Midnight Arcadia

  Chapter 12

  Without even a moment to spare, the masked man rushed Sky, appearing from his shadow and landing a punch. Sky brought up his arms to block the punch best he can, but he was launched upwards, through the subway entrance and out onto the street. Sky barely landed on his feet as he stumbled back, clearly winded. “Run! Get out of the way!” Sky yelled out as he threw out his arm, warning the surrounding citizenry. Despite the confused populace, screams began to ring out as the masked man came launching out of the subway entrance, shadow coating his arm as he readied a slam. Sky barely managed to get out of the way as the conglomerate of shadow came crashing down towards him, Sky took this opportunity to land a punch of his own. The masked man let out a chuckle as he stumbled back slightly, the shadow that was attached to his arm dissipating into a shadowy mist. “Well done, boy! Thrive in the light of the Spark!” the masked man yelled out as he continued his assault against Sky. The barrage was beginning to overwhelm him, causing him to stumble more and more, his arms getting bruised from the merciless onslaught. Sky’s thoughts raced as he tried to keep up with what little energy he had, his reinforcement barely able to keep his arms from being completely shattered. He just had to survive a little bit longer, just a little longer. He misjudged a single movement and took a gut punch directly, sending him flying backwards. He hit the ground roughly, his energy just barely managing to once again keep his bones from being shattered. Despite this gargantuan blow, he attempted to lift himself up off the ground, spitting up blood. He looked up towards the masked man walking towards him, breathing deeply. He lift himself up to his legs, barely keeping himself up. The masked man picked up Sky by the collar, lifting him up off the ground. “Is that all you can do? What happened to the boy that managed to break my mask? That managed to land a Spark? Show me what my lady sees in you!” He threatened. Sky gripped his arm, quickly growing tired of this growing trend. Sky grabbed onto the masked man’s neck in return and lift himself up, surprising the masked man and causing his grip to falter for even just a moment. Once Sky felt himself begin to drop, he lift up both his legs and launched them into the masked man’s stomach, causing Sky to jump backwards. The two men both began to breathe deeply, trying to catch their breaths. Sky wiped the blood from his mouth as he looked back at the masked man. “I’m getting really sick of you people already. This is my second goddamn day!” Sky yelled out, his voice hoarse due to the battering he has received. The masked man lift up his arms, laughing echoing through the streets as the alarms began to near on their location. Sky felt like he was able to breathe for just a moment, knowing that the help he’s been stalling for was nearing. “Looks like our time is up, boy. We will be keeping our eye on you ” He spoke as he began to melt into his shadows. Sky felt the world slow once again as he saw the masked man threaten to get away. He began to run forward and with a leap forward he managed to tackle the masked man and interrupting his getaway. Sky readied his arm for a punch on the downed man but was interrupted by being launched backwards by a torrent of shadows. The masked man quickly righted himself and expected to retaliate with another strike before escaping, but saw Sky being held up by a gruff looking man. “Good job, kid. This situation was clearly more than you kids could handle.” The man said as he righted Sky up onto his feet. Sky looked up with his heavy-lidded eyes and let out a sigh of relief as he saw Dai, he had finally managed to make it. The masked man let out a scoff as both he and Dai activated their Veins, the world suddenly being plunged into darkness. Sky looked around shocked, only able to make out Dai, due to touching him. “Oshiro isn’t the only one with a Projection-type Vein.” Dai spoke, the slightest smirk played on his lips. He let go of Sky and he was suddenly left in darkness and was dazed. The masked man quickly began to look around, also surrounded in darkness, searching for his new enemy. A single streak of red moved around the darkness and despite the masked man sending out his shadows, he wasn’t able to connect with anything. Dai suddenly appeared and landed a swift strike on the masked man, sending him backwards. “A high-profile man such as yourself making an appearance? How kind of you.” The masked man spoke, sarcasm filling his voice. He lifted up his hands, the smirk under his mask apparent despite not being able to see it. “You will see more of us, I assure you.” He coyly chuckled as he melted into his shadows, truly getting away this time. Dai scoffed as his Vein dissipated, restoring light to the nearby area. Sky shocked by the sudden exposure to light began to look around to get his bearings. “He’s gone?” Sky asked, his exhaustion beginning to set in. Dai walked over to Sky and put a hand on his shoulder. “You need to tell me everything. Where are your teammates.” Dai asked. Nearby atop a nearby building, the masked man appeared from his shadows, a hooded woman there to greet him already. “There you are, Moros! He’s real interesting, ain’t he?” She asked as she clapped her gloved hands together. The masked man brought up his hand to his mask and took it off, smiling coyly as he looked down at the street. His pure white hair falling to frame his face naturally and his silver eyes peering down at the street where he had left Sky. “You were right, my lady. He was very interesting, indeed.” Moros said, his smirk growing, giving a foreboding feeling.

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  To Be Continued