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JUMP CITY - BLACKWYND ESTATE
Soft sunlight filtered through tall trees of the gardens of the Blackwynd estate in Jump City, casting gentle shadows over carefully tended flowerbeds. A fountain trickled quietly at the center, its sound soothing.
Raven sat across from Lady Eleanor Blackwynd at a small wrought-iron table, a cup of tea warming her hands. The air smelled faintly of roses and fresh earth.
There was no battle. No screaming. No magic pressing against her mind.
Just peace and quiet.
Lady Blackwynd smiled warmly, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear as she studied Raven's face.
"It's good to see you again," she said softly. "How have you been feeling lately?"
"Better," Raven admitted. "Resting helped more than I expected."
"I'm glad." Her smile softened further. "You've been through a lot."
They sat in comfortable silence for a moment.
Then Lady Eleanor tilted her head slightly, curiosity flickering in her eyes.
"So…" she began gently, "why did you come alone?"
Raven's expression shifted almost imperceptibly.
The answer was written plainly across her face.
Eleanor noticed immediately.
"Oh, I see." she said quietly. "So you don't know where he is either. Is there something wrong?"
Raven looked down at her tea.
"No," she said softly. "Nothing's wrong. It's just… it's been a while since we haven't gone on a mission together."
Eleanor hummed.
"Adventures," she said with a playful smile. "You've told me quite a bit about those."
She leaned forward slightly, eyes glinting with mischief.
"But when are you two going to get serious about.."
Raven nearly dropped her cup.
"Miss!" she stammered, face flushing instantly.
Eleanor laughed.
"Oh, come on," she teased. "You can't blame a woman for wanting grandchildren."
Raven turned away so quickly her cloak rustled sharply.
"I… that's not…" she muttered, ears bright red.
The older woman chuckled softly and stood, moving around the table before pulling Raven into a gentle hug.
"Come here," she said warmly. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."
Raven hesitated, then relaxed slightly in the embrace.
"I'm not embarrassed," she murmured quietly. "I'm just… thinking."
Her voice lowered.
"Can we really have a normal life? People like us… with powers, responsibilities… we're magnets for trouble. It never really ends.. How can you start a family like this.."
Eleanor held her gently, her voice even calmer now.
"Don't say that," she said softly. "Of course you deserve a life. It won't be perfectly normal.. maybe it never can be, but that doesn't mean it can't be good."
She pulled back just enough to look Raven in the eyes.
"Arthur carries a lot. Duties to the world, to people he cares about… that keeps him moving. But even someone like him needs something to come home to."
Her smile softened.
"And I think he wants that. More than he admits."
Raven's shoulders eased slightly.
"…Maybe you're right," she said, a faint smile appearing.
The garden felt safe.
Then
Something shifted.
Raven's head snapped upward.
Her expression hardened instantly.
Magic flared around her, violet light igniting in her eyes.
Arthur's mother blinked, startled.
"What's the matter?"
Raven stood abruptly, the air around her trembling.
"Something's here," she said, voice low and focused. "And it's hostile."
She raised a hand.
A translucent violet barrier expanded around Eleanor, glowing softly with protective magic.
"Use the shadow ring Arthur gave you," Raven said quickly. "It reacts to your imagination. It will protect you."
Eleanor hesitated only briefly before nodding.
"He did mention something like that… though I never thought I'd actually need it."
She wore the ring.
Shadows surged.
Dark fabric wrapped around her like flowing silk, reshaping into sleek armor marked by a glowing violet sigil across her chest, the insignia of the Shadow Corps.
She looked down, startled but composed.
"…Well," she said softly. "That's nice."
Raven's gaze swept the garden.
Too quiet.
The birds had stopped.
The wind stilled unnaturally.
Even the fountain's sound felt distant.
Her magic crackled, searching.
The shadows beneath the trees stretched just a little too far.
Raven narrowed her glowing eyes.
"Stay close," she warned quietly.
The garden remained peaceful.
Then that peace shattered.
Shadows beneath the trees split open, and shapes crawled out twisted, half-formed creatures wrapped in smoke and ash. Some were skeletal demons with jagged horns and burning eyes; others were wraith-like entities, their forms flickering between flesh and mist, whispering in voices that sounded like screams.
The air dropped several degrees.
Eleanor instinctively stepped back, her shadow-forged armor glowing faintly as the ring reacted to her rising fear.
Raven moved first.
Dark energy erupted from her hands in a violet surge, slamming into the nearest demon and hurling it across the garden. It crashed through a stone statue, dissolving into ash before it hit the ground.
More surged forward.
Raven's cloak flared as she lifted both hands, magic crackling around her.
"Azarath… Metrion… Zinthos!"
A circular sigil blazed beneath her feet. Waves of force exploded outward, flinging wraiths into the air. Their shrieks twisted into panic.
One attacked from above
Raven vanished in a flash of darkness and reappeared behind it, her palm pressing into its back. A burst of pure energy disintegrated the creature instantly.
She moved like a shadow herself, calm, precise and merciless much like Arthur.
A demon swung a massive claw toward her.
Raven caught it mid-strike with telekinesis, crushing the limb until bone snapped. The creature roared.
Then froze.
Its eyes widened.
Fear.
Not just pain.
Actual Fear.
Raven noticed.
Another wraith recoiled instead of attacking, trembling as if recognition dawned upon it.
She narrowed her eyes.
'Why are they this afraid of me…?'
A cluster of demons rushed her together.
Raven clenched her fist.
The ground beneath them erupted in violet chains, wrapping around their limbs and dragging them down. She whispered a spell under her breath, and the chains pulsed, obliterating them into drifting fragments of shadow.
Within moments, the garden fell quiet again.
Only smoke remained and the aftermath of battle.
Raven exhaled slowly and extended her hand. The remnants of the creatures swirled together into a dark sphere before she tore open a small portal and cast them into it, sealing it shut.
She stared at where they had stood.
"Demons," she murmured.
Her gaze hardened.
"…And they didn't come for me."
She turned sharply toward Eleanor, who stood inside the protective barrier, eyes wide.
"I should take you somewhere else," Raven said quickly. "Somewhere safe. Out of reach."
Eleanor nodded slowly, still processing what she'd seen.
"What… were those things?" she asked quietly.
Raven's eyes darkened.
"I know what they are. I know them far too well.." She paused, voice lower now. "Demons. From Hell."
Eleanor's expression shifted to shock.
"Hell?!"
"It's hard to believe," Raven admitted, "but yes. Someone sent them here intentionally."
She glanced around the garden, sensing lingering traces of infernal energy.
"This is dangerous. Staying here isn't an option."
With a sweep of her hand, Raven opened a portal a circular doorway of violet light.
She stepped toward it and turned back.
"Please. Follow me, we can't stay here."
Eleanor hesitated only a moment before stepping forward.
The moment she stepped through the portal, the world changed so completely that Eleanor forgot how to breathe for a second.
She stopped where she stood, eyes widening as the unfamiliar horizon unfolded before her.
The city stretched endlessly beneath a twilight sky, vast and alive, yet eerily calm. Towers of dark crystal and polished dark metal rose like elegant spears, their surfaces drinking in the light rather than reflecting it. Veins of soft violet luminescence ran along their edges, pulsing rhythmically.
At first glance, everything seemed made of shadow.
Then she looked up.
Figures flew across the sky.
hundreds of them.
Shadow Lanterns, beings in shadow uniforms wrapped in sleek black plating with violet emblems glowing across their chests. Their movement was effortless, graceful, like silent guardians patrolling their world. Trails of soft shadow followed behind them as they crossed the sky in organized patterns.
Among them flew his usual Shadow Soldiers, some humanoid, others monstrous in form, and they weren't just wandering.
They were working.
Some carried materials between towers. Others hovered near massive structures that looked like docks or training arenas. Farther in the distance, giant shadow constructs lifted entire platforms into place, building and reshaping the city itself.
The place was alive with activity.
Everything operated in harmony, like a perfectly synchronized machine.
Eleanor noticed the alien shadow lanterns, beings of different forms walking along the pathways. Some looked humanoid, others clearly not, but all moved freely beneath the watchful presence of this City.
"This…" she whispered, almost to herself, "this is his?"
Raven smiled faintly watching her reaction.
"Yes. This is the City of Nyx," she said softly.
She gestured toward the vast horizon.
"The home world of Arthur's Shadow Corps."
Eleanor took a few steps forward, still staring upward as a group of Shadow Lanterns swept overhead in formation, their violet lights illuminating the dark sky like stars.
"I thought shadows meant darkness.." she said softly. "But this…"
Her voice trailed off.
The city didn't feel dark.
Even the architecture carried a strange beauty, intimidating at first, but undeniably elegant once she looked closer.
"It's like a..." she murmured in awe. "A real civilization."
Raven nodded.
"The Shadow Corps aren't just soldiers," she said quietly. "They maintain this universe. Guard it. And protect it much like The Green lanterns, this is the order he created with the purpose to fight The Great Evils of this universe."
Eleanor smiled faintly, something warm and proud flickering across her expression.
"He built all this…" she said softly. "No wonder he doesn't visit often.." Her gaze lingered on the sky.
She looked around again, this time with less surprise and more understanding.
The city felt like Arthur. Calm beneath overwhelming power.
"It's… beautiful."
Raven nodded.
"Yes, it is."she said quietly.
/-\
If you Like this story! Check out my other stories! Solo leveling in Westeros.
&
If you wish to read more or simply support me than check out my patreon at
"https://www.patreon.com/FrenzyAren"
You can Get Access to 3 More Chapters OR 7 More Chapters if you want