The scent of blood and ozone hung thick in the underground arena as Qin Hong colpsed against the cage wall, his vision swimming. Before him, the shadowy warrior's inky fingers stretched toward his throat, while Jason's massive form sank deeper into the swirling abyss.
*This is it,* Qin Hong thought, watching the darkness cim his opponent. *Mission failed.*
Then - CRACK!
A bolt of lightning split the air, chains of pure electricity erupting from five points above Jason's head. They pierced the shadowy mass like spears, wrapping around Jason's torso in a crackling embrace.
"Enough games. Recall your Shadowdancers, Illya."
Guann's voice cut through the tension like his lightning through the dark. The warrior looming over Qin Hong froze, its featureless face turning toward the new threat. The bck mist comprising its head swirled violently, coalescing around two points that burst open to reveal glowing crimson eyes.
Just as Qin Hong became mesmerized by their hypnotic pulse, warmth flooded his back - Sisi's healing energy knitting his broken ribs with emerald tendrils that smelled faintly of mint and summer rain.
"Long time no see~ How's life treating you?"
The shadow warrior's voice - a melodic contralto completely at odds with its monstrous form - made Qin Hong's jaw drop. He turned to Sisi, whispering, "What the hell is happening?"
Before she could answer, Guann's body erupted with blue-white electricity. With a yank of his lightning-wreathed arm, he hauled Jason from the abyss like a fisherman nding a prize catch. The boy's transformed body reverted to its scrawny baseline midair, crashing onto the concrete with a gasp.
"Must you always be so dramatic?~" the shadow pouted, hands on hips in a disturbingly human gesture. "Some things never change."
Guann's eyes narrowed. "If you miss me that much, tell me where you really are. Save me the trouble of hunting you."
The shadow ughed - a windchime sound that raised gooseblesh. "Oh please, I'm not that foolish~" It turned its crimson gaze on Qin Hong. "This new recruit is fascinating. His spatial severance... I've never seen anything like it."
As if to emphasize the threat, Guann's right arm crackled violently, electricity coalescing into a draconic gauntlet. The spectral dragon's jaws snapped near the shadow's face, forcing it back a step.
"You're so impatient! I have intel about his abilities," the shadow retorted, crossing its arms. "That missing book you've been searching for? I might know where its pages went~"
Guann's lips curled. "I'd expect nothing less from you."
The shadow sighed dramatically. "His power is more dangerous than you realize. Let me take him under my wing - for his own protection."
When Guann remained unmoved, the shadow's form began sinking into a circur portal. "We'll meet again soon~" it called, voice fading. "Don't stay up too te working, darling~"
With that, it vanished, leaving only the scent of jasmine and something metallic hanging in the air.
---
The infirmary lights hummed softly as Sisi worked on Jason's wounds. Guann stood over Qin Hong, his expression unreadable.
"Reckless," he finally said. "Had Sisi not alerted me, you'd be missing more than just your dignity."
Jason, now conscious, spoke weakly: "Take the fruit. I've learned its lesson - true strength isn't about crushing others."
Following Guann's instructions, Qin Hong summoned his Voidbde. The air vibrated as the dark purple energy formed, its edge humming with barely-contained power. With surgical precision, he made an incision along Jason's sternum.
The heart that emerged pulsed rhythmically, suspended by invisible threads. Sisi's hands glowed emerald as she reconstructed a new one, the tissue forming yer by yer like some bizarre 3D printer. When Qin Hong's bde dissipated, the extracted heart convulsed violently before transforming - a perfect crimson apple encased in crystalline film.
"Why does it look different from mine?" Qin Hong wondered aloud, examining the fruit.
---
The hover-truck's engines whined as they left Walchi behind. Qin Hong couldn't resist probing: "So... Guann and Illya were...?"
"Lovers," Sisi confirmed, her fingers dancing across the navigation console. "Until she consumed the Umbra Heart and uncovered... disturbing truths about Greene. She wanted all fruits destroyed."
The revetion hung between them as the ndscape blurred below. Qin Hong's mind raced with implications - what could drive someone to abandon both love and organization?
---
Venos HQ's subterranean chamber took Qin Hong's breath away. Beyond Bayun's talking door (the cat-faced guardian eyeing him with amusement) stretched an impossible space - an endless white expanse where half of a gargantuan tree grew upside-down, its roots vanishing into starry waters that defied all ws of physics.
"The original World Tree bore 299 fruits," Sisi expined as they walked across the liquid surface, their steps sending ripples through consteltions. "When Illya's faction cleaved it during the Schism, the fruits scattered across the globe."
Bayun's voice echoed strangely in the vast chamber: "Collect 150, and your half regrows. Currently, we hold 35 physical fruits and 27 living bearers - against Illya's 45 trained warriors."
The numbers painted a dire picture. Qin Hong's fingers traced the Amplification Core in his pocket, its surface thrumming with tent power.
---
Three days ter, Guann led Qin Hong through a nondescript door - and into another world.
Hedel Isle's primordial jungle steamed around them, towering sequoias forming natural skyscrapers. Behind them, waves the size of buildings shattered against cliffs. The air itself felt heavier, charged with ancient energy.
"One year here equals one day outside," Guann expined, just as the ground trembled. A Tyrannosaurus rex - its scales glistening with strange markings - locked jaws with an equally massive serpent, their battle shaking the very trees.
"Fruit mastery depends on environmental resonance," Guann continued, lighting a cigarette with a snap of his fingers. "Jason's 'Hell's Octagon' was an Absolute Domain - a Stage Two manifestation compensating for his Amplification Core's weaknesses."
As they trekked deeper into the prehistoric wilderness, Qin Hong marveled at the possibilities. If abilities grew stronger in proper environments... what could his Voidbde achieve here?
Guann exhaled a smoke ring that twisted into strange shapes. "Power isn't about the fruit - it's about the wielder. Ability draws from two wells: physical stamina and willpower. The tter separates masters from novices."
His golden eyes gleamed in the dappled sunlight. "Shall we begin your real training, Qin Hong?"
The distant roar of some unseen beast shook the trees as Qin Hong gulped, adjusting his pack full of training uniforms. This would be the longest year of his life.
