"Get them!"
"Fuck! That crazy bitch took out my eye! I'll kill her…I SWEAR I'LL KILL HER MYSELF!!"
"Stop screaming, you idiot, and get them before they escape! We're running out of time!"
A desperate, furious group of cultivators tore through the ruined palace halls, demolishing everything in their path as they hunted those fleeing from them. As they zoomed past the corridor, the sounds of destruction began to fade, leaving an eerie silence behind. Moments later, a lone member returned, surveying the area.
"Odd… I could have sworn I sensed something here. Where could they be hiding? Once I get my hands on that whore, I'll make you watch as I enjoy her, Aetherion… just you wait."
Frustrated, he spread his spiritual sense across the pillars and halls. As he prepared to leave, something caught his attention—a drop of blood on the floor near a pillar made of an unknown material. A smirk spread across his handsome face. Slowly, he advanced toward the pillar, gathering qi into his palms.
Once within arm's reach, he thrust his hands forward, preparing to unleash his technique.
"DIE, YOU BAST—"
Before the words could leave his mouth, a sharp gleam struck from above, aimed at his temple. He yelped in shock and tried to reverse his qi to switch to a defensive technique. The backlash was painful, almost severing his meridians. Coughing up blood, he barely dodged to the side, the sword missing his head by inches—but it wasn't a clean escape.
"ARGHHHHH!!"
Pressing his palm to the left side of his face to stem the bleeding from his eye, he left the right side of his body exposed to a second, unseen assassin. This time, he was ready. Roaring, he gripped the attacker's weapon, severing nearly all the tendons in his hand, but holding on tight.
"YOU THINK YOU'VE WON, COWARDS!"
Pain and fury coalesced into a blast of wind qi from his open hand, striking at the attacker's face. The attacker tilted their body, exposing their shoulder to the brunt of the attack. Flesh and clothing tore audibly as the technique landed. No groan escaped the attacker. Instead, they lunged forward, their useless arm dangling, revealing a set of perfect white teeth.
The young man froze, shock rooting him in place. By the time he reacted it was too late.
"ARGHHHH! My face! MY FACEEE! YOU CRAZY BITCH!"
The second attacker struck with a brutal kick, sending him flying through the corridor wall. The attacker didn't pause. Grabbing their injured partner, they raced toward the pillar, shouting over their shoulder:
"When I get out of this, you better pray to whatever deity you believe in,Sylas Karth. Because when I come for you, nothing on this star will keep you safe from me…"
With a flash of light from a medallion depicting a snake eating its tail, both vanished, leaving the crumbling hall behind. Moments later, Sylas Karth erupted from the rubble, roaring.
"VAIRON!! IF I DON'T KILL YOU IN THIS LIFE, I'LL CALL YOU GRANDPA!"
As he raged, the rest of his group approached, confused and amused.
"Yeesh, young master Karth, I didn't know you had such tastes… hahah—"
The mockery died on their lips as they saw his bloodied visage. Before anyone could react, the air in the mocking man's lungs expanded painfully. Panic set in as he looked for help from his peers, met only with cold, derisive stares.
"P-Please… please s-spa—"
"You wanted to laugh, right? Make jokes? Then do it… laugh for me. I. Said. Laugh."
Frozen under the cold, arrogant gaze, the pitiful cultivator could only struggle to breathe. A final sharp gasp ended in an explosion of blood, painting Sylas in gore. Silence followed. Sylas lowered his head to face the floor in silence as his hair covered his expression. No one dared speak or move. They watched him rage in silent unease until a sharp voice cut through their minds:
"And? Are we gonna stand here like idiots or chase that adulterer and his whore?"
Sylas lifted his head through his tangled black hair.
"…Lunara. Today… really is not the day for your entitled girl act."
The lady in question was a beauty that could topple nations. With flowing silver hair, and cold black eyes she gazed at the broken man before her. Lunara Arcanis stared coldly, full of scorn and disdain, mocking him further, stoking the flames of his rage.
"I care not for your failings or emasculation at the hands of my fiancé. I am helping only to capture him and demand an explanation. If you cannot control yourself… then you are useless to me."
Without another glance, she turned toward the pillar, now transformed into a massive black monolith, a terrifying serpent coiled around it. An aura of dread radiated from the serpent as its amethyst eyes seemed to pierce the souls of anyone who looked too long.
As Lunara studied the monolith for any hint of a passage, Sylas laughed, lifting his face to the ceiling.
"Hahaha… gehaha… HAHAHAHA. GOOD, GOOD… good."
Slicking back his hair, his horrifying wounds were revealed: blood from the earlier young man stained him. The left side of his face was split open from forehead to cheek; his eye damaged beyond repair. The right side was worse, the corner of his mouth missing a chunk of flesh, exposing teeth and jaw muscles. Even so, a twisted smile lingered as he turned to the girl.
"You speak truthfully, young lady Arcanis. Let's hurry and catch our prey~"
She gave him an expressionless glance before returning to her task. The rest of their group, shaken, moved to aid them while currying favor with Sylas.
Just wait until I get my hands on you, Aetherion. And you, Kaelira, you ungrateful wench. I'll make sure you understand your place in this world. You can only be mine!
As dark thoughts twisted through the scarred man's mind, the group pressed forward, guided by the ruin masters' divinations.
Vairon… where are you…