The ground shifted; she heard the beast pull back, ready to lunge.
"Akari, the Alligator's going to lunge."
Akari put her full focus ahead, with Ren and Wilhelm looking to the sides, Amaris a little bit away, just in case it decided to come from above, and Shirou was there to keep Amaris safe, keeping an eye on both her and the surroundings.
The creature jumped ahead with the sudden snap of an alligator—larger, more like a prehistoric beast. Its body was a mass of black rot. Yet the beast still moved; whatever this was could not only bypass the Alligator's immune system but also the hard shell the Alligator had around it.
She could see that the beast was at the peak of Core Formation, yet it looked significantly more powerful. She knew Akari could handle it, but she wouldn't let her do it alone.
Before she could react, a blast of high-pressure water slammed into her. She tried to dodge, but the speed was overwhelming—the blast tore her clothing away and scorched her chest with searing heat. She finally got a breather. Her qi threaded through the scorched tissue, accelerating cellular repair while she siphoned the heat away into the air, forcing it to dissipate.
She looked ahead and saw the alligator lunge at Akari, moving its mouth to open and snap at her head to bite it off. Though Akari was able to punch the beast in time. Sending it flying back upside down.
Kaida snapped her gaze toward the beast, finger lifting to point. As it moved forward, it disappeared into the ground, almost like camouflage, with its green color and black rot blending seamlessly with the surrounding miasma. Although Kaida could still see it. Her eyes shifted, adjusting her cone photoreceptors to sense the heat signature.
Kaida launched herself forward, running full speed to it, her hand forming a spiral. At the center, a tiny black dot with thousands upon thousands of white, sparkling dots was visible, along with a greyish color that resembled gas or dust turning a purplish hue. This launched towards the beast, sending it at full force. Its body is bombarded with Qi.
"Just conserve your energy, just in case! I don't want you to waste energy if this attack kills it!"
The black orb flew over. She had used Andromeda to its fullest capacity; the dust and gas moved to block the Alligator's vision and senses. The dark orb's gravitational field pulled it and spun it around itself while eating part of the mass of the beast, sending it flying as she turned to it. Her foot slammed into the ground, Qi surging. She launched into the sky, twisting as she shot past it.
Her leg slammed into its back. Guided by Qi, she struck straight at the Core. The shell cracked, the Core shattered, and Qi erupted outward.
"KAIDA WATCH-" Amaris shouted, knowing what would happen- Hearing it from Akari and Shirou. Her voice was filled with worry and wavering.
She hadn't anticipated this much Qi—some kind of failsafe, either from the miasma or the beast itself. An explosion rang out, sending Kaida flying back, burning her skin as she tried to get back. Barely being able to escape the explosion. Her body was severely damaged, with her limping. Seeing Akari standing there in horror as they saw bleeding along with scales stabbed into her skin.
Shirou was the first to move, running over to Kaida and setting her down. His hand moved softly, grabbing a scale and pulling it out as his Qi flowed in. Wilhelm and Ren were scouting the area to see if there was anything else to come try to fight them.
Akari walked over to the body to look at it while Shirou was dealing with Kaida's injuries. Akari was still concerned for Kaida; she just needed to investigate. And would probably ask Kaida later.
Shirou's Qi stitched back her skin, transforming into the skin itself and matching her body, covering the inner areas that were bleeding out, and ensuring that any damaged arteries wouldn't be left unhealed or damaged. Shirou separated the blood in the body to reconnect the tissue and arteries.
Kaida looked up, her face no longer looking like it had a permanent scowl, but instead a show of gratitude. She grabbed his hand and lifted herself up. She didn't need to talk with Shirou, and he didn't need to say anything. He could already tell she was showing him respect.
Kaida stretched softly, making sure she was ready to move, staying in the back. Kaida glanced at Akari, who was carefully peeling away rot and skin from the corpse. She also removed what appeared to be a tiny, pearl-like structure, imperfect in both shape and color but not too far from it.
"What is that? Is it something used to make pills or something?"
Akari shook her head. "No, I don't think so. We make pills with herbs and also other rare materials, which we're running out of, so we need to wait before they can be replenished. This is different."
Ren and Wilhelm turned, walking over with Amaris standing next to Kaida, who looked at Amaris with exhaustion. "I'm fine, Amaris. Just some injuries."
"I- Uhm... Okay." Amaris felt embarrassed that she didn't get time to ask...
Kaida, in a moment, thought about what she said. "...That sounded dismissive."
"...Sorry about that, Amaris. What were you going to say?" Kaida's eyes softened. She didn't mean to hurt Amaris's feelings with the way she spoke to her. It was merely second nature to her.
"I was going to ask if you needed anything. You were moving differently, so I was wondering if you ate anything today?"
Kaida took a second. "No...I haven't, I probably should've run on peak performance."
Amaris chuckled at Kaida, realizing. But she still found Kaida's paranoia a little much, especially if she was forgetting to eat.
"If you want, I can make some food!" Amaris lit up, excited because she wanted Kaida to taste the food.
"Since you're willing, go ahead. But we need to explore the temple first. Akari, anything unusual about the skin?"
"Not right now. The rotting skin seems to leak the miasma as well. But it doesn't cause the nausea. It probably means that it only affects what's weaker than it."
Kaida looked down. "I see, so let's just leave the body here or harvest the parts which can be used to test it. Maybe organs too, so you can see if there's anything different or anything inside of it." She lifted her hand, gaze flicking upward. With no threat nearby, she shut off her Thermal Vision.
Seeing that the trees were empty, without leaves, but had peaches, and about fourteen feet tall, the Qi flew up, cutting off the peach, and she grabbed it. Taking about 7 more peaches. Handing one to Amaris, another to Akari, and one to Shirou. She threw the 2 others, too, Ren and Wilhelm.
"I'm just hungry, but I'll share." She waited as they got up.
"Thanks... Uh- Kaida?" Ren spoke, his voice softer though masculine. A deadpan tone mixed with soft malice. Which was being concealed.
When they continued walking, they climbed up the temple's steps. Kaida finished the first peach and reached for a second. Reaching the top, she looked at the convenient hole in the middle.
"...Do we have to go in there?" She wasn't bothered by the dark, but rather annoyed that it felt generic.
"Yes. Yes, we do, Kaida." Shirou spoke bluntly. Though his voice was rougher and more masculine.
She formed a ball of Qi and threw it into the hole. One that had its internal temperature at ninety-seven degrees. As it fell, she heard nothing; changing its shape to human, it released a gas that flew up. Kaida noticed it right before it could reach the top, but Akari was able to create a barrier to ward it away, surrounding each person to ensure they didn't get hurt. On the other hand, there wasn't any other type of trap.
Jumping down with the rest of them, they fell for about 2 minutes. Finally reaching the ground, Kaida looked around. It wasn't as dark as it seemed. A soft light, yet no sound, a single pathway as Kaida stayed back, right next to Amaris, while Akari took the lead.
"What have you been doing recently, Amaris?" Kaida spoke gently. Feeling more comfortable. Her guard is lowering slightly.
Amaris turned in surprise. "What- Kaida? She-" Amaris shook her head quickly. "I've been taking care of Bear; he's recovering, and I've also found something else!" She took out what looked like a gem. One that was shaped partially like a rectangle but also resembled a water droplet.
"Do you know what that's for? It could be dangerous, you know that, right, Amaris?" Kaida sounded somewhat worried for Amaris. Since it could be dangerous or even radioactive. Though it wasn't glowing to her.
A sudden shake as the ground shifted. In a moment, Kaida was sent flying alongside Amaris and Ren. All thrown into a statue, cracks formed as a rock fell, hitting Kaida in the head.
All three of them were injured from the sheer force of the impact. Kaida felt that her ribs were broken and her wounds were partially torn. So she stayed still.
"AMARIS!!, RHEA!" Akari shouted from where she was, while running, only to stop in front of a giant silhouette of a creature. One that was equal to Akari in the realm. Which was why it did so much damage.
Amaris wasn't as hurt as Kaida and got up, moving to Kaida to see if she was fine. "Kaida! Did it hit your lungs or heart!?"
Kaida blinked, looking at Amaris. "No, it didn't. Just hurts like hell, and if I move it will."
Akari turned back, her blade moving and slicing ahead, a slash sent flying that caused the temple to shake even more. Burning the concrete and melting it, the slash hit the beast, which was pushed back, and its fur began to burn. It roared, the shockwave slamming into Kaida and Amaris, tearing fresh pain through their bodies.
Amaris spread her arms to not hit Kaida's chest. They grabbed the statue behind them. Pushing herself up, she went to release her qi inside of Kaida, yet before she could, Kaida stopped her.
"I'll do that myself; you try and heal yourself."
Kaida moved her Qi within her body with precision, making small movements while trying to ensure she didn't overshoot. Once it felt reconnected, the one healed itself, becoming imperceptibly longer due to the need to regenerate the small, shattered parts.
Kaida got up and moved Amaris, setting her down, looking to Ren, who was already healed and standing, charging up what looked like a disk-like shape. But before it could happen, the ground changed. A burning hot floor, turning to a solid, dark brown and maroon color. And the bright yellow and orange color of the liquid, like Magma, which flowed through.
"...You should at least warn us." Kaida spoke bluntly.
Kaida stood unfazed by the blistering heat of 4,000 degrees. The creature screeched, slamming its hands into the ground. A burst of Qi exploded toward Akari, but her barrier wrapped tight around her body and held firm.
"Get an attack ready, we need it gone now," Akari spoke, her voice commanding as her blade was raised up, charging up Qi around it.
Kaida's fingers spread apart, steady, unflinching, just like her face. Qi threaded between them—not waves, not a beam, not even a spiral, but flat. Impossibly thin.
The air hissed as the pressure shifted. Dust motes twisted, only to vanish, pulled into a razor-thin seam. Even the miasma from the beast bent towards it, wrapping like silk drawn to fire. Her breath slowed. Each second of focus drained her Qi, draining it faster than any technique she'd tried before.
A single slip-up and the backlash would shred her hand before it even struck. But Kaida didn't slip. The 'gap' Stabilized, no wider than a hair, yet darker than the void of space. A vacuum so sharp that silence itself screamed.
A single exhale, she raised her arm, and a blade extended, invisible, except for the warped air around it.
"…I know it's inefficient. But it's too damn cool not to use."
"Singularities Edge."
The pressure broke forward in a single cut—