Deep within the cave, the shadows stood witness to a struggle not meant to last.
"Hmmm… it seems your strength hasn't changed. I must say, you've failed to penetrate the world of solitude, haven't you?"The Wing Chief whispered with a sly smile, his eyes digging into Zephyr's silent body, which stood unmoving, like an unyielding stone.
Calmly, he drew his strange sword—a blade pierced in the center, as if designed to penetrate rather than fight.From Zephyr's perspective, it was nothing but black mist pulsing with dark energy, poisonous and lethal.
"Ha… let's end this, blind one."The Wing Chief laughed, infusing his sword with energy as he lunged forward with swift steps, each one shaking the desolate cave floor.
"Let me free you from your torment! Ki-ki—"But his voice cut off abruptly.
Zephyr appeared behind him in an unexplainable way. No sound, no trace—only the shadows watching carefully.Arms of pure blue energy burst from his body, stretching like cold flashes of light.
Before the Wing Chief could turn…One of the arms passed through him like wind through fields, light and fast, yet carrying death.
A faint sound… then his knees buckled, and he slowly fell.
"Y-you…"The words spilled out, a mixture of pain and hot blood seeping from his mouth, as if they moaned under the weight of the end.
"You… have penetrated it…"His eyes widened as if refusing to believe what was happening.But his face carried no anger or scream… only the astonishment of a man realizing, in a final moment, that his life had not deserved all that arrogance.
He collapsed onto his side, silent and without resistance, an empty hollow body, dying while staring at a man without eyes.
His pride, which had filled his voice, vanished like smoke in cold air.
Zephyr stood unmoving for long seconds, then his energy arms dissipated as if they had never existed.He moved calmly toward the cave exit, where the forest spread its shadow beneath a cold, full moon.
He lifted his head slightly, a faint smile tracing his lips."Sometimes… I forget that I cannot see. But I can say… it's a beautiful moon."To him, the moon was merely a wisp of yin energy, a still mold in a deep black sky.
He whispered to himself inwardly:"I still need time to penetrate the Core-Breaker's world… before the Sword Palace hounds come after me again."
His body vanished, transforming into a spectral form, gliding at frightening speed above the dense forest.
Suddenly, he stopped.
"Vital signs… weak… amidst a sea of dense death energy."His inner voice rang like a warning from an awakened spirit.
He descended like a cold breeze between the trees, stopping at a nightmarish scene:bodies strewn about, shattered carts, dead horses, and a warm river of blood flowing.
And there it was… that sound, a trembling child's cry, weak and broken.
From Zephyr's perspective, the corpses were nothing but wilted strands of black energy, lifeless.Yet at the center of this devastation, a small strand of energy quivered, fading slowly.
Zephyr advanced swiftly through the sea of chaotic energies, summoning the arms of energy branching from his body like flashes, carrying the frail, bloodied child.
He thought inwardly:"These arms… no matter how perfect, remain cold energy without soul."
Considering his own amputated body:"Flesh cannot be replaced… but at least I can hold life."
The child did not feel Zephyr carrying him; there was no warmth, no heat… only energy contact.And Zephyr, too, felt nothing; those were silent arms of energy, without sensation, without pulse.When he carried the child, it was not truly carrying, but observation… watching a fragile life strand, quivering like a bud not yet blossomed.
He did not see the child's face, hear his cries, or touch his skin, yet he knew… he only knew he was alive, because the root of his energy had not yet died.
Zephyr stood holding the child, staring into the void, at old blood, and the small strand of life still pulsing.
For the first time, he whispered to himself, with a faint touch of tenderness:"I do not know who you are… but it seems your family was killed by bandits. Yet, because you survived that ordeal and followed the path that led you to me… perhaps fate has carried you through the blood to my hands."
He then turned calmly, heading toward a rock by the roadside, placing the child upon it carefully, as if temporarily leaving him in the embrace of the world.
He returned silently among the corpses, his energy rising, dancing in the air like mist, then manifesting into four energy arms emerging from his body, extensions of his silence and intent.
The arms moved with frightening grace, not only brushing the ground, but folding the wilted strands of life back into their origin, into the earth, without a tear or a prayer.
When finished, he stood before the graves, silent, as the wind passed through the trees, respecting his stillness.
His inner voice rang like a whisper in the night:"Rest in peace… the crows will not devour you."
He returned to the child, lifting him again with his energy arms, lowering his head to gaze at the faint life force within.
He thought to himself:"I am hunted by the Sword Palace, and the world gnaws at me… will I bring to him the hell I live in? Will I weaken what is already weak?"
He slowly turned his head, looking into the surrounding darkness:"Perhaps if I left him in a nearby village, he could live a simple life… perhaps forget this day."
But the child stirred, chest trembling with muffled cries… despite the blood, he was still fighting to live.
Zephyr reconsidered his choice."And who said this world allows anyone to live simply?"The question emerged like a faint light in an abandoned valley.
A hidden silence passed before Zephyr gently rested the child's head against his chest, as if seeking a pulse of safety amid a broken world."Very well… so be it."And he vanished with the wind, carrying the child toward a new fate whose face no one yet knew.