*******

TIAN STOOD AMIDST A GREAT FIRE.

A once lush, vibrant landscape was being reduced to ashes before the girl’s eyes. The words of her master echoed in her head.

“Stop the raging fire. Save the forest. Ensure that the sight you saw is preserved, and it does not become an ashen, barren wasteland.”

It sounded simple enough. And yet, in practice, it was far beyond Tian’s abilities. She choked on the thick smoke as she stumbled her way through the burning forest floor, gathering Qi within her core and releasing it to quell the inferno. Gusts of wind, water, ice, and even stone— nothing worked.

She even tried suppressing the flames directly with her Qi. An act that was possible but inefficient. The fire was spreading too quickly. A simple ball of flame had been the spark to set the entire forest ablaze.

Tian didn’t understand it. She didn’t get her master’s mission. Didn’t he know that this was far beyond her abilities? This landscape— it had been arid, despite the green scenery. The girl had noticed it just before her master had given her the task at hand.

Something had been off. Did the Sacred Beast purposefully dry the land before he started this fire?

Was he trying to kill her?

She shook the thought away. That couldn’t be the case. Master had saved her life before. Why would it double back and leave her here to die now?

It trusted her. Master gave her this task because it knew she could succeed. So, the girl bit her lower lip. Stepping forward, she raised a hand, trying to reach for the Dao— for more power. Her hands felt hot. Perspiration trickled down her neck. The world around her burned. And something inside of her blossomed.

*******

“The Void Pirates are here.”

The word quickly spread throughout Thornthistle. The city itself enters lockdown, with its population going into hidden bunkers that have been prepared beforehand. The rest of the Keepers of the Grove rallies behind me, but I am the first to arrive at the scene of the battle.

Bluerage had been leading a convoy of refugees to Thornthistle, only to be intercepted by the last of the Void Pirates who’d crashed into Utana. I see his encampment, circled, trapped. Smoke rises out from multiple spots as figures move within— refugees who are fleeing their attackers.

So far, all the Void Pirates I have seen have been completely alien to me. They had been like Sacred Beast: creatures that take forms nothing like a person— like an animal— and yet have the same thoughts and capacity as any ordinary individual. It is something I struggled to grasp with as a very young child, but came to understand long before I even became a Bloom.

As such, I do not question the forms these Void Pirates take, whether it is the shape of an elephant or a bird. It does not confuse me. At least, until now.

The first Void Pirate I spot does not take any single form. It moves like water— a river that flows with no shape. Yet, this deluge is intelligent, shining with life as it kills those that cannot protect themselves. Next to it is a cloud that hovers just above the treetops. It sends bolts of lightning down as if it is a localized storm, striking terror and bringing disaster to the refugees of Frozenpeak.

There are others here. I know there. I can see the destruction they have wrought in the distance. The shaking of the earth, the charred grass of the Flourishing Flatlands, it all leads me to believe that there are four in total— two in addition to what I have seen so far.

I spot a bubbling of Lifeblood gathering just up ahead, turning to a powerful gust of wind. The attack launches out at the two Void Pirates, keeping them at bay for a mere moment. Bluerage stands amidst the Lifeblood, wreathed in his azure Aura.

“You will pay for what you have done!” he bellows for the world to hear.

The storm answers with a terrible bolt of light— a cracking of the sky. The wrath of nature itself.

It streaks for the man as his eyes widen. He braces for the impact, only to blink when an eclectic of colors shield him. I stand before Bluerage, the Essences gathering around me as I wrap us both in protective threads that form a ball.

The Guardian’s Blessing.

“T-Tian…” he gasps. “They were too strong. I tried to stop them—”

“Bluerage,” I cut him off and turn to him, “take the refugees to Thornthistle.”

He stares at me, aghast. “But you can’t take them all on alone!”

“The Keepers of the Grove will arrive soon enough. What is important is you get everyone to safety. I can hold off these Void Pirates until the others get here.”

The man hesitates. He is a Bladewielder, so it makes sense why he is apprehensive about leaving me to fight alone. After all, he is capable as well. Why can he not fight alongside me? I know the questions he must be asking in his head.

I smile at Bluerage, patting him on the shoulder.

“Only you can do this. The encampment is being ravaged— everyone is scared and afraid. I shall use Lifeblood’s Call to provide you and the refugees with the power to escape. But someone competent needs to lead them.”

He opens his mouth to protest, but I do not let him finish.

“You need to lead them, Bluerage. You have brought them this far, please do not forsake them now.”

He purses his lips, mulling over it before finally making a decision. “You’re right. Icecaller’s breath, you are right.”

I can feel the ground shake as the Void Pirates outside attempt to break their way in through my Feat. They are unsuccessful, but it will recede soon enough.

“You can do this. I believe in you.” I nod at Bluerage, and he prepares to go.

The metallic threads finally vanish, exposing us back to the attacks of the two Void Pirates. A bolt of lightning whips its way at us as my eyes flash crimson. The earth blasts open, and I am sent flying back. Bluerage is ripped apart by oncoming tides of water as I am helplessly electrocuted further back.

Then the illusion shatters. Like fissures running through the air, cracking and breaking as though they are made out of glass. I appear standing behind both Void Pirates as Bluerage runs in the distance.

“Now go!”

“Yes.”

I smile as the Void Pirates look at me, confused. “The School of Phantasm. A fake image of reality conjured by the Red Essence.” Then I snap my fingers, calling forth my Qi into the shape of a metal pole. I slam it into the earth and challenge the Void Pirates. “Come. Show me what you can do.”

And as their attention is drawn by me, I do as I promised Bluerage. I create a pool of power for the refugees to draw from.

Lifeblood’s Call.

A crimson sea washes over the sky, although the Void Pirates do not notice it. Their attention is fixed on me.

“An unfettered natural disaster,” I remark, walking forward to face them. “One that wroughts more than I can save.”

They flank me— on one side, the storm, and the other, the deluge. They remind me of the nightmares I saw in the Seventh Heaven, but unlike those illusions, these are real. And I have to deal with that.

“Now, how do I put an end to this?”