天天躁夜夜躁狠狠夜夜

Right as Xina\'s hand came down, something heavy hit her in the back. A dull thud echoed through the air. Xina stumbled forward and dropped the knife. It clattered onto the floor next to Lucas.

Xina tried to get up. But her body didn\'t seem able to respond.

With each passing moment, more and more of Xina\'s strength faded away. Soon, she collapsed to the ground.

"Wha-what just happened?" Lucas gasped when he saw his teammates act weirdly.

"She\'s gonna be okay, it\'s the elf dust everywhere!" Kalaini shouted from the corner to Lucas.

He turned to the place where Kalaini was talking from and saw a rope being tangled on her wrists and legs, "Kalaini!" His eyes widened and he immediately ran to her, leaving Xina laying on the ground.

He quickly untied the ropes around her body and she got up in a hurry, "S-sorry, I didn\'t think it would be this strong..."

Lucas glanced at her bruised ankles, \'this should be very painful,\' he lifted his head back up and spoke directly, "I\'m sorry for what I will do next."

She looked at him with huge eyeballs as he walked back over to her and picked her up in his arms, "I\'m sorry, are you hurt?"

"No," she said with a smile.

He cradled her against his chest as they left the corner of darkness and entered the light of day once more.

"Please, stay here!" He spoke fast, "I\'m going to bring Xina too!"

He turned back to the barn and went inside to get Xina, but when he reached for her he felt something cold press against the side of his neck; he gasped and dropped Xina, clutching at the spot where it had touched him.

The sensation vanished and Lucas looked up to see the shadow standing above him, "Kalaini, what\'s wrong?"

Kalaini looked at him with concern, "What happened?"

He shook his head slowly, "I-It-I don\'t know... I just felt something touch my throat..."

Kalaini frowned, "Was it sharp? Did it burn? Was it warm or cold?" She asked quickly, "Did anything like that happen?"

Lucas nodded slowly, "Yes... yes, all of those things."

The shadow smiled, "You\'ve been touched by the Shadow." It chuckled, "Your mind is weak, and you can\'t even fathom the truth of what surrounds us."

Lucas immediately stopped, as his legs froze on the spot, \'what is this now?\' He gritted his teeth.

Folding his fists, and veins popping up from the pressure he was holding to right now, his mind was circulating about one thing right now, \'I didn\'t find Kali yet,\' he thought to himself.

His face grew heated as he heard the laughter coming from behind him, "This world has many secrets, Lucas." The Shadow spoke softly.

It then disappeared and Lucas sighed out loud, feeling very tired after that short encounter, "I have no time for this," he forced to push his right leg forward to get closer to lying Xina\'s body. \'I should have asked about Kali first before coming back inside.\'

He looked around to see if no one was watching him.

But when he looked, the Shadow was there again, "I told you that your mind cannot comprehend reality." It said with a soft voice.

He glared at it, "Just let me go! I need to get Xina!"

"And why did you come here today?" The Shadow asked, "Do you know about the other that has been following you? The one who took the girl and dragged her away?"

Lucas paused, he stopped his movements, "are you from Raven?"

The Shadow\'s smile grew wider, "I am not from Raven, I am from the shadows."

Lucas\' jaw dropped, "so what does that mean?!"

"It means that you are about to learn the truth of your world."

He released his hands and let it fall willingly, \'today is not a good day, huh...\' He closed his eyes, "Haya, about time you show up now!" He summoned his teammate.

His friend appeared in front of him without any warning, "Is everything alright?"

Lucas nodded, "just keep an eye out for anyone who might have followed me here."

Haya nodded, "alright, I\'ll do that." He looked around again, "Where is Xina?"

Lucas pointed to the ground, "there."

Haya looked at the Shadow, "What was that thing?"

"I am from the shadows."

"Shadow?" Lucas tilted his head, "like, the dark creatures of the night?" He moved the left corner of his lips, "Haya, we have no time for this, deal with him while I try to break free from this." He pulled harder on the visible ropes that bound him.

"Just what do you want?" The shadow spoke again.

Lucas looked at it, "What do I want? I want to get Xina back, find Kali and get out of here!"

The Shadow laughed, "And what would you do with all of these things if you got them?"

"Well, I wouldn\'t be in this position, that\'s for sure!"

"A true warrior doesn\'t care about what\'s happening around him, he simply goes through life with his heart and soul intact."

The Shadow began to walk toward him, "Why do you think that I am still alive? Why do you think that the others are dead? Do you know how hard it is to control a person?"

Lucas felt his heart beat faster, "You\'re controlling me right now aren\'t you?" He asked, clenching his eyes shut.

"Oh! How cute," The Shadow chuckled, "You\'re so naïve..."

"How do you know about these things?" Lucas asked, "Who are you?"

The Shadow shook its head slowly, "It doesn\'t matter who I am, as long as you understand what I mean."

Lucas let another sigh out, glancing from one corner to another, but there was no sign of Haya anywhere.

\'Damnit, where is he now?\' He thought to himself, looking down at the ground, "I will tell you that much, I am a warrior of nothing, but I do care about many things in this world, and I am going to make sure that I get them all." He clenched his fist, "Now do you want to hear more?"

"No," The Shadow replied.

Lucas frowned, "Then leave! I don\'t have time for this!"

"You won\'t get out of here alive." The Shadow said, "So what is it you really want?"

"To get out of here alive, find my friends, and save Kali!" He replied.

"And why would you do that?"

He growled, "because she\'s important to me, and I don\'t want to lose her!"

"Ah, yes," the Shadow smiled, "your feelings."

"If you can manipulate people with your words, why are you still alive?" Lucas asked.

The Shadow shrugged its shoulder, "Because I use their emotions against them."

"That\'s a good way of doing it."

"But you\'re different."

"Am I?" Lucas replied.

The Shadow nodded, "Yes, you are different."

Lucas narrowed his eyes, "what do you mean?"

"You\'re a warrior of the shadows, and you have strong willpower."

Lucas\'s eyes wandered around, looking for Haya\'s presence he thought, \'is this another part of the game or just an annoying bug to annoy me?\'

"Ok, so what do I have to do to get out of here?"

"Nothing," The Shadow said.

Lucas\'s eyes widened, "you mean I could just stay here until I die?"