Zen focused straight ahead as their spider followed a different path, leaving Lee Shaan and Huang's behind as it began to surface. He silently wished them well, then turned his attention back to his master as he felt the seal at his side tugged free from his belt. He wasn't sure why his master had removed it until he noticed the little carved ornament begin to glow with light energy.

But I use dark energy now...

"I know that look, love," Qi said as he reached over and refastened the seal to Zen's waist.

"You are free to use whatever energy source you are most comfortable with in our upcoming battle, but it seems like your dark energy prefers to manifest itself more as fire, instead of wind. You fought Ashong with your new abilities, and while he's seen you spar in the past, he hasn't seen much of your wind abilities yet."

He had a point. The general, while reasonably familiar to him, hadn't seen him use his spiritual light powers much, but he'd fought him head to head with his newer, dark abilities.

Nodding in understanding, Zen reaching down and ran his thumb over the warm seal.

"Also, may I see your sword, my Zen?" Qi asked, making him look back up at him for a short moment before removing his blade from its sheath and offering it to him, hilt-first.

"Thank you," Qi said as he settled the sharper end of the weapon in his free hand, then focused his attention solely on the blade.

"Xisheng?"

Zen watched silently as little sparks of purple electricity began to dance along the length of his weapon. Not five seconds after the light appeared, a soft grumble started emanating from the sword.

"I'm sorry to wake you, but I had to give you my thanks for protecting Zen up to this point," he said as the sword began to pulse with energy, taking on the tempo of a heartbeat.

"I know this probably isn't much, but please accept this humble offering in the hopes that you will continue to look after him well," he said as he retrieved a folded cloth from within his sleeve.

A bright purple light blinded them momentarily as the growling sound got louder, but as it faded, Xisheng's little purple cat was left behind, sitting, perfectly-balanced, on the sword Qi had situated atop his crossed legs.

"Here you are, little one," he said with a pleased smile as he unwrapped a small cut of cooked pork belly.

"I thought that you might want something in your belly, too."

The feline flicked an ear and leaned forward, sniffing at the offering for a moment before tilting its head and grumbling. It looked like his master was about to question whether the cub was hungry when it suddenly lunged forward and snapped up the piece of meat. He honestly hadn't fed it since his master had fused Xisheng's soul into the cat's body, but it did make sense that it needed some sort of sustenance.

It finished off its small meal in just a few moments, then looked up at Qi with a new light in its eyes.

He just became a cat recently, but he already seems like he's getting pretty comfortable with it. Perhaps when we go back home he will enjoy playing with the strays master feeds behind our pavilion.

Just the thought of returning home made Zen fidget where he sat, the action inadvertently drawing his master's attention.

"It will be alright, my Zen," Qi said before looking back down at Xisheng, who was now reaching a little paw out to tap at Qi's robe, clearly wanting more pork.

"Take care of yourself, and my Zen, and after this battle is over I will reward you with as much pork as you can eat," he said, making the cub glance over its shoulder at Zen, then back to Qi before biting the air and giving a firm growl of agreement.

He could tell that his master was about to say something else, but their spider stopped abruptly right at that moment, making them both brace themselves or risk falling from its back. Once they straightened back up and looked at what was ahead, it was clear why they'd been forced to stop so suddenly.

The reason stood about twenty yards ahead of them, and as they met his cold, dark eyes, Ashong slowly unsheathed his blade and began walking toward them. Zen didn't need to think about how he'd gotten there. The man could sneak up on anyone and had already displayed his ability to move extremely quickly, so it was no surprise that he'd caught up to them so soon.

Qi gently set Zen's blade aside as Xisheng slowly dissolved back into it, then stood and walked to the front of the large spider they rode on. Zen retrieved his sword as soon as the spirit had finished fusing, then moved to stand beside his master.

"I did not plan to fight him so soon, but it seems that luck is not on our side," Qi said calmly as he unsheathed his weapon.

Zen nodded in agreement, but at the same time, if they could get rid of Ashong before they even stepped foot on the palace grounds, it would definitely be more beneficial for their ultimate goal.

Feeling much more confident than he had in their previous match now that his master was at his side, Zen stepped forward, then hopped down from the glass tarantula. He knew that the action would leave him open to attack for the amount of time it took him to descend to the ground, so it was no surprise when Ashong's form blurred forward to try and land an easy blow.

Thankfully, Qi was waiting for him to do just that. Even though he was still situated atop the spider high above their heads, he easily formed a barrier of light directly in front of Zen just in time to deflect Ashong's attack and send the man skidding backwards several yards.

He recovered easily, his body language nonchalant as he swung his sword in a circle before calmly starting forward again. "I've always wanted to spar with his highness," he said as Qi finally hopped down from the spider to land beside Zen. It was extremely dark in the tunnel, but thankfully some bioluminescent bugs had found their way to the area, allotting them just enough light to be comfortable with.

"I do hope his skills do not disappoint," Ashong said as his legs became wrapped in flickering darkness.

"Ready yourselves, Zen, Xisheng," Qi said as he took a step back and raised his sword in a defensive stance.

Zen proudly stepped forward, his head held high as he took on the same stance he had used while fighting at his master's side for the many, many years that they'd been together. His heart hummed with eagerness as he watched the man before them begin to run forward, spurring him on to finally close the distance, too.

His blade hissed and sparked as he swung it sideways to meet Ashong's first attack, his sword easily countering the other man's before the recoil sent him skidding backwards all the way into his master's waiting arms.

"That was quite impressive, love," Qi said as he quickly steadied him.

"I will try to learn how to counteract that recoil," Qi said as Zen nodded and hurried forward to intercept a second charge from Ashong.

The man made it much closer to his master than he'd intended him to, but since Qi didn't retreat a single step, he would trust his judgement. When their blades collided this time, a flash of bright light reverberated between them and when the recoil came, Zen barely slid back three feet before being able to stop himself.

Wow, that was much better.

Ashong looked at his lowered weapon at his side with slight interest, then licked his lips as he returned his glare to them.

"It seems like this fight will be much more fun than our last one, little guard," he said as he lunged forward again, a smirk on his twisted lips, but right as Zen moved to block his attack, the man's form suddenly turned translucent and blurred right through him.

Wha—!

Zen turned right as Ashong lifted his black-clouded blade above his head, then swung it downward at Qi with a loud yell. He hurried to counterattack to try and stop him from landing the blow, but to his relief, his master had been ready. His weapon, while much less useful for offense, had already had quite a few spells cast upon it, making it far stronger than most. It easily held Ashong's demonic blade at bay.

That's my master!

Zen took his chance and swung his own weapon toward the man as a smug grin found its way onto his own face. Ashong noticed his attack immediately and dodged to the side, but he still managed to catch his right shoulder enough to draw blood. Zen didn't hesitate to continue his assault as the man tried to retreat in order to attack again, but was instead forced to defend as Zen's blade sparked and growled! Xisheng was clearly taking the bribery of food to heart.

Let us show him that we are not so easy to defeat! Zen told his feline friend as it roared louder in response and sent out a jolt of electricity toward Ashong. The man dodged it, but the shrapnel created by the blast as it destroyed a rock formation behind him cut his left shoulder and leg a decent bit.

We can win this if we continue to let him make mistakes while attacking.

A deep laugh in the back of his mind made him hesitate in his next attack just long enough to give Ashong a moment to whirl around on him and swing his blade toward his face. Zen tried to lean back fast enough, but the sword managed to catch his cheek before he completed his dodge, its sharp edge easily slicing through his skin before he stumbled backwards into the wall behind him.

Qi ran in front of him and set up a spiritual shield immediately, but Zen couldn't focus through the searing pain pulsing through his face.

Why does it hurt so badly?

Hunching forward, Zen let his blade slip from his fingers as he reached up and grasped his injured cheek. Bloody tears began to slip from his tightly-closed eyes as his body began to feel like it was on fire!

"Zen?" Qi called, his worried voice a nearly-mute echo in the back of his mind as Zen struggled to fight off whatever was invading his body.

Kill him!

Clenching his teeth at the sudden splitting headache Ashong's command gave him, Zen fought himself as his hand shakily reached down toward his sword.

Get out of my head! he yelled back at the man even as he still continued to slowly reach for his weapon, his body intent on following the order even though his mind fought it.

Kill yourself or kill him. Either way, you will both die here and now, Ashong thought back to him as Zen clenched his teeth and flinched as his master blocked a blast of darkness from their attacker. He managed to deflect it reasonably-well, but as the bursts of black fire continued to assault him, it was obvious that Qi wouldn't last forever. He was a defender, but he wasn't normally a fighter. He couldn't take the hits directly, so as soon as a crack appeared in his barriers, things would go downhill quickly.

Shaking his head, Zen tried to rid his eyes of the red blur caused by the blood somehow replacing his tears, but the action seemed to make his control worsen as his fingertips finally found his dropped weapon.

Pick it up and kill him, or I will torture him until he dies. The choice is yours... for now.

Zen grasped his sword so tightly that his knuckles began to turn white as he slowly began to straighten back up, lifting it as he rose. He noticed Qi glance over his shoulder at him as Ashong was pushed back by a burst of spiritual power. He looked like he was beginning to tire, but he also seemed as if he had enough energy to be comfortable for a while longer.

Zen simply nodded and after Ashong was pushed back again, he darted out from behind his master's protective barriers. The man seemed surprised that he could resist his mind control, but there was no way he'd ever raise his blade to his master!

Zen swung quickly from the left, making Ashong sidestep in order to be able to block the blow. Before he could retaliate, though, Zen swung again, then again. Each hit was stronger than the last, and when he finally managed to push Ashong back several feet, he leapt into the air and kicked toward him, sending a jet of black flames toward the man.

The hit actually landed, but Ashong seemed to brush off the damage he sustained to the left side of his upper body and took his chance to blur forward and strike while Zen was still airborne.

He wasn't in a position that would make his dark energy useful, but that's when he remembered what his master had done right before they'd started the fight.

The extra light energy in my seal...

Right as Ashong's sword was about to cut into his left side Zen swung his free arm to the side and downward, sending a surprisingly-strong downburst of air straight at the charging man. It thankfully managed to catch him off-guard, cutting his attack short as he was thrown backwards and ended up skidding a good distance away in the damp dirt.

My mind is getting clearer.

His cheek was also not burning nearly as badly as it had before.

"He tried to transfer a controlling curse to you through the cut he'd made, but I've been healing it as you've been fighting. Are you feeling better?" Qi asked as he rushed to his side with a proud smile on his dirty face.

Thank you, master!

"Let us finish this, shall we?" Qi said as Zen grinned and wiped the remaining blood from his eyes, then started forward again.

Ashong was already back on his feet but his hair was a complete mess and there was blood running from the edge of his mouth and the left side of his chest.

Normally, in such a situation, Qi would try to reason with their opponent, since he always preferred not to kill, but he remained quiet as Zen lifted his weapon back into his usual attack position. Ashong mirrored him, his dark eyes narrowed and filled with hatred.

"I am through playing with your servant, Han Qi!" he yelled as he lunged forward again, his blade swinging up abruptly, then downward in a shockingly-fast arc.

Zen lifted his own weapon to block it, but before he could complete the action roots suddenly shot out of the damp, rocky walls and wrapped around his wrist and pull it, and his weapon, to the side!

Qi reacted immediately, but his focus was broken in an instant when a strong root firmly wrapped around his throat and yanked him backwards hard enough to pull him right off his feet and drag him away from them.

"Z-Zen!" he yelled as Ashong's cursed sword easily carved straight through Zen's right shoulder, nicking his ribs as it moved through his body, bringing him to his knees in an instant.

Zen's vision blurred as blood started pouring from his gaping injury. He could feel the roots from Ashong's dark magic beginning to wrap around his legs, chest, and sword, but he could do little to stop them as his head slowly bowed to exhaustion and blood began to trickle from between his slightly parted lips. His unrestrained arm shook just trying to hold up his damaged body.

"Now then, let us finish this little bout of ours so that I can go take care of the emperor's traitorous son and that worthless tribesman," Ashong said as he calmly began walking past Zen, ignoring his immobile body.

I can't... let him hurt my master.

Yet he couldn't fight against the roots coiling tighter and tighter around him, nor did have the energy to even rise to his feet as blood continued to flow from his injury.

He could hear Ashong begin his assault on his master and tried his best to simply stand back up, but his body refused to move.

Xisheng... can you help him, please? I beg you!

He heard the feline demon hiss from his sword, but he knew that it would likely struggle to free itself, too. Zen started trying to force his head to the side, needing to look at his entangled blade. Needing some sort of hope.

Xisheng, if you can do anything. Please, you must help me save my master. I will give you anything that I can in return!

He heard his sword hiss again as it shook in his restrained grip, seemingly trying to fight the roots that were binding it. Zen was just-barely able to turn his head enough to finally look up at his sword at that point.

At first, it didn't look like Xisheng would be able to help, either, but then Zen noticed a faint, purple spark jump from the blade. It slowly danced along the hard steel, skipping and hopping until it landed on the wrapped hilt and popped with a quiet crackling sound.

What is he...?

Another little zip of purple electricity manifested from the sword, but this time it managed to make two little jumps along the hilt before disappearing with a little popping sound.

Whatever you are doing, little one... please. Please keep doing anything that you can!

The blade gave an abrupt shiver as a faint wave of purple electricity was pushed out from within it. He heard his master panting and the clanging of blades behind him at the same time, but Zen kept his focus on his sword as the waves of electricity began to grow in frequency.

He felt his hand begin to warm as the electricity finally made it to his fingers a few moments later. When he realized that the strange energy was trying to actually sink into his skin he became confused and nervous, but he quelled the emotions immediately as a strained smile tilted the bloody edge of his lip up the slightest fraction.

Take me.

A deafening shriek echoed from the sword as a whirlwind of darkness erupted from within it, then immediately began to wrap around his bound arm, then chest and neck. It quickly found every single cut and scratch upon Zen's body and hungrily sank inside of them, making his body heat up like an inferno as his vision began to warp and purple electricity started to crackle within the tornado of dark energy growing around him.

His upper canine teeth lengthened just enough to press against his lower lip as his fingernails extended into black claws. His fingers shook as black flames began to eat away at the roots until they could release his sword, then, finally, he was able to yank his arm free as the incinerated vines fell around him like dust.

"The little guard still lives?"

Ashong's voice made Zen's heart slam against the inside of his chest as he slowly began to turn, the flames dancing along his skin easily burning away the remaining bits of plants still trying, and failing, to restrain him as the billowing black and purple aura lifted his messy hair and rustled his damaged, burned clothing.

His eyes immediately fell upon his target as a quiet growl emanated from his throat.

"Zen...?"

He pinpointed his master immediately after he'd spoken, noting that he was only a few feet away from Ashong. Blood and dirt stained his simple robe and he was holding his left side with a pained look. It made his blood burn hotter as his attention returned to the pathetic curse master who was now raising his sword, getting into a fighting stance with a cocky smirk that Zen was going to take great pleasure in removing from his face.