Chapter [B3] 49 — Deathless

Chapter [B3] 49 — Deathless

I wanted to curse, as I watched Li rise back up on his feet, miasma swirling around him even more strongly than before.

Yan Yun, run away from here, I said. The girl nodded, quickly moving. I focused on the boy instead.

You really went and sold your soul huh? I said.

Li cracked his neck in response, licking his lips in excitement as his demonic eyes focused on me. I hadnt died before. Its quite the thrilling sensation you know? he replied, stretching his limbs. We stared at each other for a moment, my guard raised and Chi thrumming. This battle wasnt going to end so easily. With a kick, Li rushed closer, dark-purple lightning crackling as he struck. I blocked the strike, being pushed backwards as I winced. Hed grown stronger somehow. Using my Chi to raise my defenses, I struck back with my own attacks, fist striking hard.

My Chi collided with Lis Gu as the battle sent sparks flying in the air. I moved to nearly the limits of my ability and found Li matching me in both strength and speed. The boys grin continued to widen, the manic monstrosity in his eyes only growing as the battle continued. A dance of combat ensued, strikes after strikes meeting and shaking the air with power as we both probed each other for weaknesses.

He was clearly enjoying this, the intensity of Lis movements growing. He slashed with his claws, trying to get in closer to crush my throat. I struck back with my fist, the punch flinging him backwards as he pushed his feet into the ground to stop himself. I rushed in closer, not giving him time to recover as I struck with my attack, gaining the upper hand in the exchange and forcing him to be on the defensive.

Li let lightning loose, dark purple bolts crackling all around his body in a burst, forcing me back, the world shivered around him, revolted at the miasma he was emitting as the Qi in the air began to burn. He was weak here, weaker than he would normally be and still, he was matching me.

Is this all? This is it? No, no I know you can do more. Wheres the beast you keep hidden, bring it out. Or will it take me breaking you a little before you do? Li asked, tilting his head as if genuinely curious, with an almost childlike innocent expression. It made my skin crawl.

I didnt know how to kill him. Id seen the deathless in my dreams, in the dreams I got from Ash, but that didnt tell me how to kill them. There had to be a way, some trick to their power or strength. But I didnt know what that was. Though I did know one thing. If I killed Li, it would take him some time to regenerate. I could use that.

Alright, if youre so insistent, I said, as I took in a breath, before channeling Harmony again. I didnt draw fully on Xuanwu, not just yet. First, I drew on the trees power. The actual power that it contained, the ties to the people I had met, the people who had adopted my path. Their numbers had only grown, and the power from the land around and under me flowed into my body, bolstering my strength. I felt Leis soul shiver inside of me somewhere, lending me his powers as well. For a moment, I could hear a voice whisper in my ears if I focused enough.

Please free my brother.

I opened my eyes, power rising inside of me.

I will, I replied to Lei. Though I may no longer be able to save Li, I could free his soul at the very least. Free him of the demon it had become. I moved, not holding anything back as I struck at Li.

The world shivered as Li blocked my strike, grinning back at me with a feral excitement as his body began to morph even further from the miasma. I continued my assault, gathering Chi around my body. Flames manifested in my hand, as I blasted them out towards Li, I spun around, a beam of water rushing outwards as it slashed at the boy before I let the fire burst it into a cloud of steam, blinding his vision. I let my hand touch the earth, the ground shaking around him as I raised the earth, boulders rising with sharp edges, threatening to pierce his body.

Li moved, kicking the boulder and shattering them as he weaved through my attacks, before lunging at me. I moved closer, our fists meeting mid air as the blast sent us both flying backwards. I felt my fingers ache, blood dripping down them, and yet the boy grinned.

I hated fighting, hated having to do all that I needed to do, and yet, somehow this was the only option available to me. And so I leaned into it, into the mindset of a warrior, into the battles I had fought countless times before in my life, and let them all find Harmony.

I opened my eyes, watching a new world around me. One with different potentials, and with a different me. I took a stance, shifted my body weight, there was a calm in my mind that hadnt been there. I was complete now, I was one and truly one, all parts of me were of myself, there were no different aspects left, only a single soul, only I. And it was that certainty which allowed me to finally form my own martial path. Pieces of the many combat techniques I had learned, the misty arts and the battles Id fought, they all formed Harmony within me. I hadnt known I could do this, that I could change myself. No not change. To embrace myself, to become one with an aspect I had always ran away from.Immerse Yourself in the Storyverse: N♡vεlB¡n.

Zhou Fangs words came to my mind. Knowledge was power too. But it was not the only kind of power. I let my Chi move around me, gathering into my feet and arms, focused to a pinpoint. I didnt have a name for this, but I didnt need one either. This was just my kind of fighting, my kind of battle.

And so I struck. I rushed ahead, the world blurring around me as I shot forward towards the demon. Lightning burst all around me, leaving charred remains on the ground, the world crackled and thundered as Li rushed forward, burning the world with his power and leaving death in his wake with each step as the two of us met.

I let my art manifest, my Chi bursting outwards as my fist descended onto Li. Dark-purple lightning rushed around the world, meeting the brilliant white blast from my hand as the two collided.

His eyes moved down towards me. And now Ill be free of you.

I looked up at Li, gasping, struggling to breathe, before rasping. You're right. Im weak. I've never been good at fighting. And I have too much to protect.

For a moment, I saw surprise in Lis expression, before he smiled once more.

Good. You understand, you finally understand your place. Now die, like the miserable worm you are, Li said, as miasma began to crackling around him.

But you see Im really good at something else I rasped. The crackling lightning bolt continued to gather, ready to strike me and end my life.

I reached out to my waist, to the pocket, and I pulled open the box there.

Here, a gift from me, I said, tossing the bomb towards Li before I sent a pulse of my Chi, breaking the seal open and activating it. The device hummed, spinning rapidly.

I kicked, rolling sideways before using Stepping to move as far away as possible to try to avoid the worst of the impact.

Your tricks wont wo

The world exploded.

The entire garden around me was caught in the explosion, Qi and Gu swirling and humming before detonating the very air around them. I felt myself get caught in the blast, flung by the impact of the weapon, the shock wave traveled outwards from the weapon, the ground tearing underneath me as a large chunk of the earth was raised into the sky before it began to rain down like hellfire.

It burned. Everything burned. My body caught flames like a piece of dry firewood being chucked into a nuclear explosion. My skin was charred and I was tossed around like rubble, crashing into a chunk of the wall that had mostly been obliterated and destroyed by the impact.

It was thanks to the fact that I had forged my body with the immortal twin technique that I was even alive right now, but that too, was only barely. I felt the world spinning, my ears ringing sharply. I didnt know how much time had passed.

I slowly pushed myself up to see a giant crater where Li had been. Slowly pushing myself to stand, I stumbled closer, falling at the edge of the crater before rolling down all the way to its center.

No trace of Li remained. I looked at the sky, and saw the barrier outside had been broken by the shock wave, fiery meteor-like pieces of earth and dust still raining down and covering the entire palace.

Slowly, with a lot of pain and grunting, I flipped myself over and reached out to my surroundings. With a gentle tug, I felt the remnants of a soul float out from the charred ashes, and I pulled them into myself, reuniting the two brothers.

My body shook as I fell over once more, no longer having any energy to keep myself moving.

There. I fulfilled your request.

I thought to myself, and felt Leis soul shiver in gratitude, before it moved away, sinking into the tree inside my spirit and becoming one with the cycle of rebirth.

I looked at the sky, as the dust slowly began to settle, and the barrier blocking the sky vanished.

Those are some pretty stars, I whispered to myself, and then passed out.