A suffocating pressure radiated from the First Order monster, a force of raw, corrupted power that stole the air from Lin Kai's lungs.
It's guttural roar was a physical blow, rattling the broken streetlights and sending a fresh tremor of fear through him. His twin blades were the only solid things in a world gone mad, their cold weight a defiant answer to the terror coiling in his gut.
There was no plan, no strategy—only instinct. He had to kill this thing, or it would kill him. With a final, silent command to his body, he shot forward, a blur of motion into the heart of the storm.
He struck with the practiced precision of a master, the twin blades aiming for the throat and the heart—the universal weak points of the corrupted. But to his utter horror, his flawless strikes were met with a sickening crunch.
The blades only sank a few inches into the monster's flesh, the wounds closing instantly with a wet, squelching sound as his aether was devoured by the creature's overwhelming power.
The monster didn't even acknowledge the attack. It simply swatted him aside like a fly. Lin Kai's body was a ragdoll of agony, his ribs protesting with a sickening chorus of cracks as he was launched through the air, crashing into the stone facade of a nearby building.
The impact sent a fresh wave of blinding pain through him, and his vision swam with agony. He lay there, tasting grit and blood, the world a spinning, nauseating mess.
He pushed himself to his knees, his body screaming in protest, but the monster simply watched him with a cruel, almost human amusement in its red eyes.
It was playing with him.
Lin Kai pushed himself up, but another casual flick of the monster's hand sent him flying once more. He landed hard, spitting a mouthful of blood and shattered teeth onto the broken concrete.
His mind, so sharp and calculating, was a storm of rage and despair. He was weak. His past life's knowledge was useless against a creature of this level. He couldn't even hurt it.
Is this it? Is this how it ends? Humiliated… crushed…
Just as the thought of defeat threatened to swallow him whole, a different sensation took hold. The despair cleared, replaced by an incandescent, cold fury.
A memory, not of a battle won, but of a thousand battles fought, of a million strikes honed through countless cycles of life and death, flooded his mind.
This was not a power to be fought with brute force; it was a beast to be dismantled with superior skill. His aether, which had felt so drained, suddenly surged, humming with an ancient command.
"Phantom Echo Slash."
He used the last of his strength to propel himself towards the monster, but this time his movements were a beautiful, deadly dance. His feet left faint afterimages as he moved, his body a blur of speed and precision.
The monster, which had been so confident, was suddenly thrown off balance, its aetheric sight unable to track the sheer speed of his attacks.
Lin Kai struck, and his twin blades sliced through the thick, hide-like skin, leaving behind a series of crisscrossing slashes that bled with black, corrupted ichor.
The monster roared not with triumph, but with genuine shock. Lin Kai's aether dropped with every strike, his body screaming for him to stop. He felt his vitality plummeting, but he pressed on, his movements becoming more and more fluid as the technique took over.
The monster, now bleeding and enraged, could only defend, its brutal swings missing wildly as Lin Kai moved with an ethereal, phantom-like grace.
He knew this was his only chance. He gathered every last drop of his remaining aether, forcing it into his blades until they glowed with a faint, ghostly light. He had to end this.
The monster, sensing his intent, threw a desperate, wild punch that landed squarely in his gut. Lin Kai felt his ribs give way and a white-hot spear of pain pierce his very soul.
He vomited blood, but held on, his mind locked on a single, final objective.
With the last of his will, he drove his twin blades forward, aiming directly for the creature's neck. There was a sound like grating stone as his blades tore through hardened flesh and bone, and then the monster's head, its red eyes still burning with rage, rolled heavily to the ground.
The immense body hit the floor with a final, earth-shaking thud. Lin Kai fell to his knees, his body in a critical state, his vision fading in and out. He heaved a sigh of painful relief, and then the familiar voice of the system sounded in his mind.
"First Order Corrupted Soul has been reclaimed. Zero Order (Peak) attained."
He didn't check his stats. He just started moving, limping silently and slowly in the direction of his home.
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Meanwhile, in a chemical engineering lab, Lin Yu watched in silent horror as the call with her brother ended.
She tried to redial, her fingers fumbling, but the screen only showed a blank signal.
Panic began to set in, but her rational mind quickly took over. She was in her chemical engineering lab, surrounded by equipment that could be used for purification and synthesis.
Her mind, a finely-tuned instrument of logic, was already running scenarios, calculating possibilities for survival.
Her gaze fell to the window, and a gasp escaped her lips. The sky was an impossible, churning vortex of black and purple. The sight of the swirling clouds was enough to make the hairs on her arms stand on end.
She had seen the same thing in her brother's video, but seeing it in person was a different horror. And then, a sound that was not a sound, a voice that was not a voice, boomed directly into her mind: the Primal Decree.
She staggered back, her heart hammering against her ribs. The scene outside was pure chaos. People were writhing in the streets, their bodies twisting into grotesque, inhuman shapes.
They were her friends, her classmates, her neighbors. Now, they were corrupted monsters. She turned away from the window, a wave of nausea washing over her. She took a deep, shuddering breath, her mind trying to process the impossible. It couldn't be real. It couldn't.
She looked around the lab, searching for an anchor, for something familiar in this new reality. Her eyes fell on her teacher, a kindly, middle-aged man who always had a warm smile and a calm demeanor. He was just as he had been a moment ago, but his eyes were different.
She saw not the kindness she was used to, but a chilling, cold calculation. A small, terrible smile played on his lips. A terrible premonition, a cold chill of dread, ran down her spine.
"Teacher? Are you alright?" she asked, her voice a small, wavering whisper.
His smile widened, a terrible thing that did not reach his eyes. "Alright? My dear Lin Yu, I've never been better." He gestured to the window with a sweep of his hand. "This... this is an opportunity. For those of us who were ready."
Lin Yu's blood ran cold. She backed away from him, her heart now a frantic drum. He began to walk towards her, and his calm, professor-like voice was replaced with a cold, hissing whisper.
"I have been observing you for a long time, my dear. The Primal Decree chose a select few of us before this... calamity... to be pre-awakened. I was a high level practitioner all along, simply waiting for this moment. And of all my students, you, with your high Aether potential, were always the most beautiful specimen."
Lin Yu's mind spun. "What are you talking about?" she asked nervously, her voice barely audible.
The professor's face twisted into a mask of greed. "I'm talking about power, Lin Yu. Your power. Your incredible Aether potential. I knew it, and I'm going to take it. This is my chance to rise."
He lunged.
It was not a lunge for her body, but for her very essence. His hand, glowing with a faint, corrupted light, shot out towards her chest, intent on draining her life, her power, her very soul.
She cried out, not in pain, but in sheer terror and revulsion. The betrayal, the cold, calculating evil in his eyes—it was too much.
In that moment of absolute desperation, a different kind of command ignited within her mind. It was a cold, precise fury. An elemental response to the chill in her heart. A cold, blinding blue light erupted from her body, and a powerful, freezing cold radiated outwards.
The professor's arm was instantly encased in ice, the aetheric glow in his hand snuffed out. The ice spread over his body in a flash, encasing him in a single, terrifying block of frozen death.
There was a deafening silence. Then, with a quiet shatter, the block of ice, along with her teacher inside, crumbled into a thousand glistening shards on the lab floor.
A cool, clear voice hummed in her mind.
"Pre-Awakened One Killed. First Soul reclaimed. Evolution to Zero Order (Mid) attained."
She was breathing heavily, her body trembling, but not from fear. A new kind of energy coursed through her, cool and controlled. A familiar mental interface appeared before her, displaying her new stats.
Vitality: 200/200
Aether: 450/450
Order: Zero Order (Mid)
Rune: Ice
She looked at the glittering shards on the ground and felt a profound sense of disgust. Not at the blood, but at the betrayal. At the fact that a person would so readily use his position and power to harm someone for his own selfish gain. The thought made her skin crawl, and a deep-seated coldness settled in her heart.
She would not be like him. She would find her sisters, mother and Lin Kai. She closed her eyes, and a single, perfect snowflake of ice formed in the palm of her hand.
It was beautiful. And it was all she had. She was a survivor now. She would use this power, not for selfish reasons, but to protect her family. She had to. She had to learn.
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Lin Kai thought back to the fight and the rush of power he felt. At least something good came out of it. His continuous use of the technique, his fight to the death, had honed his skills, and he felt a mental sharpness that he hadn't felt since his last life. He was a survivor, a leader. He was a fighter.
When he reached the grand gates of his family's mansion, his heart gave a small thrum of relief. He saw Han Zhe standing vigil at the gates, his posture alert, his face a mask of weary caution.
When Han Zhe's eyes fell upon Lin Kai, his face went white with horror. Lin Kai was limping, supporting his body with one katana, his clothes torn and bloodied. He looked like a man who had gone through hell and back.
Han Zhe rushed to him immediately. "Lin Kai! What… what happened to you?"
Han Zhe helped him inside. The other survivors, who had been resting in the foyer, immediately became alert. They saw his terrible state, the bloodied clothes, the limping gait.
As Han Zhe was helping him, Lin Kai instructed him calmly. "Get the first aid kit from my room and help me get bandaged up. I have food for everyone."
Before they could even move, one of the survivors, a thin man with a nervous face, spoke up loudly. "Don't heal him! What if he was bitten by one of those things?"
A murmur of agreement rippled through the crowd. The quiet fear turned into open suspicion.
Lin Kai saw the others whispering, their eyes shifting from him to Han Zhe. Han Zhe and Jing Lie, who had heard the murmurs, got an expression of guarded caution.
Han Zhe's voice was filled with a subtle anxiety. "Lin Kai, do you… do you feel okay inside? Do you feel any pain?"
Lin Kai's heart sank. He had risked his life for these people. He had fought a monster to the death for them, and this was their reaction? He felt a pang of anger and disappointment, a sharp jab of betrayal.
He was disheartened, but he took a deep breath, and he calmed himself. He was not like them. He would not give in to his own emotions.
He looked at them with a calm, cold expression. "I am fine. The wounds are from the fight."
"We can't just take your word for it," another survivor said loudly. "What if you get infected?"
Another survivor chimed in. "We should treat him in the garden, near the gate. If anything happens, we can take action."
Lin Kai sighed. He was tired, in pain, and utterly exhausted by the selfish nature of people.
He looked at his uncle and aunt, whose faces still held that guarded look. He had seen enough. "Han Zhe," he said, his voice quiet but firm, "heal me in the garden near the gate."
Han Zhe's face fell slightly, but he nodded. In his mind, he knew it was the right course of action to protect the others. He helped Lin Kai outside.
Lin Kai leaned against the mansion wall, his body still in agony, waiting to get bandaged up. He looked out into the street, his mind far away from the selfish people inside. He turned to his mental interference and sees his status.
Vitality: 250/700
Aether: 100/400
Order: Zero Order (Peak)
Rune: Locked