(Ch 58)Promise and Conviction

Even Daniel was slightly startled at Peter quick death but not because he particularly cared about Peter. Daniel was a monster after all in his own words, a man who cared for none but himself. Daniel was skilled in martial arts almost being a world-level talent if he really wanted to be. His vicious nature however drew him to prefer beating down the weak than challenging those strong like himself.

But he'd never seen anyone move like Noah. His attacks seemed so seamless that they carried almost an unbreakable current of momentum.

"Hey, hey… Daniel, who the hel-AR" The biggest of them wasn't even given time to speak, Noah slamming the knife into his solar plexus before ripping it out and swiping across his throat.

"This is disappointing" Noah sighed in annoyance. "Even if I knew you were just some joke who thought himself a monster… this is honestly just sad,"

A slight tinge of anger painted itself over Daniels's face. It returned to his usual manic expression a second later, just with a clear hint of simmering rage beneath. Noah didn't really care about Daniel's expression though. He just methodically killed all of the boy's lackeys, slitting their throats or snapping their necks without a hint of care or hesitation. They had done this and they were getting what they deserved.

When it was done blood tainted Noah's hands and shirt but the boy didn't seem to care in the least. His eyes and deadpan expression were focused solely on Daniel the entire time. With each kill Noah saw a sense of security fade within the kid, he saw little hints of fear start to infest where the blind confidence had once been.

It was satisfying, sure. But far from enough.

He released the corpse in his hands to the ground, continuing his stride towards Daniel with unnerving calm steps. Noah even dropped the knife in his hand, making it clear he didn't see Daniel as a threat in the slightest. He'd been so stupid not to dispose of this boy. Honestly, Noah hated himself for not killing Daniel on the spot, he knew damn well he could've gotten away with it.

"I doubt this will make the clutching pain in my heart any better, but why?" Noah queried, standing in front of Daniel who didn't deign to make the first move.

"Why what? Why I posted the pictures? Because I knew I'd make the bitch suffer and thats what I wanted, it's funny to me. I mean come on, after seeing what you just did, you can't tell me you actually cared about such a starry-eyed idiot." Daniel voiced, confused.

Noah had just displayed he was more than willing to kill, and quite adept at it too. Such a thing wasn't usual, no far from it. Daniel had no idea of Noah's background but surely such a cold and heartless individual couldn't come to care about a silly little plaything like Emma, right?

"Honestly… I'm not sure. I thought I did, but after I saw her dead it all went away again. You might be right in saying that I didn't really care about her and I have no way to dispute that. But for a moment, just a tiny moment of my life, I felt like Emma could be my reason to keep living in this dumpster fire of a world." Noah replied, speaking in his low and dead voice. "But you stole that. You took what little semblance of faith I had that this place could get better, that I could be better, and crushed it beneath your heel."

"You, Daniel, took what was mine. You stole my light." Noah spoke, his face fully faded into the shadows.

He paused, recalling his past and pulling up his pants until they resembled shorts, his socks down exposing the deep chain-link scar across his left ankle, writhing up his foot and leg like an infested sickness of cruelty.

"And for that, I'll break you…"

Noah then started his slow, ominous walk towards Daniel, eyes glowing in a bright red through the deep dark of night.

"….until there's nothing left"

At first, in that deep alley, one could hear the sound of fighting, then slowly it descended into struggling and cursing, then deep gut-wrenching screams were the only sound that escaped into the night. No one came to help, courtesy of a, particularly slothful being. But like all things, in the end, all that remained was silence.

When Noah finished he stood up, wiping his hands clean of blood and spinal fluid that had spilled onto him. What was left of Daniel sat twitching, the eyes alive, yet hollow and broken with no hope of ever being fixed.

Noah turned around, leaving the barely alive Daniel to wallow in his tortured existence. He couldn't hurt anyone again, Noah had made absolutely sure of that. Walking out of the alley, Noah's blood-soaked visage was highlighted by street light. Few cars were on the road, but the ones that were simply sped past Noah.

"Probably gonna need a favour… not exactly sure how I'll explain it to him though," Noah mumbled to himself, thoughts of how he could get out of this scot-free passing through his mind.

But to be honest, he didn't really care. Without Emma the world was grey again, only this time Noah was aptly aware of how dull and soulless it was. He wanted to cry yet he had no tears, he knew he should feel something, that it wasn't right to just have a void in place of a heart.

*Beep*

But he couldn't, even though he desperately was grasping for it. Without Emma, he was just a shadow without light, formless darkness with no reason nor rhyme.

*Beep* *Beep* *Beep*

"MOVE KID!!!" Came a shout to his side.

'huh?' Noah thought, slightly dazed like a dear in headlights.

Before he could react a violent force from his left sent Noah hurtling backwards, after that all Noah could feel was his body skidding against the pavement before coming to a stop, all kinetic energy from the crash now dissipated.

'Wow… this is a lot… of pain' Noah observed calmly.

His body was screaming in so many spots that Noah couldn't even count them all, his limbs felt hot and bent in directions they were not meant to bend while his insides felt suffocating under the weight of internal damage.

A hot puddle of liquid with a metallic scent beneath him allowed Noah to guess that he was also bleeding. From the size of the puddle, rather badly it seemed. The buzz of sounds around him grew distant and his vision blurred more and more with each second, feeling his life slowly slipping away.

'ehh… whatever, wasn't worth it anyway.' Noah thought, unbothered by his demise.

However, that wasn't his end. Thoughts memories of his life continuing past his death played out in Noah's mind. He'd become a royal demon/dragon heir to either throne while wielding the power of shadows. Coming to make friends and even a new family, he had for some reason been allowed to have another chance at keeping his promise.

He'd carried faith, he'd been kind, chasing after relationships and trying his best to blossom them into something greater. Admittedly he kind of sucked at social interaction and his high birth position didn't do him any favours, but he tried none to less. Emma wanted him to be loved, so Noah chose to mimic the thing he loved the most, adapting bits and pieces of her bright personality into his own, like the shadow he was.

But in the end, he was still losing. In the end, all that he had built up, his promise, was about to be torn down once again by greedy Abandoned who thought they were owed something that was not theirs.

"They're trying to take our light again Faith" The reflection of himself spoke as Faith found himself back in his own body, deep within the soul space. "So the question remains, what will you do. I'm merely a fragment of the past, you are the true version of me, you hold the power to act."

Faith didn't raise his head, unresponsive to the question as outside his soul space, his true body finally gave under the Pressure of the Orc's sword laced with a weak blessing of Law. He slammed against a marble pillar indenting himself within it.

Shouts and screams were still surrounding Faith and with shadow sense, he could hear them all. He could feel all the pain, all the suffering, all the agony and fear. The shadow was a connection to one's soul, just like the eyes. It always followed and mirrored you, regardless of what you did.

A single black chain materialised around Faith's left leg within the soul space, sticking through the key lock of the chained back twisted gate within him, connecting to something deep within. At that moment Faith felt all the negative emotions his void had devoured come back to him. Grief, pain, sorrow and unyielding rage against everything and anything around him burned bright within it, all the twisted feelings locked away along with dark chaotic power.

pushed against the stone pillar and moments from death as a sword approached his heart, Faith asked himself what he wanted. deep within the pits of his second gate, bright red and purple eyes perked up, feeling a pull of the chain that connected it to the boy called Faith.

"I don't want to lose my light again, I don't want to fade from a shadow and back into formless darkness, all I want is to be kind and loving to any and all that have faith in me but…" It felt the boy say, even if he was unaware of the transmitted feelings.

Ever since Sloth had suggested it, this beast had dwelled inside Faith. It devoured all his feelings like a sweet meal, feasting on the boy's broken life. Devil's did not borrow though, they made deals. It knew Faith was owed something in return for the unfeeling void inside him.

In response to his emotions the deep red and purple energy residing within his second gate burst forth, snapping all the brilliant silver chains infused with the universal of Law. The forceful energy released itself into Faith as he felt a level of power like never before. It was like half of him had been locked away this entire time and only now could he fully utilise it all.

[Universal notice… you have broken restrictions place on lower worlds and used a Higher plane of elemental energy]

[Trial of Ascension will now activate]

[Notice: insufficient catalyst]

[New Quest had been issued]

[Prince of the Damned: You have begun down the road of Ascension, walking the path of your ancestors into a higher plane and grasping onto your true potential. But the Trial has begun at the wrong place and without the power granted by a labyrinth or sanctuary, you cannot be transported to the Trial location. A catalyst is required. As of now, all restrictions placed upon your abilities have been lifted until enough souls have been secured to power the function required.]

[Happy hunting Prince]

The shadows started to rumble around Faith as deep within his soul… the naive and kind part of him died. Replaced by the version of Faith who could shield his light from darkness and do need to be done. A deep, dark chuckled escaped from Faith echoing throughout all as he announced the second, far more sinister sentence of his convictions.

"…too those who don't. Those who doubt me, those who try to pillage and steal what is mine. Any and all who try to touch and take my light away from me… Well, I'm a shadow. I mirror all that is given to me. I am fair, to a fault. Kindness for kindness…" He continued, his voice not coming from a mouth but echoing throughout the hall from the shadows themselves. It had no set pitch, tone or base. Instead a mimic all hundreds of others voices all coming together into one, an ominous and sinister echo of slaughter.

"…Cruelty for cruelty." he giggled, standing up and letting his pent up rage against all of his adversity in life finally free.

Just for a moment, all present regardless of race, gender, class or bias came together with one, single, chilling emotion. Skin crawling fear.