Darkness was closing in around me. My body felt like a hollow shell, meridians scorched from the aftermath of the Heavy Falling Space technique. Blood pooled in my mouth as I knelt before Nigel, bound by his form and utterly spent.


    Then I felt it—a shift in the air, a presence so overwhelming it seemed to bend reality around us.


    "This doesn''t concern you," Nigel had said, his confident posture suddenly rigid with tension. "Guild business."


    I couldn''t turn my head to see who had arrived, but the atmosphere in the room had transformedpletely. The air felt charged, heavy with ancient power that made my skin prickle despite my weakened state.


    "It seems I''ve arrived at the perfect moment," came a gravelly voice from the doorway. Each word carried weight, like stones dropping into still water.


    Nigel''s face drained of color. "Jackson Harding."


    The name hit me like a physical blow. Jackson Harding—the reclusive master, the legend who had once challenged the Veridia City Martial Guild and then vanished into obscurity decades ago. What was he doing here?


    "Step away from him," Jacksonmanded. His voice was quiet but filled the room like thunder.


    I managed to shift my gaze enough to see him now. An elderly man, thin but straight-backed, with a weathered face and sharp eyes that held the wisdom and weariness of centuries. His simple gray robes belied the immense power radiating from him.


    "You have no authority here," Nigel recovered hisposure, drawing himself up. "I am a purple-robed master of the Veridia City Martial Guild. This man is our prisoner."


    Jackson''sugh was dry and humorless. "Authority? Boy, I was challenging the Guild when your grandfather was still learning to walk."


    He stepped further into the room, and I felt the pressure of his presence intensify. "I''vee for Liam Knight."


    Emerson Holmes emerged from the shadows, hope zing in his eyes. "Master Harding! It''s really you!"


    Jackson gave him a brief nod. "Holmes. Get your daughter and leave. Now."


    Nigel''s expression darkened. "You''re interfering with Guild business. The consequences—"


    "Will be severe," Jackson finished for him. "For you." His gaze shifted to me, and I felt something stir in response—a recognition beyond understanding. "Liam Knight must live. You, however, must die."


    Nigel let out a bark of surprisedughter. "You''ve lost your mind, old man! Do you know what happens to those who attack a purple-robed member?"


    "I do," Jackson replied calmly. "Nothing of consequence to me."


    I watched in disbelief as Emerson hurried to retrieve his daughter from the back room. As they passed Jackson, the old master ced a gentle hand on Emerson''s shoulder.


    "Take her far from here," he said quietly. "What''sing is not for your eyes."


    Nigel moved to block their exit, but Jackson flicked two fingers, and an invisible force knocked Nigel back several steps.


    "Your quarrel is with me now," Jackson said as Emerson and his daughter slipped away. "Let them go."


    Once they were gone, Jackson turned his full attention to Nigel. "I''ve lived in seclusion for thirty years, watching this world from a distance. I thought my time had passed, that my fight was done." His eyes narrowed. "Then I heard about a young man named Liam Knight."


    I struggled against my bonds, curiosity momentarily overriding pain. What did this legendary figure know about me?


    "A troublemaker," Nigel spat. "Nothing more."


    "No." Jackson shook his head. "He is what I once hoped to be. What I failed to be." He looked at me again, and I saw something unexpected in his eyes—respect, and perhaps even hope. "He represents everything the Guild fears. Change. Justice. The end of your corrupt order."


    He moved closer to me, and with a casual wave of his hand, the binding form around me shattered.


    "You''re making a grave mistake," Nigel warned, tracing characters in the air—preparing a form. "The Guild will hunt you down for this."


    "Let them try," Jackson replied. "I''ve hidden from them not out of fear, but because I lost hope. Liam Knight has rekindled that hope."


    I copsed to the floor, free but too weak to stand. Jackson ced a weathered hand on my shoulder, and I felt a small surge of energy flow into me—not healing, but enough to keep consciousness from slipping away.


    "Watch carefully, young man," he said to me. "See what you will one day surpass."


    Nigelpleted his form with a flourish. "Annihtion!"


    The character glowed purple in the air before shooting toward Jackson like a bolt of lightning. Jackson didn''t move. He simply raised one finger and drew a different character—one I''d never seen before—in response.


    "Nine Secrets: Character Fighting," he said calmly.


    The two symbols collided in midair. For a moment they struggled against each other, purple light pulsing against golden. Then Jackson''s character simply absorbed Nigel''s, growing brighter before dissipating harmlessly.


    Nigel''s eyes widened. "Impossible! That was my strongest form!"


    "A pale imitation," Jackson replied. "Your Guild stole fragments of the Nine Secrets centuries ago, corrupted them, and imed them as your own." His eyes narrowed. "You don''t even understand the power you''re wielding."


    Nigel backed away, drawing another character. "Wind Word Form!"


    He vanished, reappearing behind Jackson with a dagger aimed at the old master''s back. But Jackson was no longer there. He had moved—or perhaps he hadn''t moved at all, but somehow the space between them had changed.


    "Nine Secrets: Spatial Maniption," Jackson said, now standing behind Nigel. "Another technique your Guild bastardized."


    Nigel spun around, fear visible on his face for the first time. "The Nine Secrets are just legends! Fairy tales!"


    "They are very real," Jackson replied. "As you''re about to discover."


    Nigel attacked again, desperation making his movements sloppy. He traced character after character in the air, each one moreplex than thest. Fire erupted from his fingertips. The ground beneath Jackson cracked and shifted.


    None of it touched the old master.


    Jackson stood perfectly still, asionally making the smallest gestures to counter Nigel''s increasingly frantic attacks. It was like watching a master painter against a child with a crayon—the difference in skill so vast it was almost cruel.


    "Enough," Jackson finally said, his voice cutting through Nigel''s panicked breathing. "You''ve shown me the full extent of your abilities. I''m disappointed."


    "The entire Guild wille for you!" Nigel threatened, backing toward the window. "You can''t stand against all of us!"


    "I won''t need to," Jackson replied. "Liam Knight will."


    I blinked in surprise at his words. Jackson believed I would face the entire Guild? The thought seemed impossible in my current state, lying broken on the floor.


    Nigel saw his opportunity and made a dash for the window. "Nine Secrets: Boundary," Jackson said softly, drawing another character in the air.


    Invisible walls sprang up around the room. Nigel mmed into one and rebounded, falling to the floor. His escape route cut off, genuine terror filled his eyes.


    "Please," he begged, all pretense of authority gone. "I was only following orders. The Guild demanded—"


    "The Guild has demanded too much for too long," Jackson interrupted. "And you have served them too willingly."


    Nigel scrambled backward until he hit another invisible wall. "I can help you! I know Guild secrets—ns, weaknesses!"


    "I need nothing from you," Jackson replied. He turned to look at me. "This man would have taken you to the Guildboratories. Do you know what happens there?"


    I managed to shake my head.


    "They would have dismantled you. Piece by piece. Organ by organ. All while keeping you conscious, to study how your power works." His eyes were cold. "They''ve done it to hundreds before you."


    I felt sick at the thought. Not just for myself, but for others who hadn''t escaped that fate.


    "He doesn''t deserve mercy," Jackson continued. "But the choice is yours, Liam Knight. His life or his death—what would you decide?"


    Despite my weakened state, I understood the weight of this moment. Jackson was testing me, gauging my character by my response.


    "I..." my voice was barely a whisper. "I would end the threat."


    Jackson nodded, seemingly satisfied with my answer. "Wisdom beyond your years." He turned back to Nigel. "You hear that? The man you were about to torture shows more mercy than I will. He would give you a clean death."


    Nigel''s eyes darted wildly around the room, seeking any escape. "Please! I have wealth—connections! I can disappear, never trouble either of you again!"


    "No," Jackson said simply. "Only the dead are the safest."


    His withered palm reached out toward Nigel''s head. The purple-robed master tried to scramble away, but there was nowhere to go. Jackson''s fingers tightened in the air, and I heard a sickening crunch as Nigel''s skullpressed under an invisible force.


    Blood sprayed across the floor. Nigel''s body twitched once and went still.


    Jackson lowered his hand and turned to me. "A purple-robed master," he said quietly. "One of fifty in the entire Guild. His death will not go unanswered."


    I struggled to process what I''d just witnessed. The casual disy of power, the brutal execution—all from a man who appeared to be in his eighties.


    "Why?" I managed to ask. "Why help me?"


    Jackson knelt beside me, his ancient eyes studying my face. "Because thirty years ago, I tried to do what you''re attempting now. I failed. The cost was... everything." A shadow of old pain crossed his features. "But you—you have what Icked."


    "What''s that?" I whispered.


    "The Chaotic Body," he replied. "The ability to wield both light and dark energies without corruption. The potential to master all Nine Secrets, not just the fragments I''ve shown today."


    My mind reeled at his words. The Chaotic Body—Mariana had mentioned it once, but dismissed it as legend.


    "How do you know about me?" I asked.


    Find this chapter''s source on *.


    Jackson''s face softened slightly. "Your father was my friend."


    The words hit me like a physical blow. My father—the mystery that had haunted me my entire life.


    "You knew my father?" I tried to sit up, ignoring the pain shooting through my body.


    "Rest," Jackson ced a hand on my shoulder, gently keeping me down. "There will be time for that conversation, but not now. Now we must move. The Guild will have felt Nigel''s death. They''ll send others."


    He traced another character in the air, and warmth spread through my body. Not healing—my injuries were too severe for that—but enough strength to stand.


    "Can you walk?" he asked, helping me to my feet.


    I nodded, though my legs trembled beneath me.


    "Good." He nced at Nigel''s body. "What''sing will make this look like child''s y. The Guild will not rest until they find us now."


    "Where are we going?" I asked as he supported my weight toward the door.


    Jackson''s expression was grim but determined. "To prepare you for war. I will teach you the true Nine Secrets—all of them. It''s the only way you''ll survive what''sing."


    As we stepped over Nigel''s body and into the hallway, I realized this moment marked a turning point. A legendary master had just dered war on the Veridia City Martial Guild—for me.


    What had begun as my personal quest to save Isabelle had just escted into something muchrger. The thought of her still captive, still suffering, burned in my mind.


    "Isabelle," I murmured. "I have to save her."


    Jackson''s grip on my arm tightened. "We will. But first, you must be something the Guild truly fears."


    He looked down at me, his ancient eyes filled with a fire I wouldn''t have expected from someone his age.


    "They took everything from me once," he said quietly. "I won''t let them do the same to you."