Reflection (1)
BOOOOM—
A deafening boom resonated across the sky, shaking the very heavens and sending shockwaves that ripped through the surrounding water, carving a deep chasm in the lake bed.
Yun Lintian, his vision blurred and his body on the verge of collapse, watched as the beam slowly dissipated. A tense silence descended upon the island, broken only by the ragged gasps escaping his lips.
When the light finally faded, Shi Xuan remained standing. But he was no longer the same. His once pristine scales were marred with cracks and fissures, emanating a faint smoke.
A thin trickle of blood, a color foreign to a True God, flowed from a deep gash on his forehead, the point of impact for Yun Lintian's attack.
Shi Xuan, for the first time in countless eons, looked stunned. He raised a massive claw to touch the wound, his reptilian eyes flickering with a mix of disbelief and grudging respect.