The mountain trembled with sound.
A single strike of the gong rolled down from the clouds, low and heavy, echoing through the stone beneath my feet.
It wasn't alarm.
It wasn't warning.
It was acknowledgment.
The sect had seen me.
And they were answering.
✦
I staggered higher, each step grinding my ribs, blood soaking into the cracks of the staircase. Behind me, bodies lay where they'd fallen, qi still leaking faintly into the air.
The silence after the gong was worse than the battle itself.
Every echo lingered like a promise.
Above, the sky seemed to bend, clouds shifting unnaturally.
The air thickened with qi.
And waiting eyes.
✦
Arjun's ember flickered weakly in my arms. His whisper was faint, almost swallowed by the mountain wind.
"…they… know you're here…"
I coughed blood, grinning crookedly.
"Good. Saves me the trouble of knocking."
The ember pulsed once, as if trying to sigh, but it was too weak.
The Inkblade hissed, shadows curling around my wrist.
"…elder eyes fall on you… marrow of Murim… let's see how their discipline tastes…"
✦
The staircase bent sharply, opening onto a wide platform carved into the mountainside.
There, waiting in silence, stood a man.
Gray robes. White hair bound tight. Wrinkles carved deep into his face. His hands rested calmly on the head of a sheathed blade.
His presence pressed heavier than any qi storm I had felt before.
Not a disciple.
Not a mere warrior.
An elder.
✦
I froze at the platform's edge, ribs grinding, lungs rattling. Blood dripped steadily down my arm, staining the Inkblade's grip.
The elder studied me without expression.
Then he spoke, voice like stone grinding.
"You carry demonic arts. You have slain disciples of this mountain. You bleed on our steps."
His eyes sharpened.
"And yet you stand."
✦
I wiped blood from my lips with the back of my hand, grinning faintly.
"Standing's kind of my specialty."
The elder's gaze did not flicker.
"Outsider. Do you know where you stand?"
"On your stairs," I rasped.
The faintest crack of amusement crossed his face—gone before I could be sure.
"Wrong. You stand on the threshold of annihilation."
✦
The Inkblade screamed in delight, shadows whipping eagerly.
"…yes… yes… marrow worth cutting at last…"
Arjun's ember flickered violently, his faint voice trembling.
"…Ishaan… this one… dangerous…"
"I know," I whispered, raising the blade.
And for a moment, the mountain was silent again.
Just me.
Just him.
Just the gong still echoing faintly in the stone.
✦
The elder moved.
Not fast—faster.
One step and he was in front of me, blade sliding free in a whisper, qi screaming like thunder.
I barely raised the Inkblade in time.
Steel met shadow.
The impact shook the platform, sent cracks racing across stone, blasted air from my lungs.
I staggered back, coughing blood, ribs screaming.
The elder did not move.
"Disappointing," he murmured.
✦
The Inkblade hissed in fury, shadows writhing violently.
"…cut deeper… show him fracture… show him marrow…"
I gritted my teeth, blood dripping down my chin, and raised the blade again.
The elder's eyes sharpened, faint interest flickering.
"Perhaps not so disappointing."
He lifted his sword.
Qi roared like a storm.
The mountain itself seemed to lean closer.
And the duel began.
The elder's blade cut downward in a single, unhurried arc.
Not fast.Not slow.Inevitable.
The air screamed. Stone split. Qi thundered.
I raised the Inkblade, shadows shrieking against his strike. The impact rattled my bones, sent cracks splintering under my feet, and hurled me back across the platform.
My ribs ground like broken glass. Blood sprayed my lips.
But I stayed upright.
✦
The elder studied me calmly, blade still humming faintly with qi.
"Impressive. Few stand after a single strike."
I grinned through blood. "Then you'll love what I do after two."
His eyes narrowed, the faintest flicker of interest behind them.
"Arrogance. Or conviction?"
"Neither," I rasped. "Habit."
✦
He stepped forward.
The mountain bent with him.
His qi pressed so heavy my knees almost buckled. Threads quivered across my vision, Fracture Sense screaming at me.
But the threads around him…
They didn't break.
They bent with his will.
✦
The Inkblade howled, shadows clawing up my arm.
"…his marrow is thick with discipline… cut it… CUT IT…"
I staggered forward, lungs rattling, blade trembling.
The elder lifted his sword again, two hands now, qi spiraling upward.
He exhaled.
And the mountain exhaled with him.
✦
He struck.
The air split. Stone shattered.
A line of qi tore toward me, a crescent of steel and storm.
I raised the Inkblade, shadows screaming to meet it.
The impact exploded.
I was hurled backward, ribs snapping, blood pouring from my mouth. My body slammed into the stairs, vision blurring red.
Arjun's ember flared violently in my arms, shielding me faintly from the worst of it.
"…Ishaan… get up…!"
I staggered, coughing blood, and dragged myself upright.
The elder watched in silence.
✦
"Most would be dead," he said quietly. "But you rise."
"Yeah," I rasped, grinning crookedly. "Bad habit."
His eyes sharpened.
"Not habit. Will."
✦
Fracture Sense burned brighter, threads screaming across the platform.
I saw the disciples' cords, the mountain's cords… and faintly, even his.
Not many.Not weak.
But they existed.
One trembled faintly, stretched by his strike.
Not broken. But strained.
I lunged.
✦
Shadows flared, Inkblade cutting for that trembling cord.
The elder's eyes widened slightly. His sword snapped up, intercepting.
Steel met shadow.
The cord shuddered violently.
His stance faltered—only slightly, but enough.
I roared, pressing forward, ribs screaming, blood soaking my shirt.
The Inkblade screamed with me, shadows devouring qi.
For a moment, the elder staggered back.
✦
Then his blade surged again, qi roaring, stance steadying.
Our blades locked, steel against shadow.
His eyes bored into mine.
"You see cords."
I froze, chest heaving.
He knew.
His voice lowered, dangerous.
"You cut them."
The mountain wind roared around us, carrying his words into silence.
"You are no mere outsider. You are a fracture."
✦
The Inkblade laughed, low and delighted.
"…he names you true… fracture… hear how they tremble when they say it…"
Arjun's ember flickered weakly, whispering, "…Ishaan… he knows…"
I grinned through blood, teeth red.
"Good. Saves me the trouble of explaining."
✦
The elder's qi flared violently, blasting cracks across the platform.
"Then you will not leave this mountain alive."
I raised the Inkblade, shadows boiling.
"Story of my life."
✦
Our blades clashed again, shadow and qi screaming against each other, sparks tearing through the sky.
The gong above struck once more, louder this time.
And the mountain roared as elder and fracture carved their marks into its stone.