The sky grew darker and darker as the group arrived at a small, abandoned village. A chilly breeze broke through the darkened shutters of every house, causing doors to creak open and slam shut with every gust. The pathway was overgrown with weeds, giving the place an air of neglect.
"Doesn't really look like a place anyone has lived in for quite a while," Kade muttered, surveying the desolation.
Jin nodded. "It's completely empty here, and from the looks of things, I'd say it's been abandoned for at least a few years. We could use this place to rest for the night and leave as soon as morning rises," he suggested, glancing back at the others. They all nodded but kept their guard up, wary of their surroundings.
Taking a step into the village, Jin wandered around until he found a structure that appeared mostly intact. Its walls still stood firm, and the roof was in decent condition. The others followed him inside.
"Doesn't this seem just a little… weird to anyone else?" Riven asked, eyeing the interior of the house, which seemed surprisingly well-kept despite the exterior.
"It's honestly not ideal, I can say that much," Kael replied, leaning against a wall with his axe in hand, ready for anything. Jin and Kade settled against the opposite wall, gripping their weapons tightly. Riven reluctantly laid down on the floor, using their bag as a makeshift pillow.
The quietness enveloped them, broken only by the occasional rustle of the breeze passing through the village.
As they all settled into their positions for the night, a sudden murmur broke the silence.
"Did you hear that?" Riven whispered, their voice barely audible. The others nodded in agreement as Jin slowly crept closer to the door to overhear the conversation better.
"Did you hear?" one of the voices said. "Yeah, I did. About the stone, right? I heard Varek found it."
The two voices sighed in distress. "If that's true, do you think they will come for us? I mean, the Wolfshr—" The other voice suddenly cut him off. "Don't say that. If they overheard us talking about it, we're dead either way. That stone has the power to change a lot… if it falls into someone else's hands besides Lady Seraphine's."
The other voice sighed in defeat before lighting a cigarette. "The stories I heard from the others said the stone could skip three stages instantly and change your ki color just by using it. But it also has another significance."
The first voice grabbed a cigarette and lit it using a lighter. "Another reason? What's that?"
"From what I've heard, it supposedly holds the only historical record of the dragon 'Minx' inside it, which is why the stone became cursed." He exhaled, releasing a thick puff of smoke from his cigarette. "But, all of this is just based on stories. I doubt that part is real. There's a lot more stories too about it, like it's a cursed object from an evil era of the world
back hundreds of years ago."
As Jin and his group listened intently, the two voices outside continued their conversation, oblivious to the listeners nearby.
"Why exactly were we sent to this remote village again?" one of the voices asked, his tone laced with confusion.
"Because this place is important," the other replied, exhaling a puff of smoke. "It's vital that it remains uninhabited, especially with the guards here. The stone Varek found… it's more than just a relic. If it gets into the wrong hands, it could unleash chaos."
"Chaos?" the first voice echoed, disbelief evident. "What are you talking about?"
"The stories say that when the stone was activated in the presence of a certain aura, it could awaken something ancient and powerful. The elders want to prevent anyone from activating it here. That's why we were told to keep an eye on this village—no life should disturb the area," he explained, his voice dropping to a whisper.
Jin's heart raced as he processed the implications. This was no ordinary stone. It was tied to something far greater, and the Wolfshrine family was involved.
"Do you really think Lady Seraphine knows the true power of the stone?" the first voice questioned.
"Of course she does. That's why she's the head of the Wolfshrine family. She would do anything to protect its secrets. But if it were to fall into the wrong hands…" His voice trailed off, leaving a heavy silence.
Jin and his companions exchanged glances, sensing the weight of their discussion. Just then, a loud noise echoed from within their hiding spot—a member of Jin's group had shifted too loudly.
Instantly, the atmosphere shifted. The guards, who had been lounging in the shadows nearby, activated their ki, their presence becoming palpable. Jin could feel the tension in the air as the guards, both at the nonagon stage, scanned the area with keen eyes.
"Did you hear that?" one guard said, his voice sharp as a blade. "I think we've got company."
"We can't let anyone interrupt the plan," the other guard replied, stepping forward, ki radiating around him like a dark aura.
Jin's instincts kicked in. They needed to act quickly.
"Get ready," he whispered urgently to Kade, Riven, and Kael. "We might have to fight our way out of this."
The guards instantly drew their spears infusing their ki into it. "Fuck it, just blow the damn houses away until we find these ants." One of the guards said and they both began to destroy the surrounding houses.
Jin, Kade, Rivel, and Kael talked over a strategy and all left the house quickly to confront the guards.
The guards turned hearing the noise. "So you were the annoying bastards who overheard us, huh?" The other guard spoke up, "Doesn't matter, we just need to kill them."
"Gale's Whisper: Gale's Grasp"
A sudden breeze appears slowly gathering more and more of the air above the guards slowly turning into a tornado.
"Forbidden Azure: Condensed Redemption" Jin sent the attack forward trying to slash through the wind before it could finish,
"Verdant's Embrace: Nature's Wrath" The other guard said before suddenly the ground shook and created vines rapidly moving with thrones flying towards the group.
Jin had to retract the move to block the thrones from hitting anyone.
"Verdant's Embrace: Earth's Grasp."
Suddenly the ground beneath them shook violently before opening silently with vines shooting towards the group with vines and thrones.
"Gale's Whisper: Aerial Surge" The guard focuses his ki propelling the vines and thrones even faster.
"Frostbound: Frostbound Foretress" After a few minutes of Riven being in the back and charging her ki enough to make this happen, a giant piece of Ice forms blocking the attack.
"Shit, they have power, teamwork, and their attitude is just the damn worst!" Kade said "Tch, buy me 5 minutes of time." Kade also said before getting into a position with his sword planted into the ground. "This shit takes a hell of a lot out of me so don't expect me to do anything afterwards." "Steelheart mixed: Heavy Cloud"
Kade started to gather a large amount of ki from the air around them.
Jin sighed having to fight already and against opponents this strong. "Forbidden Azure: Spirit of the Phantom Blade" His technique activated before dashing towards them. "One hit is all I need on that wind bastard." He thought before using "Swiftless Feather" Jin jumped over the ice and pointed his sword towards the wind guard and used "Swiftless Feather" again on his legs pushing him forward
Kael followed using "Swiftless Feather" and activated his technique "Frostage: Arctic's Embrace" His axe suddenly turned into a solid white color before ice shards formed around the edges of it. Jin and Kael flew down at them.
The guard's eyes widened seeing the sudden charge but they both avoided it by using "Swiftless Feather".
"Kael, let's do this!" Jin shouted before dashing forward, a smile appearing his face, his sword lit brightly in a blue color before the flame grew larger leaving a trail of flames behind. Kael dashed following Jin with his Ice covered axe.
As Jin and Kael surged forward towards the guards, "Gale's Whisper: Tempest Shield", a vortex of wind appeared around the guard blowing the flames from Jin's attack out. Jin jumped back, Kael dashed in from above "Frostage: Shards Storm" A barrage of ice in small shards came from the sky dropping onto both of the guards.
The nature guard placed his hand onto the ground, "Verdant's Embrace: Throned Barricade" A barrier of vines, earth, and thrones surrounded both of the guards blocking the attack.
Jin ran behind them using "Swiftless Feather", reactivating "Forbidden Azure: Spirit of the Phantom Blade". This time, his flame became a darker blue, the flames hungry for impact, Jin dashed in and slashed the wind's guard arm off before backing off and returning to Kael.
Jin's flame attached to the guard's arm slowly began to eat away at him, and his ki, disrupting his ki flow which caused the tornado he was charging disrupting it and vanished.
The wind guard stumbled back, clutching the bloody stump where his arm once was, his face contorted in pain and fury. "You… you'll pay for that!" he snarled, struggling to maintain his balance. The dark blue flames licked at his severed arm, consuming it and sapping his strength.
Kael grinned, "Nice one, Jin! Let's keep the pressure on!" He charged forward, readying his axe. "Frostage: Icy Grasp!" The air around him chilled as he summoned icy tendrils that shot towards the remaining guard, attempting to ensnare him.
"Get back!" the nature guard shouted, pulling his hands back to create a barrier. "Verdant's Embrace: Nature's Shield!" A thick wall of twisted vines erupted from the ground, shielding him just in time as the icy grasp hit, freezing the vines in place but failing to penetrate the barrier entirely.
"Enough!" the wind guard yelled, the pain only fueling his rage. "Gale's Whisper: Cyclone Fury!" He focused his remaining ki into a swirling mass of wind, forcing back the icy tendrils while trying to regain control of the battlefield. The cyclone pushed against Kael and Jin, trying to drive them apart.
"Jin! Kael! Hold the line!" Riven shouted from behind the Frostbound fortress she had created. She stepped forward, her hands glowing with energy. "Frostbound: Winter's Veil!" An icy barrier formed around Jin and Kael, enhancing their defenses while they prepared their next moves.
"Damn it! They're not going to let up!" Kael growled, his grip tightening on his axe. "We need to end this quickly before they regroup!"
Jin nodded, feeling the heat of his flames steadying his mind. "You're right. We can't let them recover!" He looked at Kael, a determined fire in his eyes. "Let's combine our attacks!"
"Got it! On three!" Kael replied, positioning himself beside Jin.
"One… two… three!" They shouted in unison.
Jin ignited his sword with the dark blue flames again. "Forbidden Azure: Infernal Surge!"
Kael lifted his axe, the ice shimmering in the moonlight. "Frostage: Glacial Impact!"
With a fierce battle cry, Jin and Kael charged forward, his tanto raised high, while Kael swung his axe down, unleashing a wave of icy energy that crashed against the ground, creating a surge of frost that propelled them both toward the guards.
The wind guard, still struggling with the remnants of his injury, barely had time to react. "Gale's Whisper: Cyclone Defense!" He formed a vortex around himself and the nature guard, hoping to shield them from the incoming attack.
But the combined force of Jin's flames and Kael's frost was too powerful. The vortex flickered as Jin slashed through, his blade igniting the air around him, and Kael's icy wave shattered the wind guard's defenses.
"NO!" the wind guard shouted as the attacks converged, flames and ice clashing violently, sending shockwaves through the air.
The nature guard, realizing they were overwhelmed, quickly thrust his hands into the ground. "Verdant's Embrace: Wrath of Nature!" He summoned a massive surge of vines and roots that shot up from the earth, trying to ensnare Jin and Kael and pull them into the depths of the ground.
But it was too late. The combined force of Jin's dark flames and Kael's icy onslaught exploded in a brilliant flash of blue and white, engulfing the guards in a storm of elemental fury.
Panting heavily, Jin and Kael steadied themselves, ready for whatever came next, their eyes scanning the dust settling around them. "Did we get them?" Kael asked, glancing over at Jin.
"I… I hope to hell we did." Jin said panting heavily trying to gather his thoughts.
Suddenly they heard a battle cry from them both.
"ITS NOT THIS EASY!" They both shouted in unison, their voices filled with rage and determination.
"Gale's Whisper: Cyclone Fury!"
"Verdant's Embrace: Nature's Retribution!"
An attack infused with wind, vines, thrones, and the earth combined and shot forward towards them both.
Suddenly, Kade, who had been gathering his energy in the background, stepped forward with determination. "I've got this!" he declared, planting his sword firmly into the ground. "Steelheart Mixed: Heavy Cloud!"
A dark mass of energy began to swirl above Kade, growing larger as he channeled the ambient ki around him. The air thickened, charged with power, as dark clouds coalesced into a storm of metal-infused energy.
"Together, we can end this!" Kade shouted, his voice resonating with conviction.
Jin and Kael watched as Kade unleashed the full force of his technique. "Steelheart Mixed: Heavy Cloud: Shattering Tempest!"
The swirling mass above them exploded downward, filed of jagged shards and fierce winds, clashing against the cyclone and the vines with ferocious intensity.
The ground shook as the tempest collided with the guards' combined attacks, the raw force sending shockwaves through the air.
"NO!" the guards cried out as Kade's technique tore through their defenses, shattering the cyclone and ripping apart the vines in a spectacular display of power.
With one final surge, the storm raged on, engulfing the guards and causing the ground around them to be ripped to shreds.
When the dust finally settled, Jin, Kael, and Kade stood together, breathless and battered, staring into the remnants of the battle.
"Did we get them?" Jin asked, his voice shaky but hopeful.
"We had to have… after all that." Kael panted, his eyes fixed on the wreckage.
Jin, feeling his ki was almost completely drained, said, "S-shit, I'm almost out of ki."
"…Y-yeah, I am as well," Kade replied, still standing but panting heavily as he waited for the dust to settle. "That move… it takes a hell of a lot out of me, so I can only use it like once a month."
Finally, the dust settled, and only the remains of the two guards were left.
The three of them looked at the motionless bodies. "They should be done for, right?"
Kael spoke up, "Let's make sure of it… we don't want any surprises here." He walked up toward them; their bodies were motionless, but ki could still be felt emanating from them.
"Damn… these bastards really are relentless. They're still alive," Kael said, with Jin, Kade, and Riven following closely behind.
"Damn," they all said in unison, feeling the faint ki still coming from the guards.
Kade picked up his sword and walked over, shoving it down onto both of their throats and hearts to ensure they were dead.
"There. They're gone…" Kade said before falling backward onto the ground. "Shit, I'm tired."
Jin sheathed his tanto into his sleeve. "We have to keep moving… there could be more guards coming."
After hearing this, Kade forced himself up, using the sheath of his sword as a cane, and the group headed north again, at a slower pace.