Ducking low, Kieran felt the blade pass by inches away from his head. The sword seemed to be giving off a chilling air as a black mist started to surround the blade.

He was certain that he had been alone for this entire time.

So who was this person? 

Kieran's eyes blazed a fiery gold as he used his daggers to stab upward. Metal clashed against metal, and the sheer force of his opponent's blow made him take a step back.

The air around him seemed to thicken as he saw the black mist reappear. In an instant, he and his attacker were completely shrouded in darkness.

This was bad.

Although the mist had completely covered them in darkness, Kieran knew that his glowing eyes were still visible to his opponent.

It was one of the main giveaways of having a Skill. Whenever someone used their Skill, their eyes would shine regardless of whether they wanted it or not. It made hiding the fact you have a Skill nearly impossible, and once you were identified, you would be forced to join the Sun Organization or be killed.

And now, Kieran was out in the open while his opponent was hidden in the shadows.

It was a difficult dilemma. He could either keep using his skill and continue giving away his location, or he could turn off his Skill at the cost of losing his advantage over his attacker. Judging by the powerful attack he had just felt back then, Kieran wasn't sure if he could beat him without using his Skill.

He also had to factor in the sword with the chilling aura, and the fact that his attacker could somehow control the black mist that had brought him here in the first place.

Just who was he?

He didn't have time to ponder the question any further as he felt another wave of killing intent appear on his left. Blocking the blow, he felt a chill run down his spine as their blades clashed. A cold wind wrapped around his fingers and slowly crawl up his arm, his opponent's blade emitting a dark and sinister energy.

Was it an Artifact?

His opponent didn't give him any time to react as he attacked again, each blow precise and deliberate. While defending each attack, Kieran tried his best to counter, but his opponent had the advantage of complete darkness while he could only rely on his senses and Skill to determine the other's location.

He felt movement from his right and dodged another attack. Lunging forwards, he slashed with his dagger. His attack was blocked, but he immediately followed it up with another stab, swinging his dagger in an arc and aiming for his opponent's torso. He felt the other move backwards, and heard a rip as his dagger sliced through the fabric of his shirt. His opponent's blade twisted in midair, and Kieran immediately crossed both of his daggers together, blocking the blow.

But they weren't done.

Their blades clashed again, sparks flashing from the sheer force of the blow before being swallowed up by the darkness around them.

Suddenly, the temperature in the room seemed to drop drastically. Waves of oppression extruded from his opponent as a massive pressure descended upon him. His opponent's blade slashed forward, barely giving him any time to react. With a sharp inhale, he threw himself back, relying on his instincts alone as he dodged within a hair's breath.

Something shifted in the air, subtle but deadly. It gave the illusion that his opponent had finally decided to stop playing around and take the fight seriously.

Despite the situation, Kieran felt somewhat offended.

Waves of adrenaline rushed through him, his heartbeat speeding up to an unnatural pace as the most powerful killing intent he had ever felt filled the room.

He felt his eyes glow brighter than it had ever been before as his Skill went into overdrive. His senses sharpened dramatically and suddenly, he was aware of every little detail around him.

The faint outline of a person shifted in the darkness. Every little detail became magnified— his harsh breathing, his heartbeat hammering inside his chest, his opponent's uneven breaths further away. He heard the tiniest crunch of the other's footsteps, giving away his location, and felt the subtle ripple in the air as his attacker lunged towards him.

Kieran met the blade head on, feeling his strength surge to a point where he had never thought to be possible. He twisted around to counterattack, but his opponent had managed to move out of the way just in time. Not giving the other party any time to adjust to his new change, Kieran immediately attacked again, aiming his dagger straight at his throat. His attack was blocked just before his blade could reach his target, but Kieran had another trick up his sleeve.

With a flick, a knife appeared at the front of his boot as he sent a kick to his opponent's side. As expected, his attack was blocked, but Kieran immediately followed it up with another slash of his dagger. At the last second, his attack was parried, but Kieran wasn't discouraged.

Their blades met each other's as they attacked again, trying to spot any sort of weakness, mistakes, or miscalculation that could be exploited by the other party. Anything that could turn the fight in their favor.

One wrong move and he could end up dead. Any sane person would become fearful of their life, but Kieran had never felt so excited.

He wanted to, no, needed to push his Skill towards its limits, to go even beyond that so he could become strong enough to face the enemy that had been unreachable for him even for all these years. And now that he had stumbled across the mysterious key Artifact, he knew that it was time for the tides to change in his favor.

He couldn't die now. Not when he had just been healed. Not when he still had a debt to collect.

They analyzed each other's moves, looking for patterns, trying to slip past the other's guard to deliver the fatal blow. It was like a dangerous dance, with their blades providing the deadly melody where every misstep could lead to a severed artery or an amputated limb.

Kieran needed an opportunity for a clear strike.

And if he couldn't find one, he just needed to make that opportunity himself.

His opponent was strong, and judging by that amount of strength, it was most likely that the other had a bigger build than him. So that meant that Kieran's advantage was speed. He let his gaze flicker to his arm for just a second let his lips curl into a ghost of a smile.

He also had the element of surprise.

Raising his daggers, Kieran blocked another blow, returning the favor with a counterattack of his own. He felt his opponent's blade come at him again as it brushed against the hilt of his dagger. Letting out a hiss of pain, the dagger slipped out of Kieran's hand as it clattered against the ground.

A rough chuckle sounded by his ear, a low and deep baritone. 

Male. 

He felt the warm breath of his opponent graze his ear as a rough hand harshly gripped his wrist, twisting him around. His back hit a solid chest as his opponent applied pressure to his hold, sending his other dagger flying out of his grasp.

From their close proximity, Kieran could feel whoosh of metal as his opponent brought back his sword to finish him off.

Too bad he won't be the one dying today.

Summoning his Artifact out of his tattoo, Kieran jammed the key backwards into his opponent's solar plexus, digging the bronze metal deep into the other's skin.

He heard a low grunt as his opponent bent forward, momentarily winded. Feeling the grip on his wrist loosen, Kieran took his chance to slip out of his grasp, ducking low to swipe his dagger off the ground and slashing at the other's heel.

Hearing his opponent drop to one knee, Kieran used this momentum to pin him down to the ground, disarming him of his weapon and raising his dagger above the other's heart.

Every action had to be repaid. Since the man tried to kill him first, he shouldn't blame him for returning the favor.

Ruthlessly, Kieran slammed his dagger down, but before he could make contact, a hand wrapped around his, stopping the blade with only a hair's breadth to spare. Pressing his body weight onto the dagger, Kieran gritted his teeth, determined to finish the job as he felt his opponent's hands barely budge despite the accumulated weight.

Fuck, just how strong was that guy?

Suddenly, he felt the world spin as his opponent twisted his body, sending Kieran sprawling to the ground beside him. Twisting around, Kieran swung his dagger but was immediately intercepted by a hand grasping his arm. The dagger was wrestled out of his hand, clattering to the ground as it was kicked out of hiss reach.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

Gripping the bronze key, Kieran prepared to swing upwards but was intercepted by a hand pinning down his wrist. He struggled but couldn't break free as both his wrists were pinned above his head.

Shit, he might really die this time.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Kieran gasped, trying to stall for time. He still had a knife in his boot. If only he could shift his foot enough to activate it...

"Irrelevant," came the short reply. The voice above him had a hint of scratchiness, and the words itself were pronounced somewhat forcefully, as if its owner had not spoken for a long time. "Now tell me, how did you get the bronze key?"

"The bronze key?" Kieran repeated, trying his best to draw out the conversation, "why do you want to know?"

"Tell me or I'll kill you," the voice growled. "Don't make me repeat myself."

"Weren't you already trying to do that?" Kieran retorted.

"Answer me."

He heard the rough grating of metal across the ground as his opponent retrieved his fallen weapon.

Fuck, just a little more...

He felt the weight above him shift ever so slightly as the man raised his blade.

Now.

With a quiet whoosh, the knife flicked out from Kieran's combat boots as he tilted his foot to the side, slashing his opponent's leg.

He felt the grip on his dagger loosen and tilted the blade to the side, headbutting the man above him.

Fuck, that hurts so fucking bad.

But even so, his opponent didn't relent, continuing to press him onto the ground.

"You—" the other started, but his words were cut off as Kieran headbutted him again, sacrificing his precious forehead in the favor of hopefully doing some mental damage.

Finally gaining some traction, Kieran rolled out from underneath his opponent's grasp and sprang to his feet, retrieving his fallen daggers.

This wasn't a favorable situation. His opponent was just as skilled as he was, if not even better considering the other's advantage of darkness. If this fight were to drag out, Kieran wasn't sure what the final outcome would be.

One thing was for sure though, he definitely didn't want to go through another near death experience.

His best option was to try and negotiate for a ceasefire.

"Fine, I'll tell you how I got the key," Kieran started, putting some distance between them. "As long as you stop trying to kill me."

"Very well," the voice resigned. "Speak before I lose my patience."

"Well, it's simple, really," Kieran began, a chuckle in his voice, "I just found it laying on the ground. Funny story, right?"

"Enough with your games." Oh, that man was fuming.

"It's true," Kieran insisted, raising his hands in mock innocence. "It's your fault if you don't believe me."

A pause.

"...It showed itself to you?" the voice muttered after what felt like an eternity, disbelief seeping into his tone. "Impossible."

Was it just him, or did the voice seem... closer?

The sense of danger was stronger than ever, but Kieran refused to back away.

Two could play at this game.

"Well you see, darling," Kieran drawled. "I have a knack for making the impossible possible."

"And if I don't believe you?"

Kieran was certain now that the voice was moving closer.

He grinned. He had a feeling that the other could see exactly what expression he was making, even in the darkness. "Then think what you want and pray that you won't live to regret it."

Giving another provocative grin, he instinctively raised his dagger, feeling the blade stop upon a solid surface. A huff of warm breath grazed the surface of his knuckles, and Kieran raised his eyes, scoffing lightly.

"Careful there, darling," he murmured. "One more step and you would've had your pretty throat slit by my dagger."

"Oh?"  The man didn't bother moving away. "How pretentious, considering that you were the one who intruded into my territory. You ought to pay the price, don't you think?"

"Is it really my fault that your security was too lax?" Kieran countered, pressing his dagger closer. "Given how long I had wandered here before you found me, are you really sure you can call this your territory?"

"Well, it's certainly not yours," the man responded. "But this situation has turned out better than I expected. Let's make a deal, shall we?"

A deal?

How interesting.

"Disperse the mist and then we'll talk." There was no way Kieran was going to let this person keep this advantage.

The man gave a low laugh. "If you insist."

Gradually, the black mist started to fade away and Kieran was finally able to see the person in question.

The man in front of him was tall, standing at six foot three. He had short cropped black hair, and dark eyes that seemed to resemble a pitch black color. Kieran watched the man's muscles flex as he placed his broadsword back in its scabbard, a few stray trails of mist still lingering around the pure black metal.

The front of his shirt had been sliced open by one of his earlier attacks, revealing toned abs and tattoos of strange symbols Kieran couldn't decipher.

The same symbols on both the door and the bronze key.

His posture was as straight as an arrow, and his breathing was even, giving the illusion that everything that had happened was just a warm up to him.

If they were to fight again, what would be the best way to take him down?

Lost in thought, it took Kieran a while to figure out that while he had been making his deductions, the man had been carefully observing him in return. There was an unreadable look in his eyes, one that seemed to draw him in, yet warn him to run away as far away as possible.

The man lifted his head and Kieran met his gaze head on, feeling a dark shiver run down his spine. His heartbeat started to speed up, and he felt the familiar rush of adrenaline course through his body once more.

This man was dangerous.

Forcing himself to keep a calm front, Kieran tilted his head upward, urging the man to speak.

"What are you waiting for? Let's talk."

________________________________

Author's note:

So they finally meet. What do you think? Any opinions are appreciated!

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