Kai watched the circling Azurewing, the sun glimmering off her scales as she sliced through the air. Up here, the world was simple - a vast blue room with a carpet of towering white clouds rolling below them. A stiff autumn headwind tossed him about as he glanced back toward Arcadia. More hawk riders, their armor shimmering in silver and blue, broke through the cloud cover, joining the fray.

The darker blue Azurewing had pulled back after his first volley. He hadn’t expected that. The purple-robed guardians had commanded the hawk riders to delay him. Bright flashes of blue and white brought new guardians onto Azurewing to replace the ones he’d killed.

I killed. The thought rattled around in Kai’s head without a clear place to settle. These were the same men who participated in the suppression and abuse of half their family and deceived and captured him. Yet, he felt something. Was it guilt? There wasn’t time to dwell on it.

They can bring in reinforcements.

Kai reached out and caught a spear approaching him. The sound of his hand closing around the shaft – a low clunk – forced him to look down and inspect it. The spear's shaft was solid metal, like a javelin, and was creased and dented where his hand closed around it.

With a thought, he summoned some white motes. They formed a cloud of white and wings that encircled the spear before returning to his core in a stream of white light. Kai tossed the spear back, but it wobbled in flight – unbalanced – and vanished into the clouds below.

“You fool,” Azurewing growled from behind the circle of riders. “Nothing can be done for you; your fate is sealed.” A glint of sunlight off her blue scales was Kai’s only warning. As the mighty serpent dove toward him, he had a second to brace for impact.

A sudden, powerful force yanked Kai sideways. His robes, almost alive, whisked him away from the imminent threat. The abrupt acceleration was a jolt to his senses, bringing back the space jump trials he'd barely passed as a young cadet.

As the adrenaline began to subside, he laughed – a laugh of relief, tinged with disbelief. His gaze drifted back to the source of his impromptu flight. His robes, their wings vibrating with an urgent hum, had saved him. A broad grin spread across his face. "Wow," he marveled, a new respect for his garment settling in. "This... I could get used to."

“Heavenly Binding!”

Kai twisted around, tracing the source of the shouting. A vivid blue energy rope, ethereal yet solid, spiraled around him, cinching him immobile. The glowing leash, throbbing with power, extended from him, a tether anchored to a distinct figure.

The figure was an aged guardian. His face was a map of past battles, a deep scar running like a jagged river across it. He straddled atop the giant serpent's back, his boots wedged firmly between two towering scales for balance.

In the nook between these two scales was the source of this ethereal tether - a device of some kind, pulsating in rhythm with the azure line. As Kai followed the luminous cord upwards, it twisted like a vibrant snake, coiling around the guardian's weathered hands, knuckles white as he gripped it fiercely.

A reflexive response sent his robes into a frenzied flutter. They lunged away, thrashing against the azure bond that ensnared them.

Sensing the tension on the line, the scarred cultivator broke into a carnivorous grin. He sauntered back, each step a visible effort against the taut energy. Leaning backward on the far side of the serpent for leverage, he hauled on the rope, the spectral blue line bowing under his exertions, his smile etched with wicked delight.

Meanwhile, Azurewing orbited steadily, her long, lithe body weaving an encompassing barrier of glinting blues. She moved like a slow spinning top, a cyclone that imprisoned Kai in its heart.

Kai gritted his teeth, muttering a frustrated, "Not this way." He sought to wrest control, nudging a mental command towards the robes, visualizing their path towards the scarred cultivator.

But the robe was a wild animal, resisting his will, desperate for freedom. It bucked against his commands, pulling in an opposing direction. An unseen tug-of-war ensued, the air heavy with tension as they vied for control under Azurewing's chilling gaze.

“Heavenly Binding!” Another cultivator yelled out. Kai felt a second binding fall over him, tightening further. This one came from the opposite side. Now he was being pulled in multiple directions.

“A little help here,” he sent to Relay. He started sending the energy from the binding to his soul realm, loosening them immediately.

Four more cultivators found their stations along the expanse of Azurewing, distributing themselves evenly. Kai watched as one of them detached a pale-gold object, a shim of sorts, from his belt. With a sense of purpose, the man stooped low to slot the shim into the narrow gap between two of Azurewing’s iridescent scales.

Swiftly standing upright, he drove his heel into the shim, embedding it with a forceful kick. A sharp 'snick' sound reverberated across the whipping winds, a telltale signal of the shim settling securely in place.

The guardian then stooped once more, fingers dancing upon the implanted device. His action elicited a response as a flowing stream of energy, as blue as the sky itself, spiraled upwards. He shouted, his voice echoing off Azurewing's scales, "Heavenly Binding!" Following a series of intricate hand seals, another ring of bright azure energy looped around Kai, tightening like a vice.

In a desperate attempt for liberation, Kai urged his wings to thrust them upward, aiming for the freedom of the boundless sky above. Anchored firmly into the leviathan body of Azurewing, the tethers were unyielding, forged from the beast's undiluted vitality. His wings strained against the constraints, their mighty efforts proving futile against the sturdy bonds.

“Heavenly Binding!” ”Heavenly Binding!” A fourth and fifth line encircled him.

Confusion seeped into Relay's voice as he materialized beside one of the guardians. "Why are they saying that?" His question, innocently laced with curiosity, drew the man's eyes. Startled, the guardian attempted to sidestep but found his movements restricted by Kai's efforts. Relay's gaze settled onto the pale gold wedge. Tentatively, he nipped at it, only to jerk back with a yelp as if scorched.

"Got no clue," Kai responded gruffly to Relay's inquiry, his voice heavy with irritation. "Some ritualistic phrase for their spell, maybe?" To him, announcing an attack before launching it seemed ridiculous. But the mechanisms of their mystical arts were a mystery to him.

The pressure from the blue energy binding him continued rising, so Kai infused his body with white energy to enable him to shift more and more to his soul realm. That immediately decreased the strength of the bonds, but energy continued to pour along the lines.

“Heavenly Binding!” a rough voice yelled out, the cultivator having finally arrived at the furthest point of the serpent's circle. As before, he wedged his shim between the beast's scales with a ‘snick’ and began to siphon energy.

More of his wings were bound, further removing his mobility. Still, he siphoned the energy away, freeing his wings enough to slide out from under the bindings.

"This energy, it stings," communicated Relay, promptly forsaking his earlier attempts at gnawing the metallic tethers. Instead, he shifted his attention to the cultivators themselves. Kai watched as Relay clamped his teeth onto the thigh of one guardian before they both abruptly disappeared in a blink.

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Soon after, the dwindling echo of a man's terrified scream reached Kai from afar, signaling that Relay had successfully dealt with him. The scream grew fainter and a satisfied grin spread across Kai's face.

The recurring 'snick' sound pricked Kai's senses – a chilling reminder of his predicament. The ominous chant of "Heavenly Binding!" filled the air around him like a curse, as more azure tethers tightened their hold.

His mind raced, reaching out for his blood spear through his unique skill. But his attempts were met with emptiness. The weapon was beyond his grasp, lost somewhere out of reach. He tried to conjure another one, focusing his will on his body, yet there was no response.

"What?" Kai muttered under his breath, a cold realization dawning upon him. "This form... it doesn't have blood?" The thought was baffling, disconcerting. His body was fundamentally different in this form, not even possessing white blood. And the golden energy that he often used to enhance his capabilities and perceptions didn’t work with this body either. His frustration grew as he grappled with this newfound limitation.

Another flash and a cultivator vanished, that tether falling slack. Kai's annoyance surged. This form felt incompatible with many of his best abilities. The shout of "Heavenly Binding!" echoed again, amplifying his helplessness.

Before long, Kai found himself ensnared at the heart of Azurewing's deadly coil. A dozen energy strands cinched around him, their grip growing tighter with each passing moment as the great serpent circled ominously. The situation looked increasingly dire, the world outside his bindings spiraling away in an azure blur.

He siphoned as much energy from the lines, but his best efforts only countered the tightening effects and couldn’t free him. Bound as he was, he couldn’t defend himself against the swooping hawk riders that circled from above and dove to loose arrows and spears at him.

His wings whipped up a tempest of defense, successfully thwarting many of the incoming spears. But two managed to breach the protective whirlwind, lunging towards his skin. To his surprise, the projectiles merely bounced off his form, rendering themselves completely harmless. Kai seized the moment to tap into his abilities, trying to siphon off the azure energy that bound him, which proved somewhat successful.

During this fleeting moment of calm, he turned his attention to the guardians of Azurewing. What immediately captured his attention was their synchrony, the systematic precision in their movements. It was as though they moved as one, their actions seamlessly interwoven. Their cooperative tactics and the ease with which they harnessed Azurewing's transcendent energy revealed a wealth of practiced maneuvers. This level of teamwork and adaption of Azurewing's power wasn't a sudden formation; it bespoke rigorous training and a deep understanding of the sky serpent’s body.

Kai had wondered about the effectiveness of a lower-tier cultivator within the shell of a transcendent spirit beast. Without the beast's inherent skills or vast wellspring of energy, they would possess an indestructible body but, internally, would be weak. Despite this apparent strength, she wasn't launching an attack. Could they have figured out his abilities and intentionally kept her at bay?

The thought sent a chilling wave through him. If they had indeed decoded his unique ability to banish foes to far-off places and swiftly contrived a countermove, the Lou family were not just formidable opponents; they were much smarter than he gave them credit for.

He had always considered himself a few steps ahead, but this was a game-changer. This was how she had triumphed over countless cultivators throughout the years. Not through individual effort, but with a skilled squad harnessing her energy.

They weren't mere pawns but strategic masterminds using the transcendent beast's full potential. It was a harsh awakening for Kai, a disconcerting recognition of the enemy's cunning intellect that was both terrifying and humbling in equal measures.

Kai sent his formidable spiritual presence out to pressure the cultivators - he watched them shift under pressure. He redoubled his efforts, even targeting Azurewing, who had a lower cultivation but saw nothing for his actions. That confirms it. They knew I could do that, so they prepared some kind of countermeasure.

“I must thank you, soulforger,” The grizzled, scarred cultivator yelled over. He held one of the blue-binding energy streams that was holding him fast. “Without some real challenge every century, our young cultivators can’t get properly seasoned.”

Kai called forth his motes, crafting a spear from his soul steel. However, the manifestation was different from what he envisioned. Like his robes, the motes tried to mimic the original but added an unconventional twist. The result resembled a long needle, sprouting wings on its sides, featuring a central eye at its thickest point before it tapered off again. The rotating needle, almost as tall as him, assessed the scene, studying the encircling cultivators. Yet, it was noticeably bent and misshapen, a deviation from the spear he'd envisaged.

'No, straight - flawless. Not curved,' he insisted, transmitting a clear image of an impeccably straight spear. He observed as the motes realigned themselves, correcting their shape.

Targeting one of the cultivators, Kai guided the winged spear toward him. The spear found its mark with impressive speed, taking the cultivator by surprise. It punctured his shoulder, its wings folding inward as it sliced through him. Emerging on the other side, it was an effective strike. Still, he hoped to retain manual control over the spear, given its soul steel origin – being unable to do so left him disappointed.

“Shields!” The grizzled leader called out. A second golden wedge joined the first – a new tether used for another technique. All over the spine of Azurewing, the sound of ‘snicks’ preceded the flickering of curved energy shields before each guardian.

Yeah, they have definitely done this before.

Kai summoned five more winged needles and sent them toward the shielded cultivators. The quick flying projectiles cracked and splintered the blue energy, shock spreading on the face of the cultivators behind them. He heard the murmurs of ‘impossible’ and ‘it can’t be’ from around him and watched the surprise of the scarred leader as his shield splintered – before the man regained his calm as the cracks sealed back.

They clearly didn’t expect me to be able to damage them. Kai watched Relay bounce off the energy shield, unable to penetrate it. The golden ferrox didn’t slow and instead began tearing at the serpent's scales, trying to dislodge one of the wedges. The cultivator shoved forward with his shield moving Relay away.

Suspended from azure cables, Kai focused inward to monitor his energy levels. The first thing he noticed was it wasn’t his white core he drew the energy from to create the spears. He pulled the power from his primordial core when he summoned his motes. This heart core seemed to convert directly into pure white energy. That was good news; his primordial heart held more power than all his other cores combined.

Meanwhile, the skirmish between Relay and the shield-wielding guardian intensified. The guardian utilized his shield offensively, pinning Relay against Azurewing's sturdy form. A pained yelp escaped the golden ferrox as the shield bit into his flesh.

Enough of this.

Kai conjured a squadron of winged needles and dispatched them against the guardian attacking Relay. They swooped in a choreographed pattern, resembling migrating geese - one at the front and dual flanks on either side. Gaining momentum, they honed in on the guardian, their velocity rapidly escalating. He swung his shield defensively but to no avail. The leading pair of needles ricocheted off the shield, fracturing its smooth surface. The third one broke through the weakened shield, and the subsequent needles pierced the guardian and serpent beneath him.

The guardian's body slid grotesquely along the embedded needles, his technique dissipating from his grasp. It was a macabre sight – nine needles penetrated his neck, torso, and skull. The wings of the needles vibrated, their humming resonating as they methodically extracted themselves from the body, slicing themselves free. Blood-streaked yet free, they wrestled themselves from Azurewing's solid body and returned to their aerial formation.

"Divine spears," barked the voice of the scarred cultivator, a voice Kai knew all too well. Then, more light flashes exploded around Azurewing's massive form. New guardians blinked into existence on the dragon's back. One dropped to affix a glowing tether and then vaulted onto one of the blue lines trapping Kai. The guardian ran full tilt towards Kai, a menacing spear formed of blue light materializing in his hands.

Bound as he was, Kai was helpless as the weathered guardians raced down the line ruthlessly. All around, seven others followed suit. Kai sent his cloud of needles to counter-attack, but the guardians moved like lightning.

His sky needles, too far away, were losing the race.