Chapter 794: Song of Winter
Suyin tried to move her back, but the pain made her bend forward. She turned around to stare at her back, using the spiritual energy as light, only to see that the flames of the crashing meteor had scorched it.
"I know you are still alive!" shouted Ca.s.sius from outside, seemingly waiting alongside his meteors. "If so, I shall bury you here alongside the outsider!"
As she heard those words, Suyin realized that another meteor would kill them. However, Ca.s.sius didn"t want to kill Arthur as it is because of the sin that resided inside him.
"Here shall crumble if thou do "scape not," said Morana toward her. "E"en though the sinful man wants to capture the outsider, he knows that thy corporal agent is too frail at the instant. Any boulder can crack thy pate."
Morana was right, and Suyin knew that. Unfortunately, her body was still too weak to handle a direct attack, and the meteor had exhausted all the souls she had commanded earlier. Sooner or later, their air will run out, and Ca.s.sius will still be waiting.
"If you wish to hide, then I will force you out!" shouted Ca.s.sius before the earth started to move and turn. Suyin could feel the ground rising beneath her as the soil began to slide to the sides. She hugged Arthur as the debris fell from above, choking her until sunlight came through.
As she breathed the cold air of early winter, Suyin felt more alive than ever. Unlike before, the air seemed endless and stretching, but it didn"t equate to being free. After all, a calamity was standing behind her.
"The rat is out," Ca.s.sius said with a smile, his arms fully attached to his body. "I believed my life might be in danger since Morana. The Soul Reaper is far more powerful than this. However, it seems that your vessel is still lacking."
"Just enough to have you killed," said Suyin as she pushed herself upward. Her back shot storms of pain throughout her body after the flames burned most of it. "Why are you so persistent, sir?"
"It seems that your vessel is still in control, Morana," Ca.s.sius said with a smile while spreading his arms. His floating body slowly descended while countless meteors waited in the sky. "The persistent one is the man behind you. He keeps fighting for a world that doesn"t want him."
"This world wants him more than it wants you," said Suyin as she picked up her sword, shaped like a needle with wings for a handle. Then, she stabbed it into the ground for support. "I will ensure you don"t step into this world again."
"Bold words from someone with the stats of a normal human," said Ca.s.sius, smiling. "Are you going to finish me with that last attack of yours?"
Suyin was seen through, but she didn"t let it affect her. Instead, she grabbed the petal on her heart and tore it off before infusing it into her body.
"I know that for an astral being to use an incompetent vessel. A time limit needs to be set beforehand. That flower is the limit of what this body can do. Once this attack is over, I win!"
"Wouldst thou survive past it, sirrah?" smiled Morana as her wings healed, and so did her wounds. Spiritual energy lit up around her as the last petal turned into pure energy rather than an attack. Suyin took her stance, although it was far from perfect. "Let me remind thou why thou ne"r ascended."
Fear and apprehension appeared on Ca.s.sius" face. Then, his features contorted into rage and humiliation before he roared and brought his hands down. Ten meteors descended from the sky, all aiming toward the two.
"Sailors and the moon tonight, waves rise and fall," sang Suyin as she raised her sword toward the sky. Her spiritual energy was gentle as it surrounded her before the following line arrived. "Storms and snow rage through the seas, turning blood to frozen tears."
After the second line, the spiritual energy exploded from her body, raging through the world. The aura was suffocating, even for Ca.s.sius.
"Howling came the mighty dragon, sweeping through the land," she took a step forward and disappeared, reappearing behind Ca.s.sius. Her sword was held in reverse before she pierced Ca.s.sius from behind. "Life and love drowning down, as everything else drowns in death."
The sword pierced through the calamity as the song left him mesmerized. Suyin closed her eyes before as the spiritual energy dissipated, and she fell face forward.
Her body was twitching, as she could no longer move a thing. The song she sang was called Song of Winter, which was the art given to her by Morana. It was her last chance against Ca.s.sius, and the aim was to cripple his soul.
"I…!" Ca.s.sius gave a deep shout as he stared at the sword coming out of his heart. The blade, Sorrow Wand, was the bane of souls and the weapon the Souls Reaper used to control the departed. "I will not…!" roared Ca.s.sius as he tried to bring down the meteors, but all of them refused to listen. The sword was eating his spiritual energy.
Ca.s.sius fell as well, holding the sword in his hand. However, even without spiritual energy, the blade was sharp enough to cut through his hand. The calamity fell face forward, away from Suyin, as the meteors started turning to ashes around them.
All three fell to the ground, unconscious, as fire rained on them from the sky. The valley and the surrounding mountains caught on fire that seemed to burn to their core, bent on melting everything.
As for the battlefield, it was quiet. Hartman has long since died, and Arthur Silvera was unconscious. The only one still awake was Suyin, whose body could no longer move. As for Ca.s.sius, his soul enters a temporary seal until the sword gets removed from his body.
"We won, Morana," muttered Suyin as she tried to move his body but could not. "I can"t move a muscle. The fire might get here."
"This is no win, child," answered Morana. "The land is high, so no flames can reach here. This might be the only good thing that the calamity hath done."
"Why am I unable to move a finger?" asked Suyin with confusion as she commanded her body to move but could not. "We need to run!"
"Calm down, child. This is the price of using the six-petals," a.s.sured Morana. "Thy soul and corporal agent hast been exhausted both. Rest hither till…."
Suyin was listening to Morana when she suddenly turned quiet. Suyin was confused and called for her, but there was no answer. Then, after a few seconds, she could see a pair of shoes standing in front of her.
"Who are you?" asked Suyin with fear but received no answer. The newcomer didn"t reply and walked toward her instead. He then crouched down before moving her hair away. Suyin tried to glance at his face, but the farthest she could see was his neck.
"A beautiful woman, but all beauties are dangerous," said the man whose face was deep and apathetic. "You must be killed before the outsider natures you into something stronger."
The man held her neck, squeezed a little, and then released her. Suyin could do nothing against him even if she wanted to, but the man seemed to harbor other plans for her.
"All this destruction, and in the end, the calamity failed to defeat the two of you," said the man before he rose and looked around. Then, he walked away toward Ca.s.sius. "This sword… is dangerous. No man can touch it and remain sane."
"I asked who you are!" shouted Suyin, but the man ignored her. Instead, she could hear his footsteps going farther away and walking toward Arthur.
"A terrifying man you are, Arthur Silvera," said the man as his footsteps stopped. "I prepared for the prophecy but not for this sick twist of fate. Arthur Silvera is not only the creator beloved by this dying world but the same Sin of Wrath that killed him. Aren"t you quite complex, boy?"
"Leave him alone! Touch him, and I will kill you, whoever you are!" shouted Suyin at the newcomer. He paused before the footsteps came closer, pulling her to turn her over.
At first, Suyin could not see who he was because of the bright sky full of flames. After a second, his features grew clear, and her eyes widened in horror. A smile hung on the man"s face, who she had never expected to meet her.
"…Light Emperor!" gasped Suyin.
"Little Yin," said the Light Emperor with a smile. "I heard quite a lot about you but never believed you were anything more than a burden to the bloodflower. Yet, here you are, defeating a calamity."
"Why are you here?" asked Suyin with fear after calming herself. Morana was not answering, and she sensed that this man had something to do with her disappearance.
"I am here to eliminate whatever threatens my plan," said the Light Emperor with a smile before grabbing her neck. This time, he choked her harder and refused to let go. Soon, Suyin was struggling to breathe. "You are one of the unexpected factors."
Suyin could feel her consciousness fading as the man seized her breath. Soon, the world turned dizzy, and the colors started dancing. Then, as she was about to faint, the emperor stopped and turned around.
"So, you awaken, Sin of Wrath."