The ruined forest lay silent, its scorched earth and shattered trees a testament to the battle against the Falzath-spawned monstrosity. The crimson sky churned above, casting an ominous glow over the smoldering crater where the beast's remains twitched faintly.
Shin stood alert, his Kitsune tails flickering like crimson flames. Laverna gripped her wind-imbued daggers, her breath still ragged from the fight.
The air grew heavy, thick with the Falzath's lingering despair, and the faint rustle from the shadows deepened into a deliberate tread.
Shin's ears twitched, his hand raised to signal danger. "Something else is coming."
From the darkened treeline emerged a swordswoman, clad in tattered armor that gleamed faintly under the crimson light. Her cold blue eyes locked onto Shin, her gaze sharp with accusation.
In her hands, a longsword glowed with an ethereal blue aura, its edge honed to a razor's keenness. The air around her seemed to hum with restrained power, her presence a chilling echo of the void's corruption, yet tempered by a fierce resolve.
The ground trembled faintly beneath her steps, as if the Falzath's despair recognized her own.
"You," the sword maiden hissed, her voice icy with conviction. "Your aura reeks of their corruption. Falzath filth."
Shin's crimson eyes narrowed, the orb on his back pulsing as it morphed into a naginata, its blade crackling with red lightning. "You're mistaken," he said, his tone calm but firm. "Stand down, or I'll make you."
The swordswoman didn't hesitate. She lunged, her longsword slicing through the air with fluid precision, each strike a seamless arc that parted the dust clouds swirling around them.
The blade's blue glow flared, carving a shallow trench in the corrupted soil as it missed Shin by inches. The impact sent shards of petrified wood flying, igniting them with sparks of azure energy.
Trees groaned and splintered as her strikes grazed them, their blackened trunks collapsing into piles of ash.
Shin countered with blinding speed, his Kitsune tails flaring as he teleported in a flash of crimson. His naginata swept in a flurry of slashes, each one trailed by arcs of red lightning that scorched the earth.
The clash of their weapons sent shockwaves rippling through the clearing, uprooting charred roots and shattering the remnants of a nearby stone arch. Sparks erupted where their blades met, the air vibrating with the force of their duel.
The swordswoman's strikes were relentless, her longsword weaving a web of blue light that forced Shin to weave and teleport to avoid being cornered. A single misstep sent her blade slicing through a boulder, cleaving it cleanly in half with a burst of azure flame.
Laverna watched from the sidelines, her daggers clutched tightly, her heart twisting with a pang of jealousy. The sword maiden's skill was undeniable, her movements a dance of lethal grace that rivaled Shin's ferocity.
Laverna's past as a slave gnawed at her, whispering insecurities, but she bit her lip and stayed silent, her admiration for the swordswoman's strength warring with her unease.
Shin's orb pulsed again, and his expression hardened. The naginata dissolved, reforming into Yoshimatsu. Its High Frequency enchantment set the blade vibrating with a low, menacing hum, the air around it shimmering with power. "Enough," he growled, his aura surging.
He vanished in a blur of crimson, reappearing behind the swordswoman with Yoshimatsu raised. The katana struck with devastating force, its vibrating edge clashing against her longsword.
The impact unleashed a shockwave that flattened the surrounding underbrush, sending a cascade of debris skyward. The sword maiden parried, her blade glowing brighter as she channeled her energy into a charged thrust.
The attack tore through the ground, carving a glowing furrow that erupted in a geyser of molten earth. Shin sidestepped, his tails deflecting the blast, and countered with a series of teleporting slashes.
Each strike of Yoshimatsu left expanding wounds in the air itself, the blade's vibrations shredding nearby branches into fine dust.
The forest bore the brunt of their fury. Trees ignited from stray sparks, their flames casting eerie shadows across the crater.
The ground buckled under the force of their movements, forming jagged fissures that glowed with the Falzath's red veins. A stray slash from the swordswoman's longsword obliterated a cluster of petrified stumps, while Shin's lightning-charged strikes sent boulders tumbling into the crater, their impacts shaking the earth.
The sword maiden's breath grew labored, her cold façade cracking under the strain. Shin seized the moment, teleporting above her and delivering a precise, non-lethal strike with Yoshimatsu's flat edge.
The blow sent her longsword flying, embedding it into a nearby tree with a burst of blue light. The swordswoman stumbled, disarmed, her knees hitting the scorched earth. Shin loomed over her, his Kitsune tails flaring intimidatingly, Yoshimatsu humming at his side.
"You're no Falzath agent," the sword maiden gasped, her voice trembling with realization. "But your power… It's too close to theirs."
Shin sheathed his katana, the Mithril blade sliding into its scabbard with a soft click before reverting to the orb's dormant form. "The Falzath took everything from me, too," he said, his voice soft but resolute. "I fight to end them, not serve them. Join us, or walk away. But don't raise your blade against me again."
The swordswoman's eyes widened, her grief surfacing through her cold exterior. "My village… my family," she whispered. "The Falzath devoured them. Their despair… it fed the void. I thought you were one of them."
Laverna stepped forward, her daggers lowered but her gaze wary. She saw the pain in the sword maiden's eyes, a mirror of her own past, yet the swordswoman's strength stirred a flicker of envy. She remained silent, her fingers tightening around her weapons.
Shin extended a hand to the swordswoman, his restraint a testament to his hope for allies in their brutal world. "Fight with us," he said. "Your pain is ours. We'll destroy the Falzath together."
The swordswoman lifted her gaze, her expression softening slightly. "My name is Zera," she said, her voice steadying as she revealed her identity. "I've hunted the Falzath alone for too long."
The sword maiden hesitated, then took his hand, rising with a wary nod. "I'll follow," she said, her voice steadier. "For now."
The air grew still, the Falzath's despair lingering like a shadow. Zera's pain, like the beast's corruption, hinted at the void's power to amplify negative emotions, twisting grief into fuel for its hunger.
Laverna glanced at Shin, then at Zera, her heart heavy with unspoken fears.