The Guild Of Shadows

Krystal Shadows hated storms. They were cold and murky, typically accompanied by frightful or depressing air.

He was clothed in a crisp blue shirt and a long black coat that emphasized his tall figure. His dark navy trousers were tucked into coal-black leather boots—an ensemble typically reserved for commanders readying to charge into battle.

But he was no army commander; he was an assassin on the run.

He was running through the dark alleys of the megacity, dodging and weaving through the narrow thoroughfares as he tried to shake off his hunters. He could hear the sound of their steps echoing behind him, getting nearer and nearer with each passing second. 

He knows that he cannot ever overrun them, but he is not going to make it easy for them, either.

As he turns a corner, he sees a group of ninjas waiting for him. They are dressed in black and apply a variety of deadly munitions. Krystal stops in his tracks, his heart pounding in his casket. He takes a deep breath, trying to undergird himself as he readies for the fight of his life. 

These ninjas were from the House of Shadows, the world's strongest group of assassins, of which Krystal was a part.

Their blades glinted under the dim light. Krystal's anima flares to life, manifesting as a brace of deadly daggers in his hands. 

He launches forward as well, hacking and slashing through the enemy ranks like butter. Blades flashed, and bodies flew in all directions. 

He moved like a blur of light. 

The ninjas were good, but they were no match for his training and skill; he was one of the very best assassins the House of Shadows ever produced.

In the end, Krystal is the last one standing. He is panting and sweating, but he is alive, completely unscathed. He looks around at the Holocaust, feeling a sense of satisfaction and pride. He is not just a killer presently; he is an artist.

As he turns to leave, he sees one of the ninjas lying on the ground, still alive. It's Keith, a subordinate of his from the house of shadows. He approaches him, and Keith looks up with a mixture of fear and remorse in his eyes. 

He knows that Krystal could kill him right now, but he speaks up:"" You've changed, Shadows. You are not the man you used to be.""

Krystal gives him a cold regard and says,"" I am exactly the man I used to be, Hugh. I just realized what I was fighting for."" He turns and walks down into the night, his mind set on chancing the fabulous library of Akashic Records.

Krystal continues to run through the city, his mind focused on the task ahead. He knows that the House of Shadows will not give up so easily, and he must stay vigilant.

""This is the last obstacle I have to cross to leave my past life behind. Once I get to the harbor, I'm a free man. I will finally escape this country of sadness and pain and start my new adventure.'" 

Krystal smiles as he looks forward to traveling around the globe and unlocking the mysteries of the lost world.

Krystal finally arrived at the docks; there he took a boat to set out on his journey, blending into the night as a lone figure on a trip to find the truth about the world. 

"I don't care who they send or how many; anyone who gets in the way of my freedom will perish."

Six months later... 

The Hondah District, one of Ernia Region's seven districts, boasted towering structures surrounding a bustling market at its heart. However, its most striking feature was an adjacent prison.

"Arghh!" A young man winced, grasping his back where a guard's whip had struck him for lagging.

""Move it, punk! Or kiss your ration goodbye,"" jeered the guard.

Grimacing, the prisoner retrieved his fallen top hat. He'd been apprehended just days ago for pilfering from an elderly woman. His defense?

""So what if I steal? It's survival, not luxury. If you don't like it, tough.""

Before he could finish his thought, an explosion rocked the prison, followed by blaring alarms.

""Attention all guards! We're under attack!"" The announcement was abruptly cut off as the guard was silenced.

A voice tampered with the speakers, signaling further chaos. It was a young man clad from top to bottom. A dark blue t-shirt and a black coat on top, a pair of black boots to match the coat, blue jeans, and the most elusive detail was the armband on his right wrist.

""Ehem, I hope this thing's still working. Attention all guards. Hand over Grover!"

"Wait, is this a break-in?"

"By one person?"

"Hah! This guy's nuts if he thinks he's getting someone out of here.""

"We're currently in the inmates section, which is 3 floors below the security room where the transmission was made; there's no way he can reach here."

"Shadow Arts: Kill Switch!"

BOOM!

Another explosion occurred, this time at the location of the guards.

The teen from earlier could be seen amidst the debris of the explosion.

The guards froze up in shock at the fact that a single person managed to break into a prison facility.

He had traveled three whole floors. The pace at which he reached his destination was unbelievable.

"W-w-wha-... Ho-how did?"

The guards all expressed their shock at the recent turn of events before grinding their teeth upon realizing something...

"It's an artifact user!"

"Pfft, he's only one man; let's take him out."

The guards all rushed towards the teen with their swords, while the ones armed with guns began to shoot at him.

He dashed forward as he used his artifact's ability, which grants him the power to control his shadow.

The shadow materialized around his wrists and formed a shape resembling spikes.

He leaped through the air and slammed his fist onto the ground while landing, creating a shockwave strong enough to disorient most of the guards.

Their poor coordination led to some of them getting shot in the back by their allies.

The remaining guards charged at him, only to be knocked out by a series of swift and nimble attacks.

"It was only one man, and he is beating the living daylights out of us!"

"His artifact lets him control his shadow; he's a monster!"

"Retreat!!"

One of the guards pulled out a knife and held it against the hat-wearing prisoner from earlier.

He figured he could use the opportunity and take him as a hostage for safe passage.

""So that mad man's here for you, eh? Now be a good wussy and help me get out of here.""

The guard, who was trying to hold Grover as a captive, suddenly dropped the knife and fainted after being hit in the head with a shadow bullet.

The convict picked up the knife with his chained hands, maneuvered it to pick up the lock, and freed himself.

"Regiiiiiiiii!!!" The teen suddenly ran towards the ex-prisoner.

"You're safe... You damn thief!"

He chuckled as a bright smile was visible all over his face, only for the smile to take a 180-degree turn into a devious one.

"Scary..."

"Now let's get the heck out of here, so I can make you pay for scamming me."

He gave Grover a hand to stand up.

Grover slapped the hand and pointed the knife towards the teen.

"You bastard! If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have been captured in the first place, Krystal!!!!"".

A few moments later... 

"You didn't tell me you had an artifact."

On the outskirts of the district, two guards were looking around in search of the prisoner, and his cohort, alas, gave up and left.

"It seems they've finally left."

A noise came from behind the bushes as two figures popped out of the bush and started dusting off the leaves on their bodies, one handpicking the leaves that got on his hat.

"Ahhh!" Krystal exclaimed as he fell back on the grass to catch a breather.

""Breaking in and out of a prison was fun and tiring. I am hungry!!!"

He finished as his belly rumbled.

"I am still pissed you got me into this mess."

Grover spoke, irritated by an incident that happened two days ago, which led to his capture in the first place.

"Hey, all this wouldn't have happened if you just directed me to a real craft shop, you know, and I did get you out now, didn't I?"

Krystal defended himself as the foul-mouthed gentleman clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"No, you little demon spawn! If you hadn't shown up and tempted us with your gold, the recent events wouldn't have transpired, you douche!"

Two days ago, Krystal met Grover, a con artist, and his team of fellow con artists in Honda. He originally came to get his emblem done.

An emblem is the symbol of the Braves Guild, a group of adventurers mostly in possession of artifacts, items that have incredible powers and abilities that are permanently bonded to their hosts.

Krystal was in possession of the Heart of Malacoda Artifact.

Malacoda was a powerful demon that devoured shadows.

Grover and his mates, Bo and Cly, planned on scamming the seemingly naive Krystal after he carelessly took out a golden coin from a pouch filled with coins. They conspired to trick him and bounce the district. An emblem costs 25 GC (gold coin) to make at the crafter shop.

They lied that they were the best crafters and offered to make Krystal an emblem for his entire sack, making it sound like they were doing him a favor.

"Tsk, tsk, I'm not sure if you can get a craft for the meager 50 gold coins you have, but since it is your very first time here, we'll help you out.".

In the end, the naive Krystal thanked them gracefully and gave them all his money, only to find out that the once-Platinum emblem he just got had been transformed into a wooden emblem they made with poor designs in correspondence to how he described it.

"Scammers!!!" Krystal exclaimed furiously as he turned his heel to look for the thieves who had scammed him.

Things seemed to be going well for Grover until a woman appeared on the scene with some guards and pointed at Grover, claiming he was the one that took off with her golden necklace earlier in the day.

Whereas in truth, it was Bo who used his artifact's ability to transform into Grover and stole the necklace.

As Grover was being dragged by the guards, he clicked his teeth and cursed silently. He saw his partners waving at him with a devious smile that spelled out

"Good riddance"...

"Tsk." Grover scoffed.

"Fine, thanks for saving me, and sorry for scamming you; if it makes you feel any better, I was betrayed by people that I trusted a lot, so there."

""I know about the necklace. Why did you think I broke you out of that prison?"

"Wait! You did!"

Krystal started to explain how he furiously searched for his scammers only to witness the scene of Grover being captured. He could have gone after the real scammers, but for some reason he decided to use his shadow artifact powers to stealthily follow Grover and the guards at a moderate distance, only to hit an invisible barrier made of Anima. 

It was deactivated when the guards came close and reactivated before Krystal could pass by, so he waited the whole day for a chance to sweep in once it was deactivated again.

""Wait, you could have gone after your money, but you chose to save someone like me. Why?"

"I'm pulling together a team to join me in solving the primordial artifact puzzle!"

Krystal explained as he stood up and stretched his hand out to Grover.

""You're a thief and a scammer; that means you're witty and know how to get out of tight situations... I have decided! You will become my team's strategist.""

Grover paused a bit as he brushed off the leaves that had been on his hat before placing it back on his head.

'Either this kid's foolish for trusting someone who scammed him, or he's just plain out crazy; he did save my life though, and I am a fugitive here...'

He smiled as he grabbed Krystal's hand.

""I do have to pay you back, not just for helping me but for scamming you, so... I will tag alone; who knows, I might stay with you till the very end.""

'And hopefully, meet up with those scumbags'

Both of them smiled.

"I do have one question, though."

"Yeah? What's that?"

"What are we going to eat?"

The calm outskirts were filled with the rumbling noise of two hungry men.