Then, I heard her voice and saw his light. All I knew was that I’d do anything to get back to them, even if I had to split my soul to do it. -Source Unknown

  Silver and black qi slammed against Moon Rose, but Lin gritted his teeth and held firm. Emerald, jade, and rose wisps of qi filled the bark-like patterns on his hands as they pushed against the sword’s blade, forming a solid bulwark against the onslaught of qi that threatened to destroy him and Xinya.

  Lin was a defender. His feet were rooted, and his body stood tall as the ancient tree that once saved his life. His eyes were sharp, and determination filled his heart. Xinya might have been Yoru’s niece, but Lin was her guardian, and he would not let her fall.

  He cast a glance backward. The young cultivator was shocked silent, eyes wide with fear as she tried to catch up with the fact that she hadn’t been immediately erased from the world by a god straight out of her hometown’s legends. Lin smiled and returned to his work. Qi flared brightly, flowering out from his hands until a sturdy wall separated him from the beam of light.

  The force of the attack slackened. A voice flickered through Lin’s thoughts, urging him to attack swiftly and without hesitation. He had adapted, rooted himself to the earth to weather the attack, but now it was time to become one with the winds.

  Lin lunged forward, Moon Rose flashing with brilliant green and pink. It sliced through the remainder of the Darkened Moon’s qi until the two were mere feet apart. Surprise colored the Darkened Moon’s eyes before the blade sliced cleanly across his chest. He gasped and choked as he darted back.

  “How did you…why can’t I see you?!” he cried, hand grasping the cut on his chest. It wasn’t as deep as Lin had hoped for, and he soon realized why. Though the black blood leaking from his chest was minimal and slowly healing, it wasn’t the only place where the Darkened Moon was bleeding. His right wrist featured a tally mark. In this version, Lin struck a weak blow, but in another?

  He couldn’t help but feel a little smug. At some point, even if it was rewritten, he was enough of a threat to force a Flash Back. That confidence boost was enough to fill him with new energy.

  “You’re the one with the ability to go back in time,” Lin said, poking fun at one of Yoru’s insecurities. “Why don’t you just find out and let me know?”

  “I’m. Not. A. Time. Traveler!” the Darkened Moon shrieked. Lin bit back a laugh. It seemed that this madman, no matter how insane, still had some elements of the man he knew.

  Eclipse was in the Darkened Moon’s hand. He swiped at Lin, forcing him to parry before dodging a jagged blade of silver that erupted from the ground near his foot.

  “I understand now,” the Darkened Moon growled as they exchanged blows again. “I might not know your face, but I’d know that qi anywhere. Have you really fallen so far, Jinshi?”

  “I’m not the Sword Saint,” he answered. The Darkened Moon leapt back, sending three disks of razor-sharp moonlight towards him. Lin dodged one, blocked the next with his blade, but the third clipped his shoulder. He felt blood trickle down his left arm, but his qi was already analyzing the strike. The next one would not cut through so easily.

  “You lie, Jinshi! Just like you always do!” Lin thought for a brief moment that he spied the sparkle of tears from the madman, but then it was gone. “You said you’d come back to me! That you’d never hurt me! But, you LIED! When I was distracted by the Sun Queen and her gaggle of heroes, it was your blade that cut straight to my soul. Where is the honor in that, you worthless trash! To think I called you my martial brother! To think I wanted to ask for your hand! You disgust me, Iru’e Jinshi! I want you dead!”

  The Darkened Moon moved so fast, even with Lin’s sharpened eyesight, he struggled to follow. He only barely brought up his sword in time to block Eclipse before it took his head off entirely. Not even a moment later, Eclipse withdrew, only to swipe at him from another angle, forcing Lin to remain on the defensive. Blow after blow he parried and dodged until he finally saw a chance between the dancing lights of Eclipse’s blade to strike. The Darkened Moon danced back, leaving Lin a moment to breathe.

  He chastised himself. This man was insane, sure, but if he still held onto Yoru’s pain, then he certainly had Yoru’s skill. Lin still didn’t understand why his friend was convinced that he was a lackluster swordsman. His form was still incredible, and above all else, dangerous.

  Moon Rose’s blade met Eclipse’s with a clear ring that could be heard everywhere in the clearing. Lin shifted his blade, redirecting the force of the blow, and sliding to his left before darting inside the reach of Yoru’s blade. Pulling a seed from his core, he punched the Darkened Moon hard in the face…

  Or at least he tried. At the last second, his target twisted away, his blow only coming close enough to feel the strands of his hair rather than his nose. Not missing a beat, Lin spun and hurled the seed at the man’s chest. He sliced it straight out of the air.

  Yet, the exchange wasn’t for nothing. Black blood was dripping down Eclipse’s hilt and onto the blade. Several more tally marks had appeared.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  A bolt of lavender lit the clearing, and the Darkened Moon was forced to stumble back before he was hit.

  “Nice try, little girl,” he growled. “I might not be able to see the blessed Sword Saint coming, but you lack his-”

  Moon Rose raked across the Darkened Moon’s back. He cried out in pain, whipping Eclipse around to swipe at Lin.

  “Nice work, Xinya,” Lin said, joining the little girl.

  “But, if he can see my attacks coming, how do we defeat him?” she wondered.

  Lin had been wondering the same thing himself, but at the end of the day, it boiled down to two options. The Darkened Moon was using Flash Back generously. If they pushed him, and he took it too far, then the back lash would weaken him to the point where they could defeat him, but that was dangerous. Lin had seen Yoru Flash Back nearly twenty times, and that was when he was at Iron. He didn’t know the upper limit of his tolerance at Gold. They could be here for hours trying to unravel him.

  But, that wasn’t the only way to take Flash Back off the table. This version of Yoru lacked the control he’d built up over the last year in the Black City. If Lin and Xinya could expose him to strong voidlight, then Flash Forward and Flash Back would both be blocked.

  Lin’s eye flicked to his right. The Darkened Moon likely wouldn’t willingly use an ability that weakened his blooded techniques, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t use something that Yoru himself created.

  “Draw him to the Armillary, I have an idea,” Lin instructed Xinya. “Do not step beyond the danger line, but once he’s there, see if your bloodline can reach him.”

  Xinya nodded, coughed, then shook it off and readied her qi for another blast. The Darkened Moon had finished rewriting reality around his body to mend Lin’s last strike, but that was fine for their purposes. Killing the Darkened Moon would very likely kill Yoru. Though he didn’t know how, Lin still wanted to save his Sworn Brother. However, he couldn’t save anyone until the Voidlight gave him half a chance to try.

  In a single moment, both young cultivators took off. Lin sprinted towards the Darkened Moon while Xinya’s path took her towards the Armillary itself. Their adversary watched them both, eyes narrowed as he tried to decipher their plan.

  Lin’s blade dipped down, dragging through the grass before flicking dirt and stones upward. The wind in Lin’s blade spread the cloud wide over the Darkened Moon’s head before he turned on his heel and sprinted towards the armillary.

  But, the legendary villain was faster. Rather than waiting for the cloud from the Mist-Bound Moonlight technique to settle, he was already in the air. With Eclipse under him, he zipped ahead and above Lin who put on another burst of speed. The air thrummed with power as the Darkened Moon swiped with his blade.

  Before Lin’s eyes, qi surged from the blade, and what was one brilliant blade of light became twelve, then sixteen, then twenty. They rained down around him, blocking every avenue of escape.

  So, this is what the sword form of Heaven’s Rain looks like, Lin thought to himself. There was less than a breath before he was sliced into a dozen pieces by the ancient technique. His only chance was to block, and hope that his adaptation to the Darkened Moon’s moonlight had developed enough. Lin raised Moon Rose above his head.

  “Yoru! Remember what Hanako said!” Xinya’s voice rang clearly, and Lin thought he heard a slight echo to the words.

  The qi onslaught above Lin wavered, and he saw cracks appear in the blades of qi just before they landed. Qi ripped into Lin’s clothes, scattering a thousand cuts across his skin. He grimaced and growled as the blades threatened to overwhelm him entirely.

  Heaven’s Rain dissipated as quickly as it had appeared, leaving Lin standing. He was covered in injuries that stained his tattered clothes red, but at least he was alive.

  “How…what did you do to me?” the Darkened Moon said in surprise.

  Xinya stepped out from behind the statue of Tsuyuki Chouko. “You told us her final words before she died. ‘You are more than your titles.’”

  “No, I don’t know any of you!” he screamed. Eclipse drifted slowly to the ground. “I don’t know any of this! I won’t let any of you get in my head!”

  “I’m not talking to you,” Xinya shouted back, balling her fists. “I’m talking to my Uncle! I know he’s still in there!”

  The Darkened Moon seemed stunned, and Lin didn’t waste the opportunity. He rallied what little strength he had left. Chiho trilled in his hair, giving him just enough qi to stay on his feet as he took off, switching his sword to his left hand.

  His right fist slammed into the Darkened Moon’s nose. He grunted in surprise, stumbling back towards the Armillary. He was only a few yards away. If Lin could just get him there before he had a chance to Flash Back…

  The blood flowing from the Darkened Moon’s tally marks dripped down his blade faster than before, and Lin swore that he saw the edges of his form flicker slightly. Something had changed in him, but he didn’t know if it was another Flash Back, or something else.

  He didn’t wait to find out. Lin grabbed the Darkened Moon’s collar, using the difference between their sizes and builds to strong arm his adversary forward. The Danger line was only a few steps away, now. With one last shove, he pushed the Darkened Moon over the line, and spread a line of seeds behind them, blocking the nearest paths of retreat.

  Lin felt the qi of the armillary react, even if he couldn’t see it, but the Darkened Moon did. He flinched back as if faced with a pit of snake demons preparing to strike.

  “No, no, what is this?!” he shrieked.

  “This is Yoru’s technique, the trademark of the Demon of Misfortune,” Lin explained calmly. At this point, he didn’t even care if the voidlight affected him. He’d take a lifetime of misfortune just to bring his friend back.

  “The Demon of what?! But, I’m not-”

  “You’re right,” Lin growled. “You’re not the Demon of Misfortune. You’re a pale imitation puppeting his body, and I’m afraid he’s done playing the part of a good host.” Lin took a deep breath and laced his words with qi. It was not something he did lightly, and even as he did it, guilt crept in at the edges of his mind. “Yoru, we need you to come back to us, now. You have to fight whatever this evil is that binds you.” To take away Yoru’s will, even for a good cause such as this, was unforgivable in his mind.

  The words travelled along the connection that tethered Yoru and Lin together, and the Darkened Moon seized in pain. He gasped for air, clutching at his heart with a shaking hand.

  “No, what did you do to me?! I…I need to Flash Back,” he waved a hand, but nothing happened. He stared at the hand, dumbfounded.

  Lin’s command forced the man to his knees. Lin didn’t dare look away. His friend was in pain, and it was his fault. He didn’t dare shy away from that.

  “Yoru,” Xinya said behind him. “I’m scared. I want my Uncle back.”

  Then, the Darkened Moon let out a blood-curdling scream. Light poured from his chains, and void-tainted smoke began to curl from his skin.

  “It’s out of our hands, now,” Lin murmured to the little girl. “It’s all up to him.”