Azreal, stumbling back from the dark Qi spear that is embedded in the dirt, sizzles as the shadow spear begins to consume the grass and vines entangled on the ground. As the blinding light dims, Azreal's gaze focuses on the figure before him. It is Kayleen Lu, her golden blonde hair cascading down her shoulders, her lithe form radiating with brilliant golden Qi. The tattered edges of her Spirit Harmony Pavilion robes tell tales of fierce battles within the Lingxi Grove, marking her as a seasoned warrior of the outer court. Activating his Celestial Gaze, he is stunned by the improvement in her cultivation level.
What kind of luck did she stumble across, she's jumped over four minor realms in cultivation for Qi, and three minor levels for her soul essence. I thought I had talent, fuck me!
She wields a beautiful thin rapier, the light glimmering from deep within the blade, causing the shadow to retreat from their location. Azreal takes a deep exhale, Kayleen, the Luminescent Blade, of course she would show up to provide a ray of hope.
"You could've arrived before I was beaten to this state, didn't you learn from the last time you saved me?" Azreal says, grunting in pain as he forces himself to his feet, his voice hoarse as he weakly chuckles. "I felt massive amounts of Qi and I had a feeling it would be you. Always running into trouble, maybe try just doing something without it becoming absolutely insane for once?" Kayleen lightly jabs back, as she never breaks her gaze from Kollik.
"Ah, the Luminescent Blade graces us with her presence. How... illuminating." Kollik's voice, laced with a mocking tone, cuts through the tension as shadowy tendrils snake around his severed arm. With a grotesque gentleness, they manoeuvre it back into place, the shadows knitting flesh and bone with unsettling precision.
A deep unsettling shadow, twisted and unnerving, manifests around his elbow, briefly engulfing the area before dissipating, leaving his arm reconnected. The ashen, lifeless skin of his forearm pulsates a sickening black once, as function seems to return to the arm as if it's infused with an unnatural and unsettling force.
Kollik's taunt echoes through the clearing, his tone dripping with disdain. "Pathetic. What change can you possibly bring, Kayleen? You're merely a decorative blade, better suited for display than battle". Azreal, his body battered but his determination unshakable, snaps back, "Shut the fuck up Kollik, what could you fucking know of Kayleen, she's saved my life twice in under a month. You, on the other hand, betray your Sect and kill your brethren, you're the pathetic disposable blade of some fucking cult. Chosen Echo, if you're the best they have, then there truly is no reason to be afraid."
Azreal knows he will now become the target, if he can enrage Kollik, he might allow Kayleen to find an opening to attack him. He will not retreat, not while his friends' lives hang in the balance. With a growl of defiance, he readies Calista, pouring the very last drops of his Qi, activating tempest venom blade, his blade now crackling with barely restrained power.
Kayleen, her rapier at the ready, steps forward to stand beside Azreal. "Smart move, we fight together, you make an opening, I'll go for the kill" she declares, her voice ringing with resolve. "This abomination will not claim another life today."
As they prepare to engage Kollik once more, a figure emerges from the shadows at the edge of the clearing. Clad in dark robes, with a dagger glinting at his side, the newcomer exudes an aura of quiet menace. Azreal, his Celestial Gaze active, wishes the man was stronger, but is not in a position to care, any help right now is good help.
Hong Jie's aggressive glare is fixed to Kollik. Azreal, his eyes narrowing, assesses Hong Jie.
Silent Edge, friend or foe? I have to hope he is a friend.
Kollik, his reattached arm twitching with unnatural life, sneers at the growing group of disciples. "More roots begging to be ripped out" he hisses, his dark Qi swirling around him in a vortex of deep dark energy. "Do you think adding one more weakling to your ranks will make a difference?"
But Hong Jie merely smiles, a thin, cold smile that doesn't reach his eyes. "I may surprise you," he says.
"We'll take any help we can get," Azreal says, his voice strained. Hong Jie nods, before darting towards Kollik. Azreal, seeing an opportunity, charges forward, Calista crackling with venomous lighting Qi. He engages Kollik, their blades clashing in a shower of sparks and shadowy tendrils. Each strike sends shockwaves of pain through his bruised and broken body. Azreal grits his teeth and presses on, determined to create an opening for Kayleen and Hong Jie.
"Azreal! Jump back!" Xiara screams. Azreal follows the order without hesitation, jumps back narrowly avoiding a shadow spear that bursts from the floor. A quick glance of gratitude is all Azreal can spare, as he continues his assault, for if he stops, he won't be able to get back up.
Hong Jie, a dagger tightly gripped in his right hand, dives toward Kollik, striking at one of the shadow tendrils aiming to stop him. An unnerving shift occurs around his blade, the darkness of the shadow begins to dissipate as the dagger slices through it. The tendril left behind immediately withers and falls away, tracing back to Kollik, whose jovial smile fades.
A twisted sunken look of hatred replaces the once confident man's face, "Did you attempt to turn my own shadows against me?" his words manifest into a mass of shadow tendrils that spill forth from his mouth.
"You will pay for that'' Kollik screams as his head begins to tilt at unnatural angles as he moves toward Hong Jie, allowing Azreal to strike at his body. Azreal lands two powerful strikes onto Kollik's upper body, becoming dismayed as the blades do not seem to pierce his skin or cut his flesh. "What the fuck is his body made out of?" he shouts in frustration, before his eyes close as a brilliant golden light spills into his eyes.
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"Lightbringer, reveal the dawn!" Kayleen shouts, her rapier a blur of golden light, as she presses Kollik, her strikes precise and deadly. She moves with extreme speed and precision, the chaotic battle only seems to fuel her precise movement. How much real combat has she seen to be this calm in the heat of a deadly battle? Azreal questions his own abilities as he watches her.
Empowered by her Lightwalker path, Kayleen glides through the encroaching shadows, her rapier a beacon in the dark. Meanwhile, Hong Jie is not so fortunate. Kollik's wrath manifests as dark tendrils that erupt from his mouth, ensnaring and squeezing the life out of Hong Jie's struggling form. Kayleen, with extreme speed, arrives next to the mess of tendrils, the light of her blade growing brighter with each breath. She unleashes a powerful downwards strike, her Light Qi spilling into Kollik's Dark Qi, the forces in a constant struggle until Kayleen screams, ripping her blade through the maw of tendrils and freeing Hong Jie.
Kollik takes a few steps backwards as he screams in agony, managing to get himself under control a moment later before his discoloured grey skin begins to crack, shadows retreating from his form and entering the surrounding area, as if fleeing their demise.
"Argh!" Kollik screams in anger. "I can't believe you fucking ants can force me to this state, you've actually managed to hurt me, to damage my shadow, to cause my apparition to dissipate. Cultivators blessed by the heavens are truly the most vile creatures in the entire universe." His eyes fix onto Kayleen as his form begins to crumble as Kayleen's Light Qi surges through his body.
"The next time I come to the Heavenly Root Sect, my vessels will not be so weak, and I will claim my prize," Kollik's words, a mix of disdain and melancholy, an unnerving sadness spills into the small clearing, as his body begins to disintegrate. Like a million pieces of sand struck by the strong winds of a storm, his form breaks into a million pieces and each piece, despite the lack of wind, blows into the shadows and fades into darkness.
Azreal collapses to the ground, heaving for air, and looks towards Kayleen, "Kayleen, thank fuck you appeared when you did." His eyes dart between Darian's injured form, Xiara's complete exhaustion, Lilith's body still spilling blood as the Dark Qi spear vanished at the same time as Kollik, and the Yan blood paste which is splattered across a few trees and underbrush. Kayleen sheathes her rapier, moves over to Azreal, and crouches down. She makes eye contact with her mesmerising ocean blue eyes, so clear he can see his battered and bloodied reflection in their depths.
"Azreal, I am starting to believe that you love getting yourself into trouble and being saved by me, twice in under a month. I am impressed by your dedication," says Kayleen with a kind smile, "I know you're tired, but your teammates need you."
Azreal attempts to force himself to stand once again, his arms and legs too weak, and he collapses back onto all fours. "Grab my hand," Kayleen's words are soft as she extends her hand in front of his face. Nodding, he reaches out and uses her hand to help him stand. Fatigue racks his body and mind. Azreal, unstable on his feet, slowly walks his way over to Darian.
Darian, who's still slumped onto a tree, his eyes have not left Lilith's body since she was impaled with a Dark Qi spear. "Azreal, I can't believe we beat him, I was sure we would all die…" says Darian, his words trailing off, "Do you think she knows that we got revenge for her? That we managed to get him?"
Azreal's already grim expression turns just a shade darker, "I don't know Darian, I sure hope she knows. I can't believe we led her here just to die," he says, a heavy sigh escaping his lips, frustration and regret crushing him.
"H-hey, Don't kill me off just yet…" Lilith's deep yet feminine voice resounds in the clearing. Azreal raises his head, notices Darian in a state of shock. Turning his head further, Azreal joins Darian in complete shock, as the Barbarian woman stands where her body once laid, the hole on her chest a white scar tissue, which contrasts against her dark tan skin tone.
With slow, pained steps, Lilith walks over to Darian and Azreal, "Thank you, both of you. I have a physique which allows me, only a few times in my life, to survive a lethal hit and only if no more damage is sustained for five minutes post death. I have no idea how many times my body can use this, but I know it's one less now," says Lilith, her tone becoming jovial as she speaks, an attempt to raise the spirits of those who fought to give her the time to return from the brink of death.
Darian, recovering from his shock, smiles at Lilith, "Welcome back, what's it like on the other side?" he asks, following Lilith's attempt at lightening the mood.
"Darian, surely that's a bit personal, she just died and came back to life. Give her at least ten minutes," Azreal chuckles lightly as he stands, turning to face Lilith. "Glad you're not dead, Lilith, once I check on Xiara we will explain what happened once you…" says Azreal, his words fading.
"Died, you can say it Azreal, it happened, and I came back, I aim to not have that happen again," says Lilith as she waves his concern away. Azreal moves past Lilith, helps Xiara up to her feet. He notices her face is pale and her eyes have extremely dark bags under them.
"Are you okay?" he asks.
"I'll be fine, I have never had to fight for so long or so intensely before. I am usually the support, or left behind during the big battles, I need to sleep" says Xiara, as she leans heavily against Azreal, her face pale and her eyes ringed with dark circles. Azreal feels a sense of gratitude mixed with guilt as he takes in her condition.
She's pushed herself beyond her limits, to support me, to support the team. This world is fucked, Azreal lets out a heavy sigh, Am I the reason people around me suffer, or is every world that exists just a different kind of hellish prison.
"I'm too weak to walk by myself, I'll be borrowing your arm for a bit longer" Xiara's words cut through Azreal's internal spiral, before he nods with a weak smile in response.
"So what is the plan? There can't be long left for the competition, I feel like death and want to rest," Azreal asks, as Kayleen and Hong Jie make their way over to the group. In Hong Jie's hand is Yan's spatial ring, freshly cleaned of his blood, "I'll return this to Yan's family, he has a sister in the inner court of the Crimson Sword Pavilion," says Hong Jie, his voice croaky and quiet, matching his short frame and awkward posture.
"Kayleen, Hong Jie, thank you for arriving when you did. Even a moment later and none of us would be standing here right now," says Azreal.
"We've been searching for you, we ran into other disciple teams and we found out that they were targeting disciples with the highest potential. I immediately thought of you, Azreal. So when I came across Hong Jie, I asked him to help me track you, thank him we made it in time," Kayleen explains, her voice filled with concern. "When we felt the clash of Qi, we knew we weren't far from you, but we knew that we had to hurry."
Hong Jie nods solemnly, clutching Yan's spatial ring tightly. "I'm sorry we couldn't save everyone," he says quietly, his eyes unable to meet anyone else's.
Azreal, still supporting Xiara, looks around at his battered and exhausted team. "We need to get back to the Sect and report what happened here," he says, his voice heavy with fatigue and grief. "Kollik may be gone for now, but I have a feeling this isn't the last we've seen of him or the Chosen Echo."
Lilith, moving her hand resting on the scar where the dark Qi spear had pierced her, nods in agreement. "We need to warn the Sect Elders and prepare for whatever comes next," she says, her voice determined despite her near-death experience.
Kayleen, reaching into her pocket, pulls out a small talisman channelling a wisp of her golden Qi. The small green talisman illuminates with her Qi, before a concerned elderly voice speaks from the Talisman. "Kayleen! Are you okay?" says the concerned voice. Azreal had heard this voice before very recently. "Great Elder Lu!" Azreal blurts out as he matches the voice with the person in his memory.
"Azreal? Are you okay? Why are you with Kayleen?" Great Elder Lu rapid fires questions as his concern rises. "Grandfather, calm down, we are fine now. But you must bring everyone out of the competition immediately, we've been infiltrated by a cult, the Echoes of the Forsaken," Kayleen and Azreal outline that the Heavenly Root Sect has been infiltrated by an unknown cult, their only hint, their most promising refer to themselves as the Chosen Echo. She explains how the cult had done something to inner disciples and had them become vessels and sneak into the Lingxi Grove to target and eliminate the