Xinyi stood motionless before her likewise unmoving enemy. She held her position halfway between standing and the beginning of a sprint, waiting for the moment to strike. Even her breathing was light and barely visible, giving no indication of when she planned to move to her enemy.

But unlike Xinyi, the woman before he could strike without hardly moving a muscle. A light pull of a trigger on her hand cannons and she would fire a devastating attack at an incredible speed.

Xinyi took a deep breath, filling her lungs with air. At the same time, her enemy shot her left hand’s cannon. Xinyi’s body launched forward, the force of her leap cracking the cobblestone at her feet.

The bullet zoomed past Xinyi’s face, blowing through a portion of her wild, bushy ponytail. But Xinyi wasn’t fazed, her charge not slowing at all. Her forward lunge matched, no, it exceeded the bullet’s speed.

“Lightning Flash Annihilation!”

The woman fired her second weapon, the bullet knocking Xinyi’s blade off course. The young swordswoman flew past the older woman harmlessly, her feet digging into the ground to change her direction.

“Thunder Dragon, Roaring Storm!” Xinyi shifted from a stab to an upward slash. A burst of electrical energy surged from her blade, taking the vague form of a dragon.

The air crackled with electrical charge, but the attack missed it’s target. The gunner hopped away, firing three shots in quick succession.

Xinyi’s unnamed blade cut them out of the air, one after the other. Her opponent shot bullet after bullet, her rain of attacks never seeming to stop. But Xinyi pressed on, each swipe of her sword bringing her one step closer.

She couldn’t tell how many she had deflected, but the constant defense was already beginning to put a strain on her body. Her arms vibrated painfully every time the bullet ricocheted off the sword in her hands, wearing out her stamina even faster than normal combat.

Smoke poured out of the woman’s cannon barrels, the edges of the metal turning red from the head of so many continuous shots.

“How are they girl? Do you like the bite of my Revolving Cannons?” The woman laughed, crossing the weapons in front of her, both barrels pointed at the swordfighter. “To a normal warrior, they wouldn’t be able to use them as effectively, only able to fire a few shots…”

The air around the woman moved like a mirage, several spheres of iron like the ones her weapons fired starting to orbit around her. She popped open the rotating compartment of her cannons, and the metal balls flew into empty slots perfectly sized for her ammunition.

“But thanks to my Skill, They’ll never run dry in my hands!” she had clearly only done it that way to gloat, as she had been reloading the weapons secretly before. “My Element Exchanger can convert the air itself into both the bullets, and the propellent for them!”

“You must think you’ve already won, since you’re gloating already, instead of killing me...” Xinyi lowered her guard, standing perfectly still with no stance at all. “Just like everyone else, you must think I’m weak, right? This poor girl, struggling without a Skill of her own...”

“Ha, do you want me to take pity on you, little girl? My Skill was considered useless for battle, even though I wanted to be a hero ever since I was a little girl… that’s when He found me, taught me how to use my abilities to humiliate those smug warriors… if you’re too weak to do anything then you only have yourself to blame!”

“You’re right… that’s why I sought out power… power to defeat my enemies with my own hands! I won’t be the scared little girl I was before… But I was wrong!” Xinyi raised her sword to the sky, the air filling with wild dancing electric bolts. “There’s a limit to the power you can gain alone…”

“What nonsense are you babbling?”

The ground around them shook, the earth itself breaking through the road like a localized earthquake. Wind whipped around Xinyi, carrying a spark of flame with it, becoming a raging firestorm. And yet, despite the inferno, a hail of icy rain pounded the ground, making it difficult to walk normally without slipping.

“Dragon School Arts… Four Petal Bloom.”

While she excelled at the Thunder Dragon Style more than the others, it didn’t mean she hadn’t studied the other three, the paths that her friends had mastered. In this moment, it wasn’t just her strength on display, but that of her friends, of every master of the Dragon Arts for over two thousand years!

Xinyi charged in, propelled by a blast of fire behind her. The ground split apart at her feet, allowing her to jump off each piece of jutting earth, gaining more height each time. Her sword sparked with lightning, the bolts bouncing between the water in the air.

Her opponent, the enemy gunner, launched a barrage of shots. The metal spheres filled Xinyi’s vision, but none would reach her. The freezing rain became spears of ice, each firing with the same force as her enemies bullets. Soaring through the air, Xinyi raised her blade above her head. All four elements gathered to her sword, the earth and stone forming a massive blade atop her sword. Ice coated the stone sword with a sharp blade, while fire and lightning engulfed the blade in a deadly aura.

“Urraaaahhhhhhhh!” Xinyi’s blade cut down, dragging her with it behind its massive form. The woman below her panicked, summoning a wall of iron with her Skill between them.

The metal wall shattered into scrap along with the augments to Xinyi’s sword. Her naked original blade shot out like a bolt light towards the stunned gunner. Xinyi threw all of her energy behind this final strike, the arc of her blade forming a flawless crescent with its afterimage.

The gunner dodged backwards, avoiding an instantly fatal hit. The sword sliced into her right shoulder, cleaving her arm off so cleanly that there wasn’t a single drop of blood on its cutting edge.

The woman dropped her remaining cannon and staggered away, her voice screaming in agony. Xinyi prepared to stab forward with her blade and take the woman’s life, but a black clad figure blocked her sword with a dark steel gauntlet.

“..!” Xinyi jumped back from the new foe, her sword raised defensively.

“You really got messed up this time, Raolan.” the man's voice spoke to the injured woman softly.

“Z-Zhenya…” she responded weakly, her eyes gazing up at the figure clad head to toe in black armor. His face was obscured with a featureless mask and a hooded cloak. “Rare of you to… speak…”

“Don’t waste your energy, we’re leaving.”

And as suddenly as he appeared, the man disappeared with the gunwoman, Raolan.

“X-Xinyi, Tatsuko?!” Yi Zen rushed out of the hospital, hand ready to draw his sword. “What’s happened, are you both alright?”

“I’ll live.” Tatsuko replied, beginning to walk to the hospital. “But I should get this patched up, let Xinyi explain the situation.”

“Jeez, what took you so long, was my fighting not loud enough for you to wake up from a nap or something?”

“Sorry, I’ll be faster next time...”

I had run outside as fast as I possibly could as soon as I heard the fight outside. The walls of the hospital were designed to mute sound so the patients can rest better, so it took me some time to realize. Finally, I arrived outside, but the fight was already over.

Tatsuko was wounded, but it wasn’t that serious from what I could see, through I wasn’t a doctor. She looked tired, but Xinyi wasn’t hurt.

“Tatsuko, go get that shoulder treated.” I nod to her, and she leaves for the hospital behind us. “Xinyi…”

“I’m fine, don’t worry about me.” She smiled, pumping her fist in the air. “Don’t underestimate me! I’m not a monster like the girls in your family, but I’m pretty good you know.”

After she explained what had happened to me, together with the patched up Tatsuko we headed back to my home. On the way, we encountered no more attacks from the enemy faction.

As we approached the house, I could hear a muffled argument between my mother and sister. Something inside the house shattered, and a loud thud followed. Bursting through the front window, Meixian safely rolled through the glass to her feet.

“Wait, Meixian!” our mother Yan called after her, running to the window, but the girl didn’t seem to want to listen.

The Marine Dragon Empress in her hand, Meixian looked at me. Tears welling up in her eye, she bit her bottom lip, her body shaking slightly.

“S-Stay out of my way!” She cried, rushing down the street away from us. I chased her, but she enhanced her speed with a Skill and disappeared before I could react properly.

And then, she was gone. I could only guess what had caused her to escape like that, and I I lamented my inability to do anything. Raised almost her entire life to believe she was on the correct side, there was no way she would accept things so easily.

“Dammit… why didn’t I use Zero?!” I slam my fist against a stone wall to my left, clenching my teeth in anger aimed towards myself. I could have stopped her, or at least slowed her down, but I just… let her get away.

“Zen…” Xinyi walked up behind me, placing her hand on my shoulder. “You ok?”

“Yeah…” I turned around, seeing my mom come out of our front door. I slowly walked towards her.

I wasn’t going to let this stand, not when she made that face… she was lost and confused, not sure what to believe anymore. In her emotional state, she would likely return to the side of the one who made her this way… my father, apparently.

“Mom.” I looked over at my mother Yan, my face and tone completely serious. “I’m sure you didn’t let her run away without tracking her somehow, yes?”

“You know me too well, son.” she smiled, raising her hand up as a soft light began to glow in her palm. “I placed a tracking Skill on her soon after capturing her the first time. We can follow her anywhere in the world now.”

“Tatsuko, go find Lei and Cai.” I ordered her, and she listened despite being my equal. She understood how serious I was being, and probably agreed with what I hadn’t yet said.

“Zen… I can’t tell what you’re thinking…” mom asked me, looking concerned. She probably had an idea of what I was planning, and I could understand her worry.

“Well, if my old man’s become the dark lord of evil, I guess we’ll have to go kick his ass.”

“Gon is one of the strongest fighters to ever live, do you plan to beat him yourself?” Yan asked, her voice quivering. “E-Even I can’t beat him… Zen… My Skills are useless against him!”

“Who said anything about you fighting him, there’s no way you can fight the love of your life and father of your children seriously…” I replied quickly, placing my hand on my sword hilt. “But… you see, I don’t really care about him, I can’t even remember his face.”

“If your mom’s Skills don’t work, Zen, does that mean?” Xinyi asked me, and I nodded in response.

“Yeah... I took after good old dad… Zero’s his Skill originally.” I sighed, the weight of the situation catching up with me. “And that means that the only person who can fight him… is me.”

“That’s not true, Zen!” Xinyi shouted a lot louder than she needed to, startling me slightly. “You’re not the only one here who can fight without a Skill, Tatsuko, Lei, Cai… and of course, me.”

“True, Tatsuko and Lei have Skills, but the majority of their fighting style doesn’t require it, Zero dosn’t register Cai Accursed Blood as a Skill either, and you…”

“Never had a Skill to begin with, dummy!” She laughed, slapping me on the back. “Don’t think you’re the only one who can do anything, you’re not alone.”

“You’re right, thanks.” I smiled back at her, and she blushed, averting her eyes from mine at the last second. “I’m glad you’re here, Xinyi.”

“A-Are you trying to embarass me, Zen?”

“Mom, come if you want, but you might want to stay out of this one… I’m gonna go give my deadbeat dad a black eye.”

Just wait for me, Meixian. You might not be able to separate yourself from the darkness of your past, but I’ll save you from it… whether you like it or not!