatever I created it seems to have a decaying effect to it. Whatever it hits, the object starts to slowly whither or a decay rate is forced upon it. I'm pretty sure the impact of this spell on something with a stronger willpower it would be slowed a great amount. But still effective nonetheless. I'm playing around with death now..." He stood back up, a little dazed and swerving a bit. His manna was was nearly depleted, but he still felt determined to continue and see what else he could do with this. "You know, runes can be used as an attack too." Volitaire heard Artizle's words from behind him. He turned and faced him with a puzzled glare. Artizle nodded and moved from off the stump he was leaning on. "I never knew you were using runes. That's actually pretty advanced magic. But, you missed a very important factor when using them. You realize they're 'words of text' right?" Volitaire thought back when he looked up close and they looked like text in a unknown language. "Hmm, when I looked up close they did look like letters." Artizle grinned. "Very good. That language is something called 'Mannanymph', they're mythical beings that supposedly were the 'souls of all manna'. You could say they were the summonings of the same man who made the book, Aurora. But enough of the history lesson. You can bind a spell to the runes, and they can carry out the effect of the spell where ever you place them." Volitaire was reminded of his short fight with Faye. He did something similar, but that wasn't his actual intention. Artizle knew he caught Volitaire's attention, he may as well show him. With that constantly kept confident smile on his face, he walked over to Volitaire to give him example.

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Enzo felt her pain to an extent. For the life he remembered, he was nothing but trouble for both him and anyone who was stupid enough to befriend him. Still, he never gave up trying to find the right friends since. "We are never able to choose who and where we come from." He thought back to her referencing that she was the daughter of evil itself. He hoped that wasn't the case.

He put both of his hands on her shoulders, and looked her in the eyes. "But that doesn't mean we can't be different! You say you're the daughter of evil? Was it evil when you gave me your own pep talk at the hospital? When I was down and out? No, you're a good person, Silver. That's why you're my friend."


Kenji raised an eyebrow. He wasn't expected her to ask him for training, but he couldn't refuse. It was for a good cause. "When we're all at the Council's base, I'll train all of you. We'll need it."

Silver stared at him almost in disbelief when he brought up that little pep talk. "You.. Remember that?" She pulled down her sleeve a bit and wiped her eyes with it, looking down. "If I'm such a good person, why do I keep getting these awful urges? E-Ever since the fight with Haimon..." She was almost hesitant to tell him the next part. "..I've been... Almost hungry for that feeling again. Th-The feeling I got when I killed him.. And it's torture, Enzo. I don't want to have these awful urges.." She looked back up at him, an agonized look in her eyes. "What if one day I can't control myself? What happens then? You saw how easily I hurt you just now.." Silver frowned, looking at some of the blood that was still on his lips from when he coughed it up. She turned away. "I don't want to hurt anyone anymore, Enzo.."

Meanwhile David had slipped away from the group and peeked into the training room, seeing the damage to both the floor and Enzo. Silver looked like she had been crying, and they seemed to be having a serious talk. He decided to stand outside and wait for them to finish.

"That urge is similar to our killing intent.. Instead of fighting it, Silver, direct it at your enemies. That is what Aleister taught me, with my new flame." He saw David peek into the training room, and felt that she was needed for other things. He was wrapping it up. "We'll all get stronger, and learn to control our magic. We'll use it so we can enjoy peaceful, and happy days, once this is all over."

He gave her a reassuring pat on her shoulder, and then let her go. "The others are waiting for us."

Silver sighed and looked back at Enzo, giving him a little smile. "Y-Yeah... I guess so... I feel better now, let's go." She turned back to the door, picking up her swords on the way out. Suddenly, she stopped. "Ah, Enzo?.. Thank you. For understanding.." She looked back at him and remembered his injuries again. "Oh, we ought to get you to a nurse, or Eos, or someone.."

David heard Silver close to the door and telling Enzo to see a nurse, so he went in again. "Hey friends what's goin' o- Whoa, Enzo, what happened to you? And Silver, what happened to you, too?" Silver wiped her face off with her shirt again and looked at David. "N-Nothing, let's just take Enzo to the nurse.."

Sasha nodded in relief, glad to know that Kenji was willing to train her. She'd work hard to get to the level of the others. "When're we gonna go to that place anyways?" she asked.

Enzo smiled back. It was elating to hear a 'thank you' from someone. He rarely got them, and when he did, he cherished it. Then, Silver mentioned visiting the nurse. Enzo was hurt, yes, but he wasn't hurt that bad to the point of needing a doctor. Well, that's what he thought, anyway.

Then David came in. "I'm fine, really! It's just a few bruises." He let out a laugh to make it seem as if he were in top condition.

"Good question." Kenji hopped up to the window. Where he saw some magicians clearly from the Council. "Let's go find out, shall we?" He then jumped up onto Sasha's head. It was pretty much automatic for him to do so.

"Get off of me-" she started to say, but changed her mind. After all, if this man was to train her, mouthing off would not be an option. Instead, Sasha walked down the hallway and into the place where the magicians Kenji had seen were currently at.