Chapter 159 : The Shifting Sands
A low hum filled the air as the teleporter's light faded, depositing Ruby onto the warm, uneven ground of the arena. The air was dry and carried the faint scent of ozone. This one was a desertscape, with massive, shifting dunes and ancient, half-buried stone pillars jutting out of the golden sand.
Her crimson eyes, sharp and analytical, scanned the area and immediately locked onto the other four figures already present. The matchups were clear. There was one from the Insectoid race, his chitinous body clicking softly as he shifted. One from the Gandharva race, his four arms crossed in a display of calm readiness. One from the Jinn race, a pale, unsettling figure with a void for a face that seemed to drink the light around it. And finally, one from the Hydrozoan race, his skin covered in those distinctive blackish-silvery scales, standing apart from the others with an air of detached confidence.
The political landscape of the arena was obvious even before a word was spoken. The other three had naturally clustered together, creating a clear divide. The Hydrozoan was being isolated. He was from one of the most powerful races, a master of water in the middle of a desert, and everyone knew that taking him down in a one-on-one fight later would be a nightmare. It was simple strategy: the strong must be culled first.
Ruby's mind, ever practical, raced through the options. Joining the trio was the only logical move. Taking on the Hydrozoan alone now would be suicide, and facing all four at once was unthinkable. With a quiet sigh of resignation, she strode towards the group of three, her black hair swaying .
The mood within the trio was decent, almost light. They were pleased. No Lower race or any Higher Race had appeared to complicate things. A Human was manageable. Humans were strong, yes, but in the hierarchy of the upper races, their strength was often considered specialized—effective against Mecha and Titans, but not necessarily a top-tier threat like a Jinn or a Hydrozoan.
No introductions were made. There was no time for pleasantries, and no one was in the mood for them. They got straight to the point.
"The plan is simple," the Gandharva stated, his voice smooth and melodic. "We focus the Hydrozoan. His control over water is diminished here, but not gone. We cannot give him time to adapt."
The Jinn gave a slow, silent nod, his faceless gaze sweeping over them.
Then, the Gandharva turned to Ruby. "Your element? We must know what you bring to this."
Ruby met his gaze, her expression unreadable. "Fire," she said, her voice flat and simple.
A flicker of interest passed over the Gandharva's face. Fire and Water were natural opposites. She was a valuable asset.
For the next few minutes, they hastily laid out a crude strategy. They spoke of their strengths—the Gandharva's blinding speed, the Jinn's soul-numbing attacks, the Insectoid's sharp, piercing limbs. They even cautiously admitted minor weaknesses, a necessary risk in a temporary alliance where every member knew they would become enemies the moment the Hydrozoan fell.
But throughout the planning, Ruby felt a persistent, uncomfortable sensation. The Insectoid's multi-faceted eyes were not on the Hydrozoan or on the Gandharva speaking. They were fixed on her. His gaze was intrusive, crawling over her form with a creepy, possessive intensity. She could feel it lingering on her black hair, her face, the line of her neck. It wasn't the look of a warrior assessing an opponent; it was something far more vile.
Ruby clenched her jaw, her knuckles tightening on the hilt of her claymore. A hot wave of disgust and anger rose in her chest, but she forced it down. Not now, she told herself. Cause a scene now, and this fragile alliance shatters. You'll have to fight them all. She buried the feeling, storing it away, a promise of violence for later. Once the scaled one is dealt with, she thought coldly, I will make a pulp of this bug.
The moment arrived. The starting chime echoed across the dunes. The four of them moved as one unit, positioning themselves opposite the lone Hydrozoan.
It was four against one. The Hydrozoan, the Gandharva, the Jinn, the Insectoid, and the Human.
The fight began with a sudden explosion of motion. The Gandharva, a blur of four arms and incredible speed, launched himself forward. He was a whirlwind of strikes, his movements so fast they were barely visible. The Hydrozoan, however, was no slouch. His scaly arms moved like pistons, deflecting and parrying the flurry of attacks. He was holding his own, his defensive movements fluid and precise, but the Gandharva's sheer speed was slowly forcing him onto the back foot.
Seeing an opening, a figure darted in. It was the Insectoid. He moved not with the Gandharva's grace, but with a skittering, unsettling quickness. He shot forward in a flash, his sharpened limbs aimed low. He didn't go for a killing blow but swept at the Hydrozoan's ankles, a dirty, tripping move.
It worked. The Hydrozoan, completely focused on the Gandharva's onslaught, lost his balance for a critical split-second. He staggered backward.
It was the chance the Jinn had been waiting for. The pale figure raised a hand, and a visible wave of distorted, sickly energy shot forth. It wasn't an attack aimed at the body, but something deeper, something spiritual. The Soul Attack flew straight and true, aimed directly at the Hydrozoan's chest.
And from the flank, Ruby moved. Timing her strike with the others, she swung her massive claymore in a wide, crimson arc, aiming to cleave the off-balance Hydrozoan in two.
But the Hydrozoan was a master combatant. With a desperate, powerful surge of strength, he ignored gravity and physics, pushing off with his feet and launching himself into a high, backward jump. He evaded the claymore's blade by inches.
The Jinn's soul attack, however, was already in motion. It couldn't be recalled. It had been aimed at where the Hydrozoan's chest should have been. Now, that space was occupied by Ruby, who had committed fully to her swing.
There was no time to react.
The wave of psychic energy, meant to shatter a Hydrozoan's formidable spirit and loaded with nearly 60% of the Jinn's power, slammed directly into Ruby.
A scream, short and utterly agonizing, was torn from her lips. It was not a pain of the flesh, but a violation of the soul. It felt like her very essence was being frozen, shattered, and unmade all at once. The world turned inside out. The light faded from her blazing red eyes, replaced by a blank, empty stare.
Her body went rigid, then limp. The claymore fell from her numb fingers, sinking point-first into the sand. The force of the attack hurled her backward like a discarded doll. She flew through the air for several feet before crashing with a sickening DHAM! into one of the ancient stone pillars, cracking it upon impact, before slumping unconscious to the ground, a broken and motionless heap at the base of the arena wall.
The Hydrozoan landed softly on the hot sand, a sharp exhale of relief escaping his lips. His silver-black scales shimmered with residual adrenaline. That was too close, he thought, his eyes fixed on the crater in the stone pillar where the Human had landed. If that soul-strike had connected... my fate would be no different.
But across the arena, Ruby was not as broken as she seemed.
Her body was broken, but her mind was terrifyingly, painfully conscious. A heavy, suffocating darkness descended upon her, not from the Jinn's attack, but from within. It was a wave of absolute despair.
Memories, long buried under layers of hardened resolve, flooded her.
She saw herself as a child, a prodigy among hunters, effortlessly subduing opponents twice her age even without a shred of elemental power. She was a natural, a pinnacle in her generation's power system.
Then, the accident. The crippling injury that had stolen everything. The long, painful road back. A fire had been lit in her heart then—a fire of pure, undiluted rage and determination.
One hit, the thought echoed in the hollow of her mind, a bitter taunt. Just one stray attack, and I'm back in the dirt. Broken. Useless.
Then, the face of Ken Xiao flashed before her eyes. The smug condescension of Rivan Alhuwalia, who had pinned her to the ground without even lifting a finger, despite her having nearly defeated him just some years ago. Hot, shameful tears welled in her eyes and traced clean paths through the dust on her cheeks. No matter how much she told herself, "There is always a bigger fish," a part of her, deep down, screamed in frustration: Why am I not the bigger fish? Why, after all the hard work, the brutal training, the blood and sweat... do I always feel so weak?
For someone who was always weak, it was easy to accept mediocrity. But for someone who had once touched the peak, this fall was a torment that gnawed at her soul.
It was in this moment of absolute vulnerability that the Insectoid, Zrikk, saw his opportunity. He was not one to let such a chance slip.
He skittered towards her limp form, a grating, mocking laugh escaping his mandibles. "You see? You are weak, human. All flash, no substance. A pathetic creature of flesh." He raised a sharpened limb, poised to deliver the final, eliminating strike. "Let me put you out of your misery."
Ruby sensed him coming. She felt his malicious intent like a physical chill. Yet, the weight of her despair was so immense that she found she had no will to stand. Why bother? To be humiliated again? To fail again? The tiny droplets of tears falling from her eyes held more weight than her entire body.
But it was in that absolute zero of her spirit that something shattered.
A system notification, cold and clear, materialized in her mind's eye, bypassing her conscious thought.
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User has hit a wall.
User's wrath is now used to break that wall.
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Phoenix Blessing Bloodline: Re-awakening.
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Fire Element Evolution to: [Primordial Fire]
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[Primordial Fire] - The flame of nothingness. The flame of absolute authority over any and all fire. The flame that existed even before the concept of existence itself.
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A power that was not learned, but remembered, erupted from her core.
The change was instantaneous and terrifying. Her long, black hair began to bleach from the roots out, transforming into a stark, luminous white. Just as quickly, it seemed to disintegrate into motes of black ash, which swirled around her body, coalescing and hardening into a suit of armor. It was sleek and obsidian-black, with intricate, regal gold trim tracing the edges of the breastplate, waist, gauntlets, and thigh-high boots. It was minimalist, elegant, and radiated an ancient, absolute power.
Zrikk, his killing blow already in motion, faltered. The shift in the air was palpable. The heat wasn't just intense; it was authoritative. It commanded the very particles in the air to still.
Ruby's eyes snapped open. They were no longer just red; they were pools of molten white light. She looked up, directly at the frozen Insectoid.
In the next second, she was no longer on the ground. She was standing before him, her movement not even a blur—it was an instantaneous relocation. Her obsidian-gauntleted hand shot out and clamped around his face, lifting him effortlessly into the air.
No words were spoken. None were needed.
A silent, white fire bloomed from her hand and engulfed Zrikk's entire body. It did not roar; it was a serene, absolute incineration. There was no scream, only the silent, horrifying spectacle of his form being erased from existence within the ghostly flames.
"Zrikk has been Eliminated by Ruby."
A teleporter beam snatched the Insectoid's charred and smoking form away, depositing him outside the arena. The automated systems instantly began to heal his mortal wounds, restoring his body. But they could not heal what the Primordial Fire had burned—his very life force. The after-effects of the flames continued to burn inside him, an internal, spiritual agony. He writhed on the ground for a few moments before the last of his essence was consumed, and he lay still, dead just feet from the teleporter that was meant to be his salvation.
Back in the arena, the temperature had skyrocketed. The sand beneath Ruby's feet began to vitrify, turning to glass. The three remaining combatants—the Hydrozoan, the Gandharva, and the Jinn—stood frozen, their previous conflict utterly forgotten.
They had all sensed it. It wasn't just a power level rising; it was the arrival of a fundamental law of the universe they stood in the presence of. The Hydrozoan, who had been confidently handling them all moments before, felt his blood run cold. His confidence shattered, replaced by a primal fear.
The three exchanged a single, frantic glance. A silent, desperate agreement passed between them. Their temporary alliance was reborn, not by choice, but by sheer survival instinct. They had to team up against this. Now.
They fanned out, surrounding Ruby from three different directions, their stances defensive, their faces masks of terrified resolve.
At the center, Ruby stood perfectly composed, unnervingly calm. She flexed the fingers of her gauntlet, white embers drifting from them. There was no confusion, no surprise on her face. It did not look like she was using this power for the first time. It looked like she was merely… coming home.
To be continued…