## Liam''s Perspective


    My body, once transparent as gossamer, now solidified with terrifying speed. Power coursed through my veins, hot and electric. The twenty days of seclusion had transformed me in ways I couldn''t fullyprehend.


    Something was terribly wrong outside. I could feel it in the air—death approaching.


    Mariana.


    Her name crashed through my consciousness with the force of a hammer blow. The connection between us had thinned to near-nothing, a thread ready to snap.


    I pressed my palm against the sealed door of my chamber. No longer did I feel the solid resistance of her protection spells. Instead, I sensed only weakness—the magic deteriorating as its caster''s life force ebbed away.


    "Hold on," I whispered. "I''ming."


    The final barrier between cultivation and breakthrough shattered. Energy exploded within me, filling every cell, every meridian. Where once I''d struggled to contain it, now I embraced the surging power.


    My consciousness expanded, pushing past physical limitations. For one breathtaking moment, I could sense everything—every living creature within thepound, every trace of magical energy, every drop of spilled blood.


    Mariana''s blood. So much of it.


    Rage ignited inside me. Cold, calcting rage that crystallized my newfound power into deadly purpose.


    The seal that had once been imprable now felt fragile against my touch. I didn''t try to break it—I simply reached out with my consciousness and unraveled it, thread by magical thread.


    The chamber door dissolved before me.


    I stepped out into a world drenched in carnage. The Guild''s beautiful groundsy in ruins. Once-majestic buildings stood broken and burned. The tang of blood and ash filled my lungs.


    Sounds of conflict echoed from the central courtyard. Moving faster than I''d ever moved before, I raced toward it.


    ---


    I reached the edge of the courtyard just as Mariana fell to her knees. Seven figures surrounded her—seven vultures circling their prey. One stood directly over her, sword raised for the killing blow.


    Fury nearly blinded me. These people—these animals—had destroyed everything Mariana had built. Had nearly killed her. For what? For me.


    I stepped forward, allowing the shadows that had gathered around me to dissipate slightly. Not enough to reveal my full appearance, but enough to announce my presence.


    The leader—gray-haired, aristocratic features—sensed my arrival. He turned slowly, sword still poised above Mariana''s neck.


    "Who are you?" he demanded.


    I took another step forward, letting darkness cling to my form like a second skin. "Your death."


    Surprise flickered across his face, quickly reced by caution. He lowered his sword slightly, turning to face me fully.


    "Knight," he said, recognition dawning in his eyes. "You''ve saved us the trouble of breaking down your door."


    The others shifted positions, forming a loose semicircle. Their movements revealed extensive injuries—wounds that hadn''t healed properly. Mariana''s handiwork.


    "Come peacefully," the leader continued, "and we''ll allow the Pavilion Master to die with dignity. Resist, and her suffering will be legendary."


    I let his words hang in the air for a moment. Then Iughed—a sound devoid of humor that echoed unnaturally across the courtyard.


    "You still think you''re in control here." I shook my head slowly. "Look around you. This ce is destroyed. Mariana is nearly dead. You''ve won your battle."


    Hope blossomed on their faces—premature, misguided hope.


    "But you''ve lost your war," I continued. "Because now I''m here."


    A rat-faced man to the leader''s left scoffed. "Big words from a lone cultivator against seven half-step Martial Marquises."


    "Dudley," the leader warned, but toote.


    I moved. Not with cultivation techniques or fancy footwork, but with the raw speed of my transformed body. One moment I stood at the courtyard''s edge; the next, I was directly in front of the rat-faced man.


    His eyes widened in shock, pupils dting with fear. Before he could raise his weapon, I drove my fist into his chest.


    Not a cultivation strike. Just pure physical force, channeled through perfectly aligned bones and muscles.


    His ribcage copsed inward. Blood sprayed from his mouth, spattering my face. When I withdrew my hand, he remained standing for three heartbeats before crumpling to the ground.


    "Six half-step Martial Marquises," I corrected.


    Chaos erupted. The remaining attackers leapt into action, weapons shing in the sunlight. They moved with practiced coordination, clearly ustomed to fighting as a unit.


    I didn''t bother with defense. I simply wasn''t where their attacksnded.


    A burly man with a massive hammer swung at my head. I ducked under it, drove a palm strike into his elbow joint. Bone splintered. He howled in pain.


    Two more came at me from opposite sides. I caught the first''s sword between my palms, snapped it in half, then drove the broken half through his throat. The second managed to slice a shallow cut across my back before I spun and crushed his windpipe with a precise strike.


    Three down.


    "Knight! Stop!" the leader shouted. He had retreated to Mariana''s side, de now pressed against her throat. "Another move and she dies!"


    I froze. Not from fear for Mariana—I could reach him before his de moved an inch. No, I stopped because I suddenly sensed something extraordinary.


    Mariana was smiling.


    "Your mistake, Foster," she whispered, "was assuming I was helpless."


    Golden light erupted from her body. Despite her wounds, despite the poison, she had been gathering her remaining power for one final spell.


    Chains of brilliant energy shot from her fingertips, wrapping around Foster''s arms, legs, and neck. He tried to sh at her, but his de passed harmlessly through her form.


    "An afterimage?" he gasped.


    "A technique I learned... fifty years ago," Mariana replied, voice stronger now. "Hiding in in sight."


    The real Mariana materialized three paces away. She looked terrible—deathly pale, bloodstained robes, barely standing. But alive. Gloriously alive.


    "Knight," she called, not taking her eyes off Foster. "Finish the others. This one is mine."


    I nodded once, then turned to face the remaining three attackers. They had regrouped, backs against a crumbling wall.


    "This is impossible," one muttered. "No one at your cultivation level could—"


    "My cultivation?" I interrupted. "You mean the power you can sense?" I spread my arms. "This isn''t even half of what I am."


    I drew on the mysterious energy that had transformed me during my seclusion. Dark and light intertwined, flowing through my meridians like liquid fire. My aura expanded, crushing the air around me.


    One of the attackers—a woman with a thin scar across her face—broke first. She turned and ran.


    I let her. She wouldn''t get far.


    The other two faced me with desperate courage. "For the Ashworth family!" one shouted, charging forward.


    The name hit me like a physical blow. Ashworth. Isabelle''s family. This attack wasn''t random—it was connected to her.


    Rage renewed itself, sharper now with understanding. These people were not just Mariana''s enemies; they were obstacles between me and Isabelle.


    I met their charge with cold efficiency. The first died instantly, his heart punctured by my fingers. The secondsted longer, managing tond several blows before I broke his neck with a single twist.


    Behind me, I heard Mariana''s battle with Foster reach its conclusion. A sh of golden light, a strangled cry, then silence.


    I turned to see Foster on his knees, Mariana standing over him. Golden chains bound himpletely, burning wherever they touched his skin.


    "You... can''t..." he gasped, fighting against the restraints.


    "I already have," Mariana replied. She looked up at me, her eyes betraying her exhaustion. "Knight. It''s good to see you."


    Then her legs gave out.


    I caught her before she hit the ground, cradling her broken body against my chest. Up close, I could see how dire her condition truly was. The poison had turned her veins ck beneath her skin. Her breathing came in shallow,bored gasps.


    "Save your strength," I told her.


    "Toote for that," she whispered. "The poison... it''s too deep now."


    Fosterughed weakly from his kneeling position. "The Spirit Severing Pill. No antidote. No cure. She''ll be dead by nightfall."


    I looked down at Mariana''s face. "Is that true?"


    She nodded slightly. "But Ipleted... my task. You''re free. You''ve broken through."


    "Not just broken through," Foster added, still defiant despite his bonds. "You''ve revealed yourself, Knight. The Chaotic Body. We suspected, but now we know."


    I ignored him, focusing entirely on Mariana. "Tell me what to do. There must be something."


    She reached up with trembling fingers to touch my face. "Find Isabelle. Save her. That''s all that matters now."


    "I need you," I admitted, surprising myself with the depth of emotion in my voice. "I don''t know enough yet. I''m not ready."


    A small smile touched her lips. "You are. You just... don''t realize it." Her eyes drifted to Foster. "But first... information."


    Understanding her meaning, I gentlyid her down and approached Foster. His eyes widened as I came closer, fear finally breaking through his arrogance.


    "Where is Isabelle Ashworth?" I demanded.


    "I''ll tell you nothing," he spat.


    I ced my hand on his forehead. "You misunderstand. I wasn''t asking."


    Drawing on my newly awakened powers, I invaded his mind. Not gently, not carefully, but with brute force—tearing through his mental defenses like paper.


    Foster screamed. Blood leaked from his eyes, nose, and ears as I ripped the information I needed directly from his thoughts.


    Images flooded my consciousness. The Veridia City Martial Guild. A secret underground facility. Isabelle strapped to a table, needles extracting her blood while she screamed. Corbin Ashworth watching with clinical detachment. Experiments. Failed subjects. ns for an army.


    And something else—something Foster himself barely understood. A prophecy. A bloodline. The end of an era.


    When I withdrew from his mind, Foster slumped forward, drooling and vacant-eyed. Whatever he had been was gone now—I''d taken too much, too roughly.


    I returned to Mariana''s side, my mind racing with what I''d learned.


    "They have her at the Martial Guild''s headquarters," I told her. "They''re using her blood for experiments. Creating soldiers of some kind."


    Mariana''s eyes widened slightly. "Then it''s worse... than I feared. The Ashworth bloodline... it''s special."


    "How special?"


    "World-changing," she whispered. "If they seed..."


    She didn''t need to finish. I understood now why they''de for me, why everything had happened. Not just personal vendettas or family politics. Something much bigger was unfolding.


    Mariana''s breathing grew morebored. "Knight... onest thing."


    I leaned closer.


    "The warehouse... in Riverbend Town. My personal storage. Everything I have... is yours now."


    "I don''t need your possessions," I said softly. "I need you to live."


    She smiled, a genuine smile despite the pain. "Some things... are beyond even your power." Her hand found mine, squeezing with surprising strength. "Promise me. Save her. Save our world."


    "I promise," I vowed, meaning it with every fiber of my being.


    She nodded once, satisfied. Then her eyes drifted past me, widening slightly. <b ss="story-note-vis">Cоntеnt prеsеntеd by МV|LЕМР|YR.</b>


    "Behind you," she warned.


    I spun, ready for another attack.


    A figure stood at the edge of the courtyard—the female attacker who had fled earlier. But something was wrong. Her body moved stiffly, unnaturally. Her eyes glowed with an eerie purple light.


    "Knight," she said, but the voice wasn''t hers. It was deeper, older, filled with malicious amusement. "Finally, we meet."


    "Who are you?" I demanded.


    The woman''s face contorted in a smile that didn''t belong to her. "A interested party. Someone who has watched your progress with great... anticipation."


    Mariana struggled to sit up behind me. "Veil Breaker," she hissed. "It can''t be."


    The possessed womanughed. "Ah, Mariana. Always the sharp one. Yes, the very same."


    "Impossible," Mariana gasped. "You were sealed..."


    "Seals break," the entity replied simply. "Especially when helped along by foolish humans seeking power."


    I positioned myself between this new threat and Mariana. "What do you want?"


    "To give you a message, Chaotic One." The woman took a step closer. "The girl you seek is indeed special. More special than you know. Her blood is the key—not just to power, but to my return."


    "Stay away from her," I growled.


    "Oh, I have no need to approach her personally." The woman''s head tilted unnaturally. "Others do my work willingly, thinking it serves their own ambitions. By the time you reach her, it may already be toote."


    Rage boiled inside me. I gathered energy for an attack.


    The possessed woman raised a hand. "Strike me, and you kill only this vessel—a woman whose only crime was following orders. I am elsewhere."


    I hesitated, knowing she spoke truth.


    "Wise," shemented. "Now listen carefully, Knight. A choice approaches. Save the girl and doom the world, or sacrifice her and save millions. Which will you choose, I wonder?"


    Before I could respond, the woman convulsed violently. Purple light poured from her eyes and mouth, then dissipated into the air. She copsed, once again just a wounded enemybatant.


    I turned back to Mariana. "What was that? Who is the Veil Breaker?"


    Her face had gone ashen with more than just poison. "An ancient evil... I thought long defeated." She clutched my arm. "Knight... this changes everything. If the Veil Breaker is involved... Isabelle is in even greater danger."


    Her breathing grew more erratic. "Get to... Riverbend Town. My warehouse..." She pressed something into my palm—a small key. "Everything you need... to begin."


    "I''m not leaving you," I insisted.


    Mariana smiled faintly. "You already have, in spirit. Your path... leads elsewhere now." She closed her eyes. "I am content... knowing you will carry on... what I started."


    Her grip on my arm weakened.


    "Mariana," I whispered. "Please."


    "Live well, Liam Knight," she murmured. "Make them... regret... ever crossing you."


    Her hand slipped from mine.