Ming's pulse hammered as the rogue spirit closed in. Its body writhed like smoke given flesh, a tangle of black tendrils weaving around jagged claws. The way it moved was wrong—each step snapped forward like broken frames of a picture, twitching, stuttering, then surging with impossible speed.
Soul Sense pulsed in Ming's head like a drumbeat, mapping out every twitch before it happened. He knew where the strikes would land—but knowing didn't mean stopping.
The first swipe tore past his face. He dropped low, bark and splinters exploding as the tree behind him split clean down the middle. He rolled across the dirt, boots skidding, and came up with a thick branch in his hands. The next strike blurred toward him—he threw the branch up, too late.
CRACK!
Wood shattered. Shards bit into his cheek as claws ripped it to dust.
"Tch. Faster than the Pawn. Stronger too."
The rogue spirit's molten eyes locked on him, cold and hungry, like an animal that had already chosen where to bite. Each step pressed down with suffocating intent, the air heavy enough to make his lungs strain.
Ming drew a sharp breath, forcing his rhythm steady. React first. Think later.
The clearing gave him nothing. Tight ring of trees. Fallen logs, scattered stones, roots twisting out of the earth. Not much, but enough for cover—if he played it right.
The spirit lunged.
Soul Sense flared—he moved half a heartbeat early. The claws still grazed his arm, splitting skin open to the bone. Warm blood poured down his sleeve, dripping into the dirt.
"Damn it…"
The creature snarled, tendrils snapping outward like whips. Ming threw himself between trunks, weaving through them as the lashes tore bark from trees in sprays of dust. He hurled stones, branches, anything he could grab. Useless against its body, but enough to break its rhythm.
The spirit didn't slow. Cuts knitted shut mid-motion, flesh sealing without pause. Every strike he landed was erased before his next breath.
It lunged again. Soul Sense screamed—Ming twisted aside, back scraping bark raw. He shoved off the trunk, spinning, and drove a kick into the creature's chest. The impact jarred his bones, his teeth clacking. The spirit staggered, tendrils thrashing, then steadied like nothing had touched it.
Too strong.
His chest was heavy.sweat stinging his eyes. Every muscle screamed from the constant dodging. One slip, one hesitation, and he'd be torn apart.
The system chimed.
[Ability Available: Soul Rend.]
Ming froze. His gaze flicked between the writhing shadow and his trembling hand. Soul Rend.
I forgot about that..
The rogue spirit blurred. Another pulse of Soul Sense claws sweeping for his ribs. He twisted too slow. Cloth shredded. Flesh ripped. Heat burned down his side.
If I don't use it I die.
He planted his feet, raising his palm. Darkness bled from his hand, twisting, folding, shaping into a blade that cut against the air itself. The edge shimmered, reality itself warping where it passed.
"Fine," he muttered. "Let's see what you can do."
The spirit lunged. Ming's blade rose.
[Soul Rend Activated.
Cooldown: 20:00:00.]
The world dimmed. The sound of the forest cut out.
The slash didn't cut flesh it severed the soul.
The rogue spirit froze mid-strike, molten eyes widening. A jagged tear ripped across its chest, not on its skin but inside, unraveling the essence that bound it together. Its shriek shook the clearing, tendrils convulsing as black ichor sprayed like oil.
Ming staggered, knees buckling, the blade heavy in his grip. A chill spread through his body, not pain but a pull, as if something inside him was being siphoned away. His vision swam, heartbeat stuttering. Soul Rend was drinking from him.
"Soul Rend…" His voice rasped, chest tightening. "I'm still too weak …"
The rogue spirit thrashed wildly, shrieking, its body collapsing inward as the tear widened. Each movement only pulled it apart faster. Its tendrils snapped and unraveled, chunks of its body dissolving into dust midair.
With one final scream, it imploded. Black fragments scattered like ashes before dissolving into nothing.
Silence crashed down.
Ming dropped to a knee, chest heaving, sweat pouring down his face. His hands shook around the fading blade, every muscle twitching from the aftershock. The hollow pull gnawed at his insides, worse than fatigue, like pieces of him had been burned away.
The system's voice cut through.
[Soul Rend Side Effect: Life force depletion. Usage not recommended you are still too weak .]
Ming barked a bitter laugh, cut short by a cough. figures.
He pushed to his feet, leaning against a tree. The clearing looked like a battlefield trunks cleaved, dirt shredded, branches strewn like broken bones. The silence wasn't peace; it was aftermath.
He dragged a hand across his ribs, wiping blood. His breathing steadied, slower now, measured. He had survived but survival felt thin.The rogue spirit was a warning.
Somewhere in the unseen layers of existence, he felt it eyes. The Watcher's gaze, faint, lingering. Watching. Measuring.
He spat into the dirt, fists tightening.
"If you're going to keep sending things like that…" His voice was low, venom coiled tight. "Then I'll carve regret into every single one of you."
The forest didn't answer. But the silence pressed heavier, as if the Veil itself was listening.
[System synchronization: 40%]
[New Ability Unlocked.]
Ming's eyes flicked to the notification, blood still dripping from his sleeve. A slow, sharp grin pulled at his lips.