AN INVISIBLE ENEMY GUARDS THE CORE TO THE SHIP.

I cannot fully discern its shape or form. Even with the School of Divination, it looks just like mist to me— a blur in the air. At first, I thought it was using some form of greater illusion. Perhaps that is why I am not able to make out his true body. But then the invisible creature detects me.

Somehow, it is able to see me, despite my illusions masking my movement. I should be invisible. Not just to people, but to machines too. After all, I managed to sneak through the ship without once being seen by the Esh or the En or the other security measures put in place.

This invisible enemy comes charging at me. It is fast— tall too, by my vague impressions of it. But I am faster. I manage to dodge its attack, ducking under what seems like claws that scrapes the metal walls of the hallway. I strike back with a counterattack… only to hit nothing but air.

My blow goes through the mist. It strikes nothing. I feel nothing there. Not even a momentary resistance like I am punching water. No— there is not even a hint of anything being where I see this invisible enemy.

For a moment, I think that the School of Divination must have failed me. That, somehow, through some technology concocted by Idu, they are able to mess with my senses entirely. To distort even my vision through the School of Divination. But that is not true. Because right as the thought crosses my mind, I am sent flying back down the hallway.

A powerful hit lands on my stomach. It rakes across my clothes, tearing through bits of the enchanted fabric. Most of my protection fortunately holds up, but the fact that it cuts into my skin attests to the strength of whatever unseen, untouchable creature this is.

I crash into a wall, and the metal bends underneath my weight. I groan, looking up as one of the nearby light begins to flash. The alarm blares louder as my eyes flicker. My illusion of invisibility has vanished. The sensors of the ship detects me. And I know that a swarm of both Esh and En are now headed in my direction.

Shaking my head, I pick myself up and turn towards the expansive chamber up ahead. My eyes narrow as I see the invisible creature backing up as if it is guarding the entrance to the core room from me.

I dust myself off before taking on a wide stance. “I do not have time to deal with you,” I say and point past it. “I just need to get to the core—”

And then I yank my hand back.

Aura Pull. In a single motion, I am propelled through the air, crossing the distance between myself and the hallway in an instance. I fly in at rapid speeds, slingshotting myself with my Feat. Faster than the mist should be able to move.

But right as I reach the room— as I cross halfway to the ships core— the mist moves. Somehow, it speeds ahead of me, catching me mid-air. The vague misty shape forms into a semi-sphere. Like a barrier blocking my path. Somehow, even though I could not harm it just earlier, it now has a physical body.

This unseen creature throws me back where I came. No— it is not a throw. It is more like a rebound. As if I landed in a rubbery surface and was being flung backwards thanks to my own propulsion. I manage to catch myself before I can crash into the wall again. I flip through the air, landing lithely on my own two feet. When I look back up into the core room, I stare in confusion.

“How…?” I ask, not understanding how this works.

It is nothing like anything I have ever seen before. Even the Seventh Heaven— with all its illusions and oddities— never held such a strange creature. I narrow my eyes, trying to come up with a plan to deal with this unseen thing.

But before any solid strategy can come to mind, I hear the clamor of metallic footfalls. I glance back to see an army of En charging down the corridor, led by a single Esh. It raises its laser sword and point towards me.

“ELIMINATE—”

And I clap my hands together. A thick metal wall shoots up, blocking the path of the machines. It will not hold them off for long. But I just need them distracted until I manage to find a way around whatever this invisible enemy in the core room is.

This time, I do not leap into the room like a madman. Instead, I dash in. I stay grounded, knowing that the invisible creature will intercept me. And it does. My eyes dart around the room, watching as the mist charges my way. It swings at me again— from both sides. I see the scraping on the ground. The sparks flying across the air, outlining the attack.

I dodge the first swing, bending back and out of the way. The second one comes a moment after, and I leap over it. However, the assault does not stop there. I grit my teeth as I watch a dozen more strikes come— all at once. I deftly deflect the attacks, moving like a dancer in the rain, keeping this invisible creature from knocking me out of the core room as I edge further in.

And when it finally seems like I have a good view of the cylindrical shell at the center of the vast chamber, I channel the Qi from within my core. A deluge of flames pour out from behind my back. As if they have been emptied from a large tank. The fire slowly takes the shape of a phoenix as I grin.

“Liufan Sacred Technique: The Wrath of the Heavens!”

The phoenix launches forward with a glorious shriek. It swoops up, heading straight for the ship’s core with lifelike movements. I cast my gaze back to the invisible creature, expecting it to move to intercept the attack. And it does. It instantly disengages from me, rushing to block the powerful attack I have cast.

But right as the mist moves in front of the phoenix, my attack splits in half. The giant phoenix becomes two smaller ones, splitting off for their target. Behind me, I can hear the metal barrier collapsing from the Esh and the En breaking through. However, they are too late… or at least, I thought.

My eyes grow wide as the invisible creature expands in size, covering the ship’s core in its entirety. My attacks land, exploding into a blast of iridescent flames. I catch myself as the fire erupts out— burning through the Esh and the first ranks of En entering the room.

I lower my hands as I gape at the unharmed core of the ship. I look on with wide eyes as the invisible air continues to protect the cylindrical metal from the flames trying to burn through it. Then all around me, the ground sparks. A second mist coalesces around me, attacking me with a dozen strikes at once. I brace myself, taking the brunt of the attacks from all directions as I finally realize what is going on.

“That is not a creature,” I say as I fight through the pain. “It is… a barrier.”

But it is not just any barrier. It is both an offensive and defensive barrier. One that is built into the system of the room as a whole. That is why it can defend the ship’s core and attack me at the same time. The School of Divination is not detecting a creature there— it is sensing the machinations of the ship itself.

I grit my teeth, ducking under another strike. There is no point trying to counterattack something which cannot be countered. I leap into the air as the mist follows after me, trying to stop my attempt at getting closer to the ship’s core.

Most of my focus goes into avoiding the onslaught of attacks from this system. I only glance back once as I hear the heavy metal footsteps of the En gathering in the room. A group of Esh accompanies this second wave. They raise their hands, pointing at me as I am flying through the air in battle.

“ELIMINATE THE INTRUDER,” the Esh say all at once.

And the machines unleash their salvo of beams my way. I dip down, zipping around the room as I try to avoid this attack from all angles. I cannot keep it up forever. One of the Esh’s rays strike my shoulder, and the defense system of the core room cuts into my back.

I click my tongue, feeling the pain overwhelm my body. This cannot keep up. I know it cannot. It is not just the defense system that is too much for me. Even the Esh and En, through sheer numbers, can cause serious harm to me if I am not able to properly defend against their attacks. I momentarily disengage from their attacks, giving myself a brief relief with Void Walk.

But the moment I reappear, the En and the Esh snap their gazes towards me. They fire a second salvo that I mostly manage to dodge— the attacks bouncing off the back wall behind me, tearing into the metal as their attacks compound over time. My eyes flicker as I see this.

And that is when I get the idea. The invisible attacks resume on my body, but I do my best to brush it off. I head straight for the ship’s core, stopping only when the barrier around the cylindrical shell blocks my path. But I am already positioned in front of it the core.

The Esh and the En do not cease their firing. They mindlessly continue shooting at me as I smirk. I weave around their attacks, and their projectiles strike the cylindrical core. The defense system rushes to erect its barrier around the ship’s core. But the onslaught of lasers are just too numerous. Too much for it to ignore.

The defense system lashes back at the machine soldiers in an emotionless outrage. Through its programming, it recognizes the Esh and the En as a threat, and I watch as a wave of the mist washes over the robots, crushing them into junk parts. The mist in the air is spread too thin— its attacks on me slow. The defenses protecting the barrier weakens, in part because of the amount of damage it has received.

Finally, with a moment to gather myself and my strength, I focus on the ship’s core. No— not the ship’s core. Rather, I expend more Indigo Essence, using the School of Divination to find the source of the defense system.

It is like I see wires made of electricity moving through the air. Invisible to the naked eye. Unseen if I did not focus. It connects up to the ceiling. And, there, I see a little black glass panel at the top. That is where this defense system is located.

I smile as I fly up, heading straight for the defense system.

“I found you.”