The terrace groaned under silence.
Blood steamed on cracked stone. Fallen disciples lay sprawled, their qi fading into mist.
And above them, five figures descended the staircase of the inner hall.
Black robes flowed around them, embroidered with faint silver threads that shimmered like living qi. Their presence pressed heavier than storms, bending the very air around them.
Elders.
Not one.
Five.
✦
Arjun's ember flickered faintly in my arms, pulsing weak light. His whisper trembled.
"…Ishaan… you can't… fight them…"
I coughed blood, grinning crookedly.
"Story of my life."
The Inkblade purred, shadows curling greedily.
"…five marrow flames… thick with order, sharp with hunger… bleed them, fracture… bleed them all…"
✦
The lead elder stepped forward. His hair was silver, eyes sharp, blade sheathed at his side. When he spoke, his voice carried like rolling thunder.
"You cut the wall. You slew our disciples. You crossed steps reserved for blood of the mountain."
His gaze sharpened.
"You have proven strength."
The air trembled with his words.
"But strength alone is corruption."
✦
Another elder, her robes tight, her voice sharper, hissed.
"He wields a cursed blade. Demonic arts stain his marrow. To let him climb further would poison the sect itself."
The third spoke calmly, fingers folded behind his back.
"Perhaps. But he has reached here regardless. Few outsiders climb this far."
Their voices pressed against each other, a chorus of judgment.
Debate.
But never mercy.
✦
I spat blood onto stone, grinning faintly.
"You done talking? Or should I wait for the mountain to write a book about me first?"
Their eyes narrowed.
The first elder's qi flared.
"Arrogant."
✦
The five spread across the terrace, blades sliding free in perfect rhythm.
Qi erupted, filling the air like fire and storm, twisting banners and snapping stone.
Threads screamed across my vision, Fracture Sense nearly blinding me.
Not just cords of individuals.
But cords woven together.
A formation.
Five as one.
✦
The Inkblade screamed in delight.
"…YES… marrow fused with marrow… cut it, fracture… tear their unity apart…"
Arjun's ember flickered violently, whispering.
"…Ishaan… don't… you'll die…"
I coughed blood, steadying the blade.
"Then I'll die climbing."
✦
They moved together.
Five blades arced.
Five storms of qi struck as one.
The terrace split. The air howled.
I raised the Inkblade, shadows screaming, blood pouring from my wounds.
And I cut.
Their blades fell as one.
Five arcs of steel.Five storms of qi.
The terrace screamed, stone splitting under the weight of their unity.
I raised the Inkblade, shadows boiling, ribs grinding as I braced for the impact.
When steel met shadow, the world cracked.
✦
The formation's weight was unlike anything I had faced.
Disciples had pressed like tides.The first elder had pressed like a storm.
But this—
This was the mountain itself collapsing.
Every strike carried more than one man's qi. Their cords wove together, feeding each other, bending around my cuts.
Fracture Sense burned so bright I nearly blacked out.
Cords twisted. Cords reinforced.
It wasn't five men.
It was one.
✦
The Inkblade shrieked in my grip, shadows lashing violently.
"…marrow fused, order perfected… but no matter how strong the cord, fracture, it still trembles… CUT IT…"
I staggered back, blood spraying from my mouth. My arms shook under the weight, vision tunneling.
Arjun's ember flickered violently in my chest, whispering.
"…Ishaan… you can't… break all five…"
I grinned through blood.
"Then I'll break one."
✦
I lunged, shadows flaring outward.
The formation pressed back, blades sweeping in perfect rhythm.
But I wasn't aiming for all of them.
Fracture Sense revealed it—a single cord within the weave, faintly trembling, stretched thinner than the rest.
The knot.
The seam.
I slashed for it.
✦
The five struck as one, qi howling, stone shattering.
I roared, ribs snapping, blood flooding my throat.
And I cut.
✦
The cord snapped.
The formation screamed.
For an instant, their unity faltered.
The storm fractured.
And I drove forward, shadows tearing across their weave.
One elder staggered back, qi unraveling around him, blood spraying across his lips.
The others pressed harder, formation struggling to mend.
But it was no longer perfect.
✦
The lead elder's eyes narrowed, voice rumbling like thunder.
"He sees cords."
Another hissed, fury sharp. "He cuts them."
The third spat blood, eyes burning. "Then we cut him."
Their qi surged again, formation reforging, blades rising in unison.
The terrace cracked further, abyss yawning below.
I grinned faintly, chest heaving, blood dripping from my lips.
"Good luck."
✦
They struck again.
Steel screamed. Shadows howled.
The terrace became ruin, stone collapsing, clouds whipping into storm.
Every clash rattled my bones, every breath tore my chest.
But every cut I made—
Every trembling cord I severed—
Tore deeper into their unity.
✦
Arjun's ember pulsed violently, whispering, "…Ishaan… you'll die like this…"
I coughed blood, smiling weakly.
"Story of my life."
The Inkblade laughed wildly, drunk on carnage.
"…YES… bleed, fracture… bleed and break until even mountains bow…"
✦
The battle blurred into blood and shadow.
Elders staggered, robes torn, qi flickering.
The terrace groaned, cracked, screamed beneath us.
And at last—
The gong above struck again.
Not alarm.Not judgment.
Recognition.
✦
The elders halted, blades humming faintly, qi storming around them.
The lead elder's eyes locked on mine, sharp and cold.
"You cut the weave of five."
His voice carried weight heavier than stone.
"You are no mere outsider. No disciple. No demon."
He exhaled, blade lowering slowly.
"You are fracture."
✦
The others still seethed, but they too lowered their swords.
The formation dissolved, qi fading back into mist.
The terrace was ruin.
But I was still standing.
Barely.
✦
Arjun's ember flickered faintly, whispering, "…you lived…"
I coughed blood, grinning faintly.
"Story of my life."
The Inkblade purred, shadows curling in satisfaction.
"…the marrow bends… the sect bleeds… climb higher, fracture… climb higher…"
✦
The lead elder turned, his voice echoing through the terrace.
"The mountain acknowledges you. Climb. If you can reach the peak, the sect will judge you again."
He vanished into mist, the others following.
Leaving me broken, bleeding, but alive.
And still climbing.