Chapter 26: Light Piercing the Abyss
The cathedral was crumbling, each strike tearing through stone and shattering pillars. Jian's shadow-beast loomed taller, its monstrous form blotting out what little moonlight filtered through the broken ceiling.
Mei Lin struggled to catch her breath, blood dripping from a cut across her cheek. "He's drawing too much power from the runes," she warned. "If this keeps up, the entire city could collapse with this cathedral."
Le Wai tightened his grip on his blade, his eyes locked on Jian. "Then we end it here."
The beast raised both claws, shadows swirling into a sphere of crushing darkness. The air warped, the very ground trembling as the attack grew. Jian's laughter rang out, cold and merciless.
"This is the abyss, Le Wai! Let's see if your light can survive it!"
The sphere detonated, unleashing a tidal wave of shadow that devoured everything in its path. The force ripped through walls and shattered the floor beneath them.
Le Wai planted his feet, lifting his blade high. A faint glow spread across the steel, then burned brighter, fueled by every promise, every regret, every memory he carried.
"I won't let the past destroy us!" he roared.
His blade erupted with radiant light, a piercing brilliance that cut through the darkness like a dawn breaking the night. The shadow-wave crashed against it, hissing and writhing as if in agony.
For the first time, Jian's voice faltered. "…Impossible."
Mei Lin shielded her eyes from the glow. "Le Wai… your power—it's changing."
The cathedral trembled violently, light and shadow colliding in a storm that threatened to consume them all. But in the heart of the chaos, Le Wai stood unbroken, his blade blazing like a beacon.
"This ends with me," he said, voice steady and resolute. "Not tomorrow. Not later. Now."
And with a single step forward, he charged into the abyss, his light cutting a path straight toward Jian.