Solflare: The Painter's Secret

An angry thunderstorm tore across the sky above the Qing safe house. Giant tree roots uprooted from deep within the ground. They pointed toward the sky as a blinding yellow light ignited the dark, rumbling clouds.

Hu Qing and her children remained gathered at the front of the mansion. Warmth-filled eyes watched the yellow sigils appearing in the sky like a flock of birds.

Green leaves rustled against Darian’s face at the sight of a spear-shaped ship descending from the heavens.

He wrapped his palms around his mother. He shifted a welcoming gaze toward his sibling. "Don’t you worry, Uncle Eleazar is finally coming."

Kira and all the other siblings of the Qing watched with hopeful eyes as they tracked the now-floating vessel.

Sharp air blasted through the iron gate of the safe house. The rattling of stone and black fog followed in its wake.

Metal-screeching sounds erupted. The blades of the Hi-no-Kami carved through the ground and sent sparks into the black smoke.

Leon stepped out of the black fog. Three yellow-robed beings appeared, floating in the sky before him.

Adu Musa, Overlord of the Zenith Sect and the puppet master, watched him. His eyes burned with a blinding yellow essence. "Leon Storm."

Leon’s eyes blazed with rage. He glanced slightly to the left and saw Darian standing at the far end, smiling.

Bone-crackling sounds rattled the silence. Leon increased his grip on the hilt of the Hi-no-Kami and swung it to the left. He prepared to lunge for Darian’s head.

He lunged forward. The remaining two lords of the Zenith Sect dropped to the ground. A smooth wall of yellow lightning appeared from their backs and blocked Leon.

Leon charged toward them and swung the sword’s blade toward their necks. They leaped backward, smiling.

The ground at Leon’s front trembled. Adu Musa lowered himself and grounded his stance between Leon and the other two lords. "This is not you, Leon."

Threadlike tentacles seeped out of his palms. He pointed his hands at Leon’s face.

An invisible wall of black energy rose from Leon’s suit and blocked the threads. They didn’t stop.

Sparks lingered in the air. The threads coalesced and formed a giant, pointed, earth-shaking lance. It lunged toward Leon.

The invisible energy around Leon blocked the attack. The force sent Leon stumbling back fifteen steps.

The jointed threads hurtled toward Leon again. He sidestepped and swung the blades of the Hi-no-Kami. He shattered the formation completely.

He bounded forward for the master of the threads. The fallen pieces of the shattered weapon rose from the ground and lunged toward Leon’s back.

The drift shield resting at Leon’s back freed itself. Leon glanced at the speeding, sharp projectile.

The black cloth behind his back moved and spawned like a wheel. The war disc missed the threads. It clutched itself around the weapon and locked. All the glowing yellow life span of the threads was drained as the black cloth squeezed them.

Adu Musa ducked. Leon charged forward and swung the sword. Adu Musa placed his hands at his back and dodged every single strike from Leon, while smiling.

Memories of his training with Andrew Storm flashed into Adu Musa’s mind. He saw Leon performing the secret technique Andrew couldn’t fully activate: the double blazing strike.

He shouldered Leon and sent him skittering back. He didn’t chase after him to finish him off. Instead, Adu Musa lowered his gaze and shook his head. He saw Andrew Storm’s smile in Leon’s eyes. ’If not for your dad, I would have ended you right here.’

All the sharp, pointed threads returned into his palms. He lifted his head, shook it, and exhaled sharply.

The two Zenith lords moved three steps forward to counterattack Leon. Adu Musa looked at them and shook his head. "Go back to the ship."

The lords exchanged angry glances. They bowed at their master before leaping back into the sky.

The yellow lightning wall slowly vanished. Adu Musa shifted his gaze back to Leon, then smiled. "We shall meet again."

Sharp rumbling sounds shook the estate. The war disc bounded toward Adu Musa. He vanished. The blades of the spinning war disc reached an inch from his face.

Leon kept his gaze locked on the spear ship. The yellow teleportation rays lifted from the front of the mansion.

Darian kept his eyes locked on Leon. A wide, grim grin stretched across his face. "I will be back to finish what I started, Leon Storm."

All the veins on his arms appeared on his skin. He clenched his arms into a fist and shifted his gaze to the white light at the base of the spear ship.

...

The black cloth flapped on Leon’s chest. The spear ship hurtled out of the sky with a loud roar.

Leaves flew from the trees at the sides of the Qing abandoned mansion. They circled around Leon, as if consoling him.

A bright headlight splashed on him from behind. He loosened his grip on the hilt of the Hi-no-Kami and placed it at his back.

Tire-rumbling sounds grew louder. A silver Ferrari 250 GTO stopped right at the blasted iron gate of the Qing safe house.

The driver’s door opened. A blazing pink Soul-bloom erupted like fire. The pink glow bounded back and entered into the vehicle. It caused the machine to tremble.

The burnt ground transformed and regained its light. A pink metallic boot stepped out of the vehicle and touched the ground.

The moon’s rays glinted toward the legs. Tiny pink metals began climbing up the limb. Zoe stepped out fully, wearing her Overlord war suit of the Lotus Maw sect.

Strands of her silver-gray hair danced in the black smoke. They transformed into a highly scented perfume. It seeped into Leon’s lungs with one inhale.

Every step she took transformed with life. Leaves sprawled upward. Roots that had resurfaced bounded back into the ground as if being chased. Walls that had been cut into perfect halves transformed back into their original state.