Yerin’s spirit gave her no sense of danger, so she decided to experiment.
The Moonlight Bridge carried her behind Sophara, and she realized that there was still something in her soulspace.
She summoned the black-bladed sword, Netherclaw, and activated the technique.
Sophara whirled and tried to engage Yerin blade-to-blade, but Yerin moved away in an instant flash of moonlight.
The clawed hand appeared faster than it ever had before, and more solid than she’d ever seen it. It filled the arena with so much power that it almost felt like a real Archlord technique.
Yerin poured not only soulfire into it, but put all her will behind it. She urged the claw to become stronger.
Sophara put both hands behind a river of dragon’s breath, still screaming.
The Netherclaw crashed into the ground.
It crushed Sophara.
It shattered the ground.
It split the arena in two, revealing a shimmering barrier of purple light separating the arena from the outside world.
And then even that barrier cracked.
The Ninecloud Soul’s voice leaked in from outside. “…witnessing history here today! Sacred artists one and all, bear witness to the eighteenth Uncrowned King!”
Sophara’s dragon’s breath faded to white.
Lindon wondered if Fury was going to get them all killed.
Why was he taunting the enemy at a four-to-one disadvantage? It was insanity.
Xorrus the gold dragon Herald gave a sigh that rang over Sky’s Edge. “We’re letting you out of the trap, humans. Go home.”
Inwardly, Lindon urged Fury to take the deal.
But the Akura Herald was still laughing. “Yeah, but see, we’re not the ones trapped here.”
Lindon didn’t see the punch, but he saw the aftermath. Fury disappeared and reappeared beneath Xorrus, driving his fist up and into the dragon’s stomach. Lindon saw no flash of darkness; as far as he could tell, that was just a punch.
In the sky, clouds split apart.
And Fury shouted in a command that shook reality itself: “Break.”
It was the authority of a Sage.
The dragon split into fragments, each piece dissolving into shining golden sand.
Xorrus started re-forming herself, but a new image had appeared across the entire sky: a fist, facing down as though about to plunge and annihilate the earth beneath them.
The image shook Lindon’s spirit with the impression of absolute strength before it vanished a moment later.
What was that? he asked, shaken.
[Uh, well, I’ve never seen it before, but it’s pretty…distinct. That’s called the Strength Icon, or the Fist Icon, or the Symbol of Bodily Power, depending on where you’re from.]
An Icon. Fury had broken through.
He was ascending to Monarch.
Only then did Lindon feel the madra, overwhelming and impossibly powerful, as the entire valley was covered in shadow.
Xorrus choked out a voice tinged with fear and anger, “Why? If you could advance, why did you wait?”
A Forged hand of shadow grabbed her by the scaled throat, and Fury pulled her close. He was only the size of one of her eyes. “To see this look on your face.”
Then three other Heralds unveiled their power, and the true battle began.
26
Information requested: Akura Malice, Queen of Shadows and ruler of the western Ashwind continent.
Beginning report…
Path: Eternal Night. Though she is famous for the creation of the Path of Seven Pages, Malice herself has no Book. She is the practitioner of a pure shadow Path with an emphasis on Forger and Ruler techniques, and she sees her madra as a perfect blend of power and utility. However, her dissatisfaction with her own Path led her to create an idealized version: her Book of Eternal Night.
Everyone in the Akura family is named after a virtue. Even Malice.
When Malice was born, the Akura family was a tiny band of humans in a vicious wilderness. They were destroyed by a rival when she was only days old, their members dispersed.
She was named for the quality of ruthlessness, spite, focused hatred that her parents hoped would guide her to avenge them.
Malice grew up among exiles working with vengeance as her only goal, but she slowly realized how hollow revenge really was.
To her, the only thing that matters is the good of the family.
She had a firm sense of justice, defending the weak and fighting the strong, but she learned that the world of vicious competition was unfair to those born human. The best way to protect the weak was to gather them under one banner.
And to remove all threats at the roots.
The family is safest when its rivals are dead.
Suggested topic: the birth of Akura Fury.
Denied, report complete.
The four Monarchs bound to Ninecloud City had come together in the Court’s royal audience hall, allegedly to discuss the end of the tournament in peace.
Northstrider knew what was really going to happen. He was ready.
“I accept the results,” Seshethkunaaz said coldly. “Freak twists of fate are part of strength as well. If I must ascend, so be it.”
Reigan Shen idly toyed with one of his rings. “I would imagine she will exterminate the Bleeding Phoenix, as some portion of her link to it no doubt remains. But if I am forced to ascend, I suppose I will see you all sooner or later.”
They were not as fatalistic as they pretended, Northstrider knew. The dragon, at least, was seething inside. He wasn’t even doing a good job of hiding it.
But he was more interested in someone else’s act.
Malice’s smirk widened into a smile. “Sometimes I wonder if you know me at all, Sesh. Your people destroyed the Rising Earth sect and tried to destroy two more of my teams.”
Northstrider sensed something in the great distance.
The dragon and the lion looked up at the same time.
“Did you think that I would let that go?” Malice continued. “Did you think I couldn’t reach you?” Her smile widened further into a fierce, maniacal grin. “Did you forget my name?”
As the power in the distance grew, Malice’s laughter and her shadows boiled up to fill the hall.
Fury was advancing to Monarch.
At last.
Seshethkunaaz rose up on a cloud of golden sand. “You cannot stop me from interfering.” His power exploded, tearing off the entire roof of the tower and dissolving it to sand in an instant. “Use the arrow! I will take your son with me to the grave.”
With the tournament over, and all four Monarchs ready to leave, the barrier trapping them in Ninecloud City fell apart.
A gust of sand in the shape of a snarling serpent, containing the full willpower of the Dragon King, struck at Malice.
She held up one hand to stop it.
An amethyst gauntlet bigger than the entire top of the tower formed in front of her, and the sand crashed into it like water into a boulder.
Malice’s eyes blazed, and she rose into the air. An instant later, she and the dragon were miles away, slowly ramping up to their full power.
All over Ninecloud City, alarms blared. Sha Miara’s power covered them, rainbow light moving citizens to shelter or blocking stray bursts of power.
Northstrider kept his eyes on Reigan Shen.
The lion twisted his rings, looking disturbed. “This really isn’t necessary. We could have worked together to mutual benefit.”
Northstrider stayed quiet. Those were words that Tiberian Arelius had used on Shen.
They hadn’t worked then, and they certainly wouldn’t work now.
“Well, Penance is beyond our reach,” the lion continued.
He glanced up, and Northstrider knew he was looking at the blue bubble of the Way that contained Kiuran the Hound and Yerin Arelius, victor of the Uncrowned King tournament.