We all sell our souls in the end.
How many get a fair price?
— Excerpt from Meditations, by the Red Emperor
If Master Ji was surprised at Molam's shout or the nature of the instruction, he did not show it. He shoved Roxxa at them, using the push to dodge a bolt of lightning and pivoting back with both feet on the ground, indigo gaze up and searching for the Tempest.
Molam followed up on the Whale's immediate response. "Support Master Ji by distracting the Islander without leaving my Domain." He pointed to Primrose and Scarlette, hoping they shared similar skills, then pointed to Shurra and Martyker. "Repel the OutCast if she makes a move on us, but stay out of her reach and don't get dragged outside."
Though Molam had no doubt the Empire’s attackers had heard his orders, the sudden focus on the Tempest saw them all hesitate. In a quick leap, Master Ji had reached the space near Rei before she could bring back her fan, his hands clenched together for a downward blow.
By the time Desmi pulled back to aim at Master Ji, Primrose had leapt to the top of the Sage's Mirror and thrown a dagger at him; the Islander’s dodge threw him off balance. Desmi looked down, searching for the new enemy, and was forced to flip backwards to avoid the two needles aimed at his eyes. Without Desmi to stun Master Ji, the Tempest flicked her fan into a new position, careening down towards the ground just in time for those giant fists to hit nothing but air.
"Go for the HushFang now that the Tempest can't intervene!" Molam shouted at Master Ji, but a commotion from Shurra and Martyker brought Molam's attention back down to the ground. The two had stalled Roxxa's advance—but only just, if Molam had to guess, judging by the matching looks of unspoken pain on their faces. Blades flashed again, but this time the OutCast shoved the tip of Martyker's blade to the ground, sidestepped Shurra's slash, and closed in.
"Let her approach!" Molam ran forward as he shouted; the Domain moved with him at its center. At the sound of his voice, the two dodged aside. Roxxa took a reflexive step back at his approach, the hesitation in her eyes confirming Molam’s suspicion that she was unwilling to enter this new Domain assuming it held a trap. Molam had nothing of the sort; he simply gambled on her caution against the unknown. The bluff couldn't be maintained forever but for it was enough to force the Titled One to withhold her onslaught. For now, it would also remove the pressure from Kalle and Shurra to hold back a Titled One.
Kymja bounced off the ground with Nettie in tow, a deluge of water splashing down after her. The Whale crashed down a moment later, pressing the water forward with a forceful push of his hand. Three blades of green wind sliced through the water, another attempt by Rei to sever the connection. But before it could collapse, the Whale flipped his hand to push his palm upwards, shoving the bulk of the water towards Kyma while diverting a section towards Rei. She deflected the oncoming torrent with a blast of wind, then soared back upwards, staying out of reach of the chasing water. Kymja vaulted backwards, up towards the walls, trying to stay ahead of the whale's water and force him to split his attention between her and Rei. But more water rushed out of the Arena's corridors to tangle Kymja by her legs, slowing the Titled One down.
The Whale pounced.
The harpoon shot upwards from below; the Whale twisted in midair to avoid it. But the Islander was not done — he gestured and lightning lanced from his hand to his harpoon, catching the Whale between them and stunning him before he could hammer Kymja back to the Arena's floor. She dodged out of his reach at that moment, bringing herself to the wall and resuming her climb upwards. Master Ji fell, shrugging off the paralysis to point at the HushFang. Water gathered, but dissipated as he was forced to twist his body in midair again, this time to deflect Roxxa's thrown poleaxe with a kick. The Tempest's fan swiped through the air, emerald blades of wind forcing the Whale back down to earth.
"Stay!" Molam roared at Shurra before she stepped outside of his Domain. Their lives were forfeit if they ventured outside of his little bubble of safety. To Molam's right, Roxxa picked up her poleaxe and advanced on them again, seemingly deciding that she could still attack from range. She brought back her poleaxe in a movement intended to throw, then sliced down to one side, splitting the Whale's jet of water into two streams that barreled into the Arena's walls behind her.
The Whale drew water and pointed again — lightning struck his arm at the same time a green gale scattered the water into mist. Master Ji’s arm fell limp, but he held out his other palm towards Molam's group and water answered his call, swiftly forming a barrier of ice around them. All the while, Master Ji's gaze darted repeatedly back to Kymja scaling the Arena's sides, making her handholds slippery and causing lethal icicles to erupt under her hands and feet. Yet all it amounted to was to slow the kidnapper down.
Roxxa swung her weapon, shattering the ice before it could fully form; Ji snagged her by the hem of her clothes, then let go to dodge the harpoon before it could impale him. Roxxa took the chance to slip out of his grasp. The Whale of ZhiXi looked up at the Islander and bared his teeth in frustration. Though she had sustained an injury to her shoulder, Kymja had once again made it up to the third floor.
Shurra made to move, but Molam put a hurried hand on her arm to stop her.
"We can't," Molam muttered, shaking his head. Their disrupting the Empire's Titled Ones had created an opening for Master Ji to move, but the Empire had adjusted their strategy to match it. The HushFang clearly focused her efforts on eluding the Whale's grasp while she trusted the other three Titled Ones to maintain a good distraction.
And now the Empire's forces were wary of their interference, they were taking care to position themselves in ways that would allow them to better react, glowing eyes paying full attention to each of their movements. The shift in attention was enough to disrupt any plan Molam could think of at the moment. They couldn't keep the other Titled Ones distracted long enough for Master Ji to land a decisive hit on the HushFang. Molam glanced at the Sage's Mirror, contemplating it as his next gamble — but it was not an outcome he could control.
Shurra stomped forward from the side wearing a murderous look of resolve. "I am a daughter of the White Bear," she thundered ritualistically. "Roxxa the Traitor, I challenge—"
She was cut off by the Whale landing with his back turned towards her, one hand held out in a clear gesture of stop. "No. Stay put."
The Whale did not look at them, his gaze flowing between the Tempest, the Islander, and the OutCast. When he bent to prepare another leap, Desmi's yellow lightning flashed through the air, tearing across stalagmites as Rei's emerald wind pressed down from above. Abandoning the jump, Master Ji clapped his hands together before the lightning struck him; an icicle shoved aside several stalagmites meant to impale Molam from the wall behind them. Martyker's greatsword sliced through the air, severing the last bit of earth before it could pierce Molam's arm.
Roxxa rushed forward as Master Ji stumbled out from the dust of the Islander's attack, her poleaxe bearing down on him meant to impale him through the head.Still reeling from the lingering paralysis, Master Ji barely shifted to the side and grunted with pain when the sharp edge of the poleaxe buried itself into his shoulder, hitting the same spot it had glanced off before. But his large hand shot out, grasping Roxxa by the neck and intending to shove her down into the ground when Desmi's harpoon shot towards his arm. Electrified tip met reinforced skin, and though the weapon was forced off course, Master Ji's grip slackened enough for a swipe of Rei's wind to yank Roxxa out of his grasp. Roxxa backed off several paces, clutching at her throat as the Whale inspected the bleeding gash in his arm, rotating his injured shoulder.
"You can't protect both the Prodigy and the Oracle's vessel, Whale of ZhiXia." Rei circled from above, the wind carrying her voice down. "Look at your sorry state — is this befitting for the Empire's former Commander? What has the Oracle done for you these past decades? She's worked you like a pack mule and now you're weighed down by her newest vessel, one that's not even Titled. It's never too late to ask the Prince to accept you again, we know he's —"
"Rei." Roxxa spoke up, her tone cold — dangerous. "We do not speak for the Prince."
"We all know what he's thinking, he's just too lenient when it comes to —"
A loud roar echoed through the air and a large black form crashed straight into the Tempest, knocking her to the side.
"REI!" Yao-ren’s voice bellowed from atop the black pixiu. Green wind tore at him and his bond in response. Most of it bounced harmlessly off the pixiu's thick fur, but several cuts appeared on its wings. The angry pixiu chomped down at the Tempest, who prevented it from closing its jaws with her fan. "Did you think you could hide forever?"
GloomSire’s furious charge had accomplished what Molam’s careful planning had not. Roxxa looked back down too late to react to Ji, who was already within reach. His fist connected with her torso; despite her reinforcement, something cracked audibly as the blow sent her flying backwards into the Arena's few remaining walls.
Lightning spiked through the air. Master Ji held up a ball of water which met the strike then cascaded downwards, the water guiding the Islander's attack towards the ground. Up in the air, Rei had already extricated herself away from the pixiu's jaws and paws, trapping Yao-ren and the pixiu inside a small green cyclone. But a black-feathered owl harassed her in midair, its talons gripping tightly into her shoulders as it pecked furiously for her eyes.
Where was Kymja? Molam scanned the surroundings, looking up near the Arena's roof to see the Titled One vault away, Nettie still in her grasp. "The HushFang's gone!" he shouted at Master Ji, who was still diverting the Islander's attack. "They've taken Nettie!"
"Rei can't support us in checking his Domain!" Desmi's yellow glowing eyes fixated on Master Ji's form behind the cascading waterfall of lightning, shouting to the Roxxa-sized hole. "He's forcing it!"
From even within Molam's Domain, everyone felt the pressure of their surroundings change. The water pooling over the Arena's floor bubbled and danced, a ripple vibrating across its surface. Several large droplets levitated upwards and the fiery Domain's bubble hissed with evaporation. A swirling torrent ran throughout the Arena, covering each of the sides and rushing upwards in a bid to create a dome.
Despite being buffeted by the owl's wings and holding the fan in front of her face, the Tempest responded first: a blast of sustained wind shoving everything down. Then she twisted in the air to escape the owl. "Roxxa said the Prodigy takes priority! We cover Kymja's retreat!" She darted through the air in a blur and the owl followed, screeching in rage.
With a resounding roar, Yao-ren and the pixiu broke past the Tempest's prison of wind, launching in pursuit with bloody bodies and determined faces. Molam saw Yao-ren catch the owl in one arm and cradle it with a gentleness that didn’t match the rage that emanated from the rest of him as they flew.
Desmi's lightning fizzled, then petered out. He launched his weapon immediately, the harpoon blasting through the curtain of water. Without checking to see if it hit, Desmi shouted, "Roxxa! If we're leaving, we leave now!"
"No."
The guttural growl was the only warning they got as the Whale burst through the curtain of water, pointing at the Islander. Nothing seemed to happen, but Desmi still threw himself to the ground. The next moment, ice shards exploded where he had been standing.
"None of you are leaving." Master Ji had already prepared a ball of water, pulling his hand backwards for a throw when a bloodied hand gripped at his arm.
"Go!" Roxxa shouted hoarsely up at Desmi. "Now!"
The Whale spun around, delivering an open palm strike down from above. The OutCast met it with her fist and their blows clapped together in a deafening snap. Roxxa staggered backwards, her fingers twisted, her wrist limp at a gruesome angle. A large ball of water surged forward to surround Roxxa, who made a desperate lunge to escape its reach. But she was too slow, too late. The Whale gestured and ice crawled up Roxxa's body before she could escape, encasing her within.
By the time the Whale looked up again, the Islander was nowhere to be seen. His face darkened; then he snapped his fingers. Each body of water in the vicinity, from the puddles to the pools on the ground, responded by dispersing into fine droplets. When the Whale waved his hand, the droplets spread throughout the destroyed Arena, blanketing it in a fine mist. Molam suspected that the Whale of ZhiXia was not taking chances by relying on his sense of aura alone; the mist would touch everything still in the vicinity.
The Whale's brows furrowed in concentration, then he nodded to himself before turning to look at Molam's group hiding in his red Domain. "Nothing else should be hidden here," he declared so they would know they were safe.
Stunned silence. The members of their group stared at the Whale of ZhiXia standing next to the icy encasement, inspecting his bleeding arm while laying a hand on the OutCast's prison. Water crept up, layering itself over and over in sheets of ice until the OutCast's figure was only a murky blob within.
Watching it happen, it seemed as though the fight had ended just as fast as it began.
For now.
But was it time to rest?
Molam broke the silence.
"Are you leaving the OutCast alive?"
"Yes," the Whale replied, focused on the task of reinforcing the icy prison.
"Why?" Shurra spoke up. "She's dangerous. We should kill her now."
Molam thought he understood why. "She is, and that increases her value as a hostage now that they've taken Nettie."
"There's little guarantee the Empire would take the trade," Scarlette disagreed. "The Empire wanted the Prodigy — enough to have sent four Titled Ones to ZhiXia City to take her. Master Ji, we should kill the OutCast now so the Empire loses a Titled One."
When Master Ji did not respond, Molam did. "While I agree with you, doing so loses us any leverage we have," Molam spoke up mildly. "So long as we have the OutCast, then it's not too late to make that decision later."
Moments passed before Master Ji lifted his hand, nodding to himself. "Roxxa's aura has been sealed inside. She can no longer reach for the earth to help her break out of this." He turned, looking from Molam to the rest. "I sincerely hope all of you are unhurt."
"We're fine," Molam replied, his mind still trying to understand what he had just witnessed. A battle — no, a skirmish between Titled Ones. He had just witnessed a battle between Titled Ones. "You still need to go after the Nettie," he reminded Master Ji. "If you follow their aura traces, you should find GloomSire chasing the Tempest, and whatever direction that is should be close to the HushFang. Hurry."
But Master Ji looked hesitant. "My place is here, to protect ZhiXia City in case they come back. I won't be able to face the Oracle if you die."
"The Oracle can choose another. The Empire wants Nettie to build the SunFlower," Molam reminded him. "They cannot have the SunFlower." Molam met the Whale's gaze without flinching. Master Ji needed to understand. "The Empire just sent four Titled Ones to infiltrate and attack ZhiXia City. Not Sanctuary, but at this distance it hardly matters—they were willing to risk angering the Oracle or the Submerged Leviathan to obtain Nettie. That makes it all the more important for us to stop them."
Molam said nothing about the Empire's other need for an aura source, but if he could prevent them from obtaining the SunFlower, they would have no need for one. "If you're concerned for us, we can move somewhere else that's safe. Sanctuary."
After a moment, Master Ji looked towards Martyker. "See to it that the Oracle's vessel is protected."
"Of course, Honorable Master! Though I also wish to save Nettie, Molam will be more protected than —"
The Whale launched into the air, disappearing from sight.
Martyker sighed, looking wistfully at where the Titled One had vanished into the sky. "I hope Nettie is safe." Then the Oasian grinned at Molam. "But that doesn't mean I will shirk this duty. I now have my first task as a disciple!"
"Did he even accept you?" Shurra asked.
"He wouldn't have spoken to me specifically otherwise, no?"
Primrose frowned. "Have you even done the ritual of three kowtows?"
"There will be time for that," Kalle laughed. "So what if the order is a bit off?"
Molam had no idea what they were talking about. But judging by Primrose's forced expression of politeness and Shurra's silent head shake at Martyker's enthusiasm, he guessed they did. Perhaps someone would explain it then, if it was important.
Primrose tested a blade outside of Molam's Domain, then her small finger, before stepping out to scan around the battered Arena with her glowing purple eyes. "I cannot believe we survived that. A fight between Titled Ones!"
"Only because Master Ji suppressed the Empire's Titled Ones and he kept himself restrained while fighting within the City." The next to exit was Madam Scarlette, picking up her dress to join Primrose in looking at the Arena. "If they clash again outside, it won't be the same."
The Arena's structure, pristine and elegant this morning, now appeared weathered and worn. What remained of the walls had been cracked and riddled with holes; remnants of melting icicles and stalagmites littered the stage. The open rim up above seemed the least affected outside of the conspicuously missing chunk where the Tempest and GloomSire had crashed into the structure. A section of the first and second floors had been completely obliterated by the OutCast when Master Ji's strike had knocked her through. Without these supporting structures, the third floor seemed to sag under its own weight.
Primrose shook her head as Madam Scarlette came to stand near her. "Even restrained, that was a fight between Titled Ones. The Arena won't be easy to restore. Do the Sharks even have stonemasons capable of working with this type of stone?"
"Build a new one and let this one stand as a reminder this fight happened," Shurra said as she followed Primrose, inspecting the battered Arena. "Are you not proud to have participated, if even only slightly? This would contribute towards your own legend!"
"I'm heading towards Sanctuary," Molam interjected loudly so everyone in the vicinity could hear him. "With Martyker, apparently." The Oasian had planted his feet firmly in a stance behind Molam, looking like a bodyguard. "The fight couldn't have gone unnoticed, so it's best we regroup at Sanctuary and wait there for Master Ji. I'm sure the Priestesses are dealing with a gigantic mess as well."
The three women came over, stepping back into the red Domain. "The City is probably in disarray," Madam Scarlette agreed. "Nothing like this has ever happened during the Festival. I should return to HuaLang Chamber and see if we can't help the Sharks with the aftermath."
"You don't need your Domain anymore," Shurra pointed out to Molam. "Isn't it taxing for you to maintain this?"
Molam glanced at the fiery red covering them. The spirit hadn't told him how the feather worked, only that it would protect him against hostile Domains. That would explain why it hadn't reacted to the HushFang's presence until she released her Domain. But then again, Molam had no idea how to recall the Domain, and he doubted the phoenix was listening.
"It's best to stay on guard and vigilant, just in case," he shrugged. "Though Master Ji did a clean sweep of the Arena himself, we don't know who else may have infiltrated."
"Your caution is admirable," Madam Scarlette smiled slyly at him. It always unnerved Molam that he couldn't see her eyes behind that veil, only her mouth. "Primrose, you should go with him towards Sanctuary. I need to head back to the Chamber."
Seeing no disagreement, the group turned to leave the Arena's stage grounds with Primrose and Scarlette speaking in hushed whispers in front of them while Martyker brought up the rear. Shurra kept frowning, but Molam was just glad that this was over and none of them were hurt.
Crack.
With no warning, a loud crack echoed throughout the Arena. Martyker unslung his greatsword, spinning around before any of them. "At the ready," he murmured. Then, more tense and urgent, "Now."
The rest of the group had armed themselves by the time they turned; even Molam brought out the dagger Primrose had lent him. The next moment heard their collective intake of breath as they saw the ice imprisoning the OutCast flicker with aura.
But the chilling dread came from the color of the aura that manifested. Not the OutCast's bright orange, not the Whale's indigo — but an all-consuming black.
A color that famously belonged to only one person in the world.
The black aura flickered throughout the ice — indigo rings were pulled into existence, cracked, and then disintegrated. With the snap of each ring binding the ice, layers of frost slid off and the OutCast's prison began to shrink. In mere moments, they could see the dark outline of the body encased within.
Then the black aura winked out of existence, and all was silent.
"What happened?" Shurra demanded, brandishing her sword.
"I don't know," Martyker shouted, taking several steps back without turning away. "But that can't have been all of it."
"We all saw that, right? The color—"
Orange aura flared around the OutCast's silhouette, then the ground trembled. Earthen spikes erupted out of the Arena's ground, piercing deeply into the OutCast's imprisonment, cracking and splitting apart sheets of ice. The air itself vibrated, a low hum resonating throughout the Arena as the ice keened sharply in protest. Shards of ice burst into the air like a million shattered diamonds, glittering in the pale Sunlight as the icy prison succumbed to the stone spears' penetration.
"Run." Molam took a step back, then peeled his eyes away from the spectacle and turned. "We need to leave, now."
The others turned at his voice — Shurra and Martyker's eyes wide and wild, Primrose and Scarlette's faces pale at the recognition of the danger they were in. It was one thing to have joined the fight when the Whale was there with them. The situation was completely changed if the OutCast engaged them without any other interference. "Run!"
With the sound of shattering ice behind them, they scrambled towards the edge of the Arena, feet pounding the ground in unison as the others instinctively ran into his Domain. Primrose and Scarlette led the way towards the exit, which loomed just in sight when Molam realized that it was the ground itself shaking, not the feeling of his feet on the ground. Shurra's head jerked, then she yanked Primrose and Scarlette backwards just before thick spears of earth exploded through the ground, blocking their passage out of the Arena.
Shurra grimaced with fury and struck the barrier. The spikes shifted and chunks fell, but the blockage held. Molam immediately abandoned the idea of breaking through, looking to the side to search for alternative routes. No; the next point of exit was too far.
"Up," he said decisively, then turned to Shurra. "Help me. I can't maintain a Domain and reinforce at the same time." To his relief, Shurra nodded without complaint, holding Molam in an arm as their group began vaulting up towards the Arena's roof, using the earthen spikes as a makeshift ladder.
Molam looked back to see the OutCast continue to fight out of her imprisonment. A stalagmite ruptured the ice around the OutCast's arm, and once free, she swung the flat of her weapon against the rest. More cracks, followed by another swing before the icy prison shattered around her. The splintered pieces of ice fell into a large crack in the ground beneath her — Molam guessed it was related to how she had forcibly freed herself. She coughed up blood as she fell forward, her mangled hand pressing on her navel where the Whale had delivered the crushing blow.
"She's free," he whispered. Whether out of disbelief or to the others, he did not know. They had only reached the fourth floor when the OutCast's glowing orange eyes looked up at them, and then the spikes retracted with a shudder. Finding themselves without handholds, the entire group stabbed the earthen wall for purchase, only to find it to suddenly be more fluid than they remember.
Slowly, painfully, they slid down the viscous wall, the OutCast's eyes watching them the entire time. The Arena's ground cracked, spidery webs forming where there had once been pools of water, and the air around her took on an orange tint by the time they had come back down to the Arena's stage.
"There's no hurry to leave, vessel of the Oracle." The OutCast's voice echoed hoarsely as she pushed herself to her feet. "I have unfinished business with you."
