"That one was pathetic, again."

Huang Ying's voice sounded out next to the pond, the roar of raging fire accompanying his words as he took half a step back. The lash of flames that Ying Feixu tried to blind him with passed right by his face, a gentle gust of wind diverting the heat away.

He slid his left leg forward and twisted his body slightly, the crystalline spear that burst out from the ground just barely missing him. He slid his leg back and smashed his heel into the spear and shattered it, a slight move of his fingers dispersing the sharp fragments.

"Slow. Again, and put some heart into it this time, otherwise, I'll retaliate."

Huang Ying's voice was soft, to the point that you wouldn't think that he had just dodged a handful of attacks that aimed at his life. But there was no mercy or care in his tone, it was more akin to boredom, an objective appraisal and warning.

Ying Feixu clutched her twin daggers and silently grit her teeth, pushing forward to close the slight distance that separated them. Lightning crackled out from her eyes and shot straight for Huang Ying's head, the earth beneath his feet freezing as a slippery layer of ice grew to cover it.

Her daggers lashed out to take advantage of the opening he would create when he tried to dodge either of the attacks, but Huang Ying never broke eye contact. His head tilted slightly, the crackling arcs of lightning searing his skin as they slid past his temple and into the distance. He didn't bother with the ice beneath him, nor the daggers rapidly approaching him, he simply maintained eye contact.

Ying Feixu's daggers landed on his body, one on his left shoulder and the other on his right waist, both twitching almost unnoticeably just before they hit him. But there was a thin layer of wind constantly rolling across his body, hooking the daggers and dragging them away. But the defence was weaker than the attack so it wasn't able to negate all the force, resulting in the two daggers slicing open his skin and eventually sinking into his flesh, one entering his chest while the other embedded itself in his thigh.

"You hesitated again."

The sound of bones snapping accompanied Huang Ying's remark. He had reached down and grabbed hold of Ying Feixu's wrist, twisting it until both her wrist and elbow became unable to bear the strain. A muffled grunt of pain escaped her clenched teeth, but it was just another thing that Huang Ying ignored as he let go of her arm.

"Life is short, Ying Feixu. It's the shortest thing you'll ever experience, blink and it's over. There's no time for hesitation, there's no time for second-guessing or worrying. Act."

She took a quick step back, trying to once again reclaim the distance she had just closed. But Huang Ying simply stepped forward and followed her, earthen spikes jutting out from his soles so that the ice couldn't hinder his movements.

"Don't trust the kindness of the world. Don't trust the benevolence of the gods. Don't trust the peace of life. Trust only yourself. The thought that moves your arms, the will that raises your legs, the determination that raises your head. If you don't even trust that then you have nothing."

His arm shot the moment he entered Ying Feixu's range. Her daggers had hesitated just before they stabbed him, her every attack had been delayed a beat just when they were about to reach him. But there was no hesitation in his arm, the beat of his attack was a smooth and continuous crescendo.

And then his attack struck home. He used his hand like a spear and rammed it into Ying Feixu's abdomen, twisting his wrist slightly to bury his hand inside her abdomen. Just a handful of moments ago she had been the one with her hand inside the stomach of an unfortunate fool, but now it was her turn to have someone's hand rummage around her insides.

She hurriedly pulled back, her internal bleeding reaching her throat and forcing her to spit up some blood as Huang Ying's hand left her abdomen. She swung out her still good arm to stop Huang Ying from chasing her, fire and lightning flickering into existence in front of her and washing over him like a tidal wave.

But there was no rest for her. Just like Huang Ying had warned her, he would retaliate if she didn't put any heart into her attacks. The wave of scorching elements split open and Huang Ying stepped through it, parts of his skin blackened and cracked since he hadn't made a move to dodge. Ying Feixu's pace was stilted thanks to the hole in her abdomen so he was able to enter her range again without any problem, his arm rising to grab hold of the arm that was still slashing out with the dagger.

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"You know, I really liked your eyes."

Once again, the sound of snapping bones accompanied Huang Ying's voice. He was more thorough this time, more violent. Wrist, forearm, elbow, upper arm, shoulder. They were all shattered in quick succession, her mangled arm slumping down lifelessly and her dagger falling to the ground. But while his hand was mangling her arm, his leg shot forward and planted a kick directly on the hole in her abdomen.

Her feet lost contact with the ground and she flew back, more blood pooling in her throat as her organs were jolted. Her back smashed into a tree, she had apparently moved closer and closer to the surrounding forest without even noticing it. Her arms were ruined and there was a gaping hole in her stomach so she slid down to the ground, her back against the tree as a disgusting sensation of helplessness washed over her. And then his shadow fell over her, Huang Ying stopping in front of her and looking down, once again establishing eye contact.

"They were beautiful. When you peered out from that broken egg of yours, like two bloody moons resting in the night sky. You looked straight at me, you rejected the rest of the world and looked at only me. And at that moment, I loved your eyes. There was no impurity, no hesitation, only determination. You wanted to kill me, you were going to kill me no matter what it took. And your eyes showed the truth of that belief, that desire. You believed it more than anything, trusted it more than anything. And so you acted. Your arms moved, your legs raised, and your head rose. All for that trust you had in yourself, the belief that you'd kill me if you moved."

Perhaps it was to be expected from a beast that hadn't technically been truly born yet, but she had been purer than anything he had ever seen. He wondered. When he gave up on living on his knees and decided to at least die on his feet, fighting, had his eyes been as pure as that?

"You made a choice back then, Ying Feixu. And you made that same choice again when you asked me to train you, to help you kill me. Your trust was still sharp back then, your belief solid. Tell me, has the pleasure and transcience of life dulled that trust, rocked that belief? How is it now? Tell me, Ying Feixu. Are. You. Afraid?"

She had the guts to ask him to his face, after he had beaten her, to train her so that she could kill him. And he obliged her, he taught her what he could and sharpened her skill, sharpened the blade she would place against his neck. That was the respect he had for her determination, the trust she had in her own belief and skills. But now she was different. Weaker. She had lost something she had in their previous battles. Some called it recklessness, he called it faith, determination.

Ying Feixu's head was tilted upwards, that was the only way she could lock eyes with him. Crimson met pure black, that eternal darkness threatening to swallow her. Looking at those eyes, she hesitated. They were pure in their darkness, there was nothing to contaminate that vast emptiness. She felt sick to her stomach as she looked at them.

Why? Because they were comforting. The purity, the unshakeable determination and belief held in them. The trust that he could take any attack and survive to launch a counter-attack, the faith that his attack would be the fatal one and not vice-versa. It was disgusting how comforted she felt by the fact his eyes were still the same as when she had looked at him from within her egg.

But why was it disgusting? Was it because she failed to maintain the same purity? Was it because they were a reminder of what she once was, what she was supposed to still be? Or was it because the current her could no longer stand that selfish gaze that only trusted itself? There were thousands of possible reasons and not a single one she could put her finger on and claim to be the one. Huang Ying's arm slowly stretched out as the two locked eyes, his wrist held not too far away from her face.

"For the third time, you stand at the crossroad. Make your choice."

A gentle breeze moved through the area, a cut appearing on Huang Ying's wrist, blood dripping down in front of Ying Feixu. His body was special, it had been recreated by the law of devouring. He was an exquisite tonic for Demonic beasts, they could gain a great deal of energy just by eating parts of him. In a situation like this, where there was only a single corpse around, this was the best way for Ying Feixu to heal the wounds he had inflicted upon her.

This was the crossroad that Ying Feixu stood at once more. She could reject that outstretched harm. He would take it back and do one of two things, leave her here alone and cut all relations with her, or he could kill her. Or she could accept the arm, the blood. She would make the same choice for the third time and stand up, she would follow at his side and learn from him so that she could eventually take his head with her blade.

Ying Feixu looked at the blood that fell to the ground, her gaze rising and falling with the drops. And eventually, her gaze returned to those dark eyes, that pure gaze that awaited her choice, those self-trusting eyes. And again she felt sickened by them, a festering sensation in her stomach. She thought back to that day she fell to the ground and saw those eyes for the first time, how little they had changed with time. And the festering sensation only grew worse, like a rotting wound.

She couldn't stand those eyes, that gaze. She wanted to ruin that purity, to taint their clearness and stain that endless expanse of darkness. She just wasn't sure exactly what sort of form she wanted the stain to take. But that wasn't important right now. No, what mattered was that she wanted to ruin those eyes. No, she was going to ruin those eyes, perhaps not now, but eventually, be it when she took his head or while he still lived. That was her belief. So she struggled to her feet, doing what she could with her mangled arms. And then she sank her teeth into Huang Ying's wrist and indulged on the warm blood that flowed within.