Chapter 22: The Cloaked Adversary
The cathedral's ruins groaned under the weight of silence, only broken by the faint hum of glowing runes across the shattered floor. Le Wai and Mei Lin stood at the center, the air heavy with tension.
The cloaked figure advanced, each step echoing like a drumbeat of war. His presence was suffocating, forcing the very shadows to twist and writhe around him.
Mei Lin gripped her blade tighter. "Who are you?" she demanded.
The figure tilted his head, and a voice—distorted yet sharp—slipped through the darkness.
"Names mean nothing. I am what your sins have made me."
Le Wai's chest tightened, his breath growing shallow. That voice—it wasn't just familiar. It was hauntingly close to a memory he thought buried forever.
"You…" Le Wai whispered. "It can't be."
The figure laughed, a hollow sound that reverberated against the ruined walls. "You left us to die, Le Wai. You swore we'd make it out alive, and yet here I stand… reborn from betrayal."
Mei Lin glanced sharply at Le Wai. "He's one of yours?"
Le Wai's fists clenched until his knuckles turned white. "No… he was supposed to be dead."
The cloaked man raised his arm, and the runes flared violently. Shadows surged like living chains, lashing toward them with lethal intent.
"Move!" Le Wai shouted.
Steel clashed with darkness as Mei Lin cut through the chains, while Le Wai met the assault head-on. His blade glowed faintly, resisting the corruption of the shadows, but the force behind each strike drove him back.
"You've grown stronger," the figure mocked. "But strength without resolve is nothing."
Le Wai pushed forward, fury igniting in his eyes. "If you are truly who I think you are… then I'll prove to you that I haven't forgotten. I carry their deaths every single day!"
The clash shook the cathedral, dust and debris raining down as stone cracked beneath their battle. Mei Lin darted to Le Wai's side, covering his blind spots.
"We fight together, remember?" she said firmly.
For the first time in years, Le Wai's heart steadied amidst the storm. "Together," he echoed.
The cloaked figure spread his arms wide, shadows thickening until the entire cathedral seemed swallowed by night. His voice thundered like a curse:
"Then let the past consume you both!"
And in that instant, the true battle began.