Lord Genji does not rely on the slow, external forces of Aether, but the internal, focused power of Qi. He knows Zimbila can harness the atmosphere, but Qi is the force of the soul.
Genji raises his Kitsune Bone Fan. As his nine tails flare, the Qi of the Shenzhou Turtle concentrates, manifesting as a swirling vortex of emerald energy around the fan. He then slaps a shimmering, golden Talismans of the Hundredfold Multiplier onto the vortex.
"Witness the pinnacle of cultivated discipline, Mushashatala," Genji says, his voice cutting the air. "This is a strike powered by the calligraphy of a thousand masters."
He snaps the fan shut. The entire mass of magnified Qi—a dense, emerald cylinder of spiritual power—launches itself at Zimbila's chest. This technique is designed to bypass the physical and target the Primal Orgon of the King's obsidian shell.
Zimbila stands motionless, acknowledging the gravity of the attack. While his Aether reservoir is vast, the Song of the Shell was an intricate frequency broadcast that required the precise tuning of every molecule of Aether he possessed. He cannot simply throw a raw energy blast. He must counter the Qi with a disruption of its base environment.
As the amplified Qi bolt screams toward him, Zimbila releases a final, focused Miasma-Pulse from his horn. This pulse doesn't explode; it transforms the environment.
The sky-ice and ice of the mountain peak instantaneously lose their elemental structure. The entire Apex of Qivittoq, in a five-meter radius, is converted into hyper-compressed, transparent Null-Glass.
The emerald Qi-bolt hits the newly formed Null-Glass field. Because Null-Glass is a vacuum that absorbs all energy, the concentrated Qi—a spiritual force—is instantly and violently neutralized. The bolt detonates without sound or light, dissipating into nothingness.
The King is completely untouched.
The fight has become a high-level spiritual war, but Kaelen is a wall of pure, physical frustration. He knows his lead club is useless against the Kitsune's Qi, yet he steps forward.
"Get behind me, King," Kaelen growls, his massive 7'8" form planting itself between the two. "You need time. We'll hold the line."
"Foolish Orc," Genji scoffs, his attention barely pulled from Zimbila. "My power ignores your skin. You are dust to my spiritual pressure."
Kaelen spits onto the Null-Glass ground. "Maybe so. But my body is fueled by the same rage your Church stole. And that, Kitsune, is heavier."
Kaelen begins a slow, methodical charge toward Genji. He is counting on his lack of a spiritual signature to throw off the Kitsune's targeting, hoping to buy Zimbila a few precious seconds to recover the Aether used in the Eco-Forming.
While Kaelen charges, Thrain uses the Null-Glass's brief, disorienting transformation as his chance. He had been quietly working a small, hair-thin lock-pick made of hardened fingernail on his mana-cuffs.
As the Qi bolt detonates, the force of the explosion—even though muffled—is enough to wrench his arm free. Thrain doesn't help his partner, Salome; he grabs her Spectral Wyvern—which is still drowsy from Madara's song—and forces himself onto its back.
"Have fun with your apocalypse, savages!" Thrain screams, kicking the Wyvern into a groggy flight. He flies toward the nearest, largest city—the Shenzhou Heavenly Palace—to warn his masters, taking the only piece of usable transport left.