Whitehall shouted urgently at his communication construct, "Sadi! Sadi, can you hear me? I'm on my way!"

  The construct buzzed, and for the first time, he heard Sadi's response, though it was faint. "Whitehall... We're okay... helping others."

  "Where's Lindon?" Yerin called out, her voice edged with concern.

  The construct buzzed again, relaying Sadi's words with difficulty. "Near... camp. Distress... On our way. Bogged down by... enemies."

  Suddenly, Dross's enthusiastic voice cut in, breaking through the static. [Hey guys! What Sadi meant is that she and Mercy are making their way to Lindon, but they're being delayed by enemies.]

  "Where is she?" Whitehall pressed, anxiety creeping into his tone.

  [Didn't you catch that?] Dross replied. [They're fine.]

  Sadi's voice came through once more, more reassuring this time. "We're... fine... Supply line."

  "And I'll make sure you're fine," Whitehall snapped back, determination flaring within him.

  [That's sweet,] Dross chimed in. [But just so you know, Lindon is dealing with an Underlord right now. Feel free to swing by and save us whenever you can.]

  Yerin's pace quickened as she sprinted ahead, and Whitehall had to activate his enforcer technique just to keep up with her. Caught between helping Sadi or Lindon, Whitehall hesitated when he said, "They're after Sadi too."

  Yerin did not look back when she replied, focusing entirely on getting to Lindon. "Do what you need to."

  With an unsatisfied grunt, Whitehall veered to the right, his boots pounding against the forest floor as he sprinted toward the supply lines.

  Sadi and Mercy moved swiftly through the chaos, helping where they could as they made their way to rendezvous with Lindon. The Seishen sacred artists were everywhere, their numbers overwhelming the Skysworns at every turn. Sadi knew Whitehall was on his way to her—that was as certain as the sun setting at night.

  She had told Whitehall they were fine, but that wasn't entirely true. They were fine for now. The two of them had stumbled upon a Skysworn squad locked in a desperate battle against three Seishen Truegolds and four Highgolds. The Skysworn squad, led by a blonde-haired Truegold with a bloodied shoulder, had already lost one of their Lowgolds by the time Sadi and Mercy arrived. Their presence tipped the scales ever so slightly, but not enough to have an advantage. The Skysworn squad had one Truegold and three Lowgolds including the one that was dead .

  "Their Truegold killed my Lowgold," the Skysworn squad leader growled, her voice tight with pain and anger as she clutched her wounded shoulder.

  "Doesn't that violate the rules of engagement?" Sadi asked, her eyes narrowing as she assessed the Seishen sacred artists.

  Mercy glanced up at the trees, and Sadi followed her gaze. Perched high above was an owl, its unblinking eyes watching the scene below. Mercy's expression darkened, and she shook her head at Sadi.

  So that was how it was going to be.

  One of the Seishen Truegolds stepped forward, her sword gleaming as she pointed it at Mercy. "Surrender, and we'll spare you," she said, her voice cold.

  "The others?" Mercy asked, holding her bow at the ready.

  The Truegold shook her head.

  Mercy sighed and unleashed her arrow.

  Sadi didn't wait for the chaos to unfold. She activated her Lightcloak and darted toward the Seishen Highgolds standing behind their Truegolds. They wouldn't see her coming until it was too late.

  "Sadi, no!" Mercy called out for her to stop, but she was too late.

  Sadi activated Blindingwrath, which triggered the defensive constructs on the Seishen Highgolds's armour. Once the defensive construct had activated, sending wind aura to push the fake attack back, it needed a few seconds to recharge. Sadi took the opportunity to strike at their them with her karambits.

  She unzipped their necks, and two bodies fell. Blood poured like fountains from their dying forms.

  When she came for the third Highgold, a spear blurred from her left, and she caught it with her interlocked knives. The spear, however, caught her shoulder.

  She saw a Seishen Truegold holding the spear lodged in her shoulder, their face entirely covered by a steel helmet. Sadi smirked. The Seishen Truegold must have noticed something was wrong because they attempted to pull their spear away.

  Sadi held it firm.

  The other Skysworn Truegold arrived in a blur with a green sword forged of force madra. She aimed her sword towards the remaining Seishen Highgolds. The Highgolds lifted their shield, but the sword pierced through it like paper. Then she slashed towards the fourth and last Highgold, carving the man's shield and his body in half.

  In quick succession, all the Seishen Highgolds fell.

  "Shouldn't have broken the rules of engagement," Sadi spat at the Truegold still struggling with the spear.

  The Truegold let out a muffled guttural roar and attempted to push the spear in deeper, but a black web struck his back, sending him and trapping him onto a nearby tree branch.

  Sadi turned back to the battlefield, her triumph short-lived as she saw one of the Skysworn Lowgolds lying lifeless in a pool of blood.

  "The last one!" Mercy yelled, her voice urgent as she fired arrow after arrow at the remaining Seishen Truegold. "Save him!"

  Sadi's eyes landed on the last surviving Skysworn Lowgold, crawling away from a Seishen Truegold wielding a glowing jade axe. The Lowgold's legs had been severed cleanly above the knees, and he was dragging himself through the dirt, leaving a trail of blood in his wake. Sadi activated her Lightcloak on him, but it wouldn't be enough. The Truegold raised his axe, ready to deliver the killing blow.

  She decided to use a technique she had not used in battle in a while, but that did not mean she had not been practising. Observe and Change , Sunda's remnant echoed her thoughts. Sadi twisted the Light aura in the glowing axe, colliding the light particles together recklessly . The light aura imploded on itself, like the jaws of the sun. This was her Solar Maw. The axe burst into pieces, and the force sent the Truegold back. She had tried her best to keep the aftermath explosion small, hoping not to harm the Lowgold further. When she deactivated her Lightcloak, she saw that her control had worked. The lowgold was still alive.

  "Protect your Lowgold!" Sadi yelled to the blonde Skysworn, who nodded and jumped away from the Truegold she was engaging with. She stood protectively in front of her prone Lowgold.

  Sadi rushed to join the Truegold protecting the Lowgold, then soon after, Mercy landed from above to their side.

  The Seishen Truegold freed the trapped Truegold, cutting the black web that held him against a tree. The Truegold that had lost his axe soon got up and unsheathed his sword.

  Two Truegolds and a Highgold versus three Truegolds. The odds were better, but not in their favour. Yet . Sadi smirked when she heard the sound of boots landing next to her. She deactivated her Lightcloak, revealing Whitehall's form. The hair on the uncovered part of his face was matted with sweat onto his purple skin. Veins popped through the purple skin on his cheeks as he used his enforcer technique.

  The blonde Truegold nearly swung her sword reflexively at Whitehall but stopped when she noticed his Skysworn armour.

  "Wow. That is some veil," Mercy remarked, surprised by Whitehall's sudden presence. "I wouldn't even know you were there if I'm not seeing you with my own two eyes."

  "Thanks, Mercy," Whitehall replied, his eyes focused on the three Seishen Truegolds. "But let's focus on the people trying to kill us, yes?"

  Sadi felt a surge of warmth at his arrival. Whitehall had always known his path wasn't suited for head-on combat, so he'd perfected his veil instead. His ability to remain undetected was almost unnatural, and even Sadi couldn't fully comprehend how he did it. The only reason she'd known he was there was thanks to their communication construct.

  "You got them?" Sadi whispered.

  Whitehall nodded. "It's only a matter of time."

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  Sadi flicked her head to the Lowgold behind them. "Can you heal him?"

  Whitehall eyed the enemies before them as he answered. "I've already stemmed his bleeding," and that was the extent of his current abilities when it came to life techniques. "He'll live."

  The blonde Truegold sighed in relief. "Thank you," she murmured. "I thought I would lose them all today."

  One of the Seishen Truegolds buckled to their knees, groaning, "What did you do to me?" She held a hand to her chest, above her heart, clawing on her chest plate with armoured fingers.

  The Truegold, wielding a spear, threw the weapon at them. The attack was weak, barely infused with madra. Sadi batted the weapon aside effortlessly. He unsheathed his sword, attempting to advance towards the Skysworns, but his legs stopped short and faltered. His armour landed with a thunk as he collapsed onto the ground.

  The last Truegold ripped her helmet off, revealing long chestnut hair matted to burnt skin. Her skin was peeling off, and her eyes were red with burns. She started screaming, wailing, and recklessly unleashing madra on her surroundings. Yet the outrage was weak and continued to get weaker until the pain took over, and she collapsed to the ground.

  The first Truegold, the one clutching her heart on her knees, retracted her helmet, revealing the same burned and peeling skin. She looked at Whitehall with red and teary eyes.

  "Please," she begged. "I don't want to die."

  Whitehall looked to the side towards the dead Skysworn lowgolds, their bodies mangled in gruesome manners. He did not meet the last Truegold's eyes.

  "What else can I do?" he muttered before turning to lift the injured Lowgold and leaving.

  "Dross, Yerin, Lindon, what's happening?" Whitehall called out into his communication construct as they ran as fast as they could towards Lindon's location.

  They had parted ways with the other Truegold Skysworn. She had assured them she could carry the Lowgold on her own despite her injuries .

  [As best as we could, considering we are facing two Underlords]," Dross replied through the construct.

  "How are Underlords fighting Truegolds, shouldn't the sage step in?" he replied, running as fast as he could.

  Mercy replied with a single word, her voice tinged with dismay, "No."

  "Go on without me," Sadi muttered, one hand covering the wound on her shoulder. Whitehall had stopped the bleeding, but her madra needed more time to recover. "I'm quite spent, and you both can move faster than me."

  Whitehall looked over his shoulder towards Sadi, and her skin was paler, he noticed

  "Go!" Sadi said louder. "I'll be fine. I'm still a Truegold."

  Mercy added reassuringly, "I've seen her fight. She'll be fine," she nodded to him.

  Whitehall reluctantly nodded. "They are after you and me also! Find Eithan!"

  Sadi nodded, and Whitehall activated his enforcer technique while Mercy cycled more madra into her staff, pushing it faster.

  Whitehall stumbled to a scene of horror; a body in green armour lay still on the ground, blood covering them from head to toe, their face mangled to the point of unrecognisable. To their right was another body covered in blood, nearly split in half. He recognised the apprentice pin on their chest plate; however, they were a Lowgold.

  As his perception glanced to the battle ahead, he felt the spirit of the Seishen Underlords. They had butchered Golds, he thought. Hate and bitterness boiled inside him, and then he remembered they were currently fighting Lindon and Yerin- they weren't planning to stop their madness anytime soon.

  Mercy spoke up, "We need to go! Lindon and Yerin can't hold much longer against two Underlords!"

  Whitehall injected more poison madra into his body. His previous gaseous striker technique and the fact that he had kept up his enforcer technique for hours had almost dried up his reserves, but he could fight for a little longer.

  His skin grew a darker shade of greenish purple, and blood began pouring out of his mouth as his small veins popped. The toxic blood hissed as they landed on the grass below.

  Mercy visibly recoiled at seeing him, but she nodded and dashed towards Lindon and Yerin.

  Seishen Kiro and Meira fought side by side against the sword artist and her Bloodshadow. His thoughts whirled more and more as the battle grew longer and longer. What kind of Truegolds had the Sage send them after? The Blackflame had strength that rivalled his, and here, the sword artist was holding her own against him and Meira as a Truegold.

  He could not let them live, if they were as dangerous as the Sage had warned, then they shall carve a blood path in their wake if they were allowed to advance.

  He parried the Bloodshadow away with his shield, sending her towards the trees. He rushed towards the sword artist, ready to strike her with his forged blade. Her gaze had now fallen on him, and he saw Meira ready to strike her from behind.

  Meira and his eyes widened at the same time.

  "Meira!" he yelled.

  Meira shouted at him at the same time. "Kiro!"

  Black web tendrils, shot by a Truegold whose spirit he had only felt when they unveiled their spirit, latched onto Meira and pinned her to the trees.

  Meira's eyes grew wider as she stared at him. "To your left!" she yelled urgently.

  Kiro hadn't even sensed it , and he only felt it when he found himself forced into the ground- rot and decay.

  "You killed them!" a gruff, croaky voice yelled at him with rage.

  He felt the man's fist collide with his jaw, and his head bounced as it impacted the soft ground. Were it not for his body having been forged from Soulfire, he knew he would have lost consciousness. He lifted his shield to block the next blow, and his arms nearly buckled under the blow.

  "You are worse than the lowest of faeces," the man yelled as he climbed on top of Kiro and struck his shield. "At least they can be made into fertiliser."

  This close, Kiro's perception told him that the man was a Highgold. Another sight of the impossibility struck him. Was this the poison artist from the Wasteland that the Sage had ordered them to execute?

  Kiro felt dread. Daji had been sent after the sacred artists from the Wastelands. If he was here, then it meant that Daji ...

  Kiro slammed his shield into the man's jaw, and unlike the Blackflame, this time, his target flew into the air, crashing into a nearby tree. The man's blood splattered onto Kiro's face, and Kiro felt his skin burned.

  He pulled himself up and searched for Meira. To the side, he saw that she had freed herself and was fighting the sword artist and a second Truegold wielding a bow of shadow.

  The poison artist rose from the ground, and Kiro finally could see him properly for the first time. A wooden mask lay on the ground next to his feet, revealing his gore-marred face. Poison madra oozed out of a large opening from the side of his head and oversized pores like smoke; his skin colour was that of a horrible bruise with pulsing veins popping out underneath it, and blood poured out of his bloodshot eyes, nose, and purple lips. He had summoned a whip, and the length grew a sickly purple as it radiated with forged poison madra. It released purple smoke into the air as he cracked it.

  Kiro readied his sword and shield. "You cannot fathom the burden I carry," he replied the short man.

  The man tried to reply, but Kiro's blow had dislocated his jaw, and he struggled to make words.

  The archer shouted at the poisoned artist before he could reply, "Whitehall!" Then she pointed at the sword artist. "Yerin!"

  Kiro watched as the poison artist's gaze fell onto the girl, and Kiro rushed to Meira's side.

  Whitehall's gaze followed Mercy's finger to Yerin. Yerin's lifeline was fleeting; he felt it as natural as he would feel a poison aura. He rushed before her, placing himself between Yerin and the woman wielding a scythe.

  "Plants," Yerin muttered between heavy breaths. Her eyes were sunken, and the dark bags beneath were swollen. "She can control them. And don't let her scythes touch you. It cuts life aura."

  "Got it," Whitehall replied, his eyes fixed on the enemies before them.

  The male Underlord rose up and stood by the side of the woman with a scythe.

  "I am Prince Seishen Kiro," the man stated. "What have you done to my brother?"

  Whitehall could not speak so he spat blood to the side.

  Mercy answered. "Seishen Daji is alive and has been taken away by his retainers."

  Prince Kiro nodded and lowered his head slightly. "Thank you for informing me of his wellbeing, honoured Akura."

  So he recognised Mercy.

  Mercy continued, "Underlords are on the way to us; let us end this."

  Kiro shook his head, "I am afraid I cannot. But I swear in my name not to harm you." He readied his sword, and the woman beside him lifted her scythe.

  Whitehall could feel the tension in the air. He was running out of madra, and his enforcer technique continued to drain his core. Underlords were on their way, but the prince and the woman did not seem willing to back down. Two Highgolds versus two Underlords, he thought.

  He had faced worse odds.

  He knew his path was not meant to be the warrior leading the charge, but he did not need to win this battle. He only needed to buy time.

  His body blurred when he saw Yerin's bloodshadow appear behind Kiro. The prince was caught off guard, but the white-haired woman swung her scythe at the bloodshadow. It created the perfect opening for him.

  Unlike what he had done previously to paralyse Mercy, this time , he fueled his technique with hate alongside madra. Prince Kiro fell for the feint and swung his sword towards his whip arm, but Whitehall dodged and landed his other palm on the man's face. Whitehall was not unscathed either. The prince's sword drew a large gash from his shoulder down to the forearms of his whip-arm.

  Kiro must have known what was coming because he activated his helmet, forcing Whitehall to pull back his hand. But the damage was already done. Whitehall's blood had already dripped onto his face. Beneath his helmet, Kiro screamed.

  "Kiro!" the white-haired woman yelled in a panic.

  She swung her scythe at Whitehall, cutting through the black web that Mercy shot at her. He tried to crack his whip to catch the attack, but his arm did not budge, and the scythe sliced his chest.

  There were no physical wounds, but his copper sight showed him green blobs of life aura floating in the air. She slashed her scythe through the floating life aura, absorbing it into her spirit. Whitehall smirked, and the woman screamed as poison began to devour her hands, dropping the scythe in an instant.

  She channelled life aura to counter the poison, and as an Underlord, it took her a few seconds to do so with Soulfire. "I'm going to kill you," she said manically as she lifted the scythe, her eyes wide. "You're all going to die!"

  A silver blur passed behind Whitehall, followed by a loud clang of steel. He looked up and saw Yerin clashing her sword against Kiro's, who was about to strike him down. Yerin's eyes were heavy, and her hair was covered by sweat.

  Her lifeline was weaker than Whitehall's ever was. He was caught in awe by how she still managed to fight. Then the prince kicked her, sending her tumbling away. A bar of Blackflame shot out of Lindon towards the Seishen woman, stopping her from finishing Whitehall.

  The prince, however, stabbed his sword through Whitehall's chest.

  Mercy yelled, "Whitehall!"

  Her spirit was Highgold now as she shot a purple arrow at the prince. The prince stepped back to avoid the arrows, pulling his sword out of Whitehall's chest. Right onto Yerin's bloodshadow's sword arm.

  "Kiro!" the white-haired woman yelled, rushing to his side. She caught the prince with roots growing from the ground.

  "Meira," Kiro muttered as his gaze fell onto the woman.

  A cacoon of roots grew around them, creating a protective barrier. Her eyes never left the Bloodshadow as she activated a gate stone, disappearing in an instant .

  Whitehall's communication construct buzzed, "We're on our way," a familiar woman's voice spoke.

  Whitehall could not reply, his jaw dislocated and blood oozing out of his chest. Weirdly, the wound was not as painful as he thought it ought to be. The poison inside him begged to be released. But not outwards. It begged to be unleashed inside of him. So he allowed it.

  Layers upon layers of poison aura flooded into his body, into his organs, into his blood, and into his empty spirit. Hundreds or thousands, he couldn't tell, of poison aura rushed into him in quick successions. He acted on instinct, using the right poisons to counter the effects. It was coming too quickly to double-check, and without Meatball around, he could only hope that his studies came through.

  Lindon watched Whitehall in the middle of the battlefield, lying alone on the ground in a fetal position. He double-checked on the unconscious Yerin, worried sick, but he couldn't leave Whitehall alone here either.

  "Dross, what's happening?" he asked as Whitehall's body convulsed and his skin kept changing hues.

  [I think he's advancing], Dross answered.

  But Whitehall's core was empty. Lindon was sure of that.

  [He's converting his lifeline into madra, with extreme efficiency actually], Dross replied with interest.

  "Will he live?"

  [Well, considering the state of his wounds, it certainly is the only way he would live without any immediate healers around].

  Whitehall found himself in the darkness, agony running through his body. He did not need anyone to tell him that this was his advancement to Truegold. He kept injecting different poisons inside of him, countering whatever side effects he was experiencing. His life aura had also begun to intermix with his poison aura, creating viruses, as Eithan had told him.

  In his mind, he kept hearing and muttering the same sentence again and again .

  "...hold it off for a little longer."

  House of Blades

  Iteration requested. Amalgam.

  Date. Denied

  Report Complete.

  Years later

  "I want to marry you," Valiar said to Dayang one day, his words breaking the comfortable silence that had settled between them. They were walking back from foraging herbs and spices for dinner, the forest around them alive with the soft rustle of leaves and the distant calls of birds. Valiar had left Cornelia behind in Valinhall that day, not wanting to endure her inevitable commentary on his proposal. Over time, Cornelia's disapproval of his interest towards Dayang had grown, and he'd taken to leaving the doll behind whenever he visited.

  Dayang didn't seem surprised. "I know," she said, a small smile playing on her lips. But then her expression shifted, a faint frown creasing her brow. "I'm just worried about how the rest of Valinhall would react. They won't take kindly to a wielder of one of their swords abandoning them."

  Valiar shook his head dismissively. "I doubt anyone would care. I've been gone for, what, four years now? Nobody's seemed to miss me."

  Dayang grimaced. "I know you're kind. But the others? I've seen the lengths they'll go to for those who disagree with them ."

  It was Valiar's turn to grimace. "I know," he admitted, his voice heavy. "But truth be told, my Master never bothered to train me properly. Cornelia's been my real teacher all along."

  "At least talk to the other Travellers first," Dayang suggested, her tone softening.

  "Will that put you at ease?" Valiar teased, a playful glint in his eye.

  "I'll be more inclined to say yes," Dayang replied, matching his tone with a sly smile. "But first, dinner."

  After dinner, Valiar helped with the dishes, the two of them moving in comfortable synchrony. As he prepared to leave, he turned to Dayang. "Could you help me with my headband?" he asked, sitting on the steps outside her home.

  Dayang extended her hand, and Valiar handed her the black headband. "You should cut your hair; it's getting too long," she commented as she began to braid it.

  Valiar chuckled. "I thought you liked my long hair. Besides, if I cut it, I'll look too much like my Master."

  Dayang fell silent, and Valiar noticed her hands had stilled. "Everything alright?" he asked, turning his head slightly to look at her. She looked pale, her eyes fixed on the back of his head. "Dayang?"

  "How did you get this scar?" she asked, her fingers tracing a faint line on the back of his skull.

  "Oh, that," Valiar said, surprised by her reaction. He had far more noticeable scars on his arms and legs , and she'd never seemed bothered by them. "It's from a training accident a long time ago."

  Dayang's shoulders relaxed slightly. "I see. It healed well," she said quietly, resuming her braiding. "Valiar?"

  "Yeah?"

  "Could you bring Cornelia with you next time?" she asked, her voice tinged with uncertainty.

  It was an odd request, but an easy one to fulfil. "Sure," he replied, though he couldn't help but wonder what had prompted it.