Inktober 2022

A knight dressed in strong, polished armour walked into a dark tunnel, a simple torch in one hand while the other held the hilt of his sword tightly. His steps were quick and his entire body was tense as he went deeper into the cave. Once he reached the end, he’d have to confront the cursed Blade of Temptation. As one of the Empire’s strongest knights, Valentine had to try his hand at the prophecy as well.

One of the founding myths of the Empire was the great duel between the Ancient Spirits: Nora, the Spirit of Light and all that is ‘good’, and Kieran, the Spirit of Darkness and the opposite of Nora. The two were each other’s essential counterpart and they reigned in balance, until humans had begun worshipping the spirit of Light over Kieran, throwing the delicate stability between them into disarray. After a long and gruelling war, the Spirit of Light had defeated the Spirit of Darkness, although she had been greatly exhausted. Right before Nora chose to fuse with the world, she sealed Kieran into a sword; the Blade of Temptation, which was planted at the bottom of this very cave.

A few hundred years ago, the seal had started to weaken, Kieran’s power beginning to influence the lands around the cave. Hence, the fairest and bravest of knights tried to claim ownership of the sword every few years in an attempt to control the foul energy emitted by it. However, every single person who attempted to interfere with the blade had failed, succumbing to its control instead. They had been tempted by the sword, losing parts of their minds and souls.

Valentine was hoping he could make a difference. He’d been repeatedly told that he was one of the most powerful knights the Empire had ever seen when it came to his Light aura, which made him less affected by the Darkness. In all honesty, he was a model Saint; generous, forgiving, determined and powerful. Heavy hopes and expectations had been placed on his shoulders because of that, which only made him feel more pressure. He didn’t let it show of course, walking valiantly into the cave, but his nerves were screaming at him, telling him to get away from the endless amounts of black, mist-like aura only he could see pouring out of the final chamber of the cave. He went on, finally entering the room.

Illuminated by the torch, the knight could finally see the fabled blade with his own eyes. Although thousands of years had passed, the sword sealing the Spirit of Darkness was unchanged, completely immune to the passage of time as it stood where it was placed by the Spirit of Light. It looked like a delicately forged claymore, a strange glint on the large dark gem embedded at the bottom of the blade moving within the precious stone. Valentine took a quick breath and reached for it.

Immediately, his vision was shrouded in darkness and piercing voices rang out inside his head. He could feel feelings of anger, resentment, fear, jealousy, and an overwhelming amount of temptation and greed flooded into his mind, dark sentiments taking over him.

« Don’t you want to be stronger? Release me! »

« Spirit of Light! Nora! »

« I can give you all you will ever desire! »

« Valentine, Valentine, Valentine!— »

Valentine forcefully jerked his hand back, stumbling onto the stone floor and gasped for air, the torch flung to a corner of the space. Before he could catch his breath, a much stronger and more ominous aura began to accumulate before him and he raised his eyes in panic. The black mist was gathering around the sword, the Light aura within Valentine seeming feeble in comparison. ‘No wonder others went crazy,’ he thought fearfully as he stared blankly at the figure looming over him.

The voice that had previously appeared in his head now rang out in the room, a face only depicted in long faded scrolls gazing at him calmly and Valentine felt chills course through his entire body.

« Finally, a soul who could withstand my appearance. » The overwhelmingly intimidating existence spoke. « Young child of Light, where is your Guardian Spirit? »