The Sun-touched roared, finally deciding I was a threat. It charged forward with surprising speed, crystalline claws extended. I waited until the last possible mont, then activated Phantom Strike.
Even with my limited power, the technique carried through its guard like smoke. My fist connected with its chest, enhanced strength driving through crystalline armor to crush the vital organs beneath. The monster's roar cut off in a wet gurgle as it collapsed.
"Very good," the Skybound nodded approvingly. "You have a natural talent for combat."
I didn't have ti to acknowledge the praise. A howl of rage announced the arrival of another Sun-touched, this one even larger than the first. The crimson patterns on its skin were more intricate, suggesting a deeper connection to the red sun's power.
"Master," Azure warned, "this one's physical capabilities appear equivalent to second-stage Qi Condensation."
The warning ca just in ti. I barely dodged a strike that would have taken my head off, the crystalline claws passing so close I felt them brush my hair. This one was faster, stronger, and clearly enraged by its companion's death.
"Forty seconds remaining on the enhancent," Azure reported as I narrowly avoided a deadly strike that would have crushed my ribcage.
I weaved between the Sun-touched's strikes, but each movent brought its claws closer to connecting.
A particularly vicious swipe caught my sleeve, crystalline talons shredding the fabric and leaving shallow cuts along my arm. The pain was sharp, imdiate – a reminder that even with the red core's enhancent, I was far from invulnerable.
"Thirty seconds remaining," Azure reported as I rolled under another attack.
I launched a counter-strike at its midsection, putting all my enhanced strength behind the blow. The impact felt like punching a stone wall. The Sun-touched barely stumbled, while my knuckles scread in protest.
"Physical damage minimal," Azure noted. "Its crystalline armor appears significantly more developed than the previous one."
A backhand caught in the ribs before I could retreat, sending sprawling. Even through the red core's protection, I felt sothing crack. I turned the fall into a roll, barely avoiding the follow-up strike that cratered the ground where I'd landed.
"Fifteen seconds."
I needed an advantage, sothing to even the odds. As I circled the monster, trying to catch my breath, I felt sothing at the edge of my awareness.
Plants. I could still sense them in this world thanks to the World Tree Sutra. Nearby weeds and grass, their life force dim but present. And there, half-hidden by debris – a dormant vine that had once climbed the village walls.
The Sun-touched charged again, but this ti I was ready. I reached out with my will, connecting to that vine like I'd done countless tis before. The red core's power flowed through the connection, transforming the simple plant into sothing else entirely.
The vine erupted from the ground, now a deep crimson color with thorny protrusions that looked almost crystalline. It wrapped around the Sun-touched's legs mid-charge, thorns digging into its crystalline hide. The monster's montum worked against it, sending it crashing face-first into the dirt.
"Now!" Azure urged as the monster thrashed against the crimson vine.
I snatched up a fallen sword – a simple iron blade, already notched from previous combat.
The Sun-touched's crystalline armor was nearly impenetrable, but all creatures had weak points. There, at the base of the skull where flexibility was necessary, the crystal formations were thinner, with small gaps between the plates.
I drove the blade into that spot with every ounce of strength the red core granted . The sword punched through with a sound like breaking glass, crimson light erupting from the wound. The blade shattered, steel proving no match for the crystalline body, but it had gone deep enough.
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The Sun-touched convulsed, its massive form thrashing as that inner light began to fade. The crystalline growths that had seed so otherworldly in life now dulled, becoming cloudy like sea glass. Those burning eyes dimd, and the crimson tattoos that had pulsed with power grew still.
As it was dying, its body began to change – the crystal formations crumbling into fine powder, leaving behind a corpse that looked almost human again, except for the patches of glassy skin that caught the red sunlight like frozen blood.
As its last tremors stilled, I felt the red core's power fade. The crimson lines receded from my skin, leaving once again trapped in a mortal body. The vine withered and crumbled to ash, its brief mont of demonic transformation ending with my enhancent.
I pressed a hand to my ribs, wincing at the pain. Without the red core's power, every injury felt twice as intense. But I was alive, and my opponent wasn't. For now, that would have to be enough.
The Skybound actually applauded. "Extrely rare," it said, sounding genuinely impressed. "Most Rank 1 Skybound can't manipulate elents at all. Those who show such talent early..." it paused aningfully, "they tend to accomplish great things. Assuming they survive that long."
Before I could respond, it rose higher into the air. "Watch closely," it commanded. "This is how a true master handles vermin."
What followed was both beautiful and terrifying. Crimson-tinted ice materialized throughout the battlefield, each formation perfectly placed to impale or entrap the remaining raiders.
The first Sun-touched to notice the Skybound actually bowed. "Great One, we serve the sa—"
Its words cut off in a wet gurgle as ice speared through its chest.
The other Sun-touched warriors finally realized their danger. Their confusion was evident even through their monstrous forms as they backed away from the being they'd clearly expected to lead them.
"My Lord, why do you betray your own ki—" Another fell, frozen solid mid-plea.
"We are blessed by the sa sun! We are your serv—" This one managed to partially dodge the first ice spear, only to be impaled by three more.
Their superhuman strength ant nothing against the Skybound's power.
The last Sun-touched, cornered against a half-destroyed wall, raised its hands in as it supplicated. "Please, we are your children! The Red Sun chose—"
Ice blood through its chest, cutting off its final appeal.
What caught my attention was sothing I hadn't noticed in previous loops – streams of essence rising from the fallen, flowing into the Skybound like crimson mist. I could only see it because of my own red core, I realized. The Skybound wasn't just killing them – it was harvesting their essence.
When it was over, the survivors – villagers only, every raider was dead – stared up at their unlikely savior with a mix of terror and confusion. No one seed to know whether to run, fight, or bow in gratitude.
"Co," the Skybound said, completely ignoring the villagers' reactions. "It's ti we departed for the academy."
"Tomas, wait!" Maya pushed through the crowd, her face a mix of emotions I couldn't quite read. "You can't just leave with... with that!"
I t her eyes, rembering how many tis I'd watched her die. "I'm glad I could help save everyone this ti," I said quietly, careful not to ntion that according to the Skybound, I'd be expected to sacrifice them all eventually.
Movent at the back of the crowd caught my eye – Tomas' father, the miller, pushing his way forward. My breath caught. I couldn't face him, couldn't try to explain to this body's family why their son was leaving with a being known only for death and destruction.
"Maya," I said quickly, "tell my parents I'm sorry, and..." I swallowed hard. "Tell them to take care of themselves."
"But Tomas—"
I turned away before she could finish, jogging to catch up with the Skybound. Behind , I could hear the villagers' confused murmurs, their mixture of relief at surviving and uncertainty about what had just happened.
"A clean break is best," the Skybound comnted as we left the village behind. "They'll move on, forget. And when you return..." it glanced at , those burning eyes unreadable, "well, they won't be in any condition to rember anyway."
I said nothing, focusing instead on keeping pace with its floating form.
"Master," Azure observed, "the red core is actively absorbing energy from the red sun above. At this rate, full power should be restored in..." he paused, calculating, "roughly five minutes."
I glanced up at the crimson orb in the sky, feeling the connection more clearly now that Azure had pointed it out. Like a plant drinking in sunlight, the core was slowly replenishing itself, drawing in traces of that reality-warping power.
"Is it safe?" I thought back, rembering how the red sun's direct light drove people mad.
"The Genesis Seed appears to be filtering the energy, much like it did when we first absorbed the core," Azure replied. "The madness-inducing aspects are being stripped away, leaving only pure power. Quite efficient, actually."
"Thanks, Azure, that's good to know, but right now I'm more—" I let out a heavy sigh, watching the Skybound's frost-covered form ahead of us, "—concerned about what kind of 'academy' teaches its students to sacrifice their ho villages."
The village disappeared behind us as we headed toward the mountains, where the red sun's light painted the peaks in shades of blood. Sowhere ahead waited answers about this power I'd stumbled into – assuming I lived long enough to learn them.
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