Fallen Lightbringers' Return

"Purga.. . tory. Soul Symbiosis."

Lee Dojin's brows furrowed. "You've got to be kidding me." At the same time, he began piecing the clues together, and a hypothesis sprang to his mind.

...

Do Jiwoon clicked his tongue. Currently, he stood in the light-clad Seoul, trying to escape the darkness. The whole endeavor was a surreal experience.

He was wrapped in many bandages, almost looking like a mummy. But it was miraculous how he had survived losing half his body in the first place. And even more amazing was seeing him running around, unbothered by his disability.

He took out a flask, one that looked just like the one Dojin and the others drank. He swallowed everything inside, allowing him to breathe even in the harshest conditions. He felt lucky to have gotten this reward, otherwise, he'd have been dead a long time ago.

Shadows kept following Jiwoon around, trying to catch the guy. He had no other choice running away, as he could deal them no damage. "God damn it, this is so frustrating. If I catch the bastard responsible for this, I will break his neck." He looked up into the sky and saw the black cloud hoving above the city.

Do Jiwoon began running. He passed by many innocent bystanders, confused by what was happening. The shadows phased through them, as if from another dimension.

"Purgatory: Soul Palace," he shouted out, and from afar came his gray fog, enveloping him and carrying him afar. The guy had used a lot of his ability already, and he was unsure how long he could continue. "Purgatory: Soul Flash!" He threw his hand out, and the souls that exploded in the shadows faces stopped moving, petrified. He had to say, that ability worked surprisingly well. "Still if this goes on, I will only be dust in the wind."

Suddenly, a few Shadows t-boned him from the side, appearing like a giant wave and swallowing him whole. Inside, he felt innumerable lifeforms gnawing at him, giving him immeasurable pain. He screamed out, for the street to hear, though there was no one to help him.

"Tsk, fuck it, guess I have to use it." He tightened his body. It still hurt for him to overwork his body, but he had no choice. "Purgatory: Soul Symbiosis."

...

Lee Dojin thought about all the past indicators, beginning from the time Hassan said, 'Did that thing just reply to you?' 

He always deemed it weird for the shadow to be that easily beaten, yet he didn't wish to pay much heed to it. Now he knew, this giant darkness had an agenda. It started from a simple voice, but quickly, it evolved to something more humanoid. The face too started to express the same emotions a human would. It mimicked their actions and their speech, slowly assimilating everything it learned and becoming one with it. Not only with the three of them but also with the people below, as the shadow wreaked havoc in Seoul. 

If he had to guess, the shadow had probably stumbled upon Do Jiwoon and learned that guys' words too.

Lee Dojin had no choice to admit—that thing was becoming human.

His brows furrowed. "Even so, this was way too fast. It hasn't been one night yet. It should not be able to evolve into a complex lifeform that easily." He rubbed his chin. Suddenly, a wild thought sprung to his mind. It was Do Jiwoon again. His ability, Soul Flash gave insight into the complete human psyche in only a few seconds. If he had used that ability.. . No, was such a thing possible? "Damn it, Jiwoon. He's really becoming a pain in the ass."

The shadows swirled wildly, creating a small hurricane in the middle. Ever since it had chanted Do Jiwoons spell, great change enveloped it. Though it hasn't been long since the existence of the shadow, Lee Dojin felt this was incredibly different this time. Yet, he was curious too, seeing where this would lead. If it had copied Do Jiwoon, the thing was bound to be strong, right?

The shadows, he realized, were creating something. Something magnificent. It started with a face first. Red eyes, and a fiendish smile, oozing bloodlust, just as everyone remembered. Surrounding it, a body formed, this time with no exaggerated sizes. It was a bit taller than Lee Dojin, but smaller than Hassan. The thing was completely clad in black, though it had defined features of a young man with long straight hair.

For the first time, seeing the shadow, Lee Dojin felt danger enveloping him. He was right. This thing was unlike any other being. The pressure coming from it was limitless.

Ji-ah watched everything unfold. She lifted her hands. unbeknownst to her, she had started shaking. Rationally, she told herself it was the bloodlust tricking her mind into fear, but no matter what, she could not stop her whole body from quivering.

"It turned smaller, is that all?" Hassan swiped his nose. Though he too felt the pressure of that thing, he remained somewhat confident. "To me, it feels like it has gotten weaker than before."

Ji-ah gulped. "You think so? I don't know."

The new shadow looked at its body. It saw their hands, so detailed, from the nails down to the veins. Its lips shook. "At long last. I am complete." Tears left their eyes. "To my Creators. I thank thee."

"It's crying, unbelievable!" Hassan began to laugh. The man had told himself that the shadow had grown weaker. It made sense, seeing as the darkness was slowly dissipating, but more than anything, he wished to convince himself that to get rid of the terror within him. "That thing is more scared than us; No need to be afraid." He strode forward with pride.

Lee Dojin turned around, his face full of urgency. "Do not approach it!" As his shout left his mouth, the shadow appeared in front of him. One more time, he could make out that things' features. Slanted eyes, a high nose bridge, and a jaw that made him look almost elflike. He took everything in within the split micro-second. And right after, the shadow sent innumerable punches out, too fast for Lee Dojin to see, causing him to fly far away. Lee Dojin spat out a mouth full of blood, until crashing into the distant shadows.

"One down," it said nonchalantly, not even looking the direction. It cracked its fingers, just like a human would.

Baek Ji-ah and Hassan did not know how to react. Their eyes remained glued at the humanoid monster, as they were struck with the greatest terror of their lives. Lee Dojin, the man they knew invincible, just like that, was pummeled to the ground.

The shadow cared little for their reactions. Instead, it bowed down. "Is this what a human would do? I'm unsure." Its speech was now fluent. "But I wished to show my gratitude. Without you, I would never have been born. To me, you guys are like my parents."

Ji-ahs shoulders shook. "So, what now," she managed to squeeze out.

"Now.. . you die." The shadow moved, appearing right in front of Hassan. The prince felt his sweat flow backward as he came face to face with this immeasurable being, though his shock did not last for long, as one swing of its hand sent him flying far away. The shadow shook his hand as if bothered there was some dirt. "And now, there is only one."

Baek Ji-ah laughed wryly. What else was she supposed to do in this situation? She put her hands in a hammer, smiting down upon it. A light beam came from above, aimed right at the shadow. It lifted its head, squinting, and with a mere swipe of its hand, it deflected the beam, swinging it far away.

"Do not resist. As you are a lady, I have saved you for last."

Ji-ah could not believe what she saw. "That's awfully chivalrous of you. But you see, young women like me don't like such outdated thinking." She brought another pillar of light down. "It's all about equality now. Please get with the times."

The shadow was hit squarely by the light. It rained upon it, obscuring it in brightness, yet as the light subsided in a few seconds, it stood there, unscathed. "I apologize. The knowledge I have acquired appears to be antiquated. You see, the person feeding me the memories, did not care for the era of its souls. Much to my chagrin." It bowed once more. How polite. "Now, I promise, I won't treat you as a lower being, so I ask thee to please stop illuminating my body. You have to understand, I find light to be my natural nemesis."

"Souls? I knew he had something to do with it. That Do Jiwoon really knows how to be a nuisance." Lee Dojin's voice echoed from afar. The shadow turned its head, only to see a young Korean man, his hair slicked back and blood dripping from its mouth. His shirt was ripped open, revealing his defined muscles, yet there was no wound. The man laughed at ease. "What, you did not expect me to croak that easily, right?"

Though he felt his whole body creaking as he said so. In this current state, he was still too weak. Not even an ounce of his past powers.

Hassan stood right next to him, his left face bruised. Other than that, he seemed fine. "Thanks for saving me," he said.

"Don't sweat it. We are a party after all. Now, for your own good, I advise you to step back." He crossed his hands into an X. "I'm sure you know what is coming, right?"

Hassan didn't need any more tips. He immediately ducked out the way, and so did Ji-ah, as she did not wish to become collateral in that move. The shadow did not stop her as it was fixated on Lee Dojin.

"Well, how about it, for your efforts, I will destroy you with this technique again. It's martial arts only a human can use. Ironic, right?" Lee Dojin crossed his fingers. "Day of Judgement, First Trumpet: Scorched Earth."

The shadow showed no reaction. Yet, out of the blue, it too crossed its arms, creating an X-form just like Dojin. A fiendish smile escaped its mouth. Lee Dojin felt his mouth slack. At that moment, a quite cruel hypothesis came to his mind as true. 

With a low voice, the shadow repeated, "Day of Judgement, First Trumpet: Scorched Earth."