-=The Third Lightbringer=-

The five elders of the village hidden in darkness sat unmoving in their pentagonal formation as they did every day, breaking it only for meals and sleep. Each and every day, they meditated and contemplated as they waited for their powers to finally recharge themselves. The wait would be a very long one, but the elders didn’t give up hope; they were sure that by the time Shadow Viper finished his quest, they would gain power enough to return him home. In the meantime, they could only listen as Lord Scorpion gave them updates on Shadow’s progress. The elders were content with this, though, as it was better than nothing.

“So Shadow has made it to the city,” Hakkera reiterated after Scorpion’s latest contact. “Excellent. I have no doubt he’ll find the Dark Lord soon. By that time, he’ll have taken his first steps into a larger world.” The other elders nodded, all of them pleased with the progress being made so far.

Scorpion himself was also happy, though he was also curious, and worried. Every time he had to check on Shadow, he always held his breath over it, as he always wondered if Shadow would even answer. Nonetheless, Scorpion never gave up hope; Shadow was one of the greatest ninja bandits in the village, and was held in high esteem.

There was just one problem: Ryu was the one better than Shadow. Scorpion could never get that fact out of his mind, no matter how hard he tried. After all, since Ryu had failed…..

-Woobledywop!-

“I’m glad to have finally met you,” Shadow Viper said to Dark Lord, “but I need to ask you: how do you know my name?”

The master of ninjas and his latest applicant sat in the squared circle that encompassed a good portion of the gym inside. Weapons, training equipment, and a handful of artifacts adorned the chamber alongside the dark red brick walls , and a solitary light hing from the middle of the ceiling, extending its light just beyond the edge of the ring. Overall, the room held a sense of darkness and mystery that unnerved every newcomer that first stepped foot into the underground lair. Shadow, however, wasn’t so easily chilled.

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to get down to more important matters,” Dark Lord answered. “I understand the curiosity, but at this moment, your arrival wasn’t a moment too soon; there are many things that must be discussed.”

“Fair enough,” Shadow concluded with a nod. “To be honest, I have to agree. There’s been a lot of trouble going on with me recently. First, I was harassed and even attacked by a townsperson in Lith….I still can’t believe that happened.”

“I heard,” Dark Lord replied. “A recent rouge heard about everything, among others. The word is slowly spreading, though the problem is being largely ignored. Those who have gotten word are curious, but it seems nobody knows what to do.”

“Yeah….” Shadow’s mind wandered for a moment. That was a big problem, but like most first problems, it was just the beginning. “I should also tell you of an attack I faced against a dozen ribboned pigs.” Shadow discussed the onslaught that he managed to stave off, with help from Genya and Emma. “At the moment, it didn’t really bother me, since they were just wild animals. However, now that I think of it, there was something unusual about the battle. The monsters, the pigs, that are normally wild and untame, were…well, they were untamed, but they seemed…focused…unnaturally organized.”

“Interesting,” Dark Lord said, pondering for a moment. “Still, though, when they’re in danger, monsters in this world will usually band together to drive off adventurers that attack them, sometimes even when the monsters are naturally enemies.”

“Yeah, but that’s the problem!” Shadow said. “We never went after those monsters. They attacked us first…suprised us, even!”

Dark Lord thought about that statement. “Well, most monsters that are deceptive enough are capable of those attacks, though I must give your concern merit; wild pigs aren’t known for subtlety, mainly since they hardly have any. Any other problems?”

“One more, and it’s the worst of the lot,” Shadow said slowly, suddenly finding himself working to keep his emotions from spilling out of him. “There was…an attack earlier. Actually, there were two; I forgot to mention a problem back from Maple Island. First, a girl who’d apparently just begun her journey yesterday was killed by a mushroom that, she said before she died, was…sent at her. I wonder…could someone have summoned it? Mai, the trainer there, thought it to be an old student of hers…one that didn’t treat her well.”

“Yes, I did hear of such a student,” Dark Lord said. “He never gave anyone his name, no matter how much they asked. In fact, there was little anyone knew of him. The only thing anyone knew was that he was an amazingly, brutally powerful warrior. I can’t really say anymore than that. The job master of Perion, Dances With Balrogs, might know more. Now, about the second problem…”

“Yes, the latest one,” Shadow said, drawing in a breath. “On my way here, two adventurers, twins, one male and one female…were murdered. I witnessed it; it happened in the blink of an eye, and I couldn’t do anything to stop it. Worse yet, the attack was performed by something…something not monstrous, but something not human, either.” Shaodw let out a sigh, the weight of all the concerns lowered somewhat by laying them out before Dark Lord. “There really has been a lot of trouble going on out there….and it always seems to include me.”

After the speech, a slam was suddenly heard. The sound itself was meant to be loud, but from where Shadow and Dark Lord were, it was soft. They barely heard it, though they believed it to be a door slamming. Shadow was quickly on his feet and alert with dagger in hand, looking up at the ceiling, but Dark Lord simply put a hand up. “Relax,” the master said calmly. “Someone lives above us. We aren’t connected to them.” Though he felt doubtful, Shadow reluctantly obeyed Dark Lord and sat back down.

Silence dominated the room for a moment. The prior discussion left both stealth combatants deep in thought. Much had happened to both of their worlds, and, given time, more could happen. It seemed that there was a great omen setting itself over the Maple World, and the earlier attacks and deaths were the cause. Still, these things wouldn’t have happened without reason, as they all seemed very unusual in some way. Dark Lord knew this too well; aside a few exceptions, no monsters could be summoned, Olaf was not known for being a malefactor in any way, pigs were not known for being very cooperative in combat, even with eachother, and there was no known monster as fast as the being who killed the twins.

After a great deal of thought, Dark Lord had an answer. “Shadow, these acts are more than just simple acts of evil,” he said. “I’m just speculating, but I’m certain there is a great and powerful force somewhere here, and it strives against this world. I don’t know why, but I feel this force will one day threaten to conquer our world….or destroy it. It is a feeling I’ve had for quite some time, as these aren’t the only problems that have come about in our world.”

With a heavy heart, Shadow nodded in agreement. After the events that took place at his home village, there was no way he could deny it. There was a growing evil, and he had seen a great deal of it. “I….I k-know…” he stammered. “I….I met…an evil version…of you…before I came here. This clone…took a friend….away from me, and…almost took…me as well.”

Dark Lord quickly nodded in response to Shadow’s revelation. “Indeed,” he said. “I know of this abberation that exists. In fact, three more people here know. They are the other job masters, and they have their own vile doubles. There was a time when these four villains roamed the Maple World, causing massive destruction and terror in all corners of the world. Worse yet, they were completely invincible, no matter how much damage was done to them. Decades ago, however, the four of us, the heroic ones, came up with a plan to stop them, and, with the help of some powerful adventurers, the plan succeeded; we were able to defeat them by trapping them each in four separate otherworldly dimensions. Now, they are unable to come to our world. Thus, we don’t consider them a true threat anymore.”

Shadow was immediately incensed at the last comment. “Hey, hold the phone!” he cried out. “No threat?! Then how did he get to MY home in MY world?!”

This got Dark Lord thinking for a while. “Your home…in your world…” he repeated. “So he was able to travel to another world anyway. That is understandably odd, as I never thought he would come up with that power. Still, if you don’t mind my saying, we never give thought to other realms, since they have no more bearing on us than the people who come from them. Nonetheless, I’ll have to bring this up with the other job masters. I am curious if they have heard similar problems.”

“I understand,” Shadow said, a little disappointed. He couldn’t help but feel the unfairness of the situation, as Maple World was protected from these villains, but other realms weren’t. On the other hand, he did mean the words he said, as Maple World was a world separate from all others, with no relations of any kind to them. “So, how did you trap the evil clones, anyway?”

Dark Lord began to speak. “That….” He hesitated. “…is a story for another time. Right now, I feel I’ve explained as much as I can. There is something ominous afoot, but there is simply not enough to prove what it is or where it resides. All I can ask you to do is to explore the problem, and see what light you can shed. Don’t be afraid to have others do the same. Higher numbers can solve problems quicker.”

Shadow nodded as he stood. “When I left my home, I was charged with a similar goal,” he said. “Now that I have more insight from this conversation, I belive I have what I need to start searching for this evil. I thank you, Dark Lord, for everything you’ve given me.” He began to leave.

“Wait,” Dark Lord interjected. Shadow turned around. The master of ninjas gave him a glimmering, black medallion that had the number three on it. “This is something I received some time ago. I received it from an angel in a dream, a blonde-haired girl in a brilliant white gown with two polar opposite wings. She didn’t say why she was doing this, or what purpose the item served. She simply told me to give it to you when you arrived, and showed me what you looked like. Ever since, I’ve been waiting. I also opened myself up to some of the information I gave you as I searched for the item’s meaning. Unfortunately, I didn’t find anything out. Perhaps you can, as the item was clearly meant for you.”

Shadow said nothing as he examined the coin. Though it didn’t seem to show any sort of significance, the one-armed bandit couldn’t help but feel he was compelled to keep it. It gave him a feeling that it would help him someday. After eyeing it closely for a bit, he pocketed it. “I’ll see,” was his reply. He then started out of the room…then stopped again, turning to face Dark Lord once more.

“A young man named Ryu Hayabusa II told me about you and the progress you made in your homeworld,” Dark Lord said after understanding Shadow’s reluctance to leave. “He was a commendable and respected ninja, Shadow. I pray his spirit rests easy as you continue his quest.”

“I thank you for your words,” Shadow replied. And with that, he left Dark Lord’s lair and headed out into Kerning City streets once more.

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I promised you stories, and I have delivered! Here’s the first update.

Previous Installments:
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