The Starfall Blade - Chapter 3 Shadows of the Empire
The airship Crimson Phoenix cut through crystalline clouds as Kai tightened his grip on the helm. His silver hair whipped in the wind, amber eyes scanning the horizon. Behind him, the engine room exploded.
"SERIOUSLY?!" Yuki vaulted over debris, her red scarf singed at the edges. "We just fixed that yesterday!"
"It wasn't me this time!" Kai yanked the wheel hard as three Imperial warships emerged from the cloud bank, their golden hulls gleaming in the sunlight. Flags bearing the Celestial Empire's sun emblem snapped in the wind.
A booming voice echoed across the sky through a voice amplification crystal: "Kai Stormwind! By order of Empress Selene, you are under arrest for theft of the Celestial Core's power!"
Yuki groaned. "I thought we saved the world? Shouldn't they be thanking us?"
"Apparently the Empire doesn't see it that way." Kai's hand instinctively went to the Starfall Blade on his back. Since absorbing the Core's energy, the weapon pulsed with even greater power—and made them a target.
The lead warship fired a warning shot that tore through their already damaged sails. The Crimson Phoenix lurched violently.
"We can't outrun them!" Yuki grabbed the railing as the ship tilted. "Not with the engines like this!"
"Then we don't run." Kai's amber eyes hardened with determination. "We fight."
"Against the entire Imperial Fleet? Have you lost your mind?"
He flashed his signature grin. "Probably. But when has that stopped us?"
Before Yuki could respond, armored soldiers on sky-gliders launched from the warships, their rocket lances aimed directly at the Crimson Phoenix. Twenty soldiers. Maybe thirty.
"Kai, I know that look," Yuki warned, drawing her twin daggers. "Whatever crazy plan you're thinking—"
"Trust me?"
She sighed, but her lips curved into a smile. "Always."
They leaped from the ship simultaneously.
Kai drew the Starfall Blade mid-fall, starlight erupting along its edge. He spun through the air like a meteor, each swing sending shockwaves that knocked gliders off course. Soldiers tumbled through the sky, their formations breaking apart.
Yuki moved like a phantom, landing on a glider and dispatching its rider with quick, precise strikes. She kicked off, somersaulting to the next one, using the soldiers' own vehicles against them. Her movements were poetry—deadly, beautiful, unstoppable.
But more kept coming.
"Kai!" Yuki called out, fighting back-to-back with him on a stolen glider. "There's too many!"
That's when the shadow fell over them.
A massive dreadnought descended from above—twice the size of the other warships, its hull black as midnight. Standing on the bow was a figure in ornate armor, a crimson cape billowing behind him.
"Prince Ryu," Kai breathed, recognition hitting him hard. "My old rival."
The prince's voice carried across the wind: "Kai Stormwind. It's been five years since you betrayed the Empire and stole from the royal vault. Now you dare steal divine power itself?"
"I didn't steal anything!" Kai shouted back. "I was chosen by the Core!"
"Then prove it." Prince Ryu drew his own legendary blade—the Sunfire Edge, wreathed in golden flames. "Face me in single combat. If you win, I'll call off the fleet. If you lose..." His eyes shifted to Yuki. "She becomes my prisoner, and you surrender the Starfall Blade."
Yuki's grip tightened on her daggers. "Don't you dare accept that—"
"I accept," Kai said quietly.
"WHAT?!"
He turned to her, his expression serious. "I won't let them hurt you. Not the Empire, not anyone."
"Idiot." Tears welled in her emerald eyes. "What if you lose?"
Kai cupped her face gently. "Then I guess you'll have to rescue me. Again."
She kissed him fiercely, desperately, like it might be the last time.
"Come back to me," she whispered against his lips.
"Always."
Kai stepped onto the dreadnought's deck, the Starfall Blade blazing with starlight. Prince Ryu's Sunfire Edge erupted with golden flames.
The two legendary warriors faced each other as the sky itself seemed to hold its breath.
"Let's end this," Kai said.
Their blades clashed, and the heavens exploded with light.