Chapter 162 July 7th, 2032 | The Final Influx

White hot light tore through the sky, blinding anyone who hadn't prepared. The bending space broke up, and a violent ripple of Qi shot across the globe. Its impact was immediate and decisive.

"GuuhhHHhhhHhhHhhHHhHHhh!"

Groans waved through the members and soldiers as the Qi assaulted them. Every soldier had only learned the Fertility of Growth techniques two days prior, so they were unprepared.

While the Immortals could cultivate it, that proved equally problematic because it stretched their meridians too quickly.

Evalyn listened, accessing everyone's discomfort, before beginning.

Whoooooooosh! Whooooooooosh!

The soldiers, Immortals, and elites shivered when a flurry of white frost cut across the lake, leaving the choppy lake slower.

After accepting the full blast of Qi, Kaze healed his meridians, pushing him to the top of the Heaven Realm before opening his eyes with a grin.

He watched from above as a white vortex 100 feet in radius developed around the blonde. When it touched the relatively warm water surface, it turned the entire lake foggy as 2/3rds of it slowly froze.

It was a spectacle.

However, he was grinning that Evalyn wasn't plastering the Qi-rich frost to her meridians and absorbing it. Instead, she captured the Qi in the atmosphere, isolating it but not accepting it.

It was a visual representation of water falling, a complex pattern of Qi flow people could see.

All the members and soldiers opened their eyes, watching the scene in disbelief. However, feeling the members' gazes, she cut the technique, and everyone who stopped hit the ground, wheezing. They immediately got her point.

Crux picked up the slack, walking around with her eyes closed, seeking out the groaning soldiers and lessening the Qi around them.

The situation horrified Carmen, Kane, and General Michaels, who realized their people would have suffered without their help.

They made the right decision and knew that only one minute into the rapture.

Satisfied things were playing out correctly, Kaze flew over to the amphitheater.

"GaaaahhHHhhH…." Veronica groaned, wincing. She had gotten the Sky's Breath technique, and it was ripping her meridians to shreds.

"Fight through it." Jake said, opening his eyes and waving his hand, "This should help."

Her body radiated with a blue aura, showcasing the tranquility technique and calming everyone given starter Sky Techniques.

"Good work." Kaze said with a mysterious tone, stepping foot on the stage. Not having heard him, everyone opened their eyes in shock but shut them again when the Qi overwhelmed them.

The emperor waved his hand, and they all radiated with a golden light, healing their meridians to a perfect state and making them gasp for breath in relief.

"Take turns using the tranquility technique on each other." He said calmly, "The main influx is almost over, and then it will ease. I'll see you in three hours, so hold in there."

Before anyone could reply, he was already gone.

…

Kiera groaned in the cave, designed to be a Qi-rich environment. She was sweating heavily, keeping the waters falls moving orderly with her total concentration.

"You have the power to deny Qi, yet you use your power to its full capabilities?" A hypnotic voice called out.

Her heart pulsed, making her eyes shoot open in excitement. However—

"GahhhHHHhh." The pink-haired teen groaned, "You're trying to kill me; I see how it is. Coo coo coo, I understand."

"I'm glad you've retained your buffoonery." Kaze chuckled, "It means you're fine mentally.

I'm here to oversee you for the time being. So cultivate to your full potential, and I'll guide you."

"Look, Chief." Kiera laughed bitterly, "While I love you're here and all, your guidance is painful and sucks ass."

"I'll take that as a compliment." He smiled charmingly, waving his hand.

Her body radiated with a golden light, healing her meridians completely.

"I wish I could be grateful for the save…." She chuckled ominously, her breathing strained, "Whenever you heal me, hell awaits."

"Since I don't need to explain that, shall we begin?" Kaze asked with a mysterious tone.

"Whenever you're ready, chief." Kiera replied fearlessly, "I owe you a lot. The least I can do to repay you is fulfill your sadomasochism fantasies."

"Is that so?" He laughed in disbelief, amused and exasperated simultaneously, "Well, now that I have your consent, I'll make full use of your offer."

"Hey! I don't—gahhHHhhhHHH!" She screamed as he closed his eyes and cultivated, bringing Elemental Qi into the Qi but rejecting it at the last moment.

"Fight through it, Kiera." Kaze said seriously, "If you can retain your concentration during this, I'm confident you can do so for the rest of today."

…

Kaze left the cave three hours later and made rounds. He had maxed out the Qi in his body, so he healed people freely. Evalyn was displeased that he healed her when it wasn't necessary. However, she knew it was personal and didn't complain.

The Qi had thinned significantly, becoming a drip.

"It's only a matter of time, now." He whispered with narrowed eyes, looking to the sky, "I must heal Kiera and convince her to ease off."

As he stated, he returned to the cave and argued with the slang riddler for ten minutes to ease up, reminding her the influx would last 24 hours and stretching her meridians would create pain and lower growth.

After accepting and attempting to stop him from leaving, he walked out of the cave and returned to the main area, and waited.

…

"The time has come." Kaze said gravely, sitting on the rooftop of the main mansion to recuperate his Qi after healing everyone.

NyeeeeeeeaaaarrrrRRRRRRRRRRrrrrrummmMMMmm!

Nyeeeeeeeaaaarrrrrrrrummmm!

NyeeeeeeeaaaarrrRRrrrrrummmMMM!

The Immortals and soldiers' eyes snapped open when they heard fighter jets shoot across the sky at full speed. Not a moment later—

Boom! Boom, boom, boom, boom! BOOM! Boom!

—they heard heavy military missiles exploding in Meridian City.

The missiles were loud from over 50 miles away, which meant—

"They're using warheads!" General Michaels cried involuntarily, making all of the soldiers become panicked.

"What type of nightmare is breaking out that necessitates total destruction!?" Kane snapped, "Why wouldn't they just abandon the city?"

"I don't know!" Carmen yelled, "Things weren't that bad when I was there!"

Their words sparked chaos amongst the troops, which spread like wildfire through the Immortals, who only heard jets and loud explosions.

They barely understood what was happening outside, so their fear multiplied with their imaginations.

"Che." Kaze clicked his tongue, annoyed that the Maltian leaders started the panic. He waved his hand, and the green light washed over everyone.

While it calmed their anxieties, it didn't decrease their [rational] fear. So while they knew that panicking was pointless and refused to do so, they were a ticking timebomb.

"Immortals, new and old, listen to me!" The emperor roared, capturing everyone's gaze, "Do not concern yourself with the plight of those in the distance.

Focus on your situation, as Malta will soon knock on our door, and we must be prepared to face them!"

The ultra-rational people drew different conclusions from the situations. Some understood to calm down and assess the situation. Others realized Malta, which had just carpet-bombed an unknown target in the distance, was coming for them.

Fearing the situation, many rationally began thinking about escaping to an area outside of a blast radius. However—

"PLEASE LET US IN!"

"We're just naive and didn't mean much!"

"WE'RE SORRY!"

"I promise not to do anything wrong again!"

"HAVE MERCY!"

"You don't know what it looks like out there! Please, there's nowhere to go!"

—the Immortals froze when they heard the ten people who got kicked out yesterday screaming outside the walls.

All ten were driven away the day before, brought to the bottom of the mansion without blindfolds. Kaze didn't want to prevent them from returning—that's what he wanted.

With the people screaming outside the walls in desperation, those panicking and seeking to flee the area abandoned the idea.

If running guaranteed death, they knew it was rational to roll the dice with potential life where they had food and shelter when Malta wasn't coming.

They thought back to the shadow cat and their leader, gaining confidence in his strength.

He let them plead and yell the horrors they saw in the distance for five minutes, letting their haunting cries burrow into the Immortals' minds, and then spoke.

"Silence!" Kaze yelled in a booming voice, cutting the ten off, "If you seek retribution, fight for Immortal Skye today. If we see you fight and you survive, you can reenter.

So prove yourself an ally of our nation, or accept the punishment for your crime in silence! Otherwise, you will never reenter these walls."

All ten calmed down, hearing there was potential for amnesty. However, after promising to fight for Immortal Skye, they began sobbing, incapable of staying silent.

Running short on Spirit Qi, the emperor turned to his subjects and released the technique, causing their anxiety to multiply instantly.

"Is your resolve so weak that you'd abandon your pride, lives, and country before your first trial as Immortals begins!?" He roared angrily, "Tell me, Immortals!

Will you sit around, allowing those around you to die?

Will you resign your life to being slaughtered by an inhumane enemy seeking to rob their neighbors for self-gain?

Will you let yourself become enslaved by barbaric people who care not for your life or value!?"

Some looked away in shame.

Others shook their heads.

Most importantly, some were furious with themselves for being scared when facing an enemy.

"Malta's government suppressed Qi Sickness and sent this country into chaos." Kaze yelled angrily, "Those 100 Senators stole everything from us.

They stole our lives, our friends, futures, and families!

How do they handle their grave mistake? They are bombing their own people!"

The Immortals snapped out of their shame and replaced it with unbridled anger.

"Now, after they've stolen everything from us, they seek to steal what little we have left!" The emperor roared, "Will you allow that to happen!?"

"FUCK THAT!" Larkin yelled aggressively, shaking in anger, "Aside from these guys, I'll fucking kill anyone that shows up!"

"Yeah!"

"I WILL TOO!"

They became enraged that Malta's incompetency stole their lives, yet people wanted to steal more.

Kaze closed his eyes and accessed the Qi-flow in the area. He felt a large mass of Qi moving toward Immortal Skye.

It was worse than he imagined.

The emperor planned to meet with the leaders directly and use them as pawns to trigger the conflict smoothly before leaving.

However, the mass showing up was weak. As a result, most people moving toward them suffered from Qi Sickness and wouldn't negotiate with anyone.

Hell was coming.

—

[A/N: I'll be completely transparent, this story is becoming cliffhanger hell. The Rapture is here, and everything Kaze has prepared for has arrived. So make sure to vote!]