Chapter 215 The Light Within

Flames rippled and ate at the roots as Zixin and Nabi continued to plow through the never-ending roots. They continued to lash and block the way to the tree. Keng gulped as he raised his eyes to look up at the creepy eyes of the tree.

"He's up there." Keng pointed. Lady Vix'i fixed her eyes onto the eyes of the tree. Keng's eyes darkened as Lady Vix'i turned her attention back to Keng. He gulped and looked at Lady Vix'i. "They're siphoning energy off of the Foxes." Lady Vix'i's face hardened. She turned back and lifted her hands.

"I guess we'll just have to rip through it." A crack of energy left her and in an instant, the root walls that blocked Zixin's and Nabi's path were instantly destroyed. The energy slammed into the tree, releasing a shriek from the tree. "Zixin, Nabi. The vessel foxling and our people in the tree. Don't recklessly destroy everything."

'Just like I'm following my crazy idea, you need to let loose and reveal what the two suns are! We both do! We'll never know if we continue to rely on people, right?' Lee Seng's words echoed in his head. Keng bit his lip and took a step forward.

"What're you gonna do?" Lady Vix'i asked. Keng kept his eyes on the tree. Lee Seng had gambled on a crazy plan that probably wouldn't even work. He tightened his jaw and sighed.

"He's crazy for even thinking of getting captured…" Keng whispered. He turned his head to look at Lady Vix'i. She was waiting for him to say something. "There's a chance that our blessing could really turn the tide of this battle. I don't know how I can figure that out."

'The blessing. Of course, they were blessed recently.'

"It may take some time to figure that out. Do you really think it'll help?" Lady Vix'i asked. The young foxling turned to his older sister and nodded.

"If that thing is siphoning energy and Lee tries to siphon its energy… I wonder if that energy would give us a push."

"You're going to bet on a crazy plan such as that? We're better with trying to burn the thing." Lady Vix'i tilted her head. More roots flew at them and she didn't even flinch. The roots exploded around them as she waited for the young foxling to speak.

"He's already crazy enough to be captured, so I should just continue the crazy plan."

'Can you siphon the energy, Lee?' Keng thought.

'I can… try.' Lee Seng grunted. Keng closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The world around Keng slowed. The sounds of roots moved to the background as his breathing moved to the forefront of his senses. He could feel the flickering of the aura. Silver wisps ignited around him followed by small handfuls of golden wisps. The two wisps began to meld together as his aura continued to flicker.

He could feel Lee Seng was struggling to keep everything together.

'Breathe.' Lee Seng spoke. Keng and Lee Seng took another breath. The smell of acid was in the air. Their forms began to glow brighter.

"He reflects the silver sun. I wonder…" Lady Vix'i glanced over at the tree. She didn't notice anything different. Zixin and Nabi had been pushed back and were continuing to deal with the wall of roots that protected its master.

Keng raised his hand as the wisps turned into a smooth blend of energy. It began to tightly wrap around him.

'They're already going to break through their early Fox forms?' Lady Vix'i observed. The auras began to fade into Keng's body. 'Maybe not?' The roots exploded around her and the young foxling as she continued to watch. A silver and gold accented light lit from his chest. Lady Vix'i could barely see it, but felt the strange energy grow bigger.

The flame enveloped Keng and his form began to shift. The silk clothes began to take on a silver look with gold accents. Keng's hair had streaks of gold in them and his tails had followed a similar pattern.

'He broke through.' Lady Vix'i raised her hand as the heat radiated off of Keng. Keng took in another deep breath. The flaming aura began to fade and leave a shimmering effect. Keng let out the breath, heat escaping his lips. He opened his eyes and looked at the tree.

"I'm gonna power your power now." Keng spoke. He dashed into the air and pulled a root towards him. He grabbed the root and watched as the silver light quickly enveloped the root. He pushed himself down with the gravity power and held the root on the ground.

The air around Lee Seng sizzled. Gold and silver wisps had melted and were replaced with a shimmering gold aura. His silk outfit had gold as its main color with silver accents. His tails reflected the silver and gold accents Keng had. He let out a staccato breath and opened his eyes.

"Is this a more complete form?" Lee Seng asked. He looked around and noticed the air was smoking.

'It's a more refined version of the wispy aura.' Keng answered. 'My energy is enveloping the roots. Are you done with yours, yet?'

"I haven't even started." The gold aura shot all around him and started to envelope the tree in his light.

'Help me… GET OUT!' A strange voice spoke.

"It's… hurting." Lee Seng whispered.

'What's hurting?' Keng asked.

"The tree." Lee Seng answered.

Keng watched as the gold aura began to quickly spread across the main tree. The roots were enveloped in silver light as Lady Vix'i began to move.

"Make sure nothing disrupts the foxlings!" Lady Vix'i barked.

'Yes, ma'am!' Nabi and Zixin shouted. The destroyed clearing had drawn tons of monsters towards the tree. Nabi and Zixin's advances caused most of the roots to protect itself. The growing number of monsters swarmed the land. Zixin, Nabi and Lady Vix'i began to clear through the monsters.

The monsters exploded within sight of Lady Vix'i. She stood near the young foxling as he finished enveloping the roots with his light. Nabi's tails extended and wrapped around the monsters. She squeezed them without a thought and continued to the next group. Zixin chuckled, happily, as he slashed through monsters like butter. They erupted in flames as he continued forwards.

'Help… me…' A voice spoke in Keng's mind.

'The tree. It does speak.'

'GET OUT!' Roots exploded from the ground beneath them. Lady VIx'i easily held the young foxling and herself up as the ground crumbled beneath them. Lady Vix'i's telepathic grasp held onto the roots. She clicked her tongue and shook her head.

The two boys' auras fully shimmered, complete. Silver and gold met and Keng pulled without command from Lee Seng. He watched as purple and red energy began to pull itself out of the roots. The tree shrieked in pain. The earth around them began to shake and explode.

Lee Seng felt the grip of the tree release him and everyone else around him. They began to descend as he made a pull motion. The tree shrieked louder, whipping whatever vines were available within the tree. Dead bodies and unconscious Foxes were pierced without hesitation. Lee Seng threw a gravity bubble up which quickly filled the large space and held the bodies.

The purple and red light flooded straight towards him. He groaned in pain.

'The energy! It's too…'

"ARGH!" Lee Seng screamed. His body began to move on its own. His hands arced towards each other as the purple and red energy was pushed away from his gold light. The corrupted energy filled the small space between his hands. He screamed as his hands slowly pulled apart.

'STAY DAMMIT!' He heard Keng shout. The corrupted energy was slowly growing in Keng's hands as the silver light pushed the corrupted energy into a sphere. The two foxlings began to push with Lee Seng's gravity powers. The orb began to solidify as energy continued to wrap around it.

The corrupted earth around them began to fade. The two foxlings screamed as the energy continued to swarm them. Corrupted energy whipped out and slashed at the boys. Their auras flickering with each hit. The two fought against whatever corruption came at them, pushing past their limits. The corrupted purple and red colors began to fade into lighter colors. Greens, yellows, blues.

'He's purifying the energy?' Lady Vix'i's eyes widened, surprised. Four tails pointed at Keng while five pointed towards the tree. The telepathic grasp began to hover around Keng and the corrupted energy. 'I need to help them. If they take any more damage from the corruption, they might explode the area!'

"Nabi!" Zixin slashed through another group of monsters. Nabi slammed her tails into gnawers and turned her attention to Zixin. "You need to assist the vessel foxling. Lady Vix'i is strong but she can't split herself too thin. Her defenses are going to weaken and they'll get hurt!"

"What about you?" Nabi asked.

"Don't be concerned for me now. I'll protect you while you protect the vessel!" Zixin shook his head. Nabi nodded and the two slashed at the incoming enemies and quickly took to the sky.