Chapter 39: Too Late For What?
Flickering light bled from the edges of Ning Que’s summoned Katana of Light, casting long, dancing shadows across cracked walls and scorched floors.
His shirt, what was left of it, hung in shredded ribbons from his waist, offering no cover for the tapestry of bruises and faint burns that marked his bare torso. Steam rose from his skin in the cool underground air, a phantom of the raw power he had just unleashed.
A series of calm, synthesized notifications blossomed in his vision.
[SYSTEM ONLINE
INITIATING FULL BODY DIAGNOSTIC...
PHYSICAL STATE: 76% OPTIMAL. SEVERE MUSCLE FATIGUE DETECTED. MINOR EPIDERMAL BURNS.
STATUS: STABILIZED.
WEAPON: KATANA OF LIGHT – SUMMONED. DURATION: 27 MINUTES REMAINING.
RECOMMENDATION: ADVANCE WITH CAUTION.]
Ning swallowed against a throat that felt like sandpaper. He pushed himself up, his body groaning in rebellion, and slowly rose to his feet. The chamber was empty, a tomb of his own making.
"I need to find them," he muttered, his voice low and cracked. "Now."
As if in answer, a soft blue trail materialized on the floor before him, a spectral thread of light only he could see. It pulsed gently, leading his gaze toward a steel doorway at the far end of the room, its frame partially bent and warped from the earlier tremors.