Taking a deep breath, Nyoko stood up, following Blake. "I should have known better. He was distant all day long... He was always going north to the burned gate, just like the girl said." She shook her head. "I swear, he's followed the tracks of the Black Blades. And we might not catch up... I've never seen anyone faster than Haruki." Even their master couldn't move with such a blinding speed. Yet... If they hurried, they might catch up. She wasn't going to give up just because her brother did something stupid!<br/><br/>Sticking her chin up, she grabbed Blake's hand, and rushed towards the gate. "Come. We have to hurry! I have a bad feeling... He will do something stupid. I can't let that happen!"<br/>"You should better hurry, that's true." a silent voice sounded from somewhere in the dark, as if an answer to her. Nyoko flinched, turning her head to see at the source of the sound - and saw the little girl once more.<br/>"Warrior's sister. You better move your bones and drag the Mystic behind if you really care about your brother that much. He followed the Dark One." she spoke once more, and disappeared in the wind, nothing more than a flash, turning on her heel.<br/><br/>Nyoko's eyes widened as she faced Blake once more. "We have to run!"<br/><br/><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><br/><br/>The sky grew dark, like a veil of velvet, and not a sound was to be heard. Just a single shape moved through the darkened landscape - a flash of black, white and red, following a trail of ash. The sound of his steps was the only disruption to the tranquility of the night. He didn't yet know where those may lead him, but one thing he was sure of - that he'll find his revenge on the end of the path. If he wasn't ready now, then he'd never be. Young or not... He had no such things on his mind.<br/><br/>Gritting his teeth, he kept running. Something inside him told him that he will meet the one he's been searching for at the end of the way. The Black Samurai.<br/><br/>The road led on. Through forests deep and across streams, he watched as the lands around him got darker. A heavy aura of something evil hung in the very air... Until the silhouette of a threatening shape sprang up before him. Amid the forest stood something resembling a temple... Gate stained by blood and adorned by the skull of some poor unfortunate fellow atop it. The walls were dark and windows shattered... And all around it lay bones, bones, so many bones...<br/><br/>A light burned somewhere behind it.<br/><br/>Haruki dared to step forth, and push the door open, walking into a dark corridor. The dim, scattered light from a few poisonously green torches revealed a damaged, abandoned interior - black walls and floors, built from a heavy stone, all of it covered in old cobwebs. More stains adorned those walls, red and brown... Bloody...