So it turned out that Karni could not just summon Still Harmony. Not yet at least. After performing Disordered Spiral Resonance to the 45th hit, he felt it again. Still Harmony was in effect. The Sound became another sense of the body.
He turned it off, then on again. Then he did it again. It worked without trouble. He no issue controlling it right now. He could activate it without build up, and he had no trouble shutting it down. So why couldn't he turn it off last time? A loss of control? Why was it that he had to build it up to start, but did not have to care about the build up after?
He turned it off for now and decided to leave it be. He would wait 6 hours before trying again, seeing if he could immediately enter it or if he had to redo the 45 hits. On a better note, however, he could enter the Disordered Spiral Resonance at the 9th hit after yesterday. At least that was one aspect he no longer needed to worry about.
… … …
Six hours later Karni breathed in. He had stayed in his room the whole day, simply meditating. Calming himself. Trying to anyway. After yesterday's events, there was a constant buzz of frustration on the forefront of his mind. Testing things out would at least serve as a decent distraction.
His third Soul Ring shone, and a soft Sound was released that Karni used to try and capture the sensation and beauty of Still Harmony. Yet it did not work. Karni released a long-winded sigh. The hard way it is then.
He stood up and started dancing. A Drumstick in both hands, his left had it in a reverse grip. He would have to get to 45 hits again. His goal for today? To stay in that zone of Still Harmony until he would pass out.
… … …
He woke up the next day… he looked at the clock. Early afternoon. "Hm. Okay." Was the most of Karni's reaction.
He took a quick shower to freshen up and was ready for a new and exciting day…
Time to do more practice. He reached the 45th hit yet again, and promptly sat down. Enveloped in that feeling of Still Harmony, the next day passed by the same.
… … …
"Come in." Karni said, before anyone knocked on the door.
The door opened, showing a worried Wulin enter. He looked at Karni who was looking at him and smelled the air. "Huh. For some reason I thought it was gonna stink."
"I shower, thank you very much."
"Right, right." It seemed that Wulin's isolated trainings were more akin to that one time when Karni and Siduo took that Yin Yang Pill.
"Anyway, I wasn't here to judge your training, just the fact that you hadn't show yourself for two days. This is the third lunch you've missed! Or are you going out by yourself?"
Of course, someone like Wulin wouldn't understand skipping food every once in a while. Besides, Karni had breakfast in the early… he looked at the time. Huh. Evening. His sleeping schedule had really been going out of whack.
"I'll come by for dinner. When is it?"
"Right now."
"Oh." Karni felt slightly disappointed. Then he had an idea.
His training might actually be more effective if he was out and about places with a lot going on. He could have more to pick up on. More ways to test his mind.
The two went for dinner and while going down Wulin grumbled. "Karni. I don't know how, but your footsteps are very loud."
"Oh? Are they? I'll adjust." He kept on walking normally but focused on his body and the Sound it was making. Right, it wasn't his weight. The Sound filling up his body actually made him surprisingly loud to be around.
"Solid practice." Karni thought out loud.
"What is?"
"Nothing, just a way to control my Sound."
… … …
Karni walked the streets, though he had some heavy bags under his eyes. Fourth day of training. Still Harmony was at a controlled volume so people wouldn't find him odd. Now this was training.
So much information filled his head. So much noise. Cries for help all around. But Karni knew better now than to be a superhero. It wasn't that kind of world. He did not go outright and help, but he did notify police down to the street name with the help of his GPS—Still Harmony.
One thing at a time. As much as he wanted to help himself, he could not spread himself thin. Knowing his mental state recently, it would also just worsen it. The fact it was a Tang Sect signal that sent warning to the police should have been more than enough proof for them to react promptly.
So, Karni focused on all the rest instead. He could really test different ways of his trainings this way. Focusing on what he heard, filtering those Sounds; focusing on his body to walk at just the right volume; trying not to speak too loud or lose control of his voice. All of it at once constantly in the city. Constantly in this state, without rest.
In the evening, he returned home, but realised he was not tired. He woke up in the late afternoon today.
He put on a hoodie and went back outside. It wasn't particularly cold, especially not for a Soul Master, but it was still hoodie worthy.
The silence of the city after midnight was completely different experience from what he was used to during the day. Eerily quiet, yet full of silent white noise. Of little creatures living in the background. Ones he tended to ignore without being aware about it.
This gave him a different mission. Instead of filtering out certain sounds, he would take them all in and focus on the tiniest of details. Some insects made surprisingly cute noises!
… … …
A full week. Karni woke up tired. Tomorrow was his match… his match with Long Yue.
And today… he stretched, lazily walked over to the door and in his morning robe and slippers then walked down to the breakfast area. His week had been… a thing. A very fruitful thing, but a schedule-less thing. The only reason he woke up normally today was because his sleeping schedule did a full 360 throughout the week.
It gave him ample training. Each time of the day offered different opportunities to train.
He walked down into the surprisingly lively breakfast area and ordered cocoa. While he waited, he silently and sneakily used Sonic Rhythm. He released a soft ring without any specific technique which wouldn't alarm anybody and would simply blend in with the surroundings yet was still very much part of the feeling of the new sense he developed over the week.
The Sound expanded into a beautiful melody. The surroundings mixing perfectly, not bothering each other.
Karni sighed. In the fight, he would have to get to the 45th hit again….
He paused, and only now realised his actions.
Karni turned around, looking outside, looking at the guy with the spoon of milk, hearing every little droplet. He closed his eyes and focused on the upper rooms of the Hotel. Huh. Xie Xie apparently snored!
That didn't matter! Just now, subconsciously… He actually got the Sound to go into Still Harmony from zero.
From the counter area he heard that the cocoa was done, so he turned neutral and thanked the waitress for making it. It wasn't the way he would make it, but it was better than nothing.
He was planning to have a rest day today. He really was, but he felt a rush after this success.
He returned to the room, then closed his eyes and focused on Wulin's room. He whispered. "Wulin come here." He had never attempted that kind of Sound transmission before. He had to compress the Sound through the door, then expand it for free travel and then compress it again so the Soundwaves would reach Wulin's ears.
In the next minute Wulin was next to him. Not sleepy, just confused. The dude didn't know how to rest. Most of his time was spent cultivating. Admirable. Though it probably wouldn't work so well on Karni's body. Wulin had his bloodline to keep him going.
"Thanks for coming. Up for some cocoa?" Karni showed him the single cup.
"And what will you drink?"
Karni chuckled. "Right. I didn't think this trough, haha. Sorry. I was just testing out my abilities and didn't know what to say."
"So, there's nothing I can help you with?"
Karni shook his head.
"Fine." Wulin sighed and promptly left.
Heh. Tomorrow's gonna be interesting.
… … …
Karni focused on the future, waiting to be called for his match. He reminded himself about why he was so determined for this. He could almost hear it.
Stomp.
Stomp.
Stomp.
Stomp.
Wulin's cries from under the foot. The surroundings watching in horror at the scene. A golden scene.
Karni blinked, opening his eyes. Oh… what was… did he just summon an image of the future?
He cleared his head. It was like he was just there. The only time he'd managed to see a real event was when his Master Yun Ming helped him. Was this the fruit of his progress?
"Haaa. It doesn't matter." He muttered to himself. Besides, there was a more important reason he wanted to win—Wulin would survive anyway. Karni had affected this world in many small ways now. However, he wanted to make a big change. Remembering what Wulin would go through was just the start of his motivation. The point was to show his strength. To face Wulin in the finals. To release this damn frustration that had been accompanying him for weeks now.
But then there was also Long Yue himself. Interestingly, Yun'er had mentioned that Long Yue was in pain whenever this happened. A state Long Yue was genuinely ashamed of and trying to overcome. Karni valued her as a friend. And a friend of hers was a friend of his. Maybe he could even make a solid friendship with Long Yue.
The problem would be that if Karni were to fail at this, there was a danger of politics as well. If not Wulin almost dying being a problem… well, let's just say Karni had reserve ideas that included some allies… if they went along with him at least. Part of him knew that these thoughts came from a desire to control his life. Those ideas were reckless. Changing political landscape was both dangerous and easier said than done.
Karni closed his eyes and focused on the immediate future, seeing if what he thought would pass. Nothing showed, so Karni was left clueless.
He heard the announcement. Val Karni vs Long Yue.
He stood up, hitting the Martial Soul for a second, breathing in, hearing everything, then dissipating it. Still Harmony was there. Present. He would need it.
He walked over to the arena, looking up at Long Yue. The man looked back at him, smiling, but fully confident. Karni smiled back, though it was the smile of his teacher, Mo Qing. It was time to break that confidence.
"Both contestants are in position. Match starts in 5. 4. 3. 2. 1. Start!" The referee said and backed away.
Long Yue summoned his Martial Souls but left his Soul Rings hidden. He nodded to Karni.
Karni could barely hide the ugly expression. Fine. If he wanted to be like that, Karni would punish him for it.
Karni summoned his Martial Soul, leaving his Soul Rings alone as well. He filled the Martial Soul with Sound purely through his comprehension then walked normally to the middle of the arena and threw a Drumstick without any finesse. For once, he decided not to start with Golden Insight.
Long Yue just watched, looking slightly disappointed, and simply slapped the Drumstick away. But then came the frown that Karni was cruelly delighted to see. Because Long Yue's hand? It was limp and shaking.
"Will you take this seriously now?" Karni asked, his voice normal, yet heard across the field.
Long Yue nodded and pressed his muscles with some effort. The hand was not limp anymore. "I apologise."
He had genuinely underestimated him. Despite watching the other matches, he was sure that his physical prowess would prevail over his comrades. It turned out that he misunderstood Karni. Precognition was one thing. But Sound was one of his main powers. And it really didn't care about physical defences.
His Soul Rings showed immediately. Six of them. A Soul Emperor! 3 Purple and 3 Black! The same configuration Karni would have if he were a Soul Emperor right now.
Karni summoned them as well, his Sonic Rhythm instantly activating. He could not hold back today. Too much was riding on this. He hit the Drumsticks together closing his eyes. Still Harmony all around him, but there… what was that?
He opened his eyes and what greeted him were surging mountains from the ground up. Oh, that's what he heard.
He could feel it coming from below, so he immediately Shifted above. But the mountains were mighty. They would not have small height of the arena. They were mountains after all. They reached further and further, spreading out. And Karni nodded.
Illusion. Partial one. Interesting.
His Purple Demon Eyes activated. And he could see through it. Spikes the size of the mountains. They were a control and attack variety made of earth. The illusion was primarily filled with terrifying pressure, the visuals of it was secondary. Together it truly gave the feelings of mountains rising to the top.
He threw one of his Drumsticks directly at a pillar, wishing to see what would happen.
The rising mountain and the Drumstick collided, and the Drumstick bounced back. Karni slowly watched as the pillar collapsed on its own into chunks of sand.
The audience all gasped outside. From their side it looked like Karni had just destroyed a whole mountain with just a Drumstick, not that he simply hit the centre of the illusion.
Yet Long Yue frowned slightly as well. Karni saw through his illusion instantly. That was not good. And then there was also those spins Karni had just started. He had seen them getting stronger and stronger in the other matches. It was time to up his game. His second and third Soul Rings shone together. Wait, why was there suddenly more than hundred Karnis?
Karni's Vision Bestowal just went off, and immediately after he finally activated Golden Insight. He couldn't remember the last time he activated it this late. But what he saw bothered him. Streams of powerful earthy liquid almost like rivers, and the ground started to be covered in thick water as well. The Swamp and the Rivers combined.
Karni already built up a decent amount of Disordered Spiral Resonance. Yet it was now accompanied by the awareness of Still Harmony. And the magnetism went off from the start due to it. But the Sound itself. It built up. Everything being combined so smoothly made even the push and pull effects of it stronger.
Ironically, it was his first time using Disordered Spiral Resonance form the 1st hit. He always had to start with Disordered Drumstick Resonance before, even if it was for only 9 hits. No more. His attacks were powerful at the start, and they would only get stronger now.
Karni saw the rivers running at him, all the while the Swamp seemed to affect his movement, despite Karni not touching it. Oh wait, that water didn't even exist. Karni focused. There were heavy particles in the air instead that actually slowed him down.
He focused, using Drunken Ghost Dance to dodge the surging waves toward him, those he could see through without a problem. Then he threw his Drumstick directly at Long Yue again, while at the same time throwing in the other Drumstick.
What annoying abilities Long Yue had! Not only were the abilities of the Mountain Dragon King powerful, they all camouflaged themselves to be more effective!
Long Yue watched as one of the Drumsticks circled towards him from one end and the other from the other end. They would collide exactly where he was.
He readied up to dodge, recognising the Tang Sect throwing technique in them. The two almost seemed to circle, going perfectly in tandem, and he made a simple step, but timed to utmost perfection so he could both dodge and then go on the offensive. Yet just as the Drumsticks were in front of him, going past, he heard a Voice.
"A."
Long Yue was confused but tried attacking.
That was when, despite the Drumsticks going opposite ways, one of them changed directions, as if pushed by that sound from before, directly into the other.
The Sound exploded, and Long Yue couldn't believe it, but he was thrown back in a way where people would think he was a skinny guy, not a fully built-up muscle defining dragon person.
That didn't mean he lost control though. Long Yue landed, then was surprised as he felt liquid in his ears. He touched it. Blood. "INTERESTING!" The man bellowed, his fourth Soul Ring shining immediately, together with the first one.
Karni saw as the mountains disappeared, then Long Yue who was knocked back suddenly increased in size. He gained armour of mountains. Spikes with snow on him. Rocks budding out.
The man jumped and Karni's eyes focused. Purple Demon Eyes activated. He Shifted immediately. And then the Sonic Boom reached his ears. What terrifying strength. Speed through that strength, fast enough to break the speed barrier. One hit and Karni would have been knocked out.
But Karni was Karni for a reason. He would never only dodge. He Shifted the Drumsticks to him and immediately threw them back toward Long Yue and this was the ninth hit.
Long Yue roared a Dragon's roar, before his body took on a different appearance. That of rivers. Just what was the fourth Soul Skill? Applying other skills on his body?
That was exactly it. The Mountain Dragon King's Rest. In the legend, when the Mountain Dragon King rested, it was said he created mountains swamps and rivers. A place for the ancient Dragon Clan to thrive. The very clan Wulin would soon get entangled with. The fourth skill fully showed that by applying those aspects to the body.
The rivers clashed with the Drumstick. But the ninth hit resonated further with the Sounds around it.
The rivers on his body churned and went into chaos. Parts of the river spinning in confusion.
"How interesting!" Karni made a twisted smile. His skill of resonating and causing magnetism made other things resonate with it as well when used through the Still Harmony. Karni could feel the Sound of the river being resonated with, which affected the river like a skill that focused on disturbing a skill, trying to take control. This begged the question. How would the rest of the hits change when combined with Still Harmony.
Karni Shifted close by, going for an attack. He yeeted The Drumstick he held in his hand directly into the Drumstick that just collided with the river. Another explosion of Sound was released.
But it was met by the swamp appearing on Long Yue's body.
Everything turned heavy. Karni's body slowed, but he just smiled. That was a mistake. Long Yue didn't seem to be educated on physics of Sound. It travelled with greater ease through thick areas than air, as long as they weren't full solids.
The explosion went in even amplified, and Karni used this chance to absorb a bit more of the shockwave into the Disordered Spiral Resonance. Then he went for the offensive again.
And that's when Madman Long's fifth Soul Ring exploded. Changing his body once more. Gaining slight wings which he used… to immediately dodge away from Karni. Speed and Agility increased. The movement which was rough and heavy suddenly turned light.
Mountain Dragon King's Dreams. The dreams that he could some day fly again freely.
Karni looked at his opponent. Those eyes were already slightly red. He was getting close to bringing out the Madman.
He had to Shift again, as Golden Insight warned him of the danger beforehand. This was becoming a problem. Long Yue's Sounds of future were becoming shorter and shorter. There was less and less he could predict.
Long Yue sped up attacking again, only for Karni to Shift yet again and sending out Drumsticks the whole time.
Karni squeezed his eyes. Actually. Long Yue wasn't getting faster. The Golden Insight was half a second faster than the reality, and it had stabilised here. That was the limit of Long Yue's speed.
The Mountains exploded from below and the rivers expanded in between. All the while Long Yue's body stayed tuned up with those same abilities.
The mountains and rivers were dodged by a simple Shift to the optimum position, and then Long Yue came in crashing—somehow already knowing where Karni would go. Ho? Was it bait?
Karni leaned to the side unnaturally, Drunken Ghost Dance in full effect. Executed with ease. Long Yue might be tricky, but landing a successful hit on Karni was very difficult unless Karni willed it so.
Long Yue's eyes widened once again, but he quickly charged ahead, escaping Karni… only to be met by an incoming Drumstick in the direction he was coming from. Karni Shifted the Drumstick into his way.
The 18th hit went off directly in Long Yue's face, who started crashing downwards. Almost like it reversed its previous position. Or at least, the reversal of Sound certainly helped. Like the Sound reversed, so too did whatever Karni hit. Another change the Still Harmony brought.
The rivers caught him, and then spun him around, right back toward Karni, looking like nothing had affected him before.
Karni snickered. That guy's defence was terrifying. Such quick recovery.
The Panda circulated in full power. He would need it already. The same attack as before was repeated. The mountains and the charge. Karni Shifted through the first attack, and Long Yue charged for the second one. And just like before, Karni bent and dodged, only for Long Yue to strike again with a follow up, not letting him rest.
Karni bent and hit with Drumsticks, while Long Yue struck.
Karni hit the Drumsticks into Long Yue, only for Long Yue to deflect the blow, intentionally releasing the small mountain ranges on his body. Those Mountain ranges got filled with Sound, shattering, but the Sound did not reach Long Yue's body.
Karni had to admit that it was a good way of dealing with his skills. Literally letting go of the part of the body that got attacked by his Sound. Almost like poison. Except due to the speed of Sound, Long Yue had to be incredibly precise. One could tell the years of experience that Madman Long had.
Karni reached the 27th hit with the exchange of blows. The Sound was fully released at once, and the second Soul Ring of Long Yue shone together with his fourth. Karni noticed as the rivers around Long Yue's body almost absorbed Karni's Sound, then the third Soul Ring shone slowing Long Yue's body, but also at the same time slowing down Karni, and then Karni saw those red eyes.
Long Yue's might exploded. A tyrannical force of a Mountain Dragon King, slapping him down toward the ground like a fly. Karni was lucky Long Yue was unable to fully charge that hit, knowing that Karni would escape if he was slow.
Yet the speed he was slapped down at was terrifying. Shift.
Karni appeared above Long Yue, booming down at him, throwing the Drumstick.
Long Yue looked up, facing that Drumstick with the same shedding technique, only to see Karni vanishing. A Drumstick came from his left, hitting his face and Karni came from his right, resummoning the Drumstick from before, hitting the other side of the face.
But Karni saw those red eyes. No trouble with the Sound. What? How? A whole layer seemed to crumble off the man's head as he struck at Karni, who just bent and Shifted away as soon as possible.
Karni regretted it immediately. It did work. Long Yue needed too long to strike back. And Karni had cold sweat behind his neck from purely being in the man's presence. This man was dangerous. Karni knew it. He was terrifying and deadly.
Karni breathed in and out. But Long Yue was also Yun'er's friend. It was hard to remember that right now. He had issues with rage due to the Martial Soul he was born with. Long Yue struck at him, Karni Shifted. He Shifted far. He needed to recollect his focus. At this point, every move of his needed to be calculated.
Mountains and rivers surged toward him and Karni focused. All of his brain power went into the battle. It was time to forget the frustration that's been holding him back. What was the way out of here? Find it.
He saw a spiral in there. In those mountains and rivers. There was a technique there with some similar techniques to his own.
He slowly let go of the Drumsticks and bumped them to slowly spin around him. Then he jumped into that spiral, dancing with it, using the Drunken Ghost Dance. He spun and turned, seeing a familiar pattern in there.
The Drumsticks spun with him, accompanying him crashing into the waves of the semi-illusory river, building up the Disordered Spiral Resonance. Soon came the 36th hit. An internalisation, compressing the Sound.
And with the Still Harmony, the surroundings felt like they compressed as well. Yet it was at that exact point that Long Yue jumped in like a proper raging dragon, though still with a semblance of sanity, and trying to punch the lights out of Karni.
Emphasis on trying to. That compression had a surprisingly similar effect to Long Yue's Swamp. The air thickened, becoming hard to go through.
Karni Shifted, going on a careful offensive. At a distance, batting one Drumstick with the other at Long Yue who used the Mountains on his body again and again.
But another Drumstick came, timed perfectly, at the exact same spot. Then it happened again.
Karni immediately Shifted, not looking at how much it affected Long Yue. His Soul Bone shot off. Nerve Authority. He saw as Long Yue froze. Paralysed. Karni attacked once more. Then again at the same spot.
He Shifted again. Paralyse again. Good. Long Yue couldn't move! Especially now that those Drumstick hits rose! Rose to the 45th hit. The very top.
Another Drumstick flying in, hitting perfectly, then the second Drumstick flying in… soon another magnetic effect activated. The 9th hit looped.
And Long Yue finally had enough. His sixth Soul Ring went off.
Karni immediately backed up but kept up the attack, this was the danger zone. This was where Long Yue started to… rage? No. That wasn't rage. Those eyes were red, but they still had reason.
Long Yue stood straight. He enlarged immensely, the Mountain Dragon King's Wrath, the skill was called, yet Long Yue chose to use it as defence. Karni's Sound could not affect this size of the body as it could a normal human sized body.
Karni kept up the pressure. The sense of reason in Long Yue's eyes made Karni even more aggressive. What did he need to do to truly make the guy rage?
Now that Long Yue was so big, that calmness even felt insulting. A size that mocked Karni's attempts. Especially now… because Madman Long decided to remove that Madman title and just stand there. And stare Karni down. He was making a point.
"You motherFUCKER!" Karni felt his own rage show for a change. This was a mockery of Karni's pride as well. And Karni? He had had fucking enough.
Here comes this fucking bastard and mocks him when Karni was away from home? Away from Sisi?
Was the universe telling him that only Wulin could beat this guy? Why? Because he had the Golden Dragon King Bloodline?
No. Fuck that. No!
Fuck that shit. This man would NOT mock him. Karni had tried being calm these past 3 months. He had. He had missed Siduo. He was determined to not be fucked with here. Being here alone was punishment enough.
He'd been content with it. He thought he was. He wanted to go home. To her. To his girlfriend. And right now, Karni couldn't help it, but the pressure broke him for a second. Because this guy did the one thing Karni hated most. He mocked his achievements and his power. His efforts! Power which he gained through a lot of work. And through Siduo.
He Shifted to the very roof of the Arena. Some 200 metres above the ground.
Then he closed his eyes and channelled everything he knew. Everything he had experienced these past few months. There was the hellish training. Then came the loneliness. Then came the progress. Then came the opponents. His baby Guardian was broken. Lin San acted like some hot shit. By the time of Hua Lantang Karni couldn't give a shit anymore. And now this… this fucking stupid, wannabe strongest dragon!
But with all of these came the techniques. Disordered Spiral Resonance. Still Harmony, these magical senses—the laughter of the audience; the support of his friends; the lack of Siduo's voice. His Spiritual Power—at that very edge, stuck since the boat; not moving.
And then finally the face of this dragon fucker again. Grinning and mocking, because he thought he figured out a perfect counter for Karni. A move that was usually his last, his berserk path, was used as a simple dissolution of Sound.
Goddamn mockery.
Battle Armour out. All five pieces.
The Drumsticks were put together. The Sound combining inside into a single force, no longer apart. Karni felt light, almost floating in midair. His Spiritual Power went inside. And finally, all of his Soul Power. Almost full still.
Combine them.
Combine them in one. Three into one.
Balance. Equilibrium. The surroundings. The Sound. His very self. All of his strength.
Let it all disappear.
Let it all be one.
…
He breathed deeply.
…
Let it all out. And restore the balance to what he took away from the world. Restore balance to himself.
Achieve entropy.
Release.
Karni opened his eyes. Much to his surprise, the world looked… different. He could only see the Soundwaves bouncing off of everywhere. No colour in it. Only Sound. Black and White.
He swung. And his heart… something wrong. It stopped. No. Something else stopped it for a split second. A strange foreign sensation. He shouldn't be doing this? What was going on. A part of him was telling him… this was forbidden. This was wrong.
Karni yelled out a silent scream of frustration. All the Sound was gone. No one could hear him. But it felt like his very emotions were finally let free. He would not be ruled over some otherworldly force.
The energy exploded. Slightly weaker than before, but still immensely powerful. The Staff glowed a grey. Almost silver. All of that power released onto Long Yue.
The whole stadium was silent. Not because they were shocked. But because Karni took out all the Sound.
An explosion. A mini nuke of Sound, Spirit and Soul exploded on Long Yue.
Karni was still in the air, though he started to fall. That wrongness. What was it? What was it that interfered? It reminded him of that feeling. Of that censorship with Siduo.
And he looked to Long Yue. The man on the ground. Completely forced into it… yet conscious.
Fuck.
He fell. And fell into unconsciousness.
… … …
Long Yue looked up, that rage inside him growing. Val Karni was gathering some immense energy in the sky. That... That was dangerous! Battle Armour. Long Yue just summoned his Two-Word Battle Armour. Gods. He was about to die! He was about to die! He had underestimated him one time too many times. He wanted to test him. To see how right Yun'er was.
The attack hit him.
He could barely realise what happened. He saw red. Blood from his mouth. Blood from his ears. That Battle Armour barely helped.
Rage.
Rage at the small man.
The one almost flying in the… clarity returned… air?
Karni was falling… and then… thump.
What just happened? Long Yue shook his head. The referee said something, pointing at Long Yue.
Oh. He won?
Long Yue walked forward. He frowned. This was not how he was supposed to win.
… … …
Karni flowed through nothingness. A familiar, yet cold blackness. One he hadn't experienced for years.
A remembrance of something. Of gold. Of red. Of the beginning. Of when he… came here?
A deep rumble. And a single red dot.
"This is a warning. Do not mess with destinies of those predetermined. Next time you might lose more than your consciousness."
Karni took a deep breath, searching for air. Trying to breathe. His heart beating out of his chest. The warning imprinted in his very soul. He would never forget it.
He woke up.