Sharpness of One's Soul

Within, Ming Yue and Xue Yue fought their way up, forcing a path towards the sky. The higher they went, the worse the situation became. It seemed that something sensed their approach and tried to impede them as much as possible. The pressure skyrocketed and the number of swords had nearly tripled. Their attacks weren't enough to fend off these blades anymore and soon enough, one slipped through.

Shooting down on them, this one sword identical to Drifting Sky had stabbed Xue Yue on the thigh. She faltered, yelping in pain as another blade came down and pierced through her shoulder.

"Xue Yue!"

Ming Yue went towards her, protecting the both of them. But on her own, she could no longer push forward and fell down to the ground. On her way there, she felt something tear through her right side and a searing pain followed.

Xue Yue grunted in pain, looking irritated as she looked at the sky.

"What the hell are we suppose to do? If this continues, we're going to die, this space will be destroyed along with us."

Ming Yue grit her teeth, not knowing what to do.

She did not think that this would happen when she stabbed herself with a sword of her own energy. Thinking hard, she recited the words of the manual, trying to understand what should be done.

Sharpness of One's Soul, what did that mean? It could not just be about sharpness, there must be a hidden meaning.

Then Ming Yue realized something.

She stabbed herself a sword made of her own energy, a sword modeled after her own, energy that came from within. There were no outside sources, no variables or factors that changed this. All of this was hers and if it was hers, could she not control it?

The sharp and ferocious aura of these blades originated from her and to be sharp was to be ruthless, to be harsh. One could not be more ruthless to anyone but themselves and she knew that. She knew that killing required a cold heart and mercilessness. Perhaps this was why everything around her was devoid of color, there was little emotion in her.

She looked up to the sky and saw thousands of raining blades. She looked around and saw the gray land pierced with even more swords.

This was the measure of her soul and if she broke under its strength, she could no longer grow. If she lost to her own sharpness, what did that mean when she battles another swordsman? If she faltered here, would she not falter in battle. She had to be ruthless, she had to take control, she had to be in control. She had to be better, to strive for a higher peak.

But was that the right way?

She did not know but there was only one way to find out. She focused, sensing the soul energy around her. It was abundant and it felt familiar. The glowing aura of these swords manifested themselves and she willed it towards her.

Watching her action, Xue Yue picked herself up and defended Ming Yue from the incoming blades.

The swords that pierced the ground trembled before one by one, they lifted out of the ground and surrounded the pair. Then they came by the dozens and formed a barrier of swords, circling around them and parrying those that came from the sky. The constant ring of clashing swords filled their ears as the barrier slowly grew.

Ming Yue continued to spread her control and with each sword, her strength grew. Xue Yue watched all of this unfold. Certainly, she was a part of Ming Yue and she had a part within all of this. But she was not the one in control and thus there was only so much she could do.

The power that Ming Yue felt meant nothing to Xue Yue for she felt the connection but she could not manipulate. Thus, she could only watch as Ming Yue gathered the blades. Xue Yue did not feel envy from this, in her mind, all that mattered was survival and this was a step closer. It mattered not what Ming Yue did, so long as they live, nothing really mattered.

Then the rain of blades stopped and instead a massive sword formed, pointed right at them. It was hundreds of times larger and its power was not to be trifled with. If Ming Yue did not know any better, this was the final step. This blade encompassed everything else, it was the embodiment of her soul, the accumulation of her ability.

It was a fearsome feeling, chilling to the core as this blade would definitely kill her. Whether or not this was a figment of her imagination or that this sword was a part of her, she knew that this blade meant nothing more than death. It floated above her idly, perhaps waiting to see what she would do.

Ming Yue thought about her next actions, this shield of swords would shatter under the weight of that sword. Instead, she moved the swords together, merging them into one. Even the ones in Xue Yue's hands combined into that one sword.

She held it in her hands, wondering if this was enough to fend it off.

"What are you doing? Don't just wait for it to come."

Xue Yue's voice broke her from her thoughts.

Yes, this what the only thing she could do now. Without a doubt, she knew it was death whether or not she approached it. However, if she was going to face this thing, she would not go down without using every last bit of her strength.

Gently, she lifted herself off the ground, moving towards the giant sword. With the one in her hand, she held it with both hand, gathering as much power as she could.

Having sensed her approach, the sword shook before falling from the sky. The impending clash came in seconds, the blade of one against the blade of many.

Ming Yue held her sword forward and met the giant blade in the middle of the air. She felt an immeasurable weight from that impact. The sword in her hands cracked as her body was pushed down.

She pushed back with all of her strength but she could not take on the full force and was brought down. With her two feet, she landed on the ground and went down on one knee. She would not let that blade go past her and her body shook under the weight.

In those moments of struggle, Xue Yue went to her side supporting the cracked blade with her own hands.

"If you're this weak-why would I let you take the reins?" putting her weight behind it, Xue Yue grit her teeth and pushed back.

With a shout of defiance, Ming Yue stood up and pushed the sword back. This final burst of strength exploded forward and the sword in their hands shined. The cracks disappeared as the sword dug into the body of the giant blade.

Even as their bodies bled, their limbs ached, and their bones shaked, the pair stood their ground and they pushed with all of their might.

The giant blade before them pushed even harder but there was only so much it could muster.

As the small sword cleaved into its giant body, the blade began to lose strength.

"You damned thing, fall already!"

Ming Yue shouted out as she placed everything she had into the sword and sent off a massive wave of power that split the blade in half and turned into motes of light. Exhausted, she fell down with her back on the ground and watched as everything turned to light.

She did not know where Xue Yue was nor did she have the strength to look around. Her eyelids grew heavy and she could not stop them from closing.