The tipede lunged.

  Feiyin barely had time to dodge as its bded limbs sliced through the air where he had just been standing, the gust of dispced wind brushing past his face. The monstrous creature was unlike anything he had fought before—its movements were uable, fluid, yet unnervingly precise.

  “Damn it—!” Ren hissed as he dodged another swipe, barely managing to keep himself from being cut in half.

  Yue crouched low, her feline instincts kig in as she evaded a luhat would have skewered her midse. “We’re not even hurting it!”

  Feiyin gritted his teeth as he smmed his palm against the tipede’s carapace, eling his irength. A solid thud echoed, but he barely left a scratch. The beast’s exoskeleton was far too tough.

  ‘Too hard. Too fast. Too many limbs.’ His mind raced as he analyzed the creature. It was armored like a fortress and moved like a storm, its dozens of legs sshing through the air at terrifying speeds. Every time they got close to attack, they were met with a wall of rotating bdes.

  It was an impossible eo approach.

  Another limb shed out, and this time, Feiyin wasn’t fast enough.

  A sharp pain fred in his side as the tipede’s bded appendage sliced through his robe, tearing into flesh. He grunted, barely able to jump back before it could press the attack further. Warm blood trickled down his ribs.

  Yue gasped. “Feiyin—!”

  “I’m fine,” he bit out, but the sting of the wound told him otherwise. He couldn’t afford to get caught by this thing’s attacks again.

  They had miscalcuted.

  This wasn’t a fight they could win.

  Feiyin’s gaze darted toward the others—frightened children huddled in the shadows, waiting for someoo save them. Waiting for him to save them.

  He exhaled sharply. ‘There’s no choice.’

  “We ’t fight this thing,” he said, stepping back as the tipede reared up, its mandibles clig menagly. “It’s to, and we’re at too much of a disadvantage.”

  Ren scowled, blood trig down his arm from a shallow wound. “Then what? Run?”

  “Yes,” Feiyin said, his voice steady. “You and Yue take the others and escape. Lead them down the side tunnel. I’ll hold it off.”

  Yue’s ears fttened against her head. “You’re staying behind?!”

  Ren looked at him like he had lost his mind. “Are you stupid? We barely survived st time when we split up. You think yoing to st alone against that thing?”

  “I won’t have to fight it for long,” Feiyin said firmly. “I’ll just hold it back while you all escape.”

  Yue looked like she waue, but she swallowed her words, gripping her fists tightly. “You better follht after us.”

  Feiyin forced a smirk. “Of course.”

  Ren clicked his tongue in frustration but didn't argue further. “Tch. Fine. Don’t die.”

  With that, Yue aurned, ushering the children toward the side tunnel.

  Feiyin took a deep breath and stepped forward, drawing the tipede’s attention away from the fleeing group. He raised his arms, gathering his irength, a his presence fre.

  The beast shrieked, its eyeless face turning toward him.

  ‘That’s right. Foe.’

  The moment the others disappeared into the tunnel, Feiyin bolted, leading the tipede toward another passage. It shrieked and gave chase, its long body weaving through the cavern like a river of segmented metal. He ducked and dodged, barely managing to stay ahead of its sshes.

  Then, just as he reached the entrance of a narrower tunnel, disaster struck.

  The tipede, in its frenzied pursuit, smmed against the walls.

  The cavern trembled.

  And then—the ceiling cracked.

  Feiyin’s eyes widened.

  A deafening CRACK echoed through the tunnels as boulders and debris came crashing down behind him, sealing off the entrance.

  A thick cloud of dust filled the air.

  For a moment, there was only silence.

  Then realization hit.

  He was trapped.

  Alone.

  With the tipede.

  Ren had just finished helping the st child through the passage when the ground trembled violently.

  Then came the sound of rock crumbling.

  And then—nothing.

  An eerie silence filled the cavern.

  Ren turned sharply, eyes wide. “No—”

  Without hesitation, he ran back toward where Feiyin had been, but when he reached the tunnel’s entrance, all he saw was a wall of fallen debris.

  pletely sealed off.

  His heart pounded. He ched his fists so tightly that his nails bit into his palms. “That damn idiot—!”

  Yue arrived behind him, her face pale with panic. “Feiyin?” She rushed forward, toug the fallen rocks, as if trying to feel for any sign of movement.

  Ren pressed his hand against the stone, as if willing it to move.

  Nothing.

  Yue’s breath hitched. “No… He’s trapped.” Her voice was barely a whisper.

  Ren’s jaw ched. “Then we dig.”

  He didn’t hesitate. He picked up a rod threw it aside, then ahen another. His movements were desperate, furious. His breathing was ragged.

  Yue, however, stayed still for a moment before closing her eyes. She ihen exhaled. ‘What would Feiyin do?’

  She forced herself to think clearly. If they wasted too muergy trying to move the debris recklessly, they might get themselves killed if more colpsed. Worse—Feiyin had led the beast away on purpose. If he was still alive, then they had to trust him.

  Yue gently touched Ren’s shoulder.

  He flinched. “What—?!”

  “We o move.”

  He froze, staring at her.

  She swallowed hard, f the words out. “That’s what Feiyin would say.”

  Ren’s expression twisted with frustration, but he didn't argue. He turned back to the colpsed tunnel, fists trembling. “Damn it…”

  Yue forced a weak smile. “He’s strong. If anyone survive this, it’s him.”

  Ren exhaled sharply. His fiwitched, but he slowly lowered his arms.

  “…Yeah.”

  They turned away.

  And for the first time sihey’d arrived in this hellish pce, Feiyin wasn’t with them.

  Oher side of the cave-in, Feiyin stood, breathing heavily.

  The tipede was still in front of him, its mandibles clig, its bded legs scraping against the rock.

  Feiyin exhaled, wiping the blood from his wounded side.

  N back.

  No way out.

  His only path was forward.

  He tightened his grip.

  ‘I guess I have no choice.’

  He lifted his gaze.

  The battle wasn’t over yet.

  It had only just begun.