Chapter 19: The end of the beginning
When Asher and Ember exited the Qi world, what greeted them was a burning city. Once a prosperous Skyrise city, it was now ablaze. The sounds of fighting and agony could be heard in the distance.
For some reason, they didn't see any people near the entrance of the Qi world. Asher stared blankly toward Skyrise City.
He felt something there that greatly disgusted him yet also drew him in. Holding Ember's hand, he pulled her closer.
Ember looked at him in doubt. She was not a vocal person, so even though she saw this scene, she felt nothing beyond uncertainty.
"Ash, do you want to go there?" she asked, her expression mirroring her skepticism.
Asher looked at the raging fire, images of his past life battles flashing through his mind. Despite having conquered many kingdoms, he had never killed unarmed civilians.
The sight before him filled him with both anger and disgust, yet the peculiar sensation emanating from the city held him back.
"I feel a connection to someone there," he murmured softly.
"Then let's go and check. Maybe your mother or uncle is there," Ember urged urgently.
"No," he shook his head, "Not them. But someone important to me. I sense that this person is both my enemy and my friend."
A deafening explosion echoed from the city, causing the ground beneath them to tremble. A massive cloud of fire billowed upwards.
Amidst the flying debris, they witnessed something colossal slowly ascending. As the dust settled, they beheld the source of the explosion. In awe, they gasped.
A colossal sword emanating dark energy hovered across the sky. Its hilt resembled a skeletal head, while its blade was composed of bone. A grayish-black rain accompanied the sword, and when the rainwater hit the ground, shadows of people emerged.
These figures possessed deathly pale faces with black flames burning in their eye sockets. Their movements mirrored those of humans, but the flames in their eyes set them apart, giving them an eerie appearance.
"What are they?" Ember's voice trembled slightly. The scene before them was giving her goosebumps.
Asher gazed at the figures before them with cold eyes. Unnoticed by him, a golden light flashed within his eyes.
"Ghostmancers," he replied, his tone resolute.
"They are evil and cunning. They don't deserve to inhabit this world."
"Heh, you righteous people are quite the hypocrites."
"How can you say that? You control the shadows of creatures and harm them with their own shadows. If that isn't evil, then what is?"
"We could control your shadows because you harbored evil in your soul. So, who is truly evil? Or rather, who isn't evil?"
Two voices resonated in his mind, causing a splitting headache.
He felt as though his head had been sliced into pieces, and drops of sweat formed on his face. His confusion deepened as he experienced the tumultuous emotion of the chaos sword within his heart.
Now, the chaos sword was attempting to break free from his heart. After six years of training, he had gained full control over the chaos sword.
However, now it was showing signs of slipping out of his control. He understood that the presence of the colossal sword was provoking anger in his chaos sword. Perhaps it was seeking dominance over the other sword.
Looking up, he could discern the figure of a man hovering with that sword. His gaze fixed upon the golden skull mask adorning the man's face.
Sensing a sight, the man wearing the skull mask turned his gaze in his direction. Upon spotting him and Ember, a flicker of surprise flashed in his eyes. Yet, that surprise was quickly concealed by indifference.
"Let's go, my shadows," a commanding voice issued from his mouth, prompting all the rain-summoned shadows to vanish from their positions.
Without casting a glance at him, the man disappeared from the location. Only debris from the shattered city and the scent of blood remained.
"You will regret leaving me alive now," Asher muttered in a low voice, his eyes flashing with killing intent as he watched the man's disappearing back.
He knew that the masked man had spared them because they didn't even qualify for him to waste his energy.
"Ember, are you okay?" a surprised voice came from behind them. When they turned to look, they saw Austin standing there, looking surprised.
His clothes were scarred in some places, but overall he looked without any serious injury. However, when he saw Ember without her blindfold, he was stunned.
"Junior sister, why did you remove your blindfold? Didn't the vice principal tell you never to remove it in daylight?" He quickly moved closer to her, tearing his clothes to make a blindfold for her.
"What are you doing?" Seeing his actions, Asher blocked him. Justin looked at Asher in front of him, stopping in his tracks.
The familiar green eyes left him stunned. How could he forget those eyes? When he saw Ember, he never looked closely at the boy standing with her.
He thought it was Arnard, but now, seeing him with her, some doubts formed in his mind.
"Where is Arnard?" he asked, looking around.
"Celebrating his birthday in heaven."
".."
"Junior sister, what do you mean by leaving with him?" Austin asked anxiously as he watched her pulling Asher to leave.
"I told my father about that," she said, coming to a stop.
"Did he reply?"
Ember shook her head. She hadn't expected a reply from her father. She knew that her father would allow all her needs.
Austin let out a sigh in a low voice. "He's in a coma now."
"What…!" a panicked voice escaped her lips.
"Yes, he was injured by the same beasts that destroyed this city. Our fellow disciples were also killed by them," Austin said, closing his eyes to hide his pain.
Asher looked at Austin with a curious expression. He could somehow sense the care Austin held for Ember, but something seemed off about him.
"Why was he the only one to escape?"
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone