Amara backflipped, skidding through the mud, her laughter bright and unyielding. "Good. Very good," she said, her voice tinged with genuine delight, her energy flaring brighter despite the wound.
Kael didn't chase after her, his breath steady, his silver eyes cold and unyielding. He pointed Abyssal Fang at her, the Lotus Flame pulsing along its edge. "Leave. Now."
Amara bowed once more, her gesture oddly respectful this time around. "We'll meet again, Warden of the Lotus," she said, her voice a promise that lingered in the fog. "Don't die before then."
She vanished, her form dissolving into the mist, her energy signature fading like a whisper on the wind. Kael stood alone, the quiet of the marsh settling around him, his Silver Lotus Flame burning brighter in his dantian, its light a testament to his growth.
The encounter had been a test, a prelude to the battles that awaited him, and Kael had proven himself. For some reason, she wasn't intent on killing him. But why?
