Arthev did not retreat. He flowed forward, into the beast's guard. Every motion was efficient, premeditated, the Shinragan showing him the path an instant before he took it.
The creature swung a clawed limb in a wide, devastating arc.
It was too slow.
Arthev spun low beneath the creature's swing, his claw-tipped hand raking across its flank. Talons tore through scaled armor, and a spray of glowing, corrosive blood splattered against the ground with a sizzle.
The creature shrieked, a raw sound of pain and fury. Its tail whipped toward him, but a dome of hardened sand erupted to meet it, absorbing the impact with a low grind.
He didn't pause. Driving forward, he slammed a fist glowing with soul power into the beast's chest. The blow landed with a solid crack, spiderwebbing the scale it struck and shaking the floor beneath them.
"BOOM!"
"Instincts are not enough," Shukaku growled from within. "Show it how we dance."
Twin claws swept down from opposite sides. Arthev's eye tracked the motion. He leapt, his tail of sand whipping around to balance him as he flipped over the beast's head. He landed silently behind it, poised and untouched.
"It is strong," Arthev observed, his voice low . "But it fights without thought. There is no art to its violence."
He slid back across the broken ground, boots scraping against stone until he halted.
"Time to shift the balance."
He opened his palm. Two distinct energy spiraled up his arm. They sparked and vibrate as they interacted with the magnetic ore embedded in the cavern walls.
"Magnet Release: Ironsand Blade."
Fine black dust shuddered free from the surrounding stone, swirling into his waiting hand. It condensed, layer upon layer, until a long, matte-black sword took form. Its edge gleamed with a sharp, metallic light. The blade hummed softly, heavy with potential.
Arthev swept it through the air in a clean, practiced arc. The beast's distorted reflection wavered along its dark length.
A faint, cold smile touched his lips.
"How is my form, Shukaku? Acceptable?"
Shukaku's laughter was a rough, approving grind.
"Acceptable? That blade was born for slaughter! Now stop talking and put it to use."
Arthev shot forward, the Shinragan painting every possible movement across his mind. He saw the openings before they existed.
His first strike was a blur. The Ironsand Sword cut a clean line through the beast's foreleg, shearing through scale and flesh. The sound was a high, metallic shriek. Molten spirit iron sprayed from the wound, hissing as it hit the floor.
The creature roared, its tail swinging around in a blind, furious arc.
Arthev didn't retreat. He pivoted, bringing his sword up to meet the attack. Steel met bone with a sharp clang, sparks flying from the point of impact. He used the creature's own momentum against it, turning into a series of fluid, brutal strikes, a low cut, a diagonal slash, a feint followed by an upward slice toward its head.
Each move was precise, a deadly dance he had practiced a thousand times.
"That's it!" Shukaku roared from within. "It's staggering! Don't let up!"
The beast staggered, the dark veins beneath its skin flaring erratically. It gathered itself and lunged, jaws unhinging, venom glowing with toxic heat.
Arthev was already moving. He launched himself upward, twisting in the air as the massive jaws snapped shut beneath him. His sand-tail coiled, holding him steady for one critical moment.
He brought the sword down.
It connected with a sickening crack, shearing off a tooth that flew across the chamber and embedded itself in the wall. Venom splattered wildly, eating into the stone around them.
Arthev landed softly, his weapon held ready. The beast stumbled back, a broken, gurgling sound escaping its throat. For the first time, it looked less like a predator and more like wounded prey.
But then its head snapped up. The runes across its body blazed with a final, desperate light. The entire cavern groaned in response, the quartz veins in the walls flickering like mad stars as the creature drew every last bit of power from the seal it was bound to.
Arthev's breath came hard now. His body ached, but his focus did not break.
"It is drawing from the seal itself," he said, his voice tight. "This ends now, or it does not end at all."
"About time!" Shukaku's voice was a thunderclap in his soul. "No more playing. Let it taste obliviation. Tailed Beast Bomb!"
Arthev did not hesitate. The Ironsand Sword dissolved back into a cloud of dust at his command.
He thrust both hands forward, fingers splayed. Above him, his single tail of sand arched over his head, aligning with his arms to form a perfect triangle. The air grew heavy. At its center, particles of red and purple energy began to swirl.
Then a sphere formed.
It was small, dense, and spun with a low, threatening termor that vibrated deep in the chest. The very light in the cavern seemed to bend toward it.
The quartz veins in the walls flickered wildly, unable to withstand the pressure.
"Now!" Arthev roared.
The Tailed Beast Bomb shot forward, a comet of condensed destruction, black and violet, tearing through the air.
VWOOOOM—
It struck the guardian square in the chest.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then the world broke.
KRA-KRAKOOM!
The explosion was a deafening crump of pure force. The beast did not even have time to cry out before it was consumed. The jade walls shattered. Quartz veins blew apart in a shower of bright, glassy splinters.
Even with his foresight, Arthev was nearly overwhelmed. The shockwave hit him like a physical wall.
His mind screamed a single command.
Shoving his palm downward, he forced every ounce of his will into one last defense. "Ironsand Shield!"
A dome of compacted metal partical and sand erupted around him just as the wave of annihilation swallowed everything.
Then, silence.
Silence.
Then, a slow, settling echo.
Dust and fine fragments of jade drifted through the air like falling ash. The grand chamber was a ruin of its former self, its walls webbed with deep cracks, the air hazy and thick with the smell of scorched stone and spent energy. The containment seal that had once pulsed with power was now broken, its faint sigils sputtering weakly against the shattered dome.
Where the guardian had stood, there was no corpse. Only fading motes of light, dissolving into nothingness.
And from the center of that fading glow, something fell.
It struck the floor with a soft, clear clink.
A small, fist-sized object. It lay still for a moment, then began to pulse with a soft, rhythmic light.
Arthev staggered out from behind his half-melted shield, his breath coming in ragged pulls. Steam rose from his overheated skin as the transformation receded, the sandy tan fading back to normal, the dark markings retreating until they were mere traces. The tail of sand dissolved into a shower of harmless grit.
His Shinragan's glow dimmed, the spirals slowing to a near halt. He was drained, his soul power diminished, but his gaze was unwavering.
He straightened up, wincing slightly. The pendant at his chest chimed softly, a single, low note that seemed to resonate through the wreckage. Its sound pulled his eyes toward the artifact.
It was a crystal, perfectly cut and impossibly smooth. Its light wasn't harsh, but deep, pulsing from within like a slow, steady heartbeat. At its core, three delicate rings spun in a silent, perpetual dance, intersecting in ways that defied simple understanding.
Arthev's exhausted breath caught in his throat.
"It is done," he whispered, the words rough but sure. "One of the seven… is ours."
Shukaku's voice rumbled within him, tired but deeply satisfied." I said we would break it. Now stop admiring the thing and pick it up before the ceiling finishes collapsing."
Arthev moved forward, his steps careful on the unstable floor. The crystal hovered just above its ruined pedestal. He reached out, his fingers closing around it. It was warm.
The moment his skin made contact, a final, faint tremor passed through the cavern, as if the place itself was sighing in release.
Arthev held the artifact, its light washing over his face.
"This is what shaped Skyhaven's heart," he murmured, almost to himself. "Its forges, its very stones… This was the truth they built on it."
To be continued…