[Realm: Uhorus]

[Location: Verdantis]

[Outskirts]

("Something like this should never exist.")

Mai’s thoughts came sharply as her body lowered in one smooth motion, the Abyssal Warden’s enormous jagged blade screamed overhead.

The force behind the swing ruptured the storm. Snow exploded apart in violent spirals as the dark blade carved through the air where Mai’s head had been moments prior, the pressure alone splitting the frozen ground behind her into deep fractures.

Mai’s form slid across the snow as she ducked beneath the strike, one hand grazing the frozen surface for balance as she moved to counter.

A smooth leap carried her backward through the blizzard, violet hair whipping violently behind her while her eyes never once left the towering creature before her. Even with the distance she created, the pressure radiating from the Abyssal Warden remained suffocating.

It stood there in the storm like something made for hatred. Or perhaps something much more malevolent.

That black armor, those violet geometric lines pulsing beneath the plating, and that enormous sword hanging from its hand.

Mai inhaled once as golden Qi drifted around her body in thin currents, weaving across her arms and shoulders.

("Creatures of pure malice with no purpose beyond destruction.") Her teeth clenched faintly. It was not from fear, but rather disgust. The emotion sat heavily within her chest the longer she looked at it.

She had, after all, seen it long before the calamity struck. Seen men kill one another for greed, fear, vengeance and desperation. Humanity was ugly enough already. But even then, there were reasons behind those actions. Broken reasons perhaps. Cruel reasons. Yet reasons nonetheless.

This thing before her had none.

There was no ambition, grief, hunger, or dreams. It existed only to ruin, to destroy cities, to erase lives, and to spread despair until nothing remained. And somehow, that offended her more deeply than anything else.

Perhaps not everything born into existence needed purpose. Perhaps some people simply lived quietly and aimlessly, finding meaning as they went. But this was different, this was a thing given life only so suffering could continue.

Mai watched carefully as the Abyssal Warden shifted its stance again, its massive armored fingers tightened around the hilt of its sword.

The snow beneath its feet collapsed inward as it moved, the large form launched forward with terrifying speed.

The air burst apart behind it from acceleration, a shockwave rolled across the plains as the Abyssal Warden vanished from sight entirely, leaving only a violent distortion ripping through the storm toward her.

Mai’s eyes narrowed as the creature reappeared before her instantly. That enormous blade descended downward with monstrous force, both hands gripping the hilt as it swung toward her body with enough power to split apart the frozen earth for hundreds of feet.

Mai stepped aside calmly, and the sword missed her by inches, the blade struck the snowy ground with a devastating impact.

The plains ruptured open violently as snow and stone erupted skyward in enormous waves. A trench tore across the landscape from the force behind the missed strike, the shockwave flattening nearby trees instantly.

But Mai had already moved, she stepped inward. Her palm lashed outward sharply as her strike connected against the flat side of the gigantic blade with explosive force.

Golden Qi burst outward from the impact point, and the Abyssal Warden visibly staggered.

For the first time since appearing, its massive sword nearly flew from its grip entirely as the force redirected the swing violently sideways. The gigantic creature lost balance for only a fraction of a second—

But against Mai, that was enough. She followed immediately as her body rotated smoothly.

Her left leg whipped outward in a brutal kick toward its abdomen, as expected the strike landed cleanly. Golden Qi sparked violently across the creature’s armor before surging through its entire body in branching flashes of light. The impact folded the Abyssal Warden slightly inward before launching the gigantic form backward once more.

Its armored body tore through the air uncontrollably as snow exploded beneath it. The creature smashed through the side of a frozen hill, collapsing part of it inward before continuing further across the plains.

Yet it adapted again, midair, the Abyssal Warden twisted unnaturally. Far too agile for something so massive as its armored sabatons slammed against the snowy ground as it caught itself, skidding backward with enough force to carve deep trenches across the plains. Snow sprayed violently around it while its blade dragged against the earth, sending sparks and black energy spiraling outward.

Then it stopped and straightened.

The blizzard swept between them.

Mai stood silently, her golden Qi flowing steadily around her.

The Abyssal Warden stared back, motionless.

("Rancid, disgusting things.") Mai’s expression darkened further, the bile rose into her throat again the longer she looked at it.

There was something deeply wrong about its existence. Not merely unnatural, it was offensive. Like reality rejected what stood before her. The black energy bleeding from its armor stained the snow wherever it touched. Even the storm seemed warped around it, the snowfall twisting unnaturally whenever it moved.

Something that should not exist, something that could not exist.

And yet it did.

Mai slowly clenched her hands into fists, the golden Qi around her thickened immediately in response, becoming denser and brighter. Small patches of green began spreading beneath her feet once more despite the freezing cold, blades of grass forcing themselves through the snow under the pressure of her life force.

Her violet eyes locked onto the Abyssal Warden completely.

"I shall kill you." Her voice was low as she spoke.

The Abyssal Warden shifted slightly, its sword lowered.

Mai took a slow step forward. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"And your kind." Another step followed, golden Qi spiraled harder around her body now, the storm beginning to recoil away from her presence. "No matter how little difference it makes." Her gaze did not waver.

Because she understood the truth already, killing this thing would not end the Abyss. It would not stop the tears above the world, and it would not suddenly save every city already drowning beneath the invasion.

But that did not matter, some things simply needed to be destroyed. Even if only for a moment of respite, and even if only so fewer people suffered tonight.

The Abyssal Warden suddenly raised its sword again, the violet lines across its armor pulsed brighter.

Mai lowered her stance, the snow around both of them trembled, and then both figures vanished at the same instant.

The instant both figures vanished, the snowfield between them exploded apart.

A violent burst of wind ripped through the blizzard as Mai and the Abyssal Warden reappeared directly before one another in a collision of speed so abrupt it looked unnatural. The frozen ground beneath them shattered instantly from the pressure alone, spiderweb fractures racing outward across the white plains.

The Abyssal Warden moved first, or rather, it tried to.

Its enormous blade rose overhead once more, but this time the weapon was different. Thick black Abyssal Energy crawled across the sword, coating every inch of the blade in darkness. Violet lines surged brighter through the armor of the Warden as the energy condensed around the blade in enormous quantities, the surrounding air beginning to distort from the density of foul power gathering there.

The storm changed as snowflakes evaporated before touching the weapon. The sky seemed darker around it, then the Abyssal Warden swung downward. The blade descended with enough force to split apart the plains entirely, black energy trailing behind it in enormous ribbons that tore through the air.

But Mai was faster as her body shifted forward in a single step.

Her fist drove forward first, and the punch landed squarely against the Abyssal Warden’s abdomen.

A massive tremor erupted outward from the point of impact so violently that the snowy plains collapsed inward around them. The frozen earth cratered instantly beneath the Warden’s feet, an enormous depression exploding outward for dozens upon dozens of meters as snow, stone, and debris launched skyward in colossal waves.

A deafening shockwave followed immediately after, the nearby hills cracked. Entire patches of trees were flattened from the pressure alone, the storm was blown apart for a brief moment. Golden Qi erupted from Mai’s arm in a devastating burst as the force traveled through the Warden’s body.

Yet the Abyssal Warden did not move.

Mai’s eyes narrowed.

The creature’s armored body trembled from the force, cracks forming across sections of its armor, but its massive sabatons remained planted firmly within the crater, then its free hand moved.

The armored hand swung sideways toward Mai with enough force to collapse the air. Black Abyssal Energy spiraled around the strike as the clawed gauntlet tore toward her torso.

Mai reacted instantly as her body flipped backward gracefully through the air, the attack missing her by inches.

The strike connected with empty space and still managed to rupture the snowy plains beneath it. The crater widened violently as enormous chunks of frozen earth were torn upward into the storm.

Mai landed lightly dozens of meters away atop the snow, her form slid backward slightly. Then she clasped her hands together. The action seemed almost reverent.

Golden Qi surged violently around her body, the snow beneath her feet melted instantly.

A massive golden glyph manifested behind her.

It appeared layer by layer in the air, enormous geometric patterns mixing together into countless interconnected circles and angular formations. Symbols rotated slowly within one another as radiant golden light spilled across the blizzard.

At the center of it all, the Hanzi character:

淨化

The glyph illuminated the storm, golden light reflected across the endless snowfields as the construct expanded further and further behind Mai, becoming so enormous it dwarfed her entirely.

The Abyssal Warden finally reacted, its head shifted upward toward the glyph. The black energy around its blade intensified immediately. The creature attempted to move, but it was already too late.

Mai’s violet eyes remained cold as she looked toward it.

"So putrid," she murmured quietly.

There was no anger in her voice, only disgust as her clasped hands tightened slightly, the glyph pulsed once.

Then the world became gold, an enormous wave of radiant light erupted outward from the glyph behind her. It flowed like sunlight breaking through endless darkness. The golden wave passed harmlessly through Mai’s body first, wrapping around her in warmth before surging forward across the snowfields toward the Abyssal Warden.

The creature tried to raise its sword, tried to defend. But the light reached it instantly, the moment the golden radiance touched the Abyssal Warden it screamed.

The sound was horrific, not human or even beastly. A shriek filled with layered distortion and unbearable malice, as though countless voices were screaming together beneath the armor.

Golden light engulfed its entire body immediately.

The black Abyssal Energy coating its sword began peeling away violently like burning flesh. The violet geometric lines running across its armor flickered erratically as the purification light consumed them. The Abyssal Warden staggered, the enormous figure clawed at itself.

Its armor cracked apart.

Black smoke erupted endlessly from its body as the golden light expanded further and further outward, swallowing the entire crater and continuing beyond it. The snowfields glowed brilliantly beneath the radiance while towering pillars of golden light rose high into the blizzard.

Mai watched silently, the storm illuminated around her. Her hair drifted softly within the radiance as the Abyssal Warden continued screeching beneath the purification.

And still she felt nothing but revulsion toward it.

Only the bitter understanding that things like this now walked freely across their world.

"That foul existence of yours," Mai said quietly, her voice nearly drowned beneath the roaring light, "should never have been allowed into this realm."

The Abyssal Warden’s screams intensified, its massive body began coming apart at the edges, fragments of black matter disintegrating beneath the golden light.

Mai’s eyes remained fixed on it.

"This is the end for you."