The tomb cracked open from above, stone raining down like thunderstones.
A burst of lightning struck the ground, scorching a ring into the floor as six robed figures descended, led by a tall man with silver-streaked hair and eyes like stormfire. His mere presence made the Dragon Slayer Sword tremble against Ethan's back.
Thunder and Lightning Sect, Vane muttered, voice tense. And that's no ordinary disciple. that's Elder Kyros, their Enforcer.
Kyros landed lightly, robes crackling with stored electricity. His gaze swept the chamber and locked onto the obelisk.
So the seal held after all, he said, voice cold.
A shame. I would have liked to test myself against the Wraithlord.
You knew?
Elena asked sharply.
You wanted it to break?
I wanted to see who would be foolish enough to risk awakening it.
And now, I have my answer.
His gaze shifted to the Dragon Slayer Sword.
That blade belongs to the sects. Not to wandering half-trained brats playing hero.
Ethan, weakened and pale, still stood in front of Elena.
You want the sword? he said.
You'll have to go through me.
Kyros shrugged nonchalantly
So be it.
He raised one hand. Lightning gathered pure, dense, deadly. His disciples spread out in a circle, crackling with power, forming a suppressing formation.
Ethan barely had strength left. His core was dormant. But the Dragon Slayer Sword pulsed faintly just enough.
Elena, he whispered,
The formation. Can you disrupt it?
She nodded. Her silver aura flickered, uncertain but growing. She pressed her hand to the floor, chanting in an ancient tongue. Her voice rippled, and the frequency disrupted the flow of the sect's formation.
Two disciples stumbled.
Now!
Ethan sprang forward half his normal speed, but with surgical precision. He ducked under a lightning spear and slashed upward, forcing one disciple back.
Kyros narrowed his eyes,
You're no ordinary Foundation cultivator.
I'm worse,
Ethan muttered,
Elena joined him, resonance waves knocking a disciple unconscious.
Vane tossed a handful of burst powder, blinding another momentarily.
But Kyros was done watching.
He raised both hands, summoning a vortex of thunder. Bolts coiled around him like living serpents.
I'll end this now.
He hurled the attack.
Ethan instinctively stepped forward, raising the Dragon Slayer Sword not to block, but to redirect.
The ancient weapon drank the lightning.
Aeliria's voice whispered,
Use the arc step.
Ethan twisted his footing, pivoted, and unleashed the absorbed energy redirecting the full blast into the wall behind them. The tomb cracked violently.
Kyros looked stunned.
He redirected my lightning?
Vane grabbed Ethan.
Now,
The southern wall there's a break.
The trio ran, slipping through a collapsing tunnel as stone and thunder roared behind them.
Kyros didn't follow.
He stared at the broken floor, lips curling into a faint smirk.
Let him run,
The sword chose him.
But the trials have just begun.