Resurgence V

Badump!

Badump! Badump!

My heart thundered in my chest, each beat threatening to tear it apart. Warm drops fell onto my face and slid to the ground. Blood. Not mine.

His.

Nero's.

He was gone.

He died.

For me.

The weight of it crushed me, pressing into my chest like a blade twisting deeper with every breath. Rage and grief churned, a storm building inside me with no outlet. I wanted to scream, to cry, to do something—anything—but the fury boiling in my veins held me still.

"What a beautiful face of despair," Alyssara cooed, her cyan-green eyes glittering with a wild, unhinged light. A blush spread across her cheeks, her lips parted in something between glee and hunger. 

"Oh god," she whispered, her voice dripping with twisted delight, "I want to devour you right now."

Every word she spoke coiled around me like a serpent, suffocating, tightening, digging into my skin.

Kill her.

The thought burned in my mind, a singular and consuming desire. I wanted nothing more than to end her. I had never wanted anything so badly in my life.

"You look so hot, Arthur," Alyssara murmured, her fingers brushing against my abs with an intimacy that made my skin crawl. Her touch was light, almost reverent, but it felt like poison. "You... I need to break you. Even more. So much more."

My teeth sank into my lip, hard enough to draw blood, as I glared at her with all the fury I could muster. My vision blurred, rage boiling over, but she only smiled wider, her eyes alight with manic joy.

"Yes, my Arthur," she breathed, her voice dropping to a sultry whisper as her finger pressed against my lip, stopping me from biting further. The gesture was almost tender, but her intent was anything but. "Be angry. Let that rage consume you. You want to kill me, don't you?"

She leaned closer, her breath hot against my skin, her words a wicked caress that made my fists clench with the force of my restraint. "Oh, I can see it in your eyes. That delicious hate. But you can't kill me, can you? Because I'll always be one step ahead, always just out of reach."

My chest heaved with every labored breath, my muscles taut with the effort it took not to lash out. The storm inside me raged on, screaming for release, but I refused to let her win. Not like this.

Not ever.

And still, she smiled, a predator savoring her prey.

"But you're too weak to be devoured now," Alyssara pouted, her cyan-green eyes sparkling with mock disappointment. She tilted her head like a playful cat, her lips curling into a sulky smile. "You killed Vaelor, which was incredible, I'll admit. But you'll need to reach a much higher level if you want to be worthy of me, right? It's no fun to break you like this. Not yet."

"Crazy bitch," I spat, the words leaving my mouth before I could stop them. Her finger slid from my lips, and her coy smile only widened in response, as if I'd just paid her the highest compliment.

"You should be grateful!" she exclaimed, feigning exasperation as she folded her arms. "Cassius was going to kill you, and let's be honest, that professor of yours wasn't able to stop him. I saved your life, you know!"

I said nothing, my glare sharpening as her giggle rang out, sweet and sinister in equal measure.

"Let this anger simmer, Arthur," Alyssara purred, her voice soft but venomous. "Remember this feeling—the weakness, the helplessness, the despair of not being able to save her. Hold onto it. And then... well, let's see if your sword can reach me someday."

Her words burrowed into me like thorns, cutting deeper with every breath. She was right, damn her. I was too weak. Too powerless to fight her. All I could do was drown in the storm of my own despair.

And then, a flash of lightning.

It crackled through the air, slicing the gloom apart as a figure darted past me. A blade hummed with power, bearing down on Alyssara in a strike fueled by fury and precision.

Li Zenith.

He moved with the grace of a storm incarnate, his sword blazing with lightning astral energy. Plum blossoms bloomed at the tip of his blade, their delicate petals glowing pink before darkening to a deep violet hue.

Alyssara's eyes flickered with interest as she raised her hand, the blood-red silk threads that immobilized me shifting to intercept the strike.

"Oh? You can still move?" she mused, tilting her head as if mildly impressed. Her lips curled in a wicked grin. "How persistent. The loser prince of Mount Hua."

Li gritted his teeth, the air around him thickening with raw mana as his blade trembled. The blossoms shimmered with a violet light that intensified with each passing moment, until it felt as though the sun itself had descended into the room. His astral energy surged, turning the oppressive darkness into searing brilliance.

The third movement of the Violet Divine Mist Art:

Crimson Sunset.

The sheer power radiating from the attack made the air around us hum, thick with pressure. To stand near it was to feel insignificant, like a single grain of sand in the shadow of a towering mountain.

Li swung his sword with precision, the manifestation of his mana roaring forward like a tidal wave of violet fire. The world seemed to hold its breath.

Alyssara grinned wider.

What happened next was too fast for my senses to follow. But Luna's voice echoed in my mind, her tone sharp with alarm. 'She caught it.'

Caught it? What?!

The light faded, and there she stood, unscathed. Her blood-red threads danced in the air like puppeteer's strings, shimmering faintly as they absorbed the brunt of Li's devastating attack.

"Oh, that was cute," Alyssara said, her voice dripping with amusement as she glanced down at the faint scorch marks on the floor beneath her feet. "But really, Li, you should know better than to bring a pretty little sword to a real fight."

Li staggered, his breath heavy, his expression a mix of fury and disbelief. Alyssara stretched languidly, as though brushing off dust after a light workout.

"Let's see if you can impress me next time," she said, her grin feral. "But for now, sit down, little prince. It's my turn to play."

Li didn't answer. He simply steadied himself, his astral blade gleaming in defiance as it pointed unwaveringly at Alyssara. His expression was grim, his stance unyielding.

Then she moved.

Once again, her speed was beyond me. I couldn't track her—not with my eyes, not with my senses. All I saw was the aftermath: Li's body hurtling through the air, slamming into the far wall with a sickening crash. Dust and debris scattered as he crumpled to the ground, motionless for a moment that stretched far too long.

"She's far above his level," Luna's voice echoed in my mind, cold and certain. "He never stood a chance. That attack—the Crimson Sunset—she absorbed it as though it were nothing. Those threads of hers… that's her full power. You can't fight her, Arthur. Not yet."

I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms as I stared at Alyssara. Her blood-red threads swayed lazily in the air like a predator's tail, each strand shimmering with an ominous glow. Just how strong was she?

"Wait," she said suddenly, turning her bright, manic gaze to me. Her pink hair danced with her movements, trailing behind her like the tail of a comet. "He's your master, isn't he, Arthur?"

Her lips curled into a devilish grin, her voice dropping to a playful lilt. "Should I kill him too, then? Hmm, maybe… just maybe… if you're a good boy and beg me like a dog, I'll spare him~."

My teeth clenched so hard I thought they might crack. I didn't respond. There was no point. I knew her too well. This was Alyssara—twisted, cruel, and endlessly manipulative. No matter what I said, no matter how low I stooped, she wouldn't spare Li's life. 

She didn't give mercy. She only dangled it in front of her prey, letting them reach for it before yanking it away.

And then, something changed. The tension in the air shifted as Alyssara's expression twisted, her grin faltering for the first time. I felt it too—a sudden loosening, like a weight lifting off my body.

The threads holding me taut slackened and fell away, dissolving into nothing.

"What…?" she muttered, her cyan-green eyes narrowing as she glanced around, her playful mask slipping to reveal a flicker of irritation.

For the first time, she looked surprised.

"Sorry for being late," Magnus said as he stepped onto the battlefield, his arrival a force of nature in itself. His sword shimmered with astral energy, radiating an otherworldly light that seemed to push back the oppressive atmosphere Alyssara had created.

Alyssara moved in the blink of an eye, so fast that my senses couldn't hope to follow. Again, all I caught was the aftermath: Magnus standing firm, his expression calm and unreadable, and Alyssara several paces away, her annoyance clear as she glared at him. The faintest twitch of her lips betrayed just how much his presence disrupted her twisted game.

Then I noticed something else. Master Li was by my side, his breathing ragged but steady. My eyes widened in shock. I hadn't even seen Magnus move him.

"You monstrous human," Alyssara hissed, her cyan-green eyes narrowing into slits. The playful veneer had dropped entirely, replaced by something far darker. "How dare you interrupt my playtime? And to think you managed to escape my Nine-Circle Binding Spell and my three Vampire Venerables so… easily."

"Easily?" Magnus scoffed, his tone dry and dismissive, though his gaze stayed locked on her, unflinching. "Let's not exaggerate. That was… irritating, I'll admit. But I'm here now, aren't I?"

He shifted his blade slightly, the astral energy flaring like a miniature sun, casting long shadows across the battlefield. "Though I suppose I should thank you. I couldn't even manage to kill one of those Venerables. But I was in a rush, after all."

Alyssara's lips pressed into a thin line, her irritation simmering into something colder and sharper. Her fingers twitched, her crimson threads shifting and coiling around her like a living thing, ready to strike at a moment's notice.

"Such arrogance," she spat, though the faintest trace of a grin tugged at the corners of her mouth. "It seems you'll be a delightful challenge, Magnus Draykar."

The tension in the air thickened, the battlefield brimming with a palpable energy as the two stood poised, titans on the brink of collision. Whatever happened next, it was clear this would be a fight unlike any other.