It was eerily quiet in the clearing now. It seemed the whole forest sensed a new danger and had gone dead silent. Grey stood facing the two men about ten metres in front of him, his arms no longer by his sides but rather slowly reaching for his small hunting knife in his waistband.

  The two men had noticed this subtle movement and seemed to tense in preparation for the oncoming violence. Without warning, the larger brute crossed the distance in a blur, which he didn’t think was possible for someone so large.

  Grey stood with his small knife at the ready, feeling the smooth shadow settling on his brain, once again focusing his thoughts to the highest degree. Once this feeling took full effect, it felt like the large man was moving in slow motion for just a split second. Enough time for him to roll sideways as the large sword cut the air where his head had just been. The next few moments were a blur of motion. Two experienced killers are facing each other down. With his lack of reach over his opponent, he could only leap from side to side, avoiding the heavy steel trying to pin him in place. He knew he was outmatched and had to think quickly. Grey stood his ground, waiting for him to close the distance, allowing for the brute to thrust at his abdomen. It was just the opportunity he had been waiting for. With his newfound speed, he side-stepped around the outstretched blade, closing the distance just enough to jam his knife into the exposed throat of the swordsmen between his helm and chest plate, only for him to have to throw himself to the ground.

  He had never lost track of the shorter man throughout the fight and knew he had flanked around him. In the moment just before he had tried to plunge the knife into the large brute’s neck, he had sensed something flying towards his back. The shorter man had thrown his dagger at Grey's back, preventing him from killing his friend.

  He knew that this move had put him at a severe disadvantage. Rolling on the ground to avoid the incoming sword, he leapt to his feet, racing backwards to once again open the distance between his opponents.

  Throughout all this, Ki was not silent in his head, constantly voicing his concerns at Grey's lack of control over his new abilities.

  “Human, you are going to die.”

  “I’m really glad you have so much faith in me, but can you please shut up? I’m kind of in the middle of something.”

  “Listen to me, human.”

  “I said shut up”, He screamed aloud as he raced around the large man to close the distance between him and what he considered the bigger threat, now the shorter man.

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  ‘I can take the large one alone, he is still slower than me, but I can’t have knives flying at my back’, he thought. Kicking up dust as he became a blur of movement, he spun above the knife flying at his midsection that the smaller man had thrown, and let loose his own knife. He landed on his knees and watched in fascination as the knife sailed through the air and plunged itself deep into the smaller man's throat, causing a waterfall of blood to begin pouring down the man’s armour. He was not idle as he watched the knife sink into the man’s throat. He sprinted after his knife, hoping to retrieve it before the large brute behind could take a swing at his exposed back, but just before he reached it, he heard a large bellow come from behind him, and he felt an impact to his side.

  He was flung through the air, landing roughly in the dirt. The large man had hit him with the flat of his sword. It felt like he had just had a mountain punch him in his side. Slowly, he tried to rise to his feet, looking for his remaining opponent. The large man was slowly walking towards him as he tried to rise, and seemed to have someone how grown even taller, and his skin seemed to be giving off a strange hue of red.

  ‘What the fuck has he somehow gotten bigger?’ he thought as the large man approached. He was still winded and too slow to rise. It felt like he had broken all the ribs in his body. On his knees, wheezing, he looked at the large man as he grabbed him by his throat and, with a single arm, raised him into the air. He struggled fiercely to free himself of the iron grip that began to constrict his throat, clawing and scratching at the man’s face, but his skin seemed to be made of iron. Flailing around in the air, he truly thought this would be his last moment.

  “HUMAN, IF YOU DO NOT LISTEN TO ME YOU WILL DIE”, Ki screamed in his head.

  “You must feel the connection, feel the darkness around you. Allow it to consume you, for it is the only way you will live.”

  Having no idea what that meant, he could only trust the words of the being inside his head and closed his eyes and reached deep within himself. He reached into the darkest parts of his consciousness. Reaching for the anger and violence that had once consumed him. He reached for the shadow that felt like a storm in him. The connection that he felt with Ki.

  Something deep within himself seemed to click in that moment. He felt the calling of the darkness. Of the shadows. Unknowingly, he acted on instinct and raised his fist, and watched as the shadows cast by the large trees on the forest floor seemed to physically move across the ground and began to surround his fist. Just as he felt like he would no longer be able to take the feeling of darkness now swirling around his fist, with his last bit of energy, he swung at the large man’s face and connected.

  A burst of energy exploded, releasing a shockwave of darkness around the clearing as his fist went through the man's jaw, throwing both men backwards. Gasping for air after a moment, he rose to his feet, gazing around the once peaceful clearing, which looked like a bomb had just gone off in it. He saw the shorter man lying still with his knife still in his throat. He then looked at the body of the large brute, which had been flung across the clearing. Even he was horrified to see that the man was missing half of his head where his fist had connected with his face. The shrubbery and nearby tents had all been ripped from the ground and blown backwards, even the small cage which he had spotted earlier was on its side.

  Taking a deep breath, he could only ask Ki, “What just happened?”