(Twisted Fates) The Phantom

Chapter 28: Kage no Senshi

Luke is laying in the middle of a labyrinth... suddenly, he was lightly kicked by Kurai to wake up. Luke rolled over and woke up. When he opened his eyes he saw an entire group of ninja dressed in black circled around him.

Luke looked around the area, and saw a throne where the grandmaster sat, the grandmaster wore black and red, along with a cape.

"Welcome to the lounge Phantom!" The voice on the throne called.

Luke stood up and bowed before the Grandmaster.

"Thank you for having me."

"My pleasure. It's not often we get visitors... now! What is it that you come here for?" the voice asked.

"I wish for assistance in hunting down Nexus and The Proxy." Luke said humbly.

Nexus and The Proxy... Jason Walker. Proxy however... the other Phantom. The Phantom of Speed and Agility." The Grandmaster stood from his throne.

"Seth Young...?" Luke commented.

"Luke Miller... you are the prodigy, the Ultimate Phantom. You hold two souls. If I were you, I would too be hunting for Seth Young. Holding the Trifecta of the souls, you'd be unbeatable." The Grandmaster explained.

"Nexus... where is he? Do you know?" Luke asked.

The entire ninja fleet sideeyed Luke.

"Off the top of my head- no. I do not. But perhaps, I could find him, very soon for you." The Grandmaster walked down off the throne platform and to the same floor Luke was standing on.

"You could? I would highly appreciate it." Luke said with thankfulness.

"I could, but it won't be free..." The Grandmaster mentions.

"What is it you want? Money?"

"Normally, yes! But this time, I want something else. A battle with The Phantom."

"What?" Luke wondered why this is what he wanted.

"Simple as this, if you win, I send a few men out to look for Jason. Once they get a location, they tell you where to go. If you lose... you train under me and join the Kage no Senshi until you can." The Grandmaster drew his blade. "You may pick the conditions and rules for this battle..."

Luke thought for a moment. "Alright Grandmaster, I accept your challenge. My rules are, no weapons, no power restrictions."

The Grandmaster lays his blade to the ground and kicked it to the side. "Fine by me."

The Grandmaster starts with a lightning-fast kick, aiming for Luke's midsection, but Luke's enhanced strength allows him to absorb the impact, countering with a powerful punch.

As the fight progresses, Luke utilizes his phantom powers, creating illusions that bewilder the Grandmaster. However, the Grandmaster's heightened agility helps him navigate through the illusions, delivering a rapid combination of strikes. Luke, relying on his martial arts skills, parries most blows but takes a few hits.

"That's a neat trick!" The Grandmaster commented

To gain an upper hand, Luke decides to employ his duplication ability. Multiple versions of the Phantom surround the Grandmaster, forcing him to defend from all sides.

"I'm missing my blade a bit right here..."

The Grandmaster, adapting quickly, focuses on dodging and weaving through the duplicates, landing precise blows whenever an opportunity arises.

The Grandmaster summons icy shockwaves, sending freezing blasts toward Luke and his duplicates. The chilling waves disrupt some of the illusions, but Luke persists, manipulating energy to counteract the icy attacks. The temple becomes a battlefield of contrasting forces-energy clashes and icy gusts fill the air.

As the battle reaches its climax, both combatants show signs of fatigue. The Grandmaster, with a burst of agility, incapacitates a portion of Luke's duplicates with a rapid flurry of strikes. He goes in for the final shot...

"Maybe next time, Miller..."

However, Luke seizes the moment, channeling the last of his energy into a concentrated blast that catches the Grandmaster off guard.

The grandmaster completely falls to the ground, declaring Luke the winner of the fight.

"I am very impressed, Phantom." The Grandmaster stood back up and they bowed to each other.

"Thank you Grandmaster..." Luke looked around at everyone, who was in astonishment,

"To hold up my end of the deal... I'll send Ryu and Miamoto to look for your target." The Grandmaster looks to the two ninja he called for and pointed at the exit. They both obeyed and ran out.

"I'll expect to hear from you soon?" Luke asked.

"The way we work, absolutely. Now... do you have any further questions before I send you on your way?" The Grandmaster asked as he climbed back atop his throne.

"You seem to know a lot about Phantoms, what exactly does it mean to be one?"

"Mmm so you want to know the history? I was hoping you'd ask. The Phantoms were actually not mutants, rather, most of them could've been normal people... in the beginning that is. Until the power manifested over generations and got so strong that only mutants and high power level holders could contain it."

"The Phantoms were warriors, under the Phantom Order, they are all the definition of death demons. They were all mean alright, they conquested and took what they wanted. Land, materials, people... whatever it was they wanted. Eventually... civilization destroyed the primitive people who had it. After a phantom holder completely dies, their soul transfers to another upon death."

"There are 3 phantoms... The one of Will and Power, The one of Deceit and Illusion, and then the one of Speed and Agility."

"This ability also gives you the ability to tap into the dead, enter a realm they say. I've never heard anyone speak further about it... Here in the Kage no Senshi, the 2nd Grandmaster was a Phantom. They say that he was undefeated in combat. Eventually no one challenged his throne..."

"So this is how I'm able to hold the Phantom abilities and Energy Manipulation then. The Phantom isn't something you are born with, it's something that falls upon someone. And that person was me." Luke looked to the exit.

"I am ready to exit the temple now."

The Grandmaster chuckles and then points at Luke. "Goodbye Phantom."

A ring around the floor summons below Luke. It transports him from the temple to a random alleyway, he notices that on the wall is sketched a symbol. This one was the symbol of the Kage No Senshi.