Something Unknown

Ning looked at the crystals around him and back at the Emperor. "Are you sure you want to fight me, old man?" he asked. "The best case scenario for you out of this will be to walk away without your Essence core."

"Hah, that's a lot of talk for someone without Essence," the Emperor said. "I was going to let you go, but I'm afraid I cannot do so. You bonded with the sword, and like him, I must kill you too."

"Father, why ar—"

"Shut up! I do not want to hear a single thing from you," the Emperor said before turning back toward Ning. "You should not have taken that sword."

"I found this sword, so this is my sw—"

A crystal spike struck him in the head out of nowhere, bursting into a million different shards as it spread all around Ning. 

Clara was pelted a bit by the shards too, but other than that, she wasn't hurt.