Yu Chen watched as the square descended into chaos.
More of black-robed cultivators began pouring in, streaming around the powerful trio who’d entered first. They remained in place as the others ran around them, observing the princess without speaking. The others spread out like ghosts, not waiting for a command as they began the attack in eerie silence. The sound of men fighting began to fill the air as the assembled cultivars fought back, exchanging blows with their sudden enemies.
“We can’t stay here any longer. Inform the others that we make for the trials!” The princess snapped at one of the bodyguards who surrounded her. “Hurry, there’s no more time!”
Two of the guards bowed before dashing out, following her orders to spread the news around the square. A sense of fear and desperation filled the air as the press of men entering the square increased further, turning the area into a pitched battleground.
The princess paled as the fighting neared her. She didn’t wait for her guards to return, moving out as she ran towards the trials.
Yu Chen and the others standing nearby joined her, following the princess’s lead as she led them away. The few cultivators who had received the warning rushed to join them, but others saw and surged towards them, following as they fled the area. Those that could broke away from the fight, joining them as well.
Unfortunately not everyone made it. The battlefield had become a whirlpool, sucking many of the assembled cultivators into a fight that had built to such an intensity it prevented them from leaving. Panic filled their eyes as they fought, a sense of despair gradually rising within them. They gave as good as they got, but they were inevitably cut down one by one.
Yu Chen said a silent prayer for the dead, refusing to look back as he followed the princess through the streets, black-robed shadows nipping at their heels.
The princess cursed as she ran, an unlikely expression from the perfect girl. Yu Chen could see the sweat building on her brow and she nibbled at her bottom lip, an expression of concern that looked out of place upon her face.
Yu Chen stuck close beside her, remaining within her cordon of guards. Cang Wuji and Ling Xia ran alongside him, along with the other cultivators who had managed to escape the slaughter in the square. With Lingxuan and her guards, less than thirty odd cultivators had managed to escape.
Yu Chen couldn’t count the number of black-robed men that chased after them. He had trouble believing a single sect could muster the numbers to send so many into the Secret Realm. After all, throughout the entire Golden Mist sect there were only four disciples in the Qi Condensation stage that had the qualifications to enter.
His boots squeaked against the pavement, following the princess as she took a sudden turn, cutting between two buildings. Perhaps Cang Wuji had been right, He thought with a snort. He really did come from a third rate sect.
He stopped thinking, focused only on staying a step ahead of their foes. Thankfully the roads throughout the sect had remained mostly intact, and he didn’t have to worry about anything impeding his steps. Unfortunately, it benefited those behind them equally well.
Buildings flashed by as they sprinted through the streets of the ancient sect, following a path only the princess knew. To his surprise, a familiar sight rose in the distance, the strange untouched wall that Yu Chen had seen earlier in the day. Seeing it, he couldn’t help but feel as though it was the source of their journey.
He’d felt a strange energy when he’d touched it before. After some thought he’d come to the realization that some strange formation still empowered it, but there hadn’t been anything he could do about it. He knew nothing of formations after all. Perhaps the princess did?
He was proven wrong. Right as they approached the base of the wall the princess cut once again, running parallel to it as they raced against their opponents. The princess ignored the wall, intent on some other destination.
“There!” She called out, pointing, and relief filled her voice as it carried through the air. “We must reach the top of that platform up ahead.”
The group found their second wind, redoubling their pace as the destination appeared before them, making for the raised platform that stood facing the inner wall. Its details became clearer as they approached closer. It was a tall platform, perhaps three times the height of a man but still much shorter than the towering walls it faced. A wide staircase led to the top, and the platform itself was ringed by an intricate railing, waist-high.
His thoughts were interrupted as a dagger came whistling through the air, lodging into a young boy running nearby. Yu Chen could only watch as he dropped with a cry, before ducking as more daggers came flying towards him.
It wasn’t that easy. Every one of the cultivators the princess had gathered were powerful people, the pride of whatever sect they’d come from. They activated movement techniques, dodging the thrown weapons as they moved in erratic patterns, splitting up as they dashed towards the platform.
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Yu Chen channeled his own technique as well, leaping ahead of the others. If one looked closely they wouldn’t be remiss if they confused his steps with a waddle, but it appeared a graceful one, unlike any beast they’d have ever seen. He moved as though in a dream, every step taking him further than he had any right to go.
He was among the first to reach the platform, racing up the steps to the top, where he landed just one step ahead of the princess herself. She cast a surprised glance his way, but it passed quickly as she turned around, calling out orders to the others.
“Hurry up, we need everyone to quickly gather! The platform won’t activate until enough people are present!”
A low hum began building as she spoke, as more and more people arrived, racing up the stairs to step onto the platform. The icy girl was among those who made it, although she now bled from a slash that marred her side, as well as the boy with three swords, although his friend seemed to be missing.
He watched as a heavyset man landed on the platform next, moving with a graceful fluidity despite his size. And then Cang Wuji arrived, followed by Ling Xia, and Yu Chen sighed in relief as he saw them. The low hum rose another notch, now clearly audible in the afternoon air.
One by one, more cultivators sped up the stairs, arriving atop the platform.
And then, the first black-robed man arrived. The cultivator’s nearest to him let out shouts of rage, rushing forward to engage the man. However, even as they cut him down more and more demonic cultivators arrived to replace him. They pressed up the stairs, and the cultivator’s gathered by Lingxuan made their final stand, forcing the demonic cultivators to pay in blood for every step they took, fighting like the cornered beasts they were.
Everything hinged upon this moment. And Yu Chen didn’t know what would happen, hating that his life was in the hands of the conniving princess. Either her plan would work, or they’d all died, swept away like flotsam upon a bloody river. Rage filled him at the thought, so he joined the fray, fighting alongside the others as he exchanged blows with one of the strange cultivators who fought in silence.
It was a quick fight. Yu Chen offered no quarter, ending him in five exchanges, before pressing forward, seeking out more opponents.
Lan She appeared as he fought, striking with deadly impunity as she covered his back, watching over his blindspots. The blows Yu Chen struck out with were heavy, aimed to kill or maim. The men he was fighting against were intent upon murder, so he didn’t pull his punches, aiming for the neck and the groin, gouging out eyes and breaking limbs as he flowed through the oncoming horde.
It was as if this wild, reckless brawl had been made for him. The tides of battle were constantly shifting, bringing him before new foes, and moving old ones away. He didn't have to worry about his opponents tactics and strategies, the fight was too chaotic for such things to have much meaning.
It was a brutal violent affair and Yu Chen felt at home, his heart thumping in operatic joy. All his thoughts fled, he couldn’t remember why he was here, or where his friends were. He didn’t even notice as the thrum in the air slowly increased until it became a keening noise that irked, screeching just at the edge of hearing.
All he could see was the endless flow of battle, and he carved a bloody path through it. A smile grew across his face as he dodged a sloppy kick, grabbing his foe's leg and driving an elbow into it, using his formidable force to break it in two. The black-robed man fell to the ground screaming, and Yu Chen stepped over him.
Another stood nearby, about to stab a downed cultivator. Yu Chen let out a shout and leapt towards the man, slamming a stiff hand, filled with condensed qi, into the back of the man’s neck. He heard a crunching sound and the man fell to the floor like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
He ignored the startled shout of thanks, rushing towards another fight.
Three black-robed men surrounded a young girl who was bleeding from numerous wounds, appearing hard pressed. A small part in the back of the mind recognized her as the icy girl from before, but he ignored the voice, letting out a laugh of pure joy as he waded into the fight.
He lay about him, lashing out with heavy blows and alleviating the pressure on the young girl. Her eyes narrowed as she watched him fight, and she quickly rallied, refusing to be outdone. They fought together, quickly overpowering the three men.
The girl nodded towards him, offering silent thanks. Yu Chen nodded back absently, looking around for the next fight when the platform flickered, and Yu Chen found himself alone in the darkness.
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Wake Up.
Wake Up.
Wake Up!
Yu Chen startled awake, groaning as he sat up. His mouth felt dry and full of cotton, his lips cracking as he opened his mouth to take a deep breath. That breath turned into a cough as the hot air scorched his throat, and he couldn’t help but let out a moan of pain.
Blinking he looked around, shading his eyes from the harsh sun that beamed down upon him, seeing only the endless desert that stretched out on all sides, the same as always. He stood up, wavering as he stumbled to his feet before taking a step, and then another, his pace gradually increasing as his steps firmed beneath him.
He walked as he always had and he couldn’t say how far he’d traveled. He didn’t know for how long he’d been walking for, or how far he had left to go, but those were things that didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was this step he was taking, and then the one after that.
Thoughts and sensations pressed against the edges of his mind, demanding his attention. The beating heat of the sun above and the thirst that ached in his scratchy throat. The pain in his bare feet as he strode across the scorching sand and the hazy feeling of unreality that pervaded the scene.
However, in the face of the next implacable step nothing else mattered. Everything else dissolved into a single-minded focus as he took it, and then another.
At one point he’d had questions, he remembered that. He’d left them behind too. They were lost somewhere in the sands behind him, cast away long ago.
They didn’t matter. Nothing did.
He ignored everything beyond the next step, trudging through the endless desert.