POV: 3rd person
Location: Midgar Castle.
"The choice is yours princess Iris."
Deathly silence hung in the hall. Each of the occupants lay still, in fear of the swords of the dark-cloaked men who oppressed them.
Nobody noticed the disappearance of a boy with black hair.
"P-princess Iris, it's no use w-we are no match." A wounded royal guard spoke out to her. The previous battle had been decided almost immediately, the dark-cloaked men easily overpowered the defences of the knights and the entire hall was rendered under complete control.
"Shadow garden you..." Iris clenched her teeth in anger before reluctantly dropping her weapon to the ground. She understood the predicament that she was in.
"Haha...a wise choice, with your royal blood I am sure to be rewarded greatly. Of course I would've settled for princess Alexia just as well, but I am sure that you would rather spare your beloved sister in exchange for yourself, wouldn't you Iris Midgar? All this is your fault, and the only way to save your helpless people is to cooperate with us now."
She looked over at the unconscious body of her sister who lay crumpled on the ground in the aftermath of the previous chaos.
"Leave her out of this... I will obey your wishes."
"Wha- princess!"
"Princess Iris."
"What are you-"
"But Princess Iris!"
"Silence. Your little beloved princess, has just admitted total defeat to us so quit your pointless whining."
"L-lady Iris, I-is that true?!" The crowds looked at her in disbelief.
"... I am sorry to all of you. I have failed my people by being too weak..."
The terrorist boss gave a wild grin, as if he was enjoying the scene unfold.
"Heh... An excellent response. Now eradicate all the witnesses immediately. Leave none spared."
"What but you said-"
Screams erupted from the crowd as a one sided slaughter began.
"Help!"
"S-stay away!"
"N-no please don't"
Blood stained the polished floors of the halls
"Why.. no..."
"Really, how foolish to believe in such a fairy-tale ending. Did you really think that you'd be so lucky? I did mention that I only needed one holder of royal blood, however if I am able to capture both princesses of Midgar, I will be sure to be finally promoted to a position worth my strength. And now that you have so generously handed yourself over to me, I have no use for the ignorant masses anymore."
"Y-you.. How could you!" Anger exploded on her face.
"Oh? And now you wish to fight? Need I remind you that you are completely powerless and worthless to stop this. Once all witnesses have been eliminated, I will have no use to meddle with the affairs of this pathetic country anymore. So rejoice, your actions today will have saved many of the innocent public." He continues to taunt her with a sadistic smile on his face.
Despite her anger, Iris knows that what he was speaking was the utter truth of the matter. Resisting now would be completely pointless and would only result in more pain. The only thing she could do now was to admit to her mistakes and bare the result of it.
"And you would just give up your fight there?"
The windows of the hall simultaneously shatter under a mysterious force.
The carnage had ceased just for a moment.
"What? Who is the-"
A chilling gust creeps into the room.
Immediately, the lights of the building cut out and the interior is plunged into darkness, only illuminated by the glow of the moonlight through the destroyed windows.
"What is this?"
An ebony black wind spirals around the piano in the centre of the hall.
"My name is Shadow, he who lurks in the shadows, to hunt the Shadows..." A voice seemingly from the depths of the darkness itself, sounds throughout the area.
"So you are..."
The wind condenses into a long, flowing cape.
A dark figure forms, seated at the keys to the instrument.
A brief moment of silence ensues, before he begins to play.
Purple magic gathers at his fingertips.
His fingers glide over the keys, creating a complex melody.
The audience stands agape at the scene unfolding.
"What, don't just stand there in awe! Eradicate this man."
Various cloaked shapes rush forward with incredible speed.
But each of their advances were halted by a black wind that surrounded him.
The wind sweeps through each of them, bringing a wave of death as the man who stood in the centre of it all continued without hesitation.
The flowing dark wind surrounded him, creating an obsidian storm of chaos.
More onslaughts of sword strikes came his way.
The music that sounded shifted the movement of the black mass.
Each attack was met by graceful surges and precise motion.
The band of darkness swirled and thickened.
The terrorists who stood before him were cleaved down by a unstoppable force.
"How is he.."
The music deepened and quickened in pace, and the whirlwind of shadows quickened in correlation.
The sound of the music seemed to manipulate the movements of the dark wind.
More opponents surrounded him as the storm of mortal darkness rained down from above in response. Each note was played flawlessly, as no one escaped the one-sided assault.
Every shift, every attack, had been overpowered by the deadly ebony wind.
Shadow remained unfazed at the scene surrounding him. The black mass expanded and continued to crush all that it came into contact with.
A song of midnight sounded the deaths of many.
"No.. don't falter! Continue the advance."
More men rushed forward.
The spinning mass predicted their strikes. It changed in shape to match all the attacks.
Shadow performed calmy under the defence of the wind. Beautiful notes resonated around the hall. It was an alluring display of art, exemplifying the dance of life and death that was taking place.
The fight continued without intervals. None could reach the figure that stood in the centre of it all.
The sky rained in an eternal darkness.
Countless men were engulfed by the lethal storm.
The only single ray of moonlight piercing through it all, was the sound of a piano being played in elegance.
"No.."
He could not believe the sight he was seeing.
The slaughter did not cease.
The tempest of darkness hailed down blood.
"This cannot.."
The constantly shifting shadow was unrelenting.
Nothing was safe from this fatal waltz.
"Be..."
The black wind flowed around the piano.
Countless met their ends in the gale of death.
Those who rushed in would never meet their target.
None would reach the man within.
The whirlwind of shadows engulphed them all.
"Happening..."
Until finally he realised,
He was the only one left.
(end music)
The final note played and the room was once again in total silence. Nobody dared utter a word after witnessing the extraordinary events that had transpired.
The man covered in the purest black rose from his seat.
Step.
Step.
Step.
He drew closer to the final member that remained.
"What... No you... don't."
"Now how does it feel to be reduced to the level of the victims you love tormenting so? Let forth the obsidian storm of judgement..."
He raised his palm aloft and the large mass of eternal darkness rushed from both sides. The final member was enveloped in the black wind and annihilated instantly. The fight had ended.
More purple energy had gathered around him.
"Y-you Shadow..."
"SHADOW!" Princess Iris picked up a broken sword that lay on the ground and desperately swung at his figure.
"... It is no use. I have already achieved my purpose here." The purple magic was released into the air as his figure vanished along side it. The blow sliced empty air.
"Shadow... you... you. I swear I will..."
"Princess Iris!"
"Claire Kagenou... I must, I have to..."
"Princess, It's over now... there is nothing we can do. We should accept that this Shadow killed all the terrorists who appeared and he healed all of our injuries with that last blast of magic, so for now at least...
...I think he is not our enemy."
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POV: Cid
Location: Midgar Kingdom, the roof of a particularly tall building that's built very damn tall indeed for some inexplicable reason
To set the atmosphere for an epic battle with some sweet piano music.
Awesome, right?
Indeed this is one of my goals which I have always yearned to achieve. And I must say the end result is truly spectacular.
'Moonlight sonata, 3rd movement'. One of the only pieces I'd say are fit for such a performance.
The way it creates a tempest nature of chaos while still feeling sombre and deep is perfect for the image of the eminence in shadow playing playing intense piano whilst amidst the heat of conflict.
It gives of an aura of mystique and artistry which I think are pretty important as opposed to sheer overwhelming power.
And to top it off, vanishing cryptically after declaring that my business is done only, serves to make it that much cooler.
A wise choice past me, for deciding to attend that marvellous event.
Hmm
Now that that side entertainment is complete I should get back on topic to finding this secret terrorist organisation in Midgar. Surely by now you would think that by now they would of made a move at some big event causing a lot of trouble.
If only there was such a big event for something to happen at.
What a shame.
Yea maybe I will go ask Gamma in case she knows something.
Oh well I'll do that tomorrow, I did work hard today after all.
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Ahem this is the author here
And for the best Christmas gift: Chapter update.
Sorry If the chapter was a bit short, I wanted to finish in time to make that joke.
Anyway,
Still waiting for the day Cid pulls out this in cannon.
As Cid puts it himself, pianos just make epic music for battles.
Yea looking at you Giorno.
it is a shame I couldn't use a lot of the song though.
Ahem Cya.