Before all of that, while Kai was talking to Sanguine…
Meili's head split with noise.
Wraithbane had found an opening. Her anger was raw, bleeding out of her. Perfect.
She fought it. Clenched her jaw. Tried to breathe. But the rage was too loud.
"Come on, runt," Wraithbane hissed inside her skull. "Use that anger. Get up. Stop him. Pick up your sword and drive it through him. You don't want him killing your Sifu, do you? He lied to you. He betrayed you. He deserves to be cut down. Kai isn't your friend. CUT. HIM. DOWN!!"
The words kept coming, chaotic, overlapping, drilling into her.
CUT HIM. CUT HIM. CUT HIM.
Her vision blurred. Her hand shook. She lost the fight.
And right when Kai reached for Hibiki to free him…
SNIKT!
"Hmm. Did I miss on purpose?" Meili tilted her head. Her voice was wrong. Deeper. Colder.
"Guess she hasn't lost full control yet. Told you I'd end your dear Hibiki someday, Sanguine's Vessel."
Kai didn't move. Didn't breathe. Shock held him in place.
"Wait… this is strange," Wraithbane started, then—
"What the hell is going on?" Kai cut her off, sword still raised. "Who are you? How did you get inside her?"
Wraithbane grinned with Meili's innocent face. The expression didn't fit. It twisted her features into something cruel.
Kai knew it instantly. He wasn't talking to Meili anymore.
Then Kai heard it. A scream, tearing through his mind.
"Noooo, Wraithbane you bastard!!"
Kai staggered. "What? Where did that come from? Sanguine?"
Wraithbane clicked his tongue with Meili's mouth. "Ah. I see. You've become Sanguine's vessel now. How unfortunate."
Kai dropped into a fighting stance, pulse racing. "What the hell is happening? Who are you? Sanguine, talk to me."
"Stay calm, Kai," Sanguine said. Her voice shook. She'd seen Hibiki fall. "A Wraith has taken your friend. Same as me, but far worse. In all my years, I've only clashed with my own kind once. Never met him. He isn't from our world. They call him the Destroyer of Wraiths."
Wraithbane smiled with Meili's face, cruel and relaxed. "Sanguine, my dear. You know the rule. You can't leave your host alive. Both of you have to die in the end."
Kai swallowed hard. "So… I take Meili down?"
"That's the only way," Sanguine said quietly.
"Like… I kill her?" Kai's voice cracked.
"I'm afraid so," Sanguine replied.
"Wraithbane won't stop here," she continued, faster now. "With full control of that girl's body, he'll seize every Wraith. Then he'll burn through the human realm and destroy it."
Sanguine felt Kai's hesitation. His hand trembled on the sword.
"Kai," she said softly. "I know what I'm asking. I'll stay with you until the end. I won't lose you. I can feel it already. You're stronger than you think."
Kai lifted his eyes to Meili. His sword didn't waver.
"Since this war started, nothing's gone how we planned. Every scenario, miscalculated. Every expectation, broken. But we're still standing." He exhaled, steady. "Past me would've cracked under this. Right now? I feel like I can take on anything. So don't worry, Sanguine. I'll be fine. I'll save them. All of them. Including Hibiki."
"Well said, Kai," Sanguine murmured. "Let's hope Hibiki's still breathing."
Wraithbane threw his head back and laughed with Meili's voice. "HA. I love the fire in you, kid. Too bad you're about to die." A single tear slipped down Meili's cheek. He noticed it, but didn't care.
Kai moved first. He charged.
This wasn't a close fight. Not even close.
Meili's body moved faster than Kai could track. One second she was there. The next, her blade was at his throat.
SWISH. CLANG.
Kai twisted, barely deflecting. No time to think. No time to breathe. He was alone in this.
Wraithbane didn't waste it. In a blink, he lit Meili's sword. Lightning cracked along the edge, blue and violent.
"Lightning Sword Style: First Fang," Wraithbane said through her teeth.
Tsk...Kai clicked his tongue, gritting his teeth. Sparks burned his cheek as he ducked. Every strike came like a storm. He couldn't block them all. Couldn't read the rhythm. Couldn't even land one hit.
"Move, move, move. I can't see her blade. If I wait to react, I'm dead. Gotta predict, not respond." Kai thought.
SHING. BOOM. SHNK.
Lightning lashed out, carving trenches in the stone floor. Kai rolled, came up, parried, slipped. His arm screamed. His lungs burned. Wraithbane was everywhere at once.
Kai whispered, "He's not fighting me. He's dismantling me. Piece by piece. If this keeps up I'll be minced meat before I get close to Hibiki."
Kai's vision narrowed. He planted his feet and exhaled.
"Bujutsu: Suspension Post."
The world seemed to slow. Kai's stance locked. Gravity shifted. For half a second, he wasn't under Meili's blade. He was above it.
VWOOM.
He shot forward, sword screaming as he drove it straight for Meili's center.
"Ahh, hope this works. If I miss, Wraithbane will carve me open on the counter." Kai thought.
He could feel it. Wraithbane was already reading him. Lightning coiled along Meili's blade, ready to meet him mid-air. One wrong move and Kai would get deleted.
So he switched it up.
Stage One wasn't enough.
Kai whispered, "Screw gravity. If I can't outspeed him, I'll change the rules."
"External Suspension," Kai muttered.
Stage Two activated.
It wasn't time stopping. It was more precise. More surgical. Instead of suspending himself, Kai begins suspending external targets.
SHHK.
Meili's lightning blade froze mid-swing, an inch from Kai's face. The strike just… stopped. Suspended. Blue light crackling against nothing, like the world forgot how to move.
Wraithbane's eyes widened with Meili's face. "What—"
Kai didn't wait. With the blade locked in place, he twisted through the gap and drove forward.
But it wasn't enough.
GRAB.
Meili's hand shot out and locked around Kai's throat mid-air. The sudden stop snapped his spine. Suspended blade or not, Wraithbane didn't care.
"You're good, kid," Wraithbane said through Meili's teeth, smile twisting. "Suspending gravity? Unheard of. But too bad. It's useless against me."
Lightning surged. Strength spiked.
WHOOSH. CRACK.
Meili hurled Kai like he weighed nothing. He flew yards through the air, body twisting.
BOOM. THUD. SKRRRT.
Body shattered on impact. Dust exploded as Kai skidded across the ground. Pain lanced through his ribs.
"Damn." He whispered.
Seconds later, the ground heaved again. Veyruun's body convulsed, cracking open. The whole cavern shuddered like it was about to collapse.
"Kai! Kai!" Sanguine's voice cut through the noise. "Get up. Now. You can't take Wraithbane alone. Let me help."
Kai didn't answer.
SHUN.
Meili blinked in front of him. No warning. Her blade slammed down.
SHNK. CRUNCH.
The sword drove through Kai's forearm and pinned it to the stone. Deep. He couldn't lift it without cutting his own arm off.
"AAHH!!" Kai screamed, pain ripping from his chest.
Meili's hand clamped around his throat, cutting the sound short. He choked, eyes watering.
"You're so unfortunate, kid," Wraithbane hissed, savoring every word through Meili's mouth. "Shameful childhood. No friends. Then you find out your beloved Sifu killed your mother. Now a wraith you had no business with possesses you, and I just happen to be in the room when it happens. And now you die. With none of your goals reached. How shameful."
Rage boiled under Kai's skin. His other arm shot out, desperate.
SHNK. CRUNCH.
Meili struck again. The second blade pinned his other forearm to the ground.
Kai screamed once more, voice raw.
Wraithbane leaned close. "So tell me. Whose life do I end first? The past vessel, or the present?"
Kai forced the words out through gritted teeth. "What? Hibiki isn't dead?"
"If he was, this beast would've exploded already," Wraithbane laughed. "Right now his life's draining fast, trying to keep Veyruun from blowing. What a fool."
"Hibiki, you idiot," Kai whispered.
Then Sanguine's voice, clear in his head: Kai?
Kai clenched his jaw, blood running down his arms. "Sanguine. Lend me your power."
"Already on it," she answered without hesitation. "Show me your full potential, Kai. Show me the power sleeping inside you."
Kai strained against the swords, ready to tear free. Then it hit him.
A strange pull. A cold rush.
"What? What's happening?" he whispered. The world blurred. For a second he couldn't tell up from down.
Then memories slammed into him. Not his own. Hibiki's. Past scenes flickered, emotions bleeding into Kai's chest. Grief. Loss. Guilt. Devastation he couldn't control.
"Is this Hibiki?" Kai whispered. "How's this happening? Sanguine?"
He went still. Let it come. Watched Hibiki's life unfold through his eyes. Every wound. Every sacrifice. He couldn't react. Couldn't speak.
A tear slipped down Kai's cheek. He didn't even notice.
"Kai!? Kai!!" Sanguine shouted in his mind. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for that to happen. Are you still with me?"
Kai exhaled, eyes hard now. "I see. That idiot—" He scoffed. "Never mind. I'm ready to end this."
"Alright, young Kai. Begin charging your ki and—"
Kai cut her off.
"AAHH!!"
KRAKOOM.
Reverse Suspension.
It wasn't weight manipulation anymore. It was repulsion. Gravity flipped.
A shockwave exploded from Kai's body, palm thrust forward. The law reversed. Everything got pushed away.
Meili was launched like a ragdoll, body flying back across the cavern. She hit the ground hard but twisted mid-air and landed on her feet, skidding to a stop. Eyes narrowed. Still standing.
Kai dropped to one knee, both arms free, breathing heavy. The air around him distorted.
He whispered, "Push. Repel. With this much power, I can change the law. If I can't outspeed him, I'll make him move."
"You're full of surprises, boy," Wraithbane said through Meili, grin widening. "It's been ages since I had this much fun. I just hope you can keep up."
Kai's arms bled fast now. Both pinned, both ruined. He couldn't lift them to attack or block.
"Agh," he hissed, teeth clenched.
Sanguine's voice was sharp in his head. "What now, Kai? Even with suspension, you need arms to fight him. To block. To strike."
Kai didn't answer. He dropped lower, knelt in the rubble, and grabbed his sword with his teeth. Metal bit into his gums. Blood mixed with steel. He rose slowly, sword clenched in his jaw, eyes locked on Wraithbane.
Wraithbane stared. Disgust twisted Meili's face.
"What is this?" he snarled. "You dare face me like that? In all my millennia, no one has insulted me so deeply. DIE NOW!!"
VWOOM.
Lightning flared. Meili shot forward at full speed, blade screaming toward Kai's throat.
Kai had one last trick hidden under his sleeve. Not perfect. Not compatible with Sanguine yet. But her presence flooded him with enough ki to pull it off.
Meili's blade screamed closer. Lightning lit Kai's face.
"Selective Suspension," Kai whispered through gritted teeth, sword still clenched in his jaw.
This is where Kai stops being human... A move that had kept him practicing all month alone in the academy when he's colleagues traveled away.
Instead of freezing whole objects, he suspends specific properties. One at a time.
Momentum. Heat. Sound. Impact. Friction. Pick one, kill it.
He whispered, "If I can't stop the blade, I'll stop what makes it dangerous."
He chose Momentum.
SHHK.
Meili's strike froze mid-air. Not the blade itself. The momentum. The forward drive just died. Her arm was still swinging, muscles still pushing, but the sword hung dead, like it forgot how to travel.
Wraithbane's eyes flickered. "What—"
Kai didn't wait. With Meili off balance and her attack suspended, he twisted and launched his own strike. Sword still in his teeth, body pivoting on his knees.
Stages so far; Suspension Post; lifts Kai off the ground. External Suspension; suspends incoming targets aimed at him. Reverse Suspension; repulsion, gravity reversal, shockwave push. Selective Suspension; suspends specific properties, one at a time
Now he just needed the opening to land it.
But Kai did something drastic. Something that froze Wraithbane mid-swing.
He spat his sword out. Steel clattered on stone. Then he drove his forehead straight into Meili's.
CRACK.
The impact echoed. Kai yelled, raw and close.
"MEILI, WAKE UP GODDAMN IT. WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING IN THERE!!"
Silence dropped over the cavern. Dust settled. For one breath, the world went quiet.
Meili's eyes lifted to his. Blood ran down their foreheads, mixing where they touched.
"Don't you want to end this goddamn war?" Kai snarled, nose to nose with her. "Save your friends? Or have you just given up in there?"
She looked back at him. Innocent. Lost. But Wraithbane still had the reins.
"What the hell do you think this is, kid? An audition?" Wraithbane growled. His hand clamped around Kai's throat.
SLAM. CRACK.
He smashed Kai into the ground. Stone shattered under his back.
Kai coughed, blood on his lips. "So you're just a coward, Meili. All those stupid ideals about saving your friends. And you still let every one of us suffer just cause you can't control your emotions. Then you use that as an excuse to run from your responsibility."
Wraithbane snarled and drove Kai's head down twice more.
BOOM. BOOM.
Meili's expression twisted. Anger flared behind her eyes.
Kai choked out the words, voice breaking. "Ugh. What a warrior you turned into. To think you might've been right about what a warrior is. 'Protecting one another,' you said. Well. Not like this."
CRACK. CRACK. CRACK.
Wraithbane kept smashing his head into the ground. Lights dimmed at the edges of Kai's vision.
"Meili—" he whispered. Voice faint. Fading.
Meili froze. Tears dropped onto Kai's battered, unconscious face.
"Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid," she whispered. Then louder. Louder.
"How could I? I didn't… I… I—" She choked on the words and her hands flew to her own throat, nails digging in. Trying to hurt herself.
"Hey there," Sanguine's voice cut through, calm in the chaos.
Meili didn't stop. Her breathing hitched, panic taking over.
"Is that how you end things?" Sanguine said. "Your death won't pay for your mistakes, Meili. It won't save anyone."
Meili didn't answer. She reached for Kai's sword, dragged it toward her neck.
"So you've got the guts for that," Sanguine's tone sharpened. "But not for saving your friends, huh?"
Meili's hand stopped. The blade trembled against her skin. She looked down at Kai, tears blurring her eyes. "Who is that…?"
"I'm like Wraithbane," Sanguine said. "I'd love to explain. I've got questions too. But there's no time, Meili. I don't fully trust you yet. But I have no choice now."
Veyruun's body pulsed behind them. The air warped, pressure building.
"I need you to forget what just happened," Sanguine continued. "Take Hibiki and Kai and get as far from here as you can."
Meili flinched. "You feel that? Any second now, this place blows from the ki overload."
Meili shook her head, voice shaking. "I'm sorry. I can't."
"I understand," Sanguine replied. Then her voice softened, steady and warm in Meili's mind. "But listen to me. I've been watching you. From inside Hibiki. Every late-night talk, every doubt, every promise you made him when you thought no one was listening. I heard it all."
"You want to save them. All of them. That's not weakness, Meili. That's the reason you're still standing. Guilt says you failed them. But Hibiki didn't give his life to trap you in it. He gave it so you could carry them out."
She paused, letting the words land.
"So yeah, you messed up. You all do. But warriors aren't defined by the hit that knocks them down. They're defined by what they do after they bleed. And right now, bleeding or not, your friends still need someone to choose them."
Sanguine's voice dropped to a whisper. "So choose. Not death. Not running. Choose them. Be the warrior Hibiki believed you were. Now take Kai and go."
Veyruun groaned again. The ground cracked wider.
Meili stared at Kai's bleeding face. Her breath steadied. Promises she'd made. Goals she'd buried. They all came rushing back.
Then she moved.
SHNK.
She grabbed Kai's sword and drove it straight through her own palm. Blood welled up, dripping onto the stone.
Sanguine flinched in her mind. "What did you do?"
Meili didn't flinch. She pulled the blade free, wincing. "Don't worry. I still have Wraithbane's remnants in me. I'll heal fast." She clenched her fist, blood running down her wrist. "I did this as resolve. A mark. So I remember what I'm supposed to be doing."
She looked down at Kai, then up. "Thank you, Sanguine. You're a lot different from the bastard I've got inside me. How are you capable so speaking to humanly?"
Sanguine's voice was quiet. "All thanks to you Sifu, Hibiki. He's the most genuine human I've ever encounter. I hope we all get to speak properly after all this, young Meili."
Meili's eyes hardened. No more doubt. No more hesitation. She stood, sword in one hand, Kai's broken body right close to her.
Task set. Time to move.