Liam''s Perspective


    The Venerable Fifth Mountain pulsed in my palm. Ancient power surged through my veins like liquid fire. My broken bones mended. My torn flesh knitted together. I rose to my feet, strength flowing back into my limbs.


    "What the hell?" Axel''s eyes widened behind his mask.


    I stared at the miniature mountain in my hand. Five distinct peaks jutted upward, each glowing with a different color—gold, blue, red, white, and ck. The legendary artifact of the Five Elements Masters. How had it ended up disguised as a tourist trinket?


    "This changes things," I said, feeling energy crackling across my skin.


    Dudley abandoned his ritual and stormed toward us. "What is that? What''s happening?"


    I held the mountain higher, feeling its power respond to my blood essence. Knowledge flooded my mind—not just strength but understanding. This artifact contained thepressed power of an entire mountain range.


    "Atticus!" Dudley shouted at Axel. "Stop him now!"


    Atticus Kane. So that was Axel''s real name.


    Atticus charged, his blood-red pendant glowing brighter. "Die!"


    His fist flew toward my face with enough force to shatter stone. I didn''t dodge. Instead, I met his attack head-on, my own fist enhanced by the mountain''s power.


    Our knuckles collided. The impact created a shockwave that ttened the surrounding vegetation. Atticus''s eyes widened in shock as he was forced back, his feet carving trenches in the dirt.


    "Impossible," he gasped, staring at his trembling hand. "My artifact..."


    "Is inferior," I finished for him, advancing slowly.


    Dudley''s confident expression faltered. "Atticus, use the Crimson Pendant''s full power! Buy me time!"


    Atticus clutched his pendant with desperate intensity. "Crimson Rage!"


    His body swelled grotesquely as veins bulged across his skin. His eyes turned blood-red, and a bestial roar tore from his throat. He rushed at me like a berserker, swinging wildly. <i ss="meta-ref-static">Find the trantion on MV&LEMPYR.</i>


    I sidestepped his first attack, then his second. The Venerable Fifth Mountain was teaching me—showing me how to harness elemental forces. Earth for stability. Water for adaptation. Fire for offense.


    As Atticus threw another punch, I countered with a fire-infused strike to his chest. My fist hit like a meteor, sending him flying back fifty feet. He crashed through three trees beforeing to a stop, blood trickling from his mouth.


    "One," I counted.


    Behind me, Dudley was hastily drawing symbols in the air, muttering incantations. Blue light coalesced around his hands. Whatever he was nning, I couldn''t let him finish.


    Atticus somehow got to his feet again, his pendant ring brighter. "I''m not done yet!"


    He charged again, more desperate this time. I called on the mountain''s metal element, hardening my body. When his fist connected with my chest, it was like hitting steel. The bones in his hand cracked audibly.


    He howled in pain but continued his assault, swinging wildly with his good hand. I caught his wrist, feeling the mountain''s power flow through me.


    "Two," I said calmly.


    I struck him with a wood-element palm strike. The impact wasn''t as visibly dramatic, but I felt the energy disrupt his qi pathways. His pendant''s glow faltered. He dropped to one knee, gasping.


    "Atticus!" Dudley shouted. "Hold him off for thirty more seconds!"


    Atticus staggered to his feet, blood dripping from his mouth. "I''m trying!"


    He raised his pendant high. "Crimson Oblivion!"


    The artifact shattered in his hand, releasing all its stored power at once. Crimson energy engulfed himpletely. When it faded, he stood transformed—a monstrous figure with skin like molten metal. His eyes burned with hatred.


    "DIE!" he roared, moving faster than before.


    I channeled the mountain''s water element, bing fluid and adaptable. His attacks slipped past me like I was mist. Each missed blow frustrated him further, making his movements more erratic.


    I waited for an opening, then struck with the final element—ck metal. My fist connected with his chest.


    "Three," I said softly.


    The impact shattered the remnants of his pendant. The crimson energy exploded outward, then imploded back into him. Atticus screamed as his body returned to normal, his temporary power draining away. He copsed, broken and defeated.


    "Dudley," he gasped, reaching toward his master. "Help me..."


    But Dudley wasn''t listening. He hadpleted his ritual. Energy swirled around him as he stood at the edge of the water, hands raised toward the sky. "Dragon Spirit of the Eastern Sea! I have provided the sacrifice! Come forth!"


    The water began to churn. The sky darkened. A distant rumbling grew louder, like approaching thunder.


    "You''re toote," Dudleyughed, seeing me approach. "The Dragon Spirit answers my call!"


    The sea exploded upward. A massive column of water shot into the sky, glowing with inner light. Within it, a serpentine form took shape—scales gleaming, eyes burning like twin suns. The legendary Dragon Spirit.


    Dudley''s face was triumphant. "Atst! With this power, the Lowell family will—"


    I stepped forward, the Venerable Fifth Mountain floating above my palm now. Its five peaks aligned with my fingers, power thrumming between us. I feltplete, as if I''d found something I didn''t know I was missing.


    "I''m sorry," I said, cutting him off. I narrowed my eyes and smirked. "This Dragon Spirit is mine!"


    Dudley''s expression twisted with fury. "You dare? After what I''ve sacrificed to call it?"


    The Dragon Spirit hovered between us, its massive form condensing into pure energy. It seemed to study us both, ancient intelligence glittering in its eyes.


    "The Spirit chooses its master," I said, advancing toward the glowing entity. "And today, that won''t be you."


    The Venerable Fifth Mountain hummed with anticipation as I raised it higher, challenging both Dudley and the Dragon for what woulde next.