Zyne’s aura rose as an icy cloud of aurae exuded from the pores of his skin, wrapping his body in a protective layer. That layer then swirled, reforming to create a magical flowing formation that augmented his body with unique capabilities.
As for the specifics of how the aurae flowed within this layer to augment Zyne’s body? This was not something that Rein could discern. Every single advancer art has its own unique flow of energy, which needs to be shifted in tandem with body movement to create the intended effect.
This is why it is near impossible to imitate another’s art. Even if an art is passed down, often the inheritor needs to make adjustments for their own unique body.
“I’ve heard… tales of your… sexual endeavors,” Zyne narrowed his eyes as he prepared to strike.
Rein coughed in slight embarrassment. He was quite aware that it all had… gotten a little out of hand. Part of him blamed it on Suey’s ability to draw out that inner ‘monster’. At least, he believed himself to be far more restrained when Lyne made her intentions known to him.
“In truth, I never intended to seek out any companionship when I first joined the Halls,” he explained as he steadied his stance. “However, the other woman named Suxeire sought my favor out of nothing. Suspicious as I was, I thought introducing an excessive degree of debauchery would allow me to shake her off my back, and allow the truth to reveal itself, so to speak.”
“And instead, you only ended up indulging in your deepest desires,” Zyne frowned and then said coldly. “If not for my granddaughter’s demand, I would have chosen to strike you down with my full strength.”
Zyne’s aura rose further, and though the aurae layer around his body remained compact, Rein felt an invisible pressure locking down his body, like a thick snake slowly constricting prey.
Rein exhaled slightly as he willed his own aurae to cover most of his body. Though he was no shell advancer yet, the wooden aspect of his aurae provided him with a measure of vitality. Of course, that was nothing compared to the young draconic lightning, carrying the necessary explosive power for him to somewhat resist the invisible pressure surrounding his body.
Rein glared in return. He knew why Zyne felt displeasure towards him, but Rein also believed that it simply wasn’t fair to put the full weight of responsibility upon him. Though Rein no longer minded the idea of fate, he was of the belief that he had been doing the best he could with his limited capabilities.
A certain chain of events had led to him obtaining that draconic metamorphosis bead that happened to belong to the ancient dragon named Gent. And before that, somehow, his empty vessel had attracted the echo of a fallen god.
As for Lyne… it was not his fault that she had felt cornered politically to the point of pursuing a reckless and dangerous path of escape. He was just the right man at the right time, one could say. At least, Rein suspected he was ‘good enough’ in her eyes. He did not believe he was all that special in Lyne’s eyes. She was simply desperate, that he suspected.
“Well… old man,” Rein gritted his teeth under the invisible aura pressure. “Perhaps if you had the capability to reject the Dingien Clan’s approach, Lyne would not have chosen this path.” He did not pull back his punches. “If you had the capability, your son would still be around, and your granddaughter might have had two loving parents.”
His words naturally did not go down well. In the blink of an eye, Zyne was already before him, his right arm extending out like the legendary wing of a phoenix. Zyne’s lariat move struck Rein in the neck, clipping him down onto his back clutching at his throat. His head struck the ground first, stunning him.
“Be careful with your words, youngling,” Zyne grunted, surprisingly sounding not quite as enraged as Rein thought he would be. If anything, Zyne sounded almost… calm. “If I am of the Dingien Clan, you would have already lost your life there and then. If not for my granddaughter, I would not even be limiting myself to this level of strength.”
Zyne had been around for centuries. Tolerated the Dingien Clan’s overwhelming pressure throughout his lifetime. In truth, he felt shame for failing his son. Otherwise, he would not be even entertaining his granddaughter’s current actions.
Rein focused his mind. He had sparred himself black and blue against his half-senior Chenhr during his intensive training regimen. At least, that was key to his growth. However, this was the first time he was facing off against an advancer from a proper clan, backed with an enduring legacy as well as bountiful resources.
When Zyne made his move again, Rein focused his mind and eyes, raising a leading fist as he angled his body sideways towards Zyne’s approach. Zyne’s movements were incredibly difficult to predict. At times, Zyne appeared slow and floaty, like a bird hovering in the skies. Yet that would then be followed by a speedy flash, like a hawk diving at prey.
Rein barely reacted in time to Zyne’s abrupt acceleration, twisting his body to avoid Zyne’s elbow strike crushing his liver. Still, that attack clipped his ribs, causing a sharp pain radiating from the point of contact.
Rein knew that in the advancer world, the body tempering path had early benefits but was costly, with increasingly less significant boons further down the road relative to effort. The pain his mind resisted demonstrated that.
Throughout his current journey, this was the first time he was experiencing combat against a truly well-trained advancer of this level.
Indeed, he had a ‘slight’ scuffle against House Larne, but House Larne weren’t even recognized as a proper advancer clan.
His conflict against the Convergence Sect? That was only part of a long history of conflict between the Halls and the Sects of the Evergreen Mountains. As such, Rein’s secret draconic beastly tempered body was a sufficient early advantage against his rather inexperienced opponents in the shell realm.
For these reasons, Rein saw this as an unexpected opportunity to gain valuable experience.
Again, Zyne approached, with exquisite and precise control over every single joint and limb. It was not only his movement that shifted between fast and slow at unexpected moments, Rein soon discovered.
Zyne’s right arm jabbed towards Rein’s left neck as a stabbing beak. Rein thought he had finally gotten used to Zyne’s pace, yet as he attempted to block the man’s jabbing right arm, Zyne’s movement slowed as if floating in some ethereal plane, before accelerating again, bypassing Rein’s defense.
Zyne precisely struck a pressure point on Rein’s left neck, and a radiating burning pain inundated Rein’s left shoulder, causing his whole left arm to slump in numbness.
Rein’s attempt at retaliation with his right fist hit thin air as Zyne’s body effortlessly floated backwards just out of reach accompanied by an icy breeze, his aurae skin flickering in a cold light.
“So it is true. You do have a rather unique tempered body,” Zyne muttered to himself. “How curious…”
Perhaps one might simply accept defeat, or make an escape being so apparently outmatched. Rein, however, rolled his left shoulder to dispel the numbness as a glint entered his eyes.
This is certainly an unexpected learning opportunity, he thought.
The way Rein saw it, Zyne must be a man of poise, composed and coolheaded at all times. Zyne’s control over his own body’s movement and rhythm demonstrated that. His ability to remain even-tempered in the face of Rein’s provocative words displayed his nature.
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Rein was confident in his assessment, especially since Zyne must have swallowed his many displeasures at the Dingien Clan’s actions over uncountable years.
Rein himself also realized that though Zyne appeared collected, the man must feel chagrin at his role in Lyne’s circumstances. Thus, it was best for Zyne to express his underlying irritation, lest it stew over the years like a sleeping volcano.
Better to get beaten badly, gain some experience, and set up the potential for a positive future, so Rein assessed.
He calmed his mind as he had been trained to do so by his half-senior Chenhr. Though only a single breath passed in the world, his mind replayed Zyne’s movements a hundred times. Rein understood his weakness stemmed from not having reached the shell realm yet, but he also lacked the ability to compete against Zyne in the arena of small, quick and precise movement.
The explosiveness of his ‘Lightning Frog Legs’ required too much time to gather and store the necessary aurae into his legs. An epiphany struck his mind-- what if he could gather that explosive force into a single ankle, or even simply his toes? What if he could ignite that explosive energy at unexpected moments during his movements or strikes?
Rein was, of course, imitating Zyne, attempting to create his own unexpected shifting body and limbs with his own abilities.
There is, however, a rather brain wracking problem-- his ‘Frog Leg Release’ is based on observing and imitating a jumping tree frog. To create these small explosive movements in specific joints-- Rein wasn’t sure how dangerous it might be for his body, or if he could even channel the proper flow to perform such a movement safely to achieve the desired effect.
Still, if there was one thing he had developed trust in, it was the draconic body.
Zyne raised an arm and beckoned for Rein to take action. He wasn’t the type of man to return to the Green Trout City to simply kill a youngling. He came with a curiosity.
Rein no longer exploded forth with his ‘Lightning Frog Leg Release’ art. Such a sudden blistering approach might intimidate lesser foes, especially those lacking quick reactions, but is clearly ineffective against one such as Zyne.
Instead, Rein remained light on his toes, fist and arm raised, ready to intercept Zyne. As he approached, he gathered lightning aurae into mainly his ankle and toes, as well as his shoulders and arms. His partial aurae shell was enough to obscure the flow of aurae in his limbs.
Rein twisted his body and threw a direct punch with his right fist, releasing the explosive lightning energy in his shoulder and elbow joint mid-punch. Zyne easily avoided it with a precise sidestep.
Rein then adjusted his body, and followed with his left fist. This time, he left it until the very end before releasing the stored draconic lightning power.
The odd timing accelerated his fist at the tailend of his motion, and though Zyne had timed another sidestep appropriately, he was forced to tilt his head to avoid having his cheek glanced by Rein’s left fist.
At the same time, Rein felt a soreness in his left elbow and shoulder after releasing the explosive aurae so late into his strike. The odd release of explosive force proved to be incredibly stressful for his joints even with his tempered body. He realized that he cannot perform such odd and unexpected moves too often, unless he discovers a proper channeling of aurae flow in the future.
Zyne responded, once again utilizing his precise and unexpected shifts in movement and pace. Unlike Rein, he experienced no drawback due to his magic being a complete advancer art.
With his aurae gathered mostly at his ankle and toes, Rein could now respond quicker to Zyne’s sudden change in pace. He released the stored lightning aurae in his right toes, enough to rapidly shift him sideways a foot, allowing him to barely avoid one of Zyne’s sudden palm strikes. His right toes felt sore from the concentrated release of aurae in the area, and Rein could only accept the reality that he definitely needed to at least somewhat find a half-decent flow to reliably execute this method of aurae release.
“Hmm…” Zyne revealed none of his thoughts as an icy light shone from his body. The temperature around Rein dropped as ice crystals formed on the grass beneath Rein’s feet.
Again, Zyne approached, but this time, Rein felt his movements slowed. Of course, Rein knew that Zyne had activated a measure of his outer realm powers, allowing him to influence the surrounding environment with his aurae tendrils. He did not complain-- he understood that it was better for Zyne to expel any ill will towards him today. He simply needed to do his best to gain what little he could for himself.
Zyne only exerted minimal influence on the surroundings, but that minor influence turned night into day. Rein discovered that the slight slowing of his own movements completely disrupted his rhythm, and he was completely drawn into Zyne’s pace.
Rein struggled to respond to Zyne’s attacks. At first, Rein attempted to adapt to the slowed effect, proactively shifting himself in preparation. However, as soon as he adapted, Zyne adjusted the effect of the chill disrupting Rein’s reactions. The chill ever so slightly decreased, and its effect began to oscillate, weaker to stronger, and back again. Rein simply could not adapt his body on the fly so rapidly.
As such, Rein soon ceased trying to dodge or block Zyne’s strikes, and instead shifted to attacking Zyne with no care for his own defense, attempting to trade blow for blow. Zyne was simply too powerful and experienced, and was in full control of the battlefield. His understanding of battle was clearly levels above what Chenhr had taught Rein.
Such a method was partly successful. Rein managed a few glancing blows that clipped Zyne’s body, his right shoulder, then the left side of his waist. Unfortunately, these partial blows came at the cost of every single one of Zyne’s attacks striking various pressure points over Rein’s body.
Zyne further raised his level. He stabbed forth with his hand as a blade, and a compact hand-shaped icy aurae projection shot forward, striking a pressure point right below Rein’s right pectorals. A sharp and numbing pain radiated from the pressure point, but far worse. This time, the icy aurae projected palm also sent a sort of… frostbitten sensation through Rein’s right chest.
By now, Rein could barely remain on his feet, having been struck many times. His body was bruised black and blue, with residue throbbing pain pulsing from the many pressure points he had been struck.
As a last attempt, he gathered the wood energy in his body and ignited it with his draconic lightning energies. The pressure rose within his belly, and Rein suddenly spat a fire with orange lightning dancing amongst its flames towards Zyne.
Zyne did not bother dodging the flame. His eyes brightened as he allowed himself to be wrapped in that flame. His icy aurae skin sizzled as it easily overpowered Rein’s flame.
“How curious…so this is what she meant,” he muttered to himself once again.
Exhausted and spent, Rein collapsed onto his back, panting, beaten like a dog. His vision momentarily turned white as he gazed up at the burning sun.
“A dubious bludgeoning tool you are, but perhaps I will be proven wrong.” Zyne’s form flew up into the sky, blocking out the blinding sun. “For what it’s worth, I am relieved that you are truly who my granddaughter says you are, and not some…” Zyne spat with disgust, “disguised immortal god.”
“Come again?” Rein groaned as his mind struggled through the aching sensations of his body. He was naturally baffled by Zyne’s words. If he was some kind of immortal god, he would have long laid low his foes.
Seeing the beaten body of Rein resting below him, Zyne sighed. This youngling is still too naive of the advancer world, he thought.
“Surely you know of the laws of the realms, the universe, underlying all advancer arts as well as worldly phenomena,” Zyne began. “One such observed rule-- you may find this odd-- is the very fact that longer-lived species, those of stronger bloodlines, seem to struggle to conceive children.”
“We advancers-- our bodies transform as we rise, edging us to immortality. As such, it becomes ever more difficult for us to conceive children-- an inescapable truth.”
“And the so-called Gods? Some attempt to bypass this law by… descending to these middling realms, seeking women who have yet to shake off their mortality, simply to conceive a child. Naturally, their methods are…” Zyne paused, and decided not to elaborate. “It is twisted. To bypass such a natural law through a mortal… wombs.”
Rein now understood Zyne’s actions carried another objective. No immortal god would be able to retain their disguise and accept the humiliation of being beaten black and blue all over.
Additionally, Rein came to understand another twisted aspect of the advancer world. He suddenly recalled tales of husbands and children vanishing from wives back in the Golden Desert Town. It wasn’t something that happened too often, but such tales did pop up regularly enough, perhaps once or twice a year…
“Ah yes. Purchase a mantis shrimp from the markets. Perhaps you may gain some insights,” Zyne recommended to the young man lying on the ground.
Rein was still trying to catch his breath as Zyne’s form vanished northwest.
“Fuck,” Rein swore as he rested on his backside for a while. He eventually stumbled back onto his feet. He would have to drag his beaten body back to the Green Trout City. Due to his exhaustion, it took him half a day, and his bruised body drew no small amount of attention through the city.
However, Rein did not develop any negative feelings towards Zyne. He had gained much, and he did not sustain any serious injuries from Zyne’s precisely controlled strikes.
As for his pride? Rein had known for long that Zyne must be a telekinetic advancer, worthy of a clan tasked with defending against the Western Wilderness.. Zyne could stomp on him like a foot on an ant any time of day. Rein would be a fool to have any pride in front of the Xuere Clan patriarch.