The survivors stumbled through the canyon night, dragging the wounded and carrying what few supplies they could salvage.
The silence was suffocating. No one spoke of the outpost, or how close they had come to being annihilated.
Shen Yuan pushed himself to the front, ribs on fire with every step. Yun Xue walked beside him, a bandage dark with blood around her shoulder. Han Fei trailed close behind, his scarred face a mask of quiet fury.
We can't keep this pace, I said. They're exhausted. If Veylan pursues, we won't be able to outrun him.
"He's not chasing us," Shen Yuan said, voice low.
Yun Xue shot him a glance. "You're sure?"
"He doesn't have to," Shen Yuan said.
The canyon widened into a broad ravine, its floor littered with the remnants of abandoned camps. Survivors slumped against the walls as Yun Xue called for a halt, her voice carrying over the sound of labored breathing.
"We'll set watch rotations," she said. "Two hours of rest, then we move."
"Move where?" a Dreg demanded. "The Bone Court knows we're out here. We can't just keep running!"
Han Fei stepped forward. "We can't give up now. If we reach the Nexus, we can free the branded captives still inside. Every life we save makes this worth it."
The branded captives murmured agreement, but the Dregs were unconvinced.
"Worth it? We lost sixteen people at the outpost!" another shouted. "What's the point of freeing more if we're just going to die?"
Yun Xue silenced him with a glare. "We don't have the luxury of asking what's worth it. If you want to survive, you follow Shen Yuan's orders."
All eyes turned to Shen Yuan.
He met their gazes, forcing himself to stand tall. "We rest. Then we move. The Bone Court will strike again soon, and when they do…" He tightened his grip on the broken haft of his spear. "…we won't be caught flat-footed."
The strike came before dawn.
It wasn't Veylan.
The sky split open with a sound like tearing silk as an aura descended over the canyon—a suffocating weight that crushed the survivors to their knees.
[ SUPPRESSION FIELD STRENGTH: 98% ]
I felt the pressure in every line of my code.
This is not Veylan, I whispered.
A shadow walked down the canyon wall as if gravity had no claim on him. His presence was a void, devouring light and sound, his figure obscured by a cloak of shifting darkness.
"The Court King," Yun Xue breathed.
He didn't need to speak.
The Bone Court enforcers flowed into the canyon behind him, each carrying suppression talismans that amplified the crushing field. Survivors collapsed where they stood, unable to even lift their weapons.
Shen Yuan tried to rise, teeth gritted against the invisible weight. "Get up," he hissed to those around him. "We have to move!"
Han Fei dragged himself to his feet, trembling under the pressure. "I won't—"
The Court King raised a hand.
Han Fei was slammed into the canyon wall, blood bursting from his lips.
"Stop!" Shen Yuan shouted. He staggered forward, spear haft raised, but the Court King's gaze pinned him where he stood.
[ SYSTEM CORE STABILITY: 24%… 19%… 15% ]
He's stripping me out, I said, panic rising.
A voice filled the canyon, deep and resonant.
"You have forgotten your place."
The Court King's words carried no anger, only certainty.
"You are vermin. You spread like rot. And now you believe you can challenge the Bone Court's order."
He gestured toward Shen Yuan. "End this rebellion. Kill him."
The enforcers surged forward.
"Hold the line!" Yun Xue screamed. She threw herself at the first enforcer, daggers flashing, buying the survivors a moment's reprieve.
Han Fei staggered back into formation, rallying the branded captives. They fought with everything they had, but the suppression field made every strike feel like it was underwater.
Shen Yuan's vision blurred as he parried blow after blow, ribs screaming with every breath.
"We can't win this," he gasped through the tether.
We can't run either, I said. But there's one chance.
I projected a schematic into his mind: the canyon's southern wall, riddled with unstable rock.
"If we bring it down…" Shen Yuan whispered.
…we bury the Court King and his enforcers. But survival probability is under 10%.
"Do it," Shen Yuan said.
He fought his way to the canyon wall, planting talisman charges along the fault lines while Yun Xue and Han Fei held the line.
The Court King turned toward him, cloak shifting like a living shadow. "Futile."
Shen Yuan slammed the final charge into place and dove for cover.
The canyon wall erupted.
The world became stone and dust and silence.
Shen Yuan coughed, dragging himself out from under a slab of rock. Around him, the survivors were scattered, bloodied, half-conscious. The canyon was a jagged ruin.
But the Court King was gone.
At least, for now.
[ SURVIVOR COUNT: 37 ]
"We move," Shen Yuan rasped, voice raw. "Before he returns."
Han Fei pulled him to his feet. "Shen Yuan… what now?"
Shen Yuan looked at the distant glow of the Nexus.
"Now," he said, "we finish this."