Vaidehi Dayal sat in front of the ILS vault, eyes closed. She was chanting in a soft voice, a small branch growing through the floor and wrapped around her hand.

Suddenly her eyes shot open.

She slowly stood up and walked over to the wall, pressing a button on an intercom panel.

“Director Green, it’s time.”

“You found something?”

“The Earth…is enraged. It speaks of an approaching defiler, a cold hunger that takes without giving.”

“Thanks for the heads up, we’ll be ready.”

“With respect, Director, I recommend you do not engage.”

“What do you mean?”

“You lack heroes at the moment, correct? The Earth is warning me this is a powerful foe. I fear facing them with the ILS’s normal security will only result in additional casualties.”

“...I see. Can you handle them?”

“Yes. Or rather, the Earth itself is preparing to defeat them. They shall not pass.”

“...understood. We’ll wait on standby then. Good luck, Miss Dayal.”

Vaidehi nodded once and returned to her position at the center of the room. She began to chant once more, power from the Earth surging into her.

Wu Zhenkang flew on his sword through the city towards his target. This time he had come alone, no help, no subterfuge.

Because this time, he was permitted to use his full power.

He no longer needed to hide his qi or his affiliation. He no longer needed to pose as a strong martial artist. Now he could act like the god he was.

His chest burned at the thought of his earlier humiliations, his hand still bearing the burn marks from the runes with nothing to show for it. But now he would demonstrate true power to these bumbling imbeciles.

If only he was permitted to kill.

He still did not know why the Mistress held them back from wanton slaughter. He knew that she had dealings with some of the mortals, heaven knows why, but he still could not comprehend why he must tiptoe around the ants. Still, his Mistress’s command was absolute, it was neither wise nor healthy to question it.

Nor was it wise to fail.

He arrived in the air above the ILS Headquarters. He gracefully landed on the ground, his sword floating from beneath his feet up into his hand. He held his sword back by his head with his right hand, parallel to the ground, lifting his left to the tip of the blade. His veins began to go numb as his icy qi surged through his body. The fire in his chest froze solid, gripping his heart.

“FIVEFOLD ARCTIC THRUST!”

Blue blades formed of light flashed through the air, striking the entrance to the ILS. The door exploded, along with half the reinforced wall it rested in. Alarms blared and bystanders screamed as Wu Zhenkang strode into the entrance.

No one was there.

He scoffed and continued his march. The Mistress had said they would be understaffed, but the lack of defense was still appalling. It was no matter to Wu Zhenkang, though. Let the cowards quiver and run. It was good for them to acknowledge their betters.

He continued his march unopposed as he walked towards the basement. He raised an eyebrow. Acknowledging their place was well and good but was the ILS truly going to just let him walk in unopposed? When once their very leader came to fight him herself?

And then he felt it.

A deep rumbling in the Earth. A massive surge of energy, unlike anything he felt the last time he was here. The edge of his mouth curled up.

So they planned to resist after all. Pathetic. He was training before any of them were born. He mastered powers they could not even dream of. He earned his might through his will and his mind, unlike the fools who squandered gifts from the heavens. How could they stand before him? Who did they have that could hope to match him?

He blew open the doors in front of him with a mere tap of his palm, striding into the room before the vault. There, a young woman sat on the ground, eyes closed and body still as she chanted softly.

He flared his intent.

“Stand aside, and kneel before your better.”

The woman remained still and opened her eyes.

“Defiler of the Earth, you are not welcome here. I have no interest in violence, and so I will grant you one chance to go in peace.”

Wu Zhenkang sighed and stepped forward, intending to knock the woman out of the way.

The ground shook and the floor burst apart.

Wu Zhenkang raised an eyebrow and stepped back as a mighty branch tore through the floor, intercepting his path.

“I see…you are the one the mortals were exclaiming about. This is good. This will be a fine way to demonstrate the way of the world to these fools.”

The branches curled underneath the woman and her eyes closed. The branches lifted her into the air and she spread her hands out. Wu Zhenkang felt the Earth pulse as the woman’s energy rose.

Her eyes shot open, glowing green.

And when she spoke, it was as if the world itself spoke with her.

No…he could no longer hear or feel the mortal at all.

“Murderer. Defiler. You who take and take and take from us to feed your hatred, who twist our life into destruction and despair. Know now that we have watched and declare you unworthy. You are rejected. You are despised. And we will have justice.”

The room exploded into branches, twisting towards the cultivator. Wu Zhenkang leapt into action, ducking and weaving around the branches. He swung his sword and grunted, his blade deflecting away. Energy flowed through the branches, rendering them as hard as steel.

“I see. As far as the mortals go, you’re not bad.”

His blade began to glow with a pale blue light, cold mist forming around it.

“But you cannot compare to my rage! FIVEFOLD ARCTIC THRUST!”

Blue blades flashed through the air, cutting through the branches and leaving a layer of frost on them, preventing further growth. Wu Zhenkang dove through the gap he had created, charging towards the woman. He appeared behind her and pulled back his blade…

“No matter how powerful you are…you are but a mortal!”

He swung his blade, a boom ripping through the air as he burst through the sound barrier. The mortal hadn’t even turned around.

This fight was over.

But then, branches grew from the ground and covered the woman before his blade could connect. The cultivator grunted and leapt back as thorns shot from the sphere of wood, his sword flashing as he deflected those he could not dodge.

“No matter how powerful you are…you are but a man. You cannot overcome the Earth itself!”

Wu Zhengkang grimaced. The Earth continued to pulse, flooding the room with heat. It felt as if the very air itself was trying to crush him, every breath was heavy, as if trying to inhale molasses. And the branches continued to grow, shrinking the space in the room.

Wu Zhengkang took a deep breath and stirred his qi from within him. He chuckled as his body began to emit mist.

“The Earth? How small your vision is.”

He flared his qi and pushed it into the air. Cold mist pushed back warm air, his breath clear once more. His blade began to glow as he took his position, aiming for the heart of the hostile energy.

“I AIM TO SURPASS THE VERY HEAVENS! AND I WILL NOT BE STOPPED BY YOU WHO ARE TIED TO THE GROUND! ONE HUNDRED FOLD ARCTIC THRUST!”

Countless blue blades pierced through the branches, leaving the room covered in ice. They cut and cut and cut until they reached the wooden sphere.

And pierced straight through it.

Wu Zhenkang let out a breath that condensed in front of him. An unfortunate expenditure of his qi. But a necessary expense.

And then branches and vines wrapped around his arms and legs.

“W-What is this?”

He glanced around until he saw it. The woman emerged from a corner of the room, one that was actually lower in energy.

“H-How can this be? I struck you…how can you control such power with such a frail mortal shell?”

“Foolish defiler, do you believe everyone to be like yourself? To grasp and horde that which should be spread and shared? We are not so limited as you.”

The woman raised her hand. Wu Zhengkang gasped.

He felt his qi began to swirl without his command.

And then it flowed right out of him.

“You take from the Earth, now the Earth takes back.”

Wu Zhengkang’s eyes widened and he began to sweat. His body began to heat up as his cultivation was ripped right out of him.

“N-No! I will not let you!”

Wu Zhengkang grasped at the flowing energy, siphoning off as much as he could and thrusting it from himself. A sphere of ice exploded out, freezing the branches siphoning his qi. He thrust his qi into his legs as the sphere shattered and leapt.

And he ran from the room as fast as he could.

Once the cultivator had left the area, the branches began to recede. The light faded from Vaidehi’s eyes and she fell to the ground. A single branch caught her, and gently placed her on the ground.

From her office Londyn watched as the fight concluded.

“Medics to the vault. Get a drone on that man and prep me a jet. Put out a priority alert to all heroes, everyone not on a Code 27 or worse is to head to my position ASAP. We’re not losing them this time.”

Wu Zhengkang panted as he reached a safehouse in a remote region. His skin was numb and turning white, he felt pins and needles throughout his whole body. He was drenched in sweat that began to freeze along his robes, he could barely lift his sword. He stumbled into the room, collapsing on the nearest chair.

“What…what was that…”

“A failure.”

Wu Zhengkang whipped around. A woman stepped out from a dark corner of the room. His eyes widened.

“T-This one…g-greets the Mistress…”

Xiong Huang sneered at him.

“Oh, I’m not your Mistress, not anymore. You have failed me for the last time. I didn’t want to waste all those resources we spent on you, but well, you managed to lose even that. Which means there’s no reason for me to waste anything more on you.”

Wu Zhengkang screamed and tried to run.

He didn’t make it out of his seat.

Xiong Huang simply pat the shoulder of the trembling man as she held him down.

“But your failure was expected, and useful to me, so I just might let you live. Though, I suppose that might be crueler, given how broken you’ve become.”

She let the man go and walked to the window. She stared off into the sky, focusing on a tiny speck in the sky no normal person would notice. The edge of her mouth curled up.

“You can’t stop me this time, mortal.”