The palace hall was a graveyard, its obsidian floor slick with blood.
The air reeked of iron and charred flesh, the runes on the walls flickering weakly, their blue glow dimmed by the carnage.
Lady Blu leaned against a decorative statue, her chest heaving, her sword dripping crimson.
The Twilight Lord Sect was no more, its practitioners slaughtered, their bodies strewn across the hall like broken dolls.
The fox-beings, those monstrous creatures, were reduced to ash, their crimson eyes extinguished by the combined might of Dark Star City's great clans.
Yet, victory felt hollow.
Blu's stomach churned, the stench of death overwhelming.
Her hands, sticky with blood, trembled as she gripped her sword, her once-pristine robes now tattered and stained.
At twenty, she was a prodigy of the Lunar Phoenix Clan, a Ninth Lord whose talent outshone her peers.
But the ritual's tainted power, the surge that had pushed her cultivation forward, weighed on her soul.
Their lives… their pain… it's part of me now, she thought, nausea rising.
She forced herself to stand, her gaze sweeping the hall.
The battle had been brutal, a clash of titans that shook the very foundations of the palace.
The united forces—Lunar Phoenix, Iron Serpent, Starlit Blade, and Dark Cloud—had overwhelmed the Twilight Lords.
Their surprise attack, timed at the ritual's peak, had shattered the sect's defenses, allowing the clans' elites to storm the fortified palace.
Blu had fought at the forefront, her techniques flawless, each strike bending the laws of the world.
Her sword sang, cutting through enemies with precision, yet each kill added to the weight on her heart.
This isn't glory, she thought, her eyes scanning the carnage.
This is slaughter.
The sect's remnants had tried to retreat, their protective formation holding briefly before cracking with a dull "Pdf-f-f."
Panic ensued, the Twilight Lords scattering like roaches, but none escaped.
Within minutes, the sect was eradicated, its legacy reduced to corpses and ash.
The fox-beings fell soon after, their resistance crumbling under the clan leaders' onslaught.
One collapsed into a bloody puddle, another burned to ash, the last crushed by a combined assault.
The Twilight Lord Sect, once a pillar of Dark Star City, was gone.
Its surviving members, those absent from the ritual, had fled the city, their properties soon to be divided among the victors.
Blu's gaze lingered on the obsidian platform, its surface unmarred despite the battle.
The clan leaders stood atop it, their figures silhouetted against the flickering runes.
They spoke in hushed tones, their spiritual senses probing the platform, seeking answers to its dark purpose.
Blu summoned her energy, forming a probing tendril to eavesdrop, but a sphere of silence enveloped the platform, blocking her efforts.
They don't want to be heard, she thought, frustration gnawing at her.
She turned her attention to the statues lining the platform's perimeter.
Each depicted a warrior in flowing robes, their hoods casting shadows over unseen faces.
Some held swords, others spears or bows, each pose unique, their craftsmanship breathtaking.
Blu's eyes narrowed as she studied them, a strange unease stirring within.
The longer she looked, the more her perception shifted, as if the statues held a secret just beyond her grasp.
A sudden burst of spiritual energy erupted from one statue, its force so overwhelming that Blu staggered, her heart racing.
What was that? she thought, fear gripping her.
Even her father, the Lunar Phoenix Clan leader, didn't exude such pressure.
She glanced around, noticing other practitioners edging away from the platform, their faces pale, their eyes darting nervously to the statues.
They feel it too, she realized, her unease growing.
On the platform, the clan leaders' discussion grew heated, their voices muffled by the silence sphere.
"There were no elite warriors here," the Iron Serpent leader said, his tone sharp.
"Not the sect leader, not their elders, not their protectors."
"We wiped out their young generation, and they didn't even show!"
"Calm yourselves," the Lunar Phoenix leader replied, his voice steady.
"We all know the Twilight Lord's leader."
"He'd never abandon his juniors."
"Something must have happened to him and his elites."
"I propose we send our elders to investigate their residence," the Starlit Blade leader suggested.
"We need answers for their absence."
"Agreed," the Dark Cloud leader said.
"And we'll declare a state of heightened alert in Dark Star City."
"The guards must know what we're dealing with."
Blu listened, her probing tendril catching only fragments before the silence sphere tightened.
Something's wrong, she thought, her instincts screaming.
The Twilight Lords wouldn't fall so easily.
Her gaze returned to the statues, their presence growing heavier.
She approached one, a warrior with a bow, its stone eyes hidden beneath the hood.
The air around it thrummed, a low vibration that set her nerves on edge.
She reached out, her fingers brushing the statue's surface, and a jolt of energy surged through her, visions flashing in her mind—battlefields, ancient wars, warriors wielding power beyond comprehension.
She pulled back, gasping, her heart pounding.
These aren't just statues, she realized, fear and awe warring within.
They're… something else.
A murmur rippled through the hall, practitioners whispering nervously.
The statues' aura was palpable now, a pressure that made the air feel like lead.
Blu stepped back, her sword raised instinctively, her Ninth Lord cultivation straining against the unseen force.
Then, it happened.
Every statue opened its eyes, their gazes alive, brimming with a power that shook the hall.
The runes flared, their blue light turning crimson, bathing the hall in an ominous glow.
The practitioners froze, their faces pale, their weapons trembling in their hands.
The clan leaders turned, their expressions a mix of shock and dread.
"What is this?" the Dark Cloud leader whispered, his voice barely audible.
Blu's heart raced, her mind scrambling for answers.
The statues' eyes locked onto the practitioners, their gazes piercing, as if judging their worth.
A low hum filled the hall, the platform vibrating beneath the leaders' feet.
Energy surged, a wave of ancient power that made Blu's knees buckle.
They're alive, she thought, terror gripping her.
And they're angry.
The statues moved, their stone limbs creaking as they stepped forward, weapons raised.
The hall erupted into chaos, practitioners scrambling as the statues attacked, their strikes swift and merciless.
Blu dodged a spear thrust, her sword deflecting it with a spark, but the force sent her skidding across the floor.
We can't fight this, she realized, her Ninth Lord power dwarfed by the statues' might.
The clan leaders leaped into action, their energy clashing with the statues, but even they struggled, their techniques barely denting the stone warriors.
Amid the chaos, a figure staggered from the platform's center—Song, his body trembling, his tattoo glowing with a fiery ring.
His eyes were wide, his breath ragged, but a new strength radiated from him.
What happened to him? Blu thought, her gaze locking onto him.
The statues turned, their eyes fixing on Song, their movements slowing as if recognizing something in him.
A voice, ancient and vast, echoed through the hall, shaking the very stones.
The rune-bearer has awakened.
Song froze, his tattoo blazing, a rune pulsing brightly on its surface.
What am I? he thought, his soul trembling as the statues' gazes bore into him, their power threatening to consume all.
To be continued…