Mystique Soul: A Cultivator's Flame
Chapter 98: Chaoter 98

Chapter 98: Chaoter 98

The third prince, no longer hiding behind his usual composed facade, let out a slow breath. His lips curled into something between a sneer and a smirk. "Since you’ve all forced my hand..."

The third prince’s lips twisted into a grimace as he raised his hand, his fingers curling like the claws of a beast. His voice, once smooth and practiced in the art of deception, now rang raw with desperation and fury. The air around him grew heavy, thick with an unnatural stillness, as if the world itself was holding its breath.

"Zarnath thara dranath mor’kael thalun! Vaelen aeltherin, luthar zhal!"

"Shadows entwine, destruction be bound! Eternal magic, unleash the abyss!"

The words slithered through the hall, unnatural and discordant, twisting the air itself. The moment the last syllable left his tongue, the spell ignited.

A sharp crack split through the silence as the marble beneath his feet blackened, spiderweb fractures spreading outward. The eerie glow of dark magic seeped from the cracks, pulsing like a heartbeat.

Then, something answered.

The darkness clawed its way into reality. A vortex of writhing void energy erupted from the ground, swirling violently before splitting open. From within, grotesque figures emerged twisted things of nightmares, their bodies shifting, incomplete yet terrifyingly whole.

The third prince exhaled, his expression unreadable. His gamble had been made. Now, the beasts would decide if he won.

A sharp clatter echoed through the hall as he dropped a small, obsidian-colored talisman onto the marble floor. The moment it shattered, the room shuddered.

Dark tendrils burst from the cracks, writhing and expanding unnaturally, filling the space with an ominous energy that sent a pulse of dread through everyone present. The once orderly court descended into chaos as the tendrils thickened, splitting open like the hatching of a cocoon revealing creatures that had no place in the mortal world.

Grotesque, writhing masses of shadow, their bodies stretched and distorted. Some had too many limbs, others none at all. Eyeless faces twisted, their mouths splitting wide with unnatural grins, fangs gleaming like shards of broken glass. A wretched stench spread through the room, the scent of decay and something far worse something ancient and wrong.

A guard barely had time to react before one of the creatures lunged, tearing through his armor as if it were paper. A scream rang out.

Panic erupted. Nobles scrambled away, knocking over furniture in their haste to flee. The emperor’s guards drew their weapons, but hesitation flashed across their faces ’what were they even fighting?’

"Protect His Majesty!" someone bellowed, but it was barely heard over the deafening screeches of the void creatures.

Feng Jiao Xue, who had remained eerily calm up until now, narrowed her eyes as she took in the scene. The third prince had truly gone mad. To summon such creatures within the imperial palace...

Han Qing had already moved to stand protectively in front of Liang Feng, his blade drawn, his stance unwavering. "Your Highness, we must leave!"

But Liang Feng was staring at his brother, at the way the third prince’s fingers twitched slightly his body tense not with confidence, but desperation. This wasn’t a show of power. This was his last, wild gamble.

And he was willing to throw everything away for it.

Feng Jiao Xue let out a quiet breath, her fingers subtly reaching for her senbon needles. "Tch. How troublesome."

The grand hall erupted into chaos. The grotesque void creatures spilled forth from the prince’s summoning circle, their forms shifting, amorphous, as if the abyss itself had spat them out. Limbs stretched unnaturally, some ending in jagged claws, others in writhing tendrils. Their hollowed eyes glowed with a sickly violet light, and their shrieks were enough to rattle the bones of even the most seasoned warriors.

Feng Jiao Xue didn’t hesitate. The moment the first beast lunged, she was already moving. A flick of her wrist sent a senbon needle piercing through its malformed head, but it only staggered, the wound closing as if it were never struck.

"Tsk." Her lips pressed into a thin line. Regeneration.

Before she could reassess, another beast barreled toward her from the left, its body shifting mid-stride to sprout new appendages, doubling its attack range. She twisted away, barely avoiding the swipe of clawed fingers, but as she prepared to counter, a streak of silver flashed beside her.

Liang Feng moved like a tempest his sword an extension of his will. A single downward slash cleaved through the creature, his blade coated in condensed spiritual energy that burned into its very essence. The beast howled, the wound unable to mend.

She landed lightly beside him, their eyes meeting for the briefest of moments.

"Strike their cores," he said, voice calm despite the battlefield.

She nodded once. No unnecessary words, no wasted movements. As they fought, she noticed something strange how seamlessly their strikes complemented one another, how they instinctively covered each other’s blind spots, as if they had fought side by side countless times before.

A familiar yet unplaceable feeling settled in her chest, but now was not the time to dwell on it.

The beasts came in waves, crawling over each other, their twisted forms a relentless tide of darkness. Around them, other warriors struggled to hold the line.

Han Qing’s blade flickered with precision, his expression impassive as he dispatched one beast after another. Unlike Liang Feng, he fought with ruthless efficiency no wasted effort, no flourish. A thrust, a severed limb, a finishing blow to the core. Yet despite his mastery, his movements carried a dangerous sharpness, a barely restrained fury. He was not just fighting; he was punishing.

Tian Heng, dragging Tian Hao into the battle whether he liked it or not, wielding a new wand with ferocious power. "Fight, or die cowering!" he barked at his brother, who was pale but had just enough self-preservation to summon a barrier talisman.

The guards struggled against the unnatural monstrosities, their weapons less effective against creatures not bound by the laws of the mortal realm. Some fell, crushed beneath the weight of their enemies, but others gritted their teeth and fought on.

"Get His Majesty out of here!" one of the captains shouted.

The emperor, still seated on his throne, had not risen despite the carnage around him. He watched, his expression unreadable, as his guards scrambled to form a protective formation.

"Your Majesty, we must move!"

Only then did he stand, his golden robes billowing as he made his way toward the hidden exit behind the throne. As he passed Liang Feng, he placed a firm hand on his shoulder.

"Survive," he said, his gaze lingering for a brief moment before he disappeared into the shadows, his elite guards forming a moving fortress around him.

The beasts, sensing their true prey escaping, shrieked in fury. They rushed toward the retreating figures, but before they could advance...

A wall of ice erupted in their path.

Feng Jiao Xue exhaled sharply, her hands tingling from the sheer force of the spell she had just cast. The frozen barrier wouldn’t hold them indefinitely, but it bought them time.

She’s been trying to improve her magic for a while now. Slow progress but progress nonetheless.

"Go," she said to the guards who remained. "Protect the emperor."

She turned back to Liang Feng, who had already anticipated her next move.

They surged forward together.

She struck first, her daggers flashing as she weaved between the creatures, severing tendrils and limbs, her movements fluid like a dancer’s. Liang Feng followed, his sword cutting through their openings, his attacks precise where hers were wild yet controlled.

Their synchronization was effortless when one stepped forward, the other pulled back. When one created an opening, the other capitalized on it.

It was instinctual.

Something old. Something deeply ingrained in their very being.

A beast lunged between them, attempting to drive a wedge, but they both moved at the same time she ducked, he stepped over her, his blade driving straight through the creature’s core in one fluid motion. The body disintegrated before it even hit the ground.

Behind them, Han Qing was a whirlwind of steel, but even he could not be everywhere at once. A beast with too many arms swung for his unguarded side.

"Han Qing, right!" Liang Feng called.

Han Qing didn’t question. He pivoted just as Feng Jiao Xue hurled a dagger past his cheek, embedding it straight into the beast’s vulnerable eye.

Han Qing finished it with a single stroke, sparing her a brief glance.

It was not gratitude it was acknowledgment.

The battle raged on.

Tian Heng stood his ground, beads of sweat forming on his brow as he chanted under his breath. His magic flared, flames coiling around his fingers before launching toward the nearest void beast. The fire struck true, burning across the creature’s twisted form, but its regeneration fought against the damage.

Tian Hao, barely keeping himself together, clutched a talisman to his chest. "You really plan to fight to the last man?!" he shrieked.

Tian Heng gritted his teeth, throwing out another spell, a burning chain shot forward, wrapping around a beast’s limbs. He pulled his hands together, and the flames tightened like a vice, searing through the flesh. It screeched, thrashing, and finally collapsed.

"I’d rather die fighting than cower behind others like you do!" Tian Heng shot back, summoning another flame spell. His control wasn’t perfect, his magic wasn’t as refined as a true mage’s, but in this battle, he didn’t have the luxury to hesitate.

When the final explosion severed the rift, Tian Heng slumped, panting, his hands trembling from the sheer magical exertion. He had done his part, but deep down, he knew, he still had a long way to go.

A scream echoed from across the hall, a soldier, dragged into the abyssal maw of one of the larger beasts. The tide wasn’t stopping.

Feng Jiao Xue’s gaze darted to the summoning circle. The rift was still open, pulsing, feeding the creatures. If they didn’t close it, more would come.

"Liang Feng!"

He met her gaze, already understanding.

She pulled out a charm, a last resort, a powerful explosion talisman infused with her own energy. She pressed it into his hand.

"You throw. I’ll detonate."

He nodded. No hesitation.

She ran, cutting through the battlefield as he positioned himself. With a single, powerful throw, the talisman soared toward the rift.

She whispered a single word...

"Vareth."

The explosion was blinding.

A shockwave rippled through the hall, sucking the air from their lungs as the rift was engulfed in golden flames. The void creatures screeched, their forms collapsing in on themselves as the connection to their realm severed.

When the smoke cleared, only a few beasts remained, weakened, thrashing in confusion.

And with renewed ferocity, they cut them down.

The last of the creatures crumbled into nothingness.

Feng Jiao Xue let out a slow breath, standing amid the wreckage, her daggers slick with abyssal ichor. Liang Feng stood beside her, his blade still steady, his expression unreadable.

They looked at each other.

In sync. Always in sync.