The skies above the fallen city of Koryuthan were cloaked in a suffocating darkness, with grey clouds drifting above the shattered battlements and the faint clatter of stone echoing down the emptiness, the wind hesitant to cut through the stillness as it carried with it the smell of old blood and decay as a reminder of battles long past and forgotten.
Kaolin sat lotus-seated with eyes shut at the heart of the ruined palace, as still as the mountains that once towered over it. There was a time when this place had been his haven, or rather, his escape from the pain of being the sole survivor of the Korran Clan, but now all that remained was nothing but silence and distant memories by the relentless passage of time.
Exhaustion etched into every fibre of his being as beads of cold sweat traced slow paths down his temples and the corners of his mouth. Yet he neither opened his eyes nor faltered in his cultivation, more focused than ever, consumed by a single purpose: to tame the three energies that churned violently within his core, and force them into harmony. But this was easier said than done.
The three energies roared and twisted in his core so that it felt like they would rip out of his chest with each heartbeat, striking at one another with merciless fury, and with every clash, the ruined palace shuddered in response, so that dust and ashes shot up from all directions and deep shadows withered as if alive in every corner.
Still, he did not let those things disrupt his focus, nor did he allow the chaos to frighten him. One way or the other, sooner or later, he had to bend the three energies into one – and that before the Demon Army breached Huan-Yue's protective array in the coming weeks.
His fingers trembled as he traced glyphs through the air using the Forbidden Arts, each line coming into existence only to be rejected by the forces thrashing within him. Violently, they collided and lashed outwards in surges, sending sparks of pain through his body and messing with his senses. But Kaolin gritted his teeth through the agony and forced each glyph into perfect formation despite every violent clash threatening to consume him, as well as everything around him. Still, he did not hesitate or stop, daring the three powers to break him as he forced them, one by one, into submission.
The brutal collision of energies tore a wound open across his chest, flesh and spirit alike tearing under the strain, as blood spilt until the ground beneath him darkened. Through the yawning wound, his celestial core lay exposed, each qi of vastly different energies spinning all the faster within its sphere and straining to rip free from his body rather than be forced into submission.
Every surge sent waves of pain tearing through him, threatening to tear him apart from the inside out should he not stop this madness. Still, he pressed on and endured the agony, even as his bones creaked under the pressure and veins bulged and bled across his face.
From deep within him, the phoenix spirit came alive with a deafening roar in response to the excruciating pain threatening his life, its wings spreading out along his spine, desperate to shield him from annihilation. Golden sparks erupted from it, searing along the glyphs, but its frantic efforts to protect him collided with the other energies. With every ounce of its might, it fought to keep them from shattering his core, even at the cost of its own existence, its fiery flames snaking along his veins, dancing and snapping, as the phoenix too forced the energies into submission – moving as one, bound not only in spirit but also by the weight of destiny.
Pain unlike any mortal could withstand seared through him as he drew the final formations in the air. Though his vision blurred and the world around him faded into the background, his mind remained sharp as he balanced the energies with sheer will and pushed deeper into the abyss of power, where he would either succumb or break through chains that bound him to a destiny he refused to follow.
Several hours passed in the blink of an eye as he wrestled with the forces inside him. His mind teetering on the edge of complete collapse, memories and visions of every failure, every loss, and every tribulation flashing before him. Yet with each tremor of pain and every scream that tore from his throat, the energies within him gradually aligned, struggling, twisting, yet clawing into a single coherent flow. Then, finally, with a roar that shook the ruins of Koryuthan itself, the three conflicting energies merged into a force unlike anything ever known to Mortals and Immortals alike.
He hunched forwards as everything went back to normal, as if the earth had not just quivered under the pressure of the formation, convulsing, and his bloodied hands dug into the stone, veins straining, and every fibre of his being on fire. Yet he endured, and as the last sigil glowed and faded beneath his touch, a silence followed, leaving him in excruciating pain and heaving.
Drained, he collapsed onto the ground, hearing only the slow drip of his own blood and the faint whisper of wind through the ruins. He should have felt triumph, yet the emptiness that settled was heavier than any other feeling. Though he had achieved what no cultivator dared attempt, survived untold agonies and tribulations, he felt nothing but emptiness as he lay there, facing the battered ceiling of his once-beloved home, letting the memories wash over and comfort him as the world gradually shifted out of focus and a shroud of darkness took over.
At one point, he heard footsteps drawing near and a voice calling his name over and over. Yet he remained still, lost in the memories, bracing for whatever lay ahead. For once, he truly wished he had remained a dead man, forever adrift in the glowing waters of the Lingjiang River – trapped in the past, untouched by the agony of the living, and spared from the weight of a world that had never shown him mercy.