The priestess tensed like a bow, her sharp blue eyes locked onto Kai. Her armor marked with crosses vibrated slightly, an ethereal aura unfolding around her. In a fraction of a second, she leapt: her feet leaving the ground in a sudden burst, slicing through the violet mist like a living arrow.
Kai barely moved, a slight shift of his torso. The blessed blade whistled where his throat had been moments before, biting the air. His black tattoos seemed to twist on his skin, catching the pale glow of the cavern. He gave a half-smile, calm, as the priestess was already spinning for a second attack, faster, more vicious.
Clang!
The sword bit into the stone, sending sparks flying. Kai had ducked, his left hand nearly touching the ground, his dark gaze fixed on her. The priestess gave no quarter: a series of precise strikes, a storm of steel, rained down on him. Her blade described perfect arcs, each delivered with a speed and force that would have sliced flesh and armor of an ordinary man.
Kai was no ordinary man.
Every movement of his body seemed to anticipate the next. He didn't retreat; he barely slipped, as if blending into the air. His feet barely touched the ground, his hips pivoting just enough to let the blade pass centimeters from him. His mastery of evasion was not born of fear: he read the fight like a text, each attack appearing to him before it was even launched.
"Stop moving!" growled the priestess, breathing heavily.
She changed her rhythm, feinting a horizontal strike to then spin upward, aiming for his chest. Kai tilted backward; the breath of the sword brushed his torso. His tattoos pulsed faintly, as if something beneath his skin reacted to the blade's proximity. The priestess landed, bounced, and launched a new assault: three quick thrusts in succession, each targeting a vital point.
Kai, unhurried, simply raised his right hand; two fingers pushed away the third attack, deflecting the sword's path.
Clang!
The blade struck the rock, embedding an inch deep. The priestess immediately drew back her weapon and leapt back, eyes wide: she felt her attacks hitting only air, as if her opponent read her mind.
Kai stepped toward her, his half-closed eyes reflecting a cold gleam.
"You're tiring," he murmured.
"Shut up!" she snapped, lunging again.
Their silhouettes crossed in a ballet of speed and precision. The priestess, agile as a panther, spun, using every muscle in her body to maintain pressure. Her boots struck the ground in a complex dance, exploiting every foothold. She leapt against the wall, using it as leverage to launch a diving attack, blade ready to cleave Kai in two.
But Kai was no longer there.
He had vanished from her sight. A fraction of a second later, she felt a presence behind her. Her instinct screamed, but already Kai's hand closed on her armed wrist.
"Too predictable."
A fluid motion: he pulled slightly, unbalancing his opponent, then spun, using her momentum against her. The priestess tried to counterattack, sending her knee toward his ribs. Kai bent down, dodging effortlessly and placing his leg behind hers. With a precise move, he took away all her support. She toppled, momentarily disoriented.
The cold stone struck her armor with a dull sound. Before she could react, Kai was already holding her down: his left hand gripping the back of her neck, the other seizing her wrist, immobilizing every movement.
The priestess roared, struggling to break free. She focused her energy, muscles tense like steel cords, and shifted her weight, trying to overturn him. Kai, unflinching, slightly eased the pressure, using her own strength to amplify his maneuver. With a brutal movement, he crushed her to the ground: her head hit the stone, the impact echoing through the cavern.
The priestess saw flickering light dance in her vision, a dull pain pulsing in her skull. Kai held the pressure, his black gaze fixed on hers, relentless.
"You really thought..." he breathed, voice low, "...that just because you're a girl... I'd hold back my blows?"
He pressed a little harder on her wrist, the blade slipping from her fingers to fall with a metallic clatter.
"No," he continued, his icy breath brushing her ear, "I make no distinction."
The priestess scrambled desperately to free herself, but every attempt slammed her harder to the ground. Kai, calm to the point of fear, straightened a little, keeping a foot on her forearm to pin her. The violet mist swirled around them, as if the mountain itself held its breath.
He stared at her a moment longer, his inscrutable gaze, then suddenly released the pressure. The priestess lay panting, trembling fingers searching for her sword. Kai stepped back two paces, his dark eyes still locked on her.
"Catch your breath. You'll need it," he said simply.
His words echoed through the cave, sharper than any blade. The priestess felt her heart clench: she understood, in that suspended instant, that she faced an adversary who did not merely aim to defeat. Kai dominated the fight, every gesture calculated, every move meant to remind her of the abyss separating them.
She clenched her teeth, wiping blood trickling down her temple. The battle was far from over.
The woman rose slowly, knees trembling, one hand pressed against her bruised temple. Her ragged breath heaved her chest, but her eyes still burned with unwavering determination. She fixed her gaze on Kai.
Kai, impassive, let his cold voice slide out:
"Get out. Let me take this egg. If you try to stop me again... I will make sure to break every limb of yours."
The priestess tightened her grip on her sword, fingers whitening under the strain.
"No... I... I can't let you take this egg. A looming danger threatens this world! This egg could be the key to facing it. Understand me, I can't let you leave with it!"
Kai tilted his head slightly, a glacial gleam crossing his eyes.
"I don't give a damn about the danger looming over this world. All I want is this egg. So... get out now."
The woman swallowed a sob, hands trembling despite herself. Yet she regained her fighting stance, feet planted firmly.
"I'm sorry... but I can't. The Church of the Sealed Dawn needs this egg to summon the one who can save us from this threat."
A heavy silence fell. Kai squinted slightly, his expression barely altered.
"You're... human, aren't you?"
The priestess nodded sharply.
"Yes... just like you!"
Kai frowned, his tattoos seeming to vibrate imperceptibly.
"So what does a human have to do with the fate of the world of myths? This world is not ours. You know that, don't you?"
The woman gritted her teeth, shaking her head violently.
"I was born here! I grew up in this world! Every breath I took tied me to it. I will do everything to protect it, even if I must give my life... even if I must stand against you!"
Kai watched her silently for a moment, his gaze darkening, tinged with an almost predatory gleam.
"Very well... then I will crush every limb of yours. And you will see."
He stepped toward her, the air around him seeming to thicken. The priestess tightened her grip on her weapon, cold sweat beading on her forehead. Suddenly, a deep rumble rose from the mountain's depths. The cave walls trembled, chunks of rock falling from the ceiling to crash around them.
Kai halted abruptly, glancing around with a furrowed brow.
"... What is that?"
The priestess's eyes widened, her voice tinged with feverish urgency.
"I told you! A threat looms over this world! Our Church has seen it! And it is already on the move!"
The tremor stopped as suddenly as it had begun. Kai fixed his gaze again on the black Egg, jaw clenched, and lunged for it.
"I won't let you...!"
The priestess did not have time to finish: Kai's elbow smashed into her face with dry violence. A dull crack echoed. Blood spurted from her nose as she staggered, loosening her grip.
Kai grabbed the Egg — a dark mass, the size of a huge boulder, seeming to absorb the surrounding light.
"No more time to waste," he muttered through clenched teeth. "I must bring this Egg to Ysolongue... and end this."
He turned on his heels, the heavy sphere cradled on his shoulder, and rushed for the exit.
But a new rumble shook the mountain, more violent than before.
"Tssss!"
The ground split beneath his feet. Huge cracks streaked the wall; blocks of obsidian detached, falling into the void. Without missing a beat, Kai leapt out of the cave, his energy wings unfurling in a spray of dark light. He gained altitude, the Egg held firmly against him.
Behind him, the priestess burst from the cavern, her face streaked with blood, panting. Her eyes burned with fierce determination. With a gesture, she summoned a pair of golden, translucent wings bursting from her armor. They beat the air with metallic clamor, propelling her in pursuit.
"Time is running out!" she shouted, voice laced with urgency. "Give me the Egg! If you continue, you will carry the catastrophe to come on your conscience!"
Kai glanced back slightly, his tattoos highlighting his mocking grin.
"Shut up! I told you I don't care what happens to this world! It's not—"
He stopped.
A gigantic shadow spread beneath him. From the cracked ground surged a huge hand, a grotesque growth of flesh and veins, slamming down with deafening crash where Kai had been moments before.
"What the...?!"
He flipped to the side, barely avoiding the massive fingers. The priestess also zigzagged between debris, her golden halo briefly lighting the scene. But already, more hands emerged: dozens, then hundreds, each larger than mountains, plowing through the Earth's crust as if it were mere sand.
Kai clenched the Egg, his gaze hardening.
"What is this monster...?!"
The priestess, breath caught, dodged another attack, her wings vibrating with feverish brilliance.
"It's a foreign Creature... an entity from beyond! The sages say it comes... straight from the Underworld!"
An inhuman roar engulfed the sky.
The earth convulsed; a titanic head slowly emerged from the gaping chasm. A colossal humanoid skull, its pink skin veined with pulsing violet. Its eyes, pale white, rolled in sightless orbits—blind yet terrifyingly aware.
Each cry of the creature made the air vibrate, sending shock waves that shattered surrounding mountains. Swarms of magical creatures fled, panicked, tracing luminous trails across the darkened sky.
The thing continued climbing from the earth, revealing a nightmarish silhouette whose mass already exceeded that of a city. Its presence alone weighed like a chasm of horror, crushing all will nearby.
And Kai, suspended in the air, the Egg of Evoressence pressed close, felt for the first time a foreign pressure slide down his spine.