Nightblade (Darkest night)-Chapter 198: Unique difference.

The three youths watched Morgan in silence, with mirroring expressions of puzzlement and curiosity.

After crouching down, his gaze swept across the ground, his eyes darting g back and forth almost as though there was something he was observing.

No matter how much Keila looked there seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary.

Several minutes passed in this manner in silence.

Leaning towards Cassius, Keila whispered in curiosity.

"What's he doing?"

" No idea," Cassius whispered back then froze turning to her.

'Why are you whispering?"

Keila shrugged.

Lucian chuckled at her antics but kept the fact that Morgan could hear every word to himself.

In Morgan's vision,

he intently studied the sorcerous runes trying to identify a weak point in the enchantment's pattern on his own. After several minutes, he let out a weary sigh.

"Kazarax...it seems I'll need your help after all.

You do realize that doing this places a tremendous amount of strain on your body. Sarenus muttered.

Morgan grinned slightly.

"Well, I'm only using his ability on my eyes.

In the next moment, Morgan's presence underwent a subtle yet profound change.

Suddenly Lucian felt suffocated.

In that brief moment, it

felt as though a completely different creature stood before them.

All his instincts screamed at him to move but he stubbornly stayed rooted in place.

Cassius and Keila also appeared she'll shocked,

staring at him in disbelief.

Brilliant golden flames burned in Morgan's eyes. He could feel Kazarx power flowing through him

augmenting him and amplifying his strength severalfold.

The grand enchantments suddenly didn't seem so intricate and taxing anymore.

It was a truly remarkable change. .

Suddenly a lot of things made sense. He could see the weak points ofcthe enchantment as well.

And best of all, his understanding of the complex runes had exponentially grown.

But at the same time, hus hand throbbed, a dull pain slowly radiating through it.

He could also vaguely feel dam on his power. The pain was akin to a festering ulcer that refused to heal no matter how much it was treated.

"Aaaah, it

hurts."

The sensation of the pain was truly infuriating and humbling at the same time.

Both because, despite his seemingly growing power and the fearsome allies at his heel and call, there were still beings out there that could inflict this much debilitating damage to him.

Pushing throuh the fog of pain, Morgan grunted focusing on the runes.

"On my mark I need you guys to run towards the wall, as fast as you can."

Cassius and Lucian stared at him in visible confusion and shock.

The strange change had caught them off guard. Both youths could tell that he'd grown exponentially stronger in that moment.

"What's he doing?" Keila asked in curiosity.

Cassius shook head.

" No idea."

Morgan gritted his teeth fighting back the agony he felt.

'Any time now would be good. MARK!"

In the next moment Cassius let out an inhuman growl, his body rapidly undergoing a beastly transformation.

"As fast as possible right?"

Lucian grinned,

channeling umbralis into his feet.

"First one to get closest to the gate wins?"

A deep, beastly laugh emerged from Cassius's throat.

"You're on."

A split second later, the two youths turned into blurs rapidly streaking into the distance.

Keila stared in shock at the violently burst of speed In their wake.

" How is Lucian so fast? Cassius I understand but for Lucian to keep up..."

Turning back to Morgan she found him staring off into space, his eerie golden eyes darting back and forth.

She stared at him incredulously for a few moments, focusing on the golden light in his eyes.

"What are you doing?" She asked curiously.

"Checking out something," Morgan quietly muttered.

The faster the two youths ran, the more rapidly the runes blinked but despite Cssius and Lucian's inhuman speed, the runes never once flickered or waned,

their weak points remaining intact.

As Cassius and Lucian ran towards the inner city, the massive entrance, which seemed near, suddenly loomed in the distance.

With a grunt, Lucian increased his speed, dark veins pulsating across his body.

His muscles visibly bulged and writhed under his skin, growing taut.

Cassius carefully observed him, taking note of the qualitative transformation in Lucian's power. His speed and power catapulted him forward explosively.

Cassius gasped in surprise at the sudden burst in speed, His snout curling into a wolfish smile.

" Interesting. Very interesting.

It seems I'llhave to do much better myself."

Cassius strained his muscles using his claws to powerfully dig into the ground.

With a silent roar, he threw himself forward, lunging violently through the air, then fell on all fours.

For a few moments, the two boys lost themselves in the exhilaration of the race.

Then they felt it.

The slight wrongness in the ground on which they were treading.

A subtle distortion in the space around them, almost like they very aircaround them was resustingvthem.

Ignoring the sensation, the two stubbornly pushed, dashing forward.

The ground continued shifting beneath them, but no matter how fast they ran, they never seemed to make any real progress.

Lucian slowly felt the strain on his body grow.

His muscles drew taut, thick patches of perspiration staining through his clothes.

Besides him,

Cassius' massive form hunted forward at a blinding speed.

The Talented possessed boundless reserves of stamina but even he seemed close to his limit.

The two ran and ran, then eventually came to a stop, panting heavily.

" Do you think he got what he was looking for Lucian asked, panting ike a bellows.

Cassius reverted back gasping for breath.

" I have no clue. "

Morgan noticed the fluctuations come to a halt with a small smirk.

" They finally reached their limit..."

A white hot

wave of pain suddenly flared through his arms and head forcing a groan from his lips.

Kelia's eyes widened in surprise.

" What's the matter with you?"

Morgan silently shook his head then rasped.

"Just a headache..."

After a while, Morgan trembled, then closed his eyes.

" You shouldn't maintain this state for so long. It's taking a greater toll on you than you think," Sarenus muttered.

" Once a day should be fine. Remember, you're still developing, and your body is growing stronger each day. But if you keep pushing yourself too fast without healing, your body will eventually break. "

Morgan scoffed.

" While I understand where you're coming from, I'm afraid I don't have the luxury of time. We've spent much more time here than I'd like abd vekng on the verge of a break through like this is quite...refreshing, " he mused.

Sarenus chuckled.

" Well, at least I tried."

Lucian and Casius slowly made their way back eventually finding Morgan at the spot where they'd left him..

'Well? Any luck with cracking the code?' Lucian asked humorously.

Looking at him now, Morgan realized just how much Lucian had changed as well.

His friend's hair had visibly grown longer and disheveled. From the looks of things, Lucian had even gained a few more centimeters.

For some reason, Morgan couldn't shake off the ominous feeling that they were running out of time.

With each day that passed in Azaroth, the feeling became more ominous and ever-present.

And to his consternation,

none of the others experienced the same thing. In fact, at times, it almost seemed like they were content with staying in Azaroth.

This place, was slowly breaking them down.

And perhaps the most horrifying thing was how subtly it was doing it.

Each day that passed without any visible progress was slowly getting to the Talented and scions.

Something had to change soon and fast.

And eventually it did.

Albeit in a very unexpected way.

Evening found Morgan Lucian and Cassius by the water channels once more.

Morgan was impatient to try out the idea he'd formed from watching the phenomenon at dusk.

This time a few more faces were present. Talia stood with Lucjan, the two conversing in hushed tones.

Anthony was present with Brant waiting for an explanation.

And of course Cassius was present with Keila in tow.

Morgan intently watched the light in the sky then turned to the rest of the gathered youths.

" You're all probably wondering why you're here," Morgan began.

A few of the Talented had noticed the clandestine gathering and lingered openly, eavesdropping on the conversation, but Morgan paid them no attention.

"After I clashed with Azaroth, I gained the ability to see, well, sorcery. And it's also the reason why we can't leave this place at the moment."

At his words, Talia's eyes widened slightly, her lips pursing into a thin line.

Morgan barely forced back a smile at her reactions his lips twitching in amusement.

Brant and Anthony stared at him impassively as he spoke.

"This sorcery has been around for a while and once we stumbled into this place, we sort of got caught up in it..."

" From what I can tell, it's weakest point is at sunset,

rather the point at which the two moons appear. "

He paused allowing his words to sink in.

Surprisingly all the youths maintained a straight face.

" They're taking this surprisingly well," he thought.

"And i think i just might have discovered a way to break it."