Tsuneo stared at the dissolving ice spikes , then at the unconscious Tamotsu. The sheer scale of "All Corners of Hell"... this wasn't just power. It was a force of nature. And Tamotsu hadn't even scratched its surface. "Glacial Heart... truly chosen by the Vale," he murmured, awe warring with deep concern. What have I unleashed?
Eastern Ridge - The Betrayal Unmasked
Hisoka [The Flickering One] materialized before Yoshiro [Stone Man], Kohaku [Quick One], and Arisu [The Girl], feigning panic. "Attacked! Demons! Tsuneo and the boy... overwhelmed!"
Arisu's eyes narrowed. "Hisoka? Where were you? We scanned the whole ridge. No demons."
"Always hiding," Yoshiro rumbled, his voice like grinding boulders. "One moment here, gone the next. Suspicious."
Kohaku flicked his twin blades, "Wind Blades: Silent Whisper." The air hissed. "Explain. Or die silent."
Hisoka's flickering form solidified with a snarl. "Fine. Mask off." He tore away his upper robes. Half his face was a ruin of scars. His right eye burned hellish red; the left was void-black. "Compared to me, you're insects! Stone Warden?" He spat at Yoshiro. "Stage Two: Stone Skin? Child's play! I only joined your pathetic 'Sanctuary' crew because it was easy. Easy to watch. Easy to kill if needed. Demon Slash: Bone Fracture!"
His scarred arm blurred. Crimson-black energy slashed through the air like bloody claws, faster than thought.
Yoshiro roared, "Stone Shield: Bastion!" Stone skin thickened massively over his arms and chest, forming a craggy barrier.The demon slashes hit, chipping deep gouges into the stone shield. Yoshiro grunted, forced back a step with each impact. The shield wouldn't hold long.
Kohaku moved, "Wind Step: Mirage!" He vanished, reappearing behind Hisoka, blades lancing for his spine. "Wind Blades: Viper Strike!"
Arisu darted left, hands glowing faint amber, "Ember Touch: Cauterize!" aiming to disrupt Hisoka's demonic energy.
Hisoka laughed, a distorted sound. "Demon Slash: Web of Pain!" He spun, unleashing a whirlwind of smaller, faster slashes. Kohaku twisted desperately, but two slashes grazed his arm and leg. Arisu cried out as one slash burned across her shoulder. Agony flared, deeper than the cuts. A sickly purple venom pulsed from the wounds, sapping strength instantly. Kohaku stumbled. Arisu gasped, clutching her shoulder, the amber glow flickering out.
Yoshiro's shield shattered under the relentless assault. A final slash ripped across his stone-skinned chest, leaving a smoking groove. The venom hit him too. He roared in pain and fury, sinking to one knee. Hisoka stood over them, panting slightly but triumphant, his demonic eyes glowing. "Weaklings. This world needs cleansing fire, not... ice." He smirked towards the distant ice carnage. "Enjoy the Vale's embrace." He stepped back, melting downwards into the ash like sinking into water, vanishing into a hidden tunnel below. "The Demon Pits await...
Tamotsu thrashed in unconsciousness. Not just dreams of the star-city now. A new voice, cold and ancient, echoed in the void: "The vessel wakes... The Heart stirs... Remember the Pact... Break the Cycle..." It felt like a second soul whispering secrets into his own.
Two figures in sturdy, grey-stone armor marked with the Sanctuary sigil – Stone Wardens – arrived at the edge of the devastation. They scanned the dissolving ice demon statues, the massive frozen circle scorched into the ground, the unnatural cold. "By the Founders..." one breathed, touching the frost-covered rock. "What power did this?"
"No bodies," the other said grimly, scanning the ash. "Just... annihilation. And traces of demon venom. Strong stuff. Whatever happened, it's over. Or moved on. Report this to the Warden Commander. Now." They turned and ran back towards Sanctuary's walls.
Tsuneo saw the scouts leave. He felt the lingering venom taint in the air, heard the faint echoes of the distant fight. Hisoka's betrayal was complete. He looked at the unconscious Tamotsu, the source of unimaginable, unstable power. The village... Arisu, Yoshiro, Kohaku... If Hisoka, or whatever force he served, came for Tamotsu again near Sanctuary... the village would be rubble.
"We can't stay," Tsuneo muttered, hoisting Tamotsu onto his shoulder with surprising strength. "Not near the walls. Too many lives." Sanctuary wasn't safe, not for Tamotsu, not anymore. They needed distance. Fast.
As Tsuneo ran, carrying him, Tamotsu stirred weakly. The ancient voice faded. He felt the cold power, not as a raging river, but as... threads. Fine, sharp threads. Instinctively, focusing his fading will, he twitched a finger. From his scalp, a single strand of hair turned pure white, elongated, and hardened into a needle-thin filament of ice, sharp enough to split stone. It hovered for a second before snapping and vanishing. Micro-Ice: Hair Splitter. Tiny. Precise. A flicker of conscious control amidst the exhaustion.
Tsuneo reached a jumble of ancient, frost-covered ruins deep in the wastes – their temporary base. He laid Tamotsu down carefully. Moments later, the others stumbled in, battered and poisoned. Yoshiro leaned heavily on Kohaku. Arisu clutched her venom-burned shoulder, face pale.
"Tsuneo!" Arisu gasped, relief and pain mixing. "Hisoka... he's... demon! Betrayed us! Poisoned..." She trailed off, looking around. "Where... where's the boy? Where's Tamotsu?"
Yoshiro scanned the small ruin. Only Tsuneo. "Sensei? Where is the Frost-Spawn?"
Tsuneo met their eyes, his masked face unreadable. "Gone."
"Gone?" Kohaku rasped, venom weakening him. "Taken? Killed?"
"I took him away," Tsuneo stated, his voice low and final. "Before the destruction he brings leveled Sanctuary. Before you paid the price for his power." He gestured to their wounds. "Hisoka proved the danger is closer than we knew. Tamotsu is a beacon. I moved him to protect... everyone."
Before the stunned group could protest, a deep boom echoed from the direction of Sanctuary's walls. Distant shouts, the clash of steel, and the unmistakable roar of Demon-Forged erupted on the wind.
Arisu paled further. "The village... they're attacking the village! Now!