Chapter 6: The Shadow Organization
In the dimly lit room, furnished with nothing but a few crates full of old documents and some old blankets, it looked like an old storage space, forgotten by time. The air hummed with a low, ominous energy as Naomi's words hung in the air.
"There's a teacher at Blackridge using the students for some ritual," she said, her voice steady but laced with urgency.
Jordan's mind raced as he tried to process what she had just revealed. A teacher? At Blackridge? What could be powerful enough to lead a teacher down such a dark path? His eyes locked onto Naomi's, seeking more answers, but before he could ask another question, a cold draft swept through the room, and the shadows in the corners seemed to grow darker, thicker.
Naomi stiffened beside him. She could feel it too—the sudden shift in the atmosphere. Something was wrong.
The heavy door to the storage room creaked open with a loud groan, causing both of them to tense. A figure stepped inside, draped in a cloak so black it seemed to absorb the dim light. It was followed by more figures—ten in total—all cloaked and wearing hoods that obscured their faces. They moved in unison, their steps deliberate, their presence suffocating.
Naomi stepped in front of Jordan instinctively, her hand glowing faintly as she drew on her spiritual energy. "Who are you?" she demanded, her voice sharp with authority, but also with fear.
The leader of the cloaked figures stepped forward, their voice muffled but clear in the silence of the room. "We are the ones who oversee Blackridge. The ones who pull the strings in the shadows."
Jordan's heart pounded, the air around them thick with tension. The energy in the room seemed to shift—like a ripple of power pulsing through the space. His instincts kicked in, and without thinking, his hands sparked with light as he stepped closer to Naomi. His shadow twisted and writhed behind him, a deep red in color, threatening to expand like a living thing.
Naomi's eyes widened. "They're not here to talk."
The leader raised a hand, and without a single word spoken, the cloaked figures moved in unison. Jordan and Naomi barely had time to react. One of the figures lunged toward them, a blade of pure darkness flicking out from the end of its sleeve, aimed straight at Naomi.
In an instant, Jordan's hands surged with blue light, the glow illuminating the room as he shot a beam of energy toward the attacker, knocking the blade away. The impact sent the cloaked figure stumbling backward, but before they could regain their balance, Naomi was already moving.
She phased, her body becoming translucent for a split second, and appeared behind the figure. With a swift motion, her hand reached out, sending a pulse of energy straight into the attacker's chest, sending them crashing into the wall.
But the others were closing in.
Jordan's heart raced as he held up his hands, his powers flaring out of control. The air crackled around him, his blue light colliding with the red shadows twisting violently behind him. The figure who had been closest to him raised a hand, summoning an orb of darkness that whirled toward him.
"Naomi!" Jordan shouted, his voice strained as he shot a ray of light at the orb, shattering it into millions of shards of darkness.
Naomi, her eyes glowing with spiritual energy, reacted immediately. She blurred into motion, her form phasing in and out, leaving afterimages as she surrounded the remaining attackers. Her powers sent waves of energy crashing through them, each pulse forcing them to retreat, but they regrouped quickly, pressing forward.
One of the figures, larger than the rest, lunged at Jordan, wielding a strange blade forged from solid shadow. Jordan's eyes flashed as his light powers surged, his body moving before his mind could fully comprehend what was happening. He summoned a barrier of pure light around him just in time, the blade clashing against it with a deafening screech.
The figure stepped back, frustrated, as the light barrier held firm. "You think you can stop the inevitable?" The leader's voice echoed through the room, calm yet laced with dark amusement. "You're only delaying the end."
Jordan's pulse quickened. The words— the weight of them— seemed to hang in the air like a warning.
"Naomi," Jordan said through gritted teeth, "we can't just fight them. We need to get out of here."
Naomi nodded, her expression hardening. "Agreed. But we're not leaving without answers."
Naomi launched at one of the the figures only to be pushed back and stumble on to the floor, but she gained back her composure almost instantly.
The shadow figures pressed in from all sides, but before they could close the gap, Naomi gripped Jordan's wrist, her energy flaring around them both. She phased them both through the shadows, vanishing from the room just as the figures lunged forward.
For a moment, the room was still.
The figures stood motionless, the tension palpable as they searched the empty room, but their quarry was gone.
The leader lowered their hand, and the group began to retreat silently into the shadows from which they came. "We'll come for you, Naomi Takahashi. Mark our words," the leader whispered, their voice barely audible.
Outside, Naomi and Jordan reappeared in an alleyway, the same alleyway jordan had used to get to school at the beginning of the semester. The cold night air was a stark contrast to the heat of the battle they had just fought. Their breath came in heavy bursts, but the silence between them spoke volumes.
"What now?" Jordan asked, his voice hoarse but determined.
Naomi looked at him, her expression unreadable. "Now we find out just how deep this goes."