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made no visible movement, not drawing his own weapon or attempting to dodge, but Luca could feel the man gathering his mana about him.
    Too late, he realised just how much mana Zinoro had gathered, and how quickly, and regretted not setting up a defencive shield. Zinoro's single red eye stared right into his own.
    Luca saw no visible sign of the spell, but he felt an intense pain shoot through every nerve in his body. He collapsed, cut off from his very senses. He was unable to think, or move, or do anything but twitch pathetically. He couldn't tell if he was screaming - he likely was. He could see nothing - his eyes were open, but all he saw was darkness. A black void. The pain was unbearable, horrid, invasive, and vile. He could feel Zinoro's mana. It was black and thick and dirty - like polluted water.
    Shadow-form mana.
    When his senses finally returned to him, the situation around him had changed. Lodin was now on his knees, staring ahead with dull, lifeless eyes. He was bleeding from a gash across his forehead, and several slashes and wounds across his body.
    Zinoro stood before Lodin. His blade was now drawn, a large and heavy claymore that he somehow held with only one hand. There was an aura of mana shrouding the edge of the blade, something between a black fire or mist. Luca had never felt so much mana in his life. Even from where he was, several metres away from Zinoro, Luca could feel the overwhelming intensity of the black flame around the sword.
    He then knew just what sort of sword that was.
    It was a weapon that would never dull or chip or rust. A weapon as light as a feather, yet heavier than a hammer when swung. A weapon that would burn the flesh of anyone that should try to wield it who was not its master. A unique weapon, one with eight siblings.
    It was one of the nine fragments of Rixeor, the legendary weapon that slain Ekkei in the early days of the world, according to legend. Whether it was true that Ekkei existed or not, there was no doubt that the sword had - as the man before Luca held a part of it in his hand.
    The black fire around the blade was manaflame - a magick manifestation of the sword's power. When the wielder channelled mana through the sword, the manaflame appeared and gave the sword an unnaturally sharp edge. If Zinoro swung that blade, it would cut through ten metres of solid stone like a hand parting wind. No ordinary weapon could match a Rixeor Fragment.
    Whoever this Zinoro man was, he was a master swordsman if he wielded a Rixeor Fragment. Only the most skilled of warriors could attain them, for one needed to kill the previous master to use one. Luca had spent many hours reading about them, and dreaming of the day that he might carry one of his own.
    But he had not the time to think of such things. For Zinoro was standing before Lodin now, his sword pointed at his father's chest.
    “No!”
    He climbed to his feet, his body still half-numb with the pain of Zinoro's magick. The arrow in his leg had snapped in half at some point - possibly broken while he had been thrashing around in agony.
    Zinoro glanced back over his shoulder, noticing Luca's struggle. Turning away from Lodin for a moment, he approached Luca. He drew close to Luca, and got on one knee to look him in the eyes.
    “You have determination, son of Lodin. It is possible that you could beat me. I am ready for that. But for now, I am here for your father. Your time will come, have no fear. But until then, you are weak, and nothing more than an annoyance to me. We are bound by the chains of fate, and I am bound by them to be the conqueror who will destroy a kingdom. Stop me if you can. I am not invincible - you have the ability to kill me. But not today. Today you will watch your father die.”
    Luca said nothing as Zinoro spoke, simply glaring back at him. Then, as Zinoro moved to rise, he sprang back up, ignoring the pain in his leg, and swung his sword.
    Genuinely caught off guard, Zinoro's eye widened and he jumped