Everything was frozen, eerily still. Thrain’s dark figure hovered in the middle of the street, frozen in the process of projecting a tide of pure darkness at the fleeting figure of the masked assassin. Liu Zhen was frozen mid-leap in the motion of lunging towards Annonymous. Norvax and Alissa, too, were frozen still, resembling life-like mannequins next to Darius’s still figure. "Now for the next part," Darius murmured. Darius stretched out his hand, manipulating the flow of time around Thrain and Liu Zhen. In the calm that followed, Liu Zhen and Thrain were the first to move. " Finally, about time." Thrain materialized next to the frozen figure of the masked man, then, with some effort, hurled several spikes of pure darkness at the figure. The spikes froze in space the moment they left his hands. Liu Zhen made several cuts around the figure before jumping back. Darius manipulated the flow of time so that the spikes and the tears in the fabric of space would flow into the future moments of the masked figure. Darius grunted from the strain of the strenuous effort required to maintain the delicate control over the flow of time, then deactivated his ability. The flow of time resumed. The projectiles of darkness and tears in space sped up, accelerating towards Annonymous within the normal flow of time. " What a neat trick you have," the Annonymous bit out, grunting from the strain of weaving through the multiple attacks on every side. " Truly bothersome." The masked figure narrowly dodged a few of the projectiles, but the rest hit home, driving through his arms and abdomen. Norvax’s eyes widened slightly at the scene unfolding before him. "Best not to get on Darius’ bad side." He cast a furtive glance at the large man who was panting heavily, leaning against one of the pillars for support. " Darkh, get to Victoria and heal her wounds. Alissa, get ready!" he barked. One of the squad’s support healers immediately dashed away. In the next moment, blood blossomed in the air. The masked man grunted. He had lost an arm, and one of his legs was impaled, pierced clean through by one of Thrain’s dark spikes. The petite woman next to Norvax raised her hands, and a cage of pure energy appeared around the man, several chains latching onto his limbs. Alissa Thorne’s primary ability was energy manipulation; her specialty was capture and containment. With a mere thought, she could manifest malleable beams of green energy, shaking them into any shape she so desired until the energy took in a tangible form. Thrain silently materialized next to the cage, coldly gazing down at the dark figure. Then, the man laughed coldly, his voice eerily echoing through the empty street. " You think you’ve won? This is only the beginning, " he rasped. " Look at you all, blindly resisting like lambs being led for slaughter." Liu Zhen frowned, turning his head. "Thrain, move back. Something is wrong. " Then Thrain noticed it, the figure in the cage wasn’t bleeding. The man they had been fighting was an assassin and a powerful one at that, probably a maestro, possibly even stronger, but even the assassins were undoubtedly still human. And so they could bleed. But unnervingly, the captured figure wasn’t bleeding despite the grievous wounds they’d inflicted upon it. A cold chill ran down his spine. In that moment, a haunting realization dawned on him. " It’s a lie. It’s all an illusion." Thrain shuddered slightly. He felt something click in his mind, and suddenly, it felt like he was waking from a deep slumber. Thrain cautiously took a step back, and the figure in the cage began to fade, dissipating into sparks of darkness. Alissa’s cage had contained nothing. Norvax’s eyes narrowed, his face twitching uncontrollably. " Thrain, over there," Liu Zhen uttered quietly, with a subtle gesture. The blind man let out a sigh, taking a few steps back. Thrain calmly turned around, the debris from the ruined asphalt crunching under his foot. " When is this nightmare going to end?" he murmured. Ruined cars and debris lay scattered in the street, the sharp scent of ozone and flammable chemicals permeating the air. Thick plumes of smoke rose into the air from the carnage and wrecks around them. Through the haze of smoke and vapours, a man-shaped silhouette stood still, staring at the two men and the group behind them. A short distance away, the masked figure stood observing the Talented with seeming boredom. The space to his left rippled, then shattered. Liu Zhen cocked his head to the side, spreading his ability outward. A slight frown appeared on his face. The cracks in space spread outward and then merged into a long slit then a man stepped out. Thrain was also able to track the movement of everything within the dome of darkness he’d formed. Yet despite the power he wielded within the dome, he’d been unable to detect the masked figure until Liu Zhen pointed out the illusion. With the appearance of a second masked figure, an oppressive pressure washed over the street. All of Norvax’s instincts screamed at him, telling him to run. The newcomer wore an intricately curved mask fashioned to resemble a snarling beast. The man was clad in similar dark garb with a flowing dark cape adorning his shoulders. He promptly ignored Thrain and Liu Zhen, turning to the other masked figure. " You were supposed to bring the girl and the man. What took you so long?" The man spoke quietly, but Liu Zhen and Thrain heard him clearly. A faint smile appeared on Liu Zhen’s face. " He’s ignoring us. Should I be offended or worried, Thrain?" Thrain silently shook his head. " Where are the reinforcements? One maestro was bad enough, but two of them at the same time." Anonymous respectfully fell to one knee, bowing his head. " I’m sorry, my Lord. I couldn’t help but test them out for myself." In the next second, the kneeling man grunted in pain, and blood flowed down his shoulder. Anonymous had withstood the combined attacks of the four Videntis, but with seeming nonchalance, the new mysterious newcomer drew his blood. " Do not waste the master’s time with such trivial things." Norvax instinctively took a step back, breaking into a cold sweat. " This is bad. Shit! I didn’t even see him move." Norvax’s ability allowed him to observe the world in extremely slow motion, but even his enhanced sight failed to track the man’s movement. " What the hell are we dealing with?", he inwardly thought. His gaze shifted to the approaching figure. Darkh had returned, gently carrying Victoria’s unconscious form in his arms. "I managed to heal a bit of her injuries, sir, but much as I hate to admit it, the damage is beyond what my powers can deal with." Norvax’s face darkened more. " Damn it, if only Lord Raymond were here." Victoria kept slipping in and out of consciousness because of the blood loss. Her eyes moved feverishly beneath her eyelids, small rivulets of sweat running down her face. Her eyes fluttered open. "Set me down," she quietly whispered. Darkh delicately set her on her feet, but she reeled, latching onto him for support. She quickly noticed the new figure that had appeared. " That’s him, Victoria gasped," but somehow he feels different. " He’s stronger than he was at the aspirant ceremony. I can feel it." Norvax suppressed a curse, biting his lower lip in frustration. "Great! Just great! Now he’s even stronger. What the hell?!" " Lady Victoria, despite how callous it may seem, I must ask. Can you use your ability in your current state?" Norvax hesitantly asked. " I can give it a try." Victoria’s eyes glowed, emitting a burst of violet light. In the next moment, a wave of blinding pain threatened to cleave her head in two. She nearly blacked out from the intense pain. A low groan escaped her lips. " I can’t, something’s interfering with my power." Norvax inwardly cursed. Despite his efforts to remain calm, his mind was in turmoil. " What do I do? What do we do? Think, think damn it!" Darius’ gaze shifted to his friend. Despite his cold exterior, he could tell that Norvax was feverishly trying to find a solution to their current predicament. But then what could mortals like themselves do if even demigods were falling like flies? "There’s one thing we can do." " I can buy you all the time to get out of here. The way things are now, we don’t stand a chance." Just then, the newcomer slowly turned towards them. He let out a dramatic sigh. "I guess I’ll have to bring an end to this myself," he muttered under his breath. " Move!" Norvax barked, activating his primary ability. Darius took a deep breath, activating his ability as well. Thrain instinctively hurled a tide of shadows at the approaching figures, but the shadows harmlessly parted, allowing the man to pass. Liu Zhen lunged at the newcomer while simultaneously tracking the kneeling maestro’s movement. Darius suddenly collapsed, landing on the ground with a resounding thud. " Get yourself together..."Norvax started to say, but the words died on his lips. His eyes widened in disbelief. It felt like someone had dumped a bucket of ice-cold water on his head. His mind struggled to respond to the scene he was beholding. The mysterious man stood behind Darius, limp form, nonchalantly rolling his neck. " That’s enough out of you, Talented," the sinister voice whispered. He let out a quiet sigh. ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ novèlfire.net "One down, one to go."