The secret world was a land of ghostly stillness. White mist wrapped the earth like a mourner's shroud, concealing the jagged ground. Vaen moved forward, his shoes crunching through withered, crumbling leaves. The air stank with the odor of decay, and he shuddered.
Before the dead one, in the midst of the ancient courtyard, the Corpse Spirit Flower opened up the ninth gate. Its petals glowed dimly, with the ghostly light of a long-departed moon. Standing before it was a hooded figure. One hand raised to the flower. The other clenched a pair of razor-sharp thin daggers.
That woman.
Vaen's brow knit beneath his hood. The single presence he had sensed previously — she was there. The hooded Golden Core master.
Yu Rael's gaze came around to him, her eyes shining beneath the hood. "You again," she indicated, irritation seeping into her words.
Vaen said nothing, his fingers on the grip of his sword. Darkness gathered at his feet, swirling in the darkness.
Yu Rael's lips curled into a stiff smile. "This flower… I need it. And you don't."
Vaen's grip on the flower increased. "Want and need are not the same."
Yu Rael's eyes narrowed, the amusement lost. "Fine. Then let me see if you can take it by force."
Before Vaen could act, Yu Rael moved forward. Her daggers glinted, silver arcs slicing through the air. Vaen's blade flashed as he deflected, sparks flying from the contact of steel.
Yu Rael spun around him, twisting and turning, daggers slicing in impossible trajectories. Vaen deflected each blow, his sword glinting in short, precise arcs. But even with Dimensional Perception, Yu Rael's speed was becoming a blur.
A blade winked at his cheek. Vaen parried, but the razor-sharp edge nicked his cheek, leaving a thin, searing streak of blood. He gritted his teeth, his eyes locked on the rhythm of her strokes.
Yu Rael spun, her cloak unfolding in a burst of motion as she slashed at his ribcage. Vaen leapt back, his sword in front.
Slash of Nightfall: First Slash
A dark arc shattered from his sword, a crescent of dark energy that shot towards Yu Rael.
Yu Rael's eyes widened. She stood her daggers in front of her, the dark blade slamming into them with a deafening crash. Debris and dust exploded upwards in a cloud, hiding her form.
Vaen panted, sweat beading on his brow. That technique was powerful, but it drained too much energy. His arms trembled slightly from the backlash.
The dust cleared. Yu Rael stood there, her robes torn and a thin line of blood dripping from her lip. But her eyes burned with fierce determination.
"You're strong," she said, spitting out a glob of blood. "But not strong enough."
Vaen did not speak. His sword stayed high, the black energy struggling and perishing. He held his breath, waiting.
Yu Rael spit blood from her mouth and inserted the first dagger into its scabbard. She kept the second at the ready, her stance relaxed but prepared.
"Behold," she said, her tone dropping to a more level tone. "Neither of us can leave unscathed if we keep on as we are."
Vaen's eyes remained on her, his jaw clenched.
Yu Rael continued, "You're a stranger among us. No clan, no connections, and no refuge. You're an outlander. The nobles will find you the moment you leave this place."
Vaen was speechless, but his tension eased somewhat. She was right. His presence here was already causing too much stir.
Yu Rael sheathed her dagger, her face softening. "I can provide a forged identity. A place to hide in Darahem City. Nobody asks questions."
Vaen's eyes hardened. "And what do you ask for in return?"
"You leave the flower behind," Yu Rael said. "I have what I came for. You have a place to hide. Simple as that."
Vaen's teeth gritted, his mind racing. The Corpse Spirit Flower was valuable, yeah. But with no secure ground to stand on, he'd be a sitting duck the moment he left the concealed realm.
When an uncomfortable silence went on for a moment, he sheathed his sword. "Alright. But you owe me."
Yu Rael's lips twisted into a grin. "You can try. If you're still breathing."
The two of them were there, battered and bloodied, yet still a silent understanding between them.
In a world where mercy was as rare as trust, there existed an uneasy truce.