All Hail The Lord of Shadows

There were rumors floating around the criminal underworld that he was out of the business, that he had been captured by a hero, some even believed he was dead. The creatures of the night knew the truth, they knew that their leader had simply been lying in wait. He had risen into the public eye and the authorities and ‘super heroes’ had been on the watch for him. So he stepped back into the shadows, he allowed his name to once more fall back into that of myth and legends. Sure, it had only been three years sense he had decided to ‘take a break’ from the big bad world and focused on expanding not only his power but the power and strength of the Creatures of the Night, the soldiers of Darkness and all that dwelled within it.

Tonight however was different, he had decided tonight that things were going to change. It was a New Moon and thus the only things illuminating the sky were the stars above. As well as the street lights but those of course were easy enough to avoid or deal with if need be. A sinister grin spread across the being’s face as he threw on his infamous leather jacket over his favorite purple shirt. Appropriately dressed of course with black pants and jet black shoes, his Kilij hanging in its sheath by his side. Tonight was his big reveal, his chance to once again strike terror into the hearts of man and of course he had to look good for the occasion. Couldn’t lure people to their deaths by looking like trash.

With a blink of his eye he was covered in shadows and gone from the location he was at to what appeared to be a building overlooking a street in New York City. The city that never sleeps. A name that used to be because it was always a lively party like city now because you couldn’t go five feet without running into a cop or some goodie goodie attempting to keep the city from descending into hell again. The place had definitely seen better days but if he was being honest it wasn’t nearly as it had been the night of the New York Assault. That had been one hell of a night. A night to remember, and one anyone and everyone would never forget. He hoped tonight would be that kind of night for the people who were unlucky enough to meet him. On a smaller scale of course.

It seemed that night was going to start earlier than he had anticipated too. A poor young lass probably not even a year older than eighteen had wandered into a back alley probably taking a short cut on her way home. Poor, poor girl probably didn’t even know what lurked in the shadows at night. Was unaware of the dangers that came with walking into an alley at night and how it was worse than walking in the tall grass alone. Her parents probably never even taught her about how dangerous it was, or she had become so complacent her in overly protected city that she’d forgotten. That just wouldn’t do, oh no that could get people hurt. He’d just have to remind her and everyone else why they needed to stay off the streets at night. Wasn’t he such a Good Samaritan?

Within moments the entire alley had become void of any source of light as the shadows rose up around it cutting off the sources. The female barely had time to register what was going on let alone scream before her cry was cut off by a hand wrapping around her mouth and two sharp objects sunk into her neck biting down into the jugular, but not killing her instantly. Oh no, that would be too easy. She didn’t die until all of the blood in her body had been drained. Next the sound of a flick was heard and a flame was lit as the attacker allowed the shadows to fall, while his other hand severed the head from the body just below the two holes. The lighter fell on the rest of the body igniting it in flames burning any evidence besides the head. The one who carried out this heinous act slipped back into the shadows, appearing back on the rooftop he had been on earlier as the shadows around the body spelled out one thing. ‘The Lord of Shadows has returned. All Hail The Lord of Shadows.'

Not too far from the atrocity perpetrated by the self-styled' Lord of Shadows', a run down apartment run by a group of Thai slavers selling under-aged Asian slaves found its operations come to a grinding halt. Every asian thug, every accountant, every prospective white buyer, and every mercenary selected to guard those white buyers were lying in pools of their blood. Limbs decorated the place while the walls and floors were stained in blood. The body count was in the dozens.

Then finally the last one, the one in charge, a muscle bound blonde European woman. Nothing less than A Nazi Flag was hung in her office, and she looked at the much smaller girl with the stained sword. She stood in the doorway, resembling the hundreds of asian girls who were sold off from this place, but she didn't cry or look away. No, she met the slaver's gaze with contempt. She wore plain street clothes now stained with blood, her face plain for all to see.

The Nazi knew she was able to pull a gun on her. She pulled the trigger five times in her direction, but the swordsman avoided the bullets. A split second later her hand was cleanly sliced at a diagonal angle at her wrist, then the katana There wasn't even pain. "Oriential bitch!" She cried, pull a hidden dagger from her pocket and stabbed twice before Diana retreated. She held her side, the attack taking her by surprise. But the bleeding stopped, and Diana made little fuss over it.

"Tough puppy." Diana remarked, seeing being run through didn't faze her victim at all. She leaned against the wall, tired, watching as all the blood spilt in the building flowed like a river, rushing to her sword.

"Vat is zis..." She watched as the blood came at her like a living ooze, flowing up her body and into the blade. Her blood too, was draining into it, her tanned skin becoming pale.

Diana left to unlock the basement where all the 'livestock' was kept. Men, women, boys and girls, stripped naked and branded like cattle, all destined for some horrible fates, watched as a fellow Asian opened the doors wide. "You're all free!" Diana said. Fear turned to Celebration as the people who understood slowly explained to everyone. Diana had seen this before and didn't bother with gratitude or tears of relief.

The slaves quickly ransack the exsanguinated dead for clothes and money, and they flee into the New York night, not wishing to stay at that place for one day more. Some tried to thank their savior, but she was not there any longer.

Diana had gone to retrieve her sword, impaled as it was inside a dead neo-nazi. The muscle bound amazon was reduced to a shriveled, dry husk.

Diana grasps the blade, and the demon within communicated with her. "He has returned."

CAIN'S ROOF DECK

Taking the elevator to the roof Diana looked about for the erstwhile ally she made during the incident with the Siren and Banshee duo. It wasn't too hard; creatures of darkness like Cain and the Demon Within The Blade sought each other out instinctively.

"So. You did make it out of that last fight of ours." Diana said.

Above him the clouds gathered, filled with water and threatening to flow over with rain much as he wanted. It used to be something that he had no control over but now a little focus was all he needed to get the clouds to gather, to change the very weather above him. One could question why he was even in New York but then again it all came down to a whim really. He wanted to see the city, considering that he had heard so much about it and never actually seen anything beyond a few pictures. Part of him wondered if it was as destroyed as they showed and that was why he decided to be there in the first place. Dressed up for the night, he chose something simple. A pair of blue jeans with a single rip within the left knee, a t-shirt with a dinosaur on it and a dark colored jacket over that, with a wool beanie covering most of his shaggy light brown hair.

The soft roll of thunder could be heard in the distance as the cloud above the city block began to disgorge rain after having been forciblyformed, small droplets falling down upon the city coldly.  A few slid down his cheek, unnoticed against flesh that was already naturally cold.There was that low vibration, likely his cell phone but he didn't really pay it much attention. It was probably Jordan or someone else, one of the two at any rate. He walked past people going about their lives, but as he walked their numbers seemed to thin until he was mostly walking alone it felt like. Feeling the rain fall down on him was a sort of comfort, though in the midst of the scent of the falling rain he caught something else. Something burning, a terrible scent that put an even worse taste within his mouth.

Ryan could not quite place what that scent was but something about it turned his stomach, He followed that scent until he came upon what looked to be a fire, though the thing burning was something that caused his stomach for a moment to turn. It was a body, seemingly fresh from the amount of burning damage that had actually been done. His eyes scanned over the shadows around the body, spelling something out though it only took a few seconds for him to work it out. "The lord of shadows has returned. Who the hell is the Lord of Shadows? They sound like some kind of lame villain from an anime." Ryan noted as the rain itself began to pick up slightly, and yet his clothing itself was not even damp. If it was this recent then perhaps maybe they were still around but the question now was where.

That was a voice he hadn’t expected to hear in quite some time. Actually considering how long he’d been underground it had been awhile since the last time he heard the sword wielding female’s voice but that was not the point. The point was she was definitely the last person he had expected to find here. Wasn’t she supposed to be a mercenary or something? No matter, he could practically smell the blood on her and the other scent as well.  She was a vampire, not the same kind as him of course but definitely a creature of the night. This was an interesting development. Either she hadn’t been one three years ago or he simply hadn’t smelt in on her at the time due to dealing with a crazed Siren and Banshee duo.

“But of course, I highly doubt there is much on this earth that could kill me; let alone give me trouble. I see you made it out as well, I would have hated to see such a highly skilled individual such as yourself dead. It seems I’m not the only one who has went through some changes sense we last met though.” He replied to her “Or, perhaps I just didn’t smell it then. You are a creature of the night now aren’t you?” He asked eyes still on the scene that was happening beneath him. A scene that was very interesting. A young man had walked into the alley with what appeared to be a cloud above his head raining down on top of him and only him. It wasn’t raining anywhere else meaning he had to be a meta or sorcerer, those were always fun. Either way he hadn’t dealt with someone like this in quite some time.

Thinking about it now he was pretty sure the last person like this he had dealt with was Sean back when he still had the ability to manipulate water. Unless the kid just made fog...which would be weird but then again Cain did make shadows dangerous. Shadows for fuck's sake. “This is certainly an interesting development. I wonder what the kid plans on doing.” He stated/asked aloud, this could turn out to be quite the night if the kid saw himself a hero. Hell, even if the kid didn’t believe himself to be a hero and was just some nosey kid this could still be fun. “Want to go introduce ourselves? I’ve never stuck around to see what people think of my handywork before it could be interesting.” Sure, he was going to go down there eventually to kill the kid or something, but he also wanted to see just what she could do these days. He needed to at least attempt to keep a track on all the big ‘bad’ creatures of the night who didn’t follow him around like mindless slaves.

"Creature of the night? You mean like a..."

Cain's remarks caused Diana to internalize the question. She never really did spare a thought of where she stood in the natural order, her life being one of constant training. She was generally nauseous when out during the day, especially sunny days. She greatly preferred operating at night, and the night would share its secrets with her readily. When was...

...The thoughts she was drifting towards were so subtly veered away from by the influence of her blade. A little guilt here, a little self-justification there, and Diana was now focused on Cain's offer to introduce themselves. She peered down the edge of the building. Apparently his handiwork was being admired by someone, someone who might cause trouble.

"Sure. see you downstairs." She took the express elevator down and would be on the ground floor in a couple of minutes, sneakily peering at Ryan in the alleyway from just around the corner. She saw the macabre announcement of Cain's return, felt it was flamboyant and unnecessary.

Slowly the rain would begin to fall over the immediate area, likely blanketing anything unfortunate to be under it. Puffs of steam rose from the burning body as he drew a few droplets from around him before letting them wash over the fire, forcing it to go out with seeming ease. From there he would continue to examine the body, trying to ignore the smell of burnt flesh that had rose to his nostrils in a sickening fashion. Some sicko had done something like this to the poor person, but then again there were messed up people in the world. In fact he was unfortunate enough to meet a few of them, but then again not as if he could do anything about them beyond a few things really.

"Maybe Jordan could help me out with me. He's pretty heroic too." Ryan muttered to himself as the flames were fully smothered. Digging out the phone from his pocket, Ryan checked the newest massage sent his way with slight interest.

The elevator? She took the elevator back down to the ground floor? Did he really just see her do that? That was definitely not what he had been expecting. Sure, not everyone could move through the shadows or survive a fall from this height but he assumed she would have done some fancy parkour thing down the side of the building or something ninja assassins did these days. Cain on the other hand simply waited until she made it all the way to the ground and he could see her at the entrance to the alley, behind the kid, looking in and seeing what it was he was doing. He was just about to have himself appear on the ground in front of the kid when a thought entered his mind. A slightly childish thought but one that put a smile on his face nonetheless.

The shadows that had previously spelt out his return shifted, changing, and in a matter of seconds now spelt out ‘BOO!’ Out of the shadows rose the Lord of Shadows himself with a sinister grin on his face, and his hands behind his back as the rain from the strange clouds poured down on him and the alley. “You wouldn’t happen to be planning on doing anything foolish like reporting this to the cops now would you?” He asked noticing the kid had pulled out his phone, sure the whole theatrics he had left behind were in fact to be a warning to the police that the New York Vampire had returned to his ‘home’ turf but the boy in front of him didn’t need to know that. “Run along now before I kill you as well. I’ve already had my fill tonight but I don’t need to drink to kill you.” He was going to kill the kid anyway but it was always fun to play cat and mouse. Especially when you had another cat in play.

Diana spied on Ryan from the corner, seeing what he could do. Given he put out the fire somehow by dousing it, she assumed it was some manner of elementalist. Diana watched his moves, his body language, his eyes with careful scrutiny, trying to get an insight into the power. It was not everyday she met a metahuman of the energy variety.

Once she was joined by Cain, Diana showed herself as he tried to intimidate Ryan. It was nighttime, but the alley had one wall light over the side entrance to the building. Diana stepped into the light. Her sword grumbled in her hand. Tonight it would taste powerful blood, while the swordsman would get a fight.

Cain threatened the teen with death. He didn't seem much older than Diana, but age rarely factored into power. "What's your hurry?" She quipped to Cain, before setting her stern gaze on Ryan.

Her warrior spirit swelled her hearbeat, building up excitement. Her attitude was no longer than of some teenager but a warrior eager to test herself. "The night is young and I've yet to have a sporting battle. Unless you're scared and would rather run?" She laid down the gauntlet for Ryan, and she waited for his answer.

The shadows etched upon the ground appeared to shift into something else, a sort of exclamation likely tailored for him. "Scratch that. I may be dealing with some kind of five year old." Ryan muttered to himself as he stood up, the rain beginning to pick up. Pressing a button on the side of the phone it's screen would go dark again as a voice caught his attention and he turned to see who that was. Something told him that this guy was likely the one that did the killing, but then again they didn't exactly look like the cheesy anime villain he had in mind. More like someone that thought lame greaser was in this year, which he found even more amusing really. "Wow, you sure like to talk a lot." Ryan said with a tone slightly tinged with condescension.  

Looking down upon scum was something that he found incredibly easy , but then again it may have just been something he learned with time. Another joined them, a female that he didn't quite notice but she seemed like she was with this guy. Well that meant he would need to make a show of force, otherwise they wouldn't take him serious. Within a matter of seconds they would likely begin to feel a chill, as if the radiant temperature had rapidly begun to lower. Ice began to spread outwards in thin sheets from where his feet connected with the ground, becoming thick sheets that were jagged in design as they spread to the walls. His eyes glowed a soft blue within the night, bearing down upon Cain. "I think you two should be worried about if I would kill you? I really hate you psychopaths with your lame themes. You like to think you're in power, but I wonder how you react when someone else has the power."

The woman was likely important to someone and he killed her without a thought. Well, looks like Ryan needed to teach them a lesson.

The kid was cocky, he was so sure of himself and didn’t seem to be scared in the slightest. Cain loved it when they thought they were big bad heroes. Actually he absolutely hated it, he much preferred when they ran off screaming afraid of all the terrible, nasty, no good things he was going to do to them. Instead of that happening the kid stared him down, or rather up. He was kind of short and scrawny and didn’t exactly look like he could do much damage to Cain or an average person for that matter. He missed the ‘good old days’ when the little brats at least attempted covered up their obvious fright with terrible jokes or some sort of attempt to make themselves seem stronger than they really were.

Which, to be completely honest, was why he wasn’t the least bit impressed when the ground started to become covered in ice. In fact it was a more of a ‘oh look ice, never seen that before’ kind of reaction. One that resulted in a yawn from the Lord of Shadows. “Is that the best you can do kid?” He asked with a raised eyebrow, his blood red eyes glistening in the moonlight and the rain making his pale white skin look that much more intimidating. When the kid talked about how he was going to kill them a laugh escaped Cain’s mouth, well escaped was a strong word. Something could only escape from somewhere if it was actually being held in against its will and when the kid with the fancy little ice powers talked about trying to kill the King of Darkness he couldn’t help but laugh. It was too funny.

He could kill this fool without even lifting a finger, all he’d have to do was think it and the little ‘hero’ would be decapitated by his own shadow or swallowed whole. He’d be pulled into the shadow realm and be lost forever never to be heard from again. But that’d be no fun, plus the last time he and Diana had fought together he hadn’t actually had the pleasure of watching the mercenary in action and if she was still alive three years later she had to be good at something. “Hmm, is that a threat? I might be inclined to take you up on that offer but I think Diana here wants to have some fun of her own. What do you say Diana? Care on showing this kid some manners?” He asked one hand behind his back with the other currently resting on his Kilij just in case.

Coming from a tropical country, Diana was not so accustomed to the cold. The discomfort was felt sharply, but Diana's heart was already beating fast, her sword adjusting her body for her.

"I never kill without payment though... But I'll fight him for the sport. Never fought someone like him before." Diana commented, prepping herself for this likely lethal spar.

She leaps into action, doing what she does best- head on assault. Strong and light, she sprints along the wall to avoid the slick icy ground where weird things could happen. Diana does not even bother drawing her blade yet, instead landing within Ryan's reach and closing in, swiping at him with her sheathed blade like a cudgel. She wasn't fighting to kill- she was fighting to gauge her opponent.

"The best I can do? You wouldn't be able to take what I can do." Ryan noted with a roll of his eyes. Overconfident was another thing he pinned on this guy, but then again villains tended to be overconfident. The fact they were sending this Diana person after him may have been another example of such a thing. His eyes turned to Diana with a single raised brow as they made their move with the blunt end of their weapon. It would find its mark, however instead of hitting flesh it would meet as water as the weapon would slide through his body which gave no resistance. "I don't know where you're aiming but you were way off." Ryan noted as droplets around him falling from the sky would find themselves stopped by an invisible force stopped them before spikes of ice would form in mid air and extend outwards aimed for Diana's knees.

((Assume Cain is watching. Skip me ))

Diana looked quite shocked as her attacked was met with water. So he could potentially ignore all her physical attacks. Then the icicles formed, and Diana's anticipations could not prepare her for an opponent who materialized their attack from nothing. Diana could not evade them completely - they scrape at the sides of her legs and thighs with her slightest movement to draw blood, and it burned her muscles as she executed a more forceful attack.

"Doryu-sen!" She drove the sheathed blade into the ground, generating an expanding wave of force at the point of impact like an explosion. Maybe with the Falling Dragon Strike Ryan could be hurt by the sheer air pressure.