The battle against General Leng Shiming dragged on endlessly.
Silas could feel it in his bones, time stretching, muscles screaming. He stood on the cold ice, a spike of ice embedded in his thigh, frost spreading from his shoulder, but still he stood, facing the icy demon.
Confidence surged through him, not bravado, not recklessness.
Faith.
He couldn't hesitate. Master Zhang had warned him, fear was the true enemy.
"So, you'll face me head-on?" Leng said, amused. "Bold."
Leng charged. Frost spilled from his blade with every step, freezing the floor beneath him.
Silas met him.
Steel collided with steel, blow for blow, strike for strike. The clash echoed through the shattered palace. For a moment, Silas held his own. His movements were sharp, precise. Leng swung down, Silas just narrowly missed it, but the blade caught his face, leaving a slice across the bridge of his nose. It bled.
Then Leng accelerated.
Swinging again for the head, Silas ducked down, staying on the defensive was all he could do while he tried to regain his energy.
But each swing came heavier, faster, and colder. Leng thrusted his blade forward, Silas stepped to the side, but pain shot through his thigh. Leng quickly noticed the lag in speed, slashing full force from the right, Silas had no choice but to parry the swing.
Ice crept up Silas's blade with each clash, the dulling scrape of metal ringing in the hall.
Leng swung again, an upward slash, Silas pushed his blade down with all his might to stop the attack. The ice was getting close to covering his entire blade.
Leng used his free hand and encased it in ice. Punching Silas in the face sending him to the floor.
Silas struggled up, his leg bled even more now.
CRACK.
His blade had shattered.
Silas froze.
He was now weaponless. Defenseless. He knew no hand-to-hand combat. His water magic was useless against Leng's ice. He stood exposed.
"If only you had more time," Leng said. "You might have become competent."
He faced Silas again.
"But you lack talent. And in this world, talent is everything. Even I would never have risen this far without my natural gifts."
Leng raised his blade.
"You will always be one step behind boy," Leng said coldly.
And swung.
The strike stopped. A massive spectral figure manifested behind Silas, its arm blocking the blow effortlessly.
Leng staggered back.
"What… is that?!"
The spirit spoke, voice booming, "Silas. Get yourself together, my boy."
Silas glanced behind him, his ancestor, just as before, "I can't beat him," Silas whispered. "He's too strong. Without my sword… I'm nothing."
The spirit flickered.
"But don't you see?" it said. "You do have a sword."
Warmth flooded Silas's palm. A blade formed in his hand, it was ethereal, unreal, yet solid in his grip. "How?" Silas whispered.
"Because I believe in you," the spirit replied, "I am the manifestation of your will. Your refusal to die. Your desire to win."
Silas still looked unsure in his abilities, "I–I don't know if I can do this."
"I've watched you work harder than anyone, Silas." The figure said reassuringly. "You beat guys with better gear than you, more experience than you, and hotshots with bigger names. You scraped, clawed, and trained. And even when your own father doubted you, you never quit."
Silas clenched the blade.
"All you ever needed was the belief in yourself, and your will to win!"
The spirit ignited.
White flames enveloped the sword, burning brighter and brighter.
"Finish him," the spirit roared. "Remember your last name!"
Leng charged, no restraint, no mercy.
Silas met him.
Ice evaporated on contact. The white flames burned through every frozen strike. Silas moved faster, cleaner, and controlled.
Leng was driven back.
Silas raised his blade. The flames flared higher, tinged now with indigo.
"Phantom Sword Technique: Phantom Flame!" The blade passed through Leng's sword.
Then the blade passed through his body. Silence hung… Then Leng screamed, the fire erupting from within.
He collapsed, rolling as invisible fire consumed him from within. The flames finally revealed themselves, engulfing his body.
Silas extinguished the fire with water magic. Leng lay defeated, alive, but broken.
Silas's mind went to Deandre. He sprinted into the forest and heard a loud roar.
He ran even faster, the heat increased as he went further in, he must have been getting closer.
When he reached the scene, he couldn't believe what stood before him. A giant monster stood before him, not his friend. A man knelt before the monster, a bloody mess. It looked like an execution.
The monster readied its hand, its sharp claws stuck out ready to pierce the man's head with one thrust. Silas dashed forward.
The monster thrusted its hand forward.
Silas tackled the man, making him duck. The monster was clearly aggravated, yelling aggressively. Silas dragged the man away, into the forest. They hid behind a tree, the monster following their scent.
The man breathed raggedly, like a man close to death, he coughed up blood, "I owe you one."
"Yeah, sure. Can you stand, we're going to have to get out of here." Silas said, watching his back.
The man let out a painful laugh, holding his chest, "your vision good kid? I'm in no shape to run. Once we leave this tree's cover, that monster will find us. You're going to have to fight," he explained.
"You're insane. I'm not fighting that thing." Silas said.
"I can tell you're strong. The fact that you're even here means you beat Leng, and he's no pushover."
The man paused.
"Listen, I can give you a boost."
The man formed a weapon in his hand, "this blade is infused with my flame magic. Figured you needed an actual sword, compared to whatever that is. If you use your magic, and my flame magic, you can win."
Silas thought about it, he couldn't leave his friend like that, he'd have to take Dre down to bring him back to normal.
"I'll do it." Silas said.
The man nodded, "good luck."
Silas left the cover of the tree, circling around the monster, running behind trees, but the monster's sense of smell and instinct was no joke. It found Silas, and attacked, punching where Silas was. Silas had jumped out of the way just in time.
It followed up, it was quick, it punched Silas into a tree, before Silas could even raise his swords to block. Silas gasped, the air escaped his body. The monster ran at him, it raised its foot to kick Silas through the tree, Silas ducked, it was more of a throwing his body down, but he needed to get down somehow. The tree the monster kicked flew through the forest.
Silas's eyes widened.
He scrambled away, the monster hot on his heels. Silas spun around quickly, swinging his phantom blade, the sword passed through the monster's fist. The monster's giant hand slammed into Silas's face, but Silas pressed on with the attack regardless. He flew back, rolling up to his feet. Wiping the blood from his nose and eyes, he watched as the monster's arm started to burn and catch fire. It screamed.
He ran at the monster with both blades, bringing his arms back and cutting through the monster. Silas turned around to see the monster engulfed in flames of red and white.
He extinguished the flame, and smoke erupted from it. When it cleared, Dre lay unconscious. Silas dragged him next to a tree, and took a seat next to him, "I think that's enough fighting for both of us Dre…" He fell asleep.
In the palace, Liwei sprints through the building, when he finds a lightning bolt embedded in the wall…
"Killian…" Liwiei thinks to himself as he inspects the bolt.
He decides to follow them, running through the halls, in the hunt for Weilong Zhao.