Elder Whisper ran through the torch-lit labyrinth, holding a massive scroll in his teeth. He wasn’t the real Whisper, just a Forged clone from the Fox Mirror technique. As he ran through the tunnels, he cast no shadow.

Up ahead, he began to see the exit. The sounds of battle penetrated through, and he hurried his pace.

He fit through the broken labyrinth doors and came into the room, witnessing the massacre taking place.

Jai Long and Orthos were driven back, bleeding, as Daji pushed into them like a tank. He mixed his two Titan Blades in a network of elongating and retracting blades. Orthos and Jai Long were never safe no matter how much distance they put.

But they fought valiantly, both seeming to have fire in their eyes as they fought with such ferocity that matched Daji’s screams. They were able to survive this far thanks to Jai Chen using Eithan’s bloodline ability. She was using the Forged tiny fox Whisper had made for her to communicate telepathically. It made the difference in the fight, allowing the two Jades to barely survive against the Underlord.

Orthos was a brazier of black and red Blackflame, his Burning Cloak rushing out of his skin.

Jai Long was an array of pale light, shooting stars and snakes from his spear and hands. Even now, he jumped aside to dodge an elongating Titan’s Blade, his outstretched hand glowing as he unleashed his Striker technique.

Whisper landed next to Daji, kicking the boy in the chest. With the reflexes befitting an Underlord, he brought his swords up in an X to block, his Iron body anchoring him to the floor.

“You stupid fox—”

Blackflame and Star Lances tore into his side, distracting him long enough for Whisper to Forge five huge hands of foxfire that grew from his tails. They slapped down onto Daji in a clap, washing him in a waterfall of purple and white. Daji cycled his madra to rid himself of the foreign madra, gritting his teeth against the burning sensation.

Whisper jumped over to Jai Long and Orthos, the scroll in his mouth shining like gold.

Jai Chen stood on a floating pink dragon spirit in the ceiling. Her eyes lit up, and the Forged tiny snowfox at her shoulder yipped and waved its tails at Whisper.

“Elder Whisper, we’re so glad to see you!” Jai Chen waved. She had tears in her eyes.

Whisper smiled around his scroll. I’m just a Fox Mirror clone. But do not fear child. I have some objects that will be of use.

He threw his head to the side and let the scroll go. The scroll unfolded in the air like a golden banner, fluttering in the wind. The black seals released. Suddenly, halfsilver badges appeared around Orthos and Jai Long’s neck.

Immediately, they shot to Lowgold. Then to Highgold. Finally, they returned to their Truegold power, their wounds fully healed as they advanced.

These badges will protect you against the labyrinth source that is taking your power, Whisper said in their minds. Don’t waste this opportunity…. Good luck, children.

The Forged fox disappeared into dream and light aura.

Jai Long stretched himself, glad to have his full power. Orthos let out a burst of dragon’s breath in the air, laughing and making the room shake.

Meanwhile, Daji finally washed away the foxfire.

He frowned at their increase in power, then smiled. His swords crackled with blue electricity, giving his smile an azure glow.

“Try to make this interesting for me.”

***

Ten Minutes Earlier

“Hello.”

Kelsa almost attacked as a hologram of a man appeared. He had long blond hair and blue eyes, wearing blue robes.

“My name is Ozriel Arelius. If you have made it this far, congratulations, you are most likely about to die!”

Whisper stopped, sniffing. “It’s not the Path of the White Fox.”

Kelsa raised her hand over it, but the hologram stayed solid, never fading. The hologram continued talking.

“This area of the labyrinth is where I conducted some of my research. A few of my experiments are just down this very hallway. If you are a trespasser, kindly leave now. If not, I will haunt you from my grave!”

Kelsa stepped way nervously.

Can he do that? She mouthed to Elder Whisper.

The hologram smiled. “Okay, I can’t do that. But you get the gist. No touching my stuff.”

Seisha passed her hand through. “This is…. Not even I could Forge something like this. It’s like it has a life of its own… its like a recorded memory. For it to be stable for who knows how many years….”

Whisper continued walking through the tunnel. “Regardless, we must hurry to our destination.”

The Sacred snowfox had taken Kelsa and Seisha into the labyrinth entrance with Meira under the Fox Dream, telling them had knew of objects of interest that would help them survive the fight against the Underlords. As they had slipped inside, this strange hologram had appeared.

As they continued running down the dark tunnel, the hologram kept up with them, talking conversationally.

The tunnel was lit up in torches, and a strange aura hung over the room. It drew Kelsa like a dragon greedy for treasure, attracting her like a magnet to the archway they were running to.

As they passed the archway, the trap above them activated and a vat of acid poured on them.

Before the acid had even finished pouring, stone figures slipped out of the wall, surrounding the three sacred artists.

Whisper grabbed Kelsa and Seisha in his tails as he dashed forward, slipping through the attack. It left the acid to pour onto the stone figures, melting them.

“If you’re still alive, not bad,” nodded the hologram that called himself Ozriel. “But how will you deal with the next fifty……?”

After minutes of intense traps, including one that required Whisper to use a strange Ruler technique to escape, they finally reached the end of the room.

It opened in a circular space with pillars surrounding the lit area. Behind the pillars the room did not end, leading to darkness beyond. The only source of light was a torch in the center of the room, where above floated two giant golden scrolls. Each were the size of a human child.

“If anyone is still alive, congratulations! You’ve earned it!” Ozriel politely clapped.

Seisha glared at the hologram.

Whisper walked up to the scrolls, jumping gracefully to catch both scrolls in his tails. When he landed, he turned to Kelsa and Seisha.

“Time to go.”

“Consider it goodwill.” The hologram continued. The flickering torchlight revealed how his face turned from friendly to grave. “I must warn you not to go deeper. There is a …. Dreadful beast you don’t want to meet, believe me.”

Kelsa shivered. “We should listen to him.”

“Agreed,” said Seisha.

Whisper said nothing as he led them back into the tunnel.

The hologram stayed behind them. The torchlight was dying out, drawing that room in darkness. Before the dark faded into night, the hologram said one last thing.

“If you happen to find other badges, like a blue one or a fiery one, please don’t wear it until you’re ready. They help amplify the power of human madra, that is true. But they also interact with hunger madra very strongly, and results in dreadful consequences if you can’t control them.”

Ozriel disappeared in the darkness, until only his blue eyes glittered in the dark. Then they too faded away.

As they ran, Whisper opened one scroll slightly in his mouth, and a little wooden box fell out. Seisha caught the box.

Whisper turned to her, winking.

Seisha opened the box with trembling hands.

Inside, nestled among the pink cushion, was a dull gray green orb wrapped in rings of Forged script. It looked bland, with dim color writhing inside. Next to it, were tiny bottles of mysterious water.

“What’s this,” asked Seisha.

“It’s called the Heaven’s Drop,” said Whisper.

***

Present Time

Riyusai Meira had once been a gardener of the Seishen royal gardens.

She had been happy, serving Prince Kiro of the Seishen Kingdom, finally having a reason to live. But it had all changed when the Sage of the Silver Heart had set Kiro and her on the task to prevent Lindon and Yerin from entering the Uncrowned King Tournament. The Truegolds had been monstrously strong, and it had resulted in Lindon killing Kiro. They had taken him away from her. Now, Meira would not stop until all her enemies were dead. She would make a display out of their remains, having her own personal crimson garden.

And the first to join it would be Lindon’s sister.

Kelsa rolled away the stream of life madra Meira had thrown her way, the madra washing over the floor like green water. As she came up, she Enforced herself with the Foxtail technique, her movements blurry and hard to track, allowing the Truegold to avoid Meira’s Striker techniques more easily.

Whisper dashed at Meira, the big snowfox flashing its tails out, each tail streaming foxfire behind it in an intricate pattern. Behind Meira a clone of Whisper was doing the same technique.

Meira slammed the ground with her scythe, and black roots surrounded her in walls. They wove out, knitting together with green madra roots to make a black and green wall. One wall stood in front of her, the second behind her.

Both Whisper clones sent out waves of foxfire, crashing into her walls. As the flames subsided, the life-artist shoved her hands through the walls and two beams of green madra shot out, one for each Whisper.

A third Whisper bit down on Meira’s helmet, tearing it off. The Fox Mirror technique vanished as soon as it had appeared behind her.

Meira’s gray hair was pulled back in the bloody exchange, pink flowers glittering. Her Goldsign grew out of her head, showing as green vines and pink flowers weaving through her hair. Blood spilled from her scalp, giving her flowers a cherry makeover. A flash of life madra healed her wound.

As the roots around her flailed out like whips, she noticed the green madra roots were beginning to evaporate away.

The madra barrier she had made around the room earlier allowed her to use her techniques, holding off the hunger aura. The barrier helped so that her techniques did not fade away instantly, but her barrier was starting to lose power. Soon, it would be destabilized and break apart, leaving her at the mercy of the three sacred artists before her.

Her scythe-blade was beginning to fade in color slightly. She noticed that the White Fox sacred artists did not seem to have that trouble. Perhaps it had something to do with the halfsilver badges they each were wearing.

She extended her life madra, and the trees growing in the room around her extended their branches, stabbing out. Kelsa and Whisper ran, weaving through every stabbing branch. One tree uprooted itself and smashed into Kelsa. She rolled over its scraggly bark, her Foxtail allowing her to miss everything by inches.

Roots and grass rose around the ground under Kelsa, trapping her legs as she landed. It wrapped around Kelsa, twisting her limbs around with unsightly contortions as she was ripped apart.

As Kelsa blew apart in dream and light aura, Meira knew it was another illusion.

Under the effect of White Fox madra, the room seemed to shift in Meira’s vision, the water in the ponds seeming to reach for her. She slashed out as fingers of water shot out, cutting through the illusion.

Kelsa appeared next to Meira, her white robes and black hair billowing behind her. She kicked the shaft of the scythe, causing Meira to be spun around. Meira held onto her scythe, the green flame humming as she came around again. Kelsa ducked as the scythe came for her, jumping away as Meira stomped down and created roots to burst up from the ground. Kelsa rolled away from its range, but she wasn’t safe yet as Meira ran after her, her scythe coming down again and again as Kelsa dodged it all.

Meira swung her scythe at an angle along the ground, and Kelsa was forced to push herself off the ground as the scythe slipped under her fingers. Her feet kicked into Meira face, but the Underlady blocked with her forearm, kicking Kelsa in the stomach in a burst of green light.

As Kelsa blasted backwards, Whisper appeared behind her and caught her with his nest of tails. Meira landed next to them, kicking Whisper. The snowfox went low, swatting a paw glowing with foxfire at Meira’s chest. Meira was certain she had dodged, but the paw hit anyways.

As Meira fell back, she created a wall of roots behind her that stopped her fall. She hadn’t even slid down to the ground before she kicked off from the wall, her scythe whistling in the air.

The vines hanging from the ceiling shot down and wrapped around her, catching her. Meira felt the illusion take hold, solid enough to be believable. Whatever Whisper’s mysterious Ruler technique was it was so believable it made reality think it was real.

He had commanded the vines that they were not hanging on the ceiling but were holding back the Underlady. And they had followed reality’s new instructions.

As the vines wrapped around Meira, a jet of foxfire shot in her side. Meira looked over in pain, burning the foxfire away with life madra.

Seisha glared back at her, her hands raised. The brown-haired mother was giving off the power of a Truegold, her drudge resting over her shoulder. After taking the pill called the Heaven’s Drop, she had skyrocketed up the stages and reached Truegold. Her halfsilver badge had allowed her to advance despite the drainage effect of the labyrinth.

Meira cut through the vines, grabbing onto one as she swung across the room. She dropped above Seisha, swinging her scythe down.

A green scythe met her own scythe.

Meira stared down at her identical Fox Mirror clone, standing where Seisha had just been a second ago. The Seisha clone had morphed into a Meira clone.

The real Seisha was standing behind Kelsa and Whisper now. Seisha had been born a Forger, and had specialized in disguises, able to easily pass off as a Li or Kazan clan member if she wanted to. Now that she was a Truegold, she could make copies of other people.

Meira’s feet had barely begun to touch the ground as her Fox Mirror clone shoved her back, the tip of the scythe slicing through the air in a circular cut. Meira moved her neck in a circle to dodge the scythe. The clone came up for a kick, and Meira rolled under, slashing up with her scythe. The green flame passed through the clone’s neck, and it dispersed into aura.

Meira turned to her three opponents. “You all fight like cowards.”

“Welcome to the Wei clan,” shot back Seisha.

Meira dashed at them, holding her scythe to the side.

Mother and daughter fought alongside Elder Whisper, slipping through the Underlady’s attacks with Foxtail. Seisha continuously Forged clones of Kelsa, Whisper, and herself. Everytime Meira thought she had one, it would vanish on contact with her scythe. She tried to find their real bodies with a perception technique, but the hunger aura was cracking through her barrier. It was causing her techniques to be too unstable, weakening it before it reached her targets.

The White Fox artists had no problem with that. The halfsilver badges allowed them to keep their techniques, protected against the effects of the hunger aura.

The fight took Meira to the edge of a lily pond fountain full of Koi fish. She was thrown into the air by Whisper’s assault, hands of foxfire flying from his tails and blasting her backwards. Under her, the pond writhed as if alive.

Meira stretched her body out in mid-air as she dodged the hands of water rushing out from under her. One of the koi fish jumped up, now the size of Elder Whisper. With a flick of her scythe, the illusion faded away. Purple and white fire rushed at her from the side.

The life-artist angled her scythe down to block the wave of foxfire from Seisha. Meira tilted her body so that she was falling toward Seisha, raising her scythe over her head.

The room exploded into chunks of stone as Meira landed.

When the smoke cleared, Whisper was revealed to be standing in front of Meira, his tails wrapped around her scythe and hands. Seisha stood behind him, having been protected by him.

Whisper growled, his teeth biting into Meira’s wrist.

Her leg slashed out like a pent-up snake, a wave of life madra fluttering behind her kick. Foxfire licked Whisper’s tails as he blocked her kick with all five tails. He pushed her back into the air; that was when Kelsa jumped onto Whisper’s head, using him to jump up to Meira.

Kelsa made a fist. A Forged purple and white copy of Whisper’s head appeared around her hand as she punched Meira, balls of foxfire spinning around her fist.

Meira held her scythe up, the shaft of her scythe catching the Forged jaws as it bit down. Kelsa’s punch hit the wooden shaft, the foxhead on her fist snarling with purple and white saliva.

Kelsa brought her knee up to hit Meira in the stomach. Meira stepped down on Kelsa’s knee and used it to flip backwards in the air. Kelsa raised her other fist, and this time she Forged tendrils of purple and white fox tails as she punched Meira. The tails gathered around her fist in a single point, like a sword of tails.

Meira met the tip of the foxfire sword with the flat of her scythe. It pushed her back allowing her to reach up and grab a hanging vine, swinging away from Kelsa.

Whisper brought his tails up, offering Kelsa a platform as Kelsa fell. Kelsa landed on his tails and kicked off after Meira. Behind Meira, Fox Mirror clones of herself were swinging in the rope-like vines, about to crash into her from behind.

Meira focused on the vines around her, her life madra rushing into them. She screamed as she fought against the hunger aura, forcing her Ruler technique to activate. It took most of her soulfire to do so, draining her body.

The vines came alive. They clasped the Meira clones, ripping them to aura. They wrapped around Kelsa. She Forged a knife of foxfire and cut the vines away, her Foxtail allowing her to slip away and land on the floor.

Meira focused all the vines together, and the ceiling began to crack as green foliage spilled through. It all came together, the greenery sliding to the center of the ceiling, the leaves scraping the ceiling as if trying to hold on. All around the vines on the walls began to slither upwards to the ceiling. It came together to form one giant vine.

It curled in the air for a tense moment. Then it slammed down onto the ground, the vine stabbing out in millions of branches that filled the room like water. Every inch of the room was pierced, piercing through the stone.

The ground began to crumble away, dust flying up in a wave of dust and debris, greenery floating in the air as the vine destabilized and fell apart. Bats from the ceiling fell dead to the floor. Green leaves and plants rained down all around the room.

Kelsa, Seisha, and Whisper skidded back, their feet and hands glowing with foxfire. Kelsa rubbed dirt from her cheek, breathing heavily. Seisha wore a crazy smile, her eyes glittering. Whisper bowed his head low, his tongue sticking out as he took heavy breaths. Their three halfsilver badges glinted in the light of their foxfire.

Meira landed in the pond as her wooden armor creaked from the force. The water came up to her waist. The koi fish swam away from her in fear. She was sweating and her hair clung to her neck. Her pink flowers look wilted, no longer radiant pink. Her body was taxed from the attack. It had been weaker than it should have been, the hunger aura destabilizing it too quickly.

Meira gripped her scythe as the three White Fox sacred artists began to pool their madra. They ran forward in formation, their Ruler techniques activating as foxfire shone brightly…. and then they vanished from her sight.

A tsunami of black roots blasted out of the ground all around Meira, creating a wall of black roots that shot out from all around. If she couldn’t see them, she would just launch an all-out attack.

All around her an army of Kelsa’s, Siesha’s, and Whisper’s began to form. They were Fox Mirror clones Seisha had made, but it didn’t matter. Her black roots destroyed waves of them. Yet, more of the clones kept appearing.

Her spirit screamed a warning as Meira jumped up.

The water exploded under her, Whisper tearing through the water as he snarled at her, his wet fur matted to his skin. Seisha rose from the water and ran up his back, jumping up to Meira with a punch. Meira called on her Ruler technique, and vines burst from the ceiling to wrap around her shoulders, pulling her up and away from danger.

As Meira reached the ceiling, she angled her feet so that they would hit the ceiling first, her head pointing to the floor below.

Kelsa’s hands burst from the ceiling, grabbing Meira’s ankles. On contact, Meira was consumed with foxfire. She combated the flames with life madra that swirled the foxfire away.

Two clones of Kelsa ran to her across the ceiling, their black hair pulled down by gravity’s fingers. Meira snarled as she swung her scythe around, and two Kelsa heads flew in the air, the clones disappearing. Meira angled her scythe down to cut off her captor’s hands, the flaming blade trailing emerald embers.

Whisper caught her scythe in his jaws, appearing next to her. Seisha was there was well, wrapping her burning foxfire hands around Meira’s eyes. She kicked out, but Whisper’s tails made a wall of white fur that blocked her kick. Tiny foxfire foxes burst out of his tails, biting into Meira.

In the air, White Fox aura continued to gather. As it grew stronger and stronger, Meira began to feel the buildup of power. Together, the three White Fox sacred artists began to manipulate the Fox Dream technique, letting the illusions begin.

Meira felt her stomach lurch as the world righted itself. Suddenly, up was down and down was up in the Fox Dream.

Meira kicked away from them, running across the ceiling. From the floor above, the pools of water were no longer staying still. They followed the new direction of gravity and fell like waterfalls, exploding into mist and water spray as they crashed into the floor. The army of Fox Mirror clones of Kelsa, Seisha, and Whisper began to fall and drop down all around her as well.

Meira beheaded a Seisha clone and punched through the face of a Kelsa clone, its eyes wide as it coughed up blood before vanishing in dream and light aura. Another clone shot up from the floor under her. Meira jumped forward, thrusting her palm into the clone’s chest. The clone blasted backwards as a green thorn shot into her body. The spike continued to grow, becoming a growth of needles that burst the clone’s body apart.

Meira found herself surrounding by an army of Whispers. As two of them snarled and jumped at her from both sides, Meira jumped up, kicking both in their black noses as they yelped. She tore through the army of clones, her scythe cutting limbs, heads, and toro’s off. She slipped under a Kelsa clone’s kick, bringing her scythe up to cut off the leg as she slid under.

She had barely stood up when a trap door opened under her and Meira was falling through a dark tunnel. Light below revealed glinting black water, giant lily pads the size of islands dotting the ocean.

Meira landed on one knee on a lily pad, the area around her churning with dark water. She looked up but saw only the blue sky.

She was in the middle of an ocean with no land in sight.

In the Fox Dream, she suddenly understood that she was on an ocean planet, completely covered in water. In the deep depths, the water pressure had become so great it caused a special type of ice to form.

Meira clenched her stomach, feeling dizzy. The atmospheric pressure of the planet was lower than on Cradle. It was causing the gases in her blood to begin to bubble up, her blood starting to fizzle and boil. Meira screamed as her Underlady body fought against the illusion, her remaining soulfire helping to diminish the pain.

That was when she noticed the creatures began to peek their heads out. A giant golden eye blinked at her from under the water.

The lily pad she was on began to rise into the air, the giant frog the lily pad had rested on raising its head.

The frog was bigger than Mount Samara.

It flicked its head up, throwing Meira into the sky. All around the ocean, giant frogs began to raise their heads. Their tongues swatted at her. She screamed as one wrapped its tongue around her, taking her inside its mouth.

Meira slashed her scythe down, splitting the frog in half, showering her in purple blood.

The purple blood glinted in the light, and then reformed into images of foxes swimming in the air.

The Underlady fell through, her hair raising above her in a pillar as she neared the nest of frogs. She readied her scythe, ready to cut through the next obstacle.

The ocean water began to bubble. It caused the frogs to croak and flail around, being sucked under the water as something even bigger began to come out.

A giant stone face rose, water rushing out from it like an umbrella of water. Barnacles encrusted its closed eyes, seaweed clinging to its face. A giant squid clung to its ear, feasting on a whale that had been caught in the statue’s rise. The statue was a replica of Seisha, its face peaceful and smiling. From the depths, its hands began to emerge, ancient fingers hosting abandoned civilizations.

Meira raised her scythe as one of the hands rose to her. Her plan was to split it in half, breaking through the stone like butter. Her scythe did nothing as the statue smacked her with its hand. Meira blasted backwards, but the other hand soared and smacked her down into the ocean.

As soon as she crashed down into the ocean, something grabbed her body and dragged her under. She looked down with wide eyes, watching the Plesiosaurus biting down on her foot, the ancient sea monster taking up her entire view. They dove down at incredible speeds, the water blasting away as they neared the icy core of the planet.

When they crashed through the ice, Meira could breathe again. She instantly felt the humidity in the air, sweating in her armor. She was no longer in the ocean. She was falling through the sky in another environment.

It was misty jungle of life, greenery glowing like the sun. Dinosaurs of all kinds rushed through the jungles below, a heavy mist hanging over the area. In the distance a group of Pterodactyl’s flew over a volcano, their wingspan causing a shadow that took up a chunk of the jungles.

As Meira fell through the clouds, they began to move. Under her, the sea of clouds formed together into a landmass. Out of that mass, a giant figure rose underneath the Underlady. It was in the shape of Meira herself.

A giant version of Meira made of clouds.

It loomed underneath her as its titanic fingers began to rise for her, its white palm rushing at her. Meira hit the palm with her feet first just as the fingers closed around her like a cocoon.

The Underlady swirled life madra around her, and the cloudy fingers were swept away.

She stood in the center of the palm, her hair churning furiously as the green madra around her spun in a cyclone. It took the shape of vines, enveloping the white cloud fingers and washing it away.

As the cyclone of green madra vines continued spinning around her, Meira pointed her palm at the face of the giant Meira, the cloudy face smiling. From her palm, a pink flower blossomed, unfolding.

A beam of life madra shot from the flower and split the cloud titan in half, and the giant collapsed in two.

But it wasn’t done yet.

The clouds reformed and began to spin around underneath her like a hurricane as she fell into the eye of the storm.

As the clouds sucked her in, Meira held her scythe over her head. It began to glow bright, green madra growing from the scythe. The madra continued to grow, matching the size of the cloud hurricane. It began to form into a large shape under Meira’s care.

Meira Forged a giant tree of life madra that floated over the hurricane.

The tree was as thick as the hurricane, its branches waving with giant leaves the size of cloudships. Meira fell on a leaf, steadying her fall, and jumped off.

The roots of the tree shot down into the hurricane, sinking inside. The roots vibrated with the tension as it gripped the clouds. With the sound of laughter, the clouds were ripped apart.

Like a giant splash of water, the clouds dispersed into wisps that shot out in all directions. The clouds continued laughing, swept away by the wind.

Meira continued her fall, reaching the end of her floating tree.

That was when the sun turned pink. Or so she thought.

As the life-artist cast her senses up, she saw it was no sun.

Meira looked up, watching the pink light shining bright and rushing right at her. As it came closer, Meira’s Underlady eyes was able to make it out.

The light was Kelsa, but she was like a living rainbow.

She wore pink armor, and her hair was a mix of blue and pink, cotton candy colors that swirled in the air for miles across. Flowers dotted her hair, glowing purple and white. Her hair was like a giant cloud taking up half of the sky. Her skin was a bright blue-green and seemed to be made of crystal.

Meira glared at Kelsa. As she reached the end of her tree, she grabbed a hold of the green madra bark. She heaved the entire tree upwards, and it shot like a spear at Kelsa.

All the remaining clouds and mists were blown away from the shockwave, clearing the bright blue sky.

As the tree neared Kelsa, the girl’s hair moved like it had a mind of its own. It met the branches of the trees. Kelsa used her hair as a weapon, grasping fist-folds of her hair as she maneuvered them. Some of her hair began to form into shapes, including foxes that bit into the branches and ripped it apart. Her hair wrapped around the tree, stabbing into the bark.

Kelsa’s hair halted for a moment, pulsing like a giant heartbeat. Her purple and pink hair began to smoke as foxfire gathered around her head. It spun like a halo for a moment, and then it rushed down her hair. The foxfire pulsed down her hair in waves.

The foxfire seemed to be laughing, the sound of giggling echoing through the whole jungle.

When the foxfire reached the tree, it lit up in flames. Kelsa’s hair finished the tree, ripping it apart into essence.

Meira continued her descent into the jungles, crashing through the leaves and trees. Fruits hung from the branches around her, vines violently whipping around from the shockwaves Kelsa was making.

As Meira touched down on the ground with a crunch, Kelsa landed in front of her, purple and white flowers sticking out of her hair. Her hair flowed out and floated in the air, her flowers raining down all around the jungle.

Kelsa looked up at Meira with white eyes.

The air whirled behind her with foxfire and created different illusions as Kelsa dashed forward. One moment a butterfly fluttered in her wake, the next it was a cloud of tiny planets with rings floating around her.

Meira sprang her technique, and a bush of black roots shot out from the ground. They stabbed into the air like blades. Kelsa reached out one hand; one of the ringed planets floated over to her hand, the size of an apple. The rings around it rose and formed an icy blade, glittering pink and blue.

Kelsa sliced through the roots with her sword, holding onto the spherical planet as if it were a hilt while the icy blade floated above it. Kelsa reached Meira, her sword meeting the green scythe.

Meira turned Kelsa’s blade aside, spinning around and slashing Kelsa’s neck.

As soon as her scythe touched Kelsa, her rainbow body burst into flower petals. The scythe continued through, whipping a up a storm that sent the cascade of flowers whizzing through the air.

Meira turned, looking for Kelsa through the thick storm of flowers, so thick she couldn’t see through.

THUD! THUD!

Meira swung her scythe through the flowers, trying to disperse them away.

THUD! THUD! THUD THUD!

Meira turned around as the jaws of an albino Tyrannosaurus Rex parted the sea of flowers. Meira slashed its head in half, green light shining through the flowers. Two smoking pieces of white dinosaur pieces slid past her in the dirt, their edges steaming.

Sunlight began to stream through as the overflow of flowers began to part away. When the petals had finished drifting to the ground, Meira found herself somewhere else in the jungle, her surroundings changing again.

She now stood at the edge of a waterfall cliff overlooking the entire jungle. The cascade rushed to the ground below her, glinting silver as it crashed into the jungles below. Before she could register her new surroundings, she heard footsteps behind her. Meira swung her scythe around, turning to the wall of trees covering her sight. Smiling faces giggled at her, carved into the bark.

The trees rustled as something moved behind them, and the trees began to gasp. They whooped and cheered, taunting Meira.

Elder Whisper burst out of the foliage, his five tails pushing the trees out of the way. As he crashed into Meira, his body melted away to turn into a phoenix made of ice crystals, tackling Meira off the cliff as he extended his wings.

The Underlady fought with the phoenix as they spiraled through the air, trying to release ihis hold. She was unable to do so in time as they crash-landed into the waters below. Meira rolled on the shore, water dripping from her armor. She looked up, but the phoenix was gone.

She was at the edge of a small lake of glowing blue water, surrounding by walls of yellow bricks. Greenery grew along the edge of the lake, where across from Meira a small waterfall trickled down the rocky steps, feeding into the lake. White flowers grew up from the lakes, their thick roots making small islands. Above the rocky steps where the waterfall flowed, a single log curved above the waterfall like an archway, hanging with moss and vines.

On top of that log archway, Kelsa stood.

This time, she looked like a pink and blue Remnant. Her entire body looked like a watercolor painting splashed onto real life.

Meira raised a hand and her Ruler technique caused all the trees to twist and groan, their ancient trunks moving unnaturally. They elongated, shooting to Kelsa like swords.

Tendrils of foxfire burst out of Kelsa’s skin like leaking paint. It enveloped Kelsa like a cloak, her white hair growing long and never stopping. Kelsa jumped through the air as she burned through the trees, landing in front of Meira and blocking her scythe with her forearm, pushing the scythe down.

As Meira was driven back by Kelsa, the world around them began to crumble. Wherever Kelsa stepped, the ground began to break away. Cracks appeared around as if everything was a mirror, shattering like glass. As the area disintegrated away, Kelsa blazed brightly.

She lit up with pink and blue light, her white hair swirling in a sea that blanketed the forest behind her. When Kelsa reached Meira, her hair shot up in a miles-long pillar that rustled like a white candleflame. Her robes spread like wings as she punched Meira in the face.

With every punch, the scenery around them shattered like glass to replace a new one.

A world of shadow where glass rained sideways. Another world where everything was made of human flesh. A world made of snow that was burning with blue fire. A world where a dying sun let out radiation that microwaved any living organism. A world made of black sand and a permanent night sky that glowed with artic green aurora lights.

Every punch blasted Meira back, her head snapping back and forth as Kelsa tore into her.

“Never! Enter! My! Home! Again!”

With every punch and kick, foxfire flowed in the air behind Kelsa, smearing the world around Meira in purple, white, blue, and pink, mixing with Meira’s blood. It was a watercolor mess, looking like someone had spilled water over a freshly painted picture. Meira’s blood floated up against gravity, leaking upwards and forming images of foxes that floated in the sky.

Meira screamed as she kicked Kelsa away, swinging her scythe. Kelsa froze in the air, stopping midfall. She caught the scythe with one finger, her body slowly rising itself up as if invisible hands were pushing behind her. Her white eyes burned holes in Meira as they stared at each other, face to face.

“You will never lay a finger on my family.”

Her hands ignited with foxfire.

Meira’s face contorted in a snarl as she swung her scythe.

Kelsa punched the scythe away with an explosion of foxfire, the scythe falling through the air and vanishing in the rainbow of colors. The strike sent Meira cracking backwards off balance and allowing Kelsa to kick Meira in the face.

Meira screamed as the final kick blasted her through to another dimension, the world splintering around her to reveal darkness.

She floated in space, passing by planets and nebula clouds. Blackholes stared at her, and supernovas exploded all around in silent explosions.

One of the planets was shaped in a giant fox that swam through space, turning its eyes to Meira and smiling.

As Meira struggled to breathe in zero gravity, three giant figures formed in front of her, as big as galaxies.

Kelsa, Whisper, and Seisha.

They each grasped a giant sun above their heads, blazing purple, blue, and red. They threw the sun at Meira, and the sun’s grew faces, hurtling so fast they began to bleed globules.

Meira closed her eyes. “This isn’t real. This isn’t real. This isn’t real. Not real. Not real. Not realnotrealnotrealnotrealnotrealnotreal!”

She had enough. This was only a Truegold illusion. Her thoughts raised to something that would anchor her to reality. Anything that would let her escape. Something that meant a lot to her.

She thought about Kiro.

Her soulfire responded and Meira wrenched herself out of the Fox Dream.

Reality rushed back, and Meira found herself back on the floor in the labyrinth room. She realized, as time came back, that whole time only a second had passed by in real-time.

Kelsa was running at Meira, her hand tinged purple and white as she slashed at Meira’s neck with a Forged foxfire blade outlining her hand. Behind Meira, Whisper had five balls of foxfire on each tail that he was about to shoot forward. Seisha was Forging more Fox Mirror clones.

Meira remembered in a daze the last place she had been—on the ceiling. She looked up in that split second and found her body held on the ceiling by vines. Why was she still up there? Was it a Fox Mirror clone? It stayed on the ceiling, wrapped in veins, its eyes rolled upwards as if in a trance.

Meira closed her eyes. She imagined Kiro, thinking on how horrified his face would have been when Lindon had killed him. Imagining the pain as that brute destroyed the love of her life. They had all taken him away from her. They had taken away the only thing that mattered to her. She would never forgive him for that.

A tear fell down Meira’s cheek as Kelsa’s blade of foxfire reached her neck.

She calmed her mind, finally accepting Kiro was dead. He was never coming back. Meira had nothing left to live for. Or so she had thought. Kiro had been her Underlady reason, being the truth that had activated her transformation to the Lord realm. But it was time to change. It was to make her own reason for why she now practiced the sacred arts.

Meira left her obsession for Kiro, her true skills finally coming out as she unchained herself from him.

Elder Whisper launched his five balls of foxfire behind her.

Meira’s eyes snapped open as she blocked Kelsa’s blade with the flat edge of her scythe, reacting faster than Kelsa’s Foxtail. She tore the halfsilver badge from Kelsa, putting it over her own neck. Instantly, the hunger aura effect stopped, and Meira was able to use her full techniques.

She grabbed Kelsa and threw her behind her back, right into the path of the roaring balls of foxfire. They fireballs skirted around Kelsa’s body, still on track to crash into Meira. The Underlady smiled as she swung her scythe, cutting through each fireball and causing a chain of explosions. She continued to spin around, picking up speed, as Whisper came charging out undercover of the exploding foxfire. Meira jumped over the sacred fox, her scythe coming down onto Kelsa.

Seisha appeared over her daughter, bringing her hands up. She stood in the center of a giant Forged fox head that covered her entire body, the madra splitting into fur and the eyes glowing white. It bared its teeth, biting down on Meira’s scythe, its eyes closing.

A burst of green madra sliced through the Forged creation, bisecting Seisha in half. It turned out to be a Fox Mirror clone as Seisha vanished in aura. Meira looked for Kelsa, who was already gone, having been rescued by Whisper.

All around her, clones sprang up, hiding the real ones.

Meira closed her eyes. Now that she could use her full capabilities, she had no trouble locating them. Her life madra perception technique swept through the Truegold madra, and she located the real bodies. She whirled around, seeing through the light bending around them, hiding in plain sight. Invisible.

These Truegolds were as good as dead.

A strange dizziness swept over Meira as she felt the blood pooling in her head, going against gravity. That was strange. She felt like she was in two places at once. Above her, the Meira clone on the ceiling writhed in the vines, its head rocking back and forth.

Meira ignored the dizzy feeling as she jumped among her real opponents. They appeared out of thin air, realizing it was no use hiding anymore.

Whisper whirled with her, his tails weaving into a complex web of limbs that blocked and punched her. Meira engaged in hand-to-hand combat with his tails, executing combos that involved her elbows and knees that sent the sacred fox sliding backwards.

Kelsa and Seisha joined in, and all four wasted no seconds, shockwaves blasting from them and tearing the stone all around.

Meira ducked Kelsa’s punch, swept Seisha off her feet with her scythe, kicked Whisper in the face, turned around and met Kelsa’s kick with her punch, and then turned back around to Whisper. With a thrust of her palm, Meira sent all five tails sprawling upwards, flailing back helplessly. It exposed his body as she spun over him, kicking him up into the air and ripping out with her scythe.

Whisper yelped as she drew blood, his fur gaining a pink tinge as the red and white colors mixed. Globes of his life aura was taken away, hanging in the air.

Still in the air, Meira’s foot caught the necklace around Seisha’s neck and ripped it off. The halfsilver badge flew into the air overhead. Seisha turned, reaching for it. Her arms were smacked down by the shaft of the scythe.

As the shockwave from the hit ran through Seisha’s bones, Meira cracked Seisha under her chin with her scythe shaft, lifting Seisha off her feet. Meira’s fist broke the woman’s nose and slammed her body into the ground.

Meira landed on the stone with one leg as Kelsa ran behind her, her fist roaring with foxfire. While standing on one leg, Meira brought her outstretched leg around.

The Underlady caught the fist with the sole of her foot, blocking it.

Kelsa barely had time to breathe before Meira kicked out in rapid succession. Kelsa’s body was blown back from the multiple kicks, smashing into the wall.

Whisper ran forward, limping.

Meira rushed at him, sensing weakness.

Whisper snarled and fought back, a fan of white tails intermixing in with his foxfire and paws. The short exchange ended with Whisper blasting backwards, rolling away, his bloody fur dirty and his eyes closed as he made a whining sound in his throat.

Kelsa and Seisha were already charging in behind Meira.

The Underlady turned and kicked out; a snared root grew from the ground and shot out. It caught Seisha around the waist, squeezing. Kelsa tried to cut the root, but a second root rose from the ground and caught Kelsa. As mother and daughter struggled, they reached for each other, their fingers inches apart.

Meira smiled widely as she raised both her hands, making the roots squeeze harder and causing the two women to cry out in pain. Emerald madra leaves outlined in soulfire grew out of Meira’s hands like porcupine quills, quivering in her excitement.

“Revenge.” She said softly, enjoying the taste of the word

Her madra leaves shot out like bolts as Seisha fired a foxfire Striker technique.

Kelsa brought her arm up, blocking her neck as the life madra stabbed into her arm. The green leaves stabbed into Seisha’s chest and arms, piercing her body. Blood leaked from her mouth, but she continued her Striker technique.

It rushed up to the ceiling, cutting through the vines of the Meira clone in the ceiling. The clone began to fall through the air as it was free, holding onto its own green scythe.

Meira had that weird feeling again, like her body was somewhere else. Her stomach felt like it was dropping.

Pain bit into her wrist as Whisper appeared next to her, biting into Meira’s hand, pushing her glowing green hand down. Meira continued to smile as she raised her scythe to cut off Whisper’s head.

The Fox Mirror Meira clone landed next to Meira, slashing awkwardly with its scythe. Its movements were clunky, as if it was a defective construct puppet.

Meira kicked Whisper away and crouched, the green flaming blade passing harmlessly over her head. She turned around, swinging her own scythe to cut across the clone’s neck. The clone fell to the ground instantly, its mouth open as its body jerked.

Meira felt her neck explode in pain.

Her spirit felt like it was ripped out of her body, like she was floating in a dream.

When she returned to her senses, she found herself lying on the ground. She looked around, noticing that Kelsa and Seisha had freed themselves. They were helping Whisper stand, holding onto the sacred fox’s neck. Whisper breathed heavily; one eye shut close as his other glared at Meira.

Blood leaked through Meira’s mouth, and she gasped, looking around as the painful throbbing in her neck grew hot. She looked up to see the Fox Mirror clone of herself standing over her, the scythe blade dripping from blood. A headache began to hammer in her head.

Why was her clone was standing over her? Hadn’t she just attacked her own clone?

Meira’s eyes widened, recognizing the truth.

That clone…. Had been her seconds before.

Whisper began to limp over to her, his black lips parted and his tongue panting. He licked his lips, his teeth sharp.

“What…did you do….” Meira closed her mouth, the pain too much to speak.

Whisper looked down, resting his paw on her shoulder, and laying her on her back.

Ever since the Fox Dream they had unleashed on the ceiling, Whisper had enacted his plan.

In that split second when Meira had been under their combined Fox Dream, Whisper had used his special Ruler technique: Ecstasy of Madness.

It was a Ruler technique he had created, using more dream aura than humans normally use, having spent a hundred years meditating on the nature of dreams. It created an illusion so strong that whatever images he conjured, it affected reality to believe the illusion was real. It was greatly limited, but it had its uses.

During the Fox Dream, Whisper had used Ecstasy of Madness to coax Meira’s spirit out of her body and into a Fox Mirror clone Seisha had made. He had her spirit believe that its real body was the body of a Fox Mirror clone. When Meira had awoken from the Fox Dream, she had found herself in the body of the clone while her real body was held in the ceiling.

During the fight, Seisha had unleashed the body from the ceiling and Whisper had done the best he could to control its movements, convincing Meira to attack her own body with a lethal blow.

The Meira Fox Mirror clone had ended up attacking her real body, severing her own life aura.

Meira tried to lift her scythe, but Whisper pressed his full weight on her chest, his tails pressing her arm down. The green blade of her scythe died out.

The Meira clone behind Whisper winked at her, dissolving into dream and light madra.

Behind Whisper, Kelsa helped her mother stand, holding her side. She looked down at Meira, looking relieved.

“We did it, mother. We’re safe.”

Seisha smiled, holding her wounds. Her drudge dove in and out of the air behind them, whistling.

“You break me out, and greet me with this…… You’re the best daughter in the world.”

Kelsa smiled and hugged her mother for the first time in three years.

Whisper lowered his face to Meira.

Meira’s eyes widened in fear as Whisper’s jaws opened inches from her face, a small growl escaping.

No, it could not end like this. She was an Underlady. She would not lose to Truegolds. Not again.

Meira’s screams were muffled as Whisper’s jaws closed on her face.

END OF PART 2