Chapter 12
Chapter 12
The moon had been swallowed by thick, churning clouds; only a few sickly beams leaked through, sketching a pale outline of the riverside path. The night wind carried the smell of water, colder than usual and... clammy. An unnameable oppression filled the air, as though even the insects had been throttled into silence.
Yun Xi flicked her cherry-white ponytail and kept to the steady rhythm of her nightly run. Days of "devil training" had left their mark: her movements carried a subtle new coordination, her breathing long and even. Healthy living and moon-bath nourishment had given her a polished glow; even in the murk she looked like a piece of warm jade. Xing Dian—now indigo motes—darted around her shoulders like excitable fire-flies, while Yue Fei crouched regally on her head, violet eyes glinting in the dark, tail-tip tapping Yun Xi's hair-whorl in warning.
Exhaling a white plume, Yun Xi felt the sleeping beast inside her—the Dragon Might Old Ancestor nicknamed "Xiao Baolong"—lying far more docile under the moon's steady flow. She even indulged a smug thought: if those blond thugs showed up again, she probably wouldn't crush the railing in panic.
The thought had barely formed—
Ssk... gah...
A thin, rusty-on-bone scrape knifed through the bushes beside the path. The sound sawed at her eardrums, pure cold malice driving straight into her mind like an ice-pick.
Yun Xi's feet slammed to a halt; her heart lurched as if clenched by an invisible fist. The training that had sharpened her energy-sense screamed danger: the malice spread through her mental "waters" like ink in a still pond.
Not human—definitely not human. Rot, greed, an inhuman hunger.
"Xing Dian! Yue Fei!" She snapped the names inside her head, muscles locking into the awkward guard Old Ancestor had drilled into her from the Survival Guide—arms crossed in front, right foot half a step back, centre of gravity so wobbly she looked ready to topple backward.
With a hum Xing Dian's light flared, a cobalt hedgehog bristling in front of her, rippling with cleansing power.
"Meow!" Yue Fei's fur stood on end; she sprang from Yun Xi's head to the path, eyes pinned on the sound, a low protective growl rumbling in her throat.
Shff-shff-SHRED!
A shadow burst from the shrubs. Humanoid—barely. Its body was coated in a twitching, tar-like slime that dripped and writhed, reeking of rot. Limbs lengthened and jointed like an insect's, ending in metal-bright claws. Where its head should have been, a mass of black vapour rolled and unrolled; two crimson sparks fixed on Yun Xi.
"Gah! What the hell is that?!" Her scalp crawled; triumph evaporated. Fear wrapped cold vines round her limbs, freezing the already clumsy guard stance.
"Master—Filth Aggregate!" Xing Dian cried. "Physical hits barely work—use purification!"
Purification—right! Dustless Dance, the spell that had burnt a hole through a rag.
On instinct Yun Xi raised her shaking right hand, mind yanking up the complex model: indigo motes, cherry-white ribbons.
"Lock on... lock on to the filth core!" She tried to spear the rolling black vapour.
"Channel star-source—just a spark!" she shrieked.
A faint indigo dot gathered at her fingertip.
"Trace the orbit—oscillate!" She pictured the required circle—
Too late. The monster was on her. Stench and killing intent smashed what little concentration she had.
Pop!
The dot misfired, bullet-fast, grazing the thing's shoulder instead of the core.
Sss-chunk!
A fist-sized pit sizzled in the tar-slime, venting a filthy wisp of smoke—nothing more.
The Filth Aggregate roared. Black vapour boiled, crimson lights blazing. A scythe-like claw ripped downward, faster than sight.
Can't dodge—
Yun Xi's mind blanked. Training against static targets was useless; terror locked every joint.
"Master, move!" Xing Dian's light flared in vain.
"Me-owrr!" Yue Fei crouched to spring—too close, too late.
Death's shadow eclipsed her—
BZZZZT—!!!
The Eternal Dream: Prime Abyss bracelet round Yun Xi's left wrist exploded in silver-blue radiance. A vast, glacial will—ancient, insulted, fully awake—flooded her body, fusing with the Dragon Might clawing for release. Terror vaporised; raw, snarling fury took its place.
"You wretch!"
The roar that tore from her throat was hers yet not hers—an echo of the abyss and her own enraged dragon. She snapped her left hand open, met the falling claw head-on. Light surged, wrapping her arm, shaping an enormous, jagged weapon of star-source and time-stardust: the Final Abyssal Breath.
Part lance, part collapsing star, the weapon's tip was a miniature space-time vortex that swallowed light. Reality groaned around it.
"Trouble? I don't care how much—get the hell out of my sight!"
With a sweep like swatting a fly she slammed the Final Abyssal Breath downward.
BOOM—!
No clash of steel—only the hiss of annihilation. Claw, slime, bone and darkness disintegrated into colourless motes, not even ash remaining.
The monster shrieked. Its core writhed, crimson lights frantic. It tried to retreat.
Too slow.
Yun Xi reversed the weapon, driving the vortex-tipped lance straight into the rolling black centre. A soft pop—and the core simply ceased to exist. Silver-blue fire raged through the tar-slime, collapsing it into reeking smoke that the wind tore apart.
Five seconds, start to finish.
The glow dimmed; the weapon dissolved back into the bracelet. Cold all-conquering will ebbed, leaving Yun Xi hollow, legs trembling, heart hammering, arms numb. Sweat soaked her sports tank; the night breeze felt like ice.
"Ugh..." She almost folded. The memory of that perfect, terrifying control—and the yell "get the hell out of my sight!"—burned inside her: frightening, weirdly exhilarating.
"Ma-master... are you okay?" Xing Dian hovered, dim and shaken.
"Meow..." Yue Fei nuzzled her wet cheek, eyes reflecting new-found respect.
"I'm... fine." Voice ragged, Yun Xi stared at the fading smoke. "Just... legs like noodles... arm's cramped..."
A muffled wail burst from behind a nearby ornamental rock.
"Waaah—!"
Yun Xi jerked, heart leaping again. Another monster?
A tiny figure crawled out: a girl several years younger, drowning in an oversized navy apprentice robe, crooked peaked cap, moon-silver hair tangled with grass. Tears, snot and dirt streaked her face; enormous green eyes brimmed with terror and disbelief. She hugged an oak staff taller than herself, its moon-white crystal tapping the ground as she shook.
"G-gone? That... that awful thing—gone?" she hiccupped, voice soft as marshmallow. "Milu was... was almost eaten..."
Milu—Apprentice Witch. The Filth Aggregate's real target?
Yun Xi's budding pride at her one-shot kill deflated. Kindred rookie, meet rookie.
"A-hem." She straightened, voice wobbling in senior-ly concern. "Hey—Milu, right? You hurt?"
Milu's sobs cut off. She stared at the cherry-white hair, the sapphire eyes, the indigo fire-fly and violet cat. Shock turned to star-struck awe.
"You... you're the one who blasted it! So... so amazing! A-and you shouted 'get the hell out of my sight!'—so cool! So fierce!"
Heat flooded Yun Xi's cheeks. Cool? That had been pure panic and adrenaline!
"Well... naturally." She lifted her chin, grasping for dignity. "A mere Filth Aggregate daring to offend the Sovereign of Dream Ruins?"
The moment the title left her tongue she wanted to vanish. Old Ancestor's epithet—Sovereign of Dream Ruins, Witch of Timely Blossoms—was cringe incarnate, yet she'd brandished it for show.
Milu glowed. "The... the legendary Time-Flower Witch?!" She looked ready to worship a goddess.
Yun Xi's toes tried to dig a three-room flat inside her sneakers. "Enough tears. What is an apprentice witch doing alone at night? It's dangerous."
Milu bowed, sniffling. "I—I followed a minor imp that stole the Academy's Stardust Powder... lost it, then met... that big thing... I'm... useless..."
Yun Xi sighed—fellow failure. She extended her still-tingling hand. "Ground's cold. Up you get."
Milu clasped her fingertips with trembling gratitude, stood (barely to Yun Xi's shoulder), and attempted to dust her robe, smearing the dirt.
"Th-thank you, Time-Flower Witch!"
"Just Yun Xi."
"Yun Xi Senior!" Milu corrected, eyes sparkling.
Senior... Yun Xi felt the title slosh with counterfeit confidence.
Night breeze carried away the last stink of battle. Hunger cramped Yun Xi's stomach; her arms throbbed. She eyed the shaky apprentice and swallowed.
"Uh... Milu?"
"Yes, Senior?"
"Do you... happen to have any money?" Yun Xi's voice shrank. "I'm starving. Big spell—big drain." She indicated her trembling limbs. "There's a bubble-tea stall still open... full-sugar with boba. I'll pay you back."
Senior dignity surrendered to one universal truth: nothing restores a witch after near-death like hot, sugary calories.
Milu froze solid, staring at the figure who moments ago had been all majestic grandeur, vaporizing a nightmarish monster with a heaven-shattering spear and roaring “Crawl for me, asshole!”—the very epitome of the dreaded Dream-Ruins Sovereign. Now that same legend stood red-faced, asking her for spare change to buy bubble tea like a kid begging for candy.
The whiplash crashed her little brain.
A few seconds later she jolted awake, scrabbling frantically inside the roomy sleeve pocket of her apprentice robe. Excitement—and the giddy realization that even mighty Seniors craved milk tea—flushed her cheeks even hotter.
“I’ve got it! I do! Please wait, Senior!” She produced a palm-sized coin-purse embroidered with stars and moons and offered it up with both hands, jade-green eyes sparkling with the honor of serving. “What flavor would you like? Full sugar with boba, right? My treat—no payback!”
Looking at that sincere, eager face, the last of Yun Xi’s post-battle awkwardness and embarrassment melted away.
She took the purse; her fingertips brushed the soft stitching. River-scented night air ruffled her cherry-white hair, and Xing Dian’s starlight flame danced gently on her shoulder. Yue Fei gave a lazy meow.
Yun Xi lifted her gaze to the milk-tea shop sign still glowing down the street. In her clear blue eyes, a real smile finally surfaced—tired, relieved. “Mm,” she answered, voice softer than she realized. “Come on, Milu. Senior’s buying you bubble tea.”
So much for sovereign dignity, she mused, lips curving upward. It apparently starts with a cup of full-sugar, double-boba milk tea. At least this time she probably wouldn’t freeze the drink solid or burn a hole through the cup... probably.
Moonlight finally clawed past a cloud, spilling cold silver over two figures walking toward the warm neon. One, cherry hair and sapphire eyes, kept up a dignified façade despite wobbling steps; the other, silver hair and emerald eyes, hugged her staff, gaze brimming with soft, shining adoration.
Daughter of star and moon had met sovereign of dream ruins. Their introduction had been monster roars and a spear of ruin; their epilogue would be—
“Boss, two cups—both full sugar, double boba!”