The silence in the chamber was suffocating.
The four of them stood still, the only sound the faint drip of blood from Li Yan's wound onto the stone floor.
Tripitaka's eyes were calm but unreadable. "Explain."
Kael lowered his staff, his voice tight. "It wasn't me. Something attacked him — a shadow. I destroyed it, but it—"
"A shadow?" Tripitaka stepped forward, each step precise, deliberate. "And yet you stand here, weapon drawn, while my friend bleeds."
Sena moved to Kael's side. "He's telling the truth. I didn't see it, but the wound… it wasn't made by the staff."
Tripitaka didn't respond. His hand twitched toward the prayer beads at his waist.
From somewhere above, a sound like wings tearing through the air echoed through the chamber.
The temperature rose — not with warmth, but with a searing, corrupted heat.
A voice boomed from the shadows overhead.
"How touching. The Golden Cicada defending a thief."
They all looked up.
Descending through the shifting air was Tao Ye, his Feather Fan blazing black and crimson, flames trailing like the feathers of a monstrous bird.
But it was no ordinary phoenix — the fire was warped, shadows coiling within it, and from its burning form stepped Tao Ye himself, his armor glowing like banked embers.
"Tao Ye," Tripitaka said, his voice low.
He smirked. "Didn't your master teach you? A relic in the wrong hands is a disaster. And this boy…" He gestured at Kael, "is a disaster waiting to happen."
Kael gritted his teeth. "You sent that thing."
Tao Ye's laugh echoed around the chamber. "Prove it."
Before anyone could answer, the black flames surged outward, solidifying into humanoid forms — shadow demons with burning eyes and clawed hands.
The first lunged for Kael, the second for Sena, while Tao Ye stepped toward Tripitaka.
"Stand aside," Tao Ye said, "or I'll burn you with him."
Tripitaka didn't move. "You've already burned too much."
In a heartbeat, the chamber became chaos — Kael's staff cracking through shadow-demons, Sena's chakram slicing arcs of light in the darkness, Tripitaka deflecting Tao Ye's strikes with impossible precision.
But the Dark Fire Phoenix wasn't just strength — its heat seared the stone beneath their feet, warping the air, forcing them back step by step.
Tao Ye's gaze locked on Kael. "When I'm finished, no one will doubt what you've done."
Tao Ye's corrupted flames filled every corner of the chamber, their heat so intense the walls themselves began to sweat molten stone.
Kael's clones melted under the black fire, Sena's chakram came back scorched, and even Tripitaka's measured deflections began to slow.
Every strike from Tao Ye's Feather Fan sent out waves of heat that distorted their vision, turning the battlefield into a nightmare of shimmering shadows.
"You see now?" Tao Ye's voice boomed. "This is the power of a relic honed to perfection."
Kael lunged, spinning the Ruyi Jingu Bang to deflect a slash — but Tao Ye batted it aside, the sheer force sending Kael crashing into the far wall.
Sena darted forward, but a column of fire erupted in her path, forcing her back.
Tripitaka pressed in, his palm striking toward Tao Ye's chest — but the vice sect leader caught his wrist and twisted, forcing the monk to a knee.
The chamber groaned, a low, grinding sound. Cracks raced up the pillars. Dust rained from the ceiling.
A deep voice cut through the chaos.
"Enough."
From the shadows at the far side of the chamber, Devrudra emerged — but this was not the composed guardian who had faced them before.
The glowing script along his arms blazed like sunlight, the Chains of Dharma now unwinding from his body in endless coils.
"You have defiled this place," Devrudra said, his voice carrying the weight of centuries. "Leave, or be bound forever."
Tao Ye turned, smiling. "Finally, a worthy opponent."
The two collided — chains meeting corrupted flame with a deafening crack.
Every strike between them shattered stone, chains snapping through fire, phoenix wings clashing with golden light. The room shook with each blow, the air a storm of heat and sparks.
Kael staggered to his feet. "We can't leave him—"
"You can and you will," Devrudra barked without looking back. He wrapped a chain around Tao Ye's ankle, yanking him from the air, only for the corrupted phoenix to blast free in a surge of black fire.
"Your path is forward," Devrudra growled. "The last trial waits. Take your wounded and go!"
Tripitaka lifted Li Yan's unconscious body, glancing once at the duel before nodding.
Kael and Sena fell in behind him, the three weaving through a collapsing archway into the darkness beyond.
Behind them, the battle raged — and the sound of Devrudra's chains striking against the Feather Fan echoed like the tolling of a war drum.
The corridor sloped downward, the air growing cooler the deeper they went.
Every few steps, the floor shook — faint at first, then stronger — the distant sound of Devrudra and Tao Ye's battle rumbling like thunder through the stone.
Tripitaka carried Li Yan with steady precision, his breathing even despite the weight. Kael kept glancing back, hearing the clash of chains and fire grow sharper, fiercer.
Sena touched his arm. "Don't. He told us to go."
They burst into a wide chamber lit by shafts of pale light from the cracked ceiling above. In the center stood a stone dais, carved with golden clouds and roaring monkeys… but the staff half that should have rested atop it was gone.
Kael's chest tightened. "No. We came all this way—"
A voice, gruff and tired, interrupted him.
"Bit late for that, aren't you?"
From behind one of the carved pillars stepped a pig-headed humanoid, his armor dented, his clothes in tatters.
In his hand, he leaned heavily on a strange weapon — a nine-raked tool, each tine engraved with runes worn almost smooth.
"Name's Zhu Bajie," he said, scratching his snout. "Guardian of the final trial… not that there's much left to guard."
Tripitaka's eyes widened. "Bajie…?"
Bajie gave him a long look, then let out a short laugh. "Well, if it isn't Golden Cicada himself. Reincarnated, eh? You've still got that smug calm about you."
Kael stepped forward. "Where's the staff?"
Bajie's ears twitched. "Gone. Months ago. Some warrior from the Norse lands came through — big brute, weapon like a winter storm. Took me apart before I could even get a proper swing in." He tapped his dented shoulder plate. "Still hurts when it rains."
Kael's hands clenched around the Ruyi Jingu Bang. "Then we've failed—"
Bajie raised a finger. "Not quite. What he took wasn't the real thing. The true half is hidden where no living thief can reach it."
He stepped to the dais, pressing a hand against the carvings. The stone split, revealing a swirling portal of pale gold light, its surface rippling like water.
"On the other side," Bajie said, "is the Soul Realm. That's where the real piece sleeps. But you'll need to hurry — your fiery friend's going to break through Devrudra sooner rather than later."
Kael, Sena, and Tripitaka exchanged a look.
Bajie's voice softened. "You're walking into the presence of Sun Wukong himself. Mind your tongue. The Great Sage doesn't take kindly to fools."
Without another word, Kael stepped through the portal, the others following close behind.
As the last of them vanished, Bajie's ears flattened.
In the distance, a deep crash echoed through the temple.
"Too late," he muttered. "He's coming."