Delphine of Moria, the Ebony Warrior, continued her seemingly endless duel against the Daedra, who ruled the Castle of Eastmarch. It was not in her nature to surrender against the great evil that roams this world; she fought back until her strength gave in. In her view, Delphine believed that only a fool would surrender to the darkness that plagued the cold-dying Earth. She is a warrior of the night who swore never to let the creatures of the night run through this land without punishment. She swung her double- edged sword against the Daedra’s sword, and their blades clashed with one another for a long while.

Both Delphine and the Daedra were strong warriors and very skillful with their swords, and none of their weapons cracked open. They would surely fight on until their heart’s content, and their strength is failing as they try to stay alive. Then, with all of her anger and fury, Delphine uses her double-edged sword and slices off the Daedra’s left arm. For the very first time, the Daedra started feeling terrible and immense pain ever as so much blood started falling. Delphine points the tip of her blade at her enemy as even more blood started leaving him, and she didn’t care about what would happen next.

"You’ve made a grave mistake on coming here, Ebony Warrior. Do you think you have any real chance of defeating us? A mere human such as yourself can’t face thousands of us in battle!" The Daedra said.

"It’s you who should be scared, demonic beast. I’ve made a promise long ago to hunt down all of those who serve the night and the darkness. And I will!" Delphine said.

"This isn’t over. They will all come for you. Some day, you will lose control, and they will kill you for it. My torment ends... yours is simply beginning," The Daedra said.

And then, both Delphine’s Sword and the Daedra’s Sword clash with each other, and one final blow was drawn between them. The last strike that each wielder used against themselves was so intense that the ground itself began to shake. Then, Delphine counters the attack, she uses her sword, and she stabs the Daedra onto his chest. She pushes the sword deep into the Demon’s gullet, and more Blood began to drain out of his body and fall onto the solid ground. Then, Delphine pulls the Sword out of the Daedra’s chest, and then she goes for the final killing blow onto the demonic beast.

She goes towards the Daedra, she cuts off his head, and it leaves his body, and the rest of his body fell onto the ground. And so, the battle between Delphine and the Daedra ended during this long Night as the Blood Moon shines high in the sky. Then, she started to hear something that sounded like a thunderbolt, and the noise surrounded the entire room. The walls of the throne room began to crack open and fall apart as the cold wind started to breeze through the cracked walls. Indeed, the night is not over, and both the clouds and the moon were still visible as Delphine stood there with her sword.

Suddenly, many shadows started to move all over the floor, and Delphine could not come to make sense of what was happening. The shadows were not like any shadow anyone has ever seen; they were ungodly and made many shriveling noises. They were all black clouds moving on the bloodstained floor as Delphine watched them all proceed to the Throne. She thought that she ended the battle, and the demonic invasion would be over for the townspeople of Eastmarch. Delphine started to hear many voices from the black clouds, and she began to point her sword at the shadows.

"TAKE HER SOUL! HER SOUL IS OURS!!" The voices shouted. The sounds were so loud and intense that Delphine began to cover one of her ears with one hand, and her other hand is holding the sword.

"Show yourself!" Delphine shouted. The sounds were far too extreme to comprehend, and they were not any noises that a human would make.

"YOU ARE ONE! WE ARE MANY!!" The voices shouted again. Suddenly, the black clouds started to transform, and Delphine began to see what appeared to be a man.

"Come out from the shadows! Stand up and fight!" Delphine shouted. She kept her distance and remained still as her long, blonde hair flowed with the rushing wind that blew into the castle.

Before she could say or do anything else, Delphine saw that the transformation is complete, and the shadows were gone. To her surprise, Delphine began to hear the wind, and the castle did not crumble down after she fought against the Daedra. She slowly walked towards the dark man who sat on the Daedric throne, and he did not move a muscle. The man had black armor made of dragon bones, which were like tenfold shields, and he carried a black and red double-edged sword. As Delphine walked towards the man, she could still hear the sounds of the demonic voices coming back to her.

"What... are you?" Delphine asked. She knew her demand for an answer did not flatter, but the man seemed to find it very pale and unconvincing.

Then, the dark man held out his hand and forced her to stop walking, and it was tough for Delphine to move any closer. The power of which the man held inside of him was like the power of a god, and he used it to defeat his enemies. Then, Delphine falls forward onto the floor, and she was on both of her knees and felt rage and madness enter her mind. There were many instances where anything that came from the hand of someone who served the demons would have been given to him from the side of Satan. Delphine looks up and sees the man strolling towards her, and she did not have a clue what else she can do.

"I am Mephiles. Mephiles of the Baltic Lands. I must congratulate you. I confess I have not expected someone of your skill and strength to cut down these beasts. You have done that which none other could ever do... a mortal defeating a ruler of a kingdom," he said. Mephiles was a dark, brooding man of stature, and his pale white skin is covered by the black cloak which he wore with his armor.

"I will not allow you to stand in my way, Mephiles," Delphine said.

"The circle is now beginning. Your suffering is only beginning... and your fate will await you. Soon, your life of murder and vengeance will be over," Mephiles said. Then, he got himself off from the giant throne and began to walk down the steps to the ground.

When she got a good look at his face, Delphine started to see that his eyes were bloody red, and both his conjunctiva and sclera were as black as night; indeed, he was a mortal who abandoned his humanity.

"I will not fall to your lies and tricks. As long as I have breath in my body, you will not decide my fate," Delphine said.

"I’ve told you already. Your fate will be sealed. Your journey towards the darkness has already begun. This Daedra’s death at your hands will remain with you forever," Mephiles said.

"I did what only had to be done. I would hunt down all of those beasts until I find the one who made me this way," Delphine said.

"You will have to do more than kill a bunch of demons. You have no idea of the power a cursed warrior can wield," Mephiles said. Then, he pulled out his dark greatsword and held it up into the sky, and the blade began to light on fire.

The fire was red, and the flames were singing on the blade, and Delphine started to see it was hell-fire. Hell is known for having many types of fires that would roam in the depths of the underworld, and the people condemned there would rot in its flames for all eternity.

"You’re... the Demon Wolf!" Delphine shouted.

"The Devil will have his due. He knows that you have done this deed. Now he will send twice as many night hordes to tear you apart," Mephiles said.

"I do not fear demons. And I am not afraid of death. I won’t let you leave here alive!" Delphine said.

"You will be... you will be afraid."

Then, Delphine holds onto her greatsword and runs as fast as she can towards Mephiles to cut him down. She refused to listen to his tedious words, but Mephiles used his sword and dodged the blow of which Delphine was about to use on him. The flames of the black sword could’ve easily broken a steel sword in two, but Delphine wielded a sword made of ebony, which was ten times stronger than steel. The ebony greatsword clashed with the other sword, and the hellish flames did not affect Delphine’s sword.

"You can tell your master that I am not ready for Hell, yet! The Lord protects me! I serve no demon, and I do no evil!" Delphine shouted.

"You chose the night. God has abandoned you. You chose a path on which you will never turn back. You and I are the same," Mephiles said. Then, Delphine and Mephiles started to slash and swing their swords at each other, and each wielder kept their distances.

Both of them were strong warriors of the night, and both chose a dark path in life, but they had different motives. They used their swords against each other and started to block and dodge a few attacks they used against each other. Then, Delphine slashed Mephiles in the face, and he fell back a few steps; she points her sword at his face and waits for him to make another move. The man in black quickly healed himself with his powers, and he started to see that she indeed had the strength to move on. Delphine moved slowly towards her enemy and stood still when she was about a few inches away from him.

Then Mephiles said to her, "It seems that I’ve mistaken you. You are different from most people I’ve encountered in the past. But that alone will not save you from the many things that you will encounter on your journey. I have walked the lands of the Earth for ages, and I have lived in darkness for many centuries. I am not your enemy. I do what I do because there is no choice. After many years, I have found someone who fought a higher class demon all by herself. And so begins her journey that will be paved in blood and darkness."

"How would you know such things about me? We’ve never even met before. You do not know me... I will never succumb to the darkness. And I will never fall down the same path as you did," Delphine said.

Then, Mephiles answered and said to her, "Ah, but you will. If you desire to find your enemy and free yourself of this massive curse, you must travel to all the kingdoms of the Earth and defeat the Daedra, who rule the nations. Only then shall the path ahead open further for you. Afterward, you are free to live out the rest of your days in peace. That is something I can promise you. However, if you wait and do nothing more than roam around aimlessly, then the day will come when you will fall.

"Satan will come for you at a time you will not expect. You will not know the day nor the hour when he will come. He will drag you down to the deepest pits of Hell, and you will rot for all eternity. I’m not here to fight you, but same to you... I won’t let you stand in my way."

Then, Delphine starts to see a pattern between herself and Mephiles; he has already succumbed to power, but she refuses to suffer the same fate as he has. She understood her purpose in life, but it has taken her so long to realize what must be done to reach Death itself.

"You cannot escape us. Your soul is damned," Mephiles said. Then, the walls behind the throne began to explode and fall to the point where all they could see was the sky itself.

"Where do you think you’re going? I’m not finished with you!" Delphine said.

"We will meet again. Our time here is wasted. I’m not going to kill you, but I won’t have you stand in my way. I will have my kingdom... I will have my vengeance," Mephiles answered. Then, a large cloud of darkness began to revolve around his body, and all Delphine could do was stand and watch.

"Until we see each other again," he said. After he said this, the dark clouds made Delphine unable to see his face, and he disappeared from her sight.

And so, Mephiles was gone for now, and the beast that lurks in the castle was no longer in control of the palace, for Delphine has slain it. Nobody was under the protection of the castle, and no demonic invasion would ever come towards the people of Eastmarch again. Then, Delphine started to make her way back towards the entrance of the castle, and no demon or beast ever came back to her. It is said in a prophecy that whoever defeats a Daedra in combat ends the night invasions, and the people would never have to stay awake at night again. Delphine also starts to sense that the light that brightens the castle at nighttime has gone out and would never be lightened again.

The paintings and sculptures were still intact, and it would likely never be removed from the walls or the ceiling. Delphine ignores everything that had any relation to this castle, and she kept moving towards the entrance. She only knew little about Mephiles of the Baltic Lands, and all she ever knew was that he was very troublesome. Delphine kept walking down and most likely felt like going to the inn, just like she promised Simon that she’d do. Simon was a different kind of person to Delphine; unlike most people who treat her like a stranger, the hunter wishes to help her out with anything.

Meanwhile, at the city of Eastmarch, Simon and all the townspeople saw that the castle was no longer showing its vibrant colors. During the night, the light of the castle was all the people could see besides the moon and the onslaught of demons. But now, they didn’t have to worry about that anymore, because Delphine did what no other person could do. They began to see that Delphine truly is a warrior who is worthy of being feared by her opponents. Some started to admire her, but others were still skeptical about whether or not they should trust someone like her.

However, they all had their reasons for not being able to put their trust in the Ebony Warrior, and some began to question her true nature.

"Did you hear?" One villager asked.

"Yeah, I heard," A second villager said.

"That woman... she defeated the ruler of the castle! She must’ve fought him to the death, and all the demons were driven away. Even as we did our very best to defend our village, she did it all in one night!"

"Yes. She took care of business the day she arrived."

"Amazing. She is a warrior of darkness, all right."

As the villagers were speaking amongst themselves, Simon stood at the rampart and saw Delphine walking outside the castle from a mile away. As a hunter, Simon has excellent eye vision, and he could see anything far away and close by. Delphine found herself walking away from the front doors of the palace and began to be on her way back to Eastmarch. She had two things in mind: to rest at the Inn and receive her payment for what she has done for the people. Simon started to sense an attraction to himself and the Ebony Warrior as he stood with the people of Eastmarch.

Then, he walked away and started to see the Moon not be covered in blood, and he saw that there were no more demons for now. However, the demons were still out there in many other areas, such as forests, mountains, and many roads. Delphine knew that she would have to travel those many roads to defeat the demons and continue her journey. A better solution for anyone would be not to go out into the dark, even though the invasions have stopped; they would never know if there were more of them. It would take the most skilled fighter, the most intelligent hunter, and the most powerful warrior to go down a path such as the one that Delphine has chosen.

Then, Delphine started to see the city from a short distance as she continued walking on the long, dark road. Even at nighttime, the way can be dangerous to traverse, yet challenging to follow as it could potentially lead anywhere. As somebody who has walked alone on the road for ten years, Delphine knew where the way would lead her at night. She even knew how to get to that specific location despite how dark it was, and how difficult it would be for an average person. Then, Delphine started to see that so many people were dragging the dead bodies of demons away.

They couldn’t let a demon who was already dead rot in the streets and have everyone smell the decaying body. Then, Delphine walked straight into the city and saw that blood was splattered everywhere and stained both the walls and the ground. The hands of the demons devoured only a few people, and the men of the city killed hundreds of beasts. Delphine saw that they did well in their part of defending the town, and she saw that she wasn’t the only one who would give her life to save her world. She kept walking in the night, and she would never forget the name of the Demon Wolf... Mephiles.

Next Chapter: Chapter 5: Claws In The Sky