Chapter 22: Seeds of Doubt
The battlefield was a mass of writhing shadows, an endless sea of darkness pushing Jin-Seong and his companions to their limits. Every time So-Ra sliced through a shadow with her wind blades or Yeon-Hwa pierced one with her spear, they reformed, as if mocking their efforts. Jin-Seong's muscles burned from the constant onslaught, his breath heavy. Ara's power pulsed through his veins, but even the constellation's light wasn't enough to keep the shadows at bay for long.
"These things just won't stop!" So-Ra shouted, her voice strained. Her usual calm demeanor was cracking under the weight of the relentless battle.
Yeon-Hwa, sweat dripping down her face, stabbed her spear into another shadow, watching it disintegrate before reforming moments later. "We're wasting energy. There has to be another way!"
Jin-Seong's grip tightened around his sword. He could feel the connection to Ara, the constellation's light humming within the blade. But even with that power, it felt like they were fighting an unwinnable war. Each shadow they destroyed was replaced by another—endless, suffocating, like a dark tide meant to break their spirits.
At the edge of the battlefield, Avenis stood, his form barely distinguishable in the swirling dark. He had yet to engage them directly, merely watching from afar, his presence a constant reminder that this was all his doing. Jin-Seong's eyes narrowed. Avenis wasn't a warrior; he was a manipulator, someone who fought battles without lifting a hand, pulling the strings from the shadows.
"Stay focused!" Jin-Seong shouted, trying to keep his companions steady, though doubt was creeping into his own heart. Ara's light was supposed to banish the darkness, yet they were struggling. Was it really the shadows, or was something more sinister at play?
As if reading his thoughts, Avenis's voice sliced through the chaos, cold and mocking. "Still fighting for Ara's light, Jin-Seong? Still clinging to the belief that the constellations can save you?"
The mention of Ara's name sent a chill down Jin-Seong's spine. He had fought under Ara's guidance for so long that questioning it felt like treason. But something about Avenis's tone made him pause. There was something deeper in those words, something that resonated with the growing uncertainty he had been feeling.
Avenis continued, his form shifting, dark and nebulous. "You fight for the Hero Council, don't you? Or have you forgotten how they led the Azure Peak Sect to its ruin?"
Jin-Seong froze. The Azure Peak Sect—his home, his foundation. The sect that had been crushed under the weight of the Hero Council's corruption. He had buried that pain deep within him, using it as fuel for his fight, but now, hearing Avenis bring it up felt like reopening an old wound.
Yeon-Hwa, her spear held at the ready, glanced at Jin-Seong, her eyes widening. "What does the Hero Council have to do with this, Avenis?" she demanded, her voice tight with suspicion.
Avenis's laughter echoed across the battlefield, chilling in its cruelty. "Everything. The Hero Council has always been corrupt, hiding behind the facade of justice and order. They feared the power of the Azure Peak Sect, feared what Jin-Seong and his people could become under Ara's guidance. So they destroyed it. The constellations you trust are nothing more than puppeteers, and the council? They're the strings."
So-Ra's expression hardened, her eyes darting between Jin-Seong and Avenis. "He's lying. The Hero Council may be flawed, but they wouldn't destroy an entire sect out of fear."
Jin-Seong's heart raced, the weight of Avenis's words bearing down on him. Could it be true? He had always blamed the Hero Council for the sect's downfall, but he had never truly believed it was out of fear. Greed, perhaps, or corruption, but fear? That was something more dangerous. It suggested that the council knew something—something about the Azure Peak Sect that had terrified them enough to act preemptively.
"They feared what the Azure Peak Sect could accomplish with Ara's power," Avenis continued, his voice low and menacing. "They saw the potential in Jin-Seong, in his people. The constellations don't want rivals, and the Hero Council? They're nothing more than the enforcers, snuffing out any threat that could challenge their control."
Jin-Seong gritted his teeth. The Hero Council had indeed turned corrupt, but could it really have been fear that drove them to destroy his sect? Fear of what they could become under Ara's light? His grip on his sword tightened as he thought of everything he had lost—his home, his family, his future. All of it, taken by the council's hand.
"Jin-Seong..." Yeon-Hwa's voice was soft, hesitant. "Could there be truth to what he's saying?"
For a moment, Jin-Seong didn't answer. His mind was racing, piecing together the fragments of the past with the revelations Avenis was offering. The Hero Council's rise to power had been swift, too swift. And the way they had handled the destruction of the Azure Peak Sect—brutal, decisive, and without mercy. It all pointed to something more than simple corruption.
Jin-Seong glanced up at the stars above, the constellations that had guided him for so long. They twinkled innocently, but now, he couldn't shake the feeling that they were watching, that they were complicit.
He took a deep breath, steadying himself. "Whether he's telling the truth or not doesn't change the fact that we have to survive this battle. But... we will find answers. The Hero Council will answer for what they've done."
So-Ra nodded, though her eyes still held doubt. "We focus on surviving. But after this, we need to question everything."
Jin-Seong met her gaze, his resolve hardening. "Agreed."
Avenis laughed again, his form flickering as the shadows around him thickened. "It's too late for your questions, Jin-Seong. You're already part of the game, and the constellations are watching. You think Ara is your ally? Ara is just another player, just like the Hero Council. You're all pawns in their endless struggle for power."
Jin-Seong raised his sword, the light of Ara shining brighter than ever. Despite the doubt gnawing at him, he couldn't afford to let it paralyze him now. He had to fight, to push forward. But the questions Avenis had planted in his mind would not be so easily ignored.
"We'll see about that," Jin-Seong muttered under his breath.
He surged forward, his sword blazing with Ara's light. The shadows recoiled, hissing as they were torn apart, but they continued to reform, relentless in their pursuit. Jin-Seong pressed on, his mind now focused on one thing—disrupting Avenis's control over the battlefield.
"If we sever his connection to the shadows, we can stop this!" Jin-Seong shouted to So-Ra and Yeon-Hwa. "Ara's light can break his control!"
"But how?" Yeon-Hwa called back, her spear slicing through another shadow only for it to reappear. "He's not even fighting us directly!"
Jin-Seong's eyes locked onto Avenis's shifting form. Avenis was using the shadows as an extension of his will, controlling them from a distance. But every power had a source, and Jin-Seong was certain that if they could disrupt that, they could break the cycle.
"Focus on him!" Jin-Seong ordered. "If we can get close enough, Ara's power will be enough to disrupt his connection."
So-Ra glanced at him, her wind-blades slicing through the dark. "You're betting everything on Ara?"
Jin-Seong hesitated for the briefest of moments. Could he still trust Ara's light? After everything Avenis had said about the constellations and the Hero Council, doubt lingered. But there was no other choice. Not now.
"I'm betting everything on us." he replied, determination flaring in his eyes.
With that, Jin-Seong charged toward Avenis, his sword glowing with Ara's light. The shadows swarmed, but Jin-Seong cut through them, pushing forward. Behind him, So-Ra and Yeon-Hwa followed, their own weapons blazing with power.
Avenis's form shifted, his voice filled with cold amusement. "You think you can stop me, Jin-Seong? You're already trapped in the web of the constellations. Ara can't save you, and neither can your council."
Jin-Seong's eyes flashed as he swung his sword, the light cutting through the darkness around Avenis. "Maybe Ara's not the one who'll save us. But I'll never stop fighting for what's right."
With a final, powerful strike, Jin-Seong plunged his sword into the ground, channeling Ara's light into the earth. The battlefield erupted in a brilliant flash of light, shattering the shadows and breaking Avenis's hold.
For a moment, everything was still. Then, Avenis staggered back, his form flickering, his connection to the shadows severed.
"You... think this changes anything?" Avenis rasped, his voice weaker now. "The constellations are always watching. You'll see... the Hero Council, Ara... they're all the same."