Chiron shot forward, yet he was not running, but hovering above the ground. The azure mana surrounded his feet and tailed wherever he went. If someone had been there to watch they could have seen the insane speed and grace of the monk, charging at the man before him, who smirked and stretched out his hands towards Chiron.
The crimson energy condensed into a bright orb, emitting an eerie light that fell onto the white walls of the surrounding buildings. A high-pitched squeal resounded before the orb suddenly let out a lightning-fast beam of light toward Chiron.
With ear-shattering noise, the red beam shot forward like a red tide of blood. The moment Chiron registered the energy gathering in front of the Venerable Chiron had already made preparations to dodge. His senses were his strength after all.
‘If he sends this energy my way… I will dodge to the right before attacking him…’
But Chiron could not anticipate the crazy speed of the attack. When it was ultimately launched he had only a fraction of a moment to react and the bitter training from all his years as an ascetic paid off.
The mana in his body shot to his left arm and burst out right through his palm, shooting him right into the ground to their right. It was too much power. His body slammed onto the ground before bumping up and flying into a wall.
‘WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!?’ Chiron cried out in his mind while hurrying back to his feet.
His left hand was in a bad shape. The venerable just stood in place, looking at Chiron with crossed arms. Yet the cocky look on his face had been replaced with a frown. The red eyes looked at Chiron, who was utterly confused.
The Venerable finally opened his mouth to speak.
“How did you do that?” contempt laced his voice, but Chiron could sense an underlying fear. The Venerable feared what he had just done.
Chiron looked at his left hand, then back at the Venerable. He held out his left hand and motioned a backlash.
“That?” he asked and smiled softly at the man before him, who hissed.
“You are a weird one.” He sighed before suddenly exploding with rage.
“OF COURSE THAT! HOW DID YOU USE A SPELL AT STAGE 1????” he screeched loud enough to raise the dead before shooting right at Chiron. He immediately noticed, that the red energy from before the blast was gone now.
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The monk smiled to himself.
‘He’s one to talk… he just shot a beam of that energy that would have obliterated me… I don’t think he’s able to use it twice in a row… but I cannot slack. I must use…’
Chiron gripped a medallion that hung on his neck. It was a wheel with 5 spokes. It was made of beautiful sandalwood and hung on a leather band. Tightening his grip he crushed the wooden emblem.
‘Master, I am sorry for using your gift, but this evil needs to be cleansed.’ Chiron thought as with a bang the wheel shattered.
The earth began to shake and brown-golden mana began to leak out of it, gathering within Chiron’s body.
For years Chiron had been stuck. After cleansing all of his impurities his mana attuned itself to the wind. His movements became fluid, and fast, and he could levitate. Yet he had been stuck for about a decade. Nobody in the order knew an answer to this problem. Most monks remained at this level of strength all their lives.
‘Only Master Arkan has ever surpassed this level of strength… he gifted me this medallion when I achieved Anatta… he said if I ever found myself faced with death I should crush it.’ Chiron's heart beat wildly.
The Venerable stopped in his tracks, taken aback by the energy on the ground. His facial expression turned from vicious to panicked.
“W-What???? PEAK STAGE 2???” he gasped at the energy and then saw it converging on Chiron.
“WHO ARE YOU??? ARE YOU ONE OF BAI FENG’S SPIES?” he sounded desperate and began to stagger backward.
Chiron, on the other hand, felt the energy flow through him and enter his body. A thin layer of earthen mana covered his skin, glowing in a golden brown. His mana core, usually filled with his azura mana was now invaded by the foreign energy, that mixed with it, greatly increasing the mana amount within Chiron’s Mana Pathways.
‘I… I feel so full…’ Chiron began to walk forward, towards the Venerable, but the mana within his Pathways only increased with no signs of stopping. Chiron disregarded it and focused on the Venerable.
‘He… has to die!’ Chiron thought, before shooting forward at the fiend, whose eyes turned round.
“NO! NOT ANOTHER CLONE!” the Venerable shouted before Chiron raised his right leg for a devastating kick.
Chiron put all of his focus and mental energy into this movement. The strength within his body had peaked after crushing the emblem and his mana was about to overflow.
‘HIIIIAAAAAA!’ Chiron cried out as he used all the power he had left to smash his right foot into the Venerable’s body. The mana within Chiron’s body could not be contained any longer and burst through his pathways, entering his blood, and mixing with it. He immediately felt his entire body reach a whole different realm.
The earthen mana was not mixed with his anymore, but rushed out of his pathways and into his blood at high speed as if a dam had been broken, giving him strength multiple times greater than before.
In a beautiful azure arc, his kick landed on the Venerable’s side. The moment of impact was something the city of Antioch had never seen before.
From a point in the harbor, a gigantic sphere of translucent, golden light spread out to cover the entire city in its glow, lighting it up in broad daylight. There was no way anybody could remain asleep. Yet at the same time, there was no more sound to be heard. Nothing.
This lasted for a mere moment, but it was to mark the beginning of a new age for Antioch.