Keilan stood, his senses primed, weapon in hand, as he waited for his assailants to act. He could sense their presence in the vicinity, multiple of them, and he could have acted first to put himself on the offensive, but there was something in this hall that was messing with his senses. He couldn't afford any mistakes.

The hit from Solaris hadn't done any damage to him, and he'd have been glad for that if it wasn't clear now that that hadn't been his intention.

Presently, he was clueless as to where exactly he was. Oh, he knew he was in a large hall, hundreds of feet in both height and length, but aside from that his senses couldn't get anything else. Whispering to the wind afforded him nothing more than what he could already see and sense.

The hall, as he'd previously said, was a large room lined with equally giant pillars that went on into the distance. There were statues positioned on the wall close by that he could see, and looking at the opposite wall brought him the same view, but aside from that he couldn't see anything else. The rest of the room was entirely shrouded in a creeping black mist, a veil that almost entirely blocked of his sight except for a hundred feet or so in radius that his sight managed to pierce.

An Essence veil.

The mere presence of the technique was the only identifier of the people he was certain were hiding in the mist: Shadow Hall.

They were the only ones known for their proficiency in this technique, a technique that was extremely hard to disperse If the rumors were true. Not that he couldn't do it, though. He'd already tested the mist and seen that with a push, he could disperse it. Why he hadn't done so yet was just that the energy payment would leave him with a sizeable chunk less than when he'd begun. And with the number of assassins in the mist unclear? No, that was a card that was best kept in his front pocket for now. He had the feeling that they already knew, and were simply waiting for him to attempt it, probably the reason they hadn't already attacked yet.

The parting of the wind was the only warning he got before thin strips of silk material snaked out of the mists, coming from multiple corners. Silently swearing, he moved, dashing toward the ones approaching from his front. If he could trace where the materials were coming from, he could follow them back to their wielders. Having chosen to follow the ones coming at him from the front, he didn't see any reason to leave the rest hanging, so he cut. Although the essence of wind was somewhat muffled here, like it was covered in a heavy blanket, its dulled presence was still enough for his present needs.

Tiny blades of wind materialized, slashing and cutting until the now split materials were reduced to nothing but patches, slowly drifting to the ground.

Instead of feeling satisfaction at eliminating the excess threats, Keilan stopped, his senses screaming at him. He positioned himself well enough just before more strips appeared, far more than the previous.

Although his eyes told him the materials were harmless, something else whispered the contrary. These things were deadly and he didn't know why. What he knew, though, was not to let any of them touch him, so he continued slashing and cutting, summoning a small blade storm to surround him while he also made use of his spear. But the strips kept coming and coming. Keilan knew that he was hard to weigh down since his element was the wind. He was known for being relentless and was proud of the distinction, but he also knew that if these things kept coming unendingly, his luck would run out sooner rather than later.

His speculation proved true a few minutes later when one of the clothes grazed the back of his palm. He hissed, jerking his hand back and dipping into a chunk of his energy to summon a larger blade storm; and in a blink, he tore through everything in an instant.

Immediately he did that, the attack stopped, and Keilan looked down to take in his injury, except when he checked, he could only see an unblemished skin, nothing more.

A frown crossed his face as he ran through his memory, sure that one of those things had touched him. He'd felt the stab of pain, and was still feeling the dulled echo of it, so he was pretty certain it hadn't been a trick of the eyes. Checking the rest of his body yielded the same results: no injury. Tiredness? Sure, but he hadn't suffered any physical injury.

Wait, tiredness? Why should I already be feeling tired? This attack, although intense, hasn't gone on for more than half an hour.

The realization hit him like a brick, forcing his head down to look at the strips of clothes scattered around. These things were too fragile to do any kind of physical injury to him, but that wasn't what they were built for, now were they?

Looking deeper within himself found him the result he was searching for. His mind was being drained. These clothes, although unable to inflict physical damage, could certainly inflict mental ones. A single one could probably inflict only a minuscule amount of damage, nothing enough to bring him down. But as he looked down at the hundreds of strips littered in a circle around him, he couldn't help the shiver that ran through his spine. These things would leave him as a mindless shell if they continued on like this.

The fear that had been contained in the back of his mind slowly began bubbling up, filling him with terrible images of his future should more of these things get to him.

Keilan looked up, straining his senses to the limit and gathering the blade storm closer to his body. His eyes began a frantic search through his surroundings, desperate to catch any of those things before they could get to him.

A sigh swept through the room, coming from a destination he found hard to place. "Ahhh... So much for an easy takedown." Keilan turned sharply as someone appeared behind him.

A young-looking woman with dripping-length raven black hair and dim glowing purple eyes. She was putting on a purple-black robe with the raven-in-flight insignia of The Shadow Hall. Aside from the fact that she wasn't shrouding her face with her cloak, an oddity, the only other thing that caught his attention was the purple amethyst hanging on her brows. A closer look told him that those crystals weren't held up by anything. They were melded into her skull.

Keilan wanted to sag in resignation, but he held himself still. How could his luck be so rotten as to let him run into a Mind Essence Wielder? He definitely hadn't prepared for this. Their types were always a pain to deal with. Their weak physical attributes should have made it easier to deal with them, but nooo, that was a trick Keilan wasn't going to fall for again.

His previous encounter had seen him swinging his spear furiously at an empty space while the Wielder stood just behind him, laughing. If Damien hadn't been quick to his rescue, putting them on the advantage since the wielder couldn't manipulate two minds at once, Keilan didn't know what would have happened to him, but it certainly wouldn't have been good.

Their kind was the type to come up with a devious technique capable of bringing down far more physically powerful people than them. Though a person with a stronger will could last long, it was almost certain they'd eventually fall.

Anyone wise knew enough not to go toe to toe with a mind wielder in a battle of endurance.

Another figure stepped out from his left. A female. She looked exactly like the first person. A twin? "He's a cute one," she said, eyeing him with such longing expression that it made Keilan more worried than happy. "Veeeery cute."

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A huge lump of saliva went down his throat. One mind wielder, he could handle. But two? His survivability rating had just gone down drastically. Against these two, he'd be lucky if he came out with his mind entirely intact.

"I agree, sister. I would have loved to twist legs with him a little if it weren't for the mission." A third figure then cat-walked into the open. And Keilan knew he was dead.

The three entirely looked the same, with nothing different in their dressing and expression. Their mannerism, though, was different.

One rolled her eyes at the comment of the third, an uncaring expression on her face as she took him in. The other eyed him like she would have preferred his clothes to be anywhere else but on him. And although the second was more subtle, the third outright looked at him lecherously, her intent plain for all to see.

Now at least one thing was certain: Keilan now knew he definitely wasn't going to last ten minutes.

"How much did he pay you?" Keilan asked. He knew he didn't have enough bad blood with anyone to warrant this much. Three hands? This was a fortune that would leave entire kingdoms bankrupt simply just to hire. Thankfully, he had accumulated enough wealth over the years to compete with all but the most powerful of Kingdoms. His entire wealth In exotic monster parts should be enough.

"Oh, he wants to buy his life," the first figure said, now sashaying to his right. "He's scared," the second followed up, taking a similar step to his right. "Are you scared, pretty thing?" The third smirked, also moving. Keilan was too scared to be angry about being called a thing.

The three moved, sashaying in a manner that could only provocative toward those whose lives weren't about to end, until they met in his right, standing together three abreast.

"What do you want? I'm sure I can afford to pay far more than Solaris paid you." He couldn't.

All three looked at him for a moment before one spoke. "A contract has been placed on the one known as Damien." Another one picked up from there. "You are the closest person to him, the metaphorical chink in his armor." She ended, leaving the third to follow up. "You are going to pave the way into his heart for our dagger to pierce." They spoke in a coordinating manner that left him all the more scared, like they could see into each other's minds.

In his mind, Keilan couldn't help but grumble. Why couldn't they just simply assassinate him for him? Why did he have to be used as a pawn for his brother's downfall? Outwardly, he said. "Why me? Solaris is surely capable of beating him, I'm sure he doesn't need me for that."

It sounded less worrying when they said he was only required to bring down Damien, like he wouldn't be killed but simply subdued, but Keilan knew the true undertone to their deceptive assurance. Sure, he would be required, but they didn't necessarily need the real him now, did they? A mindless husk, controlled from afar, could essentially act as him, thereby deceiving his brother. Though, that was if his brother was too dumb to recognize the true him.

"Although you are not required for the death of the target, our employer, Emperor Solaris, wants the target to suffer dearly. What better way than to use his brother, the only person that he loves, to kill him."

Another of the triplets sighed. "It would have been so romantic had you not been brothers." She looked at him hopefully. "Any chance you could make it romantic?"

"No." Keilan flatly replied.

Eerily, the three cocked their heads to the right, speaking at the same time. "Confident now, are you? Let's see how long you last."

With that, the talk was over. Keilan met them in a storm of flashing clothes and spear-swinging. He froze the atmosphere, halting the movement of the clothes and their Wielders; he then moved, intent on taking advantage of this brief lapse. However, that was squashed when he was slammed with a mental attack that left him staggering, which forced him to release his grip over the wind. Going back to square one, this time Keilan stuck to the simple wind techniques, small gusts of winds accompanied by tiny blades.

They continued like this for some time as Keilan slowly made his way toward them, keeping a cautious attention on the clothes flashing at him. His passage was almost halted when most of the strips suddenly turned into a wall between him and the triplets, he had to increase the proximity of his wind blades to shred through the cloth wall. During this time, he felt his mind weakening as he was continuously grazed by those mental weapons.

He swung his spear, wind blades echoing the attack, and tore through a hundred strips at once, though his steady features were soon turning frustrated as he made no progress while the triplets continued to slowly whittle him down.

It didn't take long for his mind to finally lag, growing so weak it was a struggle to even hold up his techniques. Desperation overcame him as his limbs began shaking, unable to even hold him up. And a few minutes after that, he was entirely brought down.

Keilan knelt, too exhausted to stand. He watched as the three slowly strutted towards him, surprise on their faces.

"He lasted longer than the last. Impressive." He couldn't see the one who spoke as his vision had already begun to blur.

"Fifteen minutes... A new record."

"That is five more minutes longer than our last contract, even with all the preparations made."

"We should keep him. Fifteen minutes is a treasure that could help us further our technique." They quieted at that, seemingly thinking it out.

"We could," one began. "But that would be going against our agreement. I don't know about you two, but I do not want to go against the Solarian Emperor."

A sigh. "Ahh, such a pity. I would love to have him, at least if not for practice, to sate my burning desires. But alas, not all wishes can be granted."

"Let's get this over with before I change my mind. Look him, even in this bloody mess, he's still cute."

"What a pity. Such exquisite specimen."

Immediately, Keilan felt an attack slam into the core part of his mind. The part holding his identity, his memories, everything that made him him. If this continued, Keilan would be nothing but a husk of himself in a matter of seconds. He could feel the mental ward he put up slowly been torn apart, which put him in a world of unimaginable pain.

Somebody was screaming, a loud piercing cry that managed to tear through the sea of agony in his mind. He didn't know who it was, and neither did he care, all he wanted was for the pain to go away, for his mind to be free. And in that moment, that desperate moment when he sought for something, something to rescue him from the pain, his mind fell...

... And slipped into something.

Something vast and incomprehensible.

Melded into it.

In a blink of an eye, Keilan's mind exploded, the tiny mental shield protecting it shattering as his mind sought to expand. And expand it did.

In an instant Keilan lost himself, lost himself into it, and it into him.

His mind engulfed the entire world in an instant. Brief glimpses of continents, oceans, nations, battles, people. They came and went in a blur.

He caught glimpses of a man, grey in both hair and eyes, his expression impassive as he hovered over somewhere.

He also caught glimpses of a city, a large battle was being fought inside and outside as vast hosts of legions fought against each other, their powers shaking the world in its fury, while tiny crimson lines ran through the battlefield, through the atmosphere, invisible yet clear to the vastness of his mind.

And despite all that, the battle, the war, seemed tiny and insignificant in comparison to his vastness.

And as quick as the feeling came, everything returned back to normal, his senses snapping back into his body.

To the people who wanted to shackle him.

He felt indignation at that. Fury. They dared to try shackling him. They dared to attempt caging him. Him. Him, whose existence was primal.

He would not be shackled. Never.

And in that briefest moment, a word came unbidden, taken from somewhere distant yet close by, unfamiliar yet familiar.

--------------- Wind Arts : Rage ---------------

And then the world was torn asunder.

----------------------------------------

Keilan would have been elated at the instant terror that overcame his assailants, but he too was also terrified.

A deep, rumbling howl echoed through the entire room, like the cry of a monstrous monster.

And then everything went to shit.

The mist that had proven difficult to dispell were washed away as a raging calamitic wind swept through the entire room. The three assassins were the first to be picked off as they had been standing close to the center of it all : Keilan.

Like a breaking glass, something seemed to shatter, and the hall exploded, bursting like an overripe melon as the wind became too much for it to handle. The ceiling was picked up and flung away like a weightless material, and the walls were torn into like knife through butter.

Reality seemed to tremble as the raging wind swept outwards, instantly encompassing what Keilan now realized was the ruins of a vast city. Buildings were reduced to dust, stone and metal alike.

To Keilan, the whole destruction seemed to have gone on for a long time, but he knew that truly, only a minute had gone by.

And when the uproar settled, the first thing that caught his eyes were the bodies of the triplets, chopped into tiny chunks as they flopped onto the ground, impacting it with an audible thump.

Keilan smiled through blood drenched lips, his eyes and ears equally bleeding profusely.

With a crimson clouded vision and a triumphant smile, he thumped onto the ground.