Chapter 10
The air shifted.
It was subtle at first—like the faint breath before a storm—but then it struck with suffocating weight. The sword forest trembled, every broken blade resonating with a soundless hum that clawed into the marrow.
Nyxen's crimson eyes snapped open. Across from him, Liuying's hand went immediately to her sword.
The trial had come.
The ground beneath them split open, not with fire or stone, but with light. From the rift rose a colossal figure wrought entirely of swords—an armored giant whose body was a tapestry of blades fused into form. Its face was hidden beneath a helm with no features, only a single gleaming slit where intent blazed like a star.
The Sword Guardian.
A will, not a man. The embodiment of the Sword Dao itself.
"Test," its voice rang, neither male nor female, echoing directly within their souls. "To cut is to choose. To hesitate is to die. Show your truth."
Nyxen rose slowly, his hand flexing at his side. The cracks of silver and black along his body pulsed as if in recognition. His grin was sharp, but the weight pressing on him was undeniable.
Liuying's expression was steady, resolute. "This is what I came for."
Her aura sharpened, Sword Intent flowing from her like a river of moonlight.
The Guardian moved.
One swing of its arm sent a storm of spectral blades surging toward them. Each blade carried will, cutting not flesh but conviction. The very first strike nearly tore through Nyxen's chest, not because it pierced skin but because it sought to sever his reason to live.
Nyxen snarled, his demonic qi erupting in a surge of black flame. He devoured the spectral edge before it reached his heart.
"You think you can strip me of my survival?" His voice was ragged, wild. "I've already lost everything once. I will not die again!"
The Guardian did not respond. Another swing. Another storm.
Liuying moved into the storm like flowing water, her sword flashing in arcs of pure clarity. She didn't resist the blades—she redirected them, each stroke a declaration of her philosophy: that the sword was not destruction, but choice.
Her steps carried her forward. Toward the Guardian.
Nyxen cursed under his breath and followed, carving through the spectral edges with his corruption, his every motion drenched in violence. Where Liuying was water, he was fire—scorching, devouring, refusing to yield.
The closer they drew, the heavier the intent pressed.
Each strike of the Guardian was not just physical. It cut into their cores.
Nyxen stumbled as a blade cleaved through his soulscape, showing him visions—his past life, the small, empty room where he had died forgotten, the faces that had never remembered his name.
"You are nothing," the Guardian's voice whispered through the visions. "Your survival is emptiness."
Nyxen roared in defiance, his aura flaring so violently it cracked the air. "If I am nothing, then I will become everything that devours nothingness! I refuse your judgment!"
His demonic qi lashed out, staining even the Guardian's radiant form with streaks of shadow.
Beside him, Liuying's trial was different. Her visions showed her bloodstained roads, choices that cut lives away in the name of righteousness. A child's face, weeping, as her blade cut his father down.
"Your purity is illusion," the Guardian whispered to her. "A sword cannot remain unsullied."
Her steps faltered—just for a breath. Then she tightened her grip, eyes shining with unyielding light. "A true sword cuts without regret. If my blade falters, then I was never worthy of it."
Her intent surged, pure and sharp, shattering the illusion.
Together, they reached the Guardian.
The giant raised its sword—an edge formed from the combined will of all the fallen swords in this realm. It came down with enough force to cleave the entire forest.
Liuying raised her blade. "Flowing Moon Slash!"
Nyxen unleashed his unstable fusion, black and silver qi erupting around him like a storm. "Corruption Break!"
Light and shadow met the descending blade.
The world screamed.
For a moment, it seemed they would be obliterated—two small figures crushed beneath the judgment of the Sword Dao.
But then the storm cleared.
The Guardian's sword had stopped, caught between Liuying's unwavering clarity and Nyxen's defiant corruption.
The colossus slowly lowered its blade, stepping back. Its voice echoed once more.
"Two truths. Both flawed. Both unbroken. Continue."
Its form dissolved into a thousand blades that rained down, embedding into the earth like gravestones.
Silence fell.
Nyxen collapsed to one knee, his body trembling, cracks spreading deeper. Blood dripped from his lips, but his grin was wild, triumphant. "Hah… told you, snow maiden. Survival works."
Liuying's sword lowered, her chest rising and falling with sharp breaths. She looked at him, her pale eyes unreadable. "For now."