The battlefield was a tempest of shattered stone and swirling qi. Quinn's breath came ragged, his body battered but his spirit unyielding. Across from him, the armored warrior loomed like an immovable mountain, the glow of the Lightbane Sigil burning fiercely on his halberd.
Neither of them spoke; their battle cries had been silenced by the overwhelming clash of power and will.
Quinn's eyes burned crimson as he gathered the chaotic energy surging within him. Shadows no longer obeyed, stripped away by the warrior's light. But blood—the primal essence of life—was his true weapon now.
He flexed his fingers, feeling the familiar pulse of his forbidden technique—Sanguine Rift.
Using it risks everything, the voice of Velux cautioned in his mind, but it might be the only way.
Quinn's chest heaved. No turning back.
With a guttural roar, he slammed his palm into the cracked earth, ripping a jagged fissure that bled dark crimson light. From it surged a torrent of raw blood qi, swirling like a living storm, lashing out with lethal tendrils.
The warrior raised his halberd, but the sanguine storm enveloped him, biting into his armor and skin. The glow of the Lightbane flickered, dimming under the corrosive power.
Quinn leapt forward, his claws shimmering with the merged might of blood and shadow. He slashed through the weakening barrier, aiming for the warrior's exposed neck.
But the warrior twisted, narrowly avoiding the fatal strike. His halberd swept upward, knocking Quinn aside with brutal force.
They crashed to the ground, locked in a fierce grapple. Quinn's blood qi flared violently, coursing through his veins with unbearable heat.
The warrior growled, "Your power is reckless. You'll destroy yourself before me."
Quinn's grip tightened. "Maybe. But I'll take you down first."
Summoning every ounce of his will, Quinn unleashed the final surge of Sanguine Rift—a piercing blade of condensed blood qi extending from his forearm, humming with lethal energy.
With a ferocious cry, he drove the blade deep into the warrior's chest.
Light exploded, clashing violently with the blood qi.
The warrior gasped, staggering back, eyes wide with shock. For a moment, silence hung heavy between them.
Then the warrior smiled—a dark, knowing grin.
"You've won… for now."
He vanished in a blinding flash, leaving behind only the echo of his presence.
Quinn collapsed to one knee, the forbidden technique burning through his body like wildfire.
Velux whispered, The cost is steep, but you've survived. The real war is only beginning.