A booming thunderclap resounded across the battlefield, the black and inky remains of the Shadow Colossus spilling back into its natural form. Sunny's mastery over his Shadow Shell hadn't reached a point where he could make such a massive body as durable as a much smaller form, such as the Shadowspawn.
...Summoning the Silent Mist, Sunny swiftly slid under a claw swipe from Jing Yuan's Transcendent form. Lightning arced off the snow-furred tiger, barely missing Sunny as Cradle of Madness' icy shaft appeared in his hands. At the same time, Fu Xuan had circled around the mighty foe, unleashing a devastating palm strike that would have surely pulverized the skulls of any Ascended.
But Jing Yuan, possessed by Cirrus, was simply too agile. While Sunny and Fu Xuan were like two hunters battling a greater, far less intelligent beast... Jing Yuan could not truly take that role. Nor could Cirrus, whose species was known for their manipulative intelligence.
Jing Yuan wielded the weapons and dire strength of a Nightmare Creature with the insidious and cunning mind of a Saint who has survived countless battlefields and his own sets of Nightmares. Cirrus, on the other hand, made use of that experience and lethality almost perfectly, guiding the General's body in such a way that Sunny briefly wondered if the Saint was never possessed in the first place.
As for how Cirrus was able to fight as if they were Jing Yuan — in not just flesh, but even mind — the answer was elegantly provided by Fu Xuan, who informed Sunny of everything he needed to know.
Heliobus had the power to hide in the nerves of other lifeforms and control them. In that state, they could detect any abnormalities and irregularities within the nervous system as if it was second nature.
Jing Yuan, who, when compared to Sunny, must have had an unfathomable wealth of experiences, must have developed a plethora of reactions and instincts. Through that muscle memory, Cirrus was able to fight like they were truly Jing Yuan in every aspect.
And that was what made this battle so excruciatingly difficult.
Sunny has killed his fair share of Saints before. He has slain Solvane twice over, and was also the one who finally put Cocolia down. Beyond that, he managed to kill the Abundant Ebon Deer, a Transcendent Tyrant, and went on to slay both a Great Devil and destroy the vessel of a Supreme Titan.
Very impressive... until one remembered that these all only occurred under extenuating circumstances. The most fair battle he had was against Cocolia, who he only managed to defeat by using his environment. Dropping a mountain, nuking her into a lake so she could freeze herself over, detonating the Engine of Creation, and using the cover of True Darkness to have Serpent finish her off.
If Fu Xuan was any other Saint, maybe he wouldn't even need to be here. Unfortunately, she was a Diviner first, combatant second — despite the fact that her Aspect was centered around both.
With a deafening roar, Jing Yuan ferociously slammed his paw into the ground, spreading a current that managed to stun both of his opponents for a split second. That time was more than enough for him to close the distance between him and Sunny, electrified fangs closing in around his body.
Fortunately, the Silent Mist's automatic defenses managed to protect him, an inky haze stopping Jing Yuan's jaw from clamping down on him. As Sunny's Essence took a hit, he leaped back.
In battle, moving back was akin to giving your opponent more room to apply pressure. Unlike others, however, Sunny could simply Shadow Step to get into a better position, making that disadvantage avoidable.
He wasn't going to use that at this very moment, though.
A condensed stream of lightning, on the verge of transforming into plasma, streaked through the air at the speed of light. Sunny's forehead was moments away from being struck, until—
A snap resounded throughout the battlefield.
Jing Yuan's form flickered at inhuman velocities as he parried away the frozen tip of a spear. Bolts of energy, rather than run down the weapon and shock the wielder, were quickly insulated by the cold weapon. Quick on his feet, Sunny spun, dancing with the Cradle of Madness as he redirected all that force back to Jing Yuan.
It was a waste, however, as his attack missed the lightning-fast Saint. The stream of lightning that was promised to hit him earlier missed — simply because Fu Xuan, who had taken his position, was too short to get struck by it.
Despite the futility of his attack, Sunny wore a mad grin.
When he first received the Cradle of Madness, Sunny had decided to use the weapon as his main one when in the Luofu. The reason for this was simple — he didn't want Yanqing reading the history of Hail Sorrow, and he couldn't possibly reveal Serpent's weapon form freely unless he wanted people to connect more dots between him and Mongrel.
...He already revealed his armor. Anything more would only be uncomfortable.
He also couldn't use the full extent of Shadow Dance when wielding the weapon, which was why he formed a new fighting style just for it: Prismatic Lotus.
Just like his true battle art, Prismatic Lotus took the form of a dance, but it was also far different.
Having compiled a myriad of weapon techniques and martial arts, Sunny stripped each and every one of them down to their barest of bones, then took them all and pieced the most desirable components together. Eventually, he found that many of them took the same foundation and pushed in different directions. By putting them all together and forging them in the shape of a supreme spear technique, Sunny made a battle art that contained only a single concept as its essence.
Redirection.
If Shadow Dance was about becoming greater than your opponent, then Prismatic Lotus was about not needing to be superior.
They'll topple themselves, eventually.
As Jing Yuan tensed and Sunny narrowed his eyes, time seemed to freeze.
In his mind, the image of Jing Yuan slamming his great body into him and turning Sunny into a bloody smear appeared.
Before that scene could become reality, Sunny dove into the shadows, reappearing in a more favorable position as Jing Yuan struck nothing.
Sunny and Fu Xuan were just about to continue their assault, when suddenly, white sparks began to coalesce around Jing Yuan. Multiple Memories formed around him, floating around the white tiger and orbiting his grand body. The beast slowly turned his head towards them, predatorial eyes shimmering with eerie cruelty.
There was no need for hesitation. The two of them were expecting this, as well.
An arrow of Light fell with all the grace of a ruinous meteor.