Chapter 22: The Azure Master's Choice
The Vanguard retreated to the perimeter, establishing a temporary, highly fortified position near the Ascension Gate. While the other Hunters prepared their defenses, Rin worked with the healers to stabilize Aiden, whose core was struggling to absorb the residual Rending Gale mana.
The mix of wind-kinetic energy and Chronos energy was proving volatile. Aiden would survive, but the combination was dangerously unstable, constantly threatening to flare into a self-destructive paradox.
Master Wei stood over them, his arms crossed, radiating intense, focused disapproval. He didn't interrupt the healing, but his patience was clearly thin.
As soon as the healers confirmed Aiden was out of immediate danger, Wei ordered the remaining Vanguard out of earshot and turned to Rin.
"This ends here, Rin," Wei said, his voice low and uncompromising. "You confirmed the tactical necessity, but you refuse to see the emotional danger. Your soul is still tethered to his self-destructive strategy. If he sacrifices himself again, the shock will kill you. I need you to commit to breaking the bond."
Rin looked at Aiden, who was breathing shallowly, his face still serene in unconsciousness. The truth—that he was already in love, and that breaking the bond would mean severing the source of his new, terrifying power—made the decision impossible.
"I can't break it, Wei," Rin finally admitted, his voice barely a whisper. "Not now. When our powers merged, I realized something essential. His Chronos power and my Rending Gale are not just compatible; they are the only counter-force to the chaotic energies of the Outer Gods—Nyx and Ahriman. My speed combined with his precision creates something devastating."
He touched the primordial coral—the Heart of the Abyss—which was still in his hand. "He saw this. He knew his only value now was in the absolute control of time, and he needed my raw power to anchor that control. He sacrificed his mana for the future synergy, not the past debt."
Wei listened, his Murim instincts—the focus on energy balance and destiny—stirred by Rin's words. The sheer, cold logic was undeniable. Rin was painting Aiden as a necessary evil, a perfect weapon.
"You're asking me to accept a bond with the man who betrayed you, a bond that is fundamentally unstable, because it is the most efficient path to victory," Wei summarized, his face grim.
"I am asking you to trust my judgment, Wei," Rin countered, meeting his friend's eye with a fierce intensity. "The Azure Dragon's energy, your stabilizing Qi, is the perfect counter-force to the paradox we create. When we use the merge, we will need you to be our anchor, to stabilize the kinetic-temporal feedback. The three of us—the Gale, the Arbiter, and the Dragon—are the only composition capable of ascending."
Wei closed his eyes, his spiritual sense reaching out to confirm Rin's claim. He felt the terrifying, volatile energy still crackling around Aiden, and the immense, untapped potential of the merged state. Rin was right. To break the tether now was to dismantle the only weapon capable of confronting the coming chaos.
"I do not trust the Arbiter," Wei finally stated, opening his eyes, his gaze cold. "But I trust the Azure Dragon's commitment to the purity of the Tower. I will be your anchor, Rin. I will stabilize your destructive dance. But I swear on my lineage, if the Arbiter sacrifices you for a statistic, I will vaporize his essence from every timeline."
It was the best alliance Rin could have hoped for. The Vanguard was now divided by a personal chasm, but unified by a strategic necessity: the protection of the Arbiter/Blade nexus.